Noel Murray

Marie and Noel Murray were an anarchist married couple who were among the last people to be sentenced to death in the Republic of Ireland. The couple were convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death in June 1976 for the murder of Garda Michael Reynolds the previous September. The sentences led to an outcry and a campaign to stop the executions received international attention. The sentences were quashed and the pair were convicted of common murder. They were both released in 1992.

Marie and Noel Murray were both activists with a history of involvement in left-wing and republican politics. Both had been members of Sinn Féin. When Sinn Féin split into the left-wing ‘Official’ and right-wing ‘Provisional’ factions in 1970, they both joined the Officials. It was during this time that they met and married. They both left Official Sinn Féin in 1973. They remained active politically and were involved in an anarchist group, along with a number of former members of the Officials. They were involved in campaigns for improving prisoners’ rights, promoting the Irish language and the Housing Action Committee. At the time of the arrests, Marie had been working as a junior civil servant. Noel had been working as a metal fabricator. Marie was 27 at the time of the convictions and Noel was 26.

On September 11, 1975, a Bank of Ireland branch in the Dublin suburb of Killester was robbed at gunpoint. Witnesses stated that two men and a woman had carried out the deed before fleeing in a getaway car. An off-duty Garda named Michael Reynolds (30, from Galway), happened to be driving by at the time and gave chase. The assailants fled their vehicles at Saint Anne's Park and Garda Reynolds continued the pursuit on foot. According to the official verdict, Marie Murray shot Reynolds in the head as he closed in on them. The gang got away. Garda Reynolds died two hours later in hospital.

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