Soldier of the National Army/Oglaigh Na hEireann, casualty of the Irish Civil War 1922-23.

Private William Cronin of the Fifth Cork Brigade in the National Army was mortally wounded on the night of 11 November 1922 in an ambush by Irregulars at the Durrus Road railway station in Bantry (on the Cork, Bandon, and South Coast Railway line). He died on 14 November in the Bandon Military Hospital. 

The Southern Star newspaper of the 18th November 1922 reported on William's funeral:

 'We regret to have to announce the death of Volunteer W. Cronin of the National forces, who succumbed to injuries received in an ambush near Durrus Road, Bantry, on last Saturday [11 November]. The deceased, who was wounded in the abdomen, was conveyed to Bandon, where he passed away on Tuesday evening [14 November]. The remains were removed to the Pro-Cathedral, Skibbereen, on Wednesday, and on Thursday the funeral took place to the family burying place in Abbeystrowrey. The deceased, who was a son of the late Mr John Cronin, carriage builder, was a very respectable young man, and the greatest sympathy is felt with his bereaved relatives. . . . The funeral was attended by a large gathering of [Skibbereen] town folk. . . . The coffin, which was draped in the tricolour and bore on it the deceased's military cap, was carried on the shoulders of stalwart and loving comrades in arms. Full military honours were accorded, [with] a large number of troops following the coffin with rifles reversed. General Ennis, Brig-Commdt C. Connolly, and several [other] officers were in attendance, and as the remains were laid to rest in mother earth, three volleys were discharged by a firing party.' 

Source: UCC 'The Irish Revolution Project'