The Clare police blotter Oct 1824 - several atrocities

[Paddy Casey]

This report from the Limerick Chronicle of October 9 1824 tells us of

- an assault on John McMahon of Lahinch and Patrick McMahon and James McMahon of Ballycasey which ended in the death of James McMahon and serious injury of the others:

- the arrest of Thomas Shields and John Liston for attacking John Dwyer of Ballybriggan;

- William Kerin was mortally wounded by Daniel Callaghan at a hurling match in (the ?) Burren.

[mcreed]

Paddy,
as regards:
"William Kerin was mortally wounded by Daniel Callaghan at a hurling match in (the ?) Burren."

'Burren' might well be the townland of Burren in the parish of Kilchreest at http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclar ... burren.htm
Mike

[Paddy Casey]

I had wondered about that, Mike, but added the "(the ?)" because there were/(still are ?) a lot of Kerins on the coastal side of the Burren. But then Kerin is a common name everywhere, I suppose, especially if one adds spellings such as 'Guerin'. And Mr Kerin might have been a visiting player from Dublin or Cork or Donegal or Nepal so now I just don't know.

I wonder if any of the present-day McMahons of Lahinch or Ballycasey have ever heard of the killing of James McMahon almost 200 years ago. It's amazing how these old stories sometimes become embedded in family lore and passed down through the generations.

I also wonder what a farmer from Lahinch was doing passing through Thomond Gate (presumably Thomond Gate in Liimerick) on the way back from market. I mean, the Ennis bypass wasn't yet complete at that time so that must have been quite some trip to sell a few sacks of corn.

Of course, in all these newspaper reports one has to assume that the reporter got the names of people and places right. I have found newspaper reports in which the names of people hanged for murder didn't match the names of those convicted of the same crime at the Assizes, so one can never be sure. Of course, maybe the reporter got the names right; maybe the authorities weren't too careful about ensuring that the right person was executed, the important thing being that a body be seen publicly swinging on the end of a rope as a deterrent to miscreants, irrespective of whether it was the right body (executioners arrive at the gaol to pick up the condemned, turnkey in a drunken stupor points vaguely to man lying on a pile of hay where the condemned had been lying the night before and says "That's 'im", innocent man is dragged off protesting......).

Paddy

[sadhbh]

There was also a small village called Burren or Mortyclogh in the townland of Mortyclogh in Abbey Parish in North Clare. No Kerins listed there though, according to the library's website. See http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclar ... yclogh.htm

[mcreed]

Thanks Sadhbh. I've had a look at the 1842 OS map on the library site and copied the section showing 'Burren or Mortyclough' and I'll try to post it here/attach it here.
Mike