Stephen Callaghan
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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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 27, 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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Stephen Callaghan
- Dec 18, 2020
- 3 min
Private Patrick Doolan, 2nd Battalion, Leinster Regiment
A number of years ago I came across a Queen's South Africa medal. On initial research there did not appear to be much information about...
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