A Doctor's Sword

An almost unbelievable tale of a young man who survived some of the most harrowing episodes of World War II (including the atomic bombing of Nagasaki), and his family’s search to uncover the origin of the Japanese Samurai sword which he brought home, and which now resides in MacCarthy’s Bar in Castletownbere.

Aidan MacCarthy, was a young doctor, who, at 28, joined the RAF in London just as the War began. He was evacuated from Dunkirk and in May 1941 received the George’s Cross for rescuing the crew of a burning RAF plane. He volunteered for service in Asia as Singapore fell to the Japanese, was captured in Java and survived almost four years of brutal captivity as a prisoner of war. Here is an extraordinary story of heroism and resilience.