Information is wanted of Thomas McNamara, of Glandree,

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Sduddy
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Re: Information is wanted of Thomas McNamara, of Glandree,

Post by Sduddy » Wed Apr 27, 2022 12:31 pm

Hi Jimbo

That article by John Devoy in The Pilot is just part I of the story. That part, plus the rest of his story, is reproduced by Philip Fennell and Marie King in John Devoy’s Catalpa Expedition (2006). An online preview goes to page 73 and I found a couple bits relevant to recent postings:
John C. Talbot was a San Francisco dry-goods merchant, whose ability, sound judgement and devotion contributed very materially to the success of the enterprise. His business brought him often enough to the East to keep him in personal touch with the work, and one most important portion of it, which had to be attended to on the Pacific Coast, was wholly in his hands.(page 42).
John B Walsh, of San Francisco, was frequently in receipt of letters from the military prisoners, and these were promptly sent on when there was anything of moment in them. (page 43)
California had raised nearly half the money collected for the expedition and made no condition and no “kick.” It made, however, a special and very earnest request that the selection of one man to take part in the work be left to John C. Talbot, California’s representative on the committee, and the request was unanimously agreed to. John C. Talbot selected Thomas Desmond, and he accompanied Breslin to Australia by steamer and gave a good account of himself when pluck and nerve were needed. (page 73)
P.S. The other John Walsh was John Stephen Walsh (c. 1835-1894), who had quite an eventful career: https://www.dib.ie/biography/walsh-john-stephen-a8882

Sheila

Sduddy
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Re: Information is wanted of Thomas McNamara, of Glandree,

Post by Sduddy » Thu Apr 28, 2022 9:59 am

Hi Jimbo

I’ve been looking through From the Earth a Cry: The Story of John Boyle O’Reilly, by Ian Kenneally. I read it some years ago, but, as you can imagine, it is much more meaningful to me now. I was hoping for some mention of San Francisco, but found none. One thing that may interest you is that there were eight military prisoners in Fremantle (not seven). At the beginning of Chapter 11, “The Queen’s Prisoners and the King’s Men,” Kenneally describes the growth of the Amnesty Association, with Isaac Butt as president, which resulted in the release of 34 prisoners in Western Australia in May 1869. He explains that military prisoners were not included, so, if O’Boyle had not already escaped by this time, he would continue to be held prisoner. In 1870, when Gladstone’s government provided a general amnesty* to the civilians arrested in the mid-1860s, the military prisoners remained in prison, eleven of whom remained in Western Australia:
Eight remained in the locality of Fremantle. Two others, John Shine and James McCoy, were on ticket-of-leave and far from the town. One of the convicts had died; Patrick Keating, who had welcomed O’Reilly aboard the Hougoumont, had succumbed to illness during January 1874 [endnote: Amos, Fenians, p. 206]. Of the eight Fremantle prisoners, six would take part in the escape: Martin Hogan, Robert Cranston, Thomas Hassett, James Wilson, Michael Harrington and Thomas Darragh (the last two had been courtmartialled alongside O’Reilly during June and July 1866) Two of the Fenians, Thomas Delaney and James Keilley, were not to be included. Delaney had been sentenced, in June 1875, to twelve months’ hard labour and was under constant guard. There was no way he could be told of what was happening without compromising the whole strategy. Keilly’s situation was somewhat different. The other prisoners had suspicions that he had offered the police information on Fenian comrades during the arrests of 1866. Whether he had or not is unknown, but it was decided by Breslin and the others to leave Keilley out of the escape. He would die in 1918, having lived the rest of his life in Western Australia where he was known to locals as ‘the man the Fenians left behind’ (p. 209)
There is nothing more on Thomas Delaney, but I see from the entry on him in the Convict records of the Fenian Transportees (https://rune.une.edu.au/web/bitstream/1 ... URCE11.pdf) that he went to America some time after his release in 1878.
There seems to be some confusion about the number of military convicts. This list shows 13 aboard SS Hougoumont: https://walkoftheancestors.com/wp-conte ... oumont.pdf.
* Gladstone’s amnesty for the civilian Fenians had conditions, the most important of which was the stipulation that required amnestied prisoners to spend the remainder of their sentences outside Ireland or Britain [endnote: For background to the various amnesty campaigns see McConville, Irish Political Prisoners, pp 214-75]
Earlier in the book (Chapter 3), there is a description the drumming out of the army of John B. O’Reilly (p. 36), which I found interesting, and which made me wonder if something similar had happened to the two military prisoners in Ennis: Robert Quinn and Richard Meade. According to endnote 3, Kenneally’s description relies heavily on Life of John Boyle O’Reilly, by James Jeffrey Roche (1891), which contains a transcript of the trial. O’Reilly faced a Court Martial, having been charged with ‘Having at Dublin, in January, 1866, come to the knowledge of an intended mutiny in Her Majesty’s Forces in Ireland, and not giving information of said intended mutiny to his commanding officer.’ He was found guilty, but,
remarkably, O’Reilly was not informed of the verdict. As the cruel tradition demanded in such cases, the prisoner would have to wait until the day he was drummed out of the army to hear his sentence
. He was brought Mountjoy prison where he was stripped of his uniform, dressed in prison uniform, had his head shaved, and left for 2 months before being returned to the Royal Barracks. There he was dressed in full uniform and stood to face his regiment and some other regiments in the barracks’ Royal Square. An officer read the charges and the O’Boyle heard for the first time that he had been sentenced to 20 years penal servitude.
Then, to the accompaniment of a slow drumbeat, O’Reilly was stripped of his military uniform and dressed again in the uniform of a convict. He was shackled in chains and taken back to Mountjoy Prison
Jimbo, not wanting to lose sight of Michael W. Stackpoole, I read through Joseph’s Denieffe’s own recollections and saw that the number he gives for the Cork turnout of men, in 1867, is 2,000 (p 143) - even less than half of the number given by James F.X. O’Brien (5,000). Still, 2,000 is a large number and I think Stackpoole may well have been in that number.

Sheila

Jimbo
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Re: Information is wanted of Thomas McNamara, of Glandree,

Post by Jimbo » Fri Apr 29, 2022 7:37 am

Hi Sheila,

The appendix "Convict Records of the Fenian Transportees" was an excellent find, thanks for providing the link to this. Like many pdf documents discovered by a google search, it is difficult to determine what this was an appendix of.
https://rune.une.edu.au/web/bitstream/1 ... URCE11.pdf

Sheila, there were 62 Fenian prisoners on the Hougoumont who arrived in Western Australia; 45 civilians and 17 military prisoners. I believe there is general agreement on these numbers. The listing that you provided in a link, which only had 13 military Fenians, left out John Boyle O'Reilly, Thomas Delaney, and Robert Cranston.

There were a total of 60 men listed in the letter by John B. Walsh of San Francisco to John Boyle O'Reilly. A total of 16 men were ex-military, the 13 reported under "our military friends", plus the 3 men "on ticket-of-leave in Western Australia". The 17th, of course, was John Boyle O'Reilly who had escaped. The letter by John B. Walsh only has 44 civilians listed (15 on the Baringa to San Francisco; + 9 in prison in Freemantle; + 10 gone back to Ireland; +10 free in Western Australia). From checking the prisoners on "Convict Records of the Fenian Transportees", the 45th prisoner was Bartholomew Moriarty, born 1849, "released 9 July 1868, worked in Swan District; no other details known". I also learned that "Keely", whose first name was left blank by John B. Walsh, was "James Keilley", the prisoner left behind as there was suspicion as to his loyalty. The "Fulham" brothers were better known as "Fullam". "Patrick Leahy" was also "Patrick Lahey".

Regarding Robert Quinn and Richard Meade, both at Drumcliff on the night of the 5 Mar 1867, it appears that they never went to trial:
THE FENIAN CONSPIRACY
Thomas Fennell . . .

John Maquire and John Burns, shopkeepers, carrying on business in Ennis; and Richard Meade (a private in the 9th Regiment), and Robert Quinn (a private in the 74th Regiment), were severally indicted under the Treason Felony Act for being engaged in the outbreak on the night of the 5th of March and on the application of the Solicitor-General their trials were postponed to the next assizes, on an affidavit stating that an important witness had absconded within a short period prior to the opening of the Commission.

The prisoners counsel, Messrs. O'Loghlen and G. Fitzgibbon, applied to have the prisoners admitted to bail, but the Crown opposed the application, and it was refused.

A great number of other prisoners against whom similar bills were found at the present assizes, and who were out on bail, were again allowed to stand out on the same sureties, to attend and abide their trial at the next assizes.

This concluded the Crown business, and his lordship rose at an early hour.

Cork Examiner, 20 July 1867, page 3
So when the Clare Examiner and other Irish newspapers in October 1867 reported that the two prisoners were "immediately transmitted to their respective regiments", it was presumably because their star witness was never found and thus there was no trial.

There is evidence that Private Robert Quinn did return to the 74th Highlanders ("74 Foot" when searching military records) since he was tried on 17 April 1868 for desertion at a military court trial at Fort George in Scotland and received 112 days hard labor. In late 1868 or early 1870, the 74th Foot would go to Gibraltar and remain there until relocating to Malta in February 1872. However, Private Robert Quinn would only spend three months in Gibraltar. According to the UK Royal Hospital Chelsea Admission and Discharge Records, on a document entitled "Examination of Invalid Soldiers", Robert Quinn, age 27, had his pension record rejected on 31 May 1870, and rejected again on 14 June 1870. He was leaving the 74th Foot because he had contracted phthisis pulmonalis in Gibraltar "probably aggravated by climate". Private Quinn had spent a total of 9 years & 5 months with the 74th Foot, but 7 years & 5 months were subtracted as a punishment for desertion (presumably in 1868), leaving only 2 years service. His conduct was reported as "Very Bad". Robert Quinn was born in "Abbey, Paisley, Renfrew" which is in Scotland. He was 5 feet 8½ inches, with sandy hair, and grey eyes.

In the 1861 Scotland census, Robert Quinn, private 74th Foot, age 18, born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, was living at the military barracks in Aberdeen, Scotland. Sheila, I reckon that the two military prisoners in Ennis, Robert Quinn and Richard Meade, both had very different life stories than you appear to have imagined.

Coincidentally, directly below the "Fenian Conspiracy" news article in the Cork Examiner of 20 July 1867 was this interesting news from America:
DEATH OF THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER

THE New York Herald of the 9th inst., announces the death of General Meagher. The sad event appears to have been accidental, while engaged in taking measures to protect the settles at Montana from the Indian hostilities. He fell from the deck of a steamer into the river (the Upper Missouri, it is supposed), and was drowned. This intelligence will cause deep sorrow in the land which the high-souled orator and soldier so loved and cherished.

Cork Examiner, 20 July 1867, page 3
While An Post issued no stamp in 2017 for the 150th anniversary of the Fenian Rising, they did so for the 150th anniversary of the death of Thomas Francis Meagher (1823 - 1867):

The 150th Anniversary of the Death of Thomas Francis Meagher, 2017 Ireland stamp.jpg
The 150th Anniversary of the Death of Thomas Francis Meagher, 2017 Ireland stamp.jpg (15.53 KiB) Viewed 12424 times

And after much anticipation, the four commemorative stamps for Irish Breakfasts were finally released today and they look delicious! Very pleased that stirrabout (aka porridge) made the final four, although probably quite different from what was eaten in the 19th century. The stamp designer, Ailbhe Phelan, wrote a nice piece on her website describing her breakfast selection and stated that "Porridge was a no brainer".
https://www.ailbhephelan.com/blog/breakfast-stamps

Irish Breakfasts; stamps issued 28 April 2022.jpg
Irish Breakfasts; stamps issued 28 April 2022.jpg (115.72 KiB) Viewed 12424 times

Sheila, thank you for the recommendation of the book "Fenian Fire: The British Government Plot to Assassinate Queen Victoria", by Christy Campbell. It sounds very interesting. I read one on-line review that stated it read like a John le Carré spy novel.

The released Fenian prisoner John Bennett Walsh does indeed appear to "have faded into obscurity" — at least in the history books and journals written about the Fenians. But much of the writing appears to have focused on New York and other East coast Fenians and those living in California were ignored. There was no doubt a strong rivalry between the two groups. John B. Walsh continued to be very active in Irish Nationalist causes in San Francisco throughout his life. In fact, he got caught up in some counter-espionage activities of his own when a Superintendent of the Dublin Metropolitan Police, a "G-Man", decided to "retire" with his family in San Francisco.

To be Continued

Sduddy
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Re: Information is wanted of Thomas McNamara, of Glandree,

Post by Sduddy » Fri Apr 29, 2022 10:16 am

Hi Jimbo

Thank you very much indeed for researching Robert Quinn and Richard Meade and for finding that they were not drummed out of the army – though it sounds like Robert Quinn might have been happy to be drummed out. I found the death of a Richard Meade, but think he is too old to have been one of the Drumcliff gathering: 14 Jul 1887, at Landwith Place, South Dublin Union: Richard Meade, Bachelor, aged 75, Army Pensioner; informant: Eliza McArdell, 13 Peter Place: https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/ ... 775403.pdf . Eva Ó Cathaoir, in her book, Soldiers of Liberty: a study of Fenianism 1858-1908 (2018), writes notes on very many of the Fenians in Appendix I: “Biographies of Munster and Kilkeeny Fenians,” including Richard Meade and Robert Quinn, but she does not have the sequel on Robert Quinn that you have.
John Maguire died young: Clare Journal, Mon 13 May 1872:
Death of an Ex-Fenian Prisoner. This (Monday) afternoon John Maguire, who, it will be remembered, was arrested and imprisoned in Ennis in ’67, and subsequently confined in Mountjoy, died at his uncle’s house in Mill-street, in this town. The deceased, who was in his twenty-fourth year, had but recently returned from America in ill health.
I don’t believe we will ever know what happened to Hogan and Burns/Byrnes. I assume they were freed in one of the amnesties. Ó Cathaoir’s note on Hogan says he was from Reanahumana, Co. Clare, a constable, who had resigned from the force in Limerick. She gives his first name as Thomas, whereas I have it as Patrick - later on I will check if I made a mistake.

The Captain O’Brien, who was the generally acknowledged leader of the Drumcliff gathering, escaped before he could be arrested. I had imagined that “Captain O’Brien” was not his real name, but Eva Ó Cathaoir identifies him as
Captain Michael O’Brien, 32, a native of Ennis, joined the Fenian Brotherhood in Chicago in 1859 and was one of its officers in 1863-4. A leader of the boot and shoemakers’ union, he served briefly in 67th Illinois Volunteers during the Civil War and featured on the Fenian roster of available officers. (p 338)
The Lawrence O’Brien (who, according to the Dictionary of Irish Biography, assisted Reynolds in Connecticut with the Catalpa rescue) is the subject of this article, but there is no mention of his assisting Reynolds – the article ends at his escape to America: https://www.tipperarylibraries.ie/aroun ... nmel-jail/

You are right, of course, about the porridge. The porridge in the stamp is 21st century porridge. Strawberries would not have been added in the 19th century. Probably there were strawberries grown in the gardens of the big houses, but for the rest of the people there were the wild strawberries, a hedgerow plant, with very tiny fruit. When we found them, we ate them there and then.

I agree that California is ignored in the written accounts of the Fenians. But it was interesting that John Devoy acknowledged that nearly half the contributions for the expedition came from California. I feel sure that Michael W. Stackpool helped in that effort.

Hoping for an enlargement on that comment by Devoy, I looked through Irish Rebel: John Devoy and America’s fight for Irish freedom, by Terry Golway (1998). I began to lose hope when I saw just one line on the formation of the Committee for the rescue of the Fremantle prisoners (page 75), with no mention of the individual members (of which John C Talbot was one). But then on page 78 came this bit:
After some delays, Breslin and Desmond boarded their ship to Australia on September 13, carrying with them false documents attesting to Breslin’s alleged wealth [he was to pose as a Mr. Collins who was interested in investment]. An Irish-American judge in Sacramento provided a notary’s seal for the bogus papers, which detailed nonexistent, but seemingly fantastic, real estate holdings. Devoy instructed Breslin to keep the papers in full view of strangers once he reached Australia.
Unfortunately, Golway doesn’t give the source – it might have helped with identifying that Irish-American judge. (The online preview goes to page 81, and includes the above quote, but I looked through the whole book, including the notes).

I am looking forward to hearing more about John Bennett Walsh.

Sheila

Jimbo
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Re: Information is wanted of Thomas McNamara, of Glandree,

Post by Jimbo » Sun May 01, 2022 8:03 am

Hi Sheila,

The "Irish-American judge", who provided the notary seal on the bogus documents attesting to Breslin's wealth, was most surely Judge Michael Cooney of San Francisco. Judge M. Cooney was reported in the funeral cortege at Michael W. Stackpool's funeral in 1895 (San Francisco Chronicle, 21 January 1895).

Michael Cooney was listed as a justice of the peace in the 1871 San Francisco city directory:

1871 San Francisco City Directory, Michael Cooney, Justice of the Peace.jpg
1871 San Francisco City Directory, Michael Cooney, Justice of the Peace.jpg (44.58 KiB) Viewed 12379 times

Michael Cooney was an attorney in later San Francisco city directories. His time as a judge may have been short-lived, but he would retain the title "Judge" in many newspapers accounts, and "ex-Judge" in others. His name often appeared in the San Francisco newspapers as involved in Fenian and Irish Nationalist organizations, St. Patrick's Day Balls, Fenian picnics etc. The strongest evidence that Judge Michael Cooney was the judge referred to was the below 1886 newspaper article listing him as involved with the Catalpa rescue planning. And once again we learn how the Fenians of San Francisco were ignored in New York.
THE FENIANS' RESCUE.
How It Was Accomplished—San Francisco's Share.


To the Editor of the Examiner—SIR: An evening paper of the 27th ult. [27 February 1886] published an article copied from the New York Times, purporting to be an account of the rescue of the Fenian military prisoners from a British penitentiary in Australia. The article contains many errors, and fails entirely to give the slightest credit to one who was one of the principal agents to the rescue, Thomas Desmond, ex-Sheriff of San Francisco. The narrative as published states that the prisoners were sentenced to penal servitude for life "to the isolated island at New South Wales;" the fact is their place of confinement was at Freemantle in Western Australia, a part of the Australian continent. It also states that the Catalpa sailed from San Francisco; in fact it sailed from New Bedford. In order to give justice to whom justice is due, I will state briefly the facts of the rescue. The idea originated with the Knights of the Red Branch of the Pacific Coast, and they communicating their desire to the other Irish revolutionary organizations all over the United States, it was resolved to make the attempt, and for this purpose the whaler Catalpa was purchased in New Bedford and placed in command of Captain George Anthony, an American and an experienced seaman, in whom the Irish revolutionary organizations had full confidence. The Catalpa sailed for the Australian coast, ostensibly as a whaler, to allay suspicion. In the Catalpa sailed as carpenter, Dennis Duggan, who was known to the leading Irish Nationalists of Australia as a true and tried Fenian.

John J. Breslin of New York, who rescued the Fenian Head Center, James Stephens, from Richmond Prison, was chosen as the chief agent, and in pursuance of orders, he arrived in San Francisco to take steamer for Australia. Judge M. Cooney and Captain M.W. Stackpool of San Francisco; John Kenealy of Los Angeles and John C. Talbot of Virginia City, Nev., chose Thomas Desmond as the most fitting person to accompany Breslin. Desmond, then working at his trade (carriage maker) in Los Angeles, immediately upon being notified of his selection for the business, came to San Francisco, and in company with Breslin, left by steamer for Melbourne, and from there proceeded to their objective point, Freemantle, Western Australia, where they met John King, the agent of the Irish Australians, now a citizen of New Jersey, who rendered them very material aid in their enterprise. Breslin under the name of "Collins" posed as an American capitalist seeking investment, and Desmond known as "Johnson" ["Johnston" in other accounts], described by the Freemantle Herald as having "all the characteristics of a thorough going Yankee," went quietly to work at his trade, there being apparently no connection between him and "Collins," and no cause to arouse suspicion. Together they matured their plan for the rescue, and, when all was ready, and the Catalpa had appeared off the coast and came to anchor at Bunbury, waiting orders, they resolved to make the attempt on the 17th of April, '76. Captain Anthony was telegraphed to at Bunbury—a cipher being used—to come up the coast, lay to off Freemantle, send a boat ashore on the morning of the 17th and wait for his passengers.

Whilst this expedition was being undertaken by the Irish Americans, another plan was being put in operation by the Nationalists in Ireland, amongst them the late Joseph Ronayne, M.P., for York City; and the agents those gentlemen sent out were Denis F. McCarthy, now of Chicago, and John Walsh, now of the staff of the New York Irish World. So well was the secret of these two expeditions kept that neither of the parties knew of the arrival of the agents of the other party in Australia until they were put in communication with each other by John King, the Irish-Australian agent, who was in the secret of both expeditions, and the task assigned to the Irish emissaries was to cut the telegraph wires leading in all directions from Perth and Freemantle, a service which they very effectively accomplished.

Then all being ready, and the prisoners, who, on account of their good conduct and not being looked upon as felons, were engaged in light work outside the prison walls, were got on together. Desmond and Breslin with light wagons and fast teams, appeared and picking up their men, started on a keen run to where the whaleboat lay awaiting them, a distance of twenty miles. All were well armed and determined to fight to the death rather than allow themselves to be taken prisoners.

The escapes were soon missed, and the alarm being given, the police, after considerable delay in ascertaining the route the prisoners had taken, started in pursuit, but arrived only in time to see the boat containing them a mere speck on the ocean. No means being at hand to pursue them, and the wires being cut to Freemantle, there was nothing to do but ride back to Freemantle and report the situation.

Thus considerable time was lost, and when the Government steamer Georgette was ready to put to sea from Freemantle the boat was nowhere to be seen, so before the steamer could discover the whereabouts of the Fenians they were in sight of the Catalpa, and it became a race between the boat and the steamer. The mate of the Catalpa, Sam Smith, seeing the danger of the boat being captured, bore down with his vessel between the pursuers and the pursued and picked up his men, when the steamer was not more than a quarter of a mile away, they being then about thirty miles from shore. The steamer came alongside and demanded the prisoners. Captain Anthony replied that he had no prisoners on board—they were all freemen. The next order from the Georgette was, "I will give you fifteen minutes to give up those prisoners. If you refuse I will blow you out of the water." Captain Anthony replied, "I am on the high seas; there is my flag (pointing to the Stars and Stripes): if you fire on me you fire on the American flag." Mr. Smith, getting angry at the thought of a Britisher firing on the Starts and Stripes on the high seas, said: "Fire and be d----d. We'll all sink together before you get a man of this ship." This mate Smith, by the way, was since Captain of the Napoleon, a whaler which was lost in the Arctic in May, 1885. The police officers on the Georgette seeing the determined attitude of the Americans, thought discretion the better part of valor, and turning about steered for Freemantle, where they landed crestfallen and discomfited amid the jeers and laughter of the crowd assembled on the wharf, who sympathized with the fugitives.

The rescued prisoners thenceforth pursued their voyage to freedom's soil without fear of British interference, and are now good and true citizens of the great republic, still ready to do and dare all that men may do to extend the area of freedom, even until it includes the Green Isle of their birth.

In justice to our fellow-citizen, Thomas Desmond, I write this, because the writer in the New York Times, with the superciliousness (*) of a New Yorker ignoring the existence of such a place as California and unwilling to acknowledge that any good can be found beyond the sound of the City Hall bells of New York, thinks it totally unnecessary to give credit to anyone outside the narrow bounds of Manhattan island. Respectfully yours,

AN OLD FENIAN
San Francisco, March 2, 1886.

San Francisco Examiner, 7 March 1886, page 3

* supercilious: ADJECTIVE, behaving or looking as though one thinks one is superior to others. SYNONYMS: arrogant • haughty • conceited • disdainful • overbearing • pompous • condescending • superior • patronizing • imperious • proud • lofty • lordly • snobbish • snobby • overweening • smug • pretentious • affected • scornful • mocking • sneering • scoffing.

Who was the "Old Fenian" who in March 1886 wrote the above letter to the editor of the San Francisco Examiner?

I doubt Thomas Desmond, who had firsthand knowledge of the rescue, would have written the letter in his own defense. So I then considered each of the four men reported as having chosen Thomas Desmond for the rescue mission:

#1 Michael W. Stackpool, who according to his obituary "always derived a great amount of pleasure in recounting the success which attended his undertaking" of the Catalpa rescue, is a strong possibility. In 1886, Stackpool would have been 46 years old, which back then might qualify as an "Old Fenian".

#2 John Kenealy, the released Fenian prisoner who arrived in San Francisco in 1870 on the Baringa, can be quickly eliminated as the "Old Fenian" since he had moved to Los Angeles in 1875.

#3 Judge Michael Cooney was an attorney and perhaps the most well educated and likely to use the word "superciliousness" in a sentence. In the 1870 census, Michael Cooney, age 29, "Justice Peace", is living with his family in San Francisco including a 5 year old son born in California. At first, I thought this eliminated him from being the "Old Fenian" since he wasn't in Ireland at the time of the Fenian Rising. However, it's possible that Michael Cooney had joined the Fenian Brotherhood in San Francisco where it was very strong? The SF Examiner of 17 August 1865 listed 25 "Circles of the Fenian Brotherhood in California" along with their "Name of Center"; there were two Fenian Circles in San Francisco. The 1886 letter was similar to the 1895 obituary "Noted Fenian Dead" for M.W. Stackpool, so there is a good chance that Judge M. Cooney wrote both.

#4 John C. Talbot also arrived in California early; he was listed in the 1865 San Francisco city directory as "Talbot J. C. variety store, 103 Second, dwl Frank's Building". In an advertisement for the "Grand Ball of the Fenian Brotherhood" to be held on the evening of St. Patrick's Day of 1866, John C. Talbot was on the "committee of arrangements". By the 1868 city directory, John C. Talbot was living at 520 Folsom street along with Richard F. Talbot (his father) and Jerome C. Talbot and Michael J. Talbot (his brothers), all working in dry goods. In the 1870 census, Richard Talbot (age 60), Johanna Talbot (age 60) and inferred children John (age 30), Jerome (age 26), and Michael (age 23) were in the same household. Their occupation, same as the city directory, was "dry goods store". John Kenealy, the released Fenian prisoner from Western Australia who arrived in San Francisco in January 1870, was said to have "took a job with a San Francisco Fenian dry-goods dealer named Talbot" according to The Great Shame by Thomas Kenneally.

1868 San Francisco City Directory, Talbots of 520 Folsom.jpg
1868 San Francisco City Directory, Talbots of 520 Folsom.jpg (50.82 KiB) Viewed 12379 times

Another connection between Fenians and the dry goods business. John C. Talbot could possibly have been the "Old Fenian" who wrote the letter in 1886, but I reckon that either Michael W. Stackpool or Judge Michael Cooney were more likely.

John C. Talbot died in 1923 at the reported age of 95 years. He had outlived Michael W. Stackpool who died in 1895, Judge Michael Cooney in 1901, and John Kenealy in 1908. Fortunately, Talbot left some good health advice on how he was able to avoid sickness and reach his grand old age:
SLEEP HOUR A DAY IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO LIVE TO BE 95 YEARS OLD
Placer Man Who Was Never Sick In His Life Attributes Health to Daily Naps


DUTCH FLAT (Placer County, CA), August 25.—Here is a panacea for ailments and a guide to eternal youth which would turn Ponce De Leon green with envy, John C. Talbot, who died here this week [23 August 1923], after he had passed the ninety-fifth milestone, and who claimed he was never sick in his life, attributed his four score and fifteen years of good health to a habit of sleeping one hour every afternoon.

For more than half a century he allowed nothing to interfere with his daily nap. He abhorred doctors. He died without the services of a physician, having refused medical attention at all times. Death was caused by the infirmities of old age.

Deputy Coroner Carl Mehl of Placer County conducted an inquest yesterday morning. Talbot was buried yesterday afternoon.

Talbot first came to Placer County during the mining rush, when Dutch Flat was a thriving city. For a number of years he was in the employ of a San Francisco dry goods firm. He returned here twelve years ago, and has resided at the home of his nephews, George and William Maker.

The Sacramento Bee, 25 August 1923, page 17
Edit: typos
Last edited by Jimbo on Wed May 04, 2022 7:21 am, edited 1 time in total.

Sduddy
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Joined: Sun Sep 26, 2010 10:07 am

Re: Information is wanted of Thomas McNamara, of Glandree,

Post by Sduddy » Mon May 02, 2022 10:17 am

Hi Jimbo

Good work there finding the “Irish-American Judge” and finding that 1886 newspaper article. I feel sure you are right in thinking he was Judge Michael Cooney and that the writer of the article was either Cooney, or Michel Stackpool.
It is also possible, I suppose, that it was someone who was living in San Francisco in the 1860s, who wrote the piece, but I think the amount of detail in it points to someone who was closer to the action.
Back in 1861, Terence Bellew McManus (Young Irelander) died in San Francisco, and, according to Eva Ó Cathaoir, a group of Fenians there conceived the idea of sending his body back to Ireland. Ó Cathaoir says:
In San Francisco, an impoverished Young Irelander and boyhood friend of Charles Gavan Duffy died on 15 January 1861. Terence Bellew McManus had been a shipping agent in Liverpool, where he supported Repeal and later the Irish Confederation. Unexpectedly joining Smith O’Brien for the Rising [1848] McManus sacrificed an income of £1000 p.a. Convicted of participation in the siege of the Widow McCormack’s house, McManus had been transported to Tasmania, but escaped. He repudiated efforts to include him in a British pardon, preferring to die in exile as an unrepentant rebel. Californian Fenians conceived the idea of returning his body to Ireland … Soldiers of Liberty: A Study of Fenianism 1858-1908 (p. 39)
Ó Cathaoir does not give anything more on that Californian group of Fenians – the action moves to New York, with Thomas Francis Meagher forming an ‘obsequies committee’ and getting Archbishop John Hughes to agree to preach a sermon. But Ó Cathaoir goes on to say that there were 32 pall-bearers, representing the 32 counties of Ireland, and that
Michael and Mary Jane Doheny, James Roche, Michael Cavanagh, Captain Frank Weipley, 69th New York National Guard and Captain Michael Smith were among the Fenian Brotherhood delegates from California and New York to accompany the remains.
As far as I can see (by searching online), the only one of those, who came from California, was Captain Michael Smith, mentioned in The Church, the State and the Fenian Threat 1861-75, by Oliver P. Rafferty (1999) (p. 26) as being of the Californian delegation (it sounds as if there were more than one Californian delegate): https://books.google.ie/books?id=ZSxaCw ... an&f=false

In his Recollections*, John Devoy says that “there was not much of an organization in San Francisco at the time, but a meeting of Irish citizens appointed a committee to escort his remains to Ireland and secure burial in Glasnevin” (p. 22). Devoy does not acknowledge this group of citizens as fenians, but Devoy's recollections, written so many years later, are not considered totally reliable. Plus he was probably influenced by old rivalries. He goes on to say, “In the cemetery a dense mass of people stood near the grave and speeches were made by Jeremiah Cavanagh [Waterford and New York] and Captain Smith of San Francisco, which were heartily cheered.” (p. 24).
* Recollections of an Irish Rebel: A Personal Narrative by John Devoy: https://www.rte.ie/centuryireland/image ... _Devoy.pdf
I haven’t found any more on Captain Michael Smith.

The original plan for the Catalpa (I read somewhere, sometime) was that it would continue whaling for quite some time after the rescue and arrive eventually in San Francisco. The rescued men started complaining, however, and they were taken to New York. If I am right regarding the original plan, there must have been some disappointment in San Francisco.

Note on Terence Bellew McManus: Last year I posted my transcription of a letter from T. B. McManus to John Francis Maguire, Esq., M.P. It was published by the Cork Examiner, and by the Clare Journal of 10 Dec 1857: http://www.ourlibrary.ca/phpbb2/viewtop ... f=1&t=7204

I still have not ascertained whether Hogan, from Reanahumana, Feakle parish, who escaped from Caher police station, was called Thomas or Patrick, but I think his father might be the Thomas Hogan who was living there at the time of Griffith's Valuation: https://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/cocla ... eanahumana

Sheila

Corrections: (1) Jeremiah Cavanagh/Kavanagh was living in San Francisco at the time of the funeral of T. B. McManus. He attended the first national convention of the Fenian Brotherhood in Chicago, in 1863, as state centre for California: http://opac.oireachtas.ie/Data/Library3 ... 138003.pdf. I think it was he rather than Michael Cavanagh (from Cappoquin, Co. Waterford) who accompanied the remains of T. B. McManus to Ireland - see this notice of his death in the Gaelic American of 3 Dec 1921: https://digital.library.villanova.edu/I ... 1586%2C833

(2) “Weipley” should be “Welpley”. Captain Francis Welpley, of the 69th N.Y., was killed in action during the American Civil War. After that war, his body was returned to Ireland and was buried in his native Skibbereen.

Jimbo
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Re: Information is wanted of Thomas McNamara, of Glandree,

Post by Jimbo » Wed May 04, 2022 7:42 am

Hi Sheila,

Using newspaper archives, I traced the ex-policeman Hogan from Feakle parish starting with his arrest and escape in February 1866. He is definitely Thomas Hogan. The Clare Journal article from 14 October 1867, that you included in a prior posting, incorrectly reported him as Patrick Hogan; many other Irish newspapers on the 14th made the same mistake.
An ex-policeman, named Thomas Hogan, who resigned only a few months ago, was arrested on the 20 ult [20 February 1866], on suspicion of being a member of the Fenian Brotherhood. His arrest was affected at the house of his father, and he was escorted to Caher by a strong body of the constabulary, and kept in custody at the station, where he took off his coat and boots, and was accommodated with a pair of slippers by one of the men. He subsequently requested permission to retire, which was granted, and he was allowed into the yard under charge of three men. Scarcely had he got outside the barrack door, when, by a dexterous movement he escaped the hands of his guard, jumped over a paling or hedge, and made a run for it, hotly pursued by the police. Being without boots, and running in the direction of a bog, he soon got beyond the reach of the policemen, and has not been since apprehended.—Freeman.

Limerick Chronicle, 6 March 1866
THE ESCAPE OF THE EX-POLICEMAN AT FEAKLE.

On Friday last a magisterial investigation was held in the court house of Tulla into the circumstances attending the escape of Thomas Hogan, of Cahir, who was arrested on suspicion of being connected with the Fenian movement. There was a charge of neglect of duty preferred by Sub-Inspector Heard, of Tulla, against Constable Digby Deveniah, of Feakle police station, in disobeying orders given him with respect to the prisoner. The magistrates present were—Maurice O'Connell, chairman; Marcus Molony, William O'Hara,R.M.; Francis Westropp, and Pierce O'Brien, Esquires. Mr. Jennings, county inspector, was also present. Mr. Heard, sub-inspector of Tulla, conducted the inquiry, and Mr. James Hynes, solicitor, appeared on behalf of the policemen. From the evidence adduced it appeared that the arrest was made by the sub-inspector himself, who handed the "supposed" Fenian over to the Constable Devenish, with orders to have him conveyed to the bridewell of Tulla, but the constable did not proceed beyond the intermediate station at Cahir, where he had the prisoner, as he thought, securely lodged for the night in the guardroom, a sub-constable of that station named Regan being placed in charge of him. During the night he was allowed to go into the yard, when he gave the constable the slip in the manner reported in a former issue of our paper. The policeman gave chase, but was soon outstripped in the pursuit, and returned well nigh exhausted after an exciting run, but once off there was no possibility of his recapturing Hogan, who is an agile as a mountain deer, and the faster runner and briskest leaper in that part of the country. After a most careful investigation, the magistrates came to the unanimous decision of fining the policemen a sum of 2l, for what they considered a dereliction of duty, but acquitted them from the imputation of conniving at Hogan's escape. Mr. O'Connell and Mr. O'Hara, R.M., gave both excellent character.—Limerick Southern Chronicle.

Freeman's Journal, 16 March 1866
SURRENDER OF AN ESCAPED FENIAN.—It will be remembered that some time ago a man named Hogan was arrested on a charge of Fenianism at Cahir, but managed to make his escape from the police of that station while in their custody. Every search for the missing man proved unavailing, and the circumstance well nigh forgotten, when he surrendered himself to Francis M Westropp, Esq, J P, on Tuesday last, and committed to jail. He was immediately escorted into Ennis by the constabulary, and handed over to the prison authorities.

Clare Journal, and Ennis Advertiser, 11 July 1867, page 2
REMOVAL OF FENIAN PRISONERS.—A transfer of Fenian prisoners took place to-day from Ennis and Limerick to Mountjoy. They numbered twelve individuals, and their names were as follows:—From Ennis: John M'Guire, John Byrne, Thos. Hogan. From Limerick: John Murphy, Joseph H. Lawlor, James McDonnell, Michael Hayes, Daniel R. Lyddy, Martin Hogan, William Condon, James Hogan, and Nicholas Corbett.

The men sent forward by the 9.25 a.m. train, and were, of course, handcuffed. They were in charge of an escort of police, commanded by H.C. O'Brien and Constables Colbert and Moriarty. A force of police, under S.J. Kelly and Head-Constable Robinson, guarded the entrance to the station, and kept the people from going in to the platform. No one was admitted but passengers and a few females who were related to some of the prisoners. These were crying bitterly. The poor fellows made a show of going off in the best possible spirits, and it was remarked that they looked on the whole very well. There are those in the community who say that this is one of the results of the Fenian demonstration on Sunday last.

Cork Examiner, 12 October 1867
The Irish newspapers of 14 October 1867 incorrectly reported "Thomas Hogan" as "Patrick Hogan" mentioning his prior escape from Cahir station (see the Clare Journal of 14th October on page 35 that Sheila had transcribed). They do include the added information that he had voluntarily surrendered himself to Westropp "in expectation of receiving the clemency of the Executive".

I checked the Irish prison registers for Thomas Hogan, and the other two men from Ennis. They are all common names. A prison index for "Mountjoy and Richmond Prison" had a Thomas Hogan, age 38, who was admitted in 1868; his identification was #1754 but no other details.. The Richmond prison register had Thomas Hogan, #1744, as born in Limerick, and his charge was "illegal possession of coat", and his admission was 11 November 1868, and sentence only three weeks. Another Thomas Hogan, born in Kilteely, Limerick, was arrested on 18 March 1867 for firing at the Kilteely police barracks. Many other Thomas Hogan's were arrested for other minor crimes and made the newspapers, but there was never a trial or other news about Thomas Hogan of Feakle.

Similarly, I could not find a good match for John MaGuire or John Byrne from Ennis who were also sent to Mountjoy Prison in October 1867. John MaGuire, according to the 1872 article "Death of an Ex-Fenian Prisoner" stated that he had "recently returned from America". There is no sign of Thomas Hogan in later Caher Feakle records as having remained in Clare. I have a strong hunch that Thomas Hogan, like many Fenian prisoners, never went to trial and was offered his freedom if he went to America, with very little fanfare or records.

Sheila, if Thomas Hogan, reported to have been from Feakle and Caher in newspaper accounts, was indeed from Reanahumana townland, then I agree with you that he was the son of Thomas Hogan of Griffith Valuation, plot 3 of that townland.

Thomas Hogan, Jr., the ex-constable and possible Fenian, or else his father Thomas Hogan, Sr., might have been the baptism sponsor for the following nephews/grandsons: Pat Hogan in 1853, Thomas Hogan in 1864 and John Noonan in 1869. See Caher Feakle baptism register.

Thomas Hogan, of Reanahumana, farmer, married, age 86 years, died on the 20 August 1882; informant his granddaughter Anne (the surname is smudged, possibly Anne Hogan or Anne Noonan):
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/ ... 834872.pdf

Wills Calendar at the National Archives for Thomas Hogan; died 20 August 1882; effects £46 10s.
http://www.willcalendars.nationalarchiv ... _00184.pdf
This is the last Will and Testament of me, Thomas Hogan, of Reagunahana in the County of Clare, Farmer, I will, devise, and bequeath all my property both real, freehold, and personal of every nature and kind so ever unto my Grandson Thomas Noonan of Cahir in the County of Clare and I hereby nominate constitute and appoint my said Grandson my sole executor. In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and signed my name this first day of August one thousand eight hundred and eighty-two.
Thomas Hogan [x his mark]

Source: "Limerick (1878-1888)" included in "Ireland, Wills and Grants of Probate, 1858 - 1900" (ancestry)
The £46 doesn't appear to have been a great amount, but more importantly, Thomas Hogan passed the freehold on the Reanahumana property to his grandson Thomas Noonan, to the detriment of his other grandson Thomas Hogan. A great granddaughter of this grandson Thomas Hogan, in a Clare Past posting from nine years ago, described the family legend as "his father's family attempted to take his father's farm - which would have left him, his minor sibling and widowed mother in the streets":

http://www.ourlibrary.ca/phpbb2/viewtop ... mana#p8334

Based upon the will and later petty session records, the Hogan family story that was passed down is not what happened, but it is a very interesting story.

Sheila, a McNamara family was living in Reanahumana that we've already come across and discussed briefly. Also, in tying up some loose ends with the McNamara's in Washington DC (pages 11,12, 14), I was led back to Reanahumana. And now in checking Tom McDowell's emigration listing for Feakle parish, was not surprised to discover that one of the Hogan children of Reanahumana in 1923 was headed to an aunt "Mrs Anna Bassett" living in Washington DC. There seems to be a connection between Reanahumana and neighboring townlands with Washington DC. Will update the McNamara's of DC at a later time, as the Fenian Michael W. Stackpool of San Francisco is more historically significant.

And with regards to the Catalpa rescue, Sheila, you had earlier noted how in your opinion the first mate, Sam Smith, was the hero of the hour. Was surprised that you didn't say boo about the 1886 newspaper article in my prior posting which reported that "mate Smith, by the way, was since Captain of the Napoleon, a whaler which was lost in the Arctic in May, 1885".

Sduddy
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Re: Information is wanted of Thomas McNamara, of Glandree,

Post by Sduddy » Wed May 04, 2022 3:20 pm

Hi Jimbo

Thank you very much indeed for doing all that work on Thomas Hogan, and for confirming that Thomas was his first name (not Patrick). I’ve edited my transcription of the Clare Journal report to show that his name was Thomas. I agree that Thomas probably went to America with John Maguire – likewise John Burns/Byrnes.

And, yes, I should have regretted the death of Sam Smith in the Arctic in 1885. As the newspaper article says, he was then captain of SS Napoleon and I see the loss of that ship (with 32 lives) included in this list of 1885 shipwrecks: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_s ... ks_in_1885

I am happy to continue finding what we can on Michael W. Stackpool, but just want to add a note here to the research you have done on some McNamaras living in San Francisco (see previous page). About a year ago, when I was posting some items from the Clare Journal that I thought might be of interest, I posted this one to you (see page 30):
Hi Jimbo, I've been looking through issues of the Clare Journal between 1850 and 1872 for items that might interest me, and not noticing very many reports of McNamaras from Tulla, I noted this one: Thur 17 Mar 1864: "Deaths. In San Francisco, Mrs. Margaret, wife of the late James McNamara, a native of the county Clare, Parish of Tulla, Ireland, aged 41 years."
It has nothing to do with any family we have looked at hitherto, but might sometime.
. You can file that under “San Francisco McNamaras”.

As I’ve said already, I’m now quite convinced that Michael W. Stackpool did join the many men who “were out” in Co. Cork in March 1867. I am re-reading Soldiers of Liberty, and realising that I focused too much on Co. Clare in my first reading. I see now that the rising in Cork, which resulted in a few skirmishes only, was much more scattered all over the county than was the rising in Clare. In her introduction, Eva Ó Cathaoir says, “…for some the city by the Lee [Cork city] remained the real Fenian capital during the 1860s, given its large membership in proportion to the population”. So it is not surprising that her account of the events in Co. Cork takes up 2 and a half pages (pp 172-174), while her account of the events in Co. Clare takes only half a page (p. 180). Looking at the Appendix 1. “Biographies of Munster and Kilkenny Fenians”*, I can see that, after the night of 5th March 1867, a large number of suspects were rounded up by the constabulary in Co. Cork (with the help of informers). But that number was only a fraction of the total number of men who “were out” on the night – that is, if we are to believe the 2,000 figure given by Joseph Denieffe (Ó Cathaoir writes, “In Cork city, James F.X. O’Brien had witnessed a woeful lack of preparation and voted against the Rising. Nevertheless, 1,500 Fenians, half the Cork contingent, turned out at Prayer Hill.”)

* I think the biographies are confined to those whose names appear in the records (usually records of arrest). Some are for men who joined the movement at a later time. The number of biographies is not an indication of the total number of members of the I.R.B. Most entries are just a few lines, and end with an arrest, or amnesty. The biographies are arranged by county of birth – not by the event participated in – thus some of the Co. Cork biographies are for men who took part in the Kilmallock rising (in Co. Limerick). No. 552, Patrick Hogan, is from Co. Limerick, where he worked as a draper’s assistant, but he “had also worked in a drapery in Ennis, where he swore in a number of young men.” (p 393).
Some of the biographies are extra interesting (for me, at least):
No. 554, Edmund Houlihan, born in Darnstown in 1839, was a native speaker of Irish and a good musician who lost his sight in an explosion of gunpowder during the Fenian attack on the barracks in Kilmallock. Houlihan took to the roads as a travelling musician for more than fifty years. Known as ‘Rambling Jack’, he performed rebel songs and traditional airs in tune with his separatist convictions. Houlihan died in Darnstown in 1931. (p 393)
No. 566, William Lundon, (1839-1909), also from Co. Limerick, “participated in the invasion of Canada before returning for the Rising. … He became an MP in 1900, making his maiden speech in Irish.” That must be the first time Irish was spoken in the House of Commons.

I am thankful to Polycarp for recommending Soldiers of Liberty – see page 1 of “Six Co. Clare Fenians (I.R.B.) remembered by John Devoy”: http://www.ourlibrary.ca/phpbb2/viewtop ... f=1&t=7027. I agree with her that it is a solid piece of historical research. The chapter on the 1867 Rising, for instance, gives a very matter-of-fact account of the rising, but conveys better than any other account I've read the widespread confusion that night. Also, Ó Cathaoir shows that there were many women who were active in the movement, although women were not admitted to the Brotherhood. Here, for instance, she quotes from the Freeman’s Journal of 3 Apr. 1867 on the funeral of Peter Crowley O’Neill:
First came a procession of women four deep, each woman carrying a large green bough; then followed a scattered group of women, next came the coffin, borne upon men’s shoulders, although a hearse had been engaged and was actually in the procession. … His sister … walked after the coffin as the chief mourner, her head covered with a dark hood. (p. 173).

Sheila
Last edited by Sduddy on Thu May 05, 2022 10:32 am, edited 1 time in total.

Sduddy
Posts: 1826
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Re: Information is wanted of Thomas McNamara, of Glandree,

Post by Sduddy » Thu May 05, 2022 10:17 am

Hi Jimbo

I looked again at the transcriptions from the Clare Journal reports on the Fenian Risings in Clare (“Six Co. Clare Fenians (I.R.B.) remembered by John Devoy,” page two: http://www.ourlibrary.ca/phpbb2/viewtop ... e&start=15)) and see that I included this report on John Maguire:
Clare Journal, Mon 16 Mar 1868:
The Drumcliffe “Fiasco.” John Maguire, one of the persons arrested for complicity in the Drumcliffe “rising" in March last, has been discharged from Mountjoy prison, by order of his Excellency, on condition that he left the country, and he has since proceed to America.
I also included this report on John Burns:
Clare Journal, Thur 26 Mar 1868:
Among the passengers who embarked at Queenstown on Saturday, on board the national steamer, Helvetia, was John Burns, of this town, who had been liberated from Mountjoy Prison. He was arrested in Queenstown on 7th of March, 1867, as he was about to proceed to America, on the charge of complicity in the Fenian outbreak, which had then begun. There being no evidence to connect him with the serious offence for which he was apprehended, a warrant came down for his detention under the Habeas Corpus Act. He spent twelve months in confinement in Mountjoy, and was ultimately liberated on the usual conditions.
I also included a report from a whole two years later (1870) regarding (yet another) John Walsh. I failed to find him in the Appendix to Soldiers of Liberty, but I later discovered that his first name was actually James:
Clare Journal, Mon 25 Apr 1870: Cork Quarter Sessions, - Thursday. Charge of Having Arms.
John Walsh, who pleaded guilty at the present sessions to the charge of having in his possession a revolver at Qeenstown, was again put forward.
Charles Gilfoil Doran, superintendent of works at Queenstown, was produced to give evidence as to the prisoner’s character.
The witness stated that he knew the prisoner for the last eleven years and that he had been in his employment for the greater portion of that time. Witness had frequent opportuntities of judging his character, and considered him a quiet, inoffensive and well conducted young man, and had no reason to hold any other opinion of him.
Cross examined by Mr P O’Connell – He was not under your superintendence in ’67? Not during that time but I have a knowledge of where he was. Were you in Ennis? No, I was in Tralee at the time; I don’t mean to say he was under my superintendence for the last six years, but he has been for about six years out of eleven. Are you aware that the prisoner was in Ennis ? No. Are you under Mr Made? No; I am over him. Did you know that he was contractor at Ennis for the asylum and that the prisoner and his father were employed there? I heard that the prisoner’s father was foreman. Where were you in ’67? I was in Kerry and Dublin. How soon after that was it that the prisoner came under your observation? In about two years after that time. Are you aware of where he was? He was in Dublin for a portion of the time, at least I heard so. Where did you first see him after ’67? In Queenstown. Have you all Dublin men at Queenstown? I have no reason to know where they are from as it Mr Made has them employed. Is Mr Made here? I cannot say.
To the Chairman – The prisoner’s father is employed by Mr Made as a general foreman.
Mr O’Connell – Is Mr Made in Queenstown at present?
One of his sons is acting for him.
How long before ’67 was it that the prisoner was under your observation? – I think somewhere about ’64 or ’65.
And from that time until ’69 when the works commenced at Queenstown, you had no knowledge of him?
I cannot say that I met him.
The Chairman, addressing Mr Joyce, said that the prisoner should be brought up again on the following morning, as Mr O’Connell had not got an answer to some inquiries regarding the prisoner.
He was accordingly put back, and will be again brought forward at ten o’clock this morning.
_______________
At the sitting of the Quarter Sessions Court on Friday morning, before Mr D R Kane, Q C, Chairman.
John Walsh, mason, was put forward, to receive sentence under a conviction for having had a loaded revolver in his possession in a proclaimed district.
Mr P O’Connell, on the part of the Crown, produced documents showing that a warrant had been issued for the arrest of the prisoner, on the following charges: - Having with fourteen others (named and described in the same documents) on the 5th March 1867, at Drumcliff and Kilbaha, Co Clare, appeared in arms and attacking houses for arms; also for, on the same day, attacking the coastguard station at Kilbaha, wounding one coastguard and depriving him of his revolver; and further, for pressing others to join in those unlawful proceedings.
The Chairman, in passing sentence, said that the character of the prisoner’s father was irreproachable. The sentence he was to pass, after due reflection, would, he hoped make the prisoner mend his ways. He strongly disapproved of the difference he had met with the police, and the efforts he made at that time; but he thought these circumstances might account for his having had the revolver in his possession. On a review of the whole case, he felt that he could not in justice to the country, and having due regard to the character of the present times and the provisions of the recent Act of Parliament pass upon him a less sentence than nine months imprisonment, with hard labour.
The prisoner (leaving the dock) – There will be an exchange of prisoners before that time.
When being removed in a car to the County Gaol, he exclaimed “God save Ireland.”
Jimbo, I have only now realized that I misinterpreted some of O’Cathaoir’s biographical notes. I did not realize that she included Civil War soldiers, who were living in America and who had placed themselves on a roster of volunteers ready to assist with a rising in Ireland. Among the 51 entries for Co. Clare, there are 3 such:
(1) Thomas Healy, who had joined the Fenian Brotherhood in New Haven in 1864 and served in 9th Connecticut Volunteers for three years during the Civil War.
(2) Sgt. Stephen Maloney, a native of Tulla, served for five years on the frontier in the regular 8th US infantry and joined the Fenian Brotherhood in Utah in 1865.
(3) Captain Michael O’Brien, a native of Ennis, joined the Fenian Brotherhood in Chicago in 1859 …served briefly in 67th Illinois Volunteers during the Civil War.
I am mentioning this because I mistakenly believed that the last one, Captain Michael O’Brien, was the man who led the Drumcliff gathering – referred to in the investigations and newspaper reports as “Captain O’Brien” or “Major O’Brien, but now I see that the biographical note on Captain O’Brien (of the 67th Illinois Volunteers) makes no mention of him returning to Ireland for the Rising. So I went to Clare History and Society, edited by Matthew Lynch and Patrick Nugent (2008), and read again an article, by Eva Ó Cathaoir and Mathúin Mac Fheorais, entitled “The Irish Republican Brotherhood in Clare 1858-1871", which I guessed (rightly) would have more information on Co. Clare than Soldiers of Liberty does. The only one of those three in America who is stated to have returned to Ireland is Col. John Healy of New Haven - at least I think he must be the same person as Thomas Healy above - I might be wrong *. On the fate of Major O’Brien, there is an endnote (no. 105):
‘Major O’Brien’ has been tentatively identified as Capt. Michael O’Brien of Ennis, a shoemaker, held in Galway Jail, later in Mountjoy, who was released for America in March 1868. According to the informer Corydon, O’Brien had been appointed as a Fenian officer west of the Shannon; National Archives Ireland, CSO/ICR II, p. 68
.
By reading that article I also discovered that John Walsh, of the 1870 newspaper report, was actually James Walsh. An Appendix giving a sample of 25 Clare Fenians arrested, 1865-7, with birthplace, date of arrest, date of release, conditions of release, and remarks, includes a James Walsh, native of Clare, labourer, Apr 1870, Possession of firearms, sentenced to 9 months; remarks: "Had participated in arms raids during 1867 rising, fled to Queenstown afterwards". So, Jimbo, either I made a mistake in my transcription, or the Clare Journal made a mistake - I think it was the Clare Journal.

* Note on John Healy:
John Devoy believed that McCafferty had shared his plans not only with the Kerry commander, but also with Col. John Healy of New Haven, a capable American veteran, who ‘was making his way to Clare to start the “ball” there'. (page 460)
“The Irish Republican Brotherhood in Clare 1858-1871,” by Eva Ó Cathaoir and Mathúin Mac Fheoris, in Clare History and Society, eds Matthew Lynch and Patrick Nugent.

smcarberry
Posts: 1281
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Location: USA

Re: Information is wanted of Thomas McNamara, of Glandree,

Post by smcarberry » Fri May 06, 2022 8:13 am

Sheila, you stated : " The only one of those three in America who is stated to have returned to Ireland is Col. John Healy of New Haven - at least I think he must be the same person as Thomas Healy above -" I can help with that.

I have a very good pdf file of an 1889 book on Connecticut residents who served in both the army and navy during the U.S. Civil War, with a history of the CT regiments written by a regimental officer, followed by roster lists showing each man's service record. The 9th CT Inf happened to be full of Irish-born, as described by their leading officer, Lt. Col. John G. Healy, who started in Co. C before transfer to Co. A. His service record shows he was from New Haven, whereas Thomas Healy was from Derby. See attachments.

S. Carberry
Healy's text on 9 CT Inf, p.359.jpg
Healy's text on 9 CT Inf, p.359.jpg (199.39 KiB) Viewed 12229 times
Healy, John G, Co. C before Co. A.jpg
Healy, John G, Co. C before Co. A.jpg (78.51 KiB) Viewed 12229 times
CT unit book, title page for cite.JPG
CT unit book, title page for cite.JPG (46.76 KiB) Viewed 12229 times

Sduddy
Posts: 1826
Joined: Sun Sep 26, 2010 10:07 am

Re: Information is wanted of Thomas McNamara, of Glandree,

Post by Sduddy » Fri May 06, 2022 10:19 am

Hi Sharon

Thank you very much for that help. So Col. John Healy and Thomas Healy are not one and the same, as I had imagined. They both happen to be from New Haven – that’s all.
I did a brief search for Col. John Healy and found this piece, which mentions that he came to Ireland in connection with the Fenian movement in 1866, but was arrested in the city of Limerick: http://www.ninthregimentcv.com/soldiers ... healy.html. Ó Cathaoir’s very short account of the March 1867 rising in Clare mentions him:
John Clune, leader of the Quin district, had been re-arrested under habeas corpus in December 1866. The following February Colonel John Healy and Lieutenant Joseph Lawlor, two veterans of the 9th Connecticut Volunteers, were detained in Limerick, bound for the Clare Rising (Soldiers of Liberty: A Study of Fenianism 1858-1908, by Eva Ó Cathaoir (p. 180).
I suppose “detained” can mean 6 months in prison. In his “Recollections,” John Devoy mentioned Lieutenant- Colonel John G. Healy as having been arrested along with John Clune (see my first posting on the topic of “Six Co. Clare Fenians (I.R.B.) remembered by John Devoy: http://www.ourlibrary.ca/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=7027), but I strongly suspect that Ó Cathaoir’s account is more accurate. In fact, I think I should just stop querying the names she mentions.
Your clarification on the two Healys leaves us with Thomas Healy of New Haven (from Derby), who had placed his name on the roster of soldiers willing to assist the Rising. The biographical note on him (see above) adds
“Mentioned as ‘an intelligence officer’ on the Brotherhood’s roster of available personnel for the invasion of Ireland’ (endnote 3: Roster of military officers of the Fenian Brotherhood, NY, 1865, 33, Fenian Brotherhood records, CUA.).
The note gives his age as 32, which, I think, must be his age upon adding his name to the roster. The biographical notes generally give the age at the time of arrest, but I don’t see how this could apply to people in America.

Sheila

Jimbo
Posts: 591
Joined: Mon Aug 26, 2013 9:43 am

Re: Information is wanted of Thomas McNamara, of Glandree,

Post by Jimbo » Sat May 07, 2022 8:46 am

Hi Sheila,

Thanks for pointing out the newspaper reporting that both John Maguire and John Burns, in order to secure their freedom, had agreed to go to America in March 1868.

John Byrnes, age 30, born in Ireland, arrived in New York on the Helvetia on 4 April 1868, consistent with the Clare Journal of 26 March 1868:

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVPJ-YMSF

The Clare Journal of 16 March 1868 didn't provide what ship John Maguire had taken to America, but he must have been the John Maguire, age 20, who arrived in New York on the City of Baltimore on 24 March 1868.

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVPJ-T2TZ

I had hoped that these two passengers listings would lead to other released Fenian prisoners, including Thomas Hogan of Reanahumana, but no such luck. Both released prisoners appear at the tail end of their respective passenger listings.

Sheila, I see now that while there was no official trial for many of the prisoners arrested under the Habeus Corpus Act, there was a "magisterial investigation" in Ennis over several days in late March 1867. The informer Simon Nevin (or Navin) gave evidence against over 30 men who had assembled in arms at Drumcliffe, including John Maguire, John Byrne, Private Quinn of the 74th, and an unnamed soldier of the 9th regiment. You had previously transcribed this very long "investigation" testimony, and defense attorney questioning from the Clare Journal on the Fenian thread.
http://www.ourlibrary.ca/phpbb2/viewtop ... e&start=15

The informer Simon Nevin/Navin, who was about twenty years old, goes missing from the newspaper archives after March 1867, except for references by defense attorneys that the Crown's only evidence was the prior testimony of Simon Nevin at the magisterial investigation (not a trial). In July 1867 when the trial of Robert Quinn and Richard Meade was delayed due to "an important witness had absconded within a short period prior to the opening of the Commission"; this witness was most surely the informer Simon Nevin.

Maguire or McGuire is not that common of a surname in Ennis, so the Fenian John Maguire is very likely the John McGuire in the Drumcliff parish register who was baptized on 19 January 1848, parents Luke McGuire and Margaret Powell; sponsors John McGuire and Ellon Powell. Luke McGuire and Margaret Powell had married on 8 February 1847; witnesses James Crowley, Margaret Kennedy (Ennis Catholic marriage register). There were no other baptisms recorded in the Ennis register for this couple.

A hand-written valuation book for "Islands, Clare" (source: ancestry) for High Street in Ennis has a John Maguire in House 4 and Luke Maguire in House 5. Not sure of the valuation date, on the first page of this 600+ page document was signed off with "compared 26 April 1848", as well as certified with dates in October 1850 and again in January 1851. By the 1855 Griffith Valuation for High Street in Ennis, John Maguire was in House 2, but Luke Maguire was not listed (or on any other GV report).

Initially, I thought that the land records indicated that Luke Maguire had died in the early 1850's (prior to civil death registration), when his son John Maguire was still a young boy. However, there is contradictory evidence. A Luke McGuire, widower, age 40, "assistant hardware", of Ennis, son of Lucas McGuire, shopkeeper, married Mary O'Brien, widow, age 38, housekeeper, of Ennis, daughter of Michael Lucas, "tayler", on 13 July 1867, at the Roman Catholic chapel at Ennis; witnesses James Morrissey and Ellen Morrissey.
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/ ... 231296.pdf

Note: with search results at irishgenealogy.com, "Maguire" equals "McGuire" for baptism records, but not for marriage records. A few years ago, for a different surname, I pointed a similar inconsistency out to irishgenealogy on their feedback page, but their response was that I should use the "wildcard" in my search. Their search rules should be consistent for both baptism and marriage records. Sheila, you might have better luck in explaining this issue to irishgenealogy administrators.

The widower Lucas McGuire who married in 1867 at the age of 40, could possibly, and I reckon likely, be the Lucas McGuire who married Margaret Powell in 1847 since he would have been 20 years old at his first marriage. Although a bit odd that Lucas would get married in 1867 when his only son was in prison. The "disappearance" of the Lucas McGuire from the 1855 Griffith Valuation records could then be due to the death of his father, noted in the 1867 marriage record as another Lucas McGuire.

John Maguire, the godfather of accused Fenian John Maguire, I reckon was the "uncle" who received a special note of sympathy in this letter,
TO THE EDITOR OF THE IRISHMAN.
March 17, 1868

SIR—A general feeling of sympathy is felt for the uncle and family of John Maguire, a highly respectable young man who was arrested here last March under the Lord Lieutenant's warrant, and also charged with being concerned in the late rising. He was confined for about six months in our jail here, after which he was removed with John O'Byrne to Mountyjoy, where he has been for the last six months, and after twelve months' confinement he got indeed the merciful privilege of going to America. He had good prospects at home, as his family connections are most respectable in Clare, although being only about nineteen years of age he gained the respect and love of all who knew him, for some did not agree in his warm feeling of patriotism towards Ireland, still all admit he held those sentiments sincerely and disinterestedly.

TANTUS-LABOR-NOX-SIT-CASSUS *

The Irishman, Saturday, 21 March 1868, page 13
John Maguire, the Fenian, was described as being from Mill Street in Ennis in the testimony from March 1867.

In the Ennis marriage and baptism records, there was an Owen McGuire and Bridget Sullivan, who married in 1857, and had six children through 1870, and for the most part were living at Mill Street in Ennis. This Owen McGuire, a laborer, died in died in 1873 at the age of 40 at the Ennis workhouse:

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/ ... 260743.pdf

Possibly the uncle of Fenian John Maguire? Yes, possibly. However, the "uncle" referred to in The Irishman in 1868, as well as the "uncle's house, in Mill-street" noted in Fenian John Maguire's death announcement in 1872, was more likely the John Maguire of Mill Street who ran frequent advertisements in the Clare Journal and appears to have been more prominent:

GARDEN AND FARM SEEDS FOR 1868.
JOHN MAGUIRE,
MILL STREET, ENNIS.

Begs to make known to his friends and the public generally, that he has just received his first supply of Garden and Farm Seeds for this Season, consisting of Peas, Beans, Turnips, Parsnips, Cabbages, Clovers, and Grasses; Spring Vetches, pure imported Seed Potatoes, some Seed Potato Onions.
Mill-street, January 30, 1868.

Clare Journal, and Ennis Advertiser, 6 February 1868

The last advertisement by John Maguire of Mill Street was on 9 May 1872. His (presumed) nephew, John Maguire, had returned to Ireland, and died on 13 May 1872 at the age of 24 years old at his uncle's home on Mill Street. And two months later, the (presumed) uncle John Maguire died at Mill Street at the age of 58 years old.

DEATH OF AN EX-FENIAN PRISONER.—This (Monday) afternoon John Maguire, who, it will be remembered, was arrested and imprisoned in Ennis in '67, and subsequently confined in Mountjoy, died at his uncle's house, in Mill-street, in this town. The deceased, who was in his twenty-fourth year, had but recently returned from America in ill health.
Clare Journal and Ennis Advertiser, Monday, 13 May 1872
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/ ... 273823.pdf

DEATH.
On the 12th inst after a long fit of illness, Mr. John Maguire, ironmonger, of this town, aged 58 years, deeply regretted by a numerous circle of friends. Through life he was respected by all who were acquainted with him. R.I.P.
Clare Journal, and Ennis Advertiser, Thursday, 18 July 1872, page 4
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/ ... 270918.pdf

The County Clare Library website has the headstone transcriptions for Drumcliff Old Graveyard by the Clare Roots Society, and the photo of John Maguire's headstone is here:

https://clarelibrary.fotoware.cloud/fot ... %3DMaguire

The transcription states "Sacred to the memory of Mr. John Maguire Jnr of Ennis, who died 13 Mar 1872 aged 24 years." Junior?? This was a final piece of evidence I discovered and it destroyed my theory that John Maguire was born in 1848, the son of Lucas Maguire and Mary O'Brien, and his uncle was John Maguire. Were all my great efforts in vain? Perhaps not, the transcription is only the top part of the headstone, there were another seven rows that were not transcribed. This part of the headstone is not very clear, but I can make out:

THIS MEMORIAL
HAS BEEN ERECTED
BY HIS FRIENDS FELLOW TOWNSMEN
AS A PROOF OF THEIR ESTEEM
FOR THE MANLY [many unclear words]
WHICH [unclear words]
THROUGHOUT HIS CAREER

Since the Maguire headstone was erected by John Maguire's friends, and not his relatives, could they have mistaken his uncle for his father? John McGuire, baptized in 1848, was the only child listed with parents Lucas McGuire and Margaret Powell in the Ennis baptism register. If Margaret Powell had died young, then it is very possible that John Maguire was raised by his uncle and godfather John Maguire of Mill Street (a married man according to his death record in 1872). Hence, the "uncle" reference of sympathy when the Fenian John Maguire was sent to America in 1868, and also why, when John Maguire died in 1872, he was at his uncle's house on Mill Street?


* May such great effort not be in vain.

Sduddy
Posts: 1826
Joined: Sun Sep 26, 2010 10:07 am

Re: Information is wanted of Thomas McNamara, of Glandree,

Post by Sduddy » Sat May 07, 2022 1:32 pm

Hi Jimbo

You have done a lot of work on John Maguire, who, at age 19, seems to have been a well known member of I.R.B. in Ennis. Eva Ó Cathaoir’s biographical note on Cornelius Hassett says, “… had been reported on 6 March 1867 by the constabulary as constantly in the company of suspects John Maguire, Matthew McMahon and James O’Halloran”.
Matthew McMahon was not arrested until 1868:
Clare Journal, Thur 6 Feb 1868: Removal of a Fenian Prisoner. Matthew McMahon, who was some short time since arrested under the Lord Lieutenant’s warrant and committed to Ennis jail was removed on yesterday to Mount Joy prison. A detachment of the Ennis constabulary escorted the prisoner to the railway station where he was given in charge to Constable Alexander.
I think he is the same person as the Mathew McMahon who is mentioned here: Clare Freeman, Wed 28 Jul 1880:
We have received the first part of a new American publication, entitled the “Irish Soldier and the Sixty-Ninth Regiment Gazette.” It is edited and published by Messrs. Martin J Garrihy, and Mathew MacMahon, respectively, natives of Ennis. It is a spicy, interesting, and truly patriotic publication; and as the prospectus has it, while being American in principle it will be cosmopolitan in tone, instilling a military spirit into the youth and recognizing valor under all flags; it will contain poetry, stories, legends, biographies and portraits of Irish and American soldiers in every land. The present contains an excellent portrait and a sketch of the life of Major-General Winfield Scott Hancock, by Major-General St. Clair A. Mulholland, another Irishman. Yet another Clareman, well known in the West of the County, where he held the post of Dispensary Doctor to the Knock and Labasheeda District, and whose numerous friends and relations stud the Western Coast of Clare, a man who has more than once been noted for his success in his literary, as well as professional career, Dr M Breen, late of Cooraclare, has splendid sketch, which is well worth reading, entitled “My First Campaign.” The Editor in speaking of this article says: “It is really a splendid piece of composition and displays such literary merit that it seems to us the Doctor has mistaken his vocation, though as a medical practitioner, he enjoys a high reputation, a distinguished graduate of several universities, of large and varied experience as surgeon in the late war, and as an active man since its close, Dr Breen is a valuable addition to the residents of the Seventh Ward. With the Editor’s permission we will in our next give the article of Dr Breen, feeling sure that it will both please and interest our readers. Indeed the “Irish Soldier” contains numerous interesting military sketches, it has begun well and we wish it every success. Mr Mathew MacMahon, its publisher, will be remembered in Ennis by his young comrades and friends, he was exiled in ’67 for taking part in that deplorable rising of the Fenian Brotherhood.
As for Simon Nevin, I think he would not have been released until his usefulness was exhausted, and then would have been given a false name and sent abroad. Ó Cathaoir does not say what his fate was, but says, in Chapter 12: “Lives of the Informers, 1859-1908”,
Rewards varied from five to fifty pounds, in addition to a choice of free tickets and suitable clothing for North America, Australia or South Africa, often for whole families.
I think the “material” witness, who could not be found when he was needed at the trial of John Burns, John Maguire, Robert Quinn and Richard Meade, on 18 Jul 1867, was a man called Grady, who according to Mr. Curling, Sub-inspector of police, "had been induced to leave the country" - see transcription on page 2 of "Six Co. Clare Fenians (I.R.B) remembered by John Devoy": http://www.ourlibrary.ca/phpbb2/viewtop ... 7&start=15)

I was very pleased to see that the Valuation books can be viewed on Ancestry.com. I have pleasant memories of travelling to the Valuation Office in Lower Abbey St. in Dublin and finding the staff so helpful and seeing the actual books with their lovely handwriting, but it is good that valuations are available online now. It was explained to me there (in Dublin) that the different coloured inks indicate different valuations and can be used to fix the date of each valuation, but I found that didn’t always work - not for me, at least. When some of High Street, Ennis, was demolished in the mid-1850s to make way for the opening to a new street called Bank Place, some High Street businesses on the Mill Street side began to give their addresses as Mill Street (I’m open to correction on that).
I cannot improve on the work you have done to try to find John Maguire’s parents. I agree that his uncle John Maguire in Mill Street is most likely the John Maguire of the hardware shop, Mill Street. I think it’s possible that (young) John was raised by his uncle – that would explain his return from America to that house*.
I am amazed that you were able to read that inscription on the headstone for (young) John Maguire. Well done, indeed. That headstone is now a historical monument.

* A child did not have to be an orphan in order to be cared for by a relative. I’ve just been reading this piece on Stephen J. Meany in the Dictionary of Irish Biography, which says that, when his father died, he was raised by his uncle Michael Sheehan: https://www.dib.ie/biography/meany-stephen-joseph-a5778. I don’t know where Michael Sheehan lived, but I think possibly Kilnaboy, or Corofin. Shortly after Meany visited Ennis in March 1869, the Clare Journal of Mon 5 April reported that he went to Corofin, where he was welcomed as someone who “Though our little town cannot claim the honour of your birth – and though we call all Irishmen who suffer in the good cause our brothers – yet we look upon you as intimately connected with us. You were so in early boyhood and in growing manhood; and often have you, when joining in the social amusements of the village, shown manifestations of that growing talent and patriotism which is the leading star of your eventful life ever since.” (see "Six Co. Clare Fenians (I.R.B.) remembered by John Devoy” end of page 2: http://www.ourlibrary.ca/phpbb2/viewtop ... 7&start=15)

Sheila

P.S. that D.I.B. piece on Stephen J. Meany gives a link to a piece on F.F. Millen (spy), which gives Christy Campbell's book, Fenian Fire, as a source.

Sduddy
Posts: 1826
Joined: Sun Sep 26, 2010 10:07 am

Re: Information is wanted of Thomas McNamara, of Glandree,

Post by Sduddy » Sun May 08, 2022 9:43 am

Hi Jimbo

Here are three newspaper reports that I transcribed but did not post on the topic of “Six Co. Clare Fenians (I.R.B.) remembered by John Devoy.” The first two were quite relevant and it may be that I just overlooked them at the time. The last one probably did not seem relevant at the time: some hardware shops were granted a licence to store gunpowder, which was used by builders and farmers for breaking large stones, and, of course, I wasn’t aware then of the connection between John Maguire, seed merchant, and John Maguire, prisoner. But even with that knowledge, I am still very much inclined to think that the gunpowder being stored had nothing at all to do with (young) John, and the newspaper report did not make any such connection.
Clare Journal, Thur 28 Mar 1867: Discovery of Greek Fire and Grenades. Early on Monday morning while Constable Alexander and a party of police were searching for arms in the neighbourhood of Cahircalla, they found concealed in a hay stack on the premises of Patrick Nelson two bottles of Greek fire and a grenade which the constable brought to the barrack. The articles referred to were experimented upon, in the presence of Major Irly and the officers of the 75th, Edmund Blake, Esq, R M, Captain Peel, R M, and Mr Curling, Sub Inspector, and proved to be a destructive combustible intended for the destruction of the police barrack.
Clare Freeman and Ennis Gazette, Sat 30 Mar 1867. The soldier of the 9th regiment who was also alluded to by Ryan and Nevin, as taking an active part in the movement at Drumcliffe, has also been arrested at Pembroke, where his regiment is stationed. He was brought to Ennis on Thursday evening, and was yesterday fully identified by Nevin and Ryan. His name is Richard Meade. It appears he had been on leave of absence at Limerick when he joined the insurgents here on the night of the 5th inst.
Clare Journal, Thur 26 Sep 1867: Great Gunpowder Explosion. One of the most disastrous fires that has occurred for many years in Ennis, broke out on the premises of Mr John Maguire, seed merchant, O’Connell Square early on yesterday morning, and which resulted in the total destruction of the whole pile of buildings comprised between Brewery-lane, and the street leading to the New Bridge. The adjoining premises in front, which were of a considerable extent, were occupied by Mr Edmond Stack, grocer, and wine and spirit merchant, and the next house at the rere, in Brewery-land, by Mr, Hilliard, his son and family.(more)
.
A further note on the short biographies in the appendix to Soldiers of Liberty by Eva Ó Cathaoir: I listed (above) three men from Co. Clare, living in America, whose names were included in a roster of military officers of the Fenian Brotherhood (Thomas Healy, Sgt. Stephen Maloney and Captain Michael O’Brien), but I should have mentioned, also, a fourth man, probably a civilian at the time that his name was placed on the roster:
Private Michael Redmond, aged 26, born in Ennis, a sapper and miner in the British army who claimed to understand field fortifications, joined the Fenian Brotherhood in Alton, Illinois, to be listed on its roster of experienced military personnel. (Appendix I: “Biographies of Munster and Kilkenny Fenians” in Soldiers of Liberty: a Study of Fenianism 1858-1908, by Eva Ó Cathaoir (page 339)
Sheila

Sduddy
Posts: 1826
Joined: Sun Sep 26, 2010 10:07 am

Re: Information is wanted of Thomas McNamara, of Glandree,

Post by Sduddy » Tue May 10, 2022 1:41 pm

Hi Jimbo

In Peasants into patriots: instruments of radical politicization in Clare 1800-1907, by Caroline Maguire (2011) - pages 135 – 136: https://dspace.mic.ul.ie/handle/10395/1024, there’s a mention of Constable Thomas Hogan (footnote 42: Local Studies Ennis, Irish Folklore Commission, Schools Collection, Reel 174, Cluain Aodha [Clooney], Baile an Luadhain, Seán Ó Seanacháin, p. 164)*, and a mention of Major Charles O’Brien, sheltered in 1867, in Ennistymon, by Fr. Kemmy, describing O’Brien as the leader of the rising in Ennis (footnote 47: Irish People (NY), 18 November 1867). With regard to O’Brien, however, the Clare Journal report on Mon 25 Mar 1867 lists Charles O’Brien and Major O’Brien as two separate people (among the nine who were not present at the investigation):
Mr Alexander Morphy, Crown Solicitor attended on behalf of the crown ….. He was sorry to say that a soldier of a very distinguished corps, the 74th, was among these insurgents. He had since been arrested and was now before them. There was also a soldier of the 9th, who was not yet made amenable…..
Navin [Approver] re-examined:There was a soldier with him; the number on his cap was 9th; …. [The approver here indentified the second soldier he met who did not belong to the 9th …] it was when leaving Sullivan’s a second time that I met Burns; the soldier now present of the 74th was then with me;… the soldier of the 74th had a gun;… the Major and the soldier of the 9th ordered us to march out; … Quin, the 74th man, and Miller were in front;… The witness here identified the prisoners named by him, of whom all were present except nine, namely, John Nihil, Lot Halloran, Charles O’Brien, Major O’Brien, the soldier of the 9th, Corneilus Sullivan, stonecutter, John Walsh, and O’Brien and Shannon, who were met on the road near Dysert.
* Thomas Hogan in Dúchas.ie: https://www.duchas.ie/ga/cbes/5177634/5 ... ID=5177634

Sheila
Last edited by Sduddy on Wed May 11, 2022 10:53 am, edited 1 time in total.

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