WW1 Commemoration Lecture: Chaplains in the First World War & the life and legacy of Irish chaplain Father Willie Doyle

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WW1 Commemoration Lecture: Chaplains in the First World War & the life and legacy of Irish chaplain Father Willie Doyle
18h00, Monday 5th May 2014
180 Chaussée d’Etterbeek, 1040 Etterbeek

As part of the Embassy of Ireland First World War Commemoration Programme, the Embassy presents an evening lecture and musical performances exploring the theme of Chaplains in the First World War & the life and legacy of Irish chaplain Father Willie Doyle, with Carole Hope, Tracey McRory & Richard Laird.

Venue: First Floor, 180 Chaussée d’Etterbeek, 1040 Etterbeek
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Date: Monday 5th May 2014
Time: 18h00
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All welcome ● Registration Necessary

Carole Hope, author of Worshipper and Worshipped Across the Divide – An Irish Padre of the Great War Father Willie Doyle: Chaplain to the Forces 1915-1918, will examine how the chaplaincy service grew from less than 120 chaplains in 1914 to approximately 3,500 by the end of the war and how the role of Army Chaplains, in particular, expanded to meet the challenges posed by the conflict. The presentation will also explore the issue of chaplains, albeit non-combatants, receiving gallantry awards.

Musical performances will be provided by Irish musicians Tracey McRory and Richard Laird who have been composing and performing music around the theme of World War One for many years. Tracey’s granduncle Fr James McRory was a Chaplain to the 16th Irish Division and was wounded at the Battle of Passchendaele on 21st October 1917. Tracey and Richard have composed specially commissioned music dedicated to Chaplains of WW1 are currently working on a new album of songs about WW1 and the impact it had on the Island of Ireland.

In the year of the centenary of the outbreak of the Great War, no Irishman deserves to be remembered more than the most courageous Jesuit Chaplain Father Willie Doyle. Father Willie Doyle was revered by troops of his own 16th (Irish) Division. He was also, counter intuitively, highly respected in the ranks of units such as the 36th (Ulster) Division, many of them Belfast working-class Protestants. Carole Hope’s study of Fr. Willie Doyle and her insights into his military service are a valuable addition to the new research into the Irish contribution to the First World War.
-Myles Dungan