The Year of Liberty : History of the Great Irish Rebellion of 1798

Accurate balanced history can only be good.

Great book.

Thomas Pakenham is one of the finest British narrative historians of recent decades. Primarily known for his history of late nineteenth century European imperialism in Africa ( The Scramble for Africa ) and his detailed account of  The Boer War , his earlier work on The Great Irish Rebellion of 1798 - "The Year of Liberty" - seems to be rather less well known. This is a great shame as in terms of the quality of the research, and the writing, it seems (to this reader at least) to be a book that sits comfortably with his two more famous works.Pakenham details the personalities, the events, and the historical reality that led to an uprising of over a hundred thousand Irish peasants in late spring 1798 in order to throw the British out of Ireland. The idealism and incompetence of the leadership of the United Irishmen left the peasantry without their "natural" leaders; the brutality of the British and "loyalist" policy of disarming the peasantry, the historical facts of the dispossession of that same catholic peasantry, and the heady atmosphere of the revolutionary years (including two French invasions of Ireland that parenthesise this history: one failure, one too little and too late) all played their part in making the Rebellion almost inevitable. The ferocity of the "loyalist" response gave little hope for peace ever being restored, and it was only the appointment of Lord Cornwallis, and his putting a stop to their worst excesses, that restored any sort of normality to the country."The Year of Liberty" is a heart-rending book, the tragic tale of a peasantry forced into retaliating against a heartless and vicious oppression that left them with little choice but to rebel. Armed with Pikes and agricultural implements, and with the guidance and leadership of a handful of more or less reluctant priests, they faced off against the British Imperial State. By the end of the rebellion over 30,000 lives had been lost.The prose is a model for the narrative form of historical writing; it easily engages the reader without sacrificing the complexities of context, places, personalities or events. Included are some excellent maps that allow the reader the novelty of being able to geographically locate nearly every place mentioned in the text. There is also a detailed chronology of the rebellion, a bibliography and comprehensive endnotes that indicate the rich variety of primary and secondary sources Pakenham has consulted. As with Pakenham's other narrative histories, one can fully appreciate the awesome amount of work that went into this book. It is no surprise that he only wrote three of them over a period of twenty odd years. Well recommended.

“The Year of Liberty” is a serious work by a serious historian on a serious subject, so you have to be prepared for a bit of a slog when you start reading. In addition it was first published in the 1960s when, as Thomas Pakenham notes in the preface, there was limited documentary evidence to deliver as detailed an account of the rebels as he would have liked. For all this, Pakenham has produced a masterpiece that helped me understand so much more about Irish history during the fateful year of 1796, but also before and after. Civil wars are always brutal affairs nad this phase of the Irish struggle was no exception. There were heroes and villains aplenty and Pakenham ensures both that his reader comes away with a very comprehensive sense of what happened overall and it’s imapct on individuals and communities on both sides, right across Ireland.

An exceptionally well researched piece of work detailing an interesting and dramatic time period. My only criticisms and the reason that i didn't give it more stars is that i found it quite difficult to read; it is dense to the point of inpenetrable. There are day by day accounts of the actions of the various protagonists and while this is all well researched it slows the pace of the reading to a crawl, making it difficult to make headway or to read for any length of time. Essentially, it seems trite to say it, but its a bit of a dull read, wonderfully researched and packed with detail, but nonetheless, dull.

This book tells the story of the Irish Rebellion of 1798. Very informative,

One of the best books I have read concerning the 1798 rebellion. If you want to know the events leading up to the rebellion and the rebellion itself. This is the book for you. It is well written and informative.

I have to admit with some shame that I had never heard of the 1798 Rebellion until delving into my Irish roots and discovering a direct ancestor had died in that year in County Down. A search revealed this this volume was a respected major history of this tragedy written in modern times. Pakenham revised this book in time for the bicentenary and it gives a comprehensive overview of the reasons for the conflict as well as delving into detail to give a sympathetic view from as neutral a stance as is possible from this distance. If like me you are exploring the conflict that resulted in over 30,000 casualties then this is the place to start. A magnificent contribution to our understanding of a forgotten civil war inside Great Britain. Thoroughly recommended.

A comprehensive and informative read on the Irish rebellion of 1798. Excellent detail and research that provided a wealth of information to somebody like me that had little knowledge of the subject area. A great book about a little known but bloody period of Irish history.

excellent thanks

Great book for understanding the rebellion it paints a strong image of the brutal atrocities of the time. It explains what occurred in each town rather than a general view which is very insightful and well put together a great read for any Irishman.