Tag Archives: World War II

A NEW memorial which remembers all those from Clare who were involved in World War II is to be dedicated in Ennis this weekend. The memorial at Friars Walk includes the names of 62 people from Clare who died in the Second World War, and includes six women. This will be the first time their contribution has been permanently acknowledged in the county. Also included in the memorial are the names of nine RAF airmen who died in air accidents in Clare and four Irish defence personnel who died in the county while on duty during the war. An addendum of World War I names which have come to light since the memorial to the Great War was unveiled in 2016 in the Peace Park is also included. Construction of the World War II memorial has been delayed since 2020 due to Covid19 restrictions, but the members of the group behind the project in the Clare Peace Park Initiative are …

CONNECTIONS between Mountshannon and the United States were instrumental in honouring a woman who played a central role in the success of the Allies in World War II. On Saturday last, Maureen Sweeney, who was a post office attendant at Blacksod lighthouse and post office in North Mayo, received a commemorative medal from the US House of Representatives for ‘laudable actions’ during the war. Producing hourly forecasts was a routine part of the Maureen’s duties in the post office, but the one that issued at 1am on June 3, 1944, changed the course of history. Maureen, who had just turned 21 that day, issued the fateful forecast predicting an impending Atlantic storm. The dispatch prompted General Dwight D Eisenhower to delay the planned invasion of Normandy. Maureen’s role was marked after a long process that began with a chance meeting in Mountshannon. Holidaying in Mountshannon, John J Kelly, an Irish-American, who led the design and production of modern lunar landing …

Thousands of students will descend Dublin’s RDS tomorrow (Wednesday) as the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition begins. The event brings together some of the country’s brightest young minds as they compete to take home the coveted title of the BT Young Scientist & Technologist(s) of the Year 2018. President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins will officially open the exhibition at a special ceremony on Wednesday evening attended by students, teachers, exhibition partners and stakeholders, and presented by broadcaster Aidan Power and TG4’s Roisin Ni Thomáin. The ceremony will be streamed live on Facebookfrom 2pm. Leading communications and IT Services company, BT, has announced announced an increase in prize money for the winner and a trip to the home of code-breaking in World War II, Bletchley Park. This year winner(s) of the competition, will be announced on Friday, will be presented with a cheque for €7,500, (an increase from €5,000), a trip to the historic Bletchley Park and the BTYSTE perpetual trophy. The 2018 overall winner(s) will …

HOLOCAUST survivor Henri Korn will be the subject of a portrait by O’Callaghan’s Mills man, Thomas Delohery, which will be submitted for the prestigious Archibald Prize and judged by the trustees of the New South Wales Gallery in Australia, where both men now live. Henri was born in Germany and was barely nine years old when he witnessed the murder of his friend, Leo Troski and Leo’s parents during Kristallnacht. He survived World War II on false papers, living in hiding and working with a group of young men in the shadows, whose task it was to relay information about German troop movements to the Allies. Thomas is a creative artist and painter and has long held an interest in the Holocaust, while he is acutely aware of the suffering of the victims at the hands of the Nazis. His portrait of Henri will not be a conventional one. Now aged 85, Henri is uncomfortable with the label ‘child’ Holocaust …