Stephen Hayes (Irish republican)
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Stephen Hayes (26 December 1902 – 28 December 1974) was a member and leader of the Irish Republican Army from April 1939 to June 1941.
Early life
Hayes was born in Enniscorthy, County Wexford.[1] During the Irish War of Independence, he was commandant of the Wexford Brigade of Fianna Éireann. He took the Anti-Treaty side during the Irish Civil War, during which he was interned.[1] During the 1936 legislative period of the 8th Dáil Hayes was one of two candidates representing the Irish republican political party Cumann Poblachta na hÉireann. In the Wexford by-election and polled a 2.85 percent share of the vote.[2]
Hayes was active in Gaelic Athletic Association circles in Wexford. In 1925, he helped Wexford win the Leinster Senior Football title. He also served as secretary to the county board for ten years, from the 1920s to 1930s.[1]
IRA activities
Hayes joined the IRA and was on the
).When
As IRA Chief of Staff, Hayes sent a plan for the invasion of Northern Ireland by German troops to Germany in April 1940. This plan later became known as Plan Kathleen. He is also known to have met with German agent Hermann Görtz on 21 May 1940 in Dublin shortly after the latter's parachuting into Ireland on 5 May 1940 as part of Operation Mainau. Hayes is known to have asked Görtz for money and arms to wage a campaign in Northern Ireland but Gortz was reluctant to provide funds.[8] Shortly after this meeting the original Plan Kathleen was discovered. The discovery of the plan led to the acceleration of joint British and Irish military planning for a German invasion known as Plan W.[9]
On 15 August 1940 Hayes organized meeting of senior IRA men at an address on Rathgar Road, Dublin (Hayes was not in attendance). The meeting was raided by police and resulted in a gun battle in which two Detectives were killed and one wounded. Senior IRA men
On 30 June 1941, Northern-based IRA men kidnapped Hayes, accusing him of being a spy for the Irish Free State government.
Hayes was later sentenced to five years' imprisonment by the Special Criminal Court on account of his IRA activities.[1] Upon his release and until his death Hayes held that his confession was fiction, made under duress and torture. The controversy surrounding the confession of Hayes was never authoritatively settled.[18]
Within IRA circles, Hayes is still considered a traitor and an informer.
Later life
After his release, Hayes resumed his clerical position at Wexford County Council.
He died in Enniscorthy on 28 December 1974.
See also
- IRA Abwehr World War II- Main article on IRA Abwehr links
References
- ^ a b c d "Stephen Hayes dies at 71", Irish Independent, 30 December 1974.
- ^ Donnelly (1 April 2022). By Election 35: 17 August 1936 (Report). ElectionsIreland.org. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
- ^ "McCaughey's Doom". Time Magazine. U.S.: Time Publishers. 29 September 1941. Archived from the original on 3 June 2008. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
- ^ Carolan, Thomas (15 August 2004). "The IRA's All Time Low". Workers Liberty. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
- ISBN 1-56000-901-2.
- ISBN 978-0312294168.
- ^ MacEoin, Uinseann (1997), The IRA in the twilight years 1923-1948, Argenta Publications, Dublin, pg 438, ISBN 0951117246
- ^ Dempsey, Pauric (October 2009). "Hayes, Stephen". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Royal Irish Academy. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
- ^ Fisk, Robert (1983) In Time of War, Ireland , Ulster and the Price of Neutrality 1939-45, University of Pennsylvania Press, pg 150, ISBN 0-8122-7888-7
- ^ High Court and Supreme Court Re: McGrath and Harte [1941] Irish Reports 68
- ^ Clark, Richard. "20th century executions in the Irish Republic (Eire)". capitalpunishmentuk. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
- ^ Irish Republican Army (10 September 1941). "Special Communiqué issued by the army council regarding Stephen Hayes conspiring with the Irish Free State Government". pg 3 (Interview). Eoin O'Duffy Papers: National Library of Ireland. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
- ^ MacEoin, pg 518
- ^ MacEoin, pg 446
- ^ Dempsey
- ISBN 9781848891166
- ^ "The Forgotten Hunger Strikes". hungerstrikes.org. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
- ^ Dempsey, Pauric (n.d.). "Hayes, Stephen". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
- ^ Bower Bell, pg. 211.