Charles Self

Charles Self was an English gay man who was attacked and killed at his home in Monkstown, County Dublin in January 1982.[1]

Charles Self
Died20 January 1982(1982-01-20) (aged 32)
NationalityEnglish

Early life

He was born in England, in February 1949 and his mother died when he was quite young.[1] Some friends in Dublin believed he was adopted.[1] Some had met his parents when they visited him and his father, who was in the military, may have remarried.[1] He was mainly raised by an aunt in Glasgow and was on good terms with his family.[1]

Career

He had worked in the BBC, but was persuaded by Alpho O'Reilly to work in Raidió Teilifís Éireann and moved to Dublin in 1978.[1] He moved into Annesley Mews on Brighton Avenue in Monkstown.[1] He shared the Mews with Vincent Hanley.[1]

He was the main set designer for The Late Late Show and had worked on a popular Twink Christmas special and was likely to have a wage increase.[1]

He also worked for Capital Radio towards the end of his life.[1] Dawson Street He had been robbed the year before his death.[1]

Murder

Last known movements

On 20 January 1982 he met with friends for a drink at lunchtime in the Bailey pub on Duke Street.[1] Afterwards he walked with a friend along Dawson Street before he headed to RTE.[1] After work he went home, then at 8:30 that evening he was given a lift into the city centre by a passing motorist after waiting at a bus stop.[1] He returned to the Bailey.[1] He then went to another pub, then Bartley Dunnes where he remained until closing time.[1] He then went down Grafton Street and D'Olier Street to Burgh Quay, where he entered a late-light establishment called the Hotpot at 11:40, then left at 12:05.[1]

He was with a fair-haired man in a two-piece suit when they got into a taxi at 12:40.[1] The taximan said his passengers had gotten amorous in the back seat and he left them at Annesley Mews at 12:40.[1]

Vincent Hanley was not at the mews that night, but another RTE set designer, Bertram 'Bertie' Tyrer was staying in Hanleys' room as heavy snow prevented him from returning to his Wicklow cottage.[1]

Discovery of murder

Bertie Tyrer came down stairs at 8:45 and found Charles Selfs' body lying in a pool of blood partly slumped against the front door.[1] He had been stabbed fourteen times and there were three slash wounds to his throat.[1] Tyler tried to use the phone, but couldn't get a dial tone, so he rang Dún Laoghaire Garda station from the neighbouring Mews.[1]

Funeral

His funeral was held in St. Andrews' Presbyterian Church in Blackrock.[1]

Aftermath

Along with the murder of Declan Flynn, the murder of Charles Self motivated LGBT activists to protest against Gardaí getting information on gay men through intimidation.[2] It had a profound impact on the LGBT community.[3]

Status of case

As of 2016 the case is still open.[1]

gollark: I, at least, do not really want to be stuck with today's hardware limitations forever.
gollark: Which one?
gollark: I mostly meant that it is quite complex to make and if you want nicer ones you need to throw even more industry at it.
gollark: At some point you probably hit physical limits and have to expand *slower*, but you aren't forced to stop.
gollark: Sure it is. Just expand more. The universe is quite large.

References
  1. Collins, Liam (31 July 2016). "Unsolved crimes: Mystery blond holds key to solving brutal murder of RTE set designer". Sunday Independent. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  2. Keane, Caomhán. "Out of the closet, into the open". Irish Examiner.
  3. Mullalley, Úna. "In the name of love".
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