Listen to a sample
Great Hatred
- Author
- Ronan McGreevy
- Narrator
- Aidan Kelly
- Publisher
- Faber & Faber
- Publish Date
- 30 June 2022
- Run Time
- 12 hours 37 minutes
- Format
- x-book®
- Genre
- History
- Rating
- 5.0 (1 review)
What to expect
THE IRISH TOP 10 BESTSELLER
A gripping investigation into one of Irish history's greatest mysteries,
Great Hatred reveals the true story behind one of the most significant political assassinations to ever have been committed on British soil.
'An incredible story, full of melodramatic details, and brilliantly handled by McGreevy in his wonderfully gripping book.'
TOM HOLLAND,
THE REST IS HISTORY
'Heart-stopping . . . The book is both forensic and a page-turner, and ultimately deeply tragic, for Ireland as much as for the murder victim.'
MICHAEL PORTILLO
'Gripping from start to finish. McGreevy turns a forensic mind to a political assassination that changed the course of history, uncovering a trove of unseen evidence in the process.'
ANITA ANAND, author of
The Patient Assassin
'Invaluable.'
IRISH TIMES
'Intelligent and insightful.'
IRISH INDEPENDENT
On 22 June 1922, Sir Henry Wilson - the former head of the British army and one of those credited with winning the First World War - was shot and killed by two veterans of that war turned IRA members in what was the most significant political murder to have taken place on British soil for more than a century. His assassins were well-educated and pious men. One had lost a leg during the Battle of Passchendaele. Shocking British society to the core, the shooting caused consternation in the government and almost restarted the conflict between Britain and Ireland that had ended with the Anglo-Irish Treaty just five months earlier. Wilson's assassination triggered the Irish Civil War, which cast the darkest of shadows over the new Irish State.
Who ordered the killing? Why did two English-born Irish nationalists kill an Irish-born British imperialist? What was Wilson's role in the Northern Ireland government and the violence which matched the intensity of the Troubles fifty years later? Why would Michael Collins, who risked his life to sign a peace treaty with Great Britain, want one of its most famous soldiers dead, and how did the Wilson assassination lead to Collins' tragic death in an ambush two months later?
Drawing upon newly released archival material and never-before-seen documentation,
Great Hatred is a revelatory work that sheds light on a moment that changed the course of Irish and British history for ever.
'McGreevy provides more than the anatomy of a political murder; in reconstructing this era of blood, poverty and wartime trauma, he also gives full expression to the terrible forces that WB Yeats once called the "fanatic heart" and the "great hatred".'
THE TIMES
'Thoughtful and well-researched . . . an important and valuable addition to the library of the Irish Revolution.'
PROFESSOR DIARMAID FERRITER, University College Dublin
User Reviews
Book 5.0
Narration 5.0
-
5.0 5.0
A very well researched history of extremely disturbed times in Ireland. And yet it reads beautifully and is not at all difficult to listen to despite the grim background of revolution and turmoil. The two assassins of Wilson were both ex soldiers who had served in the first world war, one losing a leg. Dunn in particular was extremely well read and educated with a strong religious background. Their stories, and that of Wilson, make gripping reading. The bitterness and callousness in Ireland after the civil war and during the first years of the new state should not surprise and yet it takes one aback. Strange to discover I really enjoyed listening to this book when I did not expect to. An education in itself as the narrative is so clear and absorbing.
mariaka 2024-10-27
Details
- Author
- Ronan McGreevy
- Narrator
- Aidan Kelly
- Duration
- 12 hours 37 minutes
- Release Date
- 30 June 2022
- ISBN
- 9780571372843
- Format
- x-book®
- Publisher
- Faber & Faber
- Genre
- History
- Rating
- 5.0(1 review)
- Narration
- 5.0(1 review)
Synopsis
THE IRISH TOP 10 BESTSELLER A gripping investigation into one of Irish history's greatest mysteries, Great Hatred reveals the true story behind one of the most significant political assassinations to ever have been committed on British soil. 'An incredible story, full of melodramatic details, and brilliantly handled by McGreevy in his wonderfully gripping book.' TOM HOLLAND, THE REST IS HISTORY 'Heart-stopping . . . The book is both forensic and a page-turner, and ultimately deeply tragic, for Ireland as much as for the murder victim.' MICHAEL PORTILLO 'Gripping from start to finish. McGreevy turns a forensic mind to a political assassination that changed the course of history, uncovering a trove of unseen evidence in the process.' ANITA ANAND, author of The Patient Assassin 'Invaluable.' IRISH TIMES 'Intelligent and insightful.' IRISH INDEPENDENT On 22 June 1922, Sir Henry Wilson - the former head of the British army and one of those credited with winning the First World War - was shot and killed by two veterans of that war turned IRA members in what was the most significant political murder to have taken place on British soil for more than a century. His assassins were well-educated and pious men. One had lost a leg during the Battle of Passchendaele. Shocking British society to the core, the shooting caused consternation in the government and almost restarted the conflict between Britain and Ireland that had ended with the Anglo-Irish Treaty just five months earlier. Wilson's assassination triggered the Irish Civil War, which cast the darkest of shadows over the new Irish State. Who ordered the killing? Why did two English-born Irish nationalists kill an Irish-born British imperialist? What was Wilson's role in the Northern Ireland government and the violence which matched the intensity of the Troubles fifty years later? Why would Michael Collins, who risked his life to sign a peace treaty with Great Britain, want one of its most famous soldiers dead, and how did the Wilson assassination lead to Collins' tragic death in an ambush two months later? Drawing upon newly released archival material and never-before-seen documentation, Great Hatred is a revelatory work that sheds light on a moment that changed the course of Irish and British history for ever. 'McGreevy provides more than the anatomy of a political murder; in reconstructing this era of blood, poverty and wartime trauma, he also gives full expression to the terrible forces that WB Yeats once called the "fanatic heart" and the "great hatred".' THE TIMES 'Thoughtful and well-researched . . . an important and valuable addition to the library of the Irish Revolution.' PROFESSOR DIARMAID FERRITER, University College Dublin
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