Thomas Kent

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For the Canadian public servant and journalist see Tom Kent

Thomas Kent (1865 – May 9, 1916) was an Irish nationalist executed following a gunfight with the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) on April 22, 1916.

Kent was part of a prominent nationalist family in Castlelyons, County Cork. They were prepared to take part in the Easter Rising, but when the mobilization order was countermanded, they stayed home. The rising nevertheless went forward in Dublin, and the RIC was sent to arrest well-known sympathizers throughout the country (including, but not limited to, known members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, Sinn Féin, and the Irish Volunteers). When the Kent residence at Bawnard House was raided they were met with resistance from Thomas and his brothers Richard, David, and William. A gunfight lasted for four hours, in which an RIC officer was killed and David was seriously wounded. Eventually the Kents were forced to surrender, although Richard made a last minute dash for freedom and was fatally wounded.

Thomas and William were tried by court martial. William was acquitted, but Thomas was sentenced to death and executed by firing squad on May 9, 1916. Apart from the singular case of Roger Casement, Thomas Kent was the only person outside of Dublin to be executed for his role in the events of Easter Week.