This article is from page 6 of the 2012-07-24 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
A LOCK of hair belonging to Irish revolutionary hero, Peadar Clancy, has resurfaced – 92 years after the Clareman was shot dead by British soldiers in Dublin Castle.
The hair was presented to relatives of the executed revolutionary in Cranny on Sunday, after spending most of the last hundred years lost in an envelope in America. It was discovered by Irish Historian, Professor Eunan O’Hailpín, who is himself a grandnephew of executed revolution- ary, Kevin Barry.
The hair was given to Professor O’Hailpín by an American relative – who was disposing of a collection of family artifacts from Ireland, and had no idea of the significance of the hair or its owner.
Clare man, Pat Shannon, accepted the hair on behalf of the decedents of family and says that he has no intention of selling the lock of hair to collectors.
“We were shocked when we heard about the hair. This all came from a relation of Kevin Barry’s in America. Kevin Barry had served under Peadar during the War of Independence and when Peadar died a relative of Kevin Barry must have taken the lock of hair from him – along with a lock of Kevin Barry’s own hair,” he said.
“It is incredible for this to come back to us but there was a tradition in those days to take a lock of hair from someone when they died young – as a momento.
“We are certainly going to hold onto this lock of hair ourselves – we wont be selling it on ebay or anything like that. There are a number of descendants of Peadar Clancy still in Clare and our plan would be to use the hair to mark the hundred anniversary of his death here in Cranny.
Peadar Clancy was shot and killed by British soldiers on Bloody Sunday, November 21, 1920, as a reprisal for the murder of a network of British spies by the IRA. Also killed on that day were fellow prisoners Dick McKee and Conor Clune as-well-as 14 people attending a football match at Croke Park.