An Cosantóir

in focus turned to the Cadet School to remem- ber the late Cadet Andrew Greene, one of their own who died during training. Cadet Green's old comrades trav- elled from all over the country to the Cadets' Mess, where they were warmly welcomed by members of the current 88th Cadet Class, along with Cadet School Comdt Lt Col Liam Condon and 2i/c Comdt Mark Prendergast. The visit was to be a poignant one as the family of the late Cadet Greene were also in attendance for the first time since Andrew's passing in 1961. It transpires that the origins of early 50 years after their com- missioning members of the 35th Cadet Class recently re- this reunion can be traced back to a chance conversation in a taxi in Galway between Cdt Greene's sister, Mrs Bernadette Gannon, and the driver, retired Cpl Lar Carty of 1 Cn Cois. When Bernadette said that she had not been in contact with anyone from the Defence Forces since her brother died from leukaemia in December 1961. Lar took the initiative and got in touch with Capt Mairtín Coffey, who in turn called Comdt Prendergast in the Cadet School. Co-incidentally, Comdt Pren- dergast's father, Col Jim Prendergast (Retd), had been a member of the 35th Cadet Class. Work soon began, calls were made, and the Greene family was invited to visit the Cadets' Mess on Saturday, 21st of April, 2012. The family didn't really know what Remembering Cadet Andrew Greene N BY CaDetS StePheN CuNNINghaM aND MIChael RoaRty, 88th CaDet ClaSS to expect when they reached the DFTC and they certainly didn't know that the winner of the Cadet School's annual 10km road race is awarded the Cadet An- drew Greene Perpetual Trophy, which was pre- sented to the school in recognition of Andrew Greene's courage and resilience. They also found out that a picture of Cadet Greene hangs in the Mess anteroom, alongside those of other former cadets who died in service. On their arrival the family were | 9 Front Row (l/r): Brendan Gannon, Katie Gannon, Mrs Bernadette Gannon (nee Greene), Elizabeth Greene, Cadet Cunningham, Maureen Greene, Helen Greene, Seamus Greene, Paula Corscad- den and Joe Corscadden. Also included are members of the 35th Cadet Class, 88th Cadet Class and Cadet School Staff. met with the warmest hospitality by members of the 35th Cadet Class who made it clear that they still considered Cadet Greene an important comrade, even after 50 years. For the family, especially Andrew's brother and sisters, the event was extremely significant and they were visibly moved as Comdt Joe Fallon (Retd) described how Cadet Greene pushed himself in training right to the end, even as the undiagnosed leukaemia sapped more and more of his energies. Despite the fact that the strenuous training must have born heavily on Ca- det Greene's increasingly fragile body, he displayed a courage and resilience that was testament to his character. His fellow classmates reminisced about the illness and the eventual difficul- ties it caused him in carrying out even such mundane activities as getting out of bed and how, nevertheless, he soldiered on, not wanting to let his gasra down. Lt Col Condon expressed his pleasure at being able to accommodate such a meaningful event and pointed out to the current cadets that they were receiving an important insight into the strong traditions of the Defence Forces and the lifelong bonds formed in a cadet class. Cdt Greene's family had little time Mrs Bernadette Gannon (nee Greene), Mr Seamus Greene and Ms Elizabeth Greene, sisters and brother of Andrew Greene. Cadet Louise Fleming, Bernadette Gannon (nee Greene), Mau- reen Greene, Elizabeth Greene, Seamus Greene, Paula Corscad- den (nee Greene), Helen Greene, Joe Corscadden, Brendan Gannon and Cadet Gavin Looney. to come to terms with his illness as it took his life within six weeks of being diagnosed. With such a sudden progression of the illness, the family found it difficult to truly accept Cadet Greene's death at the time, and in the years that followed. However, his sister Bernadette said that meet- ing with mem- bers of the 35th Cadet Class and coming to the Cadet School and seeing how fondly Andrew is remembered, has helped to bring a sense of closure for his family at last. www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE

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