At War With the Empire: Ireland's Fight for Independence

by Gerry Hunt

Though the 1916 Rising was put down within a week, the harshness of the British response greatly increased support for Sinn Fein, the Republican party. When Sinn Fein won a majority of seats in the 1918 election, they vowed to set up their own Irish parliament, and the D il, was formed on 21 January 1919. It reaffirmed the 1916 proclamation with the Declaration of Independence, and issued a `Message to the Free Nations of the World' that stated that there was `an existing state of war between Ireland and England'. On that same day, the first shots were fired in the Irish War of Independence. This is the story of that war. A graphic novel, in full color.

Genres: Comics, Nonfiction, History, Graphic Novels

64 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2012

Reviews

[Don Jimmy · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the book shop I bought this from is fantastic, I didn't think this was. It was fine, the important details are all there and it did whet my appetite and make me want to read more on Irish history at the time (I haven't picked up a history book since secondary school and I remember f all of what I did learn). The artistic style did nothing for me. Not one I would be recommending.

[Dan Junis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this graphic novel from the gift shop in the infamous Dublin post office still scarred with bullet holes from the 1916 Easter Rising and perhaps it would have behooved me to choose from a more elaborate selection of historical graphic novels. Don't get me wrong... this proved to be a great jumping off point to learn more about the various traumas that plagued Ireland *BUT* the graphic novel format in this case really took me out of the story.

[Tess Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was better than the first one. More text explaining the timeline of events was a big help. I still wanted something with more character development, but that wasn’t the aim of this book. It told the history, which is important on its own.

[Rolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative, but hard to get into if you (like me) didn’t know a lot of the details about the Irish fight for independence before reading.

[Phillip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like Hunt's other book Blood Upon the Rose, this gives a reasonably detailed chronology of the events of the Irish War for Independence, without really explaining any of the motivations or who the players actually are. There seems to be a certain assumption that readers will know things like why the Irish wanted independence, why loyalists wanted to remain loyal, why the British wanted to keep control, and who people like de Valera, Collins, Lloyd George, etc. are, as well as their personal motives.
https://youtu.be/_xERS3_FTrI

[Pat · Rating 2 out of 5]

At War With The Empire follows on from Gerry Hunt's picture book about the 1916 Rising, Blood Upon The Rose. This time, Hunt summarises the events surrounding Ireland's struggle for independence from Britain in 1919. Yet again, Hunt provides a tidy narrative of an historic period in Irish history as he focuses on the most important events & figures of that year. As before, I was unimpressed by Hunt's artwork. His depiction of the rural & urban landscapes is good, but he's less expert at drawing people & faces. I also felt there was too much text & its position in the layout was often confusing. Nevertheless, At War With The Empire is worth a read for anyone who's curious about the events of 1919 or just wants to jog their memory about Ireland's struggle for independence.