Dominick Dáll Bodkin (died 8 October 1740) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

mass murderer Mass murder is the act of murdering a number of people, typically simultaneously or over a relatively short period of time and in close geographic proximity. The United States Congress defines mass killings as the killings of three or more pe ...

Biography

Bodkin was a member of

The Tribes of Galway The Tribes of Galway ( ga, Treibheanna na Gaillimhe) were 14 merchant families who dominated the political, commercial and social life of the city of Galway in western Ireland between the mid-13th and late 19th centuries. They were the families ...

, and nicknamed ''Dáll'' ("Blind") because he was blind in one eye. Pockmarked and a heavy drinker, he had a notorious reputation in the area, and was estranged from his brother, Oliver Bodkin of Carrowbeg House, Belclare,

Tuam Tuam ( ; ga, Tuaim , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. Humans have lived in the area since the Bron ...

. Dominick Dáll lived at Carrowbeg House, in a townland about a mile west of Carrowbawn House. It was owned by another brother, Counsellor John Bodkin, who seems to have lived in

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apart from a few weeks each year. Counsellor John had two sons,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

and Dominick. On a visit in 1737 the latter was found to have died in his sleep, though still a young man.

Carrowbawn murders

In the following years, Dominick Dáll's other nephew, John fitz Oliver, fell out with his father. John fitz Oliver had lived in dissipation whilst studying law at Trinity College, Dublin, and removed himself. He went to live with Dominick Dáll at Carrowbeg. His father thereafter placed him on a stipend that he also wasted in dissipation where he then demanded increased funding from his father. His father refused to fund his licentious behaviour any further and, moreover, he altered his will in favour of his youngest son, Oliver fitz Oliver. To counter this, he and Dominick Dáll planned to kill Oliver Sr., his wife, and younger son. In this, they obtained the aid of John Hogan, a herdsman for the Bodkins and foster-father of Oliver fitz Oliver, and a ruffian surnamed Burke. On the night of 18 September 1740 the three met up and proceeded to Carrowbawn. They slit the throats of the dogs, entered the servants quarters where they killed them all (three men and two girls). Upon entering the house they killed the housekeeper and her husband. A visitor was found in the guest room, one Marcus Lynch; he too was killed, by John fitz Oliver, while John Hogan killed Mr. and Mrs. Bodkin. Hogan then attempted to kill the boy but could not bring himself to do it. Hogan smeared the boy with blood, hoping that Dominick and John would think him dead, but Dominick Dáll realised what he was doing. Dominick Dáll then killed the boy, apparently cutting off his head while doing so.

Francis II de Bermingham Francis de Bermingham, 14th Baron Athenry (1692 – 1749), was an Anglo-Irish peer. He was the only son of Edward Bermingham, 13th Baron Athenry, and his second wife Bridget Browne, daughter of Colonel John Browne and Maud Bourke. Francis de ...

, Lord Athenry, arrived on the scene the following morning, having been alerted by the day-servants. The killers were caught, and lodged in the

Bridewell Bridewell Palace in London was built as a residence of King Henry VIII and was one of his homes early in his reign for eight years. Given to the City of London Corporation by his son King Edward VI for use as an orphanage and place of correc ...

on the night of 6 October 1740. All three pleaded guilty, Dominick admitting to the murder of six of the eleven victims.

Execution

All three were brought to Claretuam crossroads, in sight of the scene of the crime. In a dramatic twist, John fitz Oliver made a statement accusing his first cousin, John fitz Counsellor, of killing his brother Dominick at Carrowbeg House in 1737. The accused were hung from a tree till dead. Dominick Dáll and John Bodkin were

gibbet A gibbet is any instrument of public execution (including guillotine, decapitation, executioner's block, Impalement, impalement stake, gallows, hanging gallows, or related Scaffold (execution site), scaffold). Gibbeting is the use of a gallows- ...

ed, while John Hogan's head was placed on a spike atop the market house in Tuam. Their bodies were buried under the tree at Claretuam crossroads. John fitz Counsellor then fled the scene and was later apprehended in a bog on 22 October. He was committed to trial the following March at Ennis, found guilty of the murder of his brother. He refused to either confirm or deny his culpability and was promptly hanged and his head cut off. As late as the 1950s, stories of Dominick Dáll Bodkin's unsavoury activities were told in the area.

References

Bibliography

* ''The Bodkin Murders'', in ''The Galway Reader'', pp. 123–127, c.1956, Jarlath A. O'Connell * ''Anecdotes of the Connaught Circle'', p. 92 1885 Hodges, Figgis, Oliver Joseph Burke {{DEFAULTSORT:Bodkin, Dominick Dall 1740 deaths 18th-century Irish people Executed mass murderers Familicides Irish mass murderers People from County Galway Year of birth unknown