Ireland, the Great War and the Geography of Remembrance

This book provides an examination of the development of memorial landscapes in Ireland.

Nuala C. Johnson (Author)

9780521826167, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 29 May 2003

206 pages, 28 b/w illus. 5 maps
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.6 cm, 0.48 kg

'… interesting and readable. … [Johnson] deserves credit for her ambitious efforts and, most of all, for her many informative and sensible lines of argument on the spatial dimension of remembrance.' Geografiska Annaler, Series B: Human Geography

Nuala C. Johnson explores the complex relationship between social memory and space in the representation of war in Ireland. The Irish experience of the Great War, and its commemoration, is the location of Dr Johnson's sustained and pioneering examination of the development of memorial landscapes, and her study represents a major contribution both to cultural geography and to the historiography of remembrance. Attractively illustrated, this book combines theoretical perspectives with original primary research showing how memory literally took place in post-1918 Ireland, and the various conflicts and struggles that were both a cause and effect of this process. Of interest to scholars in a number of disciplines, Ireland, The Great War and The Geography of Remembrance shows powerfully how Irish efforts to collectively remember the Great War were constantly in dialogue with issues surrounding the national question, and the memorials themselves bore witness to these tensions and ambiguities.

List of illustrations
Acknowledgements
1. Geography, landscape and memory
2. A call to arms: recruitment poster and propaganda
3. Parading memory: peace day celebrations
4. Sculpting memory: space, memorials and rituals of remembrance
5. Scripting memory: literary landscapes and the war experience
6. Remembering the Easter Rebellion 1916
7. Conclusion
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Historical geography [HBTP], 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], British & Irish history [HBJD1]