Having been badly injured during a raid, McGonigal was rumoured to have been taken Prisoner of War but subsequently died of his wounds on the same day. His death prompting Blair Mayne to write to his Sister Frances "I am getting very tired of this Country, especially since Eoin landed a loser" [4] Burial place [ edit ] Having been educated at Clongowes Wood College, Co.Kildare​ he then attended Queen's University, Belfast​. Light is also shone on the brothers’ close friend, the legendary Blair Mayne and the controversial decision to downgrade the award of his Victoria Cross. Sir Ambrose Joseph McGonigal, MC (22 November 1917 – 22 September 1979) [1] was a High Court Judge in Northern Ireland. In May 1944, Ambrose became involved with what were known as the Dover “Tarbrush” raids. This led to him receiving a Bar to his MC after this recommendation: “This officer [Lt. Ambrose McGonigal] was the commander of a military force which landed to the East of Calais on the North coast of France on the night of 16/17 May 1944, to carry out a reconnaissance of enemy beach obstacles. The operation was of the highest importance and was of an extremely hazardous nature, involving as it did a three mile approach to a heavily defended enemy coastline, by night in an 18 foot Dory, and the carrying out of a minute examination of beach mines and obstacles of unknown potentialities. During the run in, and the return passage to the parent M.T.B., Lt. McGonigal was forced to alter course on two occasions to avoid a single enemy vessel and a convoy of seven vessels proceeding towards Calais a mile offshore. Despite such interference he so navigated his craft as to reach the selected landing point without error thus greatly facilitating the task of the landing party. Throughout the entire operation his skill, courage, and level headedness inspired his force to the maximum of effort and resulted in the obtaining of vital information.”

This is an interesting and exciting first book by Mr. McGonigal. Its subject is his Grandfather, Ambrose McGonigal, known to many who served in Northern Ireland as one of the few Catholic Judges the IRA didn’t manage to murder, and Ambrose’s brother Eoin. These two brothers, both lawyers by profession, were early members of Special Forces in the British Army, Eoin in the SAS, and Ambrose the SBS... The author has done extensive research using official and unofficial documents, letters, conversations with those who were there, as well as family memories. In war and peace, Ambrose McGonigal lived an extraordinary life, with conflict never far away. During the Second World War, he served as a Commando and in the SBS, while after it he served in Belfast as the most senior Catholic judge during the height of the Troubles.

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This offering from Pen and Sword provides you with a good insight in the progression of two men’s lives during wartime. Ambrose McGonigal, MC and Bar, carried out many coastal raids with the SBS and led local resistance fighters in Yugoslavia. His career, although longer than his brother’s, doesn’t receive quite the same coverage. Eoin joined up first and his story is entwined with the story of the birth of Special Forces as we know them today, which means there is more to say. Lieutenant McGonigal joined the Royal Ulster Rifles in 1939​ and was subsequently attached Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) in 1940. With the disbandment of 12 Commando, Ambrose’s next posting was to “Layforce II” – a group of small -scale raiding forces brought together to conduct a series of high-risk, hit-and-run raids in Motor Torpedo Boats (MTBs) along the French coast and Channel Islands. During December 1943, reconnaissance operations were stepped up for “Operation Overlord” – this was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation to liberate German-occupied western Europe. After leaving school, both also seemed set on law careers. Ambrose initially attended Queen’s University in Belfast (QUB) where in his own words, he spent “two inglorious years” studying for an arts degree – before enrolling at King’s Inns in Dublin with the aim of becoming a barrister. In fact, both brothers only managed to complete a year’s legal study before war broke out in September 1939, when Ambrose was aged 21.

Eoin McGonigal has no known grave but is named on the Alamein Memorial, Egypt on Column 71. [5] In popular culture [ edit ] This book covers a lot of the story of the founding of the SAS and its initial missions in Africa, which would make a volume by itself. It details the birth of the Commandos and the difficulties of establishing both organisations in the face of opposition from senior, established Military figures. The hard training, disappointments at cancelled operations, loss of morale, disbandments, formation of new units, all weave a fascinating tale of these two brothers’ lives, and make for a great read.I first came across the bravery of Ambrose McGonigal and his younger brother Eoin two years ago while researching the life of the legendary SAS officer, Lieutenant Colonel Blair “Paddy” Mayne, DSO & three Bars. Mayne is arguably the bravest man never to be awarded the Victoria Cross and, had he enjoyed a more conventional career, that decoration might well have been bestowed upon him. But that’s another story for another day.

After demobilisation with the rank of major in 1946 McGonigal studied law as a bar student at QUB, and was called to the Northern Ireland bar in Michaelmas term 1948, aged thirty, having been exempted in view of his war service from the requirement to have a degree. Despite competition from contemporaries who had served in the war and were also called to the bar in its aftermath, he soon made his mark as a member of the junior bar, becoming a QC in 1956. As a silk he had a general common law practice, and in 1964 his standing as one of the leaders of the senior bar was confirmed by his appointment as senior crown prosecutor for Co. Down and election as a bencher of the Inn of Court of Northern Ireland. Although judicial appointments at all levels in Northern Ireland had hitherto been made predominantly from Unionist politicians or supporters, when it was decided to increase the complement of the Northern Ireland high court by two additional judges, McGonigal was the obvious candidate to fill one of the new posts – the other being the attorney general E. W. Jones QC MP; they were appointed on 3 March 1968. The author has done extensive research using official and unofficial documents, letters, conversations with those who were there, as well as family memories. Special Forces Brothers in Arms: Eoin and Ambrose McGonigal: War in the SAS and SBS by Patric McGonigal is a 2022 book telling both brothers stories. PDF / EPUB File Name: Special_Forces_Brothers_in_Arms_-_Patric_McGonigal.pdf, Special_Forces_Brothers_in_Arms_-_Patric_McGonigal.epubEoin was one of the first two officers selected from an Irish Regiment for Commando training in 1940, and the stories of his training in Arran alongside Mayne are highly entertaining. They were the closest of friends, and it’s intriguing to me that after the disappearance of Eoin on the first ever SAS parachute drop (in Libya), Mayne was incredibly distressed and angry, which may help to explain some of his later behaviours which have been discussed at length elsewhere. The book also sheds light on why Mayne’s VC award was downgraded. Despite the demands of his large practice, McGonigal found time to take on many onerous and important positions in public life. In 1945 he was appointed chairman of the Irish railway wages board, and later he was chairman of the Joint Industrial Council as well as a member of the banks’ arbitration tribunal. His appointments to important bodies in the sensitive fields of industrial relations and salary fixing were a recognition of his sense of fairness and impartiality.