Photo album reconnects Offaly with military past
A collection of photographs connecting Offaly, and specifically Birr, with peacekeeping efforts in Europe in the aftermath of the First World War has been donated to Offaly Archives.
On Friday last, archivist Lisa Shortall received the album of photographs from Dr Christopher O’C Fitz-Simon. The collection will be housed at Offaly Archives in Tullamore and digitised for future upload to www.offalyarchives.com.
The donation of the album is timely in that the photographs were taken by Dr Fitz-Simon’s father, M O’Connell Fitz-Simon of the Birr-based Prince of Wales’ Leinster Regiment, during a peacekeeping mission in Silesia in 1921 – 100 years ago.
“The album remained largely unnoticed in the family along with several others, until quite recently its significance was properly understood,” Christopher remarked when donating the album last Friday night.
“I and my brother Nicholas – now a retired civil engineer in Victoria, Australia – determined that the album be placed in the safe keeping of the archive of the county in which the now vanished regiment was headquartered.
“There are just under 300 snapshots, all meticulously named in handwriting. They start with the Irish soldiers leaving for Silesia via Dover and Ostend by ship and then travelling through Germany by rail. Their destination was the city of Opeln, then the capital, now known as Opole.
“Silesia was a disputed territory of some eight million people: prior to the war it was part of Germany though with a section in Poland and small portions situated in what are now Czechia and Austria. After the defeat of Germany in 1918 the Great Powers granted Silesia to Poland.
“Because of the complex ethnic and religious mix – not to mention three languages and several dialects – it was only natural that there should have been widespread dissension and violence, the escalation of which the Leinsters were expected to control.
“It is said that they attended their duties with consideration and restraint. This looks forward to the current missions of Óglaigh na hÉireann where the Irish army is respected, indeed welcomed, in a number of countries.
“It is 100 years since these photographs were taken. For us today there is the bitter irony of the (British) Leinster Regiment keeping the peace in Europe when Ireland was far from peaceful at home. My father recalled that he was on duty in the barracks at Opeln one afternoon in ’21 when he heard the regimental band playing a selection of Irish airs.
“He sent a messenger to enquire why they were not on parade and the news came back: ‘Sir, we are free!’ meaning that they had heard Ireland had been freed from British rule.
“There was much rejoicing in the ranks; but the regiment was shortly disbanded and back to the depôt at Birr went the men to an uncertain future – unemployment in the new Free State, or emigration.”
The contents of the photo collection are not solely concerned with Silesia and Europe. There are photographs taken by Christopher’s father on the regiment’s return to England and then Birr.
“The final pictures are in England and Ireland, among them some country house scenes which may be in Offaly – these could be identified. The last page poignantly shows Birr Barracks at Crinkill after it was torched by Republican irregulars during our civil war. My father visited the ruins, clearly with feelings of great regret: a handwritten caption under a photograph reads ‘The poor old Depôt’!” he said.
“There are several names written under the snapshots, including Badger, Barry, Clery, Conway, De Blaby, Doyle, Duffield, Egan, Farrell, Hamilton, Hardie, Hyland, Irvine, Jameson, Kelly, Lewis, McCann, McCormick, O’Connor, Rogers, Sharpe, Simmons, Stackpoole, Sugden and Weldon. There may be descendants of these soldiers still living in the Midlands.”
Christopher’s father, a Military Cross recipient, joined the King’s Own Royal Regiment, Lancaster after the Leinster Regiment was disbanded in 1922, and left the British army at the rank of lieutenant-colonel, spending the rest of his days in Dublin.
Following the donation of the photo album, Offaly military historian Stephen Callaghan interviewed Christopher, and the recording will be available in 2022.
The Offaly Archive Service is actively involved in collecting and cataloguing records from the county. For more information see www.offalyarchives.com, or if you would like to make a donation of archives, email archivist@offalyhistory.com.