A nation and not a rabble - Diarmaid Ferriter

Packed with violence, political drama and social and cultural upheaval,
the years 1913-1923 saw the emergence in Ireland of the Ulster Volunteer
Force to resist Irish home rule and in response, the Irish Volunteers,
who would later evolve into the IRA. World War One, the rise of Sinn
Fin, intense Ulster unionism and conflict with Britain culminated in
the Irish war of Independence, which ended with a compromise Treaty with
Britain and then the enmities and drama of the Irish Civil War.Drawing
on an abundance of newly released archival material, witness statements
and testimony from the ordinary Irish people who lived and fought
through extraordinary times, A Nation and not a Rabble explores
these revolutions. Diarmaid Ferriter highlights the gulf between
rhetoric and reality in politics and violence, the role of women, the
battle for material survival, the impact of key Irish unionist and
republican leaders, as well as conflicts over health, land, religion,
law and order, and welfare.