Thomas Hand ( ga, Tomás Ó Laihim) (17 June 1878 – 5 December 1920) was an Irish republican who was a member of the Gaelic League and the 5th battalion of the Irish Republican Army and the Irish Volunteers. He was also the secretary of the Irish Transport and General Workers Union of his branch.

Early life

Born in Baltrasna in Skerries, Co Dublin, Thomas Hand was one of twelve children of Patrick and Mary (née Farrell) Hand. Patrick Hand was a farm labourer.

Revolutionary activity

Hand took part in the

Easter Rising The Easter Rising ( ga, Éirí Amach na Cásca), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the a ...

and fought under Thomas Ashe in Ashbourne. After the rising he was sent to Frongoch internment camp, where he was held from May 1916 to May 1917. During the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mil ...

he was on the run and stayed at numerous safe houses. He presided at an Arbitration court in 1920. He was shot on 5 December 1920 at his home by the Black and Tans. The Tans had surrounded his house and he was fatally shot in the head and the chest at a window. His brother Cathal was at home when he was killed and recalled that while being interrogated by The Tans he heard gunshots, when he was finally allowed to go outside he saw his brother's body below a window in the backyard in a pool of blood. Hand is buried at Baldungan Castle.

Legacy

In the late 1940s a street in his hometown of

Skerries, Dublin Skerries () is a coastal town in Fingal, in the north of County Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Skerries was historically a fishing port and later a centre of hand embroidery. These industries declined in the early 20th century, however, ...

was named after him. In September 2005 a plaque was unveiled on Baltrasna Lane where he had lived by his niece, Molly Wherity. The Hand, MacGowan and Sherlock memorial in his place of burial, Baldungan Castle cemetery, is named after and dedicated to him. On 23 April 2016 a tree was planted in honour of Hand and two others in Skerries Harps GAA clubhouse.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hand, Thomas 1878 births 1920 deaths People of the Easter Rising Irish Republican Army (1919–1922) members Deaths by firearm in Ireland People of the Irish War of Independence Trade unionists from County Dublin Irish prisoners of war People from Skerries, Dublin