Tragic tale of Galway native – another casualty of the Great War

by MICHAEL LAWLESS

As stories from the First World War go, it’s up there with the most tragic of them – the tale of a young Galway man who ran away from home and joined the British Army….only to be killed in action before his family even knew that he’d enlisted.

Mark Lohan was my great grand uncle – he was from Tonacor, Ballinamore Bridge, the oldest of five, born in September 1895.

Son of Thomas and Catherine Lohan, he had three brothers John, Tommy (Thomas), Michael and one sister, my great grandmother Nora Lohan.

After an argument with his father in the summer of 1914, Mark left home to work in Aughrim, Ballinasloe about 20 miles from his home making roads and ditches.

Mark’s father went to find him and bring him home – but Mark heard he was looking for him so he left his job and went to Dublin where he joined the Royal Dublin Fusiliers.

After the weeks of training in England, he was sent to France. Mark Lohan was now a Private in the 2nd Battalion, Royal Dublin Fusiliers, and fought at Mons in Belgium where he was wounded.

The Battle of Mons on August 23 1914 was the first significant battle between British and German forces.

Mark Lohan was wounded on November 21 1914 at Mons and was taken to a hospital in Bailleul, Northern France, where he died two days later on Monday, November 23 1914.

It was some time later Mark’s father was notified of his death – and unknown to him, Mark’s own mother had died a few weeks before him.

This was the first time the family had known he had been in the war.

The medals Mark was awarded were sent home to his family, but by that time Mark’s father had also passed away.

So the medals were sent to Mark’s siblings; Thomas received a medal, Nora received the British Victory Medal but my granddad, Johnny Lawless, did not know where the third medal went.

But the tale does not end there – for the full story, see this week’s Connacht Tribune.