The Sun.
London, England, 1821-09-27 00:00:00

LIMERICK COUNTY ASSIZE 4.

MU DER OF THOMAS HOSKINS, ESQ.

LIMERICK, MODTDAY, SiPT. 17.—Tice trial of Thomas
Gallivan, for the murder of this unfortunate and lamented
young gentleman, took place, in the County Court-house, on
this day, before:the lion. Baron Pennefather.. The Court was
very much. crowded. Mr. Quin anti Mr. White were Counsel
for the Crown, and Mr. O'Connell,fot the prisoner. The Jury
was highly respectable. -
_

The first witness called was a boy named. Cornelius Crowley,
who did not appear to be more than fourteen years of age ; he
did not know his own age. The:Learned Judge took infinite
pains to ascertain whether the witness was capable of knowing
the value of an oath, and after several questions, having.exs
pressed himself satisfied that if lie swore false, he would cer-
tainly be punished hereafter, &c. he was examined by Mr.
Quin. He identified Thos. Gallivan, the prisoner at the bar;
lie knew the late T. Hoskins, Esq. ; he is dead ; he saw him
on the 27th July last; he was with him on that day, the day
that he was murdered at Barnahill, County Limerick; he was
in company with him between five and six o'clock iii the even-
ing; he carried a bundle of his clothes ; they were returning
home to Newcastle ; Mr. Hoskins rode on a mule ; witness was
on. foot ; they came over the little bridge ; after they passed,
two' shots were fired ; Mr. Hoskins looked round and exclaimed,
"Oh ! God, what's this ?" Hartnet the sportsman • was pit-
sent; Mr. Hoskins then galloped on towards Newcastle. After
the two first, there were three or four more shots fired ; witness
saw the persons who fired the second set"Of shots ; they were fired
from between the two crosses on the road ; Mr. Hoskins' mule
received the shots in the shoulder ; the mule turned round short
and he jumped off; the sportsman urged him to get up again:
he did not- get up but jumped over a ditch and dykes off the
road; the sportsman, who was mounted, galloped o, Mr. Hos-
kins ran between ie oft;
cross-roads ; two fellows immediately
jumped up before him, one of them fired a blunderbuss- at him,
and he fell on. his face and hands ; one of the fellows came be-
hind him, stooped down, and fired through his body and head
": all along ;" the same man then turned him on his side and
took the watch out of his pocket, and put it into his own coat
pocket; he then took sonic silver from the deceased, then turned
him on his face and hands again.
The witness was now asked whether the prisoner at the bar
was the person he alluded to—the boy stood up, and in &col-
lected, firm tone, impressively said, placing his eyes stedfastly
on the prisonei, Upon my oath, that is the man who fired the
last shot at Mr. Hoskins, and who took the watch, &c. out of
his pocket ;" after that, the same man asked him from whence he
came ? who replied, that he came from A bbeyfeal, And was going
on a message to Newcastle, from one Police-man to another ; he
told him further, that Mr. Hoskins and his sports Man had been
coursing, and had given him tenpence to bring the bundle for
him ; Gallivan ordered witness to give him the bundle, his reply
was, " here it is, hit or miss," and gave it to him ; prisoner
then said to witness, " there he is over, shot, and you w—e's
son, I'll do the same to you that I did to him ; ' while the
murder had been perpetrating he had been seated on the road ;
he was sitting on the grass, and could see Mr. Hoskins.
Cross-examined by Mr. O'CONNELL—He said that he sat
because he was frightened ; they came from the bog road ; the
that talked to witness were facing out towards Mrs. Brown's
hill ; there was a ditch at each side of the road. Witness had
been all the day with Mr. Hoskins, the 'deceased, who had slept
at Mr. Hayes's the night before ;. he had breakfasted there the
morning of the day lie was killed ; Mr. Hoskins took a snack
at a house on the mountain ; witness had eaten and drank also;
they staid there an hour ; they travelled a good deal of the
mountain looking for hares ; wi:ness did not hide himself when
the shots were fired ; he was not in the regular employment of
Mr. Hoskins ; he had been in the service of Mr. Walpole, one
of. Me. Going's Police.; left him on the Saturday before the
murder ; he had also been in the service of Mr. David Dooley;
served for nothing ; remembers that Conolly, his predecessor,
had been accused of stealing the case of a silver watch from his
employer ; he had not stolen it ;. was not accused of stealing
it ; he was more than a month at Dooly's, who gave him a coat
and turned him away.
Ilere the witness burst into tears, and said, Mr. O'Dell, the
Attorney for the prisohsr, was whispering Mr. O'Connell, and
Making faces at witness. •
The Court suggested to the witness that he should answer
Mr. O'Connell. •
The Counsel for the Crown complained much that Mr.
O'Dell had been making significant faces at .the boy, and the
Judge censured it.
Witness's parents are poor ; they lived on charity ' • he begs
ged with them ; heard that a reward was offered to bring the
murderers to prison ; Mr. Hoskins, sen. gave him the clothes he
wore ; lodged first informations before Air. Yokes, five or six
weeks after Mr. Hoskins was shot ; swore informations before
Mr. Blennerhaseet ; also, saw Hennessy, and though he had a
cut on his face as well as prisoner, he said that he was not the
man ; witness swore at the inquest; he put his mark to the in-
formations, as he could not write; saw Messrs. O'Brien, sen.
and jun. at the Inquest ; remembers no other persons ; swore
once before Mr. Yokes, then at the Inquest, then before Mr.
Yokes again, and for the fourth time. to-day ;at the time of the
murder did not know the man's name who had killed Mr.
Hoskins, and had taken the bundle from him ' • did tell the
man a lie to save his own life ; if he told him that he wag a ser-
vant of' Mr. Hoskins he might have been killed ; never knew
where the prisoner lived, and does not recollect having seen
Gallivan before the 27th July ; when Gallivan was taken, said
'before Mr. Hoskins, sen. and alr. Yokes, that " that was the
man ;" did not swear against, him until the day that the prisoner
was taken to Limeria ; cannot say what time intervened
between his arrest and removal to -Limerick : several of
the workmen asked witness if Gallivan was the man ? to
some he said yes, to others he said he was not ; he did so to
avoid being teazed.—(Witness complained again of Mr.
O'Dell.)
The eounT—" Sit down, Mr. O'Dell."
-Did not know Gullivan's name when sworn before the. Coro-
ner; did pot say Gallivan was the man hetere he was brouAlit
in or taken up..
From a Juror—" Were the men disguised ?" They had
yellow paint on their- hands,' faces, and necks of their shirts or
cravats; Gallivan, when in his old clothes, looked smaller than
he does now.; but, pursued witness, " it was the same man, for
when he • came near me to strike me, the blood rose up in his
face, and the cut upon it became larger ;" witness did say that
he would know him again ; did not say he was pock-marked ;
the 'Other man that was taken up had a cut on his face, but he
(witness) said that he was not the man.-eYrouthful as witness
was, he spoke with great firmness, and was quite collected.
Michael Anglifi, sworn.—Saw the deceased once; it. was
more than six weeks ago'; it was at Churchtown, near New-.
castle; it was before he was killed ; knows the prisoner, at the
bar, well ; has known him six years ; saw him on the day Mr.
Hoskins was shot on the hill of Barna ; he was coming across
from Slanmore ; saw him before on that day at Lissorula Hill ;
there were five men with him ; it was a good while before six
o'clock ; the sun was " turning," (i. e. going down) ; Gallivan
was armed with a blunderbuss—his companions were each
armed with a gun ; saw the prisoner fire at, and strike Mr. Hos-
kins with his blunderbuss. It was. the last shot which Galli-
van fired ; he was under the bridge when deceased was coming
down the road ; he was riding; saw Gallivan fire two shots,
the first when under the bridge, another after deceased fell;
after the first shots were fired from the bridge, Mr. •Hoskins
went on hiS knees ; another person then came and said, " he
had got enough;" the watch sy• s afterwards taken from him,
anti the bundle front the boy e the second shot prisoner fired
(he is certain) after the cleeea.eed was on his knees ; witness
was in a field inside a ditch opposite the road.
John Harriet, the sportsman of Mr. Hoskins, as he was called
by a former witness, was with deceased on the day. of his
ceiving the mortal wounds ; they had been coursing ; was with
him on the hill of Lama; when deceased and witness rode
across the little bridge two shots were fired behind at them ;
the boy, Cornelius Crowley, was with them ; they had galloped
forward shortly after the shots were discharged, some of the
fellows ran off, and fired across them from the quarry; after Mr.
Hoskins was off the mule, witness followed the animal, seized
it, and begged deceas&l'to get up again ;, he did not reply, but
leaped oft' the road, arid faced towards the hill ; witness saw
six of the party who had fired ; two men ran from the bridge,
and two were before the deceased, one of whom closed on him ;
the remaining two hovered about the bridge, and presented. a
gun at Mr. Hoskins; the other struck at witness, who rode off
to some distance; he then turned about and saw the party
closing about Mr. floaliinse who was then on his knees, he
thinks ; heard one shot fired after that ; did not wait to see the
effect of it; saw no more of the little boy (the first witness).
Henry Ashe, son of the Rev. Mr. Ashe, knows prisober at
the bar ; he lived with him about two years as herdsman ; his
character was very good ; on July 27th he was going to Glen •
met his brother at Shannon. Castle ; returned with him and
Mr. Lloyd so Cianera returned at five o'clock on the evening
that Mr. Hoskins was killed—Prisoner ran from the field in
which he worked to take his horse—he knows the hour aceu-
rately, for within a few fields of his own farm-house, he took
out his watch—it was going—it wanted some minutes of five—
and he galloped his horse homea-Prisoner was in his working
dress—and not disguised in anyway—Shanahan was working
„'syiah• prisoner—heard of the murder. about an hour after his re-
turn—was to dine with Mr. Parker, at half-past.six.
ahe cress-examination of the three last witnesses elicited no.
think material.),
The Learned Judge summed up the evidence in a
m manner, perspi-
ous and commented on it after he had read his 'notes
to the Jury ; he.dWelt much on the alibi just attempted to be
prOved-.by last witness, and on the possible errors and biassed