Whether for the "shilling", John Redmond, "little Catholic Belgium" or adventure 140,000 Irish men joined the British army in Ireland. Thousands more Irish men were already serving, or were recruited or conscripted in Britain, Australia, the USA and Canada.
Image courtesy of the National Library of Ireland.
In this extract from the1966 documentary 'And in the Morning', men who served in the First World War give their reasons for enlisting.
Production Year
1966
Contributor
Peter Kennerley (Producer)
Brian Cleeve (Script)
Chris Curran (Narrator)
John Skehan (Military Commentator)
Ken Murphy (Camera)
CALL TO ARMS
"What Me Made Join?"
Denis Kelly a veteran of the Irish Guards explains how he ended up joining the army in 1914 when he was living in England.
Production Year
1981
Contributor
Jim Fahy (Presenter)
CALL TO ARMS
See the World
A desire to see something of the world prompted Jack Campbell to join the British Army. Jack tells Gay Byrne how he was influenced by his elder brother.
Production Year
1988
Contributor
Gay Byrne (Presenter)
CALL TO ARMS
Pals Battalions
Edgar Poulter recalls heading to Landsdowne Road, Dublin, with friends to join what would become known as a pals battalion and paying half a crown for the privilege.
Production Year
1974
Contributor
Kieran Sheedy (Producer)
Tom McGurk (Presenter)
CALL TO ARMS
"Primarily, I Felt I Was Fighting For Ireland"
Emmet Dalton outlines his reasons for joining up and describes the initial reaction of his father to seeing his son in a British Army uniform.
