Meet the Author
I love history, it is full of fascinating people, facts and stories. Very often these are hidden in pages and pages of academic writing. My aim is to find them and present them simply for all to enjoy.
Joan O'Reilly
The 1916 Rising
Dublin, Easter 1916
A group of poorly armed rebels led by poets, teachers and idealists took on the most powerful empire in the world. Six days later, Dublin city center was in ruins, thick black smoke rose above the remains of what used to be one of the finest streets in Europe, dead bodies lay everywhere, the leaders had been captured and would soon die. The rising had failed, or had it? This little book tells the whole story in 55 pages.
Note: If you already have the booklet please note that there are a few mistakes in earlier copies. If you have a faulty copy please let me know and I will replace it free of charge.
First Edition
Page 51: The first line should be Friday May 12th not Sunday May 7th.
Second Edition
Page 52 : The word published should have been circulated.
Page 55: It should read Kilmainham Jail - well worth a visit (The Nationalist Museum is here). The Aud is of course at the bottom of the sea.
Fourth Edition
Page 19: There is only a partial map of the city, these were withdrawn from sale
but only after some had been sold
Fifth Edition: OK
Sorry about that folks!
“There have been numerous books
about the Easter Rising, but Joan O’Reilly’s Simplified History — The 1916 Rising is definitely the most concise and accessible, doing what it says on the tin in just 55 pages.”
Tim Vaughan, The Irish Examiner
“Every member of the family could read this book - young and old!”
Connect, Communication Workers Union
“It takes skill and intelligence to make the complex simple and on that score Joan has delivered brilliantly with this highly informative, detailed, interesting and very accessible gem of a book.”
Tim Vaughan, The Irish Examiner