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Stephen Callaghan
Oct 16, 20202 min read
Venice Hackett V.A.D.
Venice Clementia Henrietta Hackett was born at noon on 27 February 1887 in Strathblane, Scotland. She was the daughter of Edward Augustus...
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Stephen Callaghan
Sep 25, 20203 min read
Birr's Royal Marine - Colonel Arthur Kelly Evans
Clonoghill Cemetery, Birr, County Offaly is filled with numerous impressive monuments, many of these were carved by the skilled hands of...
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Stephen Callaghan
Sep 18, 20202 min read
An Unusual Military Funeral in Birr!
Birr, County Offaly (formerly King's County) is a town of many burial grounds, in fact, it contains the more burial grounds than any...
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Stephen Callaghan
Aug 28, 20202 min read
The sad tale of Trooper Vincent Hogan, South Irish Horse
Vincent John Hogan was born in Crinkill, Birr on 23 February 1892. He was the son of Colour Sergeant Patrick Hogan and Sarah Hogan (née...
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Stephen Callaghan
Aug 14, 20202 min read
Life after the War, Drummer Peter Craffey, Leinster Regiment
This is the story of Peter Craffey. A professional soldier, wounded and taken prisoner during the Great War. Peter's post war life was...
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Stephen Callaghan
Aug 7, 20203 min read
Military sports and spectacles in Birr, August 1919
This post appeared on the Offaly History Blog in August of 2019, but with current world events and the cancellation of Birr Vintage week....
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Stephen Callaghan
Jul 31, 20202 min read
A Souvenir of the Boer War
The Second Anglo Boer War broke out in October 1899. The conflict arose after the British ignored an ultimatum issued by the Boers about...
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Stephen Callaghan
Jul 24, 20202 min read
Hidden in a Drawer – Private Ernest Charles Watts, Hampshire Regiment
Over a decade ago, an uncle of mine was renovating a cottage he bought. It was cluttered with various things which needed to be sorted or...
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Stephen Callaghan
Jul 10, 20202 min read
A Veteran of the Maori Wars - James Carroll, 14th Regiment of Foot
Wandering around Clonoghill Cemetery in Birr, County Offaly it is easy to uncover numerous interesting headstones. If rambling around the...
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Stephen Callaghan
Jun 26, 20204 min read
The Great War and the McDonalds of Birr, County Offaly
A few years ago I came across a single 1914-15 Star awarded to Private Frederick McDonald of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Inniskilling...
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Stephen Callaghan
Jun 19, 20202 min read
A Lion on the Field of Battle – Major George Washington Holmes
The 18th of June 2020 marks the 205th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, with that in mind today's post is appropriately themed for...
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Stephen Callaghan
Jun 12, 20202 min read
Private Andrew Burne, 10th Regiment of Foot
Found over 30 years ago while someone was out walking in a field in Lucan, County Dublin. The medal, which is a bit worse for wear,...
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Stephen Callaghan
May 29, 20203 min read
A Soldier's Wife buried in Shinrone, County Offaly
Tucked away in St. Mary’s Church of Ireland Church and graveyard in Shinrone, County Offaly are many interesting eighteenth and...
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