In the early twentieth century, Irish ethnic, benevolent and mutual benefit associations around the world became part of the transnational fight for Irish freedom, utilising large, widespread memberships to raise funds and lobby for Irish independence. In Australia and New Zealand the largest such group was the Hibernian Australasian Catholic Benefit Society (H.A.C.B.S.), which boasted some 41,000 members spread across almost 600 branches in 1920. The society's engagement with the home rule movement and the subsequent Irish Revolution provides a fascinating example of how the expansive spatial and intergenerational networks of Irish-Catholic benevolent associations were mobilised in full support of Irish self-determination, particularly after 1919. Members of the H.A.C.B.S. in Australia had to negotiate complex and sometimes competing identities and loyalties: to Ireland, Australia and the British Empire, and the evolution of these tensions reflects the variety and complexity of global Irish nationalism. Reflecting patterns observed elsewhere, within a context of increasing sectarian tensions, labour militancy and broad Catholic disillusionment with their political and economic place in Australasian society, the H.A.C.B.S. moved from devout imperial loyalty in 1916 to total support for a fully independent Irish republic by 1922.

在 20 世纪初，世界各地的爱尔兰民族、仁慈和互利协会成为争取爱尔兰自由的跨国斗争的一部分，利用大量广泛的会员来筹集资金并游说爱尔兰独立。在澳大利亚和新西兰，最大的此类团体是 Hibernian Australasian Catholic Benefit Society (HACBS)，该协会在 1920 年拥有约 41,000 名成员，分布在近 600 个分支机构。该协会参与地方自治运动和随后的爱尔兰革命提供了一个引人入胜的例子爱尔兰天主教慈善协会的广阔空间和代际网络如何被调动以全力支持爱尔兰的自决，特别是在 1919 年之后。HACBS 的成员 在澳大利亚，不得不就复杂的、有时相互竞争的身份和忠诚进行谈判：对爱尔兰、澳大利亚和大英帝国，而这些紧张局势的演变反映了全球爱尔兰民族主义的多样性和复杂性。反映在其他地方观察到的模式，在日益加剧的宗派紧张、劳工激进和广泛的天主教对其在澳大利亚社会的政治和经济地位的幻想破灭的背景下，HACBS 从 1916 年的虔诚帝国忠诚转变为到 1922 年完全支持完全独立的爱尔兰共和国。