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This book focuses on how Irish remembrance of the First World War impacted the emerging Irish identity in the postcolonial Irish Free State. While all combatants of the "war to end all wars" commemorated the war, Irish memorial efforts were fraught with debate over Irish identity and politics that frequently resulted in violence against commemorators and World War I veterans. The book examines the Flanders poppy, the Victory and Armistice Day parades, the National War Memorial, church memorials, and private remembrances. Highlighting the links between war, memory, empire and decolonization, it ultimately argues that the Great War, its commemorations, and veterans retained political potency between 1914 and 1937 and were a powerful part of early Free State life.
List of contents
1 Introduction.- 2 'The Flooding Sorrow': The Great War, 1914-1918.- 3 No Man's Land Endures: The Anglo-Irish War, 1919-1921.- 4 'Suffering does not stop when the shooting does': The Irish Civil War, 1922-1923.- 5 'The emblem of sleep for the dead - and "dope" for the living': Armistice Day, the Flanders Poppy and the National War Memorial, 1924-1932.- 6 Conclusion: Peace in the Free State? 1932-1937.-
About the author
Mandy Link is Assistant Professor of Modern European History at the University of Texas at Tyler, USA.
Report
"The author succeeds in her aim of providing an in-depth study of the interrelationship between Great War remembrance in Ireland and the larger political actions that shaped it. ... Link's writing is clear and succinct and ... serve as an accessible point of research for scholars and students alike. This book serves as a large stepping stone in the discussions that have emerged about Ireland and its relationship with the conflict of 1914-1918." (Meaghan Landrigan-Buttle, Canadian Journal of Irish Studies, Vol. 43, 2021)
"Link has produced a useful volume that both examines and raises important questions about an extremely complex aspect of Irish culture and identity. She makes good use of contemporary newspaper sources and is careful to highlight the editorial perspective of key publications. Her use of Bureau of Military History accounts adds some very useful material covering the Anglo-Irish and Irish Civil Wars. ... advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and active scholarsalike will find it accessible and useful." (Jason Myers, H-Net Reviews Humanities and Social Sciences, March, 2020)
