Episode 2.5 (Patrick Corrigan): Remembering the "Boys on the Run": Memoir of an Irish Soldier

In season two of the "Finding Home" podcast series, Irish American Archives Society Executive Director Margaret Lynch interviews an array of Clevelanders with specialized knowledge and stories about the history of the Irish in Cleveland. Episode 5 features an interview with Patrick Corrigan. A trip to Ireland in 2017 sparked an interest in family history in Patrick Corrigan, who is a Battalion Chief in Cleveland's Fire Department. Genealogy became a passion as Corrigan connected with relatives world-wide. An 80-page memoir written by a great uncle in Ireland in the 1970s propelled him further. Corrigan's great uncle Brian Corrigan fought in the Irish War of Independence, and against the treaty in the Irish Civil War. Seeking context for the memoir, Patrick Corrigan immersed himself in research; he was invited to participate in the West Mayo Brigade Centenary Commemoration in Westport and to contribute an essay in the new publication, The Men of the West. See http://westmayo.ie/ for more information about the commemoration and publication and for a link to Brian Corrigan's memoirs under the "Family Histories and Stories" tab. Patrick Corrigan utilized the indexed pension applications and witness statements that can be accessed at https://www.militaryarchives.ie/collections/online-collections/bureau-of-military-history-1913-1921