By Kim O'Leary
The legendary Battle of the Somme will be brought to life following a talk at Athy Community Library later tonight.
James Durney will deliver an illustrated talk concerning the Battle of the Somme with a focus on its Athy connections, including the story of Lt Vincent Holland.
The talk will be held at Athy Community Library, Emily Square at 7pm to 8pm, with the talk being free to members of the public.
It is one of many events scheduled around Co Kildare to mark Heritage Week 2016.
The Battle of the Somme was a battle during the First World War between the British and French empires against the German empire. More than 2,000 men from Athy and its surrounding area joined the British Army. Many were former soldiers, others joined to escape the poverty of Irish urban life or were young men caught up in the excitement of the time who enlisted for adventure and the opportunity to travel.
One such man to enlist from Athy was Vincent Holland, son of a local veterinary surgeon, who volunteered in 1914 after spending some time in Argentina as a railway engineer. An officer in the 7th Battalion of the Leinster Regiment, he took part in the Battle of the Somme.
The 7th Battalion attacked the German trenches some 300 yards north of the village of Guillemont. Their swift attack took the Germans by surprise and wiped them out in their trenches. The soldiers fearlessly led by Lt Holland advanced and cleared a greater part of the occupied village.
Lt Holland survived the war and he later left Ireland to live in Australia, where he died in 1978 at the age of 89 years in Tasmania.
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