BELFAST ISSUE
BALLINTOBER CASTLE
73
MAGAZINE
Dundrum Death in the Foundry Boating Disaster Story of the missing £300
The Darker Side of Belfast’s History
Belfast Stowaways
The
TROUBLES
DECEMBER 1977
OLD BELFAST PHOTOGRAPHS
The Hanging of Patrick Higgins
VICTORIAN MURDERS TRUE GHOST STORIES BODYSNATCHERS TRAGIC EVENTS Full details of our fascinating city centre walking tour
AND MUCH MORE
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Belfast Magazine
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OLD BELFAST NEWSPAPER REPORTS Elaine Hogg
Dundrum Boating Disaster Castle Junction in Victorian times
On Sunday night, the 4th of February 1923 a group of soldiers from the Ballykinlar Camp in County Down, after spending a few hours of their leave with friends in the small village of Dundrum, set out in a ferry boat to cross Dundrum Bay to Ballykinlar Point to return to their base camp. The boat they took was locally owned, by Mr Robert Lowry who took his young son Robert with him on the journey across the bay.
picturesque quay where the intention of getting a taxi to bodies of eight soldiers and drive them to Ballykinlar 17 year old Robert Lowry lay. Camp. There were no taxis to be found and ten of the On that Monday morning the party of soldiers decided to village of Dundrum was cross the small stretch of silent, blinds were drawn on water from Dundrum Quay to many of the houses and at the Ballykinlar Point. Mr Lowry coastguard station the naval agreed to take them across ensign flew at half mast. The and they set off in the small soldier victims of the tragedy boat to cross the choppy came from three different waters. There was a strong units, the Cheshire’s, the West current that night and it was Kent’s and the Royal just one hour since the full tide. Engineers.
Shortly after the boat left the quay the flat bottomed scow boat capsized and the next day the residents of the small village looked out to the
The soldiers who were very popular in Dundrum had been visiting friends in the district and shortly after ten o’clock they left the village with the
A short time after they left, people on the quayside heard shouts and cries of distress, but they could not see anything as the moon was
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Belfast Magazine
obscured by clouds. However they were concerned enough to alert others in the village and within minutes two boats were manned, the first by Mr Elias Cooper and Mr Burns, and the other by Mr Felix Redmond, Mr Thomas Lowry, son of the boat’s owner Robert Lowry, and Mr Harry Burns. The two rescue boats set off in different directions, the first returning quickly as they could find nothing but had seen a boat Thomas Lowey, Harry Burns and Felix Redmond who saved Robert Lowey snr and the two soldiers rowing in the direction of Ballykinlar Point. Meanwhile the other boat, captained by Mr Redmond, headed towards the Point and after a short search came on a soldier called Haggar who was pulled into the boat. He managed to tell the crew where to find the others, the search was widened and within 100 ft they found the upturned boat, Robert Lowry, the owner, and another soldier still clinging to it. They too were pulled into the boat and The water-logged boat washed up on the railway bank about swiftly delivered to Dundrum two miles from Dundrum am the next morning that the distance but he was unable to for medical treatment. first of the missing party was survive the current and the Across Dundrum Bay, found. That body was cold water. The body was military, police, coastguards, discovered 200 metres from taken to the quay and 45 railway servants and civilians Ballykinlar Point, lying face minutes later three further set off in boats to search the down on the beach. The bodies were recovered by bay while others walked the soldier had obviously fought coastguards who were coastline looking for for his life, getting rid of his searching the shore, and three survivors. It wasn’t until 6.15 clothes and swimming a great were found washed up by the
Belfast Magazine
tide. An hour later the last two bodies were recovered, all within 400 metres of each other. Mr Lowry who survived the disaster stated at the time that when the boat left Dundrum Quay the soldiers had got nervous when the boat took in a little water from the choppy waves and they began to move about in the boat. He pleaded with them to sit down and to be still but they would not and very quickly the boat capsized, without any real warning and all the men fell into the water. When he was interviewed at the time by the press he could barely speak, such was his grief but in a voice broken with sobs he told reporters, "If the same thing occurred again I would drown myself rather than live through it all. I never wish to see such a sight in my life again. My son was a good, dutiful boy, and it is terrible to think he has been drowned, on his 17th birthday". The names of the victims were,
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Robert Lowey snr owner of the ill fated boat
Company Sergeant-Major A T Longley, 2nd Batt Cheshire regiment, aged 23, a bachelor from Wrexham Sapper J Dothridge, Royal Engineers, from Bow in London Pte. A W Hyndman, 2nd West Kents, aged 23 Pte Wellard, 2nd West Kents, from Folkestone, aged 22, and married in Dundrum just
12 months before the tragedy Lance Corporal A Hunt, 2nd West Kents, aged 19 Lance Corporal A Howe, 2nd West Kents, aged 21 Pte J E Bellingham, 2nd West Kents, aged 20 Pte W Broom, 2nd West Kents, aged 22 Robert Lowry, boatman from Dun drum, aged 17
Keep up to date with all our publications and events by visiting the Facebook page of the Glenravel Local History Project
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Belfast Magazine
BELFAST MAGAZINE
COVER PICTURE
5 Churchill Street, Belfast BT15 2BP Tel: 9031 0859 Fax 9035 1326 E-Mail:
glenravel@ashtoncentre.com Web Page:
www.glenravel.com The Belfast Magazine is a bi-monthly publication compiled by the Glenravel Local History Project. It is just one of several Glenravel titles which aims to promote an interest in the subject of local history. It has always been claimed that history belongs of the higher classes and looking at the way it has been presented for decades then this would seem to be the case. Glenravel are not interested in the history of lords and earls, their estates and titles, instead we are interested in the history of working class life. We are not interested in politics either and we must stress that if an article appears in the magazine which appears to be a bit one sided then this is due to the simple fact that it is taken from a Nationalist or Unionist newspaper. We use both to try and balance things out. The Glenravel Local History Project is a local historical scheme based in the North Belfast area. It’s activities are centred around the educational promotion and restoration of the areas historic burying ground at Clifton Street and is named after the nearby Glenravel Street which was destroyed to make way for the disastrous Westlink road system.
Looking up High Street around 1800. The bridge is the one connecting Skipper Street with what is now Church Lane. BELOW The same view today
BELFAST MAGAZINE On sale every month in all leading newsagents throughout the city
The Belfast Magazine is not funded by any grant making body and is entirely funded by you - the reader. It’s profits are not used for personal gain but for the continuing work of the overall scheme. If you would like to support our work and advertise your business at the same time then feel free to contact our team at the above.
FACING PAGE - Belfast map of 1902 showing the old Carrick Hill area
Belfast Magazine
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OLD BELFAST PHOTOGRAPHS
The Earl of Ulster, a new locomotive of the 260 Mogul type which was built by the L.M.S. at their York Road works. 1935
Arranging the knit work section in the new At the Belfast Shipyard a floating crane lifting machinery retail shop of the Workshops for the Blind in on to H.M.S. Penelope on the left and on the right the Empire Star is being completed. 1935 Howard Street. 1935
Inside the new Belfast Telephone Exchange 1935
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The Balmoral Golf Club detachment of the Enjoying the fun of the fair at Bellevue 1935 Home Guard 1943
A Short Stirling and Handley-Page Halifax heavy bombers on display at ‘Blitz Square’ in High Street. Waring Street can be seen in the background 1943
Bob Hope chatting to an American officer in the Belfast Hippodrome before one of his shows 1943 A lorry of the U.S. Army which struck an electric cable box and overturned on the Malone Road 1943
Advertisement from 1943
More than 120,000 American servicemen and women were stationed in Northern Ireland between 1942-45
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Belfast Magazine
Hopefield House, Antrim Road, in 1925 ABOVE AND BELOW - A flooded York Street after a water main burst. 1924
The old White Linenhall which stood on the site of the present City Hall
An extremely busy Corporation Square in 1924 showing the Harbour Office Ormeau Bakery from the park
Stone crushing on the Crumlin Road as part of a road relaying scheme 1924
1924
The phrase 'by hook or by crook' originated during Cromwell's 1649 campaign in Ireland when he vowed to capture Waterford by advancing by sea round Hook Head or through the village of Crooke
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1880
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Death in the Foundry illiam Hamilton was found guilty of the manslaughter of Samuel Cobain after a fight between the two men in the Belfast Foundry in April 1871. It was on the 22nd of April that the two men were finishing up work at the foundry when Cobain began to taunt Hamilton about his wages. Hamilton got very annoyed and told Cobain to mind his own business, he had no call to ask Hamilton about his wages, after all Cobain had only worked at the foundry for 3 weeks, the two men did not really know each other. Hamilton was at the time what was called a club apprentice, and he recevied significantly less money each week than Cobain who was much younger than him.
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Cobain threw a punch at Hamilton who retaliated by striking Cobain on the arm with his fist. Cobain then lifted a wrench and tried to hit Hamilton but he was held back by Francis McManus who was from Clandeboye Street near Templemore Park. McManus was not strong enough to hold back
Cobain for long and he struggled free, lifted up a piece of iron and threw it at Hamilton. It struck him hard on the side and Hamiilton lost his footing for a second. It was after this that Hamilton lifted a wrench and flung it at Cobain, the wrench hit Cobain on the head and he fell to the ground clutching his bleeding head. At this moment William Smith, the foundry foreman from Lancaster Street arrived on the scene, alerted by the shouts and cries of men fighting. He pushed Hamilton away from Cobain and pulled Cobain up on to his feet. Cobain although injured was able to walk and Smith took him to the hospital to get him checked out. Smith did not see Hamilton strike Cobain but when cross examined in court he stated that it must have been Hamitlon as there was no one else there other than McManus who he could see had tried in vain to separate the fighting men. Cobain had no relatives and Francis McManus identified the body and confirmed to
the court that Cobain was only 6ft from Hamilton when the wrench was thrown at him. The final evidence heard in the case was from Dr Samuel Browne, the senior visiting surgeon at the General Hospital. Cobain was his patient and when he first saw Cobain his head was bound up, by the workers at the foundry, and under examination he found that he had received a scalp wound and injury to the skull. Overnight Cobains condition deteriorated and Dr Browne was called to see him in the company of Dr Murney. It was necessary for them to operate on the wound to relieve pressure but a short time after his operation Cobain died from the effects of the injuries to his brain. The doctor concluded that the wrench would certainly have produced such injuries. The police confirmed that the wrench had blood on it and the jury were quick to return a verdict of manslaughter on William Hamilton and he was removed to the Belfast Jail.
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Story of missing £300 strange case of theft came before the confidence of old Mrs McFaul, the boys’ Donegal courts in 1913 amid rumours mother. On the 17th November a fire was of ghosts, superstitions and romance. discovered in the bedroom of Michael McFaul and Patrick put it out with some difficulty. It The central figure in the case was a servant was found that Michael’s clothes in the called Winifred McCaron, who was charged wardrobe were destroyed and there were also with the theft of £300 from a farmer named traces of the fire in the drawer of the dressing Michael McFaul, who lived with his brother table in which the money had been last seen. Patrick at Annagh, Clonmany in County The rest of Michael’s room was untouched Donegal. by the fire.
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£300 in cash was a considerable amount of money for the time and it was explained to the court that under normal circumstances the McFaul’s would not have this amount of cash in the house. The McFaul family were a large and well known family in the area and by 1913 all of the family had been either married or had bought land of their own except for the youngest Michael. Plans were underway to buy some land in the Clonmany area for Michael to build a house and have some land for farming and Patrick had gone into Derry to withdraw the £300 to complete the purchase of the land which adjoined the McFaul farm.
The drawer where the notes had been placed was found to contain a heap of ashes, just as if documents had been set on fire but the drawer itself did not appear to be scorched or damaged by fire. Whether these ashes belonged to the money that Michael had placed there was not clear but the McFaul’s appeared to accept their loss as the money had disappeared.
The McFaul’s were a family who held great belief in local superstition and they believed that the money was destroyed through spiritual intervention, that there were ghosts involved, and that the destruction of the Patrick gave the money to Michael who then money was to be taken as a warning directed carefully counted it and then put it, rather against the matrimonial arrangement into casually one might think, into his dressing which Michael McFaul was about to enter. table drawer. The drawer was left unlocked and the money remained there for several They were still unsure and some suspicion lay with Mrs McCaron and the family met and days. decided that they should dismiss her. Before The McFaul family had employed Mrs they had a chance however Mrs McCaron McCaron for over two years and she was very travelled to Derry where she stayed overnight. aware of the business of the family and on During her stay in Derry she went into the many occasions had been taken into the Central Post Office and produced three £20
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notes where she tried to get it changed into smaller notes and coins. She did not succeed as the post office staff were suspicious. If some of the money was burned in the fire ÂŁ60 of it survived and was now in the hands of Mrs McCaron as she was a woman who would have been unable to earn this kind of money or save it from her meagre wage.
to the police. When asked why she had taken the money she told the police that if the old man McFaul had only left her alone she would never had done it, implying that she had been experiencing unwanted advances from Patrick and Michaels father but nonetheless she was arrested, charged and found guilty of the theft of the McFaul family money.
Having failed in her attempt to change the money Mrs McCaron returned to Clonmany where she stayed in various different addresses until she was arrested. Maria McFaul, the wife of Patrick, confronted her and she admitted immediately that she had taken the money but that she had none of the money left. She offered to pay the money back to the family from any wages she could earn but her admission of guilt was reported
Had Mrs McCaron not tried to change the money in Derry she would almost certainly have got away with the crime as the family truly believed that the loss of money was a sign from some supernatural force and that the use of the money to purchase land would bring them bad luck. The financial loss would not have been reported to the police and no further investigations would have been undertaken.
Drowning in the bathroom Death due to drowning was the verdict returned at the inquest on Alexander McIlherne of Westland Road in north Belfast. Mr McIlherne was found dead in his bathroom on the 23rd September 1936. His GP, Dr Dickey told the coroner that the dead man had been ill from the previous May and due to he illness he had become partly paralysed. Mrs Jennie McIlherne, the wife of the deceased had gone shopping on that evening leaving her husband alone in the house. She returned a couple of hours later and when she went upstairs she was horrified to find him lying in the bath. She called the doctor and when Dr Dickey found him in the bath Mr McIlherne was dressed in his trousers, boots and stockings and pyjama coat. It was the belief of the doctor that while shaving the deceased had a fainting fit and fell into the bath.
Found drowned Samuel Beattie, aged 51, and a tailor of Clementine Street in Belfast was found drowned in the River Lagan at Balfour Avenue in the Ormeau area on the 26th September 1936. It was not known how Mr Beattie entered the water as there were no witnesses, but he was last seen on the 20th September leaving his home early in the morning and did not return. He was known in the district to be a sober and serious man who was in steady employment and was respectable and quiet. His body was discovered by George Tollerton of Swift Street when he was in Ormeau Park with three friends walking; he saw the body lying in the mud close to the river bank.
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Breach of promise of marriage t the Derry assizes in March 1872 Judge Lawson presided over a case of breach of promise of marriage which created a great deal of interest in the area. The plaintiff in the case was Margaret Malseed, the daughter of Richard Malseed the Postmaster of Ray in Co Donegal. The defendant was John Patton, a farmer in comfortable circumstances who lived with his brothers at Ballyheny also in Co Donegal.
business. Margaret Malseed and John Patton had been childhood friends and they had grown fond of each other in their teenage years. They went to school together and when his father died when he was eighteen Margaret claimed in court that John had come to her and told her that his father had left him the rent of the family farm and that he had also bought a piece of land at Tyroddy close to his family farm. He also told her that he had £850 invested in American bonds and that he The court was packed during had an annual income in the proceedings, mostly with excess of £160. ladies and the all male jury sat for a full day when evidence Margaret claimed that John was heard from both Margaret was telling her that he could and John as well as look after her and that he was Margaret’s parents and in a good position to offer her acquaintances of John. marriage. He also asserted to have control of his brother The action was for breach of Roberts money, as he was not promise and Margaret able to manage the money Malseed was seeking £1500 himself, and that his other in compensation for the brother was terminally ill and breach of promise. that he also control over his part of the family farm. Margaret Malseed was 24 Throughout their teenage years old and lived with her years she claimed that John father and mother at Ray had always spoken to her as where her father was not only if they would spend their lives the chief postmaster but also together in marriage, and that owned a public house, sold all their plans together were groceries and had a drapery about a future at the farm.
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Margaret during this time had other admirers but none had asked her to marry them and she told the judge that she was always sure that John would eventually ask her to marry him and in 1870, just before Christmas she claimed that John came to her house and asked her to marry him, the following November. When she had accepted his proposal, she called her mother and father into the room and the couple made an announcement of their engagement. Then Margaret’s father offered John £150 as a dowry for his daughter and the two men shook hands and had a drink together to celebrate the joining of the two families. Between December 1870 and November 1871 Margaret claimed to have received gifts of ear rings, scarves, umbrellas and kid gloves from John, but by November of 1871 it became clear to Margaret that John was seeing someone else and she heard many people in the locality talking about a girl that John visited and also wrote letters to. Within months John Patton married the other women and Margaret felt she
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had no choice but to sue him Ireland in the late nineteenth century, there was no for breach of promise. suggestion that John Patton As expected John Patton’s had proposed marriage while account of their friendship drunk and that alcohol played was very different from no part in this case. It was a Margaret’s. He denied ever matter of the jury deciding on having asked her to marry who was telling the truth. him or even for them to have Both parties were well discussed marriage. He respected in the area and were maintained that they were well known and supported by always just friends and that the crowds who attended the his proposal to her was her proceedings. They had to imagination. He was now a decide if Margaret had told happily married man and had the truth, backed up by her cut all ties with the Malseed parents’ accounts of the evening when John Patton family. proposed or whether John When addressing the jury the Patton was telling the truth. judge told them that they had a difficult decision as usually The jury had to remember that in breach of promise cases, of John Patton had not denied which there were many in buying presents for Margaret
and also that many people in the area knew them as good friends. It was stated that John Patton had kept Margaret at bay for a couple of years and then married another and if they felt this was the case then he should compensate Margaret as she had been humiliated before the entire community. The jury retired but after only a few minutes deliberation they returned to court with a verdict for the plaintiff, Margaret Malseed and they awarded her £350 in damages. The announcement was applauded in the court and the sad proceedings were concluded, with Margaret Malseed £350 better off.
Belfast Stowaways ive stowaways, after an 11,000 mile journey from Australia to Liverpool made their escape while their ship was passing through the locks at Eastham, at the entrance to the Manchester ship canal. Two of the men were from Belfast and they were stowaways on the London steamer Tower Crown. They broke out of a cabin on, July 27th 1935, in which they had been locked and escaping the notice of the crew of the ship they jumped ashore while the steamer was travelling slowly in the lock. Dressed only in trousers and light shirts they stroke off in the direction of the city centre. All five stowaways had
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been discovered two days into the steamers journey from Freemantle in Australia and had been under guard throughout the trip.
In 1578, the Irish rebel James Fitzmaurice hired two thousand Italian mercenaries to help him free his homeland from the English. However, when the ships docked in Lisbon, his soldiers were commandeered by the King of Portugal. Every one of the would-be liberators of Ireland died in the trackless wastes of the Sahara.
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The Darker Side of Belfast’s History Walking Tour Most readers will be aware of our historical walking tour which brings you around what was once Victorian Belfast's red light district. Many people believe that this tour looks at old buildings and tells you the history of them and who they were built by. That's all boring rubbish and something which we would never do. The following is a breakdown of what you can expect from our tour and what makes it so different from all the others. tour is based. So not only do you get a two-hour historical walking tour but also a booklet and DVD and all for £10.
The tour begins in Academy Street where you will get a brief history of the area and given the Darker Side of Belfast’s History booklet. This will give you full details on the stories we present to you, as it will allow you to check events and dates and prove that what we are telling you is the truth. Something other tour guides won’t do. On top of this it’s also a brilliant read!
Also with the booklet you will be given a DVD of our Belfast Blitz tour. This also deals with the area in which this walking
A lot of people believe that activities such as bodysnatching never happened here but not only will we explain the activities of the local grave robbers but will bring you to the exact spots from which they worked. In this area there were three grave robbing gangs with one being in Academy Street, the other in Hudson’s Entry (today’s Gresham Street) and the other being the brilliantly named ‘Hill Street Mob.’ All three targeted the nearby Clifton Street Cemetery and you will learn fascinating facts such as the reason why they stripped the dead bodies naked and ripped all the teeth from the heads.
One of those hanged in the nearby Belfast Prison was Arthur McKeown for beating his common law wife to death. Hear the details of this horrific case and what his unique excuse was and all on the exact spot where it happened.
Almost every corner in this area had a pub, as did the dark alleyways and courtyards. One such public house was that of McKenna’s. This has a fascinating ghost story connected with it. You will be taken to the spot where the pub stood and asked to make your own mind up about the story.
Throughout Victorian times the lives of the thousands of people who lived in this area was tough to say the least. On the tour you will found out how something as
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simple as a toothache made people’s lives hell and how at times the streets moved – with rats.
The most common occupation for the local residents was crime. Find out what sort of things they got up to and the punishment inflicted. For example many of us would assume that being sentenced to death for highway robbery would have been fair enough – until you find out exactly what highway robbery was!
Many of us enjoy a weekend out having a few drinks and a bit on entertainment. In these dark days many people lived in the
local bars and the entertainment was indeed quite unique. For example tearing rats apart with your bare teeth was one of the more popular ones.
Today the old Ulster Bank headquarters in Waring Street is one of our snobby hotels. Sometime ago other tour guides told the story of the ghost which haunted the steps of this building but didn’t say who or when. Think sponsorship instead of historical fact and you’ll know what we’re talking about! We use the banking connection to tell you one of Belfast most infamous ghost stories – that of Galloper Thompson. You’ll also hear another famous ghost story from the area, which tells of the tragic fate of the Five Mary’s.
Find out why a soldier who committed suicide in this building did not haunt it but instead appeared in a house – in Southampton!
The 13th person to hang in Belfast Prison was a man named Eddie Cullen who was hanged on Friday 13th. The story began when a parcel containing blood stained clothes was discovered in Church Lane and the finding a few days later of what was described as ‘a naked giant’ in a field just outside Belfast.
Hangings in old Belfast took place at the old Market House, which stood at the junction of High Street and Cornmarket (where Dunne’s Stores are today). The most famous hanging was that of Henry Joy McCracken but he was not the only one as many went before and after him. However because his family were wealthy McCracken escaped the most gruesome bit which was having your head hacked off and stuck on one of the spikes on the roof.
Belfast Magazine
Today when we think of Belfast Castle we think of the large Victoria house on the slops of Cavehill. Castles were built for a military purpose so that rules out Cavehill’s big house. We will take you to the site of Belfast Castle and tell you the story of the tragic fire, which destroyed it killing many of those inside. We will also tell you of another nearby famous ghost story which is centred on the burning down of the Lucifer Match Factory.
The tour will conclude at Castle Junction where all the executions took place before the construction of the Market House. Find out about those hung, drawn and quartered and what it really meant as well as those burned alive and why.
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At the end of the tour you will be given the opportunity to purchase our book on the history of Belfast Executions. This gives a fascinating insight on the subject as well as the stories behind all those hanged in the Belfast Prison. We were the first to publish this material, which was copied not once but twice! This book is NOT available in any shops and includes the DVD on our tour of the old Belfast Prison. Total value is £15 but because you already paid for the tour those attending can obtain the whole package for just £5
Next tour Sunday 29th May at 6.30pm
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ROAMING IRELAND We at the Glenravel Project regularly visit different sites of historical interest throughout the country. For up to date information on all the latest trips visit the Facebook page of the Glenravel Local History Project
BALLINTOBER CASTLE
Ballintober Castle is located between Roscommon Town and the village of Tulsk about 20 kilometres north of Roscommon. The remains of this fort which is now largely abandoned date from the 1290s and has a roughly square plan, with enormous asymmetrical polygonal corner towers and a gateway in the eastern curtain, flanked by comparatively small projecting turrets. However, residential apartments in the upper floors of the towers appear quite sophisticated in their design, indicating that Norman rather than Irish architects were employed.
Belfast Magazine
It is likely the builder was William de Burgo, and no doubt the castle's large area was intended to permit an Anglo-Norman settlement within its walls. The northern towers are higher than the others as they were rebuilt and repaired in 1627. Outside the walls extra protection was afforded by a wide water-filled moat. The castle fell into the hands of the O'Connors in the 14th century and remained in their possession for many centuries, being the chief seat of the O'Connor Don from 1385 until 1652. In 1598 it was surrendered to Red Hugh O'Donnell, who attacked it with cannon, breached its walls and forced Hugh O'Connor Don to recant his allegiance to the Crown. In 1641 it became a centre of Catholic resistance with the result that it was confiscated in 1652. The O'Connors regained possession in 1677 and remained in residence until 1701. The castle has not been occupied since that time.
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Visit the most historic site in Belfast
CLIFTON STREET GRAVEYARD SEE THE OLD BELFAST POORHOUSE Not a pleasant place to be in Victorian times! VISIT THE GRAVES OF THE FOUNDERS OF IRISH REPUBLICANISM Did you know that they were all Presbyterians and Freemasons! THE CHOLERA PITS Where the remains of thousands of victims of this horrific disease lie buried inches beneath the soil THE GRAVE ROBBERS Discover why corpses were stolen from this very cemetery and sold THE FAMINE GRAVE See Belfast’s largest remaining grave from the period of the Great Hunger And lots, lots more ranging from the founders of the worlds oldest newspaper to the inventor of Christmas cards
Next tour Sunday 29th May at 6.30pm MEET OUTSIDE St ANNE’S CATHEDRAL £7 (£10 tour includes local history booklet and DVD on cemetery)
DECEMBER 1977 Belfast Magazine Page 23
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Thursday 1st December 1977 A suspect bomb caused traffic chaos on the Lisburn Road. The bomb was spotted in a garage near Cadogan Park and traffic was diverted while the army examined the scene. It turned out to be harmless.
in a black taxi in Belfast. After a driver spotted a suitcase in his vehicle, a controlled explosion was carried out, and the case was found to contain french polishers equipment.
Policemen carried incendiaries out of A french polishers kit Ellisons wholesalers caused a bomb scare in Great Victoria
Street. The fire bombs were then defused by the army. Later another bombing raid went wrong when two youths dropped parcels outside the SKF Roller Bearing Co premises on the Newtownards Road. The devices exploded but the only damage was a broken window.
Stones and other missiles were thrown at part time firemen when they went to deal with a burning bus in the Twinbrook area of Dunmurry. The bus had been hijacked and set on fire by masked men. The men stole the ticket machine and took money from the driver before escaping.
Friday 2nd December 1977 Around 200 people had a narow escape when the premises of G and S Wholesalers in Gordon Street, Belfast were bombed. An armed and masked man planted the bomb, which exploded a short time later as the building was being evacuated. A 14 year old girl and a woman were taken to hospital suffering from shock. The building and its stock of toys were destroyed. Four men, two of
them armed, planted three bombs in Barrs Cash and Carry at Agnes Street in the Shankill area. Staff were locked in a room but they managed to escape before the bombs e x p l o d e d , damaging the front and back of the building. The army dealt with two cassette type incendiaries which an east Belfast man found in a tin of paint he bought in Walkers store in Castlereagh Street.
An injured British soldier is taken to an ambulance after being injured during a series of bomb attacks in Belfast city centre
Belfast Magazine
Saturday 3rd December 1977 The Wellworths store in Dungannon was bombed, injuring 23 people, including seven policemen and a soldier. The bomb went off as the store was being evacuated, a 15 minute warning had been phoned to the Parochial House, but not everybody was out when the bomb went off. Screaming shoppers ran for cover, and some hit by flying glass were treated at the scene. Damage was extensive, a fire which followed the explosion was fought by part time firemen. The town was evauated and all pubs were cleared, no traffic was allowed near Market Square and Scotch Street was also sealed off, as the RUC searched the area for more bombs. Two armed men planted a bomb at Quinns bonded warehouse in Newry destroying more than ÂŁ1 million worth of
wine and spirits. The men had left the device in the filling section of the building and firemen were unable to get in to fight the fire as the doors into the building were sealed. The army had to carry out a controlled explosion to gain entry. The RUC were fired on twice near Moy. The police car on the Moy to Benburb Road was ambushed at Clover Hill Bridge.
Several shots hit the vehicle but the two men inside drove into a side road, got out and returned fire. The area was sealed as help arrived and when a car drove up to the police road block and jumped out, firing at the RUC another gun fight insued. Two men jumped out and fired and the police returned fire, forcing the gunmen to flee over fields. Helicopters and tracker dogs were used in a joint RUC/
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Army search for the gunmen. In Omagh a customer trying on a suit in a drapers store found an unexploded incendiary device in a coat pocket. He threw the device into the street and the army later defused it. The cassette type device had been in the store for some time. An incendiary device exploded in the basement of the Casbah Bar in the centre of Derry but no damage was caused.
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Belfast Magazine
Monday 5th December 1977 There was an explosion followed by a fierce fire at Pilot Engineering Company on the Balmoral Road in The old Golden Steer Belfast. It broke out restaurant in in the foremans University Street, office. Belfast was badly damaged in an At Rathcoole a 27 incendiary attack. An year old man was shot adjoining paint store in the left leg and was also damaged in right thigh at Barna in a the fire at the derelict Square punishment shooting. restaurant. The Belfast to Dublin railway line was closed while soldiers searched for a bomb on the track.
A fire bomb caused considerable damage to stock in Etams High Street store in Enniskillen. Another device discovered in Jordans carpet shop in Townhall Street was defused. In Caledon an antique shop in Main Street was badly damaged by fire. The remains of two incendiaries were found. In Ballinderry a fire caused by an incendiary device
was quickly put out by the owner. A chair and trunk were damaged, and two incendiaries were defused by the army. In Derry the army investigated an explosion at Oakfield Road on the fringe of the Creggan Estate. A grating from a mains drain had blown across the road and three chemical containers were found to have been used.
Tuesday 6th December 1977 A fire, started by a double bomb blast, destroyed B Couts & Sons Upholstery warehouse in Talbot Street. The Newsletter printing presses were also damaged when part of the building collapsed. Three soldiers were slightly injured and shocked as they evacuted the area. Another soldier was treated for exhaustion after fighting the blaze for more than two hours. IRA firebomb attack on A.V. Browne’s Agency The bombs were in Crescent Gardens
planted by two youths who followed a customer into the building. A 16 year old youth was taken from his home and shot in both knees and an elbow. He was found lying at the junction of the Donegall Road and St James Crescent. An incendiary device exploded outside the Co op store on the Crumlin Road. The firebomb had been left on a window sill.
Belfast Magazine
There was little damage caused. A mobile police patrol escaped unhurt after a gang threw stones and a partially lit petrol bomb at their land rover at Summerhill Road,
Twinbrook. There furniture in the shop. were no arrests. A joint RUC-UDR In Aughnacloy the search team found an army defused three arms cache in firebombs found in an Cushendall. The haul antique shop in included two rifles, Moore Street. They an automatic pistol, a were hidden in revolver, three
Bomb attack on shops in Talbot Street
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magazines, a radio set, 180 rounds of ammunition and two mortar tubes containing explosives which the army destroyed on the spot because of their poor condition.
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Belfast Magazine
Friday 9th December 1977 Troop level reductions were announced by the Northern Ireland Secretary of State, Roy Mason. 13 major units of the
combat arm, around 13,500 men, would be the new maximium level of armed strength in Northern Ireland.
Monday 12th December 1977 Colm McNutt, aged 18, and single was shot dead in his home city of Derry. Mr McNutt, of Ballane pass, and a member of the INLA and IRSP was known as ‘Rooster’. He was shot near the junction of Little James Street and William Street by an undercover soldier. It was alleged the Colm McNutt was armed with a Webley revolver and, with a companion, attempted to hijack a red saloon car. The driver, a lance corporal in the 14th Intelligence Company, got out and as the INLA man walked to the passenger seat, drew a 9mm Browning and began firing. Colm McNutt stumbled
with the impact of the shots and tried to run away. The soldier fired again, killing him. His companion escaped. There was a firebomb attack on the Co op branch on York Street, Belfast. Only slight damage was caused when the incendiaries were planted on each floor of the store but when they exploded the fires which resulted were put out by the sprinkler system. On the Albertbridge Road in Belfast mortar bombs were planted in shop doorways. Nabneys hardware store was targeted but the device was defused by the army. Another
mortar bomb was later defused after the detonator exploded, but the main charge failed. Two hoax bombs were then found, one in a cardboard box at Magees chemist shop and another at a charity shop further along the Albertbridge Road. A pair of shoes was found inside this box. Grenades were thrown at the army at
Roden Street, Antrim Road and the Lower Falls. One soldier was treated for shock after the Antrim Road incident. The army found a bomb under a water hydrant in the University area of Belfast. The army robot was sent in but it was blown up when the bomb exploded, damaging 20 houses in Canterbury Street
Belfast Magazine
and Westminister unit, and two lengths Street. A 28 year old of safety fuse were man was taken to also found. hospital for shock. In Derry two Blast bombs were incendiary devices thrown at army which were found in patrols on the a Chinese restaurant Grosvenor Road and at Duke Street in the at Moyard. Waterside exploded. The army found half The devices were a pint of mercury found in the toilets hidden in a hedge. A but little damage was detonator, a pressure caused.
Tuesday 13th December 1977 The army examined a suspect device found in a culvert on the Stewartstown Road on the outskirts of Belfast. Colin Road, Stewartstown Road and Upper Dunmurry Lane were sealed off and traffic diverted during the operation. A bomb blast at Jacksons sports shop on Bedford Street started a fire which quickly spread through the building. Army fire fighters in Green goddess vehicles tried to contain the blaze. A gas cylinder exploded during the fire and two soldiers were
treated for shock. No one was injured. A suspect bomb at the Dunbar Arms pub in Dunbar Street was examined by the army.
A 51 year old part time member of the UDR had a leg amputated after a booby trap explosion on his farm near Ballymena. The man was reversing his tractor from rough ground when he triggered off the bomb. The man also received head injuries in the 6lb bomb attack. Fire bombs went off in a wholesale grocers in the Lisburn Road area of Belfast. Only slight damage was caused. After the first incendiary
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exploded in the Speedway Markets in Lislea Drive another cassette type device was found hidden in stock and was defused by the army. Later a third fire bomb concealed among toilet rolls started a fire which was put out by the security man. An incendiary device found in the sports department of the Belfast Co op in York Street was defused by the army. Seven devices went off at the weekend in the store.
British military firefighters at the scene of an IRA attack in Belfast city centre
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Belfast Magazine
Wednesday 14th December 1977 Paul Harman, a corporal from Orpington in Kent and with the 16/5th Queens Royal Lancers was shot dead by the IRA in west Belfast. He had transferred to the Intelligence Corps and was selected for special duty in Northern Ireland as a member of 14th Intelligence attached to 39th Brigade. He had stopped his car at the junction of Monagh Road and Monagh Avenue and was approached by a unknown number of attackers. He was shot in the head and back and his car was set on fire. His Browning weapon was taken. He was the son of a career diplomat and was born in Turkey. The IRA claimed his intelligence data, weapon and some ‘transistor like’ flares had been taken. The folder, it claimed, contained the photographs of 73
Republicans, including Gerry Adams. Two RUC men were taken to hospital after a bomb exploded in the Lisburn Road area of Belfast. The men were diverting traffic from a bomb which had been carried out of a florists shop at the corner of Tates Avenue. It had been left on the roadside but exploded before the army arrived. Surrounding buildings suffered blast damage. A bomb exploded in McDowells electrical shop in Derry and a blaze started which was tackled by the army. The army then came under attack from stone throwers but no one was hurt. Two bombs exploded at Monaghans furniture store in Derry. Damage was slight and the army fire team prevented the blaze from
spreading to a garage and bakery next to the building. The IRA stated that they carried out the attacks in Derry in protest over the visit to the city of Minister of State, Don Concannon.
of Dunmurry and the RUC and army were not involved. No targets were identified. A small explosion was heard in the Springfield Road area of Belfast. The army and RUC were not involved and in a Shots were heard in follow up search the Blacks Road area nothing was found.
Thursday 15th December 1977 Two leading members of Provisional Sinn Fein were among 15 people detained by the RUC after a swoop on homes and offices. Over 400 RUC men were involved in the four hour operation with most of the arrests being made in the Belfast area.
A UDR patrol was attacked by gunmen at Kinawley in Co Fermanagh. Forty shots were fired at them, 32 hitting the land rover and armoured car but no one was hurt. Ten shots were returned. There was an arms find at an AOH club on the Falls Road. In
Belfast Magazine
a boiler house the army found a loaded armalite, two pistols, 16 rounds of ammunition, timing devices and batteries. There were no arrests. In Derry a blast bomb was thrown over a wall at the rear of Rosemount RUC station on the edge of
the Creggan estate. No one was hurt and little damage was caused.
warning was received but no one was injured. The bomb consisted of a mortar, a battery and a can of Shots were fired from petrol and exploded a play area at 10 minutes after the Dunfield Terrace at a warning was given. police land rover on patrol near the Twenty families from Waterside in Derry. Ardmore Park in No one was hurt and Finaghy were fire was not returned. evacuated when a suspect car was spotted parked with its lights on and doors open but the army blew up the car and it turned out to be a hoax. A 60 year old man was hit in the chest when gunmen fired on his lorry as he drove from
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Crossmaglen to Newry. The lorry careered out of control after the shooting and crashed over a hedge at Fords Cross. The IRA claimed that the man was an informer. In Derry the RUC came under blast bomb attack when a bomb was hurled over the fence into the grounds of the station at Rosemount. The explosion caused little damage and no injuries. At Foley near Armagh, the UDR discovered four bullets and two shotgun cartridges lying in a ditch.
Friday 16th December 1977 A 45 year old woman was injured when gunmen fired two shots at the Meeting of the Waters pub in Manor Street, in the Oldpark area. One bullet smashed a window and the other splintered the front
door. The woman was not seriously hurt in the incident. Fire badly damaged a car showroom after a bomb attack in the Donegall Road area. The area had been cleared after a
A military robot at the scene of an IRA bomb attack on the Lisburn Road
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Belfast Magazine
Saturday 17th December 1977 An off duty poiceman was fired on in Bangor by a gunman. The constable was driving home along the Newtownards Road dual carriageway when another car overtook him. A gunman in the car fired two shots, both of which smashed through the rear seat windows of the vehicle, missing the RUC man. The policeman fired back
but no hits were claimed. Van drivers at the RVH claimed that a loaded armalite rifle and 40 bullets found in the rest room used by the drivers were planted by the army. A device containing 3lbs of explosives which was found near the security gates at Maghera was defused.
Monday 19th December 1977 A bomb exploded but caused little damage at a meal works in Coalisland. The bomb at Stewarts meal works exploded beside a grain hopper starting a small fire which was quickly put out by the local firemen. No one was hurt. A 54 year old man in Belfast was shot in the neck and chest by two gunmen who called at his Belgrave Street home. A police patrol came
IRA fireBomb attack on shops on the Lisburn Road
Hills drapery store in nearby shops were under fire in nearby. Stock was able to put out the Dromore, Co Tyrone. damaged by water fire. Other cassette type bombs were Five shots hit the and smoke. found in Ginas vehicle wounding Portadown drapery shop in one reserve constable In in the arm. Another Woolworths in High Thomas Street, where reservist received Street was damaged the owner threw the slight head wounds. in an incendiary device into the street, The patrol returned attack. Firemen who and at Davisons fire but did not claim had been standing by drapery shop in for some hours Bridge Street. There any hits. following the was no damage to Two incendiary discovery of devices either shop. devices went off in Tuesday 20th December 1977 Derry shops. The A 25 year old RUC driveway of his home New Trend boutique reservist had a foot at Ashley Avenue off on Spencer Road was amputated after a the Lisburn Road in destroyed in one bomb ripped through Belfast. His wife was attack. Police his car. The bomb opening the gates so managed to exploded in the that he could reverse extinguish a blaze at
Belfast Magazine
the car down the driveway and when he turned the ignition key it triggered off the booby trap bomb. His wife was treated for shock. The bomb smashed windows in nearby houses but no one else was injured. Two bombs extensively damaged
a stationery shop in Royal Avenue, Belfast. The bombs in W and G Bairds shop were planted by two youths. The surrounding area including the Belfast Telegraph offices had been evacuated, no one was injured.
Bomb attack on Jackson’s Sports Shop, Royal Avenue
Wednesday 21st December 1977 The offices of A V Browne advertising agency were destroyed when two bombs exploded in the new premises. An off duty policeman shot and wounded a man who was making his getaway after planting a bomb in a pub near Strabane. The incident happened at Finlaysons pub in Victoria Bridge. The customers in the bar
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managed to evacuate the building five minutes before the bomb exploded causing extensive interior damage. In Derry a small box making factory in the Pennyburn Industrial Estate was badly damaged by fire after five bombs with petrol cans attached were planted by armed men. Three bombs went off inside and the other two were later defused by the army.
The Golden Steer Steak House in University Street following an IRA bomb attack
A suspect device on the Belfast to Lisburn railway line at Derriaghy was removed by the army after it turned out to be a hoax. The line had been closed for two days while the
army investigated. Two controlled explosions were carried out on a suspect incendiary device in Belfast. It was found to be an elaborate hoax.
Thursday 22nd December 1977 The Provisional IRA released a statement saying "there will be no Christmas ceasefire" and also c l a i m e d responsibility for a series of bomb attacks on hotels and shootings.
At least two bombs exploded in a Belfast hardware store which started a large fire which destroyed the premises. No one was injured in the attack at McCunes on the Shore Road.
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Belfast Magazine
In the Falls Road area the army fired four shots at a suspect device in a bin at Clonard Street but it turned out to be a hoax. A device was found at the Dunadry Inn near Templepatrick. The device was found in a hotel bedroom, the detonator had gone off but the bomb had failed to explode. A bomb exploded at the White Gables Hotel near Hillsboroough which caused minor damage. A bomb was found at the Culloden Hotel near Holywood. The bomb was hidden in the wardrope and the
hotel was evacuated and the bomb was later defused by the army.
rooms and it was found that an incendiary bomb had been activated but had failed to explode.
Forty seven charges involving possession of bombs, mortars, rifles, ammunition, a grenade and membership of the IRA were brought against five young Co Louth men when they appeared at Newry Court.
A bomb exploded at the Country Club Hotel in Lurgan. The bomb exploded as the RUC arrived and caused extensive damage to bedrooms but no one was injured.
Two bombs failed to explode at the Bohill Auto Inn near Coleraine. No warning was received but the management of the hotel ordered a check on the premises after the RUC issued a TV warning to all hotels. Staff smelled petrol in one of the
Belfast city centre was ringed with security checkpoints as the army and RUC tried to clamp down on bombs planted in the city. Six members of the army and RUC and two women were injured when bombs exploded at shops on
A bomb at the Killyhevlin Hotel in Enniskillen wrecked an upstairs bedroom and caused slight damage to adjoining rooms. One man was injured by flying glass. The Brooklands Hotel in Ballinmallard waas damaged when a bomb exploded causing a small fire.
Friday 23rd December 1977
Firebomb attack on shops in Peter’s Hill
the Lisburn Road. The bombs at Bullicks gift store and Bradleys Hi Fi electrical shop went off within minutes of each other, starting fires and completely destroying the premises. A reserve policeman was struck in the leg by a piece of debris and four soldiers and two UDR men were treated for cuts and shock. In Lurgan a bomb wrecked a shoe shop in High Street. No one was injured. A bomb found in a bedroom in the Dunadry Inn was defused by the army.
Belfast Magazine
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Saturday 24th December 1977 Friday 30th December 1977 The army spent five hours neutralising a bomb left in the Carrybridge Hotel in Lisbellaw, Co Fermanagh. It had been planted by two armed men and they carried the device in to the hotel kitchen and ordered staff to lie on the floor. No one was injured when the army carried out a controlled explosion on the bomb. An incendiary device was found in the boiler room of the Valley Hotel in Fivemiletown in Co Tyrone. The cassete type device was
carried out into a yard at the back of the hotel where it was defused by the army. No one was injured. Damage was caused to three bedrooms at the Coast Road Hotel in Carrickfergus after a bomb was left in a drawer in a bedroom. Two youths dropped the bombs they were carying when approached by the RUC in the King Street area of Belfast. One of the devices, a mortar bomb with a can of petrol attached, exploded setting fire to a nearby derelict building. No one was injured.
53 year old James Clifford, a taxi driver from the Shankill area was fatally injured in a shooting incident outside his home at Belgrave Street on 18th December 1977. He was found bleeding in the street from gunshot wounds to the chest and neck. No motive for his death was known. Four people were treated after a bomb went off on the Donegall Road area of Belfast. Two youths had attached a bomb to a grille outside a warehouse
and the bomb exploded starting a fire which gutted the building. A car which had been left unattended at King Street in Belfast was blown up by the army. A home made hand grenade was found at Corrody Road in the Waterside area of Derry. It was dealt with by the army. An army patrol operating in the Cloughinney area of Jerrettspass found 60 rounds of ammunition in a disused house.
Wednesday 28th December 1977 Saturday 31st December 1977 In Belfast a hand station and caused grenade was lobbed slight damage and no over the back wall of one was injured. Springfield RUC
Thursday 29th December 1977 The Kitchen Centre at the bottom of the Shankill Road was destroyed after a bomb exploded starting a blaze. At Clifton Street two petrol bombs were
found at a printing firms premsies. A petrol bomb was thrown at a police land rover on the Stewartstown Road area of Belfast.
Gordon Quinn an 18 year old single man and member of the UDA/UFF was found in a rubbish skip in Conlig Street, west Belfast . The youth came from Hopewell Crescent and he had been stabbed 20 times. The motive for his killing was thought to arise from a personal dispute,
with UVF members responsible. The Crown Hotel in Warrenpoint was targeted with three bombs which were planted in bedrooms. Two of the bombs exploded causing severe damage. The Country Club Hotel in Craigavon was badly damaged in a bomb attack.
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Belfast Magazine
BRUTAL IRISH MURDERS The Hanging of Patrick Higgins n December 13th 1882 in Galway, Patrick Higgins, along with his brother Thomas Higgins were found guilty the murder of Joseph and John Huddy at Clougbrack, Lough Mask, on 3 January 1882. The two men were bailiffs employed by Lord Ardilaun. They were requested to evict Higgins and his family from a farm they rented on the Lord's land when they fell behind with the payments. As the bailiffs called at the farm, Patrick Higgins and his brother attacked the men between the hours of 10 and 11 am in the morning. Patrick Higgins attacked Joseph Huddy with a stone and knocked him down, while Thomas Higgins shot dead the younger Huddy. The three accused then forced witnesses at gunpoint to assist them in tying up the two men and carry the bodies to Lough Mask. The Huddy's were thrown into the Lake and it was several days before the local police, urged and encouraged by Lord Ardilaun, found the bodies.
O
The murder was discussed at length throughout the country and in the House of Commons this was recorded in Hansard during a Parnell debate: the case of the Huddy’s—one of the foulest murders ever perpetrated.....those persons; the one a harmless, tottering old man, who had committed no other crime than that of acting as bailiff, and the other his grandson. Such was the frenzy created in the minds of the people, so far were they demoralized, that these two harmless and inoffensive men were murdered in the most brutal manner in the open day, and their bodies thrown into the lake. At the trial of Patrick Higgins one of the witnesses was his daughter Kate who had been called to give evidence for the defence. When she came into the court she ran toward her father and threw her arms around his neck kissed him passionately and hugged him. Patrick Higgins was clearly affected by this action and the court noted the affection between the father and
daughter. Mr Murphy who represented the prosecution complained to the court about the obvious perjury which was committed by several of the witnesses for the defence. The Higgins brothers defence was that the real murderer of the Huddy’s was a man named Kerrigan who was a state informer but the great number of witnesses at the murder ensured that their crime could not be hidden forever. Despite the reluctance of the witnesses to give evidence some of them did talk to the authorities and although the Huddy’s were greatly despised in the community many did not feel that they should have been murdered in such a way. In his summing up the judge stated that he believed that Patrick Higgins had been the least guilty of this crime but that he had not option with a guilty verdict but to sentence the brothers to be hanged in January 1883. The jury took just over an hour to come to a guilty decision and the verdict was eagerly awaited by a packed courthouse.
Belfast Magazine
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national papers were allowed into the jail at 7.45am. It was reported that Higgins had slept all night without wakening and that he had gone to mass at 7.00am and a short time later he was pinioned by the executioner Marwood who had travelled escorted by nine police constables from England a week earlier. Higgins walked firmly to the scaffold and was bare headed and in his shirt sleeves and nodded to a small group of supporters who stood by the door. He hesitated for a moment when he saw the gallows but then did not falter in his step. He climbed up to the scaffold, praying as he walked and he continued to pray as he was strapped down and his cap and rope adjusted The Hangman Marwood by his executioner and his lips Earl Spencer announced that On January 15 1883, his continued to move as the bolt despite pleas regarding the brother Thomas having been was released and Higgins death sentence imposed on hanged three days earlier, disappeared down the drop. the Higgins brothers that he Patrick Higgins was hanged would not intervene and that in Galway Jail. He was The strain on the rope was the law had to take its course. hanged at eight o’clock in the great as Higgins was a big This proved to be difficult for morning and the weather was man but died almost the British government who reported as being stormy as immediately and without a were accused of unfair trials there had been thunder and struggle. in Ireland at this time as many lightning he night before the of the accused were Catholic hanging. There were very At his inquest it was recorded and rarely was jurors who few people who came to the that he died from a severed were Catholic allowed to jail for the hanging and the spinal cord and that his death undertake jury service. reporters from the local and was instantaneous.
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Belfast Magazine
In 1861 in central Dublin a terrible tragedy occurred in which two young boys were murdered by their father and the boys’ mother and aunt were also attacked. It all happened in 25 Cumberland Street, Dublin, a typical Dublin four storey house, and the Molloy family who lived on the top floor in one room at the front were an average young hard working family. John Molloy was a servant, of excellent character and had been employed as a waiter in the Shelbourne Hotel until September 1861. His wages had been good and because of this he had insisted that his wife give up her position working for an upper class family in Leeson Street. However at the beginning of September John Molloy lost his job and the family of two boys and a girl were getting deeper and deeper into financial trouble. Molloy had to pawn nearly all his clothes and furniture, and he was really starting to feel the pressure as the family were running out of things to pawn to raise enough money to feed themselves. The young daughter, aged nine, left Dublin to live in Bray with her grandmother leaving just the two young boys, Arthur and William, with their parents. It was noticed at the beginning of November that John Molloy was acting strangely and he took to his bed and did not get up. Shortly after 10am on the 20th November 1861, Isabella Pye, sister in law to John Molloy called at the lodgings to see her sister. Molloy appeared agitated and was dressed only in a shirt, socks and horse blanket. He started to question his sister in-law about some collars, which had been pawned, when suddenly, and without any provocation he attacked her with a poker. When his wife intervened to help her sister he attacked her also. Both women managed to escape and run for help and Molloy then locked himself in the room where his two children were sitting huddled together in the corner. What happened next was unbelievable to any right thinking person. The police arrived to arrest Molloy for the attack on his wife and sister in law and when they got to the top floor Molloy was standing at the door of the room, crying bitterly. His hands were covered in blood and when the policeman entered the room he was horrified by what he saw. On the floor by the door lay the youngest child, two year old William, in a pool of blood, his head almost severed from his body. Death had been instantaneous. About four feet from his brother was Arthur Molloy, the older brother, who was gasping and bleeding profusely from a terrible gash to his throat. Molloy picked up his son, wailing and crying, "I’m sorry, I’m sorry". Arthur Molloy was treated by a Dr Sweeney at the scene but his injuries were such that he was rushed to Jervis Street Hospital but the poor child died shortly after 2 o’clock the same day. The room where the murders occurred was a scene of squalor and wretchedness. In one corner was a heap of dirty straw covered with rags and in the other corner was a small table on which were some bread, coffee and butter. This food represented the only sustenance the family had to live on. The table and stool were the only furniture and there were hardly any clothes. The floorboards were covered in blood, the youngest child, William, lay as if he was asleep but he was already dead. The police had to borrow clothes for John Molloy to take him to the police station, as he had none of his own, all had been pawned to raise money for the family. John Molloy was charged with the attempted murder of his wife and sister in law and with the murder of two of his children. Molloy aged just 27, was sent for trial and it was heard in court that he was not a drinking man and that he treated his wife and children with great kindness. Witnesses including his sister in-law talked of his good nature and how he had always been able to provide for his family until recently. The police told the court of arriving at the scene of the tragedy and described how John Molloy was in great grief and was weeping bitterly while walking about the room, apparently distracted. When Molloy was taken from the room he stopped and kissed the younger child William who was dead. The knife used in the murder was shown to the jury however despite the evidence John Molloy escaped with his life. He was not hanged as was usual for anyone convicted with murder, let alone that of his two little children. His tragedy which began as a result of unemployment with led to near destitution and ultimately to the murder of his two beloved sons, was not an isolated incident in Dublin in the late nineteenth century. Unfortunately young William and Arthur Molloy were to pay with their lives.
Belfast Magazine
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