The year 1916 is a seminal year in Irish history, with the Easter Rising becoming a foundation stone of modern Irish society. For a whole array of purposes, the events of that year have been constructed and re-constructed, imagined and re-imagined time and again since the first days of the state. This book delves into the original newspaper reports of 1916 to show what life in Cork was actually like in that year.

It shows the kaleidoscopic nature of the ideas that provided the context and framework for revolution alongside the tragedies of the First World War and the humdrum issues of everyday life.