Documentary reveals 2m Irish men died fighting for Britain

From 1700 to the end of the First World War, almost 2m Irish men died fighting for British kings and queens, according to a new RTÉ documentary.

A Sovereign People reveals how King George V personally requested Irish soldiers to fight in the war due to the myth around the ‘Fighting Irish’.

Lar Joye, director of the military collection at the National Museum, said the Irish had earned a mythical reputation in Britain and America.