Whenever we walk down O’Connell Street or any of Dublin’s streets it’s tempting to wonder just what secrets were held within the buildings, rooms and halls that line them. In those buildings we find the ghosts of men and women who lived in the years of rebellion. Walking in their steps humanises those who participated in the Rising, and this book attempts to unlock the places that are in plain sight yet remain secret to many passers-by. These streets and buildings make the characters real by associating them with what is still visible before us. This is a book about backstage Dublin as well as ‘front-stage’ Dublin—not just the high streets but also the byways and boreens.

It is not intended that the book should be read from cover to cover. It was not written that way and it is to be hoped it be will an awakening for the reader, as it has been for the author. This makes for a book that one can read for just a few minutes or into which one can delve for hours. Any time spent will allow the reader to begin a process of getting to know those whose dedication, industry and life’s blood made modern Ireland. A fundamental question is whether the Rising advanced or hindered Irish independence; Charles Townsend stated it most simply when he said that it ‘quickened the pulse of the separatist movement’. Knowledge of the places that played a part in the lives of those who led and participated helps us to understand them better.

Joe Connell is the author of a number of books on Dublin and its revolutionary history and contributes a regular column to History Ireland (Countdown to the Rising).