Leinster Regiment remembered at Birr centenary commemoration

Junior O’Callaghan admits that he “shed a tear” as he marched to the site of the former Crinkill Military Barracks in Birr recently when he thought of how his two grandfathers fought in World War I.

“It was a very emotional day,” he says. “And I suppose the saddest part of all for me was how my grandads never spoke of their experiences after they came back from the war, it was a taboo subject and they definitely did suffer internally as a result of it.”

Junior (his real name is Pat) was the Parade Marshal for a special ceremony in Birr, which was held to mark the centenary of the handover of all military bases from the British to the Irish after the Civil War, and he was given the honour of leading the military parade due to the close involvement of his family with the Leinster Regiment, which was one of six Irish-based regiments of the British Army.

His grandfathers were the late John Hegarty, originally from Wood Lane in Birr who served in the 2nd Battalion of the Leinster Regiment, and whose daughter, Sheila, was Junior’s mother, and his Dad’s father, Joseph Callaghan, who served in the Royal Irish Regiment. “He was known as Joseph Callaghan in the Army as he had to drop the O in his name in order to be allowed to join,” explains Junior.

While the two men managed to survive the war, another relation of the O’Callaghan family, whose family home was on Moorpark Street, their grand-uncle, John Jack McCormack, was killed in action in WW1, leaving behind his widow, Dolly, and two young sons.

Junior recalls how he had “many WW1 artefacts” when he was growing up, but it wasn’t until he became involved with the Leinster Regiment Association at the instigation of another Birr native, Tony Hayden, that he unveiled the artefacts. “Even members of my own family didn’t know I had them and I was slow to part with them, to be honest, but they are now on display in Birr Library and they have been well received,” he says.

Crinkill Barracks was occupied by anti-Treaty forces after the British vacated it in 2022, and was razed to the ground in July of that year as it was viewed as a symbol of the British occupation of Ireland. It would be over 90 years before a monument was erected to honour all the Irish people who had served with the Leinster Regiment.

“Every year we would lay a wreath at the monument in November, and then it was decided to hold a special ceremony to mark the centenary of the handover of the barracks to coincide with Birr Vintage Week, and I was honoured to be part of it and to lead the parade as Marshal,” says Junior O’Callaghan, who himself served as a Reserve in the Defence Forces for 44 years and reached the rank of Battery Sergeant (BS).

“We are deeply indebted to the Vintage Week Committee for all their help with the centenary event” he adds.

The service was attended by the British military attache Col Sean Grant, who laid a wreath at the memorial. Fianna Fáil TD and junior Minister Seán Fleming, who attended on behalf of the Government, said the Irish relationship with the British is “long and complex, and still ongoing” but he said the Birr event was a day for “reconciliation and working together”.