The Irish Anzacs database is again available online. Launched in 2014 the database was originally hosted at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Repository (FASS Repository), which ceased operation in July 2020.
Attempts to find an alternative institutional host have been unsuccessful. Hence the decision to set up my own website to provide access to the database as well as to general information on the Irish Anzacs and on the relationship between Australia and Ireland during the First World War. Click here to visit the Irish Anzacs website.
History of the Irish Anzacs Project
The Irish Anzacs Project began in 2011 as a research undertaking through the Global Irish Studies Centre (UNSW). The work of compiling the database was made possible by a grant in 2012 from the Irish government’s Emigrant Support Program administered by the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
The database was launched in October 2014 simultaneously by video link in Ireland and Australia by the Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan TD at University College Dublin and the Irish Ambassador to Australia Noel White at UNSW.
Purpose of the Irish Anzacs Project
The aim of the Irish Anzacs Project was and is to identify all the Irish-born men and women who served in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) during the First World War and to compile a publicly accessible database containing information on each of them.
The database provides families with information on their Irish-born family members who served in the AIF in the war as well as providing statistical data to assist researchers understand the contribution of the Irish to the Australian war effort.
Sources of information
The information in the database has been extracted from the service records held by the National Archives of Australia (NAA), and includes the following details: name, town and county of birth, religion, occupation, marital status, next of kin location, date and state of enlistment, declared age, the unit to which initially posted, and the soldier’s fate and the date thereof.
In addition, information has been added from sources maintained by the Australian War Memorial (AWM) such as the Roll of Honour (which records those who were killed or died as a result of their war service), the Embarkation Roll, the list of Honours and Awards, and the Australian Red Cross’s files relating to wounded and missing soldiers and prisoners of war.
Links to NAA and AWM websites enable searchers to view the original records of the Irish Anzacs they are researching. Ultimately the database will provide for each Irish-born soldier and nurse a comprehensive record of their service in the AIF.