Thursday — Second Day.
High-way Robbery, most outrageous.
The King v. FITZGERALD and others
On the 7th of September last, the following
most audacious robbery and assault, by putting in
bodily fear, knocking down, and wounding the
prosecutors, Richard FITZGERALD and John BURN,
farmers near Castle-Oliver, in this county, at the
hour of one o'clock at noon of that day, against
FITZGERALD abd his several accomplices— The prisoners
were stated to be armed with a blunderbuss
and guns, the former of which was found in a twig
yard, a great distance from the place of the outrage
and robbery, while some of the culprits were detected
and secured in a corn-field in a different direction—
the prosecutors having had the happy preesence
of mind, on see the robbers running up the
hill from the valley wherein the crime was committed,
towards Castle-Oliver, to follow them in
that direction and go to the mansion of the meritorious
owner of that castle, and to acquaint him with
the horrible deed, not without the most splendid,
and to that gentleman's great praise, most fortunate
result, in the apprehension and security of the robbers,
notwithstanding the most desperate efforts at
personal and violent resistance, interposed by the
fugatives to their pursuers.
Mr. OLIVER most judiciously laid down a plan of
pursuit, by himself, Mr. LOWE and Others, in so
many different directions throughout the country,
that no possibility of escape remained for the
fugative felons, who were secured by their pursuers,
at the risk of their lives most gallantly. There
were many witnesses examined in corroboration of
this statement, by Mr. Solicitor-General, Mr. Serjeant
JOY, Mr. KELLER, Mr. LLOYD, chairman of
the county, and PENEFATHER on behalf of the crown,
in the course of which long examination it fully
appeared, that the prisoners, being five in number,
were respectively and separately identified by the
different witnesses, who ere personally engaged
in the apprehension of the prisoners, separately and
respectively, one of whom had presented a blunderbuss
at the constable LYNCH, in the corn field,
whereupon the brave veteran, who lost an arm in
the siege of Badajos, replied “ that death had no
terrors for him, while in the service of his King, in
apprehending a felon whom they thus secured and
disarmed,”
Mr. Solicitor General made a brief but impressive
comment on the pecular enormity and wickedness
of this case, in which it appeared that the
profligate and idle were desperate enough to attempt,
with temporary success, the possession,
through the crime of robbery, of the fruits of hard
industry, from those honest and laborious farmers,
the prosecutors, then returning from Cork market,
with the prices of their grain, being respectively
possessed of £33 4s. 4d. and £27— contained in
pocket books, that were produced, with the notes,
&c. therein respectively identified.
The case was completely established by a chain
of circumstantial and positive testimony that left
no doubt in the mind of any man living, now hearing
the case, of the prisoners guilt.
Mr. HOWLEY cross-examined the witnesses on
the part of the prisoners, but called no witnesses
on their behalf.
Mr. Serjeant JOHNSON delivered an able and clear
charge to the Jury, recapitulating the whole evidence
and leaving it to their sound discrettion as a
Jury question.
The Jury immediately, and without retiring, returned
a verdict of Guilty— The learned Serjeant
then pronounced the aweful sentance of the law on
Philip TOUHY, William O'BRIEN, Edward FITZGERALD,
and John JAQUES—to be hanged at Kilfinan,
on Thursday, the 9th Instant.
|