The Untold Stories of
SAOIRSE
Freedom
A collection of ten ebooks telling the stories that history tried to silence — from the 1950s border campaign to the modern-day peace process in Ireland.
Where It All Began
The Easter Rising Volunteers
On Easter Monday, 24 April 1916, a group of Irish republicans launched an armed insurrection against British rule. These volunteers — men and women from all walks of life — seized key positions across Dublin and proclaimed the Irish Republic. Though the Rising was suppressed after six days, the execution of its leaders ignited a revolution that would ultimately lead to Irish independence.
Easter Rising Volunteers, Dublin 1916
Volunteers in Combat, Easter Rising 1916
The Battle at the GPO, O'Connell Street 1916
The Seven Signatories of the Proclamation
The Executed Leaders of the Easter Rising
The Martyrs of Easter 1916
"We declare the right of the people of Ireland to the ownership of Ireland and to the unfettered control of Irish destinies, to be sovereign and indefeasible."
— Proclamation of the Irish Republic, 1916
A Journey Through
The Struggle for Freedom
Border Campaign Begins
Operation Harvest launches against Northern Ireland
Civil Rights Movement
Marches for equality met with state violence
The Troubles Begin
Battle of the Bogside, Bombay Street burns
Internment
Mass arrest without trial under Operation Demetrius
Bloody Sunday
14 unarmed civilians killed by British paratroopers
Blanket Protest
Republican prisoners refuse to wear prison uniform
Hunger Strikes
Bobby Sands and nine others die on hunger strike
Brighton Bombing
IRA targets British Cabinet at Conservative conference
IRA Ceasefire
Complete cessation of military operations declared
Good Friday Agreement
Historic peace accord signed at Stormont
The Collection
Ten Untold Stories
Each ebook in the Saoirse collection reveals a chapter of Irish republican history that has never been fully told — personal stories, hidden testimonies, and forgotten voices from seven decades of struggle.
The Forgotten Campaign
The IRA Border Campaign 1956–1962
The lesser-known Operation Harvest — young volunteers who crossed the border, the raids on RUC barracks, internment camps, and the personal stories of those who fought and were forgotten.
Streets of Fire
The Civil Rights Movement & The Birth of the Troubles 1967–1969
The civil rights marches, the Battle of the Bogside, the burning of Bombay Street, the formation of the Provisional IRA, and the untold stories of ordinary families caught in the crossfire.
Behind the Wire
Internment and Long Kesh 1971–1975
Operation Demetrius, the mass internment without trial, life inside Long Kesh, the hooded men, sensory deprivation torture, and personal accounts of families torn apart.
Bloody Sunday and Beyond
State Violence and Resistance 1972–1974
The Bloody Sunday massacre, the Widgery whitewash, the burning of the British Embassy in Dublin, Operation Motorman, and the hidden testimonies of witnesses.
The Blanket Men
The Dirty Protest and Hunger Strikes 1976–1981
The removal of Special Category Status, the blanket protest, the dirty protest, Bobby Sands and the ten hunger strikers, the secret negotiations with the British, and the families' untold grief.
Daughters of Éireann
Women in the Republican Movement
The overlooked role of women — Cumann na mBan, the Armagh women prisoners, the strip-searching campaigns, Mairéad Farrell, the Price sisters, and countless unnamed women who sustained the movement.
The Long War
The IRA Campaign in the 1980s
The Brighton bombing, the Loughgall ambush, the Gibraltar killings, the supergrass trials, intelligence warfare, and the human cost on both sides of the conflict.
Voices from the Diaspora
The Irish-American Connection
NORAID, gun-running networks, the political lobbying in Washington, the MacBride Principles, the role of Irish America in pushing for peace, and untold stories of transatlantic solidarity.
Talking to the Enemy
The Secret Peace Process 1988–1998
The Hume-Adams dialogue, the secret backchannel to the British government, the 1994 ceasefire, the Canary Wharf bombing, the Mitchell Principles, and the road to the Good Friday Agreement.
Unfinished Business
From Good Friday to a New Ireland 1998–Present
The Good Friday Agreement, decommissioning, the Saville Inquiry, power-sharing at Stormont, Brexit and the Irish border question, the legacy of the conflict, and the ongoing pursuit of a united Ireland.
Visual History
Historical Gallery
Easter Rising Volunteers, Dublin 1916
Volunteers in Combat, Easter Rising 1916
The Battle at the GPO, O'Connell Street 1916
The Seven Signatories of the Proclamation
The Executed Leaders of the Easter Rising
The Martyrs of Easter 1916
IRA Border Campaign Volunteers, 1950s
Operation Harvest, 1956
About This Project
Why Saoirse?
The word Saoirse means "freedom" in the Irish language. It is a word that has been whispered in prison cells, shouted on marches, and painted on gable walls across Ireland for generations. This collection of ten ebooks is dedicated to telling the stories that mainstream history has overlooked, suppressed, or simply never bothered to tell.
From the forgotten young volunteers of the 1956 border campaign to the secret negotiations that led to the Good Friday Agreement, these books draw on personal testimonies, family histories, and newly available sources to present a narrative of the Irish republican struggle that is both deeply personal and historically rigorous.
This project was created as a university presentation piece, but the stories within it are real. They belong to the people of Ireland — the prisoners, the families, the women, the diaspora, and the communities who lived through decades of conflict and emerged with their dignity and their dream of a united Ireland intact.
"Everyone, republican or otherwise, has their own particular part to play. No part is too great or too small; no one is too old or too young to do something."
— Bobby Sands, 1981