Ireland's Memorial Records - Foreword and Introduction from the Original Volumes

Foreword

The object of these volumes is to perpetuate the names and personalities of over 49,000 Irishmen who fell in the Great War.

Honours, decorations and rewards follow in the wake of every great and successful war. But what honour can be compared to that of a place in this glorious roll of fallen heroes?

Ireland weeps over the loss of so many of her gallant sons, but shining through her tears we see pride and glory which she feels that through their sacrifice and devotion her splendid war record goes down to posterity untarnished.

When the true history of the Great War comes to be written and understood, the part taken by the soldiers of Ireland will stand out in brilliant relief.

In the days of the First Expeditionary Force at the Marne, on the Aisne, at Ypres, and throughout the time during which the “Contemptible Little Army” was holding back the German hosts, the Irish soldiers were always to be found where the strife was hottest. Irish regiments stood their ground against terrific odds with a tenacity which has never been surpassed in war.

One battalion of the far-famed old regiment which bore the time-honoured name of “The Royal Irish,” was practically wiped out in as gallant a stand as history records.

Later on there came those specially raised reinforcements which so splendidly maintained the record of Irish soldiers up to the final victory.

When each and all of the self-governing Dominions of His Majesty the King – Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland – come to sum up and compare the part they have taken in building up the British Empire, what a share may Ireland rightfully claim!

These sacred memorial volumes form a valuable part of her character to that claim.

One word to the future. A new army is rising up in Ireland. It is coming into existence in a period of strife and trouble. As an army its baptism of fire is being celebrated amidst sad surroundings – but the soldiers are of the same blood, the same kith and kin. Many of them have not only fought side by side with the heroes whose names adorn the pages of the “Golden Records,” but have shared their dangers and privation, and we believe that when they have fully attained to that standard of discipline and training which is essential to the existence of an army, they will gallantly uphold the splendid traditions of Irish soldiers.

I cannot better close this brief Foreword than by expressing the earnest hope that this Memorial will appeal to their generous Irish hearts and act as a beacon of light leading them to emulate the great deeds of their predecessors and maintain the glorious records of the soldiers of Ireland.

28th December 1922


Introduction

These volumes are Ireland’s Memorial Records of the names of the men in Irish Regiments, and of Irishmen in British Regiments, who fell in the Great European war, 1914-1918.

They are part of the great effort made by the Irish National War Memorial Committee, under the direction of the Earl of Ypres, to raise an appropriate Irish Memorial to those who fell in the Great War.

The movement was inaugurated by Lord Ypres at the time when he was Lord Lieutenant and Governor-General of Ireland. In the month of June, 1919, he made an appeal to the Irish people to signify in an unmistakable way their pride in, and their appreciation of, their brave fellow-countrymen.

It was proposed that the Memorial, in the first place, should perpetuate the name of every fallen Irish soldier, sailor or airman, and also that there should be erected some permanent building or monument worthy of their memory.

Owing to the circumstances prevailing in Ireland since 1919, the General Committee has been unable as yet to carry out the latter part of the proposal. They, therefore, delegated the recording of the names to a sub-committee consisting of Lady Arnott, D.B.E.; Rt. Hon. Andrew Jameson, P.C., D.L.; Mr. Serjeant Hanna, K.C.; Colonel Steele, Mr. Lewis Beatty, and Miss Barnard, Secretary, who have been specially responsible for carrying out this part of the Memorial.

These records consist of eight volumes of which one hundred copies are being printed for distribution through the principal libraries of the country. They contain 49,400 names, and so far as the Army is concerned, the pledge to the public has been carried out. The sub-committee regret profoundly that they have not been able to obtain a complete list of the names of the fallen Irishmen in the Navy, Air Force, and Colonial Regiments, but these volumes contain names of such Irishmen in these Services as have been available from private sources and through the Press. The compiling of these records was given great publicity, and every effort was made to procure complete and accurate information, and accordingly if any names have been omitted, or any particulars are incorrect, the Committee cannot accept whole responsibility.

The work of printing, decoration, and binding the eight volumes of the special edition has been carried out by Irish artists and workers of the highest reputation and efficiency. They have been printed on hand-made paper by Maunsel and Roberts, Ltd., the title page and beautiful symbolical borders have been designed by Harry Clarke, and engraved by the The Irish Photo Engraving Co. Ltd., and The Dublin Illustrating Co.; while the binding and tooling has been carried out William Pender, on designs prepared for the cover, and doublures by P. Oswald Reeves, A.R.C.A., Metropolitan School of Art, Dublin.