Athlone man helps to preserve memory of Bloody Sunday victim

The memory of the youngest child to die in one of the most horrific events of the War of Independence in 1920 has been immortalised thanks to the perseverance of Athlone native Pearse Turner.

It was during his time working in the electrical services department of Dublin City Council – where he spent 41 years – that Pearse became aware of the story of ten-year-old Jerome O'Leary, who was shot dead by Crown forces as he sat on the Canal End wall of Croke Park on November 21, 1920. He was one of three children to die on what was to become known as Bloody Sunday, which claimed the lives of 14 innocent civilians 103 years ago.

Now living on Deerpark Road, Athlone, Pearse Turner was among a distinguished gathering at a very special event in Dublin last week to mark the events of Bloody Sunday, during which he unveiled a commemorative plaque to the memory of Jerome O'Leary outside what was the child's family home at 69 Blessington Street in Dublin city centre.

One of the Georgian houses Pearse was responsible for looking after during his time with Dublin City Council was 69 Blessington Street and when he first heard it had been the family home of the youngest victim of Bloody Sunday 1920 he admitted to being “fascinated” and set about researching the story.

“Every time I walked down the steps of the house I used to think of that young boy running down those steps to go to a football match and never returning to his home, and it was very sad to think that there was no plaque to commemorate the fact that he had ever lived there,” he said.

When he approached the council's Commemorations & Naming Committee with a view to having a commemorative plaque erected at the home of the youngster, he was told that he would have to be able to prove to them that he had fulfilled two criteria; he would have to get permission from the owners of the house and he would also have to try to trace the relatives of the deceased and get their permission.

“The house was taken over by Dublin City Council in 1999 and passed over to the DePaul Trust, who work with the homeless, but I eventually had to go to the land registry to get proof that it was still owned by the council,” explains Pearse, “and then I went on RTE's Liveline last year with Katie Hannon to try to trace Jerome O'Leary's relatives, but nobody came forward.”

The Athlone man, who is originally from Auburn, Bonavalley, says his quest to have a commemorative plaque placed on 69 Blessington Street was “on the bucket list” and he is absolutely delighted to have achieved his aim of having the memory of the youngest victim of one of Dublin's worst ever days of bloodshed preserved for future generations.

He is not finished, however, with the story of Jerome O'Leary and has vowed to continue to carry out further research into the O'Leary family. “I know he had an older sister, who was around 14 years of age, and I would love to find out a bit more about her, so I will keep doing my research and who knows where that journey will take me,” he ended.