Sinn Féiner shoots woman, then turns gun on himself
Dublin, 28 April 1920 - John
Gaskin (reported in the press as Gascoyne), a 22-year-old Sinn
Féiner, died from a bullet wound to the skull which was
‘probably self-inflicted’, an inquest at Monkstown
Hospital recorded yesterday.
Mr Gaskin’s body was discovered on waste-ground in the south
Dublin suburb of Blackrock on Sunday 25 April.
17-year-old Agnes Byrne was discovered seriously wounded nearby, also suspected to have been shot by Gaskin. A blood transfusion was required to save her life and she is recovering in Monkstown Hospital, where her condition is reported to be critical.
READ: From Belfast Jail to Blackrock tragedy: the death of Sinn Féiner John Gaskin
Ms Byrne left a dance at the O’Byrne Social Club accompanied by friends and headed up Carysfort Avenue and along Brookfield Avenue. Mr Gaskin walked ahead of them. According to one witness account, when they got a piece of waste-ground, there was a flash and Ms Byrne staggered on the road from a gunshot.
Gaskin ran past them and two more shots were heard shortly after and he was seen to fall to the ground and roll on his side.
The inquest heard that Mr Gaskin had formed an attachment to the young woman, but his interest was not reciprocated. According to evidence provided by police superintendent, J. Doran, Ms Byrne explained from her hospital bed that Gaskin used to ask her to go out with him, but she refused. ‘I would not go out with him. He threatened to do something to himself.’
In 1918 Mr Gaskin was sentenced to six months in prison for illegal drilling at Deansgrange. While in Belfast Prison his father believed he went on hunger strike with other prisoners. Mr Gaskin’s father said that his son’s experience of imprisonment in Belfast Jail had badly affected his mind.
Left: John Gaskin. Right: Agnes Byrne, taken three years before the incident. (Image: Evening Herald, 27 April 1920)
[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.]
