In 1925, while the Irish Free State was still in its infancy after the close of the civil war, the body of a young woman was found dead lying at a lonely cross roads in South County Dublin. Her name was Honor Bright, a woman who made her living as a sex worker in town.
Two men were tried for her shooting death, but was her killing a the result of her “unfortunate” status, or part of an attempt to keep scandal away from the halls of power in a newly-independent Ireland?
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Theme Music:
Quinn’s Song: The Dance Begins Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Additional Music: Allemande (Sting) by Wahneta Meixsell. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Sources:
Patricia Hughes, Who Killed Honor Bright: How William Bulter and George Yeats cause the fall of the Irish Free State (Hues Books, 2014)
“Verdict of not guilty” in The Scotsman (4 February 1926) p. 9. “Dublin Murder Trial” in The Scotsman (2 February 1926) p. 10.
“Honor Bright: The Dublin Mountains Drama: Girl who was found shot” in Hartlepool Northern Daily Mail (2 February 1926) p. 6.
“Murder of a woman” in The Scotsman (7 July 1925) p. 7
“Sequel to murder trial” in The Northern Whig (24 February 1926) p. 7.
“Dublin Mountain Murders: Dillons evidence of meeting with ‘Honor Bright’” in The Northern Whig and Belfast Post (4 February 1926) p. 8.
“Girl shot dead” inThe Ballymena Observer (24 July 1925) p. 10.
“Ex-police chief and doctor in dock” in The Belfast Telegraph (2 February 1926) p. 3.
“Sequel to shooting of woman” in The Dundee Courier (7 July 1925) p. 4.
“The Ticknock Murder” in The Leinster Leader (1 August 1925) p. 7 -8.
“Dublin murder trial: Three minute taken by jury” in The Belfast Telegraph (4 February 1926) p. 4.
“Honor Bright Murder” in The Belfast Telegraph (25 July 1925) p. 9
“Honor Bright” murder: Purcell and Dillon again in court” in The Ballymena Weekly Telegraph (1 August 1925) p. 12.
“Ticknock Murder: accused Acquitted: in The Wicklow People (6 February 1926) p. 10.
“The Ticknock murder charge: sensational evidence” in The Kildare Observer (25 July 1925) p. 6
“Dublin murder trial: police regulate the queue” in The Belfast Telegraph (3 February 1926) p. 9
“Honor Bright Murder: Bail refused to Dr Purcell” in The Belfast Telegraph (11 August 1925) p. 9.
“The murder of Honor Bright: Dr Purcell’s application for bail refused” in The Londonderry Sentinel (13 August 1925) p. 6.
“The Ticknock murder charge: medical evidence” in The Kildare Observer (18 July 1925) p. 5.
“Dublin’s darker side” the Honor Bright” murder” in The Ballymena Weekly Telegraph (25 July 1925) p. 12
“Not Guilty: Close of Ticknock trial” in The Leinster Leader (6 February 1926) p. 3, 8.
“Ticknock murder charge: doctor’s application for bail” in The Northern Whig (11 August 1925) p. 7.
“Delay Expected: A very Unsatisfactory position, says judge” in The Evening Herald (10 August 1925) p. 1.
“Through Heart: Dublin girl murdered” in The Belfast Telegraph (10 June 1925) p. 4.