
Death on Ireland's Eye
The Victorian Murder Trial that Scandalised a Nation
Dean Ruxton(Author)
Gill Books (Publisher)
Published on 4. February 2022
Book
Paperback/Softback
304 pages
978-0-7171-8892-5 (ISBN)
Description
A tragic death, a murder trial and a 170-year-old mystery - but what really happened?
Shortly after Maria Kirwan died in a lonely inlet on Ireland's Eye, it was decided that she had drowned accidentally during a day spent with her husband on the picturesque island. This inquest verdict appeared to conclude the melancholy events that consumed the fishing village of Howth, Co Dublin, in September 1852.
But not long afterwards, suspicion fell upon Maria's husband, William Burke Kirwan, as whispers of unspeakable cruelty, an evil character and a secret life rattled through the streets of Dublin.
Investigations led to William's arrest and trial for murder. The story swelled into one of the most bitterly divisive chapters in the dark annals of Irish criminal history. Yet questions remain: does the evidence stand up? What role did the heavy hand of Victorian moral outrage play? Was William really guilty of murder, or did the ever present 'moral facts' fill in gaps where hard proof was absent?
Now, this compelling modern analysis revisits the key evidence, asking sober questions about the facts, half-facts and fantasies buried within the yellowed pages of the Ireland's Eye case files.
Shortly after Maria Kirwan died in a lonely inlet on Ireland's Eye, it was decided that she had drowned accidentally during a day spent with her husband on the picturesque island. This inquest verdict appeared to conclude the melancholy events that consumed the fishing village of Howth, Co Dublin, in September 1852.
But not long afterwards, suspicion fell upon Maria's husband, William Burke Kirwan, as whispers of unspeakable cruelty, an evil character and a secret life rattled through the streets of Dublin.
Investigations led to William's arrest and trial for murder. The story swelled into one of the most bitterly divisive chapters in the dark annals of Irish criminal history. Yet questions remain: does the evidence stand up? What role did the heavy hand of Victorian moral outrage play? Was William really guilty of murder, or did the ever present 'moral facts' fill in gaps where hard proof was absent?
Now, this compelling modern analysis revisits the key evidence, asking sober questions about the facts, half-facts and fantasies buried within the yellowed pages of the Ireland's Eye case files.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Dublin
Ireland
Publishing group
Gill
Dimensions
Height: 152 mm
Width: 234 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
322 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7171-8892-5 (9780717188925)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
02/2022
Gill Books
€14.39
Available for download
Person
Dean Ruxton tells stories. Old ones, mostly. As an author and digital journalist, he is best known for writing that peers into the dark, fascinating corners of historical crime in Ireland. Dean works for The Irish Times, where he writes and curates his archive project, 'Lost Leads'. His first book, When the Hangman Came to Galway, was published by Gill in 2018. He lives in Dublin.