World War I medals found in jacket sent to charity shop could belong to Tipperary born soldier

Co. Tipperary families are being asked to delve into their family history to see if they are related to a Private Patrick Ryan, whose World War 1 medals, were found in a jacket donated to a charity shop.
The two medals belonging to the soldier of the British Army's Munster Fusiliers, were found by Steve Roffe, a volunteer at Kealkil Charity Shop near Bantry in West Cork. They were in a pocket of a tweedy-type man's jacket lying in a bundle of clothes donated to the shop.
The community charity shop handed over their discovery - the 1914-1915 Star and Victory Medal - to Skibbereen Heritage Centre. A team of three researchers comprising the Centre's manager Terri Kearney, genealogist Margaret Murphy and World War 11 historian Kevin Tomlinson, have been working hard over the past week to re-unite them with Pte. Ryan's descendants.
Terri Kearney said they are determined to find Pte. Ryan's family. "That man risked his life to get these medals," she pointed out and appealed to any Tipperary people who believe they are related to the soldier to contact the Heritage Centre.
She said the Munster Fusiliers were based throughout Munster and they are exploring the possibility Pte. Ryan was a native of Co. Tipperary because of the popularity of the surname in this county and the fact two of their strong early leads in the search for his family were Tipperary based. Both these leads have now been discounted.
There has been a lot of public interest in the story since the medals's discovery was publicised in the media last week. Terri reports that so far they have followed up the cases of six Patrick Ryans, who served in World War 1, and none of them have turned out to be the soldier who owned these medals. The popularity of his name is making the search more difficult.
The historical detective work Kevin Tomlinson has carried out to date has established that Patrick Ryan was in the 1st Battalion of the Munster Fusiliers and he was a volunteer as no conscripted soldiers were awarded the 1914-15 Star. He volunteered early in the war.
It's believed he served with the Allied forces in the infamous Battle of Gallipoli in 1915-1916. The Munster Fusiliers were evacuated from Gallipoli to Egypt in January 1916 and shipped to Marseille in France in March before heading to the Western Front in the summer of that year. Pte. Ryan was mainly involved in a labour unit digging trenches and building other military fortifications. He was nominated to receive a bravery award, the Military Medal, but it was not awarded.
His service record shows he survived the war and got an honourable discharge but subsequently re-enlisted, which was very uncommon at the time.
Terri Kearney said their search for Pte Ryan's family is following three routes - military and genealogical records, contacts they have received from people who believe he is their relative and the source of the donation of the jacket to Kealkil Charity Shop.
She is both curious and impatient to solve the mystery but from past experience she knows the search for Pte Ryan's family could take a while. "It's just so easy to go down rabbit holes. I had a case like this a few years ago and it took me the best part of six months to solve it," she pointed out.
Terri paid tribute to Kealkil Charity Shop for handing over the medals to the Heritage Centre to find their rightful owners. "Fair play to them. They could have just put the medals in their shop window as novelties."
Anyone who thinks they may be related to the Private Patrick Ryan should contact Skibbereen Heritage Centre by emailing: infoskibbheritage.com or phoning (028) 40900.