swizz Posted 7 March , 2006 Share Posted 7 March , 2006 I read in today's Guardian that 'The bulldozer's ball and hammer move in on the familiar, favourite, rusted relic after the relishable Triple Crowner against Scotland.' Does anyone know what will happen to the IRFU war memorial? It would be (IMHO) a pity for it to vanish with the old stadium. Swizz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wig Posted 7 March , 2006 Share Posted 7 March , 2006 According to Barry Cunningham of the Irish Rugby Supporters Club, the memorial is to be preserved. However he is going to double check that and confirm it to me. I will post his reply. Thanks for bringing it to our attention. wig P.S. Barry Cunningham has now confirmed that the memorial is to be preserved althought they have not yet determined where to place it when the new stadium is built. Far be it from me to encourage anyone to congratulate the IRFU on preserving the war momument but they might well be encouraged to make a good job of conserving it if members of the forum emailed Barry Cunningham to that effect! His email address is barry.cunningham@irfu.ie. I do not think he will respond to requests for tickets for the Scotland v Ireland match on Saturday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swizz Posted 8 March , 2006 Author Share Posted 8 March , 2006 That's good news wig - I'd certainly be interested in any further info about this. Swizz Good news - thanks wig! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Devitt Posted 9 March , 2006 Share Posted 9 March , 2006 According to Barry Cunningham of the Irish Rugby Supporters Club, the memorial is to be preserved. However he is going to double check that and confirm it to me. I will post his reply. Thanks for bringing it to our attention. wig P.S. Barry Cunningham has now confirmed that the memorial is to be preserved althought they have not yet determined where to place it when the new stadium is built. Far be it from me to encourage anyone to congratulate the IRFU on preserving the war momument but they might well be encouraged to make a good job of conserving it if members of the forum emailed Barry Cunningham to that effect! His email address is barry.cunningham@irfu.ie. I do not think he will respond to requests for tickets for the Scotland v Ireland match on Saturday! Wig you are right on both counts. Yes they are preserving the memorial but have not decided where to place it in the new stadium. And yes, he did not respond to a request for tickets even though he is a friend of my son. I wonder would the gift of a really good bottle of single malt help? Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swizz Posted 9 March , 2006 Author Share Posted 9 March , 2006 Maybe it would depend how good the bottle was - and maybe if there was more than one?? Swizz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Devitt Posted 9 March , 2006 Share Posted 9 March , 2006 Swizz, Forget it. He would not know what a single malt was let alone two! Regards, ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Pegum Posted 13 March , 2006 Share Posted 13 March , 2006 This is what it's all about. I met Barry Cunningham today, and he confirmed what is said above: that the memorial will definitely be preserved. I don't think you need to bombard him with e-mails! Many of the men commemorated joined 'D' Company, 7th Battalion, the Royal Dublin Fusiliers (the Dublin Pals) and were lost at Suvla Bay. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swizz Posted 14 March , 2006 Author Share Posted 14 March , 2006 Nice picture Michael - when I was there there was heavy rain so my attempted photos didn't really come out. Do you have any idea when this was unveiled? Swizz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wig Posted 14 March , 2006 Share Posted 14 March , 2006 Did you know that the President of the 1916 IRFU was shot dead by rebel forces as he was marching his unarmd soldiers back to Beggers Bush Barracks? I havent his details with me but will check my sourcebook and post his name within a day or so. wig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swizz Posted 14 March , 2006 Author Share Posted 14 March , 2006 I think you mean Frank Browning? There's a bit about him here: http://www.greatwar.ie/ire_bat.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Pegum Posted 14 March , 2006 Share Posted 14 March , 2006 Here is a photo of Frank Browning at Lansdowne Road, in front of the men he recruited. Many of them died during the war. He probably didn't imagine that he would be among the casualties. (The picture is a scan from photogravure, and it is impossible to get rid of the patterning without sending a very large image.) About the unit he was with, the "Georgius Rex Volunteers", known unkindly by the Dublin wits as the Gorgeous Wrecks. They were a Dad's Army kind of unit, and they were in full army uniform and carrying rifles, although they had no ammunition. They knew the rebellion had begun, and had been ordered back to their barracks. What they didn't know was that a rebel unit was on the road they were to take, anticipating troops coming from Dún Laoghaire (then Kingstown). Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wig Posted 14 March , 2006 Share Posted 14 March , 2006 That information is spot on. And is that not a brilliant photograph, never seen it before and it does not feature in the recent book Barristers 1868-2004 (my source - Browning was a barrister) nor in the book Wigs and Guns, also about barristers and the great war. Thank you for taking the trouble to publish it here. wig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swizz Posted 15 March , 2006 Author Share Posted 15 March , 2006 I must agree - Great picture! I think Keith Jeffery used it in the Gallipoli programe which was on last year. He used it (or a picture similar to it) very effectively by standing in the same view to give his spiel to camera. Seeing the same stand in the background was quite eerie... Do you know which one is Browning? I have never actually seen a photo of him. Swizz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conor Dodd Posted 15 March , 2006 Share Posted 15 March , 2006 There are two war memorials in Lansdwone isn't there ???? The one pictured above and another above the enterance with names on the "house in the corner" of lansdowne for men of the rugby club Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Pegum Posted 20 March , 2006 Share Posted 20 March , 2006 Do you know which one is Browning? I have never actually seen a photo of him. Swizz The photo is from "The Pals at Suvla Bay, being the record of "D" Company of the 7th Royal Dublin Fusiliers" by Henry Hanna (Ponsonby, Dublin, 1916). Naval and Military Press have a recent reprint. Browning is the man standing in front of the group, with the Sergeant-Major. I don't know about the other memorial, and it wasn't mentioned when I was there last week. Do you mean the Wanderers Rugby Club club-house, also at Lansdowne? Michael Pegum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Pegum Posted 31 March , 2006 Share Posted 31 March , 2006 ...the "Georgius Rex Volunteers", ...were a Dad's Army kind of unit, and they were in full army uniform and carrying rifles, Correction: they were in civilian clothes, with arm-bands, according to today's Irish Times. However, they did have rifles. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wig Posted 3 April , 2006 Share Posted 3 April , 2006 From the Irish Law Times and Solicitors Journal 1916 "We deeply regret to announce the death of Mr. Francis Henry Browning, Barrister at Law, Examiner of Titles in the Land Registry of Ireland, and joint author with Mr. Raymond Smith of the well known text book on the Local Registration of Title Act, 1891. He died on 26th April as a result of wounds he recieved on Easter Monday when returning from a route march with the I.A.V.T. Corps, of which he was second in command. Within a short distance of Beggars Bush Barracks he was shot by snipers connected with the Sinn Fein Rebellion, to which we refer in antoher column. Mr. Browning gained fame as a cricketer, and was also keenly intereted in Rugby football. When the war began he conceived the idea of forming an Irish Rugby Union Volunteer Corps. This idea soon bore fruit and about 800 men - all connected with football- were enrolled. It was out of this number that the famous "Pals" Company was formed, whose glorious heroism at Suvla Bay is so well known. As an official in the Land Registry of Ireland, Mr. Brownings untimely death will also be regretted. He was an extremely capable and courteous offficer. He was the eldest son of the late Mr. Jeffrey Browning, solicitor." wig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swizz Posted 15 April , 2006 Author Share Posted 15 April , 2006 Wig, I was interested to read the bit you posted from the Irish Law Times and Solicitors Journal. I believe Browning's name is on the war memorial of the Land Registry of Ireland - an organisation I know nothing about. Do you know what they did / do? Or have you ever seen the memorial for that matter?? Swizz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wig Posted 16 April , 2006 Share Posted 16 April , 2006 no. But as I work in the fourcourts complex it won't take me too long to find it and photgraph it and post hereon. wig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Pegum Posted 16 April , 2006 Share Posted 16 April , 2006 .. as I work in the fourcourts complex it won't take me too long to find it and photgraph it and post hereon. wig Wig, If you do find it and get permission to photograph it, could you make a full record for the Irish Inventory of War Memorials at the website below? Measurements need to be taken, and a form is to be filled in (downloadable from the 'How to contribute' page. Many thanks, Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wig Posted 24 April , 2006 Share Posted 24 April , 2006 Found the memorial today, Browning's name is on it as having fallen in the Great War - along with about five or six other names. Got permission to photograph it. All I have to do now is find my bloody camera! wig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swizz Posted 24 April , 2006 Author Share Posted 24 April , 2006 This is great news wig - will you be posting the pic here? I for one would be very interested in seeing it! Swizz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wig Posted 25 April , 2006 Share Posted 25 April , 2006 Found my camera and I have a photograph of the memorial. Now I have to find that wire thingy that attaches the camera to the computer and I will then post the photograph here. Meanwhile the memorial is a simple brass plaque, 19" x 12" mounted on a board and sited above a rather pokey reception desk immediately inside the Land Registry Entrance hall. It reads as follows: Francis H. Browning - Thomas Brennan - Daniel R. Cleary - John B. Dunne - Walter R Cross. George Hore - Richard V. Murphy - Joames O'Connell - John J. Raverly - of the Land Registry of Ireland - -Who fell in the Great War- 1914-1918 wig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobpike Posted 25 April , 2006 Share Posted 25 April , 2006 Can anyone identify these men, please? Murphy is the only one I can find in a cursory look at CWGC? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Pegum Posted 26 April , 2006 Share Posted 26 April , 2006 Can anyone identify these men, please? Murphy is the only one I can find in a cursory look at CWGC? I think this must be Daniel R. Cleary. The same 'Clery' spelling appears in "Ireland's Memorial Records". Name: CLERY, DANIEL RICHARD Initials: D R Nationality: United Kingdom Rank: Lieutenant Regiment: Royal Dublin Fusiliers Unit Text: 6th Bn. Date of Death: 10/08/1915 Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 190 to 196. Memorial: HELLES MEMORIAL Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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