Wanted: Murder confession of Michael Lardner, 1772

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pwaldron
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Wanted: Murder confession of Michael Lardner, 1772

Post by pwaldron » Mon Jun 30, 2014 7:19 pm

One of the first mentions of west Clare in any newspaper was in the Limerick Chronicle 4 July 1771:

"Saturday June the 30th was apprehended near Loop Head and committed, Michael Lardner and his servant Thomas Hourigan, by Crofton Vandeleur Esq. and on Monday John McMahon and Richard Blake two of said Lardner cottiers were taken in the cliffs after a pursuit ---- all being accomplices in the wilful murder of said Lardner's wife early on the morning of the 27th inst. as she was asleep in bed."
http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclar ... notes1.htm

The same paper on 21 May 1772 reported that on the previous Tuesday 19 May 1772:

"Michael Lardner, T. Hourigan and R. Blake were hanged and beheaded at Ennis, pursuant to their sentence, for the murder of Lardner’s wife.
Notwithstanding it has been asserted that Lardner's confession was sent to one person alone in this city, in order to be published; yet the Printer of this Chronicle [John Ferrar] thinks it his duty to declare that the one printed by him was dictated by Lardner last Sunday."
See Limerick Printers & Printing by Robert Herbert (1942) at
http://www.limerickcity.ie/media/ferrar ... n%2004.pdf

Herbert notes of Lardner's confession and other items that "Although no copies of the following are known, they were probably, as announced by him in his newspaper, printed and published by Ferrar."

I have been asked if any copy of Lardner's confession as printed by Ferrar in 1772 has survived.

Can anyone help?

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