The Gallows

What the gardener knew in Mountjoy Prison!

by Des Murtagh, Ed.D., M.A.G.I.

One could be forgiven for thinking that this is the title of an Agatha Christie novel.
‘What the gardener knew’ were the words used by Seán Reynolds, the curator and founder of Mountjoy Prison museum to describe the non-availability of burial records for prisoners hanged and buried within the prison grounds. It was the gardener or gardeners who knew where hanged prisoners were buried. Unfortunately, this information was seldom recorded on paper documents as it was assumed that the bodies were there to stay. Without a record of burial sites, with the passage of time, new facilities were often erected and new buildings constructed over these burial areas.

The consequence of the non-availability of burials records was highlighted recently when it took nearly 10 years to find the body of Henry Gleeson who was hanged for murder in 1941. After 74 years, in 2015, Henry Gleeson was declared innocent, pardoned and exonerated. However, his remains were not discovered within the prison grounds until 2024.

Prison records show that it is just over 70 years since the last person was executed in Mountjoy Prison. Michael Manning was found guilty of the rape and murder of a Limerick nurse, Catherine Cooper in November 1953. Following his trial, he was hanged on 20 April 1954 and became the last person to be buried within the prison walls.

Some 30 years ago I had the occasion to visit Mountjoy Prison in an official educational capacity. While on that visit, I had the opportunity to see the gallows where Michael Manning, Henry Gleeson and many others were hanged over the years. It was chilling to look at the trapdoor and the handle which operated it, and to see the spot where forty five men and one woman stood for the last time before Albert Pierpoint and his father before him did their job.

For researchers of any kind, the importance of records cannot be over emphasised. Our appreciation is due in no small measure to people such as Seán Reynolds for creating the Mountjoy Prison museum and to hundreds of other individuals and groups throughout Ireland who recognise the importance of documenting and preserving the ordinary, realising that in future times, those records will be regarded as extraordinary.

A New Year’s resolution perhaps: to give a little more encouragement and support to people and groups who recognise the importance of preserving records and items of heritage for future generations.


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