{"title":"Donal Maccarron","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"view-from-above-book-donal-maccarron-9780862786625","title":"A View from Above","description":"Richard Crosby's ballooning exhibition in Ranelagh Gardens, Dublin in 1784 started a craze for aerial endeavour among the Irish. Even George Bernard Shaw got in on the act, viewing the ground through a hole in the basket, resulting in an early episode of air-sickness! After balloons came planes, and the success of the Wright Brothers was closely followed by a young Belfast mechanic, Harry Ferguson, whose monoplane flew distances of up to three miles. Harry later achieved fame as the developer of the famous Massey-Ferguson tractor.  By 1912 the Irish Sea had been successfully crossed in flight and the Irish Aero Clubs set up. In the lead up to World War 1, Ireland became a testing ground for the Royal Flying Corps and the first aerodromes were commissioned at the Curragh and Baldonnell. Later its successor, the RAF, arrived and became involved in operations against the IRA; US Navy flying boats based in Wexord, Bantry and Lough Foyle patrolled the Atlantic searching for German submarines. In 1922, a daring escape was planned for Michael Collins, then negotiating a peace deal with the British authorities, in a plane appropriately named 'The Big Fella'. With the coming of international and domestic peace, the race to conquer new heights and cover longer distances resumed, with transatlantic attempts and the success of the commander of Ireland's own Air Corps, James Fitzmaurice. Many other Atlantic attempts started from Ireland in the wake of this trailblazer.    As well as recording Irish achievement, the book also tells of the many planes which crashed on Irish soil during the wars, the landings of international aviation pioneers such as Alcock and Brown, and how the Irish skies were filled with German planes during the filming of The Blue Max and other war movies.    The story of Ireland's national airline, Aer Lingus, is told and the development of the modern airports under Aer Rianta. MacCarron also addresses the challenges that face Irish aviation in the future.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49561576276241,"sku":"GOR002431801","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0862786622.jpg?v=1751432658"},{"product_id":"letters-from-an-early-bird-life-and-letters-of-denys-corbett-wilson-1882-1915-book-donal-maccarron-9781844153824","title":"Letters from an Early Bird: Life and Letters of Denys Corbett Wilson 1882-1915","description":"This is the story of an early pioneer aviator who took to the air just a few years after the Wright Brothers proved that man was capable of controlled powered flight. Corbett Wilson (CW) was the only son of a wealthy family and was educated at Eaton from 1896 to 1899. He was commissioned into the Dorset Regiment and served in the South African War, by the end of which he had transferred to the Royal Artillery and became a Lieutenant in 1908. CW enrolled at the Bleriot Flying School at Pau in southern France and upon gaining his wings purchased a Bleriot XI aeroplane. Later he flew from Hendon Aerodrome and from there he made the first flight across the Irish Sea. When World War I loomed CW joined the military division of the newly formed  Royal Flying Corps and in August 1914 he took off from Dover for France with No. 3 Squadron. It is this point that the vividly written letters sent to his mother give an enthralling insight into the developing war and the early military use of aircraft in battle. He lasted just ten months before being shot down by enemy flack on 15 May 1915.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49567958368529,"sku":"GOR003266764","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53135915483409,"sku":"GOR007331021","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1844153827.jpg?v=1750866183"},{"product_id":"step-together-book-donal-maccarron-9780716526193","title":"Step Together","description":"Ireland adopted a neutrality policy during the Second World War which was locally known as The Emergency . At the outbreak of the war, Irish defence forces were in a poor state; hence the creation of the Emergency Army. This fully illustrated oral history is an anecdotal and often amusing account of the time based on the author s interviews with the men who served in The Emergency .","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49642266984721,"sku":"GOR003520435","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53201010622737,"sku":"GOR009550966","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0716526190.jpg?v=1751441371"},{"product_id":"silent-sentinels-book-donal-maccarron-9781845889234","title":"Silent Sentinels","description":"Looking back as far as the fifth century, and with a particular focus on the era of the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921, Silent Sentinels explores the significance of coastal forts in Ireland their histories, their defence strategies and their legacies. MacCarron takes us to Corks Forts Camden and Carlisle, which were so instrumental in the country's defence against France in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. He explores Berehaven and Lough Swilly, and discusses the intricate developments in coastal artillery that came about before the First World War.  The Anglo-Irish Treaty stated that the British Government could, at times of strained foreign relations, take control of Ireland's most prominent forts. Silent Sentinels charts the bloody power struggle that ensued, not forgetting what life was like within the forts, and the restoration initiatives of the 1980s. The combination of MacCarron's exhaustive research and engaging tone combine to make a fascinating history of military coastal defences.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49738080026897,"sku":"GOR009680149","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1845889231.jpg?v=1750930291"},{"product_id":"landfall-ireland-book-donal-maccarron-9781904242031","title":"Landfall Ireland","description":"During World War II, the Irish Free State was neutral, but both the Allies and the Axis powers violated Irish air space from time to time. This work is a detailed account of all such incidents between 1939 and 1945, including photographs of the aircraft involved.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50055089127697,"sku":"GOR002808375","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51528444903697,"sku":"GOR006194421","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1904242030.jpg?v=1751281470"},{"product_id":"irish-defence-forces-since-1922-book-donal-maccarron-9781841767420","title":"The Irish Defence Forces since 1922","description":"Born in the Civil War of 1922-23, the army of the Republic of Ireland occupied a sensitive place in the national culture for many years. In World War II (1939-1945), it faced the challenge of maintaining Ireland's integrity as neutral. Post-war, it found a new role in 1960, providing troops for the United Nations intervention in the war-torn Congo; and since then has supported UN missions in the Middle East and elsewhere. More recently the border with troubled Ulster has obliged the Republic to invest in reform and modernisation. Ireland's freedom to seek examples and equipment worldwide has created an interesting progression of uniforms, illustrated in this study of Ireland's forces over 80 years.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":50840296227089,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50840296554769,"sku":"GOR006757991","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53607872921873,"sku":"GOR003284755","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1841767425.jpg?v=1751217274"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-donal-maccarron.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}