Witches are not the sole preserve of children’s fairytales. Accounts of women with supposed links to satanic ritual and practice occur throughout recorded history and in every corner of the globe. One such corner is Copper Alley, located just off Fishamble Street in the shadow of Christ Church Cathedral. This unassuming thoroughfare was once the site of the Maiden Tower brothel, an infamous bordello operated by one Dorcas “Darkey” Kelly, a successful woman whose resourcefulness and business acumen allowed her to achieve great success at a time when such a thing was practically unheard of for someone of her gender. However, this was also a time in which many people were still gripped by a fear of the dark arts. Indeed, an accusation of witchcraft could carry a terrible price for the accused. Unfortunately for Darkey, her undoing came as the direct result of such an accusation… Darkey’s profession brought her into contact with a wide range of clientele. One such customer was Simon Luttrell, the acting Lord Sherriff of Dublin and a man of considerable power and influence. Darkey and Luttrell’s relationship eventually blossomed into a full-blown romance, conducted in secret within the sordid rooms of the Maiden Tower brothel. But things became complicated when Darkey fell pregnant with Luttrell’s child. Realising that her livelihood was in jeopardy, Darkey is said to have attempted to extort money from Luttrell under threat of exposing their affair. For his part, Luttrell knew what the implications of this revelation would be: at best he would be disgraced, and at worst, thrown out of office. His response was both swift and brutal; Luttrell, knowing that his word would not be challenged, publicly accused Darkey of being a witch on the assertion that her newborn infant was the spawn of the Devil. Darkey paid the ultimate price for this lie: she was burned at the stake on Gallows’ Green, and it is said that Luttrell himself murdered her child by tossing it into a roaring fire. But there is an even darker side to the story of the woman known as Darkey Kelly; many believe that she may very well have been Ireland’s first known serial killer. In the aftermath of her gruesome death, the bodies of five men were allegedly discovered in the cellars beneath Maiden Tower Brothel. With such a grim and murderous legacy, is it any wonder that her specter is said to haunt the streets of Dublin to this day?
