Stephen Hayes
Encyclopedia
Stephen Hayes was a member and leader of the Irish Republican Army (1922–1969)
.
Hayes was born in Enniscorthy
.
During the Irish War of Independence
, he was commandant of the Wexford Brigade of Fianna Éireann
. He took the Republican side during the Irish Civil War
, during which he was interned.
Hayes was active in Gaelic Athletic Association
circles in Wexford. In 1925, he helped Wexford win the Leinster Senior Football title. He also served as secretary to the county board for ten years, from the 1920s to 1930s.
in January 1939 when it declared war on the British government.
When IRA chief of staff Seán Russell
departed on IRA business to the USA (and subsequently to Nazi Germany
), Hayes was left in control of the organisation. After Russell's death in August 1940 on board a German U-boat
en route to Ireland, Hayes became chief of staff. His time in office was marred by controversy and it is widely believed that he served as an informer to the Garda Síochána
.
Hayes had sent a plan for the invasion of Northern Ireland
by German troops to Germany in April 1940. This plan later became known as Plan Kathleen
. Hayes is also known to have met with German agent Hermann Görtz
on 21 May 1940 in Dublin shortly after the latter’s parachuting into Ireland on 5 May 1940 as part of Operation Mainau
. Hayes is known to have asked Görtz for money and arms to wage a campaign in Northern Ireland, although shortly after this meeting the original plan Kathleen was discovered. The discovery of the plan led to the acceleration of joint British and Irish military planning for a German invasion known as Plan W
.
Another meeting on 15 August 1940 on Rathgar Road, Dublin organised by Hayes and attended by senior IRA men Paddy McGrath, Tom Harte and Tom Hunt, was also raided by the Garda Síochána
.
McGrath and Harte were both arrested and executed by firing squad at Dublin's Mountjoy Prison
on 6 September, 1940. Irish Executions
On 30 June 1941, Northern-based IRA men kidnapped Hayes, accusing him of being a spy. By his own account, he was tortured and "court-martialled" for "treason
" by his comrades, and would have been executed, but he bought himself time composing an enormously long confession. He managed to escape in September 1941, and handed himself in to the Garda for protection.
The Officer Commanding (O/C) of the IRA's Northern Command
, Seán McCaughey
, was convicted on 18 September 1941 of the kidnapping. After a long hunger and thirst strike in Portlaoise prison, McCaughey died on 11 May 1946.
Hayes was later sentenced to five year's imprisonment by the Special Criminal Court
on account of his IRA activities.
Within IRA circles, Hayes is still considered a traitor and an informer. One of the main allegations against him was that he informed the Garda Síochána
about IRA arms dumps in Wexford. However, this was later blamed on a Wexford man named Michael Devereux, an officer of the Wexford Battalion of the IRA who was subsequently abducted and murdered by an IRA gang in Tipperary
on Hayes’ orders. George Plant, a Protestant IRA veteran, was later executed in Portlaoise for Devereux's murder.
.
He died in Enniscorthy
on 28 December 1974.
Irish Republican Army (1922–1969)
The original Irish Republican Army fought a guerrilla war against British rule in Ireland in the Irish War of Independence 1919–1921. Following the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty on 6 December 1921, the IRA in the 26 counties that were to become the Irish Free State split between supporters and...
.
Hayes was born in Enniscorthy
Enniscorthy
Enniscorthy is the second largest town in County Wexford, Ireland. The population of the town and environs is 9538. The Placenames Database of Ireland sheds no light on the origins of the town's name. It may refer either to the "Island of Corthaidh" or the "Island of Rocks". With a history going...
.
During the Irish War of Independence
Irish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence , Anglo-Irish War, Black and Tan War, or Tan War was a guerrilla war mounted by the Irish Republican Army against the British government and its forces in Ireland. It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence. Both sides agreed...
, he was commandant of the Wexford Brigade of Fianna Éireann
Fianna Éireann
The name Fianna Éireann , also written Fianna na hÉireann and Na Fianna Éireann , has been used by various Irish republican youth movements throughout the 20th and 21st centuries...
. He took the Republican side during the Irish Civil War
Irish Civil War
The Irish Civil War was a conflict that accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State as an entity independent from the United Kingdom within the British Empire....
, during which he was interned.
Hayes was active in Gaelic Athletic Association
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
circles in Wexford. In 1925, he helped Wexford win the Leinster Senior Football title. He also served as secretary to the county board for ten years, from the 1920s to 1930s.
IRA activities
Hayes joined the IRA and was on the IRA Army CouncilIRA Army Council
The IRA Army Council was the decision-making body of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, more commonly known as the IRA, a paramilitary group dedicated to bringing about the end of the Union between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom. The council had seven members, said by the...
in January 1939 when it declared war on the British government.
When IRA chief of staff Seán Russell
Seán Russell
Seán Russell was an Irish republican who held senior positions in the IRA until the end of the Irish War of Independence...
departed on IRA business to the USA (and subsequently to Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
), Hayes was left in control of the organisation. After Russell's death in August 1940 on board a German U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
en route to Ireland, Hayes became chief of staff. His time in office was marred by controversy and it is widely believed that he served as an informer to the Garda Síochána
Garda Síochána
, more commonly referred to as the Gardaí , is the police force of Ireland. The service is headed by the Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Government. Its headquarters are located in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.- Terminology :...
.
Hayes had sent a plan for the invasion of Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
by German troops to Germany in April 1940. This plan later became known as Plan Kathleen
Plan Kathleen
Plan Kathleen, sometimes referred to as Artus Plan, was a military plan for the invasion of Northern Ireland sanctioned by Stephen Hayes, Acting Irish Republican Army Chief of Staff, in 1940...
. Hayes is also known to have met with German agent Hermann Görtz
Hermann Görtz
Hermann Görtz was a German spy in Britain and Ireland before and during World War II.-First trip to Broadstairs:Hermann Görtz arrived in Britain on the 29 August 1935 with a secretary, Marianne Emig. They spent a few weeks in Suffolk and eventually moved to Broadstairs and rented a house...
on 21 May 1940 in Dublin shortly after the latter’s parachuting into Ireland on 5 May 1940 as part of Operation Mainau
Operation Mainau
Operation Mainau was a German espionage mission during the Second World War. It was sanctioned and planned by the German secret service and executed successfully on May 1940...
. Hayes is known to have asked Görtz for money and arms to wage a campaign in Northern Ireland, although shortly after this meeting the original plan Kathleen was discovered. The discovery of the plan led to the acceleration of joint British and Irish military planning for a German invasion known as Plan W
Plan W
Plan W, during the Second World War, was a plan of joint military operations between Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland devised between 1940 and 1942, to be executed in the event of an invasion of Ireland by Nazi Germany....
.
Another meeting on 15 August 1940 on Rathgar Road, Dublin organised by Hayes and attended by senior IRA men Paddy McGrath, Tom Harte and Tom Hunt, was also raided by the Garda Síochána
Garda Síochána
, more commonly referred to as the Gardaí , is the police force of Ireland. The service is headed by the Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Government. Its headquarters are located in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.- Terminology :...
.
McGrath and Harte were both arrested and executed by firing squad at Dublin's Mountjoy Prison
Mountjoy Prison
Mountjoy Prison , founded as Mountjoy Gaol, nicknamed The Joy, is a medium security prison located in Phibsboro in the centre of Dublin, Ireland. It has the largest prison population in Ireland.The current prison governor is Mr...
on 6 September, 1940. Irish Executions
On 30 June 1941, Northern-based IRA men kidnapped Hayes, accusing him of being a spy. By his own account, he was tortured and "court-martialled" for "treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
" by his comrades, and would have been executed, but he bought himself time composing an enormously long confession. He managed to escape in September 1941, and handed himself in to the Garda for protection.
The Officer Commanding (O/C) of the IRA's Northern Command
IRA Northern Command
Northern Command was a command division in the Irish Republican Army and Provisional IRA, responsible for directing IRA operations in the northern part of Ireland.-IRA:...
, Seán McCaughey
Seán McCaughey
Seán McCaughey was an Irish Republican Army leader in the 1930s and 1940s, and hunger striker....
, was convicted on 18 September 1941 of the kidnapping. After a long hunger and thirst strike in Portlaoise prison, McCaughey died on 11 May 1946.
Hayes was later sentenced to five year's imprisonment by the Special Criminal Court
Special Criminal Court
The Special Criminal Court is a juryless criminal court in the Republic of Ireland which tries terrorist and organized crime cases. Article 38 of the Constitution of Ireland empowers the Dáil to establish "special courts" with wide-ranging powers when "the ordinary courts are inadequate to secure...
on account of his IRA activities.
Within IRA circles, Hayes is still considered a traitor and an informer. One of the main allegations against him was that he informed the Garda Síochána
Garda Síochána
, more commonly referred to as the Gardaí , is the police force of Ireland. The service is headed by the Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Government. Its headquarters are located in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.- Terminology :...
about IRA arms dumps in Wexford. However, this was later blamed on a Wexford man named Michael Devereux, an officer of the Wexford Battalion of the IRA who was subsequently abducted and murdered by an IRA gang in Tipperary
County Tipperary
County Tipperary is a county of Ireland. It is located in the province of Munster and is named after the town of Tipperary. The area of the county does not have a single local authority; local government is split between two authorities. In North Tipperary, part of the Mid-West Region, local...
on Hayes’ orders. George Plant, a Protestant IRA veteran, was later executed in Portlaoise for Devereux's murder.
Later life
After his release, Hayes resumed his clerical position at Wexford County CouncilWexford County Council
Wexford County Council is the local authority which is responsible for County Wexford in Ireland. The Council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning and development, amenity and culture, and environment. The head of the council has the title of Chairman...
.
He died in Enniscorthy
Enniscorthy
Enniscorthy is the second largest town in County Wexford, Ireland. The population of the town and environs is 9538. The Placenames Database of Ireland sheds no light on the origins of the town's name. It may refer either to the "Island of Corthaidh" or the "Island of Rocks". With a history going...
on 28 December 1974.