Ireland

Remains of Harry Gleeson, wrongly executed for murder 83 years ago, to return home to Tipperary

Gleeson was jailed for murder of Mary ‘Moll’ McCarthy in 1940 but pardoned by State in 2015

Last week, the Department of Justice informed Mr Gleeson’s family his remains had been positively identified in a burial area within Mountjoy Prison.

Sarah Slater
Thu Jul 4 2024 - 19:33

Eighty-three years after being wrongly convicted for the murder of a mother-of-seven, Harry Gleeson is to be reinterred in his native Tipperary.

He had found the body of Mary “Moll” McCarthy lying in a field on his uncle’s farm in New Inn, Co Tipperary in 1940 and was convicted the following year.

He was granted a posthumous pardon by the State in 2015. He had always protested his innocence.

Last week, the Department of Justice informed Gleeson’s family his remains had been positively identified in a burial area within Mountjoy Prison.

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Tom Gleeson, a nephew and closest surviving relative of Gleeson along with his son Kevin will travel to Mountjoy on Friday to bring his remains back for a private wake in Galbertstown where he grew-up. His funeral mass will take place on Sunday at Holycross Abbey.

[ How Harry Gleeson was wrongly hanged for murder in 1941 ]

The 38-year-old, who was a popular hurler and fiddle player, was executed in Mountjoy in April 1941, for the murder of McCarthy.

His wrongful conviction and the death of McCarthy became the subject of several books and a documentary.

Ahead of his reinterment the Gleeson family said: “Having languished in an unmarked grave in Mountjoy Prison for 83 years wrongly convicted and hanged for a murder in which he had neither hand, act or part, Harry’s remains can finally rest in peace having been declared an entirely innocent man.”

An American pathologist helped prove McCarthy’s time of death coincided with a time Gleeson had an alibi for.

He was granted the pardon after the re-examination of a large amount of information relating to his case.

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