This volume describes the contributions of Irish volunteers during WWII. Doherty (affiliation not cited) recounts the experiences of infantry soldiers, sailors with the merchant marine, artillery gunners, pilots, civilians, and prisoners of war. Coverage extends to the stories of those few who allied themselves with Hitler, including Edward Joyce (Lord Haw Haw). The volume is illustrated with 60 bandw photographs of people and places. It is distributed by Taylor and Francis. c. Book News Inc.
This volume of essays on the social, political and military history of Ireland during the Second World War explores the Irish contribution to the Allied cause, in particular the role and experience of Irish men and women who served in the British armed forces during the war. Also covered is the history of Northern Ireland during the war period, as are apsects of the post-war historiography of Irish involvement in the Allied struggle.
The First World War had an enormous impact on Ireland. Over 240,000 Irish men and women volunteered to serve with the Allied forces, suffering almost 40,000 casualties. The Irish contribution to the air war remains overlooked, not just in Ireland, but also by historians generally. Although just 6,000 Irish served with the Allied flying services at a cost of 500 casualties, their impact was out of all proportion to their numbers. The contribution of Irish aces of the RFC and RAF to the Allied cause was enormous, just over thirty of whom accounted for 400 enemy aircraft. Irishmen such as Mannock, McElroy and Hazell were among the highest-scoring pilots of the war. Some were revered by their men, others were controversial figures – reckless with their own lives and those under their command – but many of their stories remain untold. This book seeks to restore all those who were written out of Irish history, while also providing for their achievements to be considered in the overall context of the first air war. Illustrations: 24 black-and-white photographs
The story of the Irishmen who deserted from the Irish Army to join the Allies in the struggle against fascism and Nazism during the Second World War, has been kept secret for over half a century. These men fought, and sometimes died, in some of the bloodiest battles of the war. And after the war they were all Court Martialed, even the dead. This meticulously researched book tells the story of the men who fought for freedom but were vilified after death. It tells the story of men like Joseph Mullally who died on D-Day, 6 June 1944, fighting with the British Army on the beaches of Normandy, a year before his court-martial. And Stephen McManus who’d already suffered torture and starvation whilst being worked to death in a Japanese prisoner of war camp. Gerry O’Neill risked his life with the newly formed Irish Navy, rescuing wounded British soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk And Nicholas McNamara volunteered to serve with RAF Bomber Command knowing it meant almost certain death. The freedoms and democratic rights we enjoy today were earned by men like these, who fought, and sometimes died, on the home front and the battlefields of World War II. The deserters from the Irish Army, who joined the Allied struggle, faced the horrors of the bloodiest war in mankind’s bloodstained history. Their stories are now told, in meticulous detail, in Spitting on a Soldier’s Grave.
Osprey's examination of the Irish Regiments and their involvement in World War I (1914-1918) and World War II (1939-1945). The tens of thousands of Irish soldiers who fought in the British Army in World War I gained a fierce fighting reputation, distinguishing themselves at Ypres, Gallipoli, the Somme, and Palestine. On the first day of the Somme, only three divisions succeeded in achieving their objectives: the seizure of the Schwaben Redoubt by the Ulster brigade, against all the odds, vividly demonstrated how this reputation was won. Despite the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922, Irishmen continued to volunteer for the British Army in World War II. Again, their war record was distinguished; units included the famous 38th Irish Brigade who fought in North Africa and Italy, and the Irish Guards who won a total of two Victoria Crosses, 33 Military Crosses, and 90 other military medals. Providing the first concise, illustrated history of the Irish Regiments in both World Wars, this book covers their uniforms and insignia, as well as battle histories and proud service records.
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.
Receiving widespread critical acclaim when first published,Ireland 1798-1998 has been revised to include coverage ofthe most recent developments. Jackson’s stylish and impartialinterpretation continues to provide the most up-to-date andimportant survey of 200 years of Irish history. A new edition of this highly acclaimed history of Ireland,reflecting both the very latest political developments and growthof scholarship Jackson provides a balanced and authoritative account of thecomplex political history of modern Ireland Draws on original research and extensive reading of the latestsecondary literature Jackson provides an impressive treatment of events coupled withflowing narrative, delivered analytically and elegantly
On Easter Monday, between 1,000 and 1,500 Irish Volunteers and members of the Irish Citizen Army seized the General Post Office and other key locations in Dublin. The intention of their leaders, including Patrick Pearse and James Connolly, was to end British rule in Ireland and establish an independent thirty-two county Irish republic. For a week battle raged in the Irish capital until the Rising collapsed. The rebel leaders were executed soon afterwards, though in death their ideals quickly triumphed. lluminating every aspect of that fateful Easter week, The Easter Rising is based on an impressive range of original sources. It has been fully revised, expanded and updated in the light of a wealth of new material and extensive use has been made of almost 2,000 witness statements that the Bureau of Military History in Dublin gathered from participants in the Rising. The result is a vivid depiction of the personalities and actions not just of the leaders on both sides but the rank and file and civilians as well. The book brings the reader closer to the events of 1916 than has previously been possible and provides an exceptional account of a city at war.
