Michael Leahy was a child who died by drowning in 1826 in County Kerry, Ireland.
[1] He was believed by some in his community to have been a changeling and the drowning was the result of an attempt to cure him.
[1] Under cross-examination a witness said that the drowning was not done with the intent of killing the child but to cure him – "to put the fairy out of it".
[3] The judge said that the jury "would not be safe in convicting the prisoner of murder, however strong their suspicion might be".
[3] Author Robert Curran says that the verdict is suggestive of the depth of belief in changelings in the community.