Women and their roles in the 1916 Rising were, until recently, excised from the history books. Claddagh Records originally released Rebel Irishwomen in 1966, and as we inch towards the end of this decade of centenaries, this updated collection of first-hand accounts from Maud Gonne MacBride, Kathleen Behan and Helena Molony make for intriguing listening.

These accounts are shot through with an indomitable life force and a determination to tell it like it was. Helena Molony’s blithe mention of the fact that on the day of the Easter Rising, she didn’t need a revolver as she already had her own, sets the tone. The contribution of Maud Gonne McBride is intriguing too, full of empathy and pragmatic observations: ‘the Irish are the best soldiers and the worst diplomats’.

Alongside these all too brief accounts, with slender liner notes, Claddagh have chosen to set four songs from contemporary singers, Niamh Bury and Landless, alongside those from Kathleen Behan, whose timeless declamatory style revives Erin go Bragh with gusto. Bury brings a delicious tone of melancholy to her distinctive reading of Erin go Bragh. Landless’ a cappella harmonies add further colour and shade, especially to their entrancing reading of The Tri-Coloured Ribbon.

This is a collection that whets the appetite but feels more like a foreshortened work in progress than a coherent snapshot of moments in time.