Derry group honours memory of woman burned at the stake

PICTURED ABOVE: Group pictured remembering Cecily Jackson, who was the Church of Ireland Bishop of Derry, William Nicolson of Derry’s cook, was convicted of the murder of her child on March 17, 1725. She was burned at the stake outside Bishop’s Gate – the last person to suffer such a fate in the city – after being publicly paraded. From left, are Colm Cavanagh Ciara O'Connor-Pozo, Nuala Crilly, Mairead Thompson, Prof. John Thompson, Anne Crilly, Pauline Ross, and Dr. Anne Murray. Photo - Tom Heaney, nwpresspics)

On the 301st anniversary of her death, a solemn gathering at Bishop’s Gate honoured the memory of Cecily Jackson, the last person in Derry to be executed by burning at the stake.

The ceremony took place on Tuesday, March 17, as the city’s St. Patrick’s Day festivities began.

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Jackson, a cook for the then-Anglican Bishop of Derry, William Nicolson, was executed on March 17, 1725, following a one-day trial for the alleged murder of her newborn child.

The commemorative event saw flowers laid at the site of her execution.