Firstly, we would like to thank everyone for the kind support and response to our launch. We genuinely had very little expectations and the initial response has been much better than we had anticipated.
In this post, we would like to give a brief overview on the material currently on the website, our plans for future content, and provide a greater in-depth reason for the making of this website.
CURRENT MATERIAL
As of the present moment, we currently have 10 authors, 37 texts and approximately 200 pages worth of material, mostly comprising the most recognisable nationalists and their work such as:
The Coming Revolution (1916) by Pádraig Pearse
The Path To Freedom (1922) by Michael Collins
Principles of Freedom (1921) by Terence MacSwiney
An Argument On Behalf of the Catholics of Ireland (1791) by Wolfe Tone
Speech From The Dock (1803) by Robert Emmet
We have chosen those works first for several reasons, the most obvious being that these works are likely to be the most popular on the website, but also secondly because we wished to gauge support for the service through providing a small sample of texts before deciding to expand onto more niche authors and works.
There should also be a great variety in the works currently available, comprising history, politics, folklore and poetry, from the United Irishmen to the War of Independence.
FUTURE MATERIAL
Our short-term plans for future material should include some of the following authors and works:
Rossa’s Recollections, 1838 to 1898 (1898) by Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa
Phases of Irish History (1920) by Eoin MacNeill
Songs of the Irish Rebels (1913) by Pádraig Pearse
The Crusade of the Period (published 1878) by John Mitchel
The Poems of the Irish Revolutionary Brotherhood (1916) featuring Pearse, Thomas MacDonagh, Joseph Plunkett and Roger Casement
Labour, Nationality and Religion (1910) by James Connolly
A Literary History of Ireland (1899) by Douglas Hyde
The Famine Queen (1900) by Maud Gonne
Of course, there are still some notable omissions, such as Jail Journal by John Mitchel or the Autobiography of Wolfe Tone, which we will try and transcribe as soon as possible. We also hope to publish more Irish language literature in the coming future.
CONCLUSION
Long-term, we wish to make the archive as expansive and comprehensive as we can. Irish nationalism has a vast array of hundreds, if not thousands of works spanning the ages from authors well-known and not so well-known, books universally revered and books almost universally forgotten. It is our hope that integrating all of those components into one centralised archive will provide an immense benefit to all those interested in the history and heritage of our country.
We call for and appreciate any help from those who can help us in any capacity with transcribing, scanning or collecting new material. We once again thank all those for the support that has been shown so far.
AN CHARTLANN.