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{{Other people|Kevin Barry}} | ||
{{short description|Irish republican}} | |||
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'''Kevin Gerard Barry''' ({{lang-ga|Caoimhín de Barra}}; ], ] - ], ]) was the first Republican to be executed by the British since the Leaders of the 1916 Rebellion. <ref name="Irish Political Prisoners"> Irish Political Prisoners, 1848 – 1922: Theatres of War, Séan McConville, Routledge, London, 2005, ISBN 0 415 37866 4</ref> Barry was sentenced to death for his part in an ] operation which resulted in the deaths of three British soldiers. <ref name="The Cause of Ireland"> The Cause of Ireland: From the United Irishmen to Partition, Liz Curtis, Beyond the Pale Publications, Belfast, 1995, ISBN 0 9514229 6 0</ref> | |||
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=August 2022}} | |||
{{Infobox person | |||
| name = Kevin Barry | |||
| image = Kevin Barry.jpg | |||
| caption = Kevin Barry in the rugby jersey of Belvedere College, Dublin | |||
| birth_name = Kevin Gerard Barry | |||
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1902|1|20|df=y}} | |||
| birth_place = ], ], Ireland | |||
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1920|11|1|1902|1|20|df=y}} | |||
| death_place = ], ] | |||
| death_cause = ] | |||
| other_names = | |||
| known_for = Executed ] | |||
| occupation = Medical student | |||
| nationality = ] | |||
| module = {{Infobox military person|embed=yes | |||
| allegiance = ] [[Irish Republican Army (1919–1922)|Irish | |||
Republican Army]] (IRA) | |||
| branch = North Dublin | |||
| serviceyears = 1917–1920 | |||
| rank = | |||
| unit = | |||
| battles = ] | |||
}} | |||
}} | |||
'''Kevin Gerard Barry''' (20 January 1902 – 1 November 1920) was an ] (IRA) soldier and medical student who was executed by the British Government during the ].<ref name="Irish Political Prisoners">{{cite book|title=Irish Political Prisoners, 1848–1922: Theatres of War|author= McConville, Séan|publisher=Routledge|location=London|year=2005|isbn=978-0-415-37866-6}}</ref> He was sentenced to death for his part in an attack upon a British Army supply lorry which resulted in the deaths of three British soldiers.<ref name="The Cause of Ireland">{{cite book|title=The Cause of Ireland: From the United Irishmen to Partition|author=Curtis, Liz|publisher=Beyond the Pale Publications|location=Belfast|year=1995|isbn=978-0-9514229-6-0}}</ref> | |||
His execution inflamed nationalist public opinion in Ireland, largely because of his age. The timing of the execution, only seven days after the death by ] of ], the republican ], brought public opinion to a fever-pitch. His pending death sentence attracted international attention, and attempts were made by U.S. and Vatican officials to secure a reprieve. His execution and MacSwiney's death precipitated an escalation in violence as the Irish War of Independence entered its bloodiest phase, and Barry became an Irish republican martyr.<ref name="For the Cause of Liberty">{{cite book|title=For the Cause of Liberty|author=Golway, Terry|publisher=Simon & Schuster|location=New York|year=2001|isbn=978-0-684-85556-1|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/forcauseoflibert00golw|author-link=Terry Golway}}</ref><ref name="Ireland 1798 - 1998">{{cite book|title=Ireland 1798–1998|author=Jackson, Alvin|publisher=Blackwell Publishing|year=1999|isbn=978-0-631-19541-2}}</ref> | |||
His execution outraged public opinion in Ireland, and throughout the world. His courage in refusing to inform on his comrades while under torture "earned him a place in the nationalist pantheon," <ref name="For the Cause of Liberty"> For the Cause of Liberty, Terry Golway, Simon & Schuster, New York, 2001, ISBN 0 684 85556 9 </ref> <ref name="The Cause of Ireland"/> and he became one of the most "celebrated of Republican martyrs." <ref name="Ireland 1798 - 1998"> Ireland 1798 – 1998, Alvin Jackson, Blackwell Publishing, 1999, ISBN 0 631 19541 6 </ref> | |||
==Early |
==Early life== | ||
Kevin Barry was born on |
Kevin Barry was born on 20 January 1902, at 8 ], ], to Thomas and Mary (née Dowling) Barry. The fourth of seven children, two boys and five girls, Kevin was baptised in St Andrew's Church, Westland Row. His father, Thomas Barry Sr., ran a prosperous dairy business in Dublin based at Fleet Street and supported by the output of the family's farm at Tombeagh, ], ].<ref name="Kevin Barry and His Time">O'Donovan, Donal. ''Kevin Barry and His Time'', Glendale, Dublin, 1989; {{ISBN|0-907606-68-7}}, at p.15.</ref> Thomas Barry Sr. died of heart disease on 8 February 1908, at the age of 56, when Kevin was six years old.<ref>Ibid., at p. 25.</ref> | ||
Kevin Barry's mother, the former Mary Dowling, came from Drumguin, County Carlow, and, upon the death of her husband, moved the family to the farm at Tombeagh while retaining the family's townhouse on Fleet Street.<ref name="Kevin Barry">Cronin, Sean. ''Kevin Barry'', C.F.N. Publ (3rd edition), at p. 8; O'Donovan, at p. 42; O'Halpin, at p. 38.<!-- ISBN needed --></ref> As a child he went to the National School in Rathvilly. In 1915 he was sent to live in Dublin and attended the O'Connell Schools for three months, before enrolling in the Preparatory Grade at ], in September 1915. He remained at that school until 31 May 1916 when it was closed by its clerical sponsors.<ref>O'Donovan, at pp. 31-34.</ref> | |||
During this period he was undoubtedly affected by the events in April of the Easter Rising. In the same period at St. Mary's, he also attended a commemoration concert for the ], who were hanged in ] in 1867. These events served to incite his nascent nationalism to the extent that he expressed his desire to join ]'s ]. His family attempted to dissuade him, but one sister later expressed the belief that he joined.<ref>O'Donovan, at pp. 31-34.</ref> | |||
==Belvedere College== | ==Belvedere College== | ||
With the closure of St Mary's College, Barry transferred to ], a Jesuit school in Dublin. He was a substitute on the championship Junior Rugby Cup team and earned a place on the senior team. In 1918 he became secretary of the school ] club which had just been formed, and was one of their most enthusiastic players.<ref>O'Donovan, at p, 40.</ref> | |||
] | |||
From St. Mary’s College he then transferred to ], were he was a member on the championship Junior Rugby Cup team, and earned himself a place on the senior team. In 1918 he became secretary of the school ] club which had just been formed, and was one of their most enthusiastic players. <ref name="Kevin Barry"/> | |||
In 1919, his final year at Belvedere, Barry wrote an essay supporting the ] as a "forcible demonstration of the power of Labour and had an experience also of the power of agitation in the person of that marvellous leader ] and his able lieutenant, Commandant ]".<ref>James Larkin: Lion of the Fold: The Life and Works of the Irish Labour Leader by Donal Nevin</ref> This piece earned him only sixty points out of a possible 100. Generally speaking, Barry's performance as a student was erratic. In his first and third years at Belvedere, he won no honours, although he did earn honours in five subjects in his middle year.<ref>O'Donovan, at pp. 37-38.</ref> He must have learned more than his grades reflected. After graduation, he won a merit-based scholarship given annually by ], which allowed him to become a student of medicine at ] (UCD).<ref>O'Donovan, at p. 42.</ref> | |||
During his time in school, he kept a journal in which he elaborated on a number of topics which interested him. <ref name="For the Cause of Liberty"/> Writing about ‘Kingship’ he expressed the following opinion: | |||
{{cquote|the only surviving evil of the days when the people, the mob, were looked upon as dirt, as animals to serve the mighty king and his minions. When all believed or were forced to believe in the Divine Right of Kings…We are at present living in a time which marks the wane of this despotism,” and he continues, “In a day when the people are coming into their own. When the labourer — the backbone of every nation has the same vote and the same right to live as those noblemen who in former times had almost absolute power . . . The belief in the Divine Right of Kings is dying out and the thrones of Europe are tottering. Sentiments which would have shocked our king-worshipping forefathers are floating above in the air. Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité, the motto of the second greatest Republic in the world, will shortly become the war-cry of all and we hope our little island will not change her present views upon Kingship.” <ref name="Kevin Barry"/>}} | |||
==Medical student== | |||
One of his favourite books at this time was “],” on which he wrote in his journal: | |||
Barry entered UCD as a first-year medical student in October 1919 and remained a student for the next year. His closest friend at UCD was Gerry MacAleer, from ], whom he had first met in Belvedere.<ref>O'Donovan, at pp. 38-39, 50-51.</ref> Another friend at UCD was ], whom he had met at the O'Connell Schools, and was now an engineering student at the university.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Eunan|first=O'Halpin|title=Kevin Barry, An Irish Rebel in Life and Death|publisher=Merrion Press|year=2020|isbn=978-1-78537-349-7|location=Newbridge, Co. Kildare, Ireland|pages=22}}</ref> | |||
Barry's medical studies competed with other attractions, including dancing, drinking, gambling, and cinema. As a result, he only managed to attend about three-quarters of his medical school lectures. Not least of his distractions was his membership in the ].<ref>O'Halpin, at p. 35.</ref> Barry was one of several UCD medical students involved in the Volunteers, including Tom Kissane, Liam Grimley and Mick Robinson, all of whom were involved with Barry in the Monk's Bakery ambush, along with Frank Flood. Kissane, Grimley, Robinson and Flood all survived the ambush unscathed. Flood was later captured and executed by the British in 1921.<ref>O'Halpin, at p. 22 and 47; O'Donovan, at p. 81.</ref> | |||
{{cquote|The chapters relating the out-break of Revolution are especially fine…They show how the patience of a long-suffering people is tested to the utmost; how they worked and plotted secretly to regain their freedom and how when the chance came they seized it. The outburst of long bottled-up fury, of pent-up hate, and long-standing grievances, is splendidly described.” <ref name="For the Cause of Liberty"/> }} | |||
Despite Barry's extensive involvement in Volunteer actions, he appears to have been very discreet. Although Barry was a member of the Volunteers for three of the four years of their friendship, his closest friend, Gerry McAleer was unaware of this aspect of his life.<ref>O'Donovan, at p. 50; O'Halpin, at p. 38.</ref> | |||
Father Thomas Counihan, S.J. his science and mathematics teacher, said of him: “He was a dour kind of lad. But once he got down to something he went straight ahead…There was no waving of flags with him, but he was sincere and intense.” <ref name="Kevin Barry"/> | |||
==Volunteer activities== | |||
In an essay he wrote entitled ‘Prejudice’ he considered the subject of three angles: racial, religious and personal. He believed that racial prejudice was the worst of all: | |||
] | |||
In October 1917, during his second year at Belvedere, aged 15, he joined Company C, 1st Battalion of the Dublin Brigade of the Irish Volunteers.<ref name="Kevin Barry"/> When Company C was later reorganized he was reassigned to the newly formed Company H, under the command of Captain Seamus Kavanagh. He was attached to Company C, of the 3rd Battalion of the Carlow Brigade during his vacations from school in Tombeagh.<ref>O'Halpin, at pp. 38-39.</ref> | |||
{{cquote|It usually masks a much worse thing — oppression or tyranny. It is also divided into two classes, namely that of the white man against his coloured brother, for brother he is whether black, red, or yellow, and that of the white man against his fellow-white man of a different nation. The two combined form the origin of very many of the world’s greatest wars and slaughter.” <ref name="Kevin Barry"/>}} | |||
The following year, at age 16, he was introduced by Seán O'Neill and Bob O'Flanagan to the Clarke Luby Club of the ] (IRB). At some point in time, he was sworn as a member of this secret society which was led by ].<ref>Cronin, at p. 8; O'Halpin, at p. 39.</ref> Barry's activities in Dublin focused on training and operations to acquire weapons and ammunition.<ref>O'Donovan, at pp. 43-44.</ref> Training sites were regularly shifted to avoid discovery, but the extent of training that Barry received is questionable.<ref>O'Halpin, at pp. 38-41.</ref> | |||
In another entitled “Uses of History,” he wrote | |||
Although he served in the Volunteers for almost three years, his operational experience prior to the Monk's Bakery ambush was somewhat limited. For the most part, Volunteers in Dublin did little other than training and few saw action or heard shots fired in anger.<ref>O'Halpin, at p. 40. </ref> He took part in a number of small operations including a raid on the Shamrock Works for weapons intended for the ] (RIC), and a raid on Mark's of Capel Street, looking for ammunition and explosives.<ref>Cronin, at pp. 13-14.</ref> | |||
{{cquote|The British have tried for 700 years to abolish Irish tradition and write false histories, but owing to the effects of the poets . . . they have failed.” <ref name="For the Cause of Liberty"/>}} | |||
Barry's one significant action prior to Monk's Bakery was the raid for weapons on a military outpost at King's Inn on Constitution Hill. The Dublin Brigade had carefully reconnoitred the site and developed an operations plan to be completed within seven minutes. On 1 June 1920, a hand-picked team from the Dublin Brigade's three battalions attacked the site taking the 25 soldiers by surprise and seizing the available weapons. Within only six minutes the raiders had secured rifles, light machine guns, and large quantities of ammunition, and had departed the site with no casualties.<ref>O'Halpin, at p. 55; O'Donovan, at p. 59-61.</ref> | |||
Notwithstanding his many activities, he did not neglect his studies. <ref name="Kevin Barry"/> He won a merit-based scholarship given annually by ], which allowed him to become a student of medicine at ]. <ref name="For the Cause of Liberty"/> | |||
== |
==Ambush== | ||
In mid-September 1920, Captain Seamus Kavanagh, Commander of H Company of the Dublin Brigade, was approached by James Douglas of C Company. Douglas informed him that he and John Joe Carroll of H Company had noticed that a British army lorry guarded by an armed party of soldiers made twice weekly trips to Monk's Bakery at 79-80 Church Street to obtain bread. They had observed that the lorry came every Monday and Thursday between 11:00 and 11:15 a.m.. The party usually consisted of an officer and a driver in the cab with a non-commissioned officer and eight privates in the rear. The officer and one soldier would enter the bakery to purchase bread. Four or five soldiers would stay with the lorry without taking any particular security measures while the others would cross the street to purchase cigarettes or sweets. Within ten to fifteen minutes the bread would be loaded and the lorry would depart.<ref>O'Donovan at p. 79.</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=19 March 1951 |title=Statement of Captain Seamus Kavanagh |url=https://www.militaryarchives.ie/collections/online-collections/bureau-of-military-history-1913-1921/reels/bmh/BMH.WS0493.pdf |website=Irish Bureau of Military History}}</ref> | |||
He entered ] in the autumn of 1919, a fellow student described him then as “open-handed, open-hearted and generous to a fault and first in every manly exercise.” <ref name="Kevin Barry"/>Much like other students he liked to go dancing, and to the theatre, and was popular, making friends easily. His closest friend at college was Jerry MacAleer, from ], who he had first met in Belvedere. Although other friends included Frank Flood, Tom Kissane and Mick Robinson, who unknown too many in the college, were, with Barry, ] volunteers.<ref name="Kevin Barry"/> | |||
On 13 September, Captain Kavanagh went to Church Street to confirm the information and reconnoitre the area. He observed the lorry arrive and confirmed the particulars Douglas had related. After the soldiers departed he went into the bakery and talked with J.J. Moore, the foreman carpenter, whom Kavanagh knew and who was sympathetic to the Volunteers. Moore also validated the conclusions of Douglas and Carroll and stated that the party did not exceed 11 men. Moore then showed Kavanagh around the bakery so that the latter could develop a plan for an ambush including planned dispositions of his men. He was also shown a passage from the bakery yard leading into a shop in North King Street which would provide a useful line of retreat for any men posted in the yard.<ref name=":0" /> | |||
==Volunteer== | |||
] | |||
During his second year at Belvedere College, during October 1917, aged 15, he joined the ]. <ref name="Kevin Barry"/>Assigned originally to ‘C’ Company 1st Battalion, based on the north side of Dublin, he later transferred to the newly formed ‘H’ Company, under the command of Capt. Seamus Kavanagh. | |||
After obtaining permission to conduct the ambush Captain Kavanagh selected men from his company to participate and developed his detailed plan. At this time, Kevin Barry was a member of Company C, but upon returning to Dublin from vacation he learned of the operation and asked Captain Kavanagh if he could participate as he had done in another Company H operation in June at King's Inn. With the addition of Barry, the operational party was to consist of Kavanagh in command, with two Lieutenants, seven Section Commanders, an Assistant Quartermaster, four Squad Leaders (one of which was Barry), and ten Volunteers. Additionally, a van was to report to the vicinity of the bakery to collect any captured weapons.<ref name=":0" /> | |||
His first job as a member of the IRA, was delivering mobilisation orders around the city. Along with other Volunteers he trained in a number of locations in Dublin. Among the most notable of buildings used, being 44 Parnell Square, the present day headquarters of ], now named Kevin Barry Hall. The IRA held Field exercises during this period which were conducted in north county Dublin and in areas such as ]. <ref name="Kevin Barry"/> | |||
On Sunday night, 19 September, Kavanagh assembled his men and told them to report to the O'Flanagan Sinn Féin Club at 9:00 a.m. the following morning. He directed that no one was to carry anything that could be used to identify him in the event of capture. He then met privately with Barry and asked if he had an examination at UCD the next day. Barry responded, "Oh, that will be all right". Kavanagh said that he didn't want him to miss another as he had missed one on the day of the King's Inn raid, to which Barry responded, "How do you think I could sit for an examination, knowing this job is on and me not on it?" Kavanagh finally agreed, and noted later that, "I can never forget the look of delight on Kevin's face when I told him he could come on the job".<ref name=":0" /> | |||
The following year age 16, he was introduced by Sean O’Neill and Bob O’Flanagan to the Clarke Luby Club of the ], which had been reorganised. | |||
On the morning of 20 September 1920, Barry went to Mass, then joined a party of IRA volunteers on ] in Dublin. Their orders were to ambush a British army lorry as it picked up a delivery of bread from the bakery and capture their weapons. The ambush was scheduled for 11:00 am, which gave him enough time to take part in the operation and return to class in time for an examination he had at 2:00 pm. The truck arrived late, and was under the command of Sergeant Banks. | |||
==IRA Operations== | |||
He took part in a number of IRA operations in the years leading up to his capture. He was part of the unit which raided the Shamrock Works for weapons, destined to be handed over to the ]. He also took part in the raid on Mark’s of Capel Street, looking for ammunition and explosives. On the June 1, 1920, under Vice-Commandant Peadar Clancy, he played a notable part in the seizing of the King’s Inn, capturing the garrison’s arms. The haul included 25 rifles, two light machine guns and large quantities of ammunition. The 25 British soldiers captured during the attack were released as the Volunteers withdrew. In recognition for his dedication to duty he was promoted to Section Commander. <ref name="Kevin Barry"/> | |||
Barry and members of C Company were to surround the lorry, disarm the soldiers, take the weapons and escape. He covered the back of the vehicle and, when challenged, the five soldiers complied with the order to lay down their weapons. A shot was then fired; ], author of ''For the Cause of Liberty'', suggests it was possibly a warning shot from an uncovered soldier in the front. Barry and the rest of the ambush party then opened fire. His gun jammed twice and he dived for cover under the vehicle. His comrades fled and he was left behind. He was then spotted and arrested by the soldiers.<ref name="For the Cause of Liberty" /><ref name="Kevin Barry and His Time" /> One of the soldiers, Private Harold Washington, had been shot dead. Two others, Privates Marshall Whitehead and Thomas Humphries, were both badly wounded and later died of their wounds.<ref name="Kevin Barry" /> | |||
==The Ambush== | |||
On the morning of September 20, 1920, Kevin Barry went to Mass, and received Holy Communion; he then joined a party of IRA Volunteers on Bolton Street in Dublin. Their orders were to ambush a British army truck as it picked up a delivery of bread from the bakery, and capture their weapons. The ambush was scheduled for 11:00A.M., which gave him enough time to take part in the operation and return to class in time for an examination he had at 2:00 P.M. The truck arrived late, and was under the command of Sergeant Banks N.C.O. | |||
Armed with a .38 Mauser Parabellum, Barry and members of C Company were to surround the truck, disarm the soldiers, take the weapons, and escape. He covered the back of the truck, and when challenged, the five soldiers complied with the order to lay down their weapons. | |||
Then a shot rang out, Terry Golway author of “For the Cause of Liberty,” suggests it was possibly a warning shot from an uncovered soldier in the front. Barry and the rest of the ambush party then opened fire. His gun jammed twice, and he dove for cover under the truck. His comrades had during this time begun to withdraw, and he was left behind. He was then spotted, and arrested by the soldiers. <ref name="For the Cause of Liberty"/> | |||
] | |||
The British Army released the following statement on Monday afternoon:<blockquote>This morning a party of one N.C.O. and six men of the ] were fired on by a body of civilians outside a bakery in Church Street, Dublin. One soldier was killed and four were wounded. A ] of the ] in the vicinity, hearing the shots, hurried to their comrades' assistance, and succeeded in arresting one of the aggressors. No arms or equipment were lost by the soldiers.<ref name="Kevin Barry"/></blockquote> | |||
One of the soldiers, Pte. Harold Washington had been shot dead. Two others, Pte. Marshall Whitehead and Thomas Humphries were both badly wounded. Both were later to die of their wounds. <ref name="Kevin Barry"/> | |||
Much was made of Barry's age by Irish newspapers, but the British military pointed out that the three soldiers who had been killed were "much the same age as Barry". On 20 October, Major Reginald Ingram Marians OBE, Head of the Press Section of the General Staff, informed Basil Clarke, Head of Publicity, that Washington was "only 19 and that the other soldiers were of similar ages." General Macready<ref name="The Origins & Organisation">Murphy, Father Brian P. (OSB), ''The Origins & Organisation of British Propaganda in Ireland 1920'', Aubane Historical Society, 2006; {{ISBN|1-903497-24-8}}</ref> was well aware of the "propaganda value of the soldier's ages." Macready informed General ] on the day that sentence was pronounced "of the three men who were killed by him (Barry) and his friends two were 19 and one 20 — official age so probably they were younger... so if you want propaganda there you are."<ref name="The Origins & Organisation"/><ref>, BBC News, 12 October 2001.</ref> | |||
The British Army released the following statement on Monday afternoon: | |||
About this competing propaganda, ] wrote in a magazine article entitled 'Kevin Barry & the Anglo-Irish Propaganda War':<blockquote>from the British point of view, therefore, the Anglo-Irish propaganda war was probably {{sic|unwi|nable}}. Nationalist Ireland had decided that men like Kevin Barry fought to free their country, while British soldiers — young or not — sought to withhold that freedom. In these circumstances, to label Barry a murderer was merely to add insult to injury. The contrasting failure of British propaganda is graphically demonstrated by the simple fact that even in British newspapers Privates Whitehead, Washington and Humphries remained faceless names and numbers, for whom no songs were written.”<ref>Doherty, M.A. ''Barry'', Irish Historical Studies, p. 231.</ref></blockquote> | |||
{{cquote|This morning a party of one N.C.O. and six men of the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment were fired on by a body of civilians outside a bakery in Church Street, Dublin. One soldier was killed and four were wounded. A piquet of the ] in the vicinity, hearing the shots, hurried to their comrades’ assistance, and succeeded in arresting one of the aggressors. No arms or equipment were lost by the soldiers. <ref name="Kevin Barry"/>}} | |||
==Capture and allegations of torture== | |||
Much was made of Barry’s age by the Irish Newspapers, but the British military were to point out that the three soldiers who had been killed were “much the same age as Barry.” On 20th October Major Reginald Ingram Marians OBE, Head of the Press Section of the General Staff informed Basil Clarke Head of Publicity that Washington was “only 19 and that the other soldiers were of similar ages.” General Macready according to Brian P. Murphy, <ref name="The Origins & Organisation of British Propaganda in Ireland 1920"> ''The Origins & Organisation of British Propaganda in Ireland 1920'', Brian P. Murphy osb, Aubane Historical Society, 2006, ISBN 1 903497 24 8</ref> was well aware of the “propaganda value of the soldier’s ages.” General Macready informed General Sir Henry Wilson on the day that sentence was pronounced “of the three men who were killed by him (Barry) and his friends two were 19 and one 20—official age so probably they were younger... so if you want propaganda there you are.” <ref name="The Origins & Organisation of British Propaganda in Ireland 1920"/> | |||
]'s Dublin HQ at the Kevin Barry Memorial Hall]] | |||
Barry was placed in the back of the lorry with the young body of Private Harold Washington, and also with Washington's comrades. He was transported then to the North Dublin Union. Upon arrival at the barracks, he was taken under military police escort to the defaulters' room where he was searched and handcuffed. A short while later, three sergeants of the Lancashire Fusiliers and two officers began the interrogation. He gave his name and an address of 58 South Circular Road, Dublin (his uncle's address), and his occupation as a medical student, but refused to answer any other questions. The officers continued to demand the names of other republicans involved in the ambush.<ref name="Kevin Barry"/><ref name="Kevin Barry and His Time"/> | |||
At this time a publicity campaign was mounted by Sinn Féin. Barry received orders on 28 October from his brigade commander, Richard McKee, "to make a sworn affidavit concerning his torture in the North Dublin Union." Arrangements were made to deliver this through Barry's sister, ], to ], director of publicity for Sinn Féin, "with the object of having it published in the World press, and particularly in the English papers, on Saturday 30th October."<ref name="ainsworth">"Kevin Barry, the Incident at Monk's bakery and the Making of an Irish Republican Legend" by John Ainsworth (excerpt), ''History'', Vol 87, No 287, July 2002 (pp 380-84).</ref> | |||
On this period M.A. Doherty was to write: | |||
{{cquote|from the British point of view, therefore, the Anglo-Irish propaganda war was probably unwinable. Nationalist Ireland had decided that men like Kevin Barry fought to free their country, while British soldiers—young or not—sought to withhold that freedom. In these circumstances, to label Barry a murderer was merely to add insult to injury. The contrasting failure of British propaganda is graphically demonstrated by the simple fact that even in British newspapers Privates Whitehead, Washington and Humphries remained faceless names and numbers, for whom no songs were written.” <ref>Barry, M.A. Doherty ,Irish Historical Studies, p231</ref>}} | |||
The affidavit, drawn up in Mountjoy Prison days before his execution, describes his treatment when the question of names was repeated:<blockquote> He tried to persuade me to give the names, and I persisted in refusing. He then sent the sergeant out of the room for a bayonet. When it was brought in the sergeant was ordered by the same officer to point the bayonet at my stomach ... The sergeant then said that he would run the bayonet into me if I did not tell ... The same officer then said to me that if I persisted in my attitude he would turn me out to the men in the barrack square, and he supposed I knew what that meant with the men in their present temper. I said nothing. He ordered the sergeants to put me face down on the floor and twist my arm ... When I lay on the floor, one of the sergeants knelt on my back, the other two placed one foot each on my back and left shoulder, and the man who knelt on me twisted my right arm, holding it by the wrist with one hand, while he held my hair with the other to pull back my head. The arm was twisted from the elbow joint. This continued, to the best of my judgment, for five minutes. It was very painful ... I still persisted in refusing to answer these questions... A civilian came in and repeated the questions, with the same result. He informed me that if I gave all the information I knew I could get off.<ref>This affidavit was written by Seán Ó hUadhaigh, solicitor; witnessed by Myles Keogh, Justice of the Peace and signed by Kevin Barry. The original is now in the National Museum.</ref></blockquote> | |||
==Capture and Torture== | |||
Kevin Barry was placed in the back of the lorry with the body of Pte. Harold Washington, and was subjected to some abuse by Pte. Washington comrades. He was transported then to the North Dublin Union. | |||
On 28 October, the '']'', the official propaganda news-sheet produced by Dáil Éireann's Department of Publicity,<ref>Townshend, Charles. ''The British Campaign in Ireland 1919-1921 The Development of Political and Military Policies'' (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1975), p. 67.<!--ISBN needed --></ref> published Barry's statement alleging torture. The headline read: ''English Military Government Torture a Prisoner of War and are about to Hang him''. The ''Irish Bulletin'' declared Barry to be a ], suggesting a conflict of principles was at the heart of the conflict. The English did not recognise a war and treated all killings by the IRA as murder.{{fact|date=December 2024}} | |||
On arrival at the barracks he was taken under military police escort to the defaulters’ room where he was searched and handcuffed. A short while later, three sergeants of the Lancashire Fusiliers and two officers began the interrogation. He gave his name and his address which was 58 South Circular Road, Dublin: his occupation as a medical student but refused to answer any other questions. The officers continued, they wanted the names of all involved in the ambush. <ref name="Kevin Barry"/> | |||
Historian John Ainsworth, author of ''Kevin Barry, the Incident at Monk's bakery and the Making of an Irish Republican Legend'', pointed out that Barry had been captured by the British not as a uniformed soldier but disguised as a civilian and in possession of ] bullets, which expand upon impact, maximising the amount of damage done to the "unfortunate individual" targeted, in contravention of the ].<ref name="ainsworth"/> | |||
In an affidavit drawn up in Mountjoy Prison days before his execution, he tells what happened when the question of names was repeated: | |||
] addressed the question of political status in a letter to the press on 29 October, which was published the day after Barry's execution.<ref name="The Origins & Organisation"/> | |||
{{cquote|I refused to give them. He tried to persuade me to give the names, and I persisted in refusing. He then sent the sergeant out of the room for a bayonet. When it was brought in the sergeant was ordered by the same officer to point the bayonet at my stomach. The same questions as to the names and addresses of my companions were repeated, with the same result. The sergeant was then ordered to turn my face to the wall and point the bayonet to my back. I was so turned. The sergeant then said that he would run the bayonet into me if I did not tell. The bayonet was then removed and I was turned round again. The same officer then said to me that if I persisted in my attitude he would turn me out to the men in the barrack square, and he supposed I knew what that meant with the men in their present temper. I said nothing. He ordered the sergeants to put me face down on the floor and twist my arm. I was pushed down on the floor after my handcuffs were removed by the sergeant who went for the bayonet. When I lay on the floor, one of the sergeants knelt on my back, the other two placed one foot each on my back and left shoulder, and the man who knelt on me twisted my right arm, holding it by the wrist with one hand, while he held my hair with the other to pull back my head. The arm was twisted from the elbow joint. This continued, to the best of my judgment, for five minutes. It was very painful. The first officer was standing near my feet, and the officer who accompanied him was still present. During the twisting of my arm, the first officer continued to question me as to the names and addresses of my companions, and also asked me the name of my company commander and any other officers I knew. As I still persisted in refusing to answer these questions I was allowed to get up and I was again handcuffed. A civilian came in and repeated the questions, with the same result. He informed me that if I gave all the information I knew I could get off. I was then left in the company of the military policeman; the two officers, the three sergeants and the civilian leaving together. I could certainly identify the officer who directed the proceedings and put the questions. I am not sure of the others, except the sergeant with the bayonet. My arm was medically treated by an officer of the Royal Army Medical Corps, attached to the North Dublin Union, the following morning, and by the prison hospital orderly afterwards for four or five days. I was visited by the court martial officer last night and he read for me a confirmation of sentence of death by hanging, to be executed on Monday next, and I make this solemn declaration conscientiously believing same to be true and by virtue of the Statutory Declaration Act, 1836.<ref>This affidavit was written by Sean 0 hUadhaigh, solicitor; witnessed by Myles Keogh, Justice of the Peace and was signed by Kevin Barry. The original is now in the National Museum.</ref>}} | |||
::This lad Barry was doing precisely what Englishmen would be doing under the same circumstances and with the same bitter and intolerable provocation — the suppression by military force of their country's liberty. | |||
::To hang him for murder is an insulting outrage, and it is more: it is an abuse of power: an unworthy act of vengeance. contrasting ill with the forbearance and humanity invariably shown by the Irish Volunteers towards the prisoners captured by them when they have been successful in encounters similar to this one. These guerrilla combats with soldiers and constables — both classes do the same work with the same weapons; the work of military repression — are typical episodes in Ireland. | |||
::Murder of individual constables, miscalled ‘police’, have been comparatively rare. The Government figure is 38, and it will not, to my knowledge, bear examination. I charge against the British Government 80 murders by soldiers and constables: murders of unarmed people, and for the most part wholly innocent people, including old men, women and boys. | |||
::To hang Barry is to push to its logical extreme the hypocritical pretence that the national movement in Ireland unflinchingly supported by the great mass of the Irish people, is the squalid conspiracy of a ‘murder gang’. | |||
::That is false; it is a natural uprising: a collision between two Governments, one resting on consent, the other on force. The Irish are struggling against overwhelming odds to defend their own elected institutions against extinction.<ref name="Kevin Barry"/> | |||
In a letter addressed to ''"the civilised nations of the world"'', ] — then acting President of the Republic wrote: | |||
On 28th October, the ''Irish Bulletin'' published the statement by Barry alleging torture, which had been organised by ], the IRA Commandant of the Dublin Brigade. The headline of the paper read: ''English Military Government Torture a Prisoner of War and are about to Hang him''. The ''Irish Bulletin'', claimed that Barry was a prisoner of war, suggesting a conflict of principles was at the heart of the conflict. The English they claimed did not recognise a war existed and treated all killings by the IRA as murder; the Irish republicans claimed that they were at war and it was being fought between two opposing nations and therefore demanded prisoner of war status. ] addressed this question of political status in a letter to the press on 29th October, which was published, the day after Barry’s execution. <ref name="The Origins & Organisation of British Propaganda in Ireland 1920"/> | |||
<blockquote>Under similar circumstances a body of Irish Volunteers captured on June 1 of the present year a party of 25 English military who were on duty at the King's Inns, Dublin. Having disarmed the party the Volunteers immediately released their prisoners. This was in strict accordance with the conduct of the Volunteers in all such encounters. Hundreds of members of the armed forces have been from time to time captured by the Volunteers and in no case was any prisoner maltreated even though Volunteers had been killed and wounded in the fighting, as in the case of Cloyne, County Cork, when, after a conflict in which one Volunteer was killed and two wounded, the whole of the opposing forces were captured, disarmed, and set at liberty.<ref name="Kevin Barry"/></blockquote> | |||
Ainsworth notes that "Griffith was deliberately using examples relating to IRA engagements with British military forces rather than the police, for he knew that engagements involving the police, in particular, were usually of an uncivilized nature, characterized by violence and brutality, albeit on both sides by this stage."<ref name="ainsworth"/> | |||
{{cquote|This lad Barry was doing precisely what Englishmen would be doing under the same circumstances and with the same bitter and intolerable provocation — the suppression by military force of their country’s liberty. To hang him for murder is an insulting outrage, and it is more: it is an abuse of power: an unworthy act of vengeance. contrasting ill with the forbearance and humanity invariably shown by the Irish Volunteers towards the prisoners captured by them when they have been successful in encounters similar to this one. | |||
These guerrilla combats with soldiers and constables—both classes do the same work with the same weapons; the work of military repression — are typical episodes in Ireland. Murder of individual constables, miscalled ‘police,’ have been comparatively rare. The Government figure is 38, and it will not, to my knowledge, bear examination. I charge against the British Government 80 murders by soldiers and constables: murders of unarmed people, and for the most part wholly innocent people, including old men, women and boys. | |||
To hang Barry is to push to its logical extreme the hypocritical pretence that the national movement in Ireland unflinchingly supported by the great mass of the Irish people, is the squalid conspiracy of a ‘murder gang.’ | |||
That is false; it is a natural uprising: a collision between two Governments, one resting on consent, the other on force. The Irish are struggling against overwhelming odds to defend their own elected institutions against extinction.<ref name="Kevin Barry"/>}} | |||
In a letter addressed to ''‘the civilised nations of the world,’'' by ] — then acting President of the Republic wrote: | |||
{{cquote|Under similar circumstances a body of Irish Volunteers captured on June 1 of the present year a party of 25 English military who were on duty at the King’s Inns, Dublin. Having disarmed the party the Volunteers immediately released their prisoners. | |||
This was in strict accordance with the conduct of the Volunteers in all such encounters. Hundreds of members of the armed forces have been from time to time captured by the Volunteers and in no case was any prisoner maltreated even though Volunteers had been killed and wounded in the fighting, as in the case of Cloyne, Co. Cork, when, after a conflict in which one Volunteer was killed and two wounded, the whole of the opposing forces were captured disarmed, and set at liberty.<ref name="Kevin Barry"/>}} | |||
==Trial== | ==Trial== | ||
The War Office ordered that Kevin Barry be tried by court-martial under the |
The War Office ordered that Kevin Barry be tried by ] under the ''Restoration of Order in Ireland Act'', which received ] on 9 August 1920. General Sir ], Commander-in-Chief of British forces in Ireland then nominated a court of nine officers under Brigadier-General Onslow.<ref name="Kevin Barry"/> | ||
] |
] | ||
On |
On 20 October, at 10 o’clock, the nine officers of the court — ranging in rank from Brigadier to Lieutenant — took their places at an elevated table. At 10.25,<ref>He was 25 minutes late for his trial because the armoured car bringing him from ] to Marlborough Barracks broke down on the North Circular Road.</ref> Kevin Barry was brought into the room by a military escort. Then Seán Ó hUadhaigh sought a short adjournment to consult his client. The court granted this request. After the short adjournment Barry announced, "As a soldier of the Irish Republic, I refuse to recognise the court". Brigadier Onslow explained the prisoner's "perilous situation" and that he was being tried on a capital charge. He did not reply. Ó hUadhaigh then rose to tell the court that since his client did not recognise the authority of the court he himself could take no further part in the proceedings.<ref name="Kevin Barry"/><ref name="Kevin Barry and His Time"/> | ||
Sean O’hUadhaigh then rose to tell the court that since his client did not recognise the authority of the court he himself could take no further part in the proceedings. <ref name="Kevin Barry"/> | |||
Barry was charged with three counts of the murder of Private Marshall Whitehead. One of the bullets taken from Whitehead's body was of .45 calibre, while all witnesses stated that Barry was armed with a .38 Mauser Parabellum. The ] informed the court that the Crown had only to prove that the accused was one of the party that killed three British soldiers, and every member of the party was technically guilty of murder. In accordance with military procedure, the verdict was not announced in court. He was returned to Mountjoy, and at about 8 o’clock that night, the district court-martial officer entered his cell and read out the sentence: death by hanging. The public learned on 28 October that the date of execution had been fixed for 1 November.<ref name="For the Cause of Liberty"/><ref name="Kevin Barry"/><ref name="Kevin Barry and His Time"/> | |||
In accordance with military procedure the verdict was not announced in court. He was returned to Mountjoy, and at about 8 o’clock that night, the district court-martial officer entered his cell and read out the sentence: death by hanging. The public learned on October 28 that the date of execution had been fixed for November 1. <ref name="For the Cause of Liberty"/><ref name="Kevin Barry"/> | |||
==Execution== | ==Execution== | ||
Barry spent the last day of his life preparing for death. His ordeal focused world attention on Ireland. According to Sean Cronin, author of a biography of Barry (''Kevin Barry''), he hoped for a firing squad rather than the gallows, as he had been condemned by a military court. A friend who visited him in Mountjoy prison after he received confirmation of the death sentence, said: <blockquote>He is meeting death as he met life with courage but with nothing of the braggart. He does not believe that he is doing anything wonderfully heroic. Again and again, he has begged that no fuss be made about him.</blockquote> | |||
Kevin Barry spent the last day of his life preparing for death. His ordeal focussed world attention on Ireland. | |||
According to Sean Cronin author of “Kevin Barry,” he hoped for a firing squad rather than the gallows, due to the fact that he had been condemned by a military court. But he didn’t really care, friends said, because heroics were foreign to him. A friend who visited him in Mountjoy prison after he received confirmation of the death sentence, said: | |||
He reported Barry as saying "It is nothing, to give one's life for Ireland. I'm not the first and maybe I won't be the last. What's my life compared with the cause?"<ref name="Kevin Barry"/> Barry joked about his death with his sister Kathy. "Well, they are not going to let me like a soldier fall… But I must say they are going to hang me like a gentleman." This was, according to Cronin, a reference to ]'s play '']''. | |||
{{cquote|He is meeting death as he met life with courage but with nothing of the braggart. He does not believe that he is doing anything wonderfully heroic. Again and again he has begged that no fuss be made about him.}} | |||
On 31 October, he was allowed three visits of three people each, the last of which was taken by his mother, brother and sisters. In addition to the two Auxiliaries with him, there were five or six warders in the boardroom. As his family were leaving, they met Canon John Waters, on the way in, who said, "This boy does not seem to realise he is going to die in the morning." Mrs Barry asked him what he meant. He said: "He is so gay and light-hearted all the time. If he fully realised it, he would be overwhelmed." Mrs Barry replied, "Canon Waters, I know you are not a Republican. But is it impossible for you to understand that my son is actually proud to die for the Republic?" Canon Waters became somewhat flustered as they parted. The Barry family recorded that they were upset by this encounter because they considered the chief chaplain "the nearest thing to a friend that Kevin would see before his death, and he seemed so alien."<ref name="Kevin Barry"/><ref name="Kevin Barry and His Time"/> | |||
He reported Barry as saying | |||
] | |||
{{cquote|It is nothing, to give one’s life for Ireland. I’m not the first and maybe I won’t be the last. What’s my life compared with the cause?” <ref name="Kevin Barry"/> }} | |||
Kevin Barry was hanged on 1 November, after hearing two Masses in his cell. Canon Waters, who walked with him to the scaffold, wrote to Barry's mother later, "You are the mother, my dear Mrs Barry, of one of the bravest and best boys I have ever known. His death was one of the most holy, and your dear boy is waiting for you now, beyond the reach of sorrow or trial."<ref name="For the Cause of Liberty"/><ref name="Kevin Barry and His Time"/> | |||
Dublin Corporation met on the Monday, passed a vote of sympathy with the Barry family, and adjourned the meeting as a mark of respect. The Chief Secretary's office in Dublin Castle, on the Monday night, released the following communiqué:<blockquote>The sentence of death by hanging passed by court-martial upon Kevin Barry, or Berry, medical student, aged 18½ years, for the murder of Private Whitehead in Dublin on September 20, was duly executed this morning at Mountjoy Prison, Dublin.<br /> At a military court of inquiry, held subsequently in lieu of an inquest, medical evidence was given to the effect that death was instantaneous. The court found that the sentence had been carried out in accordance with law.<ref name="Kevin Barry"/></blockquote> | |||
He joked about his death with his sister Kathy “Well, they are not going to let me like a soldier fall…But I must say they are going to hang me like a gentleman.” This was, according to Cronin, a reference to ]’s ''The Devil’s Disciple'', the last play Kevin and his sister had seen together. | |||
] | |||
On October 31, he was allowed three visits of three people each. The last of which was taken by his mother, brother and sisters. In addition to the two Auxiliaries with him, there were five or six warders in the boardroom, which made the conversation difficult for them. Then the Deputy Governor announced that the visit was over. | |||
As his family were leaving a notable conversation occurred when they met Canon John Waters, on the way in to Kevin, he said, “This boy does not seem to realise he is going to die in the morning” Mrs Barry asked him what he meant? He said: “He is so gay and light-hearted all the time. If he fully realised it, he would be overwhelmed.” Mrs Barry replied “Canon Waters, I know you are not a Republican. But it is impossible for you to understand that my son is actually proud to die for the Republic?” Canon John Waters became somewhat flustered as they parted. The Barry family recorded that they were upset by this encounter because he was they considered the chief chaplain and “the nearest thing to a friend that Kevin would see before his death, and he seemed so alien.” <ref name="Kevin Barry"/> | |||
Barry's body was buried at 1.30 p.m., in a plot near the women's prison. His comrade and fellow student ] was buried alongside him four months later. A plain cross marked their graves and those of ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ] who were hanged in the same prison before the ] of July 1921 which ended hostilities between Irish republicans and the British.<ref name="Kevin Barry"/><ref name="Kevin Barry and His Time"/> The men had been buried in unconsecrated ground on the jail property and their graves went unidentified until 1934. They became known as ] by republicans campaigning for the bodies to be reburied with honour and proper rites.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://republican-news.org/archive/2001/October11/11forg.html|title=AN PHOBLACHT/REPUBLICAN NEWS|website=Republican-news.org|access-date=29 October 2021}}</ref> On 14 October 2001, the remains of these ten men were given a ] and moved from Mountjoy Prison to be re-interred at Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.ie/en/organisation/department-of-the-taoiseach/?referrer=http://www.taoiseach.gov.ie/index.asp/?locID=383&docID=511|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071202182547/http://www.taoiseach.gov.ie/index.asp?locID=383&docID=511|url-status=dead|title=Department of the Taoiseach|archive-date=2 December 2007|website=Gov.ie|access-date=29 October 2021}}</ref> | |||
Kevin Barry was led to his death on a Monday morning, November 1, 1920, after hearing two Masses in his cell. Father John Waters, who walked with him to the scaffold wrote to Barry’s mother later, “You are the mother, my dear Mrs. Barry, of one of the bravest and best boys I have ever known. His death was one of the most holy, and your dear boy is waiting for you now, beyond the reach of sorrow or trial.” <ref name="For the Cause of Liberty"/> | |||
==Aftermath== | |||
Dublin Corporation met on the Monday, and passed a vote of sympathy with the Barry family, and adjourned the meeting as a mark of respect. The Chief Secretary’s office in Dublin Castle, on the Monday night, released the following communiqué: | |||
]]] | |||
] to be re-interred at ] in Dublin. Barry's grave is the first on the left.]] | |||
The only full-length biography of Kevin Barry was written by his nephew, journalist Donal O'Donovan, and published in 1989 as ''Kevin Barry and his Time''. In 1965, Sean Cronin wrote a short biography, simply entitled "Kevin Barry"; this was published by The National Publications Committee, Cork, to which ] provided a foreword. Barry is remembered in a well-known song about his imprisonment and execution, written shortly after his death and still sung today. The tune to ] was taken from the sea-shanty "Rolling Home".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mysongbook.de/msb/songs/k/kevinbar.html|title=Kevin Barry|website=Mysongbook.de|access-date=29 October 2021}}</ref> The execution reportedly inspired ]'s surrealist poem, . MacGreevy had unsuccessfully petitioned the Provost of ], ], to make representations on Barry's behalf.{{fact|date=December 2024}} | |||
==Legacy== | |||
{{cquote|The sentence of death by hanging passed by court-martial upon Kevin Barry. or Berry, medical student, aged 18½ years, for the murder of Pte. Whitehead in Dublin on September 20, was duly executed this morning at Mountjoy Prison, Dublin. | |||
] in ]]] | |||
At a military court of inquiry, held subsequently in lieu of an inquest, medical evidence was given to the effect that death was instantaneous. The court found that the sentence had been carried out in accordance with law.<ref name="Kevin Barry"/>}} | |||
In 1930, Irish immigrants in ], created The club later disappeared for decades but was revived in 2011 by more recently arrived Irish immigrants and local Irish-Americans in the area.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://hartfordgaa.com/|title=Hartford GAA | Home of Hartford's Irish Sports|website=Hartfordgaa.com|access-date=29 October 2021}}</ref> A commemorative stamp was issued by the ] to mark the 50th anniversary of Barry's death in 1970.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.carlowcountymuseum.com/collections/personalities/pages/kevin-barry.aspx |title=Compatriot Kevin Barry |publisher=Carlow County Museum |access-date=9 July 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212042116/http://www.carlowcountymuseum.com/collections/personalities/pages/kevin-barry.aspx |archive-date=12 December 2013 }}</ref> The ] and ] branches of ] are named after him.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ucd.ie/kbc|title=The Kevin Barry Cumann Homepage|website=Ucd.ie|access-date=29 October 2021}}</ref> Derrylaughan Kevin Barry's GAA club was founded in ], ]. | |||
The body of Kevin Barry was placed in a plain deal coffin and buried at 1.30 p.m, in a plot near the women’s prison. His comrade and fellow-student Frank Flood was buried along side him four months later. A plain cross marked their graves and those of Thomas Whelan, Patrick Moran. Thomas Bryan, Patrick Doyle, Bernard Ryan, Thomas Traynor, Edward Foley and Patrick Maher who were also hanged in the same prison for their part in the War of Independence before the Treaty of July 1921. <ref name="Kevin Barry"/> | |||
They became known in Republican circles as the Forgotten Ten. | |||
In 1934, a large stained-glass window commemorating Barry was unveiled in Earlsfort Terrace, then the principal campus of ]. It was designed by Richard King of the ] Studio. In 2007, UCD completed its relocation to the ] campus some four miles away and a fund was collected by graduates to defray the cost (estimated at close to €250,000) of restoring and moving the window to this new location.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ucd.ie/news/may07/052107_farewell_to_the_terrace.html|title=UCD Bids Farewell to the Terrace|date=21 May 2007|website=University College Dublin|access-date=24 January 2019}}</ref> A grandnephew of Kevin Barry is Irish historian ].<ref>]. , ''Irish Times'', 28 June 2008.</ref> There is an Irish republican ] named after him in Glasgow, the "Volunteer Kevin Barry Republican Flute Band". | |||
On October 14, 2001 the remains of Kevin Barry and the 9 other volunteers were given a state funeral and moved from Mountjoy Prison to be re-interred at Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin. Barry's is the first on the left. | |||
Barry's execution is mentioned in the folk song "]", which was written by ] in 1968. The ballad "]", relating the story of his execution, has been sung by artists such as ],<ref>{{YouTube|BSjO9rIwn5M|Paul Robeson singing "Kevin Barry"}}</ref> ],<ref>{{YouTube|jG6D7-PAIKI|Leonard Cohen singing "Kevin Barry"}}</ref> ], ],<ref>{{Citation |last= |title=Stompin' Tom Connors singing "Kevin Barry" |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-emje8LvZQ |language=en |access-date=}} on ]</ref> the ], ], ], ] and ].{{fact|date=October 2023}} At the place where Kevin Barry was captured (North King Street/Church Street, Dublin), there are two blocks of flats named after him.{{fact|date=October 2023}} | |||
==Aftermath== | |||
Barry's death is considered a watershed moment in the Irish conflict. His hanging came only days after the death on ] of ] - the Republican Lord Mayor of ] - and brought public opinion to fever-pitch. His treatment and death attracted great international attention and attempts were made by U.S., British and Vatican officials to secure a reprieve. | |||
The only full-length biography of Kevin Barry was written by his nephew, the journalist Donal O'Donovan and published in 1989 as ''Kevin Barry and his Time''. | |||
Kevin Barry is remembered in a well-known song about his imprisonment and execution, written shortly after his death and still sung today. The tune to "Kevin Barry" was taken from "Rolling Home to Dear Old Ireland". | |||
], Co Carlow.]] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
The words of ''Kevin Barry'':- | |||
{{cquote|In Mountjoy jail one Monday morning | |||
:High upon the gallows tree | |||
:Kevin Barry gave his young life | |||
:For the cause of liberty | |||
:Just a lad of eighteen summers | |||
:Yet there's no one can deny | |||
:As he walked to death that morning | |||
:He proudly held his head on high. | |||
:CHORUS | |||
:Shoot me like an Irish soldier, | |||
:Do not hang me like a dog; | |||
:For I fought for Ireland's freedom | |||
:On that dark September morn, | |||
:All around that little bakery, | |||
:Where we fought them hand to hand. | |||
:Shoot me like an Irish soldier | |||
:For I fought to free Ireland. | |||
:Just before he faced the hangman | |||
:In his dreary prison cell | |||
:British soldiers tortured Barry | |||
:Just because he would not tell | |||
:The names of his brave comrades | |||
:And other things they wished to know | |||
:"Turn informer or we'll kill you" | |||
:Kevin Barry answered "No" | |||
:Calmly standing to attention | |||
:While he bade his last farewell | |||
:To his broken hearted mother | |||
:Whose sad grief no one can tell | |||
:For the cause he proudly cherished | |||
:This sad parting had to be | |||
:Then to death he walked on smiling | |||
:That old Ireland might be free | |||
:Another martyr for old Ireland | |||
:Another murder for the crown | |||
:Whose brutal laws may kill the Irish | |||
:But can't keep their spirits down | |||
:Lads like Barry are no cowards | |||
:From the foe they will not fly | |||
:Lads like Barry will free Ireland | |||
:For her sake they'll live and die}} | |||
] | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
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Latest revision as of 03:33, 17 December 2024
For other people named Kevin Barry, see Kevin Barry (disambiguation). Irish republican
Kevin Barry | |
---|---|
Kevin Barry in the rugby jersey of Belvedere College, Dublin | |
Born | Kevin Gerard Barry (1902-01-20)20 January 1902 Fleet Street, Dublin, Ireland |
Died | 1 November 1920(1920-11-01) (aged 18) Mountjoy Jail, Dublin, Ireland |
Cause of death | Execution by hanging |
Nationality | Irish |
Occupation | Medical student |
Known for | Executed Irish Republican Army volunteer |
Military career | |
Allegiance | Irish Republican Army (IRA) |
Service | North Dublin |
Years of service | 1917–1920 |
Battles / wars | Irish War of Independence |
Kevin Gerard Barry (20 January 1902 – 1 November 1920) was an Irish Republican Army (IRA) soldier and medical student who was executed by the British Government during the Irish War of Independence. He was sentenced to death for his part in an attack upon a British Army supply lorry which resulted in the deaths of three British soldiers.
His execution inflamed nationalist public opinion in Ireland, largely because of his age. The timing of the execution, only seven days after the death by hunger strike of Terence MacSwiney, the republican Lord Mayor of Cork, brought public opinion to a fever-pitch. His pending death sentence attracted international attention, and attempts were made by U.S. and Vatican officials to secure a reprieve. His execution and MacSwiney's death precipitated an escalation in violence as the Irish War of Independence entered its bloodiest phase, and Barry became an Irish republican martyr.
Early life
Kevin Barry was born on 20 January 1902, at 8 Fleet Street, Dublin, to Thomas and Mary (née Dowling) Barry. The fourth of seven children, two boys and five girls, Kevin was baptised in St Andrew's Church, Westland Row. His father, Thomas Barry Sr., ran a prosperous dairy business in Dublin based at Fleet Street and supported by the output of the family's farm at Tombeagh, Hacketstown, County Carlow. Thomas Barry Sr. died of heart disease on 8 February 1908, at the age of 56, when Kevin was six years old.
Kevin Barry's mother, the former Mary Dowling, came from Drumguin, County Carlow, and, upon the death of her husband, moved the family to the farm at Tombeagh while retaining the family's townhouse on Fleet Street. As a child he went to the National School in Rathvilly. In 1915 he was sent to live in Dublin and attended the O'Connell Schools for three months, before enrolling in the Preparatory Grade at St Mary's College, Rathmines, in September 1915. He remained at that school until 31 May 1916 when it was closed by its clerical sponsors.
During this period he was undoubtedly affected by the events in April of the Easter Rising. In the same period at St. Mary's, he also attended a commemoration concert for the Manchester Martyrs, who were hanged in England in 1867. These events served to incite his nascent nationalism to the extent that he expressed his desire to join Constance Markievicz's Fianna Éireann. His family attempted to dissuade him, but one sister later expressed the belief that he joined.
Belvedere College
With the closure of St Mary's College, Barry transferred to Belvedere College, a Jesuit school in Dublin. He was a substitute on the championship Junior Rugby Cup team and earned a place on the senior team. In 1918 he became secretary of the school hurling club which had just been formed, and was one of their most enthusiastic players.
In 1919, his final year at Belvedere, Barry wrote an essay supporting the Dublin Lockout as a "forcible demonstration of the power of Labour and had an experience also of the power of agitation in the person of that marvellous leader James Larkin and his able lieutenant, Commandant James Connolly". This piece earned him only sixty points out of a possible 100. Generally speaking, Barry's performance as a student was erratic. In his first and third years at Belvedere, he won no honours, although he did earn honours in five subjects in his middle year. He must have learned more than his grades reflected. After graduation, he won a merit-based scholarship given annually by Dublin Corporation, which allowed him to become a student of medicine at University College Dublin (UCD).
Medical student
Barry entered UCD as a first-year medical student in October 1919 and remained a student for the next year. His closest friend at UCD was Gerry MacAleer, from Dungannon, whom he had first met in Belvedere. Another friend at UCD was Frank Flood, whom he had met at the O'Connell Schools, and was now an engineering student at the university.
Barry's medical studies competed with other attractions, including dancing, drinking, gambling, and cinema. As a result, he only managed to attend about three-quarters of his medical school lectures. Not least of his distractions was his membership in the Irish Volunteers. Barry was one of several UCD medical students involved in the Volunteers, including Tom Kissane, Liam Grimley and Mick Robinson, all of whom were involved with Barry in the Monk's Bakery ambush, along with Frank Flood. Kissane, Grimley, Robinson and Flood all survived the ambush unscathed. Flood was later captured and executed by the British in 1921.
Despite Barry's extensive involvement in Volunteer actions, he appears to have been very discreet. Although Barry was a member of the Volunteers for three of the four years of their friendship, his closest friend, Gerry McAleer was unaware of this aspect of his life.
Volunteer activities
In October 1917, during his second year at Belvedere, aged 15, he joined Company C, 1st Battalion of the Dublin Brigade of the Irish Volunteers. When Company C was later reorganized he was reassigned to the newly formed Company H, under the command of Captain Seamus Kavanagh. He was attached to Company C, of the 3rd Battalion of the Carlow Brigade during his vacations from school in Tombeagh.
The following year, at age 16, he was introduced by Seán O'Neill and Bob O'Flanagan to the Clarke Luby Club of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB). At some point in time, he was sworn as a member of this secret society which was led by Michael Collins. Barry's activities in Dublin focused on training and operations to acquire weapons and ammunition. Training sites were regularly shifted to avoid discovery, but the extent of training that Barry received is questionable.
Although he served in the Volunteers for almost three years, his operational experience prior to the Monk's Bakery ambush was somewhat limited. For the most part, Volunteers in Dublin did little other than training and few saw action or heard shots fired in anger. He took part in a number of small operations including a raid on the Shamrock Works for weapons intended for the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC), and a raid on Mark's of Capel Street, looking for ammunition and explosives.
Barry's one significant action prior to Monk's Bakery was the raid for weapons on a military outpost at King's Inn on Constitution Hill. The Dublin Brigade had carefully reconnoitred the site and developed an operations plan to be completed within seven minutes. On 1 June 1920, a hand-picked team from the Dublin Brigade's three battalions attacked the site taking the 25 soldiers by surprise and seizing the available weapons. Within only six minutes the raiders had secured rifles, light machine guns, and large quantities of ammunition, and had departed the site with no casualties.
Ambush
In mid-September 1920, Captain Seamus Kavanagh, Commander of H Company of the Dublin Brigade, was approached by James Douglas of C Company. Douglas informed him that he and John Joe Carroll of H Company had noticed that a British army lorry guarded by an armed party of soldiers made twice weekly trips to Monk's Bakery at 79-80 Church Street to obtain bread. They had observed that the lorry came every Monday and Thursday between 11:00 and 11:15 a.m.. The party usually consisted of an officer and a driver in the cab with a non-commissioned officer and eight privates in the rear. The officer and one soldier would enter the bakery to purchase bread. Four or five soldiers would stay with the lorry without taking any particular security measures while the others would cross the street to purchase cigarettes or sweets. Within ten to fifteen minutes the bread would be loaded and the lorry would depart.
On 13 September, Captain Kavanagh went to Church Street to confirm the information and reconnoitre the area. He observed the lorry arrive and confirmed the particulars Douglas had related. After the soldiers departed he went into the bakery and talked with J.J. Moore, the foreman carpenter, whom Kavanagh knew and who was sympathetic to the Volunteers. Moore also validated the conclusions of Douglas and Carroll and stated that the party did not exceed 11 men. Moore then showed Kavanagh around the bakery so that the latter could develop a plan for an ambush including planned dispositions of his men. He was also shown a passage from the bakery yard leading into a shop in North King Street which would provide a useful line of retreat for any men posted in the yard.
After obtaining permission to conduct the ambush Captain Kavanagh selected men from his company to participate and developed his detailed plan. At this time, Kevin Barry was a member of Company C, but upon returning to Dublin from vacation he learned of the operation and asked Captain Kavanagh if he could participate as he had done in another Company H operation in June at King's Inn. With the addition of Barry, the operational party was to consist of Kavanagh in command, with two Lieutenants, seven Section Commanders, an Assistant Quartermaster, four Squad Leaders (one of which was Barry), and ten Volunteers. Additionally, a van was to report to the vicinity of the bakery to collect any captured weapons.
On Sunday night, 19 September, Kavanagh assembled his men and told them to report to the O'Flanagan Sinn Féin Club at 9:00 a.m. the following morning. He directed that no one was to carry anything that could be used to identify him in the event of capture. He then met privately with Barry and asked if he had an examination at UCD the next day. Barry responded, "Oh, that will be all right". Kavanagh said that he didn't want him to miss another as he had missed one on the day of the King's Inn raid, to which Barry responded, "How do you think I could sit for an examination, knowing this job is on and me not on it?" Kavanagh finally agreed, and noted later that, "I can never forget the look of delight on Kevin's face when I told him he could come on the job".
On the morning of 20 September 1920, Barry went to Mass, then joined a party of IRA volunteers on Bolton Street in Dublin. Their orders were to ambush a British army lorry as it picked up a delivery of bread from the bakery and capture their weapons. The ambush was scheduled for 11:00 am, which gave him enough time to take part in the operation and return to class in time for an examination he had at 2:00 pm. The truck arrived late, and was under the command of Sergeant Banks.
Barry and members of C Company were to surround the lorry, disarm the soldiers, take the weapons and escape. He covered the back of the vehicle and, when challenged, the five soldiers complied with the order to lay down their weapons. A shot was then fired; Terry Golway, author of For the Cause of Liberty, suggests it was possibly a warning shot from an uncovered soldier in the front. Barry and the rest of the ambush party then opened fire. His gun jammed twice and he dived for cover under the vehicle. His comrades fled and he was left behind. He was then spotted and arrested by the soldiers. One of the soldiers, Private Harold Washington, had been shot dead. Two others, Privates Marshall Whitehead and Thomas Humphries, were both badly wounded and later died of their wounds.
The British Army released the following statement on Monday afternoon:
This morning a party of one N.C.O. and six men of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment were fired on by a body of civilians outside a bakery in Church Street, Dublin. One soldier was killed and four were wounded. A piquet of the Lancashire Fusiliers in the vicinity, hearing the shots, hurried to their comrades' assistance, and succeeded in arresting one of the aggressors. No arms or equipment were lost by the soldiers.
Much was made of Barry's age by Irish newspapers, but the British military pointed out that the three soldiers who had been killed were "much the same age as Barry". On 20 October, Major Reginald Ingram Marians OBE, Head of the Press Section of the General Staff, informed Basil Clarke, Head of Publicity, that Washington was "only 19 and that the other soldiers were of similar ages." General Macready was well aware of the "propaganda value of the soldier's ages." Macready informed General Sir Henry Wilson on the day that sentence was pronounced "of the three men who were killed by him (Barry) and his friends two were 19 and one 20 — official age so probably they were younger... so if you want propaganda there you are."
About this competing propaganda, Martin Doherty wrote in a magazine article entitled 'Kevin Barry & the Anglo-Irish Propaganda War':
from the British point of view, therefore, the Anglo-Irish propaganda war was probably unwinable [sic]. Nationalist Ireland had decided that men like Kevin Barry fought to free their country, while British soldiers — young or not — sought to withhold that freedom. In these circumstances, to label Barry a murderer was merely to add insult to injury. The contrasting failure of British propaganda is graphically demonstrated by the simple fact that even in British newspapers Privates Whitehead, Washington and Humphries remained faceless names and numbers, for whom no songs were written.”
Capture and allegations of torture
Barry was placed in the back of the lorry with the young body of Private Harold Washington, and also with Washington's comrades. He was transported then to the North Dublin Union. Upon arrival at the barracks, he was taken under military police escort to the defaulters' room where he was searched and handcuffed. A short while later, three sergeants of the Lancashire Fusiliers and two officers began the interrogation. He gave his name and an address of 58 South Circular Road, Dublin (his uncle's address), and his occupation as a medical student, but refused to answer any other questions. The officers continued to demand the names of other republicans involved in the ambush.
At this time a publicity campaign was mounted by Sinn Féin. Barry received orders on 28 October from his brigade commander, Richard McKee, "to make a sworn affidavit concerning his torture in the North Dublin Union." Arrangements were made to deliver this through Barry's sister, Kathy, to Desmond Fitzgerald, director of publicity for Sinn Féin, "with the object of having it published in the World press, and particularly in the English papers, on Saturday 30th October."
The affidavit, drawn up in Mountjoy Prison days before his execution, describes his treatment when the question of names was repeated:
He tried to persuade me to give the names, and I persisted in refusing. He then sent the sergeant out of the room for a bayonet. When it was brought in the sergeant was ordered by the same officer to point the bayonet at my stomach ... The sergeant then said that he would run the bayonet into me if I did not tell ... The same officer then said to me that if I persisted in my attitude he would turn me out to the men in the barrack square, and he supposed I knew what that meant with the men in their present temper. I said nothing. He ordered the sergeants to put me face down on the floor and twist my arm ... When I lay on the floor, one of the sergeants knelt on my back, the other two placed one foot each on my back and left shoulder, and the man who knelt on me twisted my right arm, holding it by the wrist with one hand, while he held my hair with the other to pull back my head. The arm was twisted from the elbow joint. This continued, to the best of my judgment, for five minutes. It was very painful ... I still persisted in refusing to answer these questions... A civilian came in and repeated the questions, with the same result. He informed me that if I gave all the information I knew I could get off.
On 28 October, the Irish Bulletin, the official propaganda news-sheet produced by Dáil Éireann's Department of Publicity, published Barry's statement alleging torture. The headline read: English Military Government Torture a Prisoner of War and are about to Hang him. The Irish Bulletin declared Barry to be a prisoner of war, suggesting a conflict of principles was at the heart of the conflict. The English did not recognise a war and treated all killings by the IRA as murder.
Historian John Ainsworth, author of Kevin Barry, the Incident at Monk's bakery and the Making of an Irish Republican Legend, pointed out that Barry had been captured by the British not as a uniformed soldier but disguised as a civilian and in possession of flat-nosed "Dum-dum" bullets, which expand upon impact, maximising the amount of damage done to the "unfortunate individual" targeted, in contravention of the Hague Convention of 1899.
Erskine Childers addressed the question of political status in a letter to the press on 29 October, which was published the day after Barry's execution.
- This lad Barry was doing precisely what Englishmen would be doing under the same circumstances and with the same bitter and intolerable provocation — the suppression by military force of their country's liberty.
- To hang him for murder is an insulting outrage, and it is more: it is an abuse of power: an unworthy act of vengeance. contrasting ill with the forbearance and humanity invariably shown by the Irish Volunteers towards the prisoners captured by them when they have been successful in encounters similar to this one. These guerrilla combats with soldiers and constables — both classes do the same work with the same weapons; the work of military repression — are typical episodes in Ireland.
- Murder of individual constables, miscalled ‘police’, have been comparatively rare. The Government figure is 38, and it will not, to my knowledge, bear examination. I charge against the British Government 80 murders by soldiers and constables: murders of unarmed people, and for the most part wholly innocent people, including old men, women and boys.
- To hang Barry is to push to its logical extreme the hypocritical pretence that the national movement in Ireland unflinchingly supported by the great mass of the Irish people, is the squalid conspiracy of a ‘murder gang’.
- That is false; it is a natural uprising: a collision between two Governments, one resting on consent, the other on force. The Irish are struggling against overwhelming odds to defend their own elected institutions against extinction.
In a letter addressed to "the civilised nations of the world", Arthur Griffith — then acting President of the Republic wrote:
Under similar circumstances a body of Irish Volunteers captured on June 1 of the present year a party of 25 English military who were on duty at the King's Inns, Dublin. Having disarmed the party the Volunteers immediately released their prisoners. This was in strict accordance with the conduct of the Volunteers in all such encounters. Hundreds of members of the armed forces have been from time to time captured by the Volunteers and in no case was any prisoner maltreated even though Volunteers had been killed and wounded in the fighting, as in the case of Cloyne, County Cork, when, after a conflict in which one Volunteer was killed and two wounded, the whole of the opposing forces were captured, disarmed, and set at liberty.
Ainsworth notes that "Griffith was deliberately using examples relating to IRA engagements with British military forces rather than the police, for he knew that engagements involving the police, in particular, were usually of an uncivilized nature, characterized by violence and brutality, albeit on both sides by this stage."
Trial
The War Office ordered that Kevin Barry be tried by court-martial under the Restoration of Order in Ireland Act, which received Royal Assent on 9 August 1920. General Sir Nevil Macready, Commander-in-Chief of British forces in Ireland then nominated a court of nine officers under Brigadier-General Onslow.
On 20 October, at 10 o’clock, the nine officers of the court — ranging in rank from Brigadier to Lieutenant — took their places at an elevated table. At 10.25, Kevin Barry was brought into the room by a military escort. Then Seán Ó hUadhaigh sought a short adjournment to consult his client. The court granted this request. After the short adjournment Barry announced, "As a soldier of the Irish Republic, I refuse to recognise the court". Brigadier Onslow explained the prisoner's "perilous situation" and that he was being tried on a capital charge. He did not reply. Ó hUadhaigh then rose to tell the court that since his client did not recognise the authority of the court he himself could take no further part in the proceedings.
Barry was charged with three counts of the murder of Private Marshall Whitehead. One of the bullets taken from Whitehead's body was of .45 calibre, while all witnesses stated that Barry was armed with a .38 Mauser Parabellum. The Judge Advocate General informed the court that the Crown had only to prove that the accused was one of the party that killed three British soldiers, and every member of the party was technically guilty of murder. In accordance with military procedure, the verdict was not announced in court. He was returned to Mountjoy, and at about 8 o’clock that night, the district court-martial officer entered his cell and read out the sentence: death by hanging. The public learned on 28 October that the date of execution had been fixed for 1 November.
Execution
Barry spent the last day of his life preparing for death. His ordeal focused world attention on Ireland. According to Sean Cronin, author of a biography of Barry (Kevin Barry), he hoped for a firing squad rather than the gallows, as he had been condemned by a military court. A friend who visited him in Mountjoy prison after he received confirmation of the death sentence, said:
He is meeting death as he met life with courage but with nothing of the braggart. He does not believe that he is doing anything wonderfully heroic. Again and again, he has begged that no fuss be made about him.
He reported Barry as saying "It is nothing, to give one's life for Ireland. I'm not the first and maybe I won't be the last. What's my life compared with the cause?" Barry joked about his death with his sister Kathy. "Well, they are not going to let me like a soldier fall… But I must say they are going to hang me like a gentleman." This was, according to Cronin, a reference to George Bernard Shaw's play The Devil's Disciple.
On 31 October, he was allowed three visits of three people each, the last of which was taken by his mother, brother and sisters. In addition to the two Auxiliaries with him, there were five or six warders in the boardroom. As his family were leaving, they met Canon John Waters, on the way in, who said, "This boy does not seem to realise he is going to die in the morning." Mrs Barry asked him what he meant. He said: "He is so gay and light-hearted all the time. If he fully realised it, he would be overwhelmed." Mrs Barry replied, "Canon Waters, I know you are not a Republican. But is it impossible for you to understand that my son is actually proud to die for the Republic?" Canon Waters became somewhat flustered as they parted. The Barry family recorded that they were upset by this encounter because they considered the chief chaplain "the nearest thing to a friend that Kevin would see before his death, and he seemed so alien."
Kevin Barry was hanged on 1 November, after hearing two Masses in his cell. Canon Waters, who walked with him to the scaffold, wrote to Barry's mother later, "You are the mother, my dear Mrs Barry, of one of the bravest and best boys I have ever known. His death was one of the most holy, and your dear boy is waiting for you now, beyond the reach of sorrow or trial."
Dublin Corporation met on the Monday, passed a vote of sympathy with the Barry family, and adjourned the meeting as a mark of respect. The Chief Secretary's office in Dublin Castle, on the Monday night, released the following communiqué:
The sentence of death by hanging passed by court-martial upon Kevin Barry, or Berry, medical student, aged 18½ years, for the murder of Private Whitehead in Dublin on September 20, was duly executed this morning at Mountjoy Prison, Dublin.
At a military court of inquiry, held subsequently in lieu of an inquest, medical evidence was given to the effect that death was instantaneous. The court found that the sentence had been carried out in accordance with law.
Barry's body was buried at 1.30 p.m., in a plot near the women's prison. His comrade and fellow student Frank Flood was buried alongside him four months later. A plain cross marked their graves and those of Patrick Moran, Thomas Whelan, Thomas Traynor, Patrick Doyle, Thomas Bryan, Bernard Ryan, Edmond Foley and Patrick Maher who were hanged in the same prison before the Anglo-Irish Treaty of July 1921 which ended hostilities between Irish republicans and the British. The men had been buried in unconsecrated ground on the jail property and their graves went unidentified until 1934. They became known as The Forgotten Ten by republicans campaigning for the bodies to be reburied with honour and proper rites. On 14 October 2001, the remains of these ten men were given a state funeral and moved from Mountjoy Prison to be re-interred at Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin.
Aftermath
The only full-length biography of Kevin Barry was written by his nephew, journalist Donal O'Donovan, and published in 1989 as Kevin Barry and his Time. In 1965, Sean Cronin wrote a short biography, simply entitled "Kevin Barry"; this was published by The National Publications Committee, Cork, to which Tom Barry provided a foreword. Barry is remembered in a well-known song about his imprisonment and execution, written shortly after his death and still sung today. The tune to "Kevin Barry" was taken from the sea-shanty "Rolling Home". The execution reportedly inspired Thomas MacGreevy's surrealist poem, "Homage to Hieronymus Bosch". MacGreevy had unsuccessfully petitioned the Provost of Trinity College Dublin, John Henry Bernard, to make representations on Barry's behalf.
Legacy
In 1930, Irish immigrants in Hartford, Connecticut, created a hurling club and named it after Barry. The club later disappeared for decades but was revived in 2011 by more recently arrived Irish immigrants and local Irish-Americans in the area. A commemorative stamp was issued by the Department of Posts and Telegraphs to mark the 50th anniversary of Barry's death in 1970. The University College Dublin and University of Galway branches of Ógra Fianna Fáil are named after him. Derrylaughan Kevin Barry's GAA club was founded in Clonoe, County Tyrone.
In 1934, a large stained-glass window commemorating Barry was unveiled in Earlsfort Terrace, then the principal campus of University College Dublin. It was designed by Richard King of the Harry Clarke Studio. In 2007, UCD completed its relocation to the Belfield campus some four miles away and a fund was collected by graduates to defray the cost (estimated at close to €250,000) of restoring and moving the window to this new location. A grandnephew of Kevin Barry is Irish historian Eunan O'Halpin. There is an Irish republican flute band named after him in Glasgow, the "Volunteer Kevin Barry Republican Flute Band".
Barry's execution is mentioned in the folk song "Rifles of the I.R.A.", which was written by Dominic Behan in 1968. The ballad "Kevin Barry", relating the story of his execution, has been sung by artists such as Paul Robeson, Leonard Cohen, Lonnie Donegan, Stompin' Tom Connors, the Hootenanny Singers, Damien Dempsey, The Clancy Brothers, Tommy Makem and The Dubliners. At the place where Kevin Barry was captured (North King Street/Church Street, Dublin), there are two blocks of flats named after him.
References
- McConville, Séan (2005). Irish Political Prisoners, 1848–1922: Theatres of War. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-37866-6.
- Curtis, Liz (1995). The Cause of Ireland: From the United Irishmen to Partition. Belfast: Beyond the Pale Publications. ISBN 978-0-9514229-6-0.
- ^ Golway, Terry (2001). For the Cause of Liberty. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-684-85556-1.
- Jackson, Alvin (1999). Ireland 1798–1998. Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 978-0-631-19541-2.
- ^ O'Donovan, Donal. Kevin Barry and His Time, Glendale, Dublin, 1989; ISBN 0-907606-68-7, at p.15.
- Ibid., at p. 25.
- ^ Cronin, Sean. Kevin Barry, C.F.N. Publ (3rd edition), at p. 8; O'Donovan, at p. 42; O'Halpin, at p. 38.
- O'Donovan, at pp. 31-34.
- O'Donovan, at pp. 31-34.
- O'Donovan, at p, 40.
- James Larkin: Lion of the Fold: The Life and Works of the Irish Labour Leader by Donal Nevin
- O'Donovan, at pp. 37-38.
- O'Donovan, at p. 42.
- O'Donovan, at pp. 38-39, 50-51.
- Eunan, O'Halpin (2020). Kevin Barry, An Irish Rebel in Life and Death. Newbridge, Co. Kildare, Ireland: Merrion Press. p. 22. ISBN 978-1-78537-349-7.
- O'Halpin, at p. 35.
- O'Halpin, at p. 22 and 47; O'Donovan, at p. 81.
- O'Donovan, at p. 50; O'Halpin, at p. 38.
- O'Halpin, at pp. 38-39.
- Cronin, at p. 8; O'Halpin, at p. 39.
- O'Donovan, at pp. 43-44.
- O'Halpin, at pp. 38-41.
- O'Halpin, at p. 40.
- Cronin, at pp. 13-14.
- O'Halpin, at p. 55; O'Donovan, at p. 59-61.
- O'Donovan at p. 79.
- ^ "Statement of Captain Seamus Kavanagh" (PDF). Irish Bureau of Military History. 19 March 1951.
- ^ Murphy, Father Brian P. (OSB), The Origins & Organisation of British Propaganda in Ireland 1920, Aubane Historical Society, 2006; ISBN 1-903497-24-8
- "Kevin Barry: Hijacking the patriot's legacy", BBC News, 12 October 2001.
- Doherty, M.A. Barry, Irish Historical Studies, p. 231.
- ^ "Kevin Barry, the Incident at Monk's bakery and the Making of an Irish Republican Legend" by John Ainsworth (excerpt), History, Vol 87, No 287, July 2002 (pp 380-84).
- This affidavit was written by Seán Ó hUadhaigh, solicitor; witnessed by Myles Keogh, Justice of the Peace and signed by Kevin Barry. The original is now in the National Museum.
- Townshend, Charles. The British Campaign in Ireland 1919-1921 The Development of Political and Military Policies (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1975), p. 67.
- He was 25 minutes late for his trial because the armoured car bringing him from Mountjoy Prison to Marlborough Barracks broke down on the North Circular Road.
- "AN PHOBLACHT/REPUBLICAN NEWS". Republican-news.org. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- "Department of the Taoiseach". Gov.ie. Archived from the original on 2 December 2007. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- "Kevin Barry". Mysongbook.de. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- "Hartford GAA | Home of Hartford's Irish Sports". Hartfordgaa.com. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- "Compatriot Kevin Barry". Carlow County Museum. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
- "The Kevin Barry Cumann Homepage". Ucd.ie. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- "UCD Bids Farewell to the Terrace". University College Dublin. 21 May 2007. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
- Mansergh, Martin. "Neutral by name", Irish Times, 28 June 2008.
- Paul Robeson singing "Kevin Barry" on YouTube
- Leonard Cohen singing "Kevin Barry" on YouTube
- Stompin' Tom Connors singing "Kevin Barry" on Youtube
External links
- The Incident at Monk’s Bakery
- The lyrics to "The Ballad of Kevin Barry"
- Some images and a short discussion of the Kevin Barry Memorial Window, UCD.
- The Digital Kevin Barry Papers in UCD Digital Library
- The Digital Papers of the Kevin Barry Memorial Committee in UCD Digital Library
- A Google Arts and Culture Exhibition - Kevin Barry: UCD Student, Irish Republican Hero
- 1902 births
- 1920 deaths
- People educated at St Mary's College, Dublin
- People educated at Belvedere College
- Medical students
- Old Belvedere R.F.C. players
- Irish people convicted of murder
- People executed for murder
- Rugby union players from Dublin (city)
- Irish republicans
- People from Hacketstown
- People convicted of murder by the British military
- The Forgotten Ten
- Executed people from County Dublin
- Activists from County Carlow