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For the first time, Richard S. Grayson tells the story of the Dubliners who served in the British military and in republican forces during the First World War and the Irish Revolution as a series of interconnected 'Great Wars'. He charts the full scope of Dubliners' military service, far beyond the well-known Dublin 'Pals', with as many as 35,000 serving and over 6,500 dead, from the Irish Sea to the Middle East and beyond. Linking two conflicts usually narrated as separate stories, he shows how Irish nationalist support for Britain going to war in 1914 can only be understood in the context of the political fight for Home Rule and why so many Dubliners were hostile to the Easter Rising. He examines Dublin loyalism and how the War of Independence and the Civil War would be shaped by the militarisation of Irish society and the earlier experiences of veterans of the British army.
For the first time, Richard S. Grayson tells the story of the Dubliners who served in the British military and in republican forces during the First World War and the Irish Revolution as a series of interconnected 'Great Wars'. He charts the full scope of Dubliners' military service, far beyond the well-known Dublin 'Pals', with as many as 35,000 serving and over 6,500 dead, from the Irish Sea to the Middle East and beyond. Linking two conflicts usually narrated as separate stories, he shows how Irish nationalist support for Britain going to war in 1914 can only be understood in the context of the political fight for Home Rule and why so many Dubliners were hostile to the Easter Rising. He examines Dublin loyalism and how the War of Independence and the Civil War would be shaped by the militarisation of Irish society and the earlier experiences of veterans of the British army.
Introduction; 1. Prelude: Dublin and conflict, 1899–1914; 2. Dublin goes to war; 3. Outbreak, 1914; 4. Stalemate, 1915; 5. Gallipoli: Helles; 6. Gallipoli: Suvla Bay; 7. Preparations; 8. Rising; 9. Falling; 10. Consequences; 11. The Other 1916; 12. Success on the Somme; 13. Snow and sand; 14. Attrition: 1916–17; 15. Learning; 16. Victory from the jaws of defeat; 17. War of Independence; 18. Crossovers; 19. Civil war; 20. Peace; 21. Commemoration; Conclusion: three men.
The story of the Dubliners who served in the British military and in republican forces during the First World War and the Irish Revolution.
Richard S. Grayson, of Goldsmiths, University of London, authored Belfast Boys: How Unionists and Nationalists Fought and Died Together in the First World War (2009), edited At War with the 16th Irish Division 1914–1918 (2012), and co-edited Remembering 1916: The Easter Rising, the Somme and the Politics of Memory in Ireland (2016). He is an associate member of the Northern Ireland WWI Centenary Committee, contributed to the BBC's series Ireland's Great War, co-edits the website Ireland WW1 and works closely with community groups and museums on historical projects.
'Dublin's Great Wars exploits a wealth of sources to reconstruct
the street-level impact of a decade of war and revolution which
ultimately culminated in Irish independence. Ranging from Gallipoli
to the General Post Office, Grayson skilfully illuminates the
diversity of experiences and loyalties that characterised
revolutionary Dublin's entangled military histories.' Fearghal
McGarry, author of The Rising. Ireland: Easter 1916
'Richard S. Grayson's masterly study shows that Dubliners'
opposition to rule by the British ran deep – but so did support for
the Crown. This is a penetrating and ambitious book that
successfully reconnects the Irish Revolution with the First World
War.' Gary Sheffield, author of A Short History of the First World
War
'This lively and detailed account of the military history of Dublin
men and their families from 1912 to 1923 presents a convincing case
for viewing the Great War and the military episodes in the Irish
struggle for independence as a series of inter-connected 'Great
Wars'.' Mary E. Daly, author of Sixties Ireland: Reshaping the
Economy, State and Society, 1957–1973
'This is an important and timely book, given its publication during
the centenary of the Irish Revolution. Meticulously researched, in
archives in Britain and Ireland, it neatly contextualises Dublin's
experience of revolution within the experience of the greater World
War of 1914–18,' Timothy Bowman, co-author of The British Army and
the First World War
'A powerful, multivocal account of a decade of violence in Ireland
beginning in 1914…. This is a book of sensitive scholarship, one
based on a deep knowledge of both the military history and the
social history of the men who waged it … it is the best history we
have of Dubliners at war, and, like James Joyce's 'The Dead',
published in 1914, it treats them with the sympathy and compassion
they deserve.' Jay Winter, H-Net
'Written in a clear and lively style and resting upon very
substantial research … an excellent and illuminating account of how
conflict shaped Ireland's capital city during the Irish revolution
and is bound to command the wide audience it deserves.' John
Gibney, History Ireland
'A very significant addition to our knowledge and understanding of
the Irish revolution and should be read by everyone wishing to
understand it more fully.' Padraig Yeates, Dublin Review of
Books
'His Easter Week chapters entwine the Royal Dublin Fusiliers'
fighting at Hulluch in Belgium with the simultaneous uprising in
Dublin.… Grayson's eye for detail lends these passages a cinematic
flair, capturing the prayers of both Irish troops abroad and rebels
back home as they prepared to go into their respective battles.'
Matthew Kovac, LSE Review of Books
'Dublin's Great Wars is a fascinating study of the history of
Dubliners' wartime experiences during the First World War and the
Irish Revolution … This book will appeal to those interested in the
history of war and revolution in Ireland, the history of Irish
involvement in the First World War and the history of Dublin.'
David Durnin, Cercles
'To the scholars of early twentieth century Irish history, Dublin's
Great Wars is a fantastic resource, rich with research from copious
amounts of both archival research and oral histories. … This story
is brilliantly told through the lives of historical figures … it is
a must read with respect to all three wars, life in Dublin during
the period and the nature of the relationship between war and
politics from multiple perspectives.' Jeremy P. Maxwell, Canadian
Military History
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