In 1918, during the final year of the First World War, the USN had a force of over 400 sailors and 22 officers and 4 Curtiss H16 seaplanes based in at Ferrybank, Wexford. The base was a veritable village with accommodation, hospital, medics, post office, YMCA Hall, radio towers, electricity generating plant and very large aircraft hangers. Although only operational for a limited period, its impact on the town of Wexford was considerable and its achievements in the global conflict were significant, protecting shipping, both naval and commercial, from the German u-boats. To mark the impending 100-year anniversary of this base, this book by local historian Liam Gaul recalls this often-overlooked aspect of Ireland’s involvement in the First World War.

Dear Reader, what follows is a tale filled with high adventure, mysterious intrigue and romantic entanglements written within the Golden Pages of the Book of Heaven! Intense with Romance and faithful to Fidelity, it is a tale of loving soul mates, star-crossed Destiny and endless devotion to Divine Sacrifice. It is a tale of the braves of all angels who have come to Earth armed with the shining swords of the Principles of Divinity - those guiding lights that inspire the deepest love in all of us, the heated desires that attract one soul to another, the endless dedication to a Sacred Devotion so intense that it shatters the mortal shell of human understanding! Dear Reader, as you venture into the twists and turns embedded within the following pages, leave behind all doubts about invisible kingdoms and guardian spirits, about forces of Nature and the powers of wind and rain and thunder clash, and allow your spirit to soar into the celestial realms where angelic voices ring strong and true with the gentle strains of intense cosmic love!

This book provides a much-needed historiographical overview of modern Irish History, which is often written mainly from a socio-political perspective. This guide offers a comprehensive account of Irish History in its manifold aspects such as family, famine, labour, institutional, women, cultural, art, identity and migration histories.