Death of Michael Leahy facts for kids

Michael Leahy was a young boy who died in 1826 in Kerry, Ireland. He was only four years old. Some people in his village believed he was a changeling. They thought he was a fairy child left in place of a human one. His death happened during an attempt to "cure" him of this belief.

An older woman named Ann Roche was involved in Michael's death. She was tried in Tralee. News reports described Roche as a very old woman. She claimed to have special powers and healing abilities. She told two people to bathe Michael in the Flesk River each morning. They did this for three mornings. On the third morning, Michael was held underwater longer than usual and he died.

What is a Changeling?

A changeling was a child believed to be left by fairies. People thought fairies would steal a healthy human child. Then, they would leave a sickly or different fairy child in its place. In Michael Leahy's case, people suspected he was a changeling because he was ill. He could not speak or stand. During the court case, a witness said the drowning was not meant to kill Michael. Instead, it was an attempt to "put the fairy out of him" and make him well.

The Court's Decision

The court had to decide what happened to Michael. The judge told the jury that they could not be sure Ann Roche intended to kill Michael. Because of this, the court found Roche not responsible for Michael's death. Author Robert Curran suggests this decision shows how deeply people in the community believed in changelings. There were other similar cases in rural Ireland during the 1800s.

In Books and Stories

The story of Michael Leahy has inspired writers. Hannah Kent's novel, The Good People, is based on this case. Kent shared that she found very few original documents about the case. This means many details about what happened are still unknown.

See also

• Bridget Cleary – an Irish woman killed in 1895. Her husband also claimed she was a changeling.