Murder in the County of Cavan

The Times
London, Middlesex, England

March 24, 1856

Ireland, 
(From Our Own Correspondence) 
Dublin, Saturday Morning

Murder in the County of Cavan

The following letter, dated Ballyconnell Wednesday morning, appears in the Express. The outrage, brutal as it was, can scarcely come under the class of murder, being rather a case of aggravated manslaughter, arising out of the drunken orgies with which too many of the lower orders delight to honour the natal day of the patron saint: – “Another fell and foul murder has been committed in this doomed locality, almost on the very spot where the unfortunate MR. GALLAHER was shot in May, 1845, and, I may state, not far from the police barrack. I give you some particulars; – We had on Monday (St. Patrick’s Day) a fair, which was attended by a vast crowd of idle young fellows, who towards evening began to beat and batter every person in any way obnoxious to them. A decent, quiet, inoffensive man, name JOHN GALLAHER, who lives near the town, was going home about 9 PM., quite sober, and, having crossed the bridge, he found a party of those ruffians beating a boy name CASSIDY. He begged of them to desist, when they turned on him, and, with short sticks loaded and lead, battered his skull in. He contiued to live, suffering intesely, untill last night. The boy CASSIDY is not expected to live many hours. Some fellows, supposed to be the murderers, have been arrested by the police. I have just heard on good authority that two parties of these ruffians were on Monday for above an hour in two houses, whose names I have heard also, running lead to the end of short sticks that could carry under their coats.”