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As This Leaves Me Here is a feature-length hybrid historical, biographical, and war documentary made for the big screen. It follows  the filmmaker’s journey to uncover the life and legacy of Patrick “Bob” Gallagher, a young man from rural Ireland, and her elderly mother’s  former classmate, who in 1966, heroically dove onto a Vietcong grenade  to save his fellow U.S Marines.  

Patrick was awarded the Navy Cross for this selfless act. Three months  later he was tragically killed in action. He was one of at least 31 Irish born servicemembers who died serving in the Vietnam War. Today, his  legacy endures both in Ireland and across the Atlantic, with the USS Patrick Gallagher (DDG-127) scheduled to enter service in 2026. 

Beyond Patrick’s sacrifice, As This Leaves Me Here explores the  broader experience of Irish-born and Irish-American veterans of the  Vietnam War. Through firsthand interviews and personal testimony, the  film reveals why these men enlisted, the realities of combat they faced,  the brotherhoods forged and the enduring impact of war on their lives  and families. Their stories also illuminate the lives of working-class Irish  immigrants navigating identity, duty, and belonging in 1960s America. 

Rooted in care, observation, and a strong sense of place, the film begins  with a personal moment, the filmmaker’s elderly mother showing her, a  faded black-and-white photograph of a boy named Patrick, a former  classmate. This spark of curiosity leads to a deep, transatlantic  investigation into his life, legacy, and the circumstances that leads to a  US Naval ship to be named in his honour.  

Blending archival letters, interviews, and atmospheric re-creations  filmed in Super 8, the film evokes both nostalgia and raw emotion.  Personal letters from Patrick and his comrades, original press  photographs, and unseen archival footage help reconstruct the man  behind the heroic act and the era he lived in. 

Ultimately, this documentary delicately explores service, sacrifice and  remembrance, the effects of combat on veterans and their families, the  enduring bonds of brotherhood forged in conflict, and a legacy that  resonates profoundly in today’s world. 

The filmmaker previously produced a radio documentary about Patrick’s  story, broadcast on RTÉ Radio One and CBC Radio in Canada. 

https://www.rte.ie/radio/doconone/835992-mayo-boy-vietnam-hero