Thomas Kent
Thomas Kent (
1865 –
May 9,
1916) was an
Irish nationalist executed following a gunfight with the
Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) on April 22, 1916.
Kent was part of a prominent nationalist family in Castlelyons,
County Cork. They were prepared to take part in the
Easter Rising, but when the mobilization order was countermanded, they stayed home. The rising nevertheless went forward in
Dublin, and the RIC was sent to arrest well-known sympathizers throughout the country (including, but not limited to, known members of the
Irish Republican Brotherhood,
Sinn Féin, and the
Irish Volunteers). When the Kent residence at Bawnard House was raided they were met with resistance from Thomas and his brothers Richard, David, and William. A gunfight lasted for four hours, in which an RIC officer was killed and David was seriously wounded. Eventually the Kents were forced to surrender, although Richard made a last minute dash for freedom and was fatally wounded.
Thomas and William were tried by
court martial. William was acquitted, but Thomas was sentenced to death and
executed by firing squad on May 9, 1916. Apart from the singular case of
Roger Casement, Thomas Kent was the only person outside of Dublin to be executed for his role in the events of
Easter Week.
The main train station in
Cork,
Kent Station was named after Thomas Kent.
