Dorcas "Darkey" Kelly (died 7 January 1761) was an Irish brothel-keeper and alleged

serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...

who was

burned at the stake Death by burning is an list of execution methods, execution, murder, or suicide method involving combustion or exposure to extreme heat. It has a long history as a form of public capital punishment, and many societies have employed it as a puni ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

in 1761.

Biography

Dorcas Kelly was a

madam Madam (), or madame ( or ), is a polite and formal form of address for Woman, women in the English language, often contracted to ma'am (pronounced in American English and this way but also in British English). The term derives from the French la ...

who operated the Maiden Tower brothel on Copper Alley, off

Fishamble Street Fishamble Street (; ) is a street in Dublin, Ireland within the old city walls. Location The street joins Wood Quay at the Fish Slip near Fyan's Castle. It originally ran from Castle Street to Essex Quay until the creation of Lord Edward S ...

in the southwest part of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Convicted of killing shoemaker John Dowling on

St. Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick (), is a religious and cultural holiday held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Chri ...

1760, Kelly was

executed Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...

by partial

hanging Hanging is killing a person by suspending them from the neck with a noose or ligature strangulation, ligature. Hanging has been a standard method of capital punishment since the Middle Ages, and has been the primary execution method in numerou ...

and

burning at the stake Death by burning is an execution, murder, or suicide method involving combustion or exposure to extreme heat. It has a long history as a form of public capital punishment, and many societies have employed it as a punishment for and warning agai ...

on Gallows Road (modern

Baggot Street Baggot Street () is a street in Dublin, Ireland. Location The street runs from Merrion Row (near St. Stephen's Green) to the northwestern end of Pembroke Road. It crosses the Grand Canal near Haddington Road. It is divided into two sections: ...

) on 7 January 1761. After her execution she was waked by

prostitutes Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-p ...

on Copper Alley; thirteen of them were arrested for disorder and sent to

Newgate Prison, Dublin Newgate Prison () was a place of detention in Dublin, Ireland. It was initially located at Cornmarket, near Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, Christ Church Cathedral, on the south side of the River Liffey, Liffey and was originally one of the Li ...

. An account of the 1773 execution of the murderer Mrs Herring at Tyburn, London, gives an idea of what Kelly's execution may have been like: A 1788 account in the ''World'' newspaper claims that her brothel was investigated by the authorities and that investigators then found the corpses of five men hidden in the vaults. However, this does not appear in any contemporary account of her trial and execution and appears to be a later embellishment.

Legend

Various legends grew up around Kelly after her execution. The most common story is that she became pregnant with the child of Dublin's Sheriff

Simon Luttrell, 1st Earl of Carhampton Simon Luttrell, 1st Earl of Carhampton ( – 14 January 1787) was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1754 to 1780. Biography He was the second son of Henry Luttrell, of Luttrellstown (whose family had he ...

, a member of the

Hellfire Club Hellfire Club was a term used to describe several exclusive Club (organization), clubs for high-society Rake (character), rakes established in Great Britain and Ireland in the 18th Century. The name most commonly refers to Francis Dashwood, 11t ...

and probable client of Kelly's Maiden Tower. She demanded financial support from him. He responded by accusing her of witchcraft and of having killed their baby in a Satanic ritual. The body was never found. Darkey was then burnt at the stake. This story may have its origin in one told about Luttrell's son

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

, who supposedly

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

d a girl in a brothel, and then had the girl and her family imprisoned under false charges.

Legacy

A pub on Fishamble Street, near where her brothel once stood, is named Darkey Kelly's.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Dorcas 1761 deaths 18th-century executions 18th-century Irish businesspeople 18th-century Irish criminals 18th-century Irish businesswomen Criminals from Dublin (city) Executed Irish women Irish brothel owners and madams Irish people convicted of murder People executed for murder People executed by Ireland by burning People executed by the Kingdom of Ireland Executed people from County Dublin Executed suspected serial killers

Biography

Legend

Legacy

See also

References