Like many others with a reason to be there, I attended the recent memorial service at Fermoy’s Queen of Peace Church to honour the memory of those defence force members who had served at the Aerdrome/Liam Lynch Army Camp over the years. Apart from my father and brother, I also remembered all the uniformed friends who had been regular visitors to our family home, first in Colmcille St and then in Marian Square right through my childhood and adolescence. And while the occasion itself was a moment for all of us who were there to share the pride and the gratitude that we felt for the dedication that they gave to their country, those feelings were overshadowed by the shameful knowledge that the government seems determined to airbrush any proof of the camp’s existence out of Fermoy’s and the nation’s history.

Thankfully many of those retired members who served in Fermoy and who are active in Post 25 are determined that the names of their former comrades, as well as the camp and the unit in which they served with such distinction, should not be forgotten. That is why they continue to remind us of the ultimate sacrifice suffered by Irish troops and especially those of Fermoy’s own First Motor Squadron in the service of the United Nations. Their names, and the names of others, are enshrined on the memorial wall on the camp site. So perhaps now, with the final removal of a military presence from Fermoy, this might be an appropriate time to consider writing a definitive history of the Aerdrome and particularly of the people who served there. Too often, histories like these spend more time discussing structure and function with much less space given to the most important element of the story: the people who served.

Avondhu readers will be well aware that contributors to the paper like Paudie McGrath, Des Keegan and Liam Nolan form a rich source of primary material that could provide a lasting document to the history of the camp and to the people who served in it over several generations. Each one of them could make a telling contribution to such a story. But as a joint project, I have no doubt that they could produce a history that the First Motor Squadron deserves and that the people of the Fermoy area would be queuing up to read. But perhaps the most important reason for placing such a story on the record is to remind us all from time to time of the massive service these, mainly young men, gave to their country – lest we forget!

Nick Nolan,

Ballylanders