German internee's family gathering in Oldcastle

One of the most unusual ‘Gatherings’ this year took place in Oldcastle recently when the family of one of the German internees in the town gathered from all over the world to revisit this unique episode in their family history.
Heinrich Joebges was interned in Oldcastle POW camp from 1916 on 1918 and his family travelled to Oldcastle recently to visit the town they heard so much about.
Heinrich Joebges was interned in 1914 while working in London, where he was married to an Irish girl Molly O’Brien from Kerry. They had met in Ireland, where Heinrich worked as a Manager in the Great Southern Hotel in Parknasilla.
After two years internment in the Isle of Man, Heinrich was transferred to Oldcastle. The Oldcastle detention camp was the only permanent civilian POW camp in Ireland, detaining so called ‘enemy aliens’.
The camp was based in the converted workhouse in the town. At its peak the camp accommodated 583 prisoners and its story is one of the most fascinating aspects of Ireland’s role in the First World War.The prisoners were of German and Austrian origin and all were civilians except for one naval officer.
The Joebges Family gathered from Germany, New York, Florida, London, India and all over Ireland and the UK for this special visit. 
Sheila Cleary(nee Joebges) at 89 years of age is Heinrich’s youngest daughter and she led the family as they embarked on their first visit to the town, where their father, grandfather, and great-grandfather was imprisoned almost a century ago.
An audio-visual presentation and a display at the local library provided a great insight in to what life in the camp was like. 
After viewing the exhibition and listening to the talk by county librarian, Ciarán Mangan, the family embarked on a walking tour of the town with local author, John Smith and Moylagh Historical Society Guides, Malachy Hand and Gerry Boylan.
Before leaving for a guided tour of Loughcrew, Sheila Joebges proudly presented Meath County Library with her father’s Irish passport which he received from the Saorstat in 1927.