'It was the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis and I, in a fit of patriotism, decided to join the FCA (which was the Army reserves) and defend the country to the last drop of my blood'

'It was the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis and I, in a fit of patriotism, decided to join the FCA (which was the Army reserves) and defend the country to the last drop of my blood'

Mike Mahon reflects on his time at the Army reserves.

Mike Mahon

Trinity College Dublin

1961

This item is protected by original copyright

This content may be downloaded and used (with attribution) for research, teaching or private study. It may not be used for commercial purposes without permission.

Mike Mahon

Adolescence and Early Adulthood

Life Story

Dublin

1960s

This is what we were called by the local wags who should have known better. It was the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis and I , in a fit of patriotism, decided to join the FCA (which was the Army reserves ) and defend the country to the last drop of my blood. To this end we were issued with uniforms consisting of a snot green tunic, matching baggy trousers, reddish brown boots and gaiters and to complete the ensemble beret style headgear. Now while most armies had camouflage uniforms, the Irish Army was different, our tunics were festooned with rows of brightly shinning brass buttons, presumably to ensure that the enemy could see us clearly. We paraded every Sunday mornings and Tuesday nights for training. Initially this was marching around the parade and performing various drills, what is usually called 'square bashing' After some months we were issued with rifles, These were . 303 Lee Enfields and we practiced to load , aim and fire with dummy rounds. Finally, the great day arrived, we were to be allowed to fire live bullets on the target range. We were brought up to Ticnock, in the Dublin Mountains, and took up firing positions. Just as the officer in charge , Lt. Duffy, gave the order to fire, a lone sheep hove into view. 'Fire' , he yelled, and we all let fly. The unlucky sheep disintegrated in a hail of bullets. Duffy let loose a string of Army invectives, threw his hands in the air, ' Cease fire, Cease firing_�__�_. Stop ,I say stop. We were all put on a charge of destroying Government property and fined 2/3d old money Annual training camp was i n Kilkenny barracks and there were units from all over the country. We were issued with steel helmets, webbing equipment and haversacks. Our exercise wehad was what the Army called 'field craft. This entailed crawling around the countryside trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible and to this end we were instructed to cover ourselves in leaves, branches and other shrubbery, the idea being to blend in as far as possibly with the local foliage But one genius, of doubtful sexuality, decorated himself in brightly colored wild flowers. When the platoon sergeant saw this multi colored apparition he went apoplexy and roared at the poor unfortunate individual, 'Private, where do you think you're going, to a fucking wedding?''Right, full pack drill and rifles, see that hill with the gorse bushes. I want the lot of you up there and back ,' Captain Ryan roared, and back before tea time. ' Sir do you mean that big mountain on the horizon?''Don't try to be smart with me Private Malone, now move it'. We headed off at a brisk pace, all one hundred and twenty of us. But soon many of us started to lag behind and we got the idea to drop into a ditch or hollow in the ground out of sight and join the rest on the way back. Unfortunately for us Ryan had positioned an NCO at the summit under orders to take the names of those who made it to the top. The rest of us who had skived off were stuck with guard duty and fatigues for the remainder of the camp. To this day any time I see that TV programme 'Dad's Army'I am reminded of my time in An Forsa Cosanta Aitiul

Irish Research Council for Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (IRCHSS)

Dr Kathleen McTiernan (Trinity College Dublin)

Dr Deirdre O'Donnell (Trinity College Dublin)