Shot Mullingar policeman honoured on new Dublin plaque

A commemorative plaque was recently unveiled at Farrington’s, East Essex Street by Dublin Lord Mayor, Gerry Breen to mark the launch of “Shadow of the Brotherhood: The Temple Bar Shootings” - a new true crime story written by Meath author Barry Kennerk and published by Mercier Press.The plaque honours the memories of two unarmed members of the Dublin Metropolitan Police who were shot in the locality on a foggy, gas-lit night on 31 October 1867.The youngest man was a 24-year-old Mullingar Constable named Patrick Keena. The second was Sergeant Stephen Kelly (aged 35) from Monasterevin.Both were shot by a Fenian splinter group - a squad that was responsible for twelve high-profile shootings between 1866 and 1871.The story is a tragic one, Mr. Kennerk told the Westmeath Examiner this week, as he spoke of young Keena. who came from the Ballyglass area of town.“(Patrick) was the sole supporter of his parents and his sister,” Mr. Kennerk found.The funeral for Constable Keena was massive: “In the mourning coach were his parents, his sister, and an aunt, and the cortege was so long that as they bottom was coming over O’Connell Bridge, the top was still turning into Parnell Square,” says Mr. Kennerk, adding that there was a large presence of mounted officers present for the funeral.“There were so few officers left to police the streets that they had to bring in reserve officers.“They brought the hearse up to Broadstone, and from there then to Mullingar, and there was a great report in the Westmeath Guardian that gives an account of the funeral itself.”The funeral coincided with an annual two-day fair in Mullingar, and it took place on Sunday November 10 1867, the Feast of the Blessed Virgin.Somewhat surprisingly, Constable Keena was buried at the Church of Ireland cemetery at Lynn, Mullingar, although the family lived at Ballyglass. That said, there was no cemetery at Ballyglass at that time.“I have traced the family back to Lynn: they lived there in the 1840s,” says Mr. Kennerk, adding that the young constable’s father, John, was a member of the Tenant Rights’ Association.“When they arrived at the cemetery gates, it was a real foggy evening, and the mother hadn’t seen her son’s face, because she hadn’t gone up to the hospital when he was dying, so she persuaded the people with the coffin to let her see him, and it was opened in candlelight.”Mr. Kennerk, who came to Mullingar several times as he put the story together, was disappointed not to be able to identify Constable Kelly’s grave at Lynn, although he was delighted when he did, eventually, find the graveyard itself.The killing of Constable Keena and Sergeant Kelly attracted major attention at the time, and in fact, the then Lord Mayor of Dublin raised funds for the families of the two deceased man.A few weeks ago, Mr. Kennerk put out an appeal on radio, hoping to find someone who might be a descendant of the Keena family’s, and has come across some potential leads.A psot graduate student at St. Patrick’s College in Dublin, Mr. Kennerk said he received invaluable help from Westmeath County Library’s Gretta Connell in carrying out his research.PlaqueSpeaking at the unveiling of the plaque in Dublin, the Lord Mayor said that ‘not only does the plaque which Mr Kennerk has commissioned contribute in a very significant way to the history of Temple Bar; it also complements the 1905 Burgh Quay monument erected to the memory of Constable Patrick Sheehan. In the wake of recent events to honour our Irish First World War dead, it is wholly appropriate that we call to mind other forgotten countrymen and women - none of whom are any less worthy of remembrance.’ He thanked a number of contributors to the project including the owner of the Smith Group, Mr T.P. Smith, Glasnevin Monument Works and Drumkil Partitions Ltd.Mr Kennerk who commissioned the plaque said that one of the things he discovered when writing Shadow of the Brotherhood was that the forces of the crown - fellow Irish men and women - were often vilified in their own time. He added that ‘the unveiling aims to demonstrate the hard won nature of Irish independence’ and that it was ‘particularly fitting that the occasion was distinguished by the presence of the Lord Mayor whose office does not represent just one part of the community but is fully inclusive of all Irish citizens’.• Shadow of the Brotherhood: The Temple Bar Shootings is published by Mercier Press, and is currently on sale nationwide.