In the years 1914 to 1918 Dublin was utterly transformed. It was still recovering from the divisive class warfare of the 1913 Lockout when the First World War broke out. Twenty-five thousand men joined the British Army - many of them never to return - and the Easter Rising of 1916 transformed the city into a rebel stronghold. This fascinating history looks at how the lives of ordinary Dubliners were affected by the changes wrought. Padraig Yeates examines the motivations of those who fought on both sides in the Easter Rising, why so many working-class Dublin men joined the British Army, how civilians survived the war years, the impact of the war on music halls, child cruelty, prostitution, public health and much more. Dublin as we know it was shaped in these years. This captivating book shines a new light on events and how they helped shape, not alone the city, but modern Ireland.
