Genealogy research by Mark Humphrys.
Genealogy research by Mark Humphrys.
Kevin Barry, the patriot,
Ambush, 1920:
On 20 Sept 1920
he took part in an IRA attack on British Army soldiers in Dublin
that killed 3 British soldiers.
The British Army party
was collecting bread from the bakery of
"Patrick Monks and Co."
[Thom's, 1919]
at the
junction of Church St and N King St, Dublin
(see map).
The intention was to steal their rifles,
but shooting broke out.
The IRA men killed 3 British soldiers
(Harold Washington, Marshall Whitehead and Thomas Humphries).
These were
the first British military deaths of the War of Independence.
Kevin Barry's gun jammed and he hid under a truck during the firefight.
His comrades withdrew and
he was captured hiding under the truck.
He was abused in custody but refused to reveal the names of the others.
Execution, 1920:
Kevin Barry was
hanged at
Mountjoy Prison,
Dublin, 1st Nov 1920, age 18 yrs.
It was
the first execution of the War of Independence.
He
became a symbol of Irish martyrdom.
Patricia Lavelle, age 22 at the time, says:
"With the rest of the
Cumann na mBan,
I stood outside the prison walls
in the cold dawn of that frosty fog-laden morning. We said the rosary aloud that his soul
might pass in peace".
He was
buried in grounds of Mountjoy.
He was re-buried with a state funeral
in the Republican plot
in
Glasnevin Cemetery,
Dublin, in 2001.
Plaque to Kevin Barry at the door of The Tap pub, at the junction
of Church St and N King St, Dublin
(see street view).
Photo 2012.
See full size
and wider shot.
New grave of Kevin Barry, Glasnevin.
Kevin Barry is the first on the left.
Photo 2007.
From here.
See street view.
New grave of Kevin Barry, Glasnevin.
From here.
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