A shocking accident occurred in Limerick on Sunday morning when a man named Thomas Noonan, aged 36, attempted to take his own life at a lodging house in Denmark Street. Noonan had been an inmate of the workhouse up until a few days prior to the incident.

Noonan used an ordinary penknife to inflict no less than eleven wounds to his own throat, causing significant bleeding. A fellow lodger, named Fenton, noticed Noonan’s self-inflicted injuries and was quick to seek assistance. Thankfully, despite the severity of the wounds, they were not fatal.

Thomas Noonan was placed under arrest, and depositions were taken from witnesses. The community was left in shock after such a tragic and horrifying incident. This occurrence highlights the need for increased mental health support and resources for those who have fallen on desperate times, such as the residents in the local workhouse.

Limerick Echo – Tuesday 30 December 1902