This publication sponsored by Westmeath Community Development's Rural Development (Leader) Programme 2007-2013, although based upon Kilbeggan in the Irish Republic, draws numerous comparisons from the experiences of similar small towns in Counties Westmeath and Offaly. The suffering, heroism and poignant accounts of young men making the supreme sacrifice, become living realities in what would otherwise remain as the forgotten history of long since disbanded Irish regiments.

The study also extends to the wider local civilian communities drawn into the European war of 1914-1918, especially the enormous debt owed to women involved in relief work, and the tragedy sometimes resulting from that commitment.