Evening star., 1921-03-14
SIX X|R|SHMEN HANG;
10000 ABOUT JAIL
Prayers Fail to Save Con-
victed Prisoners-Hundreds
Burn Candles Along Roads.
By the Associated Press.

Ds the AsSocldteO ffesS.
DUBLIN, March t4.-Six prisoners
convicted of completely with the KILL
ing of British intelligence officers ana
members Of the crown forces in Ire
land were executed in Mount JOY
prison, this city. this morning. Ihe
men were hanged in pairs at inter-
walls Of an hour.
Twenty thousand people gathered
outside the prison during the hours
that the executions were going on.
and all work in the city stopped until
II o'clock. Even the post office was
closed and telegraph service was sus-
pended.
The scene in front Of the prison was
impressive. The crowd began as
sembling at dawn, and by s o'clock
the prison yard was packed. An hour
way leading to the prison and all the
abutting strets. An altar had been
improvised near the prison doors. and
on the walls and trees in the prison
yard sacred images and pictures had
been placed.
Hundreds kneel in Roadway.
Everywhere candles were burned.
scores of persons in the heart of the
dense throng holding them aloft
throughout the long vigil. Here and
there priests or women led in prayers
or hymns, in which every one joined
earnestly. Hundreds kneeling in the
roadway were forced to rise when an
armored car forced it's way through
the crowd. From o'clock this morn
ing it had moved back and forth in front
Of the prison. On the roof Of the Jail.
overlooking the entrance. a cast.iron
sentry box had been erected overnight,
from which a soldier kept careful
watch on the crowd. Two of the men
executed, Patrick Moran and Thomas
Whelan. were charged with completely
in the killing Of intelligence officers
in Dublin on November II last.
Whelan's two brothers are in the
American Army. The other four men
to die, Frank Flood. Bernard Ryan,
Thomas Bryan and Patrick Doyle.
were accused of participating in an
ambush near here in January in which
one member of the attacking party
vas killed.
Not since the executions following the
1916 uprising, with the possible excep-
tion of the hanging Of Keven Barry in
November last for an attack on a mill
tary escort. has Ireland been more pro-
foundly stirred Although o'clock had
been named for the execution of the
first pair. 1t was not until $40 that the
crowd knew the fate Of the prisoners,
At that time the following notice was
posted outside the Jail gates:
1.-THE sentence of the law passed on
Thomas Whalen and Patrick Moran,
found guilty of murder. and on Thomas
Bryan, Patrick Doyle. Frank Flood and
Bernard Ryan. found guilty Of high
treason in levying war. has been carried
into execution"
No hint reached the watching multi
tude Of the grim proceedings going on in
distant wing Of the big prison, but
hourly beginning at o'clock the rosary
was recited. But for a number Of rever-
ent voices and the occasional sob of a
woman. profound silence was main
tanned.
Attend Baby's Funeral.
Shortly after posting of the notice
that the executions had been carried
out the vast gathering dispersed SILENT
ly, many later attending the funeral of
with the other twin in her arm, visited
her husband yesterday to say good bye
Mrs. Bryan, who was taken suddenly
i'll before her husbands sentence was
confirmed, was not told until yesterday
that he was to be executed today. She
was conveyed to the prison Sunday aft
ernoon for a farewell visit. Every
church was crowded at masses cele-
brated after the execution for the re-
pose Of the souls Of the six men.
The atmosphere of the city is rife
opments to follow the hangings. Except
for a few lorry loads Of military, on the
alert with rifles at the ready. there
was conspicuous absence Of crown
forces on the streets today and not an
unarmed soldier was visible.