HIS21340 The Irish at War, 1914-1998

Academic Year 2023/2024

The twentieth century was a time of global conflict; the effects of successive world wars and ideologies profoundly shaped Irish politics and society. Many thousands of Irish people voluntarily mobilised to serve in the British military in the two world wars while republican, nationalist and loyalist ideologies brought conflict home to many others. Guerrilla warfare, reprisals, and sectarian violence became part of the Irish experience during the ‘Greater War period 1918-1923’, in common with many other European nations. The arrival of another world war in 1939 could not be ignored even in neutral Ireland and both Dublin and Belfast suffered from bombing campaigns. The Northern Ireland Troubles (1968-1998) divided communities and further blurred the line between civilian and combatant. The long tradition of Irish military service endured, with members of the Irish Defence Forces serving on peacekeeping missions far from Ireland. Irish soldiers were centrally involved in UN attempts to forcibly end the secession of the mineral-rich Congolese province of Katanga in the 1960s and in the protection of civilians in Lebanon during that country’s civil war (1975-1989). Significant numbers of Irishmen and women continued to join the British military. This course examines motivations for enlistment in the Irish or British forces or participation in paramilitaries and explores the impact of regional, national and global conflicts on the Irish population.

Key themes include mobilisation and demobilisation, veterans in civil society, gender and the military, policing insurgency, the role of the State, neutrality, remembrance and commemoration. Drawing on leading international scholarship, the module places the Irish experience in comparative context and introduces students to social, military, and cultural perspectives for studying the history of warfare.