On This Day / December 23, 1920
Go BackReproduced with permission from The Irish News.
19201223
Reference Date
19201223
Publication Date
Listen Along in Éamons Voice
Summary: On This Day – 23rd December 1920, the Gilford murder trial collapsed after the jury failed to agree, leaving four accused men remanded as one of the last capital cases under all-Ireland courts stalled. Edited by Éamon Phoenix.
Gilford Murder – Jury Disagree | On This Day – 23rd December 1920
AT the Ulster Winter Assizes yesterday, the final stage was reached in the trial in which four men are charged with the murder of William McDowell at Gilford, County Down.
Judge Pim, told the jury they were trying four men for their lives and must try them absolutely on the evidence, disregarding all matters of mere suspicion.
If the four of them are found to have conspired together to commit a robbery in which this man was killed, then they were each guilty of murder.
The case was entirely one of circumstantial evidence and while this was often stronger even than direct evidence, they must be satisfied as to the particular evidence in that case.
One of the accused, William Conlon had claimed that he was on a train at the time of the murder and had been seen by Fr McClorey.
There was no onus on either the Crown or the prisoner to call the priest, but this was a case of life and death and if Fr McClorey had been called by the prisoner and said he met William Conlon on the eleven o’clock train from Scarva that morning, it would have crumpled up the Crown case.
If Fr McClorey had been able to give such evidence did they think a man on trial for his life would have hesitated to call him?
Concerning the telegram from Conlon to Francis Boyle and the explanation offered of it, his Lordship said the evidence all showed that there was no race on that Friday and, if the jury concluded that any one of these men was concerned in this murder, then the telegram bore a most sinister and terrible interpretation.
The case against William McConville (the cashier at the mill) was wholly different.
He had a very good character behind him but although that might be taken into account, it was not proof of innocence.
The suggestion of the Crown was that McConville, if he did not engineer the crime, was in it and was to get something out of the swag. If he was engaged in it in any way, he was as guilty as the other three.
The jury retired at 1.50 p.m. and returned to court at 3.25 p.m. The foreman announced that there was no possibility of their agreeing.
His Lordship remanded the accused in custody for the present, pending an intimation from the Crown as to how they proposed to proceed.
Mr Justice Pim left for Dublin by the 4.25 pm mail train.
(Éamon Phoenix editor’s note: The Gilford Murder Trial was one of the last capital cases held under the pre-partition all-Ireland courts system.)
On This Day – 23rd December 1920
Further Reading on Irish History:
List of other On This Day columns
Other resources: National Library of Ireland Irish News CAIN Archive
19201223
Reference Date
19201223
Publication Date
Listen Along in Éamons Voice
Listen Along in Éamons Voice
Summary: On This Day – 23rd December 1920, the Gilford murder trial collapsed after the jury failed to agree, leaving four accused men remanded as one of the last capital cases under all-Ireland courts stalled. Edited by Éamon Phoenix.
Gilford Murder – Jury Disagree | On This Day – 23rd December 1920
AT the Ulster Winter Assizes yesterday, the final stage was reached in the trial in which four men are charged with the murder of William McDowell at Gilford, County Down.
Judge Pim, told the jury they were trying four men for their lives and must try them absolutely on the evidence, disregarding all matters of mere suspicion.
If the four of them are found to have conspired together to commit a robbery in which this man was killed, then they were each guilty of murder.
The case was entirely one of circumstantial evidence and while this was often stronger even than direct evidence, they must be satisfied as to the particular evidence in that case.
One of the accused, William Conlon had claimed that he was on a train at the time of the murder and had been seen by Fr McClorey.
There was no onus on either the Crown or the prisoner to call the priest, but this was a case of life and death and if Fr McClorey had been called by the prisoner and said he met William Conlon on the eleven o’clock train from Scarva that morning, it would have crumpled up the Crown case.
If Fr McClorey had been able to give such evidence did they think a man on trial for his life would have hesitated to call him?
Concerning the telegram from Conlon to Francis Boyle and the explanation offered of it, his Lordship said the evidence all showed that there was no race on that Friday and, if the jury concluded that any one of these men was concerned in this murder, then the telegram bore a most sinister and terrible interpretation.
The case against William McConville (the cashier at the mill) was wholly different.
He had a very good character behind him but although that might be taken into account, it was not proof of innocence.
The suggestion of the Crown was that McConville, if he did not engineer the crime, was in it and was to get something out of the swag. If he was engaged in it in any way, he was as guilty as the other three.
The jury retired at 1.50 p.m. and returned to court at 3.25 p.m. The foreman announced that there was no possibility of their agreeing.
His Lordship remanded the accused in custody for the present, pending an intimation from the Crown as to how they proposed to proceed.
Mr Justice Pim left for Dublin by the 4.25 pm mail train.
(Éamon Phoenix editor’s note: The Gilford Murder Trial was one of the last capital cases held under the pre-partition all-Ireland courts system.)
On This Day – 23rd December 1920
Further Reading on Irish History:
List of other On This Day columns
Other resources: National Library of Ireland Irish News CAIN Archive
19201223
Reference Date
December 23, 2020
Publication Date
Listen Along in Éamons Voice *
Summary: On This Day – 23rd December 1920, the Gilford murder trial collapsed after the jury failed to agree, leaving four accused men remanded as one of the last capital cases under all-Ireland courts stalled. Edited by Éamon Phoenix.
Gilford Murder – Jury Disagree | On This Day – 23rd December 1920
AT the Ulster Winter Assizes yesterday, the final stage was reached in the trial in which four men are charged with the murder of William McDowell at Gilford, County Down.
Judge Pim, told the jury they were trying four men for their lives and must try them absolutely on the evidence, disregarding all matters of mere suspicion.
If the four of them are found to have conspired together to commit a robbery in which this man was killed, then they were each guilty of murder.
The case was entirely one of circumstantial evidence and while this was often stronger even than direct evidence, they must be satisfied as to the particular evidence in that case.
One of the accused, William Conlon had claimed that he was on a train at the time of the murder and had been seen by Fr McClorey.
There was no onus on either the Crown or the prisoner to call the priest, but this was a case of life and death and if Fr McClorey had been called by the prisoner and said he met William Conlon on the eleven o’clock train from Scarva that morning, it would have crumpled up the Crown case.
If Fr McClorey had been able to give such evidence did they think a man on trial for his life would have hesitated to call him?
Concerning the telegram from Conlon to Francis Boyle and the explanation offered of it, his Lordship said the evidence all showed that there was no race on that Friday and, if the jury concluded that any one of these men was concerned in this murder, then the telegram bore a most sinister and terrible interpretation.
The case against William McConville (the cashier at the mill) was wholly different.
He had a very good character behind him but although that might be taken into account, it was not proof of innocence.
The suggestion of the Crown was that McConville, if he did not engineer the crime, was in it and was to get something out of the swag. If he was engaged in it in any way, he was as guilty as the other three.
The jury retired at 1.50 p.m. and returned to court at 3.25 p.m. The foreman announced that there was no possibility of their agreeing.
His Lordship remanded the accused in custody for the present, pending an intimation from the Crown as to how they proposed to proceed.
Mr Justice Pim left for Dublin by the 4.25 pm mail train.
(Éamon Phoenix editor’s note: The Gilford Murder Trial was one of the last capital cases held under the pre-partition all-Ireland courts system.)
On This Day – 23rd December 1920
Further Reading on Irish History:
List of other On This Day columns
Other resources: National Library of Ireland Irish News CAIN Archive
On This Day is a daily column in the Irish News looking back either 50 or 100 years. The column was compiled by Dr Éamon Phoenix from the mid 1980s until autumn, 2022. The Foundation is very grateful to the Irish News for giving permission to reproduce Eamon’s columns. Funding gratefully received from Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs and the Magill Trust.
* The Foundation has worked hard to recreate Eamon’s distinctive voice through AI. Since this is an emerging technology, occasional imperfections may be audible.