Anyone reading about the history of the IRA will soon come
across The Manchester Martyrs. They were three Irish Nationals who murdered an
English policeman called Charles Brett (they were hanged for it.) Here I am at the
final resting places of all four men.
The
Manchester Martyrs (William Allen, Michael Larkin and Michael O'Brien) were
part of the Fenians (which would become the IRA.) Two
leaders of the Fenians were being transported to Belle
Vue Gaol and The Manchester Martyrs planned to stop
the prison van and free them. It didn't worked out as planned: on 18th
September 1867 the police and their horses were passing under a railway arch
when they were suddenly surrounded by about forty men. A horse was shot and the
unarmed police escort fled. The group shouted for the two Fenians
to be released. An unarmed policeman, Sergeant Charles Brett, was in the van
and he refused to open the door. The horde set upon the van with sledgehammers,
hatchets and crowbars but couldn’t open the door. As a terrified Charles peered
through the keyhole he was shot through one eye and died instantly. The keys
were passed out and the two Fenians leaders climbed
out through a roof ventilator (they fled to America.)
Within
months The Manchester Martyrs were caught. They were brought to trial,
sentenced to death hanged outside New Bailey Prison in Salford and buried there.
When New Bailey Prison closed in 1868 the three bodies were dug up and moved to
the cemetery in the much bigger Strangeways Prison
Cemetery 1.2 miles away. They remained there for over a century. In 1991 the
remains were cremated and buried at Blackley Cemetery in Manchester. Since that
day Irish Nationalists have been trying to have the ashes brought back to
Ireland for a proper burial.
In chronological order here're photos of the
locations related to this murderous tale...
Location 1 : Ambush
I’m by the bridge where the ambush took place as
prisoners were escorted from a court in Manchester to Bell Vue
Gaol. The road is one of the arterial routes straight into the city. You
wouldn’t stop here until you were a curious geek like me or worked in one of
the near industries. I’m sure the surroundings were more rural when Charles was
shot - the road would have been cobbled and it would be have been populated by
blacksmiths and alehouses.
Location 2 : Charles Brett's grave
The cemetery where policeman Charles is buried
lies in Harpurhey, a threadbare district of
Manchester. I found the headstone after about fifteen minutes - on its back
with a crack through its length. I thought it odd that other headstones were
still standing yet this one wasn’t….mmmm. Nobody had
been to this grave for a while as there was a light carpet of leaves over it. I
brushed them off and read the words. When Charles was trapped in the police van
and the horde tried to prise open the doors he refused to give up the keys and
shouted, “I dare not, I must
do my duty”. These words are on the headstone.
How many people have walked by the nearby path with
no knowledge of the cop who died with a bullet through the brain? I spent about
fifteen minutes by the grave and if someone has passed and enquired if the
grave was of note I’d have told them about the sad tale. Nobody passed by.
Charles
was 52 when he died and left behind a wife and four children. He’s resting with
his dad, wife Mary and two granddaughters. During the late 1980s and the early
1990s the masons of Harpurhey held a parade at the
grave-side and a wreath was laid.
Unfortunately the lodge doesn’t exist anymore.
Location 3 : Gaol where
the three Irishmen were tried, hanged and buried
The
site of the prison in Salford where the three murderers were held, hanged and
buried. Eight to ten thousand people turned out to see them hang until no
breath was left in their bodies. William Calcraft was
the hangman and was nervous about this job (he’d executed about 450 people) as
he’d received death threats. Allen died quickly of a broken neck but the other
two were not so lucky. Calcraft had to rush down into
the pit to the twitching bodies. He killed Larkin by pulling on the dangling
legs to hasten strangulation. However the three Roman Catholic priests in attendance
forbade O’Brien to be dealt with so compassionately. One priest held the dying man’s
hand until he died. Despite his praying it took about forty-five minutes before
death ensued.
New
Bailey Gaol was proved to be too small for Manchester’s ever-growing hub of
criminals and the bigger Strangeways prison was
built. The site has been recently excavated (to reveal tiny cells) and yet
another high-rise block is about to bury history forever. The three murderers
were buried here in lime and then transferred to...
Location 4 : The prison
where they bodies were moved to
Strangeways Prison where the three bodies lay buried
for over 120 years. This prison opened in 1868 the population of about 1300 men
holds many Category “A” prisoners. Here the world’s fastest hanging took place
in 1951, just seven seconds passing from the time the prisoner was removed from
his cell to the moment that the trapdoor opened.
The
streets around the prison are a little frightening and some businesses around
there have high wire fencing all around them. I noticed most of the business
are hosiery importers/exporters. I saw two groups of tramps sat on low walls
sharing (probably) cider/meths. I walked down to the
front of the prison and visitor time was obviously over as scores of people
were just leaving. One baby-doll blonde lady in an all-in-one curvy cat-suit
had obviously dressed for titivation.
It
was only in August 1964 the last hanging occurred here.
Location 5 : where the
Irishmen were finally cremated and buried
Finally
I visited Blackley Crematorium which as a fairly vast. The remains of the three
murderers were dug up when Strangeways was extended.
The pitiful remains were cremated and buried together on a nice bit of grass
displaying neat rows of graves. As they been buried twice (once in lime so
they’d decompose faster) over 120 years ago I doubt there was much to cremate. Whether
the ashes are still here now is unknown. Would Irish Nationalists take them
home now they’re in a public place and accessible?
1. The ambush happened
here (and Charles Brett was murdered)...
2. Charles Brett
was buried here…
3. The Manchester
Martyrs were hanged outside New Bailey Prison which stood here. They were also
buried here…
The prison was over the wall shown…
These
men were considered martyrs for the cause and so profoundly revered back home
in Ireland that two weeks after their hangings a “funeral” was held in Dublin.
Can you believe that sixty thousand people followed three empty hearses to Glasnevin Cemetery?
The hangings were carried around
here somewhere (exact spot unknown)…
4. When the
prison closed down the bodies were transferred to Strangeways
Prison graveyard where they remained for over 120 years…
5. The Irishmen
were finally cremated at Blackley Crematorium and their
ashes were interred in the grounds...
The crematorium where the remains
were turned to dust…