Did he fire the gun? Red Pat Bannon’s murder claim
This is the story of a person alleged to have murdered Charlotte Hinds but escaped conviction for the crime as told by Jonathan Smyth in his Times Past column...
The assault and shooting of landlady Miss Charlotte Hinds of Tubberlion, Ballyconnell, on October 12, 1855, shocked the country. She languished under her wounds for ten days until death came. The case was now upgraded to murder and James Murphy and Thomas Dunne were arrested, tried, and found guilty of her murder.
On May 1, 1856, The Anglo-Celt announced that: ‘The death warrants for the execution of Dunne and Murphy have arrived, and persons are employed every day for the last week arranging and painting the scaffold in front of the gaol, upon which they are to make their ignominious exit.’
But one question remains unanswered, did the real killer escape justice? And was a man arrested decades later actually the killer or was he just a crank, or an unwell man who ‘drank heavily,’ as one of the Justices of the Peace commented?
At the time of the trial in 1855, Constable James Gorby of the RIC travelled to Glasgow to track down Pat Bannon who departed the country while under suspicion; Charlotte Hinds had named the said individual as one of her attackers.
Earlier that year, on June 22, 1855, Red Pat deserted the Cavan Militia and went on the run to avoid arrest. Following the murderous attack on Miss Hinds that October, he had allegedly removed himself to Scotland.
Authorities vigorously circulated the description of Bannon found in Dublin Castle’s Hue and Cry. It described him as being of military bearing, walking erect, shoulders inclined backwards, of smart appearance, five feet six inches tall, slight build, grey eyes, fair complexion, red hair, and a native of Tuberlion, Templeport. Notably, the lordly looking Bannon had a distinctive scar on the back of his leg (Hue and Cry did not specify which leg). They promoted an ample reward of £100 for information, which would lead to his arrest.
Shercock
Forty-three years later, in April 1898, a man calling himself Red Pat Bannon walked into a pub in Shercock and, after a few drinks, began openly proclaiming ‘to be the man’ who fired the gun on Miss Hinds. Through drunken breaths, witnesses in the pub heard Bannon confidently state that it was he who pulled the trigger. Well now, if a person living abroad for decades came home and began boasting that they were a killer, is it possible that you yourself might believe them?
Perhaps, others might think he was just an innocent emigrant, worse for wear. My thoughts would be like the Yorkshire man whose surprised response to anything phoney was a loudly spoken, ‘not likely!’ It seems a strange mystery, as to why Miss Hinds named Red Pat Bannon as one of the attackers, unless of course he was actually one of them.
The capture and arrest of Bannon in Shercock on May 1, 1898, created a sensation throughout the district and beyond the county, with reports published in the Freemans Journal and the Dundalk Democrat.
Owen Coyle, a publican in Shercock had been serving Bannon drink when the visitor looked up and began reminiscing about a crime allegedly committed by himself half a century earlier. The shocked barman’s conscience kept tugging at him throughout the following day and he remembered the same person coming to visit his home near Knockbride in the company of his daughter about 12 years earlier. Could this have been a different man?
The Red Pat named by Miss Hinds was supposed to have been a native of Templeport.
As mentioned, the callous murder of Charlotte Hinds caused a huge sensation throughout the country in 1855 and the resurrection of the story by Red Pat in Shercock got the country talking. To the barman’s surprise, on the following day Pat returned to the pub. Well, the bar owner not wanting to let the matter slide, called out, ‘Are you really Pat Bannon?’ The reply came swiftly, ‘I am the man!’ The barman notified the police.
Bannon’s arrest resulted in his detainment in Bailieborough Bridewell from where they took him to the adjacent Courthouse building. In court, Bannon appeared in front of Robert F. Starkie, R.M.; Robert James, J.P.; Robert Gibson, J.P.; and Dr Ryan, J.P.; who charged him ‘with complicity in the murder’ of Miss Hinds on October 12, 1855.
Another interesting piece of information became known in the Freemans Journal. Apparently, ‘sometime’ after the murder, Bannon had been arrested in Liverpool and taken back to Cavan. However, evidence presented showed that the suspect was thirty miles away when the shooting of Charlotte Hinds occurred.
As reported in the press, the Red Pat they wanted was from Tubberlion between Ballyconnell and Ballymagovern, in West Cavan. But the person in the courtroom came originally from the East Cavan area.
When arrested by Sergeant Colahan of the RIC outside the barracks on Main Street in Shercock, Bannon told Colahan that he had beat the police for the last 40 years and ‘I will beat them again’, said he, confidently.
When picked up by the police, the question posed was, ‘You are Red Pat Bannon?’ to which he responded, ‘I am Red Pat Bannon of the North.’ The police arrested and placed him in Bailieborough Bridewell. His appearance in Bailieborough Court House then followed. Upon an examination of Bannon’s legs, a scar was found on the back of his left leg, leaving the authorities in no doubt that they had the right man. Bannon claimed he got the scar in a digging accident when the spade slipped.
After four courtroom appearances, they threw the case out, for lack of evidence meant they had no avenues to proceed any further with questioning the suspect. One of the J.P.s gave Bannon a little advice, telling him to keep off the drink in future. Red Pat left the courtroom accompanied by his daughter who took him back to Liverpool. No doubt she had found herself tasked with keeping him out of trouble on more than one occasion.
Fógra
The Bridewell and Courthouse in Bailieborough where Red Pat made his final appearance have now undergone comprehensive restoration. Congratulations must go to those involved in this worthy project. The Bridewell was erected in 1833 to hold those awaiting trial, vagrants, persons accused of public order offences and petty criminals.
For more information, click here.
Also, Congratulations to Ann Reilly Brown on the publication of her first book, titled ‘Dublin Shadows: An Original Novel Set in Ireland during the Irish Civil War and War of Independence.’ Ann has family connections to Cootehill.
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