Stephen Hayes (Irish Republican)
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Stephen Hayes (26 December 1902 – 28 December 1974) was a member and leader 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 ...
from April 1939 to June 1941.


Early life

Hayes was born in
Enniscorthy Enniscorthy () is the second-largest town in County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is located on the picturesque River Slaney and in close proximity to the Blackstairs Mountains and Ireland's longest beach, Curracloe. The Plac ...
,
County Wexford County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...
."Stephen Hayes dies at 71", ''Irish Independent'', 30 December 1974. During 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 ...
, he was commandant of the Wexford Brigade of
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 ...
. He took the Anti-Treaty side during the
Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War (; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United Kingdom but within the British Emp ...
, during which he was
interned Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...
. During the 1936 legislative period of the
8th Dáil The 8th Dáil was elected at the 1933 Irish general election, 1933 general election on 24 January 1933 and met on 8 February 1933. The members of Dáil Éireann (Irish Free State), Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas ( ...
Hayes was one of two candidates representing the Irish republican political party Cumann Poblachta na hÉireann. In the Wexford by-election and polled a 2.85 percent share of the vote. Hayes was active in
Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...
circles in
Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...
. In 1925, he helped
Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...
win the Leinster Senior Football title. He also served as secretary to the county board for ten years, from the 1920s to 1930s.


IRA activities

Hayes joined the IRA and was on the IRA Army Council in January 1939 when it declared war on 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.
. (see the S-Plan). When
IRA chief of staff Ira or IRA may refer to: *Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name * Ira (surname), a rare Estonian family name; occurs in some other languages *Iran, UNDP code IRA Law and finance *Indian Reorganization Act of 19 ...
Seán Russell departed on IRA business to the United States (and subsequently to
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
), Hayes became IRA Chief of Staff. His time in office was marred by controversy and it is widely believed that he served as an informer to the Irish Police - the
Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace") is the national police and security service of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards". The service is headed by the Garda Commissio ...
. As IRA Chief of Staff, Hayes sent a plan for the invasion of
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
by German troops to Germany in April 1940. This plan later became known as
Plan Kathleen Plan Kathleen, sometimes referred to as the Artus Plan, was a military plan for the invasion of Northern Ireland by Nazi Germany, sanctioned in 1940 by Stephen Hayes (Irish republican), Stephen Hayes, Acting Irish Republican Army (1922–1969), I ...
. He is also known to have met with German agent Hermann Görtz on 21 May 1940 in
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 ...
shortly after the latter's parachuting into Ireland on 5 May 1940 as part of Operation Mainau. Hayes is known to have asked Görtz for money and arms to wage a campaign in Northern Ireland but Gortz was reluctant to provide funds. Shortly after this meeting the original Plan Kathleen was discovered. The discovery of the plan led to the acceleration of joint British and Irish military planning for a German invasion known as Plan W. On 15 August 1940 Hayes organized meeting of senior IRA men at an address on Rathgar Road, Dublin (Hayes was not in attendance). The meeting was raided by police and resulted in a gun battle in which two Detectives were killed and one wounded. Senior IRA men Paddy McGrath and Tom Harte were arrested, charged with the murders and tried by Military Tribunal, established under the Emergency Powers Act 1939. They challenged the legislation in the High Court, seeking 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 ...
, and ultimately appealed to the
Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
. They were represented in the courts by
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 ...
. The appeal was unsuccessful, and they were executed by
firing squad Firing may refer to: * Dismissal (employment), sudden loss of employment by termination * Firemaking, the act of starting a fire * Burning; see combustion * Shooting, specifically the discharge of firearms * Execution by firing squad, a method of ...
at Dublin's
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 6 September 1940. At the time of these arrests Hayes was the IRA Chief of Staff. In his written confession Hayes admits to providing the address of the meeting to government officials which resulted in the capture of Harte and McGrath. On 30 June 1941, Northern-based IRA men kidnapped Hayes, accusing him of being a spy for the Irish Free State government. Hayes was
court-martialed 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 ...
by senior IRA men - Charlie McCarthy from
Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...
, Tom Farrell from
Connemara Connemara ( ; ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, ...
and Pearse Kelly from Tyrone. By his own account, he was tortured and court-martialed for treason by his comrades, and would have been executed, but he bought himself time composing an enormously long confession (160 pages). He managed to escape on 8 September 1941 and handed himself in to the Garda for protection. The Officer Commanding (O/C) of the IRA's Northern Command,
Seán McCaughey Seán McCaughey ( Irish: Seán Mac Eóchaidh) (8 June 1915 – 11 May 1946) was an Irish militant and Republican activist. He was an Irish Republican Army (IRA) leader in the 1930s and 1940s and hunger striker. Background McCaughey was born ...
(who was the prosecutor at Hayes court-martial), was arrested and later convicted (18 September 1941) for the Hayes kidnapping. After a long hunger and thirst strike in
Portlaoise Portlaoise ( ), or Port Laoise (), is the county town of County Laois, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Midland Region, Ireland, South Midlands in the province of Leinster. Portlaoise was the fastest growing of the top 20 largest town ...
prison, McCaughey died on 11 May 1946. Hayes was later sentenced to five years' imprisonment by the
Special Criminal Court The Special Criminal Court (SCC; ) is a juryless criminal court in Ireland which tries terrorism and serious organised crime cases. Legal basis Article 38 of the Constitution of Ireland empowers the Dáil to establish "special courts" with ...
on account of his IRA activities. Upon his release and until his death Hayes held that his confession was fiction, made under duress and torture. The controversy surrounding the confession of Hayes was never authoritatively settled. Within IRA circles, Hayes is still considered a traitor and an informer.Bower Bell, pg. 211. One of the main allegations against him was that he informed the Garda Síochána about IRA arms dumps in Wexford. However, this was later blamed on a Wexford man named Michael Deveraux, an officer of the Wexford Battalion of the IRA who was subsequently abducted and executed by an IRA squad in
County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...
on Hayes’ orders. George Plant, a
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
IRA veteran, was later executed in
Portlaoise Portlaoise ( ), or Port Laoise (), is the county town of County Laois, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Midland Region, Ireland, South Midlands in the province of Leinster. Portlaoise was the fastest growing of the top 20 largest town ...
for Devereux's murder.


Later life

After his release, Hayes resumed his clerical position at Wexford County Council. He died in
Enniscorthy Enniscorthy () is the second-largest town in County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is located on the picturesque River Slaney and in close proximity to the Blackstairs Mountains and Ireland's longest beach, Curracloe. The Plac ...
on 28 December 1974.


See also

* IRA Abwehr World War II - Main article on IRA Abwehr links


References


External links


Time Magazine article on the abduction of Stephen Hayes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Stephen 1902 births 1974 deaths People from Enniscorthy People of the Irish Civil War (Anti-Treaty side) Wexford inter-county Gaelic footballers Wexford GAA IRA collaborators with Nazi Germany Irish prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Ireland