NORTHAMPTON — On St. Patrick’s Day, about 30 people gathered to honor two Irish immigrants wrongfully executed for murder more than two centuries ago.
In 1806, the men — Dominic Daley and James Halligan — were hanged on Hospital Hill. In 1984, they were exonerated by then-Gov. Michael Dukakis.
“The historical record shows that religious prejudice and ethnic intolerance played a significant role in their arrest and trial, which resulted in the denial of their right to due process and a miscarriage of justice,” Dukakis wrote.
Former judge W. Michael Ryan told the story on Friday beside the Daley and Halligan memorial stone on the former state hospital grounds in Northampton.
Ryan said Daley and Halligan were traveling from Boston to New York when a terrible crime happened — the murder of Marcus Lyon. Ryan said two Irish men were seen walking in the area.
Daley and Halligan immediately became suspects, Ryan said.
“If you’re Irish, you’re Catholic, you’re poor — those are your three strikes,” Ryan said.
Ryan and Bill O’Riordan, a justice of the peace, have been commemorating the unjust deaths for 60 years. But this time is special, Ryan said, as the story sheds light on immigration issues brought forth by President Trump’s administration.
“Immigration right there on the front seams again, and it makes this story all the more important to be remembered,” Ryan said.
He said the commemoration is also a reminder of how prejudice affects immigrants, calling the unjust behavior a disease and a poison put into the system.
Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan said Friday’s commemoration is a “reminder to open our hearts and minds to immigrants… to welcome everybody and fight religious, ethnic and racial prejudice.”
O’Riordan’s grandchildren, Dana and Billy Warren, ages 9 and 7, placed a green chrysanthemum wreath in front of the memorial. The commemoration is a yearly tradition for O’Riordan’s family.
Ryan’s nephew, Peter McQuillan, has also attended the commemoration almost every year. He said it has always been important to reflect on the event as well as how the Irish got to America and the troubles they had to endure.
McQuillan said the commemoration is especially important today with the current political climate and discussion around immigrants.
“We can reach out to others that are trying to make this country their home,” he said.
Betsy Sheehan, a volunteer at Historic Northampton as well as a historian, said she has learned the story of Daley and Halligan well. She said she wanted to commemorate “such a horrible atrocity.”
On Friday, she carried with her a photo of her family, the O’Donaghues, taken in 1953. She said her family, who are from the Boston area, are connected to the Irish in the way they sang songs and told stories.
“It’s a big part of my cultural identity,” she said.
Caitlin Ashworth can be reached at cashworth@gazettenet.com.