Presidential Pardons

John Twiss of Castleisland stood trial in 1895 for the murder, in 1894, of James Donovan, a caretaker employed at Glenlara, Co Cork.  Twiss was convicted, and his Speech from the Dock is a powerful inditement of the legal system of the time.  More than 40,000 people signed a warrant for the reprieve of John Twiss but he was hanged in Cork on 9 February 1895.  Castleisland District Heritage successfully campaigned for the Pardon of John Twiss, which was signed by President Michael D Higgins on 16 December 2021.  John Twiss: Judicial Murder in Castleisland with illustrations by Noel Nash was published by Castleisland District Heritage in 2021.  It contains transcriptions of the trial of John Twiss and his Speech from the Dock.

Sylvester Poff of Mountnicholas and James Barrett of Dromultan were tried twice in December 1882 for the murder of farmer Thomas Browne on 3 October 1882.  They were condemned and hanged side by side in Tralee Prison on 23 January 1883, despite a petition for their reprieve, numerously and influentially signed.  Castleisland District Heritage successfully campaigned for the Pardons of Sylvester Poff and James Barrett, which were signed by President Michael D Higgins on 30 October 2024.  Poff and Barrett: A Miscarriage of Justice with illustrations by Noel Nash was published by Castleisland District Heritage in 2021.  Poff and Barrett: A Nineteenth Century Tragedy was published by Castleisland District Heritage in 2024.  Their trials are transcribed in the article, Listen Unto Me: The Trials of Sylvester Poff and James Barrett, in Word and Song on this website.