HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Peter Barnes (6 May 1907 – 7 February 1940) was born in
Banagher Banagher ( or ) is a town in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, located in the midlands, on the western edge of County Offaly in the province of Leinster, on the banks of the River Shannon. The town had a population of 3,000 at the height of its ...
, King's County (
Offaly County Offaly (; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in honour of Philip II of Spain ...
). As a young man Barnes joined
Fianna Éireann Na Fianna Éireann (The Fianna of Ireland), known as the Fianna ("Soldiers of Ireland"), is an Irish nationalist youth organisation founded by Constance Markievicz in 1909, with later help from Bulmer Hobson. Fianna members were involved in se ...
(an Irish nationalist youth organisation) and in 1924 became 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).


Sabotage campaign in England - the S-Plan

Barnes, along with James McCormick (also known as James Richards), were convicted of participating in the
1939 Coventry bombing The 1939 Coventry bombing was an act of terrorism committed by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) on 25 August 1939 in which a 5.1 lb (2.3 kg) bomb upon a bicycle was placed in Coventry city centre in the West Midlands of England as part of the o ...
, which was part of the IRA's sabotage campaign in England (the
S-Plan The S-Plan or Sabotage Campaign or England Campaign was a campaign of bombing and sabotage against the civil, economic and military infrastructure of the United Kingdom from 1939 to 1940, conducted by members of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) ...
). The Coventry bombing killed five people on 25 August 1939. Barnes was arrested on that date in London. During the search of his room police discovered the address of his fiancée. At her address (also in London), police found receipts for materials associated with bomb making. Although he and McCormick admitted constructing the bomb, which was intended to be used to destroy a power station, they claimed not to be involved in planting the bomb. Another IRA man (Joseph "Joby" O'Sullivan) claimed that he planted the bomb and that Barnes and McCormick were innocent.


Trial and execution

From the moment of his arrest until the moment of his hanging Peter Barnes protested his innocence. Barnes was associated with the buying of flour bags that were used to mix and carry explosives but did not know where the bombs were to be used. Both Barnes and McCormick were found guilty under the rule of
Common purpose The doctrine of common purpose, common design, joint enterprise, joint criminal enterprise or parasitic accessory liability is a common law legal doctrine that imputes criminal liability to the participants in a criminal enterprise for all reas ...
which takes into account how a joint criminal enterprise results in death. On the night before his execution, he wrote a letter to his sister stating: "I am an innocent man and as I have said before, it will be known yet that I am. The only thing that worries me now is the thought of my poor father and mother, but I know God will comfort them."
Seán MacBride Seán MacBride (26 January 1904 – 15 January 1988) was an Irish Republican activist, politician, and diplomat who served as Minister for External Affairs from 1948 to 1951, Leader of Clann na Poblachta from 1946 to 1965 and Chief of Staff o ...
, a former Chief-of-Staff for the IRA and Irish barrister, attempted to secure their release claiming they were being illegally held without a writ of
habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a legal procedure invoking the jurisdiction of a court to review the unlawful detention or imprisonment of an individual, and request the individual's custodian (usually a prison official) to ...
. Also charged with murder along with James McCormick were Brigid O'Hara, Joseph and Mary Hewitt, all five pleaded not guilty before the court at Birmingham
Assizes The assizes (), or courts of assize, were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes ex ...
. Brigid O'Hara issued statements between 28 August and 4 September to
Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's London boroughs, 32 boroughs. Its name derives from the location of the original ...
and Birmingham police denying any knowledge of the bombings, and later provided evidence for the prosecution. On 15 December 1939 the jury deliberated for 31 minutes before finding both Barnes and McCormick guilty of murder. They were sentenced to death by Mr Justice Singleton. On 7 February 1940 Barnes and McCormick were hanged simultaneously at
Winson Green Prison HM Prison Birmingham is a Category B men's prison in the Winson Green area of Birmingham, England, operated by HM Prison and Probation Service. History HM Prison Birmingham was formerly called Winson Green Prison. It is a Victorian prison, des ...
in
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
.


Reaction in Ireland and reburial

Their trial and execution resulted in a public outcry in Ireland against
Neville Chamberlain Arthur Neville Chamberlain (; 18 March 18699 November 1940) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from ...
and the
British Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
as
Peadar O'Donnell Peadar O'Donnell (; 22 February 1893 – 13 May 1986) was one of the foremost radicals of 20th-century Ireland. O'Donnell became prominent as an Irish republican, socialist politician and writer. Early life Peadar O'Donnell was born into an I ...
and other prominent Irish writers signed a petition campaigning for leniency towards the condemned men. The executions provoked a wave of protests and marches throughout Ireland, Irish flags were flown at half-mast and, through the intervention of a sympathizer, at the World's Fair in New York. On the day of the executions of Barnes and McCormick many Irish cinemas were shut as a sign of respect. The bodies of Barnes and McCormick were buried in the prison yard and in 1969, their remains were released to relatives and were flown to
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
. Their re-interment on 6 July 1969 in Ballyglass Cemetery,
Mullingar Mullingar ( ; ) is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. It is the third most populous town in the Midland Region, Ireland, Midland Region, with a population of 22,667 in the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census. The Counties of M ...
was attended by an estimated 15,000 people.


Further reading

*Fairfield, Letitia. ''Trial of Peter Barnes and others: the I.R.A. Coventry explosion of 1939''. William Hodge & Co., Ltd. 1953. . *''"Ireland's Latest Martyrs, Peter Barnes and James McCormack 'Richards'"''. ''Irish World''. 2 March 1940.


References


External links

*
Irish Press news accounts of the Coventry Explosion trial at NationalArchives.ie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Peter 1907 births 1940 deaths Irish Republican Army (1922–1969) members Irish people executed abroad 20th-century executions by England and Wales Irish mass murderers 20th-century murderers People convicted of murder by England and Wales People from Banagher, County Offaly Executed mass murderers Executed people from County Offaly People executed by the United Kingdom by hanging Activists from County Offaly