Subsérie 41 - King’s Speech to the Irish Guards on St. Patrick’s Day, 1916

1 p.; printed

A printed copy of a speech by King George V to the 3rd Battalion of the Irish Guards at their Buckingham Gate barracks in London on St. Patrick’s Day in 1916.

The Irish Guards saw extensive action on the western front during the First World War. In his speech, George V pays tribute to Lieutenant Michael O’Leary (1890-1961), a Cork-born soldier in the Irish Guards who was the first member of the regiment to be awarded the Victoria Cross, Britain’s highest military honour. O’Leary was given his award for his bravery in single-handedly destroying two German barricades near the French village of Cuinchy on 1 February 1915. Newsreel footage of the visit by George V to the Irish Guards on St. Patrick’s Day in 1916 can be viewed on the Imperial War Museum’s website at https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1060023463 The newsreel includes footage of John Redmond, the leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party, chatting with the King. Redmond later sought Michael O’Leary’s participation in recruitment drives across Ireland to encourage Irishmen to support the British war effort.

For more information on Michael O’Leary (1890-1961), Cork-born recipient of the Victoria Cross, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_John_O%27Leary