Thomas Henry Burke (civil servant)

For other people named Thomas Burke, see Thomas Burke (disambiguation).

Thomas H. Burke
Under-Secretary for Ireland
In office
1869 (1869)–1882 (1882)
Preceded bySir Edward Robert Wetherall
Succeeded byRobert George Crookshank Hamilton
Personal details
Born
Thomas Henry Burke

(1829-05-29)29 May 1829
Died6 May 1882(1882-05-06) (aged 52)
Phoenix Park, Dublin
Resting placeProspect Cemetery, Glasnevin
NationalityIrish
Parents
  • William Burke
  • Emma Dillon
Relatives
OccupationCivil Servant
Known forPhoenix Park Murders

Thomas Henry Burke (29 May 1829 – 6 May 1882) was an Irish civil servant who served as Permanent Under Secretary at the Irish Office for many years before being assassinated during the Phoenix Park Murders on Saturday 6 May 1882. The assassination was carried out by an Irish republican organisation known as the Irish National Invincibles.

The newly appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland, Lord Frederick Cavendish, although not the intended victim, was assassinated alongside him while they walked through Phoenix Park in Dublin. The victims were stabbed in the neck and chest with surgical blades.

Burke was the Invincibles' intended target because he had been working for the Dublin Castle administration as head of the Civil Service for many years and was a supporter of the Irish Coercion Acts during the Land War.[1] Irish nationalists referred to Burke as the "Castle rat".

  1. ^ "pgil-eirdata.org | Round-Robin Load Balancing". pgil-eirdata.org. Archived from the original on 5 December 2000. Retrieved 6 April 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)