In September 1928, the body of a teenage girl was found lying in a cabbage garden in Duncummin, Emly in County Tipperary.
The subsequent inquest deemed there to have been nothing suspicious about her death concluding that she had been gored by a cow; however four months later, events took a dramatic turn when a suspect was arrested and charged with her murder.
Following a trial, held in 1929, the judge in his summing up, concluded that ‘on the whole, it was a strange and mysterious case’.
This story featured in the local, national and international press of the day, but now almost a century later, it has largely faded from memory with many people being unaware that this young girl even existed.
Through interviews, the use of contemporary source material and an in depth examination of the court proceedings, a six-part radio documentary has set out to investigate and reveal the forgotten, tragic story of Annie Connors.
In addition to examining the sixteen year old’s short life and the circumstances behind her death, the series also looks at whether her injuries were consistent with being gored to death by a cow or with being murdered.
The crime scene, evidence against the accused, garda investigation, photographs of the cow and subsequent depositions by witnesses who took the stand in court are also inspected.
There’s no shortage of hearsay or theories about what occurred before, on and after Annie Connors’ death on the night of September 25th, 1928, however the sad reality remains that despite what conclusions people come to, all these years after the event, there still remain many unanswered questions.
The six-part documentary entitled ‘The Cabbage Garden Girl’ will be aired over six consecutive Fridays at 6.30pm on Tipp Mid West Radio beginning on October 9th; the programmes will also be streamed on www.tippmidwestradio.com.
