The Waterbury Democrat., 1940-02-07
Four Executions

Four executioners were inside the priscn, it was learned. Their iden- titles were withheld to protect them from I. R. A. reprisals. It was pre- sumed that there were two eXecu- tioners for each man, as the usual procedure is for the hangman to have an assistant.
 Throughout the night pedestrians in the prison vicinity had been kept moving, and up to 8 a. m. policemen still outnumbered bystanders.
 A plain clothes policeman was aboard every bus and street car ap- preaching the prison.
 Yesterday, at the height of the clamor in Fire for clemency, nSW explosions attributed to the I. R. A. had occurred in London, Birming- ham, Manchester and Liverpool. The bombs were of the balloon type They exploded in the mails.
 Decide On Strike
 At Dublin, the Irish trade unior congress had decided to call a one. hour strike in all manufacturing and industrial plants of Fire, ir protest against the executions, ant was negotiating with union leaders in Britain and Northern Ireland ir an effort to get them to join the strike.
 At Cork, the Barnes Richards re. prieve committee had arranged yes. terday for a mass meeting at thu national monument tonight if tn. executions took place.
 Large crowds of men and womef demonstrated at Dublin last night marching in military formation. Tht city was heavily patroled and the crowds were orderly. The home oi Sir John Maffey. British represen. tative, in Dundim, Dublin County was guarded.
 Innocence Claimed
 The Irish appeals, carried all thu way to British Prime Minister Ne. vile Chamberlain by John Dulanty high commissioner of Fire, had beer based on the grounds that Barne! and Richards were innocent anc that their execution would serious ly injure Irish British relations al time when a settlement of diff. ferences had appeared in sight.
 It was pointed out that many or. ganizationS which had pleaded fol clemency heretofore had strongl, opposed the I. R. A., and that thu tendency to make Martyrs" oI Barnes and Richards would incal. culably increase I. R. A. prestige throughout Fire, and detract iron the power of Prime Minister Eamor DeValera's government, which ha. tried to suppress terrorism in Fire
 Barnes and Richards were con. victed on circumstantial evidenct and one man and two women charg. ed jointly with them were acquit. ted. Richards had admitted pos session of explosives but had denied any connection with the Coventry bombing. Barnes protested his in. r1ocence until the end. He said later am sure 1t will come ouI that I had no hand in the act"
 Captured Immediately
 Richards was captured in1rne. diately after the bombing. BarneI had been arrested, in London thu day before during a police raid thaI netted a large time bomb, believed intended for use in London. Later Barnes was identified as the pur. chaser of the bicycle on which thu Coventry bomb was placed, and c letter was found in his possession written the day before the Coven. try explosion and referring to 1t.
 Richards said after his convic. tion: "As soldier of the I. R. A. I am not afraid to die as I'm dying for just cause"
 The notices posted on the prisol gate read:
 T, John Humphrey, surgeon of hi majesty's prison at Birmingham hereby certify that I this day ex amined the body of (Jarnes Rich ards) (Peter Barnes) on whom tn, judgment of death was this day ex ecuted at said prison and that oa that examination ! found the sait (Jai.ies Richards) s(retef Barnes, dead"
 signed: Humphrey, H. M. Blen' kinsop, iindershefiff of Warwick shire; H. Collinson, prison eovef1 nor: Rev. J. Collins, Roman Oath olic chaplain of the prison"
 The two notices were Identical ex' cept for the names.
 Many View Neslees
 Police allowed several hilndfel per, ,ns to file past the prison gateG . dozen at time and under clos