Irish Australian, journalist and polymath, Arthur Lynch (1861-1934) led an Irish brigade fighting for the Boers in South Africa. His exploits led to his election as a nationalist MP for Galway but when he attempted to take his seat in the House of Commons, he was arrested, charged with high treason and sentenced to death - the sentenced was later commuted. As MP for West Clare during the Great War, Lynch was an enthusiastic supporter of the British war effort. In the final year of the conflict, with the tide of opinion in Ireland running strongly against recruitment, he accepted a commission as Colonel to raise a regiment in Ireland and fight in France. This lecture will explore Lynch’s transformation and the reasons behind his apparent change of heart.
Pauric Travers is an educator and historian. An emeritus professor of Dublin City University, he is a graduate of the National University of Ireland and the Australian National University. His most recent publication is Donegal: the Irish Revolution 1912-23 (Four Courts Press, 2022). He is currently working on a biography of Colonel Arthur Lynch.
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