Clare violence in 1908-09 catalogued by Brits

[smcarberry]

The Internet Archives has an apparent multi-volume work called Irish Facts for British Platforms, published by The Union Defence League, 25 Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., of which online there is Vol. 3. No. 1., January, 1909, at:
http://www.archive.org/stream/irishfact ... t_djvu.txt

In quickly looking over the included items, it seems that acts occurring in 1908 and 1909 are sorted by involved Irish county. For family history purposes, usually the names provided are those of estate owners and those held accountable for the acts. However, with all the incidents of shooting into people's homes at night, there might well be farmers named as well, as typically middle- and lower-classes in society became targeted when moving onto property cleared by eviction.

I show just a small number of examples below. I suggest using "clare" as search term and quickly reviewing all the incidents. There will be just a small number of irrelevant items on "Claremorris" and including the workd "declared."

The newspaper articles are various ones published around Ireland.

Sharon Carberry


The year on all the involved pages is 1909:

August 7 Co. Clare. At Kilkee Petty Sessions, Michael Haugh, senr., Michael Haugh, junr., John Haugh, and Thomas Haugh were charged with assaulting Under-Sheriff A. R. Martin and two bailiffs on June 30, whilst making a seizure. Mr. R. Martin, in his evidence, said that on the date in question he went to Corbally to execute a civil bill against Michael Haugh, and was accompanied by three assistants and two constables. He (the witness) called upon Michael Haugh, senr., for the amount of the decree, and on his refusal to pay he warned him that he would take sufficient assets to meet the debt. He (the witness) directed one of his assistants (Mr. Ryan) to take down a fishing net, and Thomas Haugh then hit Ryan on the back of the head with the tongs. The other defendants then appeared on the scene, and they assaulted him and his two assistants, and in consequence of this they had to withdraw from the house, where a large hostile crowd had assembled, and it became necessary for himself and one of the constables to draw their revolvers for the safety of the party. Other evidence was given, but the magistrates refused information. Dublin Daily Express, August 9.

September 3 Co. Clare. A correspondent of the Irish Times reports that a few days ago in the Sixmile Bridge district a self-binding machine, the property of a local farmer named R. Russell, was badly damaged by the explosion of a bomb.
[S.Carberry: did not note the newspaper]

October 30 Co. Clare. A daring shooting outrage occurred at a place called Lismuingo in the Ruan district. About 6.30 in the evening four...[gun]shots were fired from behind a hedge a short distance from the road-side at two farmers named John and Dan Murphy. They were returning from Ennis market. Both received wounds in the head, neck, and shoulders. John Murphy was fired at earlier in the year in the same district, and was severely wounded on that occasion. The outrage is
attributed to the fact that Murphy still retains a portion of the Lineen farm which had been surrendered by former occupants owing to local agitation to have it divided among uneconomic holdings of the district.
Freeman's Journal, November 2.

[Paddy Casey]

You have flagged a real goldmine there, Sharon ! Packed full of names and places and dates. Well worth perusing.

Paddy

P.S. On reading the accounts of agrarian violence I'm struck by the large number of vicious and cruel attacks on farm animals, attacks which were presumably intended to reduce the usefulness of the animals to their owners but which were carried out in a way which ensured maximum suffering to the innocent animal. P.

[maryclancy]

Sharon,

Thanks for the link, I found one of my non law abiding relatives listed!

Many thanks,

Mary