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

Ballymoney County Antrim World War One Dead
http://www.ballymoneyheroes.co.uk/
A similar list for Ballymoney's dead.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

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

Battles in Irish History
http://website.lineone.net/~bonzytwo/timeline.html.htm
Chronology of Irish battles.

Battle of Clontarf , 1014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/timelines/ni/battle_clontarf.shtml
BBC history 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 http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/timelines/ni/defeat_edward_bruce.shtml
BBC history site explaining the background to the Bruce invasions of Ireland , 1315-1318.

Gallowglass
http://www.cisl.ie/mars/rory/gallowglass.htm
Enthusiast's site dedicated to the history of Scots mercenaries in medieval
Ireland

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

Norman Invasion
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/timelines/ni/normans.shtml
BBC history site 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  
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/timelines/ni/shane_o_neill.shtml
The Ulster Chieftain's wars of the 1560s.

Conflict in Carlow
http://carlow.local.ie/content/10371.shtml/history/general
Local site describing warfare in the county from 1641 to 1798.

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
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/bytime/ni/battle_kinsale.shtml
BBC history site on the decisive defeat of Gaelic Ireland and its Spanish allies
in 1602.

The 1641 Rebellion
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/timelines/ni/rebellion_1641.shtml
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
http://www.local.ie/general/history/williamite/aughrim/index.shtml
The key victory of the Williamite forces in 1691.

The Battle of the Boyne  
http://www.local.ie/general/history/williamite/boyne/index.shtml
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
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/bytime/ni/siege_derry.shtml
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.

The War in south Ulster http://www.local.ie/general/history/williamite/south_ulster/index.shtml
More regional aspects of the conflict.

 

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v.  The 1798 Rebellion

The 1798 Rebellion
http://www.local.ie/general/history/1798/index.shtml
Index to the bloodiest rebellion in modern Irish history.

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

1798 facsimile documents
http://www.nationalarchives.ie/1798intro.html
A collection of contemporary documents produced by the National Archives.

Regional battlegrounds:

Antrim and 1798
http://www.antrim.gov.uk

Ballymoney and 1798
http://www.1798ballymoney.org.uk/

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

Kildare in 1798
http://www.local.ie/general/history/1798/leinster_rising.shtml

Mayo in 1798
http://www.local.ie/general/history/1798/mayo/index.shtml

Ulster and 1798
http://www.local.ie/general/history/1798/ulster/index.shtml

Wexford in 1798
http://www.local.ie/general/history/1798/wexford/index.shtml

The Battle of Ballinamuck http://www.local.ie/general/history/1798/ballinamuck/index.shtml
The defeat of the French invasion force in Co. Longford.

The Battle of Rebel Hill
http://cavan.local.ie/content/221.shtml/history/general
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
http://www.military.ie/introduction/history.htm
Official site.

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

Irish Military Insignia
http://indigo.ie/~iesoh
Includes the insignia and badges of the Irish Volunteers, Cumann na mBan, Citizen Army and Irish Republican Army (1913-1922).

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
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/war/easterrising/index.shtml
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 United Nation's service
http://www.military.ie/overseas/index.html
Official site explaining the Irish Defence Forces' United Nations missions.

The memoirs of Andrew O'Donoghue, Clare IRA
Clare Library Memoirs of the War of Independance
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
http://www.combined-irish-regiments-oca.co.uk
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
http://www.victoriacross.net/subnat.asp?nat=8
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.

N ational Army Museum War Museum
http://www.national-army-museum.ac.uk
This museum is dedicated to the history of the British Army prior to the
twentieth century.

British Army Regiments, 1914-1918
http://www.1914-1918.net/regiments.htm
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
http://www.regiments.org/milhist/southafrica/volmil/inf/SAirish.htm
Serving regiment of the South African Army.

South African War
http://www.questia.com/popularSearches/boer_war.jsp
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
http://cdnarmy.ca/inf/irrc.htm
Serving Canadian regiment.

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 36 th Ulster Division
http://www.1914-1918.net/36div.html
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
http://www.jstor.org/journals/smh.html

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
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 69 th Regiment
http://www.hourigan.com//69thny/
The most famous Irish regiment in the Civil War from New York .

The 28 th Massachusetts Volunteers
http://www.28thmass.org/HistMen/HisMenu.htm
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
http://members.lycos.co.uk/spanishcivilwar/
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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