30/10/2024
Dr Niamh Howlin advises on presidential pardons
This afternoon the President of Ireland will sign posthumous pardons for Sylvester Poff and James Barrett.
In April 2024 the Government advised the President to pardon the two men, who were wrongfully convicted of murder. The advice was based on an expert report by our colleague at UCD Sutherland School of Law, Associate Professor Dr Niamh Howlin.
The two men, Sylvester Poff and James Barrett from County Kerry, were hanged for murder in 1883 following a flawed investigation and trial.
Presidential pardons are very rare; Dr Howlin has advised the Government in relation to four of the five posthumous pardons to date.
Problems with the evidence
There were a number of deficiencies in both the investigation and trial, and the convictions were inconsistent with the legal standards of that period.
There was no direct evidence against Sylvester Poff or James Barrett; the case was based on circumstantial evidence from a woman who changed her story during the investigation and trial, and was not a reliable witness.
The only eyewitnesses to the murder itself were two schoolboys who saw the murderers from behind. Neither Barrett nor Poff matched the descriptions given by these boys.
The murder weapon was never recovered, and there was no evidence that either Poff or Barrett had been seen with a weapon.
There was no clear motive established by the prosecution, and indeed, no clear connection was drawn between Browne and the two accused men.
Henry Manning had this report for RTĂ.
Two great-grandsons of a man executed in Co Kerry more than 140 years ago have expressed their relief that he will officially be pardoned of his murder conviction.
