Bridget Barrett (died 10 September 1845) was an Irish woman who was murdered in
County Galway
"Righteousness and Justice"
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, image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg
, map_caption = Location in Ireland
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. Her murder attracted great notoriety at the time, and was "the subject of the first
Coroner
A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...
's inquest held in
Connemara proper and led to two men being charged with wilful murder on the high seas."
Overview
Barrett had a sexual relationship with James Mannion of
Letterard, which resulted in the birth of their child in July 1845. His aunt put pressure upon him to fulfill his promise of marriage to Barrett. Mannion reportedly arranged to meet Barrett on the evening of 10 September and go with her to
Roundstone so that they could get married. Although Mannion swore her to secrecy, Barrett told her sister about the plan.
On 10 September a witness saw the couple, along with a man named Thomas Cosgriff, take a boat from a place called Ruananule. This was the last time that anyone other than Mannion and Cosgriff saw Barrett alive. Some other witnesses in the area testified to hearing a woman's cries at some point in the night.
Some days later Mannion was seen in
Galway
Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...
some days later buying clothes; Barrett's sister spoke to him but obtained no good answer as to the whereabouts of her sister.
Barrett's body was finally washed up on the shore at Roundstone on 16 November 1845. Her hands and feet were missing, and it was later found that this was because she had been weighted down with an anchor, the decomposition thus separating the body parts.
James Mannion was aged twenty-two when convicted of murder on 5 August 1846. His death sentence was reduced to
transportation for life
Penal transportation or transportation was the relocation of convicted criminals, or other persons regarded as undesirable, to a distant place, often a colony, for a specified term; later, specifically established penal colonies became their ...
but he died in prison whilst awaiting transportation, on 30 September 1847.
Thomas Cosgriff was found guilty of murder some time later, and it appears that there were some legal disagreements as to the extent of his guilt.
He was transported to Australia on the ship ''Bangalore''. The Convict Register records that an order was given for his discharge on 4 June 1854.
See also
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Ciáran Bairéad
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Thomás Bairéad
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Tomás Bairéad
*
Coleman Barrett
Coleman Barrett (born 10 November 1982), nicknamed Coley, is an Irish professional boxer who has held the Irish heavyweight title.
Prizefighter
Coleman competed in the Prizefighter series on 2 October 2009 at the ExCeL London, London Dockla ...
*
Francie Barrett
Francis Barrett (born 7 February 1977), commonly known as Francie Barrett, is a retired Irish professional boxer, who represented Ireland at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.
Background
He was introduced to boxing by trainer, mentor ...
*
Slim Barrett
References
People from County Galway
Irish murder victims
1845 deaths
19th-century Irish people
Year of birth unknown
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