The Irish Coroner

Death, murder and politics in Co. Monaghan, 1846-78

Michelle McGoff-McCann

"This book demonstrates the political importance of the office of coroner in the mid-19th century. It locates this officer of the crown in the general administration of local government, and explains the politics of the position. The author focuses on three casebooks of Monaghan coroner William Charles Waddell. Between them they cover the period 1846-1877 ... They depict the harsh realities of suffering, particularly by the marginalised, in the 19th century. Using this original source material allows the author the paint a detailed and accurate picture of the work of the corner. She demonstrates how the coroner investigated sudden or suspicious deaths. Starvation, suicide, disease, murder and natural causes all feature ... The cases in Waddell's books provide devastating accounts of the way the poorest in society lived in the 19th century. We hear about inadequate food, bedding and housing, as well as about bureaucratic failures and the mishandling of scarce resources. This book also examines institutions such as workhouses and prisons where deaths regularly occurred ... There is much to interest the legal historian in this book ... Historians of crime and criminal law will appreciate the granular, evidence-based approach taken to documenting the coroner's role in the criminal process ... This book will also be of interest to anyone with an interest in Ireland's social history. It represents an important contribution to famine studies ... For the local historian, there is much to be learned about networks, institutions, power and personalities, as well as about primary sources and how they can be used to tell the story of a place. The stories of the marginalised are depicted in details, and the book sheds light on the experiences of women in rural Ireland and in small towns in the 19th century. This book is a valuable addition to the increasing body of scholarship on Irish coroners and their inquests, and it is the first full-length work to deal with a rural rather than an urban coroner's district." Niamh Howlin, The Irish Jurist 2024 

“Michelle McGoff-McCann’s The Irish Coroner is another accessible academic work that will appeal to the right general reader. William Charles Waddell served as coroner of north County Monaghan for over three decades, and McGoff-McCann has had the good fortune to get her hands on his three casebooks. Such books are rare in Irish historiography”. History Ireland, September/October 2023