On Saturday night, 24 October 1915, a group of about 25 men from Queen’s County were staying in a hotel on Gardiner Street in Dublin. They were the hurlers of Leix – as Queen’s County was officially known in GAA circles – and they were in Dublin to play the All-Ireland hurling final against Cork.

IN the early months of World War 1, three myths arose. The first was that burly Cossacks sent by the Czar to help the Allies on the western front were seen embarking from British railway stations for Dover bound for France.