FREE ESSAY ON 1916 BY MORGAN LLYWELYN

1916 BY MORGAN LLYWELYN

President Ben Mitchell
1916 by Morgan Llywelyn
Morgan Llywelyn was born in New York City; her parents were Irish and Welsh-Irish. 
She is an Irish citizen and lives in Ireland year round. The majority of her books cover
Ireland 
and Irish history. Ms. Llywelyn is the only woman to have walked the entire length and
width of Ireland. 
Ned Halloran is on the Titanic with his mother and father. They are going to his sister
Kathleen's wedding. Onboard the ship, Ned meets Dan Duffy, and they become friends. When
the ship begins to sink, Duffy and Ned are separated. After a long while, Ned jumps
overboard. He was one of 675 survivors brought to New York on the Carpathia.
Meanwhile, in New York, Kathleen hears of the disaster through her fiance Alexander
Campbell. Alexander worked for the White Star Line, the company that owned the Titanic.
Kathleen is very worried about her family. She finds her brother's name, but not her
parents' names, on a list of survivors.
While in New York, Ned was so taken aback by the tragedy that he cannot take in the
sounds and sights of America. He is shell-shocked by the greatest experience of his life
so far. Ned finally builds up the inner courage to go back to Ireland. He is in horrible
shape. The Titanic tragedy had really affected the way he chose to look at life.
When Ned returns to Ireland, he takes it upon himself to tell Dan Duffy's family that
they lost a son and brother aboard the Titanic. While in Dans' home county of Clare, Ned
meets Dan's sister, Sile, Irish for Cecilia. Ned is taken away with her beauty. When Ned
arrives at his family's farm, he stays in bed for weeks in order to recuperate from his
terrible experience. He then talks to his parish priest, and the priest recommends that
Ned go to school. The priest sent Ned to Lord Inchiquin, the man who will pay for his
education.
The school Ned decides to attend is Saint Edna's in Rathfarnham near Dublin. The leader
of the school is Patrick Pearse. On his way to Dublin from County Clare, Ned meets Henry
Mooney. Mooney is a reporter for The Independent, an Irish newspaper. Mooney gives Ned
his address and tells Ned to come and see him when he is in Dublin. On the way from
Dublin to Rathfarnham, Ned becomes painfully aware of his commonness. When Ned arrives at
Saint Edna's School, Patrick Pearse greets him. He is told that he will soon learn the
language of his ancestors, Gaelic/Irish. 
Back in America, Ned's sister Kathleen is very homesick. Kathleen is also jealous of her
husband's involvement in the Freemasons. She begins to go to Mass frequently. Kathleen's
priest is Father Paul O'Shaughnessy. Kathleen immediately falls in love with Father Paul.
At the same time in Ireland, Ned is learning Irish, and he is developing a newfound love
for his homeland.
At this time, Alexander Campbell is very mad with his wife Kathleen. One night he rapes
her. Kathleen is so ashamed, she stays in bed for a couple of days. During this time, her
housewife cares for her. In Ireland Ned has become very good friends with Henry Mooney,
the reporter. One evening while they are about town, Ned spots Sile Duffy. He talks to
her, and Henry tells Ned to leave Sile alone. Henry then treats Sile as if she were
inhuman.
One Sunday while walking in Dublin, Ned sees a protest. He goes to watch the protest, and
then British troops fire upon the crowd. Ned sees a mother drop her child. He picks the
child up and takes her to an orphanage. The shooting becomes known as "The Bachelor's
Walk Massacre." Ned joins the Irish volunteers after the shooting. On a training exercise
the men go to the ocean thinking it is just an aquatic training mission, but this is a
trip to obtain Mauser rifles from a German supplier. On the way home, a British
detachment tries to get the rifles, but many of the men hide their rifles. Ned hid his
rifle in a barn. When Ned goes back with Sile to get his rifle, Sile revels to him that
she is a prostitute. Ned is taken aback by this. When they reach the barn, his rifle is
gone. They go into the farmhouse to see if it was moved, but it was nowhere to be found.
Ned and Sile have sex in the farmhouse.
Ned meets Tom Clarke, a fierce Irish patriot, and Sean MacDermott, an Irish leader.
During this time, there is much turmoil in Ireland. On one day in April, the Irish
Republican Army overthrows the General Post Office in Dublin. This becomes the
headquarter for the "rising." The Irish Republican Army raises an Irish flag over the
Post Office. Some of the important people who have strongholds are Michael Collins, Eamon
de Valera, and Joe Plunkett.
The "rising" lasted for about a week, with Patrick Pearse being the man who orders the
Irish Republican Army surrender. For his part in the so-called "Easter Rebellion," Pearse
is executed along with at least fifteen others. 
At the end of the book, Ned goes to Saint Edna's School. He sees Sile along with the
orphan girl at the top of the stairs. Sile says, "We've been searching for you
everywhere."
THE END