Michael Barrett (Fenian)
Encyclopedia
Michael Barrett was born in Drumnagreshial in the Ederney
area of County Fermanagh
. In his adult years he became a member of the Fenian
s.
Barrett was the last man to be publicly hanged in England, for his part in the Clerkenwell
bombing. The bombing killed 12 bystanders and severely injured many more. Barrett had positioned the bomb in a wheelbarrow outside the external wall of Coldbath Fields Prison
in the belief that it would bring down the prison wall and allow Fenian prisoners to escape.
and Britain were recruited into its ranks.
The events that led up to the bombing started with the arrest, in November 1867, of Richard O’Sullivan-Burke, a senior Fenian arms agent who planned the "prison-van escape
" in Manchester
a few months earlier. O’Sullivan-Burke was subsequently imprisoned on remand in the Middlesex House of Detention, Clerkenwell. On 13 December an attempt to rescue him was made by blowing a hole in the prison wall. The explosion was seriously misjudged; it demolished not only a large section of the wall, but also a number of tenement houses opposite in Corporation Lane (now Row) resulting in 12 people being killed and over 50 suffering a range of injuries.
The bombing had a traumatic effect on British working-class opinion. Karl Marx
, then living in London, observed:
The Radical, Charles Bradlaugh
, condemned the incident in his newspaper The National Reformer as an act "calculated to destroy all sympathy, and to evoke the opposition of all classes".
The day before the explosion, the Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, had banned all political demonstrations in London in an attempt to put a stop to the weekly meetings and marches that were being held in support of the Fenians. He had feared that the ban might be challenged, but the explosion had the effect of turning public opinion in his favour.
for illegally discharging a firearm and allegedly false evidence was used to implicate him in the Clerkenwell Prison explosion which occurred the previous December.
In court, he produced witnesses who testified that he had been in Scotland on the date of the incident. The main case against him rested on the evidence of Patrick Mullany (a Dubliner who had given false testimony before and whose price was a free passage to Australia) who told the court that Barrett had informed him that he had carried out the explosion with an accomplice by the name of Murphy. After two hours of deliberation the jury
pronounced Barrett guilty.
One of the trial lawyers, Montagu Williams
, wrote:
On being asked if he had anything to say before sentence was passed, Barrett delivered an emotional speech from the dock, which ended:
The next day the Daily Telegraph reported that Barrett had:
who rejected her.
Barrett was executed outside the walls of Newgate Prison
on 26 May 1868 before a crowd of two thousand who booed, jeered and sang Rule Britannia and Champagne Charlie
as his body dropped.
On May 27, following the execution, Reynold’s News commented:
Barrett's execution was the last public hanging to take place in England.
Until their transfer to the City of London Cemetery, Michael Barrett’s remains lay for 35 years in a lime grave inside the walls of Newgate Prison. When the prison was demolished in 1903 it was taken to its present resting place. Today the grave is a place of Irish pilgrimage and is marked by a small plaque.
in Britain, as was already the case in Ireland. Greater security measures were quickly introduced. Thousands of special constables were enrolled to aid the police and at Scotland Yard a special secret service department was established to meet the Fenian threat. Although a number of people were arrested and brought to trial, Michael Barrett was the only one to receive the death sentence.
Within days of the explosion, the Liberal leader, William Ewart Gladstone
, then in opposition
, announced his concern about Irish grievances and said that it was the duty of the British people to remove them. Later, he said that it was the Fenian action at Clerkenwell that turned his mind towards Home Rule.
When Gladstone discovered at Hawarden later that year that Queen Victoria had invited him to form a government he famously stated, "my mission is to pacify Ireland".
Ederney
Ederney or Ederny is a small village and townland in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 554. Ederney lies in the Glendarragh River Valley close to Lower Lough Erne and Kesh. It is from Belfast, over from Dublin and about 16 miles from both Omagh and...
area of County Fermanagh
County Fermanagh
Fermanagh District Council is the only one of the 26 district councils in Northern Ireland that contains all of the county it is named after. The district council also contains a small section of County Tyrone in the Dromore and Kilskeery road areas....
. In his adult years he became a member of the Fenian
Fenian
The Fenians , both the Fenian Brotherhood and Irish Republican Brotherhood , were fraternal organisations dedicated to the establishment of an independent Irish Republic in the 19th and early 20th century. The name "Fenians" was first applied by John O'Mahony to the members of the Irish republican...
s.
Barrett was the last man to be publicly hanged in England, for his part in the Clerkenwell
Clerkenwell
Clerkenwell is an area of central London in the London Borough of Islington. From 1900 to 1965 it was part of the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury. The well after which it was named was rediscovered in 1924. The watchmaking and watch repairing trades were once of great importance...
bombing. The bombing killed 12 bystanders and severely injured many more. Barrett had positioned the bomb in a wheelbarrow outside the external wall of Coldbath Fields Prison
Coldbath Fields Prison
Coldbath Fields Prison was a prison in the Mount Pleasant area of Clerkenwell, London. Founded during the reign of James I , the prison was completely rebuilt in 1794 and extended in 1850. It was used to house prisoners on short sentences of up to two years...
in the belief that it would bring down the prison wall and allow Fenian prisoners to escape.
Background
At the age of 27 Barrett joined the Fenians, which, in the 1860s, was a political movement that dominated Irish politics and defied the Catholic Church and middle-class nationalists who advocated milder approaches. Thousands of Irishmen in both IrelandIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and Britain were recruited into its ranks.
Clerkenwell explosion
The Clerkenwell bombing was the most infamous action carried out by the Fenians in Britain. It resulted in a long-lived backlash that fomented much hostility against the Irish community in Britain.The events that led up to the bombing started with the arrest, in November 1867, of Richard O’Sullivan-Burke, a senior Fenian arms agent who planned the "prison-van escape
Manchester Martyrs
The Manchester Martyrs – William Philip Allen, Michael Larkin, and Michael O'Brien – were members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, an organisation dedicated to ending British rule in Ireland. They were executed for the murder of a police officer in Manchester, England, in 1867, during...
" in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
a few months earlier. O’Sullivan-Burke was subsequently imprisoned on remand in the Middlesex House of Detention, Clerkenwell. On 13 December an attempt to rescue him was made by blowing a hole in the prison wall. The explosion was seriously misjudged; it demolished not only a large section of the wall, but also a number of tenement houses opposite in Corporation Lane (now Row) resulting in 12 people being killed and over 50 suffering a range of injuries.
The bombing had a traumatic effect on British working-class opinion. Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
, then living in London, observed:
The Radical, Charles Bradlaugh
Charles Bradlaugh
Charles Bradlaugh was a political activist and one of the most famous English atheists of the 19th century. He founded the National Secular Society in 1866.-Early life:...
, condemned the incident in his newspaper The National Reformer as an act "calculated to destroy all sympathy, and to evoke the opposition of all classes".
The day before the explosion, the Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, had banned all political demonstrations in London in an attempt to put a stop to the weekly meetings and marches that were being held in support of the Fenians. He had feared that the ban might be challenged, but the explosion had the effect of turning public opinion in his favour.
Arrest and trial
Months earlier, Barrett had been arrested in GlasgowGlasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
for illegally discharging a firearm and allegedly false evidence was used to implicate him in the Clerkenwell Prison explosion which occurred the previous December.
In court, he produced witnesses who testified that he had been in Scotland on the date of the incident. The main case against him rested on the evidence of Patrick Mullany (a Dubliner who had given false testimony before and whose price was a free passage to Australia) who told the court that Barrett had informed him that he had carried out the explosion with an accomplice by the name of Murphy. After two hours of deliberation the jury
Jury (England and Wales)
In the legal jurisdiction of England and Wales, there is a long tradition of jury trial that has evolved over centuries.-History:The English jury has its roots in two institutions that date from before the Norman conquest in 1066...
pronounced Barrett guilty.
One of the trial lawyers, Montagu Williams
Montagu Williams
Montagu Stephen Williams Q.C. was an English teacher, army officer, actor, playwright, barrister and magistrate....
, wrote:
On being asked if he had anything to say before sentence was passed, Barrett delivered an emotional speech from the dock, which ended:
The next day the Daily Telegraph reported that Barrett had:
Execution
Many people, including a number of Radical MPs, pressed for clemency. In Fermanagh, Barrett’s aged mother walked several miles in the snow to appeal to the local Unionist MP, Captain Archdale, a staunch OrangemanOrange Institution
The Orange Institution is a Protestant fraternal organisation based mainly in Northern Ireland and Scotland, though it has lodges throughout the Commonwealth and United States. The Institution was founded in 1796 near the village of Loughgall in County Armagh, Ireland...
who rejected her.
Barrett was executed outside the walls of Newgate Prison
Newgate Prison
Newgate Prison was a prison in London, at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey just inside the City of London. It was originally located at the site of a gate in the Roman London Wall. The gate/prison was rebuilt in the 12th century, and demolished in 1777...
on 26 May 1868 before a crowd of two thousand who booed, jeered and sang Rule Britannia and Champagne Charlie
Champagne Charlie (song)
Champagne Charlie is a music hall song from the 19th century composed by Alfred Lee with lyrics by George Leybourne. It was popularised by performer George Leybourne. The song was first performed at the Sun Music Hall, Knightsbridge in 1867...
as his body dropped.
On May 27, following the execution, Reynold’s News commented:
Barrett's execution was the last public hanging to take place in England.
Until their transfer to the City of London Cemetery, Michael Barrett’s remains lay for 35 years in a lime grave inside the walls of Newgate Prison. When the prison was demolished in 1903 it was taken to its present resting place. Today the grave is a place of Irish pilgrimage and is marked by a small plaque.
Aftermath of the explosion
After the explosion the Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli advocated the suspension of the Habeas Corpus ActHabeas Corpus Act
Habeas Corpus Act may refer to several Acts of Parliament and Acts of Congress relating to Habeas Corpus:*Habeas Corpus Act 1640 of the Parliament of England*Habeas Corpus Act 1679 of the Parliament of England...
in Britain, as was already the case in Ireland. Greater security measures were quickly introduced. Thousands of special constables were enrolled to aid the police and at Scotland Yard a special secret service department was established to meet the Fenian threat. Although a number of people were arrested and brought to trial, Michael Barrett was the only one to receive the death sentence.
Within days of the explosion, the Liberal leader, William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
, then in opposition
Opposition (politics)
In politics, the opposition comprises one or more political parties or other organized groups that are opposed to the government , party or group in political control of a city, region, state or country...
, announced his concern about Irish grievances and said that it was the duty of the British people to remove them. Later, he said that it was the Fenian action at Clerkenwell that turned his mind towards Home Rule.
When Gladstone discovered at Hawarden later that year that Queen Victoria had invited him to form a government he famously stated, "my mission is to pacify Ireland".
Further reading
- McConville, Seán. Irish Political Prisoners, 1848–1922: Theatres of War. London: Routledge (UK), 2003. ISBN 0-415-21991-4
- Quinlivan P, Rose P. Fenians in England, 1865–72 Calder Publications Ltd, 1983.
- Ranelagh, John O'Beirne. A Short History of Ireland. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994. ISBN 0-521-46944-9
- Richter, Donald C. Riotous Victorians. Athens: Ohio University Press, 1981. ISBN 0-8214-0618-3
- Roby, Kinley E. The King, the Press and the People: A Study of Edward VII. London: Barrie & Jenkins, 1975. ISBN 0-214-20098-1
- Swift, Roger. Irish Migrants in Britain, 1815–1914: A Documentary History. Cork: Cork University Press, 2002. ISBN 1-85918-236-4