Kevin Barry was born on 20 January 1902 at Fleet Street, Dublin,

the fourth of seven children and son of Thomas, a dairyman, and

Mary Dowling, both originally from Carlow. Kevin was educated at

several schools in Dublin and Carlow, including Belvedere College

after which he entered UCD in 1919 to study medicine.

While still at Belvedere, he had joined the Irish

Volunteers, established in 1913, initially to ensure

the implementation of home rule, but which

evolved into the IRA after the commencement

of the War of Independence that began in 1919.

Kevin was a member of the first battalion of the

Dublin Brigade and took part in two successful

raids for arms in Dublin and Wicklow in June and

July 1920. The third raid he was involved in occurred

on 20 September 1920; it was an attack on British

troops at Church Street in Dublin city, aimed at

seizing arms. During this unsuccessful raid, firing

broke out and three British soldiers of roughly the

same age as Barry were killed or fatally wounded

and Barry became the first Volunteer to be captured

in an armed attack since 1916.

Interrogated and mistreated while in custody,

he subsequently refused to recognise the court

martial that tried him. He was condemned to death

on 20 October for murdering the three soldiers

and was hanged in Mountjoy Prison, Dublin, on

1 November 1920. He was the first person to be

tried and executed for a capital offence under the

Restoration of Order in Ireland Act, passed 12 weeks

before his death, and the first to be executed since

May 1916, in the aftermath of the Easter Rising.

Barry’s execution occurred towards the end of a

violent and emotive year in Ireland, as the IRA

and British army intensified their war against each

other. The military conflict between British armed

forces and the IRA consisted of sporadic guerrilla

fighting and was paralleled by the efforts of the

self-proclaimed government of the Irish republic –

the first Dáil (Irish parliament) assembled in

January 1919 – to achieve an independent Irish

Republic. By the end of 1919, there were over

40,000 British Army troops in Ireland.

Above: Copy of birth certificate of Kevin Gerard Barry, 8 Fleet Street,

Dublin (born 20 January 1902), giving his parents’ names, Mary Barry, nee

Dowling, and Thomas Barry, dairy owner (died 1908). Issued by St.

James Street registry office.

Right: Kevin barry’s blue and white athletic suit from Belvedere.

Above: An exercise copy book used by Barry covering a range of subjects, including English and History essays. Some of the essays include reference to republican ideals. Includes the statement ‘Up the Republic’ written several times on a Latin exercise and cartoon drawings of Barry’s sisters ‘Kathy when she’s 50’ and ‘Sheila when she’s 48’.

Above: Copy of the Belvederian annual with references to and photographs of Barry, then a senior student at the college. He is pictured here with the hurling team.

Above: The Matriculation Certificate awarded to Barry for passing the prerequisite subjects of Latin, Irish, French, English and Mathematics. Dated 16th July 1919.

Left: A letter from Canon John Waters to Barry’s mother describing his administrations of the final blessings to Barry and the moments before he went to the scaffold, dated 1st November 1920.

KEVIN BARRY AND HIS TIME

1

“You are the mother, my dear Mrs. Barry, of one of the bravest and best boys I have ever known, his death was one of the most holy, and your dear boy is waiting for you now, beyond the reach of sorrow or trial.” Extract from a letter to Kevin Barry’s mother from Canon John Waters of Holy Cross College, Dublin on

November 1st 1920 following the hanging of Kevin Barry that same day.

UCD would like to thank the following people for their help and assistance with this project: Professor Diarmaid Ferriter, UCD Communications and UCD Archives.

Collection held by University College Dublin, UCD Archives. Images ©University College Dublin, National University of Ireland, Dublin. Published by UCD Digital Library.

©All rights reserved. Material published here may not be reproduced in whole or in part for any purpose without the advance written permission of UCD.