A Bloody Night: The Irish at Rorke’s Drift

The word Zulu means ’heaven,’ but for the suddenly besieged British garrison at Rorke’s Drift, it represented a hellish horde of warriors from the Zulu nation. A Bloody Night documents the terrifying struggle of these Irishmen as thousands of poorly armed but well-trained Zulus unexpectedly hurled themselves in a deadly onslaught against their hastily barricaded trading station and mission hospital. The battle, a defining clash in the 1879 Anglo-Zulu war, was a bare struggle for survival; the deeds and heroics of the Irish soldiers, subdued within the grand narrative, were no less exceptional than that of their English counterparts. Dan Harvey brings examples of their sheer resilience to the fore. The defense of Rorke’s Drift is a tale of courage in adversity against impossible odds; the little-known but significant role of these Irishmen is all the more intriguing for its unheralded heroism. [Subject: Military History, History, Irish Studies]