Broadside concerning the execution of Thomas Connor and Bell McMenemy

Commentary

This report begins: 'Life, Transactions and Executions of Thomas Connor and Bell McMenemy, Executed at Glasgow for Assault and Robbery.' The sheet was printed by John Muir, Glasgow, on 22nd October 1828.

Connor or Conner and McMenemy were both in their early 20s and hailed from County Tyrone, Ireland. From this report it appears that Connor's mother was much to blame for encouraging her son's lawlessness, which is catalogued in the report. McMenemy had never been in trouble until she met the Connor family, but she was soon 'hurried on from one crime to another with a rapidity that gave her no time for reflection'.

Reports recounting dark and salacious deeds were popular with the public, and, like today's sensationalist tabloids, sold in large numbers. Crimes could generate sequences of sheets covering descriptive accounts, court proceedings, last words, lamentations and executions as they occurred. As competition was fierce, immediacy was paramount, and these occasions provided an opportunity for printers and patterers to maximise sales.

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