The Killing of Thomas Towson

For more than 120 years Seafield, a large estate bordering the village of Donabate in north County Dublin, had been the family seat of the Arthures, a wealthy and influential family that owned, at least on paper, a considerable portion of inner city Dublin. In 1849, however, in the space of a single year, their loans were called in, a receiver was appointed, and they lost everything. The event that appears to have precipitated this dramatic reversal of fortune was the killing of one Thomas Towson and the dogged determination of police inspector Robert Walpole to see Benedict Arthure stand trial for the crime. This is the story of Walpole's investigation, the early days of the G-Men (the Detective Division of the Dublin Metropolitan Police), and the demise of the Arthures of Seafield.