The Murders at Wildgoose Lodge: Agrarian Crime and Punishment in pre-Famine Ireland

On the night of 29-30 October 1816, eight people were murdered by burning to death in a house in a remote part of County Louth, known locally as Wildgoose Lodge. Those killed included a five-month-old child. The perpetrators all belonged to a local agrarian secret society that was avenging the execution of three of their comrades hanged for an earlier raid on Wildgoose Lodge the previous April, following information given to the authorities by the owner of the house, Edward Lynch. Following the murder of Lynch, his family, and servants, the local community closed ranks. For months the authorities failed to arrest anybody in connection with the crime. Then the state administration took over. From Chief Secretary, Sir Robert Peel (later British Prime Minister), down to the police force operating in Louth, there was massive collusion between Dublin Castle administrators, a corrupt chief police magistrate, lawyers, and landlords in Louth to bring suspects to trial and prosecution. Four menTerence Dooley is the author of 'The Murders at Wildgoose Lodge: Agrarian Crime and Punishment in pre-Famine Ireland', published 2007 under ISBN 9781846820854 and ISBN 1846820855.