Back cycling and out and about on the TCR in the nice weather.
I passed a memorial which I've meant to take a look at but until now hadn't. It was a Cross at Banagher in Offaly in memory of Peter Barnes and James McCormac.
They were hanged in Britain at Winson Green Prison in 1940 and their bodies were not returned to their homeland until decades later.
I have read that 15,000 people attended their reinterment in Ireland. It is widely believed they were innocent of the charges levied against them relating to a bombing in Coventry. They were active members of the I.R.A. at the time.
The immediate decades following on from the Irish Civil war were far from quiet and partition had left a very sour taste and bitter memories.
An article below from the Irish Times illustrates the enmity still evident throughout Ireland at the time.
Article here :
It is difficult to believe that in the 1940's the State was still flogging people and had introduced Internment. It's a part of Ireland's hidden history and irrespective of one's Politics a part that should be told. Without remembering the past the future becomes a neutral and sterile environment.
Entry at the National Graves Association here: