The murder of Thomas Ashe in 1917

kreuzberger

meathstevie

Thomas Ashe's legacy is still alive and kicking in Lusk where he worked as a school teacher at the time. Both the local GAA club and pipe band are doing quite fine. As for the importance of Ashbourne : key position on the Dublin - Monaghan - Derry road and on top of that it would have been one of the northern gateways into north county Dublin from a western approach. This could have been quite important in order to secure the ports and harbours of Drogheda, Skerries, Balbriggan and Rush if the rising would have caught on and external supplies became important.

Lauder

McArmalite wrote: »

Most people would answer if asked who was the first Irishman to die on hunger strike, Terence McSweeney, which is incorrect. The first Irishman to die on hunger strike was Thomas Ashe ( originally from Kerry, Irish name, Tomás Ághas) on the 25th of September 1917.

Ashe took part in the Easter Rising of 1916 with a force of 60-70 men who took on the British forces around north County Dublin/Metah. His unit won a victory in Ashbourne, County Meath where they engaged a much larger force capturing a significant quantity of arms and up to 20 (RIC) vehicles. 24 hours after the rising collapsed, on the orders of Padraig Pearse, Ashe's unit surrendered.

Imprisoned in Lewes Gaol in England, Ashe and other prisoners were freed on 18 June 1917 by Lloyd George as part of a general amnesty. However, in August 1917, Ashe was arrested and charged with sedition for a speech that he made in Ballinalee, County Longford where Michael Collins had also been speaking. He was convicted and sentenced to two years hard labour. Ashe and other prisoners, demanded prisoner of war status and he went on hunger strike on 20 September 1917. On 25 September 1917, he died at the Mater Hospital after gross and vindictive mistreatment by the british authorities.

The verdict of the Coroner's Jury was to shock and enrage Irish public opinion. The finding stated " his death was caused by the punishment of taking away from the cell, bed, bedding and boots and allowing him to lie on the cold floor for 50 hours and then subjected to forcible feeding in his weak condition after hunger striking for 6 days ". Even the Daily Express, no friend of Ireland then or now, stated in their Editorial " Ashe's death and funeral has made 100,000 Sinn Feiners out of 100,000 constitutional nationalists ".

His old comrade Micheal Collins gave him the best tribute by proclaiming at his graveside during the oratory " That volley which we have just heard is the only speech which is proper to make over the grave of a dead Fenian ".

Would you correct the Title of this thread. HE WAS NOT MURDERED. He died on voluntary hunger strike.

McArmalite

Lauder wrote: »

Would you correct the Title of this thread. HE WAS NOT MURDERED. He died on voluntary hunger strike.

Ah yes, yet another individual with anti nationalist views* has joined the boards, allegedly from Clontarf/Crosshaven . If you had read through the discussion you might have learned something, my own post no.18 - " I and most people would have thought that Thomas Ashe's death was due alone to the force feeding procedure going wrong and killing him. The purpose of my post was to bring attention to the fact as stated in the Coroner's Jury verdict, that the cruel mistreatment of forcing a man on hunger strike to lie on a cold floor for 50 hours was ALSO a contributing factor in his death. When someone's death is brought on by deliberate mistreatment - I call it murder."


And from my post no.1 - The verdict of the Coroner's Jury was to shock and enrage Irish public opinion. The finding stated " his death was caused by the punishment of taking away from the cell, bed, bedding and boots and allowing him to lie on the cold floor for 50 hours and then subjected to forcible feeding in his weak condition after hunger striking for 6 days ". Even the Daily Express, no friend of Ireland then or now, stated in their Editorial " Ashe's death and funeral has made 100,000 Sinn Feiners out of 100,000 constitutional nationalists ".

*Seen your post on joining the RIR. Yeah, I can see car loads of lads heading to Newry to join the RIR Territorial Army, especially from Dundalk, Monaghan :)etc