Colm Wallace shares the mystery of a death on Ireland’s Eye that transfixed Victorian Ireland

 

The most sensational trial in nineteenth century Ireland was that of the so-called murder on Ireland’s Eye, although there remains some doubt about whether a crime occurred at all.

The story begins with the well-known painter William Burke Kirwan and his wife Maria Kirwan, née Crowe. The pair had married in around 1840 and had for some years lived at a salubrious address on Upper Merrion Street in Dublin City, where they were well known in refined circles.

By 1852, the Kirwans had been married for twelve years, although they had no children.
The pair spent much of that summer in Howth, Co. Dublin. The seaside town was ten miles away from their home but an exotic destination in those days before motorised transportation.
Such lengthy summer holidays were common pursuits of the upper classes in Victorian Dublin at the time and the couple lodged with a Mrs Campbell.

The Kirwans grew to be well known in the area and later accounts suggest that Maria was more popular locally than her husband, whom many considered aloof.

On Monday 6th September, 1852, the Kirwans decided to spend the day on Ireland’s Eye, a small, uninhabited island just over a mile off the coast of North County Dublin.
It was a popular destination for day-trippers and that morning the Kirwans set off to the island, which they had visited on three previous occasions that summer.

On each visit, William would paint while his wife, a strong swimmer, would spend part of the day bathing.

On this morning, the pair, carrying a picnic, travelled with two local fishermen named Patrick and Michael Nangle, departing at around 10a.m.

After the journey, lasting some fifteen minutes, the Kirwans were dropped off at the island’s harbour.

Continue reading in this week’s Ireland’s Own

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