Thomas Gay
| Thomas Gay | |
|---|---|
| Born | 22 January 1884 |
| Died |
2 January 1953 (aged 68) Grantham St. Dublin |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Occupation | Librarian, Dublin City Council (1900–1948), Executive, Dublin City Council, Army Officer (Colonel), Irish Free State Army |
| Organization | Irish Free State Army, Irish Republican Brotherhood, Irish Republican Army, 1916 -21 Club, Crokes GAA Club, Library Association of Ireland. |
| Known for | Intelligence officer Irish Civil War and War of Independence |
Colonel Thomas Gay (22 January 1884 – 2 January 1953) was an intelligence officer on the staff of General Michael Collins from 1918 – 1922. His home on Haddon Road in Clontarf was a regular meeting place for Collins and other personnel during the Irish War of Independence. He arranged for news of the so-called “German Plot” to be given to the Government. He participated in the 1916 Rising reporting to Marrowbone Lane Distillery.
It is likely that Collins' system of counter intelligence owes much in its inception to Gay. It was through his agency that Collins was first put in touch with friendly detectives from G Division in Dublin Castle. Gay worked with Colonel Ned Broy and Detective Joe Kavanagh, both of whom were employed in the Castle to get intelligence information to Collins . According to Broy, the main liaison with Collins was supplied by Tommy Gay personally. Broy would meet Gay at the back of the Tivoli Theatre or at Webb's book shop on the Quays to pass on information. Gay's position as Librarian at Capel Street Library in Dublin during this period made him readily accessible, when required.
His home at 8 Haddon Road, Clontarf was a regular, often weekly, meeting place for Collins, Broy, Kavanagh, David Neligan, James Mc Namara and on occasion Sean O'Duffy and Harry Boland. Neligan described Gay as "a staunch friend of Collins and so was his wife who was a noble woman".
On 17 – 18 May 1918, Gay secured details from Kavanagh, about the so-called “"German Plot”and transmitted the information to Boland who informed Collins and the Government. The "Plot", which intended the capture members of the newly formed Provisional Government by the British, was partially successful – despite the advance warning, due to failure of some Cabinet members to act on the information.
Thomas Gay joined the Irish Volunteers on 20 September 1914, the night following Redmond's Speech at Woodenbridge (1, 15). He was a member of "A" Company, 1 He reported to Marrowbone Lane Distillery in Easter week 1916and was assigned to travel between garrisons keeping lines of communication open and gathering intelligence. His detection of British troops en route to the Distillery, and subsequent warning to the garrison there, resulted in the frustration of the planned British offensive. He later carried news of the surrender from Seán MacBride in Jacob's Factory to Con Colbert at the Distillery.
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