Prompted by some comments on this entry, I took a photo of the certificate we have in the study, showing that my maternal grandfather Jim Harpur played his part in the HQ Active Service Unit during the Irish War of Independence.
Jim Harpur's ASU Certificate
There’s a high resolution version available here (opens a new window).
I believe the little crosses next to some of the names indicate that that person died in service, but I’m not 100% sure about that. I hope it’s useful or interesting to somebody
Wow, that’s a piece of history there, and a reminder of different times.
Did you ever meet your grandfather? Did he talk about that time?
Hi Donncha, sadly I never met the man – he died when I was a few months old. He was a very interesting guy. There’s a very old newspaper article showing him taking control of Beggers Bush Barracks from the British Army, wearing the very first uniform made for the newly-formed Irish Army. The uniform itself was found in my Granny’s attic years later, but taken to the tip by my silly aunt, along with numerous others he had over the years. A great loss to the National Museum!
Hi, My granddad is on this list as well. Sean Caffrey, we to have this as well. Granddad died in 1987 so I had time to talk to him. I thought the crosses indicated people who were killed on active service but that’s not the case. This was produced in 1966 to celebrate 50th anniversary of 1916 and the crosses indicate people who were deceased by 1966.
Regards
Ronan
Hi all, Just an observation on the ASU list on Jim Harpurs certificate. There are two names on that list, Rodney Murphy and Leo Murray, that were shot in bed at Stillorgan in 1922, by a squad of Free State Army officers from Portobello barracks, led by Col. Niall MacNeill, son of Eoin McNeill. MacNeill had also been these men’s brigade adjutant in the S. Dublin Brigade up to the Treaty of 1921. This is evidence from the coroners court from that time. Regards, Vincent