Charlie Kerins
Encyclopedia
Irish Republicanism
Irish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
, who following his killing of policeman Dennis O'Brien
Dennis O'Brien (policeman)
Dennis O'Brien , often called "Dinny O’Brien", was a veteran of the Easter Rising, the Irish War of Independence, and the Irish Civil War...
, was named the Chief of Staff of the IRA. After spending two years on the run he was captured by the Gardaí
Garda Síochána
, more commonly referred to as the Gardaí , is the police force of Ireland. The service is headed by the Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Government. Its headquarters are located in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.- Terminology :...
in 1944; following his trial and subsequent conviction, Kerins was hanged in Mountjoy Prison
Mountjoy Prison
Mountjoy Prison , founded as Mountjoy Gaol, nicknamed The Joy, is a medium security prison located in Phibsboro in the centre of Dublin, Ireland. It has the largest prison population in Ireland.The current prison governor is Mr...
.
Early life
Kerins was born in Caherina, Tralee, County KerryCounty Kerry
Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and attended Balloonagh Mercy Convent School and then the CBS, Edward Street. At the age of 13, he won a Kerry County Council
Kerry County Council
Kerry County Council is the local authority which is responsible for County Kerry in Ireland. The Council is responsible for Housing and Community, Roads and Transportation, Urban planning and Development, Amenity and Culture, and Environment. The head of the council has the title of Mayor...
scholarship and completed his secondary education at the Green Christian Brothers
Congregation of Christian Brothers
The Congregation of Christian Brothers is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Blessed Edmund Rice. The Christian Brothers, as they are commonly known, chiefly work for the evangelisation and education of youth, but are involved in many ministries, especially with...
and the Jeffers Institute. In 1920, Kerins passed the Intermediate Certificate
Junior Certificate
The Junior Certificate is an educational qualification awarded in Ireland by the Department of Education to students who have successfully completed the junior cycle of secondary education, and achieved a minimum standard in their Junior Cert. examinations...
with honours and the matriculation
Matriculation
Matriculation, in the broadest sense, means to be registered or added to a list, from the Latin matricula – little list. In Scottish heraldry, for instance, a matriculation is a registration of armorial bearings...
examination to the NUI
National University of Ireland
The National University of Ireland , , is a federal university system of constituent universities, previously called constituent colleges, and recognised colleges set up under the Irish Universities Act, 1908, and significantly amended by the Universities Act, 1997.The constituent universities are...
. He later did a commercial course and took up employment in a radio business in Tralee.
Kerins was also active in the Gaelic Athletic Association
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
and in 1939 won a county medal in football
Gaelic football
Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
with his local team, O'Rahilly's
Kerins O'Rahilly's
Kerins O'Rahilly's are a Gaelic Athletic Association club from Tralee County Kerry, Ireland. They are based in the Strand Road area of the town. They are in Division 1 of the county league which they won in 2006, and compete in the County Championship. The club won the County Championship last in...
, now renamed the Kerins O'Rahilly's
Kerins O'Rahilly's
Kerins O'Rahilly's are a Gaelic Athletic Association club from Tralee County Kerry, Ireland. They are based in the Strand Road area of the town. They are in Division 1 of the county league which they won in 2006, and compete in the County Championship. The club won the County Championship last in...
in his honour.
IRA career
In 1940, Kerins was sworn into the IRA, and was appointed to the GHQ staff in May 1942. At the time, the Irish Free StateIrish Free State
The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...
was determined to protect its neutrality in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Therefore, the IRA's attacks against British targets in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
and its ties to the intelligence services of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
were regarded as severe threats to Ireland's national security.
According to historian Tim Pat Coogan
Tim Pat Coogan
Timothy Patrick Coogan is an Irish historical writer, broadcaster and newspaper columnist. He served as editor of the Irish Press newspaper from 1968 to 1987...
,
"An iron gloved approach to the I.R.A. was the order of the day with vigorous raids and interrogations. As a result, relations between individual I.R.A. men and the [Irish] Special BranchSpecial BranchSpecial Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security in British and Commonwealth police forces, as well as in the Royal Thai Police...
became understandably strained, and the I.R.A., in its shattered and disorganized condition, came to regard the Special BranchSpecial BranchSpecial Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security in British and Commonwealth police forces, as well as in the Royal Thai Police...
as a greater enemy than the British Crown."
Those IRA men who were captured by the Garda Síochána
Garda Síochána
, more commonly referred to as the Gardaí , is the police force of Ireland. The service is headed by the Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Government. Its headquarters are located in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.- Terminology :...
were generally interned by the Irish Army
Irish Army
The Irish Army, officially named simply the Army is the main branch of the Defence Forces of Ireland. Approximately 8,500 men and women serve in the Irish Army, divided into three infantry Brigades...
in the Curragh Camp
Curragh Camp
The Curragh Camp is an army base and military college located in The Curragh, County Kildare, Ireland. It is the main training centre for the Irish Army.- Brief history of the Curragh's military heritage :...
, County Kildare
County Kildare
County Kildare is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county...
.
Killing of Detective Sergeant O'Brien
On the morning of 9 September 1942, Detective Sergeant Dennis O'BrienDennis O'Brien (policeman)
Dennis O'Brien , often called "Dinny O’Brien", was a veteran of the Easter Rising, the Irish War of Independence, and the Irish Civil War...
was leaving his home in Ballyboden
Ballyboden
Ballyboden is a locality within the suburb of Rathfarnham in South Dublin, at the foot of the Dublin mountains between Whitechurch, Ballyroan and Knocklyon....
, Dublin. He was between his front gate and his car when he was cut down with Thompson submachine gun
Thompson submachine gun
The Thompson is an American submachine gun, invented by John T. Thompson in 1919, that became infamous during the Prohibition era. It was a common sight in the media of the time, being used by both law enforcement officers and criminals...
s. D.S. O'Brien, an Anti-Treaty veteran of the Irish Civil War
Irish Civil War
The Irish Civil War was a conflict that accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State as an entity independent from the United Kingdom within the British Empire....
, had enlisted in the Garda Síochána
Garda Síochána
, more commonly referred to as the Gardaí , is the police force of Ireland. The service is headed by the Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Government. Its headquarters are located in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.- Terminology :...
in 1933. He was one of the most prominent members of the Special Branch
Special Branch
Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security in British and Commonwealth police forces, as well as in the Royal Thai Police...
Division, which had its headquarters at Dublin Castle
Dublin Castle
Dublin Castle off Dame Street, Dublin, Ireland, was until 1922 the fortified seat of British rule in Ireland, and is now a major Irish government complex. Most of it dates from the 18th century, though a castle has stood on the site since the days of King John, the first Lord of Ireland...
. According to historian Tim Pat Coogan
Tim Pat Coogan
Timothy Patrick Coogan is an Irish historical writer, broadcaster and newspaper columnist. He served as editor of the Irish Press newspaper from 1968 to 1987...
,
"The shooting greatly increased public feeling against the I.R.A., particularly as the murder was carried out in full view of his wife. As she held her dying husband, she watched his assailants cycling past."
Arrest
Following the arrest of Hugh McAteerHugh McAteer
Hugh McAteer was a volunteer in, and leader of, the Irish Republican Army.A bookkeeper by profession, McAteer was from Derry. He served as IRA Chief of Staff from 1941 until 12 October 1942, when he was captured and arrested by the Royal Ulster Constabulary. He was later sentenced to 15 years...
in October 1942, Kerins was named Chief of Staff for the IRA. Despite a massive manhunt by Gardaí, Kerins remained at large for two years. Travel author Dervla Murphy
Dervla Murphy
Dervla Murphy is an Irish touring cyclist and author of adventure travel books for over 40 years.Murphy is best known for her 1965 book Full Tilt: Ireland to India With a Bicycle, about an overland cycling trip through Europe, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India...
recounts in her book on Northern Ireland, A Place Apart that Kerins stayed at her family's County Waterford
County Waterford
*Abbeyside, Affane, Aglish, Annestown, An Rinn, Ardmore*Ballinacourty, Ballinameela, Ballinamult, Ballinroad, Ballybeg, Ballybricken, Ballyduff Lower, Ballyduff Upper, Ballydurn, Ballygunner, Ballylaneen, Ballymacarbry, Ballymacart, Ballynaneashagh, Ballysaggart, Ballytruckle, Bilberry, Bunmahon,...
home for two weeks while he was on the run, having given his name as Pat Carney. He had been sent to the Murphy's by Dervla's aunt, Dr. Kathleen Farrell, who was a staunch IRA supporter, and Dervla (aged 12 at the time) and Kerins struck up a friendship. Several months after Kerins left the Murphy's, he was captured.
Kerins had previously left papers and guns hidden at Kathleen Farrell's house in the Dublin suburb of Rathmines
Rathmines
Rathmines is a suburb on the southside of Dublin, about 3 kilometres south of the city centre. It effectively begins at the south side of the Grand Canal and stretches along the Rathmines Road as far as Rathgar to the south, Ranelagh to the east and Harold's Cross to the west.Rathmines has...
. He telephoned the house, as he intended to retrieve them. However, the telephone had been tapped
Telephone tapping
Telephone tapping is the monitoring of telephone and Internet conversations by a third party, often by covert means. The wire tap received its name because, historically, the monitoring connection was an actual electrical tap on the telephone line...
. On 15 June 1944, Kerins was arrested in an early morning raid by the Gardaí. He was sleeping when they entered his bedroom and did not have an opportunity to reach the Thompson submachine gun
Thompson submachine gun
The Thompson is an American submachine gun, invented by John T. Thompson in 1919, that became infamous during the Prohibition era. It was a common sight in the media of the time, being used by both law enforcement officers and criminals...
which was under his bed.
Trial
At a trial before the Special Criminal CourtSpecial Criminal Court
The Special Criminal Court is a juryless criminal court in the Republic of Ireland which tries terrorist and organized crime cases. Article 38 of the Constitution of Ireland empowers the Dáil to establish "special courts" with wide-ranging powers when "the ordinary courts are inadequate to secure...
in Collins Barracks, Dublin, Kerins was formally charged on 2 October 1944 for the "shooting at Rathfarnham
Rathfarnham
Rathfarnham or Rathfarnam is a Southside suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It is south of Terenure, east of Templeogue, and is in the postal districts of Dublin 14 and 16. It is within the administrative areas of both Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown and South Dublin County Councils.The area of Rathfarnham...
of Detective Dinny O’Brien". According to Coogan,
"At the end of his trial, the president of the Military Court delayed sentence until later in the day to allow Kerins, if he wished, to make an application whereby he might have avoided the capital sentence. When the court resumed, Kerins said: "You could have adjourned it for six years as far as I am concerned, as my attitude towards this Court will always be the same." He thus deprived himself of the right to give evidence, to face cross examination, or to call witnesses.
Execution
Despite legal moves initiated by Seán MacBrideSeán MacBride
Seán MacBride was an Irish government minister and prominent international politician as well as a Chief of Staff of the IRA....
, public protests, and parliamentary intervention by TDs
Teachta Dála
A Teachta Dála , usually abbreviated as TD in English, is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas . It is the equivalent of terms such as "Member of Parliament" or "deputy" used in other states. The official translation of the term is "Deputy to the Dáil", though a more literal...
from Clann na Talmhan
Clann na Talmhan
Clann na Talmhan , abbreviated CnaT, was an Irish agrarian political party active between 1939 and 1965.- Formation and Growth :Clann na Talmhan was founded on 29 June 1939 in Athenry, County Galway, in the wake of the breakdown of unification talks between the Irish Farmers Federation and...
, Labour
Labour Party (Ireland)
The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. The Labour Party was founded in 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin and William X. O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trade Union Congress. Unlike the other main Irish...
, and Independent Oliver J. Flanagan
Oliver J. Flanagan
Oliver J. Flanagan was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served in Dáil Éireann for 43 years and was Minister for Defence for six months. He was elected to the Dáil fourteen times between 1943 and 1982, topping the poll on almost every occasion...
in Leinster House
Leinster House
Leinster House is the name of the building housing the Oireachtas, the national parliament of Ireland.Leinster House was originally the ducal palace of the Dukes of Leinster. Since 1922, it is a complex of buildings, of which the former ducal palace is the core, which house Oireachtas Éireann, its...
, the Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...
government of Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera
Éamon de Valera was one of the dominant political figures in twentieth century Ireland, serving as head of government of the Irish Free State and head of government and head of state of Ireland...
refused to issue a reprieve. On 1 December 1944 in Mountjoy Prison
Mountjoy Prison
Mountjoy Prison , founded as Mountjoy Gaol, nicknamed The Joy, is a medium security prison located in Phibsboro in the centre of Dublin, Ireland. It has the largest prison population in Ireland.The current prison governor is Mr...
, Kerins was hanged by British chief executioner
Executioner
A judicial executioner is a person who carries out a death sentence ordered by the state or other legal authority, which was known in feudal terminology as high justice.-Scope and job:...
Albert Pierrepoint
Albert Pierrepoint
Albert Pierrepoint is the most famous member of the family which provided three of the United Kingdom's official hangmen in the first half of the 20th century...
, who was employed for the occasion.
Kerins was then buried in the prison yard. In September 1948, his remains were exhumed and released to his family. He is buried in the Republican Plot
Republican plot
In Ireland, a republican plot is a cemetery plot where combatants or members of various Irish republican organisations are buried in a common grave, as opposed to being buried with family members. These plots may often also hold the bodies of casualties of earlier 19th and 20th-century campaigns by...
at Rath Cemetery, Tralee, Co Kerry.
Sources
- Charlie Kerins. The 50th anniversary commemoration of the execution of Charlie Kerins, Charlie Kerins Memorial Committee (Tralee), 1994.
- Tim Pat CooganTim Pat CooganTimothy Patrick Coogan is an Irish historical writer, broadcaster and newspaper columnist. He served as editor of the Irish Press newspaper from 1968 to 1987...
, The IRA: A History, Roberts Rhinehart Publishers, 1994.