Page 17 - Greystones Archaeological Historical Society

GREYSTONES ARCHAEOLOGICAL & HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURNAL VOLUME 8

Remembering the War Dead in Bray

In 1919 when the beautiful Celtic Cross war-memorial
designed by prominent architect Sir Thomas Deane was erected
in Bray to honour the 168 local men who had lost their lives in
the battles of World War I, the Irish Builder magazine
commented on the unusual phenomenon whereby one name in
particular appeared to be so polished that it outshone the other
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names around it.

The shining name belonged to Francis Sherry, son of
Thomas and Bridget Sherry from Fassaroe. Today the name
blends into the monument – it is no different in appearance to
the other names around it. The exceptional shine observed in
1919 was therefore more likely to have been the result of a loving
hand with a polishing cloth rather than some flaw in the metal.
Was it his mother Bridget or one of his three sisters, Mary-Ellen,
Annie or 17 year old Stasia who maintained this silent shining
vigil to his memory? For what other place did they have to visit?
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The grave of Francis Sherry is in France.

There’s a striking piece of film footage on YouTube from
Remembrance Day in 1924 showing the long procession of local
people to that same war memorial in Bray, just ten years after
the first casualties of World War I. Thousands of people
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thronged the Quinsborough Road, watching the marching bands
and processions. This little film reminds us of how deeply and
widely Bray was affected by the loss of these young men and
also by the return of other men, sons, husbands, brothers and
boyfriends many of whom would remain scarred physically and
psychologically for life.

This type of procession was repeated in towns and villages
throughout Wicklow and throughout Ireland.

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