In a Time of War Tipperary 1914-1918

In this vivid and captivating new history, Clonmel native John Dennehy explores the profound political, economic, military and social impact of the Great War on one Irish county: Tipperary. Little has been written on the impact of the war on everyday life – food prices, the role of women, soldier suicide, foreign refugees. It was a time of contested loyalties at home and unparalleled brutality abroad, and while the ordinary citizens were well aware of the bloody toll, thousands continued to enlist. And if men moved to fight, women mobilised to help, playing a central role in all aspects of the home front from fund-raising to training in first-aid, all contributing to the emergence of women’s freedoms in Ireland after the war. Yet the insensitive handling of recruitment and the aborted attempt to impose conscription ensured there would be no successful transition from war to peace in the county, and Tipperary emerged radicalised and divided from the conflict. The dramatic general election of December 1918 and the battle for independence that followed, muffled the trauma and emotion Tipperary experienced during the First World War, and set the scene for the political convulsions to follow. This is the story of that time.