This year marks the centenary of one of the most dramatic and suspense-filled episodes in the history of Kilmainham Gaol. Just before 9pm on the evening of 14 February 1921, three men - Ernie O’Malley, Simon Donnelly and Frank Teeling - escaped from the Gaol which was being used at that time by British forces as both a military barracks and political prison. With the help of some British soldiers guarding them, a bolt cutters had been smuggled into the Gaol which allowed the men to break the lock on one of the gates and escape to freedom. A fourth prisoner, Patrick Moran, had played a key part in planning the escape, but at the last moment he decided to stay behind. His trial was the following day and he felt that if he escaped he would be letting down the witnesses due to give evidence, evidence which he felt would prove his innocence. It was to prove a fatal decision however, as he was found guilty and hanged in Mountjoy Prison a month later on 14 March, 1921.
To mark this centenary, Kilmainham Goal Museum is releasing a recorded interview with three people who hold unique insights into this story. The three speakers are:
•May Moran, a former teacher and the niece of Patrick Moran. In 2010 she published ‘Executed for Ireland: The Patrick Moran Story’ which tells the story of his remarkable life.
•Cormac O’Malley, the son of Ernie O’Malley. Cormac has overseen the re-publication of a number of editions of his father’s memoirs, as well as previously unpublished writings and interviews Ernie O’Malley conducted with over 450 of his former comrades. Most recently he produced a film about the life of his father and mother, the artist Helen Hooker, entitled 'A Call to Arts'. He has also set up a website tracing his father's story during the War of Independence - www.ernieomalley.com
•Dr. William Murphy, a lecturer in the school of History and Geography in DCU. His primary field of research is modern Irish history, and in particular the history of the Irish revolutionary period. Among his publications is “Political Imprisonment and the Irish, 1912-1921” which was published by the Oxford University Press, in 2014.
The interview was moderated by the Collections Curator of Kilmainham Gaol, Brian Crowley, and it explores the gripping story of the escape and its wider significance in the history of the War of Independence.