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Before the Dawn: An Autobiography New introduction and epilogue
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By: Gerry Adams
Publisher: O'Brien Press Ltd
Published: January 2017
Pages: 352
Categories: Society
Available as: Paperback
On sale at:
ISBN-13: 9781847179166
ASIN: 1847179169

'Gerry Adams offers his own unique, intimate account of the early years of his career, from his childhood in working-class Belfast to the more turbulent years of social activism that followed. Updated with new introduction and epilogue covering the huge changes in Irish society since the Good Friday Agreement. Covering the period up to the end of the hunger strikes in 1981, and first published as the Good Friday Agreement was finalised, this is the controversial autobiography of the man at the heart of Irish Republican politics. Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams offers a unique, intimate account of his childhood in working-class Belfast and the turbulent years of social activism that followed. First published in 1996 - at a time when politics in the North were at an impasse, and the Good Friday Agreement was still many intense months away - Before the Dawn tells of the pogroms of 1969 and the hunger strikes of 1981, moving from the streets of West Belfast to the cages of Long Kesh. An engaging and revealing self-portrait that is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand modern Ireland. Born in West Belfast in 1948 into a family with close ties to both the trade union and republican movements, his childhood, despite its material poverty, is described in glowing and humorous terms. For many years his voice was banned from radio and television by both the British and Irish governments, while commentators and politicians condemned him and all he stood for: but Gerry Adams could write and publish books to make his perspective understood. Before the Dawn is a unique inside account to the years of conflict, insurrection and bitter struggle which ensued when peaceful political agitation was met with hysterical reaction and the sectarian tinderbox of Britain's last colony erupted. From the pogroms of 1969 to the hunger strikes of 1981, from the streets of West Belfast to the cages of Long Kesh, his powerful memoir is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand

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