A list of the Irish men and women who died in the Second World War has been presented to Trinity College Dublin.
Approximately one hundred thousand men and women from the island of Ireland served with British, Commonwealth and Dominion Forces during World War II, despite Ireland's official policy of neutrality.
Three thousand six hundred from the Republic of Ireland and three thousand nine hundred from Northern Ireland lost their lives on active service.
Now for the first time their names have been permanently preserved in a roll of honour by Dr Yvonne MacEwan, from the University of Edinburgh, who presented her research on the Irish contribution to the Second World War effort at a conference in Trinity College Dublin (TCD). She describes the results of her research as
It is a part of Ireland’s history that is really ready now for exploration.
While some people want a much wider debate into Ireland’s contribution, this Roll of Honour is seen as progress.
Some may have joined the British forces for economic reasons, but as Charles Benson, Keeper of Special Collections at the Library of Trinity College explains,
These people were fighting in what many of them felt was a worthy cause.
The Roll of Honour will shortly go on display in the TCD Library, but its principal value will be as
A tool for researchers into the Second World War.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 12 June 2009. The reporter is Joe O’Brien.
This report contains footage which is not RTÉ copyright.
