michael peter crisp

Would you jump on a grenade to save your comrades? Patrick "Bob" Gallagher was from Ballyhaunis, County Mayo, was the second eldest of nine kids. He emigrated to Long Island in 1962 at the age of 18. He found work in carpentry, took night classes in law, and canvassed votes for Robert Kennedy's Senate campaign. He enlisted in the U.S. Marines in November 1965, whilst not even an American citizen yet, and was sent to Vietnam. On the night of 18 July 1966, at a defensive position near Cam Lo close to the North Vietnamese border, his unit came under a grenade attack in the dark. Gallagher kicked the first grenade clear of his comrades before it exploded. When a second grenade landed between two of his fellow Marines, he threw himself on it without hesitation. The citation, signed off by General William Westmoreland himself, describes what happened next in the deadpan language of military commendation. "The grenade had a delayed fuse. It had not yet detonated. Gallagher was able to pull it out from under himself and hurl it into the nearby river, where it exploded on contact with the water. As the three other Marines ran to safety, two more grenades landed in the position and exploded, miraculously injuring nobody". He was awarded the Navy Cross, America's second highest military honour, presented to him personally by Westmoreland. And then, because fate has a brutal sense of irony, Corporal Patrick Gallagher was killed in action on 30 March 1967, shot during a patrol in Quang Nam Province. It was, his family later confirmed, effectively his last scheduled day in Vietnam. He was 23 years old. His body was flown home to Ballyhaunis and buried in the local cemetery, not yet a citizen of the country he died for. He is one of more than thirty Republic of Ireland citizens killed in the Vietnam War. The DTM will visit some of these fallen young warriors, who died for a pointless war, another day. In 2018, after years of campaigning from both sides of the Atlantic and a petition that garnered thousands of signatures, the U.S. Secretary of the Navy announced that the next Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer would be named the USS Patrick Gallagher. The ship was christened in Bath, Maine in July 2024, with the Irish flag flying overhead and his sisters on hand to smash the bottle against the bow. Ireland's minister of state attended. A Navy Rear Admiral pledged that when the destroyer is commissioned, it will sail to Ireland. May humanity someday view weapons with the disgust they deserve, and beat swords into ploughshares. Buy the Dublin Time Machine a pint and support the DTM Book ko-fi.com/buchanandublin…

Six points from Chelsea this season to go with the £262 million they have given Brighton over the past four years As always, a pleasure doing business with you #BHAFC

I hardly ever spend time these days getting sucked into reading the nonsense on Twitter/X, but this surreal exchange between ex-footballer Matt Le Tissier and Grok about aircraft contrails encapsulates perfectly why most normal people have better things to do with their time.

@RobLooseCannon I've read elsewhere that he went to Jersey in may 1940 and i wonder if the German invasion of France was already underway, as it sounds like a crazy decision to make if it was. I presume he had the option of evacuation back to England but he must have decided to stay.

An Irishman collaborated with the Nazi`s, broadcasting propoganda like an Irish Lord Haw Haw. John Francis O’Reilly was born 1916 in Kilkee, County Clare. His da was a sergeant in the Royal Irish Constabulary and had been involved in the arrest of Roger Casement on Banna Strand. So he was hardly off to a moral and patriotic start. Young O’Reilly had a talent for languages and attempted to join the Irish customs in 1936 but failed the exam. He then moved to England, attempted (briefly) to join the priesthood, before settling on Jersey in the Channel Islands, working variously as a farm labourer and that other job often associated with evil and betrayal, a hotel receptionist. When ze German occupation of the Channel Islands took place (June 1940) O’Reilly remained on Jersey. Using his knowledge of English and being fluent in German, the treacherous oppurtunist secured work as a translator and labour‐overseer for German military engineering and civilian units. Seeking to climb further up that slimey Nazi pole O’Reilly persuaded a German officer to allow him to travel to Germany and to recruit fellow Irishmen. He rounded up around 70 Irish labourers to go to Germany, although the venture proved chaotic due to drunkenness and misbehaviour. Thats how we know he wasnt talking scheiße! In September 1941, O’Reilly was invited to Berlin for a voice test and interview by the German Propaganda Ministry. He then joined the Irish-language section of the German radio service, the Irland‑Redaktion, broadcasting Irish-language programmes under the pseudonym “Pat O’Brien”. From Berlin he broadcast several times daily in Irish, writing political commentaries (from the German viewpoint) and receiving payment and extra rations like a good little quisling. By late 1942 O’Reilly sought a more active role, persuading the Abwehr (German military intelligence) and the Sicherheitdienst (SD, the SS security service) to train him as a spy. His training included radio‐communications, microphotography, Allied aircraft recognition, and infiltration work. Initial plans envisaged landing by U-boat on the west coast of Ireland to report on shipping movements. That plan was abandoned and instead an airborne insertion was arranged. Parachute landing in County Clare, capture and internment In the night of 15th of December 1943, O’Reilly parachuted from a Luftwaffe aircraft and landed near his home in Kilkee, County Clare. He was promptly apprehended by the Garda Síochána and Irish military intelligence and interned at the military detention barracks at Arbour Hill in Dublin. Scarlet. In July 1944 O’Reilly managed to escape from Arbour Hill and made his way back to his hometown of Kilkee. However, he was arrested “within three hours” by the authorities. Scarlet for his Ma. Hilariously the £500 reward offered for his capture was claimed by his father, Bernard O’Reilly, the retired RIC sergeant, who apparently “turned in” his own son and then later gave the money to him. Bernard reportedly stated that he did this because he believed his son would be safer under guard than drift in the outside world. Following his recapture, O’Reilly remained interned until the end of the war. After release he returned to civilian life and the rumour was he invested the reward money in purchasing the Esplanade Hotel on Dublin’s Parkgate Street. He later emigrated to Nigeria and died in 1971. Buy the Dublin Time Machine a pint and support the DTM Book ko-fi.com/buchanandublin…

Shared for #TramTuesday

@IsabelOakeshott And your mate Nigel thought at the time it was a good appointment and was willing to help him in his role as US ambassador. #farage #mandelson theguardian.com/politics/2024/…

ROBBINS paints a picture of utter determination from no10 to appoint Mandelson, come what may. "Never any interest in whether" he would get the job, "only.. when."

A lovely 1934 film of Salisbury in England. Beautiful scenes of the historic city's picturesque streets, houses, shops, and magnificent cathedral.

Zoologist and author Desmond Morris dies aged 98 bbc.in/3QyzAIy

trainers such as Isaac Cape and John Hoyle helped establish its reputation. Racing on the moor ended in 1873, but Middleham adapted, becoming a major training hub. Its extensive high and low moorland gallops used for over two centuries remain central to its success. Today,

🧵3 posts. Middleham is one of Britain’s foremost horse-training centres, with roots reaching back to the early 18th century. It flourished under aristocratic patronage, notably from the Duke of Bolton, with organised race meetings held on Middleham Moor by the 1730s. Early

A gang smuggled drugs, phones and other contraband into HMP Lewes by throwing packages over the prison walls. More here: bbc.in/4tSjGqN

@RobLooseCannon Think i can understand his dad's logic, better him under guard than drifting in the outside world.

BBC The Birth of Television (full 1976 version) youtu.be/ybbfWyQwogg?si… via @YouTube

19 April 1995. Alfred P. Murrah Federal Office Building in Oklahoma City, USA, was destroyed by a huge bomb, planted by Timothy McVeigh, a disaffected war veteran. A total of 168 people were killed, including 19 children.

🚨 NEWHAVEN INCIDENT APPEAL 🚨 Bricks/concrete thrown through a family’s bedroom window on Chestnut Way, Newhaven (14 April, 11.40pm–12am). Mum & 3 children inside – lucky to escape serious injury. Police believe it may be the “wrong house”. Children left traumatised. 📞 Any info or CCTV (Chestnut Way/Valley Rd) call 101 quoting 47260099091.

Noble Yeats 💔 We are sad to hear the news that the 2022 Randox Grand National winner has passed away, aged 11, after suffering from colic.

🚨🚨🚨 BREAKING: Daniel Kinahan arrested and in custody in Dubai.

17 April 1986. British journalist John McCarthy (aged 30) was kidnapped in war-torn Beirut, Lebanon by a Palestinian terrorist group. He was abducted on his way to the airport. McCarthy was employed by World Wide Television News (WWTN). He was not released until August 1991.