The Guns at Easter

It would be too easy to describe this book as an account of a 12-year-old boy's walk through the events of the 1916 Rising as we follow young Jimmy Conway from the tenements of the inner city of Dublin to the salubrious suburbs of Ballsbridge in search of food.

It would be too easy to describe this book as an account of a 12-year-old boy's walk through the events of the 1916 Rising as we follow young Jimmy Conway from the tenements of the inner city of Dublin to the salubrious suburbs of Ballsbridge in search of food. The book is much more than that. It is firmly rooted in the lives of Dublin's poor where the patriotic aspirations of the Citizen's Army come into conflict with the vital needs of families. Families whose hope of survival depends on the fact that fathers, husbands, sons and brothers have joined the British Army and are fighting in France for what is narrowly perceived as 'British interests'. Where often considerations other than simplistic morality dictate behaviour.

Since it was first published in 1996, the 80th anniversary of the Rising, the book has gone into many editions, and I can well understand why. It is brilliantly written in a style that will enthral and make young readers inquisitive as to the truth of the kind of Ireland that led to the events of 1916. Later on, it may even cause these readers to access the writings of O'Casey, Plunkett and James Stephens, and bring them to question what happened to the aspirations of those who signed the declaration of The Irish public.

A great Easter present for 10 to 12-year-olds. The Guns at Easter by Gerald Whelan from O'Brien, €6.95

tony hickey