+ + +
Ainm Gaeilge:
Tomás Ó Laihim
Conradh na Gaeilge
also
Irish Republican Brotherhood
also
Irish Republican Army
5th Dublin Fingal Brigade
Chun an nglóir Dé agus an onóir na hÉireann
Thomas is one of 12 children of Thomas & Catherine (née Kavanagh) Hand. Born in the neighboring town of Lusk, he was raised in Skerries, where his father was a farmer.
It has been said of Thomas Hand that he "was a man of vision and determination". His vision was a free and united Ireland and his determination came in the form of joining the soldiers engaged in the armed fight to rid Ireland of the pestilence of her enemy occupier.
For employment, he engaged in the manual labor available to the oppressed in a country occupied by a hostile enemy: he was a farm worker, railway worker and a baker.
Beginning as a young man, he was active in Conradh na Gaeilge (the Gaelic League) which encouraged the Irish language and Irish customs. Conradh na Gaeilge formed the backbone of the Republican movement in the greater Skerries region and led to his joining the Irish Volunteers.
He was a north county Dublin leader of the Irish Transport and General Workers Union which was founded in 1909 by Irish patriot James Larkin. The symbol chosen for the logo of the ITGWU was the Red Hand of Ulster.
As part of the Easter Rising Thomas Hand fought valiantly at the Battle of Ashbourne under the command of Thomas Ashe & Dick Mulchay. After the glorious rebellion, Hand was captured and sent in chains to Frognoch Internment Camp in Wales, a Prisoner of War. After his release, he returned home, picked up his weapon and resumed the fight for a free and united Ireland.
Despite having a growing young family in Skerries, despite being a man in the native village of his own country, he was often on the run, sleeping in safe houses. This was forced upon him as the enemy tried to hunt down and arrest or kill the Freedom Fighters of the Irish Republican Army.
In 1920, the enemy attempts to kill and terrorize the people of Ireland reached a new low when the very dregs of England's slums and institutions were scraped clean of their filth, dressed in mismatched uniforms, given weapons and sent to Ireland.
On the night of December 5th, a group of these sanctioned, murderous, criminals, called the bloody black and tans, raided the Hand home on Balstrana Lane while Thomas lay sleeping. He was grabbed out back of his home and shot in the head. There he was left, crumpled in a pool of blood, his wife now a widow, his little children now fatherless.
None of the murderers were charged with the war crimes they were guilty of.
✞ Thomas Hand is buried at Baldungan Castle Graveyard. The fight for which he gave his life, a free and united Ireland, continues to this day.
also
✞ Skerries Republican Martyrs Memorial
Holmpatrick Graveyard, Skerries
In addition to his own gravesite, Thomas Hand is honored & remembered, along with fellow Skerries Irish Republican Army soldiers John McGowan & John Sherlock, on a monument erected in 1952. The Skerries War of Independence Memorial, also known as the Hand McGowan Sherlock Memorial, is located at Holmpatrick Graveyard in Thomas' native Skerries. All 3 Republican patriots lost their lives during the fight for a free & united Ireland, a fight that continues to this day.
also
✞ Thomas Hand Street
Skerries, Ireland
In the 1940's, Thomas's home townland of Skerries honored her native son, the War of Independence Irish Republican Army hero, by renaming the street near his family's Baltrasna Lane home "Thomas Hand Street".
also
✞ Baltrasna Lane Memorial
Baltrasna Lane, Skerries, Co. Dublin
83 years after his murder by criminals, I.R.A. Hero Thomas Hand was honored anew when a black, polished granite plaque was unveiled at the end of Baltrasna Lane, the street where his home was and his cold blooded murder was committed. Two of his now elderly children, Betty & Thomas, no more than babies when thugs left them fatherless, were still alive, still local to Skerries.
The Inscription reads:
THOMAS HAND
Irish Volunteer
Shot By British Forces
Nearby
5th Dec. 1920
Ainm Gaeilge:
Tomás Ó Laihim
Conradh na Gaeilge
also
Irish Republican Brotherhood
also
Irish Republican Army
5th Dublin Fingal Brigade
Chun an nglóir Dé agus an onóir na hÉireann
Thomas is one of 12 children of Thomas & Catherine (née Kavanagh) Hand. Born in the neighboring town of Lusk, he was raised in Skerries, where his father was a farmer.
It has been said of Thomas Hand that he "was a man of vision and determination". His vision was a free and united Ireland and his determination came in the form of joining the soldiers engaged in the armed fight to rid Ireland of the pestilence of her enemy occupier.
For employment, he engaged in the manual labor available to the oppressed in a country occupied by a hostile enemy: he was a farm worker, railway worker and a baker.
Beginning as a young man, he was active in Conradh na Gaeilge (the Gaelic League) which encouraged the Irish language and Irish customs. Conradh na Gaeilge formed the backbone of the Republican movement in the greater Skerries region and led to his joining the Irish Volunteers.
He was a north county Dublin leader of the Irish Transport and General Workers Union which was founded in 1909 by Irish patriot James Larkin. The symbol chosen for the logo of the ITGWU was the Red Hand of Ulster.
As part of the Easter Rising Thomas Hand fought valiantly at the Battle of Ashbourne under the command of Thomas Ashe & Dick Mulchay. After the glorious rebellion, Hand was captured and sent in chains to Frognoch Internment Camp in Wales, a Prisoner of War. After his release, he returned home, picked up his weapon and resumed the fight for a free and united Ireland.
Despite having a growing young family in Skerries, despite being a man in the native village of his own country, he was often on the run, sleeping in safe houses. This was forced upon him as the enemy tried to hunt down and arrest or kill the Freedom Fighters of the Irish Republican Army.
In 1920, the enemy attempts to kill and terrorize the people of Ireland reached a new low when the very dregs of England's slums and institutions were scraped clean of their filth, dressed in mismatched uniforms, given weapons and sent to Ireland.
On the night of December 5th, a group of these sanctioned, murderous, criminals, called the bloody black and tans, raided the Hand home on Balstrana Lane while Thomas lay sleeping. He was grabbed out back of his home and shot in the head. There he was left, crumpled in a pool of blood, his wife now a widow, his little children now fatherless.
None of the murderers were charged with the war crimes they were guilty of.
✞ Thomas Hand is buried at Baldungan Castle Graveyard. The fight for which he gave his life, a free and united Ireland, continues to this day.
also
✞ Skerries Republican Martyrs Memorial
Holmpatrick Graveyard, Skerries
In addition to his own gravesite, Thomas Hand is honored & remembered, along with fellow Skerries Irish Republican Army soldiers John McGowan & John Sherlock, on a monument erected in 1952. The Skerries War of Independence Memorial, also known as the Hand McGowan Sherlock Memorial, is located at Holmpatrick Graveyard in Thomas' native Skerries. All 3 Republican patriots lost their lives during the fight for a free & united Ireland, a fight that continues to this day.
also
✞ Thomas Hand Street
Skerries, Ireland
In the 1940's, Thomas's home townland of Skerries honored her native son, the War of Independence Irish Republican Army hero, by renaming the street near his family's Baltrasna Lane home "Thomas Hand Street".
also
✞ Baltrasna Lane Memorial
Baltrasna Lane, Skerries, Co. Dublin
83 years after his murder by criminals, I.R.A. Hero Thomas Hand was honored anew when a black, polished granite plaque was unveiled at the end of Baltrasna Lane, the street where his home was and his cold blooded murder was committed. Two of his now elderly children, Betty & Thomas, no more than babies when thugs left them fatherless, were still alive, still local to Skerries.
The Inscription reads:
THOMAS HAND
Irish Volunteer
Shot By British Forces
Nearby
5th Dec. 1920
+ + +
Ainm Gaeilge:
Tomás Ó Laihim
Conradh na Gaeilge
also
Irish Republican Brotherhood
also
Irish Republican Army
5th Dublin Fingal Brigade
Chun an nglóir Dé agus an onóir na hÉireann
Thomas is one of 12 children of Thomas & Catherine (née Kavanagh) Hand. Born in the neighboring town of Lusk, he was raised in Skerries, where his father was a farmer.
It has been said of Thomas Hand that he "was a man of vision and determination". His vision was a free and united Ireland and his determination came in the form of joining the soldiers engaged in the armed fight to rid Ireland of the pestilence of her enemy occupier.
For employment, he engaged in the manual labor available to the oppressed in a country occupied by a hostile enemy: he was a farm worker, railway worker and a baker.
Beginning as a young man, he was active in Conradh na Gaeilge (the Gaelic League) which encouraged the Irish language and Irish customs. Conradh na Gaeilge formed the backbone of the Republican movement in the greater Skerries region and led to his joining the Irish Volunteers.
He was a north county Dublin leader of the Irish Transport and General Workers Union which was founded in 1909 by Irish patriot James Larkin. The symbol chosen for the logo of the ITGWU was the Red Hand of Ulster.
As part of the Easter Rising Thomas Hand fought valiantly at the Battle of Ashbourne under the command of Thomas Ashe & Dick Mulchay. After the glorious rebellion, Hand was captured and sent in chains to Frognoch Internment Camp in Wales, a Prisoner of War. After his release, he returned home, picked up his weapon and resumed the fight for a free and united Ireland.
Despite having a growing young family in Skerries, despite being a man in the native village of his own country, he was often on the run, sleeping in safe houses. This was forced upon him as the enemy tried to hunt down and arrest or kill the Freedom Fighters of the Irish Republican Army.
In 1920, the enemy attempts to kill and terrorize the people of Ireland reached a new low when the very dregs of England's slums and institutions were scraped clean of their filth, dressed in mismatched uniforms, given weapons and sent to Ireland.
On the night of December 5th, a group of these sanctioned, murderous, criminals, called the bloody black and tans, raided the Hand home on Balstrana Lane while Thomas lay sleeping. He was grabbed out back of his home and shot in the head. There he was left, crumpled in a pool of blood, his wife now a widow, his little children now fatherless.
None of the murderers were charged with the war crimes they were guilty of.
✞ Thomas Hand is buried at Baldungan Castle Graveyard. The fight for which he gave his life, a free and united Ireland, continues to this day.
also
✞ Skerries Republican Martyrs Memorial
Holmpatrick Graveyard, Skerries
In addition to his own gravesite, Thomas Hand is honored & remembered, along with fellow Skerries Irish Republican Army soldiers John McGowan & John Sherlock, on a monument erected in 1952. The Skerries War of Independence Memorial, also known as the Hand McGowan Sherlock Memorial, is located at Holmpatrick Graveyard in Thomas' native Skerries. All 3 Republican patriots lost their lives during the fight for a free & united Ireland, a fight that continues to this day.
also
✞ Thomas Hand Street
Skerries, Ireland
In the 1940's, Thomas's home townland of Skerries honored her native son, the War of Independence Irish Republican Army hero, by renaming the street near his family's Baltrasna Lane home "Thomas Hand Street".
also
✞ Baltrasna Lane Memorial
Baltrasna Lane, Skerries, Co. Dublin
83 years after his murder by criminals, I.R.A. Hero Thomas Hand was honored anew when a black, polished granite plaque was unveiled at the end of Baltrasna Lane, the street where his home was and his cold blooded murder was committed. Two of his now elderly children, Betty & Thomas, no more than babies when thugs left them fatherless, were still alive, still local to Skerries.
The Inscription reads:
THOMAS HAND
Irish Volunteer
Shot By British Forces
Nearby
5th Dec. 1920
Ainm Gaeilge:
Tomás Ó Laihim
Conradh na Gaeilge
also
Irish Republican Brotherhood
also
Irish Republican Army
5th Dublin Fingal Brigade
Chun an nglóir Dé agus an onóir na hÉireann
Thomas is one of 12 children of Thomas & Catherine (née Kavanagh) Hand. Born in the neighboring town of Lusk, he was raised in Skerries, where his father was a farmer.
It has been said of Thomas Hand that he "was a man of vision and determination". His vision was a free and united Ireland and his determination came in the form of joining the soldiers engaged in the armed fight to rid Ireland of the pestilence of her enemy occupier.
For employment, he engaged in the manual labor available to the oppressed in a country occupied by a hostile enemy: he was a farm worker, railway worker and a baker.
Beginning as a young man, he was active in Conradh na Gaeilge (the Gaelic League) which encouraged the Irish language and Irish customs. Conradh na Gaeilge formed the backbone of the Republican movement in the greater Skerries region and led to his joining the Irish Volunteers.
He was a north county Dublin leader of the Irish Transport and General Workers Union which was founded in 1909 by Irish patriot James Larkin. The symbol chosen for the logo of the ITGWU was the Red Hand of Ulster.
As part of the Easter Rising Thomas Hand fought valiantly at the Battle of Ashbourne under the command of Thomas Ashe & Dick Mulchay. After the glorious rebellion, Hand was captured and sent in chains to Frognoch Internment Camp in Wales, a Prisoner of War. After his release, he returned home, picked up his weapon and resumed the fight for a free and united Ireland.
Despite having a growing young family in Skerries, despite being a man in the native village of his own country, he was often on the run, sleeping in safe houses. This was forced upon him as the enemy tried to hunt down and arrest or kill the Freedom Fighters of the Irish Republican Army.
In 1920, the enemy attempts to kill and terrorize the people of Ireland reached a new low when the very dregs of England's slums and institutions were scraped clean of their filth, dressed in mismatched uniforms, given weapons and sent to Ireland.
On the night of December 5th, a group of these sanctioned, murderous, criminals, called the bloody black and tans, raided the Hand home on Balstrana Lane while Thomas lay sleeping. He was grabbed out back of his home and shot in the head. There he was left, crumpled in a pool of blood, his wife now a widow, his little children now fatherless.
None of the murderers were charged with the war crimes they were guilty of.
✞ Thomas Hand is buried at Baldungan Castle Graveyard. The fight for which he gave his life, a free and united Ireland, continues to this day.
also
✞ Skerries Republican Martyrs Memorial
Holmpatrick Graveyard, Skerries
In addition to his own gravesite, Thomas Hand is honored & remembered, along with fellow Skerries Irish Republican Army soldiers John McGowan & John Sherlock, on a monument erected in 1952. The Skerries War of Independence Memorial, also known as the Hand McGowan Sherlock Memorial, is located at Holmpatrick Graveyard in Thomas' native Skerries. All 3 Republican patriots lost their lives during the fight for a free & united Ireland, a fight that continues to this day.
also
✞ Thomas Hand Street
Skerries, Ireland
In the 1940's, Thomas's home townland of Skerries honored her native son, the War of Independence Irish Republican Army hero, by renaming the street near his family's Baltrasna Lane home "Thomas Hand Street".
also
✞ Baltrasna Lane Memorial
Baltrasna Lane, Skerries, Co. Dublin
83 years after his murder by criminals, I.R.A. Hero Thomas Hand was honored anew when a black, polished granite plaque was unveiled at the end of Baltrasna Lane, the street where his home was and his cold blooded murder was committed. Two of his now elderly children, Betty & Thomas, no more than babies when thugs left them fatherless, were still alive, still local to Skerries.
The Inscription reads:
THOMAS HAND
Irish Volunteer
Shot By British Forces
Nearby
5th Dec. 1920
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