Ireland’s conflict of 1912–23 grew from such deep roots that those involved in it were fighting long before then and far from Ireland. Recognising that broad context is essential for understanding the motives which made Dubliners fight on different sides in 1912–23. Of course, one can trace the origins of the problems back to Norman times, the Reformation, 1798, or the Act of Union, to name just a few. But for some of those who were the active participants of 1912–23, the first chance to show what they would do in the name of ‘freedom’, or to become part of a British military tradition, came in southern Africa over a decade before.