The Great War
When the Great War began in August 1914 battalions of the three Irish Regiments were included in the original British Expeditionary Force; the London Irish Rifles were soon in France also.
Many additional battalions were raised and served in all theatres of war. There were over one hundred Irish Infantry Battalions altogether of which eighty saw active service.
Losses were heavy: The Inniskillings alone had 2,208 killed or wounded on 1 July 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme. Seventy battle honours were gained in the four years of war, more than in all the earlier history of the Regiments.
More Victoria Crosses had also been won: The Inniskillings were awarded eight, of which two were posthumous; the Royal Irish Rifles gained three, of which two were posthumous and the Royal Irish Fusiliers two, of which one was posthumous (the other VC winner was killed shortly afterwards). Four of these VCs were won on the opening day of the Battle of the Somme. Two were won by Inniskillings at Gallipoli and another in Palestine.