Michael Manning (1929–20 April 1954) was an Irish rapist and murderer who was executed in 1954. He was the 29th and last person to be executed in the Republic of Ireland, as capital punishment was gradually abolished in the decades following Manning's execution.

Murder and trial

Manning, a 25-year-old carter from Johnsgate in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

, was found guilty in February 1954 of the rape and murder of Catherine Cooper, a 65-year-old nurse who worked at Barringtons' Hospital in the city. Nurse Cooper's body was discovered on 18 November 1953 in the quarry under the New Castle, Dublin Road,

Castletroy Castletroy (, meaning O'Troy's Landing or O'Troy's Callow) is a suburb of Limerick, Ireland. The town was named after Castle Troy also known as The Black Castle, which is located on the southern bank of the River Shannon, roughly 2km East of th ...

where she was found to have choked on grass stuffed into her mouth to keep her from screaming during the commission of the crime. Manning expressed remorse for the crime, which he did not deny. By his own account, he was making his way home on foot after a day’s drinking in The Black Swan,

Annacotty Annacotty () is a suburban town on the outskirts of Limerick, Ireland, from the centre of the city. It is situated where the old N7 main road between Limerick and Dublin crosses the Mulkear River, upstream of where it flows into the River Sh ...

when he saw a woman he did not recognise, walking alone. "I suddenly lost my head and jumped on the woman and remember no more until the lights of a car shone on me." He took flight at this point but was arrested within hours, after his distinctive hat was found at the scene of the crime. Although Manning made an impassioned plea for clemency in a letter to the

Minister for Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

Gerald Boland Gerald Boland (25 May 1885 – 5 January 1973) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister for Justice from 1939 to 1948 and 1951 to 1954, Minister for Lands from 1936 to 1939, Minister for Posts and Telegraphs from 1933 to 1936 ...

, his request was denied, although it was supported by Nurse Cooper's family. The execution by

hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature strangulation, ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary' ...

was duly carried out on 20 April 1954 in

Mountjoy Prison Mountjoy Prison ( ga, Príosún Mhuinseo), 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 Edward Mullins. History ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

Albert Pierrepoint Albert Pierrepoint (; 30 March 1905 – 10 July 1992) was an English hangman who executed between 435 and 600 people in a 25-year career that ended in 1956. His father Henry and uncle Thomas were official hangmen before him. Pierrepoin ...

, who had travelled from Britain where he was one of three Senior Executioners. Frank Prendergast, subsequently TD for Limerick East who knew Manning well, recalled later: "Friends of mine who worked with me, I was serving my time at the time, went up to visit him on the Sunday before he was hanged. And they went to

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different element ...

and Holy Communion together and they played a game of handball that day. He couldn't have been more normal." Manning left a wife who was pregnant at the time of the murder. His body was buried in an unmarked grave in a yard at Mountjoy Prison.

Aftermath

The death penalty was abolished in 1964 for all but the murder of Gardaí, diplomats and prison officers. It was abolished by statute for these remaining offences in 1990 and was finally expunged from the

Constitution of Ireland The Constitution of Ireland ( ga, Bunreacht na hÉireann, ) is the fundamental law of Ireland. It asserts the national sovereignty of the Irish people. The constitution, based on a system of representative democracy, is broadly within the traditio ...

by a referendum in 2001.

Footnotes

External links

Capital punishment in Ireland since the foundation of the state
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manning, Michael 1929 births 1954 deaths People from County Limerick People executed by Ireland by hanging People executed for murder Executed Irish people People executed by the Republic of Ireland Irish people convicted of murder Irish people convicted of rape 20th-century Irish criminals