Hughes has done a remarkable job in bringing back to the general public's memory the role and life of one of the Easter Rising's most neglected executed leaders. He writes with pace, and has managed to present a dignified and worthy portrait of a man who strove to social justice and saw as a means to this end the establishment of an Irish republic, and eventually died for this belief. With Brian Hughes' biography, Michael Mallin steps out of the shadow of James Connolly, and firmly into the pantheon of Irish history
-- hereditasnexus.com
will inform the general reader, serve the Leaving Certificate student of modern Irish history well and would not go amiss in the hands of undergraduates ... further books in the series will do well to match these two and will be looked forward to by many
-- Dublin Review of Books
Hughes compellingly portrays a softly spoken music teacher and a dedicated family man with a strong sense of discipline whose commitment to violent insurrection robbed his pregnant wife of a husband and his four young children of a father
-- History Ireland
conscientious attention to detail evokes the man and the period
-- History Ireland
'written in an unfussy style, the book is consistent with the publisher's aim of providing 'meticulously researched yet accessible' biographies of the Easter Rising leaders between now and 2016
-- History Ireland
rescues Mallin from the long shadows cast by the Proclamation signatories
-- History Ireland
[an] assured biography, the first on its subject
-- History Ireland
interesting series
-- The Irish Catholic
insightful ... hopefully, other biographies in the O'Brien Press 1916 series meet the high standard set by Brian Hughes
-- Liberty
his last letter to his wife is moving in its intimacy ... the book is worth buying for the letter alone
-- Liberty
a great read and a credit to the author
-- Northside People
a remarkable series ... gives readers a valuable insight into the men who were executed for their part in the 1916 Rising
-- Northside People
'an entertaining, accurate and well-researched portrayal both of the man and the uprising'
-- Great Irish Books
'Two new series from Irish publishers are targeted more particularly at the 1916 Rising. The O'Brien Press offers the more structured series, 16 Lives, complete with attractive marketing materials and a high profile launch in the GPO in Dublin'
-- Irish Publishing News
'an epic new series of books ... O'Brien Press is first off the 1916 centenary mark with 16 Lives ... it is early days but 16 Lives has set the bar for the run into 2016'
-- RTE Guide
'This book does a fine job in unearthing the details of Mallin's activity as a trade unionist'
-- Red Banner Magazine
'part of a series which bids fair to lift the lid on a few others executed in 1916 and little known since'
-- Red Banner Magazine
'an excellent biography'
-- Red Banner Magazine
'Brian Hughes offers a vivid insight into a forgotten figure'
-- irishcentral.com
Brian Hughes helps bring an unfairly neglected figure of Irish history alive on the page
-- irishcentral.com
