There was a large and appreciative gathering yesterday afternoon in Kilcullen Town Hall for the launch of a set of recordings made of the memories of 15 local retired members of the Defence Forces,
writes Brian Byrne. The event also launched a website,
dilisgobrath.ie, where these and future recordings can be heard.
The oral history project was initiated by Enda O'Neill, Mary Orford, and Julie O'Donoghue and carried out with sponsorship support from Kildare County Council, Winroy Interiors, Woodbine Books, Colin Clarke Paving & Craft, and Under The Apple Tree wedding videographers.
Presentations were made to each of the 15 participants in the project, comprising a commemorative medal, a transcript of their own interviews, and a USB stick with the edited recordings.
Those who took part represented all three branches of the Defence Forces — Army, Naval Service, and Air Corps. They were Joe Mallon, Billy Redmond, Des Travers, Miriam McDonnell, Barry Clarke, John Langan, Martin Burke, Bill Hallidan, Sean Lee, Ger Fogarty, Fiona Smith, Ray Aulsberry, Lorcan Dunne, Enda O'Neill and Andrew O'Neill.
Welcoming the guests, who included former Chief of Staff, Lieut Gen (Retd) Noel Bergin, and the Leas-Cathaoirleach of Kildare County Council, Cllr Tracey O'Dwyer, Dawn Behan of Woodbine Books noted that everyone in the Kilcullen area has had some kind of association with the Defence Forces through the Training Centre at the Curragh, and the plains environs. "The defence forces are part of our everyday lives," she said. "But our experiences only offer us a glimpse of what it must be like to serve, and the intense bond that this creates between fellow soldiers. This project gives us a deeper insight into what it was and is like to be part of the defence forces." She added that because the person responsible for coordinating and curating the project, Enda O'Neill, is himself a retired soldier, it meant that contributors knew that they could trust Enda with their stories, that he would respect and understand their experiences because he has also lived them. "The result is that the interviews contain an honesty and a depth that could not have been possible had they been conducted by a civilian."
The guest speaker,
Catherine Callaghan TD, recalled her own enlistment in the Air Corps at the age of 17, the only girl with 29 boys at the time. "I fell on my feet when I joined, because those boys, as they were then, and they are now obviously men, are among the best humans I have ever been fortunate enough to meet." She added that they still get together as a group every couple of years, and represent the incredible and unique bond of those who have served. As the only ex-member of the Defence Forces in the current Dáil, she said she takes really personally a duty to ensure that when they are being spoken about in public, it is by somebody who understands what it is and what it has been to serve. "By someone who understands and can accurately verbalise the professionalism, the integrity, the goodness, the camaraderie of every single serving member of the Defence Forces." She congratulated all involved in the project.
Cllr Pat Balfe, also a former member of the Defence Forces, congratulated Enda O'Neill for the initiative, saying that official histories will detail locations, command, and the activities of a battalion. "But they won't necessarily tell you about the characters, the friendships, the slagging, the difficult days. The people who looked after you when things weren't going particularly well, or the person who quietly influenced you and perhaps changed the direction of your career without ever realising it. And that's why this oral history is so important and why this project matters."
Following the presentations, Enda O'Neill thanked everyone who had helped with the project. He noted that between the 15 contributors, there had been 365 years of service and 63 missions abroad. "These numbers are remarkable, but this archive is not about the numbers — it's about the people. Behind every year of service there is a person. Behind every deployment there is a story, and behind every person in uniform there is a family — a mother, a father, a husband, a wife, children, and in some cases grandchildren. Military service does not affect only the person wearing the uniform; it affects everyone around them. The loved ones who waited at home, who missed them, the loved ones who worried about them, the loved ones who held families together, carried the weight and responsibilities of life without the support of their partner." He said that behind every uniform there were family members who served in their own way.
He noted that the archive being compiled — it is a continuing project — is a 'library of memories'. Memories of joining, training, friendships made, memories of friends lost. Memories of operations, overseas deployments, difficult days, and memories of laughter. "Some may bring back memories that have been buried for years, but every one of them is valuable, because without the person telling the story, we lose more than the event — we lose the experience. That is what Dílis Go Bráth is trying to preserve: not just what happened, but what it was like, what it meant, what was given, what was sacrificed, and what is remembered."
Following the official part of the afternoon, refreshments were available in the Heritage Centre, where many more of those memories and experiences were recalled once more.
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