Lynda Ganly – Cormac O’Brien – Muirenn Casey – Kathy Carter – Laura Culkeen
On 4 August 1914, Britain declared their place in the Great War. As a nation of the British Empire, Australia quickly followed suit. Since Australia had become a federation in 1901, there was an interest in establishing a unified national identity. World War One was a suitable platform for making their first action as a united nation.
As Australia began to strive for a national identity, the Irish immigrants who populated the country were facing their own identity struggles. The Irish experience and issues with identity during the war cannot be considered universal or generalised; across the board various groups and individuals were impacted in different ways.
The men and women who enlisted in the Australian forces did not seem to struggle with the need to maintain their Irishness, as instead, they became a part of a collective Australian mission to serve and protect. Groups such as the Irish Republican Brotherhood, on the other hand, viewed the war as an opportunity to reclaim and assert their Irish nationalism. Events in Ireland such as the 1913 Lockout and the 1916 Easter rising seemed to influence their decision on this.
On the Home Front, regarding the issue of conscription, Irish Australian Catholics struggled with their national identity as those who disagreed with conscription were considered to be disloyal and against the Empire. At the same time, some Irish-Australians, such as the Irish community in Perth, were proudly celebrating their Irish heritage during the war. They did this by taking part in illegal St. Patrick’s Day parades. The specific experiences of Irish soldiers at Gallipoli and their struggles with identity were unique and will also be considered. It is clear from all the above that identity was a complicated issue for Irish-Australians during the years of World War I, and that their experiences were varied.
This research will focus primarily on primary documents, such as newspapers, diaries and military records from the Irish Anzac Database. The time period of interest will range from about 1914, with the start of the First World War, up until 1918, when the war came to an end. It will provide insight into the diverse experiences of Irish immigrants during the First World War and demonstrate their struggle with identity. A variety of secondary sources will also be used; however, it is the unique primary sources examined which allow for a comprehensive examination of the Irish experience here.
References
1) Anthony Moran, ‘Multiculturalism as nation-building in Australia: Inclusive national identity and the embrace of diversity’ in Ethnic and Racial Studies, 34 (2011), p. 2156.
2) Alan D. Gilbert, ‘The conscription referenda, 1916-1917: The impact of the Irish crisis’ in The Australian Historical Studies, 14 (1969) pp 54-72.
3) Jeff Kildea, ‘Australian Catholics and conscription in the Great War’ in Journal of religious history, 26 (2002), pp 298-313.
4) Mike Cronin & Daryl Adair, The wearing of the green: a history of St Patrick’s Day (London, 2002).
Irish Aussies: historical perspectives 