In his short, but eventful life, Martin Doyle fought for three armies, the British Army, the IRA and the National Army of the Free State. It is unsurprising that somebody of Doyle’s social status would wish to join the British army. In 1881, an Irishman could earn £25 a year as an agricultural labourer but £40 a year as a private in the British army. Karsten states that Irishmen in the nineteenth century did not join the British army; it was simply ‘the army’. A month later he left the British army after nine years.

Source: The Irish Times February 01, 2020 17:22 UTC