#OnThisDay 1921 Six IRA Volunteers were executed in Victoria (Collins) Barracks, Cork. Five of whom had been captured at the Dripsey ambush. They were:
Pic 1:Sean Allen
2:Thomas O’Brien
3:Patrick O’Mahony
4:D.J. O’Callaghan
No pics of John Lyons & Tim McCarthy
#OnThisDay 1898 Fr Hugh O’Flaherty was born in Cork. ‘The Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican’ was a major figure of the Catholic resistance to Nazism. He avoided SS assassination attempts & saved the lives of 6500 Allied soldiers& Jewish civilians during WW2.
#OnThisDay 2002 Comedian, playwright & all round funny man Spike Milligan passed away. Before his comedy career took off, Spike served in an artillery regiment during WW2 & was wounded at Monte Cassino. Spike was an Irish citizen through his “lunatic” father.
#OnThisDay 1735 Thomas Conway was born in Kerry. Conway joined the Irish Brigade of France, then joined the US Continental Army rising to Major General & Inspector General of the Army. He didn’t like George Washington, calling him a ‘useless General’ & sought his removal and replacement with General Horatio Gates. Washington felt the same way and sought Conway’s removal. Conway offered his resignation as a threat to Congress and they accepted it. Conway, returned to France, became Governor of French possessions in India but was removed during the Revolutionary period. He escaped with his life and settled back in Ireland.
#OnThisDay 1923 Lt. Eugene McQuaid, Army Medical Corps(and ex RAF during the last year of the First World War), died from wounds suffered days earlier. McQuaid was surrounded by AT-IRA in a school in Mayo & was shot by a sniper in the lung during a ceasefire to evacuate the students. McQuaid remained conscious &was able to give medical advice to his friend who carried him over a mile on his back to an aid station. He was Archbishop Charles McQuaid’s brother. He was 23.
The Irish at War 