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Post by groundhog on Jul 22, 2012 11:15:31 GMT
22nd July in Irish Military History 1798 Napoleon Bonaparte captured Cairo. 1812The Battle of Salamanca was fought in Spain, during the Peninsular war. The allied forces of Britain, Spain and Portugal won. The Irish contribution apart from the Commander in Chief was the Inniskilling Dragoons and the 27th ( Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers), 83rd (Royal Irish Rifles), 88th and 94th (1st and 2nd Battalions Connaught Rangers) Regiments of Foot. 1817William Sadler became the first man to fly across the Irish Sea, from Dublin to Anglesey, in a balloon. 1933The Blueshirts were outlawed. 1952 Died in Korea. PFC Michael McCormack from Co. Roscommon. |
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Post by groundhog on Jul 23, 2012 14:47:25 GMT
23rd July in Irish Military History 1745Bonnie Prince Charlie landed in the Hebrides and began the 1745 Rebellion. 1803Robert Emmet led a rebellion in Dublin. 1914The Austro-Hungarian Government issued an ultimatum to Serbia after the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. The main points were; 1.To suppress any publication which incites to hatred and contempt of the Monarchy . . . 2.To dissolve immediately the society styled Narodna Odbrana . . and to proceed in the same manner against the other societies . . which engage in propaganda against [Austria] 3.To eliminate without delay from public instruction in Serbia, both as regards the teaching body and the methods of instruction, all that serves or might serve to foment the propaganda against Austria-Hungary 4.To remove from the military service and the administration in general all officers guilty of propaganda against [Austria--names to be given over by the Austrian govt.] 5.To accept the collaboration in Serbia of organs of [A-H govt.] in the suppression of the subversive movement directed against the territorial integrity of the Monarchy 6.To take judicial proceedings against the accessories to the plot of 28 June who are on Serbian territory; Organs delegated by [A-H] will take part in the investigations relating thereto 7.To proceed without delay to the arrest of [two named persons implicated according to the preliminary investigation undertaken by Austria] 8.To prevent by effective measures the cooperation of [Serbia] in the illicit traffic in arms and explosives across the frontier . . . . 9.To furnish [Austria] with explanations regarding the unjustifiable utterances of high Serbian officials both in Serbia and abroad, who . . .have not hesitated since the outrage of 28 June to express themselves . .in terms of hostility towards [Austria] 10.To notify [Austria] without delay of the execution of the[se] measures . . Full text at web.jjay.cuny.edu/~jobrien/reference/ob17.htmlOn reading the Austrian note, the Serbian Regent, Prince Alexander, exclaimed . . ."compliance . . an absolute impossibility for a state which has the slightest regard for its dignity". And the countdown to war began. 1916 On the Somme the Battle for Pozieres Ridge commenced lasting until Sept 3rd. The Australian Division took Pozieres village itself. 11464 L/Cpl Robert Gatward 1st Bn Duke of Cornwall's Light Inf. Killed in action on the Western Front. He was from Waterford. 12396 Pte James Cassidy, 1st Bn Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. Executed by firing squad aged 38. He was Irish. 19172051 A/Cpl James Hackett Royal Army Service Corps Killed in action on the Western Front. From Waterford. 1920 Volunteer Michael O'Kennedy died in Limerick. From Nenagh, he died of wounds received in the attack on Borrisokane RIC Bks.
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Post by groundhog on Jul 24, 2012 12:15:09 GMT
24th July in Irish Military History 1261The battle of Callann took place in Co. Kerry. Fineen MacCarthy led a force of McCarthys and O'Sullivans against William de Dene and his Norman/Irish followers. The Irish won and the McCarthy/O'Sullivan alliance gained control of south-west Ireland. Richard de la Rochelle succeeded De Dene as justiciar of Ireland. 1779 The Spanish and French began to besiege Gibraltar. Gen George Eliott commanded a 5,000 man garrison. The siege lasted until Feb 7 1783. 1895 Robert Graves was born. His father was of a Co. Limerick family and Robert was a poet and novelist who served in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers in WW1. His autobiography is well worth a read although is naturally enough a little self-serving. Reading The War the Infantry Knew, he was apparently not well regarded in the RWF. The Next War
You young friskies who today
Jump and fight in Father’s hay
With bows and arrows and wooden spears,
Playing at Royal Welch Fusiliers,
Happy though these hours you spend,
Have they warned you how games end?
Boys, from the first time you prod
And thrust with spears of curtain-rod,
From the first time you tear and slash
Your long-bows from the garden ash,
Or fit your shaft with a blue jay feather,
Binding the split tops together,
From that same hour by fate you’re bound
As champions of this stony ground,
Loyal and true in everything,
To serve your Army and your King,
Prepared to starve and sweat and die
Under some fierce foreign sky,
If only to keep safe those joys
That belong to British boys,
To keep young Prussians from the soft
Scented hay of father’s loft,
And stop young Slavs from cutting bows
And bendy spears from Welsh hedgerows.
Another War soon gets begun,
A dirtier, a more glorious one;
Then, boys, you’ll have to play, all in;
It’s the cruellest team will win.
So hold your nose against the stink
And never stop too long to think.
Wars don’t change except in name;
The next one must go just the same,
And new foul tricks unguessed before
Will win and justify this War.
Kaisers and Czars will strut the stage
Once more with pomp and greed and rage;
Courtly ministers will stop
At home and fight to the last drop;
By the million men will die
In some new horrible agony;
And children here will thrust and poke,
Shoot and die, and laugh at the joke,
With bows and arrows and wooden spears,
Playing at Royal Welch Fusiliers.
Robert Graves1916 7726 Pte John Quinlan, 2nd Bn Royal Irish Regt. Died of wounds on the Western Front. From Carrowleigh, Co. Waterford.
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Post by groundhog on Aug 1, 2012 9:29:06 GMT
25th July in Irish Military History 1633Sir Thomas Wentworth became Lord Deputy of Ireland. 1914 In response to the Austrian ultimatum to Serbia, Russia declared that it would act to protect Serbian sovereignty. 1916 5269 Pte Thomas Shea, 6th Bn Royal Irish Regt. Killed in action on the Western Front. He was from Tramore, Co. Waterford. 1953A truce ended the Korean War. 1981Pte Thomas Metcalfe won a MMG in Portlaois Prison. |
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Post by groundhog on Aug 1, 2012 9:29:30 GMT
26th July in Irish Military History 1497Perkin Warbeck and his army landed in Cork. Warbeck claimed to be the son of Edward IV and laid claim to the throne of England then occupied by Henry VII. Warbeck’s rebellion failed and he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. After a failed escape attempt he was hung at Tyburn in 1499. Cork's support for the pretender led to the nickname the Rebel County. 1575John Norris and Francis Drake led an attack on Rathlin island, a stronghold of the MacDonnells. After the surrender of Bruce's castle, its 200 occupants were killed along with 400 others found hiding in caves. 1897Lt Edmond Costello of the 22nd Punjabis won a VC during the Malakand Campaign, for rescuing a Lance Havildar under heavy fire. Lt Costello rose to the rank of Brig-Gen and served in the Great War. He died in 1949. 1914The "Asgard", Erskine Childers’ yacht, landed guns in Howth. Sir Roger Casement had procured them in Germany. The Irish Volunteers successfully spirited the weapons away despite the presence of the DMP and a company of the Kings Own Scottish Borderers, who, when marching back to barracks, opened fire on a crowd of civilians at Bachelor’s Walk, killing three. 1916 1763 Pte Peter Gorman, 2nd Bn The Welsh Regt. Killed in action on the Western Front. He was from Waterford. 4 /9763. Pte Edward Hickey, 2nd Bn Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. Died of wounds on the Western Front. From Waterford. 76155 Gnr Michael Ryan, Royal Artillery. Died in Ireland. From Clonmel. 19173687 Sgt Michael O'Keeffe, 1st Bn Irish Guards. Died of wounds on the Western Front. From Tallow, Co. Waterford. 1918Major Edward Mannock, 85 Squadron, Royal Air Force. KIA near Lillers, France. He was credited with 73 kills, 24 in May 1918 alone and 4 in one action in July 1918. Decorated with the DSO and 2 bars, the MC and bar, he was awarded the VC posthumously. Edward Mannock was born in Ballincollig, County Cork on 24th May 1887. His father, Corporal Edward Mannock was in the Royal Engineers, servng in the Curragh and Dublin before moving to London and India in 1893. A childhood illness in India temporarily blinded Mannock and his eyesight was always poor. He had to cheat in his eye test to get into the RFC. Back in England after the Boer War his father deserted the family and Edward suffered a life of poverty until he joined the post office in 1911. He was working in Turkey at the outbreak of WW1 and he was interned 9 months before being repatriated due to ill health in July 1915. He joined the Royal Engineers and then transferred into the RFC. He was sent to France in March 1917 and was credited with shooting down his first aeroplane on June 7th. In September he received the Military Cross and was promoted to temporary Captain. In January 1918, with his score at twenty kills, Mannock was posted back to England. He returned to France in April 1918 with 74 Squadron and in June was transferred to 85 Squadron with the rank of Major. His plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire on July 26th 1918. |
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Post by groundhog on Aug 1, 2012 9:57:19 GMT
27th July in Irish Military History 1662 James Butler, Duke of Ormond, became Lord Lieutenant of Ireland under King Charles II. It was the second time he held the post-the first was 1644-47. He would be appointed for a third time in 1677. 1689King William’s forces were defeated by Scottish Jacobites at the Battle of Killiecrankie. Bonnie Dundee was killed leading the Jacobite troops.The Earl of Meath’s Foot (ancestor of the Royal Irish Regt) took part, lending a little style to what would otherwise have been an unseemly brawl. 1880 At Maiwand in the Second Afghan War, Sgt Patrick Mullane, Royal Horse Artillery, won a VC for the rescue of a comrade under attack from the enemy. Pat was born in India to Irish parents. 1914Germany informed Belgium and Luxembourg of its intention to pass it’s troops through their countries. In an attempt to persuade Britain not to declare war based on the 1839 London Treaty, in which all the European powers had guaranteed Belgian neutrality, the German Chancellor, Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg referred to the treaty as "a scrap of paper not worth fighting over”. The British government disagreed. 1960Ireland agreed to send troops to serve with UN forces in the Congo. 1916 2880 Sgt James Rose, 1st Bn Irish Guards. Died on the Western Front. He was the son of Joshua Rose, Kilduff House, Philipstown, Co. Offaly. James was born in Clonmel. 191716536 Pte Patrick Hart, 7/8th Bn Royal Irish Fusiliers. Killed in action on the Western Front. He was from Waterford. |
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Post by groundhog on Aug 1, 2012 9:57:37 GMT
28th July in Irish Military History 1689 The Siege of Derry ended after 105 days. 1769Sir Hudson Lowe was born in Galway. He was the governor of St Helena when Napoleon Bonaparte was imprisoned there. 1809Our very own General Sir Arthur Wellsley led 50,000 British, Irish,Spanish and Portuguese troops against the French at Talavera. The Paddies were the 83rd, 87th and 88th Foot, respectively the Royal Irish Rifles, Royal Irish Fusiliers and Connaught Rangers. Wellsley won at a cost of over 7000 men killed and wounded. He was created Viscount Wellington of Talavera after the battle. General Crauford's Light Infantry Brigade arrived the day after the battle having marched 42 miles in in 26 hours in an attempt to join the army. 1914Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. 1915 3749 Pte John Sullivan, 1st Bn Irish Guards Died of wounds on the Western Front. He was from Lismore, Co. Waterford. 19176771 Pte Michael Hynes, 2nd Bn Royal Irish Regt. Died of on the Western Front. He was from Tallow, Co. Waterford. 1922Friday 28th July, 1922
(Account based on contemporary newspaper reports).A report was received that irregulars had mined the Cork-Dublin road between Maryborough (Portlaoise) and Abbeyleix. A Free State military convoy consisting of a lorry and a Lancia armoured car (containing a Brigadier Gray) under the command of Captain J. Powell was dispatched to remove it. At Tonduff, about 2 miles outside Abbeyleix a mine exploded and the convoy came under small arms and hand grenade fire from the side of the road. One man in the convoy, a Volunteer Grace from Mountrath was killed, and three were injured, Brigadier Gray, Driver George Greene, Pvts. Laurence Hennessy and Patrick George Taylor. The men of the convoy dismounted and rallied under Cpt Powell, two irregulars were captured, but the rest withdrew. Reinforcements were sent from the Barracks in Maryborough, commanded by Colonel Commandants Austin MacCurtin and M.F. Gantley, accompanied by Colonel Commandant J. Collinson from Roscrea who happened to be in Maryborough at the time. These deployed across country after leaving the main road before Tonduff and proceeded in the direction of Abbeyleix. Cpt Powells patrol had left the road and was searching for the ambush party. As the two groups neared the village of Raheen from opposite directions, a burst of fire was heard in the vicinity of Cmdt MaCcurtains patrol. Cmdt Gantleys patrol went to the scene, where they found 10 irregulars captured with their hands up, and Cmdts Collison, MacCurtain and Cpt Powell lying wounded in a ditch. It was alleged by other troops present that a group of 10 irregulars had first offered surrender, and as the officers went forward to accept it, they came under fire from a further 8 irregulars hidden in the ditch behind the first 10, who then surrendered themselves. A military doctor was in the reinfocement party, clergy were sent for, the parish priest of Raheen attended and administered sacraments to the injured officers. Cmdt MacCurtain, from Moneygall, died at the scene, Cmdt Collison, from Nenagh, was dead on arrival at Maryborough infirmary. Cpt Powell received a gunshot to the face, but is said to have recovered well. At the subsequent inquest it was alleged the irregulars were using expanding ammunition, and the wounds described back this up. However all news accounts from this period need to be taken with care due to the situation prevailing at the time. No mention was made of the prisoners taken. From a post by Yellowjacket on Irish Military Online |
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Post by groundhog on Aug 1, 2012 10:05:50 GMT
29th July in Irish Military History 1693Patrick Sarsfield was mortally wounded at the Battle of Landen. He died of his wounds three days later at Huy in Belgium, where he is buried in the grounds of St. Martin's Church. 1848The 1848 rebellion or alternatively the Battle of the Widow McCormack’s cabbage patch took place when there was a skirmish between Young Ireland Rebels and police in Ballingarry, Tipperary. The leaders, William Smith O'Brien, Thomas Francis Meagher, Terence Bellew McManus and Patrick O'Donohue were subsequently arrested, tried in Clonmel Courthouse, convicted of high treason and sentenced to death. The sentences were commuted to transportation in June, 1849 1857Sgt Major George Lambert from Markethill, Co. Armagh won a VC while serving with the 84th Foot in the Indian Mutiny. 1916101603 Driver Martin Redmond, Royal Field artillery. Died in India. He was from Waterford City. |
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Post by groundhog on Aug 1, 2012 10:06:19 GMT
30th July in Irish Military History 1809 After having marched 42 miles in 26 hours only a day before, Black Bob Crauford's Light Infantry Brigade had to do another 15 hours march to seize the Almaraz Bridge and secure Wellington's lines of communication with Lisbon from Spain. 1914Russia mobilised her army. German troops massed on the French border. 1915British positions at Hooge in the Ypres salient were attacked with flamethrowers for the first time. 1990British Conservative Party MP, Ian Gow, was killed in an IRA bombing. |
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Post by groundhog on Aug 1, 2012 10:07:15 GMT
31st July in Irish Military History 1689Enniskillen Protestants defeated Jacobite forces at Newtownbutler, Co. Fermanagh. 1914Kaiser Wilhelm II threatened war if Russia did not halt it’s troop mobilisation. 191617220 Pte James Butler 9th Bn Royal Dublin Fusiliers Western Front Fethard 4572 Rifleman William Power 7th Bn Royal Irish Rifles Killed in action Western Front Waterford. 1917In Belgium,the Battle of Paschendaele began, lasting until Nov 10th. Half a million men died for four miles of ground. One of the first casualties was L/Cpl Francis Ledwidge of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers who was killed by a shell at Boezinghe in the Ypres Salient. He was on a work party repairing a road at the time. Ledwidge was born in Slane, Co. Meath on 19 August 1887, the son of a farm labourer. He left school at 14. Lord Dunsany became his mentor after receiving some of Ledwidge’s poetry. His first volume of poetry was published in 1915, by which time L/Cpl Ledwidge was serving in Gallipoli with the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. He also served in Serbia and was recovering from wounds in Manchester when he received news of the 1916 Rising and the execution of the Rebel leadership, among them his friend Thomas McDonagh. 50140 Pte Kieran J. Brennan. 1st Bn Royal Fusiliers. Killed in action on the Western Front. From Waterford City. 24484 Pte Timothy Cronin. 1/6th Bn Cheshire Regt. Killed in action on the Western Front. From Waterford City. 10568 Pte Thomas Joseph Davin. 2nd Bn Irish Guards. Killed in action on the Western Front. Son of Thomas Davin (Solicitor) and Mrs. Davin, of Carrickbeg, Co. Tipperary. 9272 Rifleman James McGugan. 1st Bn Royal Irish Rifles. Killed in action on the Western Front. From Clonmel. 62946 Pte James E. O'Sullivan. 1st Bn Machine Gun Corps (Inf). Killed in action on the Western Front. From Waterford City. 1922Harry Boland shot by Free State troops in Skerries. He died three days later. 1945Leading Seaman James Magennis from Belfast won a Victoria Cross when, as a diver in the midget submarine XE.3, he was involved in attacking the Japanese cruiser Takao by attaching limpet mines to it’s hull. He had to squeeze through a narrow space in the partly-open diving hatch of his submarine, and then scrape barnacles off the bottom of the cruiser before attaching the limpets. All during this time his breathing apparatus was leaking and he returned to the submarine exhausted. During their withdrawal it was found that one of the limpet mine carriers could not be jettisoned and LS Magennis freed it with a spanner. 1970Dvr David Doyle from Dubin. KIA in Vietnam serving with the 3rd Cav Regt, Australian Army.
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Post by groundhog on Aug 2, 2012 7:59:17 GMT
1st August in Irish Military History 1166Dermot MacMurrough, King of Leinster and ally of Muirchertach Mac Lochlainn, was defeated in battle by Rory O'Connor and forced to flee from Ireland. 1535John Travers, Chancellor of St Patrick's Cathedral, was executed for high treason at Oxmantown Green for conspiring with Lord Offaly. 1649The Earl of Ormond attempted to capture Dublin for the Royalist cause from the parliamentarians under Colonel Michael Jones. During the night, Ormond ordered Major-General Purcell to fortify Baggotrath castle, a mile from the city, under cover of darkness. Purcell was delayed and was unable to secure the position. 1714George the Elector of Hanover acceded to the throne of England and Ireland as George I, following the death of Queen Anne. 1822The Irish Constabulary Act set up county police forces and a salaried magistracy 1914France and Germany mobilized their armies. Germany declared war on Russia. 1916 On the Somme the Germans attacked Bazentin le Petit and High Wood but were driven back. 1917 Captain James McCuddenDuring the period August 1917 to March 1918, Captain James McCudden, 56 Sqdn, RFC, showed conspicuous bravery, perseverance, skill and devotion to duty. By March 1918 he had accounted for 51 enemy aircraft. on 16 February 1918 he destroyed three two-seater aeroplanes in the morning patrol and added a fourth on his second sortie. Capt McCudden was KIA at Marquise, France on 9 Jul 1918. He was awarded the VC in addition to the DSO & Bar, MC & Bar, MM and the French Croix de Guerre. His brother John, also an RFC pilot was killed in March 1918. 1938Maurice Ryan from Tipperary. A member of the Connolly Column killed on the Ebro in the Spanish Civil War during this monthon |
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Post by groundhog on Aug 2, 2012 8:03:03 GMT
2nd August in Irish Military History 1649The battle of Rathmines was fought near Dublin. 1800The last ever session of the Irish parliament ended. 191735865 Cpl John Conroy, Royal Garrison Artillery. Died on the Western Front. He was the son of Thomas & Ellen Conroy, Clonmel. And husband of Annie Conroy, Church Bay Rd, Crosshaven, Cork. 10775 Pte Nicholas Walsh, 1st Bn Irish Guards. Killed in action on the Western Front. He was from Dungarvan, Co. Waterford. KIA at Ypres with 6th Bn Royal Irish Regt6394 Pte Steven Carrigan from Clonmel. He is buried in Aeroplane Cemetery, Ypres. 5193 Pte William Walsh MM from Carrick on Suir, Co. Tipperary. He is commemorated on the Menin Gate. 1918SPTS1380 Pte Rupert Bell from Waterford City. He was killed in action on the Western Front with 23rd Bn Royal Fusiliers. 1941978746 Sgt John O’Callaghan, RAF. He was from Nenagh, Co. Tipperary and he is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial, England. O'Callaghan was part of the crew of a Wellington bomber which they were delivering to Malta. They took off from Gibraltar but an engine cut and unable to maintain height the crew ditched in heavy seas off the coast 48 km east of Algiers. Five men died and one was rescued. 194513122484 Pte James Doocey , Pioneer Corps. He died at home in Ireland and is buried in Kilcreggane Cemetery, Ballymacarbery, Co. Waterford. |
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Post by groundhog on Aug 3, 2012 8:46:03 GMT
3rd August in Irish Military History 1823Thomas Francis Meagher was born in Waterford. He was one of the leaders of the 1848 rebellion. Transported to Australia he escaped to the US where he fought in the Civil War as a Brigade Commander. He became Governor of Montana and died after mysteriously falling overboard from a riverboat. 1914Germany declared war on France. 1915Second Lieutenant George Arthur Boyd-Rochfort, 1st Bn Scots Guards, was standing close to a small working party when a German mortar bomb landed on the the parapet of their trench near La Basee, France. George picked the bomb up and hurled it over the parapet where it exploded. He was awarded the Victoria Cross. Despite the name and regiment George was from Co. Westmeath. He died in Dublin in 1940 aged 60 and is buried in Castletown Old Churchyard, Westmeath. 1916Roger Casement was hanged in Pentonville Prison, London. He was the last to be executed as a result of the Easter Rising. 17029 Pte James Crowley, 7th Bn Royal Irish Fusiliers. Died of wounds on the Western Front. He was from Waterford. 19171555 Pte John Murphy, Royal Irish Regt. Killed in action on the Western Front. He was from Waterford. 1923Volunteer Frank O'Keeffe, IRA. Died in the Curragh Internment Camp. He was from Clonmel. |
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Post by groundhog on Aug 4, 2012 9:12:11 GMT
4th August in Irish Military History 1914Germany invaded Belgium. The United Kingdom of Britain and Ireland declared war on Germany at 11PM. 19165679 Pte Patrick Hurley, 2nd Bn Royal Irish Regt. From Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, he died of wounds at home. 1917
Died on the Western Front with 6th Bn Royal Irish Regt9800 Pte Michael Daly. Tipperary. 7613 Pte Michael Healy. Killenaule, Co. Tipperary. 2nd Bn Royal Irish Regt7453 Pte Thomas Murray from Fethard, Co. Tipperary. |
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Post by groundhog on Aug 5, 2012 10:46:38 GMT
5th August in Irish Military History [/center] 1888General Philip Sheridan, the son of Irish immigrants from Cavan, died in Nonquit, Massachusetts. 191723733 Pte Patrick Keating from Fethard, Co. Tipperary. He died on the Western Front serving in 9th Bn Royal Dublin Fusiliers. 8204 Pte William Reardon, 2nd Bn Royal Irish Regt. Died of wounds on the Western Front. From Dungarvan, Co. Waterford. |
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