1916

The 1916 rebellion is a pivotal moment in Irish history. It was not a 'blood sacrifice' but a serious insurrection that shocked the British establishment. It was followed by a struggle that involved masses of people seeking to shape their own destiny. The full scale of this event has often been hidden amidst claims that it was simply a 'war of independence' Kieran Allen argues that different strands of a distinct Irish revolutionary tradition were born with the 1916 rising. Republican and socialist aspirations mixed and, sometimes, clashed. But both were crushed in a counter-revolution that accompanied the Anglo-Irish treaty. The result is two states today that seek to become neoliberal tax havens for multi-national corporations. However, a seismic shift is underway in Irish politics. Tens of thousands have joined protests against austerity. The Irish revolutionary tradition is returning. Next year will be the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Rising. There will be a huge commemoration in Ireland and it will attract attention elsewhere. The Irish state is marketing it as a tourist event, but the anniversary has also coincided with a dramatic shift of Irish society to the left, witnessed in the growth of Sinn Fein and the radical left. This book highlights an alternative history and discourse which stresses the revolutionary tradition associated with 1916 and the need to do something about a country that has been laid low by austerity and debt repayments to bondholders.