An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir April 2016 www.dfmagazine.ie 18 | by NIAMH KELLY, WORK ExPERIENCE STUDENT, DúN LAOGHAIRE FURTHER EDUCATION INSTITUTE O n the 23rd February 2016, whilst working in An Cosantóir I was given the opportunity to go on a 1916 battlefield Tour to com- memorate the 100th Anniversary of the Easter Rising. Author and historian Armn Michael Whelan, the Air Corps Museum's curator led the tour around Dublin City. On a cold dry morning, accompanied by a number of serving DF personnel, we left the Curragh Camp and drove to Dublin. Our first stop was the Irish War Memorial, in Islandbridge, which commemorates the First and Second World Wars with a cross statue and altar, which very movingly had a poppy wreath laid upon the inscription: "Their name liveth for evermore". After that we visited the Church of the Sacred Heart in Arbour Hill, the church of the Defence Forces. Armn Whelan told us that the head- stones lying against the walls of the cemetery "belong to the British soldiers who died in Ireland while garrisoned here." He also told us that the Irish Proclamation engraved on the main wall, in both Irish and English, looks upon the small plot of grass where 14 of the 16 men executed for their part in the 1916 Rising were buried after their executions. We then travelled a short distance to Blackhorse Avenue to visit Grangegorman Military Cemetery, opened in the 1870s, where approxi- mately 1,100 British soldiers and family members, who died prior to and during the Rising and the First World War, are laid to rest. Armn Whelan told us about Company Sergeant Major Martin Doyle, one of the men buried here, who had fought for the British in the First World War be- fore joining the IRA during the War of Independence and the National Army in the Civil War; but when he died he was buried in his British uniform. Amongst the graves there are three New zealand and some Australian soldiers, who are remembered every April on Anzac Day. We then travelled to the heart of Dublin City, to visit the sites where the battles took place during Easter 1916, such as: Mount Street, the GPO and Sackville Street (now O'Connell St), Parnell Square, and Moore Street, where the battles came to life as our guide, with enthusiasm and flair, described the events that took place. In 2016 alone, Armn Whelan has conducted over 110 hours of day-long, ed- ucational and historical tours of 1916 Dublin for the Defence Forces, doing, on average, two a week at the moment, with approximately 15-20 people each day. Requests for tours can be made to GOC AC through OC No 4 Sp Wing. Having a keen interest in history (it's one of my chosen subjects) there's nothing more dramatic than a personal trip down memory lane with an enthusiastic historian like Michael to make you want to pull out those history books again. I would encourage everyone to make it on to at least one tour this year as we all remember the start of the road to our Republic. Rally to the Cause 1916 Battlefield Tour Grangegorman Cemetery Irish War Memorial DFTC/Air Corps tour group Armn Michael Whelan Plaque in Rotunda Rink/ Parnell Sq.

• Cover