Tales of those in ‘the big house’ to The Great War

A young priest who heroically insisted on spiritually aiding the men in the trenches, or a nurse driving an ambulance with all hell breaking loose around her. These are some of the stories in the latest collection of books about World War One.

The experiences of people from many of the grand old country houses are revealed in a new publication, The Irish Country House and the Great War, by Maurice and Jane O’Keeffe of Tralee, Co Kerry, as part of their continuing Irish Life and Lore oral history series.

Members of 52 families have been recorded in audio and the collection will be launched in the National Library, this Wednesday — two days before the 100th anniversary of the British declaration of war on Germany.