Driscoll and Rowlands

Daniel (Dan) Driscoll (1885–1928) and Edward (Tich) Rowlands (1877–1928) were two Welsh men convicted of the 1927 murder of David Lewis, a boxing champion. Both were hanged, but most evidence, then and now, suggests both were innocent.

Background

The Rowland brothers (Edward and John, aka Tich and Jack) ran an established protection racket in Cardiff, when David (Dai) Lewis, a former professional boxer and rugby player decided to muscle in, and started a rival business, operating as a one-man-operation.

Lewis, born in 1896, lived with his wife Amy and children at Ethel Street in Cardiff and his father lived with them.

Danny Driscoll came from a very large family and was the eldest of 12 brothers. He had served as a gunner in the First World War.

The crime

On 29 September 1927 a street fight began, just after 11pm, outside the Blue Anchor pub at 63 St Mary Street in Cardiff city centre.

It was probably intended to be a heavy beating but Lewis ended with a slash to the throat. He was taken to Cardiff Royal Infirmary and police brought both of the Rowlands brothers and three of their cronies for Lewis to identify: Daniel Driscoll, John Hughes and William (Hong Kong) Price. However, Lewis abiding by the long-running convention of the underworld, and refused to identify his attackers.

The news was broken to Lewis's family not by police but by Sydney Graves, a young newspaper reporter at 12.15am.

Aftermath

Dai Lewis is buried in Cathays Cemetery in Cardiff. Driscoll and Tich Rowlands are buried in unmarked graves within the walls of Cardiff Prison.

Trivia

The name "Daniel Driscoll" seems to have an odd connection to murder, with at least two other murders having the same name:

Daniel Driscoll (1855-1888) American murderer, executed in 1888. Daniel Peter Driscoll (b.1974) British murderer who escaped from prison

In 1868, a "Daniel Driscoll" was a murder victim rather than perpetrator.

The Blue Anchor pub is now called "Peppermint".

Actor Chris Driscoll is Daniel's nephew.