Ex-Servicemen and their Place in Irish History

At the onset of the Great War southern Irishmen volunteered in large numbers and marched off accompanied by cheering crowds and the promise of a hero's welcome home. These volunteers, ordinary citizens from all walks of life, became embroiled in the carnage of the first war to be fought on an industrial scale and which affected all aspects of society. Many people today have relatives who were part of what became the largest military mobilisation of Irish manpower. Although within the recent past, the experiences of these soldiers, both during the war and in its aftermath, are often silent and forgotten memories. Attitudes to the ex-servicemen became influenced by the historiography of a republican Ireland and a litmus test of political attitudes. Ireland had long been defined by its ambiguous relationship with England – was it, like Scotland, part of a joint enterprise in building and maintaining a global empire, or a colony and, like India, a source of manpower to maintain British power? The dilemma was epitomised by the ex-servicemen. Were they heroes who as part of the United Kingdom aided their country in its time of need, or traitors who, as Ireland fought off the colonial yoke, wore the uniform of its enemy? This book examines the daily experiences of those Irish soldiers who returned to the part of Ireland that became the Free State, covering the years from the Armistice to 1939.

In 1916, whilst its soldiers fought in the British army, Ireland witnessed an insurrection, the Easter Rising, against British rule. Its violent suppression by the Crown Forces and the intended introduction of conscription changed Irish sentiment against the British Government and meant the soldiers returned to a much-changed Ireland with increased demands for an independent republic, rather than limited Home Rule. On 21 January 1919, the Dáil Éireann convened for the first time in Dublin. Republican Sinn Féin had secured an overwhelming majority with 73 seats in the general election of the preceding month. Instead of taking their seats in Westminster, they proclaimed their defiance of Britain by establishing an independent Irish parliament.