Dublin, 1921. The Irish War of Independence comes to a head, in a conflict that will pit Irishman against Irishman, brother against brother . . .
Stephen Ryan, an Irishman who fought for the British in the trenches, is sent to London where negotiations are beginning. He leaves behind his brother, Joe, who has been jailed for his actions in the IRA. There are those on both sides who would see the Treaty fail and Stephen soon finds himself beset by problems – a legal dispute, a blackmail attempt, even a plot to assassinate Winston Churchill.
This is a story about two brothers, played out against the political and military upheavals that racked Ireland in the 1920s. The Anglo–Irish Treaty brings the war with the British to a close, but a new war is emerging and Stephen finds himself once more called upon as a soldier. Assassinations and guerrilla warfare are the backdrop to the call to arms, as both sides attempt to force a new order.
PRAISE FOR ALAN MONAGHAN 'A stirring tale of love, courage, betrayal and redemption ... Monaghan spins a good yarn and this entertaining mix of history, adventure and romance features cameos from Collins, DeValera and the Cairo gang. It all neatly sets up volume three, which should be another blast' RTE Ten 'Monaghan is at his best when he veers ... into Bernard Cornwell territory. His descriptions of action are lucid and exciting, evoking the tension of the cat-and-mouse manoeuvres of snipers, and simplifying the chaos of small-scale skirmishes ... Entertaining' Sunday Times Ireland 'An impressive achievement ... a cleanly written, well paced and confident narrative ... a skilfully told historical saga' Irish Independent 'A beautifully written, objective tale of one man's war ... Devoid of rants against the High Command and armchair generals, and with the interwoven love story remaining understated, The Soldier's Song is a view of a changing world gone mad, and will stay with me for a long time' Daily Mail 'Monaghan is an engaging writer -- he won the 2002 Hennessy New Irish Writing award for the short story upon which The Soldier's Song is based -- and this is a well-paced and immensely readable novel' Irish Times 'Mr Monaghan is a talented storyteller, and infuses a well-worn tale with fresh life ... The clean, terse prose is masterful in setting the novel's breakneck pace, the vivid scenes keep the reader's attention, and, at times, the book truly captivates. The result is a neat closure to a highly successful saga, but suggests that there is so much more to come from a writer of considerable ambition' Billy O'Callaghan, Irish Examiner 'Impressive ... The Soldier's Song is a fine story well told' Evening Herald 'As with Faulks, Monaghan can expect comparisons to Barker, not least because he plans to write several books in this series. Based on this engaging, unsentimental debut, he'll deservedly find a wide readership' Sunday Business Post 'The history, plot and characters are deftly handled and it's well written, engaging and highly readable. And the Dublin setting obviously gives it great potential to be the first bestseller of 2010 for us' Bob Johnstone, owner of The Gutter Bookshop in Dublin, Bookseller 'It's a great story ... accessible, interesting and incredibly well written ... The Soldier's Song speaks as a welcome new voice in Irish writing' theladylovesbooks.blogspot.com
