In pictures: New book by local author on 1840s murder of girl in Culdaff launched

A new book, Finding Mary: The Untold Story of an Inishowen Murder, 1844, has been launched in the Wee Hall in Culdaff.

By Culdaff-based historian Angela Byrne, it focuses on the murder of 1844 murder in Culdaff of 14-year-old servant Mary Doherty, and how there was insufficient evidence to ever convict her suspected killer.

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The book is based on original research and it reconstructs the world of an Inishowen village on the eve of the Famine to explore the approaches to justice taken by the local community and agents of the State.

It also examines the survival of the murder in local folklore to reflect on memory, remembrance, and whose stories get to be told.

Angela Byrne is originally from Donegal Town, but her family roots are in Bunagee, Culdaff, stretching back at least 250 years, and she has lived in Bunagee for many years.

She became drawn to write about what happened to Mary Doherty, and how her murder remains little-known more than 180 years on from her brutal death.

Finding Mary: The untold story of an Inishowen murder, 1844 has been published in paperback by Four Courts Press, with an RRP of €12.95.

It is available online from www.fourcourtspress.ie and is on sale in all good bookshops.