An Cosantóir

Letterkenny's en of | 15 Gard mbrance Reme by Wesley Bourke Photos by Cpl Neville Coughlan O ne of the many pleasures of working with An Cosantóir is getting to travel to every corner of the country and meeting fascinating people. For example, in August we met the Carroll family, Eunan, Sarah, and Ronan, who take the time to look after and maintain the Garden of Remembrance in Letterkenny, Co Donegal. Located in Bernard McGlinchey Town Park, adjacent to St Conal's Hospital, the garden was established to honour the memory of local members of the Defence Forces and An Garda Síochána who died while serving overseas. In the centre of the garden is a memorial stone dedicated to Donegal men Tpr T Fennell, who lost his life in the Congo; Ptes P Grogan, H Doherty, and K Barrett, who died in South Lebanon; and Garda Sgt P Reid who was killed while serving in the former Yugoslavia. There is also a plaque to Letterkenny man Niall McMenamin who lost his life in Kenya in 1993 while volunteering as an aid worker. A stone bench in the garden commemorates Pte James Duffy VC. Born in Gweedore in 1889, Duffy served with the 6th Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, during the Great War. On December 27th 1917 at Kereina Peak, Palestine, with his company operating in a very exposed position, Pte Duffy, acting as a stretcher-bearer, went out to bring in a seriously wounded comrade. When his fellow stretcher-bearer was wounded, Duffy returned to get another man to help but his unfortunate assistant was killed almost immediately. Duffy continued forward alone and under very heavy fire succeeded in getting both wounded men under cover and attended to their injuries. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for his gallantry. Eunan Carroll is a member of Post 9, IUNVA (Irish United Nations Veterans Association), which is based in Athlone. The Garden of Remembrance was originally looked after by a member of Post 19 (Donegal), but the post ceased to exist due to a lack of members. With nobody to look after the garden, leaves, grass, and rubbish began to take over. The Carroll's, who live in Ballybofey, took it upon themselves to refurbish the garden. "The local council helped me remove five trailer loads of leaves and debris, mow the grass, and cut back the trees," Eunan told us. Eunan served with 24 Inf Bn FCÁ and 4 Fd Eng Coy back in the 1960s and served overseas with 6 Inf Gp in Cyprus in 1966. Even after all these years he is still very fond of the Defence Forces and talks proudly of his service. He remembers clearly just having left the army and getting work in England when he received a mobilisation notice to report back to his former unit due to the outbreak of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Eunan soon found himself back in uniform, stationed at Fort Dunree at the top of Donegal. Now wearing the green blazer of IUNVA Eunan is determined that the memories of Donegal men who lost their lives overseas will be preserved. However, Eunan told us it is his and his wife Sarah's only son, Ronan, that does most of the work. Ronan (29) was hit by a car while riding his bike when he was 14, leaving him with a brain injury. Ronan is army mad and when Eunan joined IUNVA so did he. "Every time I turned out with IUNVA Ronan came with me," said Eunan. "Then, after holding the door and saluting Maj Gen Vincent Savino one day, Ronan was made an honorary member and issued with a green blazer." Now Ronan works in St Conal's Hospital and comes across to the garden every week to keep it tidy. All of the family are parachutists: Eunan has 2,500 jumps and Ronan completed a tandem jump, earning a set of wings for his blue IUNVA blazer. He is an inspiration to us all. There are many memorials to members of the Defence Forces around the country and it is important that these are kept in good condition to preserve them for future generations. With Eunan, Ronan, and Sarah, Letterkenny's Garden of Remembrance is in the best of hands. www.military.ie the defence forces magazine

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