Wherever the Firing Line Extends

The First World War was the biggest conflict in Irish history. More men served and more men died than in all the wars before or since that the Irish fought in. Often forgotten at home and written out of Irish history, the Irish soldiers and their regiments found themselves more honoured in foreign fields. From the first shot monument in Mons to the plaque to the Royal Irish Lancers who liberated the town on Armistice Day 1918, Ronan McGreevy takes a tour of the Western Front. At a time when Ireland is revisiting its history and its place in the world, McGreevy looks at those places where the Irish made their mark and are remembered in the monuments, cemeteries and landscapes of France and Flanders.

Ronan McGreevy is a senior journalist with the Irish Times. He writes a regular column and features, and produces video content for the Irish Times website to support his written pieces. For the purpose of this book he will be travelling around Europe as part of his work with the Irish Times and serialization of elements of this work in the Irish Times is planned.