Irish History / Bound Photographic and Document Volume

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MORNING NEWS OFFICE. "FREEMAN" & "DUBLIN EVENING TELEGRAPH," Sunday, 8 p.m. E X T R A Special Edition. Assassination of the New Chief Secretary for Ireland and Mr. Burke. Desperate Struggle in Phoenix Park. T W O A R R E S T S. DUBLIN, SUNDAY EVENING. The special correspondent of the Press Association telegraphs as follows:— No outrage of recent years has created anything like the excitement in the city last night, as the facts of the dual murder of Lord Frederick Cavendish, the newly appointed Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant, and Mr. Burke, the Under Secretary. So atrocious seemed the bare rumour of the tragedy that it was received with general unbelief. No one would credit it; yet it gained astounding circulation in a short time, and public curiosity manifested itself by crowding round the newspaper offices, and actually besieged the Telegraphic Department in Sackville Street. Few facts, however, were forthcoming except that the murder had been committed, and that both the Chief Secretary and Mr. Burke were dead. The newspaper offices were, as is customary on Saturday night, closed early; but the rumour of the terrible outrage brought back a number of officials of some of them, and by one o'clock an extra edition of the "Freeman" was published. Late though the edition was, and meagre the facts, the public appetite was insatiable. It appears, according to the latest information, that Lord Frederick Cavendish and Mr. Burke were stabbed whilst walking in the Park, about half a mile from the city gate, and a quarter of a mile from the Chief Secretary's Lodge. Four men drove up the road on a car. Two of them jumped off the vehicle, and, attacking Lord Frederick and Mr. Burke, stabbed them several times in the throat and breast. Both gentlemen seemed to have struggled hard for life, and, in the endeavour to secure it, became separated, and the bodies were found some ten paces apart. The tragedy was enacted at ten minutes past seven, in broad daylight. The information received at the Chief Detective Office of the Metropolitan Police was, up to a late hour, confined to the mere fact that Lord Fred. Cavendish and Mr. Burke had been murdered. How, or by whom, or when, or where, were interrogatories that they either could not or would not answer. The earliest intimation that the public had of the occurrence was in the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin City.—It was at first suggested that the performance should be stopped, but upon second thought it was feared that announcement upon the subject would lead to a panic, and save ahat the performance was curtailed in several respects the opera went on to the close. The theatre was emptied of its occupants about half-past ten, and then the news went round with astonishing celerity, leading to the popular inquisitiveness. The bodies were discovered by a military officer, who was riding by. Two medical men were quickly upon the scene, and the examination disclosed the fact that in both cases life was extinct. The upp…