Agrarian Crime
This section of the exhibition dealt with the numerous
secret societies in Co. Clare during the 18th Century. Secret
Societies were prevalent due to unrest caused by loss of
land ownership by the Catholic Irish. Two groups in particular
featured prominently in the county, “Lady Clare’s Boys”,
who wore women’s clothes for disguise, and the Terry Alts,
reputedly named after a shoemaker from the village of Corofin.
These illegal organisations terrorized the local landlords
for treating tenants unfairly.
Famous Murder Cases
This section of the exhibition dealt with five
vicious murders in the Clare area, which included the case
of “The Colleen Bawn”. In 1819, a young woman’s body was
washed up on the shore near Moneypoint in Co. Clare. The
Colleen Bawn, as she became known, had been shot while on
a boat trip on the Shannon Estuary. Her body was dumped
overboard and discovered six weeks later near Kilrush, in
Co. Clare. Her husband and his servant were charged and
executed for her murder.
Famous Clare Trials
One famous trial held in Co. Clare, reported in
the Dublin Evening Post in July, 1824, was that of Honora
Concannon, a prostitute, for the murder of William Higgins,
a beggar from Corofin in Co. Clare. The evidence against
her was so strong that the Jury returned a verdict of guilty
without leaving the box. Concannon was sentenced to death
by hanging. She was placed with a rope around her neck after
having severely bitten the executioner. She struggled relentlessly
as she kicked and cursed those around her. When the drop
fell, one of her legs remained on the frame until the executioner
removed it with force and she subsequently died unrepentant.
Courthouses
The first attempt to hold a court in the county
of Clare seems to have been held in the Franciscan Abbey
at Ennis, in 1570. The first purpose-built courthouse was
erected in the area known as the Square, in Ennis. A new
Courthouse was built in 1850 and this venue is still in
use today.
Punishment
Severe forms of punishment were applied during
the 18th and 19th Centuries. Stocks were an instrument of
punishment whereby the perpetrator’s hands, head and feet
were locked in between lengths of timber. A person could
be left in this position for several hours. Another form
of punishment used was the Ducking Stool, which was a seat
attached to a long pole mounted on a support. A scold or
nagging woman would be strapped in the stool and ducked
in the waters of the river. A Whipping Post was a timber
pole to which the prisoner would be strapped and flogged.
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