Farm worker John Doloughty, 60, father of seven children, went into Ennis, County Clare, to attend lunchtime mass and as he walked back home he was ambushed and shot in the chest and head. The shots blew away both his eyes and he died next day.
Doloughtys body was discovered immediately after the shooting by a passer-by, who, looking around for clues, heard a rustle in the bushes and recognised Francis Hynes, 25, holding the murder weapon. Hynes fired at the witness, but only wounded him, while other passers-by jumped on the gunman and disarmed him.
Hynes bore a grudge. Accused of poor management, he had been evicted from the farm where Doloughty worked. A known troublemaker, he had been one of a gang that had recently destroyed property on the farm at Moyresik, two miles from Ennis.
He was hanged by William Marwood at Limerick Prison on Monday, September 11th, 1882. The Irish Republicans did not like Marwood, and the hangman was accompanied to the prison by six English and two Irish detectives after threats were made to him.