FOR those unfamiliar with the Doire na Sagart mountain borderland that straddles south Kerry and the West Cork Gaeltacht, reference to Droichead Ui Mhara, or Morley's Bridge, may only conjure up the first line of that well known song, An Poe Ar Baile. And yet it is to Morley's Bridge, just three miles east of the Co Kerry village of Kilgarvan, that the Norwegian ambassador to Ireland, Mr Helge Vindenes, will travel on Sunday to pay homage at the memorial to one of its most heroic sons.
Michael Lehane was born at Morley's Bridge on September 27th, 1908. He worked in Dublin as a builders' labourer and was initially a member of the United Builders' Labourers Trade Union.
But his interest in the welfare of his fellow workers extended far beyond these shores. He enlisted in the International Brigades in December 1936 and so was one of the first participants in the Irish Unit formed by Frank Ryan, to defend the Spanish Republic against both domestic fascist revolt and foreign fascist invasion.
He went into action on the Cordoba front on Christmas Eve, 1936 where nine of his fellow Irishmen were killed. The following month he fought in the Battle of Las Rozas de Madrid, where he helped repel the threat to the capital.
Home on leave for a few months, he worked until the building strike of April 1937, during which he became a member of the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union. He was soon hack in Spain, to take part in the Battle of Brunete that July.
Heroism under Fire
Contemporary reports spoke of his heroism under fire from the fascist machine guns located in the church tower. Lehane rescued many of the wounded and carried them to safety before being severely wounded himself.
Back in Dublin he recovered slowly and in the early summer of 1938 he began working on building the Adelphi Cinema, now recently departed from Dublin's Abbey Street. But once again the call of the anti fascist struggle led him to climb back over the Pyrenees into Catalunya and take part in the last great offensive of the Spanish Republic.
In late July the International Brigades ie crossed the River Ebro and advanced towards the town of Gandesa. Blocking their way, however, was Hill 481, under firm fascist control. Successive attempts by the poorly armed Republicans to capture it were beaten hack by superior, murderous fire power, Lehane's closest friend on that front, the Jewish Londoner Max Nash, as well as Paddy O'Sullivan of Dublin, George Gorman of Derry and Jim Straney of Belfast, all lost their lives.
Carried to Safety
Lehane was wounded on July 31st and carried to safety by my father, Michael O'Riordan, whom he cursed all the way down Hill 481 as every jolting step intensified the pain of Lehane's wounds. The next day my father was wounded in a further unsuccessful attempt to take that hill.
After the defeat of the Spanish Republic, 1940 saw O'Riordan imprisoned without trial in the Curragh Internment Camp and Lehane working on the building sites of Birmingham. The generous Kerryman forwarded pocket money to his imprisoned comrade and corresponded with him on the unfolding character of the second World War. Hitler had to be stopped by hook or by crook! However, Lehane had a dilemma - he just could not bring himself to put on a British military uniform. He later informed O'Riordan that he had found the solution - he would join the Norwegian Merchant Navy and sail in the trans Atlantic convoys ferrying war supplies for the Allies.
My father subsequently learned of Lehane's death on one such convoy, but not much else was known. However, more than half a century later the key to uplock the mystery was provided.
For the SIPTU conference in Killarney in 1995 I wrote an article for the union journal, Newsline, on the hero born 18 miles away. The then Norwegian ambassador to Ireland, Jan Ostern, forwarded this article to Leif Vetlesen, a seaman veteran of those same wartime convoys. From the date of birth on Lehane's International Brigade identity book, Vetlesen was able to establish the following facts from the Oslo records:
On October 2nd, 1941 Lehane signed on as a fireman/stoker with the Norwegian steamer Brant Country. On a convoy from Belfast in November 1949 three ships were suddenly sunk by torpedoes but Lehane's own ship came safely through. It was otherwise with the convoy that left Halifax, Nova Scotia in March 1943. Eighteen Nazi German submarines set out to attack it and on the evening of March 10th six of them went into action. The initial battle saw one of the Allied escort ships torpedoed and two subs hit. But the remaining subs torpedoed six merchant ships, the last being the Brant County.
The captain and four other crew members (including three in the engine room) perished immediately. Twenty three crewmen managed to launch the life boat. The remaining were trying to release two rafts but were too late. Altogether, 24 men died, including Michael Lehane.
In February last year Leif Vetlesen related Lehane's story in the Labour daily newspaper, Arbeiderbladet, and in a further article on February 22nd a fellow convoy veteran, Bard Haugland, also wrote: "Much the cruel fate common to many stokers during the war. The torpedoes of the submarines usually hit midship where the engine and steam boilers were situated. Consequently the stoker on watch would perish in an inferno of explosions and scalding hot steam.
Surviving Brother
In January Oslo's foremost newspaper, Aftenposten, featured Michael Lehane as its lead story, carried an interview from Birmingham with his only surviving brother Stephen (aged 88), and highlighted the interest taken in Lehane by our own Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dick Spring. By the end of the month.
Aftenposten was able to report that the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs had decided to award to Stephen Lehane the Norwegian War Medal won by his brother's heroic sacrifice. And so, on Sunday, surviving International Brigaders will be joined by a Norwegian seaman war veteran, to pay due tribute to their comrade in arms Michael Lehane.
"From Morley's Bridge his way he made
A pike in his fist, fellow-
workers to aid.
Death cheated in Spain.
Atlantic waves guard his grave
War convoys set sail, for freedom life gave."