A Talk given to the
O'Leary Clan Gathering 1999
Talk was given to the 1999
O'Leary Clan Gathering by
Mr.Frank Robinson MBE, who
is the Secretary of the
Irish Guards Association in
Dublin. It was on the
occasion when we were
celebrating the memory of
Michael O'Leary VC and his
military exploits.
"I want to talk
about the part played by
Michael O'Leary VC, and by
the Irish Guards in the
First World War. First of
all a bit of background
about the Irish Guards to
put it all into perspective.
At the turn of the century
there were three Guards
Regiments which had the
privilege of guarding the
Sovereign; the Coldstream
Guards, the Scots Guards and
the Grenadier Guards. In
September 1899 the Army was
committed in large numbers
to the Boer War in South
Africa. This was the first
War which was adequately
covered by the Press, and it
quickly got into the public
imagination. At that time
there was a large garrison
of British Regiments
stationed all over Ireland,
and many fine Regiments
recruited entirely by
Irishmen, such as the Royal
Munster Fusiliers, the
Leinster Regiment, the
Connaught Rangers and the
Royal Dublin Fusiliers.
All Regiments which are
sadly no longer with us.
These Regiments were
recruited and trained in
Ireland, and performed with
great bravery in many
battles of the Boer War,
such as the battle of Spion
Kop where they were fiercely
attacked but held their
ground . Queen Victoria
followed the actions with
close interest and sent a
telegram to General Sir
Redvers Buller, who was
responsible for the Relief
of Ladysmith. "I am deeply
concerned at the heavy
casualties suffered by my
brave Irish Regiments……".
There had long been an
interest amongst
British Officers of Irish
descent who wanted to have
the opportunity of serving
in a Guards Regiment solely
reserved for Irishmen. The
Irish Guards was formed on
the 1st April
1900. They were the only
Regiment in the British Army
formed to commemorate the
bravery of their fellow
countrymen.
Now to come
to Michael O'Leary. He
was born here in
Inchigeelagh in 1888, the
third son of Daniel and
Margaret O'Leary. He
first joined the Royal Navy
but was invalided out
because of Rheumatism of the
knees. He then worked for a
while as a farm labourer,
then in 1910 enlisted in the
Royal Canadian Mounted
Police. He soon found
himself involved in a daring
adventure when he captured
two robbers after a chase
lasting two days, thus
proving himself from the
outset as a determined and a
brave man. On the onset of
the first World War he
re-enlisted with the Irish
Guards and in November 1914
found himself in the
trenches in France, with the
rank of Lance-Corporal. In
February 1915 the Regiment
were involved in a
determined attack by German
troops at Quinchy. A counter
attack launched after a long
bombardment of the enemy
position, was made by the
Coldstream Guards followed
more successfully by one by
the Irish Guards including
Michael O'Leary. In the
words of the citation, he
made an individual attack
and killed five Germans in
the first barricade. He then
attacked single handed the
second barricade which was
sixty yards further on and
killed or captured five more
Germans who were trying to
bring a machine gun into
action.
Lance-Corporal O'Leary thus
virtually captured the
entire German defensive
position by himself and
prevented the rest of the
attacking party from being
fired on. For his action he
was awarded the Victoria
Cross, the highest possible
medal for valour, and was
promoted Sergeant on the
field of battle. This
appeared in the London
Gazette on Friday 15th.February
1915. Sergeant Michael
O'Leary VC returned to
Ireland to help with the
recruiting campaign and was
feted wherever he went and
was very popular with the
crowds and was successful in
getting people to join the
British Army at a time when
there was strong opposition
to recruiting coming from
the Nationalists. He was
then commissioned into that
fine Regiment, the Connaught
Rangers, served in Salonika
and ended the War with the
rank of Captain. After the
war he met and married
Margaret Hegarty of
Ballyvourney, and they were
to have six sons and one
daughter, and I'm delighted
to see that four of those
sons are present today.
Michael O'Leary returned to
Canada and joined the
Ontario Province Police as
an Inspector, and remained
with them until 1925. He
then went to the USA and
joined the Michigan Central
Police but didn't stay long,
returning to London to work
as a linkman in the Mayfair
Hotel in the West End. At
the onset of the second
World War he rejoined the
Army in the Middlesex
Regiment and later the
Pioneer Corps until he
retired in 1945 on Medical
grounds with the rank of
Major. He then worked in
London as a building
contractor until his
retirement in 1954. Sadly
his wife had died the year
before. He then lived in
London until his death in
Whittington Hospital in
Highgate in 1961. He
is buried in Paddington
Cemetery in Mill Hill,
London where there is a
memorial to him, and each
year on 1st.February
to this day there is a
wreath laid on his grave by
the Irish Guards
Association, in memory of a
brave and gallant Irish
gentleman.
You may be
interested to know that the
Irish Guards are still in
existence today, and are at
present serving in Pristina
where they led the advance
of the KFOR troops into
Kosovo. The Irish
Guards are particularly
proud of their inheritance
as the only Regiment in the
British Army formed to
commemorate the bravery of
their fellow countrymen. I
myself was a young recruit
in the Irish Guards in 1962.
We had a thing called
"Shining Parade". Recruits
had to shine all their boots
and other equipment and
while doing this the
Sergeant and Officers
lectured us about the
Regimental History. That's
where I first heard about
Michael O'Leary. The ethos
of the Regiment, the bravery
of the soldiers who have
gone before you, and the
battle honours of the
Regiment are inculcated into
recruits at a very early
stage of their training so
that you never forget. I am
very proud to have been an
Irish Guard. Proud of
my Regiment and the memory
of Michael O'Leary. I
am very pleased to have been
invited to talk to you today
Men like Michael
O'Leary are an integral part
of our Irish History despite
what has happened since,. He
and his other comrades are
remembered every year at
Remembrance weekend, the
weekend nearest 11th.November,
when church services are
held in Dublin, Cork and
many other places throughout
the Country to remember the
dead of two World Wars and a
collection is made for the
Irish Poppy Appeal to
provide help for those who
served, and their
dependants.
I served
in the Irish Guards from
1962 to 1972. I then
left and joined a firm of
Stockbrokers in Dublin. I
found that the Irish Guards
Association had fallen by
the wayside, and together
with an enthusiastic retired
officer, Colonel William
Harvey Kelly, we got the
organisation up and running
again. Our annual dinner in
Dublin has grown from 50
attenders to over 150 now
who come from all over the
country. I can assure you
that Michael O'Leary's old
Regiment is still alive and
well. It is still Irish and
is still doing a good job."