We thought we’d outline why we wrote a book about six IRA men killed on the Sligo mountains…
This year, we carried out the first ever archaeological excavation of a Civil War site – the Glencar Hideout – a cave that sheltered up to 34 IRA in Sept./Oct. 1922
(thread) We were delighted to discover the names of people hiding in the cave. As archaeologists, we typically examine the remains of human activity, the things they left behind (‘material culture’). It’s very rare to know the actual names of people that used/lived at a particular site.

We’re all archaeologists with fairly different backgrounds. I - @DrJamesBonsall - specialise in geophysics & remote sensing; Dr Marion Dowd is a multi-period cave archaeologist; Robert Mulraney @cavesofireland is a cave archaeologist with a background in environmental science. Who were Sligo’s #NobleSix? They were IRA men who were shot & killed by the National Army on mountains north of Sligo in September 1922: Divisional Adjutant Brian MacNeill, Brigadier Seamus Devins, Capt. Harry Benson, Lt. Patrick Carroll, Vol. Joseph Banks & Vol. Thomas Langan

Most of the men @CWBluejackets will be looking at enlisted in America, but not all. This is the USS Kearsarge, which recruited in ports around the world as she hunted for the CSS Alabama. One place she did so was in Queenstown (Cobh), where she sparked a diplomatic incident! Despite a British law that forbade the foreign enlistment of their citizens, the Kearsarge took on quite a number of local men when she stopped into Cork Harbour. Unfortunately for the U.S. ship, a local Confederate agent informed the Government of their actions.

Good morning and welcome back to Day 3 of @irelandbattles Irish Regiments in the British Army series.

Today we will take a look at our second regiment; the Royal Irish Regiment.

(“The Royal Irish Regiment”, from the Gale and Polden postcard series) 2/ As noted in yesterday’s thread, the Royal Irish Regiment's origins lie in the recruitment of independent companies of musketeers and pikemen stationed in Ireland during the Interregnum and reign of Charles II.

In 1684, several of…

(“King Charles II” by John Michael Wright)

Good morning and welcome back to Day 2 of @irelandbattles Irish Regiments in the British Army series.

Today we will be briefly introducing the history of Irish regiments in the British Army before looking in detail at our first regiment; the Irish Guards.

(NAM 1983-11-101-1) 2/ The first Irish Regiment to be raised for service in the 'modern' British Army was formed by the Earl of Granard in 1684. By the reign of William III, this regiment had been retitled the ‘Royal Regiment of Foot of Ireland’.

(NAM 1989-05-21-1, see ALT for description)

Good morning everyone, many thanks to @irelandbattles for lending me the digital keys to the Irish At War account!

Over the next fortnight I’ll be sharing with you brief histories of the Irish infantry…

(“The Irish Regiments of the British Army, 1897”, NAM 1973-11-137-1) 2/…regiments which formed part of the British Army in 1911. In doing so we will assess the Census Returns for battalions that were serving overseas at the time of the Census was undertaken.

(Cover Cover for 1/Royal Irish Regiment, 1911)