Ulster Unionism and the Somme
Almost 2,000 soldiers from the 36th Ulster Division died on the first day of the Somme campaign. When it was withdrawn...
Read moreBattle Of The Somme Features
Belfast Corporation marks fourth anniversary of the Somme
Belfast, 2 July 1920 - Belfast Corporation has expressed its gratitude for the sacrifices of Ulster men at the Battle of the...
Read moreIreland and the Battle of the Somme
It used to be a Roman road, hence the arrow-like straightness. Today it is the D929. You will pass cemeteries,...
Read moreSomme Battle solemnly commemorated in Belfast
Belfast, 2 July 1918 - The second anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of the Somme was solemnly marked in Belfast...
Read moreIrish war experience recounted in two new books
Dublin, 28 July 1917 - Two new books have been published to mark the contribution of Ireland to the Great War. The...
Read moreGeneral Haig says Somme campaign a success
London, 30 December 1916 - The Battle of the Somme succeeded in meeting its objectives. That’s the verdict of the...
Read moreGermans recall Somme ‘bloodbath’
Paris, 30 November 1916 - German soldiers at a remove from the front and the German general public at home were well...
Read moreTom Kettle: the death of Irish nationalist and British soldier
Dublin, 24 September 1916 - Lieutenant Thomas Kettle has been killed in France, while serving with the 9th Royal Dublin Fusiliers....
Read moreFEATURE: Tom Kettle’s words of war
‘Tom Kettle was horrified first by the Rising and then by the executions which followed the Rising. When he...
Read moreIrish regiments lauded for victory at Guillemont and Ginchy
Somme, 11 September 1916 - The extraordinary achievement of Irish troops in seizing the French villages of Guillemont and Ginchy has drawn...
Read moreSomme film a major attraction in Dublin
Dublin, 12 September 1916 - A new film showing images of British operations at the Somme has been playing to large audiences...
Read moreLetters from the front: Frank Gunning
Frank Gunning was born in Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh in 1894. After the outbreak of war in August 1914 he enlisted, along with...
Read moreHeroic Ulster Division suffer huge losses at the Somme
The Somme, 11 July 1916 - Much of the province of Ulster is in mourning after the 36th (Ulster) Division suffered devastating...
Read moreSomme slaughter dampens Twelfth Celebrations
Belfast, 13 July 1916 - This year’s Twelfth of July celebrations were like none experienced in living memory. There were...
Read moreSomme Voices: The Sons of Ulster
"The whistle blew, it was over the top, we kept running on. At first all went well, then the German...
Read moreA Somme Story – the last letters of Thomas Gordon Fitzpatrick
Late last year I sat with Belinda Curtis in her kitchen in Greystones, Co. Wicklow as she brought out three...
Read moreLetters from the front: Thomas Gordon Fitzpatrick
Thomas Gordon Fitzpatrick was born in Dublin in 1880. He was the younger son of Reverend William and Euphemia Fitzpatrick. ...
Read moreMajor offensive begins along the Somme
The Somme, 5 July 1916 - A major British and French offensive has begun on the Western Front. The combined attack was...
Read moreExplainer: The First World War
Why did the First World War break out? The immediate cause of the war was the assassination by Bosnian Serb...
Read moreWar in Europe!
Paris, 11 August 1914 - The major powers in Europe are now at war, with reports of heavy fighting on several fronts. ...
Read moreCentury Ireland
The Century Ireland project is an online historical newspaper that tells the story of the events of Irish life a century ago.