Podcast: Executions during the Irish Civil War

Cathal Brennan and John Dorney discuss the Government policy of execution during the Civil War of 1922-23. See also this article on the subject. First broadcast on the Irish History Show.

 

 

We discuss:

• The precedent for the use of the death penalty for ‘political crimes’ in British ruled Ireland in the 19th century and in the independence struggle 1916-1921.
• Why the Free State felt it necessary to bring in execution by firing squad during the Civil War.
• The prevalence of execution, both official and unofficial during the conflict.
• The legacy of the Civil War executions in popular, especially Irish republican, memory.

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