State funeral for Kent a politically inspired stunt

The execution of Thomas Kent on May 9, 1916, was a crude exercise in propaganda, far removed from the moral force of the scales of justice, on the part of Major General JG Maxwell, the military governor at a time when the civil governance of the country was in a state of chaotic dissolution.

It is also hard to be persuaded that the proposal to grant Kent, a 51-year old unmarried man who was not involved in the Rising, a State funeral is not a politically inspired propaganda stunt with an eye to getting out the local vote in the general election.

The charges faced by Kent, in a hastily convened drumhead court martial presided over by Major RGA Jeffreys were similar to the charges levied at those executed in Dublin — ‘that he did take part in an armed rebellion for the purpose of assisting the enemy’.