3956 Rifleman Michael CONDRON (1895 - 1917)

Unfortunately I do not know the circumstances of Michael CONDRON’s death, except that he died on 2 December 1917 and his name appears on the Tyne Cot Memorial in West Flanders, Belgium. I think it likely that he was killed in action near Passchendaele. The Battle of Passchendaele (also known as the Third Battle of Ypres) took place between July and November 1917 for control of the ridges south and east of the city of Ypres. The Allied forces captured Passchendaele in November, and the official end of the battle was 10 November 1917. However, FirstWorldWar.com states that on the 2 December 1917 there was “further fighting north of Passchendaele”. I suspect that it was in this action that Michael CONDRON was killed.

Rifleman Michael CONDRON (service no. 3956) was killed in action on 2 December 1917 in West Flanders, Belgium.

Michael Joseph CONDRON was born in 1895 in the Dublin City. He was the son of Patrick and Bridget (née MURTAGH) CONDRON. In the 1911 census he is living in his parent’s household in Summerhill, Mountjoy, Dublin, and his occupation is recorded as a “vanboy” delivering mineral water. The family was likely in a difficult financial situation: both his father and elder brother are recorded as being unemployed, while his other siblings are recorded as being at school; so Michael’s would have been the only salary coming into the household. Michael enlisted in the Royal Irish Rifles at Clonmel, Co. Tipperary. At some point he was awarded the Military Medal. At the time of his death in 1917 he was in the 1^st Battalion, attached to the 25^th Trench Mortar Battery.

Michael’s father Patrick CONDRON was born in about 1870. He married Bridget MURTAGH at St. Nicholas’s Roman Catholic Church, Dublin, on 9 February 1890. At the time of his marriage, Patrick’s occupation was “tobacco labourer”. His occupation is recorded in the 1901 and 1911 censuses respectively as “factory labourer” and “general labourer unemployed”. Patrick and Bridget had eight children: Margaret (born 1890), William Patrick (1892), Michael Joseph (1895), Patrick (1896), Terence Joseph (1899), Joseph (1901), Mary Jane (1904) and Christopher Joseph (1906).

Michael’s grandfather was William CONDRON. I know nothing of him except that, on Patrick CONDRON’s marriage certificate in 1890, William’s occupation is recorded as “shoemaker”.

Michael CONDRON is memorialized on the Tyne Cot Memorial in Belgium.

For other blog posts about CONDR*Ns in the First World War, click on "First World War" in the Labels list on the right of the blog web page. Comments and corrections welcome, either by leaving a comment below or by email to me: CONDRAN[AT]ONE-NAME.ORG .  I would particularly welcome further information about Michael CONDRON's war service and where he died.