Scotland and the Easter Rising

About the Book: 

The story of the Rising is still being told, and in these pages the reader will find much to ponder, much to discuss, and much to disagree with. From the Introduction by Kirsty Lusk and Willy Maley

On Easter Monday 1916, leaders of a rebellion against British rule over Ireland proclaimed the establishment of an Irish Republic. Lasting only six days before surrender to the British, this landmark event nevertheless laid the foundations for Ireland’s violent path to Independence. It is little known that James Connolly, one of the rebellion’s leaders, was born in Edinburgh’s Cowgate, at the time nicknamed ‘Little Ireland’, or that another key figure in the events of Easter 1916 was a young woman from Coatbridge, Margaret Skinnider. These and other surprising Scottish connections are explored in Scotland and the Easter Rising, as Kirsty Lusk and Willy Maley gather together a rich grouping of writers, journalists and academics to examine, for the first time, the Scottish dimension to the events of 1916 and its continued resonance in Scotland today.

Featuring a mix of fiction, memoir, poetry and essays, this book provides a thought-provoking and necessary negotiation of historical and contemporary Irish-Scottish relations, and explores the Easter Rising’s intersections with other movements, from Women’s Suffrage to the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum.

Reviews: 

The book, marking the centenary of the Easter Rising, brings together writers, journalists and academics to reflect on the part played by Scotland in the rebellion and its many legacies. SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY

About the Author:

WILLY MALEY is Professor of English Literature at the University of Glasgow. A critic, editor, teacher and writer, he was co-founder with the late Philip Hobsbaum of the Creative Writing Masters in 1995. The Lions of Lisbon is one of seven plays Willy has written collaboratively. A season ticket holder in the Lisbon Lions Stand, Willy was a columnist for The Celtic View during seasons 2003-2005. Maley also contributed essays to Celtic Minded volumes 1-3, and his poem ‘Perfect Passing’, a tribute to the late great Tommy Burns, was published in The Celtic Opus (2010). His most recent publication, also with Luath Press, is Scotland and the Easter Rising, co-edited with Kirsty Lusk.

KIRSTY LUSK is a doctoral candidate at the University of Glasgow. She received her mPhil in Irish Writing from Trinity College Dublin and holds an ma (Hons) in English Literature from the University of Glasgow. She is currently researching Scottish-Irish connections in the late 19th and early 20th century from a literary perspective in order to explore the legacy of independence, equality and commemoration within a comparative Irish-Scottish framework.