An Cosantóir

www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE | 37 Author: Kieran McMullen Publisher: Kilmainham Tales Teo (September 2018) https://kilmainhamtales.ie ISBN: 978-1-908056-21-4 Pages: 128 Price: €12.50 + P&P Kilmainham Tales have released a fabulous little gem in their special series with Weapons of the Easter Rising (#03) by retired US Army Lt Col Kieran McMullen. Kieran admits that he had this book on his table for quite a while, he is a weapons collector and firearms instructor and can trace an Irish relative back to the GPO in Easter 1916 – who better to write on this subject. The book is well laid out with photographs and illustrations, the sections cover revolvers and pistols, long guns including the Mauser, Lee Enfield, Martini-Enfield, shotguns, machine guns, artillery, pikes, bayonets, swords, explosives, ammunition, including .303, .43 and an interesting piece on the Dum Dum controversy. The book is described as "not claiming to be the definitive guide to every weapon used, this book – copiously illustrated with photographs and illustrations (many of the Author's own collection of historic weapons) and written with the lay reader in mind – is the ideal introduction to this hitherto overlooked but vital aspect of the Easter Rising, 1916." Kieran describes not only the weapons used by the rebellious Irishmen, but also those the British Army used in retaliation. He has written many books since his retirement from the military after 21 years, he is a veteran of the Korean DMZ and Operation Desert Storm, he also served 14 years in law enforcement. He is also a trained shooting reconstructionist and firearms instructor, he has a BA in Irish History and an MA in Human Resources. He is the author of several books of fiction on Sherlock Holmes and his many mysteries. https://kieranmcmullen.com WF WEAPONS OF THE EASTER RISING Author: Stephen McGarry Publisher: Penmore Press LLC (April 2019) www.penmorepress.com ISBN: 978-1-946409-62-1 Pages: 342 Price: €16.80 PB, €4.95 eBook Stephen McGarry's debut novel Napoleon's Blackguards builds on his previous work, Irish Brigades Abroad: from the Wild Geese to the Napoleonic Wars (September 2013), which was named as one of The Irish Times Best Books of 2014. Napoleon's Blackguards features Captain James Ryan, a veteran of the 1798 Irish Rebellion and his élite Irish voltigeurs who pursue the British troops through the snow and mountains to finally battle with them in Corunna. Ryan is obsessed in his quest in catching up with an albino Captain Darkford of the 4th Light Dragoons. Darkford had murdered Ryan's family back home in Ireland. Ryan is suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (the medical condition PTSD wasn't recognised as such until later on in the century). He has seen too much horror to come out unscratched. "Before Ryan can catch up with his nemesis, he has to fight duels, is captured and brutally tortured by Spanish guerrillas and has to lead a mission to retrieve the Irish battalion's cherished battle-standard eagle. Ryan's quest in the pursuit of the evil Darkford continues all the way along the difficult snow filled mountain roads and paths to Corunna." Read an exclusive extract in our history section on pages 30-31. Stephen McGarry is a former member of the Naval Service Reserve (formerly An Slua Muiri), Cathal Brugha Bks, Dublin. He spent many years in Belgium where he explored the Continent's links to Ireland. WF NAPOLEON'S BLACKGUARDS BURNING ANGELS (WILL JAEGER 2) Author: Bear Grylls Publisher: Orion (May 2016) ISBN: 978-1409156871 Pages: 416 Price: €4.50 ebook / €9.00 PB We are all familiar with adventure survivalist and TV star Bear Grylls. Many wouldn't know he has written over 22 books, including the international #1 bestselling autobiography Mud, Sweat & Tears. Among these are his hugely popular titles Survival Guide for Life and True Grit, a bestselling novel Ghost Flight and his Mission Survival fiction books, which have sold over 4 million copies in China alone. Burning Angels follows on from Bear's first fictional novel Ghost Flight, whose main protagonist Will Jaeger is still searching for his missing wife and son. Reeling from their first adventure in the amazon looking for secret Nazi cargo plane, the surviving team members reunite to search for their captured team members before going on another adventure. This time it centres around a prehistoric corpse entombed within an Arctic glacier, a jungle island overrun by rabid primates and another plane hidden beneath a mountain, packed with a Nazi cargo of mind- blowing evil. This time out it's Will Jaeger's turn to be The Hunter. WF

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