An Cosantóir

28 FROM THE ARCHIVES AN C O S AN T Ó I R O c t ob e r 2 0 0 6 29 C ommandant Thomas Kent of the Cork Brigade of Irish Volunteers was arrested on the morning of May 2nd 1916 at his family home at Bawnard, Castlelyons, Co Cork, following a gun battle there with the RIC and British Army reinforcements from Fermoy 1 . This operation had been planned as part of a general round-up of Volunteers in the aftermath of Easter Week and violent resistance was not expected. However that was precisely what occurred and Head Constable Rowe was killed before the Kent brothers were eventually forced to surrender. All four would have been summarily executed by the RIC had a British officer not intervened to stop them. With both David and Richard wounded, Thomas and William were brought to Victoria Barracks in Cork where they were court-martialled on May 4th. William was acquitted but Thomas was found guilty and sen- tenced to death. He was executed by firing squad in the Detention Barracks adjacent to Victoria Barracks at dawn on May 9th. However, the circumstances of that court martial, the quality and quantity of the evidence produced, the speed with which the entire proceedings were con- ducted, and the legality of the sentence imposed have never been adequately examined. In that con- text a re-examination of what happened to Thomas Kent on May 4th is long overdue. In the first instance it is important to note that fol- lowing Britain's entry into the First World War the Defence of the Realm Act (DORA) was passed by Parliament on August 8th 1914. The terms of the Act vested extraordinary powers in the hands of the gov- ernment and the Act itself was a work in progress - additional terms were added as the war evolved. But from Thomas Kent's perspective, even though he had no idea of their relevance at the time, the following provisions were to prove critical… His Majesty in Council has power during the con- tinuance of the present war to issue regulations for securing the public safety and the defence of the realm…and may by such regulations authorise the trial by courts-martial, or in the case of minor offences by courts of summary jurisdiction, and pun- ishment of persons committing offences against the regulations and in particular against any of the provi- sions of such regulations designed: (a) to prevent persons communicating with the enemy or obtaining information for that purpose or any purpose calculated to jeopardise the success of the operations of any of His Majesty's forces or the forces of his allies or to assist the enemy; or…(e) otherwise to prevent assistance being given to the enemy or the successful prosecution of the war being endangered 2 . Therefore when he appeared in Victoria Barracks to be charged for his part in events at Bawnard Kent found himself standing not before a judge and jury but rather before Major Jeffreys 3 , Captain Massey 4 , and Captain Frend 5 in what was a Field General Court Martial established under the terms of DORA. He was charged with contravening the Act 'in that he took part in an armed rebellion and in waging war against His Majesty the King, such act being prejudicial to the defence of the realm and being done with the inten- tion and for the purpose of assisting the enemy' 6 . The Court Martial of THOMAS KENT By CQMS Gerry White & Comdt Brendan O'Shea Above: Thomas Kent as a young man. Right: The arrest of Thomas and William Kent by British forces prior to Kent's court martial. MILITARY HISTORY 00-An Cos-Oct-06 (p16-30) 01/01/1970 02:08 Page 29 An Cosantóir Volume 66, Issue 07, October 2006

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