The unluckiest man in Dublin.

**Where’s St. Patrick when you need him? ****

When we start our family history, deep down we all hope we will find someone famous in our family tree. After many years of research I found my famous person. He will never be known for what he did, but for how he died.

Well that’s what I thought at the time!

John Supple was born circa 1812 in Dublin, what his family life was like is not recorded but I do know that he had two marriages, his first wife dying 1844, which left John alone with two children.

He remarried in 1849 and had another four children with his second wife.

Research of the family has been difficult due to the lack of surviving records in Ireland, however luck was on my side as John’s death occurred during civil registration in Ireland. Therefore the first thing I needed to do was obtain a copy of John’s death certificate.

I mainly needed a copy to get an idea of his age. Irish death certificates from a genealogist’s point of view are not very helpful. They do not record enough information to help us prove who the deceased was married to or who their parents were. In fact they tell us very little.

However in the case of John Supple I received a bonus when it came to how he died. Cause of death “congestion of lungs caused by alarm, caused by bite of a serpent.”

I could not believe how someone in Ireland could die of a serpent bite. At first I thought it had to be a mistake, we all know there are no snakes in Ireland.

In fact, there are snakes in Ireland, and have been some there for some time.

It’s not until you read John’s occupation that all is revealed. He was a keeper at the Zoological Gardens Dublin - now known as Dublin Zoo.

It opened on the 1st of September 1831 when John would have been in his early twenties, but when he started working there I am not sure.

It stated on the death certificate (November, 1876) that there was an inquest. I didn’t hold out any hope of getting a copy of the inquest but thought if someone in Ireland died of a snake bite surely this would have had to make headlines in the newspapers of the day.

Well, it didn’t make the front page of the papers, and neither did it receive a large heading. But there were some short articles. **

DEATH FROM THE BITE OF A PYTHON**.

“A man named John Supple of 6 West Liffey street, who had been employed in the Zoological Gardens in care of the reptiles, was bitten on Tuesday by a python, and was removed to Steeven’s Hospital where he died yesterday. The body awaits an inquest to be held this day.”

I am no expert on snakes, but from what I have seen and read about snakes pythons don’t bite their pray, pythons strangulate their pray, then swallow it whole. There was no suggestion that the python had strangulated John, or that it had tried to swallow him as the body was still on the ground, though he may have been unconscious at the time he was found. It may have been this latter fact that made the staff who found John think it was the snake that had done the deed.

It was not until I read the second article that I could no longer claim my John was famous, or that he may have been the only person in Ireland to die of snakebite. **

ALLEGED DEATH FROM THE BITE OF A PYTHON**.

“An inquest was held yesterday by Dr. White, city coroner, on the body of William Supple (reporters got it wrong even back then, it should have been John Supple).

The man who was recently bitten by one of the pythons in the Zoological Garden, Phoenix Park, and whose subsequent death was supposed to be the result of the bite.

At the inquest this idea was discovered to be erroneous, as from the evidence produced it was proved that the deceased had been suffering for a considerable period from pulmonic disease.

The verdict of the jury was “Death from congestion of the lungs.”

There was also a report in the London Times. 1867. **

INQUEST ON W. SUPPLE**

(Yes, “The Thunderer” got the name wrong as well.)

“A man named William Supple who has been employed as a keeper in the Zoological gardens Phoenix Park was bitten on Tuesday afternoon by a python while he was engaged in repairing the reptile house.

Violent vomiting ensued, which was supposed to be caused by fear, and he was removed to St. Steven’s hospital, where he died on the same evening.

The resident surgeon of the hospital was examined at the inquest yesterday, and deposed to his belief that the deceased died of congestion of the lungs, from which he had been suffering for some time, and the jury adopted his opinion.”

I will admit I was disappointed when I read the report, my John was no longer famous. I can no longer lay claim to the only person in Ireland dying of snakebite.

I was told by a friend who had visited Dublin Zoo that there used to be a photo of John hanging in the snake enclosure. I have been in contact with them to see if they would provide me with a copy of the photo, to date I have never received a reply.

However as a genealogist this has taught me one valuable lesson. Don’t believe everything you read or are told. Always seek out the truth. Family stories are in a lot of cases just that a story handed down, if you are in doubt always seek out original records and don’t leave it to hearsay.

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