The Fighting Irish

the long version

For hundreds of years, Irish soldiers have sought their destiny abroad. Wherever they've traveled, whichever side of the battlefield they've stood, the tales of their exploits have never been forgotten. Leaving his birthplace, the Irish soldier has traveled with hope, often seeking to bring a liberating revolution to his fellow countrymen. In search of adventure the Fighting Irish have been found in all corners of the world. Some sailed to America and joined in frontier fighting, others demonstrated their loyalty to their adopted homeland in the bloody combats of the American Civil War, as well as campaigns against the British Empire in Canada and South Africa. The Irish soldier can also be found in the thick of war during the twentieth century-facing slaughter at the Somme, desperate last-stands in the Congo-and, more recently, in Iraq and Afghanistan. In The Fighting Irish, Tim Newark tells their tales in the dramatic words of the soldiers themselves, gathered from diaries, letters, journals, and interviews with veterans in Ireland and across the world.