A good friend of mine, Jim Magner, shared the summary below that his late father wrote. The Irish Goverment requested in 1994 any ex-patriots who had particapated in Ireland's struggle for freedom to submit a summary of their efforts for recognition. I had the pleasure of meeting his dad years ago and found him to be a fine gentleman, quiet and unassuming but then most heroes are.
There are many heroes in Irish history, whose names and faces are familiar to us. Their names and feats of courage & bravery are immortalized in song and verse. However there are thousands of "Unsung Heroes", Irish men & woman who put themselves and their families in harm's way in the struggle for Ireland's freedom and who we all owe an enormous debt of gratitude.

My name is Matthew J. Magner. I was born at 59 Tyrone Street, Belfast Ireland, on April 1st 1905. I currently reside on 1766 Victoria Street, Baldwin, New York 11510.
I joined the Fianna in 1920, and in 1922 I joined the 3rd Northern Division of the IRA and served under company commanders Joseph McKelvey and Michael McNearney. Joseph McKelvey was later executed at Mt.Joy Prison. Michael McNearney was a liaison to Michael Collins and sometimes acted as his double.
My service during this period consisted primarily in defending my neighborhood from numerous attacks by armed mobs. My neighborhood in Belfast was a small Catholic area located near the city center, surrounded by Protestant neighborhoods. The Orange Order Hall was located one block from my home. My home was a frequent target for small arms fire from the Orange Hall, and on one occasion a bucket of live coals was hurled through a second floor window. The McMahon family lived in my district, and were murdered during this period.
In 1922 a grenade I was storing in my parents home at 59 Tyrone Street exploded, destroying the kitchen and blowing a hole in the wall through to a neighbor's home. Although I was working at the time of the explosion, I was arrested by the British for belonging to an illegal organization, and for storing military equipment,arms and exposives. I was held on remand for seven months in Block A3 of the Crumlin Road Jail in Belfast. While I was in jail I met an IRA man named McGuire from Enniskillen. The blame for the explosion was shifted to my younger brother, James, when he fled to Dublin. I was then released for one day, but was informed by friends that I was to be re-arrested the next day, so I also fled to Dublin.
I arrived in Dublin and went to see my brother James who was being sheltered at the home of Lord French by Lord French's sister. I arrived just in time to see my brother who was 15 years old and the others who were being sheltered, carted off in a truck to Mt.Joy Prison. I then enlisted in the Free State Army on March 8, 1923 and was demobilized at Portabello Barracks on March 12, 1924.
In 1929 I emigrated to the United States. I met Father Patrick Duffy, Chaplain of the 69th Regiment and at his urging I joined the 69th Regiment in New York City and served from 1930 until 1954 when I retired from the regiment as a first lieutenant.