By T.S. Flynn

Editorial Note

The author wishes to acknowledge the assistance of Dr Stephen Sandford, author of Neither Unionist nor Nationalist: The 10th (Irish) Division in the Great War, 1914–1918. Following comments on an earlier draft, Dr Sandford highlighted the need to distinguish more clearly between the composition and character of the 10th (Irish) Division and the 16th (Irish) Division. His research demonstrates that the 10th Division drew from a broader social, religious and geographical base than has often been assumed and should not be viewed simply as a military expression of Redmondite nationalism. This revised article reflects that important distinction. The author is grateful for Dr Sandford's generous advice and scholarship. Any remaining errors remain the author's own.

Standfirst

The story of Ireland's participation in the First World War is often eclipsed by the Easter Rising and the struggle for independence that followed. Yet tens of thousands of Irishmen volunteered believing that service in defence of small nations such as Belgium would strengthen Ireland's own claim to self-government. Their story reveals a forgotten strand of Irish nationalism and a generation caught between Home Rule, war and revolution.

In Irish memory, the First World War has long occupied an uneasy place. The Easter Rising, the War of Independence and the Civil War became the defining events of the revolutionary era, while the experiences of those who fought in British uniform receded into the background.

Yet for many Irish men in 1914, military service appeared entirely consistent with national aspirations. The strongest expression of that belief emerged in the 16th (Irish) Division, a formation raised largely from supporters of John Redmond and the National Volunteers. Alongside it stood the 10th (Irish) Division, the first of Ireland's wartime divisions, whose ranks reflected a broader cross-section of Irish society. Together, the two formations illuminate a neglected chapter in modern Irish history and challenge assumptions about loyalty, identity and nationhood.

To understand why so many nationalists volunteered, it is necessary to return to Ireland in 1914. Home Rule had finally passed Westminster, but its implementation was suspended amid growing resistance from Ulster unionists. Armed organisations had emerged on both sides of the political divide, and the prospect of civil war appeared increasingly likely.

When the wider European conflict erupted in August 1914, Redmond saw both a crisis and an opportunity. Speaking at Woodenbridge, County Wicklow, in September, he urged members of the Irish Volunteers to support the Allied war effort. His appeal was not simply one of loyalty to Britain. Redmond repeatedly framed the conflict as a struggle in defence of small nations against aggression, pointing particularly to the German invasion of Belgium.

For many Irish Catholics, Belgium's fate carried a special resonance. Here was a small Catholic country whose neutrality had been violated by a great power. The comparison was not exact, but it struck a chord with many nationalists. If Ireland sought recognition as a nation entitled to govern itself, then the principle that small nations possessed rights worthy of defence seemed equally applicable at home. For supporters of Redmond, service in the war was therefore presented not as a betrayal of Irish aspirations, but as a means of advancing them.

The appeal divided the Irish Volunteers. A minority rejected Redmond's position and retained the original organisation. Many would later take part in the Easter Rising. The majority followed Redmond and became known as the National Volunteers. It was from this movement that the 16th (Irish) Division derived much of its distinctive political and cultural character.

The division's ranks included a number of prominent nationalists. John Redmond's son, William Archer Redmond, enlisted in the Royal Dublin Fusiliers before later serving as an officer in the Irish Guards on the Western Front, where he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order. His younger brother, Major Willie Redmond MP, joined the 6th Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment of the 16th (Irish) Division. At the age of 56, he was among the best-known figures in the division and was mortally wounded while leading his men during the opening day of the Battle of Messines on 7 June 1917. His death was mourned across Ireland by nationalists and unionists alike. For many supporters of Home Rule, Willie Redmond's death came to symbolise the sacrifice of a generation that had followed John Redmond's call to serve in the belief that they were helping secure a better future for Ireland.

The division's battalions were drawn from Ireland's historic regiments, including the Royal Irish Regiment, Connaught Rangers, Leinster Regiment, Royal Dublin Fusiliers, Royal Munster Fusiliers, Royal Irish Fusiliers and Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. Recruits often enlisted alongside neighbours, friends and former Volunteer comrades, carrying a strong sense of Irish identity into military service.

The 10th (Irish) Division, however, followed a somewhat different path. Raised in August 1914 as one of Kitchener's first New Army formations, it drew recruits from a wider pool and included non-Irish elements alongside Irish regiments. As Dr Sandford has demonstrated, it was neither wholly nationalist nor wholly unionist, but instead represented a broader wartime Irish experience. Nevertheless, many of its soldiers shared the widespread belief that service would strengthen Ireland's claim to self-government.

The 10th was also the first Irish division to enter combat and ultimately the most travelled. Under the command of Sir Bryan Mahon, it fought at Gallipoli, Salonika and later in Palestine, earning a reputation for endurance in some of the most demanding campaigns of the war.

Its defining ordeal came during the Gallipoli campaign of 1915. Battalions of the division landed at Suvla Bay and fought in the desperate attempts to break the Ottoman defences at Sari Bair and Chunuk Bair. Like the campaign itself, their experience was marked by courage, confusion and heavy casualties. The operation ultimately failed, but the division emerged with its reputation intact. Survivors went on to serve in Salonika before taking part in the successful advance through Palestine in 1917 and 1918.

While the 10th fought in distant theatres, the 16th (Irish) Division earned its reputation on the Western Front under the command of Major General William Hickie. An Irishman and supporter of Home Rule, Hickie developed a strong bond with the men under his command. They fought in some of the war's bloodiest engagements, including Hulluch, the Somme, Ginchy, Messines and Passchendaele.

The division's story was not only one of generals and politicians. Men from ordinary backgrounds repeatedly distinguished themselves in battle. Among them was Private Daniel "Danny" Flynn, who received the Military Medal for gallantry during the fighting around Messines in 1917. His experience reflected the service of thousands of ordinary Irish soldiers whose courage rarely found a place in later historical narratives.

Hickie understood the importance of recognising such service. Dissatisfied with delays in the official honours system, he introduced distinctive 16th Division Certificates for Gallantry, awarded to men whose bravery merited special recognition. Veterans treasured these certificates, seeing them as a particularly Irish mark of distinction because they came directly from their commander.

Among the most remarkable figures associated with the division was Father Willie Doyle, the Dublin Jesuit who served as a military chaplain. Doyle became renowned for his willingness to expose himself to danger while ministering to wounded soldiers. He crawled into shell holes, crossed exposed ground under fire and repeatedly risked his life to provide comfort and spiritual support to the dying. He was awarded the Military Cross and mentioned in dispatches for his service.

Doyle was killed during the Third Battle of Ypres on 16 August 1917 while attempting to reach wounded men. His body was never recovered. More than a century later, the Catholic Church continues to examine his cause for canonisation, and his reputation for courage remains undiminished.

The war ended in November 1918, but Ireland had changed dramatically. The Easter Rising, the executions of its leaders and the conscription crisis transformed political opinion. The constitutional nationalism represented by Redmond rapidly lost ground, while Sinn Féin emerged as the dominant force in Irish politics.

Many veterans returned to an Ireland that no longer resembled the country they had left. Some found themselves distrusted or forgotten. Others became involved in the turbulent events that followed.

One of the most striking examples was Emmet Dalton. A veteran of the 16th (Irish) Division, Dalton won the Military Cross for gallantry at Ginchy during the Somme campaign before returning to Ireland and joining the republican movement. He later became a close associate of Michael Collins and played a significant role in the military organisation of the War of Independence. His career neatly illustrates the complexities of Irish political identity in the years after the Great War.

The experiences of the men of the 10th and 16th Divisions defy simple categorisation. They were not a single political constituency, nor did they share identical motives. Some fought for King and Empire. Others believed they were advancing the cause of Home Rule. Many simply answered the call of duty as they understood it in 1914.

Their journeys carried them from the cliffs of Gallipoli to the trenches of Flanders and the deserts of Palestine. For some, the path eventually led into the revolutionary struggles that transformed Ireland.

For decades, their story sat uneasily beside the dominant narrative of the Irish Revolution. Yet history is rarely served by forgetting. The experiences of these men remind us that Ireland's road to independence was neither straightforward nor uniform. It was shaped by people who made different choices in extraordinary circumstances.

The men of the 10th and 16th Divisions did not leave behind a single political legacy. What they left instead was something more valuable: a reminder that Irish history has always been more complicated, more human and more interesting than simple labels allow.

About the Author

Tim Flynn, writing as T.S. Flynn, is an Australian-based Interim CFO, historical novelist and independent researcher. Raised within the Lancashire Irish diaspora, he writes on Irish history, nationalism, military service and migration. His work explores the lives of ordinary Irish men and women caught up in the great political and social upheavals of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, from the Great Famine and the Irish diaspora to the First World War and the Irish Revolution.

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