Medal Society of Ireland

by George O'Callaghan

In December 1971 while Raymond Munro was flying an amphibious aircraft alone, in extremely bad weather, he spotted an overturned boat in the vicinity of Pelham Bay, New York, about one-half mile from shore. One man was in the water, holding on to the keel, while another was floating face down in the water. In spite of a crippled landing gear, Munro made a landing in rough water, dived in and towed the drowning man to the plane, where he revived him by artificial respiration; he then swam back to the boat and towed the other man to the plane where he laid him across a float and taxied the plane through breaking seas to shore.

by Ken McLean

Liam Dodd's item in a recent issue of the Journal relating to Dublin Yeomanry prompted me to write an article regarding an action in which the 74th Dublin Company Imperial Yeomanry was involved during the Boer War in South Africa.

by James Scannell

On Thursday 17 December, the Irish Water Saving Council in Dublin presented life savings awards to the following 7 people -

by Liam Dodd

Who Who's 1921

William Vesey Harrel C.B. C.B.E. 1919 M.V.O. 1903 Assistant Commissioner Dublin Metropolitan Police 1902-1914. Born 1866 2nd son of Rt. Hon. Sir David Harrel. Unmarried Educated Royal School Armagh and Trinity College Dublin Cadet in Royal Irish Constabulary 1886. Served in that force as District Inspector 1886-1898. H.M Inspector of Prisons in Ireland 1898. A Knight of Grace of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. Received the King's Police Medal 1911. Temp. Commander Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve April 1915.

Clubs: Kildare Street Dublin and Royal St. George Yacht Kingstown Co Dublin.

by Liam Dodd

I wonder if Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh saw or heard anything of Larry McCarthy when they were in Perth Western Australia. When last I heard of him he was running a pub there and he was doing extremely well. I could write a book about Larry, but a few paragraphs will do at the moment. His correct appellation when I knew him was Captain Laurence McCarthy V.C. one of the outstanding heroes of the First War.

Who Immortalised Irish Dance Music

by Donal O'Sullivan

Daniel Francis O'Neill, was born on August 30th 1848 at Tralibane in Caheragh Parish in West Cork. He was the youngest of a family of seven children born to John O'Neill and Catherine [nee O'Mahony]. His father had a keen ear for music and was a fine singer of old traditional Irish songs His mother who came from Castledonovan near Drimoleague had a very strong musical background and was very interested in Irish music and traditional dance tunes. The O'Neill home became the centre for Irish music in the locality, where singers, flute players, fiddlers and pipers met and exchanged tunes. On Sundays they all met at the local Tralibane Cross- roads and played their instruments and people who had assembled from near and far danced the traditional Irish dances to their music This is the environment in which Daniel Francis O'Neill was raised as a young boy and he learned to play the flute. 

by Patrick J. McNamara © 2004

In the Richard Doherty & David Truesdale book ‘Irish Winners of the Victoria Cross’ the entry for John Danaher states that he died in Limerick on 9th January 1919 and has no memorial. As a military historian, this was news to me. I had never come across the story of a VC recipient buried in Limerick, more especially buried in an unmarked grave.   I contacted The Victoria Cross and George Cross Association, London with the intention of obtaining any information they held on John Danagher VC. All the Association had on file was the citation for the Award and very little else. The only other information they had on him stated that he was born in Limerick in 1860.

by J. Morton

It was an exceptionally dark and stormy night off the County Down coast on the 20th January 1942 when the coaster Cairngorm ran aground near Ballyquintin Point at the southern tip of the Ards Peninsula. The Caimgorm’s distress rockets were answered by the Cloughey lifeboat which put to sea in the face of a south-easterly gale and arrived of Ballyquintin Point in the early hours of 21st January.

by Liam Dodd

Auctioneers expecting 30,000 for polar honour.

by Michael Smith

A medal awarded to a famous Irish explorer Tom Crean, that was lost for 70 years, is expected to fetch up to 30,000 Euro when it goes up for sale later this year.

The polar medal was awarded to Crean in 1904 after he returned from the fateful Discovery expedition to the Antarctic with Captain Scott. The medal disappeared amid speculation that Crean, a lowly paid petty officer in the British Navy, might have sold it. The medal reappeared at an auction in 1974 and was bought by an American collector. It has now resurfaced and goes under the hammer in London on October 3. The auctioneers, Morton and Eden, report a flurry of interest from Ireland and the US.

by Anton B. Maher