A triple execution: In 1846 the quarries at Killaloe, Ireland were in a state of distress with striking workers who would visit deadly vengeance on anyone who didn’t agree with their beliefs and try to work. One such man, refused to strike or be bullied by these thugs, he had a large family to support and saw the strikers fro what they were a bunch of ‘trouble makers’ trying to find fault where there wasn’t any, so he continued to work as usual. The intimidators of the strike force not only attacked him, but also his wife, both were severely beaten, by this bunch of cowards. Another workman was set upon but this brave individual defended himself with a scythe, and managed to escape. Trouble maker, William Fogarty, 25, who had only just got a job at the quarry and went on strike almost immediately, decided to take things to the next level and shot at the foreman, Michael McDonnell. Fortunately for McDonnell, Fogarty was a good at shooting as he was at working and missed. He was, however, arrested and charged with “shooting with intent to murder.” He was tried, found guilty and sentenced o death. …meanwhile not far away 55 year-old Patrick Clarke was going about his business… Patrick was a landowner and although he was a kind man he had to make some tough decisions, when a farm was not working he had to evict the tenant and replace them. Many would just throw people into the street but Clarke always tried to re-house anyone in this predicament. This was the case with Mrs. Hayes, the farm was going under and the rents had not been paid for some time so Clarke had to do something. He told her that he would find her another place and that she would not be left homeless. Unfortunately her son, Patrick Hayes, seemed hell bent on a misguided revenge. Along with a friend, Patrick Rice, they enlisted the help of some other thugs and planned to kill Clarke. On the afternoon of 31st October 1845, the gentle Clarke was out walking in Nenagh when a man walked up to him and callously shot him in head at point-blank range, killing him instantly. As with most of these inept hooligans they were of a lower intelligence and often court quickly, this applied to Rice and Hayes who were both arrested. At their trial the identity of the gunman was not discovered, but the jury believed that it was either Rice, Hayes or someone they cajoled into doing it, so they were both found guilty of ‘conspiracy to murder’ and rightly sentenced to death. They joined William Fogarty (above), on the scaffold on this day 19th June 1846 outside Nenagh Prison. Although, all three men were about to be hanged on a murder charge but none were actually convicted of a murder. A contemporary report of the day from Tipperary Vindicator said: ‘as 12 o’clock approached a deathlike stillness pervaded the entire town. Few stirred abroad except those who were present in front of the scaffold. At 1 o’clock a body of the 72nd Highlanders was drawn up in front of the prison. The streets were filled with the loud lamentations of some female relatives of the prisoner Hayes, who were present as three coffins passed up towards the gaol some minutes before the unfortunate men made their appearance in front of the scaffold. It took only a few seconds to launch them into eternity…their struggles were very brief, nor did they seem to suffer much. The assembled multitude, for the greater part, then withdrew, while the bodies remained suspended.’
Posted on: Wed, 19 Jun 2013 07:24:38 +0000
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