Holycross-man Harry Gleeson was wrongfully hanged for murder on this day in 1941.
When Mary ‘Moll’ McCarthy was found murdered in a field in New Inn in 1940, suspicion immediately fell on the person who had found her- Harry Gleeson. Within a few months, Gleeson was found guilty of murder and hanged in Mountjoy on this day, 23 April, in 1941.
However, Harry Gleeson was an innocent man. There was no evidence whatsoever that he had committed the murder and on the night before he was hanged, his last request was that his family and friends continue the fight to clear his name.
Sean McBride, Gleeson’s junior counsel at the trial, observed a ‘conspiracy of silence’ unfolding - as the pillars of a rural community collaborated to protect some, and condemn another. The Gardaí fabricated evidence to frame Harry Gleeson. The parish priest, when asked to give a character reference for Gleeson, refused to do so. Many parishioners followed suit – ‘silence’ became the word.
Thanks to the tireless work of a group of people over the course of many decades, Harry’s innocence would eventually be established beyond all doubt. In 2012, ‘The Justice for Harry Gleeson Group’ was formed, led by Sean Delaney and Harry’s nephew and grandnephew, Tom and Kevin Gleeson. The Department of Justice was tasked with reviewing the case and it was found that, not only was there not enough evidence to convict Harry Gleeson of murder, but that he was entirely innocent of the crime in the first place.
In April 2015, the government acknowledged that there had been a miscarriage of justice and later that year, President Higgins signed a posthumous pardon. It was the first posthumous pardon in the history of the state and it had taken 74 years to secure. Harry Gleeson was buried on the grounds of Mountjoy Jail. In July 2024, his remains were positively identified and he was exhumed and brought back to Galbertstown, where he grew up, to be waked. He was subsequently laid to rest in Holycross.
Moll McCarthy, whose work as a prostitute had scandalised locals, was buried in an unmarked grave in a disused cemetery in New Inn. A plaque was later erected in her honour.
Sources:
Martin Quinlan, Tipperary People of Great Note, p96.
https://www.tipperarylive.ie/.../history-the-story-of…
https://www.independent.ie/.../search-to.../39631170.html
On this day in 2019, Gortnahoe/Glengoole man Shane Long scored the quickest goal in Premier League history- clocking in at just 7.69 seconds.
