To coincide with the 100th Anniversary of Armistice Day, marking the end of World War One, Moate Action Group’s Heritage Committee recently published a small book commemorating those soldiers from the locality and nearby parishes, who joined the British Army for wartime service.
That book, entitled ‘Moate Soldiers’ contained a brief profile of 146 soldiers from the general area who signed up for the war. A low key publication by all accounts, that did not have an official book launch, all 300 copies printed were sold out in days and there were many many people who were unable to obtain a copy.
The public interest and demand for the book was very much underestimated by its compilers. Such was the unexpected interest shown in the book’s subject, the Great War, that many people came forward afterwards with new information about those soldiers featured in it and many others came forward with the names of family members, ancestors, and neighbours who had also partaken in the War, but were not featured in the book.
Surprised by the local community’s very positive response, and the new information they provided, the compilers met after Christmas and agreed to publish a second edition to include the many who had not been featured in the first publication. Since then, they have endeavoured to ‘search’ for those old soldiers and have spent the last nine months piecing together their stories.
Each soldier’s story contains their army details where known, and importantly, a little information about their families, and post war lives, where known. Spreading the net a little wider this time around, to include all the local parishes, taking in Tubber, Rosemount, Mount Temple, Castledaly, Ballycumber, Boher & Ballinahown, Streamstown, Ballymore, Horseleap, Drumraney, Moyvoughley, Fardrum, Baylin, and soldiers from many further away places who had some connection to the Moate area.
Some 291 soldiers’ profiles feature in this new second edition publication and it also includes those 146 soldiers featured in the first edition, with added new extra information about most of them also. So, for anyone who could not get a copy last time round, this second edition contains all of those soldiers too. There are also many pictures, photos, and articles included this time, as there were none in the first edition.
The book’s compilers are Peter Dolan, Tom Duffy, Sean Keane, Gerry Kerrigan, and Fr. Jimmy Murray O.Carm, who wish to thank sincerely, the many people who generously contributed stories, photos, medals, and family ancestry information for this enjoyable project.
