Abbey Boys Memorial

St. Mary's Church in Tipperary town has two memorials to the Soldiers of "The Great War" (1914-1918) : The Abbey Grammar School War Memorial (a brass plaque on the rear wall of the church), and the spectacular East Window.

The Abbey School is one six schools founded by Erasmus Smith in the Diocese of Cashel and Emly, County Tipperary. The first of these was set up in 1669. The Erasmus Smith Abbey Grammar School operated in Tipperary Town, near the site of an old Augustian Friary, from 1680 until the outbreak of The Irish Civil War in 1922. The present Abbey Christian Brothers' School is now on the same site as the previous Erasmus Smith School, bordering The River Ara. A plaque commemorating The Erasmus Smith school was unveiled by Ireland's President, Mary McAleese on 24 February 2000.

The War Memorial to The Abbey Boys is dedicated to the memory of thirty-nine of its former pupils who died serving in the uniformed military services during The First World War. It also has the school crest and the date 1660. One name listed is that of the son of The Reverend Denis Hanan, who was Rector of St. Mary's Church from 1883-1914.

The stained glass East Window in St. Mary's Church was commissioned in 1917 in commemoration of the triple deaths which befell the Bell family in 1916. Captain R. W. Bell and his brother-in-law Colonel Lyle both died on the Western Front in July 1916. The Reverend Bell, father of Captain Bell, died five months later. The triple window shows The Adoration by the Magi.

"TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN PROUD AND GRATEFUL MEMORY OF THE OLD ABBEY BOYS WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE GREAT WAR."

The following table shows the names of the 39 Old Boys of Abbey School whose names appear on the Memorial Plaque. Listed are 1 Lieutenant Colonel, 1 Fleet Surgeon, 4 Majors, 10 Captains, 18 Lieutenants, 4 Privates, and 1 Flight Cadet. Five of "The Abbey Boys" won the Military Cross Medal (M.C.), and one was also awarded the French Croix de Guerre Medal with Palm. "With Palm" means that the award was made a second time.

NAME	RANK/MEDALS	UNIT/REGIMENT
Allen, A. H.	Lieutenant	Royal Dublin Fusiliers
Allen, J.	Private	Canadian Battalion, Machine Gun Corps
Bell, R. P.	Captain	Royal Irish Fusiliers
Bennett, F. E.	Lieutenant	Royal Munster Fusiliers
Bennett, C. R.	Lieutenant	Connaught Rangers
Carroll, H. A.	Lieutenant Colonel	Royal Munster Fusiliers
Cullinan, R. H	Captain	Royal Munster Fusiliers
Foley, T. W.	Lieutenant	Leinster Regiment
George, I. B	Major	Royal Irish Regiment
George, F.R.	Lieutenant	Connaught Rangers
Gerrard, H.V.	Captain	The Border Regiment
Hackett, L. A. H.	Captain, M. C.	Royal Irish Rifles
Hanan, C. H. R.	Private	Royal Dublin Fusiliers
Harvey, J. A.	Lieutenant	Royal Dublin Fusiliers
Hewson, C. L. B.	Lieutenant	F.R. (R.N.?)
Hewson, F. M.	Captain.	Royal Army Medical Corps
Hickman, P. H.	Captain	Royal Dublin Fusiliers
Kenny, C. J.	Lieutenant	Royal Irish Regiment
Kidd, W. S.	Captain, M. C.	Royal Munster Fusiliers
La Nauze, G. M.	Lieutenant	Royal Irish Rifles
La Nauze, W.	Lieutenant	Royal Irish Rifles
Leland, J. H. F	Lieutenant	Royal Welsh Fusiliers
MacLaurin, J. F.	Flight Cadet	Royal Air Force
Massey, H. L.	Lieutenant	Royal Munster Fusiliers
Moore, H. L.	Lieutenant	Royal Welsh Fusiliers
Mulcahy Morgan, E. S.	Lieutenant	Royal Irish Rifles
Maunsell, G.W.	Lieutenant	O.V.D.
Murphy, G. F.	Lieutenant	Oxford & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
O'Dell, W.	Captain	Indian Army
Parker, R. E.	Lieutenant	R H A Royal Horse Artillery ?????
Raymond, W.	Private	Yorkshire Regiment.
Roe, J. R.	Major	Royal Field Artillery
Sargint, E. E.	Captain, M. C.	Royal Irish Fusiliers ??????
Simmons, J. R.	Lieutenant	Indian Army
Stoney, G. F.		Canadian Infantry (British Colombia Regiment)
Tweedy, G. M.	Captain, M.C.	Royal Dublin Fusiliers
Taylor, G.	Fleet Surgeon	Royal Navy
Vigors, E. H.	Major, M.C., Croix de Guerre with Palm	Cheshire Regiment
Wallace, R. C.	Private	Irish Guards