I loved history in school. We were told that history is written by the victors.
My history teacher, Brother Hamill, had a favourite expression he liked to use when he did not understand an answer you provided during history question time: “I did not catch your drift, Mr Smith, snow again!”
When answering his questions he wanted two things – (1) clarity of fact and (2) your ability to use these facts to provide a contextual analysis of the event under discussion. “Don’t quote me facts and figures,” he would say, “remember there are three types of lies: lies, damn lies and statistics.”
The anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising provided me with a great opportunity to dust off my history hat after many years of neglect. Up until now I had only written works of fiction, with the Get Out and Play trilogy that encouraged children to get away from video games and go outside to play GAA, football and rugby (preferably not all at the same time!).
I faced a few new challenges here. I had not written a work of non-fiction before. I had to state the facts and at the same time frame a narrative to ensure that children between the ages of 5 and 10 would not fall asleep by page 2! (History can be boring. There, I’ve said it!)
I wanted to make sure the books were factually correct so I spent two months carrying out analysis. I soon realised how much I had actually forgotten about the Easter Rising.
Eventually I had enough information to write 10 books about people involved in the Rising. I decided to focus on Padraig Pearse and James Connolly.
Now that I had the facts I needed, I was ready to go! Or so I thought! Gaye Shortland is the editor for Poolbeg Press. She is fantastic and has helped me greatly in the writing process. Gaye is always up front and honest. When I sent my first draft of Padraig Pearse and the Easter Rising 1916, I got a reply within hours. “Too dull, reads like a history lesson! Try again!”
Suitably chastened, I scrapped the draft, and started again. I revisited my Get Out and Play books to remind myself how to tell a story. (These had all been printed with Gaye’s approval, so I knew I must have done something right with these!)
I changed my approach to my Padraig Pearse book. Remembering the advice of Brother Hamill, I had the facts, now I needed to provide a context. My book became a story book with historical content, rather than a history book. Next I needed a child to read it to make sure it held the interest. “When you read this, imagine what a 10-year old might think,” I said to my son as I handed him the new draft. “I am 10!” my son replied. (They grow so quickly, don’t they?!)
“What did you think of it?” I asked him after he had read it. He gave me the finger. (I think it was a thumbs up!) “It’s good!” he said.
Heart pounding, I sent it on to Gaye again to see what she thought. I read her reply with great trepidation. “Much better!” she said. I heaved a sigh of relief.
Now I had something I could work with. Over the next few weeks, the final version of the book was revised until it reached a state that was acceptable to all.
As the Pearse book went to the printers, beautifully illustrated by Derry Dillon, I set to work on James Connolly. I came up with the title James Connolly – Working Class Hero after reading an interview given by John Lennon, where he credited Connolly as an inspiration for his famous protest song, Woman is the N of the World.
While writing both books, it became clear that the story of the Rising was not a story of good against bad. While there were stories of horrific acts of violence, there were also stories of heroic acts and mutual respect on both sides. A British prisoner who was a doctor volunteered to treat James Connolly after he had been shot in the leg. Irish leaders gave orders forbidding the shooting of anyone who was unarmed (this order was not always followed). British officers were amazed at the calm acceptance shown by the Irish leaders who knew they were about to be executed. They had lost the battle, but they knew their executions would have a huge impact.
There are many publications today filled with varying divided opinions about 1916. I hope my books encourage children to ask more questions about 1916, so that they can make up their own minds.
Perhaps they will come to the same conclusion that I did. History is not always written by the victors. If you catch my drift…
[ Padraig Pearse and the Easter RisingOpens in new window ]
