The Young Rebels

With the centenary of the Easter Week of Dublin 1916 only some ten years away, there is already – at least here in Ireland – quite animated discussion as to how, if at all, the event should be remembered. The political circumstances which formed the background to the week’s happenings are so complex and their legacy so much disputed that it is an ambitious undertaking to attempt to encapsulate them within the narrative of a children’s novel. Llywelyn’s The Young Rebels tackles the problem by presenting the dramatic events through the eyes of 11-year-old John Joe, a pupil at St Enda’s, the progressive school run by Padraic Pearse, the key figure behind what is generally referred to as the Easter Rising. While the Pearse of real life was almost certainly more enigmatic and more multi-faceted than he appears here, Llywelyn captures very touchingly the altruistic idealism which was the source not only of his own inspiration but of the devotion which fired his followers. John Joe, initially disappointed that his age apparently precludes him from playing the full role he wishes for in the Rising, is among the most enthusiastic of these followers. His dreams of participation in the struggle for Irish Independence are eventually fulfilled and he ends his story by stating his determination to do his best to prove in the years ahead that the sacrifice made by Pearse and his compatriots ‘was worth it’. Ninety years on, it is fascinating to speculate how those seven men who signed the Proclamation of Independence would view the Ireland of today and their part in its evolution. It is not the least tribute to Llywelyn’s novel that it will contribute significantly to the debate.