Samuel McLaughlin - my executed neighbour

After reading a post on Look At This... I dug out a few photos I'd taken a few years ago of an old local house (two fields away from me) formerly habitated by the second last person to be hanged in Ireland.



The official story goes like this...

Date of Execution:- Tuesday, 25th July, 1961
Location of Execution:- Belfast
Hangman:- Harry Allen
Assistants:- Royston Rickard
Tried At:- Antrim
Trial Dates:- 24th - 29th April, 1961
Trial Judge:- Mister Justice McVeigh
Crime:- Murder
Victims name:- Nellie (Maggie) McLaughlin
Age:- 32
Location of Murder:- Lislabin, Cloughmills, County Antrim
Date of Murder:- Tuesday, 18th October, 1960
Method of Murder:- Battered/Strangled
Relationship to Killer:- Wife



In 1950, Samuel McLaughlin married Nellie Girvan, who preferred to be called Margaret, and the couple then went to live in Derby. In due course, the relationship cooled and in July 1959, Nellie returned to her mother's house in Lislabin. She did go back to Derby after some weeks but by Christmastime she was back in Ireland and this time the split from her husband appeared to be permanent.



In October 1960, Samuel himself went over to Ireland and whilst it appeared that he, his wife and Jean Girvan, his mother-in-law, were all getting on quite well together, Nellie did take out a summons for maintenance against her estranged husband and, on October 14th, he was ordered to pay Nellie £3 a week. From the outset Samuel said he would not pay a penny and told anyone who would listen that he had no intention of parting with any money.



On Monday, October 17th, Samuel, Nellie and Mrs Girvan all went out for a few drinks together. The following day, Mrs Girvan went to visit her sister, leaving Samuel and Nellie alone in the house. After all, they still seemed to be getting on reasonably well.



Samuel was next seen, riding his motorbike, on the afternoon of October 19th. He visited the house of a friend, Thomas McCarroll and when the topic of conversation moved on to the court order recently taken out against him Samuel remarked that he wouldn't be paying as he had murdered his wife. He later repeated this story to other people, including another friend, Mr McKay.



News of this supposed murder reached the ears of the police and at 5.25pm., on that same day Special Constable Norman McIntyre forced an entry into Jean Girvan's house where he found the battered body of Nellie McLaughlin. She had been beaten with a broom handle and throttled by means of a stocking which was still tied around her throat. The bedroom was said to have resembled an abbatoir.



Arrested on October 20th, and put on trial for murder, McLaughlin claimed that he was so drunk that he had no memory of killing his wife and did not know what he was doing. This led to the first trial, which opened on February 6th before Mister Justice Shiel, ending after five days with the jury unable to reach a verdict.



A second trial was ordered and this time, after a deliberation of two hours and 20 minutes, the jury decided that McLaughlin was guilty. His execution was originally set for May 17th but this was postponed after an appeal was entered. Once that had failed a new date was set.



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Full set of photos here