Duel in Ireland
Case heard October 1806
Dyas v Tandy
At the late
Trim Assizes, William Dyas Esq, was arraigned before the Right Hon. Lord
Norberry, on a charge of having, on the 18th June, maliciously,
wilfully, feloniously, and of his malice prepense, killed and murdered Anthony
Brunton Tandy, Esq; by shooting at him, and giving one mortal wound on the
right side of the head, of which he instantly died.
Mr. McNally
opened the cause of prosecution. The deceased, he said was the son of Mr. John
Tandy, a respectable Magistrate for the County, and a man of fortune and
respectability. Lieutenant Tandy had served in the West Indies with his
regiment; but from wounds he received he returned home and resided at the town
of Kells. The gentleman at the bar was an inhabitant of the same town. An
intimacy took place.
On the 17th
of June, a quarrel took place on account of some trifling difference, when the
deceased, heated by passion, called the prisoner “a swindler” to which Mr. Dyas
retorted “You lie, you rascal”. At this time they were drinking punch and
immediately the tumblers which stood on the table were mutually and at the same
instant thrown by each at the other. They stood up- They grappled – and were
separated by the persons present. Fortunate would it have been if they had been
left to decide their contest by a trial of bodily strength.
Mr. McNally
then called Benjamin Bradford who stated the circumstances of the duel. It took
place at Hertford Bridge. Before the arrival of the parties at this place
witness saw Mr. Tandy walking and pursued him; ran and got over a gate into a
field and then saw the prisoner and deceased running alongside each other – saw
them get over a large, planted ditch. Mr. Tandy first, Mr. Dyas after him about
ten yards.
Mr. Molloy,
a Magistrate, who had also pursued the parties, in the hope of preventing the
duel, called to the witness (Bradford) to take the left of the ditch, as they
might run that way, which witness did. The parties were seen running up a hill,
a man came to the top of the ditch, and pointed them out behind a bush, and
said they were loading their pistols. Witness ran fast-he saw one of them.
Witness immediately called out to them “stop gentlemen”. Mr. Garvey another
witness shouted out to them, upon which they ran to a gap. Mr. Dyas continued
at the lefthand side of the deceased. They continued to run, and witness
followed, When he got within eighty to ninety yards of the gap , which
prevented in seeing them he heard a shot- the people called out to witness to
run. Witness at 300 yards from the gap when he saw them go over it. Witness ran
to the gap, and when he got to the top he saw but one man standing, upon which
he knew there was mischief done, and made a sign to that effect to Mr. Molloy
by holding up his hands. Mr. Molloy called out to the witness to seize the
survivor- witness walked down towards Mr.Dyas, who was stooping over the body
which was lying on its belly, with the head on his left arm, a bullet having
penetrated his right temple.
Mr. Dyas
stood to the right of the body- the feet were towards the gap – when witness
came up, Mr. Dyas turned round and said “ I have shot poor Brunton!” Mr. Dyas
had hold of the deceased right hand- witness walked round the body to the left
side- Mr.Dyas rubbed the head of the deceased, and told the witness that but
one pistol went off, and pointed out “Bruntons” as he called him, and his own.
Mr. Dyas’s pistols were about three yards away from the body- could not tell
exactly where the pistol of the deceased was- Witness took up the pistol
pointed out to him as belonging to the deceased- Mr. Molloy observed , “It is cocked” Witness
said he knew it, but wished to examine the pan. Upon examination there was no
priming, only three or four grains that stuck to the pan but had no appearance
of going-off. On shutting the pan, he turned the pistol up and observed a deal
of blood on it – under the guard and immediately about the trigger, on close
examination of the pistol, he observed a small white spot in the blood which he
said was brains and threw the pistol from him in disgust. The barrel of the
pistol was open from the stock- there was not any blood on the hands of the
deceased but Mr. Dyas right hand was bloody.
Mr. Molloy
told Mr. Dyas he had murdered the man, who replied there was no help for it.
Witness was not present when the prisoner made his escape. Several other
witnesses were examined who corroborated the testimony of Bradford. The Jury
retired about a quarter of an hour, and then returned a Verdict of “
Manslaughter at Large”. Lord Norberry, after charging the Jury , sentenced the
prisoner to be burnt in the hand and confined for six months.
Courtesy
The Sporting Magazine October 1806
David Stroud. ramrodantiques.co.uk
NB: Burning of the hand was a law
introduced in May 1799 whereby the subsequent hand burn wound was bound and if
healed in three days…. God’s pardon was applied.
