The Irish Times, Jan 30 1892 Banbridge, Friday A melancholy discovery has just been made of the bodies of two women named Mary and Elizabeth Rooney, aged respectively 70 and 80 years. they were found dead in a miserable hovel in Ballydrummond, near Castlewellan. they had been formerly in comfortable circumstances, but means became exhausted an recently they had nothing to live upon, their farm being mortgaged and or of their possession. The door of the cabin, in which recently they had been living, was noticed to be fastened, and they had been missed for some days. When the door was opened the bodies were seen lying on the floor greatly emaciated. Coroner Heron held an inquest yesterday when Dr Rowan deposed that death was due to starvation and exposure. The jury returned a verdict accordingly. Notes: This is so sad. Did no-one look in on them. Ballydrummond was full of relatives of mine, for all I know these Rooneys sisters could be relatives. Did any of them try to help. I found Mary left a will and the effects were £40 given to her nephew Patrick Smith, a schoolteacher in Belfast. Depending on which index you use, £40 would be equivalent to £3000-£4,000 today. How tragic.