An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 37 8,178. It was hoped that the existence of an almost totally Irish Corps would fill the depleting ranks of the Irish regiments from the abundance of Irishmen available for recruitment. Up to a point, the idea may have worked, as although the overall trend in recruiting was downward the rate of decline had slowed going into 1917. Relationships between the men from the 16th and 36th Divisions varied. Old animosities did not disappear in Flanders; they were simply set aside. However, there were men like Rev John Redmond, a Church of Ireland chaplain attached to the 9th Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, who saw the battle as an opportunity for Irish reconciliation. He noted in his diary: "It was impressive to see what a feel- ing of security before the battle the Ulster Division had in having the 16th Irish on our left flank and that the 16th Division had in having our Ulster Division on their right flank. This feeling of goodwill and confidence between the two divisions had been growing for some time. I wish the entire north and south that they represent, could participate in the same spirit." Major JC Boyle from a field company of engineers attached to the Ulster Divi- sion noted the political significance of his men working with men from the Munster Fusiliers in con- solidating a strong point after Wijtschate was taken: "Number 1 Section I found had not been able to start work owing to hostile shell- ing. Lt Thorne was just starting them in conjunction with 16th Division Royal Munster Fusil- iers. So Ulster and the South of Ireland consolidate a position. The Orange and Green working together and blended well." Through months of me- ticulous planning, training and preparation, the battle to take the Wijtschate –Messines Ridge was successful. The explosion of 19 mines in as many seconds under German strong points along the ridge, coupled with an unprecedented artillery and machine-gun barrage, gave the Irish troops a relatively easy run in to take Wijtschate using new infantry assault tac- tics learned from the failures at the Somme. The 16th (Irish) suffered 1,183 casualties (134 dead) and the 36th (Ulster) suffered 1,119 casualties (164) dead. An estimate of German dead from units facing the Irish divisions amounted to 2,444, while the number of prisoners taken came to 39 officers and 1,882 other ranks. Over- all, Second Army casualties on 7th June were fewer than 11,000, whereas Ger- man losses were estimated to be almost 20,000, of which half were missing. Major Willie Redmond MP was killed in the attack on Wijtschate. So too was a young officer in his battalion, Lieut Mi- chael Wall, aged 19 from Carrick Hill near Malahide, County Dublin. Michael had been with the 6th Royal Irish Regiment for 228 days at the front. Michael was devoted to his mother as his regular letters to her from the font testify. She kept all his let- ters and his cap badge. His teacher in St Joseph's CBS in Fairview, Brother O'Farrell, had predicted that Michael would turn out to be a fine man, but sadly God did not spare him as O'Farrell had wished. He was a bright young man on his way to University College Dublin when war broke out. He liked his Irish Times and his pipe. He had no time for the politics or ideology of Sinn Féin and like many young men at the outbreak of the war, he was smitten, almost seduced, by the thought of adven- ture in a foreign land. The war was just a means to fulfil that quest for adventure. Within weeks of his arrival in Flan- ders, however, Michael realised he had made a mistake. He became disil- lusioned and angry at those back in Ireland who were not with him in mind and body but there was no way out. His death at Wijtschate deprived him of his future. He would never have the opportunity of loving a woman, perhaps having children or telling his grandchildren about the day his regiment took Wijtschate from the Germans. He was buried in Kemmel Chateau Military Cemetery where Fr P Wrafter SJ offered prayers over his grave. Michael's death and the deaths of all those other young men – be they Irish or Prussian – deprived the world of great potential. Willie Redmond's death deprived Ireland of a reconciliatory voice at a time when it was needed. What could these men have contributed to a post-war Ireland and Europe had they lived? Tragically we will never know. aBout the author: tom Burke was a member of the committee behind the island of ireland peace park in Messines, which opened in 1998. in august 2004, he was awarded an MBe for his contribution to the northern ireland peace process. he has contributed to several pub- lications and was a consultant on several tV and radio documentaries on ireland's participation in WWi. tom's current book, Messines to Carrick Hill: Writing home from the Great War is reviewed on page 37. British artillery during the Battle of Messines. Royal Dublin Fusiliers celebrating their victory at Wijtschate, June 1917. Photo: Imperial War Museum

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