Thomas Whelan - Arrest and Execution

Arrest and Execution

He was arrested on 23 November 1920 and, on 1 February 1921, he was charged with the death by shooting of Captain G.T. Baggelly, an army prosecutor under the Restoration of Order in Ireland Regulations on Bloody Sunday (1920). Whelan was defended at his court martial by Michael Noyk, through whom he protested his innocence of the charges. As in the case of Patrick Moran there was eye witness evidence that Whelan had been at Mass at the time the shooting took place. The prosecution cast doubt on the reliability of the eye witnesses, arguing that as Catholics they were not neutral. The defence complained that it was unfair to suggest the witnesses "were prepared to come up and perjure themselves on behalf of the prisoner", because "they belonged to a certain class and might hold certain political opinions". The court did, however, trust the evidence of an army officer who lived in the same house as Baggelly and who had idenfied Whelan as the man covering him with a revolver during the raid. There was also testimony by a soldier who had passed by the house when he heard shots fired. This witness said he saw Whelan outside, attempting to start his motorcycle. Whelan was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death. He was hanged at 6.00 am along with Patrick Moran, the first of six men to be executed that day. A crowd estimated at 40,000 gathered outside the prison to pray as the executions took place.