Robert Emmet was executed in Dublin on 20 September 1803, less than a day after being convicted of high treason for his part in an attempted rebellion against British rule in Ireland.

Emmet had led an uprising in Dublin on 23 July. Poor preparation and confusion helped bring it to a rapid end, and he escaped into hiding. He was arrested on 25 August and taken to Kilmainham jail.

His trial took place at Green Street courthouse on 19 September. Emmet prevented his barristers from mounting a substantial defence and accepted responsibility for the rebellion. After the jury found him guilty, he delivered the speech from the dock for which he became better remembered than for the failed uprising itself.

He was sentenced to death late that evening.

On the morning of 20 September, Emmet was allowed to write a final letter to William Wickham, the chief secretary for Ireland. He thanked Wickham for his treatment and distinguished between the British government and the Irish administration. The letter affected Wickham deeply. He resigned later that year and said decades afterwards that he had kept Emmet’s letter with him.

They took Emmet to Thomas Street, where a gallows had been erected outside St Catherine’s Church. He arrived at about two o’clock in the afternoon. He was prevented from making another speech but briefly told those present that he died peacefully and without hatred towards others.

He was hanged and then beheaded. His body was initially buried at Bully’s Acre in Kilmainham before being removed. His final resting place has never been established with certainty.