Hi all,

I usually post on Twitter but I got great help from Northern Ireland Reddit and hoping for similar here.

I researched and geo-mapped a list of 850 women and girls violently killed on this island, 1922-2022. It excludes victims of the Irish Civil War (1922-23), victims of Troubles and any missing-presumed-dead persons.

The map is a work-in-progress with more names yet to be added. Basic information on the map has names and photo of victims, date of death, sentences given to their killers and location of death.

At the moment it contains 42,000 words and 2,500 pictures, including 300+ victim-impact statements (2008 – 2022) and 150+ death certificates (1922-1973).

Some of the pins are not in accurate locations and I’m hoping people can help me move them by suggesting a better location (in this format 53.69363, -6.42911).

**1946 – Alice Gerrard (26)** murdered on October 6th, 1946 by boyfriend Joseph McManus. The murder itself happened in a small cottage in Donaghmore. When they rescued McManus from the Boyne it was further up at Ramparts and also 6 days after the murder. For the moment I put the pin for the cottage just across the Boyne from Rowley’s Lock but a local person could point to where the cottage once stood.

**1957 – Margaret Power (18)** murdered on January 21st, 1957 by boyfriend John O’Brien. This murder happened near an abandoned lodge in Fermoy. The location of the lodge was described as “near a boreen about 1 mile from her home in Clondulane and about one quarter of a mile from the farm of Mr. George Ellis” but not specifying in which direction from either. Someone from Fermoy might know.

**1980 – Margaret Ayres (22)** killed on a date unknown between June 10th-20th, 1980 by boyfriend Patrick Hogan. He threw her down a mineshaft, she survived a massive fall but drowned. I can’t find this location. It was described in the paper in 1980 as “the 450-feet deep Kilbreckan silvermine, lying between Ennis and Quin”. Locals in Clare will know where this is.

**2001 – Bettina Poeschel (26)** was murdered on September 25th, 2001 by a stranger, Michael Murphy, as she walked from Drogheda to Newgrange. I don’t know if there’s a memorial to her in Donore or how far she got past the village. There was a construction site nearby that Murphy was working on but if anyone can help me move the pin, thank you.

The primary goal of the map is to remember the victims, many of whom haven’t been mentioned in print media in decades. Another goal is to provide an accurate historical resource for the whole island, which involves getting the pins into accurate locations.

I welcome all suggestions on moving pins and also any names that should be on the map, in case they’re not on my list still to be added. Thank you for any help.

[Map of women and girls killed on this island 1922-2022](https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1nF103ct09mDtAtaX7NCk8pvTePntrNs&usp=sharing)

by EddieMunson221

30 comments

  3. There was basically an epidemic of women being murdered here in the mid 90s and far right scumbags would have you believe no woman or child on this island were ever harmed by an Irish man.

  4. Where do you get the data for these or is there just a list somewhere?

    Edit: is this a controversial question or something? Was just curious how OP went about this as it seems like a big job

  5. From a quick look, you seem to have excluded cases where the killer was also a woman. I’m guessing the original data was from women’s aid?

  6. Would it be possible to colour-code the map based on the victims relation to their killer? It would be informative to see how often the killer is a partner or a family member, or otherwise known to the victim.

  7. Kathleen Cuddihy location is off also. Was located at 55.2440848, -7.2770178

  8. It’s mad seeing someone I met a few times mapped out, absolutely tragic there is so many.

  10. Sheola Keaney in Cobh is the only one I can see with “Assessment: Evil”, was there something particularly bad about that murder? Apart from all murder being evil.

  11. Can you do the same for men and boys? I’d be curious to see the commonalities between the two.

  12. Why does it include Henry Gleeson as the killer of Moll McCarthy when he was awarded a posthumous pardon?

  13. Very sad to see so many! I was just looking at Co Clare, Ann Walsh pin is in the incorrect location. The correct location is 52.63818695534009, -9.487859012739955 (Kilrush).

  14. This is a huge task. Thanks so much for sharing it with us. So tragic.

    What is the plan with the map afterwards? Where will you share it to make people remember? Just curious about the process.

  17. The pin for Sharon Coughlan is a little bit off but I’m not great with coordinates or directions. The pin points to O’Connor park which is a cul-de-sac consisting of a few houses. 47 Great Water Street, where her murder happened, is just around the corner from the pin. If you Google 47 Great Water Street you can see a picture of the house. It is the last one on that side of the road before the turn off for St. Mel’s road.

    The whole town was in complete shock at the time as it was perpetrated by a random stranger and she was well known to people in the town, especially to patrons of The Market Bar where she worked, myself included.

  19. Kilbreckan Silver Mines, Co Clare is about here
    52.8327499, -8.8926293

  20. That is so harrowing, across the island too there were a few close by to me.

  21. The pin for Mary Murray (RIP, 1969) in Mayfield, Cork is not in the right position (we lived close to the actual house). Not sure if this is important enough to change, however. If it is DM me and I can point to the correct location

  22. Is there one for males available anywhere to see if there are any particular differing patterns?

  23. Would be fun to do some spatial kernel density estimation with this, possibly including historical population density census to correct for obvious endogeneity.

  24. You’ve asked for names not on the map so I would like to add Geraldine Kissane (Shannon, Co. Clare) in case she’s not on your list. It was reported on and the articles are on line.

  26. The old lady in County Roscommon had a sister who died a month later of injuries from the same attack.

  27. Hannah Connor (22), shot by a Free State soldier as she came from a dance in Glenbeigh, Co Kerry, 3 September 1923.

  28. Pauline Kilkenny’s location is a bit off. She lived about 8 miles up the way in quite an isolated little bungalow on the Cornacully Road. You have her at an address in a cul-de-sac in Belcoo, she lived much more isolated that that unfortunately.

    I’d like to add that she was murdered by the son of a friend of hers, who she kindly took in off the streets when nobody else would have him, and that is how he repaid her. I will add that he had been under her roof, being clothed and fed and living free of charge for around 2 years before he did this to her… which makes it all the more horrible.

    She was the epitome of a Good Samaritan and it should be known that she had taken in countless people over the years to care for them, when they had nowhere else to turn, even those she didnt really know. She cared for anyone who asked for help and was an absolutely wonderful human being. Everyone she met loved her so much, she was a brilliant lady.

    Her family continue to miss her every single day and she wont be forgotten.

    May she rest in peace.

  29. My nan told me the story of Lavena Ball (d 1936). The Guards reckoned her son threw her into the sea at Corbawn Lane, Shankill so they floated a barrel out to see where it would drift.

    The whole event was a bit of excitement in the village and people travelled to watch. My nan remembered going down to Corbawn Lane with hot water for people to make tea.

  30. Wikidata might be useful here for storing and modeling the data. Wikimedia Ireland might have a related project with more research and editors to contribute.

Leave a Reply