A captivating array of Great War memorabilia, including medals awarded to local soldiers, will be on display in Lorrha this Sunday.

Part of the homecoming planned for local war hero Martin O'Meara's Victoria Cross - which is expected to take place this summer - the display has been arranged by Lorrha's Martin O’Meara VC Committee. It will include shrapnel, bayonets, helmet, a Lee Enfield rifle, Mauser rifle, pigtail barbed wire posts, barbed wire, and more, all of which were found on the Somme and Flanders battlefields. Visitors to the display will be able to see first-hand the equipment used in the 1914 - '18 war and gain some perception of the conditions the soldiers on all sides had to endure.

Also on display will be a variety of medals awarded to members of Irish regiments throughout history, including recipients from Birr, Cloughjordan, Loughrea and Thurles.

Examples include the 1914 - '15 Star awarded to Gunner James Oakley from Deerpark, Cloughjordan. Part of the 20th Trench Mortar Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery, he was killed in action on March 14, 1917 at the age of 27. He is commemorated on the Arras Memorial in France.

Another local example is the collection of Major JPL Stoney of Emmel Castle, Cloughjordan. An officer in the 2nd Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment, his honours include the Queen’s South Africa (1899-1902) Medal with four clasps, Cape Colony, Orange Free State, South Africa 1901 and 1902; 1914 Star with clasp, and British War and Victory Medals.

Also on display will be a number of medals awarded to members of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Munster Fusiliers, who fought at Etreux in August 1914. This battle, which occurred very early in the Great War, is frequently featured in narratives on ‘famous last stands’.

See below for further examples of items on display

AMBASSADOR'S RETURN VISIT

Australian Ambassador to Ireland Gary Gray recently made a return visit to Lorrha, having previously been in the village last October to see the birthplace of Martin O'Meara (1885-1935). O'Meara, of Lissernane, Lorrha, emigrated to Australia, subsequently enlisted and was awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery he displayed during the Battle of the Somme in 1916.

On his recent visit, Mr Gray met with the local committee and discussed the plan to add O'Meara's VC as the centrepiece of the display in Lorrha. The Cross is presently on display at the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin, where it has been on loan from the Australian government since 2019. The loan required an amendment to the Protection of Moveable Cultural Heritage Act (1986) to allow the 'temporary export of important cultural artefacts'.

It was intended to put O'Meara's Victoria Cross on display in his birth village in 2020, but the pandemic disrupted this plan. It is now hoped to have the VC on display in Lorrha this summer before it returns to the Army Museum of Western Australia later in the year.

To this end, an online GoFundMe campaign has been set up raise funds to celebrate the visit of O’Meara’s VC. It is hoped that this celebration will fittingly acknowledge the legacy of the local war hero, who also left £1,300 (around €100,000 in 'today's money') to the Lorrha community in his will.

Donations can be made by searching for 'Homecoming of Martin O'Meara's VC' on www.gofundme.com.

DISPLAY DETAILS

Members of the Martin O’Meara VC Committee will be in attendance at this Sunday's display, which will take place at St Ruadhán's Community Hall / SCEAL Shop, Heritage Centre and Tea Room, from 10am to 5pm.

FURTHER EXAMPLES OF ITEMS ON DISPLAY

Captain Launcelot Myles Bayly, Royal Irish Rifles

From Killough Castle Thurles

Military Cross, British War Medal and Victory Medal

Died of Wounds 22nd October 1918

Buried in Duhallow A.D.S. Cemetery, Ypres

Corp. James Beard, 13th Reg. Light Dragoons

Waterloo 1815 Medal

Fought in the Battle of Campo Maior, the Peninsular War action fought on 25th March 1811,

where the British 13th Light Dragoons charged and swept away a larger force of French cavalry before capturing a train of artillery.

The Commander in this action was Lt Col Michael Head of Cloughjordan

Private James Burke No, 2967 Irish Guards

Born at Kilask, Tipperary

1914 Mons Star

Captured at Ypres 12th November 1914

Private John Fallon, 8431 1st Battalion Connaught Rangers and King's Liverpool Regiment

From Loughrea

1914 Star, British War and Victory Medals,

Long Service and Good Conduct Medal and Regimental Sports Medal

Private M. Grant, No. 6732 Royal Irish Regiment

From Butlerstown, Waterford

Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 5 clasps, Cape Colony, Paardeberg, Driefontein,

Gassed at Mousetrap Farm, 24th May 1915

Died of wounds, 26 May 1915, interred Longuenesse (St. Omer) Souvenir Cemetery

Ensign Patrick Kelly, 3149 West India Regiment, late Royal North British Fusiliers

From Birr

Crimea 1854-56, 3 clasps, Alma, Inkermann, Sebastopol

France, Second Empire, Medaille Militaire, with top silver riband bar; Turkish Crimea 1855

Sardinian issue

Lt Col E. T. J. Kerans Worcestershire Regiment, late Rifle Brigade and Imperial Yeomanry

From Birr

.Group of Seven: Distinguished Service Order, Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902,

3 clasps, Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Transvaal, King’s South Africa 1901-02, 2 clasps;

1914-15 Star, British War and Victory Medals, M.I.D. oak leaf;

Royal Humane Society, small bronze medal - Camcor River, Birr

Private Alexander McHale 18th Royal Irish Regiment

Enlisted in Clonmel

- Crimea Medal Sebastopol Clasp

Private Michael Meara No. 3249 Irish Guards

Born in Ireland

Captured at Ypres 18th September 1917

British War Medal

Gunner James Oakley No. 43097, 20th Trench Mortar Battery, Royal Garrison Artillery

From Deerpark, Cloughjordan

Killed in Action 14th March, 1917 Age 27 Commemorated on Arras Memorial

Memorial Plaque and 1914-15 Star

Major General Francis Joseph O'Meara Royal Army Medical Corps

From Skibbereen. Cork

AMS (RTD), CB, MA, MD, FRCPI, DTM&H

Companion of the Order of the Bath, Knight of Grace of the Order of Saint John

New Years Honours 1956 Companion of the Military Division of the Order of the Bath,

Second World War Prisoner of War Captured at Dunkirk

Mention in Despatches,

Malayan Emergency and Korean War group

Major J. P. L. Stoney, 2nd Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment

From Emell Castle, Cloughjordan

Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 4 clasps, Cape Colony, Orange Free State,

South Africa 1901, South Africa 1902 ; 1914 Star, with clasp; British War and Victory Medals

Suffered serious wounds during Retreat from Mons

Lieutenant Colonel Alfred Philip White East Surry & South Staff Regiment

QSA Medal (Cape Colony), KSA Medal (South Africa 1901, South Africa 1902).

Killed during raid on house in Drumcondra, while attempting to capture Dan Breen and Sean Treacy - 20th October 1922

Also a number of medals awarded to members of the 2nd Battalion Royal Munster Fusiliers who fought at Etreux on 27th August 1914.

This battle, which occurred very early in the Great War, is frequently featured in narratives on ‘famous last stands’.

These men, captured at Etreux spend the remaining four years of the Great War as Prisoners of War.