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Written by John McCullagh
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Monday, 01 January 2007 |
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Pearl
Gamble’s murder had caused outrage, not just in Newry but throughout these
islands. When McGladdery appeared at Newry Courthouse
in April the building was besieged by a huge crowd, most of whom were unable to
gain access to the proceedings.
Inside
McGladdery’s mother Agnes attempted in vain to clasp her son’s hand as he sat
in the dock. She was restrained by a
policeman and two warders of the court. A
motion was put to adjourn proceedings to County Fermanagh
on the presumption that a fair trial could not be conducted in Newry where
people had already made up their minds of his guilt. It was said that some press articles were
also prejudicial to a fair trial.
It
was a full six months later that the trial resumed in Downpatrick under Lord
Justice Curran. McGladdery had in the
meantime persuaded the Daily Mail to publicise his cause, printing photos of
him weight-lifting with home-made weights consisting of concrete blocks on the
ends of metal bars. ‘This man is a
fitness fanatic, the legend ran. The aim
was to get a mistrial called on the grounds of adverse press publicity
prejudicing his case.
It
did not work.
Even
in his opening address Brian Maginness the Attorney-General told the court:
‘The sum total of all this evidence points in
one direction only: that McGladdery on
that early morning of January 28th foully and deliberately murdered
this young girl. The taking of her
clothes suggests a sexual motive and although it is not necessary for the Crown
to prove motive, you may come to the conclusion that passion started this
affair.
And an unrequited passion may have
been succeeded by hate or anger.
…..
final episode to follow shortly …..
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History 
