Military service pensions and the recognition and reintegration of guerrilla fighters after the Irish revolution

Abstract

Recently released archives from the Irish military service pensions collection (M.S.P.C.) offer an important opportunity to examine the post-conflict experience of veterans of guerrilla warfare. Pensioning has been used effectively to study the post-conflict lives of veterans of conventional wars but analysis of the experience of guerrillas has been largely limited to the security threat posed to peace by these former combatants. The pensions awarded to veterans of the Irish revolution (1916-23) indicate that recognition was central to veterans’ concerns and serve as a useful historical example of the post-conflict reintegration of ex-combatants.