James Byrne (VC)

For other men with this name, see James Byrne.

James Byrne
Born	c. 1822 Newtown, County Wicklow
Died	6 December 1872(1872-12-06) (aged 49–50) Dublin, Ireland
Buried	Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Rank	Sergeant
Unit	86th Regiment of Foot
Battles/wars	Indian Mutiny
Awards	Victoria Cross
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth Doran

James Byrne VC (Irish: Séamus Ó Broin; c. 1822 – 6 December 1872) was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Details

Byrne was about 36 years old, and a private in the 86th Regiment of Foot (later the Royal Irish Rifles), British Army during the Indian Mutiny when the following deed took place on 3 April 1858 at Jhansi, India for which he and Captain Henry Edward Jerome were awarded the VC.

For gallant conduct on the 3 April 1858, at the attack of the Fort of Jhansi, in carrying Lieutenant Sewell, who was lying badly wounded, to a place of safety, under a very heavy fire, assisted by Captain Jerome, in the performance of which act he was wounded by a sword cut.

Further information

He later achieved the rank of sergeant. He died in north Dublin.

The medal

His Victoria Cross is displayed at The Royal Ulster Rifles Museum in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

References

Listed in order of publication year

• The Register of the Victoria Cross (1981, 1988 and 1997)
• Clarke, Brian D. H. (1986). "A register of awards to Irish-born officers and men". The Irish Sword. XVI (64): 185–287.
• Ireland's VCs (Dept of Economic Development, 1995)
• Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
• Irish Winners of the Victoria Cross (Richard Doherty & David Truesdale, 2000)

External links

• Location of grave and VC medal (Dublin)
• James Byrne at Find a Grave