|
|
Post by groundhog on Aug 25, 2011 11:10:08 GMT
August 25th
1170
Richard de Clare, Strongbow, married Aoife MacMurrough in Waterford. Marriage to his daughter was part of the agreement reached between Strongbow and Dermot MacMurrough.
1803
Robert Emmet was captured in Dublin.
1914
2/Lt John Shine, 2nd Bn Royal Irish Regt. Son of Col. J. Shine, Abbeyside, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford. Died of Wounds on the Western Front.
1916
16203 Pte William Halpin, 1st Bn Royal Irish Fusiliers. Died of wounds on the Western Front. From Waterford.
1918
11094 Pte John Walsh, 2nd Bn Royal Irish Regt. Killed in action on the Western Front. From Waterford.
Major Francis Anderson, Royal Field Artillery. Died of wounds on the Western Front.
1978
Pte Gerard Moone died in Lebanon as a result of a traffic accident serving with 43rd Irishbatt.
|
|
|
|
Post by groundhog on Aug 26, 2011 11:17:54 GMT
Events in Irish Military History for 26th August 1798 Gen Humbert and his men marched to Castlebar. 1914The battle of Le Cateau took place during the retreat from Mons. Several Irish Regiments were involved including the Royal Irish Regiment and Royal Irish Rifles. I Corps of the BEF reached Le Cateau on the night of August 25th. Field Marshal French ordered the retreat to continue and no effort be made to turn and engage the Germans. I Corps situation was, however, critical. Because of the proximity of the enemy, the cavalry would be unable to cover the withdrawal the following morning. The OC of 3rd Division reported his men exhausted with the first units of 7 Bde only reaching Le Cateau at 0200 on the 26th and 2nd Royal Irish Rifles arriving at 0400. Furthermore a gap was opening with I Corps further north and behind II Corps. Smith-Dorrien ignored French's orders and decided to fight. He placed his three divisions on the high ground south of the Le Cateau-Cambrai road. The 5th Div held the ground around Le Cateau, the 3rd Div, a line from Troiselles through Audencourt to Caudry and the 4th Div west of Caudry itself. In the 3rd Div which had fought at La Bascule and which contained the 2nd Bn Royal Irish Regt as part of 8th Bde and the 2nd Bn Royal Irish Rifles, 7th Bde held the Caudry area, 8th Audencourt and 9th Troiselles. Von Kluck decided on a frontal attack with his IV Corps while his III Corps probed the British right to try and out flank them. He was hoping for a breakthrough that would split the British Cors and leave it open to destruction. After dawn on the 26th August the Germans entered Le Cateau meeting the KOYLI and the Suffolk Regts of 5th Div. After a short fight the British withdrew out of the town to the high ground behind it. On the left, German Cavalry attacked 4th Division and were beaten back. By mid morning the Germans had found the British right and were on the high ground east of the River Selle. Now the frontal attack commenced on I Corps and by 1300 the 5th Div was being assaulted by three German divisions. Smith-Dorrien decided to disengage and the order to withdraw was issued at 1340 hrs. Communications broke down badly however and while 5th Division had the order at 1400 and most forward units by 1500, 2nd KOYLI and 2nd Suffolks never received the order, held their ground and were destroyed by the Germans. Meanwhile in 8th Bde, 1st Bn Gordon Highlanders and 2nd Bn Royal Scots who had fought at Obourg were dug in north of Audencourt with 2nd Bn Royal Scots and 4th Bn Middlesex Regt in reserve. The brigade Stood To from 0300 to 0500. Later in the morning the Middlesex was sent to dig in East of Audencourt and the Royal Irish was split up. C and D Coys were sent under command of Maj St. Leger to extend the line to the west of the Gordon Highlanders towards Caudry. C Coy was located in a railway cutting with one Platoon of D Coy and the remainder of D Coy under Maj Panter-Downes dug in on the flank facing Caudry. B Coy was attached to 3rd Bn the Worcestershire Regt of 7th Bde under Maj Daniell to defend Caudry itself while A Coy dug in astride the road SW of Audencourt in reserve. At 1000 the CO of 2nd Royal Irish was wounded by shellfire. He remained in command of the battalion on a stretcher. In Caudry the bombardment continued fiercely until 1400 at which time Maj Daniell withdrew B Coy when 7th Bde began it’s withdrawal. He made his way back to Audencourt where he rejoined the Royal Irish as its brigade began it’s withdrawal. Back in 7th Bde, Brigadier McCracken was concussed by shell-fire and replaced by the CO of Royal Irish Rifles, Lt-Col Bird. In 3rd Div communications again failed and the Gordons, the two companies of the Royal Irish on their left plus a company of the Royal Scots never got the withdrawal order. At 1830 St Leger’s two companies began to move left, seeking other units in Caudry. They found Panter-Downes dying of wounds with several of his men where they had fought the German advance from Caudry until they were surrounded. By Midnight on August 26th, the remnants of the Royal Irish were in Beaurevoir, about ten miles south-west of Le Cateau. The retreat continued until September 5th. Some local men who died at Le Cateau 2nd Bn Royal Irish Regt 8366 Pte James Collins. Waterford City. 8285 Pte James Daniels. Portlaw, Co. Waterford. 2nd Bn Royal Irish Rifles 9995 Rifleman Thomas Chittick, Ardmore, Co. Waterford. 20 Km east of Le Cateau, 2nd Bn Connaught Rangers fought a rearguard action at Le Grand Fayt. www.1914-1918.net/bat2A.html19154453 Pte Jeremiah Daniels, 5th Bn Connaught Rangers. Killed in action, Gallipoli. He was from Clonmel, Co. Tipperary. 19184497 Pte William Foley from Carrick on Suir, 1st Bn Royal Irish Regt. Died in Egypt. 1940The Luftwaffe bombed Campile, Co. Wexford; Three women, Mary Ellen Kent, Catherine Kent and Kathleen Hurley were killed when the creamery was hit by a bomb. Presumably the Germans thought they were over England and decided to bomb the nearby railway line as a target of opportuity. 1951PFC John Canty from Co. Kerry. Died in Korea serving with the 7th Inf Div, US Army. |
|
|
|
Post by groundhog on Aug 27, 2011 14:49:53 GMT
Events in Irish Military History for 27th August 1776 The 27th Foot who became the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers in 1881 took part in the Battle of Long Island. On the American side the centre of the Continental Army was commanded by General John Sullivan, the son of Irish immigrants. www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_long_island.html1798
The Battle of Castlebar The French landing to assist the 1798 rebellion took place on 22nd August 1798. General Jean Joseph Humbert landed at Cill Chuimín Strand, County Mayo with almost 1,100 men and proclaimed the formation of the Republic of Connaught. The landing was unopposed because most of the government forces were concentrated in Leinster, the focus of the rebellion during the summer. The French quickly captured Killala after a brief resistance by the local yeomanry and Ballina was taken on the 24th. Following the news of the French landing, Irish volunteers began to trickle into the French camp from all over Mayo. The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Cornwallis, concentrated all available forces at Castlebar under the command of General Gerard Lake. Lake had been the commander at Vinegar Hill in June. By the morning of 27th August the British forces at Castlebar had reached 6,000 soldiers with artillery and plentiful supplies. Humbert left 200 French soldiers in Killala to cover his line of withdrawal and advanced on Castlebar on August 26th with a combined force of about 2,000 French troops and Irish rebels. Lake assumed that Humbert would advance along the Ballina road and he deployed his forces to cover the expected French advance from that direction. However, local rebels had told Humbert of an alternative route to Castlebar along the west shore of Lough Conn, a route the British thought impassable for a conventional force. When Lake’s scouts spotted the approaching enemy, the surprised British had to hurriedly change their deployment to face the new threat. The British had just completed redeploying their troops when the Franco-Irish army appeared outside Castlebar at 6 am. The British artillery immediately opened up on the advancing French and Irish and cut them down in substantial numbers. However as luck would have it in front of the British line was a gully which allowed an approach to the British position under cover. From here the French launched a bayonet charge. Behind the artillery was the British infantry line made up mostly of militia units. Unnerved by the French charge the infantry broke and ran in both directions. Some of the Longford and Kilkenny militia ran to join the rebels. The fleeing troops overwhelmed a unit of cavalry and British regular infantry who attempted to stand and stem the tide. The French broke off the pursuit a mile or two beyond Castlebar, but the broken troops continued to flee, some as far as Tuam and Athlone. Massive quantities of guns and equipment were abandoned, including General Lake’s personal luggage. The rout has gone down in Irish history as the Races of Castlebar. The Franco-Irish lost about 150 men in the battle, mostly to the British artillery. The government side lost 350, including 150 defectors and 80 killed. 1914 At Etreux, France during the retreat from Mons, 2nd Bn Royal Munster Fusiliers were virtually wiped out in a rearguard action. The end of the battle came when the survivors who had held out in an orchard until their ammunition was exhausted surrendered. The dead were buried in the orchard which is now a war cemetery. 19164722 L/Cpl Matthew Butler, 2nd Bn Royal Irish Regt, Killed in action on the Western Front. He was from Waterford. 191759799 Gnr Michael Dalton Royal Artillery, Killed in action on the Western Front. 198124 Cpl Frederick Mc Auliffe. Royal Engineers. Killed in action on the Western Front. From Waterford. 1951Pte Phillip Lynch from Co.Galway. Died in Korea serving with the 2nd Inf Div, US Army. 1979 The IRA killed Lord Louis Mountbatten with a bomb planted on his fishing boat in Co. Sligo. The bomb also killed his 14-year-old grandson Nicholas, 15-year-old John Maxwell and 83-year-old Lady Brabourne. 1979
The Warrenpoint AmbushThe ambush began when a convoy consisting of 4 trucks and a land rover of A Coy, 2nd Bn, The Parachute Regt, was hit by a 500lb bomb concealed in a trailer of hay bales near Narrow Water Castle, Co. Down at 1640 hrs. The rear truck in the convoy was destroyed and six soldiers killed. Assuming they were being ambushed, the surviving soldiers opened fire killing one civilian, an Englishman named Michael Hudson, and wounding another. When reports were received of the explosion reinforcements were sent by 2 Para by road. A rapid reaction force was sent by helicopter consisting of medical staff and engineers and Lt Col Blair, CO of the Queen's Own Highlanders flew in to take command of the scene. Blair set up his Incident Command Point in the gate of NarrowWaterCastle. The IRA had planted another bomb here in the gate lodge and this was detonated at 1712 hrs, killing 12 more soldiers including Lt Col. Blair and his signaller L/Cpl Victor McLeod. Two men suspected of participating in the ambush were arrested by the Gardai in the Republic but subsequently released. Warrenpoint was the heaviest loss of life in one incident for the British Army in Northern Ireland. Fatal casualty list Lt- Col David Blair, Queen's Own Highlanders Maj Peter Fursman, 2 Para Warrant Officer Walter Beard, 2 Para Sgt Ian Rogers, 2 Para Cpl Nicholas Andrews, 2 Para Cpl John Giles, 2 Para Cpl Leonard Jones, 2 Para L/Cpl Victor McLeod, Queen's Own Highlanders L/Cpl Chris Ireland, 2 Para Pte Gary Barnes, 2 Para Pte Donald Blair, 2 Para Pte Raymond Dunn, 2 Para Pte Anthony Wood, 2 Para Pte Michael Woods, 2 Para Pte Thomas Vance, 2 Para Pte Robert England, 2 Para Pte Jeffrey Jones, 2 Para Pte Robert Jones, 2 Para |
|
|
|
Post by groundhog on Aug 29, 2011 16:16:24 GMT
Events for August 29th in Irish Military History 19145248 L/Cpl William Ryan, who was born in Carlow, died on the Western Front age 21 while serving with the 20th Hussars. 191874376 Driver Thomas O'Keeffe from Portlaw, Co. Waterford. He was Killed in action on the Western Front with the Royal Field Artillery. 1950Fr Patrick O’Reilly, a missionary priest from Co. Westmeath. Executed by North Korean soldiers in Mukho, South Korea. 1975Eamon de Valera died, aged 92. He fought in the 1916 Rising and was instrumental in starting the Civil War. 1987Cpl George Bolger from Co. Limerick died in Lebanon serving with 61st Irishbatt. |
|
|
|
Post by groundhog on Aug 30, 2011 10:05:58 GMT
Events in Irish Military History for August 30th 1690The first Williamite siege of Limerick comes to an end when William's men withdraw from the City 19173373 Gnr John Neill from Kilmacthomas, Co. Waterford. A member of the Royal Garrison Artillery. Died of wounds in Belgium. 1961Cpl Luke Kelly, a Military Policeman serving with HQ ONUC, died in a traffic accident in the Congo aged 40. |
|
|
|
Post by groundhog on Aug 31, 2011 13:36:11 GMT
Events in Military History for 31st August 1915377 Cpl Francis Mc Garry, 5th Bn Connaught Rangers. Died in Gallipoli. He was from Dungarvan, Co. Waterford. 109 Pte James Sullivan, 5th Bn Royal Irish Regt. Killed in action in Gallipoli. He was from Waterford City. 1916Roger Casement was executed in Pentonville prison, London for his part in the Easter Rising. The 16th (Irish) Division joined the 4th Army on the Somme. Killed in action Western Front serving with 2nd Bn Leinster Regt. 9500 Sgt Nicholas Cassidy. Clonmel. 6674 Pte Patrick Kelly. Clonmel. Both men are commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial. 191737061 Bombardier William Walker. Killed in action on the Western Front. He was from Waterford city. 191841966 Gnr John Hassett, 305th Siege Bty, Royal Garrison Artillery. Killed in action on the Western Front. He was the son of Peter and Mary Hassett, 12, Storyes Lane, Old Bridge, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary. His brother, Thomas, was seriously wounded in 1916 and medically discharged later that year. |
|
|
|
Post by groundhog on Sept 1, 2011 16:44:32 GMT
Events in Irish Military History for Sept 1st 1856John Redmond was born in Co. Wexford. His appeal at Woodenbridge in 1914 for the Irish Volunteers to volunteer for the British Army sent thousands of Irishmen to war and caused a split in the Volunteers. 1864Roger Casement was born. 1870Marshal MacMahon commanded the French Army at the Battle of Sedan during the Franco-Prussian War. MacMahon was a descendant of a family from Co. Clare who fled Ireland after the Williamite War. 1914At Villers Cotterets the 2nd Division and the 3rd Cavalry Bde fought a rearguard action. 1st Bn Irish Guards were in 2nd Div. Lt-Col the Hon. George Morris, OC 1st Irish Guards, was killed in the woods near Villers-Cotterets, and is buried in the Guards Grave there. L Battery, Royal Horse Artillery fought a famous action at Nery, France. Surprised by the Germans, the battery was brought into action under heavy fire and virtually eliminated. When all about him had been killed or severely wounded Sgt David Nelson, from Co. Monaghan, manned a gun alone until his ammunition was expended. He was hospitalised with injuries received in this action and a few days later the hospital fell into German hands but Nelson escaped and made his way back to the British lines. He was awarded a VC and commissioned. Major Nelson died of wounds at Lillers, France on 8th April 1918. 1916The 47th Brigade of the 16th (Irish) Division were detached to the 20th Division as a reserve. The 20th Division was about to make an attack on a small village north of the Somme river, named Guillemont. M/2130587 Pte James Conway. Royal Army Service Corps. Died at home. He was from Waterford. 1917533V Stoker John Sweeney, HMS Vivid. Died in Tramore, Co. Waterford. 1922Vol Sean McEvoy, a member of the IRA from Co. Tipperary was killed in action in Dublin. 1939Germany invaded Poland and started World War II. 1950Cpl Bartholemew Galvin from Co. Kerry was killed in Korea with2nd Inf Div, US Army. 1969Moammar Gadhafi seized power in a coup in Libya. |
|
|
|
Post by groundhog on Sept 2, 2011 20:14:13 GMT
Sept 2nd in Irish Military History 1649Oliver Cromwell's Siege of Drogheda began. 1898The Battle of Omdurman was fought in the Sudan. 50,000 followers of the Mahdi charged an Anglo-Egyptian army near Khartoum and were decimated. At the battle Pte Thomas Byrne from Dublin, serving in the 21st Lancers, rescued a disnounted and disarmed officer of the Royal Horse Guards under attack from the Dervishes. Byrne was wounded twice in this act and was awarded a VC. He died in 1944. Also at Khartoum, Capt Paul Kenna, son of a Co. Meath family, rescued a wounded officer and helped a Lieutenant rescue another. For which he earned a VC. Brigadier General Paul Kenna was killed at Gallipoli in 1915. 19163607 Cpl Martin Mansfield, 7th Bn Leinster Regt. Killed in action on the Western Front. He was from Clonmel, Co. Tipperary. 191726/1297 Cpl Michael Whelan MM DCM, Royal Northumberland Fusiliers (Tyneside Irish). Killed in action on the Western Front. From Waterford City. 1918CSM Martin Doyle, 1st Bn Royal Munster Fusiliers, at Reincourt, France, took command of his company, extricated a surrounded group of men, rescued a wounded officer as well as the wounded crew of a tank, before which he had to destroy a machine gun firing on it and later drove off an enemy counter attack. About the only thing he failed to do was pick up the expended brass.  CSM Doyle was awarded a VC to accompany his MM. CSM Doyle was a pre-war regular, joining the Royal Irish Regt in Kilkenny in 1909. He was a native of Co. Wexford. He went to France with the Dublin Fusiliers in 1914 and joined the RMF on promotion to CSM. He went on to join the IRA in the War of Independence and fought in the Civil War in the National Army, in which he served as a CS until 1937. He died in 1940 and was interred in Grangegorman military cemetery, Dublin. 10259 Pte John Power, 1st Bn Royal Munster Fusiliers. Killed in action on the Western Front. He was from Waterford City. 1919Constable Foley, RIC, was shot and wounded by the IRA in Lorrha, Co. Tipperary. 1942Tom Williams, an IRA man, was hanged in Crumlin Road Jail, Belfast. He was one of six IRA men sentenced to death. They had mounted a diversion to take RUC attention away from three Easter parades which were banned. When a police patrol surprised the group Constable Patrick Murphy was shot. Williams took responsibility for the shooting. All six were sentenced to death but five were reprieved, including Joe Cahill who later claimed to have shot Constable Murphy. |
|
|
|
Post by groundhog on Sept 3, 2011 0:59:26 GMT
Sept 3rd In Irish Military History 1658 Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth died age 59. 1842John Devoy was born in Kill, Co. Kildare. He was a journalist and a leading member of the Fenians. 1915223 CSM Michael McGrath, 5th Bn Royal Irish Regt. He died at sea and is commemorated on the Helles Memorial, Gallipoli. He was from Clonmel, Co. Tipperary. 1916The village of Guillemont was captured by 47th Bde of the 16th (Irish) Division, during the Battle of the Somme. The Bde was attached as Divisional reserve to the 20th Division. The previous day it was surmised that the Brigade intended to take Guillemont was too weak to do so and the 47th got the job. Guillemont was of course, a pile of rubble at this stage with German positions dug into the cellars and tunnels connecting them. The approach route to the start line was through Bernafay and Trones woods, the scenes of fierce fighting since July. The bombardment commenced at 8.15 am. The German artillery replied in kind and between this and their own artillery falling short the Irish suffered casualties as they waited to commence the battle. The 6th Bn Connaught Rangers lost 200 men in their own trenches. At noon the bombardment intensified until Zero Hour at 1203. The Rangers quickly took all objectives in the North side of the village, losing their CO, Lt-Col Lenox-Conyngham, in the process. North of the village 7th Bn The Leinster Regt attacked from Guillemont Railway station to the sunken lane east of Guillemont, where they consolidated, in preparation for a German counter-attack. At 1250 the 8th Bn Royal Munster Fusiliers and 6th Bn Royal Irish Regt began their advance, leapfrogging the forward battalions and taking the remainder of the village. The Brigade advanced 2 hours later, to the sound of their pipers, as far as the Ginchy road and Wedge wood. Here they beat off three German attacks that night. Two men of the 47th Brigade, 16th Division won VCs at Guillemont, the first in the division. Lt John Holland, 7th Bn Leinster Regiment, from Athy, Co. Kildare, led his platoon of twenty-six bombers through their own barrage and destroyed many enemy positions. They captured over 50 prisoners. Only Holland and 5 of his men survived the assault. Holland was actually ill at the time and was hospitalized shortly after. He died in Tasmania in 1975. Pte Thomas Hughes, 6th Bn Connaught Rangers, though already wounded single-handed, captured a machine gun. He was again wounded but still brought back three or four prisoners. Thomas was a Monaghan man and he died there in 1942. A little further east the 2nd Royal Irish Regt in 7th Division was involved in an unsuccessful assault on Ginchy. 16th Irish Division would capture it six days later. Killed in action at Ginchy serving in 2nd Bn Royal Irish Regt Capt Edward Hegarty. Clonmel, Co. Tipperary. Buried in Delville Wood Cemetery. 8726 Sgt William Gaule. Waterford City. 6550 Pte Daniel Boland. Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Tipperary. Buried in Delville Wood Cemetery. 6434 Pte Thomas Long. Waterford City. 11349 Pte Michael Maunsell. Clonmel, Co. Tipperary. 8798 Pte Patrick O'Connor. Dungarvan, Co. Waterford. 7673 Pte Paul Power. Waterford City. 11057 Pte James Walsh. Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Tipperary. Killed in action at Guillemont serving in 6th Bn Royal Irish Regt 10157 Sgt William Fahy. Waterford City. 7498 Cpl Richard Kenny. Waterford City. 5393 Pte Michael Fanning. Waterford City. 6279 Pte Michael O'Brien, Tipperary Town. 11070 Pte John Keeffe. Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Tipperary. Killed in action at Guillemont serving in 2nd Bn Leinster Regt 1335 RSM Patrick Kinsella, Marlfield, Co. Tipperary. RSM Kinsella is one of the few Irishmen who fell in the Great War, commemorated on a memorial in his own village in Ireland. Other Units P/ 601 Sgt John Mc Grath, 16th Bn Rifle Brigade. Killed in action on the Western Front. He was from Kilmacow, Co. Kilkenny. His unit was in action near Hamel on the Somme on this day. Pte William Sweeney, 1st Bn The Black Watch. Killed in action on the Western Front. He was from Lismore, Co. Waterford. 1st Bn The Black Watch fought in High Wood on this day. 19179537 Pte James Dennehy from Dungarvan, Co. Waterford. He was Killed in action on the Western Front serving in 1st Bn Irish Guards. 5793 Gnr Henry O'Rourke, Royal Field Artillery. Killed in action on the Western Front. He was from Clonmel, Co. Tipperary and he is buried in Voormezeele Enclosures Nos 1 & 2 Cemetery, Belgium. 33637 Pte Robert St. Clair, 9th Bn Cheshire Regt. Died of wounds on the Western Front. He was from Waterford City. 1939Britain and France declared war on Germany. |
|
|
|
Post by groundhog on Sept 3, 2011 23:02:28 GMT
4th Sept In Irish Military History 1607The "Flight of the Earls" took place when Hugh O'Neill, Ruari O'Donnell and other chiefs of their families sailed from Lough Swilly for the continent. 1798Gen Cornwallis moved from Tuam for Castlebar. Humbert left Castlebar with 800 French troops and 1000 Irish rebels and moved into Co Sligo, planning to march to Ulster. Risings took place in Longford and Westmeath. 19141176 Pte John Sloan,1st Bn Irish Guards. Killed in action on the Western Front. He was from Clonmel, Co. Tipperary. 1916Field Marshal Haig reiterated that the high ground north of Ginchy, around Leuze Wood must be captured at all costs. 47th Bde of 16th Division was relieved in the line. 48th Bde replace them in 20th Div. The 1st Bn Royal Munster Fusiliers of the brigade were ordered to hold Bernafay Wood. They spent 24 hours under bombardment from gas artillery, losing 12 officers and 200 men. 7th and 8th Bn Royal Irish Fusiliers of 49th Bde were put under command of the 5th Div. 191610192 L/Cpl Michael Lynch, 2nd Bn Royal Irish Regt. Died of wounds on the Western Front. Waterford City. 5838 Pte Daniel O'Farrell, 8th Bn Royal Munster Fusiliers. Killed in action on the Western Front. He was from Tramore, Co. Waterford. 1917Killed in action with the Irish Guards on the Western Front 2297 Pte Richard Clarke. Waterford City. 11233 Pte Patrick Flynn. Aglish, Co. Waterford. 11090 Pte Michael Hogan. Portlaw, Co. Waterford. 191862010 Pte Michael Nolan, 1/5th Bn Royal Northumberland Fusiliers. Died on the Western Front. From Waterford City. 1943The British 8th army landed in Southern Italy. Among them was 38th (Irish) Bde |
|
|
|
Post by groundhog on Sept 5, 2011 20:04:20 GMT
5th September in Irish Military History 1798General Humbert defeated a small loyalist force at Collooney, Co. Sligo. That night he camped at Dromahair, Co. Longford. Granard was attacked by rebels. 1855Lieutenant Colonel Frederick Maude of the 3rd Foot, from Lisnadill, Co. Armagh was in charge of the covering and ladder party of the 2nd Division in the assault on the Redan at Sebastopol in the Crimea. He held a position with only nine or ten men and did not retire until all hope of support was at an end and he himself was dangerously wounded. He was awarded a VC. 1916On the Somme, 7th Royal Irish Fusiliers, attached to the 5th Div, was ordered to take a German position called Combles trench. Their advance was through fields of corn, unharvested since before the war and sown thickly with barbed wire. In two unsuccessful attempts they lost 250 officers and men. In the night their sister battalion, 8th RIF, was ordered up the line to relieve the 1st Devons, in preparation for an attack on the Combles-Ginchy road next morning. 7556 Pte John Eustace, 2nd Bn Royal Irish Regt. Killed in action on the Western Front. He was from Waterford City. 4398 Pte James Walsh, 8th Bn Royal Munster Fusiliers. Died of wounds on the Western Front. He was from Waterford City. 35685 Sgt Patrick White, Royal Horse Artillery. He was Killed in action, on the Western Front and is buried in Quarry Cemetery, Montauban on the Somme. His father was Alexander White an R.Q.M.S. in the Royal Artillery, and he was from 18, Dillon St, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary. 191849046 Cpl Philip Hogan, 1st Bn Machine Gun Corps. Died in Salonika. A former member of the Royal Irish Regt, he was from Cashel, Co. Tipperary. 3582 L/Sgt John Moclair, 8th Bn Royal Irish Regt.Died on the Western Front. He was from Cashel, Co. Tipperary. 1922Pte Patrick Byrne a member of the Naional Army from Thurles, Co. Tipperary. He was accidentally shot and killed. 1940581126 Sgt Edmund Walsh, RAF. Died in England, age 40, and was buried in Fahenhan Cemetery, Norfolk. His parents were Dr W and Mrs Walsh, Clogheen, Co. Tipperary. 1999Tpr Jonathan Campbell, 85th Irishbatt, died in Lebanon. |
|
|
|
Post by groundhog on Sept 7, 2011 9:07:56 GMT
Events in Irish Military History for Sept 6th 19147498 Pte John Hayes from Tipperary Town 2nd Bn Royal Irish Regt. Killed on the Western Front 8334 Pte James Kennedy. Son of Patrick and Mary Kennedy, 34 River St, Clonmel. 2nd Bn Royal Irish Regt. on the Western Front 191616477 Pte Patrick Doody, 7th Bn Royal Irish Fusiliers. Died of wounds on the Western Front. He was from Ferrybank, Co. Waterford. 8940 Pte Patrick Hanley, 6th Bn Royal Irish Regt. Died on the Western Front. He was from Cashel, Co. Tipperary. 43008 Pte James Roche, 8th Bn Royal Irish Fusiliers. Died on the Western Front. He was from Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Tipperary. 191843035 Pte Charles Moore, 1st Bn Royal Dublin Fusiliers. Killed in action on the Western Front. He was from Cashel, Co. Tipperary. 191954833 Sgt Philip Brady, RIC. KIA in Lorrha, Co. Tipperary. He was born in Cavan in 1863. 1940Thomas Harte from Lurgan, Co. Armagh and Patrick McGrath from Dublin, both members of the IRA, were executed in Mountjoy for offences against the state. |
|
|
|
Post by groundhog on Sept 7, 2011 9:11:24 GMT
Events in Irish Military History for Sept 7th 1599 The Earl of Essex signed a treaty with the Earl of Tyrone. 1863In the Maori War in New Zealand, L/Cpl John Ryan, 65th Foot, earned a VC when he retrieved the body of an officer and stayed in the bush with it all night surrounded by the enemy. He drowned in December attempting to rescue a comrade from a river. Another VC man that day and in the same place was Colour Sgt Edward McKenna of the same regiment. Despite the Irish name he is registered as English. 1914The Battle of the Marne began lasting four days. It was a last ditch effort to prevent Paris falling into German hands, though the German 1st Army had already turned south and was no longer attempting to swing around the French capital. Joffre hit the German flank with his reserve, as did the BEF to the north. After the long retreat from Mons, the turn of the tide increased morale and the Germans began to withdraw. The BEFs contribution was small but the Irish were well represented by the 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards, 5th Royal Irish Lancers, the Irish Guards, 2nd Bn Connaught Rangers, 2nd Bn Royal Irish Rifles, 2nd Bn Royal Irish Regt, 1st Bn Royal Irish Fusiliers and 2nd Bn Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers 1915770 Pte Gerald Coffey, 5th Bn Connaught Rangers. He died in England. 19164586 Rifleman John O'Brien, 7th Bn Royal Irish Rifles. Killed in action on the Western Front. He was from Waterford. 191810178 Rifleman John Mahoney, 1st Bn Royal Irish Rifles. Killed in action on the Western Front. From Kilmacow, Co. Kilkenny. 1922Pte John Hanley from Cashel, Co. Tipperary, a member of the National Army, was killed in action at Cuckoohill, near Clonmel. |
|
|
|
Post by groundhog on Sept 8, 2011 16:10:23 GMT
8th Sept in Irish Military History 1798The Battle of Ballinamuck After the Battle of Castlebar, Gen. Humbert marched towards Ulster on the night of September 3rd with the intention of fomenting another rising there. His Franco-Irish troops covered 56 miles in 36 hours. He was faced with a small force of British at Collooney Co. Sligo on September 5th, which he defeated easily. Then, hearing that rebellion had broken out in Westmeath and Longford, he changed direction and began an advance on Dublin. Humbert crossed the Shannon at Ballintra on 7th September 1798 and halted at Cloone, halfway between Killala and Dublin, that night. He attempted to demolish the bridge at Ballintra but was unsuccessful. News reached him of the defeat of the Westmeath and Longford rebels at Wilson’s Hospital and Granard from the trickle of rebels who had survived the battles and reached his camp. Meanwhile Lord Cornwallis with a force of 15,000 men had blocked the road to Dublin. With Lake in his rear with 14,000 men, Humbert decided to make a stand the next day on the Longford/Leitrim border in the townland of Ballinamuck. The battle began with a short artillery duel followed by a charge by Cornwallis’ dragoons on the Irish rebel contingent. After a brief struggle in the French lines Humbert signalled his intention to surrender and his officers ordered their men to lay down their muskets. The battle lasted about half an hour. Meanwhile the 1,000 or so Irish under Colonel Teeling, an Irish officer in the French army, held onto their arms refusing to surrender, in the knowledge that they would be executed anyway. An attack by infantry followed by a dragoon charge broke and scattered the Irish who were pursued and slaughtered by the cavalry. The dead were buried in a mass grave known as Croppy’s Acre on Shanmullagh Hill. The spot is marked by a commemorative stone. 17 French soldiers were killed in the brief battle while 96 French officers and 748 men surrendered. Humbert and his men were transported by canal to Dublin and repatriated to France. British losses were 12 killed and 16 wounded or missing. Approximately 500 Irish lay dead on the field, 200 prisoners were taken in the mopping up operations. The prisoners were moved to Ballinalee near Carrick-on-Shannon most were executed in a spot called Bully’s Acre. Wolfe Tone’s brother Matthew and General George Blake from Mayo, Commander-in-Chief of the Irish Insurgent Battalions, were amongst them. In the aftermath of the rebellion the government forces re-occupied Mayo in a brutal campaign which reached its climax on 23rd September when Killala was retaken. The President of the short-lived Republic of Connaught was John Moore from Mayo. Captured at Killala, he was sentenced to transportation in 1799. He died in the Royal Oak Tavern in Waterford en route to Fort Duncannon on 6th December 1799 and was buried in Ballygunner cemetery. In 1960 his burial place was found accidentally and President Morre was reinterred in Castlebar with full military honours on 13th August 1961. 1855Three Irishmen were awarded Victoria Crosses for acts of courage at Sebastopol in the Crimea. Bombardier Daniel Cambridge, Royal Artillery. Pte John Connors, 3rd Foot. Sgt Andrew Moynihan, 90th Foot. 191410897 Pte William Power from Dungarvan, 2nd Bn Royal Irish Regt. KIA France. 1916Capt Henry O'Brien, RAMC. Died of wounds on the Western Front. He is buried in St Marie Cemetery, Le Havre. He was the son of Richard & Elizabeth O’Brien. 3 Jervis Place, Clonmel. 1918G/60660 Pte Albert Quibell, 23rd Bn Middlesex Regt. Died of wounds on the Western Front. He was from Waterford. 1922Vol Michael Heffernan from Drangan was KIA there while serving in the IRA. |
|
|
|
Post by groundhog on Sept 9, 2011 13:37:41 GMT
Sept 9th in Irish Military History 1916 16th (Irish) Division captured the village of Ginchy during the Battle of the Somme. The division consisted of three brigades- 47th, 48th and 49th. In 47th Bde were 6th Royal Irish Regt, 8th Munsters, 6th Connaughts, 7th Leinsters. There were also two companies of pioneers from 11th Hampshires and the 47th MG Coy. These were the survivors of the capture of Guillemont a week before. The brigade strength was 1300 all ranks. 48th Bde was formed from 1st Munsters, 7th Royal Irish Rifles and 8th and 9th Bns Dublin Fusiliers. 49th Bde consisted of 7th and 8th Royal Irish Fusiliers and 7th and 8th Inniskillings. The artillery barrage began at 7am on Sept 9th, Zero Hour being set at 4.45pm. The assaulting battalions were sheltered in shallow trenches east and north east of the village. The division formation was front left 48th Bde, front right 47th Bde. Rear 49th Bde. Close to Zero hour orders were issued delaying the attack by two minutes. 48th Bde never received the order and advanced at 4.45. into their own barrage. 47th Bde’s forward battalions-6th Royal Irish and 8th Munsters walked into the German counter barrage and also suffered heavily from close range MG and rifle fire from German positions south east of Ginchy. These positions were in dead ground and had been overlooked by the artillery barrage. 8th Munsters advanced only 100m. The Connaughts lost two company commanders as soon as they left their trenches. For the 7th Leinsters, Ginchy was the worst day in the battalion’s history. The assembly trenches were soon clogged with casualties, while out in No Man’s Land the living took shelter in shell holes. For the 47th Bde it was a story that many other units had experienced on July 1st. The brigade was pinned down and in fact had to beat off several German attacks until the morning of the 10th. An attempt at support from 7th Inniskillings failed to improve matters. When relieved the Bde had lost 450 men, including the battalion commander of the Royal Irish and his Adjutant. In addition the Inniskillings lost 200 men reinforcing the brigade. On the right 48th Bde faced some difficulties too. Finding their positions separated by a wide swathe of ground from the Germans they spent the night before battle digging assembly trenches in No Man’s Land. When the barrage began the 48th suffered casualties fro their own ‘shorts’. Because of course no one had told the artillery that the brigade was now out further forward. The Germans also added to the toll. At 4.45 pm the two lead battalions left their trenches-1st Munsters on the left, 7th Royal Irish Rifles on the right. The Munsters were immediately held up by the same German positions that had decimated 47th Bde. All company commanders, but one, were casualties within seconds. One company was commanded by it’s CSM. The rifles were down to 150 men before they even left their trenches and needed to be reinforced by the 7th Royal Irish Fusiliers before they even left their trenches. But the tide of battle now turned in favour of the Irish. The two 7ths broke through the German lines and into the outskirts of the village. German opposition was mortared and at 5.30 pm both Dublin Fusilier battalions took the village and advanced 300m beyond it. Lacking support they were driven back to the village where they consolidated. The assault was costly, both battalion commanders were casualties-1 dead, 1 wounded and the brigade suffered 1,400 casualties overall, including 200 KIA. But the battle was not yet over. Ginchy now formed a salient in the German line and it was attacked during the night, with the 48th clinging desperately to the blasted rubble. 8th Irish Fusiliers were sent forward to reinforce the village, where the troops linked up shell holes to form defensive positions. Rations were provided courtesy of the German dead. Having beaten off two counter-attacks, the 48th Bde was relieved by the 3rd Guards Bde on the morning of the 10th. One of the 9th Dublins was Nationalist MP Lt. Tom Kettle. He wrote a letter to his brother the night before battle-“Somewhere the Choosers of the Slain are touching, as in our Norse story they used to touch, with invisible wands those who are to die.” It was prophetic for Tom Kettle was one of the Chosen. His brother in law Francis Sheehy-Skeffington ahd been murdered in the Easter Rebellion a few months before. A famous in-law of both is Conor Cruise O’Brien. Another famous nationalist survived Ginchy-Lt Emmet Dalton, earned an MC on the day and lived to fight in the War of Independence and the Civil War. Despite Neil Jordan’s interpretation Lt Col Emmet Dalton was the man beside Michael Collins at Béal na Bláth. Other MC laureates that day were Fr Willy Doyle, Chaplain in 8th Royal Irish Fusiliers and another chaplain Fr Wrafter also merited the MC. Fr Maurice O’Connell received one of 6 DSOs awarded to the Division amongst the 300 decorations earned by the 16th at Ginchy. Major Willy Redmond MP for East Clare was on the Divisional Staff. The 16th (Irish) Division suffered heavily during it’s first ten days on the Somme. 650 men were known to have been killed in action, 2800 wounded and another 800 were missing. Officer casualties were over 50%. Killed in action at Ginchy with 6th Bn Royal Irish Regt 2/Lt Eric Hackett. Born Clonmel. His brother and sister also died in service. 9391 CQMS Maurice Martin. Co. Tipperary. 9806 Pte William Hackett. Lismore, Co. Waterford. 5274 Pte Edward Hayden. Slieverue, Co. Waterford. 10155 Pte Thomas O'Brien. Kilmacthomas, Co. Waterford. Killed in action at Ginchy with 7th Bn Leinster Regt 10378 Pte Thomas Collins, Waterford. 2760 Sgt John Harrison, Ballybricken, Waterford. Killed in action at Ginchy with 8th Bn Royal Munster Fusiliers 4388 Pte Patrick Cuddihy, Ballybricken, Waterford. 1854 Pte John Ryan, Kilmacow, Co. Kilkenny. Other Units14033 Pte John Collins. 1st Bn Royal Munster Fusiliers. Killed in action at Ginchy. From Waterford. 18773 Pte John Reddy. 1st Bn South Wales Borderers. Killed in action High Wood on the Somme. He was from Mooncoin, Co. Kilkenny. 2271 Rifleman Joseph Lappin. 12th Bn The London Regt. Killed in action Bouleux Wood on the Somme. He was from Waterford. 43308 Pte Edward Hackett. 44th Coy, Machine Gun Corps (Inf) in 15th (Scottish) Division. Killed in action on the Western Front. Son of Daniel and Ellen Hackett, 33 Thomas St, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary. 25382 Gnr Matthew Tynan from Killenaule, Co. Tipperary. He died in India, serving in the Royal Garrison Artillery. 1921Vol Declan Hurton from Ardmore, Co. Waterford, was killed in an explosion in Thurles railway station. He had just been released from prison as a result of the Truce. Mmebers of the RIC were blamed for planting the bomb. 19401039308 Pte T J Cahill, 8th Bn King's Royal Rifle Corps. He was from Tipperary and he died in England. |
|
CSM Doyle was awarded a VC to accompany his MM.