Ireland and the Great War: A Social and Political History

277 Pages·2020·13.245 MB·English

by  Niamh Gallagher

IRELAND AND THE GREAT WAR
ii
IRELAND AND THE GREAT WAR
A Social and Political History
Niamh Gallagher
BLOOMSBURY ACADEMIC
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
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First published in Great Britain 2020
Copyright © Niamh Gallagher, 2020
Niamh Gallagher has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act,
1988, to be identified as Author of this work.
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of this copyright page.
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For John. That ‘story’ is now finished.
vi
CONTENTS
List of figures ix
List of maps, tables and charts x
List of abbreviations used in the text xi
List of abbreviations used in the notes xii
Preface xiv
Acknowledgements xv
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION 1
Contradictions 1
Irish civil society 6
The evidence 10
Chapter outline 13
Chapter 2
MEMORY, HISTORY AND THE GREAT WAR 17
Remembering and writing 1914 to 1918 17
Politics, apathy, and Irish nationalism 20
Reappraising the war 26
Chapter 3
IRISH WOMEN AND WAR-RELIEF ON THE HOME FRONT 31
War-relief across Ireland 31
War-work in Southern Ireland 37
War-work in Ulster 47
An all-Irish endeavour? 52
Chapter 4
THE WAR AT SEA: ENCOUNTERING THE GERMAN ‘ENEMY’ 61
Bringing Ireland within the war zone 61
Rural Ireland and ‘Black ‘47’ 73
Ireland’s ‘enemy’ 82
Chapter 5
GREATER IRELAND AND CATHOLIC LOYALISM 91
Moderate nationalism and the war 91
Irish Catholic loyalism 98
‘Ireland’s half million’ 107
Meeting Irish-Canada 113
viii Contents
Chapter 6
IRISH CATHOLICS, BRITAIN AND THE ALLIES 131
The ‘death of innocence’, 1914–15 131
Home Rule, recruitment and Britain, 1914–16 140
Politics, conscription and recruitment, 1916–18 148
A righteous defence 157
Chapter 7
CONCLUSION: IRELAND’S WAR? 171
Chapter 8
EPILOGUE: BEYOND AMNESIA 177
Notes 185
Bibliography 231
Index 246
FIGURES
1.1 Unveiling the Great War memorial in Cork, 1925 2
1.2 Mourners surround cross dedicated to the 16th (Irish) Division,
College Green, Dublin, Armistice Day, 1924 3
1.3 Armistice Day, Market Square, Longford, 1925 4
3.1 The Catholic Lord Mayor, Henry O’Shea, meets Belgian refugees
in Cork, 27 September 1914 36
3.2 Great grand-daughters of Daniel O’Connell serving in a nursing
capacity, IL, 20 June 1915 40
3.3 The Arklow and Avoca War Hospital Supply Depot, IL,
1 September 1916 42
3.4 Kerry No. 4 VAD, IL, 12 October 1917 43
3.5 Wounded men at the Dublin Castle Red Cross Hospital, IL,
5 January 1917 45
3.6 Treating the moss at the RCS Central Depot, Dublin, IL, 26 July 1918 54
4.1 Irish Independent artist’s impression of the sinking Lusitania.
The Union Jack is visible 65
4.2 Members of the Royal Irish Regiment dig graves in Queenstown.
Also published in II, 10 May 1915 68
4.3 The Catholic cemetery at Queenstown. The Bishop of Cloyne,
Robert Browne, is the prelate in white 69
4.4 Children lay ‘doll-like’ in morgues 69
4.5 Unknown woman awaiting identification 70
4.6 The extensive line of mourners. The Union Flag covers the coffin
on the first hearse 71
5.1 Archbishop Mannix accompanied by fourteen Irish-Australian
VC winners, 17 March 1920 100
5.2 Composite photograph of fourteen Irish-Australian VC winners,
presented to Lieutenant John Hamilton VC by Archbishop Mannix
on 17 March 1920 101
5.3 Recruitment and ‘unity’ in Irish-Canada 110
5.4 His Eminence Cardinal Logue with Officers of the Irish Canadians 119
5.5 The Catholic Irish Canadians arriving at Armagh Cathedral,
10 February 1917 120
5.6 The Irish Canadians in Belfast, The Illustrated London News,
10 February 1917 122
5.7 The Irish Canadians in Cork 123
5.8 Large crowds welcome the Irish Canadians outside Cork City Hall 124
5.9 Large crowds observe the Irish Canadians in Limerick 126
6.1 Recruitment meeting in Cork, IL, 8 October 1915 144
6.2 Protestant and Catholic Irish women dressed as the Allies in
Ballinrobe, Co. Mayo, IL, 29 January 1915 147