An amazing Monaghan true story
The remarkable story of Daniel A. McGovern, as told by Joe McCabe from Carrickmacross.
New biography charts life of Monaghan Man
Who filmed aftermath of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
‘Rebels to Reels – A biography of Combat Cameraman Daniel A. McGovern USAF’ is the fascinating true life story of the Monaghan man who filmed the immediate aftermath footage of the atomic bombs in the ruins of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The son of a sergeant of the Royal Irish Constabulary, Dan McGovern was born in Monaghan Town but spent his boyhood years in Carrickmacross. ‘Rebels to Reels’ in part, contains McGovern’s fascinating eyewitness accounts of the Irish War of Independence in South Monaghan including his recollections of riding on Crossley Tenders with the infamous Black and Tans. He witnessed the foundation of the Irish Free State one hundred years ago this year before the McGovern family emigrated to the United States where he later chose a career in the US military.
McGovern eventually became a photographer/cameraman to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt before training the very first combat cameramen of World War 2 for the United States Army Air Forces. He flew and filmed on perilous B-17 bombing missions from England over Nazi occupied Europe in 1943 before deploying to the Pacific. After the war he was even involved in the Roswell UFO incident. The full story of Dan McGovern’s remarkable life is contained within the pages of ‘Rebels to Reels’.
Journalist turned author, Joseph McCabe wrote this highly researched, 450 page three part biography over many years after initially meeting and interviewing Dan McGovern when he returned to Carrickmacross in 1999. “Dan was the most interesting person I ever interviewed in almost thirty years of journalism,” Joe told ‘Mad About Monaghan’. “The compelling story of his involvement in so many world historical events just simply had to be told,” he concluded. ‘Rebels to Reels’ can be ordered from all good bookshops or online from Amazon Books worldwide in paperback, hardback and eBook formats. Here’s the Amazon.com (US) link: https://www.amazon.com/REBELS-REELS-biography-Cameraman-McGovern/dp/1739800907/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2DVZ5LEOPO3G5&keywords=Rebels+to+Reels&qid=1646481343&s=books&sprefix=rebels+to+reels%2Cstripbooks-intl-ship%2C140&sr=1-1