161 lines
7.0 KiB
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161 lines
7.0 KiB
Plaintext
From nobody@dogma.slashnull.org Fri Aug 23 12:20:28 2002
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g7NB9oq21542; Fri, 23 Aug 2002 12:09:50 +0100
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Date: Fri, 23 Aug 2002 12:09:50 +0100
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Message-Id: <200208231109.g7NB9oq21542@dogma.slashnull.org>
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From: nobody@dogma.slashnull.org
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Subject: blogged item
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To: yyyy+blogged@example.com
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BlogStart:
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**Dublin**: something from the archives. Daev Walsh forwards an article from
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The Irish Digest about ''Billy in the Bowl''. This story is also immortalised
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in an old Dublin song, which in turn was mentioned in a Pogues track. Billy
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was a legless beggar in the alleys of Stoneybatter and Grangegorman (where I
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now live) during the 18th century, who discovered a new, but not entirely
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legal, way to make money.
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BlogEnd:
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LinkText: Billy in the Bowl
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From: daev <hellshaw@fringeware.com>
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Subject: The Case of the Stoneybatter Strangler
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A story of my new neighbourhood...
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The Irish Digest July 1964
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The Case of the Stoneybatter Strangler
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The handsome, deformed Billy in the Bowl evolved a plan to rob his donors.
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Then, one night, he made the biggest mistake of his life
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DUBLIN in the eighteenth century was noted for two things - the
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architectural beauty of its public buildings and the large number of
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beggars who sought alms in its maze of streets and lanes. Many of these
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beggars relied on visitors and the gentry for their coin, but there was one
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who campaigned among the working class. This was "Billy In The Bowl"
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The strange appellation was derived from the fact that Billy's sole means
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of transport was a large bowl-shaped car with wheels. Seated in this "
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bowl ", the beggar would propel himself along by pushing against the ground
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with wooden plugs, one in each hand.
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Billy's unusual means of conveyance was vitally necessary, as he had been
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born without legs. Nature, however, had compensated for this by endowing
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him with powerful arms and shoulders and, what was most important, an
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unusually handsome face.
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This was Billy's greatest asset in his daily routine of separating
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sympathetic passers-by from their small change.
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The cunning young beggar would wait at a convenient spot on one of the many
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lonely roads or lanes which were a feature of eighteenth century
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Grangegorman and Stoneybatter, until a servant girl or an old lady would
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come along.
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He would then put on is most attractive smile which, together with his
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black curly hair, never failed to halt the females. The fact that such a
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handsome young man was so terribly handicapped physically always evoked pity.
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"Billy in the Bowl", however, wasn't satisfied with becoming the daily
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owner of a generous number of small coins; what his greed demanded were
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substantial sums of money. The more he managed to get the more he could
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indulge in his pet vices - gambling and drinking.
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As a result the beggar evolved a plan to rob unsuspecting sympathisers.
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The first time lie put his plan into operation was on a cold March evening
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as dusk, was falling. The victim was a middle aged woman who was passing
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through Grangegorman Lane on her way to visit friends in Queen Street - on
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Dublin's North Quays.
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When Billy heard the woman's footsteps, he hid behind some bushes in a
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ditch which skirted the lane. As his unsuspecting victim drew close, the
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beggar moaned and shouted, and cried out for help.
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Trembling with excitement, the woman dashed to the spot where Billy lay
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concealed. She bent down to help the beggar out of the ditch, when two
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powerful arms closed around her throat and pulled her into the bushes.
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In a few minutes it was all over. The woman lay in a dead faint, and Billy
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was travelling at a fast rate down the lane in his " bowl ", his victirn's
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purse snug in his coat pocket. An hour after the robbery the woman was
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found in a distracted condition, but failed to give a description of her
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assailant. And, as "Billy in the Bowl" had figured, nobody would suspect a
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deformed beggar.
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Again and again the beggar carried out his robbery plan, always shifting
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the place of attack to a different part of Grangegorman or Stoneybatter.
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On one occasion " Billy in "the Bowl " tried his tactics on a sturdy
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servant girl who put up such a vigorous resistance that he was forced to
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strangle her. The incident became known as the 11 Grangegorman Lane Murder
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and caused a great stir.
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Hundred.s flocked to the scene of the crime and for a couple of months
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"Billy in the Bowl" was forced to desert his usual haunts. Around this
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period, Dublin's first-ever police force was been mobilised, and the first
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case they were confronted with was the Grangegorman lane murder.
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Months passed and "Billy in the Bowl" reverted once again to his old
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pasttime. A number of young servant girls were lured into ditches and
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robbed, and the police were inundated with so many complaints that a
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nightly patrol was placed on the district. But the beggar still rolled
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along in his "bowl" pitied and unsuspected. Then came the night that
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finished Billy's career of crime.
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Two stoudy built female cooks, trudging back to their places of employment
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after a night out in the city, were surprised and not a little shocked to
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hear shouts for help. Rushing over, they came upon a huddled figure in the
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ditch.
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Billy, thinking there was only one woman, grabbed one of the cooks and
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tried to pull her into the ditch. She proved much too strong for him,
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however) and while resisting tore 'at his face with her sharp finger-nails.
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Meanwhile, her companion acted with speed and daring. Pulling out her
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large hatpin she made .for the beggar, and plunged the pin into his right eye.
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The screams and howls of the wounded beggar reverberated throughout the
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district and brought people dashing to the scene. Among them was a member
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of the nightly police patrol who promptly arrested the groaning Billy.
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"Billy in the Bowl" was tried and sentenced for robbery with violence, but
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they could never prove it was he who had strangled the servant girl. The
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Grangegorman-Stoneybatter district became once again a quiet, attractive
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Dublin suburb where old ladies strolled, and carefree servant girls laughed
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and giggled as they wended their way home at night.
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daev
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_______________________________
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Rev. Dave 'daev' Walsh, daev@fringeware.com
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Home: http://www.fringeware.com/hell
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Weekly Rant: http://www.nua.ie/blather
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'Is it about a bicycle?'-Sgt.Pluck,
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'The Third Policeman', by Flann O'Brien
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________________________________
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Holistic Pet Detective, Owl Worrier, Snark Hunter
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________________________________
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