Five Irish Soldiers Killed in Training Exercise in Glen of Imaal 1977

theirishatwar
#OnThisDay 1977 Five Irish soldiers were killed in a training accident in the Glen of Imaal when their 81mm mortar exploded. Having fired four round, each mortar is about 7 lbs packed full of TNT, at 1:45 their mortar, Number 4 exploded (possibly from a double feed but maybe a faulty bomb). Four of the soldiers were not killed instantly and two were able to talk to the priest send to give them absolution. They were all from Cork, except Hourihane who was from Finglas, Dublin

They are:

Cpl O’Donovan


Pvt O’Connell

Pvt Nugent

Pvt Buckley

I could not find a picture of Pvt Hourihane.

Published by theirishatwar

Hi, I'm David, I'm from Ireland. I am an avid fan of history. I have my B.A. in History, my M.A. in Military History and Strategic Studies,a Post Qualification Diploma in History and I've been teaching History for five years now. I wanted to create a podcast that examines, in great detail, major Irish battles and battles allover the world in various wars that Irish people played a significant part in. Hope you enjoy.

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