Nenagh Gaurdian Article

Cormack brothers to be remembered in historic re-enactment

The well-known story of Daniel and William Cormack and their controversial murder trial in the mid nineteenth century continues to hold much intrigue throughout Tipperary. The brothers were publicly hanged outside Nenagh Gaol on May 11, 1858 after being found guilty of the murder of John Ellis, a land agent in Loughmore.

The well-known story of Daniel and William Cormack and their controversial murder trial in the mid nineteenth century continues to hold much intrigue throughout Tipperary. The brothers were publicly hanged outside Nenagh Gaol on May 11, 1858 after being found guilty of the murder of John Ellis, a land agent in Loughmore. Daniel and William always maintained that they had played no part in the crime, and they were supported by some 2,357 people who signed a petition protesting the brothers' innocence. The commonly held view at the time was that a local landlord had shot Ellis in a crime of passion involving Ellis' sister, and that the Cormack brothers had been framed for murder.

That defence did not hold sway in court however, and the Loughmore brothers met their fate at the end of the hangman's rope in Nenagh in an execution that many locals regarded as a cruel miscarriage of justice.

In 1910 Daniel and William's remains were removed from Nenagh Gaol and brought home to Loughmore in a major ceremony, with two hearses drawn by plumed horses and followed by huge crowds. After the procession arrived in the village, the Cormack brothers were buried in a large mausoleum in the local churchyard, where people still go to see the original oak coffins and the inscription proclaiming the brothers' innocence.

The Cormack brothers' legacy lives on in Tipperary, and on this the 150th anniversary of their execution, a local committee has formed to arrange a historic re-enactment of their homeward procession to Loughmore.

The elaborate event will feature two horse drawn funeral hearses as its centrepiece, behind which relatives of the Cormacks from around Ireland and America will walk as chief mourners. There will also be two vintage 1908 cars, three 1914 cars and about 20 pony and traps in the procession, and the committee will even be using an original flag that featured in the 1910 procession.

All participants involved in the re-enactment will be garbed in period dress, and anyone planning on attending the event is asked to also wear old, dark clothing to try and add to the authenticity of the procession.

RTÉ's Nationwide programme is scheduled to cover the event, which is due to take place from around 2pm this Sunday. The procession will follow a planned route from a field about a mile and half outside the village on the road to Templemore. It will arrive at the old churchyard for a Latin Mass at 3pm.

Note that Loughmore will be closed to traffic that afternoon but that nearby parking will be provided for those attending the event.

Note also that Nenagh Heritage Centre will be open this Saturday May 10 from 10am to 5pm to mark the 150th anniversary of the Cormack Brothers execution at Nenagh Gaol. Visitors will be able to inspect the centre's museum, which is located in the former gaol governor's house, and also the gatehouse, where visitors can see the condemned cells, execution area, and an exhibition on the Cormack brothers (admission free).