I came across a newspaper article dated, December 1953 which gave details about the trial of Edward Walsh who in 1873 became the last man to be hanged in Castlebar, for the murder of his wife.
The article was done in a style which had an old man tell the story and he stated that no close relative of Walsh or his wife was alive by 1953. He also mentions whom the principal persons involved are related to in 1953.
Edward Walsh known as Ned kept a public house on Bridge Street. It was a two story house with a garrett and was situated on the site of the drapery business owned by Ms KM Kelly beside the town bridge. When her husband, the late Ml. Kelly, a former Councillor acquired the property, he demolished the entire building and built the new one. Ned married a local girl Mary Kilboyne, an only daughter of Mrs. Mary Kilboyne of Richard Street in around 1865. I won’t give any gruesome details but Mrs. Walsh’s body was discovered in the house by a local baker, Tom Culkeen who raised the alarm. Ned, the primary suspect was arrested and removed to the police barracks located at that time in Chapel Street which was later occupied by the County Surgeon, Patrick Bresnihan.
While he was arrested, two members of the RIC visited the old boy’s school in Chapel Street (it was located where the present Monastery now stands) and escorted the entire class to the Barracks with the exception of Ned’s son, Larry to see if anything had been told to them. It hadn’t and Larry had not even been told at this time that his mother was dead. The then Principal was a Mr. McDonnell who lived in Newtown Street, now occupied in 1953 by Dick Cunningham. The two RIC members were: Paddy O’Reilly who was a grandfather to Tommy Devereaux, well known contractor & GAA administrator (1953) and Tim Morahan, who married an elder sister of Mrs. J H Dwyer of Castle Street.
To be continued…