leader of the Irish Nationalist Party, inspired by the news of the

Home Rule Bill, even if for after the war, and by the forming of the 36th ( Ulster ) Division, urged his Volunteers to enlist in the Imperial Army and to serve abroad. In September Redmond reminded the press that " nothing less than an identifiable ' Irish Brigade ' would satisfy the ambitions of his country men who wanted to gain national credit for their deeds and that she too has contributed an army bearing her name in this historic struggle " Redmond's symbolic title ' Irish Brigade ' deliberately evoked romantic historical memories of other Irishmen, those ' Wild Geese ' who had fought as mercenaries in continental armies in the eighteenth century in their Irish Brigade. The most significant statement made by Redmond which i myself honestly believe is true, was that he believed the IrishPeople were endowed with a genuine military spirit which produces born soldiers and commanders. In early October a brigade in the 16th Division, forming in the New Army under General Sir Lawrence Parsons was kept for Redmond's Volunteers. Redmond wanted more. Emulating Carson he continued to petition Kitchener that his Irish Volunteers should be kept together to form a distinctive seperate Irish Division within the British Army. Kitchener was not sympathetic to Redmond's romantic notions nor to his Home Rule aspirations and, although he regarded the fighting qualities of Irish troops, he tended to see the Volunteers' as rebels in sheeps clothing ' harbouring the old suspicions of having armed Irish soldiers trained on Irish soil: rebellious Irishmen could be only too ready to use their guns against the British. But the War Office took the risk of training Irish troops in Ireland and as ' The Times ' reported on 20th October 1914, Redmond agreed to regard the 16th Division as the Irish Brigade. It was not however until nearly a year later that the 16th would be officially recognised as the 16th ( Irish) Division, a tardiness that affected recruiting. Among Kitchener's reasons for granting concessions that would provide the Irish in the Army with a sense of nationa identity was his admiration for Redmond's

'doggedness' and his own genuine concern that those brave Irishmen in the Dublin and Munster Fusiliers in Gallipoli in April had not been given sufficient recognition. My own conclusion for the lack of recognition shown to these men in Gallipoli is that the British authorities never had any respect for Ireland or the Irish.

That Anglo-Irish Protestant officers should lead Irish Catholic soldiers was not unusual in the British Army, but Protestant Sir Lawrence Parsons' appointment as commander of the largely Catholic 16th ( Irish ) Division was a very difficult one. General Parsons was proud to be called an ' Irishman ', coming he said froman ancient family who had deep roots in King's County. He had been brought out of retirement, having seen distinguished service in Sudan, India and South Africa where he was an Artillery officer. He was a traditionalist of the old school of officers, adhering to regimental rather than divisional tradition. The Political aspect of Redmond's Irish Brigade caused him great trouble. Serious differences surfaced between Parsons the soldier and Redmond the politician, particularly over the problem of commissions when lobbyists in the Irish Parliamentary Party beseiged Parson's for commissions for friends and relatives.

he was accused of snobbery, discrimination and even bigotry that he would not take Catholics as officers. On these grounds it was said that Parson's refused Redmonds own son, William Archer Redmond, Nationalist MP for Tyrone and later Waterford, home of the Redmond's. Recent studies though have exonerated Parson's on the Catholic question pointing out that Catholic Schools did not have Officer Training Corps and Parson's preferred Officers with experience or some training rather than someone with only a political background even if they were professional men. To get around this problem Parson's instituted a specially formed cadet Company for aspiring officers in the 7th Leinster Service Battalion where men first joined as privates. Young Redmond refused to accept this training like other candidates and demanded a commission, clearly a touchy situation because of his father's political position. He eventually obtained a commission, but with the Royal Dublin Fusilers, transferring to the Irish Guards where he greatly distinguished himself and won a DSO. As for the Cadet Company in the Leinsters, it flourished: of the cadets passing through it, all would become officers in the ranks of the 16th Division, most were Catholic and Nationalist.

Another problem that came to light was the type of badge to be worn. Redmond wanted a distinct badge for the 16th Division, whereas Parsons thought the traditional time-honoured insignia of the historic Irish regiments were sufficient to maintain loyalty and fighting spirit. Through Lady Parsons, who openly loved Ireland and had sympathy for John Redmond and his Volunteers, General Parsons found a greater appreciation of his Nationalist citizen soldiers, although he himself did not approve of their political aspirations. Among them was a group prominent in Irish society, men unusually articulate and literat. MP's in the Irish Parliamentary Party such as Tom Kettle who had resigned his seat for East Tyrone in 1910 and was well known in pre-war Ireland as a National University professor in Economics, an orator and an essayist. Kettle was a complex, charming, brooding man, an Irish Patriot and a strong advocate of both Home Rule and a United Ireland, but through parliamentary and constitutional means. Nevertheless in the summer of of 1914 he agreed to go to Europe to buy guns for the Irish Volunteers and was in Belgium when war broke out. Quickly the deal ended. Kettle remained in belgium as a war correspondent for the Daily News. News overflowed with sympathy for the Belgians when Kettle saw at first hand the desecration of the German advance and the consequent ' courage and anguish of this glorious little nation fighting now for its life '

As a traveller in Europe Kettle had become a lover of European civilization and was not interested in narrow nationalism. His duty was plain. To fight for Liberty. He confessed that he cared more for Liberty than he did for Ireland. Already the bigger picture was being seen. He could have stayed in Europe but decided to return home to Ireland where he volunteered for what he called the ' Army of Freedom ' Kettle was 34 years of age when he enlisted in Parson's Cadet Company, but because of his age, his poor health and his undoubted oratory skills, he was used immediately on recruiting tours where his constant theme was ' Come help Belgium ' Kettle was befriended by parsons who was concerned about his heath and his drinking, realizing that army life was not easy for him, he at first refused Kettle a commission, then relented and Kettle was commissioned in the 9th ( S ) Battalion, Royal Dublin Fusilers.

Stephen Gwynn another Nationalist MP was devoted to his political chief John Redmond, but also, as Nora Robertson, General Parson's daughter writes, he ' became personally attracted and attached to my father '. Gwynn fully realised the opposing ideals of the ideals the politician and soldier. He and his fellow MPs, Kettle and Willie Redmond, John Redmond's brother, had been actively opposed to Irish soldiers involvement in the Boer War. As late as 190 Gwynn continued to chide his constituents in Galway, including soldiers of the Connaught Rangers at their depot, for having joined the British Army.

Tom Kettle MP Stephen Gwynn MP Willie Redmond MP
Killed in Action Killed in Action

Now in 1914 these quite remarkable Irish Nationalist supported the War, threw themselves behind John Redmond's recruiting campaign and enlisted in the British Army. Gwynn became a frequent companion of Tom Kettle on recruiting drives in 1914 and later wrote of Kettle that he was ' the most variously gifted intelligence i have ever known '

Gwynn himself was a ' delightful litterateur...a man of European habits, and that rarity, a Protestant MP '. He grew up in Church of Ireland ( Protestant ) circles in which his father became Bishop of Raphoe and then Professor of Theology in their divinity school Dublin. Gwynn was a journalist, novelist, critic and poet, most importantly of all he was an Irishman. He was the wothy grandson of William Smoth O'Brien, founder of the famous United Irish League. After his enlistment Stephen went through the 16th's Cadet Company as a Private, receiving in 1915 a lieutenancy, followed by a captaincy in the 6th (S) Battalion The Connaught Rangers ( an intersting fact to note is that this regiment was predominantly Irish Nationalist and Catholic, yet members of the United Irish League were both Catholic and Protestants who wanted to see a united Ireland, where people forgot their differences and thrived to unite a people together, i will cover the founding of the League at a later date. It is also important to understand that Irish regiments were not just simply Catholic and preotestants, there are many cases of Protestants fighting in Irish regiments which recruited or formed in the South ) personally my own thoughts are that most of Ireland's tragic history has been caused by the segregation caused by religion yet many still considered themselves to be Irish.