Denis Mulroy served in both the navy and the army in his career

DENIS ‘Dinny’ Mulroy, Fieldstown, Monasterboice, had some life.

I was reading about him recently and what adventures he had. He was 88 when he passed way, but that came after serving in both the army and navy and getting in injured in the Battle of Ypres during World War I.

A native of Reynoldstown, Clogherhead, he was injured at Ypres when he was shot going ‘over the top into no man’s land’.

He was dragged back to the safety of his own trenches by two wounded companions, one from Tipperary and the other from Carlow amidst a hail of shrapnel from German guns.

In recognition of this action Dinny was later decorated by Queen Mary with a Mons Star medal, a coveted award which he kept in a specially-inscribed brass box and treasured right up to his death.

Discharged honourably from active service in 1916, Dinny was soon fit enough again to join the navy and in the course of this career he travelled to almost all parts of the world.

And then he gave it all up for farming.

Dinny survived his wife Jane (nee Leonard) by only a couple of months in 1977 and a particularly sad aspect of this devoted couples life was that only two days before Jane died, arrangements had been made to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary.

The family was made up of Peter, John and Tom, a daughter, Mrs. Mary Curtis from Dowdstown, Ardee, a brother James (Jamesie) from Reynooldstown and a sister, Mrs Stephens also from Reynoldstown.

He was also a brotherin-law of Sr. Mary Pricilla, All Hallows Convent, Brisbane, Australia.