Henry ‘Harry’ Gleeson, a man who was wrongly convicted and executed for the murder of Moll McCarthy, has finally been brought home 83 years after his death. Harry’s family spent years trying to clear his name and in 2015, he became the first person to receive a posthumous pardon from the Irish government. The body of Harry Gleeson was exhumed from Mountjoy Prison in Dublin in January 2024 and returned to his family.
A government review of the case was conducted following pressure from justice campaigners and Mr Gleeson’s family. It revealed that police and prosecutors had withheld crucial evidence from the trial. The review determined that Mr Gleeson was convicted and executed “as a result of a case based on unconvincing circumstantial evidence”.
Harry’s grand-nephew, Kevin Gleeson, expressed his family’s excitement regarding the return of Harry’s body, stating that it was a long and emotional day. He added that “The feeling of the day—the many people that worked on this to get Harry’s name exonerated—that day was brilliant”. However, the process of bringing Harry home was a costly one and took eight years of meetings with the Republic of Ireland’s Department of Justice (DoJ) to begin.
After the DNA processing confirmed the remains of Harry Gleeson, the family held a funeral at Holycross Abbey and he was buried at St Mary’s Cemetery. The ceremony happened 83 years after his execution by the Irish state. For Harry’s family, this was closure and the end to Harry’s story
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