The Sun.
London, England, 1852-11-29 00:00:00

AN IRISH TRAGEDY.

A dreadful occurrence took place on Wednesday, near
Celbridge, when a notorious and most desperate cha-
racter, named Philip Smith, met his death under the
following awful circumstances :—lt appeared that on the
12th of October last, Smith had planned the robbery, and
broken into the house of a gentleman resident near
Clonee, in this county. A party of the Clonee consta-
bulary, however, succeeded in apprehending him on the
occasion. He was handcuffed heavily, after a desperate
resistance, and taken by them to their barrack at Clonee
for the night ; but at an early hour on the following
morning, the 13th, he contrived to effect his escape,
manacled as he was. The constabulary were in imme-
diate and active pursuit. He was traced to Blanchards-
town, and there it was ascertained that he had turned
off in the direction of Swords. For the time, how.
ever, further trace of him was lost. A horrifying coin-
cidence as to date and place here presents itself. It may
be in the recollection of our readers that it was upon the
uight of the 13th ult., within two miles of Swords, that
the illfated •h: brother and sistar, were brutally
murdered in • elfin g on Mr. Mangan's farm, and
that since tha - dno clue whatever has been disco-
vered to lead to the detection of the perpetrator of the
crime. After his escape from the police barrack, the
first time the constabulary, we understand, became cog-
nizant of his whereabouts, was towards the middle of
the present month, when there was reason to suppose
that he was lurking in the neighbourhood of Celbridge.
Close but ineffectual search was made for him until the
18th inst., when, while Constable Richard Stafford, of
that station, was conveying a prisoner named Thomas
Reilly, arrested under a warrant, to the station-house,
Smith suddenly appeared from behind a ditch, rushed on
the constable, and discharged two shots at him, both of
which took effect, dangerously wounding him in the
neck. Since that the constabulary of the district have
been unceasing in their exertions to effect his capture.
On the afternoon of Wednesday, as a party, consisting
of four men of the force, were on day patrol in the
neighbourhood, they applied at a house for admission,
but were refused, and were about to enforce their de-
mand for entrance when Smith rushed out, bearing in
one hand a double-barreled pistol, in the other a blun-
derbuss. The police at once challenged him to surrender
himself their prisoner. He answered No ; that before
they could take him he was sure of taking one of their
lives at least. As he said this he raised one of the
pieces with which he was armed, and was in the act of
firing, when one of the police discharged his carabine at
him with, as it proved, fatal effect. Almost at the some
instant Sub-Constable John Waldron received the con-
tents of Smith's pistol or blunderbuss in the mouth,
which, with one of his jaws, was dreadfully shattered,
the wound inflicted on him being altogether of a very
serious character. The criminal was raised and removed
from the spot in a dying state. He had been hit in one
of the thighs or knee, and before timely appliance could
be procured to stop the effusion, he expired from loss of
blood.—Dublin Freeman.

RAILWAY RETURNS.