“The Irishmen – Immigrants, Soldiers, and the Spark of Revolutions”

Author

• Joshua Hanscheck, University of Texas at ArlingtonFollow

Graduation Semester and Year

Spring 2026

Language

English

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in History

Department

History

First Advisor

David Baillargeon

Second Advisor

Kenyon Zimmer

Third Advisor

Paul Conrad

Abstract

The Irish, as a people and a revolutionary inspiration, have been the subject of research and discussion for much of the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries. A trope has emerged that the Irish could take over the world, if they were not so busy chasing the bottom of their pub glasses, but the trope – stereotypes about Irish drinking aside – is grounded in some truth. The diaspora encouraged many things: a revival in Gaelic culture, a general disdain among outsiders for the Irish as a people group, and, most importantly, a revolutionary fervor that seemed almost infectious. This fervor was molded by hundreds of years of oppression at the hands of the British, spurred by religious sectarianism, and finalized by still fresh memories of a famine that could likely have been prevented or lessened with the least bit of English empathy. As the world moved into the twentieth century, anti-British sentiment began to bubble around the Empire, assisted by the Irish diaspora.

Keywords

Ireland, India, South Africa, Australia, nationalism, colonialism

Disciplines

Asian History | European History | Military History | Social History

License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Hanscheck, Joshua, "“The Irishmen – Immigrants, Soldiers, and the Spark of Revolutions”" (2026). History Theses. 1.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/history_theses2/1