WWI at Home
Drawing on archive images, photographs and newspaper cuttings from the NLI collections, this interactive explores the impact of World War I in Ireland.
Click on the subject headings above to find out more...
A Call to Arms - Recruitment
At the outbreak of war most European countries could call upon large reserves of manpower trained for combat through conscripted universal military service.
With no such system in Britain and Ireland, mass recruitment was essential. The "Call to Arms" was issued across Ireland through posters, rallies, newspaper articles and recruiting tours.
Click on the pointers to view images
Exiles - Refugees, Internees and POWs
Ireland was a temporary base for many exiled by WWI, either as refugees, in the case of uprooted Belgian nationals or as prisoners, such as captured German servicemen.
For hundreds of foreign nationals living in Ireland, exile would mean separation from loved ones, internment and possible deportation. Click on the pointers to view images
The War Effort - Civilian Support
Thousands of volunteers across Ireland supported the War Effort by collecting funds, knitting scarves, wrapping food parcels, learning first aid, sewing sheets or even gathering sphagnum moss.
The fruits of their labour would typically transfer to Dublin for distribution thorough bodies such as the Irish Hospitals Supply Depot on Merrion Square. Click on the pointers to view images
The War Machine - Supplying the Armed Services
Resources from across Ireland would supply the armed services in many ways during the conflict.
These included both physical supplies such as horses and timber and manufactured items such as war ships, aircraft, uniforms or the shells and cartridges produced by munition factories in Arklow, Cork, Dublin, Galway and Waterford. Click on the pointers to view images
The War at Sea - Events in Irish Waters
The war at sea literally surrounded Irish shores during WWI due to Ireland's strategic position on the sea route to North America.
Naval, passenger and fishing vessels were all at risk of torpedo attacks from German U-boats, as were the food convoys which crossed the Atlantic with vital supplies. Click on the pointers to view images
Healing Wounds - Military Hospitals
Many Irishmen returned from the war suffering physical and/or psychological injury. The numbers involved were unprecedented.
Such was the demand for care that auxiliary hospitals were established in unlikely locations, such as country houses, hotels and colleges. Click on the pointers to view images
