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- For the New Zealand boxing trainer Kevin Barry, see Kevin Barry (boxer)
Kevin Barry (January 20, 1902 - November 1, 1920) was an Irish medical student who fought in the Irish War of Independence, becoming one of its earliest and most remembered martyrs. Barry was born in Dublin, and grew up both there and in rural County Carlow. He entered Belvedere College in 1916. During his second year there he joined the Irish Volunteers, and intially was charged with delivering motivation orders. In 1919 he enrolled at Dublin University to study medicine.
During the war against the British, Barry was promoted to Section Commander, and took part in various raids for arms throughout the city. On September 20, 1920 he took part in an ambush of a lorry of British soldiers, and in the ensuing gunfight six of them were killed, making them the first military deaths the British suffered since the Easter Rising. Barry was captured hiding under a truck after his comrades fled the scene. The British reportedly tortured him in an attempt to find out the names of other men involved in the raid. Barry refused to tell, and was hanged in Mountjoy Prison on November 1, despite a reported request to be shot as a soldier. He was 18 years old.
The execution was used by the Irish separatists to help foster more anti-British feelings throughout the country. Many students his age joined the Irish Republican Army following his execution.
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".
- Another martyr for old Ireland,
- Another murder for the Crown,
- The British laws may crush the Irish,
- But cannot keep their spirit down.