The Irish Volunteers (Irish: Óglaigh na hÉireann) was a military organisation established in 1913 by Irish nationalists. It was ostensibly formed in response to the formation of the Ulster Volunteers in 1912, and its declared primary aim was "to secure and maintain the rights and liberties common to the whole people of Ireland". The Volunteers included members of the Gaelic League, Ancient Order of Hibernians and Sinn Féin, and, secretly, the IRB. At the start of World War I over 90% joined the National Volunteers and enlisted in the 10th and 16th (Irish) Divisions of the British Army, leaving the Irish Volunteers with a rump estimated at 10-14,000 members. Volunteers fought for Irish independence in 1916's Easter Rising, and were joined by the Irish Citizen Army, Cumann na mBan and Fianna Éireann to form the Irish Republican Army.
Read more about Irish Volunteers: Organization and Leadership, John Redmond and The Irish Parliamentary Party, Arming The Volunteers, The Split, The Easter Rising, 1916
Famous quotes containing the words irish and/or volunteers:
“For generations, a wide range of shooting in Northern Ireland has provided all sections of the population with a pastime which ... has occupied a great deal of leisure time. Unlike many other countries, the outstanding characteristic of the sport has been that it was not confined to any one class.”
—Northern Irish Tourist Board. quoted in New Statesman (London, Aug. 29, 1969)
“Friendship is but another name for an alliance with the follies and the misfortunes of others. Our own share of miseries is sufficient: why enter then as volunteers into those of another?”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)