Mother and seven children killed in Wexford house fire
Wexford, 28 December 1922 – Eight people, including seven young children, have been killed in Co. Wexford when a devastating fire engulfed their family home.
The victims have been named as Alice O’Neill, a 42 year-old widow, and her seven children who were aged between one and 10 years. Their names were Mogue, Alice, Patrick, James, George, Henry and Thomas.
The blaze at the farm in Ballygarrett, which is located about nine miles from Gorey, was detected at 12.30am on the morning of Sunday 24 December by local farmer Michael Hobbs. Hobbs lives a mile from the O’Neill residence and saw smoke rising in the distance. He immediately cycled to the scene and found the house on fire. A portion of the house had fallen in and the adjoining outhouses and a nearby rick were also ablaze.
Owing to the ferocity of the fire, the two men could not get near the doors and windows. They called out to ascertain if anyone was inside. No response was received.
Soon after, more help arrived from the village and buckets of water were fetched to put the fires out so the search for the O’Neills could begin. Eventually, all eight bodies were discovered in one room off the kitchen.
The four elder boys, it is understood, slept in one bed together and in an adjoining room, Mrs O’Neill and the three other children slept. Their iron bed frames were found twisted and misshapen from the fire. Mrs O’Neill’s husband died of pneumonia in May 1922. Their second eldest child, Molly – aged 8 – is now the only surviving member of the family; she was staying with her aunt at the time the tragedy occurred.
An inquest into the deaths in Ballygarrett considered the suggestion that the fire was started maliciously. 11 members of the jury of 18 believed this to be the case, however the coroner stated that a minimum of 12 votes were needed to secure this in his ruling and so the words ‘maliciously done’ were struck from the verdict.
Evidence presented to the inquest stated that a meadow on the land owned by the O’Neills was ‘spiked’ – pieces of metal had been driven into the ground so that the mowing machines would be damaged – last summer and that potato stalks had been pulled from the garden.
The late Mrs O’Neill’s sister, Mrs Morris, was asked whether her sister was ever mixed up in politics. ‘She would not know what you would be talking about’, Mrs Morris responded. ‘She worked away and minded her own business, and never meddled with anyone.’
The verdict returned by the coroner read: That ‘Alice O’Neill and her seven children were burned to death, and that we believe that the fire originated at the rick at the rere [sic] of the dwellinghouse, and whether the rick of hay was set fire to maliciously or accidentally we are not in a position to state.’
[Editor's note: This is an article from Century Ireland, a fortnightly online newspaper, written from the perspective of a journalist 100 years ago, based on news reports of the time.]
