Wednesday 26 March 2014

Father James Doyle - Haddington Road, 1916

Nice snippet from the witness statement of Father James Doyle re the wounded members of the GRs (Irish Association of Volunteer Training Corps aka Georgius Rex/Gorgeous Wrecks) being taken to hospital in Baggot St after their ambush on day 1 of the Easter Rising

Father James Doyle witness statement


He makes reference to the death of a soldier called Nolan in the Royal Dublin Fusiliers. The only Nolan appears to have been in the Royal Irish Rifles, number 3/8692 (and he appears to have lived locally)

Rifleman James Nolan

Soldiers Died in the Great War and Ireland's Memorial Records has Private James Nolan has Died rather than Killed in Action or Died of Wounds. Usually this is death by natural causes or illness. He appears on pages 54 of the 1916 Rebellion Handbook under the list of RIR soldiers Killed or Died of Wounds.

He has a Medal Index Card showing the award of the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. No theatre is listed which is odd. As 3rd Battalion was a training unit/depot, not sure if he was entitled to the medals.

Rifleman Mark Bole, number 3/8691, has a Silver War Badge record which shows he enlisted 16th September 1915. James Nolan would have enlisted about the same time.


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