Patrick McGrath (Irish Republican)

Patrick "Paddy" McGrath (1894 – September 6, 1940) was a senior member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), hunger striker, IRA Director of Operations and Training during its major bombing/sabotage in England and was the first of six IRA men executed by the Irish Government between 1940–1944. After participating in the Easter Rebellion, McGrath remained in the IRA, rising in rank and becoming a major leader within the organization.

Background

On February 19, 1920 McGrath was seriously wounded in a gun battle with police after an unsuccessful raid for ammunition in Dublin. McGraths wounds were so extensive that it was found impossible to bring him to trial and after a long detention in hospital he was released. This incident ended the practice of arming uniformed Dublin Metropolitan Police and the imposition of a midnight to 5 am curfew.[1]

In 1940, McGrath's speedy execution was in response to increased IRA activity and the bombing/sabotage campaign in England. In 1939–40, three bills giving the Government of Eire (previously known as the Irish Free State) extraordinary powers were approved in the Dáil. The Treason Act 1939 (made the crime a capital offense), and the Offences against the State Acts 1939–1998 were quickly followed by the Emergency Powers Act 1939 (enacted Feb 1940),[2] which imposed the death penalty for persons found guilty of treason as defined in Article XXXIX of the Irish Constitution. These Acts provided the legal basis for the execution of McGrath and other IRA men. At this time, the de Valera government was determined to uphold the state’s neutrality against the backdrop of the escalating military conflict in Europe. The executions also represented a critical break in the ruling party's Fianna Fáil turbulent relationship with the IRA. The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Kathleen Clarke, the widow of Tom Clarke (the main planner of the Easter Rebellion and first signer of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic) appealed (unsuccessfully) to the Minister of Justice, Gerald Boland – himself a former IRA member for a reprieve of McGrath's death sentence. Upon McGrath's execution, Clarke ordered the national flag at half mast at Dublin City Hall, and closed the blinds of the Mansion House. In her autobiography Kathleen Clarke states that "McGraths execution to my mind was a crime, and I had to make a protest."[3] The executions encouraged Clarke to eventually depart from ruling Fianna Fáil party.[4]

S Plan

In 1938 McGrath was the IRA’s Adjutant general and oversaw the bombing/sabotage campaign in England from the IRA GHQ.[5] McGrath worked on planning the "English Campaign" or "S-Plan" which targeted the civil, economic, and military infrastructure of the United Kingdom (specifically England). McGrath was reputed to be one of the principal instructors in bomb making for this campaign.[6] Two week classes were conducted in Dublin by Seamus O’Donovan and Paddy McGrath.[7] This bombing campaign took place from January 1939 to March 1940 involved approximately 300 explosions resulting in 10 deaths, 96 wounded and substantial damage to English infrastructure.[8] As a result of the bombings in England, in 1939 the Irish government increased pressure on the IRA leading to McGrath's arrest and quick execution.

Second arrest and hunger strike

McGrath was arrested on 22 October 1939 and went on hunger strike that same day, vowing that he would have his freedom or die.[9] On 15 November 1939 McGrath was removed to Jervis Street Hospital and on 4 December 1939, after 43 days without food, escaped from the hospital with the assistance of a Republican sympathizer on the staff of the hospital.[2] Three days later the government filed a request for non prosecution (Nolle prosequi) at Special Criminal Court.[10]

Third arrest, trial and execution

Paddy McGrath was an important leader during the IRAs S-Plan attacks on England. McGrath provided IRA men with training and worked on logistical support. On August 17, 1940 McGrath was again arrested at a house in Rathgar, Dublin by Special Branch detectives[11] during another raid on the IRA's General Headquarters (GHQ).[12] IRA Volunteer Thomas Harte was also arrested at that time and was later executed with McGrath. They had been arrested after a gun battle with Garda Síochána (police) Special Branch in which Sergeant McKeown and Detective Hyland were shot dead. Detective Brady was also wounded. As the two IRA men attempted to escape, McGrath returned to assist the wounded Harte and both were arrested.[13] Another IRA man (Tom Hunt) escaped but was subsequently arrested and also charged with the murders but had his death sentence commuted. The topic of the meeting at the GHQ was reportedly planning to support "Plan Kathleen" which was a notional plan by the Nazis to invade Northern Ireland.[14]

Harte, McGrath and Hunt were tried by Military Tribunal, established under the Emergency Powers Act 1939. All three men were represented in court by Sean McBride. They challenged the legislation in the Irish High Court, seeking a writ of habeas corpus, and ultimately appealed to the Irish Supreme Court. The appeal was unsuccessful (at that time there was no right to appeal the findings of a Military Tribunal) and they were executed by firing squad at Dublin's Mountjoy Prison on 6 September 1940 (22 days after the shooting).[15] McGrath was buried in an unmarked grave in the prison yard. In 1948 his remains were released to his family, he is buried in Glasnevin Cemetery next to the graves of Sean McBride and Maud Gonne.[16]

References
  1. Beaslai, pg 419
  2. McKenna, p. 148
  3. Kathleen Clarke, Revolutionary Woman, The O'Brien Press, Dublin, 2008; ISBN 978-1-84717-059-0 pg.224
  4. Shannon, Gerard (4 September 2020). "80 years ago: how Éamon de Valera had his old comrades executed". Irish Times.
  5. McKenna, p. 147
  6. Coogan, p. 158
  7. Hegarty-Thorne, Kathleen (25 July 2019). "The IRA Chief of Staff who was 'unbought, unconquered, and unpurchasable to the last'". Irish Central.
  8. McKenna, p. 138
  9. McConville, note 95
  10. Bell, p. 171
  11. https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/garda-assassinations-and-ira-executions-during-the-emergency-1.3075417
  12. Mac Donncha, Mícheál (18 September 2008). "Remembering the Past: Executed IRA men reinterred". An Phoblacht.
  13. Bell, p. 187
  14. Hull, Mark M. (2003). Irish Secrets: German Espionage in Ireland, 1939–45. Irish Academic Press. ISBN 0-7165-2756-1.
  15. Mac Donncha, Mícheál (13 August 2020). "Seán Russell and the IRA of the 1940s". An Phoblacht.
  16. "Patrick 'Paddy' McGrath". Find A Grave. Retrieved 8 July 2020.

Bibliography
  • Beaslai, Piaras, Michael Collins and the Making of a New Ireland Vol I, London, Harper & Brothers. 1926.
  • Bell, J. Bower, The Secret Army. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers. 1997. ISBN 1560009012
  • Kathleen Clarke, Revolutionary Woman, The O'Brien Press, Dublin, 2008; ISBN 978-1-84717-059-0
  • Coogan, Tim Pat, The I.R.A. London: Fontana Publishers. 1980. ISBN 0006359329
  • Mark M. Hull, Irish Secrets. German Espionage in Wartime Ireland 1939–1945, 2003, ISBN 0-7165-2756-1
  • McConville, Sean, Irish Political Prisoners 1920–1962, Pilgrimage to Desolation, Taylor & Francis Publishers, 2020, ISBN 1000082741
  • McKenna, J, The IRA Bombing Campaign Against Britain, 1939–1940. McFarland, Incorporated Publishers. 2016. ISBN 9781476623726
  • O Beachain, Donnacha, The Destiny of the Soldiers. Dublin, Gill & MacMillan, Limited. 2010, ISBN 9780717147632
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