Former Irish Times journalist Kevin Myers, who spent decades writing about Irish involvement in the first World War, has launched his first book on the subject- Ireland’s Great War.
Myers wrote extensively about the war for decades in The Irish Times particularly through his Irishman’s Diary columns.
Myers acknowledged the transformation in attitudes towards the first World War in Ireland has been “extraordinary” in recent years.
“I didn’t think it could change the way it has changed.”
Myers says that it is wrong for the Government to rely on the “hopelessly inaccurate” Irish National War Memorial Records to determine how many Irish died in the first World War.
He spent two years examining the records which were compiled in 1922 and list some 49,400 dead.
He published his findings in the Irish Times in 1980. He estimated the true number of Irish dead in the war was around 35,000 rather than 49,400, though he says the figure may now be closer to 40,000.
To hear the interview in full, listen back here:
