Abstract

The treatment of Great War remembrance and commemoration in the southern counties of Ireland has been overwhelmingly attributed to concepts of historical amnesia within nationalist memory of the war. Scholarship focuses primarily on Northern Ireland, the Battle of the Somme, and divisions between unionist and nationalist units. My study challenges this notion of amnesia by turning its focus to the Gallipoli campaign, the effects it had on life in Ireland, and its ongoing historical legacy in nationalist memory. Through an examination of Gallipoli’s remembrance and commemoration, it becomes clear that the experience of Irish soldiers at Gallipoli had a profound impact at home, adding to existing political tension. Through analyses of popular print media representations of the campaign, the influence of memory studies, and the intrinsic connection between commemoration and politics, this research examines why Gallipoli remains outside of the linear Irish historical narrative, despite efforts in the late-1990s and 2000s to revive Great War memory in Ireland. Additionally, the Decade of Centenaries project undertaken by the Irish government is centrally explored as a missed opportunity for Irish war commemoration to place Gallipoli within the narrative, next to events deemed more important like the Easter Rising, instead of keeping it on the fringes.