An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 15 Callan War Memorial by PAT FITZGERALD PhotoS AS CREDITED O n 28th August Maj Gen Kieran brennan (DCoS ops) and Capt Pad- dy Pratt (british Army) laid wreaths at the unveiling of a World War one memorial in Callan, Co Kilkenny. Flags were held on either side of the monument by terry Rogers (Royal british Legion, Water- ford branch), and Jim o'Keefe (Royal Irish Regiment Association). Also in attendance were A/Sea Lee Delaney, a native of Cal- lan; IUNVA members from Post 1 (Dublin) and Post 8 (Kilkenny); oNE members from James Stephens branch (Kilkenny); and the Irish Military Vehicles Group (IMVG). Music was performed by the St Patrick's brass and Reed band from Kilkenny. Over 40 regular soldiers, reservists and volunteers from Callan met their deaths (in France, Flanders, Gallipoli, Palestine, and at sea) during the Great War. One of these was Pte William McLoughlin (RIR), the father of Pte Michael 'Smokey' McLoughlin (3 Inf Bn). In 2013 Michael began to make plans to have his father and his comrades from Cal- lan honoured during the centenary years of the war. Pat Murphy, of P Molloy & Sons, local stonemasons and undertakers, committed to the project and in 2014 the Callan WW1 Memorial Committee was formed to establish the list of names for the memorial. The committee decided to include the names of those who survived the war as well as those who perished, and also to offset the costs through donations and fundraising events. Over the next two years Michael McLoughlin and I gathered 192 names for the memorial, including three women who served as nurses. A Facebook page, http://bit.ly/CallanMemorial, which was set up to gather information about the soldiers, is now an archive in its own right, with photographs and documents of those Callan natives who fought in the Great War. Pat Murphy and his son-in-law, Tommy Dermody, designed and manufactured the me- morial plaque with the aid of architect Michael Malone, and Fr W Dalton PP kindly granted permission to erect the plaque on the exterior wall of the church, from whose gates many had marched out to parade through the town on 4th August 1914. Others on the plaque include Sgt John Maher (Leinster Regiment), who was awarded the DCM/bar, and the Cross of the Order of St George (4th class) for gallantry; five Bergin brothers; and five Durney brothers. Our research suggests that over 250 people from the Callan area had seen service during the Great War but unfortunately we were only able to find supporting evidence from service documents, publications like Kilkenny Families in the Great War, or from living relatives, for 192 of these. Some of the people on the memorial only came to Callan after the war, when 23 houses were built in Skeaugh and two in Minauns for returning soldiers. Having many families with military pensions being paid without fail every month greatly helped local businesses and the town of Callan to prosper. These houses are still occupied today and many relatives of the soldiers who settled in Skeaugh, such as Pte 'Smokey' McLoughlin, still reside in Callan. The World War One Memorial Committee would like to acknowledge with gratitude the magnificent support this project received from the community in Callan, which was demon- strated in how easily we achieved our fundraising target of €5,000. The Callan WW1 Memorial Committee with Cathaoirleach Kilkenny, Cllr Matt Doran (l-r): Pat Fitzgerald (Sec), Ivy Corcoran (Treas), Pte Michael 'Smokey' McLoughlin (advisory member) and Séan Butler (Chair). Photo by Frank Kelly The Callan WW1 memorial. Photo by Des Pearson The Callan WW1 Memorial. Photo by Joan Kenny-Roche Maj Gen Kieran Brennan (DCOS Ops) and Capt Paddy Pratt (British Army) laying wreaths. Photo by Cpl Lee Coyle

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