bandoliers

several of them are wearing wrist watches, it's the first time I have seen watches being worn in these period pictures ?

Foxglove Only one other that I remember, but then Waterford people were always ahead of their "time"...

Definitely colonials, Oz, could be Field Artillery Brigade (FAB).

Suck Diesel I think you're right about Australia / New Zealand. It's the slouch hats...

I think the lapel badges are that of the Australian Commonwealth Military Forces.

A group of Redmondite volunteer Non Commissioned Officers in full regalia! I don't think I've seen anything like this before. All patriotic and well meaning and caught out by the Rising in 1916 and the decision of their leaders to support Britain in WW1 in the hope of gaining Home Rule by peaceful means. Many of them joined the war effort in Europe and lost their lives and many more changed over and took an active part in the war of independence. They are surprisingly well equipped with rifles, those are Lee-Enfield Mark II riflles the standard issue to the British Army at that time though they are sporting Boer War bandoliers.

Swordscookie Thanks, Sean, for condensing 10 turbulent years of Irish history into a few lines, and for the techie information. I've tagged from what you've said. You say "surprisingly well equipped". The rifles may have been up to date, but I wonder how many of those rifles the Volunteers had - not just those that would be displayed for PR reasons in a photo like this?

Swordscookie Pigsticker = Bayonet??

National Library of Ireland on The Commons Of course. The chap near the pointy end better not move in a hurry or he'll be bleeding like a stuck pig!

Swordscookie Thank you for that eloquent and evocative descripion! :)

“The Irish Volunteers was a paramilitary organisation formed in November 1913. It was set up in response to an article by Eoin MacNeill in the nationalist newspaper, An Claidheamh Soluis. The article called on nationalists to arm themselves in order to achieve Home Rule.

With the advent of the First World War, there was a split in the Irish Volunteers. This was because the leader of the Nationalist Party, John Redmond, called on all Irish Volunteers to support the British war effort. Those who agreed with Redmond became the National Volunteers. Those who did not want to support the British in the war remained the Irish Volunteers, many of whom eventually took part in the 1916 Rising”

"the first item on the agenda of any Irish organisation is the split"
- Brendan Behan

Great to see there is a Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy in Company B ...

[Aside] - www.youtube.com

beachcomber australia I was wondering which of you would suggest this!

The catalogue says this is September 1914, the same month the Volunteers split over support for WW1

Niall McAuley Missed September. Mea culpa!