Take a trip back to Easter 1916 - with the Royal Dublin Fusiliers
It occured near the German-held village of Hulluch, in France. As the rebellion roared in Dublin, more than 540 men of the Irish Division were killed instantly from the effects of the gas; the remainder would suffer chronic lung and breathing conditions for the rest of their lives.
The timing of this gas attack on April 27 by Bavarian troops was, in an Irish context, very poignant. News of the Easter rebellion in Dublin reached the Irish troops along the western front. Many of the troops were very bitter about what happened. Some, like the poet Francis Ledwidge who served with the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, had a certain amount of sympathy with the rebels. Sgt Edward Heapey of the 8th Dublins had come safely through the attack at Hulluch. He was one of the many who wrote home on the issue of Sinn Féin and the effect the rebellion had on the men’s morale and sense of betrayal: ‘I wish I had my way with the Sinn Féiners. I would put every one of them here and make them do some real good fighting and make them realise what war is like.’
