Kent family of Bawnard

The Kents were a family of prominent Irish nationalists and republicans from Castlelyons, County Cork who were active from the 1870s until the 1930s.

They first came to national prominence when brothers David Jr, Edmond, Richard, and William led a boycott in 1889 against Robert Browne, the general manager of a Belfast-based landowner, who had evicted their cousins Austin and Richard Rice from the latter's leased farm. The four brothers served time and, at the end of May 1890, Tom (who had returned from the United States), William, and cousin Austin Rice were charged with intimidating a woman who worked for Browne and sentenced to one month's imprisonment, with hard labour. The men were still in prison when Tom and William were among seven men charged with attempting to ‘compel and induce’ 14 members of McCausland's workforce to leave their employment. The case drew attention beyond Ireland and was raised in the House of Commons. Heavy sentences followed - six months' hard labour for William and two for Thomas. In January 1899, Tom barracked for a representative on the Cork County Council who would commit to certain policies including home rule, release of political prisoners, reinstatement of evicted tenants and compulsory sale of land to tenant farmers. Tom became an avid supporter of the Gaelic League and later Sinn Féin. By 1901, the family farm was under almost constant surveillance by the Royal Irish Constabulary. In 1913, brothers, Thomas and David, were active in the Irish Volunteers and started a Castlelyons Branch of the organisation. In January, 1916, Thomas was charge with making seditious speeches. While acquitted, within two weeks, he was arrested again and sentenced to two months imprisonment for possession of firearms.

In 1916, during the round-up in the aftermath of the Easter Rising the Royal Irish Constabulary surrounded the family home. Mary Kent and four of her sons, Thomas, David, William, and Richard resisted arrest. The fight lasted four hours. When it was over, David and Richard were wounded. The following week, Thomas was convicted of the murder of a constable killed during the shoot-out and executed by firing squad on 9 May. Richard died of his injuries on 4 May 1916. David Kent sentenced to death but the sentence was later commuted to penal servitude for life but he was released from prison by amnesty in 1917, by which time, his mother, Mary had also died.

David Kent was elected to Parliament at the 1918 general election as a Sinn Féin MP for the Cork East constituency. After the Irish War of Independence, he opposed the Anglo-Irish Treaty and voted against it. He served as an member of parliament (TD) until 1927when he was succeeded by his brother. In the late 1920s, David Kent went to the United States to raise money for the Republican cause. He died at Bawnard in 1930." In 1927, William was elected as a Fianna Fáil member of parliament (TD) for the Cork East at the September general election but was not reelected in 1932. At the 1933 general election, William was elected as a National Centre Party TD but he did not run for re-election in 1937. William Kent died in 1957, the "last survivor of the band of local Land League fighters".