Erskine Childers
Robert Erskine Childers was an Irish nationalist and author best known for his novel The Riddle of the Sands.
Born to a British scholar, he served in the Boer War and World War I. Childers became involved in Irish politics, smuggling guns to Ireland in his yacht.
His shift from British loyalist to Irish nationalist led to his execution by the Irish Free State during the Civil War in 1922.
Childers' son later became the fourth President of Ireland.
His life was marked by adventure, political activism, and a controversial end that reflected the complex Anglo-Irish relations of his time.
