have O'Farrell found not guilty by reason of insanity. He cited O'Farrell's history of mental illness and recent release from an asylum. O'Farrell was convicted and sentenced to death by judge Alfred Cheeke. Prince Alfred himself tried unsuccessfully to intercede and save his would-be killer's life. O'Farrell was hanged on 21 April 1868 in the Darlinghurst Gaol at the age of 35. Recovery of Prince Alfred Prince Alfred soon recovered, and returned home in early April 1868. On 24 March, the New South Wales Legislative Assembly voted to erect a memorial building. In order "to raise a permanent and substantial monument in testimony of the heartfelt gratitude of the community at the recovery of HRH". It was to be the Prince Alfred Hospital. Queen Victoria permitted the use of the term "Royal", so the memorial building was the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. It was built using funds raised by public subscription, and is today an important hospital in New South Wales. Sir Henry Parkes, a Minister in the colonial government, and future Premier of New South Wales, stirred up persecution of Irish Catholics in the colony after O'Farrell's attack. Parkes claimed that the mad killer's initial claims of being Fenian were true and that there were extensive Fenian conspiracies at work. When Canadian politician and anti-Fenian D'Arcy McGee was killed by a Fenian on 7 April, the excitement increased. Soon the excitement died down, and the public began questioning Parkes' unsupported claims. These became an embarrassment, and he resigned as a Minister in September. In popular culture The event was dramatised in the play Duke of Edinburgh Assassinated or The Vindication of Henry Parkes. External links McKinlay, Brian The First Royal Tour, 1867–1868, (London: Robert Hale & Company, c1970, 1971), 200p. Travers, Robert The Phantom Fenians of New South Wales (Kangaroo Press, 1986), 176p. . Murphy, Peter Fenian Fear (Peter Murphy, 2018), 177p. . www.fenianfear.com References 1803 births 1868 deaths 1868 crimes in Australia Executed Irish people Failed assassins People executed by New South Wales People executed for attempted murder Irish people executed abroad Executed Australian people 19th-century Irish people People executed by Australian colonies by hanging Irish emigrants to Australia