Blog

#OnThisDay 1940 Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of British troops from Dunkirk ended. 2 Royal Ulster Rifles had the unenviable task of holding the perimeter defence while the evacuation took place. They’d lost nearly 200 men, 34 killed, 70 wounded with 70 missing or captured by the enemy. They managed to hold out the perimeter until they got off the beach on June 1st. Roughly 340,000 troops got off the beach.

#OnThisDay 1921 Lt. Thomas Keane C. Coy 2nd Batt Limerick IRA was executed for levying war & possession of arms without any sufficient evidence. He was at the scene where some troops were fired upon but did not have a weapon in his possession, could not be identified as the shooter and a fully loaded revolver was found in a bush (which meant even if it was his, he was not fired at). No evidence of him levying war was possible either as they could not prove he killed or maimed any persons.

It was expected that he would be reprieved so a plan to break him out of jail by IRA Volunteers in British officer uniforms was shelved.

He was 34, married with two kids & a third on the way.

At the funeral, the Black and Tans arrived & beat the mourners.

#OnThisDay 1798 Lord Edward Fitzgerald died in Newgate Prison, Dublin from his wounds suffered during his arrest. Fitzgerald was the iconic leader of the United Irishmen and his and many other United Irishmen leaders meant that the upcoming rebellion was almost completely leaderless. His sister said of him:
‘He was loved by everyone. He was the acknowledged favourite of our hearts. Whenever he came among us, it was universal delight.‘

#OnThisDay 1798 United Irishmen rebels led by Fr. John Murphy defeat a Crown force at the Battle of Tubberneering, near Gorey. Lt-Col Walpole led his 400 Crown troops (both militia and regular English Army) into a narrow pass where he & 100 of his men were killed. They fled the scene leaving three cannon & a cache of arms. These cannons were used against British troops in Arklow but they could not take the town.

#OnThisDay 1968 First Lieutenant Anthony O’Reilly, born in Galway, was killed in action in Vietnam. Leading his platoon (2nd Battalion 39th Infantry 9th Infantry Division) against the Viet Cong, he singlehandedly took out a heavy weapons bunker with grenades. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (Posthumously). His citation reads:

‘First Lieutenant O’Reilly distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions from 1 to 3 June 1968 as commander of an infantry company during a reconnaissance-in-force operation near the Cambodian border. A sister company was pinned down by an estimated battalion of Viet Cong firing small arms, machine guns, rockets and mortars from a well fortified bunker complex. Lieutenant O’Reilly attempted to lead his force to the beleaguered unit, but was stopped by the enemy’s barrage. Disregarding his safety, he crawled twenty-five meters toward the nearest bunker and hurled grenades into it which killed its two occupants and silenced its deadly stream of automatic weapons fire. He then sprang to his feet and rallied his men for an assault on the remaining fortifications. In fierce close combat the Viet Cong abandoned their emplacements and broke contact. During the next two days the search for the elusive foe continued, and on 3 June contact was made again. As his unit came under intense automatic weapons fire, Lieutenant O’Reilly quickly moved his troops on line and assaulted the hostile positions. While deploying his men so they could effectively engage the Viet Cong bunkers with comparative safety, he was killed by a burst of enemy automatic weapons fire. First Lieutenant O’Reilly’s extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty, at the cost of his life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.’