The Tragedy of Erskine Childers

by Leonard Piper

In The Riddle of the Sands, a gripping spy story set amongst the shoals and mists of the North Sea coast in the years before the First World War, Erskine Childers fathered the modern genre of spy adventures, as well as writing a great yachting classic. Unlike John Buchan or John le Carré, however, Childers himself led a life involving spying, gun-running and conspiracy, and a constant search for adventure and danger, which led in the end to his execution by firing squad in Ireland in 1923.

The Tragedy of Erskine Childers tells the extraordinary story of a brilliant and highly talented eccentric. A pioneering yachtsman in the early days of small yacht sailing, Childers became such a fervent supporter of Irish nationalism that he ran guns to Ireland on his boat. In the Irish Civil War his extremism, and wish to take part in active service rather than write propaganda, led to his betrayal, trial and execution.

Genres: Nonfiction, Ireland, Politics, British Literature

264 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[John Somers · Rating 5 out of 5]

20/20. Brilliant biography of one of the most interesting personalities of the war of independence. I was amazed how little I knew about him other than the Howth gun running incident. An ardent British patriot who converted to the cause of Irish nationalism he served with the artillery in the Boer war, was a renowned yachtsman, wrote the riddle in the sands (practically inventing the spy novel) served as a aerial observer at Gallipoli and commanded a British MTB off the Belgian coast during 1917 before being part of the Irish negotiation team for the treaty that brought about the formation of the free state, only to be executed by the free-stater's during the civil war. An amazing man who led a fascinating life is nowhere near as well known as he deserves.

[Erik Empson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't read many biographies but with a subject such as the enigmatic Erskine Childers it is difficult to see how this one could not be fascinating.
An amateur but proficient sailor, a artillery officer in the Boer Wars, clerk in Westminster, aviator in WWI and subsequently Irish freedom fighter, Childers lead a colourful life characterised by daring adventure, sheer bloodymindedness and, it has to be said, a confused sense of patriotism.
Piper aims to give a comprehensive view of Childers' life, and this is accomplished well.

[Val · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't think 'irresponsible' and 'foolishness' are adequate words to use of people buying arms from foreign belligerent powers to use against British soldiers, inciting a mutiny at an army barracks and attempting to overthrow Parliament when it passes a law they don't like; treasonous is a more appropriate word. This is what prominent members of Ulster's Unionist leadership did.
Erskine Childers became a hard-line Sinn Fein supporter, but was still far more loyal to Britain than those so-called 'loyalists'.
It was unusual at the time for someone to be both a British and Irish patriot and Childers was viewed with suspicion by some Irish Republicans, but Leonard Piper has no doubts about his commitment to to the Republican cause and dismisses any suggestion that he might have been spying for Britain against the IRA. (His voyages around the Frisian Islands off the German coast might be seen as spying for Britain against Germany and other sailors at the time definitely were, but Childers was always open about his activities.) His execution by firing squad, by the country he helped to bring into being, the Republic of Ireland (or Irish Free State as it was then known) was a tragedy.