James McCormick

James McCormick (1910 - 7 February 1940) was born in Mullingar, County Westmeath, Ireland and joined the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in Tullamore, County Offaly. He was executed for his roles in the 1939 Coventry bombing, which killed five civilians and injured seventy others. Sabotage campaign in England (S-Plan) In early 1939, McCormick volunteered for active service with the IRA in England under the alias of James Richards. The Richards alias was effective - many records, news articles, government archives and books still refer to McCormick as Richards or McCormack. McCormick served for some time as a IRA Operations Officer in London and Birmingham before being posted to Coventry in May 1939. By August 1939, he was assigned as Officer Commanding the IRA unit in Coventry. Between February and August 1939 there were over a dozen arson and bombing attacks in Coventry. James McCormick along with Peter Barnes participated in the 1939 Coventry bombing which was part of the IRA's sabotage campaign in England (the S-Plan). During the campaign there were 300 explosions/acts of sabotage, 10 deaths and 96 injuries. On 25 August 1939 the IRA was responsible for the bombing of the busy Broadgate area of Coventry which killed five and injured 70 people. The large number of civilian deaths and wounded effectively ended the IRA's eight month sabotage campaign. Although McCormick and Barnes admitted constructing the Coventry bomb, another IRA man (Jobie Sullivan) stated that he planted the bomb and that McCormick and Barnes were innocent.