The 47th Brigade was one of the three brigades in the 16th (Irish) Division during the 1914-1918 War. It was known as the "Nationalist Brigade" as the majority were men from Redmond's Irish Volunteers

Irish Volunteers

The Irish Volunteers was a military organisation established in 1913 by Irish nationalists. It was ostensibly formed in response to the formation of the Ulster Volunteers in 1912, and its declared primary aim was "to secure and maintain the rights and liberties common to the whole people of Ireland"...

. The four battalions were ;- 6th Batt. Royal Irish Regiment

Royal Irish Regiment (1684-1922)

The Royal Irish Regiment, until 1881 the 18th Regiment of Foot, was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army, first raised in 1684. Also known as the 18th Regiment of Foot and the 18th Regiment of Foot, it was one of eight Irish regiments raised largely in Ireland, its home depot in...

, 6th Batt. Connaught Rangers, 7th Battalion. Leinster Regiment and 8th Batt. Royal Munster Fusiliers

Royal Munster Fusiliers

The Royal Munster Fusiliers was a regular infantry regiment of the British Army. One of eight Irish regiments raised largely in Ireland, it had its home depot in Tralee. It was originally formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of two regiments of the former East India Company. It served in India and...

. They, with the 20th (Light) Division captured Guillemont

Battle of Guillemont

The Battle of Guillemont was a British assault on the German-held village of Guillemont during the 1916 Battle of the Somme. Guillemont lay on the right flank of the British sector where it linked with French forces and by holding it, the Germans prevented the Allied armies from operating in...

 on the Somme

Battle of the Somme (1916)

The Battle of the Somme , also known as the Somme Offensive, took place during the First World War between 1 July and 14 November 1916 in the Somme department of France, on both banks of the river of the same name...

 battlefield on 3 September 1916. Six days later, with the rest of the 6th Division, captured Ginchy

Battle of Ginchy

The Battle of Ginchy took place on 9 September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme when the United Kingdom 16th Division captured the German-held village of Ginchy. However the Irish Royal Munster Fusiliers suffered heavy casualties in the process...

.

Sources

• Ireland's Unknown Soldiers by Terence Denman
• 148 Days on the Somme by Barry Cuttle.