Thomas Henry Burke (Irish politician)
Encyclopedia
Chief Secretary for Ireland
The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant, from the late 18th century until the end of British rule he was effectively the government minister with responsibility for governing Ireland; usually...
for many years before being killed during the Phoenix Park Murders
Phoenix Park Murders
The Phoenix Park Murders were the fatal stabbings on 6 May 1882 in the Phoenix Park in Dublin of Lord Frederick Cavendish and Thomas Henry Burke. Cavendish was the newly appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland, and Burke was the Permanent Undersecretary, the most senior Irish civil servant...
on Saturday 6 May 1882. The killing was carried out by an Irish republican
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...
organisation called the Irish National Invincibles
Irish National Invincibles
The Irish National Invincibles, usually known as "The Invincibles" were a radical splinter group of the Irish Republican Brotherhood and leading representatives of the Land League movement, both of Ireland and Britain...
. The newly appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland
Chief Secretary for Ireland
The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant, from the late 18th century until the end of British rule he was effectively the government minister with responsibility for governing Ireland; usually...
Lord Frederick Cavendish
Lord Frederick Cavendish
Lord Frederick Charles Cavendish was an English Liberal politician and protégé of the Prime Minister, William Ewart Gladstone...
, although not the intended victim, was assassinated alongside him while they walked through Phoenix Park
Phoenix Park
Phoenix Park is an urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying 2–4 km west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its 16 km perimeter wall encloses , one of the largest walled city parks in Europe. It includes large areas of grassland and tree-lined avenues, and since the seventeenth...
in Dublin. The victims were slashed and stabbed about the neck and chest with surgical blades.
Thomas Burke was the Invincibles' intended target because he had been working for the British establishment as head of the Civil Service for many years and was associated with the British coercion policy during the Land War
Land War
The Land War in Irish history was a period of agrarian agitation in rural Ireland in the 1870s, 1880s and 1890s. The agitation was led by the Irish National Land League and was dedicated to bettering the position of tenant farmers and ultimately to a redistribution of land to tenants from...
, 1879-82. So, although a Roman Catholic, in their eyes he was a traitor, nationalists referring to him to as the "Castle rat".
Thomas Henry Burke was one of six sons of William Burke of Knocknagur, Tuam
Tuam
Tuam is a town in County Galway, Ireland. The name is pronounced choo-um . It is situated west of the midlands of Ireland, and north of Galway city.-History:...
, County Galway
County Galway
County Galway is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the city of Galway. Galway County Council is the local authority for the county. There are several strongly Irish-speaking areas in the west of the county...
and Fanny Xavier Tucker. He was born in Waterslade House, Tuam
Tuam
Tuam is a town in County Galway, Ireland. The name is pronounced choo-um . It is situated west of the midlands of Ireland, and north of Galway city.-History:...
, Co. Galway.
Burke’s family was connected with that of Sir Ulick Burke of Glinsk
Glinsk
Glinsk is a small village in County Galway, in the west of Ireland, between Creggs and Ballymoe. Glinsk is located approximately 68 km from Galway city and approximately 30 km from Roscommon. It is located in valley of the River Suck, which has a 60 mile hiking trail. Nearby is the...
, Co. Galway, on whom Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
conferred a baronetcy in 1628. The Glinsk
Glinsk
Glinsk is a small village in County Galway, in the west of Ireland, between Creggs and Ballymoe. Glinsk is located approximately 68 km from Galway city and approximately 30 km from Roscommon. It is located in valley of the River Suck, which has a 60 mile hiking trail. Nearby is the...
branch of the family were the senior line of Burkes and were descended from William the Conqueror. One brother was Sir Theobald Hubert Burke, 13th Baronet of Glinsk, another brother was the artist Augustus Nicholas Burke
Augustus Nicholas Burke
Augustus Joseph Nicholas Burke was an artist and a member of the Royal Hibernian Academy .-Biography:Burke was born into the Galway Burkes of Glinsk and was the sixth son of William Burke of Knocknagur, Tuam, Co. Galway. He was born at Waterslade House in the town...
.
Burke’s outlook
Burke was in favour of both Home RuleIrish Home Rule Movement
The Irish Home Rule Movement articulated a longstanding Irish desire for the repeal of the Act of Union of 1800 by a demand for self-government within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The movement drew upon a legacy of patriotic thought that dated back at least to the late 17th...
and reform of land issues, though as a civil servant did not make his views known publicly. Lord Spencer
John Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer
John Poyntz Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer KG, PC , known as Viscount Althorp from 1845 to 1857 , was a British Liberal Party politician under and close friend of British prime minister William Ewart Gladstone...
described him as a “warm-hearted Irishman of strong national tendencies”. Burke’s support of various Crimes Acts imposed in Ireland was an issue which marked him out for assassination. Burke supported the retention of the unpopular Act in 1882, though his position was somewhat soft. “…those who have had opportunity to be well informed have always held that Mr. Burke confined himself within the immediate duties of his post, and that he was rather averse then otherwise to coercion…in the opinion of a great many people he has for a long time been the real ruler of the country”.’’
Burke’s attitude towards land issues was demonstrated by his intervention on the Kirwan estate in Carraroe
Carraroe
An Cheathrú Rua is a village in County Galway, Ireland. The village is within the Irish-speaking region of Connemara, and is famous for its traditional fishing boats known as Galway Hookers. Its population is widely dispersed over Carraroe peninsula between Greatman's Bay and Casla Bay...
, Co. Galway in 1880. Numerous eviction notices were about to be served on tenants and the chances of confrontation were high. Burke used his personal acquaintance with the Kirwans to attempt to defuse the situation. Burke’s report to Forster lamented the “sad flood of light this throws on the Irish land question ... an absentee landlord, careless sub-agents, fraudulent bailiffs and a wretched tenantry”.
Funeral and interment
Burke was interred in a private ceremony at Prospect cemeteryGlasnevin Cemetery
Glasnevin Cemetery , officially known as Prospect Cemetery, is the largest non-denominational cemetery in Ireland with an estimated 1.5 million burials...
, Glasnevin on Tuesday, the 9th of May. The grave is situated at Plot Zb 74 & 75. His remains were removed from the Chief Secretary’s Lodge at 9 a.m., by hearse, followed by 43 carriages containing mourners. The coffin bearing the inscription, “Thomas Henry Burke, Born 29th May 1829, Died 6th May 1882, R.I.P.” The Very Rev. Monsignor Lee, Dean of Dublin officiated, assisted by the Rev. E.J. Quinn and Rev. W.J. Hurley. Thomas Burke was laid to rest beside his father William, under a Celtic cross. The ornamental carved stone cover of the grave bears the inscription, “Sacred to the memory of Thomas Henry Burke Esq. who was murdered in the Phoenix Park May 6th 1882. He pleased God and was beloved”.
The second monument, composed mainly of black marble from Cong
Cong, County Mayo
Cong is a village straddling the borders of County Galway and County Mayo, in Ireland. Cong is situated on an island formed by a number of streams that surround it on all sides...
erected adjacent to the grave, bears the inscription “To the memory of Thomas Henry Burke, Under Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Assassinated in the Phoenix Park. This monument is erected by his many friends among the Irish Resident Magistrates as a mark of their appreciation of his high character and eminent public service. RIP”.
Thomas’ estate at death was £1901 11s. 4d. according to probate records of 7 June 1882.
Memorial Prize
The Department of Education in Northern IrelandNorthern 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...
administers the Burke Memorial Fund which was established in 1883, a trust fund from which the payment of an annual prize of £150 is awarded to the best entrant to GCSE examinations taken in Northern Ireland.