An Cosantóir the official magazine of the Irish Defence Forces and Reserve Defence Forces.
Issue link: https://digital.jmpublishing.ie/i/1020554
www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE | 9 BY LT SEAMUS SHANNON, 12 INF BN T he most well known IRA prisoner held in the New Barracks in Limerick during the War of Independence was Capt Thomas Keane, OC C Coy, 2nd Bn IRA, based in Limerick City. Thomas was born on 28th February 1887 to Thomas and Johanna Keane of Bonfield Lane. Following the death of his father he moved to 55 Clare Street. A carpenter by trade, the younger Thomas Keane was employed by the Great Southern and Western Railway. On 15th February 1914 he married Helena O'Sullivan. At the time of Capt Keane's arrest they had two children, Margaret and Charles, and were expecting their third child, a boy who was born on 24th Sept 1921, four months after his father's execution. On Sunday May 1st 1921 Tom Keane and Volunteer Henry Clancy were ordered to collect two C Coy revolvers from Cap- tain Casey, OC A Coy, who was also working in the local area. The weapons had been left in A Coy's dump after an unsuc- cessful rescue attempt of IRA members Peadar Dunne and MP Colivet who were being held in Ordnance Bks. The two men met with Capt Casey in Ballysimon, picked up the weapons and were returning home, when a Black and Tan and RIC patrol suddenly appeared on the main road, and within seconds they were surrounded. They were arrested and brought back to Limerick. In a desperate bid to escape, Henry Clancy, despite being handcuffed, jumped from the vehicle but was killed in a hail of bullets. Capt Keane was subsequently tried by field general court martial on Saturday 14th May 1921, charged with unlaw- ful possession of arms and waging war against the Crown Forces, and was sentenced to death on 4th June 1921. As the hour of his execution approached, crowds gath- ered on the road outside the barracks in a show of defiant support. In an attempt to disperse the crowds many were brutally beaten by the Black and Tans, leaving some with seri- ous injuries. Following his execution Capt Keane was buried in the grounds of the gaol. However, during the Truce his body was retrieved by his C Coy comrades and following a fitting public funeral, he was laid to rest beside Henry Clancy in the Repub- lican plot at Mount Saint Laurence Cemetery. Captain Keane was the only man executed by the British forces outside of Dublin and Cork during the War of Independence. Captain Thomas Keane was held in the upmost regard by his comrades, and the values he displayed reflect the physi- cal and moral courage, integ- rity, respect, selflessness and loyalty, to which we should all aspire as serving members of the Defence Forces, and which have been adopted as the expressed values of our organisation. Today we remember the patriotism of Capt Tom Keane and the ultimate sacrifice he made while per- forming his duty in the service of his country.