Kevin Halfpenny
Age: 7
Date: 1956
Location: County Down, Northern Ireland, UK
Animals: -
A mystery in a hen house
Three schoolboys noticed some strange activity at one of two hen houses at Halfpenny's field at Crossgar. One boy, Desmond Bannon, who later gave evidence about his discovery, explained how when passing one of the hen houses he heard someone walking about inside. He went over for a closer look and after checking the door, which he found locked, went to look in through the window. The windows were covered on the inside by old sacks but as he was there someone lifted the covering and peered out. "I saw either a wee boy or a wee girl with long hair", he stated. "I could see down to its waist and it had no clothes on, as far as I could see. I asked what its name was, and got no answer. I asked again but got no reply."
Repeat visits
Desmond told the police that during the school holidays he went up to the hen houses again. This time he was accompanied by his friend. He said that once again the door was locked but when he knocked at the window the young child lifted up the sacking and put its hands up to the netting wire on the window. The children told how they next visited the hen house on two other occasions, each time with more friends, and on each occasion they saw the child, it was locked in the hen house. On the last occasion, which was about one month before the child was rescued, one of the boys, Sean McMullan told of knocking on the window. They could hear something shuffling inside then, before very long, someone came to the window and tried to lift up the bag that was covering it.
The authorities free the Irish Chicken Boy
The NSPCC and the police were notified. The child was named as Kevin Halfpenny, a seven-year old boy. He was immediately taken to the Nazareth Lodge Children's Home. While there he was examined by doctors who were horrified to find that he only weighed two stone. His height was a mere 30 inches high and it was claimed that he was suffering from rickets for at least five years due to continual denial of sunlight.
Pitiful evidence of neglect
The boy's mother, Mrs Margaret Halfpenny, was arrested and charged with ill-treating and neglecting the boy in a manner to cause unnecessary suffering or injury to his health. When Mrs Halfpenny appeared in court, NSPCC Inspector Alex Mahood gave evidence following his examination of the boy at Nazareth Lodge. He said Kevin looked pale and thin, his arm and leg joints were swollen, and his shin bones were concave in shape. Kevin Halfpenny could only stand without assistance for half a minute and then he fell down on his badly developed legs. The child's mother was allowed bail, and Kevin was treated for his condition at the children's home.
Trial
When the case came to trial Mrs Halfpenny pleaded guilty to a charge of wilful neglect. She was also arraigned on a charge of wilful ill-treatment to which she pleaded not guilty and the Crown entered a nolle prosequi on the charge.
The story of a hard life emerges
Mrs Halfpenny's defence claimed that the building in which the child had been kept was more of an outhouse than a hen house. However, Mrs Halfpenny referred to it as a hen house in her own statement. Mrs Halfpenny also claimed that the child was not locked in that place except whenever she was going shopping at Downpatrick. Her own life was described to the court as being one of hardship and suffering. Her husband had died after they had been six years married and she was left with three daughters and two sons whom she had to rear single-handed.
Rickets
The medical evidence showed that the child had been suffering from rickets for a long time and Judge Hanna commented that, for four years, the child was kept for at least some periods in this outhouse where there were bags placed over the windows which kept out the light. Rickets can be caused both by a lack of sunlight and a diet without vitamin D. Basil Kelly, who led Mrs Halfpenny's defence, said that she had no other place to leave her child. Apparently, "some of the children were out working and some were at home. Those at home were at school every day. Mrs Halfpenny was faced with the problem therefore of finding a safe place to leave the child while she went about her work. This was the safest place for a disabled or subnormal child where there was no fire, stairs and chairs about."
Deprived of sunlight
When sentencing Mrs Halfpenny, Judge Hanna said, "I cannot hide from myself that, while this might have been a clean and healthy place to keep a child from time to time if some attention had been paid to it, I cannot lose sight of the fact that the windows were covered by bags. Medical evidence here is that one of the things your child lacked was sunlight. You deprived him of something God gave him. You deprived him of something the State was prepared to give for nothing — medical advice and attention."
Kevin Halfpenny singled out for neglect
He also commented on the difference she had made between that child and her other children. "Perhaps you were ashamed of the child. If you were it seems a sad thing that you should try to penalise the child."
Jail for Kevin Halfpenny's mother
After Mrs Halfpenny pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and asked for the mercy of the court, Judge Hanna declared that the course of the defence case meant that the penalty would have to be greatly reduced. As for showing mercy he said, "I do not know whether you are entitled to demand mercy. Perhaps, who knows, there may be some Divine providence who will provide it for you — a mercy I could never provide." Mrs Halfpenny was sent to jail for nine months.
What happened to Kevin Halfpenny?
Sister Irene Maher of Nazareth House in Cape Town remembers: 'I only met Kevin, the child in question, later in his life. The Sister who admitted him to a Nazareth House at the time related how the boy perched on his cot and cawed like a hen all through the first few weeks following his admission. During my stay there with the group of children, I saw him grow up, responding to love, enjoying music, but at the same time requiring a lot of medical treatment — especially to his legs; in fact, he had to have a great deal of surgery to straighten them. His speech was seriously affected. Kevin left Nazareth House eventually for sheltered employment with the Sisters of Charity.'