Distinguished Irish regiment remembered in Birr centenary commemoration

MEMBERS of the Prince of Wales’s Leinster Regiment Association gathered in Birr on Sunday August 7th to mark the disbandment of the distinguished Irish regiment one hundred years ago.
The highlight of the centenary weekend was a Ceremony of Commemoration at the Memorial outside the former regimental Depot in Crinkle.
Led by Templemore Pipe Band playing Thomas Moore's “The Minstrel Boy”, members of the Association fell in behind a Colour Party and Regimental Standards of the Leinster Regiment Association and the other four disbanded Irish Regiments and paraded from the Military Cemetery to the monument, which was unveiled in 2013.
Present was Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Seán Fleming TD., who represented the Government. He was joined by local political representatives, Offaly County Council and Birr clergy.
The welcome address was given from the Reviewing Platform by the Chair of the Leinster Regiment Association (LRA), Col. Mark Weldon. Colonel Weldon said his family has a long association with the Regiment. His grandfather was an Adjutant at the Crinkle Depot, while his grand-uncle was a high-ranking officer in the 4th Battalion. The Colonel wished everybody present at the Ceremony of Commemoration a “Céad míle fáilte.” He welcomed representatives from the other four Irish Regiments which were disbanded at the same time as the Leinsters.
He pointed out that for many years after the disbandment an Old Comrades Association kept the memories alive “but unlike the song soldiers do die off. The Old Comrades Association came to an end in 2001. In 2003 the Leinster Regiment Association was formed. The LRA has an Irish committee and a UK committee. We have members from Canada to New Zealand.”
He added that in 1918 the Leinsters liberated the town of Ledegem in Belgium, during which the regiment won two Victoria Crosses. In recognition of this liberation the Association was given the freedom of Ledegem in 2008, which can be viewed in Birr Library. Colonel Weldon said the LRA is indebted to Martina Needham, Birr Librarian, and the Offaly Library Service.
Leas Cathaoirleach of Offaly County Council Cllr Tony McCormack acknowledged the difficult relationship between the UK and the Republic of Ireland, a relationship which has become more strained during the Brexit era. He said in spite of this sometimes fractious and tense history the Leinster Regiment enjoyed a positive relationship with the people of Crinkle and Birr when it was stationed in the depot. There was intermarriage, friendships struck up, and a positive economic effect (goods for the Barracks were purchased locally). There are many descendents living in Ireland and they are proud Irish citizens but also proud of their forefathers' membership of the regiment.
Cllr McCormack said he is a republican, his family's history is republican and his party, the Fianna Fáil party, is republican. “Thankfully,” he remarked, “Offaly has come a long way since it was called King's County. Offaly is a strong county with a strong heritage. We in Fianna Fáil still want a 32 county Ireland but we realise that we must bring everyone with us, including the unionists; because this is the only way we will achieve a peaceful Ireland.”
Deputy Seán Fleming welcomed the members of the UN Veterans Association to the commemoration. He said Ireland is very proud of its peacekeeping association with the UN. He pointed out that the Leinster Depot was handed over to the national army in February 1922, during a momentous time in our nation's history. He said the relationship between Ireland and the UK is a long and complex one, sometimes friendly, sometimes internecine.
He echoed Cllr McCormack's comments. “Fianna Fáil is a republican party and I am from a strong Republican tradition. My uncles were members of the old IRA during the unsettled period of the early 1920s. Laois like Offaly has come a long way since it was known as Queen's County and its capital town was called Maryborough. Now, thankfully, our relationship with the UK is much better. However, Brexit has thrown up new challenges which will have to be tackled in a spirit of patience and dedication. Our relationship has been improved by the visits of the Royal family over the years, including the Queen and Prince Charles. Unfortunately the UK's departure from the EU has not helped relations. Nonetheless, peace and prosperity remain our driving ambitions.”
The Minister said the commemoration marked an important centenary for the surrounding community. He said there's a Leinster Regiment stained glass window in St Brendan's Catholic Church in Birr and the memorial obelisk in Crinkle is a fine monument.
The Minister pointed out that the tumultuous events of 1922 are being remembered this year in a sensitive, intelligent way. He said a lot of the commemorations are not being government driven but are being driven by local authorities and local organisations. “The government's role is to provide assistance where required. The government will hold one significant state commemoration during the year.”
Crinkle Barracks was burned down during the Civil War. The Minister said he had been told not to mention the event during Sunday's commemoration. It remains a contentious issue and some point to the military barracks in Athlone as a possible alternative future.
Noted Birr historian Brian Kennedy outlined the lead up to the disbandment of the regiment and the laying up of regimental Colours at Windsor Castle, before King George V on June 12th, 1922, including the Regimental Colours of the Prince of Wales’s Leinster Regiment, the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, the Royal Munster Fusiliers, Connaught Rangers and the 18th Regiment of Foot Royal Irish Regiment (& South Irish Horse). The colours passed, in the words of the King, “to be kept forever in the care of the King and his descendants.”
In St George’s Hall, continued Brian, the King told the representatives of the disbanded Irish infantry regiments: “You are called upon to part with them today for reasons beyond your control and resistance. By you and your predecessors these Colours have been reverenced and guarded as a sacred trust - which trust you now confide in me. As your King I am proud to accept this trust. But I fully realise with what grief you relinquish these dearly-prized emblems; and I pledge my word that within these ancient and historic walls your Colours will be treasured, honoured, and protected as hallowed memorials of the glorious deeds of brave and loyal regiments.”
During the First World War, about 2,000 Leinsters were killed and scores injured in fierce fighting on the Front. Four soldiers earned the highest decoration for valour, the Victoria Cross, and many others received recognition for their distinguished service.
Brian said the disbandment of the regiments was a key moment in the creation of the Irish Free State. He added that Yeats' metaphor of the “living stream” in the poem “Easter 1916” was an apt metaphor for the Ireland of the time, a stream which would no longer be constrained, which demanded freedom.
The first Dail sat on the 21st of January 1919, which was followed by the War of Independence, “during which my grandfather fought in the old IRA.”
On the 16th of January 1922 General Michael Collins received the transfer of power from the Viceroy.
On the 2nd of February 1922 the Leinster Regiment marched down Military Road Crinkle towards the train station in Birr and marched into history. “They had returned from World War One to an Ireland they no longer recognised. Ireland becoming independent was the beginning of the end of the British Empire. Afterwards the Empire fell into chaos in many places and its colonies, which at the Empire's height, numbered 57, were successively lost.”
Brian said we owe a great debt of gratitude to the Cumann na nGaedheal and Fianna Fail governments of 1923 to 1932 and 1932 to 1948 because they established a democratic state, during a time when the nightmarish ideologies of fascism and communism were proving so tempting to other countries. “And today we are now a healthy democratic state. Things could have gone badly wrong during the 1920s and 1930s but thanks to those two governments they did not.
“Today the Leinster Regiment is an important part of our history and must be accepted as such. Most of its troops were Irish and they fought very bravely in a number of campaigns. Many families today have links with those soldiers.
“Today the Barracks space is inhabited by Grant Engineering, an excellent company which employs hundreds of people. The site remains busy with hundreds of people. The living stream goes on.”
LRA member and respected authority on the regiment Stephen Callaghan, told those in attendance of the hand-over of Crinkill Barracks to the Irish Free State authorities and what happened subsequently. He pointed out that in 41 short years the Regiment established a strong link with Crinkle and Birr. “When the last regiment members marched away into history down Military Road on the 2nd of February 1922 they numbered four officers, 64 men and a small number of women. They took the train to Dublin, the boat to Holyhead and a train to Colchester. The barracks was taken over by the 3rd Southern Regiment of the Irish Free State Army.
“During the Civil War, on the 14th of July 1922 the barracks was set alight by members of the Irish Republican Army who opposed the Anglo-Irish Treaty, so that the strategically placed barracks couldn't be used during the Civil War.”
Following a Piper’s Lament by the Templemore Pipe Band, wreaths were laid at the base of the Memorial by the Government, County Council, the Leinster Regiment Association and the other Irish disbanded regiments.
The Exhortation and Last Post, played by bugler Michael McLoughlin, were followed by a minute’s silence. The Dedication was given by Col. Weldon (“When you go home, tell them of us and say for your tomorrow we gave our today”). An ecumenical blessing was performed by Fr Tom Hogan and Rev Arthur Minion. “Síocháin Chríost libh,” prayed Fr Tom. “Cuimneacha an spioráid oraibh...Lord make me an instrument of your peace...” Rev Minion urged everyone to remember justice, kindness and humility during our daily lives, because this is what God wants us to remember. He prayed for reconciliation between the nations. He prayed for all those who suffer the consequences of fighting and terror. “God gathers us from the storm of war into his peace...We remember those who have died in all wars, especially those who died fighting for freedom and justice. Give them rest O Lord, O lover of souls. Grant to all peoples peace and concord.”
The Templemore Pipe Band played a piece it had written specially for the occasion. It was called “The Bloody Fields of Flanders.”
LRA Vice-Chair, Denis Kirby, said the Crinkle event was the highlight of this, the centenary year of the end of the Leinsters. He added: “On behalf of the Association, I’m indebted to everyone who has worked so hard to make this weekend possible, particularly those ‘on the ground’ in Birr and Crinkill, including those in the local committee of the LRA, Derek Coulter, Chris Brummell, Junior O'Callaghan and Tony Hayden. Considerable effort has gone into marking a truly historic military event in the history of Ireland.” He thanked Des Connole and Crinkle Tidy Villages, the Marian Hall, Birr Vintage Week, Dickie Donnelly (for the sound system), Stephen Grant, Noel Brummell, Mary Fogarty and Emma Nee Haslam.
“We in the Association are also in a recruitment phase and would welcome new members to the fold. I would encourage anyone wishing to join to please contact us.”
He pointed out that there's “a long military tradition in Birr and South Offaly. The Leinsters mostly recruited from five designated counties in the Irish midlands but men also joined from Cork, Belfast, Dublin and, of course, England.
“The Regiment was short-lived. It was set up in 1881 and had a lifespan of just forty-one years, but you can say it had an eventful history in many theatres of conflict including South Africa.
“For many soldiers, the laying up of the Regimental Standards in 1922 was akin to a great personal tragedy. Our Association will keep the flame burning brightly and we will continue to commemorate and honour the men who served.
“Thank you to everyone for being here today. We have been blessed with great weather. Visiting Birr is always a pleasure. We always get a warm welcome.”
The event concluded with a March Off and playing of the National Anthem.
Earlier on Sunday, the Leinster Regiment Association held its AGM in Oxmantown Hall. It was followed by a public lecture on Martin O’Meara VC from Lorrha by historian Gerard O’Meara.