Inquests - historical 1904

Not all coroners’ files have survived. Where they do exist they are in PRONI, by county and location eg Antrim, Tyrone or Belfast.  They are not on-line so you have to go in person to view them. (PRONI is closed at the moment).

I searched the British Newspapers Archive to see if the case was reported in the papers but did not find a mention of it.

Helen,

From the PRONI website: Ref BELF/6/1/1  

Years: 1894 - 1998

 

PRONI holds Coroner's Inquest papers relating to over 25,000 people who died in Counties Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry and Tyrone between c.1872 and 1999. Researchers should note that over half the files (c.13,000) relate to the period between 1969 and 1999. These files include varying levels of information such as the Inquest verdict, Post Mortem report, Police report, witness depositions and in some cases photographs of the scene of the incident as well as photographs of the deceased. The description will also record the presence of a certificate of conviction if this information is contained within the file. 

The Coroner Inquest files and associated papers relating to Belfast are arranged in chronological order according to the date of the document and these have been individually described. Researchers should note that files are not sorted by the date of death.

A file will be described according to its contents. For example:

· A file described as a coroner's inquest contains the inquest verdict, post mortem report, witness depositions and other associated papers. The date of the file relates to the date of which the inquest verdict was delivered.
· A file described as a Post Mortem report and associated papers contain the post mortem report, depositions, but not the inquest verdict. This date of the file relates to the date on which the post mortem was carried out. 
· A file described as a RUC Police report and associated papers contain the police report, depositions, but not the inquest verdict nor a post mortem report. The date of the file relates to the date of the police report. 
· A file described as a doctors certificate or note and associated papers contains the doctor's certificate and depositions, but not the inquest verdict, post mortem report or police report. The date of the file relates to the date of the doctors certificate or note. 

Researchers should also note that there will be variations in the classification of a file due to the nature of the file itself and where it was created. The general rule is that each file will be arranged primarily by the date of when it was carried out and secondly by its contents.