Ruairi O' Cashel

Erin Go Bragh I: the Beginning 1969 - 1973 Ruairi O' Cashel

2016 will be the anniversary of the "1916 Easter Rising" The Irish Republic will commemorate the founding of Eire. But in the North of Ireland it will be different since six counties of the ancient Province of Ulster remain in the United Kingdom. The fiftieth anniversary of the 1916 Rising in 1966 set the stage for the Modern Troubles. Since 1999 there has been something of a peace, but what might the Centennial bring? Erin go bragh (Ireland Forever), tells the story of an Irish-American student, Rudy Castle, an graduate student in the UK, who becomes involved in the Troubles in part to uphold the honor of his family. Several women influence his decisions in Ireland: his mother, a Protestant woman, a Catholic schoolteacher and her sister. Castle builds an IRA legend for himself, gets a degree from Queen's University, and an Irish wife amid hectic events, eventually escaping back to America with his new spouce.