BELFAST MAGAZINE
ISSUE
71
BRUTAL IRISH MURDERS Head Severed During Execution Old Belfast Newspaper Reports
The Case of the Child ‘Born of Shame’ Exploring Ireland ROSCOMMON CASTLE
Mass Murder in Sligo Killer Doctor from Cork
History of Donegall Street
Victorian Belfast Police Reports
October 1977
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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.
Junction of Arthur Square and Ann Street in the early 1800’s. The octagonal building at the corner was an old coaching office which later became a popular public house.
2006
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. 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.
Today (January 2011)
Christmas cards were first mass-produced in the 1860s by the Belfast printing company Marcus Ward
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Victorian Belfast Police Reports Elaine Hogg
A Drunken Prank James Hannon, who did not turn up for the court sitting on the 26th November 1857 was charged with riding a pony into a grocery shop in Great Edward Street in Belfast. The accused was very drunk at the time and was described by the magistrate as "a drunken freak". He was fined 4s, 6d and costs in his absence. A Juvenile Offender A little girl named Catherine McCarter who was around 10 years of age was charged with having stolen two silver cups which belonged to Mr William Thompson. Eliza Watson, who was a servant of Mr Thompson’s, had been in charge of the silver in the household and she appeared in court to give evidence against the accused. On the day of the theft she had met Catherine McCarter in the hall of the house and she noticed that McCarter had something under her shawl. She
asked the young girl what she was hiding and McCarter replied that it was nothing, but Watson insisted on searching her and found two silver cups concealed under her arms. The cups had been on the sideboard in the parlour and McCarter had come from that direction. Constable Smith told the court that he had found a towel on the person of the accused which had not yet been identified. The magistrate noticed that it was the third time that McCarter had appeared in the court and ordered her to be committed to jail for three months and to be kept at school to undertake needlework under the direction of the prison governor. Nuisance in Great Georges Street Michael Carragher of 17 Alexander Street appeared to answer a complaint of the local police that he allowed waste, manure, stagnant water and other offensive matter to remain in his yard in Great
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George’s Street and that he also kept pigs in the yard which caused great annoyance and nuisance to members of the public in that area. In court evidence was heard that the nuisance caused by Carragher's yard had been going on for several years but it had taken a visit by reporters from local papers to bring the attention to the courts. The reporters reported the matter to the police and Inspector Lavery went to the place to have a look at it and found what was a badly maintained and kept yard. The accused gave the police a false name and so notice on him to appear in court had to be served on two occasions. Carragher had been instructed to clear the yard after reports of the nuisance appeared in the Newsletter, the Mercury and the Ulsterman but he had not made any attempt to remove the nuisance. The yard was described as being "full of dirt and filth; and some drains in it which were also full of filthy matter. There were fourteen of fifteen pigs in the yard, and they were allowed to go through it all. There was also heaps of manure in it". Carragher was instructed to clean all the dirt form the site, and to have it paved so that it could be swept each day. He was also fined £1 with 10s 6d costs and warned that he had duty to care for the public as well as for himself and while making money he was not at liberty to cause a nuisance which might bring on disease in the town. Carragher immediately paid the fine in full and left the court. A drunken car driver John Smith a licensed cart driver and William Miller a sailor were in court in October 1857 charged with being been drunk on the 30th October and driving furiously a horse and cart. A Mr David Riddell had witnessed the event and he described in court that he had seen the two men get on the cart at McGlades in Smithfield and that Smith was so drunk that he sat on the cart with two passengers and shouted at the sailor to get into the drivers’ seat. Miler asked Smith, who should have been driving, where he should go and Smith replied "to the lower regions". Then Miller drove up Smithfield at a furious rate, calling at a house and
then proceeding along North Street at great pace, driving dangerously; Riddell then intervened and got them to stop the cart, and called the police. Smith was fined 10s and costs or two weeks imprisonment and Miller was fined 10s or one week’s imprisonment. Cruelty to animals Thomas Fraser was prosecuted by Constable Hall on behalf of the Society of Cruelty to Animals for having wounded some cattle by putting them on board the Whitehaven steamer. Frazer was seen cutting the cows near the rump with a knife so that blood came from the wounds and the constable observed that he blood had run for over four inches for the wounds. Frazer was ordered to pay a fine of 10s with 10s costs. An Injured Individual Sylvester McGartlan who was well known to the Belfast police courts was again in court charged with using abusive language to Ann McKeown on the 23rd October 1857. McGartlan had been in court over 50 times in recent years, mostly on a charge of woman beating, and it had been only 5 weeks since his previous appearance when he was bound over to keep the peace after he had assaulted Ms McKeown. The prosecutor asked the court to make an example of McGartlan to which the accused replied that "the world is making an example of me and this court has robbed me out and out. This court has taken the bed from under me", to which the court erupted in laughter. Mr Hunt the magistrate fined him 10s with costs or two weeks in jail and McGartlan chose to go to jail after the cross case of McGartlan against McKeown and her husband for abusive language at the same time and place was dismissed. Malicious Damage Two young boys called Edward Devlin and Henry Hall were brought before the Belfast police courts in November 1857 and charged with having maliciously damaged the machinery in the Mulholland Mill where they had been employed. The boys admitted to having a conversation as to
Belfast Magazine
how they could stop the machinery in the mill and it was alleged that Henry Hall then threw a "pinion" into the machinery which caught fast between two wheels resulting in one of the wheels breaking, which damaged the shaft and the mill machinery came to a standstill. The boys did not admit to actually carrying out their plan and under questioning the spinning master of the mill, Mr Oyston, admitted to telling the boys after the incident that if they admitted to causing the damage that any punishment would be lighter and perhaps most importantly to the boys, they would not lose their jobs. The charge against the two boys was immediately withdrawn as being unsafe and the two boys were dismissed with a caution. Pickpocket admits his profession A fellow called Brown was in court on the 10th November 1857 charged with assault on Catherine McCormac. Brown and his friend Mr Kelly were standing in Richie’s Place in Belfast when Catherine McCormac walked past. Kelly gave her a push and when she turned round she was struck and knocked down by Brown who kicked her when she was down. The case against Brown was proved and the magistrate was lenient when he sent him to jail for one month. However while
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his friend Kelly was on the stand he was asked if there was anything he could say on behalf of his friend, Kelly was asked what he was doing in Belfast. He declared that he was a pickpocket and was quite open about how he made his money by picking pockets, dealing in both hard and soft goods, mainly pocket handkerchiefs. Kelly stated that he did not know Brown very well and that he had not seen him for over seven years, their last meeting being in Scotland. Kelly denied that he worked as a pickpocket anywhere else other than Belfast and that he was not in the business of running a pickpocket ring, he denied that he employed others to carry out this "profession". The prosecution then requested that the court do something to deal with Kelly after his admission of breaking the law but the Mayor did not believe that the court could take action on the grounds that there was no charge against him. The Mayor also stated that perhaps Kelly had made his admission without reflecting on the consequences; in fact he wasn’t sure that he believed a word that Kelly had said in court. He may have admitted to being a pickpocket but there was no evidence that he was carrying out his profession at that time in Belfast and the court had no choice but to allow Kelly to leave the court without being charged.
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Extraordinary assault John Carlisle Hall was charged with assaulting a young man, John Wylie in Belfast in late November 1857. Wylie gave evidence that he was sitting on a bus opposite the Commercial Buildings in Belfast and Hall was sitting on the seat opposite him. Wylie saw that Hall was carrying a large knife in his hand and Wylie was in fear for his life and so he left his seat and went to the other end of the bus but Hall followed him and caught hold of him by his coat. The other passengers on the bus intervened and caught hold of Hall, holding him back so that he could not assault Wylie any further. Hall threatened Wyle by holding the knife against Hall but he did not attempt to stab him and it was clear to everyone on the bus that Hall was very much the worse for drink at the time. Hall had no memory of the attack and when he was arrested by the police he did not offer any resistance to the arresting officer,
and did not make any real attempt to use the knife against the police or any of the other passengers. Hall had come to the attention of the police in Belfast before through his violent behaviour when he was drunk and the magistrate decided that he had to pass the heaviest sentence that the law allowed him on the accused. He told the court that he had to do this in order to protect the public from such person as Hall whose actions on the public transport system had made it a feared place for the law abiding citizens of Belfast. Halls defence that he did not remember the event was no excuse in the eyes of the law. The sentence of the court was that he was to be imprisoned for two months at hard labour and that before his discharge he had to give security of ÂŁ20 for himself and two sureties of ÂŁ10 to keep the peace, or be of good behaviour for twelve months. If he was in default he would go back to jail for a further one month.
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The case of the child ‘born of shame’ Dr Houston Q.C. was the prosecutor during the murder case of Mary Toner, who died aged only three months, in Cookstown in July 1893. He opened his case with a very emotional statement; Mary Toner was an infant of three months old, and was an illegitimate child. The life of an infant was in the eye of the law as sacred as the life of a grown-up human being; and a little child born of shame was as much entitled to the protection of society, and perhaps more so, than any individual in the whole community.
Mary. She had looked after her since she was six weeks old, and by all accounts Mary was a well cared for and healthy baby. When she was a few weeks old she a suffered some convulsions but this had only occurred once and she seemed well enough for a child in her circumstances.
around six o’clock and she was collected at around five o’clock again by her mother. Margaret’s only day off was Sunday, when Ellen didn’t work. At five o’clock on Saturday the 1st July 1893 Ellen collected Mary as usual and the child was in good health but a little more fretful than normal.
Margaret Burton was paid between nine pence and eighteen pence each week to care for Mary, depending on whether she had to buy her food. Mary was left at Margaret’s house each day
According to Ellen she spent the night at home with Mary as the child had a disturbed night and didn’t sleep. On Sunday she recovered well and slept as normal on Sunday night. Ellen left
So began the court case of Margaret Burton who was indicted for wilfully killing and murdering little Mary Toner. Mary Toner was the child of Ellen McDonagh, a mill worker and who had been a widow for many years. While Ellen worked at the local mill in Cookstown, Margaret Burton looked after
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Mary at Margaret’s as usual on Monday the 3rd July, but Margaret was still asleep, and her daughter took Mary and placed her in a small box to sleep. Ellen returned to Margaret’s at around nine o’clock and gave her some breakfast of a bottle of milk and then returned to work. The next thing she heard about her child was when a neighbour came to the mill and told her to go quickly to Margaret Burton’s house because Mary was dead.
dropping Mary over the weekend and of being out at a public house over the weekend with the child with her.
Margaret Burton was arrested and charged with the murder of Mary and medical evidence suggested that Mary had died as a result of injuries which could have been caused by a fall. She was bruised and had received a blow to her head, or had fallen and struck her head. Whatever had happened had happened over the previous When she got to the house couple of days according to Ellen found her baby daughter the doctors. Mary choking on milk, a bottle of milk was on the side As the trial progressed there table and Margaret was in an were many witnesses who agitated state. She had not talked about the kind of called a doctor but when the mother Ellen was, many said doctor got to the house Mary she was a heavy drinker, other said she was a committed and was dead. responsible parent. Witnesses Ellen was distraught and talked of Margaret’s devotion accused Margaret of killing to the child but also that she her daughter and being drunk was a heavy drinker and she in charge of her. Margaret had complained about how rushed off to the police where little money Ellen gave her to she then accused Ellen of feed the child. One of the great gaffes in social history took place at Stormont in the 1920s. During an important function, Northern Ireland minister Dawson Bates - who was in attendance with his wife and son - entered the main hall. As the party made their way towards the gathered dignitaries, a flunky grandly announced 'the honourable Dawson Bates, his wife Lady Bates and their son Master Bates'.
The last witness called was a young neighbour of Ellen’s who shockingly told the court that on the evening of the 1st July he had seen Ellen with Mary outside her house very late at night and that Ellen was drunk and arguing with his mother. He saw Ellen lose her temper and then throw Mary down in anger into a wooden box just inside her house. The courtroom was shocked and the judge questioned this witness closely as he suggested that Mary had been killed by her mother. The witnesses account was denied by his mother and evidence was heard that he had gone to bed early on that Saturday night and couldn’t have seen his mother and Mary talking. He was discredited but enough doubt had been put in the minds of the jury. The judge summed up and the jury retired for only a short time returning with a verdict of "not guilty" and Margaret Burton was freed from custody.
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OLD BELFAST NEWSPAPER REPORTS Murder-bid husband in doctor’s care May 1961 Derek O’Hara, a 43 year old architect, pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of his wife when he appeared at the Antrim Spring Assizes. He agreed on instruction of Mr Justice Sheil, to willingly commit himself to treatment with a psychiatrist for a period of not less than 12 months. Mr O’Hara was accused
of attempting to kill his wife with a hammer one evening at their home in Farmley Gardens in Glengormley. He was described in court as being not an "ordinary criminal" and at the time Mr Justice Sheil said; I know you have had a hard time, but except for the mercy of God, you would have been tried for murder – and there
would not have been sentence, or a any answer to that conviction, but that the judge was taking charge. into account the Mr Justice Sheil came difficult time he had to his conclusions been having and that after he consulted if he did not complete with Dr Morris of the treatment he Purdysburn Hospital would be returned to where Mr O’Hara had the court to face a been placed for custodial sentence. assessment. The Mr O’Hara thanked judge made it very the judge for his help clear that by sending and understanding Mr O’Hara for mental and agreed to place treatment he should himself under the not think of it as a care of Dr Morris.
Goodbye to the Canberra Thousands of Belfast families lined Belfast Lough to watch the P&O ship the Canberra leave Belfast for Southampton for its final fit out. The 45000 tonne vessel was built in Harland & Wolff and many of the workers who watched her leave did so with sadness as they knew that their jobs at the shipyard
would end with the ships leaving. As the five tugs pulled her out from the wharf to work the Canberra out of the narrow
berth some of the yard employees sang "Will ye no come back again", an ironic touch as P&O had announced that all her
future refits would be carried out at Southampton because Belfast, at the time one of the largest shipyards in
Belfast Magazine
the UK had no dry dock big enough. 400 men from Belfast travelled with the ship to Southampton to help with the final arrangements for the
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liner. Despite the sadness felt around the docks area of Belfast there was some humour expressed. The pride which the shipyard
workers took in their work on the Canberra was evident by their possessiveness. One of the men remarked, "There she goes, all my blood and sweat
Belfast driver fined £20 and banned Reported to have had M a g h e r a b u o y five previous County Derry. The m o t o r i n g case came before the convictions, Terence courts due to a head Stephenson of on collision and Westbourne Street in Stephenson was also Belfast was fined £20 disqualified from at the Dungiven Petty driving for six Sessions for driving a months. Also at the car dangerously at Dungiven Petty
Session was 27 year old Ann Barr of Garvagh Road who was fined £2 with £1 extra for costs for driving a car carelessly at Dungiven.
Belfast goes to the polls
North Street Knitwear Factory Fire
Polling took place in the by election in Bloomfield caused by the departure of Lord Glentoran, the former Minister of Commerce, from the Commons to become Leader of the Senate. The Unionist candidate was 52 year
old builder Walter Scott and the Northern Ireland Labour Party candidate was Mr Bob Bingham, a 34 year old engineer in the aircraft factory.
and toil". But his mate remarked with a sidelong glance, "Away a ‘that, you never even worked on her".
the peace for two years, with personal bail of £10 each and a surety of £10 each after they assaulted a man at Cashel near Dungiven. Each of the brothers was also fined £5 each with Four brothers were costs. bound over to keep
Firemen in Belfast stock in a single used breathing room on the first apparatus to fight a floor of the building fierce fire at the and there was little premises of the Jamal structural damage Knitwear Co. on caused due to the North Street, Belfast. firemen being able to Both candidates were The brigade was able bring the blaze under confident of winning. to confine the fire to control quickly. Minister to discuss Ulster Census on TV Mr Terence Northern Ireland Forty-four year old Irishwoman Bridget O’Neill, the and that in Great Driscoll achieved the dubious Minister of Finance Britain. The distinction of becoming the first traffic accident fatality of the modern age when discussed on BBC Minister answered she was run over and killed by a car television the questions about the careering along at four miles per hour difference between census put by James in Croydon, south London, in 1896.
the
census
in Hughes.
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Exploring Belfast’s Old Streets Raymond O’Regan DONEGALL STREET
and was hanged at the Market House in High Street (site of the present day Dunnes Store) Continued from Issue 12 of our title Old Belfast When the Commercial Building just across the road was completed in 1819 it took over the functions of meetings etc. The building eventually became a bank in the late 1840s until it finally closed in 2002. It occasionally springs back in to life when plays or art exhibitions are held but its future is probably still in the balance. I hope the fire alarm system is still working! he old Exchange and Edward Bunting transcribed Assembly Buildings the music of the ten harpists Number 14 – carpark (above) at the corner of the to preserve the ancient airs of street dating back to 1769/76 Irish music that would have Number 16 - Alexander & (its history was fully covered been lost as the various old Graham Ltd. Wholesale when we took a trip along harpists died and took their jewellers. Waring Street.) But just a music to the grave. In 1798 Number 18 - Clifton Services reminder of how important a part this building played in Irish History. Built as a single story building in 1769 to celebrate the birth of the future and infamous 2nd. Marquis of Donegall and extended into a two storey building in 1776 and became known from then on as the The trial of the famous United Exchange and Assembly Irishmen Henry Joy Building. In 1792 the famous McCracken who was found Harp Festival was held here guilty of treason, after the to celebrate Bastille Day and failure of the "98 uprising,
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Incidentally this destroyed building is part of the Royal Exchange redevelopment plans for this area.
A view of Lower Donegall Street almost 200 years ago with the Brown Linen Hall to the right Numbers 20-22 – This building dates back to 1920 but was the site of the Brown Linen Hall which was originally located were the present day St. Anne’s Cathedral is today. It was moved to allow the 1775 St. Anne’s Church to be built, which was paid for by the Earl of Donegal.
Number 24 – St. Anne’s Building dates back to 1887. It was originally a linen warehouse. On the ground floor of Nos 20 -24 is the Home of the long established wholesale jewellers Ellison Brothers who have just recently closed their doors.
Number s 26-30 – North Street Arcade. Opened in 1936. This well known arcade that housed many small businesses was destroyed by arsonists in 2004 and now lies derelict. It is included in the Royal Exchange redevelopment plans. On this site was the Brookfield Linen Company, a mid 19th century building. Even today if you look above the entrance there is an original plaque referring to its former use (below).
Number 36 – The site dates back to the 1760’s when it was the home of the famous liberal educationalist David Manson (below). Manson would take his pupils along to an area called Lilliput Farm. that is toady's York Road Station. No. 36 was later used by the Provincial Bank of Ireland. Today it is the site of a modern building used by SHAC (Student Housing) On the ground floor can be found the poster and clothes shops Rip Off.
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The large open area facing St. Anne’s Cathedral once housed shops and houses dating back to Roger Mullholland’s development for Lord Donegall in the late 18th century. Many of the older generation may remember the shoe makers shop that produced quality hand made shoes. This particular business found a home in North Street Arcade but due to the fire I believe is no longer in business. . This area is now known as "Writers Square" and is the venue for many festival activities. A memorial was erected in November 2008, to the International Brigade. It was erected in memory of Brigade members from Ireland who fought against the fascist dictator Franco in Spain in the 1930s. Anto, the well known sculptor, was responsible for the design of this memorial.
(Nelson Memorial Church). On the ground floor of the present building can be found Bagel Bagel, Cathedral Graphics, Avar Business Systems, WorkForce Ireland Ltd, Hair Friendly , Work Rest Play Interiors. Numbers 70-74 – Part of Mark Royal Building (right).
Junction of Donegall Street and Royal Avenue around 1910
Numbers 60-68 – Cathedral Buildings. On this site in 1791 could be found the fourth Presbyterian Church
Junction of Donegall Street and Royal Avenue around 1965
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foul mouthed grey parrots. Besides his son he had a niece living with him called Orange Mary Anne. Further up the street some readers may also remember Watsons Furniture Store which used to side onto Numbers 98-102 – Meenan Numbers 80-94– The journey McGlades Bar next door. and Company had their continues along Upper premises here. It is now used Donegall Street . At the as an employment training corner is the extension of the centre with the well known Belfast Telegraph Building. A solicitor’s practice of Pascal rather ugly building replacing O’Hare on the upper floors. Georgian buildings including Robinson's Temperance Number 102 In 1896 housed Hotel. the offices of the Vulcanite Roofing Company who Number 80 In the late 19th. specialised in providing flat century was the home of the solicitor John Rea one of Number. 96 – Originally on roofs which they claimed Belfast's many eccentrics. He this site was the famous were superior to the would one day be supporting "McGlades Bar" which then conventional slated roofs. Orangemen and the next day became the "Penny Farthing" Nationalists. In Marcus both were popular with Patton’s book "Central journalists of the many Belfast" he recalls one newspapers nearby. The description of Rea as follows original name of the pub "HER ORTHODOX when it first opened was The P R E S B Y T E R I A N Arcade Bar as it ran from BRITANNIC MAJESTIES Donegall Street to Library Numbers. 106-108 – ORANGE – FENIAN Street. The pub was allowed McEllhattons Bar, known as ATTORNEY GENERAL to put its own label on the "Front Page, "which dates FOR ULSTER". Besides a Guinness sold in its premises. back to 1910. It is a popular collection of swords and It was not for nothing that venue for music and was also pistols that would be found Donegall Street was popular with journalists. The lying about the different parts compared to London’s Fleet Irish News is just across the Today after road. of the building he also had Street. two dogs, two cats and to add refurbishing it is known as the to his eccentricity he had on "Kremlin" with an imposing Number 112 – On this site in each drawing room statue of Lenin above the c1860 stood a Turkish baths. It was also at one time a car windowsill cages containing entrance.
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showroom for Dick and Company, distributors of Fiat motors. They also had a showroom across the road . Today it houses a youth project. Numbers. 114-118 – The famous Hugh O’Kane and Company dating back to 1865. They still use today, on certain occasions the beautiful black horses to pull the hearses that were a common sight up to the 1950’s.
Number s. 120-138 – "Marshal Building "1894 with shops on the ground floor. One of the most interesting shops was "Marshals" (directly next door to O’Kanes). It was famous for the supply of many foreign newspapers and magazines. The present occupiers, Paul Steele Consulting PScAtiviva, still retain, above the entrance the famous Marshals name plate. Next door was Belfast Central Training, Fruit Shop, Marty Quinn’s Hairdressing, (Marty at one time worked out of 211 Donegall Street which was one of the Georgian buildings that were demolished in 1990 as part of a road widening scheme. Champagne & Roses,
Lavibelle African&Caribbean Hairdressing, Clifton Taxis, Donegall Chambers; offices of James Johnson & Co. Solicitors The building next door was destroyed by a bomb in the 1970s causing a large piece of wood to become embedded in the structure of St. Patrick’s Church across the road. It is now a private car park.
The previous corner building is now part of a car park that borders Donegall Street and Carrick Hill
Belfast map of 1888 showing Donegall Street Facing page map of 1960 showing Donegall Street
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S
no orry
Kids
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EXPLORING IRELAND Every week members of the Glenravel Project 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
ROSCOMMON CASTLE
oscommon Castle is located just outside Roscommon town. It was built in 1269 by Robert de Ufford, Justiciciar of Ireland, on lands he had seized from the Dominican Priory. The castle was besieged by the Connacht King Aodh O'Connor in 1272. Eight years later it was again in the
R
hands of the English garrison, and fully restored. By 1340 the O'Connors regained possession of it, and
held it for two centuries until 1569, when it fell into the hands of Sir Henry Sidney, Lord Deputy.
In 1641 the Parliamentarian faction gained it until Confederate Catholics under
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Preston captured it in 1645. It remained in Irish hands until 1652 when it was partially blown up by Cromwellian "Ironsides" who had all the fortifications dismantled. It was finally burned down in 1690 and thus it gradually fell into decay. The castle is quadrangular in shape with rounded bastions at the corner, and a double-towered entrance gate, as well as a rectangular gate tower in the west wall. After 1578 Sir Nicholas Malby carried out extensive alterations and inserted a number of mullioned windows as well as adding a number of buildings on the north side of the castle.
The Friary was founded for the Dominicans by Felim O'Conor, Lord of Roscommon, in 1253 and was consecrated in 1257. The church originally consisted of one long aisle. The north transept was added in the 15th century. The most remarkable feature of the Friary is the effigy of Felim O'Conor in a niche in the north wall near where the altar stood. The effigy, carved between 1290 and 1300, has been placed upon a later 15th century tomb with eight mail-clad warriors (seven with swords, and one with a battle axe) in niches with angels above them. On the opposite wall are traces of another 15th century tomb.
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OCTOBER 1977
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Saturday 1st October 1977 The army returned to the wreckage of the Gainsborough Bar in Derry after another warning was received that there was a bomb still in the debris. The bar was blasted by a bomb left in the
toilets a week earlier. The army defused a 100lb bomb found hidden in a hedge near Crossmaglen. The device, two milk cans packed with explosives and metal
Monday 3rd October 1977 A gunman fired a shot through the bedroom window of a house in Andersonstown, Belfast. The shot was fired at the house in Riverdale Park South. The bullet struck a bedroom wall, but an 18 year old girl and her seven year old brother who were asleep in the room, were not hurt. A single shot was fired at an army foot patrol operating within yards of the border at
Flurrybridge Jonesborough, South Armagh. Fire was returned, but no hits were claimed. An incendiary device discovered in Peters Bar, in Belfast’s Gresham Street, was defused by an army bomb expert and no damage was caused. A petrol bomb thrown into Ingram’s builder’s yard in Newington Street in the Antrim Road area set the premises on fire.
Ladybrook district. Another device went off outside premises at the Ladybrook Park, Finaghy Road North. The off licence suffered slight An incendiary device smoke and water went off in an off damage. licence in the fragments, was neutralised by two c o n t r o l l e d explosions. Wires led from the bomb to a detonating point.
The army found and made safe a bomb in a Derry city centre pub which had been damaged a week earlier.
In Belfast an army patrol found a revolver and four grenades in waste ground near Ardilea Street.
Tuesday 4th October 1977 A windscreen of an army helicopter was broken as it landed at the border near Jonesboro. The army believed that it was broken by a snipers bullet, fired at the chopper. A closed off alleyway made soldiers on patrol suspicious, and when they examined
the area they found 13 incendiary devices behind the board blocking the narrow walkway between Chatham and Herbert Streets in the Ardoyne area of Belfast. A cassette type incendiary burst into flames in a waste bin of the Crows Nest pub in Skipper Street
Keep up to date with all our publications and events by visiting the Facebook page of the Glenravel Local History Project
Belfast Magazine
but caused no damage. A similar device found in a lavatory was made harmless. Two soldiers received minor injuries in an
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explosion near Crossmaglen. The blast happened at Culloville crossroads when a patrol from the Queens Regiment was passing.
Wednesday 5th October 1977 Thursday 6th October 1977 The leader of the Irish Republican Socialist Party, Mr Seamus Costello was shot dead in Dublin. A man ran up and shot him twice with a sawn off shotgun as he was about to get out of his car at Northbrook Avenue in the North Strand area. Mr Costello, a self employed electrician, had pulled up near a DIY shop to get supplies when the gunman struck. It was believed by the Gardai that Mr
Costello was shot by the IRA which had been involved in a number of bloody feuds with the IRSP. The Official IRA issued a statement denying any connection with the murder. Married and living in Co Wicklow, Mr Costello had been a prominent member of the republican movement for many years. He survived a previous attempt on his life in 1975 when his car was fired on in Waterford.
Five shots were fired by sentries guarding Portlaoise jail. A soldier fired one shot in the direction of a man who was said to be acting suspiciously near the prison. Five hours later another sentry fired shots at a man he claimed he saw pointing a rifle towards the jail. Five masked gunmen ordered electricity workers setting up a cross border power link near Crossmaglen to stop
work. The workmen were erecting a pylon, part of the linkup between Tandragee and Maynooth, when the gunmen came on the site. They threatened the men and ordered them to leave the area. In Belfast an off duty UDR man opened fire on two men who set fire to an off licence. He fired three shots at them as they ran out of the building but no hits were claimed.
Friday 7th October 1977 Eight people were arrested when police broke up rival stone throwing crowds in the Short Strand area of East Belfast. The incidents occurred at Seaforde Street and the windscreen of a car was smashed by a stone.
Two youths were detained in Belfast when two rounds of ammunition were discovered at a segment checkpoint. A 22 year old man was questioned after the discovery during a security search of
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Belfast Magazine
15lb of gelignite in a from stone throwing dustbin at a house in youths near Torrens Dunedin Park. Avenue on the Oldpark Road. No Two windows of a one was injured. Citybus were broken Later another bus had when the vehicle a window broken by came under attack a stone at Ardilea
Street. There were no Belfast. The car injuries. which was stolen in Holywood turned out The army carried out to be harmless. A a controlled window of a nearby explosion on a house was broken by suspicious car at the force of the blast. Thistle Street,
Saturday 8th October 1977
south Armagh border investigated the firing of 60 shots. The shots were heard in the Forkhill RUC station and appeared to come from Carrive Grove, one mile away.
Mr Desmond Irvine, a prison officer at the Maze, was shot dead as he drove from a meeting at Wellington Park. Mr Irvine was hit in the head and died minutes later on the way to hospital, at least nine bullets hit the car. Mr Irvine who lived at Skegoneill Avenue, Belfast, had agreed recently to be interviewed in front of cameras for the Thames Television ‘This Week’ programme called ‘Life behind the wire’ as he believed that those who wished to harm him already knew of his identity and whereabouts and that appearing in a TV programme would add no extra risk to the risk he and his
men ran every day. The programme was aired on the 22nd September. The IRA admitted killing him and in a statement stated ‘Mr Irvine was consciously aware and fully recognised that jailed republicans were prisoners of war. Despite this, he and his colleagues continue to implement Mason’s policy of classifying political prisoners as ‘criminals’. In these circumstances and for these actions they can expect to be attacked.’ Mr Irvine was the area secretary of the Prison Officers Association. Visits to all prisons were banned until after Mr Irvine’s funeral. Security forces on both sides of the
21lb of explosives were used in a bomb which damaged the security screen at the RVH in Belfast. The explosives were in a duffle bag partly pushed under the screen which had been erected to protect workers who were building a security wall at the Falls Road end of the hospital. The screen was damaged but the wall was not hit. A 23 year old woman who was driving past was
slightly hurt when a piece of shrapnel hit her in the thigh and a 48 year old woman who was walking past the hospital suffered car damage. A second suspect device was found at the screen, but it turned out to be a hoax. The Falls Road was closed for several hours as army engineers repaired the damage. A 23 year old man from Ardoyne was charged with having explosives in the city. The man from Duneden Park faced a charge of having a quantity of gelignite at Duneden Park under suspicious circumstances.
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Belfast Magazine
Monday 10th October 1977 Firebombs ignited in two cinemas, one in Belfast and one in Comber. Two firebombs exploded in the Strand cinema on the Holywood Road in Belfast but no damage was caused. The small blazes were quickly extinguished. At Comber one seat was slightly damaged when a fire bomb ignited. Two more fire bombs were found in the Comber cinema after a search and they were made harmless. The Regent cinema in Newtownards was destroyed by fire and fires at the Queens
Cinema in Bangor and the Regal Cinema in Larne were all started by incendiary devices. At the Regal, the balcony and the interior of the roof were extensively damaged. Damage to the Queens Cinema was minor.
Incendiary devices were used in the Helmsman Bar in High Street, Bangor and in the insurance office in Town Hall Street, Enniskillen. Two firebombs found in the Hayloft Bar in Derry, on Bridge Street, were defused by the army.
Twenty four year old Greenfinch, Private Margaret Hearst, was shot dead in her home. Private Hearst lived with her three year old daughter in a mobile home (below) in the garden of her parents’ cottage at Doogary, Tynan in the south ArmaghMonaghan area. She died instantly when the IRA gunmen sprayed her bedroom with 10 shots from an automatic weapon. Her daughter who awoke frightened and screaming as bullets ripped through the caravan had a miraculous escape when the gunmen fired into a wood partition separating
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the sleeping compartments. The killing of this young UDR woman brought widespread condemnation from church and civic leaders from all communities. A part time member of the UDR for four years, Private Hearst, was employed as a civilian clerk on a full time basis at the Second Volunteer Armagh Battalions headquarters in the city. Greenfinches did not carry arms and the regiments CO, Colonel Richard Stephens stated they had previously been protected by common decency.
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Belfast Magazine
Tuesday 11th October 1977 Two men were arrested and charged with the attempted murder of a man found seriously injured with gunshot wounds near his home in Twadell
Avenue. The men from Ladybrook Drive and Eskdale Gardens were also charged with membership of the IRA.
Wednesday 12th October 1977 A 47 year old school bus driver was shot dead and a schoolgirl was injured in an ambush in Tyrone. The RUC believe that the intended target was a part time UDR man and the wrong man was shot. The UDR man was off ill from the school run and his stand in, a married man from Carrickmore was caught in the ambush instead. Two gunmen were lying in wait at
a lonely pick up point on the Sixmilecross, Ballygawley Road and they opened fire when the driver parked his bus. The man who died in a hail of bullets was named as Mr Frank Canavan, from McKeowns Villas. A 15 year old girl, the only passenger on the bus, was grazed on the head by a bullet. The dead man had no connection with the security forces, and was called upon from
time to time by the Western Education and Library Board to act as a relief driver if one of the regular drivers fell ill. Mr Canavan, normally unemployed, had just parked his bus alongside an old single storey school building at Tirnaskee, two miles from Ballygawley, when the gunmen struck from behind. They stepped out of the
porch of the building and opened fire. The bullets smashed through windows and the back of the driver’s seat. Minutes later another school bus came on the scene and was hijacked by the killers. They forced the driver to drive towards Carrickmore where they hijacked another car and then abandoned it six miles away.
Thursday 13th October 1977 The RUC raided the headquarters of Provisional Sinn Fein in Belfast. A RUC spokesman said a number of documents were taken from the building on Falls Road and were being examined. A man detained during the search operation was later
released. The raid was part of a series of raids on Sinn Fein offices in New Lodge, Ardoyne, Andersonstown and Ballymurphy. A quantity of shotgun cartridges, documents and pairs of surgical gloves were found by security forces during a raid on premises in the Falls Road area. Incendiary devices started a fire at the Strathearn Hotel in Holywood. The night security guard managed to evacuate all guests and staff but the building was badly damaged.
Belfast Magazine
Friday 14th October 1977 There were fire bomb attacks on the Chimes Restaurant and the Chester Arms pub near Belfast city centre. Three devices were planted in the Chimes Restaurant, one exploded causing
little damage and the other two were taken away by the army after they were spotted by the staff. An incendiary burned itself out in the ladies lavatory of the Chester Arms pub.
Monday 17th October 1977 The army defused an incendiary device found in Grafton’s clothes shop Castle Lane, Belfast. No damage was caused but the immediate area was evacuated for a short time.
Tuesday 18th A 67 year old former part time policeman was shot dead outside Armagh. Mr John Anderson from Barrack Street in Armagh was a member of the RUC Reserve for many years. Two gunmen opened fire on his car at Grivan’s Bridge almost four miles from Armagh and as the bullets ripped through his car he lost control and the car ploughed through the
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No one was hurt and little damage was caused. The army discovered an arms dump in a house in Newry. They found a machinegun, a pistol, 20lbs of commercial explosives, two
homemade grenades, three magazines, a double barrelled shotgun, 73 assorted bullets, two mortars, and bomb making equipment in the house in Chapel Street. Two radio receivers were also uncovered.
unemployment exchange in Keady. Mr Anderson also owned a hairdressing business in Armagh and was well known in the area.
The army and RUC found more than 1300 bullets buried in a yard at Kilmood Street in the Short Strand area of Belfast.
A 28 year old labourer of Denmark Street in Belfast was charged with possessing a Walther pistol in suspicious circumstance in Park A motorist was shot A controlled Avenue, Belfast. as he drove along a explosion set off by city centre street in the army in Ligoneil October 1977 Belfast. He was hit in caused widespread stone bridge wall, the shoulder when a damage. The blast falling 15 feet onto youth fired two shots broke 20 windows in the river bank. The through the side Finlay Street and gunmen then drove window of his damaged a car and a up to the bridge and Hillman Avenger car motorcycle. continued to pump in Franklin Street. more high velocity Wednesday 19th October 1977 bullets in the wrecked car. Mr Anderson The famous Elliot’s more difficult. hundred was a taxi owner and store in Ann Street Three was on his way home was burned out after primary school pupils from a run when he an incendiary device. were given a day off was ambushed on a The spectacular blaze after a bomb blast in sharp corner. He had swept through the Portadown. The earlier left officials premises, exploding explosion happened from the Department sparklers careered as bomb experts tried of Health and Social into the air making to defuse a booby hand Services to the the firemen’s job trapped
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Belfast Magazine
grenade, believed left for a part time member of the RUC. It was found in a milk crate outside Ballyoran School. The area was cordoned off as the army defused the device.
and carry firm in Upper Dunmurry Lane when it was firebombed for the fifth time. The remains of two incendiary devices were discovered in the building after the fire. A 54 year old sales Only moderate rep was shot as he sat damage was caused in his car in Franklin to the Kilwee cash Street but was not
seriously injured. One man fired three shots into the car hitting the man on the shoulder.
A bag found at a department store in Royal Avenue turned out to be harmless. The area was cleared for several hours The army carried out while bomb experts a controlled examined it. explosion on a landmine near A petrol can with C r o s s m a g l e n . wires attached found Windows in a nearby on the road near school were broken Newcastle was a hoax. by the blast.
Thursday 20th October 1977 Friday 21st October 1977 when the bomb blew in the front door. A woman in the house was hit in the back by the door which flew several feet down the hallway. She was treated for shock. The explosion blew a crater in the ground Mr Wilson died outside the door and instantly from broke windows in wounds to his chest surrounding homes. and head but no motive for the killing Nearly three hours later a bomb left on was apparent. the windowsill of a Bombs exploded house at Jellicoe Park without warning exploded, damaging outside the Belfast the roof of the homes of two prison buildings. The prison officers but no one officer and his wife was hurt. The first and daughter were in attack was at a house a rear room at the in Lisburn Avenue time. Sixty four year old George Wilson was shot dead when two gunmen fired eight automatic rounds at him as he tended plants at his home at Ainsworth Pass off the Shankill Road.
A number of people were questioned after an army search in the Brandywell area of Derry found a quantity of ammunition during a search. An apprentice engineer was charged with possessing a .22 Mauser rifle with
intent. The man from New Barnsley Drive denied the charge. An unemployed Carrickfergus barman of Woodburn Avenue was accused of possessing two shotguns, a pistol and a quantity of ammunition.
Saturday 22nd October 1977 A gunman fired one shot at an army mobile patrol in Derry but no one was hurt. The shooting happened at the junction of Duncreggan Road and Northland Road. Fire wasn’t returned. Three members of
staff were slightly injured in a blaze at the Town and Country Inn at Regent Street, Newtownards after two firebombs ignited. Fireman from Bangor and Newtownards took hours to bring the fire
Belfast Magazine
he was fired on while leaving his home at Eglinton near Derry. One shot was fired hitting him in the right thigh. A 23 year old barman of Benares Street in
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Belfast was charged with possessing with intent two armalite rifles, a Gerand rifle, a .38 revolver three magazines and 90 rounds of assorted ammunition.
IRA firebomb attack on the Town & Country
Monday 24th October 1977
IRA firebomb attack on the Greenan Lodge
under control and at one stage the fierce fire threatened to engulf the nearby St Marks rectory. Four bombs exploded in the Greenan Lodge in Dunmurry just after a dance had finished.
attack on the railway system caused huge disruption to the n e t w o r k . Incendiaries exploded on carriages and one device was defused in Portadown. No one was injured. Many of the devices had been concealed in seats and on the platforms.
Fifteen bombs were planted on trains and stations at Lisburn, A 27 year old Portadown and York policeman escaped Road in Belfast. The serious injury when
Four soldiers injured during riots in the New Barnsley area were not seriously hurt. They were attacked by a mob and back up troops from the Gordon Highlanders, the Argyles and the Light Infantry were called in. The violence lasted for three hours.
In Portadown five shots were fired at an army patrol in the Ballyoran district but there were no injuries and in the Drumcree area a small bomb was found and made harmless. Five shots were fired at Forkhill RUC station but no one was injured.
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Belfast Magazine
Tuesday 25th October 1977 An imitation gun was recovered at the scene of a hijacking in north Belfast when a 16 year old boy was shot dead by soldiers. Michael Neill of Stanhope Drive was shot three times by soldiers and died in hospital a short time later. The army at the time refused to comment on the circumstances of the shooting. The RUC released a statement saying that a Citybus was flagged down by
a girl at the Junction of the Cliftonville Road and Oldpark Avenue. Two youth ran out and stopped the bus, got on and ordered everyone off the bus. They then set the bus on fire (right) and at this point an army patrol arrived and challenged the boys but they ran off. The patrol then fired three shots and Neill was hit in the leg arm and chest. He was found lying in a gateway nearby.
Wednesday 26th October 1977 A firebomb completely destroyed the Greenan Lodge Hotel in Dunmurry. All the hotel records were destroyed when fire swept through the
whole hotel. Three incendiary bombs exploded shortly after a warning had been received. There were no injuries.
Thursday 27th October 1977 A part time UDR officer was seriously injured when a booby trap bomb ripped through his car outside his Magherafelt home. His two young children missed being
caught in the explosion only by seconds. They were about to leave their home a Coolshinney Park when the device exploded. The 34 year old bank employee had just
started his car in the garage when the bomb exploded. He suffered severe leg injuries and the blast also demolished a gable wall of the garage. The injured
man was a lieutenant in 5 UDR stationed in Derry. The army found 136 assorted bullets at the rear of a factory at Brownstone Road, Portadown.
Friday 28th October 1977 Two men from the Ardoyne area of Belfast were questioned in Dublin after the discovery of 20 firebombs in a field at Santry, on the main Dublin to Belfast road. The incendiaries were
found by two boys who told a local priest. A part time UDR man injured in a blast at his Magherafelt home had his leg amputated and his condition was described as serious.
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Saturday 29th October 1977 A Belfast city centre shop was badly damaged in a firebomb attack. Extensive damage was caused to stock in Trueform shoe shop in Upper North Street and nearby buildings
was damaged by smoke. Two old rifles and nearly 160 bullets were found by a UDR patrol in a stream on the outskirts of Castlecaulfield, near Dungannon.
Monday 31st October 1977 A pub owned by the former Stormont Minister of Commerce Mr Roy Bradford was badly damaged by fire. The Stag Inn near Shaw’s Bridge was
The remains of the Strathearn Hotel, Holywood, following an IRA firebomb attack
targeted with firebombs and the firemen were unable to combat the blaze due to a suspect gas cylinder bomb which later turned out to be a hoax
Anti H Block protest outside the EEC headquarters in Brussels
IRA firebomb attack on the Universal Furnishing Store, York Street
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Belfast Magazine
BRUTAL IRISH MURDERS HEAD SEVERED DURING EXECUTION Andrew Carr was from Kildare and when he was a young man he enlisted in the 87th regiment. He received an excellent education for a person of his station in life, his conduct was exemplary and he quickly rose through the ranks from a private to a colour sergeant. He was also described a being a very goodlooking young man who paid great attention to himself and his duties. While stationed at Tullamore he became acquainted with a Margaret Murphy, one of five daughters of a farmer who lived in the neighbourhood. Their relationship at the time was described as ‘improper intimacy’ and by the time he was ordered for foreign service Margaret found she was disgraced and rejected by her family. She moved to Dublin twenty five years. He returned to Dublin and where she became an outcast on the streets. found Margaret Murphy, who was by now living in rented accommodation, in the Bull Everyday she sank lower and lower in vice Lane area, owned by the infamous Ellen and infamy, she became an inmate of one of Hynes. Andrew Carr and Margaret lived for the many dens in Bull Lane near the Four three weeks among the vice and dissipation Courts. The whole area had quite a reputation until Carr’s pension ran out. in the nineteenth century. By 1862 Andrew Carr returned from India, and went to live with They began to argue all day while under the Margaret in a hovel kept by a woman named influence of drink and by evening the words Brien and stayed there for one week. The turned to threats. One evening they returned couple argued all week and Margaret ended to their home after drinking all day. Carr left up in hospital and Carr returned to duty in the for a short time and went for another drink, army. He was heard by many at the time to returned and then left a short time later to look swear that he would "get" Margaret. His for a policeman. He eventually found one behaviour at work changed and he soon was and told him that he had committed a murder reduced in rank and remained in his demoted and showed him his hands that were covered position until May 1870 when he was in blood and he had a cut on his wrist. The discharged on a pension after a service of police went to Bull Lane and discovered lying
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beneath an open back window the lifeless corpse of Margaret Murphy. The wound in her throat gaped open, so much so that it appeared as though the head had been sliced from her body. Her clothes were saturated in blood and she lay in a room with broken windows. The walls were covered in filth and all the doors in the house were falling off their hinges. The door panels were broken and the stench of sewage rotting in the back yard was unbearable. The crime scene appeared to have been the site of a great deal of violence. The house occupied by Margaret Murphy and Andrew Carr contained no furniture, two heaps of dirty straw and a black mattress was all that was found. Six days after the murder Carr was tried and convicted of the brutal murder of Margaret Murphy. The jury recommended him to mercy but despite a petition handed to the Lord Lieutenant in London signed by many prominent Dublin citizens his execution was set for three weeks. Carr’s execution was to be the first that the city of Dublin had witnessed in thirty years and the first execution in the Richmond Bridewell. In accordance with the requirements of the new act of Parliament all execution were to be carried out within the walls of prisons and not in public. Around twenty people attended the execution of Andrew Carr. The Chaplin bid him a final farewell and as the noisy bell of the prison was ringing, the executioner drew the bolt and the drop fell. Carr’s body fell and when the rope stretched with a burning sound, the headless body of Carr landed with a thud on
Everyday Margaret Murphy sank lower and lower in vice and infamy the shingle below followed soon afterwards by his head encased in the blood saturated hood. The press present at the execution reported the unspeakable horror depicted in every face in the room and so quick and appalling was the event that for a long time no person moved from the place they had been standing. The empty noose swung to and fro in the morning breeze and Andrew Carr passed away forever for his crimes. All present left the building immediately and such was the shock and horror of the proceedings that calls were made for the immediate end of all hangings and an alternative method put in place to deter serious crimes. One of the first suggestions was the demolition of Bull Lane, which had been the scene of several murders and various other crimes from vice, assault and robbery.
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Taken Away by the Fairies At a special court held by Mr J C Gardiner on February 23rd 1909 in County Galway two brothers, Michael and Bartley Coyne, were charged with the wilful murder of James Bailey on February 2nd. Both men insisted that the body that had been found in the Bailey house at Lettermore, was not that of James Bailey. He, it was claimed, had been taken away by the fairies. Today such a claim would be laughed out of court but in 1909 it made headline news throughout the country. TOLD SON WAS DEAD A Constable Sullivan gave evidence that he had arrested Michael Coyne and Michael gave a statement to the police noting that he had nothing to do with Bailey’s death. A statement noting the same was also given by Bartley Coyne to the police and was read out in court. Depositions taken were then read. In them, James Bailey, the father of the dead man, stated that the prisoners and others were in his house and had left to go to a dance. On the following morning he was told his son was dead. He found him outside Daly’s house and Michael Coyne, who was standing at the gate said, "Do not mind your son. He is gone. It is not he who is there at all. He is gone away."
John Daly, a neighbour, did not speak to Bailey about the death of his son or tell him what had happened except that there had been a row that started in the house, continued outside, and that his son had been carried home on a shutter. CRIED AND WAILED Bridget Bailey gave evidence that when she saw her brother dead she had cried and wailed and that when Michael Coyne had seen her distress had said to her; "Don’t cry. James is gone away since last night, and I know that he is gone." Miss Bailey then remembered that Michael, the elder of the two brothers, tried to persuade her that her brother had been taken away by the fairies and that it was not her brother lying there dead. WRESTLING MATCH Richard Bailey, the brother of the deceased gave evidence, which brought some light to the situation. He told the court that a crowd had been in Daly’s house after the dance and that some whisky was taken. About half-an-hour later his brother James left Dalys with Bartley Coyne. This was the last time that Richard saw his brother alive. Mary Daly also gave evidence that Michael Coyne had challenged any man who would
Belfast Magazine
wrestle him would receive a half gallon of whisky. James Bailey asked him to shake hands but Michael refused and the two men went outside to wrestle. Michael Coyne got the better of his opponent very quickly and struck James Bailey hard and he fell, with Michael falling on top of him, continually striking him with his fists. Bailey managed to scramble to his feet a couple of times until Bartley came to help his brother. James Bailey was thrown over a wall and then the two brothers knocked down the wall on top of him. James Bailey fell silent and it was alleged that Michael Coyne stood over the body of James Bailey and said "My soul to the devil, but if anyone tells what has happened tonight I will have their lives. Twenty-one years is a long time, but I will remember it if any person says anything about it. Let ye say it was the wall fell on him."
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indulgence of poteen and that the parties had all been on the best of terms. Medical evidence was produced to the court detailing how James Bailey met his death. The evidence showed that the deceased had sustained a fracture of the skull and that a stone might have caused the injuries by coming in violent contact with his head.
PEACEMAKER Mr Price who appeared for Michael Coyne said the awful whisky that they made in Connemara was the cause of the whole affair. They all appeared to be drunk at the time of the occurrence and counsel suggested that that way really happened was that in the wrestling match the men fell and Bailey got hurt. Mr McDermott who appeared on behalf of Bartley stated that he had acted as the peacemaker throughout the entire row. It was clearly and FRATURED SKULL unmistakably stated that they fell back The brothers Coyne were remanded over the wall and that was how the in custody to appear in court at the injuries were caused to the deceased. Galway Assizes in March 1909. At the trial the Crown representative Mr The jury after twenty minutes Fethertonhaugh addressed the jury deliberation returned with a verdict of informing them he did not believe that acquittal in the case of Bartley Coyne it would be necessary for them to find and a verdict of manslaughter in the a verdict other than one of case of Michael Coyne. manslaughter. Mr Fethertonhaugh claimed he believed that the tragic The judge sentenced the prisoner to occurrence was the result of an over five years’ penal servitude.
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Belfast Magazine
Mass Murder in Sligo In early 1861 a brutal and shocking murder took place in Ballymote in County Sligo. The bodies of three people, a man and two women were found with their throats cut. Immediately suspicion fell on a local man Matthew Phibbs and he was later arrested and charged with the triple murder of William Callaghan, his wife and their servant. At the inquest to ascertain the circumstances of the crime evidence was gathered from many local people. Thomas Scanlan gave evidence that Phibbs had come to him on the day of the murders and asked him for money, which he did not give him. Luke Feehely and Owen Cawley stated that they were working in the fields around the Callaghan house when they saw Phibbs coming out of small gap at the back of the Callaghan garden. These sightings were all on the morning of the murder and by lunchtime Phibbs was seen drinking in Mrs Mary Flaherty’s house where he announced that he was on his way to Sligo. Bt one o’clock Phibbs was seen in Ballymote with a cut face and part of his right hand bandaged.
happened next. Phibbs was arrested at the door of Pat Conway’s, a publican in Riverstown. He was taken to the police barracks where he was searched and a large sum of money was found concealed in his clothing. Over twelve pounds in cash and a number of gold sovereigns were found and three razors. One of the razors was a Morrison razor and the heel of it was red with blood and there was blood inside the haft. A watch key, a parcel of neck collars and a matchbox covered in blood was also recovered. Phibbs clothing was also covered in blood but it would have been impossible for the court to identify the blood as belonging to any of the deceased however the courts at the time would have taken account of circumstantial evidence.
Phibbs stood charged with murder and robbery but the robbery charges were dropped, as there was not enough evidence to support the charge. The Judge proceeded to charge the jury and went through the evidence in great detail. He carefully analysed the entire evidence putting the inconsistencies in the evidence of each witness to the jury and he clearly and A short time later Phibbs was arrested forcibly expiated upon such portions and Mounted Constable Patrick of the evidence, which were calculated Fogarty told the court of what to show the guilt of the prisoner. After
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four hours of the summing up the jury retired to return two and a half hours later with a verdict of guilty. The death sentence was then handed down and the execution was affixed for August 19th. On this day Matthew Phibbs was led out to hang for the murder of 80-yearold William Callaghan, his wife Mary and their servant Anne Jane Mooney. It was the first public execution in Sligo for 26 years and although people were discouraged from attending hundreds gathered outside the jail. Phibbs was led out only to be returned to jail, as there was some problem with the arrangements. Finally he was led out and within two minutes of his hanging Phibbs was dead. After his death the following confession, dated 18th August 1861 was released by Sligo Jail: Matthew Phibbs aged about 25 was born in the town of Ballymote…I must say I had honest parents, and often did get good advice from them when a youth to mind my Sunday school and to go to church, the house of God. That I did prefer going with bad company elsewhere – perhaps into a whisky house. Young lad or young men….I do say to thee to take care and beware of what brought Matthew Phibbs to this, his untimely end…I must bid you a farewell, heartily forgiving all who have injured me and asking forgiveness from all whom I
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Matthew Phibbs was soon arrested and charged with the horrific murders
have injured. I do trust and hope, though my sins have been very many that my Saviour has washed them all away and that I am going to That happy land of pure delight, Where saints immortal reign Infinite day excludes the night, And pleasures banish pain. After my trial I have acknowledged my guilt to the Rev Mr Shore and Mr Garrett, but asked them not to make it public until after I was executed. I now admit the justice of my sentence and go willingly to suffer what I deserve looking to my Blessed Saviour who suffered for me. Again, young me, beware of what has brought me to this, my untimely end. Matthew Phibbs. The body of Matthew Phibbs hung in public for three quarters of hours causing fainting amongst the police and public who watched. His body was then lowered into a coffin and buried within the prison.
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Belfast Magazine
Killer Doctor from Cork Shandy Hall was situated between Macroom and Cork in a town named Dripsey, and was the home of 63 year old Dr Philip Henry Eustace Cross, a retired British Army Officer. Surgeon Major Cross was a gentleman of means who had married a lady of what was regarded in 1887 as a good social position. She was Mary Laura Marriott, a lady from a well-known English family and they were married in 1869 at St James’ Church, Piccadilly in London. On June 2nd 1887 Mrs Mary Laura Cross was found dead at her home in Shandy Hall. Suspicions were aroused when on June 9th 1887, only 5 days after her burial, Dr Cross left for England. At the time he claimed that he was going to break the news to his two sons at school there but it later transpired that he met up with a young girl who at one time was employed by him as a governess at Shandy Hall. This girl was called Effie Skinner and both she and Dr Cross continued to London together where they were married at St James’ Church, Piccadilly on 17th June 1887. The body of Mrs Mary Laura Cross was exhumed and strychnine and arsenic were found in her remains. A murder enquiry had begun. Miss Effie Skinner came to work at Shandy Hall in October 1886 and stayed there for three months in the capacity of governess. After that she went to Carlow to take up the same position. She was next reported to have been at the North Western Hotel in Dublin on
St James’s Church in London’s Piccadilly the 29th March with Dr Cross. Three weeks later they were both booked into the same hotel going by the name of Mr and Mrs Osborne and on the 22nd April the intrigue ended and Dr Cross returned home. At this time Mrs Cross wasn’t suffering from any illness but on April 29th an old friend of Mrs Cross stayed at Shandy Hall and her diary was used as evidence at the trial. The journal showed how Mrs Cross suffered and described the fatal symptoms of slow arsenic poisoning. It was proved at the trail that Mrs Cross used to vomit for hours at a time and that the vomit was a yellowish green and there was no nurse with her at any time during her illness. When her body was exhumed there was no solid food in her stomach. On the night Mrs Cross died, Mary Buckley, the kitchenmaid, was awakened from her
Belfast Magazine
sleep, and for a few minutes she heard her mistress’s screams. She had never heard her scream before and Mary went off to sleep again. Next morning at 6 o’clock, Dr Cross went to the servants and told them that Mrs Cross had died at 1.30 am. He had remained for five hours alone with the deceased and did not call on anyone after her death. The doctor then proceeded to register her death, and he himself filled out the death certificate, stating that the cause of death was typhoid fever and the number of days of her illness was fourteen. She died at 1.30 am on June 2nd and was buried at 6.00 am June 4th. None of her servants were at the funeral and a kitchenmaid reported that on the morning of the funeral she looked out the window and saw only three persons present; Dr Cross, the husband, Griffen, the publican and the driver of the hearse.
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without faltering’ to the gallows. When the noose was adjusted around his neck he turned to face the clergyman who was reading the service for the dead. He said nothing to the hangman, whom he classed as his social inferior, and when the bolt was drawn at a few minutes past eight, death appeared to be instantaneous. At shortly after 8.00 am the reporters were admitted and at 9.30 am the inquest was opened. The inquest was complicated by some technicalities and the hangman was called to give evidence but he had already returned to England. The inquest was adjourned to enable his to return but he refused. The inquest on Dr Philip Henry Eustace Cross therefore remains technically adjourned to this day and he is therefore not officially dead – yet.
Directly after the funeral Dr Cross left for London to break the news to his two sons but instead he went to renew his intimacy with Miss Skinner. By the time they were married on the 17th June she was already pregnant. At first Dr Cross did not introduce her as his new wife to Cork Society and it was noted that on June 19th, two days after their marriage, they were registered at the North Western Hotel in Dublin under the name of Mr and Mrs Onslow. Dr Cross was eventually arrested and charged with the wilful murder of his wife. He was brought to trial and found guilty and sentenced to death. Dr Philip Cross was hanged at Cork Gaol on the Morning of Wednesday January 11th 1888 pleading his innocence and denying he murdered his wife by administering poison to her. It was reported that he ‘walked erect
Cork Gaol where Dr Cross was executed
Murders, Ghosts and Bodysnatchers
The Darker Side of Belfast’s History Every Sunday the Glenravel Project conduct a fascinating tour which explores the darker side of Belfast’s history. The city centre tour meets at St Anne’s Cathedral and ends at Castle Junction where all the horrific executions took place and where we will look at the gory details behind a few of them. Before that we will tell a few of the ghost stories from that area such as the tragedy which occurred in the Lucifer Match Factory and Smithfield Mill before moving on to the old Victorian red light district and exploring what life was really like there. We will look at the popular bar room activity where bets were taken on killing rats with bare teeth as well as some of the ‘dreadful’ crimes which saw some of the areas residents being transported. There will be more murder stories as well as the sad ghost story telling the fate of the Five Mary’s. We will visit Academy Street where the lodgings of most of Belfast’s bodysnatchers were situated. We will hear the tales of how they robbed the local graveyards of corpses and why they tore the teeth from the heads. We will then cross to the site of the infamous Hundon’s Entry which was so notorious even the police refused to go in. The total cost is £10 per person and will include a booklet as well as a fascinating DVD looking at the darker side of Belfast’s history. To secure your place you can book online at www.toursofbelfast.com or simply meet outside St Anne's Cathedral any Sunday night at ISSN 1470-0417 £2.50 6.30pm