Decorative Arts & History

These images show the D Company, 7th Battalion, of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers (RDF) preparing to leave and marching from Royal Barracks in April 1915 on route to Gallipoli to serve in World War I with the British Army. 

Irishmen enlisted in the army for a variety of political, economic and social reasons. A ‘Pals’ battalion was an army group consisting of men from local areas, social groups, or careers, who enlisted together. They would usually be founded by a local figure – such as a mayor – and were an incentive to fight, as you would be with your friends and neighbours. Pals battalions proved a successful recruiting tool for the British Army: 145 were raised between August 1914 and June 1916.  

A famous example of a Pals battalion in Ireland was the D Company of the 7th RDF, made up largely of Irish rugby and cricket players. They were encouraged to enlist by Frank Browning, head of the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU). The IRFU believed that rugby was the perfect ideological and physical breeding ground for the armed forces, especially for officers. Browning sent letters to all Dublin rugby clubs encouraging their players to enlist, and by mid-August 1914, IRFU Volunteer Corps had been established.  

In total, 220 athletes signed up to join D Company, led by Lieutenant-Colonel Geoffrey Downing, who would have been well known to many of them, as the captain of Monkstown Football Team. Predominantly made up of lower middle-class Protestants, with an average age of 24, they were perceived to have a higher social status than the other units of the RDF and were often referred to as the “toffs among the toughs.” 

The Pals were based initially in the Curragh before coming to Royal Barracks. They received very basic training, consisting of marching around Clarke Square and up to the Wicklow mountains and back. They were also taught how to use basic weapons such as rifles. However, this would be no match against the type of warfare they would meet in Gallipoli.  

These photos were taken in April 1915 on the day that the soldiers marched out of Royal Barracks to go to war. They were published in the Irish Times, in which the mood of the departure was described as “upbeat.” A band played while the soldiers said goodbye to their families. Although they were sent to Sulva Bay on the 7th of August, they had neither maps nor clear instructions. Moreover, their artillery guns had been sent to France by mistake. After 8 weeks, only 79 of the initial 220 men were still alive.