An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir September 2016 www.dfmagazine.ie 38 | Noel McDoNNell HQ coy, 7 INf BN PrIvate (BarBer) by CPL LEE COyLE PhotoS by CPL COLIN DELANy B efore I joined the Defence Forces I was living in East Wall, in Dublin, and working in Dublin's dockyard. My brother had served in the DF in the early 1980s and had travelled overseas, which I thought was really cool and something I'd re- ally like to do. I enlisted on January 12th 1988 with 27 Recruit Platoon, 27 Inf bn, in Aiken bks, Dundalk. After training I was posted to A Coy, 2 Inf Bn, in Cathal Brugha Bks. I had a real interest in fitness and in 1989 I got involved in pentathlon. I competed with the 2 Inf Bn pentathlon team in the Eastern Com- mand and All-Army competitions, which we won, and I also got on the DF team. I travelled to the CISM World Championships in Germany, where we placed well in the tournament, competing against some of the fittest athletes in the world. Soon after, I travelled overseas with 68 Inf Bn, UNI- FIL, from October 1990 to April 1991, my first and only time overseas, which I enjoyed. When I returned I got straight back in training with the pentathlon team, and returned to Germany a few times to do some training camps during the early '90s. I also got involved with the DF CISM shooting team at the same time, and from 1990 to 1999 I competed in various events, from European to World championships, and in the Military Olympics in 1995, held in Rome. I completed a sniper course and a circuit and weights training course during this time, which helped me in my training for the pentathlon. I also completed four gymnastics courses and became a member of the E Comd gymnastics display team, with which I travelled throughout the country per- forming for DF units, schools and community fairs. I also took part in the DF track-and-field competi- tions, competing in a number of events like the long jump, high jump, and sprints, to name a few. Altogether I represented the DF on 10 international trips, three of them with the CISM shooting team and seven with the military pentathlon team. In 2000 I went to Crumlin College for a three-year evening course to study barbershop and business techniques. A year into my course a barber vacancy came up in Cathal Brugha Bks, which was the perfect opportunity for me to get barbering experience for my course. The job gave me the opportunity to hear stories from some of the 'old sweats' about the building I was working in. I started looking at the history of Cathal Brugha Bks and was impressed by Alphon- sus Culli- ton's photo of Michael Collins that was taken in the barracks. I found the exact spot where it was taken and decided to do something to mark the place, and organised a memorial stone, which was funded by the barracks welfare commit- tee. The memorial was unveiled by the then COS, Lt Gen Conor O'Boyle and Helen Collins, grand-niece of Michael Collins. I have recently been appointed as barracks histo- rian by OC Cathal Brugha Bks, which includes look- ing after visitors to the barracks museum and visitor centre, located in the old guardroom. I also provide tours around the barracks, which last about one to two hours and takes in the barbershop, museum and Collins' house (now the DF School of Music HQ). The latest project I've been working on is a bell that was removed from a bell tower in the barracks years ago. The bell, dated 1809, a year before construc- tion of the barracks, will be placed inside a stainless steel monument that will represent the spear of the 2 Bde flash, and will be placed close to where the bell originally hung.

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