Patricia Byrne from east Mayo has her account of the intriguing story of The Veiled Woman of Achill published.
The book depicts how in 1894 an English landowner Agnes MacDonnell, was brutally attacked in her home, the Valley House, which was burnt to the ground. The woman’s injuries were so severe that she wore a veil for the rest of her life.
Her attacker was James Lynchehaun who was convicted for the incident, however escaped and travelled to America and later won a groundbreaking legal case successfully resisting extradition.
This dramatic account of the crime, the trial and escapes, are unravelled in this book.
