The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — 1836-04-01 (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)

UARLOW ASSIZES, MONDAY, MARCH 21.  ALLEGED MURDER OF PRIEST WALSH.-TRIAL OF ANNE  ROONEY FOR PERJURY.  At the sitting ,of the Court this morning, Anne Rooney was arraigned for wilful and corrupt, perjury. Mr. A rabin detailed the facts to the jury, and then called Maker Molloy, Esq., • a magistrate, who being sworn, stated that on the 22d of -August last, Anne Rooney, the prisoner, came before him and deposed on oath as follows :—•• That about a-week before Father John Walsh was killed, she was hired as a binder with a person of the name of Howard, who lived near the bridge of Kilgrenny, in the county of Carlow, and that on the night he was killed, about' ten o'cioek, three men named Archv Sly,.Aby, Wynne, and Hugh Styles, came into said named- flovirey'S house, where deponent was, and sat down by the fire to smoke, and that while there she heard Sly say in a whisper to Wynne:that he ought to go down to Kilgrenny-bridge and whistle when the priest would be coming. That shortly iifter that, she, with Howley's wife and -daughter, Kitty, walked out together down the field towards the bridge, and.that after a little time Sly and Styles came up and went towards the bridge; that informant and the -women who were with her were frightened, and they went inside two quickset bushes and remained there half an hour watching Sly. Styles, and Wynne; that Wynne -bad a long. pole in his hands, and that after a short time they were joined by three other men whom informant did not know; and that in about half an hour after she gat behind the' said bushes, she heard a horSeman approaching the bridge, whom informant recogniSe'd to be Father John Walsh ; be was riding slowly and whistling; that the whole party then surrounded the priest ; that Sly took hold of the .bridle, and said that he (the priest) was the man they wanted; the priest asked was it drink or'money they wanted; if it was he would give it to thorn; they answered it was himself they wanted ; that Wynne then took -his feet out of the stirrups and pulled him doWn from his horse; that Father John Walsh then asked for two minutes to pray, arid 'to stand back two yards from him, to which Sly replied, 'you often dragged us through your teeth and we will now drag you through ours ;' that Wynne said, thanks be to God we are getting the better of von;' that the, priest was at this time stretched..on the ground, and that Wynne had his knees on his stomach, and that Sly struck him a blOw on the head with a small crow-bar of iron; that Styles was armed with a hammer, and attacked the priest on the head; that upon Sly giving him the first blow he screeched loudly twice ; but that after the blow •he got froin Styles he only gave one little moan; that Sly, Styles, and Wynne, went down to Wynne's house, and the Other three men went away; bat the three first returned and stirred the hotly, to see if there was any life in it. This account appeared quite minute, but the first witness called—namely, the governor of Nass gaol. proved that the prisoner, Anne Rooney,- was confined in that gaol on the day Father Walsh was killed,-and for sixteen days after—namely, until the 15th of August •  The women, Howley, and her daughter, here called tip, and deposed that they never saw Anne Rooney in their liVes before. . Edward Gorman, Esq., the coroner of the county, deposed that the inquest was held on the Rev. Mr. Walsh, on the 31st of  The prisoner was fouud guilty. When she heard the verdict she exclaimed—" Lord be praised; better news to us. I'll have a pleasant journey—l'll quit the country; for all my friends are denying we." (Laughter.) Baron Smith passed sentence on her in very impressive terms. He dwelt uptin the enormity of her crime as compared with ordinary cases of perjury—for if her testimony had gone before a petit jury, and was credited by them, she would have caused the murder of three persons, who, as far as she could knoW anything of the matter, were innocent.