THE BARRACK SQUARE

Today we take indoor lighting for granted, a click of a switch and the room is instantly bright. Before the electrification of Ireland, however, light came from candles or from manufactured coal gas. For the soldiers stationed at the military barracks in Crinkill, just outside Birr, the arrival of gas in the 1860s marked a major leap in comfort and modernity. Gas Comes to the Barracks On 29 April 1862, the Dublin Evening Mail  reported that plans were underway to introduce ga

Sometimes, when researching the man behind the uniform, the first reaction is disappointment when no service papers survive, as they are often the catalyst for deeper investigation. Yet in many cases, where those records are lost, a soldier’s life can still be reconstructed from other sources. In the case of Edward Scally, the surviving evidence reveals a man who served in two wars, worked for Guinness, and carried unseen scars that ultimately became too much to bear. This is

Introduction Today, Grove Street in Crinkill is a modest, unassuming housing estate. The original street was exactly that, a single street consisting of over half a dozen white washed, thatched cottages, a mix of single storey and two storey, standing in the shadow of the adjacent military barracks. Many of these houses were once home to soldiers or veterans connected with the barracks. One such family was the Hills. The 1901 census records them at No. 5 Grove Street. The hou

100th Regiment of Foot memorial in Malta During a trip to Malta in 2025, the temptation to visit a few graveyards could not be resisted. One morning, leaving early, I set out for Ta’ Braxia Cemetery. Established in October 1857 and lying not far from Valletta, it contains countless British military burials. After some time wandering around, I found what I had been looking for: a memorial to the men of the 100th Regiment who died during the cholera outbreak of 1865. The 100th

Introduction James McTiernan's Queen's South Africa medal Historical research often throws up small, interesting pieces of information, which at the time of discovery, might have no immediate use. While compiling the names of soldiers for Birr Military Cemetery , an intriguing newspaper article gave a detailed account of the military funeral of Sergeant Patrick McTiernan of the Leinster Regiment, who was buried in Clonoghill Cemetery, Birr in 1903. While the information didn’

Recently, a lot of three King’s South Africa medals came up for auction. Among them was one awarded to Private Peter Meara of the Leinster Regiment. With no accompanying research, I set out to uncover the story behind this soldier.