US battleship named after young man educated in County Roscommon

THE US Navy’s newest battleship was officially christened on Saturday in honour of a young man who received his early education in West Roscommon.

The US navy named its latest battleship after Lance Cpl Patrick Gallagher who was educated at Granlahan NS. The naming ceremony was shown live at the school on Saturday last.

The naming of USS Patrick Gallagher (DDG 127) was marked by the attendance of Patrick Gallagher's sisters Teresa Gallagher Keegan, Rosemarie Gallagher and Pauline Gallagher, who broke their bottles of sparkling wine on the ship. They were accompanied in the bottle break by their brother Peter Gallagher.

The US Navy said that the “USS Patrick Gallagher will serve, protect and inspire her sailors long into the future as she carries out DDG 127's motto: "Life is for living, be brave and be bold."

The naming ceremony took place in dry dock at the Bath Iron Works shipyard in Maine, US.

Patrick ‘Bob’ Gallagher grew up on the Mayo/Roscommon border near Ballyhaunis and was killed while serving in the US Marine Corps at the age of 23.

The ceremony heard tributes from senior US military officers and the Gallagher family to Lance Corporal Patrick ‘Bob’ Gallagher, who was described as a "a true Marine" who “exemplifies the highest ideals of both America and Ireland”.

Born in 1944, Patrick attended national school in Granlahan and later Ballyhaunis Vocational School before emigrating to the United States in 1962.

He initially stayed with his aunt, May, and began working in real estate before enlisting in the US Marine Corps.

He was deployed to Vietnam, where he was awarded the Navy Cross for kicking away an enemy grenade and jumping on another during an ambush. The grenade detonated after he tossed it a safe distance away, sparing the lives of his fellow troops.

On March 13th, 1967, just days before his tour of Vietnam was to finish, Lance Cpl Gallagher was killed along with several other Marines during a patrol for which he had volunteered.

His story later appeared in the Irish Times, which inspired a petition to the US Navy to have a ship named after him to honour his legacy.

Following support from US Senator Chuck Schumer among others, US Secretary of the Navy, Richard Spencer, confirmed in March 2018 that the new DDG-127 would be named the USS Patrick Gallagher in his honour.

Members of the Gallagher family, serving members of the US Navy and veterans were among the large crowd who gathered to witness Patrick’s sisters perform the christening of the ship named in his honour.

Addressing the ceremony, Patrick’s sister, Teresa, described her brother as “a kind, loving, fun-loving person that I looked up to”.

She told the gathering that it was “very clear that Bob was born to be a marine and was extremely proud of his adopted country.

“When I think of Bob, I don’t think of the war hero that we are celebrating here today, although I am very, very proud of my brother. I think of my older brother as a kind, loving, fun-loving person that I looked up to,” said Teresa.

“I think of all the things he could have done, the person he would have been today. I think of all he has missed out and how much the world has missed him.” 

While living in the US, Patrick regularly wrote home to Ireland inquiring about his family, but initially kept his military service from them.

In March 1966, he returned home for three weeks before returning to the US and travelling directly to Vietnam. It was the last time he would ever see his family.

“I often think how it must feel for him to travel two and a half hours from Ballyhaunis to Shannon knowing where he was going and what he was facing and that he may never see his beloved Mayo again,” added Teresa.

Assistant Commandant Of The Marine Corps, General Christopher Mahoney, described Lance Cpl Gallagher as “a true Marine”.

Minister Sean Fleming TD, who is Ireland’s Minister for the Diaspora and Overseas Development, who attended on behalf of the Irish government, thanked the family of Lance Cpl Gallagher and all those who had campaigned to have the new ship named in his honour.

Minister Fleming described Lance Cpl Gallagher as “an extraordinary Irish American” who exemplified the values of the Irish diaspora.

Pauline Gallagher, another sister of Lance Cpl Gallagher, said she hoped that the USS Patrick Gallagher would one day visit Ireland.

“On that day we will gather on that western shore, with all those people who have kept Patrick’s memory alive, and when we see this fine vessel on the horizon, a loud cheer will be heard as the Patrick Gallagher will be coming home,” she said.

Patrick, who was born at Derrigtogher, near Ballyhaunis was the second eldest of a family of nine children. He emigrated to America in 1962.

He joined the American military, and he was shipped out to Vietnam — where he served as a lance corporal with the H Company of the 2nd Battalion of the 4th Marine Regiment.

At the age of 22, he was awarded the prestigious Navy Cross medal for his extreme selflessness and bravery when his position near Cam Lo was attacked by North Vietnamese troops on July 18th, 1966.

Early that morning, a North Vietnamese soldier lobbed a grenade in his defensive position.

Gallagher kicked it out and it exploded a safe distance away, not wounding him or his comrades.

However, seconds later another grenade was thrown into his trench, this time landing right between two of his comrades.

Without hesitation, the young Gallagher threw himself on the grenade.

Incredibly, the grenade didn’t detonate. Afterwards his squad leader ordered him to throw it into a barrel of water where it immediately went off. Again, it was a miracle that nobody was injured or killed.

Patrick died the following year when he was killed during a firefight with enemy troops near De Nang.

The citation announcing the naming of the new guided missile destroyer read: “Lance Corporal Gallagher is an American hero. His exemplary service in defence of our nation, his strength, and his sacrifice, leaves an example for all servicemen and women to emulate His legacy will live on in the future USS Gallagher, and his heroic actions will continue to inspire future sailors and marines.”