Timothy Coughlan (1906-1928) was a volunteer in the Irish Republican Army, mainly known for his part in assassinating Kevin O'Higgins in 1927 and for the controversy surrounding the circumstances of his death in 1928.
O'Higgins was especially hated by IRA members for having ordered the executions of seventy-seven of their fellows during the Civil War, an act for which he outspokenly took responsibility and refused to express any remorse.
On 8 December 1922 O'Higgins signed off on the retaliatory executions of four senior republicans (Liam Mellows, Richard Barrett, Joe McKelvey and Rory O'Connor) for the killing of a member of Dáil Éireann.
This version is especially supported by the autopsy carried out by Dr. Wilfred Lane which "amongst other anomalies, discovered that the IRA man died as a result of being shot in the back of his head".
Also, the doctor found a cigarette butt in his mouth, which again indicated he had been caught unaware and killed, and tenants on Dartry Road testified that there had been unusual police activity that evening and that they heard more shots than mentioned in Harling's account.