Leader of the "Irish National Invincibles," and government informant. James Carey was successful builder and owner of a brick-laying business in Dublin, Ireland. He was elected to the Dublin town council in 1882, and was spoken of as a possible future mayor of Dublin. However, he became most famous as a leader of the "Irish National Invincibles" in Dublin, who helped plan and orchestrate the Phoenix park murders on May 6, 1882, and who then turned "queen's evidence" after he was indicted. Lord Frederick Cavendish, Britain's chief secretary for Ireland, and Thomas Henry Burke, his permanent undersecretary, were stabbed to death in Pheonix park in Dublin by members of the "Irish National Invincibles," often associated with the Fenian (Sinn Fein) movement. A month after he was arrested for his involvement, James Carey made a deal with prosecutors and testified against the men he had helped direct at Phoenix park. Carey betrayed the complete details of the Invincibles and of the murders, except that he identified the person who gave the ultimate orders only as "Number One" and he could not or would not identify him. Patrick Joseph Percy Tynan was later arrested in France as Number One, but the French government refused to extradite him to England for a political crime. Thus, Tynan was never prosecuted, tried, or convicted. As a result of James Carey's testimony, Joe Brady, Michael Fagan, Thomas Caffrey, Dan Curley, and Tim Kelly, were hanged by William Marwood in Kilmainham Jail in Dublin between May 14 and June 4, 1883. Carey was deported to South Africa under an assumed name by the British government. Patrick O'Donnell travelled on the same boat, and shot the informer dead just before he landed at Port Elizabeth, on the 29th day of July 1883. Patrick O'Donnell was arrested and brought back to England for trial. O'Donnell was condemned to death and executed on December 10, 1883. James Carey was buried in the prison graveyard of Port Elizabeth, South Africa. See also the grave of the Invincible James "Skin the Goat" Fitzharris, who is buried in Glasnevin cemetery.





See Irish National Invincibles virtual cemetery.