Individual Details
Michael Joseph (John) MCGRATH
(Abt 1894 - 27 Nov 1946)
Michael used the name as John when he joined the British Army after leaving school. I have read that this was because he did not want to be known as a Mick. The Come Here To Me website (www.comeheretome.com) tells us John saw action in France in World War I, after which he worked for a time in administration in the Gordon Hotel in London. He then returned to Ireland and in 1929 he became the first house manager of the newly opened Savoy Cinema in Dublin, staying in the post two years before being appointed manager of the new Savoy Cinema in Cork. In 1935 he returned to Dublin where he managed the Theatre Royal cinema on Hawkins St.
At the outbreak of World War II John was recalled by the British Army and landed with the Allies in Dunkirk in May 1940. He was subsequently wounded twice in battle near Rouen before being captured by the Germans. John and several hundred other prisoners of war were forced to march over 400 miles to Germany, many dying of exhaustion en route. John spent nearly a year at the officers' camp in Luckenwalde before being transferred to Friesack, a special camp set up north of Berlin to hold Irish soldiers from the British Army. Here, the Irish were continually offered their freedom in return for helping the Germans sabotage the Allies' war effort. According to John in a 1946 interview, "In not one single case did the Germans succeed”.
While in Friesack John was caught attempting to pass information about the camp to the Irish legation in Rome and in May 1942 was sent to the Sachsenhausen camp near Frankfurt where he spent several months in near-solitary confinement. Then, in February 1943, he was transferred to Dachau concentration camp where he spent nearly two years. John was its only ever Irish inmate.
In April 1945, with the U.S. Army making advances in France and Germany, the SS marched the ‘principal captives’ of Dachau, which included John, to Tyrol in Austria. There, in a hotel which had been closed for six years, John and 130 other prisoners were locked up in the bitter cold with little food. They were close to death when the U.S. Army located the group. The liberated the prisoners were transported home, and a special reception at the Theatre Royal, hosted by his employers, marked John's arrival back in Dublin in June 1945, having spent spent nearly five years as a POW. After a couple of months of recuperation, John returned to work as manager of the Theatre Royal. However, his health was very poor owing to the hardships he had endured and he died at his home just over a year later. He was aged about 52.
At the outbreak of World War II John was recalled by the British Army and landed with the Allies in Dunkirk in May 1940. He was subsequently wounded twice in battle near Rouen before being captured by the Germans. John and several hundred other prisoners of war were forced to march over 400 miles to Germany, many dying of exhaustion en route. John spent nearly a year at the officers' camp in Luckenwalde before being transferred to Friesack, a special camp set up north of Berlin to hold Irish soldiers from the British Army. Here, the Irish were continually offered their freedom in return for helping the Germans sabotage the Allies' war effort. According to John in a 1946 interview, "In not one single case did the Germans succeed”.
While in Friesack John was caught attempting to pass information about the camp to the Irish legation in Rome and in May 1942 was sent to the Sachsenhausen camp near Frankfurt where he spent several months in near-solitary confinement. Then, in February 1943, he was transferred to Dachau concentration camp where he spent nearly two years. John was its only ever Irish inmate.
In April 1945, with the U.S. Army making advances in France and Germany, the SS marched the ‘principal captives’ of Dachau, which included John, to Tyrol in Austria. There, in a hotel which had been closed for six years, John and 130 other prisoners were locked up in the bitter cold with little food. They were close to death when the U.S. Army located the group. The liberated the prisoners were transported home, and a special reception at the Theatre Royal, hosted by his employers, marked John's arrival back in Dublin in June 1945, having spent spent nearly five years as a POW. After a couple of months of recuperation, John returned to work as manager of the Theatre Royal. However, his health was very poor owing to the hardships he had endured and he died at his home just over a year later. He was aged about 52.
Events
| Birth | Abt 1894 | probably Culleen, Elphin, Co. Roscommon | |||
| Death | 27 Nov 1946 | 38 Merrion Square, Dublin | |||
| Burial | Co. Roscommon |
Families
| Father | John MCGRATH (1862 - 1936) |
| Mother | Mary Jane O'HARA (1869 - 1944) |
| Sibling | Augustine (Austin) MCGRATH (1898 - 1973) |