Quick Facts
Biography
Anna Mór Ní Chonghaile, aka Big Anna Conneelly, was an Irish criminal and murderer who flourished during the 1820s and 1830s.
Ní Chonghaile lived with her sister and brothers at Teach Leath Bhealaigh near Derrycunlagh, County Galway. The family are "said to have committed many murders at some period before the Famine". Their names are given as Kathsha (her sister) and her brothers Columb and Breen Dharag ("Red Brian"). The family were criminal associates of Liam Dearg Ó Mainnín, robbing and/or murdering passers-by with him. They were said to have disposed of the corpses in the lake or about their house. Ó Mainnín was murdered by a fellow-thief, Sean na gCannai Ó Labhraí, and at some point afterwards Ní Chonghaile and her siblings were arrested and charged. The siblings' ultimate fate is unknown.
Sources
- Listening to the Wind (2008) by Tim Robinson, pp. 42–46; ISBN 978-1-84488-065-2