James McCormick (1910 - 7 February 1940) was born in
Mullingar, County Westmeath, Ireland and joined the
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief tha ...
(IRA) in
Tullamore
Tullamore (; ) is the county town of County Offaly in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is on the Grand Canal (Ireland), Grand Canal, in the middle of the county, and is the fourth most populous town in the Midland Region, Ireland, midlands reg ...
, County Offaly. He was executed for his roles in a bombing which resulted in a large number of civilian casualties.
Sabotage campaign in England (S-Plan)
In early 1939, McCormick volunteered for active service with the IRA in England under the alias of James Richards. The Richards alias was effective - many records, news articles, government archives and books still refer to McCormick as Richards or McCormack. McCormick served for some time as a IRA Operations Officer in London and Birmingham before being posted to
Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...
in May 1939. By August 1939, he was assigned as Officer Commanding the IRA unit in Coventry. Between February and August 1939 there were over a dozen arson and bombing attacks in Coventry.
James McCormick along with
Peter Barnes participated in the
1939 Coventry bombing
The Coventry bombing of 25 August 1939 was carried out by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) as a part of its S-Plan campaign of bombing English cities. A bomb was left in Coventry city centre in the West Midlands, which resulted in 5 deaths and 70 ...
which was part of the IRA's sabotage campaign in England (the
S-Plan). During the campaign there were 300 explosions/acts of sabotage, 10 deaths and 96 injuries.
On 25 August 1939 the IRA was responsible for the bombing of the busy Broadgate area of Coventry which killed five and injured 70 people. The large number of civilian deaths and wounded effectively ended the IRA's eight month sabotage campaign.
Although McCormick and Barnes admitted constructing the Coventry bomb, another IRA man (Jobie Sullivan) stated that he planted the bomb and that McCormick and Barnes were innocent.
Trial and execution
On 11 December 1939 the trial opened in Birmingham before
Mr Justice Singleton and a jury. Three days later, the verdict of guilty was returned. James McCormick (Richards) and Peter Barnes were sentenced to death. Just before being sentenced McCormick made a statement: "As a soldier of the Irish Republican Army, I am not afraid to die, as I am doing it for a just cause. I say in conclusion, God bless Ireland and God bless the men who have fought and died for her. Thank you my lord." The sentencing triggered a series of IRA attacks on British post offices, postboxes and mail trains in Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Crew and London. On 7 February 1940 Barnes and McCormick were hanged simultaneously at
Winson Green Prison
HM Prison Birmingham is a Prison security categories in the United Kingdom, Category B men's prison, located in the Winson Green area of Birmingham, England. The prison was operated by G4S from 2011, before it was returned to HM Prison and Probat ...
in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
.
Reaction in Ireland and burial
Many apolitical Irish people felt that since McCormick or Barnes were not directly responsible for the Coventry bombing they should not be executed for that crime. As their appeals failed there was growing anger in Ireland. On 5 February 1940 five thousand people protested the sentences in Dublin. The day after their execution, Ireland went into a day of mourning, flags flew at half staff, theatres and cinemas closed, sporting events were cancelled and Masses were offered for the repose of souls of McCormick and Barnes.
In 1969 their bodies were disinterred, repatriated to Ireland and both were re-interred in Ballyglass Cemetery, Mullingar. The re-interment of McCormick and Barnes on 6 July 1969 was attended by an estimated 15,000 people.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCormick, James
1940 deaths
Irish Republican Army (1922–1969) members
Irish people executed abroad
20th-century executions by England and Wales
Executed Irish people
20th-century executions by the United Kingdom