An Cosantóir

30 | New York's Irish Military College by Des Gilhawley and Comdt Gerry Jordan (28 Inf Bn) Photos courtesy of Military Archives M any articles have appeared in An Cosantóir mentioning the Irish heritage of the famous Fighting 69th Regiment of New York. This month we look at the historical links between the famous US regiment and the Defence Forces through the life and times of Jeremiah J "Ginger" O'Connell. Ginger O'Connell played an important role in the run up to the Easter Rising and in the War of Independence, before going on to hold a number of senior positions in the new Free State Army until his untimely death in 1944. Born in Ballina, Co Mayo, in 1887 he moved with his family to Sligo when he was five. His father was a school inspector and the family moved many times, but the family home remained in Sligo at Cranmore. Ginger attended secondary school at St Mel's College, Longford, and then at Clongowes College, Kildare. In 1909 he graduated from the Royal University of Ireland with a BA, followed by an MA in philosophy from University College Dublin in 1912. From an early age, O'Connell was a student of military affairs and planned a military career. Anticipating that there would be fighting to establish an independent Irish State he decided that he must prepare himself for the fight by becoming a trained soldier. He first thought of the Austrian or German army, but he found out he would face a stiff examination through German – which he didn't know. A letter by his sister recalls: "He wanted to learn soldiering. He would not join the British Army, so he decided to go to America and learn it there." Accordingly, he arrived at Ellis Island on 3 August, 1912. A letter by a friend recalls that O'Connell "having tramped all the eastern Atlantic states from Connecticut to Virginia inclusive" then joined the Fighting 69th Regiment in New York: "Meagher's old Civil War regiment," according to O'Connell himself. The New York National Guard muster rolls for 1912 show that 'Jeremiah Joseph O'Connell' enlisted in the 69th Regiment, Company L on 20 September 1912. For O'Connell, with his interest in independence and military affairs, to travel to America and join a US Army unit would be to follow in the footsteps of many of his countrymen. There was a long tradition of Irishmen going to (in the words of the Fenian John O'Mahony in 1857) "an Irish military school in the US to learn the trade of the soldier and then return to fight for Ireland's freedom." If some US military units could be regarded as 'Irish military schools', the Fighting 69th in New York could rightly be regarded as the 'Irish military college'. A private study of Irish revolutionary personalities associated with the 69th Infantry Regiment provides a list of approximately 110 names. Two of its most illustrious graduates were Ginger O'Connell and John T Prout; both of whom played an important part in the War of Independence. At the request of Seán MacDiarmada, Ginger returned to Ireland in November 1914 and joined the Irish Volunteers. By January 1915 he was appointed full-time organiser/instructor and in that capacity he toured much of Ireland, while also writing for the Irish Volunteer newspaper and giving tactical lectures to Na Fianna. Throughout 1915 and early 1916 he ran volunteer training camps, making a valuable contribution to the militarisation of the movement. Like MacNeill, O'Connell opposed the Easter Rising, travelling with MacNeill and Hobson to confront Pearse on Holy Thursday 1916. Subsequently, MacNeill sent O'Connell to Cork and the South-East to call off the Rising. After the Rising he was arrested and interned, spending time in Wandsworth Prison with Arthur Griffith. On release from Lewis Gaol in mid-1917, O'Connell reSeptember 17th 1862, Battle turned to Sligo and became OC of Antietam (Sharpsburg), Sligo Volunteers. Maryland. Father Corby gives absolution in front of the 69th New York Regiment. An Cosantóir September 2013 www.dfmagazine.ie

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