Deeds Not Words was a labour of love for schoolmaster David Robertson of Wilson's Hospital School, Multyfarnham, Co Westmeath.
His Leaving Certificate history class wanted to know why so many Irishmen enlisted in the British army and fought in the first World War.
Trying to explain the complex reasons behind it all, he began by asking his class to undertake research. It started in the chapel of the school where there was a roll of honour to its soldiers. There he found the names of 78 men, an astonishing number of pupils from a school which had only 35 pupils in total in 1912, two years before the war began.
He began to research the names and found out about the men involved. The result is his book Deeds Not Words which was launched last night in the school.
His explorations ultimately added more of what he terms "Wilson's Men" to the list: a total of 90 boys and three members of the teaching staff took part in the Great War.
Of these 20 lost their lives and 27 were seriously wounded. Seven decorations for bravery were awarded to former pupils and staff.
In his foreword to the book Irish Times journalist Kevin Myers explains that 80 or 90 years ago the boys of Wilson's Hospital belonged to a class which is now almost entirely unknown - poor rural Protestants.
They were, he writes, presumably as unionist as their poor Catholic neighbours were nationalist - but the Wilson's Hospital School pupils chose as free Irishmen to fight German aggression.
Mr Robertson details the exploits of some of the former pupils and their individual case histories make gripping reading for those interested in the Great War.
He has written a chapter dealing with brothers in arms - the sacrifices made by individual families who sent not just one but many sons to the front.
School records show that 13 families sent 30 young men to the war; nine pairs of brothers and four sets of three brothers went to the war.
There were three Martin brothers from Roscommon who all returned safely. There were the three Savage brothers from Donaghpatrick, Co Meath, two of whom died and one who was badly wounded.
The Schoales family from Clara, Co Offaly, sent two sons out. One died, the other returned home safely. There were also three Thompson sons from Moate. Only one returned.
The book is lavishly illustrated and contains many old photographs of Wilson's Hospital soldiers, such as George Cox from Almoritia, Co Westmeath, who like many others succeeded in enlisting for the war in 1915, at least nine months before his 18th birthday.
Deeds Not Words, by David Robertson, was published by himself and is distributed through Eason's Wholesale Ltd. Price £10