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The Battle of Vinegar Hill

Australia's Irish Rebellion

Lynette Ramsey Silver

                                      250 pp   -   Paperback   -   Published 2002

                               Australia  = AUD$40 (including postage, packing and GST)

                              PNG and NZ   = AUD$55 (including economy air mail and packing)

                              The World = AUD$60 (including economy air mail and packing)

THE BATTLE OF VINEGAR HILL Lynette Ramsay Silver presents the story of Irish patriots who refused to accept exile in this land under British rule.

Among the embezzlers, forgers, petty thieves, sheep stealers and house breakers transported to the colony, were men whose crimes were purely political. The resentment of these political prisoners knew no bounds. Many of the Irish convicts were infuriated by the lack of official records and the resulting injustice and confusion over the lengths of their sentences. Realising the impossibility of returning to Ireland, the dissidents created a state of constant unrest in the new community. Cropping their hair in the style of the French revolutionaries, they formed secret leagues and held clandestine meetings to plan their escape. In desperation, they attempted to lay siege to the colony and demanded to be taken home to Ireland.

THE BATTLE OF VINEGAR HILL is the story of botched mini-rebellions, failed escape attempts, mutiny, wild rumours, conspiracies, betrayals and personal tragedy. In this book the author reveals the Jives of the key rebels and their enemies against a background of Irish politics in the colonial period.

Lynette Ramsay Silver's work is the first and only thorough account of the battle and its causes. Illustrated with portraits, maps and landscape art of the period, THE BATTLE OF VINEGAR HILL is an important book for anyone interested in colonial history and the development of the Australian character.