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A History Ireland Hedge School in conjunction with the National Library of Ireland
Fought between 1 July and 1 November 1916 the Somme Offensive was one of the bloodiest battles in history, costing the lives of more than 1.5 million men. On the first day alone the British Army suffered c. 60,000 casualties, many of them members of the 36th (Ulster) Division, and later soldiers of the 16th (Irish) Division were involved. While the involvement of the former continues to be extensively commemorated (especially in the North), Southern nationalist involvement has left a more ambiguous legacy. To explore the latter and related matters History Ireland editor, Tommy Graham, Tom Burke (Royal Dublin Fusiliers Association), Lar Joye (National Museum), David Murphy (Maynooth) and Jennifer Wellington (UCD) joined a large audience at the National Library of Ireland on 19 July 2016 at 7pm.