TO FORCE MARRIAGE

Greymouth Evening Star, 25 May 1935, Page 9

TO FORCE MARRIAGE

RAID ON MAN’S HOUSE

LONDON, April 10.

A story of an attempt by armed men to make a man marry a girl was told at Dublin Military Tribunal yesterday, when James Joseph Regan, Patrick McNiff, and Thomas McLoughlin, were charged with attempting to intimidate another Roscommon man, Patrick O’Malley, to marry Mary Farrell,.

There were also charges of membership of an unlawful association, conspiracy to intimidate, forcible entry and burglary, and illegal possession of firearms with intent to endanger life.

Mr. Barry (defending) said that the men entered into a conspiracy to induce a young man to do what they considered would be his duty to do — to marry a girl who w u s about to become the mother of a fatherless child. McLoughlin was a friend of the family of the girl, and Regan was merely the driver of a car used for the enterprise.

On tho night of March 7 they forcibly entered the house of Patrick O’Malley, whom they proposed to induce to enter into this marriage. The men had mada arrangements with a local priest, who knew nothing about the character of the marriage, and he was in attendance at the church that evening with the girl.

When the accused men were trying to get into the house shots were fired by all of them both inside and outside the house.

Each of the men were sentenced to IS months’ imprisonment, 12 months of which not to be enforced if they agrecd to be bound over.