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 the 19th century, the Gaelic Athletic Association was created to organise and promote the restoration of Gaelic games such as hurling and Gaelic football. These were seen as native Irish cultural alternatives to British-directed sports such as rugby union, association football and cricket. Thirteen years after its creation, the GAA enacted Rule 21 in 1897, which banned all members of the British Armed Forces and the police from participation; both in Ireland and Great Britain itself. Although, like with other institutions such as the Gaelic League, the original principles of the GAA was to be apolitical, militant republicans from the