THE LAST TRIAL FOR WITCHCRAFT IN IRELAND. BY JOSEPH M. SULLIVAN.
ON March 31, 1711, Janet Mean, of Braid Island; Janet Latimer, Irish-quarter, Carrickfergus; Margaret Mitchel. Kilroot, Catherine McCalmond, Janet Liston, alias Seller, Elizabeth Seller and Janet Carson, the four last from Island Magee, were tried in the County of Antrim Court for witchcraft. Their alleged crime was tormenting a young woman called Mary Dunbar, about eighteen years of age, at the house of James Hathridge, Island Magee, and at other places to which she was removed. The circumstances sworn to on the trial were as follows: The afflicted person being, in the month of February, 1711, in the house of James Hathridge, Island Magee (which had been for some time believed to be haunted by evil spirits) found an apron on the parlor floor, that had been missing some time, tied with "five strange knots," which she loosened. On the following day she was suddenly seized with a violent pain in her thigh, and afterwards fell into fits and ravings, and on recovering said she was tormented by several women, whose dress and personal appear ance she minutely described. Shortly after that she was seized again with like fits, and, on recovering, she accused five other women of tormenting her, describing them also. The accused persons being brought from differ ent parts of the country, she appeared to suf fer extreme fear and additional torture, as they approached the house. It was also de posed that strange noises, as of whistling, scratching, etc.. were • heard in the house, and that a sulphurous smell was observed in the rooms; that stones, turf, and the like, were thrown about the house, and the cov erlets frequently taken off the beds, and made up in the shape of a corpse; and that a bol ster once walked out of a room into the kitchen, with a night-gown about it! It like
wise appeared in evidence that in some of her fits three strong men were scarcely able to hold her in bed; that at times she vomited feathers, cotton yarn, buttons and pins; and that on one occasion she slipped off the bed and was laid on the floor, as if supported and drawn by an invisible power. The afflicted person was unable to give any evidence on the trial, being during that time dumb, but had no violent fits during its continuance. In defence it appeared that most of the ac cused were sober, industrious people, who attended public worship, could repeat the Lord's prayer, and had been known to pray both in public and private; and that some of them had lately received the communion. Judge Upton, in charging the jury, noted the regular attendance of the accused on pub lic worship, remarking that he thought it improbable that real witches could so far re tain the form of religion as to frequent the religious worship of God, both publicly and privately, which had been proved in favor of the accused. He concluded by giving his opinion, "that the jury could not bring them in guilty, upon the sole testimony of the afflicted person's visionary images. He was followed by Justice McCartney, who differed from him in opinion, and thought the jury might, from the evidence, bring them in guilty, which they accordingly did. This trial lasted from six o'clock in the morning till two in the afternoon, and the prisoners were sentenced to be imprisoned twelve months, and to stand four times in the pillory in Carrickfergus. Tradition says that the people were much exasperated against these unfortunate per sons, who were severely pelted in the pillory with boiled cabbage stalks, and the like, by which one of them had an eve beaten out.
