The name John Redmond conjures up all sorts of political emotions in this country but especially in the Waterford and Wexford areas.
A new book by the acclaimed author, Dermot Meleady, produces the definitive story of one of the most influential, controversial and tragic figures in 20th century Irish history.
From hero and champion of Home Rule to a villain in republican circles, Dermot Meleady believes Redmond has been one of the most overlooked and under-acknowledged figures in Irish political history.
In a book sure to be devoured by history and political buffs, the author examines the militant resistance of Ulster Unionism to Irish Home Rule and the outbreak of World War I.
He suggests that the ‘unforeseen’ Easter Rising in Dublin in 1916 was as much a blow against Home Rule as against British Rule and that it cast Redmond down from triumphant Prime Minister in waiting to the status of Ireland’s lost leader.
‘John Redmond: The National Leader’ is published by Merrion, an imprint of Irish Academic Press.