Tuosist’s WWI hero
OVER 700 KERRYMEN LOST THEIR LIVES ON THE BATTLEFIELDS OF THE GREAT WAR. EOIN O’SULLIVAN TELLS THE TALE OF ONE SUCH FALLEN HERO
THE old house still has an imposing presence on the stunning neck of land that lies beneath the remnants of Ardea Castle in Tuosist, County Kerry. Shadowed by the Mcgillycuddy Reeks to the north, the Caha Mountains to the south and the great Atlantic to the west, this is a place of unimaginable beauty.
To the rear of the ruin, an immense wall of boulders and stones arch across the shoreline protecting the calm waters of the river estuary from the crashing waves. On the opposite side, the water’s edge consists of pebbles and stones made smooth by an ever ending ebb and flow.
Broken shells, strewn seaweed and fragments of wood add to the remoteness. Against a windswept background, this old roofless building has stood the test of time.
The ruins are in an area known as Leaghillann and have a history that is sad, yet captivating. The place was owned by Denis and Margaret O Sullivan who lived serenely in the house with their two sons and three daughters during the latter part of the 1800’s. The family were locally known as the ‘ Donncadh og’s.
However it was one of their daughters, Johanna (born 1894) who was to have a notable impact on the area throughout the years that followed. One day during the summer of 1910, the sixteen year old went by boat with friends across Kenmare bay to Sneem to attend a sports day.
It was there that she was introduced to a young man known as Joseph Mansfield. He was born on March 1 1887 and lived at the Old Road in the village.
On June 29 1907, Joe got into a bit of trouble at the village for being drunk and disorderly and was fined 6d.
He made a good impression on the then acting RIC officer Sgt. P McGovern and agreed to take the pledge. The Constable gave him the following reference to help him join the Army.
“He is honest and respectable; he has kept the pledge for three months. I consider him to be a sober boy”. That year he went to Tralee and joined up with the Irish Guards. He completed his training over a period of three years and was sent to the call-up reserve.
From the day Joe met Johanna, their romance grew. Between 1910 and 1913 while he was home on leave, they regularly met at Regatta’s, fishing trips and at the tea dances in the Lake House, Cloonee.
On September 16 1913 they got married in Tuosist, at the local church. The following year the First World War broke out and Joe was called up from reserve to full time status in the Irish Guards.
During his time there, he was fined £46-2 for loss of equipment. He was also received 98 days detention for other charges. Nevertheless despite the setbacks, he was determined to do well.
On the 5th of August 1914 he was sent to France to fight in the Great War. On April 24, 1915, during a battle at Givenchy, Joe first demonstrated his heroism and bravery. The soldiers were ordered to leave their trench, known as “the white house”, as it was feared that the Germans were mining beneath them. As they were leaving their position, the mine shaft was blown, trapping an officer and a soldier underground.
Accompanied by another Irish Guard, Joe voluntarily descended through a two foot opening and went down 20 ft, and along another 120 feet in a bid to rescue the men who were already dead.
Both soldiers were awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal and Joe was subsequently promoted to Corporal (2845). This prompted the following report in the London Gazette of June 3 1915.
“He won the distinguished Conduct Medal for conspicuous gallantry at Givenchy in voluntarily descending in to a mine shaft, which had been exploded by the enemy in order to rescue an officer and another man.
Private Mansfield with a comrade remained below for an hour without success, and then returned to the surface. He went down a second time but the officer and soldier were found to be dead and the removal of the bodies proved to be impossible.
In attempting this act of gallantry the risk from gas or being blown up by the German mines (which were being prepared nearby) was very great. In addition to the DCM, Private Mansfield was also awarded the 1914 star, British War Medal and Victory Medal.”
In Rudyard Kipling’s book, “History of the Irish Guards in the Great War”, Joe Mansfield is mentioned on page 78 in relation to the same event.
The following is an extract: “Hardly had orders been given to clear the white house trench, when the ground at the junction of Lieutenant Barclay’s countermine and the German crater went up and the Lieutenant was killed. Two privates of the Irish Guards (2845 J. Mansfield and 3975 M Brine) volunteered to enter our mine and see what had happened.
They recovered Lieutenant Barclay’s body at great risk from the asphyxiating gases. Both men were recommended for the D.C.M.”
In July 1915 he came back to Kerry in jubilant form, but was not well-liked around the village of Sneem for a comment he made about his experiences in battle.
“The Irish Guards gave them a hot time at the point of a bayonet. The Germans will be finished when we get more shells; the Irish will show them no mercy at all”. He went on to say, “a lot of fellows holding up the corners should be out there fighting for King and Country”
The locals were not impressed and it was probably best that he spent a lot of his time at Leaghillann with his wife while home from war. However, he was regarded as a hero throughout the county and his DCM achievement got various mentions in the Killarney Echo. This medal was regarded as second only to the Victoria Cross.
Joe Mansfield returned to the front in Northern France on October 1915 and soon after he received gunshot and shell wounds to the head shoulder and forearm.
Because of the injuries he was taken away from the front and his behaviour degenerated yet again. In 1916 he was stripped of his Corporal rank after getting into more trouble. On the 10th of July 1917 he was court martialled and got one year detention. He was released in January 1918 and was sent back to the front. That year he returned to Tuosist for a short break.
However that August, he went back to the trenches and was tragically killed in action on 27th of September. Joe was among 82 Guardsmen who died while storming a German position at Sanders Keep, situated two miles south west of the village of Graincourt-les-Havrincourt near Cambria in northern France.
He received a gunshot wound to the forehead from an enemy machine gun.
After the battle, the British and German dead were buried in nearby cemeteries. The very gallant Irish Guardsman is buried at Sanders Keep Cemetery, Graincourt-le-Havrincourt, North Cambria, and N France. (Plot 11, Row B, Grave 5). (London Gazette June 3 1915).
Today, Joe’s name can be clearly observed his headstone in the well kept graveyard at Sanders Keep.
Among the personal belongings sent to his widow in Tuosist were two rosary beads, a photo, letters, a religious book and 2 scapulars. His bravery can never be forgotten and his memory cherished as one of Ireland’s unsung heroes. Joe gave his life for a cause he believed in
Johanna Mansfield continued to live in Ardea for the following 31 years and did not marry again as she would have resulted in the loss of her wartime pension.
She shared the house with her brother Paddy until his death in the 1940’s.
Around 1905 her sister Ellen, and her husband Michael Toomey, immigrated to America. They left behind their daughter, Katie (born 1902) to be raised by Johanna for the next 23 years or so. In 1928, the 26 year old Katie Toomey was ready to join her parents in New York.
Locals waved goodbye when she set out from Tuosist Post Office and travelled to Kenmare by horse and trap. She was never to return.