Patrick Maher (Irish Republican)
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Patrick Maher ( – 7 June 1921) 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 ...
executed 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 ...
. He was 32 years old at the time of his death.


Background

A native of
County Limerick County Limerick () is a western Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Reg ...
, Maher was hanged along with Edmond Foley for his alleged involvement in the
rescue Rescue comprises responsive operations that usually involve the saving of life, removal from danger, liberation from restraint, or the urgent treatment of injury, injuries after an incident. It may be facilitated by a range of tools and equipm ...
of Seán Hogan at Knocklong Railway Station on 13 May 1919 in which two
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) officers were killed.


Trial and Execution

Unlike Foley, Maher had no direct involvement in the rescue. He merely worked at the station grading poultry and eggs and he was at a crossroads three miles away at the time of the ambush. Maher strongly protested his innocence. Two civilian juries failed to reach a verdict. He was finally convicted of involvement by a military
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 arme ...
and sentenced to death. In a final message to other members of the IRA, Foley and Maher wrote:


Reinterment

Maher is one of a group of men hanged and buried in Mountjoy in the period 1920–21, commonly referred to as The Forgotten Ten. In 2001 Maher 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 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 the only one of the ten men not to be 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. In accordance with his wishes and those of his family, he is buried at Ladywell Graveyard in Ballylanders, County Limerick.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maher, Patrick 1880s births 1921 deaths People from County Limerick Irish people convicted of murdering police officers People convicted of murder by the British military The Forgotten Ten Executed people from County Limerick Irish republicans