Edmond Foley (23 November 1895 – 7 June 1921), sometimes known as Edmund or Edward, was a member of the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various Resistance movement, resistance organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dominantly Catholic and dedicated to anti-imperiali ...

(IRA) who was hanged in

Mountjoy Prison Mountjoy Prison (), founded as Mountjoy Gaol and nicknamed The Joy, is a medium security men's prison located in Phibsborough in the centre of Dublin, Ireland. The current prison Governor is Ray Murtagh. History Mountjoy was designed by Cap ...

on 7 June 1921. Together with nine other men executed by hanging during the

War of Independence Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...

, he was one of The Forgotten Ten.

Background

Foley was born to William and Margaret Foley in 1895 and was a native of Galbally, County Limerick. He was the eldest of 4 siblings. He was an active member of the Galtee Battalion of the East Limerick Brigade of the IRA.

Arrest, trials and execution

Foley along with colleagues from the Galtee Battalion of the East Limerick Brigade: Ned O'Brien, James Scanlon, John Joe O'Brien, and Sean Lynch, had taken part in the rescue of IRA member Seán Hogan from a train at

Knocklong Knocklong () is a small village in County Limerick, Ireland. It is 29 km south-east of Limerick city, on the main Limerick to Mitchelstown to Cork road. The population was 256 at the 2016 census. The village is in a civil parish of the s ...

Railway Station on 13 May 1919, along with Hogan's comrades from the

3rd Tipperary Brigade The 3rd Tipperary Brigade () was one of the most active of approximately 80 such units that constituted the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), IRA during the Irish War of Independence. The brigade was based in southern County Tipperary, Tippe ...

: Sean Treacy, Séumas Robinson and

Dan Breen Daniel Breen (11 August 1894 – 27 December 1969) was a volunteer in the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War. In later years he was a Fianna Fáil politician. Background Breen was born in Grange ...

Seán Hogan Seán Hogan (; 13 May 1901 – 24 December 1968) was one of the leaders of the 3rd Tipperary Brigade of the Irish Republican Army during the War of Independence. Early life Hogan was born on 13 May 1901, the elder child of Matthew Hogan of G ...

was handcuffed and seated between four armed members of the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC). Two members of the RIC were killed in the fight and several members of the rescuing party injured, while Hogan was successfully rescued. Hogan had been captured a day earlier following the Soloheadbeg ambush. The beginning of the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...

is generally traced to the events at Soloheadbeg. After going on the run for a number of months, Foley was arrested and charged with two counts of murder for the two men killed at Knocklong. Foley and another volunteer, Patrick Maher, were tried three times for these murders with juries failing to reach verdicts on two occasions. Their third trial was by

court martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the mili ...

on 15 March 1921 in Dublin and both were convicted of murder. Among the many who appealed for clemency was the father of one of the

Royal Irish Constabulary The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the island was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom. A sep ...

(RIC) men killed at Knocklong, Sergeant Peter Wallace. Nonetheless, both Foley and Maher where hanged on 7 June 1921. Foley and Maher made a joint, final statement just hours before their deaths: ''"Fight on, struggle on, for the honour, glory and freedom of dear old Ireland. Our hearts go out to all our dear old friends. Our souls go to God at seven o'clock in the morning and our bodies, when Ireland is free, shall go to Galbally. Our blood shall not be shed in vain for Ireland and we have a strong presentiment, going to our God, that Ireland will soon be free."''

Reinterment

Foley is one of a group of men hanged in Mountjoy Prison in 1920-21 commonly referred to as The Forgotten Ten. In 2001 he and the other nine, including

Kevin Barry 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 a ...

, were exhumed from their graves in the prison and given a full

State Funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...

. He is now buried in

Glasnevin Cemetery Glasnevin Cemetery () is a large cemetery in Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland which opened in 1832. It holds the graves and memorials of several notable figures, and has a museum. Location The cemetery is located in Glasnevin, Dublin, in two part ...

, Dublin.

References

Further sources

Galbally War Memorial
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foley, Edmund 1897 births 1921 deaths Military personnel from County Limerick Irish people convicted of murdering police officers People executed for murdering police officers People convicted of murder by the British military The Forgotten Ten Executed people from County Limerick Irish republicans