How do you communicate the scale of Limerick’s loss during World War One? This was one of the most traumatic events in Limerick’s recent history, over 1,000 violent deaths which occurred out of sight of relatives and friends. We have sought to visually represent the scale of the death toll through a series of interactive maps.
The map below shows the location where each Limerick casualty during WW1 is commemorated. Click on the placemark to identify the casualty. Each placemark is colour coded by age. We have generated individual GPS coordinates for every casualty. These coordinates are not the exact location of their plaque but are instead close to the commemoration site, giving each its own space.
- We recommend viewing the map in fullscreen mode.
- Click on the tab (to the left) to navigate the other features on this site (Enlisted, Obituaries, Letters, Anzacs, Articles, About, Heatmap, Data, Memorial Sites, Regiments, ‘Our Heroes’, Gallery)
Liam Hogan
@Limerick1914
Limerick City Library
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Limerick and WW1 
I cannot find my Gran Uncle, Private Michael McDonnell, who died 1917 and is buried in Belgium
Hi Insta Cart, thanks for getting in touch. Your granduncle Michael McDonnell is on the map – his marker is by Pond Farm Cemetery (where he is buried/commemorated). This is south of Ypres and south-east of Heuvelland. (GPS: 50.768958, 2.844816)
An excellent resource well done- a huge amount of work and effort!
Is there a way of searching for casualties from a particular town/ area in Limerick ?
Good question. We will be adding this feature later this year. But you can currently search by going to the Data page and then hit Ctrl and the F key.
This will open a search window.
Then type in the townland or parish you are looking for and hit enter.
We have already divided the Anzac page into the relevant townlands.
Fantastic informative site, well done. I have noticed that my great uncle doesn’t appear on the list. His name was Patrick Bourke but signed up under William Tuohey, because of his age, service number 4566. I have quit a bit of work in relation to him and his brother, my great grandfather, who returned with serious injuries. If you are interested in more information please contact me. Thanks Paul.
Paul, thanks for that, we included him under his pseudonym (William Tuohey), so I’ll change that now to his real name, Patrick Bourke. What age was he?
Liam, you have done a power of work here. It’s a fantastic site and congratulations on all the work you have done. (It has already answered one question I had-now I know that none of my Limerick granduncles were casualties)
There is a lot of information available about the casualties. The survivors are a different matter. I am trying to find out about my grandfather, who returned (having spent time after WW1 in the British Army in India). I know where he spent his life after he returned, but I have always wondered what led him to join up and how he met my grandmother, a Clare woman, who supposedly was out in India when they met. Your work is a fantastic resource. Míle buíochas.
Liam. A fantastic project and a great tribute to those men and women of Limerick. My grandmother’s brother, Patrick Houlihan, came from Browns Lane Lower in Limerick City and in the 1911 census is shown as aged 17. As a kid I was told that he died in the Great War and was buried in France but the only likely match I can find is of a P. Houlihan of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers who is buried at Bard Cottage Cemetrey in Ypres. I understand that soldiers from the Munsters were amalgamated with the RDF after suffering heavy losses in early 1915. which may account for the regiment on P Houlihan’s headstone. Any help you can offer will be invaluable.
Hi Sean, after researching this I found a Patrick Holohan in the Royal Munster Fusiliers http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/109043/HOLOHAN,%20P – he died of wounds at Gallipoli. I presume the different spelling of the surname and burial location, means this is not your relative, but it’s worth checking out.
Thanks Liam. The age is correct and indeed his Father’s name was John as stated on the CWGC records. The address of Weston Gardens, Rosbrien did throw me until I looked up it’s location. I can vaguely recall my Dad pointing out the place when I was a small boy and telling me his grandfather lived there at one time. Maternal or paternal grandfather? I am not sure.
The miss spelling of the name isn’t that unusual I suppose, given the chaos of the time.
Certainly looking through the 1911 census and trying to find a 17/18 year old Patrick Houlihan/Holohan/Holihan etc there appears to be only one that fits the bill and that is my great uncle Patrick from Brown’s Lane Lower, Limerick. So I am inclined to believe that this might well be his grave. It’s just this business that I was always told he was buried in France.
Incidentally, my paternal Grandfather, John Kenyon was a neighbour of his ( Glover’s Lane ), two years younger and also joined up. He was in the Gallipoli campaign, survived this and was posted to Palestine afterwards. He survived the war.
Once again thanks for your help and all your great work. If I discover any further details will I let you know.
Interesting site. Found my grand uncle Lance Cpl Timothy Murphy from Knocklong, who is commemorated at Le Touret. He does not have a gravestone of his own, just a name on a wall with hundreds of others. He was born in January 1889, making him 25 when he died on 23/11/1914. He was with the 1st Batt of the Connaught Rangers, having joined up a few years previously and appears to have been stationed in British India at the outbreak of war. His unit was transported to France via Egypt – he didn’t last long. We are told he was a despatch rider and was shot by a sniper. My brother visited the memorial a few years ago. While there are individual gravestones there, many of the deceased are listed on the wall of the main memorial. He died very early in the war, at a time when front lines were moving on a daily basis, before the initial German advance was pushed back and the advent of the trenches I wonder does his body lie at Le Touret, or was he buried where he fell?
I think it’s likely he fell during the Defence of Festubert which took place on the 23rd and 24th November 1914 – The Connaught Rangers were one of the regiments that took part in that action. I imagine he was buried where he fell or, sadly, his body was never recovered/identified. As you say this was a chaotic section of the western front at this time.
Life became very cheap – he barely lasted 6 weeks at the front. For the record parents were Timothy & Bridget (nee Shanahan) Murphy, The Hill, Knocklong. He was pre-deceased by his mother. His older brother Michael joined up (Irish Guards) to avenge his brother – survived the war but I`m told rarely spoke about it.
Liam, I am now following your blog. Wonderful information!
Well done Liam. Excellent work. It goes one step further from “The Widow’s Penny”.
Tom Donovan
i visited pond farm cemetery in belgium and photographed Michael McDonnell head stone would be glad to send copy to relative also photographed other limerick men head stones buried there
Michael McDonnell who came from Quarry road thomondgate, lie side by side with Joseph Duggan who came from Sexton Street North Thomondgate the were neighbours in Pond Farm Cemetery Belgium.
I was told my gt uncle was killed during ww1 in Ireland his name was Charlie George Weston, born in Warwickshire in 1890 could anyone adivise me on where to look for him? Thank you