The Nolagh Murder Trial
The infamous Nolagh murders took place near Shercock in 1898. They have been a topic of discussion for many years and Jonathan Smyth revisits the gruesome story in this week's Times Past column...
The townland name of Nolagh may be reminiscent of Nollag which in gaeilge is December, or Christmas. In December 1898, the trial of Philip King for the horrific murders at Nolagh, Shercock, concluded. King bided his time behind bars in Armagh jail, charged with the brutal murder of his wife, his mother-in-law and the death of his two small children. I would like to say thank you to Pat Brady who suggested the topic for this week’s column.
July 1898
In July 1898, the prisoner appeared before the magistrates at Shercock. They saw a great deal of angry ‘shouting and booing’ against the prisoner, and an application was made by his solicitor, J.J. McNally, to hold the trial in another county. Statements were read, including one from Michael Martin of Carrickmacross, who witnessed the scenes at Shercock. The application was refused. The Lord Chief Baron and Mr Justice Gibson agreed there was no danger of prejudice to King amongst the local jurors.
Cavan Court
At Cavan Crown Court on Tuesday, July 5, King was informed that ‘he did feloniously, wilfully, and of malice aforethought kill and murder one, Mary Reilly’ during the hours of the night between January 30th, and the morning of the next day. Questioned as to his guilt, King confidently replied, ‘I am not guilty. I never did it. I am as free from the murder as the man that was never born.’ Jurors were sworn in. They were Robert Finnegan, Ballyjamesduff; Alexander Brown, Carrickavey; John Foster Brown, Tullyvin; Robert Smith, Cuillaghan; Charles Brady, Money; Terence Fitzpatrick, Milltown; Samuel Clarke, Ballyhugh; Thomas Robinson, Cavancoulter; Bartholomew Lynch, Kilnacrott; William Grant, Cavan; Andrew Boyle, Cornacarrow; and Richard Fitzsimons, Gartonfree.
The murders were described as the ‘most cruel, and most savage’ to have ever happened in the county. The killings took place in the prisoner’s home where the bodies lay for three days until they were discovered by Constable Sullivan, Owen Farrelly and ‘young Clarke’. It was on February 3, that the men broke down King’s door and upon the floor they discovered the bodies of his mother-in-law, his 27-year-old wife Mary, and Katherine, their three-week-old child. They had been laid out on a bed of straw. King’s 15-month-old child, Mary junior, was also discovered dead. The use of a blunt instrument had left the facial features of Mary Reilly and Mary King unrecognisable. In the kitchen a blood-soaked spade was recovered.
The court learned how Philip King had form when it came to violence. In March 1896, both Mary Reilly and Mary King fled the prisoner and lodged in the house of Anne Reilly, Crossmakeelan. That day, Mary Reilly bore a cut to the head, as blood streamed down her shoulders; and Mrs King had wounds too. Philip King turned up at Crossmakeelan and admitted to flinging the women against a table. The two ladies were persuaded by him to return home, which they did, three days later. The petty sessions that month in Shercock had three summonses in relation to King.
In 1897, King got work in Belfast, leaving his wife and mother-in-law in Nolagh without money in the hope, of starving them out, the court suggested. Mary Reilly was forced to accept outdoor relief to feed the family. Eventually, the prisoner came home. Then his wife gave birth and afterwards Dr Burke sent Owen Farrelly over to Nolagh with medicine. The prisoner was in an angry mood and, meeting Farrelly in the doorway, he produced a knife warning him to clear the premises within two minutes, or his guts would be let out. Farrelly who was a nephew of Mary Reilly, quickly left the building.
When the Judge sought a verdict from the Jury, they twice returned an undecided result. The trial of Philip King for the murder of his wife and family at Nolagh, near Shercock, was re-scheduled for Monday morning of December 11 at the ‘Winter Assizes’ in Belfast.
The end
The Belfast court did not take long to find the prisoner guilty, and he was sentenced to death. A drawing of King during a court appearance reveals a thuggish looking man, which he certainly was. Previously, Philip King, originally from Cornagaul, Drung, had been married to a widow’s daughter near Tullyvin. When the first wife died, he tried to put the old widow out on the street, but luckily her daughter’s Will had saved both land and house under the mother’s name.
King was turfed out from the house, but before leaving he made sure to get a sum of money from the old lady. This paper noted that he had avaricious streak, and loved ‘money for moneys sake’, and having lived for a time in America, he returned with even less religion than he had before. Disgruntled, the notoriously ‘indolent’ King started a job of feeding calves in the countryside until he found his next victim at Nolagh.
Armagh Jail
King was sent back to Armagh jail and awaited execution, apparently in good health and ‘fair spirits’, and although now eating meals ‘heartily’, King had for the first number of days found himself unable to touch food as he faced his final days. He did lots of exercise as he awaited his fate. He availed of the prison chaplain Rev Fr J. Quinn regularly.
During the night of Thursday, February 12, 1899, King had very little sleep. The following morning, at 7.40pm, Friday 13, there was a request by Arthur Forbes, sub-Sherriff of Cavan, to collect the body of Philip King. The Governor handed King over to Forbes. A procession of clergy and wardens was formed. The prisoner was led to scaffold with a white cap covering his face. The hangman ‘pinioned’ him in place, both legs were strapped together, and then the bolt was pulled. The echo of King’s loud voice reciting the ‘litany of the dying’ ceased.
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