Literature Research Guide: 1916 in Literature
This guide highlights resources available from the McClelland Library to anyone researching literature related to the 1916 Easter Rising. The McClelland Library owns many titles about 1916 in literature which can be found by searching our catalog.
Fiction
1916 by Morgan Llywelyn
Call Number: Llywelyn, M Publication Date: 1998
This novel examines the Irish fight for freedom, which parallels America’s bid for independence. It gives readers a look at the heroic women who were willing to fight and die beside their men for the sake of the future. It’s a story of the valiant patriots who held out against the might of the empire to realize an impossible dream.
Blood on the Shamrock: A Novel of Ireland’s Civil War, 1916-1921 by Cathal Liam
Call Number: Liam, C Publication Date: 2006
After the tragedy of Easter 1916, Aran Roe O’Neill and his comrades reluctantly renew their struggle for Ireland’s long-denied independence from England. Their action is triggered by the divisive treaty Dublin’s fledgling government negotiates with members of London’s parliamentary leadership.
Fallen by Lia Mills
Call Number: Mills, L Publication Date: 2016
As Dublin is engulfed by the violence of the Easter Rising, Katie Crilly finds herself torn between her loyalty to the cause her brother died for, her instinctive Irish patriotism, and her love for her city and its people.
A Long Long Way by Sebastian Barry
Call Number: Barry, S Publication Date: 2005
A Long Long Way evokes the camaraderie and humor of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers regiment, but also the cruelty and sadness of war, and the divided loyalties that many Irish soldiers felt.
The Red and the Green by Iris Murdoch
Call Number: Murdoch, I Publication Date: 1967
A story of an Irish family during the days leading up to the Easter Rising in Dublin in 1916.
A Star Called Henry by Roddy Doyle
Call Number: Doyle, R Publication Date: 2004
From the perspective of Henry Smart, an IRA terrorist who fought for Irish independence in the 1910s tells his story. He joins the movement and rises in its ranks to participate in the 1916 Easter Rising, including the attack on the post office.
Trinity by Leon Uris
Call Number: Uris, L Publication Date: 1976
Trinity is a saga of glories and defeats, triumphs and tragedies, lived by a Catholic guy and a Protestant girl who defied her heritage to join him. Ireland comes alive in this epic that re-creates the country’s struggle for independence.
Learn More About Our Holdings
From RTE: Liam Neeson reads W.B Yeats’ poem “Easter 1916”
Did You Know the Irish Cultural Center & McClelland Library Commemorate the 1916 Easter Rising Every Year?
Drama
Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme by Frank McGuinness
Call Number: 822.914 M1793o Publication Date: 1986
This play follows eight men who volunteer to serve the 36th (Ulster) Division at the beginning of World War I. The climax is at the start of the battle of the Somme, where the Division suffered many casualties and has become a sacred place to Loyalist Protestants.
What was the 1916 Easter Rising?
Poetry
The 1916 Poets edited by Desmond Ryan
Call Number: 821.08 A26 Publication Date: 1995
This collection brings together all of the poetry of Padraic H. Pearse, Joseph M. Plunkett and Thomas MacDonagh.
“Easter, 1916” & Other Poems by William Butler Yeats
Call Number: 821.8 Y34e Publication Date: 1997
The greatest modern Irish poet describes the aftermath of his country’s 1916 Easter Rebellion against the British in the famous title poem.