Hanged in Carlow: The Story of Lucinda Sly

Obscure Ireland With Peter · Sep 17, 2026 · 44m

At 2:25pm on the 30th March 1835 Lucinda Sly, a 57 year old Carlow woman was taken from her cell in the county gaol to begin the short walk to the gallows that awaited outside. As the executioner placed a noose around her neck and she took her final glance of this mortal realm the events of the previous months that led to this terrifying moment raced through her mind. She thought of her young lover, John Dempsey whose feet she could hear shuffling behind as he too felt the hangman’s rope tighten around his neck, she thought of the years of abuse she had suffered at the hands of her brutish…