The War to End All Wars. A small island off the West coast of Donegal, Ireland. The Somme, Ypres, Gallipoli, Jutland, Ardenne Forest…

One might suppose that there would not be much of an overlap between these world changing events and the lives of Donegal islanders, however it is an incorrect assumption.

Following a discussion in 2014 on Stáir Árainn Mhór about a number of islanders who had fought and died in World War One we started to research from a number of leads. To date we have found 15 men who fought in various services and theatres of war around the world. Some survived, others did not.

Their bravery and courage in the face of some of the worst horrors of The Great War is without doubt.  Here are some of their stories…