An Deichniúr Dearmadta - The Forgotten Ten

01 July - 30 September 2022 (LexIcon, Level 3)

As the War of Independence progressed throughout 1920 and 1921, twenty-four men were executed in Ireland by the British Administration. Fourteen were shot by military firing squad in counties Cork and Limerick, as both counties were under martial law at the time. In Dublin, however, where martial law did not apply, ten men were hanged in Mountjoy, which was a civilian prison. This exhibition looks at these latter executions and the men who would become known as ‘The Forgotten Ten’.

‘The Forgotten Ten’ were: Kevin Barry (executed 1 November 1920), Patrick Moran (of Moran Park, a special dlr connection), Thomas Whelan, Francis Flood, Bernard Ryan, Thomas Bryan and Patrick Doyle (executed 14 March 1921), Thomas Traynor (executed 25 April 1921) and Patrick Maher and Edmond Foley (executed 7 June 1921). Ranging in age from 18 to 40 years old, ‘The Forgotten Ten’ came from all over Ireland and from all sections of Irish society. Some had wives and children, while others were young men starting out in life. All had been court-martialled by the British military, charged with crimes such as murder, treason and levying war, and were sentenced to death. Their executions made international news and some would become household names. The description of them as ‘The Forgotten Ten’ did not refer to how they were remembered, but rather that they remained buried behind the high walls of Mountjoy Prison until their reinterment in Glasnevin Cemetery in 2001.