Irishmen In The Great War

This pioneering study, first published in 1995, retains its rank as one of the most powerful histories ever written about Irish involvement in World War 1. This year, the centenary of the war, sees its timely re-publication as the Irishmen who fought in that war re-enter the national memory after decades of indifference and hostility. The gradual softening of attitudes over the last twenty years amid great historic change on the island of Ireland, is due in no small part to the efforts of historians, such as Myles Dungan, to tell thousands of forgotten stories. Drawing on the diaries, letters, literary works and oral accounts of soldiers, Myles Dungan tells some of the personal stories of what Irishmen, unionist and nationalist, went through during the Great War and how many of them drew closer together during that horror than at any time since. This volume deals with a selection of the most important battles and campaigns in which the three Irish Divisions participated.

Includes the First World War Illustrations Pack – 73 battle plans and diagrams and 198 photos “A classic. Lucy enlisted, with his brother in the RIR 1912, 2nd Bn. in France & gives a very fine account of the 1914-1915 campaign. His brother was killed at the Aisne & Lucy was eventually sent home for a rest: “My leave... was a nightmare. My sleep was broken & full of voices & the noises of war. The voices were those of officers & men who were dead... One morning was discovered standing up in bed facing a wall ready to repel an imaginary dawn attack.” Lucy was commissioned, returned to his bn. and fought at 3rd Ypres & Cambrai until wounded. John Lucy, an Irishman from Cork, enlisted in an Ulster regiment, The Royal Irish Rifles, with his younger brother in January 1912, and after six months at the Depot they joined the 2nd Bn in Dover. Subsequently they moved to Tidworth where the battalion was on 4 August 1914, in 7th Bde 3rd Division; ten days later they were in France. There follow brilliant accounts of Mons, Le Cateau and the retreat to the Marne, the turn of the tide and the Battle of the Aisne where his brother was killed. The battalion was involved in desperate fighting in front of Neuve Chapelle in October 1914, losing 181 killed in four days and virtually ceasing to exist, reduced to two officers and 46 men. Brought up to strength it suffered the same fate at First Ypres. This is a superb book, one of the best written by a ‘ranker’, all the better for being one of the very few to describe those early battles of 1914. As a critic wrote in 1938, ‘it is easily the best [war book] written by an Irishman’ - arguably still true. A great bonus is the description of life in the ranks in that long long ago just before the Great War.”-Print ed.

This pioneering study, originally published in 1992, remains the definitive history of the 16th (Irish) Division in the First World War. This year, the centenary of the outbreak of the war, sees its timely re-issue as the Irishmen who fought in that war re-enter the national memory after decades of indifference and hostility. Nearly 135,000 Irishmen volunteered and no less than three Irish divisions - the 10th (Irish), 16th (Irish) and 36th (Ulster) - were formed from Irishmen, Catholic and Protestant, who responded to Lord Kitchener's call to arms. An estimated 35,000 Irish-born soldiers were killed before the armistice came in November 1918. Over 4,000 of those died with the 16th (Irish) Division. In Ireland's Unknown Soldiers Terence Denman tells the powerful story of the Irish Division whose largely Catholic, nationalist composition encapsulated the complexities that surrounded Irish involvement in First World War. Denman recalls the sombre, compelling story of the lesser-known 16th (Irish) Division on the Western Front: gassed at Hulluch, victorious at Ginchy and Guillemont, the Division suffered heavy casualties in the carnage at the Somme, Messines Ridge and Passchendaele, before its final destruction in March 1918. Denman brings to life the extraordinary resilience and camaraderie of the men in the trenches and the tragedy of the thousands who made the ultimate sacrifice. This was the last chapter in the long history of the Catholic Irish soldier's contribution to the British army.

Fighting Irish is a meticulous and engaging account of the First World War from the perspective of the men of the Irish Regiments of the British Army, revealing the extent of the Irish military commitment to the Great War effort from 1914-1918. Startling and sympathetic matters, from campaign strategy to the soldiers’ intimate war experiences, are addressed with fascinating documentary evidence and poignant eye-witness accounts. Persisting humour and unexpected trials; mounting reputations and the mundane drudgery of routine military life – all is touched upon in the lives of these men, and undercut by the pervasive loss of life. Whether fighting at Ypres, the Somme, Gallipoli, Kostorino or Nablus, the story of the Irish Regiments is compelling and evocative, with reasons for enlistment as varied as the men themselves. Though entrenched in warfare, many minds were set on the increasing unrest at home, swaying their interests and shaping the communications they left to posterity. Fighting Irish defines the diverse backgrounds of all those who served with the Irish regiments in these years, recounting their deeds through exacting historical research within a gripping and affecting narrative.

IRELAND'S FORGOTTEN LEGACY In 1914-1918, two hundred thousand Irishmen from all religions and backgrounds went to war. At least thirty-five thousand never came home. An award-winning collection of veterans' stories as told by the families, with military records, surviving documents and letters.

Twenty-seven Irish newspapers for the period covering the Great War have been trawled through to deliver the amazing stories of those years which changed the world for ever. These are the accounts of local men at the front; of torpedoed ships; drunken wives; final letters and requests from the trenches. Also eye-witness accounts of the slaughter as it was happening; battle reports from officers serving in Irish regiments; quirky snippets; chaplains' sympathetic letters; P.o.W reports of conditions and war poetry. Here are the tales of the Leinster's, Munster's, Connaught's and Dublin Fusiliers serving in the Ulster Division, 10th and 16th Irish Divisions. We read of medical breakthroughs, paranormal occurrences and miraculous escapes from death. After the Irish Rebellion of April, 1916, these type of articles and casualty lists dwindled to very few as Irish hearts became divided.As featured on Tipp FM and in the Tipperary Star and Dungarvan Observer.

"This book, written by some of our leading historians, tells the story of the Great War in Irish history which saw over 200,000 Irish soldiers fighting. It relays the experience of ordinary Irish people during the war and chronicles the effect this war had, and still has, on Irish society. Soldiers in the trenches, volunteer nurses, politicians, women and the workforce are all examined. Archival letters, diaries, wills and illustrations are reproduced which document the pride, fear, anxiety and sorrow felt by soldiers, nurses, sweethearts, families and friends."--BOOK JACKET.

In Ireland's Call BBC journalist Stephen Walker charts the fascinating stories of 40 Irishmen who swapped the sports field for the battlefield - household names who gave up their blossoming careers to volunteer for the Great War. Using rare archive letters, memoirs and newspaper reports, this compelling book features the stories of sportsmen whose lives were tragically cut short in the mud of the Somme, the despair of Ypres and the heat of Gallipoli. It chronicles the remarkable achievements of Irish international footballers and rugby players, athletes, GAA stars, cricketers, hockey players and a record-breaking Irish champion golfer. A century on, their sacrifices and those of a generation of Irish sporting heroes, are finally and faithfully recorded in this unique and evocative account.