Editing Death by burning (section)

====Ireland====
[[Petronilla de Meath]] ({{circa|1300}}–1324) was the maidservant of Dame [[Alice Kyteler]], a 14th-century [[Hiberno-Norman]] noblewoman. After the death of Kyteler's fourth husband, the widow was accused of practicing [[witchcraft]] and Petronilla of being her accomplice. Petronilla was tortured and forced to proclaim that she and Kyteler were guilty of witchcraft. Petronilla was then flogged and eventually burnt at the stake on 3 November 1324, in [[Kilkenny]], Ireland.<ref name=":1">''de Ledrede, Wright'' (1843)</ref><ref>de ''Ledrede, Davidson, Ward'' (2004)</ref> Hers was the first known case in the history of the [[British Isles]] of death by fire for the crime of [[heresy]]. Kyteler was charged by the [[Bishop of Ossory]], [[Richard de Ledrede]], with a wide slate of crimes, from [[Magic (paranormal)|sorcery]] and [[demonism]] to the murders of several husbands. She was accused of having illegally acquired her wealth through [[witchcraft]], which accusations came principally from her stepchildren, the children of her late husbands by their previous marriages. The trial predated any formal witchcraft statute in Ireland, thus relying on [[ecclesiastical law]] (which treated witchcraft as [[heresy]]) rather than [[common law]] (which treated it as a [[felony]]). Under torture, Petronilla claimed she and her mistress applied a magical ointment to a wooden beam, which enabled both women to fly. She was then forced to proclaim publicly that Lady Alice and her followers were guilty of witchcraft.<ref name=":1"/> Some were convicted and whipped, but others, Petronilla included, were burnt at the stake. With the help of relatives, Alice Kyteler fled, taking with her Petronilla's daughter, Basilia.<ref>Story of flight in contemporary chronicle ''Gilbert'' (2012), [https://books.google.com/books?id=R_w-CZ0eXnYC&pg=PR134 p. cxxxiv]</ref>

In 1327 or 1328, [[Adam Duff O'Toole]] was burned at the stake in Dublin for [[heresy]] after branding [[Christian scripture]] a fable and denying the [[resurrection of Jesus]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/burnt-at-the-stake-was-the-original-punishment-for-blasphemy-in-ireland|title=Burned at the stake was the original punishment for blasphemy in Ireland|date=11 May 2017|website=IrishCentral.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.ie/regionals/wicklowpeople/news/heretic-was-burned-at-the-stake-27855759.html|title=Heretic was burned at the stake|website=The Irish Independent|date=11 August 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/blasphemy-from-being-burned-at-the-stake-in-1328-to-a-25000-fine-in-2017-449655.html|title=Blasphemy: From being burned at the stake in 1328 to a €25,000 fine in 2017|date=9 May 2017|website=Irish Examiner}}</ref>

The brothel madam [[Darkey Kelly]] was convicted of murdering shoemaker John Dowling in 1760 and burned at the stake in Dublin on 7 January 1761. Later legends claimed that she was a [[serial killer]] and/or [[witch]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://georgianera.wordpress.com/2018/02/15/darkey-kelly-brothel-keeper-of-dublin/|title='Darkey Kelly', Brothel Keeper of Dublin|first=Sarah|last=Murden|date=15 February 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Cathy Hayes |url=http://www.irishcentral.com/news/was-irish-witch-darkey-kelly-really-irelands-first-serial-killer-113340849-237364711.html |title=Was Irish witch Darkey Kelly really Ireland's first serial killer? |publisher=IrishCentral.com |date=12 January 2011 |access-date=4 March 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://nosmokewithouthellfire1.podomatic.com/ |title=PodOmatic &#124; Podcast – No Smoke Without Hellfire |publisher=Nosmokewithouthellfire1.podomatic.com |date=19 January 2011 |access-date=4 March 2015}}</ref>

In 1895, [[Bridget Cleary]] (née Boland), a [[County Tipperary]] woman, was burnt by her husband and others, the stated motive for the crime being the belief that the real Bridget had been abducted by [[fairy|fairies]] with a [[changeling]] left in her place. Her husband claimed to have slain only the changeling. The gruesome nature of the case prompted extensive press coverage. The trial was closely followed by newspapers in both Ireland and Britain.<ref name="McCullough-NYT">''McCullough'' (2000), [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE4D91E3AF93BA35753C1A9669C8B63 The Fairy Defense]</ref> As one reviewer commented, nobody, with the possible exception of the presiding judge, thought it was an ordinary murder case.<ref name="McCullough-NYT"/>