An RIC Tug of War medal was found in a garden in Churchtown, Dublin. It was engraved to Thomas Walsh, a Mayo man, and was a memento of a Tug of War competition that took place in the Depot in 1891.
The story was featured on Derek Mooney's RTE radio show. Jim Herlihy undertook a lot of the research into the story and reveals a fascinating account of the genealogical background to Thomas Walsh, his marriage, and indeed the complex web of police marriages and inter-relationships once prevalent in Ireland. Even more fascinating is that the singer Dido was loosely related!
The research brought out Walsh's direct descendants and Kevin O'Neill, a great grandson, was handed the medal back. Walsh ended his days as a District Inspector and died in 1924.
This link brings you to the RTE archive - choose 'listen' for Thursday 29th January 2009. Well worth listening to.
D.I. Thomas Walsh
The story was featured on Derek Mooney's RTE radio show. Jim Herlihy undertook a lot of the research into the story and reveals a fascinating account of the genealogical background to Thomas Walsh, his marriage, and indeed the complex web of police marriages and inter-relationships once prevalent in Ireland. Even more fascinating is that the singer Dido was loosely related!
The research brought out Walsh's direct descendants and Kevin O'Neill, a great grandson, was handed the medal back. Walsh ended his days as a District Inspector and died in 1924.
This link brings you to the RTE archive - choose 'listen' for Thursday 29th January 2009. Well worth listening to.
D.I. Thomas Walsh
