Michael Leahy
Born1822
County Kerry, Ireland
Died1826 (aged 3–4)
County Kerry, Ireland
Cause of deathDrowning
Known forBeing drowned for supposedly being a changeling

Michael Leahy was a child who died by drowning in 1826 in Kerry, Ireland.[1] Leahy was four years old at the time of his death.[1] He was believed by some in his community to have been a changeling and the drowning was the result of an attempt to cure him.[1]

Ann Roche was indicted for Leahy's murder and tried in Tralee.[1] Roche was described by the London Morning Post as being "an old woman of very advanced age".[1] She claimed to have supernatural abilities and healing skills.[2] She ordered two people to bathe the boy in the river Flesk every morning.[3] The two bathed him for three mornings.[3] On the third morning he was held under the water for longer than usual and died.[3]

Mythological background

A changeling was a child left by fairies after they had stolen a healthy human child.[4] The suspicion in Leahy's case resulted from his illness.[1] He could neither speak nor stand.[1] Under cross-examination a witness said that the drowning was not done with the intent of killing the child but to cure him – "to put the fairy out of it".[3]

The court, at the direction of the judge, found Roche not guilty of murder.[3] The judge said that the jury "would not be safe in convicting the prisoner of murder, however strong their suspicion might be".[3] Author Robert Curran says that the verdict is suggestive of the depth of belief in changelings in the community.[5] There were several similar cases in rural Ireland in the 19th century.[5][4]

Hannah Kent's novel, The Good People, takes inspiration from this case.[2] Kent said that she could only find two primary source articles on the case after extensive research and many details about the case are unknown.[2]

See also

  • Bridget Cleary – an Irish woman killed by her husband in 1895. Her husband claimed that she was a changeling.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Crofton Croker, Thomas (1828). Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland. Harvard University: John Murray. p. Preface, VII. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Kent, Hannah (20 September 2017). "How Much Actual History Do You Need for a Historical Novel? Hannah Kent on Searching for the Life of Her Main Character". lithub.com. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Crofton Croker, Thomas (1828). Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland. Harvard University: John Murray. p. Preface, VIII. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  4. 1 2 Mike Dash (11 July 2009). "Ghosts, witches, vampires, fairies, and the law of murder". Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  5. 1 2 Curran, Robert (2012). A Bewitched Land: Witches and Warlocks of Ireland. The O'Brien Press. p. No page numbers given. ISBN 9781847175052. Retrieved 10 January 2021.


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