The Irish Anzacs Project
Jeff Kildea was born in Sydney, and has strong roots in Australia, but when he traces back his family tree, 14 out of his 16 great-great grandparents were born or lived in Ireland.
Strong connections
This connection to Ireland resonates strongly with Kildea, who visits Ireland often and is an active participant in several of Sydney’s Irish community associations.
It was through this connection to Ireland that Kildea became interested in Irish and Australian history, emigration, and the relationship both past and present between Australia and Ireland.
Kildea’s main work until 2013 was as a lawyer, but it was his passion for history that led him to “The Irish Anzacs Project”. While practising law, Kildea completed a PhD in history in 2001, and in 2007 he wrote a book exploring the relationship between Australian soldiers and Ireland during the First World War.
Irish-born soldiers
One of the chapters focused on the Irish-born soldiers who enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). This subject held Kildea’s attention, and he wanted to delve in deeper.
“I decided to explore that aspect further, particularly as the anti-Irish element in Australia during the war had accused Irish Australians of being shirkers and pro-German. The Irish Anzacs Project involved finding the service records of the approximately 6000 Irish-born members of the AIF and transcribing their details into a database,” he says.
While teaching at UCD as the Keith Cameron Chair of Australian History throughout 2014, Kildea gave talks across Ireland, focusing on the relationship between Ireland and Australia during the First World War.
Sourcing service records
“I was amazed at the high degree of interest in the topic shown by ordinary people around Ireland. This reflected the changing attitudes in Ireland to those Irishmen who fought in the war. I was able to use the data I had collected during the Irish Anzacs Project to talk about individuals from the town or village in which I was speaking,” says Kildea
The Emigrant Support Programme (ESP) funding is what helped Kildea collect the data he needed for the Irish Anzacs Project.
“Without the support of the ESP, I doubt that the Irish Anzacs Project would have come to fruition. Finding the more than 6000 service records and transcribing their details would have been beyond me," he explains.
"The grant enabled me to engage others to do that spade work, allowing me to interpret the data and to write articles and give talks on my findings. Those articles and talks have contributed to a better understanding in Australia and Ireland of the Irish contribution to the Australian war effort," he says.
"The ESP’s support of the project also enabled me to provide a database for family historians and to inform people in Australia and Ireland of the strong connection between our two countries during the First World War.”