The Gazette 1994

GAZETTE

M W H

APRIL 1994

B O O K

R E V I E W S

naive, uneducated Irish farm labourer. He seems to have been a man of simple faith who believed injustice and who seems to have thought that, because he was innocent, somehow or other the truth would win out and he would be vindicated. Alas, that was not to happen. I have no doubt, having read Mr. Bourke's account, that if Harry Gleeson were put on trial today on the basis of the evidence against him he would be acquitted. That, of course, is not the same as saying that he was innocent of the crime but I believe Mr. Bourke has demonstrated that in all probability he was. Miscarriages of justice are, of course, rightly regarded as very grave matters and to deprive a person wrongly of his liberty is the very negation of justice. The terrible finality of the death penalty made it all the more vital, in those days, hat convictions for murder were right. In the end, the possibility of miscarriages of justice in capital cases was one of the reasons that led to the abolition of the death penalty for murder. Mr. Bourke is to be commended for the excellent work he has done in putting this book together. The reader might very well ask whether anything can be done at this stage to reopen the case of Harry Gleeson. Could the proposed new machinery for reopening cases be invoked to re-examine a case so far back? Mr. Bourke dedicates the book to Mary Gleeson, a surviving sister of the unfortunate man, who is now in her 105th year and living in South Carolina. She, as well as others who are still alive and remember the events of that time, remains firmly of the view that an innocent man was hanged.

and McBride worked tirelessly in their defence of Harry Gleeson and, up to the time of his death, Sean McBride believed absolutely in the innocence of Harry Gleeson. The book is interesting, not just for the light it throws on the details of the case itself, but for the insights we get into the Ireland of the late 1930s and early 1940s. Moll McCarthy, the victim, was an unfortunate woman who lived close Harry Gleeson's home (on his uncle John Caesar's farm) near New Inn. Up to the time of her death, she had had seven illegitimate children all, apparently, by different fathers and, naturally, her presence and her lifestyle were a cause of scandal in the locality and generated local hostility. Mr. Bourke related how, in 1926, some fourteen years before her death, there had been an attempt to bum her out of her dwelling house. The identity of the fathers of the children was apparently the subject of much gossip in the locality and no doubt there were,those who would have had good reason for wanting their associations with the dead woman kept quiet. The picture that emerges of the Ireland of that time is one of a rather backward society, the rural population of which, whatever nefarious activities were engaged in privately by some of them, did the bidding of their local clergy. Indeed, the Church itself, in the character of the local parish priest, Fr. James O'Malley, does not come out of this sorry tale with great distinction. Mr. priest, he must have had reason to doubt the guilt of Harry Gleeson but does not appear to have put himself out to help. The Garda Siochana is also, unfortunately, shown in a rather poor light and some very serious questions are raised about the handling of the case by certain members of the force. Bourke's account makes it clear that, on the basis of the information given to the

Murder at Marlhill - Was Harry Gleeson innocent?

By Marcus Bourke, published by Geography Publications, 1993,123pp, softback, £6.95. Harry Gleeson was hanged on 23 April, 1941 for the murder of Mary (Moll) McCarthy whose body had been found on Gleeson's uncle's farm near New Inn in Co. Tipperary on 21 November, 1940. In all probability, as Mr. Bourke's book contends, Harry Gleeson was innocent and was framed by the real culprits and was the victim This is a very readable and illuminating account of an event which is now all but forgotten. Mr. Bourke has delved deep into the records of the case and has studied with great care the transcripts of the depositions and the trial as well as the proceedings in the Appeal Court. He has very skillfully highlighted the inconsistencies in the evidence, the very circumstantial nature of the case against Harry Gleeson, the rather partisan treatment meted out at times to the defence by the trial judge and the generally unsatisfactory nature of the case against the accused. Gleeson was defended by Sean McBride who was then a relatively inexperienced junior counsel having been called to the Bar in 1937. His leading counsel was James Nolan-Whelan, SC, whose performance at the trial did not enhance his reputation. Gleeson's solicitor in the 1935. Timoney's association with McBride during the case lead him, subsequently, to join Clann na Poblachta and he went on to become a member of the Dail for that party between 1947 and 1951. Both Timoney case was John J. Timoney who was born in 1910 and qualified as a solicitor in of a conspiracy of silence in the locality in the lead-up to his trial and in the period immediately following it.

Noel C. Ryan

Harry Gleeson appears to have been a

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