Irish in the British Armed Forces British Armed Forces. In fact, from the nations which were part of the British Empire, the only country which has more winners is England with 614. Ireland, with 190 awards (not including Irish diaspora born abroad), outranks Scotland who have 158 and Australia who have 97. When awards per number of people in the total population are taken into account, Ireland's awards would be the equivalent of England gaining 2,850 Victoria Crosses. Charles Davis Lucas of the Royal Navy from County Armagh was the man whose actions were the earliest to be rewarded with a Victoria Cross, due to his
Irish in the British Armed Forces times John Joe McGee. Aside from the obvious paramilitary opposition to Irish involvement in the British Armed Forces, the Irish rebel song tradition has developed which also voices opposition to Irish enlistment or criticised the actions of the British forces in Ireland. Some of the best known of these include; "Join the British Army", "The Recruiting Sergeant", "Foggy Dew", "Come Out Ye Black and Tans", "Who Is Ireland's Enemy?", "Go On Home", among others. "Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye" and "McCafferty", while not of republican origin, carry much of the same spirit. As part of the general Gaelic Revival of