The American war in Vietnam lasted over ten years and during the conflict three million Vietnamese and more than 60,000 US and foreign soldiers died. Emigrants with Green Cards in the US in the 1960s were eligible for conscription and it is estimated that around 2,000 Irish-born soldiers may have served in Vietnam.
About 2,000 Irish-born soldiers fought with the U.S. during the Vietnam War.
I hadn't realised that so many Irishmen had actually fought in Vietnam. Though there are no official statistics, it is estimated that over 2,000 Irish wore an American uniform. At least 18 of them are listed on the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington DC as killed in action.
It's known that 29 Irish people – 28 men and one woman – lost their lives in the war, including some serving with the Australian armed forces.
During World War II, Ireland was now officially neutral and independent from the UK. However, over 80,000 Irish-born men and women (north and south) joined the British armed forces, with between 5,000 and 10,000 being killed during the conflict.
The Roll of Honour, compiled by a historian at the University, lists the names of 7,507 men and women from Ireland- both north and south- who died while serving in the British, Commonwealth and Dominion Forces.
The reasons for Irish neutrality during the Second World War are widely accepted: that any attempt to take an overtly pro-British line might have resulted in a replay of the Civil War; that Southern Ireland could make little material contribution to the Allied effort, while engagement without adequate defence would ...
This policy had been made possible by the return of the Treaty Ports in 1938. Éire was not equipped to fight a war because its army was small and its weak economy meant money was too scarce to be spent on military action. De Valera feared supporting the war would split the government and country.
Ireland was not a member of the UN during the War and no Irish troops were officially sent to fight. However, many Irishmen and those of Irish heritage fought under the UN flag– mainly for British and US forces, but also for Australian, Canadian and New Zealand Forces.
Some 226 Irish troops had served in Nato-led initiatives over the past 15 years. The last remaining Irish troops in Afghanistan have returned home after completing their final tour of duty. In all, some 226 Irish troops have served in the country over the past 15 years in Nato-led missions.
Thousands of Irish men served in the Boer War, including an Irish Brigade, led by Major-General Fitzroy Hart, which included the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, Connaught Rangers and Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers.
Despite its policy of neutrality, Ireland has supplied the NATO-led ISAF mission in the 2001–2021 Afghanistan War with a running total of 120 Irish troops as trainers. The troops are provided under United Nations mandate. As at 8 June 2011, there were seven personnel there.
During the Mexican-American War from 1846 to 1848, a group of Irish immigrants deserted the U.S. Army to fight alongside Mexican soldiers. However remarkable the story might be, it's a chapter of history that's not especially well known in the U.S.
Over 200,000 men from the island of Ireland served in the British military during the First World War. Around 35,000 lost their lives. Those who returned found that commemoration of their service was controversial in a way that it was not in Britain.
However, new evidence has revealed that Washington's Continental Army consisted of a far larger percentage of Irish soldiers than previously thought—between 40 and 50 percent—who fought during some of the most important battles of the American Revolution.
Ireland did not join the war, but declared neutrality. Indeed the world war, in Ireland, was not referred to as a war at all, but as 'The Emergency'. In staying neutral, despite British and latterly American pleas to join the war, Ireland, under Eamon de Valera, successfully asserted the independence of the new state.
Despite being frequently encountered as rumours, no U-boats ever used Ireland as a refuelling base.
Eighty years ago, four bombs were dropped on Dublin's North Strand by the German Luftwaffe during the Second World War.
On 27 December 1914, Casement signed an agreement in Berlin, authorizing the brigade, with German Secretary of State Arthur Zimmermann. Only 56 Irishmen volunteered and they were brought together at a POW camp at Limburg an der Lahn.
During World War II Scotland suffered some 34,000 combat deaths, and approximately 6,000 civilians were killed, many in air attacks on Clydeside.
The foreign relations of Ireland are substantially influenced by its membership of the European Union, although bilateral relations with the United States and United Kingdom are also important to the state. It is one of the group of smaller nations in the EU and has traditionally followed a non-aligned foreign policy.
IRISH INFANTRY, THE SHARP POINT OF THE BAYONET
Built with fighting spirit, tradition, and Irish character, we are the only Irish Infantry Regiment of the line in the British Army. We recruit people of the right quality and calibre right across the island of Ireland, all parts of the UK, and beyond.
From the 1780s, around a third of Army recruits were Irish. Between the 1820s and 1860s, this rose to around 40 percent. They were drawn in particular to serve in the European regiments of Britain's Indian Armies and played an important role in the building of the British Empire.
Aughrim is a small village in East Galway. In 1691, the bloodiest battle in Irish history took place near the village. Over 7000 people died and the result of the battle would affect Irish history for hundreds of years.
"A" Company was subsequently held as prisoners of war for approximately one month. The Irish forces inflicted approximately 1,300 casualties (including up to 300 killed) on the Congolese force, with no deaths amongst "A" Company.