The Maamtrasna Murders Part III - The Guilty and the Innocent

Irish History Podcast

Fin Dwyer

Ireland, Irish History, Norman Invasion, Great Hunger, Vikings, Interviews, History, War Of Independence, Great Famine

4.7 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 14 November 2016

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this final episode on the Maamtrasna murders, we begin by picking up the story of this fascinating murder case in December 1882. Eight men have been sentenced to die in Galway Jail on December the 15th for their role in the brutal killings of the Joyce family.

While five get their sentences commuted to the life imprisonment three are set to die. However at the last minute new evidence emerges. This is sent to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland of Ireland John Poyntz Spencer. However he doesn't have much time to decide what to do - the hangman William Marwood was already on his way to Galway prison. Find out what happens in the show.

In this episode I also launch a new patreon campaign where you can support the podcast as I build towards my upcoming major series on the Great Famine. You can find out more at patreon.com/irishpodcast where i also have a new video. Filmed in an abandoned famine village in the Cooley Mountains, it explains what you can expect from the podcast in 2017.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This is a passenger announcement. You can now book your train on Uber and get 10% back in credits to spend on Uber eats.
0:11.0	So you can order your own fries instead of eating everyone else's.
0:15.0	Trains, now on Uber. T's and C's apply. Check the Uber app.
0:20.0	The mom trusts the Innocent.
0:28.0	This is the final part in the series on the mysterious and brutal murder of five people all from the one family in a remote corner of
0:35.5	conduct in 1882. If you haven't heard the first two parts they're well worth checking out.
0:41.0	They look at the murders themselves and the trials that followed. In today's show, we pick
0:45.8	up the story in December 1882 as eight men who have been sentenced to death face the gallows. We will look at what happened to these eight men, who was innocent and who was guilty, which is far from straightforward given the trials have been based on false testimonies.
1:07.0	Life in Galway jail at the best of times was monotonous and lonely.
1:12.0	The prisoners spent long hours in cold, damp cells. In winter
1:16.0	the gas lamps that lit the prison through the 16 hours of darkness each day, provided little
1:21.3	by way of comfort. The lonely sounds of the Atlantic winds howling
1:25.5	through the exercise yards added to this sense of isolation from the world and the lives the prisoners
1:31.2	had once known. However, in-December 1882 this changed temporarily.
1:37.0	The drab atmosphere of the prison was replaced with a mixture of mac MacArthur anticipation and dread.
1:44.0	The sound of workmen erecting a gallows now echoed through the prison as the execution date of
1:49.4	Galway jail's most notorious residence, the convicted Mamtrasna murders approached on December the 15th.
1:57.1	These executions were controversial.
1:59.7	Many believed at least some of those sentenced to hang were innocent. Indeed, whether it was fear,
2:05.0	superstition or not wanting to be associated with a miscarriage of justice, the tradesmen
2:10.3	of Galway wanted nothing to do with the hangings. The prison authorities had to go all the way to Dublin to find a blacksmith and
2:16.6	carpenters willing to build the scaffold.
	...

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