Scouting for rebels:
Na Fianna Éireann and preparation for the coming war, 1909-1918
Hay, MarnieORCID: 0000-0002-7802-2096
(2015)
Scouting for rebels:
Na Fianna Éireann and preparation for the coming war, 1909-1918.
In: Paul, Lissa, Johnston, Rosemary R. and Short, Emma, (eds.)
Children’s Literature and Culture of the First World War.
Routledge (Taylor & Francis), London & New York, pp. 268-282.
ISBN 9781138947832
Ireland, like other European countries, witnessed the rise of ‘pseudo-military’ youth groups
in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. These organizations were not only a
manifestation of the cult of discipline, training and manliness that grew out of the anxiety
about the coming war, but also, perhaps, a reaction to a widely perceived fin-de-siècle
‘decadence’ (Fitzpatrick, 1996: 382-3). In the early years of the twentieth century, many
Germans worried that ‘middle-class boys were effeminate’ and ‘the country lacked virile
soldiers’ (Donson, 2010: 49). Similarly, the British army’s poor performance against a force
of South African farmers during the Boer War (1899-1902) had provoked much concern that
Britain was in a state of decline. Fearing that they were losing their competitive edge in
industrial and military affairs and that their populations were deteriorating both physically
and morally, western countries like Germany and Britain began to concern themselves with
the health, education and moral welfare of the new generation (Heywood, 2005: 29-30). The
establishment of uniformed youth groups was one way of dealing with the perceived
problem.
Metadata
Item Type:
Book Section
Refereed:
Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords:
Ireland; early 20th century; militancy; youth movements