Even the Heather Bled by Joe McGowan
Synopsis
'Even the Heather Bled’ is a sweeping history of Ireland from the Norman conquest to the birth of a nation. It is uniquely told by focusing on County Sligo, and its part in this long journey for independence. On the morning of Wednesday September 20th 1922 - the closing months of the Irish Civil War - six anti-Treaty Volunteers were shot dead atop Sligo’s Benbulben Mountain. How did it come about? That Irishmen, former comrades, after together winning a bloody war against the British Empire, killed fellow Irishmen on a lonely Sligo hillside with a ferocity unseen since the Black and Tan times?
Richly illustrated with images of the period, 'Even the Heather Bled' sets out to answer this question. It begins with the invasion by Strongbow’s forces in August 1170. It tracks Ireland’s crucible of conquest, colonisation and survival from that Norman invasion to the birth pains of the Irish Nation in the 20th century: Penal Times, the Great Hunger of Black ’47, Davitt and the Land League, the Celtic Renaissance, the Easter Rising, War of Independence, Civil War, and Sligo’s part in that journey, are all detailed here.
If there is just one book you want on your bookshelf to cover Ireland’s tumultuous history, and Sligo’s part in it, this is it!
About the Author
Joe McGowan (7 January 1944, Mullaghmore, Co. Sligo, Ireland) is an Irish historian, folklorist, and author specialising in the history and heritage of Ireland. He is based in Sligo.