A TIPPERARY man hanged in 1941 looks set to become the first person in Irish history to receive a posthumous pardon from the State.
Harry Gleeson was just 38 years of age when, on April 23, 1941, he became one of the last people in Ireland to be executed.
A few months prior to his untimely death, Harry came across the murdered body of Mary “Moll” McCarthy in a field in his hometown of New Inn.
She had been shot twice in the face.
He went straight to the local gardaí to report the gruesome discovery, only to find himself imprisoned in connection with her death soon after.
It has emerged, however, that the prosecution at the time withheld information about a gun register at the time, which may have cleared Harry of the charges.
It was also revealed that the gardaí encouraged witnesses to testify with false information.
Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald will bring a formal memo to the Dáil in the coming weeks, recommending that Michael D. Higgins issues a pardon to Harry Gleeson.
The move will be welcomed by Harry’s family. His nephew and great-nephew have spearheaded the Justice for Harry Gleeson group, campaigning for a state pardon for several years now.
Though the pardon is not set in stone yet, the move by the Minister for Justice is the furthest the group has gotten their case to travel.
The emergence of fresh evidence is the work of the Irish Innocence Project at Griffith College in Dublin, which has about 25 ongoing projects.
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