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central Paris. Interventions by the Irish minister at Vichy, “I’ve never forgotten that” says Dr. Buckley.
Con Cremin, certainly played a significant role in preventing She has never forgotten what her aunt did either. Or indeed
her deportation.
her uncle and her mother who also played important roles
She was still gravely ill when Paris was liberated in 1944, during the war.
but gradually recovered. As so many others did, she picked
herself up and got on with it. She brought up her son Donald Denis O’Mahony helped to save lives in the 1940s too. He
volunteered as an interpreter with the 50-strong Irish team
as a single parent in Paris and worked as an interpreter and in who helped to build a hospital in Saint-Lô, a town in Normandy
a variety of administrative roles.
so heavily bombarded during D-Day in June 1944 that 2,000
She later married to become Ciss O’Roark and lived for a of its 2,600 buildings were reduced to rubble.
short time in the US, then returned to London, where she lived In 1945, the Irish Red Cross shipped tons of heavy equipment,
on her own for nearly 50 years.
ambulances, and hospital beds from Dublin to Cherbourg and
“She was the feistiest person I’ve ever known,” her niece started to build a hospital among the ruins.
Ann Buckley says. “God knows what she saw and what she Closer to home, Ann Buckley’s mother Imelda O’Mahony was
went through. And she never, ever showed any sign of being
broken, which I found extraordinary.” appointed superintendent-in-charge of Operation Shamrock
in Glencree, County Wicklow, another rescue mission which
In her 90s, she was still making trips to France on her own, helped 400 German and Austrian children badly affected by
at some risk to her health, to visit her sister Josie and brother war. That is a story for another day.
Jimmy, and to Cork to visit Imelda, and Denis’s family when So, in the O’Mahony family, we find a resistance member,
they came over on holidays. The sudden death of her son a hospital volunteer, and a refugee aid worker. It is an
Donald in 2004 was a cruel blow but she soldiered on, “going impressive wartime record and one that reminds us of the
out when she could, and often against advice,” to quote her
nephew, Denis’s son Patrick, who spoke of her enduring consequences of the rise of fear-fueled extremism and the
far-right.
courage when she died in London on June 28, 2023.
As Dr. Buckley poignantly puts it: “Don’t let their names
She wasn’t the only O’Mahony to show fortitude at time of disappear.”
war. When Ann Buckley asked her mother Imelda about the
cold, the hunger, and the uncertainty of those times, she Editor Note: Dr. Ann Buckley is an OMS Member and has contributed
simply said: “Oh, it was just another wall to climb.” an article for this newsletter.

IRELAND HAS RANKED AS THE SECOND MOST PEACEFUL COUNTRY IN THE WORLD!
The Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) is an internationally renowned think tank. They are experts in peace,
conflict and risk with a global mission, influence and impact.
Produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace, the Global Peace Index (GPI) is the world’s leading measure of
global peacefulness. This report presents the most comprehensive data-driven analysis to-date on trends in peace,
its economic value, and how to develop peaceful societies.
The Global Peace Index covers 99.7% of the world’s population, and is calculated using 23 qualitative and
quantitative indicators from highly respected sources, and measures the state of peace across three domains:
– the level of Societal Safety and Security,
– the extent of Ongoing Domestic and International Conflict,
– and the degree of Militarization.
According to the Global Peace Index, Ireland ranks second, following Iceland, as the World's Most Peaceful
Country in 2024. In comparison, the U.S. ranks 132nd, and the UK ranks 34th.
Make no mistake: Ireland did not become a peace-loving nation overnight—centuries of tense relations with the United Kingdom can attest to that.
Today though, due also to its longstanding independent status and neutral military, the Irish Republic is routinely ranked as one of the safest countries
in the world. That does not mean it has become immune from political and social turmoil—during the pandemic, for example, Ireland saw its share of
violent anti-lockdown demonstrations.
You can download the full 2024 Global Peace Index at https://www.economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GPI-2024-web.pdf