The Irish Anzacs Project is a significant research undertaking of the Global Irish Studies Centre (now called Irish Studies at UNSW), made possible by a grant from the Irish government’s Emigrant Support Program. The project aims to identify all Irish-born enlistments in the Australian Imperial Force during the First World War, or as close to all as is practicable, and to compile a publicly accessible database containing information on each of them. The database will provide families with information on their Irish-born family members who served in the war as well as providing statistical information to assist researchers understand the contribution of the Irish to the Australian war effort.

The information in the database has been extracted from service records held by the National Archives of Australia and includes the following details: name, town and county of birth, date and place of enlistment, declared age, occupation, marital status, next of kin location, previous military service, religion, and the unit to which initially posted. Over time, additional information is being added from other sources such as the Roll of Honour, the Embarkation Roll, the Nominal Roll, the list of Awards and Decorations and the Red Cross files relating to the wounded and missing and to prisoners of war, ultimately producing for each soldier a comprehensive record. When completed the database will contain details of more than 6000 Irish-born soldiers and nurses who enlisted in the Australian forces.

Mr Charlie Flanagan TD launching Irish Anzacs database in Ireland at UCD

The Irish Anzacs database was launched in Ireland on 17 October 2014 by the Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr Charlie Flanagan TD at University College Dublin with a live Skype link to the Global Irish Studies Centre at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. The launch of the database was followed by a full-day symposium “Emergent Nations: Australia and Ireland in the First World War – Gallipoli, Conscription and Commemoration“. The Australian launch of the Irish Anzacs database will take place on 28 March 2015 during the 14th Australasian Congress on Genealogy and Heraldry in Canberra.

To access the Irish Anzacs database go to the webpage of Irish Studies at UNSW.