Learn all he can and put his training to the best advantage: Irish republicans in the British Army

It is probably not coincidental that the passing of the very last of the generation who fought in the first world war has coincided with a rise in overt nationalism centred around displays of the poppy as a symbol of British military commemoration. With the second world war generation, too, now dwindling rapidly, an aggressively

Irish Freedom Fighters (1975-86)

The name ‘Irish Freedom Fighters‘ had been used by a group of young republicans who were active in Belfast in 1965-66. The name was to reappear in the 1970s and 1980s in claims of responsibility for a number of shootings and bomb attacks. On the 20th August 1975, a statement was issued by ‘the Newry Division of

‘Fourth Force’: The Catholic ex-Servicemen’s Association

In the early 1970s, the Catholic ex-Servicemen’s Association (CESA) played a significant political role. In 1972, it reportedly had 20,000 members and was described by one of its leading members as the ‘Fourth Force’ (after the RUC, British Army and UDR). Stewarding civil rights marches, staffing barricades and performing other duties, the CESA had at least