An Cosantóir

29 FROM THE ARCHIVES 30 AN C O S AN T Ó I R O c t ob e r 2 0 0 6 tion could be called an armed rebellion – they had nei- ther heard of nor seen the Proclamation. Neither were they waging a war nor assisting the enemy (in this case Germany). In fact, the events of Easter Week had passed all of them by. By that time Pearse had surren- dered in Dublin and MacCurtain had negotiated an agreement in Cork 9 . The problem was that in reneging on this agreement and attempting to round up the Volunteers, the RIC and British army were in fact the architects of their own difficulties at Bawnard. If the Kents were guilty of anything it was nothing more than following Eoin MacNeill's original orders to prevent themselves from being forcibly disarmed 10 , which in this case might have amounted at most to causing an affray or engaging in violent disorder. Therefore the charge as presented against Thomas Kent made no sense whatever, especially when his brother William was acquitted, notwith- standing that both of them were in the same place at the same time and in the same circumstances. This then begs the question why he was found guilty and the answer is obvious. When the Irish Volunteers were formed in 1913 Thomas Kent became closely involved with Terrence MacSwiney as they arranged public meetings in order to attract new members. He was well-known to the RIC, having disrupted a number of British Army recruiting meetings, by Easter 1916 he had become a Commandant in the Galtee Battalion, and within the Volunteer movement in Cork Thomas Kent had become a very serious player. Aged 51, he was sen- tenced to death on May 4th 1916, not for his actions at Bawnard, because there is no evidence in his court-martial documentation to suggest that he did anything except surrender, but because of who he was and because of the leadership position he held within the Cork Brigade of Volunteers. Just as in Dublin, General Maxwell wanted to make an example of the Volunteer leadership and Commandant Thomas Kent was a convenient scapegoat 11 . He paid for Maxwell's policy with his life when he was executed by firing squad on May 9th 1916 – but the charges against him remain unproven. Thomas Kent was not guilty as charged at his court-martial and the docu- mentary evidence that survives leaves this matter in no doubt whatsoever.■ (Thomas Kent's court-martial documentation can be vi ewed at the Military Museum Collins Barracks between 1000-1300 Mon, Wed, & Fri, or by special appointment with the curator Mr P Cremin.). ENDNOTES 1 Sinn Féin Rebellion Handbook 1917, P.40. 2 Defence of the Realm Regulation (Consolidated) 1914 3 33rd Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers 4 43rd Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers 5 53rd Battalion Leinster Regiment 6 Thomas Kent Court Martial Documents, Charge Schedule, Page 5. 7 Thomas Kent's Court Martial Documentation are held at the Military Museum Collins Barracks, Cork 8 William Kent's Bureau of Military History Statement. WS75, of 9/11/47. 9 White and O'Shea, Baptised in Blood - Formation of the Cork Brigade of Volunteers, Mercier Press, 2005, P.108 10 MacNeill's Order of 19 April 1916 in which he stated that "your object will be to preserve the arms and the organi- sation of the Irish Volunteers and the measures taken by you will be directed to that purpose". 11 General Maxwell confirmed the findings of the Court Martial on May 6th. N N O O T T E E O O N N T T H H E E A A U U T T H H O O R R S S GERRY WHITE is an author and historian who lectures nationally on the Anglo-Irish War and the Irish Civil War. His publications include The Barracks - A History of Victoria/Collins Barracks, Cork (Mercier Press 1997) with Dan Harvey; The Irish Volunteer Soldier 1913-1923 (Osprey, 2003) and Baptised in Blood - The Formation of the Cork Brigade of Irish Volunteers, Mercier Press, (2005), with Brendan O'Shea. His third book with Brendan O'Shea, The Burning of Cork 1920, is due for publication later this year. DR BRENDAN O'SHEA is a graduate of UCG and UCC. He also holds a Diploma in International Humanitarian Law from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Geneva and lec- tures internationally on crisis management and peace sup- port operations. His publica- tions include Crisis at Bihac - Bosnia's Bloody Battlefield (Sutton Publishing, 1998), In the Service of Peace - Memories of Lebanon (Mercier Press, 2001), The Modern Yugoslav Conflict 1991-1995, (Frank Cass, 2005) and The Irish Volunteer Soldier 1913-1923 (Osprey, 2003), and Baptised in Blood - The Formation of the Cork Brigade of Irish Volunteers, Mercier Press, (2005) with Gerry White. His next book, The Burning of Cork 1920, with Gerry White, is due for publication in the near future. When proceedings got underway he then found himself faced with a body of evidence given by both RIC constables and British army officers who had been in attendance at Bawnard, to which Kent, unrepresented by counsel, asked only nine questions in cross examination, offered a mere seventy-one words in a rebuttal statement, and was not permitted to call witnesses to speak on his behalf 7 . However, and notwithstanding a clear failure of due process, when one examines the witness state- ments it is immediately clear that they contain not a shred of evidence which directly connects Thomas Kent to the death of Head Constable Rowe. Neither is there any evidence to suggest that he even fired a single shot – although it is inconceivable that he did not, given the circumstances. Equally it is com- pletely unclear who fired the first shot – William Kent later claimed the RIC fired a volley 8 – and there is written evidence which states that after the Kents agreed to surrender the RIC continued firing into the house. In relation to the charge itself, none of the Kents was involved in what by any stretch of the imagina- General Maxwell (inset), Brtish military commander in Dublin during the 1916 Rising signed the death warrant for Thomas Kent. The Cork Brigade of the IRA. 00-An Cos-Oct-06 (p16-30) 01/01/1970 02:08 Page 30

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