Lucinda Sly: A Woman Hanged
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The year is 1835, and local woman Lucinda Singleton is publicly hanged alongside her lover, John Dempsey, in front of Carlow Gaol – and becomes the last woman to be hanged in Ireland.
The Story of Lucinda Sly, by renowned Irish-language author Maidhc Dainín Ó Sé, and translated by award-winning Kerry poet Gabriel Fitzmaurice, is based on events that took place in Carlow in 1834 and 1835. It tells the tale of Lucinda Singleton, a widow who married well-to-do farmer Walter Sly. Suffering at the hands of her abusive husband – a drunkard and a brute – she conspires with her lover, John Dempsey, to murder him. Capturing the sentiment in Carlow at that time, the lovers were hanged side by side in public on 30 March 1835. The Story of Lucinda Sly was an award winner at Oireachtas na Gaeilge, 2008, and there have been two theatrical productions based on the events portrayed in the book.
Gabriel Fitzmaurice
Gabriel Fitzmaurice was born in 1952, in Moyvane, County Kerry where he still lives. For over thirty years he taught in the local primary school, from which he retired as principal in 2007. He is the author of more than fifty books, including collections of poetry in both English and Irish, as well as several collections of verse for children. He has translated extensively from Irish into English and has edited a number of poetry anthologies in both languages. He frequently broadcasts on radio and television on education and the arts.
Maidhc Dainín Ó Sé
Maidhc Dainín Ó Sé was born in Carrahán in the West Kerry Gaeltacht in 1942. He is a novelist, short story writer, poet, memoirist and musician. A well-known Irish language author, he has eleven books to his credit. In the 1950s, Maidhc moved to England and then settled in Chicago where, during his ten years there, he met and played music with many of the great traditional Irish musicians. He returned to Ireland in 1969 and now lives in Kerry with his wife and family.