Denny Barry
Encyclopedia
Denis "Denny" Barry was an Irish Republican
who died during a hunger strike
, shortly after the Irish Civil War
.
family in Riverstick
, in south County Cork
, and learnt Irish
from a young age. In 1903, he moved to Cork
to work in a drapery
, where he became involved in the Gaelic League
and the Ancient Order of Hibernians
. A successful athlete, he also played hurling
for Cork.
. In 1915, he moved to Kilkenny
to take up employment there, where he continued his volunteer activities. Shortly after the Easter Rising
, he was arrested in Kilkenny
in a British Government crackdown, and sent to Frongoch internment camp
in North Wales
. In 1919, he returned to Cork, where he was given command of the Irish Republican Police
. In the Cork Number One brigade of the Irish Republican Army
(IRA), he helped with prisoner escapes and returning looted goods after the burning of Cork
by Black and Tans
. After the Anglo-Irish Treaty
and the split that followed, Barry chose the anti-Treaty branch of the IRA; he was captured by Irish Free State
troops and was sent to Newbridge
internment camp on the 6 October 1922. Irish Republican prisoners in Mountjoy Prison
went on hunger strike, protesting against poor prison conditions and their continued detention. The strike quickly spread to other camps and prisons, and Barry took part. He died after 35 days. After another man, Andrew O'Sullivan, died two days later in Mountjoy, the hunger strike was called off on 23 November. He was initially buried by the Free State army in the Curragh
, but three days later, following a court order
, his remains were disinterred.
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 died during a hunger strike
Hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance or pressure in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most hunger strikers will take liquids but not...
, shortly after 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....
.
Early life
Barry was born into a farmingAgriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
family in Riverstick
Riverstick
Riverstick is a village in Ireland lying south of Cork, halfway between Cork and Kinsale, on the Cork to Kinsale road. The village is named literally, after the River Stick which flows through the village...
, in south County Cork
County Cork
County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...
, and learnt Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
from a young age. In 1903, he moved to Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
to work in a drapery
Drapery
Drapery is a general word referring to cloths or textiles . It may refer to cloth used for decorative purposes – such as around windows – or to the trade of retailing cloth, originally mostly for clothing, formerly conducted by drapers.In art history, drapery refers to any cloth or...
, where he became involved in the Gaelic League
Conradh na Gaeilge
Conradh na Gaeilge is a non-governmental organisation that promotes the Irish language in Ireland and abroad. The motto of the League is Sinn Féin, Sinn Féin amháin .-Origins:...
and the Ancient Order of Hibernians
Ancient Order of Hibernians
The Ancient Order of Hibernians is an Irish Catholic fraternal organization. Members must be Catholic and either Irish born or of Irish descent. Its largest membership is now in the United States, where it was founded in New York City in 1836...
. A successful athlete, he also played hurling
Hurling
Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...
for Cork.
Volunteer activity
In 1913, he joined the newly formed Irish VolunteersIrish Volunteers
The Irish Volunteers was a military organisation established in 1913 by Irish nationalists. It was ostensibly formed in response to the formation of the Ulster Volunteers in 1912, and its declared primary aim was "to secure and maintain the rights and liberties common to the whole people of Ireland"...
. In 1915, he moved to Kilkenny
Kilkenny
Kilkenny is a city and is the county town of the eponymous County Kilkenny in Ireland. It is situated on both banks of the River Nore in the province of Leinster, in the south-east of Ireland...
to take up employment there, where he continued his volunteer activities. Shortly after the Easter Rising
Easter Rising
The Easter Rising was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire was heavily engaged in the First World War...
, he was arrested in Kilkenny
Kilkenny
Kilkenny is a city and is the county town of the eponymous County Kilkenny in Ireland. It is situated on both banks of the River Nore in the province of Leinster, in the south-east of Ireland...
in a British Government crackdown, and sent to Frongoch internment camp
Frongoch internment camp
Frongoch internment camp at Frongoch in Merionethshire, Wales was a makeshift place of imprisonment during the First World War. Until 1916 it housed German prisoners of war in an abandoned distillery and crude huts, but in the wake of the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin, Ireland, the German prisoners...
in North Wales
North Wales
North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
. In 1919, he returned to Cork, where he was given command of the Irish Republican Police
Irish Republican Police
The Irish Republican Police was the police force of the 1919-1922 Irish Republic and was administered by the Department for Home Affairs of that government.-Foundation:...
. In the Cork Number One brigade of the Irish Republican Army
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
(IRA), he helped with prisoner escapes and returning looted goods after the burning of Cork
The Burning of Cork
The Burning of Cork is the name commonly given to a devastating series of fires that swept through the centre of Cork City on the night of 11 December 1920. The burning and the subsequent controversy is one of the most significant events of the Irish War of Independence.-Fire:During the War of...
by Black and Tans
Black and Tans
The Black and Tans was one of two newly recruited bodies, composed largely of British World War I veterans, employed by the Royal Irish Constabulary as Temporary Constables from 1920 to 1921 to suppress revolution in Ireland...
. After the Anglo-Irish Treaty
Anglo-Irish Treaty
The Anglo-Irish Treaty , officially called the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was a treaty between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and representatives of the secessionist Irish Republic that concluded the Irish War of...
and the split that followed, Barry chose the anti-Treaty branch of the IRA; he was captured by Irish Free State
Irish 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...
troops and was sent to Newbridge
Newbridge, County Kildare
The earliest known mention of Newbridge was by traveller and bookseller John Dunton in 1698, though he does not refer to any settlement other than at Ballymany....
internment camp on the 6 October 1922. Irish Republican prisoners 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...
went on hunger strike, protesting against poor prison conditions and their continued detention. The strike quickly spread to other camps and prisons, and Barry took part. He died after 35 days. After another man, Andrew O'Sullivan, died two days later in Mountjoy, the hunger strike was called off on 23 November. He was initially buried by the Free State army in the Curragh
Curragh
The Curragh is a flat open plain of almost 5,000 acres of common land in County Kildare, Ireland, between Newbridge and Kildare. This area is well-known for Irish horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is located on the edge of Kildare town, beside the famous Japanese Gardens. Also...
, but three days later, following a court order
Court order
A court order is an official proclamation by a judge that defines the legal relationships between the parties to a hearing, a trial, an appeal or other court proceedings. Such ruling requires or authorizes the carrying out of certain steps by one or more parties to a case...
, his remains were disinterred.