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> Irish Civil War (1920 - 1923), 102 executions of civilians
AShruleEgan 
Posted: 01-Dec-2008, 08:17 PM
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ZodiacRowan

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I know I have had this discussion with a few members of this forum over the past few years but I can't recall ever starting up a thread about this topic.

Of the 102 executions, one of them was a relative of mine. Martin Burke was from Headford, Co. Galway and my grandfather claims he was a cousin of his. Since I have come up with the actual letter that he wrote to another cousin, the night before he was executed, I have to believe my grandfathers claim. I also have the letter Stephen Joyce wrote to his sister the night before the execution. Stephen is not related. I will try to post the actual letters, so you can read them. They are very fragile and aged and I think I still can get a clean readable copy from them. As you will read in both letters, Martin and Stephen had no regrets for giving up their lives for the fight for Irish freedom.


Martin and four other accomplices, Thomas Hughes, Michael Walsh, Herbert Collis and Stephen Joyce were executed on January 20, 1923 at the Athlone Prison at sunrise. Even though they were tried for treason, I have yet to find out their actual crime.



There were 164 executions in Southern Ireland during the 20th century. 12 men and 1 woman were hanged under British civil jurisdiction between 1900 and 1911. Thereafter there were no more executions for civilian crimes under British rule. However 15 men were executed by firing squad for treason, under British jurisdiction, for their parts in the 1916 Easter Rebellion. (see below).
There were 102 executions during the Irish Civil War (1920 - 1923) with 91 men shot and 11 hanged. In September 1922 the Dαil (parliament) Resolution passed a resolution providing for the death penalty for terrorist offences, following trial by military tribunal. As a result, the provisional “26 counties” government executed 75 people in the six months from November 1922 to April 1923, all by firing squad at various locations.
35 people, including 1 woman, were hanged for murder between 1922, (after Ireland had achieved independence) and 1954. Annie Walsh of Co. Limerick was executed on the 5th of August 1925 at Dublin’s Mountjoy prison for the murder of her husband. (The British administration had reprieved all six females sentenced to death in the seventeen years prior to independence).
25-year-old Michael Manning became the last to be executed, for the murder of Catherine Cooper, an elderly nurse. All these executions were carried out by the serving British hangman of the day, who was always an unpopular figure in Ireland.



Capital punishment was partially abolished in 1964, for all but a few very specific forms of murder, notably the murder of police officers (the Garda) or prison officers. The Dαil finally abolished it completely in 1990, when new legislation created a 40-year minimum prison term for exceptional murders. The last to be sentenced to death were Noel Callen and Michael McHugh for the murder of Garda Patrick Morrissey after a robbery in County Louth in 1985. Noel and Marie Murray came close to being the last to be executed, having been convicted of the capital murder of Garda Michael Reynolds following an armed bank robbery in Dublin in 1975. They both refused to seek clemency, so to avoid international embarrassment the president decided to impose it upon them whether they wanted it or not. On the 1st of November 1976 the Supreme Court quashed Noel’s capital murder conviction and substituted one of common murder and ordered a re-trial for Marie in 1977 - this time she was found guilty of only common murder. They were both released in 1992. Of the 11 people who received death sentences in Eire in the 1970's and 1980's, all have been released except the last two who were sentenced in 1985 - but they will never serve 40 years under the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights, as a judge did not determine the sentence.

Day


Date


Name


Age


Place


Crime


Hangman

Tue


10/04/1900


Patrick Dunphy


34


Waterford


child murder


Thomas Scott

Fri


11/01/1901


Timothy Cadogan





Cork


murder land agent


James Billington

Thur


07/03/1901


John Toole





Dublin


wife murder


Thomas Scott

Wed


23/04/1902


Thomas Keeley


28


Galway


murder landlady


William Billington

Tue


30/12/1902


James Docherty


65


Sligo


murder son


William Billington

Wed


07/01/1903


Joseph Taylor


25


Kilkenny


murder


William Billington

Fri


09/01/1903


Mary Daly


40


Tullamore


murder husband


William Billington

Tue


05/01/1904


Joseph Moran





Londonderry


murder woman


William Billington

Thur


14/04/1904


James Campion





Kilkenny


wife murder


William Billington

Fri


15/04/1904


John Kelly





Kilkenny


wife murder


William Billington

Tue


25/04/1905


John Foster





Cork


murder soldier


William Billington

Tue


04/01/1910


Joseph Hefferman


27


Dublin


murder woman


Henry Pierrepoint

Wed


04/01/1911


William Scanlan





Cork


murder sister in law


John Ellis

Thur


29/11/1923


William Downs


25


Dublin


murder police officer


John Ellis

Wed


12/12/1923


Thomas Delaney


38


Dublin


murder old man


Tom Pierrepoint

Wed


12/12/1923


Thomas M' Donagh


42


Dublin


murder woman


Tom Pierrepoint

Sat


15/12/1923


Peter Hynes


40


Dublin


murder soldier


Tom Pierrepoint

Thur


13/03/1924


Jeremiah Gaffney


23


Dublin


murder


Tom Pierrepoint

Fri


01/08/1924


Felix McMullen


26


Dublin


murder police officer


Tom Pierrepoint

Tue


28/07/1925


Cornelius O' Lleary


40


Dublin


murder brother


Tom Pierrepoint

Wed


05/08/1925


Michael Talbot


24


Dublin


murder


Tom Pierrepoint

Wed


05/08/1925


Annie Walsh


31


Dublin


murder husband


Tom Pierrepoint

Thur


15/07/1926


James Myles


22


Dublin


murder


Tom Pierrepoint

Wed


24/11/1926


James M' Hugh


31


Dublin


murder


Tom Pierrepoint

Thur


09/12/1926


Henry M' Cabe


48


Dublin


murder employers


Tom Pierrepoint

Thur


29/12/1927


William O' Neill


19


Dublin


murder woman


Tom Pierrepoint

Wed


29/08/1928


Gerard Toal


18


Dublin


murder housekeeper


Tom Pierrepoint

Thur


25/04/1929


John Cox


33


Dublin


murder


Tom Pierrepoint

Thur


04/08/1931


David O'Shea


34


Dublin


murder


Tom Pierrepoint

Thur


29/12/1932


Patrick McDermott


26


Dublin


murder


Tom Pierrepoint

Fri


05/01/1934


John Fleming


32


Dublin


murder


Tom Pierrepoint

Fri


17/06/1937


John Hornick





Dublin


murder


Tom Pierrepoint

Sat


07/01/1939


Dermot Smith


33


Dublin


murder


Tom Pierrepoint

Fri


06/09/1940


Patrick McGrath





Dublin


I.R.A. murder


Firing squad

Fri


06/09/1940


Thomas Harte





Dublin


I.R.A. murder


Firing squad

Tue


07/01/1941


Daniel Doherty


29


Dublin


murder woman


Tom Pierrepoint

Wed


23/04/1941


Henry Gleeson


39


Dublin


murder woman


Tom Pierrepoint

Sat


09/08/1941


Richard Goss


26


Maryborough
(Portlaoise)


shot at police


Firing squad

Thur


18/12/1941


Patrick Kelly


31


Dublin


murder woman


Not known

Thur


05/03/1942


George Plant


38


Maryborough
(Portlaoise)


murder


Firing squad

Thur


12/11/1942


Maurice O' Neill





Dublin


shot at police


Firing squad

Wed


02/06/1943


Bernard Kirwan


39


Dublin


murder brother


Tom Pierrepoint

Thur


12/08/1943


William O' Shea


24


Dublin


wife murder


Tom Pierrepoint

Fri


01/12/1944


Charles Kerins





Dublin


murder police officer


Tom Pierrepoint

Mon


19/03/1945


James Lehman





Dublin


wife murder


Not known

Mon


31/03/1947


Joseph McManus


41


Dublin


murder


Albert Pierrepoint

Wed


24/11/1948


William Gambon


28


Dublin


murder


Albert Pierrepoint

Tue


20/04/1954


Michael Manning


25


Dublin


murder


Albert Pierrepoint



The Easter Rebellion.

In May 1916, 14 men were shot by firing squad in the Quarry Yard at Dublin’s Kilmainham prison and 1 more (Thomas Kent) at Cork Barracks, having been convicted of treason for their parts in the 1916 Easter Rebellion. Plaques mark the place where these executions were carried out within Kilmainham.



Tom Clarke


Wednesday 3rd May

Thomas MacDonagh


Wednesday 3rd May

Padraic Pearse


Wednesday 3rd May

Joseph Mary Plunkett


Thursday 4th May

William Pearse


Thursday 4th May

Ned Daly


Thursday 4th May

Michael O'Hanrahan


Thursday 4th May

John MacBride


Friday 5th May

Eamonn Ceannt


Monday 8th May

Michael Mallin


Monday 8th May

Conn Colbert


Monday 8th May

Sean Heuston


Monday 8th May

Thomas Kent


Tuesday 9th May

Sean MacDiarmada


Friday 12th May

James Connolly


Friday 12th May



Dublin’s prisons.

Mountjoy prison, built in 1851, on what is now Dublin’s North Circular Road, was the scene of 24 of the 20th century hangings. These took place in the two story "hanghouse" at the end of D Wing. The gallows chamber was on the first floor and was destroyed in a prison riot in the 1970’s. Mountjoy’s first execution was that of John Toole in 1901. Previously Dublin executions had been carried out at Kilmainham jail (in public up to 1868, on the first floor balcony over the main door) or at Newgate Prison in Green Street. This was the prison for the City of Dublin while Kilmainham served as the prison for the County of Dublin. Newgate has been demolished and is now a public park. It is said that the underground dungeons may still exist under the park. The gallows at Newgate was very similar to that of Kilmainham and was also located over the front door. The hanghouse at Kilmainham is believed to have been built from bricks salvaged from the old condemned cells that stood in one of the jail's yards. Newgate and Kilmainham prisons both carried public executions at the same period.

Kilmainham ceased to be a civilian prison in 1910. The executions of the Irish Invincibles, Joseph Brady, Tim Kelly, Michael Fagan, Daniel Curley and Thomas Caffrey took place within its walls on the 14th of May 1883. These men had been convicted of the murders on the 6th of May 1882, of Lord Frederick Cavendish, British secretary for Ireland, and Thomas Henry Burke, his under-secretary, in Dublin’s Phoenix Park. Due to the political nature of the crime, security was tight and Kilmainham prison was surrounded by Grenadier Guards, infantry and police while William Marwood went about his work on a gallows erected in one of the prison yards. Kilmainham Jail has been restored and is now open to the public. It is a fascinating place to visit.



The Civil War period.

102 executions were carried out during the Irish Civil War (War of Independence) for terrorist murders and treason. Most of these were by military firing squad and were typically carried out in batches. John Ellis carried out the hangings in Mountjoy prison, as he was the U.K.’s principal executioner at the time.



Day


Date


Name


Place


Method

Mon


01/11/1920


Kevin Barry


Dublin (Mountjoy)


Hanging

Tue


01/02/1921


Cornelius Murphy


Cork


Firing squad

Mon


28/02/1921


John Allen


Cork


Firing squad

“


“


Thomas O'Brien


Cork


Firing squad

“


“


Daniel Callaghan


Cork


Firing squad

“


“


John Lyons


Cork


Firing squad

“


“


Timothy McCarthy


Cork


Firing squad

“


“


Patrick Mahoney


Cork


Firing squad

Mon


14/03/1921


Thomas Whelan


Dublin (Mountjoy)


Hanging

“


“


Patrick Moran


Dublin (Mountjoy)


Hanging

“


“


Patrick Doyle


Dublin (Mountjoy)


Hanging

“


“


Bernard Ryan


Dublin (Mountjoy)


Hanging

“


“


Thomas Bryan


Dublin (Mountjoy)


Hanging

“


“


Frank Flood


Dublin (Mountjoy)


Hanging

Mon


25/04/1921


Thomas Traynor


Dublin (Mountjoy)


Hanging

Thursday


28/04/1921


Maurice Moore


Cork


Firing squad

“


“


Patrick O'Sullivan


Cork


Firing squad

“


“


Patrick Ronayne


Cork


Firing squad

“


“


Thomas Mulcahy


Cork


Firing squad

Mon


02/05/1921


Patrick Casey


Cork


Firing squad

Mon


16/05/1921


Daniel O'Brien


Cork


Firing squad

Mon


06/06/1921


Thomas Keane


Limerick


Firing squad

Tue


07/06/1921


Patrick Maher


Dublin (Mountjoy)


Hanging

“


“


“


Dublin (Mountjoy)


Hanging

“


“


“


Dublin (Mountjoy)


Hanging

Fri


“


“


Dublin (Kilmainham)


Firing squad

“


“


Richard Tuohy


Dublin (Kilmainham)


Firing squad

“


“


John Gaffney


Dublin (Kilmainham)


Firing squad

“


“


James Fisher


Dublin (Kilmainham)


Firing squad

Fri


24/11/1922


Erskin Childers


Dublin


Firing squad

Thurs


30/11/1922


Joseph Spooner


Dublin


Firing squad

“


“


Patrick Farrally


Dublin


Firing squad

“


“


John Murphy


Dublin


Firing squad

Fri


08/12/1922


Rory O'Connor


Dublin (Mountjoy)


Firing squad

“


“


Liam Mellows


Dublin (Mountjoy)


Firing squad

“


“


Joseph McKelvey


Dublin (Mountjoy)


Firing squad

“


“


Richard Barrett


Dublin (Mountjoy)


Firing squad

“


“


Stephen White


Dublin


Firing squad

“


“


Joseph Johnstone


Dublin


Firing squad

“


“


Patrick Mangan


Dublin


Firing squad

“


“


Patrick Nolan


Dublin


Firing squad

“


“


Brian Moore


Dublin


Firing squad

“


“


James O'Connor


Dublin


Firing squad

“


“


Patrick Bagrel


Dublin


Firing squad

Fri


29/12/1922.


John Phelan


Dublin


Firing squad







John Murphy


Dublin


Firing squad

Mon


08/01/1923


Ley Dowling


Dublin


Firing squad

“


“


Sylvestor Heaney


Dublin


Firing squad

“


“


Lawrence Sheehy


Dublin


Firing squad

“


“


Anthony O' Reilly


Dublin


Firing squad

“


“


Terence Brady


Dublin


Firing squad

Fri


12/01/1923


Thomas McKeown


Dundalk


Firing squad

“


“


Thomas Murray


Dundalk


Firing squad

“


“


Thomas Murphy


Dundalk


Firing squad

Mon


15/01/1923


Frederick Burke


Roscrea


Firing squad

“


“


Patrick Russell


Roscrea


Firing squad

“


“


Martin O' Shea


Roscrea


Firing squad

“


“


Patrick Macnamara


Roscrea


Firing squad

“


“


James Lilis


Carlow


Firing squad

Sat


20/01/1923


James Daly


Tralee


Firing squad

“


“


John Clifford


Tralee


Firing squad

“


“


Micheal Brosnam


Tralee


Firing squad

“


“


James Hanlon


Tralee


Firing squad

“


“


Cornelius McMahon


Limerick


Firing squad

“


“


Patrick Hennessey


Limerick


Firing squad

“


“


Thomas Hughes


Athlone


Firing squad

“


“


Micheal Walsh


Athlone


Firing squad

“


“


Herbert Collis


Athlone


Firing squad

“


“


Stephen Joyce


Athlone


Firing squad

“


“


Martin Burke


Athlone


Firing squad


Mon


22/01/1923


James Melia


Dundalk


Firing squad

“


“


Thomas Glennon


Dundalk


Firing squad

“


“


Joseph Ferguson


Dundalk


Firing squad

Thur


25/01/1923


Micheal Fitzgerald


Waterford


Firing squad

“


“


Patrick O' Reilly


Waterford


Firing squad

Fri


26/01/1923


Patrick Cunningham


Birr


Firing squad

“


“


William Conroy


Birr


Firing squad

“


“


Colum Kelly


Birr


Firing squad

Sat


27/01/1923


Patrick Geraghty


Portlaoise


Firing squad

“


“


Joseph Byrne


Portlaoise


Firing squad

Tue


13/03/1923


Henry Keenan


Mullingar


Firing squad

“


“


Micheal Greery


Mullingar


Firing squad

“


“


James O' Rourke


Dublin


Firing squad

“


“


William Healey


Cork


Firing squad

“


“


James Parle


Wexford


Firing squad

“


“


Patrick Hogan


Wexford


Firing squad

“


“


John Creane


Wexford


Firing squad

Wed


14/03/1923


John Larkin


Drumbere


Firing squad

“


“


Timothy O' Sullivan


Drumbere


Firing squad

“


“


Daniel Enwright


Drumbere


Firing squad

“


“


Charles Daly


Drumbere


Firing squad

Sat


14/04/1923


James O' Malley


Tuam


Firing squad

“


“


Micheal Monaghan


Tuam


Firing squad

“


“


Francis Cunnane


Tuam


Firing squad

“


“


John Newell


Tuam


Firing squad

“


“


John Maguire


Tuam


Firing squad

“


“


Martin Moylan


Tuam


Firing squad

Wed


25/04/1923


Edward Greaney


Tralee


Firing squad

“


“


Reginald Hathaway


Tralee


Firing squad

“


“


James McInery


Tralee


Firing squad

Wed


02/05/1923


Christopher Quin


Ennis


Firing squad

“


“


William Shaughnessey


Ennis


Firing squad
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AShruleEgan 
Posted: 01-Dec-2008, 08:31 PM
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Letter from Martin Burke, to his cousin, Kathleen Greaney in Ballinapark Headford.



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AShruleEgan 
Posted: 01-Dec-2008, 08:40 PM
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Stephen Joyce's letter to his sister the night before he was executed.




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jayhenson 
Posted: 02-Dec-2008, 07:43 AM
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Wow, very impressive and also very sad. The letters were very touching, what could a person write on the eve of their death, especially a death on what probably amounted to trumped up charges. This post took some effort and I want to thank you for the history lesson.

You may want to contact a museum to see what can be done to protect the letters. There may even be a collection you could loan them to that would not only preserve them but display them with others that may exist as a memorial to those that died in those explosive years.

Peace

Jay
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AShruleEgan 
Posted: 02-Dec-2008, 07:35 PM
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From what I understand, my cousin in Ireland, still has three other letters. Two written by Martin and one by Herbert Collis. He originally had all five but passed two onto a cousin in New York. The two that were used for this thread. Since all five boys knew each other and the families lived close to each other, the five letters were somehow gathered together and came down through my family.

I have not seen the other three letters, nor do I know who they were addressed to. My understanding, is that they were written to other family members. Hopefully, on one of my trips back to Ireland, I will get to see them.
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MacEoghainn 
Posted: 02-Dec-2008, 08:02 PM
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Those letters brought to mind this old song:

Rodaν Mac Corlaν (Roddy McCorley)
Ethna Carbery

O see the fleet-foot host of men, who march with faces drawn,
From farmstead and from fishers' cot, along the banks of Ban;
They come with vengeance in their eyes. Too late! Too late are they,
For young Roddy McCorley goes to die on the bridge of Toome today.

Oh Ireland, Mother Ireland, you love them still the best
The fearless brave who fighting fall upon your hapless breast,
But never a one of all your dead more bravely fell in fray,
Than he who marches to his fate on the bridge of Toome today.

Up the narrow street he stepped, so smiling, proud and young.
About the hemp-rope on his neck, the golden ringlets clung;
There's ne'er a tear in his blue eyes, fearless and brave are they,
As young Roddy McCorley goes to die on the bridge of Toome today.

When last this narrow street he trod, his shining pike in hand
Behind him marched, in grim array, a earnest stalwart band.
To Antrim town! To Antrim town, he led them to the fray,
But young Roddy McCorley goes to die on the bridge of Toome today.

The grey coat and its sash of green were brave and stainless then,
A banner flashed beneath the sun over the marching men;
The coat hath many a rent this noon, the sash is torn away,
And Roddy McCorley goes to die on the bridge of Toome today.

Oh, how his pike flashed in the sun! Then found a foeman's heart,
Through furious fight, and heavy odds he bore a true man's part
And many a red-coat bit the dust before his keen pike-play,
But Roddy McCorley goes to die on the bridge of Toome today.

There's never a one of all your dead more bravely died in fray
Than he who marches to his fate in Toomebridge town today;
True to the last! True to the last, he treads the upwards way,
And young Roddy McCorley goes to die on the bridge of Toome today.


--------------------
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AShruleEgan 
Posted: 02-Dec-2008, 08:44 PM
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This is the newspaper article that my grandfather cut out of one of the New York Irish papers in 1923. He has underlined his cousin, Martin Burke and my mother wrote on the bottom of the article, that she was told that Martin was 17 years old when he was executed.




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LadyOfAvalon 
Posted: 11-Dec-2008, 07:03 PM
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A Shrule Egan,

To me the most vicious and destructive of all wars are the civil wars, there is no doubt in my mind, for all that I have read on wars and there is quite a lot to read about them...civil wars were the most immorals of war because of what it represented...conflicts from within...meaning by "within" is fathers against sons, brothers against brothers and so on...


These letters are full of deep emotions and quite touching; it reflects hard times and the people that lived it.And at the same time facts of real history.

Thank you for sharing it.

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Camac
Posted: 12-Dec-2008, 01:39 PM
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Zodiac








A Shrule Egan;

I am not in any way condoning the acts that the British did against the Irish in the 1920s' but look at it in the cold light of day. Ireland was still under British rule and as such was part of the Empire. The Irish who were executed were tried and found guilty of insurrection and treason and under British Law, in fact any Law, were condemned to death. The same would have held true if the U.S. had lost the Revolution all the Founding Fathers who were considered Traitors and would have been executed. Let us not also forget that a good many Irishmen and Scots helped the English put the rebellion down.


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AShruleEgan 
Posted: 12-Dec-2008, 04:08 PM
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ZodiacRowan

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I think it basically boils down to being a matter of pride. The letters certainly prove that they remained proud of the fact that they were giving up their life for the fight of freedom for Ireland. The pride also goes out to nameless thousands of Irish, who simply were never captured causing treasonous acts and lived to finally see Ireland free to govern themselves. Imagine the joy on their faces when that day arrived.

I just find it fascinating that someone thought so strongly of these letters and preserved them.
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Mailagnas maqqas Dunaidonas 
Posted: 12-Dec-2008, 08:19 PM
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ZodiacOak


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Forgive my confusion, but it's not clear whether we are talking about executions by the English prior to and during the War of Independence (prior to establishment of the Irish Free State in 1921), by the Irish Free State (1921 both during the Irish Civil War and until establishment of the Republic of Ireland), by the Republic of Ireland, or by the English in the Northern Counties still under English rule. Probably technicalities to most, but important to some.
For examples of the circumstances under which letters were written, I highly recommend the movie The Wind Shakes the Barley, showing just how fratricidal the Irish Civil War was between the faction of the IRA that accepted the Irish Free State and the faction that did not.


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Sνochαn leat,
Mailagnas
Clan Donald USA
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AShruleEgan 
Posted: 13-Dec-2008, 07:06 PM
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Not sure if you can read the fine print of the newspaper article but from November 17, 1922 to April 26, 1923, the "Free" Irish government executed 77 Irish. As I have been told in conversations with people in Ireland, this was done to save face for those Irish government officials who were still basically sleeping with the English. That's their words, not mine. Many deals were made with the English to finally bring peace. Many Irish didn't agree with some of those deals and continued to fight for what they thought was right. The results which were, the 77 executed.
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Mailagnas maqqas Dunaidonas 
Posted: 14-Dec-2008, 03:14 PM
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Thanks for the clarification. For some reason, the newspaper articles don't display for me. Whether the Irish Free State government is considered to be patriots who settled for the best they could get under the circumstances or traitors who sold out to the English, they certainly proved to be as capable of brutally suppressing rebellion as the English were. IMHO, the English are responsible for the Troubles in Northern Ireland as well as for creation of the situation resulting in the Irish Civil War.
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AShruleEgan 
Posted: 14-Dec-2008, 07:02 PM
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I suspect you are running Firefox. I can't see the pictures I post either, unless I use IE. Aaediwen thinks it's a code issue but he said Mac has to be the one to fix that problem.
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poorbutspirted 
Posted: 01-Aug-2009, 02:25 PM
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ZodiacOak


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My late mother was from Headford in Co. Galway which is only 4 miles from Shrule. Her home was always a safe house for republican during the Irish civil war.One night in 1922 she gave her autograph book to one of a group of men who were resting there.As he could not think of a suitable verse he brought the book home with him. That was the last she saw of the book until it was posted back to her with no explaination in 1925.The book had first been in Athlone prison(Costume Barracks)and then Mountjoy prison Dublin where is was signed by Eamonn de Valera, Dan Breen, Liam Deasy,Austin Stack, Sean McBride and his visitor Richard Mulcahy ( who was a member of the free state party) All of those men are now houselold names in Irish history.A budding artist,(who never fully bloomed) in Athlone did some beautiful water colour landscapes.I can only feel that the man who took the book was one of the 5 men who were executed in Athlone.
I danced in Shrule ( which is only a small country village)in 1960.I worked in Dublin at the time and rode a motorbike.I remember the first time I went in to the dance hall there was a pronounced silence.I do bit of writing for a past time. I have had 4 short stories published in Ireland's Own and I writing another short story about this autograph book.
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