The "Young Ireland Movement," was led by William Smith O'Brian, Thomas O'Meagher, John Michell, Terence McManus and Patrick O'Donohue. In the heat of the revolutionary year of 1848, their country beset by famine and official neglect, they attempted a peaceful coup against British rule. They failed, of course, as did others - on both sides of the Anglo-Celtic divide - who sought Irish home rule. But one of their lasting achievements was the adoption of the tricolor Irish flag - originally given them during a visit to Paris as a present by their French sympathizers. These were not the first revolutionaries - Irish rebellions date back way before Oliver Cromwell. But they were the best educated and the most articulate of their day, and as "The Great Shame" reveals, the loss of their leadership was profound. Transported as state prisoners to Van Diemens' Land (modern Tasmania), many of them - most notably Michell and Meagher - escaped to the United States. Meagher was the star, rising to a Union General during the Civil War, distinguishing himself at Fredericksburg and later becoming Governor of Montana. Michell, as if to prove that seemingly reasonable people can choose a radically different course, plunged into Confederate politics and became a die-hard secessionist. Hugh Larkin's story serves as something of a prologue to the "Great Shame." A "Ribbonman," he was one of the many blue-collar Irishmen whose campaigns against the British, however passionate, remained localized to their particular home towns. When he journey to Australia, unlike the Young Irelanders, was permanent: he became a successful farmer and, after earning his freedom, a relatively prosperous New South Wales country merchant. Kenneally's own family is descended from him. Even Larkin's story, however, has its tragedies, with a wife and a little daughter left behind - there is simply no historic trace of the little girl's fate. The closing chapters of The Great Shame deal with the Fenian Movement, its transportation to Western Australia and its own leaders' daring escape to America. Keneally also explores the collapse of Gladstone's Home Rule bill - and with it the last best hope for a peaceful settlement of Irish independence. This is not only a terrific history of the time, it is a celebration of the links which bind four great English-speaking countries: Australia, Ireland, Britain and America. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0385720262/ref=pd_sim_books/104-01887...