The narrative delves into the experiences of the Irish Regiments in the British Army during World War I, highlighting their significant contributions and diverse backgrounds. It explores campaign strategies alongside personal accounts that reveal the soldiers' humor, trials, and the harsh realities of military life, all amidst the backdrop of immense loss. The book captures their motivations for enlistment and the impact of domestic unrest on their experiences, offering a compelling and well-researched portrayal of their roles in key battles like Ypres and the Somme.
Fighting Irish is a meticulous and engaging account of World War I 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 humor, 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. *** Librarians: ebook available on ProQuest and EBSCO [Subject: History, Irish Studies, Military Studies, World War I]
At the outbreak of the Great War, the regiments of Ulster already boasted a proud tradition. The ‘Skins’, the ‘Inniskillings’, the ‘Faughs’ and the ‘Rifles’ had all fought with distinction from Waterloo to South Africa. In August 1914, the number of Northern Irish infantry battalions stood at just thirteen, six of which were Regular units. By November 1918, this had increased to forty-six infantry battalions, thirty of which had been deployed in the spiralling conflict overseas. Of this number, an incredible twenty-four battalions were raised from volunteers. This book gives a concise thematic account of the complex experiences of the Northern Irish regiments at war, whether they served in the quagmire of the Western Front, the dusty slit-trenches of Gallipoli and Salonica or the baking heat of the Holy Land. Above all, it tells the story of the fighting men themselves. Whether they were veteran Regulars, apolitical volunteers or men who had drilled and marched with the Ulster Volunteer Force or the Irish National Volunteers, they were all swept into the maelstrom of ‘total war’. This study provides a richly detailed analysis of the role played by the Ulster regiments in a conflict which shattered the old world order forever.
