The Year Of Liberty: The Great Irish Rebellion of 1789 Paperback – 6 April 2000

I have to admit with some shame that I had never heard of the 1798 Rebellion until delving into my Irish roots and discovering a direct ancestor had died in that year in County Down. A search revealed this this volume was a respected major history of this tragedy written in modern times. Pakenham revised this book in time for the bicentenary and it gives a comprehensive overview of the reasons for the conflict as well as delving into detail to give a sympathetic view from as neutral a stance as is possible from this distance. If like me you are exploring the conflict that resulted in over 30,000 casualties then this is the place to start. A magnificent contribution to our understanding of a forgotten civil war inside Great Britain. Thoroughly recommended.

A comprehensive and informative read on the Irish rebellion of 1798. Excellent detail and research that provided a wealth of information to somebody like me that had little knowledge of the subject area. A great book about a little known but bloody period of Irish history.

This book was excellently researched and gives a detailed description of the armed revolts in 1798 in Ireland. It was first published in 1969 and so is in some respects dated.In Irish republican mythology the year 1798 is a key date, the time that 'the Irish' were supposed to have fought the'the British' in order to establish an independent Irish republic. In 1921, Irish republicans, tertium gaudens, seized control of the Irish Free State and republicanism was established as the founding ideology of the state.In 1969 any book too critical of that ideology would never have got published.So in this book you will not find criticisms of the republican leaders or any any probing of their motives. How was Wolfe Tone able to incite the French revolutionary army to enter Ireland after the excesses of the Revolution he had witnessed at first hand. The French were to be paid by the seizure of all the gold and silver plate of the Irish gentry and the Protestant churches. If the Irish republicans did not do the plundering, the French would do it for them.Had the French actually landed bringing a large supply of arms the risings would certainly have been more formidable.As it happended the planned uprising was nipped in the bud, and the local outbreaks were defeated in detail by the local forces of the Irish Government, the county militias, and the local yeomanry. Most Irish people did not want a French-style republic.(In republican mythology, there was no Irish Government, only a 'British' Government)..This book is what it sets out to be, an account of the various local uprisings as they occurred. It is not a general history of Ireland in that year. That said, it provides an excellent and detailed account of the local movements as far as published documents can tell us.But most of the participants were illiterate and left no account of themselves or what they wanted. a more balanced book would have given an equal account of the Irish militia and yeomanry.Despite its limitations this is an excellent book

Great book for understanding the rebellion it paints a strong image of the brutal atrocities of the time. It explains what occurred in each town rather than a general view which is very insightful and well put together a great read for any Irishman.

This was a birthday present to my Father so I can't really rate this purchase, however I did ask my Dad to let me know: This is a 5 star book chronicling the revelation, that is not only very well written but did also give him much more information on the uprising that he knew some but not all things about.

A great book by a great storyteller, and a fascinating look into the tough history of a country and a people fighting for justice and liberty.A highly recommended read!

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First read the book in the '70s when I started visiting Ireland with my Irish Husband. I was confused when I was searching for the book recently as I was sure that the title was originally '1798 the Year of Insurrection'.