by Robert Kee
The Green Flag, now published in three separate volumes, is a compelling and remarkable work and certainly the most authoritative and revealing history of Irish nationalism ever written. Ourselves Alone, the third of the three volumes, concentrates on the eventful years of 1916-1923: the aftermath of the 1916 rebellion, the new Sinn Fein, the general election of December 1918, the troubles of 1919-21 and the creation of the Irish Free State.