Traces In The Castle
Stories similar to this that you might like too.
He was not a young man. He had been born in the year of Our Lord 1786, and he would die at seventy-one years old on that same day. His name was Thomas Rochford, and his life began with an act of violence: the murder of his father by his mother’s lover. It ended in another violent death—this one self-inflicted. But before it did end, there were many other deaths to come.
Rochford was born into a family of minor nobility; his grandfather had been knighted for services rendered during the Seven Year’s War against France. Afterward, as part of the peace treaty between Britain and its former enemy, the French king gave up all claims to land along what is now the border between England and Scotland.
This left a vast tract of territory ripe for development. One such company took advantage of this opportunity when it founded the town of Westport in County Mayo, Ireland. Therein lay the fortunes of Thomas Rochford’s ancestors. They became landowners like so many others who came from Great Britain to build their lives here.
By the time he reached adulthood, Thomas Rochford owned several thousand acres of prime farmland around Westport. And while his title might have been “gentleman” rather than baronet or earl, he was still a wealthy man.
Yet even riches could not protect him from misfortune. When he was only twenty-four years old, his wife died giving birth to a child she named after her own mother. A few months later, his infant son also passed away. Then, just two years later, his daughter Mary fell ill and died within days.
For a man who’d already lost three children, these tragedies must have seemed unbearable. So, perhaps out of grief, he decided to take matters into his own hands.
It happened in July 1812. While on a hunting trip near the village of Ballina, he encountered an Irishwoman known as Kate O’Brien, whom he soon married. She bore him five more children over the next seven years.
However, tragedy struck again when their youngest son drowned in a nearby lake. Two weeks later, the boy’s twin sister died suddenly. Soon afterward, his eldest son, James, committed suicide by jumping off a cliff. At this point,
Rochford had no choice but to sell most of his holdings to pay for the funerals. By the time he was thirty-six years old, he owned nothing except the small cottage where he lived with his remaining four children.
Then, one night in November 1828, he went outside to check on something burning in the yard. Unfortunately, he didn’t return inside right away. Instead, he stayed outdoors until dawn broke. That morning, when he finally returned home, he found his wife dead. Her throat had been slashed open with a knife. An inquest determined that the killer was none other than Thomas himself.
The coroner ruled the cause of death as a homicide. As if to make sure everyone knew exactly how much blame he bore for killing his wife, he then killed himself.
In the aftermath of the murders, the local community turned against Rochford. Some blamed him for bringing shame upon them. Others said he should never have been allowed to marry a woman without first being vetted by the church. Still, others believed that he deserved to be punished for murdering his wife and unborn baby.
There was one person, however, who defended Rochford. She was Kate O’Brien herself. Even though she wasn’t technically his legal spouse (she’d wed him under protest), she insisted that he hadn’t meant to kill her.
She claimed he loved her very much, although he couldn’t publicly admit it because of the social stigma attached to divorce. Because of this, she argued, he felt compelled to commit the crime. And yet, despite everything, he still cared about her enough to try to save her life.
Kate O’Brien’s defense made little difference. Despite the fact that he’d tried to stop the bleeding from his wife’s neck wound, Rochford was convicted of murder and sentenced to hang. On January 1st, 1830, he stood on the gallows at Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin.
As he faced the executioner, he reportedly muttered, “I am innocent.”
Afterward, the crowd cheered.
***
On September 20th, 1832, the body of a man was discovered floating in the River Liffey. It was almost certainly the corpse of Thomas Rochford. Police quickly identified the remains as those of the notorious murderer.
But the story doesn’t end there.
A few hours after the discovery, a strange thing happened. The river started to rise rapidly. Within minutes, water levels rose above the banks and flooded the surrounding streets. Although it was obvious that a flood had occurred, nobody could explain why.
Although the exact reason is unknown, some historians believe that Rochford may have accidentally poisoned himself before throwing himself into the river. After all, he had once told someone that arsenic was a good way to commit suicide. Of course, he probably wouldn’t have wanted anyone else to know about such a secret method of ending his life.
Others argue that Rochford’s death was no accident. They claim that he deliberately took poison so that he would die in the same manner as his victims. This theory isn’t supported by any evidence, but many people still believe it today.
Whatever the truth behind the mystery, Rochford’s last words are now part of Irish folklore. In modern times, they’re often used to symbolize Ireland’s struggle for independence.
“I am innocent,” he supposedly cried.
He was not a young man. He had been born in the year of Our Lord 1786, and he would die at seventy-one years old on that same day. His name was Thomas Rochford, and his life began with an act of violence: the murder of his father by his mother’s lover. It ended in another violent death—this one self-inflicted. But before it did end, there were many other deaths to come.
Rochford was born into a family of minor nobility; his grandfather had been knighted for services rendered during the Seven Year’s War against France. Afterward, as part of the peace treaty between Britain and its former enemy, the French king gave up all claims to land along what is now the border between England and Scotland.
This left a vast tract of territory ripe for development. One such company took advantage of this opportunity when it founded the town of Westport in County Mayo, Ireland. Therein lay the fortunes of Thomas Rochford’s ancestors. They became landowners like so many others who came from Great Britain to build their lives here.
By the time he reached adulthood, Thomas Rochford owned several thousand acres of prime farmland around Westport. And while his title might have been “gentleman” rather than baronet or earl, he was still a wealthy man. Yet even riches could not protect him from misfortune.
When he was only twenty-four years old, his wife died giving birth to a child she named after her own mother. A few months later, his infant son also passed away. Then, just two years later, his daughter Mary fell ill and died within days.
For a man who’d already lost three children, these tragedies must have seemed unbearable. So, perhaps out of grief, he decided to take matters into his own hands.
It happened in July 1812. While on a hunting trip near the village of Ballina, he encountered an Irishwoman known as Kate O’Brien, whom he soon married. She bore him five more children over the next seven years.
However, tragedy struck again when their youngest son drowned in a nearby lake. Two weeks later, the boy’s twin sister died suddenly. Soon afterward, his eldest son, James, committed suicide by jumping off a cliff.
At this point, Rochford had no choice but to sell most of his holdings to pay for the funerals. By the time he was thirty-six years old, he owned nothing except the small cottage where he lived with his remaining four children.
Then, one night in November 1828, he went outside to check on something burning in the yard. Unfortunately, he didn’t return inside right away. Instead, he stayed outdoors until dawn broke. That morning, when he finally returned home, he found his wife dead. Her throat had been slashed open with a knife. An inquest determined that the killer was none other than Thomas himself.
The coroner ruled the cause of death as a homicide. As if to make sure everyone knew exactly how much blame he bore for killing his wife, he then killed himself.
In the aftermath of the murders, the local community turned against Rochford. Some blamed him for bringing shame upon them. Others said he should never have been allowed to marry a woman without first being vetted by the church. Still, others believed that he deserved to be punished for murdering his wife and unborn baby.
There was one person, however, who defended Rochford. She was Kate O’Brien herself. Even though she wasn’t technically his legal spouse (she’d wed him under protest), she insisted that he hadn’t meant to kill her.
She claimed he loved her very much, although he couldn’t publicly admit it because of the social stigma attached to divorce. Because of this, she argued, he felt compelled to commit the crime. And yet, despite everything, he still cared about her enough to try to save her life.
Kate O’Brien’s defense made little difference. Despite the fact that he’d tried to stop the bleeding from his wife’s neck wound, Rochford was convicted of murder and sentenced to hang. On January 1st, 1830, he stood on the gallows at Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin.
As he faced the executioner, he reportedly muttered, “I am innocent.”
Afterward, the crowd cheered.
***
The End