Dead Republic, the

Dead Republic, the

We last saw Henry Smart, his leg severed in an accident with a railway boxcar, crawl into the Utah desert to die - only to be discovered by John Ford, who&#39;s there shooting his latest Western.<br /> <br /> The Dead Republic opens in 1951. Henry is returning to Ireland for the first time since his escape in 1922. With him are the stars of Ford&#39;s latest film, John Wayne and Maureen O&#39;Hara, and the famous director himself, who has tried to suck the soul out of Henry and turn it into Hollywood gold-dust.<br /> <br /> Ten years later Henry is in Dublin, working in Ratheen as a school caretaker. When he is caught in a bomb blast, he loses his leg for the second time. He is claimed as a hero, and before long Henry will discover he has other uses too, when the peace process begins in deadly secrecy...