Marie and Noel Murray were an

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...

married couple who were among the last people to be

sentenced to death Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

. The couple were convicted of

capital murder Capital murder was a statutory offence of aggravated murder in Great Britain, and Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland, which was later adopted as a legal provision to define certain forms of aggravated murder in the United States. In som ...

and sentenced to death in June 1976 for the murder of Garda Michael Reynolds the previous September. The sentences led to an outcry and a campaign to stop the executions received international attention. The sentences were quashed and the pair were convicted of common murder. They were both released in 1992.

Biographies

Marie and Noel Murray were both activists with a history of involvement in

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

and

republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politics. Both had been members of

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...

. When Sinn Féin split into the left-wing "

Official An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their ...

" and nationalist " Provisional" factions in 1970, they both joined the Officials.'Murray Defence Committee' (1977). ''No Hanging Here: The Case of Marie and Noel Murray''. Available online

. p. 3. It was during this time that they met and married. They both left Official Sinn Féin in 1973. They remained active politically and were involved in an anarchist group, along with a number of former members of the Officials.Conor Brady (2014). ''The Guarding of Ireland – The Garda Síochána and the Irish State 1960–2014''. M.H. Gill & Company. (Page numbers not available on Google preview). They were involved in campaigns for improving prisoners’ rights, promoting the

Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

and the Housing Action Committee. At the time of the arrests, Marie had been working as a junior civil servant. Noel had been working as a metal fabricator. Marie was 27 at the time of the convictions and Noel was 26.

Arrest and conviction

On 11 September 1975, a

Bank of Ireland Bank of Ireland Group plc ( ga, Banc na hÉireann) is a commercial bank operation in Ireland and one of the traditional Big Four Irish banks. Historically the premier banking organisation in Ireland, the Bank occupies a unique position in Iris ...

branch in the

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

suburb of

Killester Killester () is a small residential largely affluent suburb of Dublin, Ireland on the Northside of the city in the Dublin 3 and Dublin 5 postal districts. It was the site of a church and convent or monastery centuries ago, and later a small vill ...

was robbed at gunpoint. Witnesses stated that two men and a woman had carried out the deed before fleeing in a getaway car. An off-duty Garda named Michael Reynolds (30, from

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

), happened to be driving by at the time and gave chase. The assailants fled their vehicles at

Saint Anne's Park Saint Anne's Park ( ga, Páirc Naomh Áine) is a public park situated between Raheny and Clontarf, suburbs on the northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is owned and managed by Dublin City Council. The park, the second largest municipal park in Dub ...

and Garda Reynolds continued the pursuit on foot. According to the official verdict, Marie Murray shot Reynolds in the head as he closed in on them. The gang got away. Garda Reynolds died two hours later in hospital. Following the incident, numerous raids were carried out on known republicans and leftists.'Murray Defence Committee' (1977). ''No Hanging Here: The Case of Marie and Noel Murray''. Available online

. p. 7. Noel and Marie Murray, along with Ronan Stenson, were eventually charged with the murder of Reynolds. They were tried by Justice Denis Pringle at the

Special Criminal Court The Special Criminal Court (SCC; ga, Cúirt Choiriúil Speisialta) is a juryless criminal court in Ireland which tries terrorism and serious organised crime cases. Legal basis Article 38 of the Constitution of Ireland empowers the Dáil to ...

. They were convicted of capital murder on 9 June 1976 and sentenced to death.

Opposition to sentences

The conviction gained attention across the country as nobody had been executed in Ireland in twenty-two years. The death penalty had been abolished in 1964 for all crimes except the murder of police and prison officers.Vatican urged clemency for couple facing execution for murder of garda
. Alison Healy, ''The Irish Times''. 29 December 2006. The 'Murray Defence Committee' was established to coordinate opposition to the sentences. Its aim was to secure a retrial for the Murrays before the sentence could be carried out.'Murray Defence Committee' (1977). ''No Hanging Here: The Case of Marie and Noel Murray''. Available online

. p. 15. It wanted the death penalty to be fully abolished in the Republic of Ireland. As a result of their efforts, the campaign became a ''

cause célèbre A cause célèbre (,''Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged'', 12th Edition, 2014. S.v. "cause célèbre". Retrieved November 30, 2018 from https://www.thefreedictionary.com/cause+c%c3%a9l%c3%a8bre ,''Random House Kernerman Webs ...

'' and achieved international attention. Among those who pleaded with the Irish government to commute the sentences were

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

MPs

Neil Kinnock Neil Gordon Kinnock, Baron Kinnock (born 28 March 1942) is a British former politician. As a member of the Labour Party, he served as a Member of Parliament from 1970 until 1995, first for Bedwellty and then for Islwyn. He was the Leader of ...

and

David Steel David Martin Scott Steel, Baron Steel of Aikwood, (born 31 March 1938) is a British politician. Elected as Member of Parliament for Roxburgh, Selkirk, and Peebles, followed by Tweeddale, Ettrick, and Lauderdale, he served as the final leade ...

, US

congresswoman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

Bella Abzug Bella Savitzky Abzug (July 24, 1920 – March 31, 1998), nicknamed "Battling Bella", was an American lawyer, politician, social activist, and a leader in the women's movement. In 1971, Abzug joined other leading feminists such as Gloria Steinem, ...

, French philosopher

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and litera ...

and

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

. It was not just the harsh nature of the sentences that caused such opposition. It was believed by many that there was not enough evidence to convict the couple at all. The trial had been conducted without a

jury A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartiality, impartial verdict (a Question of fact, finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence (law), penalty o ...

and both Noel and Marie claimed that the statements they gave confessing to the murder had been obtained by

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...

. Stenson, who was released, also claimed to have been tortured.'Murray Defence Committee' (1977). ''No Hanging Here: The Case of Marie and Noel Murray''. Available online

. p. 13. It was alleged that the pair had been scapegoated because the state could not let the murder of a Garda go unpunished. Left-wing opponents further alleged that there was a political motive to the sentencing. That is the government wanted to show that it was tough on terrorism in the context of

the Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

and that it wanted to intimidate opponents of the government's own economic policies at a time of high unemployment and discontent.'Murray Defence Committee' (1977). ''No Hanging Here: The Case of Marie and Noel Murray''. Available online

. p. 14.

Re-sentencing and imprisonment

In November 1976, Noel Murray's capital murder conviction was quashed by the Supreme Court of Ireland, Supreme Court and substituted for one of common murder for which he received a

life sentence Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

. The following year Marie Murray was retried and found guilty of common murder. She too received a life sentence. Although they were both still found to be guilty of Garda Reynold's murder, they did not receive the death penalty as Garda Reynolds was off-duty and not in uniform. As such, it was argued, they could not have known that Reynolds was a police officer. Both Noel and Marie were released in 1992, having served 17 years. Prior to their release, they had been involved in an unsuccessful ten-year legal action to receive

conjugal visit A conjugal visit is a scheduled period in which an inmate of a prison or jail is permitted to spend several hours or days in private with a visitor. The visitor is usually their legal spouse, and the visit's purpose is usually sexual activity. Th ...

s so that they could start a family. In 1991 the Supreme Court ruled that the

Constitutional A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princip ...

right to beget children within marriage was suspended while a spouse was lawfully imprisoned.

References

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External links