Stephen Callaghan
The tragic death of Margaret McCarthy of Birr
Margaret Price was born in Parsonstown (Birr) on 16 December 1870. She was the daughter of Henry Price and Jane Price (née Boyle). Henry...
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Stephen Callaghan
- Sep 26, 2022
- 2 min
A Soldier's Spoon
Today we are going to look at what might initially look like an innocuous object, a spoon! However, this is no ordinary kitchen spoon, it...
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Stephen Callaghan
- May 2, 2022
- 3 min
Patrick Burke of Moorpark, Birr
Patrick Burke was born at Moorpark, Parsonstown, King’s County on 13 March 1881. He was the son of William Burke and Rosanna Burke (nee...
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Stephen Callaghan
- Feb 2, 2022
- 2 min
Leinsters Depart Birr 100 years ago
A century ago today the Leinster Regiment left Birr Barracks for the last time. As per the Anglo-Irish Treaty, which was signed in...
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Stephen Callaghan
- Jan 21, 2022
- 3 min
The Birr Raid
With a major barracks so close to Birr town, interactions with soldiers were daily. For most instances, interactions were uneventful and...
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Stephen Callaghan
- Jan 14, 2022
- 2 min
Private James Mooney from Birr, Offaly
The 17 January marks the 106th anniversary of the death of James Mooney, 2nd Battalion Leinster Regiment. As it nears the anniversary of...
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Stephen Callaghan
- Nov 20, 2021
- 2 min
A Sergeant's Bed Plate - Richard Gray
Bed plates are small pieces of brass metal with the name, number and regiment of the soldier they belong to. They would be hung at the...
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Stephen Callaghan
- Oct 18, 2021
- 2 min
The Tragic End of Private Burke, Leinster Regiment
Today’s blog post came about via a brief newspaper article from November 1901 detailing the suicide of a soldier of the Leinster...
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Stephen Callaghan
- Sep 24, 2021
- 2 min
A Great War ID Tag - Private Lawlor, Leinster Regiment
In a previous post we looked at an unofficially Great War era aluminum identity tag. Today we will take a look at an officially issued ID...
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Stephen Callaghan
- Aug 13, 2021
- 3 min
Soldier and Petty Criminal - George Curran
George Butler was born on 5 April 1888 in Kildare. His mother was Bridget Butler, no father is listed on his birth certificate. On 10...
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Stephen Callaghan
- Jun 27, 2021
- 2 min
The story behind Private Hennessy's memorial plaque
A few years ago I was lucky to enough to be given the memorial plaque of Lance Corporal Patrick Andrew Hennessy from a relation of his....
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Stephen Callaghan
- Jun 6, 2021
- 3 min
The Ennis brothers of Stoneybatter, Dublin
On my last visit to Grangegorman Military Cemetery, my attention was caught by the headstone of John Ennis of Stoneybatter, Dublin. The...
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Stephen Callaghan
- May 14, 2021
- 2 min
The Service of Private Michael Henry, Leinster Regiment
A familiar stretch of road to me is the Tullamore - Birr road, which I’ve been on countless times. Passing by Eglish I always catch...
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Stephen Callaghan
- Apr 30, 2021
- 3 min
The Healy's of Charleville, Cork
The recent release of the World War One pension cards has made spotting large family contributions to the war effort much clearer. One...
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Stephen Callaghan
- Mar 27, 2021
- 3 min
The Military Service of the Stephens of Ferbane, County Offaly
Recently a friend linked me to some medals for sale, the group consisted of the 1914 Star, the British War Medal and Victory Medal. The...
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Stephen Callaghan
- Mar 11, 2021
- 3 min
Barbados to Birr, Sergeant Gordon Brooker
Today marks the 102nd anniversary of the death of Sergeant Gordon Brooker of the Leinster Regiment. Sergeant Brooker was buried in an...
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Stephen Callaghan
- Feb 26, 2021
- 2 min
Clonoghill Stories: Private Christopher White
As it was the anniversary of the death of Private Christopher White during this past week it would only be fitting to feature his story...
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Stephen Callaghan
- Feb 12, 2021
- 2 min
A King's County Gentleman - Andrew Acres Stoney
Andrew Acres Stoney was born in Frankford (Kilcormac), King’s County (County Offaly) on 8 October 1879. He was the only surviving son of...
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Stephen Callaghan
- Jan 15, 2021
- 3 min
Solving the Mystery of James Flynn
My early days of researching soldier’s in Birr began with spending countless hours wandering around Clonoghill Cemetery, which is just a...
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Stephen Callaghan
- Jan 8, 2021
- 2 min
A Career Soldier's Bed Plate - Warrant Officer M. J. Hogan
Today with are looking at a simple brass item, a bed plate. Bed or duty plates were hung at the end of a soldier’s bed when they were on...
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