Irish medals

Dr Strange

I found these two medals (or better: pin and pendant) under the carpet of a house I bought here in Ireland. Not to sure what they are but could it be cavalary and some writers' association?

FRONT:


BACK:


FRONT:


BACK:

Hagar

The top look like Cavalry collar badges with the pins snapped off.

It would be a good idea to include a reference item in pics like these, say a €2 coin, to give scale to the item.

The second Cumann na Scoláirí could be a merit medal for academic achievement.

SpitfireIV

Yep, its a collar badge, heres my one, plus an arm patch.

Dr Strange

Thanks Hagar & CB1798,

yes, good idea, a coin or scale would be advisable. I will think of it for any new medals. I have lots of pics of medals without a scale though but for these I could write the length/width dimensions in the text.

Mick86

Obverse of from L to R

PDF Service Medal (10 year ribbon), Peacekeeping Medal, UN Medal (Lebanon Ribbon UNIFIL)

Dr Strange

Mick86, fantastic, I love to see Irish medals.

Are there any markings (makers mark, etc.) somehwere on these medals? If so, can you make some pics of the marks?

I would also be interested in close-ups of the front and back of these medals.

Nice!

Best,

Preusse

Mick86

Preusse wrote: »

Mick86, fantastic, I love to see Irish medals.

Are there any markings (makers mark, etc.) somehwere on these medals? If so, can you make some pics of the marks?

I would also be interested in close-ups of the front and back of these medals.

Nice!

Best,

Preusse

I don't see any makers markings on any of the medals.







The recipients name and service number is engraved on the back of the service medal. I removed in the pic above.

Mick86

Related to medal collecting is the collection of ribbons. Below are two versions of Irish ribbon bars. The top one is a bar with cloth ribbons mounted on it. The bottom is a plastic version which was made in Lebanon and bought by the soldiers from local traders.



Left to Right ONUC (Congo), UNFICYP (Cyprus) and UNIFIL (Lebanon).



Top Service Ribbon (15 Years). Bottom L to R- Peacekeeping, UNIFIL and UNTSO. The numbers signify the number of tours of duty in each mission. On the cloth ribbons a metal number with a pin backing would be stuck on the ribbon as below.

Mick86

War of Independence Medal on left and Survivors Medal on right.

Mick86

FCA Service medal. On the left is the full size medal with 7 year service ribbon. After 12 years service the ribbon was changed to one with a thin yellow stripe added running vertically down the ribbon's centre.

The miniature version of the medal appears on the right. This type is worn by commissioned officers on Mess Uniform.

Mick86

Emergency service medal. This one is to one of the Local Defence organisations. On the reverse it reads Caomnoiri Aitiula (Local Guardians). And the ribbon also signifies this. Re na Prainne appearing on the Obverse means Time of Emergency.



The Suspension Bar has a makers stamp reading PO & Co.

Dr Strange

Any idea what the full name for P.O. & Co. is and where they are located? Also, do they still exist?

Mick86

Preusse wrote: »

Any idea what the full name for P.O. & Co. is and where they are located? Also, do they still exist?

No idea. I have an old booklet on Irish Medals about the house someplace and I'll try find that. It may have the relevant info.

A Google search did the trick.:D It must be PQ & Co

MANUFACTURERS : P. Quinn Ltd. And The Jewellery and Metal Mfg, Co.

http://www.irishmedals.com/19391946.html

Medals were instituted on October 6, 1944 for award to those who served the qualifying periods with good conduct.
However, the production and issue of the insignia did not commence until 1947.

The series is probably unique in that the medals have a common obverse but no fewer that tweleve different reverses and two types of ribbons. Some of these are rare, but the majority are common, having been issued in tens of thousands.

OBVERSE : Identical for all medals, it depicts a female figure, representing Eire, facing left, in long flowing robes and a windblown coat. In her right hand she holds a long sword, point down, and in her left the leash of a straining Irish Wolfhound. Above and around her is the inscription "RE NA PRAINNE", meaning Emergency Period.

REVERSES : A spray of laurel in the centre, between the dates 1939-1946. Above and around this are the inscriptions appropriate to the particular organisation eligible for the medals. One difference being The Merchant Marine medal, it had a steamship at sae with a sailing ship just visable in the background. (See all inscriptions below)

1) NA FORSA COSANTA (The Defence Forces) : The regular Army, Air Corps and Naval Service.

2) AN FORSA COSANTA AITUIL (The Local Defence Forces) : A volunteer reserve force organised on a regional basis and designed to support the regular army by point defence and guerrilla activities. Created in January 1942.

3) FORSA NA NOGLACH 2U (Second Line Volunteer Reserve) : When the peacetime reserves were called out for full time service at the start of the Emergency Period, their place was taken by the Second Line, a wartime creation. It consisted of infantry, field engineers and medical units, all members being men and women of mature ages.

4) 26U CATHLAN (26th Battalion) : Part of the Second Line Reserve, this unit was manned almost exclusively by members of the Old-IRA, whom had seen action in the 1916 Easter Rising and Irish War of Independence 1919-1921.

5) AN SLUA MUIRI (The Maritime Inscription) : This too was part of the Second Line Reserve and was
supplementary to the small Naval Service or fishery protection force created in 1939.

6) AN SEIRBHIS SEIPLINEACHTA (The Chaplaincy Service) : Apart from the small number of uniformed clergy some civilian officiating chaplains were also eligible for this medal.

7) SEIRBHIS ALTRANAIS AN AIRM (The Army Nursing Service) : Founded in 1922 at the formation of the state and Reorganised in 1932, this was one of the smaller, but by no means least, important units of the Defence Forces.

8) RANNA CABHAIR DEONTACA CUMANN CROISE DEIRGE NA H-EIREANN (Volunteer Aid Division - Irish Red Cross Society) : Members of the VAD undertook work in direct support of the Defence Forces.

9) RANNA CEAD-CABHRAC CUMANN CROISE DEIRGE NA H-EIREANN (First Aid Division - Irish Red Cross
Society) : This section FAD, undertook work in aid of the civilian population during the Emergency.

10) NA SEIRBHISE REAMHCURAIM IN AGHAIDH AER-RUTHAR (Air Raid Precautions Organisations) : A civilian passive defence, rescue, warden and fire service established in 1943 under the operational control of the Dept of
Defence.

11) CAOMNOIRI AITIULA (Local Security Force) : Created in May 1940 as an auxiliary regional police and security force, it had about 148,000 members at its peak.

12) AN TSEIRBIS MUIR-TRACTALA (The Merchant Marine Medal) : Awarded to men who served on Irish registered ships for at least six months.

RIBBONS : There are three types of ribbon, both 32mm wide. The first, for medals 1 to 7 is reddish orange with two white stripes. The second, for medals 8 to 11, is reddish orange with a single white stripe in the middle. Number 12 is blue with a single white stripe in the centre.

SUSPENSION : The ribbon is threaded through a ring that is affixed to the top of the medal and hangs from a bronze pin bearing the words "SEIRBHIS NAISUNTA" meaning National Service.

BARS : Were authorised for each additional two years service, consecutive or aggregate, beyond the qualifying period, no more than two bars being awarded to anyone. The bars which are sewn onto the ribbon, are bronze and bear the dates 1939-1946 with a laurel spray between. Rare versions of the Merchant Marine Medal did have 3 bars.

DESIGNER : Laurence Campbell, RHA, whose name appears on the bottom right of the front.

MANUFACTURERS : P. Quinn Ltd. And The Jewellery and Metal Mfg, Co.

NUMBERS ISSUED : The Dept of Justice approximates that nearly 240,000 Emergency medals were issued to the various organisations. ALL of these emergency medals were issued un-named.

Dr Strange

Excellent work, Mick! I'll just scan the phonebook and see if they still exist.

testicle

I am looking for a War of Independence (with Comhrac) in miniature. I have the full size version. Any ideas where I should start to look?

Right of centre in this picture.

Mick86

testicle wrote: »

I am looking for a War of Independence (with Comhrac) in miniature. I have the full size version. Any ideas where I should start to look?

Try the Irish medals link in my previous post. It's from a dealers site.

testicle

Already done, he only has one in his own collection.

Dr Strange

testicle wrote: »

Already done, he only has one in his own collection.

Hi testicle, welcome to the forum.

Have you tried ebay? Try ebay.com, ebay.co.uk and ebay.ie seperately. Sometimes sellers only sell within their country but I found that most are willing to send outside their country once you ask them by email.

Best,

Preusse

PBaker

testicle wrote: »

I am looking for a War of Independence (with Comhrac) in miniature. I have the full size version. Any ideas where I should start to look?

Right of centre in this picture.

Hi there, i am the owner of the medals shown. These minatures are VERY rare and took years to find . The War of Independence on its own may be slightly esaier but will still kepp you busy.
If buying on ebay be carefull of fakes, see my site at www.theeasterrising.eu for detailed photographs of the fakes
Paul

Dr Strange

Hi Paul,

thanks for posting here. Very interesting website! Congratulations to your rare collection.

Best,

Preusse

arnhem44

some lovely medals everybody,i love the uprising medal in particular,just wondering if anyone knew anyone selling the suspension bar for a war of indepenence medal,my own is sadly missing :(and i guess these are like gold dust

danpatjoe

I've never seen one for sale, I imagine they would be snapped up very quickly if available.

Here's my one, in perfect condition with the 'comrac' clasp and original case. With it is a military pension document dated 1938. It was awarded to my grand-uncle who died in 1942.

Sam Spade

as a matter of interest, what would this be worth?

danpatjoe

as a matter of interest, what would this be worth?

I don't honestly know. The prices on these medals have been going through the roof lately, and probably will continue to do so with the 100th anniversary of 1916 approaching.
Medals with provenance will always command higher sums. The above medal is part of a family grouping that also includes this handstitched memorial. This was sent to Anthony's relatives after his death by some of his former comrades who embroidered it onto a piece of a bedsheet. At the time they were interned in the Curragh.

There is absolutely no way I would sell one or any of these items, so, unfortunately I cannot answer your question!

arnhem44

Bought this a few months back,i was told these were given to people who served during the emergency,it has the makers name which is Quinn like the medals and is worn in a button hole,wondered if anyone could confirm this:)

The Edscape

My late father left me this medal. He couldn't tell me what it was. Any ideas.Phonepics 15428.jpg

CMitch81

Mick86 wrote: »

Emergency service medal. This one is to one of the Local Defence organisations. On the reverse it reads Caomnoiri Aitiula (Local Guardians). And the ribbon also signifies this. Re na Prainne appearing on the Obverse means Time of Emergency.



The Suspension Bar has a makers stamp reading PO & Co.

I'm just wondering if you could tell me why someone would have recieved one of these medals. My granny passed away recently and in going through stuff in the house we came across one but have no idea how it came to be in the house. If you could help me with just a bit of detail we might be able to figure it out.

arnhem44

CMitch81 wrote: »

I'm just wondering if you could tell me why someone would have recieved one of these medals. My granny passed away recently and in going through stuff in the house we came across one but have no idea how it came to be in the house. If you could help me with just a bit of detail we might be able to figure it out.

It's likely someone related to your granny was awarded one of the twelve different types of this medal that were awarded to people directly involved in the emergency period of WW2.Do you know if anyone related served in the army, red cross,the navy and so on during this time?

Link to the different types and who would of received which
http://www.irishmedals.com/19391946.html

CMitch81

The one that we found is a "na caomnoiri aitiula". As far as anyone knows nobody had any part in anything like that. Its a small farm in Tipperary and on it would have been my grandfather and his brother who have been in there 20's during that period.

arnhem44

The only other thing I guess would be the medal was given to them or bought at some stage maybe if not earned.

CMitch81

Thank you very much I shall ask some more of the family and see if we can figure it out. Thanks again for the help.