The Connaught Rangers was an infantry regiment of the British Army that mainly recruited in the west of Ireland, formally established in 1881 with the amalgamation of the 88th Regiment of Foot (known as the Connaught Rangers) and the 94th Regiment of Foot (formerly the ‘Scotch’ Brigade). With their headquarters located at King House, Boyle, Co Roscommon, they had a training depot located at Renmore Barracks, Galway, later Dún Uí Mhaoilíosa. They were disbanded in 1922 on the establishment of the Irish Free State.
The certificate is an ornate printed scroll in which the number, name and unit of the discharged person was handwritten in calligraphy, with a facsimile signature of King George V. It reads ‘No. 7772 Private William Fahy, The Connaught Rangers, Served with honour and was disabled in the Great War, Honourably discharged on 19th January 1920’.
A medal card for Pte William Fahy, held in the British National Archives in London record that he was awarded both a Victory and a British War medal for his participation in the war effort.
