School: Cnoc Rua
- Location:
- An Cnoc Rua, Co. Ros Comáin
- Teacher: Seán Mac Diarmada
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0237, Page 399
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- XML “The Man that Could Not Be Hung”
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- There was a man one time who was charged with the murder of his employer an old lady.
He pleaded not guilty and up to the end declared his innocence. His last night's sleep in jail was an uneasy one, before the sentence was carried out he dreamt he could not be hanged, and he told it to the warders in his cell at dawn.
At 8 o'clock he was marched to the scaffold and after being pinioned and putting on the white cap the hang man pulled the bolt but the trapdoor refused to act, again it was tried and failed.
The poor man was then removed for ten minutes, by order of the governor while the warders hammered the trapdoor and it was now in order. He was put on again. When the bolt was drawn for the third time, and proved a failure. Then he was marched back to his cell and was sentenced to penal servitude for life. Not long after that he was set free.
- Collector
- Mary Philomena Brady
- Gender
- Female
- Address
- Trian na Graí, Co. Ros Comáin
- Informant
- Mr Phill Brady
- Gender
- Male
- Address
- Trian na Graí, Co. Ros Comáin
