General Chat

20th century executions in Southern Ireland. There were 164 executions in Southern Ireland during the 20th century. Twelve men and one 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 25 executions under British jurisdiction during the War of Independence (1918 - 1921) and a further 77 under the jurisdiction of the Free State Authorities during the Irish Civil War (1922-1924) with, in total, 91 men shot and 11 hanged. In September 1922, the Dáil (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 6 months from November 1922 to April 1923, all by firing squad at various locations. Thirty five people, including one woman, were hanged for murder between 1924 (after Ireland had achieved independence) and 1954 when Michael Manning became the last person to be executed in Ireland. 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 6 females sentenced to death in the 17 years prior to independence). Twenty five 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 Dáil 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 too was found guilty only of 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 Victim Hangman Tue 10/04/1900 Patrick Dunphy 34 Waterford Child Thomas Scott Fri 11/01/1901 Timothy Cadogan Cork Land agent James Billington Thur 07/03/1901 John Toole Dublin Wife Thomas Scott Wed 23/04/1902 Thomas Keeley 28 Galway Landlady William Billington Tue 30/12/1902 James Docherty 65 Sligo Son William Billington Wed 07/01/1903 Joseph Taylor & Mary Daly 25 Kilkenny Mr. Daly William Billington Fri 09/01/1903 40 Tullamore Husband William Billington Tue 05/01/1904 Joseph Moran Londonderry Rose McCann William Billington Thur 14/04/1904 James Campion Kilkenny Wife William Billington Fri 15/04/1904 John Kelly Kilkenny Wife William Billington Tue 25/04/1905 John Foster Cork Soldier William Billington Tue 04/01/1910 Joseph Hefferman 27 Dublin Woman Henry Pierrepoint Wed 04/01/1911 William Scanlan Cork Sister in law John Ellis Thur 29/11/1923 William Downs 25 Dublin Police officer John Ellis Wed 12/12/1923 Thomas Delaney 38 Dublin Patrick Hogan Tom Pierrepoint Wed 12/12/1923 Thomas M' Donagh 42 Dublin Ellen Rogers Tom Pierrepoint Sat 15/12/1923 Peter Hynes 40 Dublin Thomas Grimstone Tom Pierrepoint Thur 13/03/1924 Jeremiah Gaffney 23 Dublin Thomas Brosnan Tom Pierrepoint Fri 01/08/1924 Felix McMullen 26 Dublin Patrick O’Hallaranr Tom Pierrepoint Tue 28/07/1925 Cornelius O' Lleary 40 Dublin Patrick O’Leary (brother) Tom Pierrepoint Wed 05/08/1925 Michael Talbot & Annie Walsh 24 Dublin Edward Walsh Tom Pierrepoint Wed 05/08/1925 31 Dublin Husband Tom Pierrepoint Thur 15/07/1926 James Myles 22 Dublin John Smith Snr, & Jnr Tom Pierrepoint Wed 24/11/1926 James M' Hugh 31 Dublin William Dollinson Tom Pierrepoint Thur 09/12/1926 Henry M' Cabe 48 Dublin McDonnell family Tom Pierrepoint Thur 29/12/1927 William O' Neill 19 Dublin Mary Farrell Tom Pierrepoint Wed 29/08/1928 Gerard Toal 18 Dublin Mary Callan Tom Pierrepoint Thur 25/04/1929 John Cox 33 Dublin Jacon Kuntz Tom Pierrepoint Thur 04/08/1931 David O'Shea 34 Dublin Ellen O’Sullivan Tom Pierrepoint Thur 29/12/1932 Patrick McDermott 26 Dublin John McDermott Tom Pierrepoint Fri 05/01/1934 John Fleming 32 Dublin Wife, Ellen Tom Pierrepoint Fri 17/06/1937 John Hornick Dublin James Redmond Tom Pierrepoint Sat 07/01/1939 Dermot Smith 33 Dublin Cornelius Dennehey Tom Pierrepoint Fri 06/09/1940 Patrick McGrath Dublin I.R.A. murder Firing squad Fri 06/09/1940 Thomas Harte (Green) Dublin I.R.A. murder Firing squad Tue 07/01/1941 Daniel Doherty 29 Dublin Hannah Doherty Tom Pierrepoint Wed 23/04/1941 Henry Gleeson 39 Dublin Mary McCarthy Tom Pierrepoint Sat 09/08/1941 Richard Goss 26 Maryborough (Portlaoise) Shot at police Firing squad Thur 18/12/1941 Patrick Kelly 31 Dublin Mary Breheny Tom Pierrepoint Thur 05/03/1942 George Plant 38 Maryborough (Portlaoise) Michael Devereux Firing squad Thur 12/11/1942 Maurice O' Neill Dublin Shot at police Firing squad Wed 02/06/1943 Bernard Kirwan 39 Dublin Brother, Lawrence Tom Pierrepoint Thur 12/08/1943 William O' Shea 24 Dublin Wife, Maureen Tom Pierrepoint Fri 01/12/1944 Charles Kerins Dublin Denis O’Brien Tom Pierrepoint Mon 19/03/1945 James Lehman Dublin Wife, Margaret Albert Pierrepoint Mon 31/03/1947 Joseph McManus 41 Dublin Alice Gerard Albert Pierrepoint Wed 24/11/1948 William Gambon 28 Dublin John Long Albert Pierrepoint Tue 20/04/1954 Michael Manning 25 Dublin Catherine Cooper Albert Pierrepoint