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Brigadier General to visit
Inishowen
10.03.11
DEFENCE force
reservists in Inishowen will be inspected later this
month when Brigadier General Gerry Hegarty visits
Carndonagh on his annual tour of the 4th Western
Brigade.
Brigadier General Hegarty will be in the north
Inishowen town on March 29, to carry out an
inspection of A Company 58 Reserve Infantry
Battalion beginning at 1.30pm.
Earlier that morning, he will carry out inspections
at Finner Camp, Bundoran.
A Company 58 Reserve Infantry Battalion have their
headquarters at Pound Street, Carndonagh and the
company includes members from all over Inishowen,
Lifford and Ballybofey.
A defence forces spokesperson said the inspections
were designed to assess the level of training
carried out this year, to ensure "a competent,
viable, well trained and motivated Reserve Defence
Force is utilised within the Brigade and the Defence
Forces".
Brig. Gen. Hegarty's annual round of visits started
on Tuesday this week and so far have included
battalions in Ballina, Castlebar, Loughrea, Gort and
Galway. In the days leading up to his trip to
Inishowen, he will visit Mullingar, Longford and
Cavan. |
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Quartermaster Sgt Damian Downey and
from left, Cpl Marie Downey, Sgt Ann Marie McColgan
and Cpl Lynda Grant, pictured during last year's
trip to New York. |
Meanwhile, eight
reservists from Inishowen will be among 40 members
of their battalion who will fly out this Sunday to
take part in the annual St Patrick's Day parade in
New York. The trip is being taken at the members'
own expense and will not be funded, in any way, by
the taxpayer.
Carn-based Lieutenant John McCandless of A Company
58 Reserve Infantry Battalion said a lot of
preparation had gone into the US visit. "We have
been preparing for this since the start of year. All
the rehearsals have been done and our uniforms have
all been checked and double checked," he said.
The other seven members from Inishowen who will join
Lt. McCandless on the trip are Lt. Shaun McLaughlin,
Carn; Company Sgt Don Clynes, Carn; Sgt Anne Marie
McColgan, Malin; Quartermaster Sgt Damian Downey
from Buncrana; Corporal Marie Downey, Buncrana;
Corporal Lynda Grant, Buncrana and Corporal Charlene
Monagle, Malin.
The trip is to mark the 250th anniversary of the Big
Apple’s St Patrick’s Day parade. The 58th Reserve
Infantry Battalion is a unit of the defence forces
reserve in counties Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim. It
has strong ties with New York's 69th regiment, one
of whose generals was Co Sligo native, Michael
Corcoran. |
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