Beginning lines of an Irish historical novel trilogy

Beginning

The moon shone fitfully through the clouds.  It was piercingly cold.  The waters of the Boyne carried slabs of ice towards the sea.  The heights outside the walls, beyond the Mill Mount, were covered with a white hooar frost, so that they seemed to be part of the fortifications. 

The men moved cautiously through the orchard, putting each canvas-covered foot carefully on the frozen ground, their weapons gripped tightly in their hands . . .

Seek the Fair Land ~ by Walter Macken, 1959, historical fiction (Ireland), 338 pages

It is 1649.  As the English soldiers trample the Irish homesteads, leaving behind them a trail of barbarity and destruction, a few brave men set out to seek a 'fair land' over the brow of the hill.  Among them is Dominick MacMahon, whose wife has been killed in the bloody massacre of Drogheda, and whose son and daughter, and a wounded priest, Father Sebastian, accompany him.  But as he journeys in search of peace and freedom he is relentlessly pursued by Coote, the Cromwellian ruler of Connaught.

The Silent People ~ by Walter Macken, 1962, historical fiction (Ireland), 370 pages

In Ireland in 1826 millions knew only famine, oppression and degradation.  The landlords ground down the tenant famers; tithe wars and injustice were rife.  But Dualta Duane battles against tyranny, struggling to survive the evils of hunger, poverty and disease.  Courageous and fortified by an enduring love, Duane's unconquerable spirit personifies the love of freedom that raged in the soul of Ireland.

The Scorching Wind ~ by Walter Macken, 2014, historical fiction (Ireland), 322 pages

This is a vivid and memorable novel set in Dublin, 1916, during the Easter Rebellion and the bitter years which followed.  Through the diverging lives of two young brothers the agony of Ireland during these harrowing times is witnessed.  It is the time of the Sinn Fein, of the dreaded Tans, of terrible deeds, and of loyalties strained to breaking-point and beyond.

I thought I had gotten these titles from Colleen's blog Loose Leaf Notes, but now I can't find it.  The books look interesting, so I plan to read them anyway.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts

Book Beginnings on Fridays.