128 - A Questionable Conviction: The Deaths of Margaret and Martin Glynn

Mens Rea: A true crime podcast

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Society & Culture

4.7 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 10 July 2023

⏱️ 42 minutes

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Summary

On a chilly Sunday morning in December of 1980, Michael Kelly arrived at a neighbours house in a panic. There was a fire in the house he was staying in nearby, and inside were the two elderly siblings who he was there to look after. Sadly, Margaret and Martin Glynn - siblings in their 80s - were removed from the house and pronounced dead. But was this a tragic accident, or a malicious act driven by greed? This episode was researched and written by Aileen Spearin. ******** Find us on Facebook or Twitter! With thanks to our supporters on Patreon! Donate today to get access to bonus and ad-free episodes! Check out the Mens Rea Merch Store! ********* Theme Music: Quinn’s Song: The Dance Begins Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Additional Music: Allemande (Sting) by Wahneta Meixsell. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ ********* Sources: “Blaze murder link probe”, Evening Herald, Nov 18th 1981. “Galway deaths, man is held”, Evening Press, Nov 23rd 1981. “Remanded on murder charge”, Irish Examiner, Nov 24th 1981. “Charged with murder”, Connacht Tribune, Nov 27th 1981. “Murder Charge”, Connacht Tribune, Apr 16th 1982. “Turnip in blaze room was body of woman”, Irish Independent, Mar 22nd 1983. “Woman in blaze ‘was strangled’”, Irish Examiner, Mar 22nd 1983. “Woman strangled before blaze”, Evening Echo, Mar 22nd 1983. “Woman was dead before bed fire”, Irish Independent, Mar 23rd 1983. “Victim drove me ‘insane’”, Irish Examiner, Mar 24th 1983. “Accused got on great with victim”, Evening Echo, Mar 24th 1983. “‘Driven to murder by victim’, says accused”, Irish Independent, Mar 24th 1983. “Killer breaks down at life sentence”, Irish Independent, Mar 25th 1983. “Man gets life for murder”, Irish Examiner, Mar 25th 1983. Sean Rice, “Mercy dash to Mountjoy in bid to save life of striker”, Connacht Tribune, Jul 11th 1986. “State takes over estate”, Irish Examiner, Feb 21st 1989. Paul Muldowney, “State to run farm willed to murderer”, Irish Press, Feb 21st 1989. “State takes charge of murder case estate”, Tuam Herald, Feb 25th 1989. “Convicted killer’s appeal 20 years on”, Irish Independent, Jul 24th 2003. Sean O Carthaigh, “Senior officer was linked to all tribunals into garda behaviour”, Irish Examiner, Jun 3rd 2005. Aodhan O’Faolain, “Galwayman appeals murder conviction 25 years on”, Nov 13th 2007. Aodhan O’Faolain, “Harbison’s evidence ‘unsafe’ in Galwayman’s original murder trial”, Connacht Tribune, Nov 23rd 2007. For a full list of sources, please see mensreapod.com

Transcript

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0:00.0	You are listening to the Men's Raya podcast, and this is the story of Margarish and Martin
0:36.7	Balanamore Bridge is a tiny village, which sits along the Galway-Roscommon border, north
0:46.4	of Balanislo Town in County Galway. The area is characterized by its unusual,
0:52.4	turreted, nine-arch bridge that stretches across the Shriven River, giving it a distinctly
0:58.0	medieval feel. Much of the surrounding region is very rural with farms and small holdings
1:04.4	dotted along the landscape. Margaret Glinn had spent her whole life in Balanamore Bridge,
1:10.2	where she resided in a two-bedroom house on a 12-acre holding, along with her brother,
1:15.2	Martin. Neither sibling had ever married, instead choosing to live together and run the
1:20.0	land, where they had farmed a small stock of sheep. As they advanced in age, the pair
1:25.2	were said to have become increasingly difficult and set in their ways, with Margarish in particular
1:30.7	described as being, quote, very cranky. By the late 1970s, both Margaret and Martin were
1:37.3	in their 80s and their health was failing. Crippled with arthritis, Martin was confined
1:42.4	to a wheelchair, and Margarish needed a walking aid to get around. Dr. Joseph Daily, who
1:48.5	attended to the couple, had advised them on many occasions to go to a nursing home as they
1:53.2	both required full-time care, but they were adamant on staying in their own house.
1:59.2	Unable to live independently, in 1977, the Glinn's decided to employ the help of Michael
2:04.7	Joseph Kelly, who was the son of an old friend of theirs. The arrangement was that Kelly,
2:10.0	a single man who worked as a steel director, would stay in the house with the couple. He
2:14.6	would help them out around the home and tend to the livestock, and would sleep in the same
2:18.8	bedroom as Martin Glinn. However, this arrangement ended after a year with Kelly no longer
2:25.0	able to tolerate living with the couple, who he described as, quote, very contrary and
2:30.0	hard to live with. Following this, Kelly's brother Christopher went to stay with the Glinn's
	...

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