Connacht Tribune
Legacy of a life cut short during the Vietnam War
Lifestyle – Galwayman Anthony O’Reilly died in action serving as a US solider in Vietnam in 1968. As his family honour him 50 years on, his niece Hilary tells STEPHEN CORRIGAN about Tony’s extraordinary life.
The Vietnam War was a defining event of the 20th Century – and one Galway man was at the coalface, ultimately losing his life on the battlefield at just 30 years old.
That man was First Lieutenant Anthony O’Reilly, a native of Eyre Street in Galway City, who is this year being remembered by his family on the 50th anniversary of his death.
Tony grew up in Galway – went to school in St Joseph’s (the Bish) and excelled at rowing. It was a very ordinary life before he left his native land; and though his death was premature, the eight years he spent as a US soldier were nothing short of extraordinary.
The circumstances in which Tony joined the US Army aren’t altogether clear to his family but there are at least two stories that seem credible, explains his niece, Hilary McLoughlin.
“After school, we think he wanted to join the British Army and went off to London but there, he ended up joining the US Army,” says Hilary.
“My cousin tells a story that my uncle Liam never got over his death because he was with him that night and he felt he should have persuaded him to stick with the British Army, but they met these American GIs and they had offered him more money.”
An alternative story is that Tony wanted to go to America and to get a Green Card, it was necessary to enlist for three years – but he was there for eight years when he died.
“We don’t think it was his career ambition to join the army but when he did join it, he loved it – he applied to go to Officers’ School and got it and that’s how he ended up in [the US army base] Fort Benning,” says Hilary. “He was in Germany, based in Frankfurt, for about five years and we do know that he was involved with the Bay of Pigs operation in Cuba,” she adds.
These are just some of the stories his family recalled at a memorial held in Tony’s honour last month.
Some 50 of them gathered at Hilary’s Moycullen home to commemorate a man most had never met – a testament to the impact he had on those who do remember him, she says.
“His two brothers have died but his sisters are still alive. His sister, Irene, was over from America, my mother Pauline and her sister Joan were here. His sister-in-law came over from England and all my generation of cousins were here. My uncle Peter’s family were represented by his children and they came from the UK and Dublin.”
She feels it was apt, on the 50th anniversary of his death, to confront the grief of his loss – something that was too difficult for the family in the immediate aftermath of his death.
“It was about two things, really; it’s about recognising the sacrifice this man made and recognising that war may seem heroic, but the reality is that war is ugly.
“And it’s about laying the sadness of our family to rest and achieving some peace for the older generation for their loss,” she says.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
