24th infantry?

[Berni]

hi
i know this is a long shot but hoping somewhere here may be able to help me
my father is 88 and has alzheimers 
i dont have any rellies so only have things he has told me
my dad was born in granard county longford ireland in 1919
he told me he was a private in the 24th infantry?
im presuming this was national service because no mention of war
firstly is there any truth in any of this and how do i go about finding out?
in 12 months of doing this ive found address he gave me as barrack street granard was correct shown in 1931 trades directory.
his father who hes hardly told me anything about was christopher stephen o'shea born 1893 in caherciveen county kerry
im thinking he too may have been in the army given that my dad was their eldest child was born 1919 maybe in ww1?
i really dont have a clue on where to start looking ive been on national archives but without regiment it means nothing to me
i really would like to make my dads day by being able to tell him something ive found out it may give me other stories from him
i have to talk to him about his life like im there if that makes sense
one example my dad will say to me is ..." remember the day i met your mother"!
anything at all that will send me in the right direction i would gratefully appreciate
and please forgive my ignorance in these matters but i am trying to learn
berni

[mmm45]

http://home.adelphia.net/~dryan67/orders/eire.html


Hi Berni
He couldve been in the 24TH Inf Batt based down the Curragh...If you scroll down the link you should be able to find it.

Ady

[Berni]

hi
ady  thank you so much i can do with as many guesses and ideas any one may have
so there is such a thing as the 24th infantry then?

[mmm45]

Yes..Well there was during 39-45 and possibly longer
according to that link the 24th Infantry Batt Irish Army was the Garrison Batallion for the Curragh Camp in Ireland.

Ady

[Berni]

hi ady
many thanks for info
been on search engine trying to get details
if ive  got my info right it was the irish army yes?
left post on curragh website
im thinking it must have been an irish regiment
it started after the troubles
what irish regiment would i look for prior to this for caherciveen and kerry?
berni

[Berni]

ok what about these as possibles for o'shea senior
leinster royal irish rifles royal field artillery?
any of these worth pursuing
berni

[km1971]

Hi Berni

You could try eliminating one or more of the Christophers on the MIC site with deaths on www.cwgc.org.

ken

[mmm45]

Do you have a first name?
if he had 1st world war overseas service within British Army (up to 1921) then he should have a Medal Card at the National Archives.
Take it he survived the war?

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/browse-refine.asp?CatID=10&searchType=browserefine&pagenumber=1&query=*&queryType=1

Yes 24th Inf Batt was an Irish Army unit after independence.

[Berni]

hi
thanks ady and ken
christopher s o'shea was born 1893 in
caherciveen  co kerry i have no info as yet
about his life so trying all possibilites
i dont know what year he married my
grandmother but it may have been in
granard co longford
my father their eldest child was born 1919
im thinking its very likely he was in the millitary
so was wondering for these 2 areas which regiments
of the irish army would be most likely to contact first
thanks
berni