A STATE funeral will be held for Irish rebel Thomas Kent – almost a century after his death.
Kent was executed in the aftermath of the 1916 Rising in Cork, one of just two of the 16 men executed not to be killed in Dublin.
His remains were exhumed and identified in Cork Prison in June – and the Taoiseach offered his family a state funeral.
Kent was executed by firing squad on May 9, 1916 in the grounds of the prison.
His legacy has been recognised in his native county, with Cork City’s train station named after his 50 years after his death, in 1966.
A state funeral with full military honours will take place in Castlelyons, Co. Cork, where Kent lived on September 18.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny said: “The Government is very glad to offer this honour of a State funeral in memory of the sacrifice of the late Thomas Kent.”
“Thomas Kent was one of many young men who, in pursuit of the goal of Irish freedom, paid the ultimate sacrifice.”
Members of Kent’s family have expressed their gratitude to the Government that their famous relative can finally be buried with his family, almost 100 years after his death.
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