O’Meara’s Victoria Cross to go on display in Lorrha

Public invited to see local war hero’s honour on August 13

The local community in Lorrha is preparing for a historic event on August 13 when Martin O'Meara's Victoria Cross will finally be put on display in the village.

The VC, which local native O'Meara was awarded for bravery in the First World War, is presently on display at the National Museum of Ireland, where it has been on loan from the Australian government since 2019. It will be returned to the Army Museum of Western Australia later this year.

But before that it will go on display for one day only at the hall in O'Meara's home village on Saturday, August 13. This will represent the reaching at last of a long-sought objective for the hardworking local committee that has been campaigning for years to bring O'Meara's Victoria Cross back to Lorrha.

Born at Lissernane, Lorrha, Martin O'Meara (1885-1935) emigrated to Australia, enlisted in the army and served as a stretcher-bearer on the Western Front. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery he displayed during the horrific Battle of the Somme in 1916. The Lorrha man braved intense shelling and machine gun fire to rescue as many as 25 of his wounded comrades over a four-day period at Pozieres, France.

Proud of where he came from, the war hero returned once to Lorrha before going back to his new life in Australia. As with so many like him, the war took its toll on O'Meara and he saw out his years in military hospitals, suffering from what official records called “chronic mania”. In his will, he left some £1,300 (around €100,000 in ‘today's money’) to the Lorrha community.

Next month O'Meara will be fittingly honoured with the display of his Victoria Cross in Lorrha. The local committee had hoped to do this in 2020 but for the pandemic. Its members have continued to work with Australian Ambassador to Ireland Gary Gray and representatives of the Army Museum of Western Australia (which is responsible for the VC) via Zoom online conferencing. There will be further follow-up Zoom meetings over the next few weeks.

Ahead of the display date - which coincides with the beginning of National Heritage Week - plenty of work will be taking place with the erection of plaques, bunting and flags to suitably decorate the village for this one and only visit of the Victoria Cross.

The organising committee is asking people to support this momentous occasion by making donations.

Collection buckets are available at the SCEAL shop, Friars Tavern, Pat Hough’s, Kelly’s of Rathcabbin, Ferry Inn and Mulrooney’s Ferry Service Station for anyone wishing to make a contribution to the homecoming. GoFundMe donations can be made here.

See www.lorrhadorrha.ie or the Facebook page for more information.