Ireland III

Something quite different today.

I have posted two memorials to the lost from Ireland in the past. For those who may not know thousands of Irish citizens came to the US (and Australia) specifically to join up and fight in Vietnam. One might only guess that it came from a deeply felt understanding of what it means to be occupied and live under the boot of another country, or oppressing force. Some 30 lost their lives and are remembered on The Wall in D.C. and elsewhere around the country and the world.

So on my last visit to Ireland our guide and friend knew of my interest in Memorials to Vietnam, she, in fact, took me back to Tipperary to revisit and rephotograph the memorial there.

One evening she said to me "Be ready at 7:30, I'll pick you up, I think there is something here in Thurles you'd like to see."

So, bright and early the next morning I was up and waiting. 7:30 on the dot, Mary pulled into the place we were staying. She drove me through the town and to a cemetery at a local church.

St Mary's dates back to 1292, can you imagine?

She showed me a stone wall that runs around two sides of this ancient cemetery.

The main plaques that are embedded in the stone represent many Irish involvements and honor events in Irish history.

The Easter Uprising of 1916 which led, unknown to its summarily executed leaders, to Irish independence.

There are also memorials to WWI, WWII and a number of other wars in which the Irish participated, often as part of U.N. forces, currently up through Lebanon. There is a Howitzer sitting nearby, too.

So, all these and memorials to An Gorta Mor (the great famine) are very interesting to me, but like you (I bet) I was beginning to wonder what all this had to do with Vietnam?

As I was looking at this wall, I noticed two guys just standing and talking a little ways off. I thought this a little odd for early in the morning in a cemetery, but really didn't give it too much thought. Mary and I drifted over nearer to them and started up a conversation. Turns out one of them was the guy who was behind this whole project.

He explained that they did not yet have a memorial to those who served and the 30 that died in Vietnam, but that the whole wall effort was because he had stood at the The Wall in DC. He was so impressed and touched that he decided to create his own wall in Thurles.

It just occurred to me as I write this that it was probably no accident that he was in the cemetery that morning, I suspect that Mary made it happen.

Next time, on the 4th, we will revisit Maryland, so, meet me there, as always, at 9:00am.

To see other memorials from any state, please click on the state name on the left side of this page.

Ireland II

One does not always think of Ireland when contemplating the Vietnam war, but this would be an oversight.

People from other lands came to the aide of Vietnam by joining the U.S. military. I have found a memorial in Portugal, there are KIA/MIAs from Panama and other not often credited places.

The Irish are no exception and are, perhaps, the largest such group.

2500 of then came to America to join the military and serve along side us in Vietnam. Some 30 of them perished and are along side us, still, on The Wall in Washington, D.C. One of these is among the eight women listed, Pam Donovan, was from Ireland.

This memorial is the one of the last remaining remnants from British occupation of Ireland, so it is fitting that it now serves as an everlasting honor to Irish men and women who gave their lives while fighting with other countrys for the freedom of others.

Originally the Officers Mess and Quarters, part of the Tipperary Barracks it was destroyed after the British finally left Ireland.

It was saved and refurbished by the Tipperary Remembrance Trust to honor these Irish heroes and dedicated in 2004.

       

There are several plaques on the reverse of the arch and each is dedicated in a manner different from what we do here. They are listed by whom the Irish fought with against someone else. The one on which you find Pam Donovan, and others, is simply listed as the Irish lost fighting with America. Another says Irish lost while fighting with the United Kingdom, or Australia, or Eire (Ireland).

 

                                  

The memorial is dedicated to:

"...the Irishmen and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice for the cause of Peace Freedom at home or worldwide..."

When I visited, my guide, Mick, told me there were plans to add a plaque dedicated specifically to those lost in Vietnam. I do not know if this has been completed yet, I was back recently and it was not, but I could not reach Mick to get any information. If I do, I will certainly update here.

I thought about saving this for Saint Patrick's Day, but decided it was too far off, so enjoy.

Next time, on the 15th we will revisit New Hampshire, so join me then, back in America, at 9:00am.

To see memorials from any state, please click the state name on the left side of this page.