murder of Moll McCarthy

{{coord|52.4370067|N|7.9073011|W|locale:IE-TS_scale:2500_type:event|display=title|notes=Cross-referencing the Garda crime-scene map reproduced in Bourke 1993 with:

{{cite web|url=http://maps.osi.ie/publicviewer/#V2,606345,631729,11,9|title=25-inch map of County Tipperary|date=1 June 1906|work=Mapviewer|publisher=Ordnance Survey Ireland|no-pp=y|page=Sheet 68–16|access-date=15 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120829114800/http://maps.osi.ie/publicviewer/#V2,606345,631729,11,9|archive-date=29 August 2012|url-status=dead}}}}

{{Location map | Ireland

| width = 250

| caption = Location of Marlhill (Cnocán an Mharla) in Ireland

| lat_deg = 52.4370067

| lon_deg = -7.9073011

| labe1 = Marlhill

}}

Mary McCarthy, known as Moll Carthy (1902Bourke 1993, pp.6–7–20/21 November 1940), was a woman, mother, smallholder, possible sex worker, and murder victim from Marlhill, near New Inn, County Tipperary in Ireland. Henry "Harry" Gleeson (1903–23 April 1941) from Holycross, County Tipperary, was convicted of her murder and executed, but granted a posthumous pardon in 2015.{{cite news|url=http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/president-grants-states-first-posthumous-pardon-to-man-hanged-for-murder-almost-75-years-ago-712227.html|title=President grants State's first posthumous pardon to man hanged for murder almost 75 years ago|date=19 December 2015|work=BreakingNews.ie|access-date=20 December 2015}}{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/family-of-man-wrongfully-executed-by-state-deem-it-a-disgrace-posthumous-pardon-bears-wrong-name-34359043.html|title=Family of man wrongfully executed by State deem it a 'disgrace' posthumous pardon 'bears wrong name' |last=Calnan|first=Denise|date=12 January 2016|work=Irish Independent|access-date=13 January 2016}}

Victim

Mary McCarthy or Carthy, known as Moll, was an unmarried mother who had seven children by at least six different fathers between 1921 and 1940.{{cite news|url=http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/uproar-as-book-on-wrongly-hanged-man-harry-gleeson-names-names-324717.html|title=Uproar as book on wrongly hanged man Harry Gleeson 'names names'|last=Clifford|first=Michael|date=18 April 2015|work=Irish Examiner|access-date=2 August 2015}} She lived in a rundown cottage on a two-acre plot beside a farm belonging to John Ceasar, from whose well she drew water. It has been claimed that she lived by bartering sexual favours for produce and services. Her scandalous lifestyle attracted opprobrium and the cottage's thatched roof was destroyed by arson in 1926. Local judge Seán Troy refused two applications to have her children taken into an orphanage, persuaded that she was a good mother.{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/a-murder-a-hanged-man-and-a-plea-of-innocence-from-the-grave-26734944.html|title=A murder, a hanged man -- and a plea of innocence from the grave - Independent.ie|last=Fagan|first=Kieran|date=22 May 2011|work=Irish Independent|access-date=2 August 2015}}

Crime and sentence

Harry Gleeson was Ceasar's nephew by marriage and worked the farm for him. On 21 November 1940, Gleeson reported finding McCarthy's body, with two gunshot wounds to the face, in the "Dug-Out Field" of his uncle's farm. The Garda Síochána arrested Gleeson on 30 November, claiming he was the father of McCarthy's youngest child, who had recently died in infancy, and that he feared his uncle would disinherit him if he found this out. Gleeson denied any "immoral association" with McCarthy or "hand, act or part" in her murder. He was tried at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin, found guilty on 27 February 1941,{{cite press release |url=http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/PR15000098|title=Minister Fitzgerald announces Government decision to grant a Posthumous Pardon to Harry Gleeson|date=1 April 2015|publisher=Department of Justice and Equality|access-date=2 August 2015}} and sentenced to death.{{cite web|url=http://www.rte.ie/news/primetime/2014/0724/632805-prime-time-24-7-2014-click-here/|title=Hanged Man|date=24 July 2014|work=Prime Time|publisher=RTÉ News|access-date=2 August 2015}} Appeals to the Fianna Fáil government for clemency were rejected, and he was hanged by Thomas Pierrepoint in Mountjoy Prison and buried in the prison yard.

Pardon

Seán MacBride was junior counsel to James Nolan-Whelan in defending Gleeson, and later claimed his opposition to the death penalty was prompted by his certainty that Gleeson was innocent.{{cite news|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/gleeson-case-led-to-campaign-for-abolition-of-capital-punishment-1.343559|title=Gleeson case led to campaign for abolition of capital punishment|last=O Cathaoir|first=Brendan|date=27 December 2001|newspaper=The Irish Times|access-date=2 August 2015}} The Farcical Trial of Harry Gleeson, privately published by Gleeson's friend Bill O'Connor in the 1980s, maintained that Gleeson was framed. The book spurred historian and lawyer Marcus Bourke to write Murder at Marlhill, published in 1993, which offered evidence of Gleeson's innocence.{{cite journal|url=http://www.tipperarylibraries.ie/ths/marcus.htm|title=Marcus Bourke 1927–2010|last=Nolan|first=William|year=2010|journal=Tipperary Historical Journal|publisher=Tipperary Historical Society|access-date=3 August 2015}} Cathal O'Shannon presented a documentary on RTÉ in 1995 based on Bourke's book. The Justice for Harry Gleeson Group was established locally to gather evidence and campaign, and it later contacted the Irish Innocence Project, the Innocence Network's Irish affiliate at Griffith College Dublin.{{cite web|url=https://www.griffith.ie/about-griffith/news/irish-innocence-project-secures-first-pardon|title=Irish Innocence Project Secures First Pardon|publisher=Griffith College Dublin|access-date=2 August 2015}} In 2013 the Irish Innocence Project sent its file to the Department of Justice and Equality. Minister Alan Shatter sent it to Máire Whelan, the Attorney General, who got senior counsel Shane Murphy to review it. Deficiencies in the case were noted:

medical evidence suggested the death was probably on 21 November, when Gleeson had an alibi, whereas the prosecution exaggerated the likelihood that it was on 20 November
failure to call John Ceasar or his wife Brigid as witnesses
the Garda stage-managed a confrontation between Gleeson and two of the McCarthy children to reflect badly on him
failure to introduce the local shotgun register in evidence

Murphy reported that the conviction was based on "unconvincing circumstantial evidence" and recommended a pardon. On 1 April 2015, Shatter's successor as minister, Frances Fitzgerald, announced that the government would direct the President of Ireland to exercise his right to pardon under Article 13.6 of the Constitution of Ireland. President Michael D. Higgins formally signed the pardon order on 19 December 2015. This was presented to Gleeson's family at a ceremony on 13 January 2016.{{cite news|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/harry-gleeson-granted-pardon-over-1941-murder-1.2472693|title=Harry Gleeson granted pardon over 1941 murder|last=O'Brien|first=Tim|date=19 December 2015|newspaper=The Irish Times|access-date=20 December 2015}}{{cite news|url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2016/0113/759656-news-in-brief/|title=News in Brief|date=13 January 2016|work=RTÉ News|pages=Gleeson family receive posthumous pardon|access-date=14 January 2016|no-pp=y}} Some family members complained that the document used "Harry" rather than "Henry" as Gleeson's forename.

Reinterment

Numerous searches were conducted in search of Gleeson's remains with one five-year search failing to recover his remains.{{Cite web |last=Slater |first=Sarah |date=2020-10-04 |title=Search for remains of man who was issued with Ireland’s first posthumous pardon halted |url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-40059215.html |access-date=2024-07-05 |website=Irish Examiner |language=en}} In 2023, it was announced that land at Mountjoy Prison was to be excavated with the aim of recovering the remains of prisoners, including Gleeson.{{Cite web |last=Murray |first=Sean |date=2023-02-10 |title=Mountjoy prison lands to be dug up to find remains of up to 33 prisoners |url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41068697.html |access-date=2024-07-05 |website=Irish Examiner |language=en}} In 2024, the Department of Justice informed the Gleeson family that Harry Gleeson's remains had been positively identified. His funeral notice was posted 83 years after he was hanged.{{Cite web |date=2024-07-04 |title=Harry Gleeson to finally get a proper burial this Sunday as funeral notice goes on RIP.ie 83 years after he was framed for murder |url=https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/crime/harry-gleeson-to-finally-get-a-proper-burial-this-sunday-as-funeral-notice-goes-on-ripie-83-years-after-he-was-framed-for-murder/a1575598953.html |access-date=2024-07-05 |website=Irish Independent |language=en}} It was announced that Gleeson was to be reinterred in Holycross, Co. Tipperary in July 2024.{{Cite web |title=Remains of Harry Gleeson, wrongly executed for murder 83 years ago, to return home to Tipperary |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2024/07/04/remains-of-harry-gleeson-wrongly-executed-for-murder-83-years-ago-to-return-home-to-tipperary/ |access-date=2024-07-05 |website=The Irish Times |language=en}}

Theories

Kieran Fagan believed that Marcus Bourke knew who was responsible for McCarthy's murder and chose not to name the murderer in his 1993 book.{{cite news|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/the-framing-of-harry-gleeson-author-kieran-fagan-on-how-an-innocent-man-was-hanged-1.2183576|title=The Framing of Harry Gleeson author Kieran Fagan on how an innocent man was hanged|last=Fagan|first=Kieran|date=21 April 2015|newspaper=The Irish Times|access-date=2 August 2015}} Fagan, in 2015, published The Framing of Harry Gleeson, which claimed McCarthy was murdered by local Irish Republican Army (IRA) members suspecting that she was an informant for the local Garda sergeant, Anthony Delaney. Fagan suggests Seán MacBride's past as IRA Chief of Staff prevented him from following up this angle.{{cite web|url=http://villagemagazine.ie/index.php/2015/06/sean-macbride-would-not-take-on-ira-involvement-in-murder/|title=Seán MacBride would not take on IRA involvement in murder.|last=Fagan|first=Kieran|date=June 2015|work=Village Magazine|access-date=2 August 2015}} Other possible culprits mentioned by Brendan Ó Cathaoir in 2001 were the Gardaí or the father of the seventh child. Fagan's book caused controversy by naming the alleged fathers of McCarthy's children, many of them married.{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/anger-as-harry-gleeson-book-names-fathers-of-victims-illegitimate-children-31152712.html|title=Anger as Harry Gleeson book names fathers of victim's illegitimate children|date=18 April 2015|work=Irish Independent|access-date=2 August 2015}} Of those, he alleges that one was involved in the murder and others knew that Gleeson was innocent, but were content to have the scandal of their relationship to the victim kept hidden.

Other works

We Are Seven, a 1955 novel based on McCarthy's life, was written by Una Troy, daughter of judge Seán Troy who had kept McCarthy's children with her.{{cite web|url=http://www.irishpost.co.uk/entertainment/eleven-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-killing-of-moll-mccarthy-irelands-most-infamous-murder|title=11 things you didn't know about the killing of Moll McCarthy|last=Fagan|first=Kieran|date=11 May 2015|work=The Irish Post|access-date=2 August 2015}}{{cite book|last=Troy|first=Una|author-link=Una Troy|title=We are Seven. [A novel.]|year=1955|publisher=William Heinemann|location=London|oclc=504617054}}

A 1958 film adaptation, She Didn't Say No, was banned by the Irish Film Censor for immorality.{{cite book|last=Walsh|first=Ian R.|title=Experimental Irish Theatre: After W.B. Yeats|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NDlPwhC6U4wC&pg=PA77|access-date=6 August 2015|date=2012-04-15|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=9780230300958|pages=77–78|chapter=Experiments in Gender: Elizabeth Connor}} Thanks to the European initiative A Season of Classic Films{{Cite book|url=https://ace-film.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/A-Season-of-Classic-Films_Programme-catalogue.pdf|title=A Season of Classic Films: Programme Catalogue|publisher=ACE - Association des Cinémathèques Européennes|year=2020|editor-last=Reizi|editor-first=Paulina|location=Amsterdam, the Netherlands}}{{Cite web|title=A Season of Classic Films|url=https://ace-film.eu/projects/season-of-classics/|access-date=21 April 2021|website=Association des Cinémathèques Européennes (ACE)}} of the Association des Cinémathèques Européennes (ACE), the film has been digitised in early 2021 and made possible to release online with an introduction on the film’s preservation and history.{{Cite web|last=Reizi|first=Paulina|date=12 April 2021|title=A Season of Classic Films: She Didn't Say No!|url=https://ace-film.eu/a-season-of-classic-films-she-didnt-say-no/|access-date=21 April 2021|website=ACE - Association des Cinémathèques Européennes}}

Carlo Gébler's 2011 novel The Dead Eight is also based on the murder case.{{cite news|url=http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/harry-gleeson-a-patsy-for-locals-with-a-secret-324650.html|title=Harry Gleeson a patsy for locals with a secret|last=Clifford|first=Michael|date=18 April 2015|work=Irish Examiner|access-date=2 August 2015|quote=39-year-old victim }}{{cite book|last=Gebler|first=Carlo |title=Dead Eight|year=2011|publisher=New Island|isbn=978-184840-094-8}}

References

=Sources=

{{cite book|last=Bourke|first=Marcus|title=Murder at Marlhill: Was Harry Gleeson Innocent?|year=1993|publisher=Geography Publications|isbn=9780906602232}}
{{cite book |title=The Framing of Harry Gleeson |first=Kieran |last=Fagan |year=2015 |isbn=9781848892460 |publisher=Collins Press |location=Cork }}