On the 6th of September, 1819, the naked body of a young woman was found on the banks of the Shannon estuary near Killaloe in County Clare, Ireland. She had been shot. The authorities concluded that after her death, her killer had stripped her of her clothes and jewelry, tied her to a rock, and thrown her into the river. The body was soon identified as Ellen Hanley, a teenage bride from Croom, and the news spread quickly through the quiet countryside.
The people who had known her were not only grief-stricken but furious. Ellen Hanley had been born on the 19th of July, 1803, in the small village of Ballycahane in County Limerick. It was a peaceful place, set beside the river Maigue, about four miles northwest of the town of Kilmallock. Her parents worked the land, as most people did at the time, with much of the ground rented from landlords who owned vast estates.
Those who could not afford rent worked as farm laborers. Potatoes were the staple crop, but in 1815 grain prices collapsed, bringing depression and distress on both sides of the Irish Sea. Livestock prices remained relatively high, so many farmers turned their land over to pasture. That was good for the farmers, but pastoral farming required far less manual labor, and the shift was disastrous for smallholders and laborers.
Tension grew between poor tenant farmers and wealthy landowners. When Ellen was six years old, her mother died. Her father remarried, and young Ellen was sent to live with her maternal uncle, John Conroy, in the nearby town of Croom. She grew into a beautiful and popular young woman, known locally as An Colleen Bán, which means “the white girl.
” Irish was still widely spoken in rural areas, even though English had become the first language of most people. Her beauty drew attention wherever she went, and young men would tip their hats to her, a gesture that was unusual when directed at someone of lower social standing. One gentleman who took particular notice of her was John Scanlan. He was part of the minor aristocracy and had served as an officer in the Royal Navy.
His family owned Ballycahane Castle, less than a mile from her uncle’s home. He visited Ellen whenever he could, and before long the residents of Croom began to talk. There were concerns about the difference in their ages and social backgrounds. Scanlan was in his twenties, the eldest son of distinguished land-owning parents.
Ellen was only fifteen, the daughter of a tenant farmer, raised by her uncle. But she was clever and understood that marrying the eldest son of the owners of Ballycahane Castle would raise her status considerably. John’s family tried to discourage the relationship. Although Ellen was beautiful, she was not from a high-class family, and they believed she might lack the social graces required to marry into the aristocracy.
Despite their concerns, John proposed. Ellen hesitated at first. She was young and did not want to upset her uncle, who had been so good to her since her mother’s death. But John was persuasive, and in June 1819, after receiving the small dowry that had been set aside for her, Ellen Hanley and John Scanlan eloped.
Rumors circulated that they had married in secret, probably in Limerick city or the old church at Kilrush. They moved into a house owned by the Scanlan family in the small village of Glin, on the south shore of the River Shannon, about thirty miles from Limerick. The romance did not last long. A few weeks after the marriage, John’s sister, unaware that her brother had married his teenage bride, wrote to him about a potential suitor: a well-educated, attractive young lady from a rich and prominent family.
John was already married, and in Ireland in 1819, divorce was not possible. John also liked to gamble and quickly worked his way through Ellen’s dowry. This displeased her greatly, as she knew how hard her uncle had worked to save that money. But she was just a teenager, the daughter of a tenant farmer, while he was a gentleman from a well-to-do family with wealth and influence.
In mid-July, John Scanlan told the gentleman he employed as his assistant, Stephen Sullivan, to take Ellen on a boat trip on the River Shannon. John had known Stephen for some time; he had been his commanding officer during their time in the navy. It was a hot summer’s day, and people often liked to spend time relaxing on the river. But this day was a Wednesday, so the river would not be as busy as usual.
Ellen was reluctant to go at first, but eventually she agreed. A few people noticed a beautiful young lady in a boat on the river, accompanied by a gentleman. In the days and weeks that followed, Ellen was not seen again. Her uncle received no news of her.
A month passed, and still no one had heard anything. People began to wonder what had happened to Ellen Hanley. When her body was found, nearly two months after she vanished, the town was devastated. A rumor circulated that she had been killed on the 19th of July, which would have been her sixteenth birthday.
That only heightened the horror surrounding her death. John Scanlan immediately became the prime suspect. He had spent the previous two months drinking and gambling and seemed to have resumed his bachelor lifestyle. As the authorities investigated, a boatman came forward.
He was certain that the piece of rope used to tie Ellen’s body to the rocks was the same one he had lent to John Scanlan and Stephen Sullivan in July. He noted that the pair had never returned it. Both men, however, were nowhere to be found. It was not until November of the same year that John Scanlan was discovered.
He had been staying in the house of a friend. He was arrested and taken into custody. But Stephen Sullivan’s whereabouts were unknown, and rumors spread that he had fled to America. The local people demanded justice.
John Scanlan was charged with the murder of his wife, Ellen. His trial began at the courthouse in Limerick on the 11th of March, 1820, and became one of the most sensational of its day. Because the defendant came from a wealthy family, he employed the best legal counsel available and was represented by Daniel O’Connell, a leading lawyer of the time. Many witnesses were called, although none of them could place John on the boat with Ellen.
Nevertheless, he was found guilty and sentenced to hang on the 16th of March, 1820. He was escorted to Gallows Green, a journey of about one mile. On the way, the carriage had to cross a narrow bridge, but all the horses stopped and refused to go on. Despite numerous attempts to move them, they held their ground.
John Scanlan had to get out of the carriage and walk the rest of the way to the gallows, where he was heckled by a jeering public before he was hanged. Four months later, in July 1820, Stephen Sullivan was arrested. He had not gone to America; he had been in hiding. He was tried in the same courthouse in Limerick and found guilty of murder.
But unlike John, and in an attempt to repent for what he had done before his execution, Stephen confessed to his part in the horrible crime. He said it was John Scanlan who had devised the plan to rid himself of his wife. Ellen was fond of taking boat trips on the River Shannon, and John had brought small boats the day before the murder. Sullivan asked Ellen if she would like to take a boat trip on the river.
At first she was hesitant, but she later agreed. Sullivan boarded the boat with loaded muskets. But as they traveled slowly on the water, he realized he could not hurt the beautiful and charming young lady, and they returned to shore. When John saw the boat, he rushed to greet it, but when he realized Ellen was still alive, he was greatly displeased.
He demanded that Stephen take her out again the next day and complete the act. He sent Stephen to purchase bread, butter, and whiskey, and as they ate and drank, he told his wife that she should make the most of the long summer days and go out on the boat again in the morning. Ellen agreed. The following day, she prepared herself for another trip along the river.
When they were alone in the peaceful surroundings, Stephen Sullivan took out his musket and shot the defenseless young lady. He then removed her clothes and jewelry, tied her to a heavy rock, and when he was in the center of the river, he pushed her off the boat and watched her sink to the bottom. He said he very much regretted his actions. A few days later, Stephen Sullivan was hanged.
Ellen Hanley was buried in Ballybunion cemetery near Kilrush. On her grave it is written: “Here lies the Colleen Bán, murdered on the Shannon, July 14, 1819. Rest in peace. ” The story of the beautiful young Irish girl has been made into films, plays, books, and songs, ensuring that the terrible circumstances in which she met her end have never been forgotten.
It is presumed that John Scanlan wanted to dispose of his wife because he was unable to divorce her. However, no evidence of a marriage between John Scanlan and Ellen Hanley has ever been found.
