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 * Evaluation of Archival Material**

Dublin’s Fighting Story 1916-1921. Told by The men who made it, with a unique pictorial record of the period. Published by The Kerryman Ltd, Tralee. **Scope:** This book was published thirty years after the rising. It is a compilation of survivor’s stories and narratives by the men who took part in the 1916 rising. It contains unique historical photographs of the volunteers and events from the period. The Kerryman newspaper compiled the stories together to produce this book; it includes stories from the Catholic Bulletin and the Evening Telegraph. The book was sold at the time at the moderate price of two shillings so that it was accessible to everyone. It is the second book in a series called the Fighting series. It covers the time period from 1913 to 1921 in Dublin; it explains how the rising was instigated. It chronicles each event that took place, narrated by men who took part in each battle around the city. It gives a vivid description of the appearance and character of each leader that was executed after the rising by the British government. There is also a detailed description of Bloody Sunday, which would be of great interest to any borrower studying Irish History. This book would give borrowers a comprehensive understanding of the 1916 rising through the eyes of the Volunteers. **Quality of content**: The content of the book is of very good quality as it is a narrative by the survivors and a collection of illustrations of historical importance. It was compiled 30 years after the events using articles from the period and survivors stories. It has a great depth of information on the events of the 1916 rising. **Accuracy of content**: The book seems to be accurate when compared to other books on the subject. Its content agrees with other accounts of the events of 1916. In the foreword of the book the publisher states that the book does not “purport to be a detailed or chronological history of the fight for independence but every effort has been made to obtain the fullest and the most accurate information about the incidents described” (The Kerryman p2) **Currency**: The book is archival material so it is not current but it is appropriate for our collection. **Authority of author and/ or publisher**: The publisher is from Tralee, Co. Kerry “ The Kerryman Ltd” and has got permission from “ The Irish Press Ltd” and “ The Catholic Bulletin” to include articles that were publishers at the time of the events. These publishers were well respected by the Irish people of the day. The publishers did not charge much for the book at the time because they wanted as wide an audience as possible; their mission was to tell the story of the events not to make a profit. The Kerryman Paper is still around today. **Ease of use:** As the book was published in the 1940s the print is quite small and difficult to read. The book is not easy to read as it is old and every part of available paper is covered with text, or historical illustrations. Although the text is cramped the book is still very inviting to anyone interested in the subject because of the unique content. **Arrangement of material**: The table of contents divides the chapters by chronological order giving the author and page number of each written piece. Each chapter is written by a different author and contains a story in its self, the chapters stand-alone or can be read together as a full account of the rising. As each chapter is written by a different author the styles vary from piece to piece. **Appropriateness:** I feel this book is very appropriate for our target audience because it is an in-depth account of the events that took place in the 1916 rising, written by the Volunteers. It is suitable for young and old alike as it was written for the public originally. It would also be very attractive to tourists because of its age and condition. **Format:** This book is a compilation of articles and historical illustrations of the 1916 rising over 244 pages of text. The font and style is quite small and compact, however the many illustrations of the men and scenes where events took place which is quite rare and hugely informative. **Cost:** The cost of the book is not known at this present time. To establish this, one would have to engage a specialist literature Auctioneer/Valuer to give the estimated market value. However, due to the unique style, historical value and collectable interest, the book could exceed the estimated value in an Antique Auction. It would be of historical value to the library.