Despite the fact that over 200,000 Irish men fought in the British Army during the First World War, Ireland's sizeable contribution to the war remained in the shadows of history for most of the twentieth century. This dissertation examines the cultural components of the memory of the Great War in Ireland and argues that, taken together, they constitute an alternative Irish national identity that threatened and challenged republican nationalism. These cultural components existed in the realm of vernacular memory, which lay beyond the reach of the Irish government. By examining commemorative rituals, war memorials, and popular culture, this project breathes life into the vibrant and complex milieu of Great War memory in Ireland. Studying culture opens new avenues to explore questions relating to nationalism, memory, politics, and war. By tracking the changes to Great War memory throughout the twentieth, and into the twenty-first century, this study illustrates a sustained thread of shared history for all of Ireland, north and south, that transcends religious and political barriers and injects Ireland into a broader European context.
","abstract_html":"<p>Despite the fact that over 200,000 Irish men fought in the British Army during the First World War, Ireland's sizeable contribution to the war remained in the shadows of history for most of the twentieth century. This dissertation examines the cultural components of the memory of the Great War in Ireland and argues that, taken together, they constitute an alternative Irish national identity that threatened and challenged republican nationalism. These cultural components existed in the realm of vernacular memory, which lay beyond the reach of the Irish government. By examining commemorative rituals, war memorials, and popular culture, this project breathes life into the vibrant and complex milieu of Great War memory in Ireland. Studying culture opens new avenues to explore questions relating to nationalism, memory, politics, and war. By tracking the changes to Great War memory throughout the twentieth, and into the twenty-first century, this study illustrates a sustained thread of shared history for all of Ireland, north and south, that transcends religious and political barriers and injects Ireland into a broader European context.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Myers, Jason Robert"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"History","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2010,"date_issued":"2010-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2010-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:55:08Z","subjects":["First World War","Ireland","Memory","Popular Culture","European History"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/159","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Myers, Jason Robert"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2016-03-31T17:08:30Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["History"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["First World War","Ireland","Memory","Popular Culture","European History"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/159"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Despite the fact that over 200,000 Irish men fought in the British Army during the First World War, Ireland's sizeable contribution to the war remained in the shadows of history for most of the twentieth century. This dissertation examines the cultural components of the memory of the Great War in Ireland and argues that, taken together, they constitute an alternative Irish national identity that threatened and challenged republican nationalism. These cultural components existed in the realm of vernacular memory, which lay beyond the reach of the Irish government. By examining commemorative rituals, war memorials, and popular culture, this project breathes life into the vibrant and complex milieu of Great War memory in Ireland. Studying culture opens new avenues to explore questions relating to nationalism, memory, politics, and war. By tracking the changes to Great War memory throughout the twentieth, and into the twenty-first century, this study illustrates a sustained thread of shared history for all of Ireland, north and south, that transcends religious and political barriers and injects Ireland into a broader European context.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["A Land Fit for Heroes?: The Great War, Memory, Popular Culture, and Politics in Ireland Since 1914"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Myers, Jason Robert"],"dc:date.available":["2016-03-31T17:08:30Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Despite the fact that over 200,000 Irish men fought in the British Army during the First World War, Ireland's sizeable contribution to the war remained in the shadows of history for most of the twentieth century. This dissertation examines the cultural components of the memory of the Great War in Ireland and argues that, taken together, they constitute an alternative Irish national identity that threatened and challenged republican nationalism. These cultural components existed in the realm of vernacular memory, which lay beyond the reach of the Irish government. By examining commemorative rituals, war memorials, and popular culture, this project breathes life into the vibrant and complex milieu of Great War memory in Ireland. Studying culture opens new avenues to explore questions relating to nationalism, memory, politics, and war. By tracking the changes to Great War memory throughout the twentieth, and into the twenty-first century, this study illustrates a sustained thread of shared history for all of Ireland, north and south, that transcends religious and political barriers and injects Ireland into a broader European context.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/159"],"dc:subject":["First World War","Ireland","Memory","Popular Culture","European History"],"dc:title":["A Land Fit for Heroes?: The Great War, Memory, Popular Culture, and Politics in Ireland Since 1914"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["History"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:55:08Z"}