The first prisoner executed was IRA Captain Cornelius Murphy (aged 30), of the Rathduane Company, Millstreet Battalion, Cork No. 2 Brigade. He was shot by a British firing squad on February 1, 1921. On February 28, six IRA Volunteers were executed, five of whom had been captured in an abortive ambush at Dripsey by the 6th Battalion, Cork No. 1 Brigade. They were Volunteers Patrick O’Mahony Jr (aged 30) of Berrings, Inishcarra; Timothy McCarthy (aged 21), Fornaught, Donoughmore; John Lyons (aged 27), Aghabulloge; Thomas O’Brien (aged 20), Model Village, Dripsey; and Daniel O’Callaghan (aged 22), Dripsey.
After the successful fundraising drive and construction, the unveiling of the memorial and the plaque took place on Sunday, July 11, 1948. A procession with five bands left the Grand Parade at 2pm, arriving at UCC by 4pm when Éamon de Valéra TD (he was no longer Taoiseach) unveiled the memorial plaque on the gaol wall. He then entered the UCC grounds, where he was met by university president, Dr Alfred O’Rahilly, and the registrar, Professor Henry St J. Atkins. The monument was blessed by the Rev. Fr Augustine Hayden OFM Cap. Like other Capuchins, Fr Augustine was closely associated with the republican movement, having ministered to Padraic Pearse and James Connolly after the Easter Rising and officiated Terence and Muriel MacSwiney’s wedding in 1917.
In 1992, three stones were laid on the grass with the names, in English, of those buried in this plot, with place of origin, along with a text: “Here lie the mortal remains of 13 Volunteers of the Irish Republican Army executed by British firing squads in the Cork Military Barracks in 1921 and buried here in what was then a part of the exercise yard of the former Cork County Jail.” The centre stone has a quotation from Padraic Pearse (this is also on the memorial plaque on the gaol wall): “Beidh iomrádh ortha i measc a muinntire cuimhneochaidh an uile ghlún iad agus mórfaid said a n-ainm Pádraig Mac Piarais”. The names of the 13 buried here were inscribed again on the flat stones of the surrounding kerb.
- Margaret Lantry is acting university curator, Heritage Services, Buildings & Estates, UCC
- Maurice Moore: Joined the Volunteers in 1916 and was very active in Cobh. Captured at the battle at Clonmult. Executed on February 28, 1921 — he was 25.
- Paddy O’Sullivan: A classmate of Moore at school, he joined the Volunteers after 1916. Also captured at the battle at Clonmult. Executed on February 28, 1921 — he was 25.
- Patrick O’Mahony: Joined the Volunteers in 1915. Captured by British forces during the battle at Dripsey. Executed on February 28, 1921 — he was 28.
- John Lyons: Joined the Volunteers in 1917. Captured at the battle at Dripsey. Executed on February 28, 1921 — he was 22.
- Thomas O’Brien: Joined the Volunteers in 1920. Captured at the battle at Dripsey. Executed on February 28, 1921 — he was 24.
- Sean Allen: Joined the Volunteers in 1913. Captured by British forces at Kilross. Executed on February 28, 1921 — he was 27.
- Daniel O’Brien: Joined the Volunteers in 1917. Captured by British forces in Liscarrol. Executed on May 16, 1921 — he was 30.
- Patrick Casey: Joined the Volunteers in 1914. Joined the Mid-Limerick Flying Column. Captured by British forces during a fierce battle. Executed on May 2, 1921 — he was 26.
- Timothy McCarthy: Joined the Volunteers at the age of 15. Took part in major activities in the Blarney / Inniscarra area. Captured during the fight at Dripsey. Executed on February 28, 1921 — he was 20.
- Michael Fitzgerald: Joined the Volunteers in 1914. Captured by British forces in 1920 and imprisoned in Cork. Went on hunger strike and died on October, 1920 — he was 39.
- Patrick Ronayne: Joined the Volunteers in 1915. Captured by British forces during the battle at Clonmult. Executed on April 28, 1921 — he was 26.
- Thomas Mulcahy: Joined the Volunteers in 1915. With Ronayne, he was captured at the battle at Clonmult. Executed on April 28, 1921 — he was 25.
- Daniel O’Callaghan: Joined the Volunteers in 1917. Captured at the battle at Dripsey. Executed on February 28, 1921 — he was 19.
- Con Murphy: Joined the Volunteers in 1915. Captured by British forces during a raid in January 1921. Executed on February 1, 1921 — he was 30.
- Joseph Murphy: Joined the Volunteers in 1917. Involved in numerous attacks on British police and military posts. Arrested in July, 1920. Died in October, 1920 after 76 days on hunger strike — he was 25.
- Liam Healy: Joined the IRA in 1918. Captured by Free State forces and executed on March 13, 1923. He was the last person to be executed at Cork Gaol.
- Patrick Mangan: Joined the IRA in 1919. Captured by Free State Forces near Fermoy in 1922. Executed on September, 1922. He was 22.