Establishing and Expanding the National Army

In the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Dublin and the victory of the pro-Treaty forces in the capital, it was clear that an enormous increase in the size of the military forces loyal to the Provisional Government was required. The scheme developed became known as the Volunteer Levy and established a new type of temporary recruit for the military. This levy has never been studied in detail and provides a detailed estimate of how many men military planners intended to recruit from every county in the Irish Free State. This chapter analyses recruitment through three linked factors: geographic locations (home addresses, place of enlistment), age and marital status. As the Irish Army census rolls provide three specific geographic attributes: home address, place of attestation (enlistment) and next-of-kin home address, it is now possible to examine the spatial patterns of recruitment, showing the geographic backgrounds of soldiers, the distances travelled to formally enlist and the prevalence of familial networks within specific counties. As the military grew, the original structures established in July 1922 proved unviable and were expanded considerably between July and October, developing de facto military governorships due to wider latitude given to local military commanders by the National Army General Headquarters.