Cornaclare

World War Two

The U.S. Army planned to station troops in Johnstown when they entered the war. A large house was requestioned for this purpose and converted in to billets. Unfortunately the work attracted the attention of republican pro-Axis sympathisers who burned the house to the ground.

This photograph shows Mary Jane Swindle (nee Irwin) and her daughters standing in front of the charred ruins. The Swindle family lived in a gatehouse at the entrance to the grounds.