Thomas Bryan (9 January 1897 – 14 March 1921) was an Irish republican and member of the Irish Republican Army who was one of six men hanged in Mountjoy Prison on 14 March 1921.

Background

He was born at 30 North Brunswick Street, Dublin on 9 January 1897. His birth was registered as Thomas, son of James Brien, a labourer, and Mary Brien, née Caffrey. In the early 1900s, he and his family lived in North King Street, Dublin. He was an experienced

IRA Volunteer Volunteer, often abbreviated Vol., is a term used by a number of Irish republican paramilitary organisations to describe their members. Among these have been the various forms of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) the Irish National Liberation Arm ...

and a member of the Dublin Brigade's Active Service Unit. In 1917, he took part in the hunger strike in Mountjoy in which Thomas Ashe died. By 1920, Bryan was living at

14 Henrietta Street 14 Henrietta Street is a museum located on Henrietta Street in Dublin, Ireland. The museum, sometimes referred to as the Tenement Museum, opened in September 2018. History Construction of Henrietta Street began in the 1720s, on land bought by L ...

, Dublin and was an electrician by trade. He married Annie Glynn at

St. Michan's Catholic Church, Dublin St. Michan's Catholic Church is a Catholic Church located on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is the parish church for the Halston Street Parish in the Archdiocese of Dublin. History The church was built between 1810 and 1817. It was cons ...

on 28 November 1920. His grand-nephew is English singer Boy George.

Trial and execution

He was tried by

court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

on 24 February 1921 for his part in an attempted ambush at Drumcondra on 21 January 1921. Found guilty of high treason, he was hanged, aged 24, along with Frank Flood at 8am on 14 March 1921. Four other men had been hanged earlier on the same day: Thomas Whelan and Patrick Moran at 6am and Patrick Doyle and Bernard Ryan at 7am. It was reported that a crowd of over 20,000 people assembled outside Mountjoy on the morning of the executions. Work was also suspended throughout the city following a call from the Irish Labour Party.

Re-interment

He is one of a group of men hanged in Mountjoy Prison in the period 1920–1921, commonly referred to as The Forgotten Ten. On 14 October 2001, he and the other nine, including Kevin Barry, were exhumed from their graves in the prison and given a full

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...

. He is now buried in Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryan, Thomas 1897 births 1922 deaths Irish Republican Army (1919–1922) members Burials at Glasnevin Cemetery 20th-century executions by the United Kingdom People executed by the British military by hanging Irish Republicans killed during the Irish War of Independence