Charles Self (14 February 1949 – 21 January 1982) was a Scottish gay man who was attacked and killed at his home in

Monkstown, County Dublin Monkstown (), historically known as ''Carrickbrennan'' ( gle, Carraig Bhraonáin), is a suburb in south Dublin, located in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. It is on the coast, between Blackrock and Dún Laoghaire. The lands of the Carrickbr ...

in a brutal attack in January 1982.

Early life

Charles 'Charlie' Self was born in England, on 14 February 1949, and his mother died when he was quite young. Some friends in Dublin believed he was adopted. Some had met his parents when they visited him and his father, who was in the military, may have remarried. He was mainly raised by an aunt in Glasgow and was on good terms with his family.

Career

Self had worked in the BBC, but was persuaded by Alpho O'Reilly to work in

Raidió Teilifís Éireann Raidi (; ; also written Ragdi; born August, 1938) is a Tibetan politician of the People's Republic of China. He served as a vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 2003 to 2008, and the highest ranking Tibeta ...

and relocated to Dublin in 1978. He moved into Annesley Mews on Brighton Avenue in Monkstown. He shared the Mews with

Vincent Hanley Vincent Hanley (2 April 1954 – 18 April 1987) was a pioneering Irish radio DJ and television presenter, nicknamed "Fab Vinny". He worked mainly for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, and was the first Irish celebrity to die from an AIDS-related illn ...

. He was the main set designer for ''

The Late Late Show ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

'' and had worked on a popular Twink Christmas special and was due to have a wage increase. He also worked for Capital Radio towards the end of his life.

Murder

Last known movements

On 20 January 1982, Self met with friends for a drink at lunchtime in the Bailey pub on Duke Street. Afterwards he walked with a friend along

Dawson Street Dawson Street (; ) is a street on the southern side of central Dublin, running from St Stephen's Green to the walls of Trinity College Dublin. It is the site of the residence of the Lord Mayor of Dublin, the Mansion House. Location Dawson Stre ...

before he headed to RTE. After work he went home, then at 8:30 that evening he was given a lift into the city centre by a passing motorist after waiting at a bus stop. He was seen in The Bailey Bar at approximately 8:30pm leaving at approximately 9:00pm. He was then seen in the South William Public House where he remained until approximately 10:30pm. He then went to another pub, the gay-friendly Bartley Dunne's pub on Stephen's Street Lower, where he remained until closing time. He then went down Grafton Street and D'Olier Street to Burgh Quay, where he entered a late-light establishment called the Hotpot at 11:40pm to buy take-away food, then left at 12:05 am. He was with a fair-haired man in a two-piece suit when they got into a taxi at 12:20am. The taximan said his passengers had got amorous in the back seat and he left them at Annesley Mews at 12:40, a time confirmed by a garda on 24-hour duty outside a judge's house nearby.

appears not to have been at the mews that night, but another RTE set designer, Bertram 'Bertie' Tyrer was staying in Hanley's room rather than returning to his Wicklow cottage.

Discovery of murder

Bertie Tyrer came down stairs at 8:45am and found Charles Self's body lying in a pool of blood partly slumped against the front door. He had been stabbed 14 times and there were three slash wounds to his throat. Part of the cord from a red dressing gown belonging to

was also wound tightly around his neck. Tyler tried to use the phone, but couldn't get a dial tone, so he rang Dún Laoghaire Garda station from the neighbouring mews.

Funeral

His funeral was held in St. Andrews' Presbyterian Church in Blackrock.

Aftermath

Along with the murder of

Declan Flynn Declan Flynn (1951 – 9 September 1982) was an Irish gay man attacked and killed in Fairview Park in Dublin. His murder is seen as the catalyst for the LGBTQ Pride movement in Ireland. His death came about as a result of a series of beatings me ...

, the murder of Charles Self motivated LGBT activists to protest against Gardaí getting information on gay men through intimidation. It had a profound impact on the

LGBT community The LGBT community (also known as the LGBTQ+ community, GLBT community, gay community, or queer community) is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay men, gay, bisexuality, bisexual, transgender, and other queer individuals united by a comm ...

Status of case

In 2008, a review of the case was conducted by Garda Detective Alan Bailey. He concluded that the murder scene may have been "staged" by the killer to divert attention from himself. As of 2022, the case is still open.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Self, Charles 1949 births 1982 deaths 20th-century English LGBT people Violence against gay men Violence against LGBT people in Europe Violence against men in Europe