Irish Military Archives now available online

slowburner

http://www.militaryarchives.ie/collections/online-collections/military-archives-irish-army-census-records/map

Ponster

Excellent news, thanks !

InchicoreDude

So is everyone who fought in the war of independence part of this census?

tenterfields

The census covers the Free State Army as it stood at midnight 12-13 November 1922.

InchicoreDude

Thanks for response.

I saw this on the FAQ of the Military Archives page:

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Your ancestors who served during the 1916 Rising or during the War of Independence may have made application for a medal or pension in respect of their service during that time. Pensions were awarded under the 1924 and subsequent Pension Acts. These pension records are currently available to direct next of kin only. Direct next of kin should write to the following address for information in respect of their relatives’ service during 1916 and the War of Independence:

Veterans Administration Section,
Department of Defence,
Renmore,
Galway.

Please provide Veterans Administration Section with as many personal details as possible to include full name (and any variations in spelling), date of birth, the address/es resided at during the period in which they may have made the application (1924 to 1949 most likely) and the name of any next of kin at that time. Please note that there may be a waiting period for receipt of such records given the increase in interest in this area in recent years.

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So presumably, they would have had some method of verifying that those requesting a pension were actually entitled to it.

Is it known how this verification was carried out?

I would like to know how the governing body knew that applicant was entitled to the pension. Otherwise, they would have had lots of people applying for the pension.....

tenterfields

As far as I know, in the first instance the veteran had to supply an account of his or her activities during the 1916 Rising and/or the War of Independence. I imagine the account would have had to be verified in some way, perhaps by comrades or commanding officers. Anyone thinking of following up on a relative's pension records should not expect a quick response. I understand the records are being digitised at present and are not accessible to researchers at the Military Archives. Earlier this year, I was told that they might go online before the end of the year but that is looking less likely as time slips by. The Dept of Defence in Galway is not the speediest in handling correspondence. I applied for a relative's pension records and it took months to get a reply. I eventually received a photocopy of an index card detailing his pension and the date it was granted but no copy of his application, which is what I was really after for the account of his wartime activities. In fairness, though, this was because of the digitisation project

InchicoreDude

Thanks for reply. I contacted the military archives and received this response:

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Thank you for your query. The pension applications were a standard form containing questions like when did the applicant join the Volunteers, what actions were they involved in or how did their involvement impact their ability to work or live at home. The applications had to be verified by three officers that knew the applicant during his/her service; the names of the officers are listed on the pension files. You should contact the Veterans Administration Section for more detailed information on pension records.Military Archives’ other source of information on the War of Independence period is the Bureau of Military History 1913-1921. The Bureau was established in the 1940s to gather witness statements and contemporary documents from some of the surviving participants in the Easter Rising and War of Independence. 1773 statements were collected and have recently been released online and can be searched by word at www.bureauofmilitaryhistory.ie I hope this information is of some assistance.
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So it seems to have the potential to be a rich source of information. I will check it out anyway. Hopefully, I will find something out from it.

InchicoreDude

tenterfields wrote: »

As far as I know, in the first instance the veteran had to supply an account of his or her activities during the 1916 Rising and/or the War of Independence. I imagine the account would have had to be verified in some way, perhaps by comrades or commanding officers. Anyone thinking of following up on a relative's pension records should not expect a quick response. I understand the records are being digitised at present and are not accessible to researchers at the Military Archives. Earlier this year, I was told that they might go online before the end of the year but that is looking less likely as time slips by. The Dept of Defence in Galway is not the speediest in handling correspondence. I applied for a relative's pension records and it took months to get a reply. I eventually received a photocopy of an index card detailing his pension and the date it was granted but no copy of his application, which is what I was really after for the account of his wartime activities. In fairness, though, this was because of the digitisation project

How many months did you have to wait? I am still waiting since beginning of December :-(

tenterfields

I can't remember precisely at this stage - and the papers aren't to hand - but I'm pretty sure it was more than six months. However, there is hope. The Military Archives is promising to put the pension applications of 1916 participants online soon. The announcement was in the text accompanying their "document of the month" for April and it talked about "coming weeks". You can check it out on the site.

InchicoreDude

tenterfields wrote: »

I can't remember precisely at this stage - and the papers aren't to hand - but I'm pretty sure it was more than six months. However, there is hope. The Military Archives is promising to put the pension applications of 1916 participants online soon. The announcement was in the text accompanying their "document of the month" for April and it talked about "coming weeks". You can check it out on the site.

Aah but the one I am looking for is from war of independence, not 1916

I thought only the direct next of kin is allowed access to these records? So I wonder how that will be verified if they are online?

tenterfields

The announcement I referred to said the upcoming release would include some prominent people involved in the revolutionary period, as well as the 1916 people, so maybe the people you are interested in will be included. In any event they are promising a number of releases from the collection in the run up to the 1916 centenary, though that presumably means over the next three years. The upcoming release will be accompanied by a guide to the full collection, according to the announcement, so that might help.
I'm not sure about the material being restricted to next of kin. In the case of my grand uncles, I was not asked to verify the relationship in any way so, apart from the fact that we share a surname, I could have been anybody. There is no mention of restriction on access to the promised release. Curiously, the announcement said that the material will be released only online, implying no physical access to the actual papers. Again, this suggests to me that access to the online material, at least, will not be restricted.