Christian – 'Kit' – Cavenaugh, born in 1667 in Dublin, grew up on a Leixlip farm. A dragoon in the Marlborough Wars, Kit led an adventurous life, courting women, fighting duels and arguing a paternity suit before the truth became known: Kit was a woman. After her husband and father of her three children, Richard Welsh, was press-ganged into the English army to fight in the European wars of the early eighteenth century, Kit disguised herself as a man and enlisted to find him. When she finally came face to face with Richard in 1704 she was enraged to find him in the arms of a Dutch woman. Kit's adventures did not end there ...
In 1943, thirty-two Irish POWs refused a Gestapo request to work for Germany. They were sent to a labour camp, where they were starved, beaten and forced to dig the foundations for a Nazi super-structure codenamed Bunker Valentin - an immense U-boat factory. Thousands of the camp's prisoners perished, including five of the Irishmen; bodies fell into the foundations and were never recovered. The surviving Irishmen were saved by the goodwill of decent Germans.Among them was Harry Callan, a Catholic boy from Derry who went to sea at sixteen as a British Merchant Navy seaman. His ship had been captured by a German raider two years before he ended up at the labour camp. Harry was unable to speak about the brutality he experienced for decades after he was liberated. When he finally began to tell his story, his family were shocked by what they heard.In his eighties, Harry agreed to revisit the site of his incarceration. He found local historians had no evidence of the Irish prisoners: they had disappeared from official records. Determined to give his comrades recognition, he began working to preserve their memory. This is the gripping story of Harry's capture, resistance and liberation.But above all, it is the final chapter in his quest to honour the forgotten heroes of Bunker Valentin.
It had been a busy few days for Adolf Hitler, but Douglas Hyde had not slipped his mind ... On 25 June 1938, Douglas Hyde became the first President of Ireland. His values stood in stark contrast to those of the continental dictator. As a Protestant nationalist and a leading figure in the language revival, he made the office an inclusive one and determined to be a president for all the people of Ireland. He also played a highly significant, but previously unheralded, role in the state's policy of neutrality during the Second World War. Hitler's fleeting fixation with Hyde was that the new presidency significantly diluted Ireland's bonds with the British Empire. The accepted wisdom is that Hyde's transition to the presidency was a seamless process, but new research shows it only came about on foot of a late political compromise. He may have been a compromise candidate, but with his non-partisan background, he was also an inspired choice. Forgotten Patriot shows Hyde's considerable impact on the development and perception of the office of President of Ireland.
Bold and clever, THE CAVANAUGHS are unlike any other family in early Victorian England. #1 New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens continues to explore the enthralling world of these dynamic siblings in the eagerly anticipated second volume in her captivating series. A Gentleman of Means One of the most eligible bachelors in London, Lord Christopher “Kit” Cavanaugh has discovered his true path and it doesn’t include the expected society marriage. Kit is all business and has chosen the bustling port of Bristol to launch his passion—Cavanaugh Yachts. A Woman of Character Miss Sylvia Buckleberry’s passion is her school for impoverished children. When a new business venture forces the school out of its building, she must act quickly. But confronting Kit Cavanaugh is a daunting task made even more difficult by their first and only previous meeting, when, believing she’d never see him again, she’d treated him dismissively. Still, Sylvia is determined to be persuasive. An Unstoppable Duo But it quickly becomes clear there are others who want the school—and Cavanaugh Yachts—closed. Working side by side, Kit and Sylvia fight to secure her school and to expose the blackguard trying to sabotage his business. Yet an even more dastardly villain lurks, one who threatens the future both discover they now hold dear.
Imagine no Chieftains, no Planxty or Bothy Band, no Moving Hearts or Riverdance! This biography of Seán Ó Riada, who spearheaded the revival of Irish traditional music and moved it onto the international stage, shows it might not have happened without him. One of the few significant artists to remain in Ireland after the Second World War, he became an influential and intriguing character – composer, musician, raconteur, film-maker and academic. In this wide-ranging account of his life, his friend and colleague looks behind the mask to reveal the complex personality of a unique individual and paint a vivid picture of an ambivalent talent. In his short life, Ó Riada encountered a host of personalities and suffered personal, professional and financial crises. The result is a fund of anecdotes, many almost surreal. The book concludes with the highly amusing Charles Acton correspondence and the great critic's obituary for Ó Riada. * Also available: An Poc Ar Buile by Seán Ó Sé
'When we strove to blot out the stain of slavery and advance the rights of man,' President Obama declared in Dublin in 2011, 'we found common cause with your struggle against oppression. Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave and our great abolitionist, forged an unlikely friendship right here in Dublin with your great liberator, Daniel O'Connell.' Frederick Douglass arrived in Ireland in the summer of 1845, the start of a two-year lecture tour of Britain and Ireland to champion freedom from slavery. He had been advised to leave America after the publication of his incendiary attack on slavery, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave. Douglass spent four transformative months in Ireland, filling halls with eloquent denunciations of slavery and causing controversy with graphic descriptions of slaves being tortured. He also shared a stage with Daniel O'Connell and took the pledge from the 'apostle of temperance' Fr Mathew. Douglass delighted in the openness with which he was received, but was shocked at the poverty he encountered. This compelling account of the celebrated escaped slave's tour of Ireland combines a unique insight into the formative years of one of the great figures of nineteenth-century America with a vivid portrait of a country on the brink of famine.
From the earliest times people have pondered why we are here; philosophers and scientists continue to grapple with the question. For this compilation of wisdom and insights into what is truly important, Catherine Conlon tracked down people from varying walks of life, all with a deep connection to Ireland, for answers to life's crucial questions. Contributors include Maureen Gaffney, Chris Hadfield, Sr Stan, Colum McCann, Alice Taylor, Conor Pope and many others from the worlds of writing, politics, journalism, charity and more. This collection will inspire self-reflection and lead us to reconsider our notion of the real value of our lives.
There is a large floor of broken boards, covered here and there with bit and pieces of broken linoleum. I cannot see the walls or what's above them, but there is a woman at a fire who keeps looking at me, and a man on a chair reading a paper, who keeps looking at me.' Born in a fourth-floor tenement, the youngest of twelve, Liam was the son of a Dublin Fusilier and a flaxmill worker. Although half his siblings were dead before he was born, he does not 'look back in anger' but at people's tough resolve not to be bitter about life's lot and see the next generation through to better times. Set in the territory of Frank O'Connor on Cork's north side, this is not another sorry tale of childhook poverty. It is a memoir of courage and endurance, telling an often uproarious and always poignant story. Alive with the yowling of cats and scurrying of rats, the ghosts of Blarney and Shandon Street appear – ex-soldiers, money lenders, fruit-sellers and women overwhelmed by children, drink and galloping consumption. For some it ended with their head in a gas oven or with long tresses floating through the weir grass on the quiet waters of the River Lee. 'A black cat in the window' - was it a sign of luck? With six alive at least there was a chance. Despite the taboos of a strict time there was still some sex in a damp climate, some great heroes and heroines, and a bicycle in the hallway was a sure sign of upward mobility.
From the heroes, regiments and famous battles of the British Army’s impressive history to the service people of today, this book celebrates the achievements and ongoing importance of the UK’s land force. It also explores the skills, weaponry and equipment necessary to keep the Army battle-ready and able to face any challenge.
