Although 19th-century Ireland may have been much more violent, the number of homicides in the State has risen during the past decade, writes Eithne Donnellan.
There was more than one homicide every week in the State during the last year. Provisional Garda figures show 62 men and women were killed unlawfully during 2002.
While the statistics are grim, they represent only a marginal increase on 2001 when 60 people were killed in the Republic. However, they represent a dramatic increase on figures from a decade ago - 25 killings were reported in 1992.
In the case of a number of the killings reported in 2002 people have already been charged and unusually, given the length of time it takes for cases to proceed to trial, one person has been found guilty and jailed for life for a murder committed last April.
That was the brutal and random killing of Ms Nicola Sweeney (20), a student from Rochestown in Cork, who was stabbed to death in her home on April 27th. Just before Christmas Peter Whelan, also aged 20 and from Rochestown, was jailed for life at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin for her murder. After hearing voices in his head to kill somebody, he told gardaí he picked the Sweeney house at random.
Murders in respect of which people have been charged include that of Ms Niamh Murphy, whose body was found in a derelict house in Ballsbridge, Dublin, in May. The 17-year-old woman had been living rough in Dublin for up to a year before her death, having left the home of her adoptive parents in Salthill, Galway.
A man has also been charged with the murder of a hotel worker, who was shot dead last January 5th. Ms Gráinne Dillon (24), from Glounthaune in Co Cork, was found dead in the kitchen of Jurys Inn in Limerick. Mr Paulo Nascimento (26), a Portuguese national, has been charged with her murder.
Meanwhile, a file has been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions arising from the killing in Clonmel, Co Tipperary, last November of Mr Jamie Lonergan (21), whose body was found with multiple stab wounds in the grounds of St Luke's psychiatric hospital in the town.
Other high-profile homicides in 2002 were the killing in March of a Waterford publican, Mr Mossie Curran, and his former employee, Ms Joan Power. Mr Curran was shot dead outside his pub, Decies Bar in Clashmore. His body was found on the street by a group of people returning home from a night out.
Shortly afterwards the body of Ms Power, a 40-year-old mother of three, was discovered at her home in Kinsale Beg, about five miles from where Mr Curran was shot. She had been stabbed in the chest.
More recently, there was the killing of Ms Christine Quinn (36), a divorced mother of two from Kilkenny city. She was found dead in the front garden of her home on December 5th.
Her death marked the second family tragedy in two years for her partner, Mr Paul Byrne. In September 2000, Mr Byrne's brother, Stephen, drove his car off a pier in Co Wexford, drowning himself and his sons Alan (9) and Shane (6), having earlier killed his wife Maeve, also in Kilkenny.
Several other killings during 2002 are still under investigation, including that of night club security man Mr Brian Fitzgerald (34), who was shot dead in Limerick in November. Gardaí are investigating the possibility that he had been the victim of a drugs gang he thwarted.
Still under active investigation is the killing of Mr Stephen Byrne (39), whose body was found face-down in a ravine near the entrance to Ballinascorney Woods on the Dublin-Wicklow border in November. A post-mortem examination established Mr Byrne, from Inchicore in Dublin, had been shot in the head. His family denied he was involved in republican paramilitary activity.
Also still under investigation is the killing in October of Mr John Butler (20), a father of one child from Knocknaheeny Avenue in Cork, who was shot dead in front of his girlfriend as the pair made their way home from a night out.
While killings were much more commonplace in the country in the mid-1800s, they decreased significantly during the 20th century, before rising again over the past decade.
The UCD-based criminologist Dr Ian O'Donnell has said the increase may be attributed to a number of factors, including the increase in alcohol consumption in the Republic.