Women of 'Ninety-Eight by Mrs. Thomas Concannon

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Women of 'Ninety-Eight by Mrs. Thomas Concannon

(7 User reviews) 1047

By Matthew Garcia Posted on Mar 18, 2026

In Category - Intellectual Writing

Authors: Concannon, Thomas, Mrs., 1878-1952 Published By : Concannon, Thomas, Mrs., 1878-1952

Book Language: English

Hey, have you ever wondered what it was really like for the women on the sidelines of a major historical event? You know, the wives, sisters, and mothers of the famous figures? That's exactly what I found in 'Women of 'Ninety-Eight.' It's not your typical history book about the 1798 Rebellion in Ireland. This one turns the spotlight around. Instead of focusing on the men on the battlefield, Mrs. Thomas Concannon dug through letters, diaries, and family stories to show us the women who held everything together. Think about it: while the men were fighting, these women were running farms, hiding rebels, facing down soldiers, and living in constant fear. The book asks a simple but powerful question: What does a revolution look like from the kitchen window? It’s a collection of real, raw stories about courage, loss, and quiet resistance. If you're tired of history that only tells one side of the story, this is a fascinating and often heartbreaking correction. It adds a whole new layer to a period I thought I knew.

File: Women of 'Ninety-Eight by Mrs. Thomas Concannon

Most of us know the basics of the 1798 Rebellion in Ireland—the battles, the famous leaders like Wolfe Tone, the fight for independence. 'Women of 'Ninety-Eight' does something different. It tells the story from the other side of the front door.

The Story

This isn't a novel with a single plot. Instead, it's a collection of true accounts, pieced together by Mrs. Thomas Concannon in the early 1900s. She acts like a detective, finding stories that were almost lost. We meet women like Betsy Gray, who fought and died alongside the rebels, but also countless unnamed women. We see mothers who sent their sons off to fight, not knowing if they'd return. We read about wives who kept their families alive while their husbands were in hiding or in prison. The 'story' is the daily reality of a country at war, told through the eyes of those who were supposed to stay out of it. It's about smuggling messages in a loaf of bread, tending to wounded men in secret, and the terrible wait for news that might never come.

Why You Should Read It

This book changed how I see history. It's easy to get caught up in dates and strategies, but this brings the human cost into sharp, painful focus. These women weren't passive bystanders; they were active participants in the survival of their families and the rebellion itself. Their courage wasn't always loud—sometimes it was the quiet courage of saying nothing to a soldier at your door. Concannon writes with clear respect for her subjects. She doesn't sensationalize; she just presents their experiences, and that makes them all the more powerful. You finish the book not just knowing more about 1798, but feeling the weight of it. It reminds you that behind every grand historical narrative are thousands of individual, untold stories.

Final Verdict

Perfect for readers who love history but want to see beyond the generals and the politics. If you enjoyed books like 'The Radium Girls' or 'Hidden Figures' that recover forgotten stories, you'll appreciate this deep dive into Ireland's past. It's also a great pick for anyone interested in women's history or social history. Fair warning: it's a sobering read at times, but an incredibly important one. It doesn't just add women to the history of 1798—it shows how the history of 1798 is incomplete without them.