The Irish Department of Justice Has Responded

SILENCED AGAIN.

The Irish Department of Justice has formally denied my original request for an independent historical review of the 1882 convictions of Michael Flynn, Thomas Higgins and Patrick Higgins.

I did not ask the Irish Government to simply declare these men innocent.

I asked them to examine the surviving evidence.

They refused even that.

The Department relied on the Irish Government’s new March 2026 policy excluding pre-1922 convictions from consideration for Presidential pardons.

The matter is officially recorded under Department of Justice reference:

DJE-MO-09081-2026

This is exactly why the Don’t Silence the Evidence campaign exists.

These men were convicted in 1882 and executed at Galway Gaol on January 17, 1883. More than 140 years later, extensive historical records surrounding their trials still survive.

And I have already formally challenged the Department’s denial.

My challenge raises a fundamental distinction between Government policy and existing law, and asks how a policy adopted in 2026 can be used to close the door not only on a pardon request, but on the independent examination of surviving evidence.

I have challenged that position using Ireland’s own legal and constitutional framework, including Bunreacht na hÉireann and the Criminal Procedure Act 1993.

There is also a precedent the Government must answer.

Sylvester Poff and James Barrett were convicted of murder in 1882, the same year as the men in the Lough Mask case. Their case received an independent external review commissioned by the Department of Justice, and in 2024 the Government recommended that they receive Presidential pardons.

So I am asking a very simple question:

If evidence from one 1882 case could be independently examined, why should surviving evidence from another 1882 case now be refused examination because it predates 1922?

This was never about demanding that Ireland accept my conclusion.

Look at the evidence. Examine it independently. Then make the determination.

My third-great-grandfather, Michael Flynn, maintained his innocence until his execution. Among his final words were:

“I am as innocent as the child unborn, and I hope Ireland is listening.”

He was silenced once.

Thomas Higgins was silenced once.

Patrick Higgins was silenced once.

Their evidence will not be silenced a second time without a fight.

My formal challenge is already before the Minister’s Office under DJE-MO-09081-2026.

Change.org only allows me to publish one campaign update every 24 hours, so I cannot post all of the subsequent correspondence here today. I will continue adding the documents in order so supporters can read the record for themselves and see exactly how this challenge has developed.

Please keep signing. Please keep sharing.

Don’t Silence the Evidence.

Erin Flynn
Founder, The Pre-1922 Justice Project