Francis Sheehy-Skeffington
Aged 32 at the time of the Census 1911
Census 1911 Address: 11, Grosvenor Place (Rathmines & Rathgar West, Dublin)1
Francis Joseph Christopher Sheehy-Skeffington, who was originally from Co. Cavan, was recorded living in Rathmines in Dublin in the 1911 Census. He also entered the details of his son Owen (1) and two female servants- Philomena Josephine Morrissey (23) was a domestic servant from Co. Waterford and the nurse Mary Butler (21) was from Dublin City. Francis did not reply to the religion question for himself but did record his son Owen and the two servants as Roman Catholics. Francis and his wife Hanna supported the Suffragette movement so her details were not entered on the Census form, as the Suffragettes boycotted the 1911 Census. The enumerator subsequently amended the form to include details of Hanna but most of the details were incorrect: her name was entered as Emily, the wrong age of 28 was used (her real age was 33), the length of the marriage was recorded as 3 years (but they had been married for 8 years) and Dublin was entered as her place of birth although she was born in Cork.
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai000149717/
One of the most senseless tragedies of the Easter Rebellion involved Francis Sheehy-Skeffington, a well-known pacifist writer and an ardent supporter of women’s rights who took no part in the rising. Sheehy-Skeffington was originally from Co. Cavan and came from a comfortable background as his father was employed as an inspector of schools. He attended University College Dublin and was a friend of James Joyce. When he married Hanna Sheehy, they amalgamated their surnames in a sign of the equality in their relationship. The couple were interested in social conditions and also in the suffragette movement. Sheehy-Skeffington worked mainly as a journalist and was the editor of The Irish Citizen. He was also a pacifist and campaigned against British Army recruitment following the outbreak of war.
When the Rising broke out on Easter Monday 1916, a section of the Citizen army commanded by Séan Connolly occupied City Hall and attempted to take Dublin Castle. A unit of the British army led by Lieutenant Guy Vickery Pinfield tried to secure the main gate and guardhouse of the castle. Pinfield was shot and badly wounded. “Francis Sheehy Skeffington braved the hail of gunfire to bring aid to the stricken officer, but it was too late. The platoon fell back having suffered one officer killed, another officer wounded, whilst approximately 30 ordinary ranks were wounded2.
There was a widespread looting in the city. Francis Sheehy-Skeffington wanted to organise a meeting of the Irish Women’s Franchise League for 4.30 on the Wednesday afternoon where he hoped to organise a civil police force to stop the looting3. On the Tuesday around noon he met William O’Brien and both men discussed the looting and went to Mrs. Wyse Power’s restaurant to get something to eat but when they got there the shop was closed. Mrs. Wyse could only give the men some tea and an egg, which they were happy with and Mrs. Wyse asked Skeffington to go to Hamilton-Long’s in O’Connell Street to get some medicine for her eldest daughter who was ill. Skeffington agreed to do this and it was the last William O’Brien ever saw of him4.
Sheehy-Skeffington left O’Brien to go home to 1, Grosvenor Place in Rathfarnham which took him over Portobello Bridge close to the entrance to the Portobello Barracks. He was followed by a jeering crowd who objected to Sheehy-Skeffington’s leaflets discouraging looting. A witness statement of Mrs. Julia Hughes, who was an eye witness to the arrest of Francis Sheehy-Skeffington, says that she was standing on Porobello Bridge when soldiers came and arrested him. He was giving out leaflets which advised people not to be involved in looting. She stated that he was not doing anything unlawful or political and that he was shot “unlawfully” the next morning by the English5.
Lieutenant M.C. Morris, who was posted at the gates of the Barracks, heard the crowd and detained Sheehy-Skeffington and brought him to the barracks. No charge was made against Sheehy-Skeffington and he went willingly. He was searched by Captain Bowen-Colthurst, who was an officer of 16 years’ service belonging to the Royal Irish Rifles. At the time Captain Bowen-Colthurst was attached to the 3rd battalion at Portobello Barracks. Nothing was found that was incriminating.
According to the Report of the Royal Commission, later on that evening Captain Bowen-Colthurst went out under orders to occupy a premises owned by Mr. James Kelly, who was a tobacconist and also an Alderman of the City and Justice of the Peace and who had recently been High Sherriff of the City. The occupation of Mr. Kelly’s premises was a result of a misunderstanding and Mr. Kelly was innocent of any connection to the insurrection. Captain Bowen-Colthurst took Sheehy-Skeffington with him as a hostage - he asked no one’s permission to do this and had no right to do so. Sheehy-Skeffington’s hands were tied behind his back and he was told to say his prayers, which he refused to do.
Captain Bowen-Colthurst split his unit and left one group to mind Sheehy-Skeffington at Portobello Bridge and he lead the rest of his men to Kelly’s shop. On the way the unit came across two youths, Laurence Byrne and his friend Coade. The young men had been attending a religious meeting organised by Fr. O’Loughlin, who was the Roman Catholic chaplain of Portobello Barracks. Captain Bowen-Colthurst warned them that they should not have been out as martial law had been declared and he then shot and killed Coade, whose body was brought back to the Barracks.
His men then proceeded to throw bombs into the premises of Alderman Kelly. Two journalists who had taken refuge there when they heard the shooting were taken out and arrested. The journalists were Mr. Patrick James McIntyre, the editor of a paper called “The Searchlight”, and Mr. Thomas Dickson, the editor of a paper called “The Eye-Opener”. The journalists were searched but nothing incriminating was found on them. The Royal Commission found no evidence that either man had ever had a connection to the Sinn Fein movement.
All three unsuspecting men – Francis Sheehy-Skeffington, Patrick McIntyre and Thomas Dickson, were taken to the yard of Portobello Barracks later that evening and shot dead. Captain Bowen-Colthurst had not informed any of his superior officers about the executions, nor had he asked for permission. He subsequently stated that due to rumours of German invasion and reinforcements from England not arriving he felt that escape by the prisoners from the guardroom would be very easy. He thought that he had power to conduct these executions under martial law and said that it was his duty to execute anyone who he considered to be a ringleader of the rebellion. One of the soldiers saw movement in Sheehy-Skeffington’s body after he was shot and Colthurst shot Sheehy-Skeffington’s body again. Mrs. Sheehy-Skeffington’s sisters, Mrs. Culhane and Mrs. Kettle, went to Portobello Barracks to search for Francis. Mrs. Culhane’s recently deceased husband had been a highly placed official in the Irish courts of Justice and Mrs. Kettle’s husband was fighting with his battalion in France. The two women were placed under arrest using the excuse that they were members of Sinn Féin. Mrs. Sheehy-Skeffington then contacted the father of the young man Coade, who confirmed he had seen the body of Sheehy-Skeffington when he went to visit the body of his young son.
Due mainly to the intervention of a conscientious senior officer, Major Sir Francis Vane, Bowen-Colthurst was court-martialled. When Vane discovered what had happened, he had Bowen-Colthurst confined to Barracks, pending court martial. Vane reported the incident to army headquarters and his superiors justified Bowen-Colthurst’s actions. Royal Engineers arrived and repaired the bullet holes in the barracks walls so they could not be seen. Vane was removed from command and Bowen-Colthurst was released and allowed to conduct a vicious raid on Mrs Hannah Sheehy-Skeffington’s house for incriminating evidence. Mrs. Sheehy-Skeffington and her young son, aged seven, had bayonets pointed at them and were ordered to hold their hands above their heads while the search took place
On May 2, Vane left for England and, using contacts, managed to secure a meeting with Field Marshal Lord Kitchener and Bonham Carter, Private Secretary to the Prime Minister. After two weeks of prevarication, in which Vane was “relegated to unemployment”, on May 18, Lord Chief Justice of England, Lord Reading, accepted a military court martial in private of Captain Bowen-Colthurst so that the Government would be spared a public hearing. Vane died in London in 1934. Captain Bowen-Colthurst was found guilty but insane at the court martial and detained in Broadmoor Criminal Asylum. A royal commission of enquiry subsequently awarded £10,000 in monetary damages to Mrs Sheehy-Skeffington, which she refused to accept, and she demanded that the full facts be made public. The murder of Francis Sheehy-Skeffington, who was widely respected for his principals, and the circumstances of his death and others on the orders of Captain Bowen-Colthurst, greatly contributed to the shifting of public sympathy to the side of the rebels.
There is a memorial plaque for Francis Sheehy-Skeffington in Cathal Brugha Barracks, Portobello, Rathmines. The plaque was unveiled in 1970 by Nora Connolly O’Brien, daughter of James Connolly. Also present was Owen Sheehy-Skeffington, a long serving Trinity senator6.
Sources:
References:
Royal Commission on the arrest and subsequent treatment of Mr. Francis Sheehy-Skeffington, Mr. Thomas Dickson and Mr. Patrick James McIntyre 1916
http://www.nli.ie/1916/pdf/10.2.pdf
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