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National War Memorial, Islandbridge
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The Irish National War Memorial Gardens (Irish: Gairdíní Náisiúnta Cuimhneacháin Cogaidh na hÉireann) is an Irish war memorial in Dublin dedicated "to the memory of the 49,400 Irish soldiers who gave their lives in the Great War, 1914-1918" [1], out of over 300,000 Irishmen who served in all armies.
Central Sunken Rose Garden
with view of one of the pairs of granite Bookrooms
Circular Sunken Rose Garden
in side view, showing one of four granite Bookrooms
The Memorial Gardens also commemorate all other Irish men and women who at that time served, fought and died in regiments of the Allied armies, the British, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, South African and United States armies in support of the Triple Entente's war effort against the Central Powers.
Memorial
History
Following a meeting of over 100 representatives from all parts of Ireland on July 17 1919, a Trust Fund was created to consider plans and designs for a permanent memorial "to commemorate all those Irish men and women killed in the First World War" [1]. A General Committee was formed in November 1924 to pursue proposals for a site in Dublin. For technical and administrative reasons it was not until its meeting on March 28 1927 in the Shelbourne Hotel that Merrion Square, alternatively St Stephen's Green were proposed. A debate in the Free State Senate failed to resolve the impasse. W.T. Cosgrave , president of the Irish Free State Executive Council then appointed Cecil Lavery to set up a "War Memorial Committee" to advance the memorial process.
Cosgrave who was very interested in bringing the Memorial to fruition met with Sir Andrew Jameson, a Senator and member of the Committee on December 9. 1930 and suggested the present site. At that time known as the "Longmeadows Estates" it is about 60 hectares (20 acres) in extent stretching parallel along the south bank of the River Liffey from Islandbridge towards Chapelizod [1]. His proposal was adopted by the Committee on December 16. 1931. Cosgrave said at the time ". . . . . this is a big question of Remembrance and Honour to the dead and it must always be a matter of interest to the head of the Government to see that a project so dear to a big section of the citizens should be a success". Major-General William Hickie saying "the Memorial is an All-Ireland one". A generous gift was sanctioned by the Irish Government in an eleven paragraph agreement with the Committee on December 12 1933, the Dublin City Council Office of Public Works (OPW) having already commenced work with 164 men during 1932.
In the adverse political conditions of the 1930s Taoiseach Eamon de Valera's government still recognised the motives of the Memorial and made valuable state contributions to it. The cabinet approved wording in English and Irish. Many difficulties arose in 1937 for the WM Committee with regard to plants, trees and the need to obtain a Completion Certificate from the OPW, which finally issued in January 1938. Before any official opening could be announced the threat of war in Europe complicated matters further. A meeting with the Taoiseach May 10. 1939 discussed postponing the suggested opening on the last Sunday in July. The Second World War then intervened to delay this further.
Design
Dome-Shaped Temple
on Lime Avenue leading to
the "War Stone" of Irish granite
Designed by the great memorialist Sir Edwin Lutyens (1869-1944) who had already landscaped designed several sites in Ireland and around Europe[1]. He found it a glorious site. The sunken Garden of Remembrance surrounds a "War Stone" of Irish granite symbolising an altar, which weights seven and a half tons. The dimensions of this are identical to First World War memorials found throughout the world, and is aligned with the Great Cross of Sacrifice and central avenue[1]. Opposite to the Phoenix Park obelisk, it lies about three kilometres from the centre of Dublin, on grounds which gradually slope upwards towards Kilmainham Hill. Old chronicles describe Kilmainham Hill as the camping place of Brian Boru and his army prior to the last decisive Battle of Clontarf on 23 April 1014. The Memorial was probably the last to be erected to the memory of those who sacrificed their lives in the Great War, and is one of the finest if not the best in the world “the symbol of Remembrance in memory of a Nation’s sacrifice”[2]. The elaborate layout includes a central Sunken Rose Garden composed by a committee of eminent horticulturalists, various terraces, pergolas, lawns and avenues lined with impressive parkland tress, and two pairs of Bookrooms in granite representing the four provinces of Ireland [1].
Construction
There was no discord in its building – workers were so drawn from the unemployed that 50 per cent were former WWI ex-British Army and 50 per cent ex-Irish Army men. To provide as much work as possible the use of mechanical equipment was restricted, and even granite blocks of 7 and 8 tonnes from Ballyknocken and Barnaculla were manhandled into place with primitive tackles of poles and ropes. On completion and intended opening in 1939 (which was postponed) the Trustees responsible said: "It is with a spirit of confidence that we commit this noble memorial of Irish valour to the care and custody of the Government of Ireland"[3].
Recognition
Dedication
Great Cross of Sacrifice
Wreaths laid during commemoration
Although small commemorations took place for a few years from 1948, the political situation did not sanction that the Gardens be "officially" opened and dedicated, subsequent lack of staff also allowing the site to fall into neglect, decay and dilapidation during the 1970s and early 1980s, when it had become an open site for caravans and animals of the Irish Traveller community. In addition, sixty years of storms had left its mark. From the mid-1980s, restoration work to renew the park and gardens to their former splendour were undertaken by the OPW, co-funded by the National War Memorial Committee which is representative of Ireland, both north and south. On September 10. 1988 the Gardens were formally dedicated by representatives of the four main Churches in Ireland and unofficially opened to the public[1].
The first real, fully official "opening and dedication" took place with a state commemoration to mark the 90th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme on July 1, 2006, attended by the President of Ireland Mary McAleese, the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, Members of the Oireachtas, leading representatives of all political parties in Ireland, the Diplomatic Corps of the Allies of World War I, delegates from Northern Ireland , representatives of the four main Churches, and solemnly accompanied by a Guard of Honour of the Irish Army and Army Band.
Rolls of honour
In the granite paved pergolas surrounding the Garden are illuminated Volumes recording the names of all the dead, and were once publicly accessible, although the threat of vandalism has now had these Bookrooms closed except for visits by appointment, and which can be digitally viewed in an onsite office. A wooden cross, the Ginchy Cross, built by the 16th (Irish) Division and originally erected on the Somme to commemorate 4,354 men of the 16th who died in two engagements, is housed in the same building. Three granite replicas of this cross are erected at locations liberated by Irish divisions - Guillemont and Messines-Wytschaete in Belgium, and Salonica in Macedonia.
Patronage
The Irish National War Memorial Gardens are now managed by Dúchas, The Heritage Service of the Department of Environment, Heritage & Local Government in conjunction with the National War Memorial Committee[1].
A further Great War Irish national memorial, taking the form of an All-Ireland journey of conciliation, was opened in 1998 at the Island of Ireland Peace Park, Messines, Flanders, Belgium. See also external links.
Those who died in the Easter Rising which ran concurrently with the First World War, and the Anglo-Irish War, are commemorated in the Gardens of Remembrance on Parnell Square, Dublin.
Irish participation in World War I
Assassination triggers war
A series of earlier events in which the Central Powers consisting of the Austro-Hungarian and German Empires acting out of fear of encirclement, used the assassination in Sarajevo of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne and his wife as pretext to launch a long planned expansive European war, in order to secure greater spheres of power and influence. Which in turn prompted a Declaration of War by the United Kingdom on August 4, 1914 under its commitment to support the invaded Entente Powers, France and Russia.
Political climate in Ireland in 1914
Nationalist Ireland had just achieved constitutional self-government reflected in the Third Home Rule Act being placed on the statute books with Royal Assent on September 18, 1914. The operation of this Bill was, however, suspended for the duration of the war. On September 20, the leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party, John Redmond MP, called on the Irish Volunteers to enlist in Irish Divisions of Britain's New Army in support of the Allied war effort at a time of heightened emotions as the swift German advance through neutral Belgium was threatening Paris.
The 180,000 Irish Volunteers, which were originally formed to ensure the implementation of Home Rule, were divided on his proposal. A larger majority followed Redmond, forming the National Volunteers, the remaining 12,000 dedicated themselves to attempting to secure by physical force independence for Ireland from the United Kingdom – while it was engulfed in the European conflict.
Answering the call
Approximately 80,000 Irish men enlisted in the first year of the War and half of these were from what is now the Republic of Ireland; the other half were from what is now Northern Ireland. They enlisted in Irish regiments of the 10th (Irish) Division and 16th (Irish) Division of the New British Army with participation from each of the four provinces. The 36th (Ulster) Division comprised members of the Ulster Volunteers, who in 1913 imported over 24,000 rifles and three million rounds of ammunition (to defend the North-Eastern six counties from the prospect of Home Rule from Dublin), ironically bought from Germany, the very country they were later to wage war against.
Irishmen also joined other Irish regiments including the London (Irish), the Irish Guards , the Tyneside Irish and several other regiments that were based in Scotland, Wales and elsewhere in England. Irishmen also enlisted in the forces of the United States, Canada, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.
First shot
Corporal E. Thomas of 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards had the distinction of firing the first shot in the War.
Gallipoli, 1915
A stalemate on the Western Front prompted an alternative approach to beating Germany. Irish, British, French and New Zealand troops were transported from Britain to Gallipoli after Constantinople had been captured which meant that Russia needed aid to launch an assault from the east to tie down the German army. The Royal Navy tried to sail up the Dardanelles on March 18 but several ships were lost.
In the Battle of Gallipoli a land invasion was attempted in April at six locations but Turkish defences kept the advance close to the beach, Irish battalions suffering terrible losses. The 1st Battalion of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers and the Royal Munster Fusiliers with the Inniskilling Fusiliers participated in the attempted Y beech Landing at Cape Helles. Their efforts were in vain and there were over 600 casualties in a 36-hour period.
Another attempt was made in August but this too failed. Winston Churchill who had proposed the venture resigned from Government. He lost his seat in Parliament and was not re-elected until World War II commenced.
Salonika, 1915
A force of 2,454 attached to the 10th (Irish) Division sailed from Gallipoli to Salonika on September 29 to fight on the Bulgarian front during the Macedonian campaign. The Royal Dublin Fusiliers and Royal Munster Fusiliers were ordered to take the village of Jenikoj the following week. There were 385 casualties.
St Julien, 1915
While the 2nd Battle of Ypres raged in May the 2nd Royal Dublin Fusiliers were nearly wiped out as a result of a German-initiated poison gas attack. There were 666 personnel at the outset and 21 survived.
At the end of 1915 the 16th (Irish) Division entered the trenches on the Western Front under the command of Irish Major-General William Hickie.
Hulluch, 1916
A German gas attack on April 27 in the Battle of Hulluch caused 385 casualties. The 16th (Irish) Division remained in Loos until August. They then moved to The Somme but not before suffering 6,000 casualties, including 1,496 deaths.
Battle of the Somme, July - November 1916
The Battle of the Somme commenced early on July 1 and the day ended with a total of 60,000 casualties of whom 20,000 were killed in action. The 36th (Ulster) Division suffered 5,500 casualties and 2,000 of these were killed in action. The 1st Royal Dublin Fusiliers fought next to the 36th and endured 147 casualties - 22 killed and 64 missing in action. The 2nd Royal Dublin Fusiliers lost 14 of their 23 officers 311 out of a total of 480 in other ranks. There was also Irish participation in 1st Royal Irish Rifles, 1st Royal Irish Fusiliers, 1st Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers and 2nd Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, 2nd Royal Irish Regiment, in four battalions of the Northumberland Fusiliers. The Battle continued until the following November when it was ended as a consequence of inclement weather.
While progress was limited the 16th (Irish) Division captured Guillemont on September 2 and Ginchy on September 9. The former Nationalist MP for East Tyrone, lawyer and economics professor at UCD, Tom Kettle was killed in this battle. A London newspaper headlined How the Irish took Ginchy - Spendid daring of the Irish troops[4]
Messines Ridge, June 1917
The 16th (Irish) and 36th (Ulster) Divisions fought alongside each other to capture the village of Wijtschate, Belgium in a well planned attack in June 1917 at the Battle of Messines. Three million shells and 9,500 tons of explosives were used in a single week. One of those lost in the advance was 56 year old Major Willie Redmond MP for East Clare and other constituencies for 34 years. He was a brother of the Leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party John Redmond and he was killed on June 17
Passchendaele, July 1917
The following month, July 1917, both Divisions moved under the command of General Sir Hubert Gough, who had little regard for the Irish, was Commander of the British Fifth Army who ordered an advance to the east of Ypres towards well fortified German positions left untouched by totally inadequate British artillery preparation during the Third Battle of Ypres. By mid August the 16th (Irish) had suffered over 4,200 casualties and the 36th (Ulster) had suffered almost 3,600 casualties, or more than 50% of their numbers. Fr Willie Doyle a Jesuit and chaplain to the 10th (Irish) Division was killed. He had been awarded the Military Cross and was nominated for the Victoria Cross for his commendable bravery.
Spring Offensive, March 1918
The 16th (Irish) Division and the 36th (Ulster) Division were almost completely wiped out due to Gough’s insufficient defence preparations for the expected great German Spring Offensive towards Amiens in March 1918. One third of the total personnel were killed - over 6,400 in the 16th and over 6,100 in the 36th. Irish manpower was reallocated to other Divisions when they took part in the final Hundred Days Offensive which by October drove the Germans back from territory gained in the previous four years.
The War ended a month later with the Armistice of 11 November; a war that had the active participation of an estimated 300,000 Irish men and women in all allied armies.
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h Dúchas The Heritage Service, Visitors Guide to the Gardens
- ^ British Legion Annual, Irish Free State Souvenir Edition 1925-1935; National Library of Ireland, LO .
- ^ Henry Edward D. Harris (Major) The Irish Regiments in the First World War, pp 210. Mercier Press Cork (1968), National Library of Ireland Dublin
- ^ Daily Express London, pp.1 & 5, Sept. 12, 1916
Reading Sources
- Thomas P. Dooley: Irishmen or English Soldiers? : the Times of a Southern Catholic Irish Man (1876-1916), Liverpool Press (1995), ISBN 0-85323-600-3.
- Myles Dungan: They Shall not Grow Old: Irish Soldiers in the Great War, Four Courts Press (1997), ISBN 1-85182-347-6.
- Keith Jeffery: Ireland and the Great War, Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge (2000), ISBN 0-521-77323-7.
- Bryan Cooper (1918): The 10th (Irish) Division in Gallipoli, Irish Academic Press (1993), (2003). ISBN 0-7165-2517-8.
- Terence Denman: Ireland's unknown Soldiers: the 16th (Irish) Division in the Great War, Irish Academic Press (1992), (2003) ISBN 0-7165-2495-3.
- Desmond & Jean Bowen: Heroic Option: The Irish in the British Army, Pen & Sword Books (2005), ISBN 1-84415-152-2.
- Steven Moore: The Irish on the Somme (2005), ISBN 0-9549715-1-5.
- Thomas Bartlett & Keith Jeffery: A Military History of Ireland, Cambridge University Press (1996) (2006), ISBN 0-521-62989-6
- David Murphy: Irish Regiments in the World Wars, OSprey Publishing (2007), ISBN 978-1-84603-015-4
- David Murphy: The Irish Brigades, 1685-2006, A gazatteer of Irish Military Service past and present, Four Courts Press (2007)
The Military Heritage of Ireland Trust. ISBN 978-1-84682-080-9
- Stephen Walker: Forgotten Soldiers; The Irishmen shot at dawn Gill & Nacmillan (2007), ISBN 978-07171-4182-1
Great War Memorials
External links
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