Was she a witch or a serial killer with ties to the Hellfire Club as her legends portray her? What was the true story of Darkey Kelley who was said to have haunted Dublin as the Green Lady of Liberty.
Stories are whispered in the winding streets of Dublin's Liberties even now on foggy nights. At the foot of the 40 steps leading to the church of St. Audoen sometimes appears to have an apparition of a woman shrouded in green lightweight, her figure shrouded in mist. It drifts silently before disappearing into the ancient stone wall, as if swallowed by time itself.
The locals call her the Green Lady. Many believe he is the restless ghost of one of Dublin's most infamous figures: Darkey Kelly.
The Life and Death of Darkey Kelly
Dorcas “Darkey” Kelly lived in 18th-century Dublin as an innkeeper and madam who ran the Maiden Tower brothel near Fishamble Street. The pub on Fishamble Street, near where her brothel once stood, is called Darkey Kelly's.
The tavern is said to attract some of the city's most powerful men, including members of the notorious Hellfire Club, a society of Dublin's elite who indulged in blasphemy, debauchery and whispers of occult rituals. Among its patrons was Simon Luttrell, Sheriff of Dublin and renowned member of the Hellfire Club, nicknamed “The King of Hell”.
According to legend, Darkey and Luttrell were once close, perhaps even lovers, until a heated argument broke out between them. Some stories say she accused Luttrell of fathering her child, a scandal that threatened his reputation. Others say she discovered something dim in the club's rituals – something she was never meant to know. Whatever the truth, Luttrell turned on her, accusing her of witchcraft and infanticide.
In 1760, Darkey Kelly was tried, found guilty and sentenced to death for killing shoemaker John Dowling by partial hanging and burning at the stake in Gallows Road, now called Baggot Street. On January 7, she was publicly burned at the stake in St. Stephen's Green.
The account described her execution this way:
She was placed on a stool over two feet high, and a chain was placed under her arms, and a rope around her neck was attached to two spikes, which, having been driven through the pole on which she stood, at the conclusion of the service, the stool was taken from under her, and she was soon strangled. When she had hung there for about fifteen minutes, the rope burned and she sank until the chain held her up, forcing her arms up to face level, and the flame was furious and she was soon engulfed. ~Edward's Cave, 1773
Legends after her death
After her death, prostitute friends collected, or rather stole, her remains and organized a vigil for her in Copper Alley, but 13 women were arrested for disorderly conduct and sent to Newgate Prison for it.
There were many legends and stories about its burning. For posterity, people believed that she was actually burned at the stake as a witch and not on a murder charge. Witnesses say that as the flames intensified, she screamed curses, swearing revenge on those who condemned her.
Another legend is that she became pregnant with the child of the Sheriff of Dublin, Simon Luttrell, 1st Earl of Carhampton, a member of the Hellfire Club and a probable client of Kelly's Maiden Tower. She demanded financial support from him. In response, he accused her of witchcraft and killing their child in a satanic ritual. The body was never found. Darkey was then burned at the stake.
A 1788 account in the World newspaper states that authorities investigated her brothel and that investigators subsequently found the bodies of five men underground. One of them was believed to be Surgeon Tuckey's son, who went missing and was never found.
However, this does not appear in any contemporary description of her trial and execution and appears to be a later embellishment. Therefore, the accuracy of this study is rather questionable.
Hellfire Connection
Darkey Kelly's association with the Hellfire Club adds to her legend, and perhaps even eclipsed it. The infamous group met in the Dublin Mountains at Montpelier, a place already steeped in dim history. Darkey is said to have provided women for club meetings, unaware of the darker rituals that took place there. Some stories even say that she witnessed a botched summoning that resulted in her seeing the devil himself.
Whether she was a victim of revenge, a scapegoat for the sins of powerful men, or something more sinister, the truth remains shrouded in shadow. The Hellfire Club's reputation for corruption and cruelty only reinforces the belief that Darkey Kelly's fate was one of betrayal and injustice.
Was the father of her alleged child one of the Hellfire Club members? Darkey contested the trial, claiming she was pregnant. When a jury of midwives found that she was not pregnant, she was convicted in January 1761. Was she even pregnant? Perhaps these two parts of Dublin's dim history came together due to their mysterious and dim aspects?
The Haunting of 40 Steps
It is said that centuries later her spirit resides near the church of St. Audoena, near where she used to live. Those who have seen her describe a woman with tattered skirts glowing faintly green, and her face is both sorrowful and enraged. It appears at the foot of an age-old stone staircase, floating upwards before disappearing into the wall itself.
She is also said to have been seen walking down Fishamble Street towards Copper Alley.
To some, he is a tragic spirit who was wronged, burned and forgotten as a human being, only to be replaced by another legendary figure. The additional torture of her execution was certainly not something a man would have to go through for the same crime, as he would have been hanged until death. For others, it is a reminder of the cruelty that lies behind respect and power. Either way, her story lives on, whispered on the cobbled streets of Liberties.
When the fog thickens and the church bells strike midnight, be careful when walking near the 40 steps. Perhaps the Green Lady waits there, her eyes glowing faintly in the darkness, watching over the city that condemned her.
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Darkey Kelly: Green Lady of Liberty
Was she a witch or a serial killer with ties to the Hellfire Club as her legends portray her? What was the true story of Darkey Kelley who was said to have haunted Dublin as the Green Lady of Liberty.
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Dublin's most haunted – five most renowned ghost stories | Irish Independent
Darkey Kelly: Witch, killer or ghost? | Extreme rebels
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