It marks the the first such pardon involving a case which occurred before the foundation of the State.
President Michael D. Higgins has granted a posthumous pardon to a man wrongfully convicted and hanged over the murder of five people in the late 1800s.
The infamous ‘Mám Trasna Murders’ took place on the Galway-Mayo border in 1882. Myles Joyce, or Maolra Seoighe, was one of 10 men from the area arrested and charged with the murders, and one of three men ultimately hanged for the crimes.
An Irish speaker who did not understand English; Joyce faced a trial conducted in English. He was convicted in November of 1882 before facing execution the following month.
The other two men executed both admitted separately beforehand that they were responsible for the murders of five members of the same family, though their confessions were deemed insufficient to stop Joyce’s hanging.
The case has long been viewed as one of the most blatant miscarriages of justice in British and Irish legal history, largely due to doubts over the evidence used to convict Joyce.
Only five presidential pardons have been awarded since 1937, and this is the first involving a case which occurred before the State’s foundation.
The second such occurrence under President Higgins’ authority came in 2015, when Harry Gleeson was pardoned 74 years after he hanged for the murder of Moll McCarthy.
On Wednesday 4 April, 5 pm, President Michael D. Higgins signed a warrant granting a posthumous pardon to Mr. Maolra Seoighe (Myles Joyce), in respect of his conviction of November 1882 and subsequent execution on 15 December 1882.
— President of Ireland (@PresidentIRL) April 4, 2018
Ar an gCéadaoin an 4 Aibreán, ag 5 p.m. shínigh an tUachtarán Micheál D. Ó hUigínn barántas a thug pardún iarbháis don Uasal Maolra Seoighe, maidir lena chiontú i mí na Samhna 1882 agus a chur chun báis ar an 15 Nollaig 1882.
— President of Ireland (@PresidentIRL) April 4, 2018
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ podcast – listen to the latest episode now!
