Martin Lydon

Martin Lydon, Irish murder victim, died 21 May 1881.

The Irish Land War was a period of huge unrest and violence in Ireland, with crime particularly prevalent in County Galway. Dozens of murders occurred, all concerning tenant's rights and ownership of land.

John Lydon and his son, Martin, were attacked at their home at Bannogaes, Letterfrack on the night of Sunday 24 April 1881. Seven or eight men rushed into their cabin, where they punched, beat, kicked the Lydons. The two were then dragged outside and shot. John was killed outright but Martin lived long enough to identify one of the killers as Patrick Walsh (Letterfrack). Walsh was hung in Galway Gaol on 22 September 1882.

A leading witness for the prosecution of the murders, Constable Kavanagh, was shot dead outside Letterfrack barracks on 15 February 1882. Walsh's brother, Michael, was tried, found guilty and sentenced to death but had it commuted to penal servitude.

See also

• Peter Dempsey (Kiltullagh)
• Martin O'Halloran
• James Connors (Kiltullagh)
• John Henry Blake
• Thomas Henry Burke (civil servant)
• Hubert de Burgh-Canning, 2nd Marquess of Clanricarde

References

• Beyond The Twelve Bens:A History of Clifden and District 1860-1923, pp. 66–79, Kathleen Villiers-Tuthill, 1986. 0 9530455 1 X
• The History of Galway, Sean Spellissy, 1999. ISBN 978-0-9534683-3-1