William N. Rowe
Encyclopedia
William Nelson Rowe was a member of the Royal Irish Constabulary
(RIC) fatally shot during a police raid on the home of the Kent family at Castlelyons
, County Cork
.
when the Authorities began to arrest Republican sympathisers. As the raid unfolded, the Kent brothers refused to be taken into custody, a firefight occurred which resulted in the death of Rowe and also the fatal wounding of Richard Kent as he attempted to flee.
graveyard at Castlehyde, Fermoy
, he left behind a widow and five children under the age of sixteen. Thomas
and William Kent were tried by court martial on the charge of his murder. William was acquitted, but Thomas was sentenced to death and executed by firing squad
at Cork on 9 May 1916.
Royal Irish Constabulary
The armed Royal Irish Constabulary was Ireland's major police force for most of the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. A separate civic police force, the unarmed Dublin Metropolitan Police controlled the capital, and the cities of Derry and Belfast, originally with their own police...
(RIC) fatally shot during a police raid on the home of the Kent family at Castlelyons
Castlelyons
Castlelyons is a small village in East County Cork in the Province of Munster in Ireland. It is situated south of Fermoy. In the 2002 census it recorded a population of 211....
, County Cork
County Cork
County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...
.
Death
The event took place in the immediate aftermath of the Easter RisingEaster Rising
The Easter Rising was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire was heavily engaged in the First World War...
when the Authorities began to arrest Republican sympathisers. As the raid unfolded, the Kent brothers refused to be taken into custody, a firefight occurred which resulted in the death of Rowe and also the fatal wounding of Richard Kent as he attempted to flee.
Aftermath
Rowe is buried at the Church of IrelandChurch of Ireland
The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...
graveyard at Castlehyde, Fermoy
Fermoy
Fermoy is a town in County Cork, Ireland. It is situated on the River Blackwater in the south of Ireland. Its population is some 5,800 inhabitants, environs included ....
, he left behind a widow and five children under the age of sixteen. Thomas
Thomas Kent
Thomas Kent was an Irish nationalist court-martialled and executed following a gunfight with the Royal Irish Constabulary on 2 May 1916, in the immediate aftermath of the Easter Rising.-The Easter Rising:...
and William Kent were tried by court martial on the charge of his murder. William was acquitted, but Thomas was sentenced to death and executed by firing squad
Execution by firing squad
Execution by firing squad, sometimes called fusillading , is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war.Execution by shooting is a fairly old practice...
at Cork on 9 May 1916.
Sources
- Hart, Peter; The IRA and its Enemies: Violence and Community in Cork, 1916–1923, Oxford University Press (1998). ISBN 0-198208-06-5 (Pages 48–49)
- Kiberd, DeclanDeclan KiberdDeclan Kiberd is an Irish writer and scholar. He is known for his literary criticism of Irish literature in Irish and English, and his contributions to public cultural life....
(editor), "1916 Rebellion Handbook Dublin: Mourne River Press, 1998. ISBN 1-902090-05-5