A Long Way From Tipperary

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From top: Sergeant Martin O’Meara; Manager Army Heritage Australia Neil Dailey (top left) and Major Henry Fijolek of the Austrailian Army and Army Museum of Western Australia

This morning.

The National Museum of Ireland – Decorative Arts and History, Collins Barracks, Dublin 4.

The Installation of Martin O’Meara’s Victoria Cross, the highest award for ‘gallantry in the face of the enemy’ that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Sergeant  O’Meara – who was born in Terryglass, County  Tipperary in 1885-  was given the award to recognise his acts of bravery at Pozieres in France in August 1916.

This Loan will be for approximately 12 months and marks the first time an Australian Government owned Victoria Cross will have left Australian Shores.

Irish Australian soldier’s Victoria Cross medal loaned to National Museum (RTE)

Sam Boal/Rollingnews

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13 thoughts on “A Long Way From Tipperary”

  1. Christy Mahon snr

    The greatest stroke the English ever pulled was to convince young Irishmen that it was better to kill German soldiers for irish freedom than British.

  3. blahblahblah

    I had assumed the guy in uniform was Irish Defence Forces by the Steyr rifle pin on his chest, but was thrown by the unfamiliar headdress, but of course the Aussies use Steyrs too.

  5. Pip

    This is a terrific, well-written book about a complicated period in history. I now know why I struggled with it in school. A secret cabal in London worked tirelessly to deliver the war against Germany.
    Hidden History: The Secret Origins of the First World War by
    Gerry Docherty and James MacGregor

    1. Emer

      That book is an anti-Semitic diatribe, a conspiracy theory of the most vile racist type.

  6. Zaccone

    This guy’s life story is horrifying. In brief:

    According to the Australian War Memorial, Sgt O’Meara was discharged from the army in November 1919. He was later admitted to a psychiatric facility for soldiers suffering from the effects of war. He spent the rest of his life there and died in December 1935[at age 50].

    What a waste of a life – VC or no VC.

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