Red Room

Burke and Hare are two of the most infamous serial killers in history, but they weren’t typical murderers. In 1828, Edinburgh, they killed at least 16 people and sold their bodies to medical schools in a booming underground body trade. This episode explores the real story behind the murders, the anatomy trade, and how they were finally caught.

This episode was written & hosted by me, Jenny Claffey. Researched by Karl O’Reilly.

Links

Fever & Famine 1817-18 – In The News | Co. Tyrone People From The Past.
21 May 1947 - GRIM MURDER PARTNERSHIP HELPED MAKE EDINBURGH'S MEDICAL FAME - Trove
The Burke and Hare murders
Life in Ulster in the 1800s
The Perpetrators, Burke and Hare
The Story of Burke and Hare - Edinburgh.
The William Burke Museum | The Cadies & Witchery Tours
Bodies and bureaucracy: The demise of the body snatchers in 19th century Britain - Philp - 2022 - The Anatomical Record - Wiley Online Library
Burke and Hare: The body snatchers - BBC Bitesize
Procuring Corpses: The English Anatomy Inspectorate, 1842 to 1858 - PMC
The gruesome true story of the bodysnatchers who robbed graves and resorted to murder in 18th-century Britain
The untold story of serial killer William Burke's wife and her mysterious disappearance from Glasgow
Pull factors affecting immigrants - Immigration to Scotland 1830s-1939 - National 5 History Revision - BBC Bitesize
Irish immigration to Scotland
An immigrant Irish contingent in the crowd at the execution of William Burke in Edinburgh in 1829 - Ken Donaldson, Christopher Henry, 2025
Who were Burke & Hare? Edinburgh’s Infamous “Body Snatchers"
Burke and Hare: Two Edinburgh Murderers - geriwalton.com
Body Snatchers | The London Dungeon
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An Irish Fenian bombing in Victorian London led to mass panic, a controversial trial, and the execution of Michael Barrett., who would become the last man hanged in Britain.

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Further Reading / Sources
"The Irish invasion": how the Irish Famine changed Scotland
Irish immigration to Scotland
t18680406-412 | The Proceedings of the Old Bailey
https://www.theirishstory.com/category/history/irish-history/
https://www.irishdemocrat.co.uk/features/michael-barrett/
Executed men remembered in London | An Phoblacht
Michael Barrett (1841-1868) - The forgotten Fenian from Fermanagh: By Fr Joe McVeigh | An Phoblacht
Irish Republicanism in Scotland, 1858–1916: Fenians in exile – History Ireland
Michael Barrett: a Fenian remembered
Barrett, Michael | Dictionary of Irish Biography
On This Day: The Clerkenwell Outrage, 13th December, 1867 – Turbulent Isles
150 years ago today, a Fenian became the last person to be publicly executed in England
Burke, Ricard O'Sullivan | Dictionary of Irish Biography
The Times Report of the Last Public Hanging in England

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Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone! To celebrate, I thought I'd rerelease an episode from 2024 when we did a series on Haunted Ireland.
This episode covers some spooky, dark and haunting True Crime Cases from Ireland's Victorian era.

Enjoy!

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On Christmas Day 1929, postman Larry Griffin rode into the village of Stradbally to deliver the mail and vanished. His bike was found abandoned the next morning, but his body was never recovered. Nearly a century later, the disappearance of Ireland’s “missing postman” remains unsolved.

Sources

Mystery still surrounds 1929 disappearance of Co Waterford postman
The strange case of the country postman who vanished one Christmas Day
CSÍ The Missing Postman Part One
The missing postman | Irish Independent
Remembering The Missing Postman - The Munster Express
The Case Of The Missing Postman | Liveline - RTÉ Radio 1
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Kyran Durnin was reported missing in 2024, but investigators later discovered he had not been seen since 2022, despite prior contact with child protection services. How does a child known to the system disappear for over two years without detection?

Links
Kyran: The Lost Boy
Drogheda Mum pleads with her missing daughter to get in touch
Man questioned in Kyran Durnin murder case found dead
Drogheda boy may have been killed over two years ago - gardaí
Kyran Durnin: Search ends in 'extraordinary' missing child case
| School ‘was told missing pupil Kyran Durnin was in hospital with Covid-19’
How the trail on missing Kyran Durnin ran cold after May 2022
Woman questioned by gardai over disappearance and murder of Kyran Durnin returns to Ireland - Irish Mirror
https://archive.is/ME6pS#selection-4972.2-5061.91
Tusla chief says no referrals of concern made about Kryan Durnin from 2022-24 | BreakingNews
Exclusive: Stories of two key witnesses in Kyran Durnin case at odds
Daniel Aruebose gardai hone in on injury 'before death' in new probe revelations after 2 suspects quizzed on bruising
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