Am interested in getting info on the following - if you are a related to the following
can you please PM (private message) me.
(i) Private James O’Neill, 14 Grenville Street Dublin. He was a former employee of Leggs Saw Mill before joining the Free State Army on the 6th of October 1922. He was killed on 16th April 1923 and is buried in the Free State plot in Glasnevin
(ii) Lieutenant Henry Pearson was from 13 Victoria Terrace Limerick. He was attatched to the Engineers Regiment of the Free State Army and had the rank of Captain. He was injured in Clashmealcon on 16th of April by a bullet wound to the left thigh which turned gangrenous. He died in the Infirmary in Tralee on 18th of April 1923. His remains were taken to the Trinity Protestant Church and from there to St Mary’s Cathedral Limerick.
By April 1923, The Civil War was all but over except in Kerry which remained the last bastion of Anti Treaty power. One event has become synonymous with the end of the conflict in Kerry- The Clashmealcon Siege. An anti treaty unit on the run from The National Army takes refuge in a cave at the base of a dangerous sea cliff at Clashmeacon, North Kerry. A dramatic siege on the cave ensues lasting three days and three nights.
The Anti Treaty unit brave a barrage of fire bombs, grenades, and rifle fire as well as the Atlantic wind and the raging sea. Two Pro treaty soldiers- Henry Pearson (Limerick) and James O’Neill (Dublin) are killed on the 16th April 1923 as they storm the cave in an effort to capture the Irregulars.
