The Sun.
London, England, 1829-04-10 00:00:00

MURDER.

At the Naas Assizes, on the Ist instant, iJ'm.
Maeloughlin, Esq., and his mother, 11fi•s. Elitabeth
C'ofey, were tried for the murder of Richard Coffey,
the husband of the latter.

The deceaseJ, who was the second husband of
the female prisoner, was a farmer, and lived at Fearn-
cross, near Naas-bridge. The male prisoner had
been in the civil service of the Irish Government,
and lived on a retiring pension with his mother and
Mr. Coffey. Some difference soon tuok place be-
tween Coffey and Macloughlin respecting property,
and Mrs. C,,ffey, it appeared, had taken part with
her son. Coffey was much addicted to riquor. On
the evening of the 13th of October, he wa. brought
home in a state of intoxication, having fallen into a
ditch in the neighbourhood of his house. i,ext
morning he was found by a maid-servant lying on
the floor of his bed-room, covered with blood, and
his skull fractured. He was quite dead.
We have no room for the evidence, which was
of great length and entirely circumstantial. There
were strong grounds of suspicion against both pri-
soners, but the facts proved against Macloughlin
were so decided, that the jury returned a verdict of
guilty with respect to him, and acquitted his mother.
Mr. Macloughlin had been for a long time known
in Dublin as one of the most dashing young gentle-
men in it : he held for some time a situation in the
Treasury-office of the Castle, and was distinguished
at several of the private parties in that city by his
devoted attention to the ladies, with whom he was
a great favourite, and not unfrequently their denoted
champion. Mr. Macloughlin was particularly well
known by his exploits on the fifteen acres, being a
celebratei shot, and a " man of honour," according
to the duellist's interpretation of the word. It is
not many years since this gentleman had a quarrel
with Mr. O'Meara, respecting some ladies, whom he
considered to have been insulted by that gentleman :
a duel ensued, and Mr. Macloughlin was wounded
severely, and it was for some time apprehended mor-
tally. But the unfortunate man was reserved for a
different fate. He trade Ho confession.

EXECUTION.

The following account of the execution is from
the Meriting Register :
NAAS, APRIL 4.—The execution was appointed
at two o'clock.

The mother of Macloughlin, Mrs. Coffey, who
was discharged immediately after the trial, was per-
mitted to visit her son on Friday, when the inter-
view between them was deeply affecting. She
tottereJ into the cell, sobbing loudly, and crying
out, " William, William, my poor William !"
Macloughlin approached, and shook her by the
hand, saying, "It is all well, mother." The unfor-
tunate woman was so overcome by her feelings, that
she swooned away, and was insensible for a few
minutes. On her recovery, the turnkey intimated
that the time allowed for her visit had expired,
when Nlacloughlin said, " Give me the last kiss,
mother." He placed his lips upon her cheek, and
then turned round, putting his handkerchief over his
eyes. As she departed from the cell, he said, in ra-
ther a subdued tone, " Mother, may God Almighty
forgive you!"
At five minutes before two o'clock the convict
left his cell, accompanied by the Rev. Mr. Es.
monde, the Rev. Mr. Doyle, and the Sheriff. In
the room adjoining the drop, his irons were
struck off, and his arms were pinioned. During
this time he prayed most earnestly, and ap-
peared to be almost regardless of what was passing
He advanced to the drop with a steady step; hold-
ing a yellow pocket-handkerchief at his breast, be-
tween his hands. Whilst the executioner adjusted
the rope, he still prayed aloud, and just before the
drop was let down, he ejaculated, " Have mercy on
me, 0 Lord." He fell about two feet, and gave one
convulsive heave, but scarcely stirred after.

Some time after the execution a post mortem
examination took place, with a view of ascertaining
the situation of a ball which Mr. Macloughlin re-
ceived in a duel with Mr. O'Meara on the 12th of
January, 1822. They fought twice is this week,
on Monday morning in the Phoenix Park, where
they exchanged shots, and on the Saturday follow-
ing near Lord Charlemont's demesne, when they
secondfired
'two
fire,s Macloughlinhotsea each,
seriously,
bothboeinl; wounded on the
, and, as it was at
the time supposed, mortally, the ball having entered
the right ilium, one inch below the crista. When Sur-
geon Kerin, who attended Mr. Macloughlin, eame
tip, he found him standing, supported by his friend
Mr. Bailey. At first the situation of the wound
was uncertain, but it was soon ascertained by the
gushing of blood from his trousers. He was then
laid on the ground, and the wound examined. The
surgeon was able to introduce his finger, to its
fullest extent, into the wound, feeling the edge of
the bone rough through which the ball had passed.
Mr. Macloughlin asked if he was mortally wounded;
the surgeon answered that the wound was a serious
one. Again Macloughlin repeated the question,
and the surgeon repeated his answer, requesting
the patient to ask no more questions. At this time
Macloughlin was aware that his antagonist had been
wounded, and he added, " Where has Mr. O' Meat a
been hit ?" Some person in the crowd answered, "In
the same place." Then Macloughlin, in a tone and
manner, and with the feelings of a man that der,erved
a better fate, said—" I hope he is not in agony as
1 am.!' The unfortunate man was then removed

'4,,, •

......

into town, where he remained for several weeks
in imminent danger, attended by the Surgeon-
General and surgeon Kerin. lie at length reco-
vered, but the ball was never extracted. The know-
ledge of this circumstance caused much curiosity
amongst the profession in Dublin, and gieat curiosity
was manifested to ascertain the place where the hall
had been secreted. The wretched man himself,
since his conviction, appeared to be aware of this
fact, and stated his willingness that an examination
for this purpose should take place ; but expressed his
anxious hope that no further dissection should be
made unnecessarily. The examination of the body
was conducted by the county surgeon (Mr. Tom-
linson), assisted by surgeons Corr and Charleton.—
The principal object of the inquiry was to ascertain
the situation of the ball, and for this purpose the
surgeons directed their attention to the place where
the wound had been inflicted. The external orifice
of the bone, which was of considerable thickness,
was found to be completely ossified ; but the internal
one remained partially open. Notwithstanding the
closest investigation, for a consideraMe time, no
further trace of the ball could be discovered.