‘Rebels to Reels – A biography of Combat Cameraman Daniel A. McGovern USAF’ is the fascinating true-life story of the Carrickmacross man who filmed the immediate aftermath footage of the atomic bombs in the ruins of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The son of a sergeant of the Royal Irish Constabulary, Dan McGovern was born in Monaghan Town but spent his boyhood years in Carrickmacross. The biography in part, contains McGovern’s fascinating eyewitness accounts of the Irish War of Independence in South Monaghan including his recollections of riding on Crossley Tender lorries with the infamous Black and Tans. He also witnessed the foundation of the Irish Free State one hundred years ago this year before the McGovern family emigrated to the United States where he later chose a photographic career in the US military.
McGovern eventually became Photographer/Cameraman to U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt before training the very first combat cameramen of World War 2 in Hollywood, California for the United States Army Air Forces. He flew and filmed on perilous B-17 bombing missions from England over Nazi occupied Europe in 1943 before deploying to the Pacific where he eventually filmed throughout a defeated Japan. After the war he was even involved in the Roswell UFO incident. The full story of Dan McGovern’s remarkable life is contained within the pages of ‘Rebels to Reels’ with the first five of the book’s twenty-four chapters focusing on Dan McGovern as he grew up in Carrickmacross. To see the films either shot by or under the direction of Dan McGovern plus additional material and updates visit the book’s companion website rebelstoreels.com.
Journalist turned author, Joseph McCabe wrote this highly researched, 450-page three-part 
biography over many years after initially meeting and interviewing Dan McGovern when he returned to Carrickmacross in 1999. “In all my years in journalism it is my interview with Dan which I remember most fondly,” Joe told ‘carrickmacross.ie’. “He was proud to be a Carrickmacross man and the compelling story of his involvement in so many world historical events just simply had to be told. It’s fitting that his remarkable story is now being read all over the world,” Joe concluded.
‘Rebels to Reels’ is now available at a Special Promotion price. It will be in many bookshops over the coming weeks and can be pre-ordered in the meantime. The book is available online now from Amazon Books worldwide in paperback (€19.99), hardback (€25.00) and eBook formats (€9.99). Due to Brexit some issues are being experienced ordering physical books from Amazon.co.uk but the eBook can still be downloaded as normal. As an alternative here’s the Amazon.de (Germany) link to ‘Rebels to Reels’ in English: https://www.amazon.de/-/en/JosephMcCabe/dp/1739800907/ref=sr_1_2?crid=NV557NAU4QOU&keywords=rebellt+zu+rollen&qid=1650023234&sprefix=rebels+to+reels%2Caps%2C67&sr=8-2
