A SET of remains recently discovered on the French battlefields of WWI may be those of Private Patrick Buckley, who had links to Kinsale, according to the Canadian Defence Forces.
Mr Buckley was believed to be one of 1,588 Canadians killed during an attempt to capture Hill 70 – a strategic position on the northern approach to the coal mining city of Lens, France – in August 1917.
‘According to their records, the military authorities believed that Patrick Buckley may have emigrated to Canada in 1910,’ said JJ Hurley, chairperson of Kinsale Cultural & Heritage Society.
‘A Patrick J Buckley arrived in Canada on May 9th 1910 and appears in the 1911 Census of Canada as a lodger in Calgary, Alberta. This man was employed as a labourer. There is also a reference to Patrick serving in the South of Ireland Imperial Yeomanry, which was later renamed to the South Irish Horse.’
When Patrick enlisted in 1916, his next-of-kin was his widowed mother, Mary (or May) Buckley and her address at the time was 7 Long Quay, Kinsale. There is also a later address for her staying with Mrs Casey, Fisher Street, Kinsale.
‘Despite extensive work by local genealogist Carole O’Connor, no link has been found with living relatives in Kinsale, but it is known that Mary entered the care of the Little Sisters of the Poor in Cork city in 1916 and died there in 1935.’
JJ said the Canadian authorities are anxious to establish if these remains are those of Patrick Buckley, and can only do so by establishing a DNA link.
If anyone can be of assistance, contact JJ Hurley of the Kinsale Cultural & Heritage Society by emailing [email protected].
