Publisher: Eastwood Books
Published: 2020
“The quality of writing and the pace of storytelling ensure that this is not a niche or specialist work of history. This is a compelling read. I wish I had written it myself.”
Paschal Donohoe, Minister for Finance
Crowdfunding the Revolution: The First Dáil Loan and the Battle for Irish Independence
In 1919, the revolutionary Irish government launched an audacious plan to finance a counter-state in open defiance of British rule in Ireland. Half the money was to be raised in Ireland and half in America. This start-up government was determined not only to replace the British administration in Ireland but also to implement its own industrial and financial policies, including establishing a national bank.
“Expertly chronicles the struggle of a revolutionary government to fund itself under the nose of a hostile British empire.”
Ronan McGreevy, Irish Times
It was imperative that the domestic funding campaign succeed. Without funds, the counter-state government would be doomed to failure. A financial ‘Ho Chi Minh Trail’ was established; couriers secretly began distributing three million promotional leaflets throughout the country and carrying subscriptions to Dublin. The money was laundered into bank accounts and converted into gold using a ‘gold exchange network’.
This is the untold history of the fight for the revolutionary government’s funds, the bank inquiry that shook the financial establishment and the first battle in the intelligence war.
“[He] has skillfully mined the documentary resources that have become accessible in the last thirty years…This is a very important book.”
Francis M. Carroll, Professor Emeritus
