The Big Read: John Twiss: Hanged for a crime he didn't commit

A BBC series in 2017 on murder mysteries that looked at the case of John Twiss came to the conclusion he was wrongly convicted and hanged for murder. It was time for his family to act, reports Mick Clifford

Denis and Helen Sayers at  John Twiss's monument at Cordal, Castleisland, County Kerry. John Twiss is expected  to receive a posthumouis pardon from President Higgins. Picture: Don MacMonagle

IN THE early hours of April 21, 1894, somebody entered a house occupied by James Donovan intent on murder. The house was in the townland of Glenlara, about 6km from Newmarket, Co Cork.

Donovan would not have been a popular figure. He acted as an agent for landlords, occupying houses from which tenants were evicted until a more permanent solution could be found for the properties.