Byrnes at War

I was just reading James Ryan's article on the name Byrne. I didn't do a study of the names on the monuments at the Menen Gate and Thiepval, but it seemed to me that Byrne was the most common name amongst the Irish regiments, definitely the most common in the Dublin Fusiliers.

There are four Byrnes listed here on the Thiepval Memorial. Each of these four Byrnes died at the Battle of the Somme, served in the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, and was a Lance Corporal. Imagine there were four Byrnes who were Lance Corporals who died in that battle and whose bodies were never found/identified. The number of Byrnes who were privates listed on this wall was far, far greater, but they were at too great a height for me to get a picture of the names.

I wonder if any of them was related to Gabriel Byrne (featured in the picture with James Ryan's article). I'm pretty sure that the former host of Ireland's most popular television show, Gay Byrne, lost two uncles in the war.

Here's another picture (below). It's of one wall from the Menen Gate. That print you can't really make out is a portion - not even half - of all the names from the Irish regiments who were killed at Ypres, but whose bodies were never identified. It is amazing how many names are listed on these walls. And you have to bear in mind that those whose bodies were identified are not listed, but are in named graves in any of the dozens of cemeteries in the area.