- Hes The Same Man I Knew Before In Ireland, But LatelyImchangedby Him.

- He’s the same man I knew before in Ireland, but lately…I’m…changed…by him.

eoin was well known for carrying one further item which made him a much sought-after comrade - his silver cigarette case. a present from his grandparents, he felt it brought him luck and it reminded him of home.

from time to time ambrose would visit his old friend, and on one occasion, not long before blair passed away, he took with him his first son, named 'eoin' after his brother.

[…]blair seemed a little quiet and just said, 'so this is eoin… i have something i have been meaning to give to you for some time.' […] blair went into the house, came back with a small rectangular package wrapped in material and gave it to eoin. blair said, 'this used to belong to your uncle - he was a great friend of mine. you're very like him and i know he would've liked you to have it…but perhaps not use it for a few more years yet.' eoin waited until they were back in the car and then quickly started to unwrap the package.[…] it was his uncle eoin's lucky silver cigarette case.

the one man in the unit who was neither awed nor intimidated by mayne was eoin mcgonigal. the two men had known each other since before the war. the two young men probably met on the rugby field, and had visited one another's homes and families. their friendship had deepened after they joined the royal ulster rifles in early 1940, and then together applied to join the commandos. 'they were absolutely inseparable, said one contemporary. when mayne became drunk and aggressive, only mcgonigal appeared able to calm him. as a catholic irishman from the south, mcgonigal might easily have been the butt of mayne's sectarian prejudice, but there is no evidence they ever exchanged a harsh word. it seems likely that mayne urged stirling to recruit mcgonigal, and felt a strong sense of responsibility for his welfare. 'mcgonigal is here with me,' mayne wrote to his sister in september, like a schoolboy delighted to find himself in the same class as his best friend.

— the reports are not all reliable, but it is said that when eoin and blair were playing chess one evening, keyes tried to interrupt their game and blair either knocked him unconscious or hit him and chased him out of the officers' mess at the point of a bayonet. when he came round, or things calmed down, keyes threatened to have blair placed under close arrest. however, knowing all too well blair's standing amongst the men, keyes never followed through.

Paddy Mayne (Jack O'Connell) & Eoin McGonigal (Dónal Finn) in SAS: Rogue Heroes Season 1 Episode 1