In this lecture Patrick Downes, who is the writer in residence in the Princess Grace Irish Library in Monaco, will consider a widely repeated claim that is rarely tested. Which is, that more men born on the island of Ireland have received the Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration of the United States, than have been born in any other country outside it.
In the year of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, this lecture examines the Irish-born roll from the Civil War to Vietnam and on into more recent conflicts, and what it reveals about emigration, military service and the making of Irish America.
Drawing on his forthcoming book, For Valour and Heritage: The Irish Story of America’s Medal of Honor, Patrick Downes reconstructs the roll to a disclosed standard of proof. He shows how changed names, misrecorded birthplaces and commemorative inflation have shaped the figures. He then follows the recipients into post-war civic life, and asks what military service purchased for an immigrant community whose loyalty had been openly doubted. The lecture also considers Irish-descended figures such as Lt. Audi Murphy and Lt. Michael P. Murphy, US Navy SEAL and the gap between the archival record and public memory.
Patrick Downes is a Member of the Royal Historical Society and the Royal Dublin Society.
This lecture is supported by the Ireland Funds of Monaco
Admission is free but must be made via the library website at: https://www.pgil.mc/lectures/current