Interview with Sergeant Sharon McNamara and Sergeant Major Billy Redmond
On Friday 7 August we met up with two retired Kildare veterans to record their stories: Sergeant Sharon McNamara and Sergeant Major Billy Redmond. Sharon comes from a long line of military service with grandfathers on both sides serving in the early days of Óglaigh na hÉireann / Irish Defence Forces. Growing up on the Curragh, joining the Amy was a natural progression. In 1981, a decision was made to recruit women under general enlistment. Along with forty other young ladies, Sharon found herself part of the Defence Forces first all-female recruit platoon. As this was a new chapter in the history of the Defence Forces Sharon had some enlightening stories to tell. At that time women could not serve in combat units. Even guard duties were off the list. This did not take long to change as Sharon explained: ‘in many ways we pioneered the way for those that came after us’. Sharon primarily served in the Administration School and the Curragh Command Headquarters. Retiring after 21 years’ service, Sharon now works for The Kerry Group in Naas.
Sergeant Sharon McNamara about life in the Defence Forces with the first all female platoon in 1981. (Photograph by John O’Byrne)
Sergeant Major Redmond is a well-known veteran from Kilcullen, who regularly writes and gives talks on his 45 years’ service in the Defence Forces. Billy joined in the late 1950s and served with the Signal and CIS Corps. Billy spent ten years on missions with the United Nations Peacekeeping, three tours in the Congo, two in Cyprus, and nine in South Lebanon. Billy’s first overseas tour was to the Congo with the 32nd Infantry Battalion and was able to give us insight how signallers operated in those harsh conditions. No smart phones back then, it was old style Morse Code. Impressively Billy can still tap out 22 words a minute.
Thank you to Jim Brady from ONE Ireland in Kildare for arranging the interviewees and to NC & JO’B Photography Studio & Gallery in Rathangan for the use of their facilities and support. Covid 19 safety precautions were observed during our interviews.
Sergeant Major Billy Redmond describing the situation in the Congo in the early 1960s. (Photograph by John O’Byrne)
This project is sponsored by County Kildare Heritage Office and Creative Ireland.
Over the past year and half we have been researching for our first project – Celbridge’s Military Story. This project has led us down history trails we never envisaged. A project by the History Squad in Scoil Na Mainistreach on Celbridge’s casualties of the Great War led us to Major William Dease – son of Sir Col. Gerald Dease – who in turn had recruited local men into the Remounts in 1914. By pure chance we came across a casualty of the Great War not on the Celbridge war dead list: Private Robert Beveridge 28th Remount Squadron who is buried in Naas, County Kildare. Robert died on 25 January 1919 in the Curragh Military Hospital. The Kildare Observer confirmed he had been given a military funeral with honours paid by the Royal Dublin Fusiliers. Robert’s military records have not survived and no birth cert exists. Last year we inconclusively connected Robert to Celbridge through census records: the census listed a Robert Beverage, foster child with the Lennon family in Celbridge and later a labourer. Digging up several conundrums we came to multiple dead ends to conclusively prove the two Roberts were one of the same.
Not wanting to leave it at that we endeavoured to find out more. With the help of historians Drs Ann Mathews and Brendan O’Shea, local historians Jim Tancred and George Bagnall, Graham Hughes and Martin Whyte of St. Corban’s cemetery, and David Grant (www.cairogang.com) the story of Robert began to come together piece by piece. Through documents such as Robert’s Soldier’s Effects we were able to link the Private Beveridge buried in Naas to Celbridge and the Lennon family. As it turns out the Lennon family are still in the area and proudly remember Robert. We met the Lennon family – who still poses Robert’s medals and his photograph – and paid tribute at his grave. The History Squad had the key all along. 100 years ago, the Lennon family were the stuart’s of the Dease estate in Celbridge Abbey and Kilmacredock.
We will be bringing you Robert’s full story in the coming months.
Nora and Eoghan Lennon at the grave of Private Robert Beveridge in Naas. (Photograph by Wesley Bourke)
This project is sponsored by Kildare County Council Heritage Office.
Sergeant Noel McGivern: retired Emergency and United Nations veteran with the Irish Defence Forces.
Project: Dublin Port’s Emergency Story
Noel with his wife Patsy. (Photo by Ken Mooney)
This week we had the pleasure of meeting Noel McGivern and his wife Patsy. Noel gave us a remarkable insight into life in the early Defence Forces. His father Daniel McGivern had served during the War of Independence in County Down with the Irish Republican Army. Moving south he enlisted in the new National Army and served in the Curragh Camp. Noel was initially born in the Curragh 91 years ago. Moving to married quarters in Arbour Hill Daniel served with the 2nd and 5th Infantry Battalions. On the outbreak of the Emergency in 1939, he was transferred to the 11th Infantry Battalion in Greystones to help train the new entries.
Noel in 1945 and later on UN service in Cyprus.
Noel’s memories of life in Dublin during the Emergency were remarkable. Rationing was the order of the day but living in married quarters meant the army families could receive some extra rations from McKee Barracks. He remembered clearly the frightful early morning of 31 May 1941, when four Luftwaffe bombs fell on Dublin, one of which fell at the Dog Pond pumping works near the Zoo in Phoenix Park. This wasn’t all that far from Arbour Hill. Noel enlisted for the first time in 1945 near the end of the Emergency serving with the 2nd Infantry Battalion. He left the army in 1947 as the army was rapidly scaled down and went to England to work. Twelve years later Noel read in the news of the Irish Defence Forces deploying to the Congo on peacekeeping duties with the United Nations Operation in the Congo (ONUC: French: Opération des Nations Unies au Congo) and he headed for home. He was barely back in uniform and he was on a plane to the Congo to serve with the 34th Infantry Battalion – Jan 1961 – Jul 1961. He deployed a second time with the 36th Infantry Battalion – Dec 1961 – May 1962. Noel went on to complete two tours with the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP). Back home Noel and Patsy lived in married quarters in Arbour Hill. As Patsy told us: ‘it was a great place to live. When Noel was overseas or on the border, everyone looked after each other’. Serving in Collins Barracks with the 5th Infantry Battalion Noel went on to carry out his duties until he retired in 1981 at the rank of Sergeant.
Not forgetting his comrades Noel helped establish the Irish United Nations Veterans Association (IUNVA) and both himself and Patsy volunteered, until the present day, helping veterans in IUNVA. The two still live happily not far from Arbour Hill.
Noel on service in Cyprus.
If you know any Emergency veteran please do get in touch as it would be an honour to meet them and record their story.
A Guard of Honour for President Douglas Hyde, by members of the 1st Infantry Battalion, during the Emergency. (Image courtesy of Renmore Barracks Museum)
On A War Footing
The Emergency Years (Part 1)
An interview with Lieutenant Colonel Ned Cusack (Retd)
First published in Winter 2016 issue.
For most of us, the Emergency period in Ireland (1939 – 1946) is an account in the history books with black and white images. Nearly all Ireland’s veterans who served abroad or at home during this period have passed away. There are a few veterans still alive and well. To them the events that took place some 75 years ago, are like yesterday. Ned Cusack is 97 years old. Living with his wife Eileen, in Moycullen, Co. Galway, he is a fit, retired Irish Defence Forces officer. Still driving and fully versed in email and the computer, it was amazing to speak to someone who could recollect with such accuracy, the time Ireland braced itself for war.
Laughing about how times have changed, Ned showed us his Commissioning Certificate signed by Uachtarán na hÉireann Douglas Hyde, Taoiseach Éamon de Valera, and Minister for Defence Oscar Traynor. In Ned’s wedding photograph was none other than a very young Lieutenant Pat Quinlan – the very same Pat Quinlan of Jadotville fame. Pat Quinlan was in Ned’s junior cadet class.
How times have changed indeed. When Ned and Pat joined up they were wearing the German style Vickers helmet and high collar tunic. Japan, Italy, Germany and Russia were all expanding. It was a time when ideologies redefined the fate of nations. Stalin was purging his people; Adolf Hitler was annexing Austria; and civil war was raging in Spain. To Ned, the world was long at war well before September 1939. This is his story.
I was born on 1 March 1919. I grew up in Mitchelstown, Co. Cork. Once I completed my Leaving Certificate in the summer of 1938, I applied for the Civil Service. In those days, there were not many jobs in the country. You applied for the likes of clerical officer positions or the ESB (Electricity Supply Board). These were all secure jobs, if you were lucky enough to get one. There were usually only around ten vacancies a year. So, you had to aim to come in the top six to be in with a chance.
As part of the Civil Service exam I also applied for the Army Cadetship. To my utter surprise I was called for an interview. There was around 300 selected for interview. I remember travelling from Mitchelstown on the bus to St. Bricin’s Military Hospital to do my medical. This was followed by the interview. Six senior officers were in front of me. I was a raw country guy being quizzed by six senior officers. I knew nothing about the Army good, bad or in different. You can imagine how I was feeling.
At that time the main item of news was the Spanish Civil War. Franco, of course, was topical and Irish men like Frank Ryan who had gone over to take part. It just so happened I knew the answers. About two weeks later I got a letter to report to the Military College in the Curragh Camp, Co. Kildare, to start training at the beginning of September.
Cadet Ned Cusack, 1939.
The 12th Cadet Class numbered 54. It was a large class as the Army were anticipating the war to come and there was a severe shortage of officers. Six billets with 9 cadets in each billet. Back then everything was in Irish. Everything, all commands, all instructions. You were billeted based on your application results. I was in Gasra 3 (Section 3). That meant all the geniuses were in Gasra 1. We were issued with bulls wool uniforms. I’d never seen such a uniform in my life. It took a while to accustom to military life.
There were guys from all over the country. There were also several ex-teachers in our class. They had joined the army because their pay was so poor they couldn’t afford rent in Dublin. I asked what in the name of god were you doing leaving a teacher’s job to join the army. They said teachers wages then was diabolical. You couldn’t live off it. After rent you had no money left. In Dublin, you may have to pay 30 Shillings a week in rent. After that the teachers had little left. In the army, they got a uniform, food and digs.
As Junior Cadets, we got 4 Shillings a day, Senior Cadets – 5 Shillings. I didn’t drink or smoke so this was money bonanza from heaven for me. I could buy a bicycle, a new suit of clothes, and a lovely overcoat. 4 Shillings a day was a lot of money in those days.
The cadetship was two years. We were straight into it. The first three months you were brought up to corporal level. There were also academic subjects such as French, history and geography. History was a big one. We had to do a lot of European history. All the military training at the time was based on World War I British doctrine. You were all the time talking and studying about slit trenches and digging deep trenches. We wasted a lot of time digging trenches. Mobility was not mentioned much. This way of thinking all changed after the German Blitzkrieg swept across Europe. War clouds darkened over Europe.
On 19 February 1939, Taoiseach Éamon de Valera announced that Ireland would be neutral if war broke out. In August 1939, we had a year’s training done and granted a month’s annual leave. We were all at home enjoying ourselves. In the middle of the month it was announced via the newspapers and radio that “all ranks are to report back to your units”. Off I headed for the Military College with my cardboard suitcase.
The 12th Cadet Class (1938 – 1939). Ned is circled.
The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact was a neutrality pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed in Moscow on 23 August. On 1 September, Nazi Germany invaded Poland. On 2 September, the Oireachtas declared a State of Emergency. This declaration was enacted the following day:
Make provisions for securing the public safety and the preservation of the State in time of war and, in particular, to make provision for the maintenance of public order and for the provision and control of supplies and services essential to the life of the community, and to provide for divers and other matters (including the charging of fees on certain licences and other documents) connected with the matters aforesaid.
At 11.15am, 3 September, British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, broadcast on BBC:
This morning the British Ambassador in Berlin handed the German Government a final note stating that, unless we heard from them by 11 o’clock that they were prepared at once to withdraw their troops from Poland, a state of war would exist between us.
I have to tell you now that no such undertaking has been received, and that consequently this country [Britain] is at war with Germany.
Junior and Senior Cadets were assembled in the big lecture hall in the Military College. In the back of our minds Cork were playing Kilkenny in the All-Ireland and all Cork and Kilkenny Cadets were geared to go to Croke Park. We were never as close to Croke Park in our lives.
Addressing us was Major General Hugo MacNeill. He announced “We are now on a war footing. There will be no leave. Everyone is confined to barracks”.
The General announced that the Senior Cadet class were to be commissioned immediately. He then said to us “I am going to condense your training into six weeks. After that you will be commissioned. In the meantime, you will soldier day and night, seven days a week”.
Croke Park was not to happen. Worst of all Kilkenny beat Cork by a puck at the last second of the match.
Later that day, An Taoiseach Éamon de Valera broadcasted on Radio Éireann to the people of Ireland:
You know from the news bulletins that I have been listening that the great European powers are again at war. That this would be the end, as appears almost inevitable for months’ past. Such an escape we had a year ago, would hardly be expected to occur twice. Yet until a short time ago there was hope. But now hope is gone and the people of Europe are plunged once more into the misery and anguish of war
Noting the march of events, your government decided its policy early last Spring and announced its decision to you and the world. We resolve with the aim of our policy would be to keep our people out of the war. As I said in the Dáil. With our history, with our experience of the last war and with a part of our country still unjustly severed from us, we felt that no other decision and no other policy was possible
For those six weeks, we went through hell on earth. We were on manoeuvres well into the darkness and lectures were held in the middle of the night. There were no breaks, no leave. The one good thing was we had no tests. We trained and trained. After six weeks, intense training we were commissioned.
We thought after that we’d get at least two weeks off. It was not to be. We were to report straight to our new units. Back into the lecture hall and our postings were read out. We had been asked where we would like to be posted. I had put in for the 4th Infantry Battalion or coastal artillery in Cork. Either one was not far from home. Lovely.
Major General MacNeill announced, “Ned Cusack, 1st Infantry Battalion Galway”. Jesus, I thought where is the 1st Infantry Battalion in Galway. I’d never been to Galway. I was not a happy man. The next morning the saloon car dropped me at Kildare train station, after a change at Athlone, I headed into the Wild West.
I reported to Renmore Barracks and introduced myself to Major Dineen, the Commanding Officer of the 1st Infantry Battalion. In those days, we used the rank Major as Lieutenant Colonel. He was a 22 man and had what was known as pre-truce service. From Clare, he had fought in the War of Independence and then in the Civil War. After becoming a teacher for a while, he joined the new Defence Forces. A nice man he was a genius on Gallipoli. He knew that battle inside out and lectured us endlessly on the Gallipoli campaign. All his tactics were based on the First World War.
Now that we were on a war footing the Battalion was on continuous exercise. North Clare and Galway Bay area became very familiar. Nobody knew what was going to happen. If the Germans were to keep coming, more than likely their main thrust would be from the sea. In turn we trained extensively in coastal defence. I remember Ballyvaughan Co. Clare and Spiddal in Galway very well. We defended them until we were blue in the face.
Changing of the Guard at Renmore Barracks, Galway, 1939. (Image courtesy of Renmore Barracks Museum)
There was only one lorry for the entire battalion. We had to march everywhere. 10, 20 mile marches were nothing to us. And then a day’s work at the end of it defending the coast, harrying a Company in Defence at dawn. They were great fun. I hadn’t hit my 21st birthday yet and by god we were fit.
It was very serious training. We spent days on the ranges. I was an expert on the Lewis Light Machine Gun. Our standard rifle was the Lee–Enfield bolt-action .303” and we had the Ordnance ML 3” mortar. The ML 3” mortar is a conventional Stokestype mortar which was muzzle-loaded and drop-fired.
Later we received the Bren machine gun, the Czechoslovak ZGB 33 version to be precise, and the Brandt mle 27/31 mortar from France. As we were pre-war men the entire battalion was dressed in the German styled Vickers helmet and heather green high collared tunic. We were fierce looking individuals.
One day in early November I reported to the commanding officer. “You and your platoon are to report to Mallin Head, Co. Donegal’. There was a radio station and observation post up there which had to be guarded and the observation post manned. It was bitterly cold. I got out expecting to see billets. All there was eight man tents. We relieved the unit there and our job was to keep out intruders. At that time our biggest fear was the IRA (Irish Republican Army). They were active at the time. The radio station and the observation post were a vital strategic location as they covered a huge part of the north-west Atlantic. The reports emanating from that post throughout the war were vital to the Irish and the Allied war effort.
We monitored movements of aircraft, submarines and shipping and gathered all the respective information. It was cold and the food was not the best. I could think of better places to be. After a month, we thought we were going back to Galway. No. we got a call. “You and your platoon are to report to Drumsna in Co. Leitrim in two days’ time”.
Drumsna was a strategic bridge over the River Shannon connecting Ireland with Northern Ireland. At Drumsna anyone that was crossing the bridge was stopped, searched and questioned. As the officer, I’d have to ask all the questions. Where are you coming from? where are you going? what will you be doing there? Nothing could pass Drumsna bridge without my say so.
As well as checking any IRA activities we were also getting information on the British activities in the North. Bitter cold, tents, not exactly four-star standard. After about three weeks we were ordered back to barracks for respite.
Back in barracks in the second week in December we had a cushy time. Lovely nice food and warm beds. Christmas was on the cards and we thought we might get a break and finally get to go home and see the family.
Well, the senior officers who were still on peacetime mentality said you, you and you orderly officer Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and St. Stephen’s Day. I was on St. Stephen’s Day. The older officers were off home for the Christmas.
Three young Lieutenants in charge of the barracks. Midnight Christmas Eve, phone call from Command Headquarter Athlone. “Barrack to be placed on lockdown forthwith. No movement. You are to put out patrols internally and externally”. What in the name of god is this all about I asked, “the IRA have raided the Magazine Fort in the Phoenix Park in Dublin, and got away with all our reserve ammunition”.
Everyone was recalled to barracks. Raids were expected all over the country. That was our Christmas 1939.
Patrick ‘Patsy’ O’Neill, 2015. (Photo by his daughter Maureen O’Neill)
A JILDY SOLDIER
Interview with Emergency veteran Patsy O’Neill
By Wesley Bourke
Published in Winter 2015
Over our first four
issues we have been fortunate enough to have been able to bring you the
harrowing eyewitness accounts of several veterans who took part in World War
II. Recent months have remembered the sacrifice made during the Battle of
Britain in which Irish aviators played their part. At this time, we should also
remember that 75 years ago, while war raged around the world, Ireland declared
a State of Emergency. This resulted in a massive expansion of the small Irish
Defence Forces which prepared to defend the island from a looming invasion.
There are still veterans from this time in Ireland still alive today. Their
service should also be remembered. It is only when a grandparent passes away
that we realise the stories we grew up listening to will never be told again.
This editor is fortunate to have one grandparent left alive; this is his
Emergency story.
Emergency is Declared
Patrick ‘Patsy’ O’Neil from Glebe House, Crumlin Village, Dublin, was born on 1 August 1921. Patsy has seen many changes in Ireland from the early days of the Free State, the birth of a Republic, and on to the Celtic Tiger. In Ireland the war period was known as the Emergency; a State of Emergency was proclaimed by Dáil Éireann on 2 September 1939, allowing the passage of the Emergency Powers Act 1939 by the Oireachtas the following day. It allowed for measures such as censorship and internment.
Remaining neutral,
Ireland braced itself for war. Money and equipment was scarce. Food, fuel, tea,
cigarettes were all rationed. Turf battalions were formed to make sure homes,
schools, and hospitals remained heated in urban areas. Air-Raid wardens
patrolled the streets at night enforcing a black out. The worst outcome was
prepared for with gas masks being issued to the general public. Patsy recollected:
‘At the outbreak of the war I was studying carpentry in Bolton Street College. There was much talk of the war in Europe. As German armies moved east and west nobody knew whether Ireland would join the Allied powers or wait and see if the Germans would come over to us’.
On the outbreak of
World War II Patsy joined the rapidly expanding Irish Army At the wars’
outbreak the Irish Defence Forces (at the time consisting of the Army, Air
Corps and the newly formed Marine and Coastwatching Service) was small in size.
The regular Army only numbered 5,915 regulars and 14,470 in the reserve. By
1943 the Defence Forces reached a peak of 56,000 regulars while a reorganised
reserve, known as the Local Defence Force (LDF) numbered 106,000. Volunteers
like Patsy were known as E-men (Emergency men) or Durationers (those who had
enlisted for the duration of hostilities). A private soldier received fourteen
shillings a week less ten pence deduction for laundry and haircutting.
Patsy Enlists and life in the Curragh Camp
With this expansion, the Army was reformed into two divisions and two independent brigades. The 1st Division, under Major General M.J. Costello, had its headquarters in Cork while the 2nd Division, under Major General Hugo McNeill, had its headquarters in Carton House, Maynooth, Co. Kildare. The independent 5th and 8th Brigades were based in the Curragh Camp, Co. Kildare and in Rineanna (today Shannon Airport) Co. Clare, respectively. Patsy joined C Company 25th Infantry Battalion, 5th Brigade. The Curragh Camp, which is still a military base today, is a large military camp south of Naas beside Newbridge and Kildare towns. Its common plains are well known for horses and sheep. For a Crumlin man, Naas (a large town in North Kildare) was considered the frontier.
“As German
armies moved east and west nobody knew whether Ireland would join the Allied
powers or wait and see if the Germans would come over to us.”
‘Sheep shit and soldiers are what I remember about the Curragh Camp. The only nice thing about it was the trees as you drove in. There was no doubt about it; training was hard. We were expecting war. We enjoyed it all the same. There was camaraderie amongst everyone. We were issued with the British pattern uniform, helmet and forage cap. We had another name for the forage cap which I won’t repeat. You’ll see pictures of other Irish soldiers wearing a German style uniform. This was the Vickers helmet that had been issued back in the 30’s along with a German style uniform. No wonder some pilots that crashed here got confused. You made friends with men like 62 Sanders. We called them by their last name and their army number. The Curragh had a picture house and the units put on shows and sporting competitions to help pass the time. We were issued the Lee Enfield .303” rifle. Lovely weapon. The drill on this rifle was really impressive. I remember it clearly. On parade was the best “Fastuigh –Beaignill” (the Irish command for Fix Bayonets). When you saw a whole battalion doing that movement together in one motion it was an amazing sight. We were very Jildy’. (Jildy was a slang term at the time for good appearance)
With the rapid
expansion the Defence Force ordered new armoured vehicles, weapons, aircraft,
and patrol boats from abroad. With the war on, the numbers required did not
reach Ireland. To augment its arsenal, the military modified truck chassis’,
such as Ford and Dodge, and turned them into armoured cars. For the infantryman
many of the weapons still in use were of a World War I vintage.
Pictured on left, Private Patrick ‘Patsy’ O’Neill, C Company 25th Infantry Battalion, on guard in the Curragh Camp circa 1941. (Image courtesy of family)
‘The Enfield was my
favourite. They weren’t all in good condition as some were old and had to have
repair work done. Ten-round black magazine and one up the breech. One of my
proudest days was being awarded the marksmanship badge. With the Enfield you
didn’t pull the trigger, you squeezed it gently. I also did a course on the
Lewis and Vickers machine guns. With these machine guns; like today, you had to
have a crew. The Lewis was on a bipod and had a round magazine whereas the
Vickers was on a tripod and was belt fed. They were impressive weapons to use’.
25th Infantry
Battalion was mainly tasked with guarding K-lines and Tintown. These were the
camps where the Allied, Axis and Irish Republican Army (IRA) internees were
kept during the Emergency period. Ireland of course was neutral so any Allied
or Axis sailors or aviators that happened to crash or end up on Irish soil were
interned. Over the course of the war some 170 aircraft crashed or force landed
on Irish territory. Along with the surviving aircrew sailors such as the 164
German seamen rescued by the MV Kerlogue in the Bay of Biscay found themselves
in the Curragh.
‘In the camps all
the sentry posts were elevated. So you would have full view of your section of
the camp you were guarding. There were two men in each box. Nine boxes in
total. A guard house on the gate. There were also PAs (Poliní Airm the Irish
for Military Police) knocking about which you had to watch out for. It was very
monotonous. You got very tired both physically and mentally doing this day in
day out. The guard commander used to do spot checks on us to see if we had
fallen asleep. Two hours on four hours off. One thing all prisoners had in
common was giving you the sign for a cigarette. We knew it as getting a fix. A
friend might say ‘give us a fix’ and it would break your heart to break a
cigarette in two’.
There was a big
difference between the Allied, Axis and IRA internees.
‘We rotated around
the German, Allied and IRA camps. Now there was a different arrangement for the
different prisoners. The Germans and Allies used to get day passes and as the
war went on some even got jobs in the local areas in Kildare town, Newbridge or
Kilcullen. The Germans were an intimidating bunch. I remember one time
escorting a German officer down to the Military Hospital. I was ordered not to
let him out of my sight. Now I was only 5,4”, looking up at him he didn’t look
too impressed’.
The IRA on the other
hand was locked up 24/7 and did not have the same privileges as the Allied and
Axis internees. ‘They did terrible things back then and the government were
determined not to let them get up to anything while the war was on. In saying
that the IRA was always trying to tunnel out of their camp. There were some
very ingenious engineers in their ranks. We’d watch them for days and weeks
digging away and then catch them just before they finished it. It kept them
busy and we were amused so we didn’t mind. One or two did manage to slip past
us though’.
Nowadays the Curragh
Camp is only 40 odd minutes in a car from Crumlin on the motorway. Back then it
took a little bit longer. As the war continued however leave home for soldiers
even in the neutral Irish Army was not very frequent.
‘For the most part
we didn’t get much leave. It all depended on how the war was going in Europe.
My sisters came up a few times to Newbridge on the bus. I would go and meet
them and they’d bring some food or a clean shirt. If they brought food this was
the best. The food in camp was terrible. I remember the Company Quartermaster
Sergeant counting out three potatoes that were black. That was dinner. We lived
off loaves of bread, butter and jam. The canteen in the camp sold everything
for a penny. A bun and a cup of tea or a piece of Gurcake. Now if you had
2pence you could get a Wad; this was a big cake with cream in the middle’.
Ireland may have
been neutral but this did not prevent both military and civilians suffering
fatalities and injury. During the Blitz in Britain, on several occasions;
German Luftwaffe bombers mistakenly ended up in Irish airspace and jettisoned
their payload. Bombs fell on Borris in Carlow, Wexford, Dublin, and the
Curragh. In Borris three people were killed. The worst raid came on the night
of 30/31 May 1941, on Dublin’s Northside. Thirty-eight people lost their lives
and seventy houses were destroyed on Summerhill Parade, North Strand and the
North Circular Road.
‘One sad story I
remember from 1941 was when we were all playing football one day and got the
call to report to the hospital to give blood. There had been a training
accident in the Glen of Imaal in Wicklow. 16 lads had been killed. When the
bodies came in, we had to carry in the bodies. There was blood all over the
truck. We all got a reality check that day’.
‘The Blackwater Manoeuvres
For most of the Emergency, C Company 25th Infantry Battalion was stationed in the Curragh. However, it regularly took part in exercises outside of their area. Taking the young men to parts of the country they had never heard of or been to. Cork, the Blackwater River, Castle Annagh Camp New Ross, Abbeyleix, Bawnjames. The exercises took part around potential scenarios Ireland may face in case of an invasion. In the early days of the Emergency nobody knew if invasion would come from the Germans in order to gain a backdoor into the United Kingdom or from the British who with the Battle of the Atlantic, had their eyes on Ireland’s strategic ports.
‘In the summer of 1942 we took part in several big manoeuvres. Now we marched everywhere back then. There wasn’t enough transport anyway. Our objective was to cross the Blackwater River. The march down took us through places we’d never heard of or been. We were regularly allowed bivouac in old estates like Silversprings House Piltown, Co. Kilkenny. That was in July. We then went on to Wexford where we stayed in a camp in Bawnjames. We didn’t mind marching through the countryside. It got us out of the Curragh and away from guarding prisoners and out soldiering. We could buy things like good food off the locals and the girls were always very pleasant to us’.
Members of 25th Infantry Battalion taking a break from manoeuvres at Silversprings House, Pilltown, Co. Kilkenny, 25 July 1942. Patsy is seen in the centre row second on the left with a cocked helmet. (Image courtesy of Irish Military Archives. Image colourised by John O’Byrne)
The Blackwater
Exercise in 1942 involved elements from all the commands in Ireland. The 2nd
Division, along with elements from 5th Brigade, moved south to attack the 1st
Division in based in the Munster region. One of the largest obstacles in their
way was the Blackwater River; a natural defensive barrier around Cork City.
They remain the largest military exercises the Irish State has ever conducted.
‘The Blackwater
manoeuvres took place in August and September of 1942. We had to cross the
Blackwater River with full battle dress. Most lads couldn’t swim so we had to
form human chains. The current would try and grab your legs. Sometimes a chain
would break upstream and lads would come drifting down and we’d have to catch
them. We didn’t catch them all’.
Crossing the Blackwater. (Image courtesy of Military Archives. Colourised by John O’Byrne)
The exercise was
followed by the largest-ever military parade which was held in Ireland in Cork
City on 13 September.
Patsy’s Emergency Medal.
As the war raged on
around the world the Axis powers began retreating. An invasion of Ireland
became less and less likely. The Defence Forces were still on high alert.
German U-Boat activity off the coast was monitored, rationing and blackouts
continued. For the Army, training was maintained and those Allied and Axis
aircrews and mariners that still managed to end up in Ireland had to be rounded
up and interned. Internment continued until the end of the war, but bit by bit
the Allied personnel were allowed drift off either making their way to Northern
Ireland or catching a boat from Dublin bound for Britain. The internees had
nowhere to go even if they wanted to.
End of the Emergency and Demobilisation
By 1945 the war in Europe was coming to a close. Although the Emergency in Ireland continued until 1946 the Defence Forces began to scale down.
‘Near the end of the
war I was given indefinite leave to finish my apprenticeship. My Commanding
Officer called me in and explained because the war was winding down I was
approved to go finish my trade so I would have it finished for when I was
discharged. Now I had just completed my NCO’s course and I wanted to get my
corporals stripes. With demobilisation looming there was no need for any more
corporals. Alas back up to Dublin I went to finish my studies on full pay. I
was lucky to get such an opportunity. I reported back to the Curragh 18 months
later for demobilisation. Battalion after battalion was paraded and stood down.
I was handed my discharge papers and the offer of a Martin Henry suit. I took
two shirts, two trousers and a pair of boots instead for work. I never got to
find out whether I passed my NCO’s course or not. Everyone was being
demobilised. For our service we were awarded the Emergency Medal and the
Taoiseach, Éamon de Valera, gave us a 100 pound. That was it, the Emergency was
over’.
Patsy still lives in
his home in Walkinstown, Dublin, aged 94.
This article first appeared in An Cosantóir – the Irish Defence
Forces magazine in February 2012.
