Dublin's Great Wars
The First World War, the Easter Rising and the Irish Revolution

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 (Author)

9781108930628, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 15 October 2020

484 pages, 27 b/w illus. 13 maps 26 tables
22.7 x 15.2 x 2.2 cm, 0.79 kg

'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

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.

Subject Areas: First World War [HBWN], 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], British & Irish history [HBJD1]