THIS second volume of  biographies of leading left-wing figures in or from 20th-century Ireland is a valuable follow-on from the first.

Its 12 essays fills a huge gap, given that much of history taught at school or fed via the media is about monarchs, generals, prime ministers, top politicians or celebrities, with the valuable contribution made by men and women in the trade union and labour movement invariably ignored or marginalised.

The lives of some of the selfless heroes of the working-class and progressive movements are illuminated and given their rightful place in the pubic record, among them  Rodney Bickerstaffe, Dominic Behan, banner-makers WL Reynolds, Thomas Kain and Jer O’Leary, trade unionist and politician Brendan Corish, Irish Labour Party politician Pat Devlin and Irish Workers League and Communist Party of Ireland member John Swift.

Unfortunately Mags O’Brien’s study of Sylvia Meehan is the only one of a woman, an issue that the editors are very much aware of. They say that have had great difficulty persuading women to contribute material and hopefully this can be corrected in future volumes.

They and Umiskin Press are to be congratulated for all the hard work that they have put into publishing this series, which offers those interested in Irish history and politics a valuable new resource.

Left Lives in 20th-century Ireland, Vol 2, edited by Francis Devine and Kieran Jack McGinley, is published by Umiskin Press, price £37.50.