It may come as a surprise to regular followers of this column, but the Diarist’s paternal ancestor claimed fame as the Deputy Sheriff of Montana, during the period where it still resembled America’s Wild West. This fascinating tidbit of ancestral history might have been lost in the annals of time, had it not been prised from my father amidst intense enquiries during his twilight years. A man of sparse words, my dad never conceived this fact worthy of disclosure until I, possessing a faint recollection of granddad’s American sojourn, decided to question his pursuits during that time.
Frank McNally Snr re-routed back to his Irish homeland, Monaghan, after his American adventures. His life saw him wedded, widowed, and remarried, all within his 40s. At 50, he transitioned into a Sinn Féin councillor during the revolutionary local elections of 1920, foiled by the Treaty which cost him his seat. Subsequently, he emerged as a founding/precursor member of the Fianna Fáil, orchestrating the Mile River cumann out of a decommissioned railway carriage.
When I chronicled his life journey from Montana to Monaghan in 2007, one humorous reader alluded to him as the “first cowboy to become a member of Fianna Fáil”. Regrettably, that is the bulk of what I am aware of regarding his personal existence, as he succumbed to his passing (almost reaching 90) ahead of my birth.
In my quest of researching a documentary trail two decades ago in Montana, I was met with meagre findings. Unlike marked sheriffs, deputies weren’t required to commit to elections; their fame was earnt when they faced gunfire. Scant paternal lineage and my father’s reticence formed major obstacles in my pursuit of research. Granddad’s marital unions contributed to a family tree of only two offspring. Though his singular son made commendable efforts to replenish the family numbers, with seven McNally siblings, there were few cousins to pass on tales of family heritage.
In stark contrast, there was a surfeit of kin from my maternally-linked Murrays, hailing from Monaghan like myself. Echoing the literary legend James Joyce, I spent my childhood amidst several Murray relatives. The prevailing theory often had me regarded as a Murray, owing to the traditional hierarchy of genetic dominance.
My recent deep dive into the history of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, thanks to a comprehensive, eight-part series by The Rest is History podcast, led me back to Montana and refreshed my interest in the topic. Fascinatingly enough, I unearthed that among the more than a hundred Irish troops who accompanied General Custer to Montana was Sergeant Thomas Murray, a native of Co Monaghan.
Fortuitously, Murray was not part of Custer’s Last Stand party – an occurrence that is still a topic of lively debate since Lakota-Cheyenne records of the event vary and the only surviving cavalry member was Myles Keogh’s horse who unsurprisingly remained silent on the matter. Sergeant Murray, however, was an acknowledged hero of the broader war theatre on that fateful June day, garnering a Medal of Honour for his commendable relief efforts supporting the surviving regiment portions.
The official citation applauded his “remarkable bravery on 25 June 1876, whilst serving with Company B, 7th U.S. Cavalry, during the confrontation at Little Big Horn, Montana”. In a succinct summary, the citation stated: “Sergeant Murray advanced the pack train and on the second day ensured delivery of rations, all while under significant enemy fire.”
Notably, Murray is often associated with fellow Medal of Honour recipient, Thomas Callan from Louth, who valiantly led a team to retrieve water from the Bighorn for the injured soldiers. On that note, nearly every county in Ireland had representation in Custer’s troops, with Armagh and Wicklow being the rare exceptions.
While there have been musings regarding whether this Sergeant Murray might have been an ancestor on my mother’s side, I am certain I would have known by now had that been the case. Moreover, the Murray surname is fairly common in parts of Monaghan other than my childhood neighbourhood, including famous GAA brothers from Clones, whose valiant performances under pressure from the formidable Kerry tribesman in the 1985 drawn All-Ireland semi-final suggest that bravery runs in their bloodline.
It appears that no known records detail the precise birthplace of Thomas Murray, born in 1836. His burial site, situated in Washington DC, maintains a distinct military aura, providing minimal information such as his name, rank, Medal of Honour recognition, and the date he passed away: 4th August 1888.
This newspaper’s storied archives provide evidence that I am not the first to exhibit interest in Murray within these articles. A correspondence to the Editor in 1998, penned by one Gabriel Donohoe hailing from Dundalk, enquired about two Irishmen – Murray and Callan, who were among the few to survive the Battle of Little Bighorn. The question remains whether he ever received a response.