Joe Brady 1857-1883
JOE BRADY, Invincible, was born in Dublin, second of 20 sons and five daughters of Thomas Brady, a paviour of 40 years standing with Dublin corporation. After serving an apprenticeship with the corporation, Joe was employed for 14 years as a stonecutter and was described as an industrious worker.
Unmarried, he lived with his parents at 22 North Anne St. He and his co-accused, Tim Kelly, were members of the choir at the Franciscan Church in Church St. A devoted Fenian, he was recruited by Daniel Curley in December, 1881, into the Irish National Invincibles, a small secret society committed to political assassination, founded by London-based Fenians such as Frank Byrne.
He was powerfully built, with a shock of black hair and a good-humoured face. He was known as “Bulldog Brady”, and valued for his physical strength and single-mindedness; he was co-opted onto the four-man Dublin directory of the Invincibles in March, 1882. He and his fellow Invincibles spent the early months of 1882 stalking the chief secretary WE Forster, but without success.
After Forster’s resignation (May 2nd), they resolved to kill the under-secretary, Thomas Henry Burke. On May 6th, 1882, Brady led the seven-man squad that assassinated Burke and the new chief secretary, Lord Frederick Cavendish, as they walked home along Chesterfield Avenue in the Phoenix Park, Dublin. Armed with long surgical knives and revolvers concealed in their pockets, they walked towards Burke and Cavendish in three groups – Daniel Curley, Joe Hanlon, and Michael Fagan in front; Brady and Tim Kelly a few steps behind, and Patrick Delaney and Thomas Caffrey at the rear. After their targets had passed, Brady and Kelly wheeled about rapidly and Brady stabbed Burke from behind. Brady was then struck in the face with an umbrella by Cavendish and turned on him, stabbing him several times, while Kelly attacked Burke; as Burke lay on the ground, Brady cut his throat before fleeing. He later told a colleague that he did not know the identity of the man who struck him, “and only for himself . . . he would not be where he is”.
Brady was found guilty and sentenced to death. He denied his guilt and blamed paid informers for his fate. A favourite with prison officials for his fortitude and good humour, Brady was given an ivory cross by Lady Lucy Cavendish, the chief secretary’s widow. He was hanged May 14th, 1883, in Kilmainham jail.
From the Royal Irish Academy’s Dictionary of Irish Biography. See dib.ie for more details