SeÃ¡n Cole had just completed an apprenticeship as a tinsmith at Dockrellâ€™s on South Great Georgeâ€™s Street the previous Thursday. The young men were members of Fianna Ã‰ireann, which was opposed to the Treaty. Both had been shot four times in the head. On Saturday 26th August the bodies of SeÃ¡n Cole aged 19 from Lower Buckingham Street, and Alfred Colley aged 21 from Parnell Street were found dumped in Yellow Lane, between Whitehall and Santry.

Just days after the death of Michael Collins on 22nd August 1922 during a military engagement in west Cork, Pro-Treaty troops exacted revenge on two young men from Dublinâ€™s north inner city.

*** 'A remarkable life.faithfully recorded and explained in Sean Boyne's fine book.driven by evidence rather than sentiment, nostalgia or hero tailed, moving and gripping.August 1922: Two young men from Dublin's North Inner City murdered in reprisal for the death of Michael Collins? An attractive and high-achieving figure in Irish life, in war and peace, Emmet Dalton's heroism allowed him to live his many lives to the full, and this compelling book does justice to a figure who will captivate all those interested in modern Irish history and the birth of the state. Dalton was the first Senate Clerk, and he became a pioneer of the Irish film world, founding Ardmore film studios and establishing the Irish film industry. In this expansive biography, author Sean Boyne vividly portrays Emmet Dalton's experiences and the vital role he played in the politics and wars that created the independent Irish state. He then masterminded and led the audacious seaborne landings and successful recapture of Cork City and 'Munster Republic' from Anti-Treaty forces, yet was ultimately traumatized when Collins died in his arms at Beal na Blath. In the civil war that followed, Dalton oversaw the bombardment of the Four Courts, personally manning an 18-pounder artillery gun. Soon after befriending Collins and becoming his close confidante, Dalton accompanied Collins to the Treaty talks in London in 1921. A decorated hero of the Battle of the Somme, Dalton returned from World War I with the rank of Captain and transferred his military expertise to the now rampant IRA, serving as Director of Training and greatly impressing Michael Collins with his extraordinary daring and nerve.

This is the first-ever biography of Emmet Dalton - an American-born Dubliner, Home Ruler, and later Republican - whose extraordinary military career as a British officer, Irish Republican Army (IRA) leader, and General in the Free State army brought him from Flanders to Beal na Blath.

Emmet Dalton by Sean Boyne