Melancholy and distressing accident
By a Letter received at our Office, from Doonas, County Limerick, we regret to announce a melancholy accident having happened on Sunday the 9th inst in that neighbourhood. Mrs Massey, the wife of the Hon William Massy accompanied by her butler and two boatmen were attempting to cross the Shannon to Sir Hugh Masseys, where Mrs Massey was to dine. The evening was dark, accompanied by a dense fog, the boatmen lost their way, the boat was carried down by the current, and precipitated over the Leap, and melancholy to relate the entire party in the boat were drowned. During the entire of yesterday, the boatmen at Castleconnell were dragging for the bodies, but without success.
So dense was the fog that on the road between Kilmastulla, and Sallymount, the guard of the Coach was obliged to walk for upwards of 3 miles of the road, at the heads of the leading horses, and the coach agent was obliged to send a man on horseback with a lantern in his hand before the coach as far as Newcastle.
Dublin Mercantile Advertiser, and Weekly Price Current 17 January 1831
From the British Newspaper Archive run by Findmypast Newspaper Archive Limited, in partnership with the British Library.
Irish waterways history 