Criminal cases

  • An American Journalist in the Dublin Police Court, 1907

    From the Belfast Weekly News, 29 August 1907: “SERIOUS CHARGE AGAINST AN AMERICAN Extraordinary Story Told in Dublin Police Court An extraordinary story was unfolded on 22nd inst. in the Police Court before Mr Swifte, upon a charge of obtaining money… Continue reading

  • The Case of the Dead Man’s Finger, 1863

    From the Belfast Morning News, 24 September 1863: “A TALISMANIC RELIC’ An extraordinary case was heard at last Loughgall Petty Sessions, county Armagh.  A woman named Sarah Hagan charged her husband, James Hagan, with having assaulted her and threatened her… Continue reading

  • Ballina Man Shoots at Cat, Hits Youth a Mile Away, 1951

    From the Ballina Herald, 20 January 1951: “TAKING A CRACK AT THE CAT RIFLE BULLET LODGES IN MAN’S SHOULDER EXTRAORDINARY CASE AT BALLINA (Exclusive Report) Next time you see a stray cat on the garden wall, don’t do as Muredach… Continue reading

  • A Morning at the Dublin Police Courts, 1871

    The new Dublin Police Courts behind the Four Courts opened for business in October 1868.  A report in the Freeman’s Journal of 28 August 1868 stated that they had been erected by Mr Michael Meade, from designs furnished by the… Continue reading

  • Raising the Wind by Raising Ghosts, 1841

    From the Dublin Evening Mail, 6 September 1841: “BELFAST PETTY SESSIONS – WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1 RAISING THE WIND BY RAISING GHOSTS Our readers, we are sure, will not have forgotten an extraordinary case, tried at our Quarter Sessions Court, in… Continue reading