Dead Bird in the Weeds

Birds no longer live in the trees.

They lie dead in the weeds. According to the ancient Irish tradition, the wren would command the birds and the king would become the pauper for one glorious day. In order for life to be restored to its original state, the wren must be hunted and slain. Dead Bird in the Weeds relates the tale of trodden people rising as wrens to win freedom from the tyranny of England during the 1798 Rebellion in Ireland. This is the story of one such wren named Aisling Doran, a peasant in Wexford, Ireland. Compelled by the murder of her father, the loss of her faith, and the yearning of her being to end the anguish she must endure, this daring young woman joins the United Irishmen. Throughout the fields, hills, meadows, and mountains, she and her revolutionary family wage war for liberty. During this fight for Irish independence, Aisling discovers the courage to love, to die, and most important, to live.