The Dynamiters
Irish Nationalism and Political Violence in the Wider World, 1867–1900
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Cambridge University Press
Published:9th Aug '12
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
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- Paperback£30.99(9781107519213)
A transnational history of the first urban bombing campaign, when Irish nationalists targeted symbolic British public buildings in the 1880s.
In the 1880s a New York-based faction of militant Irish nationalists conducted a bombing campaign in Britain that targeted sites such as the House of Commons. This book presents a history of these 'dynamiters' and the broader context of political violence across Europe, the United States and the British Empire.In the 1880s a New York-based faction of militant Irish nationalists conducted the first urban bombing campaign in history, targeting symbolic public buildings in Britain with homemade bombs. This book investigates the people and ideas behind this spectacular new departure in revolutionary violence. Employing a transnational approach, the book reveals connections and parallels between the 'dynamiters' and other revolutionary groups active at the time and demonstrates how they interacted with currents in revolution, war and politics across Europe, the United States and the British Empire. Reconstructing the life stories of individual dynamiters and their conceptual and ethical views on violence, it offers an innovative picture of the dynamics of revolutionary organizations as well as the political, social and cultural factors which move people to support or condemn acts of political violence.
'The Dynamiters is an important and spirited contribution to the history of Irish nationalism, particularly in its American and European extensions. By placing Irish history firmly 'in the wider world', Whelehan has broadened our understanding of Ireland's global history.' David Fitzpatrick, Irish Times
'This is an interesting, significant study with important implications for the histories of late nineteenth-century Irish America and Ireland, of transatlantic radicalism and political culture, and of what is now called asymmetrical warfare or, pejoratively, terrorism.' Kerby Miller, Journal of American History
'Whelehan provides a truly global study of some élan that draws upon a very wide range of archive sources and newspapers.' Donald MacRaild, Immigrants and Minorities
'This is an excellent book, throwing light on an important and much-neglected passage of Irish and indeed American history.' Colin Barr, Journal of Irish and Scottish Studies
'This ambitious and thought-provoking book deserves a wide readership. It offers a complex and rich transnational picture of this critical phase in Irish nationalism. It will be of interest not only to historians of modern Ireland and Irish America but also, more generally, to those who study ethnic identity politics and the evolution of political violence.' David A. Campion, The Journal of Modern History
ISBN: 9781107023321
Dimensions: 235mm x 159mm x 22mm
Weight: 660g
340 pages