Research Guide - Irish Military Heritage

 

Part 6:


Using the Web for Military Research

i. Introduction
The worldwide web is also a major resource for those embarking on research and the following is a comprehensive guide to sites relevant to Irish military history, as of June 2003. Where possible, it has been noted where a website is that of an institution or official body, or the work of an enthusiast, which may be less authoritative. It is also important to note that unofficial web sites often change address or simply disappear without notice. These sites provide a gateway to other relevant sources. 
A n extensive guide is also provided by this Military Heritage Trust website.

The listings are broken down into the following s earch headings:sites are listed in alphabetical order within each section.

Memorial Sites
Conflict in Ireland
The Williamite War  
The 1798 Rebellion
The 20th Century
British & Commonwealth Forces
The Americas
Service elsewhere

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ii. Memorial Sites

Australian War Memorial
http://www.awm.gov.au//index_flash.asp
Official Australian government site, which includes a Roll of Honour of every Australian killed in the line of duty since the Boer War.

Athy County Kildare World War One Dead
http://kildare.ie/hospitality/historyandheritage/AthyHeritage/ww1.htm
The Great War dead of this Kildare town. An unofficial site

Bandon County Cork Memorial Committee
http://www.bandonmemorial.com/
An organisation set up to remember the war dead of this Cork town. An unofficial site

Brunssum War Cemetery
http://www.warcemetery.nl/
Dutch WW2 Cemetery with 328 graves of Allied Soldiers. There is a searchable database.

Canadian Virtual War Memorial
http://www.virtualmemorial.gc.ca/
Official site, which lists the names of 116,000 Canadians and Newfoundlanders who died in the service of their country.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission
http://www.cwgc.org
Official site which lists the names of all who died in British or Commonwealth service between 1914-1921 and 1939-1947.

Irish Korean War Dead
http://www.IrishInKorea.org
Unofficial site which records the Irish dead of the 1950-1953 conflict.

Irish Vietnam War Dead
http://www.illyria.com/vn_irish_names.html
Unofficial site, which includes Irish dead of both US and Australian forces.

Irish War Memorials 
http://www.irishwarmemorials. ie/
This web-site presents an inventory of war memorials in Ireland. It includes photographs of each memorial, the text of all inscriptions, and details of the site of the memorial. A database of all of those named allows a search for individual persons, with links to the photographs of the memorials.

Journey of Reconciliation and Trust
http://www.iol.ie/jrtrust/
This site was established by those involved in the Messines Peace Tower project of 1998.

New Zealand Armed Forces Memorial Project
http://www.nullus-anxietas.com/nzafmp/
A project which aims to make lists of New Zealand 's war dead available on line.

North Clare World War One Dead
http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/history
/soldiers/north_clare_soldiers.htm
Local commemorative site run by Clare County Library.

Tipperary World War One Dead
http://homepage.eircom.net/~tipperaryfame/twardead.htm
An unofficial site which commemorates the contribution of natives of Tipperary in war time.

Dublin Memorials of the Great War
http://homepage.eircom.net/~wlawless/ww1/Dublin.htm
Private website that features memorials to Dublin casualties of the First World War and is integrated with online databases of research on individual casualties.

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iii. Conflict in Ireland

Battle of Clontarf , 1014
Web: Battle of Clontarf Website
Wikipedia site with material on the historic victory of Brian Boru in 1014.

Corpus of Irish Electronic Texts
http://www.ucc.ie/celt/
Online historical texts, particularly related to medieval Ireland .

De Re Militari
http://www.deremilitari.org
European medieval warfare society website, with extensive links.

Edward Bruce in Ireland
Web: Edward Bruce Website
Thids website explains the background to the Bruce invasions of Ireland, 1315-1318.

Gallowglass
Web: Gallowglass Website
Wikipedia entry outlining the history of Scots mercernaries in medieval Ireland.

Irish Arms
http://www.irisharms.ie
Links to medieval re-enactment societies and living history groups.

Norman Invasion
Web: Norman Invasion Website
A well presented site with many illustrations explaining the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland from 1169.

Medieval Ireland in Maps
http://www.rootsweb.com/~irlkik/ihm/
Includes many maps of military interest.

The Battle of Dysert O'Dea
http://members.tripod.com/~rodea/history.htm
Warfare between the Anglo-Normans and Clare chieftains in 1318.

The Normans in Thomond
http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/history/intro.htm
Clare County Library site describing Norman rule in Munster .

Shane O'Neill's Rebellion  
Web: Shane O'Neill Rebellion website
Wikipedia entry outlining the Ulster Chieftains' wars of 1560's

The Battle of Benburb
http://www.scotwars.com/html/battle_of_benburb.htm
Eoghan Rua O'Neill's 1646 victory over General Munroe.

The Spanish Armada
http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/history/spanish_armada.htm
Clare County Library site on the impact of the attempted 1588 invasion
of Ireland .

The Battle of Kinsale
Web: Battle of Kinsale Website
Wikipedia entry on the decisive defeat of Gaelic Ireland and its Spanish allies in 1602.

The 1641 Rebellion
Web: 1641 Rebellion Information Site
Wikipedia account of the outbreak of one of the bloodiest rebellions in Irish History.

Killeshandra and the 1641 Rebellion
http://www.iol.ie/~galwill/history2.htm
The rebellions impact on Cavan.

The Cromwellian Settlement http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/history/cromwell_settlement.htm
The aftermath of the Cromwellian intervention following the 1641 Rebellion and the English Civil War.

 

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iv. The Williamite War

The Battle of Aughrim
Web: Battle of Aughrim Information Site
The key victory of the Williamite forces in 1691.

The Battle of the Boyne  
Web: The Battle of the Boyne Website
The background to the most famous battle in Irish history.

The Sieges of Limerick
http://members.tripod.com/preachan/sieges1.html
The Williamite army's unsuccessful attacks on the city.

Sarsfield and Ballyneety
http://indigo.ie/~wildgees/blynee.htm
The destruction of the Williamite siege train by Jacobite forces during the siege.

The Siege of Derry
Web: The Siege of Derry Information Site
The successful defence of Derry by the Williamites in 1689.

The Treaty of Limerick
http://indigo.ie/~wildgees/treaty.htm
The conclusion of the Williamite War.

The War in Clare
http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/history/jacobite_era.htm
Aspects of the war in the west.

 

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v.  The 1798 Rebellion

The 1798 Rebellion
The 1798 rebellion (BBC Site)
The BBC account of the bloodiest rebellion on modern Irish history.

1798 Links
http://www.iol.ie/~fagann/1798/
Numerous documents on the history of the rebellion.

1798 facsimile documents
Web:1798 Facisimile Documents Site
A collection of contemporary documents produced by the National Archives.

Regional battlegrounds:

Antrim and 1798
Web: Antrim and 1798 Website

Clare in 1798  
http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/history/clare_1798_rebellion.htm

Kildare in 1798
Web: Kildare in 1798 Website

Mayo in 1798
Web: 1798 Rebellion in Mayo Wesbite

Ulster and 1798
Web: Ulster in 1798 Information Site

Wexford in 1798
WebL: Wexford ni 1798 Information Site

The Battle of Ballinamuck
Web: The Battle of Ballinamuck Website
The Battlel of Balliamuck information website.

The Battle of Rebel Hill
Web: The Battle of Rebel Hill
A Cavan battleground.

 

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vi.  The 20th Century

The Belfast Blitz
http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/belfastblitz/weblinks.shtml
The German bombing attacks on Belfast in 1941.

History of the Irish Defence Forces
Web: Hisrtory of the Irish Defence Forces Website
Official site of the Irish Defence Forces .

Irish Defence Forces Insignia
http://www.irishmilitaryinsignia.com/
Contemporary insignia of the Irish Defence Forces.

Michael Collins
http://members.cruzio.com/~sbarrett/mcollins.htm
This site contains numerous links to sites commemorating the best known
leader of the War of Independence.

The Easter Rising 1916
Web: The Easter Rising 1916 (BBC) Website
BBC site on the background to the Easter Rising.

The Kilmichael Ambush
http://www.searcs-web.com/barry3.html
The story of the November 1920 ambush of British troops by the west Cork IRA under Tom Barry.

The Irish in uniform
http://homepage.tinet.ie/~tipperaryfame/index.html
Tipperary based site that commemorates Irish service world wide.

Irish Defence Forces Overseas service
Web: The Irish Defence Forces Website - Overseas Service
Official site explaining the Irish Defence Forces' United Nations missions.

The memoirs of Andrew O'Donoghue, Clare IRA
Web: The Andrew O'Donoghue - Memoirs Website
One Clare man's story of the 1919-21 period.

The Rinneen, Co. Clare Ambush http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/history/rineen.htm
A September 1920 encounter between the IRA and British troops.

The Soloheadbeg Ambush
http://www.searcs-web.com/breen.html
The January 1919 ambush which is often regarded as the beginning of the
War of Independence.

World War Two and Ireland
http://www.csn.ul.ie/~dan/war/eire.htm
Comprehensive site providing information on neutral Ireland 's defences and attitudes to the belligerent powers.

 

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vii.  British Commonwealth Forces

Australian Army History
http://www.army.gov.au/ahu/index.htm
Official Australian Army site.

Canadian Military Heritage Project
http://www.rootsweb.com/~canmil/
Excellent site for genealogical research, beginning with the French-Indian
wars of the 1600s. Numerous links of Irish interest.

Canadian War Museum
http://www.civilization.ca/
The national war museum of Canada .

Combined Irish Regiments Association
Web: Combined Irish Regiments Association Website
The heritage of the British army's Irish regiments, past and present.

Land Forces of Britain and the Commonwealth
http://regiments.org/milhist/
Extensive links for Irish regiments of the British Forces.

Irish Winners of the Victoria Cross
Web: Website of the Irish Winners of the Victoria Cross
List of Irish winners of Britain 's highest award for gallantry in wartime.

Imperial War Museum
http://www.iwm.org.uk
Excellent site of UK 's national war museum with numerous interesting links.

National Army Museum War Museum
Web: National Army Museum War Museum Website
This museum is dedicated to the history of the British Army prior to the
twentieth century.

British Army Regiments, 1914-1918
Web: British Army Regiments, 1914 - 1918 Website
The records of all the Irish Regiments during the First World War can be
traced at this site.

Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association
http://www.greatwar.ie
Very useful information and links on Irish service in the Great War.

Royal Munster Fusiliers 1914-1918
http://www.1914-1918.net/rmf.htm
The First World War record of this Irish regiment.

South African Irish Regiment
Web: South African Irish Regiment Website
Serving regiment of the South African Army.

South African War
Web: The South African War Website
Virtual library on the Boer War that features information on the Irishwho
fought on both sides.

South African Military History
http://rapidttp.com/milhist/links.html

The Irish Regiment of Canada
Web: The Irish Regiment of Canada Information Site
Serving Canadian regiment.

10th Irish Division
Web: 10th Irish Division Website
The 10th Division came into existence as a result of Army Order No. 324, issued on 21 August 1914. It was formed of Volunteers, under the administration of Irish Command.

The 16th Irish Division
http://freespace.virgin.net/sh.k/xvidiv.html
The World War One Irish division largely raised from the ranks of the Irish Volunteers.

The 36th Ulster Division
Web: The 36th Ulster Division Website
This World War One division was raised largely from the Ulster Volunteer Force.

 

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viii. The Americas

American Revolution
http://www.americanrevolution.org/home.html
Numerous links to sites on the American War of Independence, a conflict in
which Irish people fought on both sides.

American Society for Military History
Web: American Society for Military History Website

Centre for Military History
http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/
Two sites devoted to the study of American military affairs.

Commodore John Barry
http://www.ushistory.org/more/commodorebarry.html
The Irish founder of the US Navy.

Corcoran's Irish Legion
http://www.thewildgeese.com/pages/155thnyv.html
New York Irish Civil War regiment.

Fenian Invasion of Canada 1866
Fenian Invasion of Canada 1866 website
The attempt by the Irish Republican Brotherhood to attack Canada .

Fenian Raids Index
http://www.rootsweb.com/~canmil/fenian/index.html
Extensive Canadian links to this episode of Irish history.

Irish Loyalist Volunteers  
http://www.royalprovincial.com/military/rhist/voi/voilist.htm
Irish volunteers for the Crown during the American revolution.

Irish Americans and the Civil War
http://216.110.172.115/irish.htm
The background to the involvement of Irish people on both sides in the
Civil War.

Irish Confederates
Web: Irish Confederates Information Website
 More on the Irish who fought for the South.

Meagher's Irish Brigade
http://www.aco.ca/celtic/irishsoldiers.html
The Union troops led by the ex-Young Ireland leader.

The Fighting 69th Regiment
Web: The Fighting 69th Regiment Website
The most famous Irish regiment in the Civil War from New York .

The 28th Massachusetts Volunteers
Web: The 28th Massachusetts Volunteers Website
Excellent site devoted to this Irish Union regiment with good background to the social and political aspects of Irish participation in the conflict.

The San Patricios – Mexico’s Fighting Irish
http://www.irlandeses.org/sanpatriciosB.htm
Tells the story of of the Irish men who deserted the US Army to fight for
Mexico in 1846, many being executed as a result .

http://www.irlandeses.org/sanpatriciosbiblio.htm
Lists a thematic bibliography relating to the San Patricios

The United States War Centre
http://www.cwc.lsu.edu/
Authorative site on the Civil War.

 

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ix.   Service elsewhere

Ireland and the Spanish Civil War
Web:
Very comprehensive information on the Irish who took opposing sides in this conflict.

The Irish in Other Wars and Armies
http://www.illyria.com/irish/irishwar.html
Links detailing Irish participation in warfare from Argentina to Austria,
from the 1700s to the present day.

Wild Geese Heritage Centre
http://indigo.ie/~wildgeese/index.htm
Site dedicated to the stories of the Irish soldiers who served in the European armies of the 1700s.


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