Death of Michael Leahy

Michael Leahy was a child who died by drowning in 1826 in Kerry, Ireland.[1] Leahy was four years old at the time of his death.[1] He was believed by some in his community to have been a changeling and the drowning was the result of an attempt to cure him.[1]

Ann Roche was indicted for Leahy's murder and tried in Tralee.[1] Roche was described by the London Morning Post as being “an old woman of very advanced age”.[1] She claimed to have supernatural abilities and healing skills.[2] She ordered two people to bathe the boy in the river Flesk every morning.[3] The two bathed him for three mornings.[3] On the third morning he was held under the water for longer than usual and died.[3]

A changeling was a child left by fairies after they had stolen a healthy human child.[4] The suspicion in Leahy's case resulted from his illness.[1] He could neither speak not stand.[1] Under cross-examination a witness said that the drowning was not done with the intent of killing the child but to cure him - “to put the fairy out of it”.[3]

The court, at the direction of the judge, found Roche not guilty of murder.[3] The judge said that the jury “would not be safe in convicting the prisoner of murder, however strong their suspicion might be”.[3] Author Robert Curran says that the verdict is suggestive of the depth of belief in changelings in the community.[5] There were several similar cases in rural Ireland in the 19th century.[5][4]

Hannah Kent's novel, The Good People, takes inspiration from this case.[2] Kent said that she could only find two primary source articles on the case after extensive research and many details about the case are unknown.[2]