Anniversary of 1916 executions

Friday, May 3, is the 108th anniversary of the execution of Thomas MacDonagh, one of the leaders of the 1916 Rising.

Thomas, along with Tom Clarke and Patrick Pearse, were executed at dawn by a firing squad in Kilmainham Jail on May 3 in 1916.

In the evening of May 3, Grace Gifford, sister-in-law of Thomas, married 1916 Rising leader Joseph Plunkett in his cell at Kilmainham Jail. Joseph Plunkett was executed by firing squad at dawn on May 4, 1916.

The husbands of the Gifford sisters, Muriel and Grace, were executed within 24 hours of each other.