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Surgeon Major Thomas Heazle Parke
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He was born at Clogher House in Kilmore, Co. Roscommon (shown here) in 1857. He was educated at the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin. He served with the British Army in Egypt during Arabi`s 1882 revolt and on the 1884-1885 Nile expedition, to relieve General Gorden in Khartoum. In 1887, he was chosen as Medical officer on an expedition led by Henry Morten Stanley. This journey took them right across the Congo. Later he wrote a book "My personal experiences in Equatorial Africa "(1981)which became a bestseller. He died suddenly in 1893 at the early age of 36 years. His body was brought back by train to Drumsna Railway Station and brought to Clogher House. Later, he was buried, with full military honours, in Drumsna graveyard. In 1993, |
Fr. Laurence Cullen, the curate at Dangan, arranged a special commemorative service on Sep 12th, at St. Brigids Church Dangan, to celebrate the centenary of this famous mans death. Relatives and friends of Major Parke's family were invited. Following the special service, they were all made welcome to the home of Joseph and Olivia Collins, who are the present owners of Clogher House. President Mary Robinson sent a special message for the occasion as she was unable to attend personally. Rev. Ian Gallagher assisted at the service.
The life of Thomas Heazle Parke
Thomas Heazle Parke was born in Clogher House Drumsna, on 27th November 1857. He was educated from 1869 at Rev. Edward Power's Private School at 3 Harrington Street, Dublin .He then took up studies at the royal college in 1875. In February 1881, he was gazetted as surgeon in the army medical department . Parke showed himself a most devoted physician. The hardship which he had undergone had ruined his health, and during the later years of his life he had several seizures of an epiliptiform nature . Parke died suddenly on September the 10th 1893 while on a visit to the Duke and Duchess of St.Albans at Alt-na-craig in Argyleshire.