Michael Leahy was a child who died by

drowning Drowning is a type of suffocation induced by the submersion of the mouth and nose in a liquid. Most instances of fatal drowning occur alone or in situations where others present are either unaware of the victim's situation or unable to offer a ...

in 1826 in

Kerry Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in Count ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Leahy was four years old at the time of his death. He was believed by some in his community to have been a

changeling A changeling, also historically referred to as an auf or oaf, is a human-like creature found in folklore throughout Europe. A changeling was believed to be a fairy that had been left in place of a human (typically a child) stolen by other fairi ...

and the drowning was the result of an attempt to cure him. Ann Roche was indicted for Leahy's murder and tried in

Tralee Tralee ( ; ga, Trá Lí, ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the Lee River') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in County ...

. Roche was described by the '' London Morning Post'' as being "an old woman of very advanced age". She claimed to have

supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

abilities and

healing With physical trauma or disease suffered by an organism, healing involves the repairing of damaged tissue(s), organs and the biological system as a whole and resumption of (normal) functioning. Medicine includes the process by which the cells i ...

skills. She ordered two people to bathe the boy in the river Flesk every morning. The two bathed him for three mornings. On the third morning he was held under the water for longer than usual and died.

Mythological background

A changeling was a child left by

fairies A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit, o ...

after they had stolen a healthy human child. The suspicion in Leahy's case resulted from his illness. He could neither speak nor stand. Under cross-examination a witness said that the drowning was not done with the intent of killing the child but to cure him – "to put the fairy out of it".

Legal verdict

The court, at the direction of the judge, found Roche not guilty of murder. The judge said that the jury "would not be safe in convicting the prisoner of murder, however strong their suspicion might be". Author Robert Curran says that the verdict is suggestive of the depth of belief in changelings in the community. There were several similar cases in rural

in the 19th century.

Popular culture

Hannah Kent's novel, ''

The Good People ''The Good People'' is a 2016 historical novel by Australian author Hannah Kent. The novel takes inspiration from the case of the 1826 death of Michael Leahy in Kerry, Ireland. Background While researching her first novel, ''Burial Rites'', t ...

'', takes inspiration from this case. Kent said that she could only find two primary source articles on the case after extensive research and many details about the case are unknown.

References

Leahy, Michael 1826 in Ireland Leahy, Michael Violent deaths in Ireland {{Ireland-hist-stub

Mythological background

Legal verdict

Popular culture

See also

References