1892 liability life assurance letter resurfaces in Youghal

An employer’s liability life assurance letter covering a fatal fall from Youghal’s famed clock tower over 120 years ago has resurfaced in the east Cork town.

Dated February 2, 1892, was sent from the South Ireland Branch, Dublin, of the London-based Employer’s Liability Assurance Corporation Limited, to Youghal Town Commissioners.

Signed by a Dublin-based district manager Trevor N Smith, the document poses a series of questions regarding Michael Sullivan, a young pipe fitter who had fallen from the top of the tower while cleaning a lamp. The commissioners were not legally liable for compensation but were keen to provide some recompense to the Sullivan family.