Execution at Mountjoy Prison
On Wednesday, the 5th of August 1925, 23-year-old Michael Talbot and 31-year-old Annie Walsh were hanged at Mountjoy Prison, Dublin. Michael Talbot was Annie’s nephew.
The Murder of Edward “Ned” Walsh
Sixty-one-year-old Edward “Ned” Walsh was murdered in the family home at Carnane, County Limerick, on the evening of Friday, the 24th of October 1924.
Talbot testified that on the previous day, Annie had met with him and asked him to come to the house on Friday evening. She promised him a considerable sum of money for helping her kill Ned.
According to Talbot, all three were sitting by the fire in the living room. Annie asked Ned to fetch some more wood for the fire. While he was out of the room, she concealed a hatchet under her apron. When Ned returned, she turned down the oil lamp and struck him on the head with the hatchet. He fell to the floor but continued moving, so Annie told Talbot to hold him down while she hit him again with the hatchet, causing his death.
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Annie’s Report to the Authorities
On Saturday morning, Annie told a neighbour that Ned had been shot during the night by Talbot. She said she was going to the Fedamore Civic Guard barracks to report the murder, which she did.
The authorities went to the house and discovered Ned’s body. It was examined by Dr. Hedderman, who found a depressed skull fracture and another head wound about two inches in length—both consistent with an axe wound. However, there were no traces of bullet wounds or empty shell casings.
Arrest and Conflicting Statements
The Guards arrested Talbot in an outhouse. He told them:
“You may as well arrest Mrs. Walsh as well as me. I did not kill him. She killed him with a hatchet and I held his hands. She struck him two blows and he died.”
Annie’s statement, however, painted a completely different picture. She told the officers that she and Ned had gone to bed at 10 p.m. and then heard a knocking at the door. They did not respond and then heard the door being broken down. A man ordered them to get up, which they did, and they went into the kitchen.
Annie claimed she recognized the man as Michael Talbot. He allegedly told her to put out the lamp. She and Ned sat at the fireplace while Talbot sat opposite them. After talking for some time, Talbot supposedly got up, struck Ned with his hand, and then shot him in the head. Talbot then ran out, exclaiming, “It is done now.”
Talbot, in response to her version, said he had never carried a revolver in his life.
Obviously, head wounds inflicted with a hatchet look completely different from bullet wounds, so Annie’s account was clearly untrue.
Trials and Verdicts
Court Proceedings
Talbot’s trial opened on Thursday, the 9th of July 1925, and Annie’s began the following day at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin. Both were convicted of the murder and sentenced to death.
In Talbot’s case, it took the jury just ten minutes to reach their verdict. His statement regarding holding Ned’s hands was viewed as a tacit admission of participation in the killing. In Annie’s case, the jury made a recommendation for mercy.
No Reprieve Granted
There was to be no reprieve, and both Walsh and Talbot were duly hanged in Mountjoy Prison in Dublin on Wednesday, the 5th of August 1925.
Annie and Talbot were ministered to by the Reverend Father MacMahon, the Catholic chaplain of Mountjoy. Talbot received Mass and Holy Communion from him in the condemned cell. At 8:15 a.m., Annie received the same in her own cell.
Execution Details
Sequence and Procedure
Talbot went to the gallows at 8:00 a.m., followed by Annie 45 minutes later. Executioner Thomas Pierrepoint was assisted by Harry Robinson for both hangings. Talbot was given a drop of 7 feet 2 inches, and Annie received a drop of 7 feet 7 inches.
Dr. B. J. Hackett, the medical officer at Mountjoy, testified at the formal inquest that, in both cases, death had been instantaneous.
Historical Note
Annie Walsh was the only woman hanged in the Irish Republic during the 20th century.
It was reported that Thomas Pierrepoint received a fee of £15 for carrying out the two hangings.
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