A number of major crimes in Ireland have attained notability or notoriety due to those involved or their lasting effects on society or legislation. As of 2019, the Republic of Ireland had the 11th lowest homicide rate in Europe and the 23rd lowest rate globally.
19th century 1880s
Date Name Deaths Location Summary 1882 Lough Mask Murders 2 Lough Mask, County Galway In January 1882, Joseph Huddy (a bailiff for the local landlord) and his grandson John Huddy were reputedly murdered and their bodies concealed in Lough Mask. Maamtrasna murders 5 Maamtrasna, County Galway Five members of the family of John Joyce were hacked to death on the night of 18 August 1882. The trial of ten local men was highly controversial; three were hanged. Some of those executed were later posthumously pardoned.
20th century 1920s
Date Name Deaths Location Summary 1925 Killing of Lizzie O'Neill 1 Ticknock, County Dublin Lizzie O'Neill, a sex worker, was fatally shot in Ticknock, County Dublin. A doctor from County Wicklow and a Garda Superintendent were put on trial for their alleged role in her death. Both were acquitted. 1929 The Missing Postman of Stradbally 1 Stradbally, County Waterford Larry Griffin, a 55-year-old postman, disappeared without trace after delivering the mail on Christmas Day. It was widely believed that he had died during a fight in the local pub, and that his body was hidden to protect the positions of the local people involved.
1940s
Date Name Deaths Location Summary 1940 Murder of Moll McCarthy 1 New Inn, County Tipperary Mary McCarthy, known as Moll Carthy, was shot dead near New Inn in County Tipperary in Ireland. Henry "Harry" Gleeson was convicted of her murder and executed, but granted a posthumous pardon in 2015.
1950s Date Name Deaths Location Summary 1954 Murder of Catherine Cooper 1 Limerick, Ireland Catherine Cooper, a 65-year-old nurse, was murdered by Michael Manning while working at Barrington's Hospital. Manning was later tried and convicted of her murder becoming the last person to be hanged in the Republic of Ireland.
1960s Date Name Deaths Location Summary 1964 Murder of George Applebe 1 County Cork, Ireland Jimmy Ennis was released from prison after serving a four-year jail term for a brutal hatchet attack against a woman named Mary Reynolds, which left her severely brain damaged. Two days after his release, Ennis broke into the house of George Applebe, a farmer who had previously employed Ennis. During the burglary, Ennis was disturbed by Applebe and his wife, both of whom he bludgeoned with an iron bar. George Applebe died of his injuries. Ennis later turned himself in and was imprisoned in late 1964. Ennis never applied for parole, and remained in prison until at least 2016, becoming one of Ireland's longest serving prisoners.
1970s
Date Name Deaths Location Summary 1971 Murders of Una Lynskey and Martin Kerrigan 2 Ratoath, County Meath Una Lynskey disappeared on 12 October 1971, while walking the short distance from the bus stop to her rural home. Her body was found two months later. Shortly after, Martin Kerrigan's body was found close to the same site. 1973 Murder of Sarah Frances Fitzpatrick 1 Ballinasloe, County Galway Walking home from the pub and looking for easy money, 18 year-old John Joseph Kenny breaks into the home of 79 year-old Sarah Frances Fitzpatrick, not expecting her to be home. When he wakes her, he panics and bludgeons the elderly woman to death with a candlestick. Sentenced to life, he is one of Ireland's longest serving inmates. 1974 Murder of Billy Fox 1 Clones, County Monaghan Seanad member and former Teachta Dála Billy Fox was shot dead by members of the Provisional IRA during a raid on his girlfriend's farmhouse. Fox was the first member of the Oireachtas to be killed since Kevin O'Higgins was killed by the anti-Treaty Irish Republican Army in 1927. 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings 33 Dublin and Monaghan The Dublin and Monaghan bombings of 17 May 1974 were a series of car bombings in Dublin and Monaghan in Ireland. The attacks killed 33 civilians and wounded almost 300 – the highest number of casualties in any one day during the conflict known as the Troubles. 26 people were murdered in Dublin, 7 in Monaghan. A loyalist paramilitary group, the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) conspiring with the British Army, claimed responsibility for the bombings in 1993. No one has ever been charged with the attacks. 1975 Death of Michael J. Reynolds 1 Raheny, Dublin Garda Michael J. Reynolds pursued armed raiders into St. Anne's Park who had stolen £7,000. He managed to wrestle one of them to the ground, prompting the other to shoot Reynolds through the head. He was posthumously awarded the Scott Medal for bravery. 1976 Murders of Elizabeth Plunkett and Mary Duffy 2 County Wicklow and County Mayo Two English drifters, John Shaw and Geoffrey Evans, arrive in Ireland with the intention to rape and murder one woman a week. Their first victim was Elizabeth Plunkett, a 23-year-old woman who was raped by both men before Shaw choked her to death with a shirt sleeve on Evans' orders. The pair then attacked 24 year-old chef Mary Duffy, who Shaw smothered with a cushion after she was raped by both men. Both were later convicted and became Ireland's longest serving prisoners; Evans died at age 69 in 2012. 1977 Disappearance of Mary Boyle 1 Ballyshannon, County Donegal 6 year-old Mary Boyle was abducted and is presumed murdered. Her body was never recovered and the perpetrator remains uncaught. 1979 Murder of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, Nicholas Knatchbull, Paul Maxwell & Doreen Knatchbull, Baroness Brabourne 4 Mullaghmore, County Sligo Lord Mountbatten of Burma, a British statesman and naval officer, an uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and second cousin once-removed to Queen Elizabeth II, was assassinated by the Provisional IRA. Nicholas Knatchbull, his elder daughter's 14 year-old son; and Paul Maxwell, a 15-year-old crew member from Enniskillen, were killed in the blast. Doreen Knatchbull, the Dowager Lady Brabourne was seriously injured in the explosion and died from her injuries the following day. Thomas McMahon was convicted of murder but was later released as part of the Good Friday Agreement.
1980s
Date Name Deaths Location Summary 1980 Killing of Seamus Quaid 1 Ballyconnick, County Wexford Two Gardaí, Seamus Quaid and Donal Lyttleton, attempt to detain an IRA fugitive, Peter Rogers, who opened fire in return. Quaid was shot and killed. 1981 Stardust fire 48 Dublin A fire at the Stardust nightclub in Dublin, caused by an electrical fault, results in the deaths of 48 people. While an earlier inquest suggested that the fire was the result of arson, this ruling was dismissed in 2009. The jury in a 2024 inquest, at Dublin City Coroner's Court, returned a verdict of "unlawful killing". 1982 Murder of Patrick Gerard Reynolds 1 Tallaght, Dublin Gardaí responding to an anonymous tip regarding suspicious activity come across five armed men counting their loot from a bank robbery. Two of the men attempt to flee, and as they run down the stairs come face-to-face with 23 year-old Patrick Gerard Reynolds, an unarmed Garda. He turns to retreat back down the stairs, but is shot in the back and dies. Murders of Bridie Gargan and Dónal Dunne 2 Phoenix Park, Ireland Malcolm Edward MacArthur bludgeoned nurse Bridie Gargan to death while she was sunbathing in the Phoenix Park then stole her car. Three days later, he shot and killed farmer Dónal Dunne with his own shotgun before eventually being apprehended at the residence of then-Attorney General Patrick Connolly, where MacArthur had been staying as a houseguest for some time. The incident became the subject of the phrase GUBU. Murder of Charles Self 1 Monkstown, Dublin Charles Self, a gay man from England who worked as a set designer for RTÉ, was fatally stabbed fourteen times and slashed three times across the throat in his own home. The murder remains unsolved. Murder of Declan Flynn 1 Fairview, Dublin Declan Flynn, a 31-year-old gay man, was ambushed in Fairview Park and beaten to death in a homophobic attack. Five men were charged with the murder; Tony Maher, Robert Alan Armstrong, Patrick Kavanagh, Colm Donovan, and a 14-year-old who could not be named for legal reasons. All five walked free, though Armstrong would later be jailed in 1987 for the rape of a pregnant woman. The case sparked widespread protests and is seen to be, along with the murder of Charles Self, the catalyst for the Gay Rights Movement in Ireland. 1983 Kidnap of Shergar (horse) — Ballymany Stud, County KildareShergar, a champion racehorse, is stolen by armed men and ransomed for £2 million. It was not paid and the horse never recovered. 1985 Shooting of Patrick Joseph Morrissey 1 Tallanstown, County Louth While chasing Michael McHugh and Noel Callaghan, two INLA members who had stolen £25,000 from the Labour Exchange in Ardee, Garda sergeant Patrick Joseph Morrissey is fatally shot. He was post-posthumously awarded the Scott Medal for bravery. Death of Father Niall Molloy 1 Clara, County Offaly On the night of 8 July, Father Niall Molloy, the parish priest of Castlecoote in Roscommon, was found beaten to death in the home of Richard and Therese Flynn. Richard Flynn was tried for his murder but acquitted, and to date the crime remains unsolved. 1986 The Russborough House art robbery — County Wicklow, Ireland Martin Cahill and his gang steal 18 paintings valued at $30,000,000 from the Russborough House in May 1986. Disappearance of Philip Cairns 1 Rathfarnham, Dublin, Ireland 13 year-old schoolboy Philip Cairns vanishes in broad daylight while walking back to school after lunch.
1990s