A chara, – Colin Blake (January 1st) happily located the grave of his relative, and 25 other Irish, who fought with the Royal Dublin Fusiliers in the Boer War, close to Ladysmith. Their names are inscribed on the elegant War Memorial at the top of Grafton Street. Over 4,000 men from Irish regiments of the British army died in that war. Of course there were other groups of Irishmen, who also fought in the war, but on behalf of the Boers. Some of them also lie near Ladysmith, but are not commemorated.
Major John MacBride, who founded and co-led the Irish Transvaal Brigade, wrote a lengthy account of the brigade, commenting several times on the bravery of the Dublin Fusiliers. At the battle of Dundee a group of Dublin and Irish Fusiliers surrendered. MacBride writes, “A number of the prisoners had been in school in Ireland with members of the Brigade, who naturally could not help feeling sad and humiliated at seeing their own countrymen and former classmates in such a humiliating position”. – Yours, etc,