A young wounded American war hero, fresh from the trenches of the Western Front, narrates this story of Ireland's War of Independence (1919-21).
Conn O'Farrell journeys to the land of his birth to uncover the circumstances of his older brother's death. He learns that both his brother and his father in America had been engaged in running guns and ammunition for the Republican cause. O'Farrell, a journalist, meets Michael Collins, leader of the insurgency against the British occupation, and under the pseudonym, Correspondent X, covers the guerrilla war for Ireland's freedom.
Excerpt
In 1169, following a quarrel between two Irish warrior kings, Ireland was invaded by a force of Anglo-Normans. Contrary to the systematic conquest of Britain by Norman knights led by William the Conqueror in 1066, the invasion of Ireland was a haphazard undertaking. Large regions of the country remained under the rule of the Irish nobility. Nevertheless, the invasion marked the beginning of the complete subjugation of the Irish people by the Englis Crown.
When I wrote ths book in 2000, I was concerned about children having access to the Internet and to chat rooms where "you can be anyone you want." Here we are many years later and the situation with children talking freely to stangers on the Internet