THE BARRACK SQUARE

Joseph Egan was born in the Parish of Drumcullen, King’s County around 1843. He was the son of Thomas Egan, a farmer who worked land...

Previously on this blog we have covered some of the history of Birr Barracks. It’s construction began on 21 February 1809 with its...

Today we have a special guest post. To celebrate the completion and printing of a family history book, Ossie and Irene Burke have kindly...

On 16 July 1922, while the ruins of Birr Barracks were still smoldering after having been set alight on the 14th, George Beattie passed...

John Forrest Ruttledge was born in Birr on 1 August 1895. He was the oldest son of Colonel Alfred Ruttledge and May Ormsby Ruttledge (née...

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....

An interesting feature on certain memorials in cemeteries is the commemoration of relations who died in the First and Second World Wars....

On my last visit to Grangegorman Military Cemetery, my attention was caught by the headstone of John Ennis of Stoneybatter, Dublin. The...

Through the course of my research, I have searched both 1901 and 1911 census for army pensioners living in and around Birr. One army...

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...

The medals of James Stephens. Recently a friend linked me to some medals for sale, the group consisted of the 1914 Star, the British War...

Alexander Campbell was born in Auchinbreck, Argyllshire, Scotland on 10 October 1795. Possibly related to the Campbells of Auchinbreck,...

Today marks the 102nd anniversary of the death of Sergeant Gordon Brooker of the Leinster Regiment. Sergeant Brooker was buried in an...

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...

There was a significant contribution of men from the town of Birr, King’s County during the Great War. The true extent is not fully...

Despite some hesitation in letting soldier be buried in Clonoghill Cemetery when it first opened in 1869, the cemetery contains many...

My early days of researching soldier’s in Birr began with spending countless hours wandering around Clonoghill Cemetery, which is just a...

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...

The Prince of Wales, later King Edward VIII was appointed commander in chief of the Leinster Regiment in 1919. In 1922 he visited the 1st...

The old medieval church, St Brendan’s in Birr was replaced by a new church, also named St Brendan’s in 1816. when the new church, also...