Maurice O'Neill (1917-1942) was an

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various Resistance movement, resistance organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dominantly Catholic and dedicated to anti-imperiali ...

(IRA) Captain, captured in 1942 after a shoot out with Irish police (

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace") is the national police and security service of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards". The service is headed by the Garda Commissio ...

), and promptly tried and executed, one of only two people executed in independent Ireland for a non-murder offence.

Background

O'Neill was a farmer from an

Irish republican Irish republicanism () is the political movement for an Irish republic, void of any British rule. Throughout its centuries of existence, it has encompassed various tactics and identities, simultaneously elective and militant and has been both w ...

family in the farming community of

Caherciveen Cahersiveen (), sometimes Cahirciveen, is a town in the south-west of Ireland, in County Kerry. As of the 2022 census, it had a population of 1,297. Geography Cahersiveen is on the slopes of 376-metre-high Bentee, and on the lower course of ...

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

. He and his older brother Sean were dedicated Irish republicans. Maurice O'Neill fought in the

's 1942-44 Northern Campaign and was assigned to the IRA's General Headquarters (GHQ) at the time of his capture. In the early 1930s, O'Neills brother Sean served in the IRAs Dublin Brigade and served on GHQ Staff IRA in various capacities from 1945 to 1955.

Arrest

On 24 October 1942, Maurice O'Neill was arrested after a raid by the Irish Police in which Garda Detective Officer Mordant was shot and killed in

Donnycarney Donnycarney () is a Northside suburb in the city of Dublin, Ireland, in the jurisdiction of Dublin City Council. It is mostly residential, around from the centre of Dublin. Dublin GAA's home stadium, Parnell Park, is located here. Locatio ...

, Dublin. The mission of the police raid was the capture of Harry White – the IRA Quartermaster General. White escaped capture and O'Neill was arrested but not charged with the murder of the Detective Officer but with "shooting with intent". It is thought that the Detective Officer Mordants death may have been a result of cross fire between

Special Branch Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security and Intelligence (information gathering), intelligence in Policing in the United Kingdom, British, Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, ...

policemen.

Trial and execution

In 1939 the Irish legislature, the

Oireachtas The Oireachtas ( ; ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of the president of Ireland and the two houses of the Oireachtas (): a house ...

, passed the

Offences against the State Acts 1939–1998 The Offences Against the State Acts 1939–1998 form a series of laws passed by the Irish Oireachtas. Offences under the Act The Act criminalises many actions deemed detrimental to state security. An organisation can be made subject to a suppre ...

, which established

Special Criminal Court The Special Criminal Court (SCC; ) 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 establish "special courts" with ...

s. O'Neill was promptly tried in a

Military Court A 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 members of the arme ...

and found guilty of a capital offence. Sentenced to death, and with no appeal provided for in the relevant law, he was executed on 12 November 1942, just 19 days after his arrest, by the

Irish Army The Irish Army () is the land component of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Defence Forces of Republic of Ireland, Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. ...

Mountjoy Prison Mountjoy Prison (), founded as Mountjoy Gaol and nicknamed The Joy, is a medium security men's prison located in Phibsborough in the centre of Dublin, Ireland. The current prison Governor is Ray Murtagh. History Mountjoy was designed by Cap ...

. O'Neill's body was buried in the grounds of the prison. O'Neill was one of seven IRA men executed in Ireland between September 1940 and December 1944: Patrick McGrath,

Thomas Harte Thomas Harte was the first of seven Irish Republican Army (IRA) members executed by Irish forces in Mountjoy Prison and Portlaoise Prison prisons between 1940 and 1944. Arrest, Plan Kathleen and S-Plan On 6 September 1940 IRA Capt. Tom Harte of ...

, Richard Goss, George Plant, and Maurice O'Neill were executed by firing squad, while two others were hanged – Tom Williams in

Crumlin Road Gaol HM Prison Belfast, also known as Crumlin Road Gaol, is a former prison situated on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast, Northern Ireland. Since 1996 it is the only remaining Victorian era former prison in Northern Ireland. It is colloquially known ...

, Belfast and

Charlie Kerins Charlie Kerins (; 23 January 1918 – 1 December 1944) was a physical force Irish Republican, and Chief of Staff of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). Kerins was one of six IRA men who were executed by the Irish State between September 1940 and D ...

in Mountjoy Prison, Dublin. Maurice O'Neill and Richard Goss were the only people executed by the Irish state for a non-murder crime. O'Neill's execution provoked particularly widespread protests, as he was a popular figure in his native Kerry. The 25 year old O'Neill apparently was stoic and calm when his fate became clear. In a letter to his elder brother Sean from

Arbour Hill Prison Arbour Hill Prison () is a prison located in the Arbour Hill area near Heuston Station in the centre of Dublin, Ireland. The prison is the national centre for male sex offenders. Adjacent to the prison are the Church of the Sacred Heart (Dubl ...

, he wrote: "I suppose you saw in the papers where I met my Waterloo last Saturday night. Well, such are the fortunes of war...there is only one sentence, death or release. So I believe it is the full penalty for me. There is no good in having false hopes, hard facts must be faced." In his last letter to his father O'Neill wrote: "I am glad that I am not being reprieved as the thought of the torture I would have to endure in Portlaoise makes me shudder." Many Irish republican prisoners were released in 1948 as was the body of O'Neill (on 17 Sep 1948). Volunteer O'Neill is buried in the Republican plot at Kilavarnogue Cemetery, Cahersiveen, County Kerry, Ireland. O'Neill's name is listed on a monument in Fairview Park, Dublin with the names other IRA members of that period who lost their lives. The Maurice O'Neill Bridge to

Valentia Island Valentia Island () is one of Republic of Ireland, Ireland's most westerly points. It lies in Dingle Bay off the Iveragh Peninsula in the southwest of County Kerry. It is linked to the mainland by the Maurice O'Neill Memorial Bridge at Portmagee ...

was built in 1970 and named in memory of the young farmer who had been executed in 1942. In

Kilflynn Kilflynn () is a village and a civil parish in north County Kerry, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is 11 km north-east of Tralee just off the N69 road (Ireland), N69 road from Tralee to Listowel. Etymology The origin of the place name ...

, County Kerry the

Crotta O'Neill's Crotta O'Neill's are a hurling club in the Kilflynn area of County Kerry, Ireland. The club is named after Maurice O'Neill, an Irish Republican. They play in the Kerry Senior Hurling Championship. The club is primarily concerned with the gam ...

Hurling club is named after him. In 2011 an Irish television documentary focused on how O'Neill's execution affected his family.

References

Footnotes Sources * English, Richard (2003), ''Armed Struggle: the History of the IRA'', Oxford University Press, Oxford, ISBN 0-19-516605-1 * Wood, Ian S (2010), ''Britain, Ireland and the Second World War'', Edinburgh University Press, ISBN 978-0-7486-3001-1 {{DEFAULTSORT:ONeill, Maurice 1917 births 1942 deaths Executed people from County Kerry Irish Republican Army (1922–1969) members Irish people convicted of attempted murder People executed by the Republic of Ireland by firing squad People executed for attempted murder People from Cahersiveen