Ireland's Opportunity: Global Irish Nationalism and the South African War

How the South African War transformed nationalist politics across Ireland’s global diaspora

In 1899, the British Empire embarked on a deeply controversial war against two small Boer Republics in South Africa. To many Irish nationalists, the Boers were fellow victims of British mistreatment. Defeat for the Boers, they worried, would mean defeat for the principle that small, white nations like Ireland were entitled to govern themselves. Widespread outrage sparked a dramatic resurgence in Irish...