On 4 August 1914 following the outbreak of European hostilities, large sections of Irish Protestants and Catholics rallied to support the British and Allied war efforts. Yet less than two years later, the Easter Rising of 1916 allegedly put a stop to the Catholic commitment in exchange for a re-emphasis on the national question. In Ireland and the Great War Niamh Gallagher draws upon a formidable array of original research to offer a radical new reading of Irish involvement in the world's first total war. Exploring the 'home front' and Irish diasporic communities in Canada, Australia, and Britain, Gallagher reveals that substantial support for the Allied war effort continued largely unabated not only until November 1918, but afterwards as well. Rich in social texture and with fascinating new case studies of Irish participation in the conflict, this book has the makings of a major rethinking of Ireland's twentieth century.

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.

The first full-length study to explore the impact of the Great War on the lives of women in Ireland. Fionnuala Walsh examines women's mobilisation for the war effort, and the impact of the war on their employment opportunities, family and domestic life, social morality and politicisation.

This volume brings together new research whilst re-evaluating older assumptions about the immediate and continuing impact of World War I on Ireland. It explores some lesser-known aspects of Ireland’s war years as well as including studies of more traditional areas. Individual articles cover military, social, cultural, political, and economic aspects of the Great War, as well as reflecting on continuity and change within Irish historiography. In doing so, they analyze how the experience and memory of the War have contributed to identity formation and the legitimization of political violence.

This book gives a unified picture of Ireland's experience of the First World War.

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.

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.

Where previous histories of Ireland in the war years have focused on high politics, That Neutral Island mines deeper layers of experience. Stories, letters, and diaries illuminate this small country as it suffered rationing, censorship, the threat of invasion, and a strange detachment from the war.

"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.