A dark time in Irish history
On December 8, 1922, Liam Mellows, Joe MacKelvey, Dick Barrett and Rory O’Connor were executed by firing squad in Dublin’s Mountjoy jail. Mellows was from Connacht, MacKelvey from Ulster, Barrett from Munster and O'Connor from Leinster. The four became known as the “Provincial Martyrs.” They were executed on the orders of the Free State government in retaliation for the shooting dead the day before of Dáil member Sean Hales. The photo is of Liam Mellows.
