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{{Short description|Paramilitary member}}
{{otheruses|Volunteer (disambiguation)}} {{Other uses|Volunteer (disambiguation)}}
'''Volunteer''', often abbreviated '''Vol.''', is a term used by a number of ] and ] ] organisations to describe their members. Among these have been ] (IRA), the ] (INLA) and the ] (UVF). '''Óglach''' is the equivalent title used in the ].<ref> See for example from a ] website</ref>
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}


A '''volunteer''' is a member of various ] ] organisations. Among these have been ] (IRA), the ] (INLA),<ref>See for example (from a ] website): {{Cite web |title=Cumann Mac Curtáin / Mac Suibhne, Corcaigh: Belfast Brigade 25th Anniversary of H-Block Hunger Strike 1981–2006 |url=http://www.rsfcork.com/hungerstrikes.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061230045927/http://www.rsfcork.com/hungerstrikes.htm |publisher=Republican SINN FÉIN Poblachtach |archive-date=30 December 2006 |access-date=6 March 2024}}</ref> and the ] (IPLO).{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} ''{{Lang|ga|Óglach}}'' is the equivalent title in the ].<ref> https://www.focloir.ie/en/dictionary/ei/volunteer#volunteer__4 </ref>
==History==
The original use of the term 'Volunteer' in this context dates back to the 18th centry ], an almost exclusively Protestant<ref name="Volunteers">{{cite book |title=A Concise History of Ireland |last=Duffy |first=Sean |isbn=0717138100 |year=2005}}</ref> ] corps raised in 1778 to augment the army and to defend ] from foreign invasion. However many of its membership were just as concerned with securing Irish free trade and opposing English governmental interference in Ireland as they were in repelling the French.<ref name="Volunteers">{{cite book |title=A Concise History of Ireland |last=Duffy |first=Sean |isbn=0717138100 |year=2005}}</ref> More directly, modern republicans trace their descent back to the foundation of the ] in 1913. This was an ] militia which hoped to secure ] for Ireland. The Irish Volunteers were formed in opposition to the anti-Home Rule ]. A faction within the Volunteers staged the ] in 1916 in pursuit on an independent ]. This group became the ] in 1919 and fought the ] from 1919-1921. The IRA of this era continued to refer to its members as "Volunteers".


==Background==
]<br>"Óglaigh na hÉireann" and "Fianna Fáil" (FF) are alternative translations of "Irish Volunteers"]]
The ] were formed in 1913, in reaction to the formation of the ] earlier that year, to protect the interests of ] during the ].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Foy|first1=Michael|last2=Barton|first2=Brian|title=The Easter Rising|date=2004|publisher=Sutton Publishing|isbn=0750934336|page=|url=https://archive.org/details/easterrising0000foym/page/7}}</ref> The Volunteers took part in the 1916 ] and—as the ] (IRA)—in the ].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Coogan|first1=Tim Pat|title=Ireland in the 20th Century|date=2004|publisher=Arrow Books|isbn=1407097210|pages=52–3, 73|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zWgfwHuOCHYC&pg=PA52}}</ref> The title "Volunteer" or "Vol." was used for members of the Volunteers who were involved in the 1916 Rising,<ref>{{cite news|last1=McGreevy|first1=Ronan|title=Stories of the Revolution: Dan Breen's battle with bureaucracy|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/heritage/stories-of-the-revolution-dan-breen-s-battle-with-bureaucracy-1.2462077|access-date=19 December 2016|work=Irish Times|date=11 December 2015|archive-date=10 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310003939/http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/heritage/stories-of-the-revolution-dan-breen-s-battle-with-bureaucracy-1.2462077|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Milltown20>{{cite web|last1=Melaugh|first1=Martin|title=The County Antrim Memorial (Milltown Cemetery): Photograph M584P20/28|url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/cgi-bin/AHRC/photos.pl?id=1004&mon=584|website=CAIN: Conflict Archive on the Internet|access-date=19 December 2016|archive-date=2 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180402200128/http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/cgi-bin/AHRC/photos.pl?id=1004&mon=584|url-status=live}}</ref> and in the War of Independence. A number of witness statements given to the ] make frequent use of "Volunteer" as a title for members of the Volunteers and IRA during that period.<ref>{{cite web|title=Witness Statement 1007 (Daniel Ryan)|url=https://www.bureauofmilitaryhistory.ie/reels/bmh/BMH.WS1007.pdf|publisher=Bureau of Military History|access-date=19 December 2016|archive-date=2 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160402170523/http://bureauofmilitaryhistory.ie/reels/bmh/BMH.WS1007.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=WS 1064 (Michael Healy)|url=https://www.bureauofmilitaryhistory.ie/reels/bmh/BMH.WS1064.pdf|publisher=BMH|access-date=19 December 2016|archive-date=16 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190716234831/http://www.bureauofmilitaryhistory.ie/reels/bmh/BMH.WS1064.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=WS 1131 (Patrick Mahony)|url=https://www.bureauofmilitaryhistory.ie/reels/bmh/BMH.WS1311.pdf|publisher=BMH|access-date=19 December 2016|archive-date=26 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230226164306/https://www.bureauofmilitaryhistory.ie/reels/bmh/BMH.WS1311.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=WS 1381 (William King)|url=https://www.bureauofmilitaryhistory.ie/reels/bmh/BMH.WS1381.pdf|publisher=BMH|access-date=19 December 2016|archive-date=9 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160509001254/http://www.bureauofmilitaryhistory.ie/reels/bmh/BMH.WS1381.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The County Antrim Memorial in ] in Belfast lists IRA members who died at various times between 1916 and the period of the ] in the late 20th century. "Volunteer" is used for those members who were not officers.<ref name=Milltown20/><ref>{{cite web|last1=Melaugh|first1=Martin|title=The County Antrim Memorial: Photograph M584P8/28|url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/cgi-bin/AHRC/photos.pl?id=992&mon=584|website=CAIN|access-date=19 December 2016|archive-date=2 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180402200026/http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/cgi-bin/AHRC/photos.pl?id=992&mon=584|url-status=live}}</ref>
The Irish Volunteers' name in ] was ], literally translatable as "Warriors of Ireland".<ref>{{cite book |title=Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla / Irish-English Dictionary |last=Ó Dónaill |first=Niall |isbn=1857910389 |year=1977 |publisher=] |location=] |quote='''óglach:''' 1. (lit.) a young man (a) (young) warrior 2. Lit. Attendant, servant or vassal. 3. Mil: Volunteer; Óglaigh na hÉireann, the Irish Volunteers.}}</ref> The original IRA, and subsequent organisations of the same name, all of which see themselves as inheritors of the original Irish Volunteers, continue to use ''Óglaigh na hÉireann'' as their Irish name. An alternative Irish name, ''Fianna Fáil'', also translatable as "Warriors of Ireland", was also sometimes used. The term ''Fianna Fáil'' was used in the Irish national anthem, '']'' and as the name of the ], founded in 1926. The initials "FF" were incorporated into the Volunteer badge, and later the badge of the Irish Defence Forces..<ref>The Earl of Longford and Thomas P. O’Neill, ''Eamon de Valera'', Dublin 1970, ISBN 978-0-09-104660-6, chapter 21</ref>


==Use==
The regular ] also trace their descent back to the Irish Volunteers and the original IRA. Their Irish title is also ''Óglaigh na hÉireann''. However, a new member is described as "recruit"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.military.ie/careers/army_recruits.htm |title=The Army Recruit |accessdate=2007-02-11 |publisher=Irish Defence Forces}}</ref> (Irish ''earcach''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.military.ie/irish/careers/army_recruits.htm |title= Earcach an Airm |accessdate=2007-02-11 |publisher=Irish Defence Forces |language=Irish}} (Irish-language version of the preceding page)</ref>) or "cadet" (Irish ''dalta'')<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.military.ie/careers/cadetships.htm |title=Defence Forces Cadetships |accessdate=2007-02-11 |publisher=Irish Defence Forces}}</ref> rather than a "Volunteer" or ''Óglach''. The ] uses ''Saighdiúr Singil'' ("single soldier") as Irish for ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.military.ie/irish/introduction/ranks.htm |title=Óglaigh na hÉireann: An Struchtúr Céime |accessdate=2007-02-11 |publisher=Irish Defence Forces}}{{ga icon}} (Defence Forces ranks in Irish) </ref>
The term ''volunteer'' can refer to any member of an Irish republican paramilitary organisation,<ref>{{cite book |title=The Gun in Politics: An Analysis of Irish Political Conflict, 1916-1986 |first=J. Bowyer |last=Bell |year=1987 |publisher=Transaction Books |author-link=J. Bowyer Bell |isbn=0-88738-126-X}}</ref> to a "rank and file" member, similar to a '']'', or to a member that is not a senior officer such as ] or ].<ref>{{cite book |title=A Secret History of the IRA |first=Ed |last=Moloney |year=2002 |isbn=0-7139-9665-X |page=571|publisher=Allen Lane }}</ref> ], an ] member killed in 1972, was referred to in commemorations as a "Staff Captain" but also as a "Volunteer".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/viggiani/south_plaque.html |title=South Belfast - Plaques |publisher=] |access-date=11 February 2007 |archive-date=8 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608074623/http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/viggiani/south_plaque.html |url-status=live }}</ref> On the other hand, ], the commander of the ] in 1971, said in a press conference after ] that year, that British forces had only succeeded in arresting two officers of the ]. "The rest are volunteers, or as they say in the ], privates".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1iwueLGHfM |title=YouTube - The Ulster Troubles (Part 17 of 24)<!-- Bot generated title --> |website=] |access-date=2 December 2016 |archive-date=11 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611173530/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1iwueLGHfM |url-status=live }}</ref> The 'v' in "volunteer" may or may not be capitalized.


⚫ Most modern IRA memorials refer to the dead only as "Volunteer", "Vol." or "''{{lang|ga|Óglach}}''" rather than giving a specific rank.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/viggiani/west_memorial.html |title=West Belfast - Memorials |publisher=CAIN |access-date=11 February 2007 |archive-date=22 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110922132557/http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/viggiani/west_memorial.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/viggiani/west_mural.html |title=West Belfast - Murals |publisher=CAIN |access-date=11 February 2007 |archive-date=8 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608074718/http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/viggiani/west_mural.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Definition==
The term ''volunteer'' can be used to describe the entire membership of an Irish paramilitary organisation<ref>{{cite book |title=The Gun in Politics: An Analysis of Irish Political Conflict, 1916-1986 |first=J. Bowyer |last=Bell |authorlink=J. Bowyer Bell |isbn=088738126X}}</ref>, but can be used to describe a "rank and file" member, similar to that of a ] or a member that does not hold the role of an officer such as ] or ].<ref>{{cite book |title=A Secret History of the IRA |first=Ed |last=Moloney |year=2002 |isbn=0-71-399665-X |page=571}}</ref> Use of the term is quite elastic, not only in its application to describe either all members or specifically lower ranks, but also over whether the 'v' is capitalised or not.


The grave of ], who was adjutant (second in command) of the ] of the IRA in the early 1970s and who subsequently became ] in the ], a post he held until just before his death in 2017, calls him "{{lang|ga|Óglach}} Martin McGuinness".<ref>{{cite news|last1=O'Neill|first1=Leona|title=Martin McGuinness IRA volunteer headstone inscription angers unionists|url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/martin-mcguinness-ira-volunteer-headstone-inscription-angers-unionists-35627574.html|access-date=18 April 2017|work=Belfast Telegraph|date=17 April 2017|archive-date=19 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170419003123/http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/martin-mcguinness-ira-volunteer-headstone-inscription-angers-unionists-35627574.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
Sometimes the term volunteer is used specifically to refer to a low-ranking paramilitary. For instance, the IRA's ] stated in a press conference, after ] in 1971, that the British forces had arrested two "officers" in the ]—"the rest are volunteers, or as they say in the ], privates" <ref></ref>.


== See also ==
However, in other cases, the term is used to refer to all members. For example, ] member ], killed in 1972 was referred to in commemorations by his rank "Staff Captain" but also as a "Volunteer" <ref>{{cite web |url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/viggiani/south_plaque.html |title=South Belfast - Plaques |publisher=] |accessdate=2007-02-11 }}</ref>.
*]

⚫ Most modern IRA memorials refer to the dead only as "Volunteer", "Vol." or "Óglach" rather than giving a specific rank.<ref> {{cite web |url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/viggiani/west_memorial.html |title=West Belfast - Memorials |publisher=CAIN |accessdate=2007-02-11 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/viggiani/west_mural.html |title= West Belfast - Murals |publisher=CAIN |accessdate=2007-02-11 }}</ref>

==Becoming a republican volunteer==
] defines the role of a new volunteer as follows:<ref>{{cite book |first=Martin |last=Dillon |title=The Dirty War |publisher=] |year=1990 |isbn=0-09-984520-2, |page=468}}</ref>

*General Order number 1, "The duties of a Volunteer shall be at the discretion of a unit commander ... A Volunteer who for any reason, ceases to maintain contact with his or her unit for a period of three months shall automatically cease to be a member of the army."

*General Order Number 2:"Volunteers when making the Army Declaration promise; to obey all orders and regulations issued by the Army Authority and any superior officers. Where an order issued by a duly accredited officer has been disobeyed, the Volunteer in question must be suspended immediately, pending investigation of the case."

==In Loyalism==
] paramilitary memorials also remember their dead as "Volunteers" <ref>{{cite web |url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/viggiani/east_memorial.html |title= East Belfast - Memorials |publisher=CAIN |accessdate=2007-02-11 }}</ref>. ], founder of the modern ], described himself as a "Volunteer of Ulster".<ref>{{cite book |first=Patrick |last=Bishop |coauthors=Eamon Mallie |title=The Provisional IRA |isbn=0434074101 |publisher=] |year=1987 |page=238 }}</ref>


== References == == References ==
{{reflist}} {{reflist}}

] ]
] ]

Latest revision as of 10:53, 21 November 2024

Paramilitary member For other uses, see Volunteer (disambiguation).

A volunteer is a member of various Irish republican paramilitary organisations. Among these have been the various forms of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA), and the Irish People's Liberation Organization (IPLO). Óglach is the equivalent title in the Irish language.

Background

The Irish Volunteers were formed in 1913, in reaction to the formation of the Ulster Volunteer Force earlier that year, to protect the interests of Irish nationalists during the Home Rule Crisis. The Volunteers took part in the 1916 Easter Rising and—as the Irish Republican Army (IRA)—in the Irish War of Independence. The title "Volunteer" or "Vol." was used for members of the Volunteers who were involved in the 1916 Rising, and in the War of Independence. A number of witness statements given to the Bureau of Military History make frequent use of "Volunteer" as a title for members of the Volunteers and IRA during that period. The County Antrim Memorial in Milltown Cemetery in Belfast lists IRA members who died at various times between 1916 and the period of the Troubles in the late 20th century. "Volunteer" is used for those members who were not officers.

Use

The term volunteer can refer to any member of an Irish republican paramilitary organisation, to a "rank and file" member, similar to a private, or to a member that is not a senior officer such as Chief of Staff or Quartermaster General. Joe McCann, an Official IRA member killed in 1972, was referred to in commemorations as a "Staff Captain" but also as a "Volunteer". On the other hand, Joe Cahill, the commander of the Provisional IRA Belfast Brigade in 1971, said in a press conference after the introduction of internment that year, that British forces had only succeeded in arresting two officers of the Provisional IRA. "The rest are volunteers, or as they say in the British Army, privates". The 'v' in "volunteer" may or may not be capitalized.

Most modern IRA memorials refer to the dead only as "Volunteer", "Vol." or "Óglach" rather than giving a specific rank.

The grave of Martin McGuinness, who was adjutant (second in command) of the Derry Brigade of the IRA in the early 1970s and who subsequently became deputy First Minister in the Northern Ireland Executive, a post he held until just before his death in 2017, calls him "Óglach Martin McGuinness".

See also

References

  1. See for example (from a Republican Sinn Féin website): "Cumann Mac Curtáin / Mac Suibhne, Corcaigh: Belfast Brigade 25th Anniversary of H-Block Hunger Strike 1981–2006". Republican SINN FÉIN Poblachtach. Archived from the original on 30 December 2006. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  2. https://www.focloir.ie/en/dictionary/ei/volunteer#volunteer__4
  3. Foy, Michael; Barton, Brian (2004). The Easter Rising. Sutton Publishing. p. 7. ISBN 0750934336.
  4. Coogan, Tim Pat (2004). Ireland in the 20th Century. Arrow Books. pp. 52–3, 73. ISBN 1407097210.
  5. McGreevy, Ronan (11 December 2015). "Stories of the Revolution: Dan Breen's battle with bureaucracy". Irish Times. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  6. ^ Melaugh, Martin. "The County Antrim Memorial (Milltown Cemetery): Photograph M584P20/28". CAIN: Conflict Archive on the Internet. Archived from the original on 2 April 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  7. "Witness Statement 1007 (Daniel Ryan)" (PDF). Bureau of Military History. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 April 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  8. "WS 1064 (Michael Healy)" (PDF). BMH. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 July 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  9. "WS 1131 (Patrick Mahony)" (PDF). BMH. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 February 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  10. "WS 1381 (William King)" (PDF). BMH. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 May 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  11. Melaugh, Martin. "The County Antrim Memorial: Photograph M584P8/28". CAIN. Archived from the original on 2 April 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  12. Bell, J. Bowyer (1987). The Gun in Politics: An Analysis of Irish Political Conflict, 1916-1986. Transaction Books. ISBN 0-88738-126-X.
  13. Moloney, Ed (2002). A Secret History of the IRA. Allen Lane. p. 571. ISBN 0-7139-9665-X.
  14. "South Belfast - Plaques". CAIN. Archived from the original on 8 June 2011. Retrieved 11 February 2007.
  15. "YouTube - The Ulster Troubles (Part 17 of 24)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  16. "West Belfast - Memorials". CAIN. Archived from the original on 22 September 2011. Retrieved 11 February 2007.
  17. "West Belfast - Murals". CAIN. Archived from the original on 8 June 2011. Retrieved 11 February 2007.
  18. O'Neill, Leona (17 April 2017). "Martin McGuinness IRA volunteer headstone inscription angers unionists". Belfast Telegraph. Archived from the original on 19 April 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
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