#OnThisDay 1921 Dan Breen married Brigid Malone, a Cumann na mBan member from Dublin who nursed Breen back to health from a gunshot wound, in Tipperary with Sean Hogan as best man& Aine Malone as bridesmaid. Both men were some of the most wanted men in Ireland.
#OnThisDay 1775 Jeremiah O’Brien, his five brothers (whose father was from Ireland) & local militia stormed & captured the British ship HMS Margaretta at the Battle of Machias, in Maine. This was the first naval battle of the American Revolutionary War.
#OnThisDay 1944 Frank Ryan, IRA republican died in Nazi Germany. Ryan fought in the Irish & Spanish Civil Wars, supporting the Anti-Treaty & Anti-Fascist side. Captured, he was handed over to German intelligence where questions remain over his exact role there.
#OnThisDay 1921 Auxiliaries Cadet Leonard French (pic) was captured & shot dead in the River Nore by the IRA in Kilkenny. His body was weighted down with chains, then buried in river mud. He was reported ‘Missing’ for several months. His body was never found.
#OnThisDay 1855 At the Battle of Sebastopol, Private John Lyons, from Carlow, picked up a live shell that landed in his trench & threw it out, saving his & many lives. For this he was awarded the Victoria Cross. In the photo below from 1867, Lyons is dead.
The Irish at War 