An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 37 authors: Patrick Casey, Kevin Cullen, Joe Duignan with a foreword by Kevin Myers publisher: Merrion (June 2015) www.merrionpress.ie iSBn: 978-1785370045 price: €31.00 pages: 526 H/B This beautifully illustrated book is in two parts, the first part is an account of the various posts of the first world war, including some of the less well known theatres of the middle east – Suez Canal, Palestine, Syria and Basra as well as the campaigns in Salonika and Serbia; all areas familiar to some An Cosantóir readers. There are chapters on the war at sea, French warfare, medical care and casualty evacuation. A chapter on Ireland includes a list of all the auxiliary military hospitals, including the Red Cross hospital in Dublin Castle, where many of the wounded were taken during the 1916 rebellion including James Connolly. Strangely, the major military hospitals, some of which are still used by todays Defence Forces only receive a passing mention. The second part of the book is a roll of honour of all the Irish doctors and students who served in the Great War. Amongst the famous was Sir Alfred Keogh from Dublin who was Director General of the Royal Army Medical Corps. He retired before the war but was recalled at the start of the war. Sir F. J. Morrin joined the RAMC in 1915, but left it after Easter 1916 and joined the French Army. He was decorated with the Legion of Honour. After his return to Ireland, he was surgeon in the Curragh Hospital at the height of the Civil War, then the Director General of the Army Medial Corps. He later became a distinguished surgeon in St. Vincent's Hospital and died in 1968. This book is well worth reading, it's aimed at a wide general readership, not being full of military or medical jargon. Nevertheless, it will interest military and medical historians. CJb iriSh docTorS in The FirST world war IMPREASIN NA GAEILGE A - h AND IMPREASIN NA GAEILGE I - Z con colBerT 16 liveS SerieS author: Dr John O'Callaghan publisher: O'Brien Press (March 2015) www.obrien.ie iSBn: 978-1847173348 price: €14.99 pages: 256 P/B Dr John O'Callaghan's biography of Con Colbert is the latest volume in the 16 Lives series, edited by Lorcan Collins and Dr Ruán O'Donnell. The premise of the series is to record 'for posterity' the lives of the sixteen men executed after the Easter Rising. Accustomed to thinking of these men collectively as the 'leaders of the Easter Rising' it was disconcerting to realise that I couldn't name all sixteen without resort to a history book. Colbert is referred to as one of the lesser known leaders and in his introduction O'Callaghan asks if Colbert was not executed would it have been a glaring omission; if he was not executed would he warrant a biography and how significant was the element of chance in his case? He concludes that Colbert's execution was heavily linked to his prominent reputation prior to the Rising as well as his service during Easter Week. O'Callaghan draws on a wide variety of sources in his work, particularly Colbert's own correspondence and the Bureau of Military History witness statements. He paints a detailed picture of Colbert's early involvement in Na Fianna and the Irish Volunteers, his excellent reputation within the movement and his self-taught expertise as a drill instructor and in organising training. He also illustrates Colbert's service during the Rising in Watkin's Brewery and Marrowbone Lane, pointing out that these posts were relatively quiet, he was not the senior officer at his post and that several higher ranking officers were not executed for their role in the Rising. Despite the case O'Callaghan builds, I finished the book feeling curious rather than convinced by his argument. If Colbert had been tried a few days later would his sentence have been commuted? Who decided the order in which the court- martials would take place? Or was Colbert's one of the early court-martials because he was easily recognised? The rest of the books in the series will allow comparison with the other executed men which may help explain why Colbert paid the extreme penalty. NG author: Seosamh Mac Ionnrachtaigh publisher: AuthorHouse UK (June 2015), (www.authorhouse.com) iSBn: 978-1496984166 / 978-1496984173 price: €100 PB / €5.73 eBook pages: 460 & 452 Former army sergeant, Joseph R. Enright, has published Impreasin na Gaeilge A - H and Impreasin na Gaeilge I - Z. These research books on the sound of the Irish language are based on native voices of the Gael from the Gaeltacht itself. The books are based on empirical work by two authors from County Clare. An tAthair Seóirse Mac Clúin based Réilthíní Óir on the Irish of the Great Blasket Islands. Réilthíní Óir comprised the native Irish of Tomás Ó Criomhthain and the islanders of the Great Blasket Islands prior to 1922. The original title is revised in full with modern additions based on current native Irish (2007- 2014). This combined research results in an Irish-Irish Dictionary of the Irish language with key explanations in English. Joseph enlisted in the General Training Depot on 26th January 1977. He served overseas from 8th April 1980 with No 2 Irish Component, UNIFIL HQ, Naquora, South Lebanon. He served in the Army Ranger Wing on 27th February 1981, where he was promoted to sergeant. He was later posted to 1 Cn Cois (an Chéad Chath), on 23rd February 1983. He was discharged on 26th April 1985 after a total of 6 years and 91 days where his military conduct was Exemplary. Seosamh Mac Ionnrachtaigh's dream is that every family in Ireland will have a copy of his book at home.

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