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world war I
Today marks 100 years since the Battle of Mons - this video shows Ireland's involvement
15,000 Irishmen were part of the initial British forces to land in mainland Europe.
100 YEARS AGO today, the Battle of Mons broke out.
15,000 Irishmen formed part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) who arrived at Belgian town in August 1914.
This video by Ronan McGreevy recounts how an Irishman fired the British Army’s first shot of the war and how Irish Lieutenant Maurice Dease manned a machine gun to hold a railway bridge across the Mons-Condé Canal outside Mons.
Today, Mons is marking the battle, which saw around 1,600 British and over 5,000 German soldiers die.
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