A first-hand account of the 1916 Rising and its aftermath brings alive the historic events that ushered in the beginnings of an independent Irish state.

A Londoner and a member of the Irish Volunteers, Joe Good guarded the approach across O'Connell Bridge as the rebels took the centre of Dublin. He joined the garrison in the GPO, and describes at first hand the events of insurrection: the confusion, the heroism, and the tragedy of Easter Week.

After the Rising, Joe Good worked as an organiser for the Volunteers. He was a close associate of Michael Collins and his portrait of Collins provides fresh insight into his character, his competitiveness, and how he related to his men. In 1918 Good was one of a handpicked team sent to London to assassinate members of the British cabinet, and here he gives the first full account to be published of this extraordinary expedition.

Joe Good, born in London in 1895, died in Dublin in 1962. He wrote his journal in 1946 for his son Maurice, who has now edited it for publication.