An Historic Tale: A Faithful Steed and a Devoted Wife.

T.O.W. Special -- Old Newry Series.
A NEWRY RELIC OF '98.
(From a photo by Mr. J. E. Connor).

In the great Volunteer movement of last century Newry played an important part, and to the Society of United Irishmen, founded in Belfast in 1791, Newry also contributed her contingent. In this connection we find it recorded that on the "28th of May, 1797, the following persons from Newry were brought to Belfast in a coach-and-four, escorted by a detachment of the 22nd Light Dragoons, viz.:-- Messrs. John Gordon, David Lawson, Isaac Glenny, Thomas Morris, Luke Babe and John Walker. Mr. Glenny has since, we hear, been admitted to bail, and Mr. Gordon expects also to be liberated upon the same terms." Four days later we are informed by a Belfast correspondent that, "since our last the following prisoners have been brought into the Artillery Guard-room, viz.:-- Peter Leacy, William Reilly, James Jones, Robert Brown, and Robert Maxwell, from Newry; and Hugh M'Evoy, Edward Fagan, Matthew Savage, Laurence M'Evoy, and Stephen Byrne, from Sheepbridge -- all charged with seditious practices." Immediately upon his arrest, the wife of Mr. John Gordon, well knowing the summary manner in which justice was administered in those troublesome times, and being ardently devoted to her husband, at once mounted her horse and started in pursuit of the escort which brought him and his fellow-prisoners to Belfast. There, we are told, she arrived close upon their heels, never having drawn rein, nor partaken of refreshment, from the moment she left her residence at Templegowran till she arrived in Belfast, where she immediately took steps, which proved successful, for the vindication and release of her husband. With the poor steed, however, it fared very differently -- next morning he was found a corpse. The memory of such a faithful servant was not, however, destined to perish. Mrs. Gordon shortly afterwards returned to Templegowran, accompanied by her husband and the tail of her gallant steed. Mr. Gordon remained at Templegowran up to his death, at the age of 84 years, on the 22nd March, 1833. Anne Gordon, his widow, survived him, and died in July, 1840, aged 80. As for the "tail," it has, so far as we can ascertain, been faithfully preserved at Templegowran up to the 14th of December, 1898, when it was presented to me by Mr. R. Cooper, the present occupier of the interesting old spot.

Francis C. Crossle. 

[We present our readers with a photo, of this historic tail. Dr. Crossle has had it placed in a neat frame, and the record of the event printed that it may be read through the glass, and will present it to the Town Commissioners for preservation in the Board-room of the New Town Hall. The tail is in an excellent state of preservation, and bound at the top with a fine leather band. It was a gallant ride. Templegowran lies east of Newry, about two miles, and Mrs. Gordon, who was then about 37 years of age, had to cover 32 Irish miles without halting for a single moment.] 


This article was originally published in "The Open Window Illustrated - Literary Annual and Year Book of Local Annals" in 1900 which was centred on the Newry area. 

History of Lisburn (pt4)

SOME EXTRACTS

FROM THE

RECORDS OF

OLD LISBURN

AND THE

MANOR OF KILLULTAGH.

-- -- -- --

 Edited by JAMES CARSON.

-- -- -- --

CXXXXI.

-- -- -- --

HISTORY OF LISBURN.

By W. J. GREENE.

(Continued.)

1798

In the closing years of the eighteenth century the political horizon again assumed a stormy aspect which broke out in bloodshed and rebellion. In the year 1798, when many valuable lives of men were sacrificed, who with misguided zeal tried to ameliorate the condition of political injustice from which, they believed, their countrymen suffered by the oppressive laws of the English Government. The Volunteer Movement started about the year 1745, when the Scottish Highlanders threatened a descent on the North of Ireland. A meeting was held at the Donegall Arms, Belfast, and resolutions were passed for the defence of the coast. Soon after numbers of patriotic men offered their services from different parts of the neighbouring counties to join the Belfast men in repelling the invaders; but the great epoch of the Volunteers commenced in 1778, when suspicious-looking warships frequently visited the coasts of Antrim and Down. On the 27th March a meeting was held in Belfast. On that occasion it was resolved that the young men capable of bearing arms should enrol themselves in companies for the defence of their country against foreign invasion. Considerable enthusiasm was aroused by this movement and great stimulus was given to it in consequence of the famous American Paul Jones arriving in his frigate, "The Ranger," in Belfast Lough and attacking the English sloop of war, "Drake," sonic days afterwards. The "Drake" was disabled, and her Commander, Lieutenant Dobbs, a Lisburn man, lost his life during the engagement -- a tablet was afterwards erected to his memory in Lisburn Cathedral. Some years after the Volunteers were enrolled they began to use their power for political purposes and the repeal of certain laws which they believed, bore unjustly on the commercial and religious life of Ireland. On the 11th March, 1793, a proclamation for disarming the Volunteers was issued from Dublin Castle which caused great indignation against the Government, and ended in martial law being proclaimed throughout Ireland.

In March and October of the year 1791, meetings were held to carry out the idea of uniting Irishmen of all creeds and classes in one commas bond for the purpose of seeking a more equitable adjustment of constitutional laws -- thus arose the United Irishmen. During those troublesome times Lisburn became once more the centre of excitement and bloodshed. The Rev. Philip Johnston, of Ballymacash House, who, in the exercise of his magisterial duties, became so unpopular with the United men that at length, they conspired to take away his life. Several unsuccessful attempts were made for that purpose, and on a special occasion the intended victim escaped by the timely influence of one of the United Irishmen; but on the night of Saturday, the 8th of October, 1796, when leaving the house of a Lisburn friend with whom he had spent the evening, and as he was in the act of mounting his horse to proceed home, a man who had concealed himself behind the opposite wall, started up and fired a loaded pistol at the reverend gentleman, inflicting a slight wound on his left shoulder. Considerable indignation was aroused in Lisburn and the surrounding neighbourhood. Public meetings were held, and a public subscription list opened, which ended in a reward of one thousand pounds being offered for bringing the offender to justice; but even that large sum failed to bring out the least information on the subject. On the 23rd October, 1796, the Habeas Corpus Act was suspended, when soon after a number of merchants in Lisburn and other places were arrested on the charge of high treason. From 1796 to 1798 Ireland drifted steadily into the whirlpool of civil war. During those years the regular business of the country was neglected for the clandestine manufacture of arms and pikes that were to be used in the coming struggle. During the winter of 1797 and the following spring a Lisburn Whitesmith forged upwards of five hundred pikes, besides attending to his ordinary work.

Harry Munro.

The linen markets of Ulster were at this time attended by great numbers of buyers, and of these gentlemen none were more respected than Harry Munro, of Lisburn. He had been a member of the Lisburn Volunteers at the time of their disbandment, and afterwards joined the United Irishmen. He was a member of the Episcopal Church, a regular attender of the Sunday services at the Cathedral, and was highly respected by the rector and his curate.

In the month of May, 1798, preparations were made by the United men to take the field against the Government troops. The member who had been appointed to lead them declined at the last moment to act as commander, and on the night of Saturday, 9th June, a Belfast lawyer (legal adviser of the Society) called on Henry Munro, at his residence in Market Square, Lisburn. The attorney reported the refusal of the man who was appointed commander to take charge of the national army, and said that their only hope was that Munro would accept the command. At no period before this had Monro contemplated taking the field against the Royal troops, and, looking upon the call as a matter of honour, he accepted it without considering the magnitude of the responsibility he was about to undertake.

The Battle of Ballynahinch was fought on Wednesday, 13th June, and, as is well known, the insurgents were completely routed, and fled in all directions. The unfortunate general was among the last to leave the field. For several hours he roamed about the country, till early on Thursday morning he reached a farmhouse, and sought shelter there. Here he remained concealed for nearly two days, receiving great attention from his kind, hearted host. On Saturday morning, when dreading vengeance for concealing an outlaw, he told Munro that before daylight he must seek some other refuge. Munro set off, and at length ventured to take refuge in a small farmstead on the borders of Dromore, Co. Down. Here he met a man, to whom he offered £5 (all the money he had in his possession) and a small parcel of shirts if he would conceal him for a few days, until the Government offer of pardon to all rebels who gave up arms should be issued.

The man took the money, and offered to shelter the fugitive, but instead of doing so, he went to Hillsboro' and told the yeomanry of having Munro concealed in an outhouse. A guard immediately was sent with him, and the unfortunate Munro was taken prisoner, handcuffed, brought into Hillsborough, and thence to Lisburn, where he was confined for the night in a temporary prison. When his friends learned of his arrest the utmost sympathy was shown for him. His clothes were torn, and his health had suffered much from the fatigue he had undergone. Mr. George Whitla, a local cotton manufacturer sent him a full suit of clothes, while the rector, Rev. Dr. Cupples, who resided within a few doors of the guard-house had his meals regularly carried to him from the Rectory during the period of his confinement. On Monday, 17th June, the trial came on before a court-martial composed of officers belonging to the several regiments then quartered at Lisburn Barracks and Blaris camp. Only three witnesses were examined for the Crown, and the deposition that the prisoner had led the native troops at the recent battles being conclusive, the sentence of death was at once written out, and Henry Munro was ordered for execution.

The culprit was immediately informed that he had not long to live, and was told to make speedy preparation for the death that awaited him. At four o'clock Monro was brought out under a strong military guard. He begged to be allowed to go into the house of the Rector in order to receive the Sacrament. The request was granted, and, after partaking of the sacred rite, the procession again commenced, and the place of execution was reached, where a temporary gallows had been erected, nearly opposite the woollen drapery concern of which Munro was the proprietor. Monro exhibited perfect coolness without putting on the slightest bravado. While standing at the foot of the gallows he sought leave of the officer of the guard to speak to friend who lived near. Permission was granted, the friend sent for, and the soldiers thoughtfully stood back during the short conference. What he said on that occasion was never known, even by the nearest relation of the friend to whom he told it. After a short prayer he stepped on the ladder, when one of the steps gave way, and he fell. Recovering his balance in a moment, although having his arms firmly pinioned, he said "all right." On the ladder being adjusted, he went up with the rope round his neck; the ladder was removed by the executioner, and in a few moments all was over. As the body swung to and fro a low wail of sorrow told how bitterly the tragic end of their fellow townsmen was felt by the multitude that thronged the place of execution. Although his conduct was looked upon as that of the wildest and misguided patriotism, his political opponents, as well as his personal friends, mourned sincerely over the sad fate of the man whom every one respected as a worthy and amiable citizen. When the body had been taken down, the final vengeance of the law was carried out, orders having been given that the body should be decapitated, which was done, the hangman holding up the severed head and crying out "there is the head of a traitor." Three other men were hanged in Lisburn about the same time -- Dick Vincent, Geo. Crabbe, and Tom Armstrong, who suffered death on a lamp-post at the corner of Castle Street, opposite the market house. The heads of the four men were stuck on spikes, and placed at each corner of the market house.

Henry Munro's mother lived in Lisburn for many years after his death, and supported herself respectably by keeping a little shop, situated on the Sluice Bridge, in Bow Street. She survived the death of her son about seventeen years.

(To be continued.)

(This article was originally published in the Lisburn Standard on 18 July 1919 as part of a series which ran in that paper each week for several years. The text along with other extracts can be found on my website Eddies Extracts.)

Sport in Lisburn (pt3) and Other Extracts

SOME EXTRACTS
FROM THE
RECORDS OF
OLD LISBURN
AND THE
MANOR OF KILLULTAGH.

-- -- -- --

Edited by JAMES CARSON.

-- -- -- --

CI.

-- -- -- --

SPORT IN LISBURN --
PAST AND PRESENT, 1910.

Compiled and Edited by
R. C. Bannister and
R. V. Hamilton.

GOLF.

On the 3rd April, 1905, a meeting was held in the Courthouse to consider the advisability and possibility of forming a Golf Club in Lisburn.

The meeting decided that a local Golf Club he formed, that the annual subscription be: gentlemen, £1 1s; entrance fee, a similar amount; ladies, 10s 6d; entrance fee, a similar amount; juveniles, 10s 6d; no entrance fee; and that all members whose subscriptions were paid on or before the 1st May should be known as "original members."

The picturesque and lovely grounds known as "The Manor House Lands," some 43 acres in extent, adjoining Longstone Street and Dublin Road, were secured on a lease for 20 years, and steps, immediately taken for the laying out of a nine-hole course.

The following were the first office-bearers, i.e., for season 1905-06:-- President -- H. A. M. Barbour, M.A. Vice-presidents -- C. C. Craig, M.P.; S. R. Keightley, LL.D.; T. R. Stannus, J.P.; and O. B. Graham, J.P. Captain -- Geo. H. Clarke, J.P. Hon. secretaries -- J. H. E. Griffith and Thomas Sinclair. Hon. treasurer -- Thomas Malcolmson. Council -- John Hall, H. S. Murphy, M.D.; Geo. Sands, C.E.; A. Stevenson, T. J. English, John Preston, Robert Pedlow, John Stalker, James Allen, J. B. Campbell, H. Mulholland, and E. A. Sinton. Trustees -- H. A. M. Barbour, T. J. English, John Stalker, and R. Pedlow.

The membership for 1905-06 consisted of 119 gentlemen and 95 lady associates and juveniles. During the first year of the club's existence a suitable clubhouse, with separate accommodation for ladies and gentlemen, was erected at a cost of some £300.

At the outset Mr. H. A. M. Barbour presented a magnificent challenge cup. This was called "The Barbour Cup," and is played for each year. Up to the present the winners have been -- 1906, W. L. Agnew, Malone G.C.; 1907, L. C. Gotto, Malone G.C.; 1908, Cecil E. M'Connell, Bangor G.C.; 1909, W. K. Smith, Dungannon G.C.; 1910, R. Swanston, Fortwilliam G.C.; 1911, Captain J. G. Faris; 1912, J. C. Carson, Lisburn; 1913, Robert Swanston; 1914, J. C. Carson, Lisburn.

Mr. Barbour also gave the "Hilden Challenge Cup" for competition inside the home club. The holders of this trophy have been:-- 1907, Hy. M'Callum; 1908 and 1909, E. T. H. Richardson; and 1910, D. Morrison.

Mr. C. C. Craig also presented a challenge cup for competition among members of the club whose handicaps are over 18. This, the "Craig Cup," has been won, so for, by W. S. Duncan in 1908 and T. Malcolmson, jun., in 1909.

-- -- -- -- -- -- --

IRELAND UNDER THE COMMONWEALTH -- 1651-1659.

By Robert Dunlop, M.A. -- 1913.

This work, in two large volumes, contains numerous references to Lisburn, Lisnegarvey, the Conway family, the Hill, family, Sir George Rawdon, etc.

An extract from the Preface sets forth the plan of the work and the author's position:--

The documents printed in these two volumes form part of a collection made many years' ago. At the time I was of opinion that the view taken by Prendergast in his well-known book -- The Cromwellian Settlement of Ireland -- was not an entirely impartial one. I thought it possible to present the Cromwellian policy in a more favourable light than either he or Carte, with his royalist predilections, had done. The Rebellion presented itself to me as an episode in the great European struggle between Protestantism and Roman Catholicism, in which England and Ireland found themselves in opposite camps, accentuated by the special difference between them in the matter of the legislative independence claimed by Ireland and denied by England. It was a square fight between Ireland and England, and England won.

-- -- -- -- -- -- --

THE VICEROY'S POST-BAG,

By Michael MacDonagh -- 1904.

This is a collection of letters dealing with Ireland, political and social, after the Rebellion of 1798. One of considerable local interest appears from the Rev. Philip Johnson, Derriaghy, to the Viceroy, dated 1807, detailing his public conduct in the years 1793 and 1796, and claiming recognition from the Government. The appeal was made in vain.

-- -- -- -- -- -- --

BESSIE GRAY.

In M'Comb's Guide to Belfast and the adjoining Districts (1861) it is stated that Bessie Gray, the heroine of Ballynahinch fight in 1798, was a native of Killinchy. M'Comb further wrote a poem commencing --

     If through Killinchy's woods and vales
          You searched a summer day,
     The loveliest maiden to be found
          Was bonny Bessie Gray,

and going on to describe her death.

A writer in the "Newtownards Chronicle" challenges the accuracy of M'Comb's statement, and describes the poem (see article 65) as misleading:--

The charming verses written by Mr. M'Comb concerning this dead Irish Joan of Arc, whose memory is revered by countless thousands of the Irish race at home and abroad irrespective of politics or religion, are misleading, and not all accurate.

The house in which Betsy Gray was born stands within a short distance of the mansion erected at Bangor Granshaw by Mr. James Knox, and which is at the time of writing (1918) owned and occupied by Mr. Robert Warden, senior member of the firm of Messrs. Warden Bros., ironmongers, High Street, Newtownards. It is named Summerhill. The house in which Betsy Gray first saw the light is, at the period of writing, occupied by Mr. William Gray M'Cartney, who is a direct descendant of the Gray family, and who possesses many priceless relics once owned by his ancestors, and handed down from generation to generation, along the ailes of time. Let me mention one. It is the lease held by Hans Gray (Betsy's father) of the farm he occupied. This lease proves beyond all dispute that here in the townland of Granshaw was born this leader of patriots, who met her death at Ballycreen, within two miles of Ballynahinch.

If anyone wish to verify the truth of the foregoing facts they have simply to journey, by road or rail to the Six-Road-Ends. On rail Groomsport Road Station is where to step off. Five minutes will then take you to the Six-Road-Ends, and the residents of this historic neighbourhood will point out with pleasure, not unmixed with pride, the old landmarks, and give freely all information they can to all those who seek for the truth about the past happenings of the long ago.

The following verses are taken from "Betsy Gray," or "The Hearts of Down," by W. G. Lyttle, and have the merit of being true:--

BETSY GRAY.
(A Ballad of Ninety-Eight).

Oh, many a noble lad and lass
     Who joined the fight of ninety-eight,
To right the cruel wrongs of years,
     Did meet with sad and bloody fate.

On Ednavady's sloping height's,
     In June, upon the thirteenth day.
In thousands stood the Patriots bold,
     To fight for home and victory.

But bravest of them all, I ween,
     Who mustered there upon that day,
And drew the sword for fatherland,
     Was lovely, winsome Betsy Gray.

From Granshaw, near to Bangor town,
     With Willie Boal that day she came;
Her brother, too, was by her side,
     Inspired by patriotic flame.

And when the tide of battle raged,
     And showers of bullets fell around,
Still in the thickest of the fight
     Was noble-hearted Betsy found.

When adverse fate with victory-crowned
     The royal host upon that day,
Poor George and Willie joined the flight,
     And with them lovely Betsy Gray.

Along the Lisburn Road they fled,
     Pursuing Yeomen keeping watch;
Then Betsy drew her gleaming sword
     And hid it in a farmhouse thatch.

She reached the vale of Ballycreen--
     Her friends some distance were behind--
And quickly did she look around
     A quiet hiding place to find.

But, ere 'twas found, she heard a cry,
     Alas! too well she knew the sound;
Her brother and her sweetheart true.
     Had by the Yeoman band been found!

Then from the grassy vale she sprang--
     This beauteous, noble, fearless maid--
And back she ran with bounding step,
     That she might seek to give her aid.

Ah, what a sight then met her gaze!
     Her Willie weltering in his gore,
And George, her brother, by his side,
     Pleading for life in accents sore.

A Yeoman raised his sword to strike,
     As Betsy to the rescue ran--
"Oh, spare my brother's life!" she cried,
     "Oh, spare him, if you be a man!"

She raised her white and rounded arm
     As if to ward the dreaded stroke;
Vain was her prayer -- the weapon fell
     And smote her hand off as she spoke.

Another of the murderous crew,
     A man who come from Anahilt,
Laughed at the brutal deed and cried --
     "More rebel blood must yet be spilt!"

He drew a pistol from his belt,
     And shot poor Betsy in her eye;
She sank upon the heathery mound,
     And died without a sob or sigh.

That night the murdered three were found
     By Matthew Armstrong -- then a lad --
Who, quickly running to his home,
     Related there his tidings sad.

No tombstone marks that humble grave,
     No tree nor shrub is planted there;
And never spade disturbs the spot
     Where sleeps the brave, where rests the fair.

Shame on the cruel, ruthless band
     Who hunted down to death their prey!
And palsy strike the murderous hand
     That slew the lovely Betsy Gray!

(Next week: Hilden.)




(This article was originally published in the Lisburn Standard on 20 September 1918 as part of a series which ran in that paper each week for several years. The text along with other extracts can be found on my website Eddies Extracts.)

The Volunteers of 1778; The United Irishman, 1798 and the Edict of Nantes, 1685

SOME EXTRACTS
FROM THE
RECORDS OF
OLD LISBURN

AND THE

MANOR OF KILLULTAGH.

-- -- -- --

Edited by JAMES CARSON.

-- -- -- --

LXVI.

-- -- -- --

THE VOLUNTEERS OF 1778.

THE UNITED IRISHMEN, 1798.

EDICT OF NANTES, 1685.

The Volunteer movement of 1778, the United Irishmen, and the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes are historical events and movements so important, and so intimately related to the history of Lisburn, that a short and concise account of them, and of their bearing and influence on the fortunes of Ulster, will not be out of place here.

The "Revocation" was directly the cause of giving to the town of Lisburn, during the reign of William III., its French Huguenot population and the linen industry. Louis Crommelin, a native of Armandcourt, near St. Quintin, lived in Lisburn, and was known as the "Director of the Linen Manufactory." He died in June, 1727. aged 75 years. In the Cathedral grounds, in the eastern corner, the ashes of many of these exiles have long reposed. A gravestone there bears the following inscription:-- "Six foot opposite lyes the bodye of Louis Crommelin, born at St. Quintin, in France, only son of Louis Crommelin and Anne Crommelin, Director of the Linen Manufactory, who died beloved of all, aged 18 years, 1 July, 1711."

In writing this article the Rev. J. B. Woodburn's valuable work. "The Ulster Scot: His History and Religion," was largely drawn upon.

Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, 1685.

In France the Edict of Nantes, which had been in existence for many years, permitted the Huguenots to enjoy a measure of religious liberty. But for some time Louis XIV. had been treating these Protestants shamefully. Soldiers were billeted on those who obstinately refused to change their religion, and conversion by lodgings was added to the other methods of securing conviction. Many poor men who had hitherto held out changed their religion when they saw the daily insult and outrage offered to their wives and children. After being in existence 87 years, the Edict of Nantes was formally revoked on the 18th October, 1685. The public celebration of Protestant worship was absolutely forbidden; all pastors must leave the realm in 15 days; they were doomed to the galleys for life if they dared to officiate again. All children were to be brought up as Roman Catholics. The result of this revocation was that large numbers of Huguenots emigrated to other countries. Probably half a million left France at this time.

The Volunteers of 1778.

At the beginning of the American War there was no militia in Ireland, and only 4,000 soldiers for the defence of the country. When France joined America in 1778 the English ships that had been stationed on the Irish coast were recalled and sent elsewhere. A feeling of insecurity gained ground throughout the country. The Channel was swarming with American and French privateers, who prevented all trade with England. Paul Jones, the American freebooter, was off the coast, and actually defeated the Drake sloop-of-war off Carrickfergus in April, 1778. A demand was made by Belfast to the Government for assistance. None could be given, so no course was open to the inhabitants but self-defence. A Volunteer corps was raised. The movement spread rapidly. The peers and the country gentry put themselves at the head of the local corps, and gave freely and generously of their means. Every city, town, and village swarmed with Volunteers. Physician, surgeon, and apothecary, lawyer and attorney -- all were soldiers. The plough, the loom, and every industry supplied its quota. The title of reverend, too, was frequently exchanged for that of captain. In a short time a self-created, self-arrayed, and self-supporting army presented itself, which strangers contemplated with wonder, enemies with fear, and friends with pride and exultation. The Catholics, not being allowed to carry arms, could not join the movement, but they subscribed of their means to purchase weapons for others. In a few months 42,000 men were enrolled and gradually becoming disciplined. The Government did not pay, clothe, or arm the Volunteers, nor did the force take a military oath.

The Volunteers very soon became aware of their own strength. They demanded in 1779 Free Trade and Parliamentary Reform. They backed their demand by a demonstration in Dublin, and lined the streets through which the Speaker and members of Parliament passed on their way to Dublin Castle. Later, on King William's birthday, the Dublin Volunteers paraded round his statue, and had two cannon drawn up in front of it, labelled "Free Trade -- or this." The British Parliament understood the force of the argument, and repealed the trade restrictions within the kingdom which had ruined Irish commerce for nearly a century.

The Presbyterians had been the first to join the Volunteer movement in the North, and through their influence the Sacramental Test Act was repealed in 1780. This Act, passed in 1704, made the taking of the sacrament according to the rites of the Established Church a condition of holding any office, civil or military, under the Crown, above the rank of a constable.

The Presbyterians, the Independents, Huguenot immigrants, the Quakers were all swept under the same political disabilities, and at once cut off from the army, the militia, the civil service, the commission of the peace, and from seats in the municipal corporations. The loyal, industrious, law abiding citizens thus persecuted comprised more than one-half, practically two-thirds, of the Protestant population of the country. The Act, of course, also applied to Roman Catholics, but, as Froude, the historian states, "it appeared as if laws against Celt or Papist in Ireland were only made to be laughed at, while against the dissenters they were enforced with zeal and vigour." It was further enacted that the children of all Protestants not married in an Established Church should be treated as bastards.

Dungannon.

At the close of 1781, the Volunteers numbered 80,000 men. In 1782 some 242 delegates, representing 25,000 Ulster Volunteers, met in Dungannon and passed resolutions in favour of an independent Parliament in Ireland, and further relaxation of the Penal Laws against Catholics. Up till this date the Irish Parliament legislated subject to Poyning's Law, passed some two centuries before, which forbade the introduction of bills into the Irish Parliament that had not been first submitted to the English Council. Grattan brought forward the Dungannon demand in the Irish Parliament, and in May, 1782, the English Parliament repealed Poyning's Law and granted an independent Parliament to Ireland. Following the Act granting legislative independence came one repealing several oppressive measures in force against the Catholics, and another legalising marriages celebrated by Presbyterian ministers amongst members of their own denomination.

In September, 1783, another convention of the Volunteers was held in Dungannon to press on the Government the necessity for Parliamentary reform and a better representation of the people. Delegates from the Volunteers of every county in Ireland were summoned to attend in Dublin in November. Parliament, was sitting at the time, and the Volunteers deputed Flood and other delegates, who were members of Parliament, to appear in the House and ask for leave to introduce a Reform Bill. Permission was refused. The Catholics were now enrolled in the Volunteer Force, and at its zenith it numbered some 130,000 men, with probably 50,000 actually with the colours. From this time forward the aim of the movement was Parliamentary Reform and Roman Catholic Emancipation. The day, however, on which Flood and the other delegates were refused permission by Parliament to introduce a Reform Bill was the turning-point, and thenceforward the power of the Volunteers began to decline.

In March, 1784 a Reform Bill was again introduced and defeated, and the conviction sank deep into the minds of many that reform in Ireland could only be effected by revolution.

The United Irishmen, 1798.

The government of Ireland under English rule for over a century had been corrupt and oppressive. Now Ireland had an independent Parliament, and yet, save for some amelioration of the lot of Dissenters and Catholics, there was no improvement. There was pronounced discontent throughout the land.

Theobald Wolfe Tone in 1791 founded the first Society of United Irishmen in Belfast. Tone's hope was that the Presbyterians should join hands with the Catholics to secure proper representation in Parliament. Some idea of the constitution of the Irish House of Commons at this time may be gathered from the fact that 50 borough members were each returned by less than 10 electors. Some of the boroughs were absolutely uninhabited. Seats were openly bought and sold. Belfast had a population of 15,000, yet the electors consisted of 13 men. Catholics were not allowed to vote for members of Parliament till 1793.

The United Irish movement at first was non-sectarian. In the North the members for the most part were Ulster Scots and men of the middle class; Catholics did not join to any great extent during the early years. The Volunteers gradually merged into the Society of the United Irishmen, and it is recorded that the Volunteers of Broughshane and of Lisburn attended mass in the chapels of their respective districts to show their good intentions towards their Catholic brethren.

Disaffection was growing throughout the year in 1793 and 1794. About 1794 a body of militia was formed to keep the country peaceful. In February, 1793, a conference was held in Antrim by the United Irishmen, and they decided to arm and accumulate military stores. The Government remained obdurate and refused all concessions. In 1795 the United Irish body reorganised on a new basis as a secret society. Formerly its stated object was an honourable one; from this forward its real aim was to overthrow the Government and establish a republic. At the head was a National Directory of five men, who sat in Dublin and who had charge of the whole Society. About 1796 a military organisation was introduced, and drilling and arming went on apace.

Early in 1795 the celebrated meeting of Tone, Russell, Neilson, and McCracken took place on Cave Hill, Belfast, where they swore to use all their efforts to overthrow the power of England in Ireland.

The Society of "Defenders."

differed from the United Irishmen in being wholly Catholic, and sprung into prominence about this time. On September 21st, 1795, the Defenders attacked the Protestants at the Diamond, Co. Armagh, and were utterly defeated and a large number of them killed. On the evening of that day the Orange Society was formed. It was originally a league for defence. Persecution of the Catholics in Armagh and neighbouring counties followed, chiefly by the Peep of Day Boys, who assumed the name of Orangemen, thus giving colour to the belief that the outrages were committed by members of the Orange body. One immediate result was to undermine the friendliness that had existed for some years between the sects in the North, and to hinder the aim of the United Irishmen -- the co-operation of all creeds against England.

The state of Ulster in 1796 was alarming. Belfast, Lisburn, and the Counties of Antrim and Down were all infected. Great crowds of 500 to 2,000, or even 6,000, assembled in various places, but they were always orderly and sober. In 1796 a new force called the Yeomanry was enrolled, chiefly in Ulster. It was recruited from the gentry and their retainers for the preservation of their own property and to protect the country against the Defenders and United Irishmen.

December, 1796, saw the first attempt of the French, under General Hoche, to effect a landing in Ireland. The expedition consisted of 43 ships, with 15,000 soldiers. Ill-luck, bad seamanship, and storms prevented the landing after they had reached Bantry Bay, and, like the Spanish Armada, they gladly returned from whence they came. While the French lay in Bantry Bay the South remained quiet and loyal to the Government. In the North alone were there signs of disloyalty, accounting in some places to anarchy.

In March, 1797, the Government, fearing a rebellion, instructed General Lake to disarm the inhabitants of the Northern province. There were now forces in Ireland amounting to 15,000 regular soldiers, 18,000 militia, and 30,000 yeomanry. It was the yeomen who in general were employed in the search for arms, as they knew the country and the people. They were without discipline and under no strict martial law. Their brutal treatment of the people stirred up fierce and lasting resentment against the soldiers, and especially against this new force. A Welsh cavalry regiment sent over called the Ancient Britons, in particular emulated the yeomanry. A reign of terror ensued. Flogging was a common punishment. United Irishmen, suspects, people who were perfectly loyal, all suffered. An eyewitness writes:-- "Going to meet the main body of the Ancient Britons I was directed to them by the smoke and flames of burning houses, and by the dead bodies of boys and old men slain by them, though no opposition whatever had been offered, and as I shall answer to Almighty God, I believe a single gun was not fired but by the Britons or yeomanry."

In May, 1797,

a proclamation was made offering a free pardon to all United Irishman who had not committed certain crimes, on condition that they took the oath of allegiance prior to June 25. Many Ulstermen made their submission, for they saw that without foreign aid they could not succeed.

Outside Antrim and Down and the east part of County Derry, where the Dissenters were in the majority, the province began to be loyal. In fact, in Ulster the insurrection was confined to those centres where the United Irish spirit had been grafted on the discontent generated by landlord evictions and long and bitter injustice to the Presbyterians. It is probable that the rebellion which broke out in May, 1798, near Dublin, might not have affected Ulster at all had it not been for the execution of William Orr, one of the leaders of the United Irishmen, at Carrickfergus in October, 1797. "Remember Orr," by F. J. Bigger, tells the story of Orr's life and death.

It was at this time the different parties began to wore distinctive colours; the yeomanry and the Orangemen, who were on the side of the Government, wore orange, and the United Irishmen wore green.

During all its history the United Irish Society was honeycombed with informers and spies. The paid informer was everywhere. Duggan, from Tyrone, took part in the rebellion, and yet in one year drew £500 as a Government spy. Maguckian was the legal adviser of the United Irishmen, and defended Orr at his trial, yet systematically betrayed his clients. Macnally, "the patriot barrister," was for 30 years in receipt of a pension. Magan, who betrayed Lord Edward Fitzgerald, was a United Irishman. Turner, who betrayed Orr, was on the executive of the United Irish Society, and the trusted friend of Lord Edward.

In the beginning of 1798 the Society throughout Ireland numbered about half a million members, of whom about one-half were armed, and of these 111,000 were in Ulster. Lord Edward Fitzgerald, a Protestant, was in command of the rebel forces.

Sir Ralph Abercomby, a brave and honourable gentleman, succeeded General Lake in command of the Government forces in November, 1797. After he took over command and had made a tour of inspection he wrote -- "Within the past twelve months every crime, every cruelty that could be committed by Cossacks or Calmucks has been transacted here. He endeavoured to restore discipline and to put down the excesses of the soldiers. This did not meet with the approval of the Irish Government, and he was forced to send in his resignation in April, 1798. Lake was reappointed in his place and martial law proclaimed. Then began a reign of horror almost unparalleled in modern Europe. The half-disciplined soldiery and the undisciplined yeomanry were quartered on the defenceless people. They lived as if they were in an enemy's country. Torture and flogging were common occurrences. Women were exposed to every species of indignity, brutality, and outrage.

It was arranged that the insurrection should begin on May 23rd, but a few days before Lord Edward Fitzgerald was arrested in Dublin. The rising took place on the appointed day, but was greatly disorganised. In Kildare, Wicklow, and Wexford it broke out with great fierceness, due to the excesses of the military. In County Wexford the rebels were more successful than in any other part of Ireland. The county fell into the hands of the Catholic mob, and they held it for a whole month. On the 5th June occurred the scene of horror at the barn of Scullabogue, where upwards of 200 prisoners of both sexes were destroyed by the rebels. The barn was set on fire, and those who tried to escape were either piked or driven back into the flames; the rest were suffocated or were burnt to death. In the South the rising was essentially religious and Roman Catholic, and although a Protestant was elected leader, the real leaders were the Roman Catholic priests.

In Ulster the rebel forces were mainly composed of Dissenters, and the rebellion did not assume extreme religious bitterness. The rising did not take place in the North for a fortnight after it had begun in the South, owing to the capture of some of the leaders. The rumours, too, of the religious nature of the outbreak in Wexford cooled the ardour of many. Henry Joy M'Cracken was hastily chosen as leader. He laid his plans with skill, but there was, as usual, a traitor in the camp, and the Government knew of his dispositions. The people of Belfast, Carrickfergus, and Lisburn were overawed by the strong garrisons stationed in these towns. They were hemmed in on all sides, and for them a rising was impossible. Risings, however, took place in almost every other town, village, and hamlet of Co. Antrim. Randalstown was attacked and captured. Toome Bridge over the River Bann was destroyed, and on the morning of June 7th the insurgents were converging on Donegore Hill for the attack on Antrim. The risings in Co. Down did not take place till the 9th. The story of Antrim and Ballynahinch is told in another place. The rebellion ended for the rebels in disaster and defeat at Vinegar Hill, Co. Wexford, on June 21st. The scenes there and at Scullabogue impressed the Northern mind, and Ulstermen began to ask themselves the question whether, if the rebellion succeeded, it would not be for them one of the greatest of calamities.

The Bill for the Union of the Parliaments of Great Britain and Ireland took effect January 1st, 1801.

The Church Disestablishment Bill became law on January, 1871.

Irish Land Acts were passed in 1880 and 1881. More recently other Acts were passed by which the farmer has been enabled to purchase and become the owner of his own holding.

Harry Monro,

the insurgent leader at Ballynahinch, was captured near Dromara, tried by court-martial in Lisburn on June 18th, 1798, and condemned to be hanged and beheaded the same afternoon. The scaffold was erected in the Market Square, close to the left-hand, or south-west, corners -- looking towards Bow Street -- of the premises now occupied by Duncan & Sons. In 1798 the corner house was occupied by James Ward, a punter and bookseller, and on the ledge of an upper window of this house part of the scaffolding rested, greatly to the annoyance of the Ward family. The day of the execution was wet, and the handle of the axe was so slippery that the executioner said he could not hold it properly. One of the dragoons present pulled a piece of chamois out of his wallet and threw it to him. Wrapping it round the handle, the headsman put such force into the blow that he not only severed the head from the dead body, but at the same time broke the handle of the axe. The axe, broken handle and all, were put in the grave with the headless corpse. The head was subsequently buried with the body. Before his execution Monro received the sacrament from Dr. Cupples in the rectory.

No stone or monument marks the last resting-place of Monro. As you enter the Cathedral grounds by the main entrance from Market Square, immediately on your left is a small grass square, bounded on one side by the Mercer vault and on the opposite side by the Stannus tomb. Here, in this little square of earth, close to the Mercer vault, repose the ashes of Harry Monro. About the middle of the nineteenth century some excavations were being carried out in the Mercer grounds, when the side of Monro's grave fell in, exposing the contents. The workmen removed the axe and the broken handle, with the chamois still attached. The relics passed into the possession of George Stephenson, a well-known Lisburn solicitor, and on his decease they became the property of Theodore Richardson, Lissue, Lisburn.

Monro, M'Cracken, Orr, Russell, Neilson, Hope, Porter, Dickson, and many other leaders in the North in 1798, must not be confused with their successors in the following century and the so-called "patriots" of Easter Week, 1915[sic]. The men of the North in '98 were not fighting for sentiment, religion, or insane "national aspirations." They were fighting under a grievous sense of injustice and wrong. They were fighting for a small measure of justice and fair play. For long years they tried to gain redress by peaceful methods, and only as a last resort appealed to arms. They would appear at the time to have failed, but who can say? The old, bad days have passed away. There is now justice and freedom in the land for all. The Ulsterman harbours no sentimental grievances out of the past. Given equity and justice, his instincts are to become a good and loyal citizen of his adopted country, wherever it may be. He suffers fools reluctantly, is slow to move, makes a good friend, and is exceeding tenacious of his rights. These same Ulster Scots of '98, it can well be understood, in 1914 would, with their brothers of to-day, have been amongst the very first to spring to arms at the call of Empire. These gallant leaders of a bygone age, we can well imagine, would now look with scorn and contempt on the agitators, politicians, visionaries, and votaries of chimerical national aspirations, who in these days of trial in the Great War have dragged the fair fame of Erin through the mire, and made the name of Ireland to stink in the nostrils of self-respecting nations.

The reader anxious to study further the characteristics of the Ulster Scot and his growth between 1600 and 1800 is referred to an article entitled "The Making of the Ulsterman" in the "Scotch-Irish in America," Second Congress, 1890.

Next Week: John Nicholson.


(This article was originally published in the Lisburn Standard on 18 January 1918 as part of a series which ran in that paper each week through 1917 and into 1918. The text along with other extracts can be found on my website Eddies Extracts.)

Henry Joy M'Cracken

SOME EXTRACTS
FROM THE
RECORDS OF

OLD LISBURN

AND THE

MANOR OF KILLULTAGH.

-- -- -- --

Edited by JAMES CARSON.

-- -- -- --

LXV.

-- -- -- --

HENRY JOY M'CRACKEN.

Ulster Biographies of 1798, by W. T. Latimer, B.A., 1897.

Henry Joy M'Cracken was born in High Street, Belfast, on the 31st of August, 1767. His father, John M'Cracken, was captain and part owner of a vessel that traded between Belfast and the West Indies. He was descended from a Presbyterian family that had settled at Hillhall, near Lisburn, when driven from Scotland by Prelatic persecution.

His mother was Ann Joy, daughter of Francis Joy, who, on the 1st of September, 1737, established the "Belfast Newsletter," the third newspaper published in Ireland. The family of Joy, or Joyeuse were of Huguenot descent; having fled from France rather than sacrifice their Presbyterian faith.

Samuel Neilson formed the idea of joining his country men, both Protestant and Catholic, into one grand confederacy of United Irishmen, who, instead of injuring one another, might combine to overthrow the enemies of their country.

The first object of the association was to obtain Parliamentary reform, and thus prevent a few hundred Episcopal landlords from ruling an entire nation. At first the United Irish Society was a lawful association, established for accomplishing a most desirable object. Its founder was Neilson, but Henry Joy M'Cracken laboured late and early with all the energy of his enthusiastic nature to promote its interests.

Before long, the leaders of the United Irishmen became discouraged at their want of speedy success in procuring Parliamentary reform by legitimate means, and, most unfortunately, began to aim at setting up a republic, after the example of the French. Accordingly, the society was remodelled, and in March, 1795, M'Cracken took the teat of the new organisation. Henceforth he devoted much of his time and energy to advocate its principles and forward its interests.

There is no doubt whatever that the Protestant United Irishmen of Ulster were by far the most formidable body with which the Government had to deal. They were numerous, more intelligent, and better organised than their brethren in any other province.

An adjutant-General was appointed in each county, and under him were a number of colonels. In Antrim the colonels held a meeting about the beginning of June, and pressed the general, Robert Simms, to take the field; but he opposed the resolution and resigned his command. M'Cracken was soon afterwards appointed in his stead, and he became not only adjutant-general for Antrim, but commander-in-chief of the United Irish Army of the North.

He planned for attacks to be made simultaneously on Randalstown, Ballynahinch, Saintfield, Newtownards, and Portaferry.

M'Cracken determined to make his chief attack on the town of Antrim, and there he commanded in person.

One hour after M'Cracken attacked Antrim he was master of the town, and the victory seemed to be won.

Meanwhile reinforcements, superior in numbers to the entire rebel army, had arrived under Clavering and Durham, from Blaris camp and from Belfast.

The battle was now won by the Royal troops, but at the expense of many killed and wounded.

Undaunted by this defeat, M'Cracken collected the remains of his army at Donegore, and determined to attack the Royal troops at Ballymena. But the insurgents, baffled by defeat, dispersed so rapidly that very soon he could count only about a hundred followers. These also soon dispersed, and he was finally captured near Carrickfergus.

The trial took place on July 17th, in the Exchange, Belfast, when he was condemned and ordered to prepare for immediate execution.

At five o'clock M'Cracken was ordered to the place of execution -- the old market-house which stood at the corner of Corn Market and High Street, and which had been given to the town by his own great-grandfather.

The hangman had accepted a bribe to discharge his duty so as to save the prisoner's life, and medical friends were ready to apply every remedy as soon as they received his body. M'Cracken ascended the scaffold and attempted to speak to the people, but his words were drowned by the trampling of the cavalry, and he quietly resigned himself to his fate. Years before this fatal day he had told a friend that he did not desire to ever die of sickness. In a few minutes all was over. His body was given to his friends, but all efforts to restore animation were unsuccessful.

His remains were buried in the graveyard beside the Episcopal church in High Street. Some years afterwards the parson of the parish got many of the graves levelled, and the ground sold for building purposes. The dust of the patriot lies under one of the houses erected on this site. His coat and sword may still be seen in the Belfast Museum.

M'Comb's Guide to Belfast and Adjoining Districts, 1861.

This little volume of some 180 pages contains a large amount of varied information -- historical and otherwise -- and gives a long and detailed account of the

BATTLE OF BALLYNAHINCH.

On the morning of the 11th June. 1798, Munroe -- who had been a Volunteer -- a man of good military talent, "spoiled," says Teeling, "by a romantic love of glory and a mistaken feeling of honour," despatched one of his officers, named Townshend, to take possession of Ballynahinch -- a commission which was easily executed, as the garrison fled at his approach. On the 12th Munroe marched for Ballynahinch with the remainder of his force. (With that detached under Townshend it amounted to nearly 7,000 men.) On his way he learned that the Royal troops under General Nugent, supported by the artillery of General Barber, had left Belfast to intercept him. It was not long before their approach was indicated by unmistakable signs. As far as the eye could reach they had fired the country along their line of march. The two armies shortly came into collision. For upwards of an hour Munroe succeeded in keeping the Royal forces in check. He had, however, no artillery except a few small ship guns -- some six or eight -- mounted on country cars, while the British artillery was effective and well served. Obliged at length to give way, he sent instructions to Townshend to evacuate Ballynahinch, a part of which had already caught fire from the enemy's shells, and drew off his forces to the neighbouring hill of Ednavady. The British troops entered the town late in the evening, and began plundering, burning, and drinking. The disorganisation caused by these excesses afforded the insurgent army an opportunity during the night of repairing the disaster of the day. A council of war was held, and instant action was urged by all except Munroe. "We scorn," said he, "to avail ourselves of the ungenerous advantage which night affords. We will meet them in the blush of open day; we will fight them like men, not under the cloud of night, but the first rays of to-morrow's sun." This decision was so unpopular among Munroe's men that a well-armed division of about 700, with their leader, marched off en masse, and numerous other desertions followed.

At dawn on the 13th Munroe formed his men for action, and soon after commenced the attack by cannonading the town as best he could with his inadequate means. His small h=guns were promptly replied to by the heavier artillery of the enemy. A strong division of insurgents marched from Ednavady hill, with the view of entering the town on the right; a still more formidable column, led by Munroe, directed its march to the left. The former drawn up solid column, received a body of troops despatched by Nugent with a destructive fire, by which their leader was killed, and they were compelled to retreat to the town. Munroe's division, bearing down all opposition, entered it under a dreadful fire of musketry and grape. A piece of heavy artillery fell into the hands of the pikemen, who charged to the very muzzle of the guns. Munroe gained the centre of the town, where he was exposed to a cross-fire of musketry in the market square, and raked by artillery. His ammunition failing, he made an irresistible charge with the bayonet and the pike. The British general ordered a retreat. The insurgents, unacquainted with the trumpet's note, and enveloped by the smoke, mistook the sound for the signal to charge, and, conceiving that the enemy had been reinforced, fled precipitately from the town in a southerly direction, while the Royal troops were as rapidly evacuating it on the north. The consequence was an utter rout of the rebels. The 22nd Light Dragoons charged the flying insurgents, and were joined by the infantry who had rallied. Munroe regained his former position on Ednavady, but too late to offer decisive resistance. There remained no alternative between flight and destruction. The former was adopted. Numbers of the insurgents fell in the retreat. The town was pillaged and burned by the victorious Royalists. Two days afterwards Munroe was captured, tried by court-martial, and executed in front of his own house in Lisburn. His head was exhibited from the market-house on a pole.

As regards the losses on both sides during the two days of the conflict, various statements have appeared -- none of them, probably, accurate. Gordon says that the loss of the rebels was about 150, and that of the Royal troops more than 40. Another account states that only 20 bodies of the rebels were found in the town, and 28 scattered over the surrounding country; and a third gives the number of insurgents killed on the field and in the flight as from 100 to 500. The forces of the latter on the 13th amounted, deducting for desertions, to over 5,000; that of the Royalists to from 2,000 to 3,000.

The insurgents were routed after a hard contest; many of them were killed by the yeomanry in their flight, and among them a young girl of extraordinary beauty, named Elizabeth Grey, of Killinchy. She went into the action with a brother and a lover, determined to share their fate, mounted on a pony, and bearing a green flag. After the defeat the three fled, and on their retreat they were overtaken by a detachment of the Hillsborough Yeomanry Infantry, within a mile and a half of Hillsborough. She was first come up with, the young men being at a little distance seeking a place for her to cross a small river, and could easily have escaped. She refused to surrender, and when they saw her likely to fall into the hands of the yeomen they rushed to her assistance, and endeavoured to prevail on the captors to release her, offering themselves as prisoners in her stead. Their entreaties were in vain. Her brother and her lover were murdered on the spot. She still resisted, and it is said that a man called "Jack Gill," one of the cavalry, cut her gloved hand off with his sword. She was then shot through the head by Thomas Nelson, of the parish of Anahilt; aided by James Little, of the same place. The three dead bodies were found and buried by their friends. Little's wife was afterwards seen wearing the girl's earrings and green petticoat.


Bessie Grey.

If through Killinchy's woods and vales
      You searched a summer day.
The loveliest maiden to be found
      Was bonnie Bessie Grey.

The wild flowers shed their sweet perfume
      Whene'er she passed them by,
And put their brightest colours on
      To meet her gladsome eye.

She gathered pebbles in the brook,
      And berries in the dell--
A favourite wheresoe'er she went--
      The neighbours loved her well.

And Willie loved her tenderly;
      And won her maiden heart;
He loved, and was beloved again.
      And nought but death would part.

Alas! alas! Killinchy woods,
      Woe worth the summer day
When Willie left his native hills
      To join the battle fray!

And Bessie by her brothers side
      Rode on in sadden'd glee,
While many a weeping one cried out
      "God bless the gallant three!"

'Twas morning when they reached the hill.
      And welcome words were said
By many who, before the night,
      Lay numbered with the dead.

Fierce looks were quickly interchanged
      Between contending foes,
As sound of sharp'ning pike and song
      From Ednavady rose.

And shouts of noisy soldiery
      From Windmill Hill were heard
As proud defiance lifted up
      The musket and the sword.

Now Bessie on her tiny steed
      Bore high her flag of green;
Where'er the battle fiercely raged
      Killinchy's Lass was seen.

Now woe be on thee, Anahilt!
      And woe be on the day
When brother, lover, both were slain,
      And with them Bessie Grey!

(Next Week: The Volunteers of 1778.)


(This article was originally published in the Lisburn Standard on 11 January 1918 as part of a series which ran in that paper each week through 1917 and into 1918. The text along with other extracts can be found on my website Eddies Extracts.)

Harry Munroe, 1758-1798

SOME EXTRACTS

FROM THE

RECORDS OF

OLD LISBURN

AND THE

MANOR OF KILLULTAGH.

-- -- -- --

Edited by JAMES CARSON.

-- -- -- --

LXIV.

-- -- -- --

HARRY MUNROE, 1758-1798.

By Hugh M'Call.

The excitement and restlessness created by the political agitation that immediately preceded the insurrection in 1798 did immense injury to the country. Unsettled habits were giving a reckless tone to a large class of society, and the effect on industrial progress was most injurious. Many farms lay partially cultivated for two or three seasons, linen looms remained idle a great part of the time, and, as a consequence, the production of goods did not exceed two-thirds the usual average. Exports of finished linens, which amounted to forty-six million yards in '98. But during the intervening period preparations for open war had been stealthily carried on by the disaffected party. The Irish pike -- a rude and unsightly weapon -- was much prized by them, and the manufacture occupied many of the midnight hours of such workers at fire and forge as were engaged in that dangerous employment. A smith, celebrated for his make of weaver's shears, and who lived near Templepatrick directed much of his labour to pike-making, and was much patronised by the United men. In an entry off Ann Street, Belfast, a shuttle-maker often worked eighteen hours out of the twenty-four in turning out pike heads and handles. Hunders of dozen of these were sent to the depots in Down by the ingenious contrivance of packing them in puncheons. On several occasions the cart that conveyed a couple of these puncheons passed under the eye of Town Major Fox, that vigilant officer never dreaming but that the vessels were filled with the national beverage. According to the returns of the United Irishmen's secret committee, there were enrolled in the Country Antrim in 1797 a grand total of 26,720 men, 3,220 muskets, 1,120 bayonets, 350 pistols, 3,500 pikes, 100 swords, and 10 cannon, besides ample stores of ammunition. During the winter of 1797 and the spring of the following year a Lisburn whitesmith forged upwards of five hundred pikes, and all this was accomplished without leaving undone any of the ordinary work he was called to perform for his every-day customers.

The linen markets of the Northern districts of Ulster were attended by great numbers of buyers about this time, and of that itinerant brotherhood none were more respected than Harry Munroe and Bartholomew Teeling. These gentlemen had been members of the Lisburn Volunteers, and when that body was ignominiously put down by the State, they both felt a full share of the general indignation at imperial ingratitude. Munroe was an Episcopalian, fondly attached to his Church, and Teeling, son of Mr. Luke Teeling, of Chapel Hill, Lisburn, belonged to the Catholic creed. Their career was remarkably unfortunate. In several points of character they were much alike, but Munroe was less mercurial than his younger friend, and had strenuously opposed many of the propositions introduced by the more excitable members of the fraternity. At no period of the insurrection had he contemplated taking the field against the Royal troops, and until a few days before the fight at Ballynahinch he attended to his business as usual; but from causes which need not be explained here, he was unexpectedly called on to take the command of the Irish army, and looking upon the call as a matter of honour he accepted it, without for a moment waiting to consider the magnitude of the responsibility he was about to undertake.

The battle of Ballynahinch was fought on the 13th of June, 1798, and, as is well known, a complete victory on the part of the Royal army, and a total overthrow of the insurgents, followed that reckless attempt to meet well-disciplined soldiers in the open field. Munroe's followers were scattered like sheep, and had fled in all directions; but though sadly broken down by fatigue, and dispirited by defeat, the unfortunate general was among the last to the leave the field; nor did he finally abandon the scene until, as he had hoped, the remnant of his people had got into some place of comparative safety. For several hours he had roamed about the country, and though well known by many of the farmers, the large rewards offered for his apprehension failed to induce any of them to betray the secret of his hiding-place. To the honour of one of the loyalists he was concealed nearly two days, during which time he received all the attention a kind-hearted man could bestow on an ill-fated fellow-creature. But as the harbouring of any suspected person was at that time contrued into an offence of great magnitude, the hospitable entertainer of Munroe dare not run the risk of allowing him to stop at his place for any lengthened time, especially as patrols of cavalry were marching through the country on the lookout for straggling men of the routed army. On the morning of the 15th of June he was consequently once again obliged to seek shelter in some other quarter, and at break of day he left the cottage.

His Betrayal.

Not daring to appear except in the most unfrequented parts of the country, he at length ventured into a small farmstead situate on the borders of Dromara, County of Down, and at nearly equal distances from the towns of Lisburn and Hillsborough. In that house he met a man named Holmes, to whom he offered five pounds -- all the money he had in his possession -- and a small parcel of shirts, to conceal him for some days, and until the opinion of Government should be known us to the prospects of pardon.

To this proposal the fellow not only agreed, but he expressed the utmost sympathy for the misfortunes of the fugitive. Making sure of the cash and the shirts, he gave Munroe some refreshment, and, leading the way out of the cottage, placed him, as the fugitive had been led to hope, in a secure retreat at the end of a large pig-house, where he covered him over with bundles of straw. But as Holmes had never entertained the most distant idea of keeping faith with his captive, his first thought after leaving the place of concealment was how to make the most of that secret. With this view he set off to the next seat of military authority at Hillsborough, where he met four members of the local corps of yeomanry, known as the Black Troop because of their not wearing any uniform save a band of white linen round the left arm. To these men he reported what had taken place at Dromara. The fellows immediately armed themselves with muskets and bayonets, and proceeded to the place alluded to by the informer. As soon as they arrived there they pounced on their prey, dragged him from his hiding-place, and to guard against further they tied his hands behind his back. Finding himself betrayed, Munroe tried to soften his captors by stating that if they permitted him to get free a large sum would be paid to them by his friends. But either in the hope of obtaining a higher reward, or from the fear that, should they acceded to his appeal, the promise would not be kept, they refused to make any terms with him, and in great triumph marched their prisoner into Hillsborough.

Believers in the doctrine of retributive justice will find much material to strengthen their faith in the after-history of the men who captured Munroe and received a handsome reward for their "loyalty." It is a remarkable fact that although each of them had some property at that time, they afterwards became miserably poor, and the longest-lived of the four was a mere pauper at the time of his death. Holmes, the betrayer of the unfortunate Munroe, was held in contempt and scorn by people of every class and creed in his own neighbourhood. From the day he violated his faith to the last hour of his life he was despised for his deceit and denounced for his treachery, and after dragging out a miserable existence he died as he had lived -- a wretched outcast.

Under a strong guard the prisoner was marched off to Lisburn, handcuffed, and on arriving there he was confined for the night in a temporary prison in Castle Street. When it become known among his former friends that be had been taken prisoner, the utmost sympathy was felt for him. His clothes were much torn and his health had suffered materially under the fatigue of his fugitive life for several days before. Mr. George Whitla, a local cotton manufacturer, sent him a full suit of clothes, and the rector of the parish, the Rev. Dr. Cupples, who resided within a few doors of the guardhouse, had his meals regularly carried to him from the rectory during the period of his confinement.

The Trial.

On Monday, the 17th of June, the trial came on before a court-martial, composed of officers belonging to the several regiments then lying in Lisburn Barracks and at Blaris camp. Among those officers, General Goldie and his aide-de-camp, M'Coy, were characterised as men of great austerity. In one case it is said that when a rebel soldier was about to suffer M'Coy pushed him up the ladder. The tribunal before which Munroe was tried sat in a large room situate near the guardhouse; and it is only fair to state that, if mercy rarely found a resting-place in that august assembly, justice was rigidly enforced. Short was the period of the court's deliberations; it required little proof to convict, and it was still easier to condemn. Only three witnesses were examined for the Crown, and the deposition that the prisoner had led the native troops at the recent battles being conclusive, the sentence of death was at once written out and Harry Munroe was ordered for execution.

The culprit was immediately informed that he had not long time to live, and to make speedy preparation for the death that awaited him. On his way from that judgment-hall to the place of punishment he requested to be taken to the rectory, that he might receive the sacrament. That rite of the Church having been administered to him, he was led down the street to the Market Square, where a temporary gallows had been erected in front of Mr. Ward's stationery warehouse, and nearly opposite the woollen-drapery concern of which Munroe was proprietor. He was dressed in a black coat, nankeen knee-breeches and white stockings. A guard of the 23rd Light Dragoons, under Colonel Woolarston, and two companies of the local yeomanry, were drawn up before the place of execution. During all the preliminary arrangements the condemned patriot exhibited perfect coolness without putting on the slightest appearance of the bravado. One request alone he made, and this was -- while the executioner adjusted the fatal noose -- to beg the commanding officer's permission to see a friend who resided in the immediate vicinity of the spot where he stood. That request was granted, and when the gentleman appeared he addressed a few words to him in a low tone, just before he ascended the ladder leading to the gallows. What he said on the occasion was never known, even by the nearest relations of the friend into whose ear it was spoken.

The Execution.

The moment the preparations had been made, Munroe leaped from the street up the ladder, but the slight rung on which he alighted having given way, he fell down against some of the guards by whom he was surrounded. Recovering his balance in a moment, although having his arms firmly pinioned, he said "All-right," and, refusing assistance, again mounted the ladder. When he had reached the required height the executioner, whose face was closely veiled by a piece of black crape, also ascended to the spot, and placed the rope round the prisoner's neck with an awkwardness of manner that proved him to be a mere amateur in the art of legal strangulation. Without waiting for the final act of the finisher of the law, the doomed man suddenly leaped forward, and as the body fell, and swung to and fro, a low wail of sorrow, which the military authorities vainly endeavoured to suppress, told how bitterly the tragic their fellow-townsman was felt by the multitude that thronged the place of execution. Many of his acquaintances -- many linen merchants who, in happier days, had stood side by side with Harry Munroe in the Linen-Hall, engaged in the usual pursuits of their business -- were around him at his last moments, and though several of them looked upon his conduct as that of the wildest and most misguided patriotism, his political opponents, as well as his personal friends, mourned heartily over the sad fate of the man whom everyone respected as a worthy and amiable citizen. When the body was taken down the final vengeance of the law had not been fully satisfied -- the authorities, who irresponsibly wielded the powers of life and death, having ordered that decapitation should take place after the execution of the first part of the sentence. On that savage act having been perpetrated, a dragoon seined the head and flung it into the air, shouting "There goes the head of a traitor." In this act of wanton ferocity the operator seemed to think that, in thus outraging the remains of an unfortunate fellow-creature, he performed an achievement worthy the glory of a British soldier. Munroe's head, with the white night-cap still on it, was afterwards stuck on a spike and placed on the front of the Market-House, the military authorities carrying out a custom barbarous as any ever practised by the most savage tribes of the New Zealanders. Some weeks afterwards a Scotch nobleman, in passing through the town, and feeling shocked at the disgraceful spectacle, had the head taken down and interred in the Lisburn Churchyard, in the same grave that contained the other portion of the mutilated body.

Whatever may have been the errors of Henry Munroe as a politician, his conduct in private life was that of a perfect gentleman. Numerous are the anecdotes related of his light-heartedness and love of fun, and still more numerous are the stories told of his fearless conduct and disregard of personal danger. On one occasion, when attending the linen market of Lurgan, an alarming fire having been discovered in the church of that town, he exhibited the greatest courage in his efforts to stop the progress of the flames, and risked his life in assisting to save the building. Although warmly attached to what was then considered a righteous cause, he had never taken any direct part in the movements of the insurgent army until it became known that, at the eleventh hour, the ostensible leader of the native troops had refused to take the command. In consequence of that determination, the duty that should have devolved on another was forced on Munroe; but having accepted the office, he threw himself into it with all the enthusiasm of an over-sanguine disposition. Nothing, however, could tempt him to tarnish his fame as an honest friend and a manly foe. He was considered a very handsome man, and had ever been exceedingly fond of neatness in dress. At that time it was fashionable to wear a portion of the back hair very long, and this was tied with black ribbon and hung over the collar of the coat. Munroe continued to wear his hair in this form, but most of the United Irishmen cut off their "pig tails," hence the origin of the tern "croppie."

Ballynahinch.

During the short period of his leadership a circumstance occurred which proved that he considered the preservation of his honour as dearer than life itself. It appears by the histories given on both sides of the question that, on the eve of the Ballynahinch fight, the Royal troops were ranged on the Windmill Hill, near that town, and the insurgent lender had drawn up his forces along the north side of a mount in the demesne of Earl Moira, the town of Ballynahinch lying between the rival troops. A proposal was made to Munroe that he should attack and cut off the local yeomanry, several companies of which were then in Ballynahinch; and as numbers of them had been indulging in drunken carousal, and, of course, were unable to repel a sortie, there would have been little difficulty in overpowering the garrison and setting fire to the town. Against that proposition his generous and manly spirit at once revolted. Had he given his assent to it, a cold-blooded and terrible massacre would have been the inevitable consequence. "If we are to fight," said Munroe, "let us take the field like men, and do battle with all our might, but a national cause must not be stained by the cowardice of midnight assassins." There was the greatness of true heroism in this, but so much was the majority of the troops opposed to it that numbers of them deserted in course of the night.

After the death of Harry Munroe many of the disaffected party were made prisoners and lodged in the Lisburn Guardhouse. Two of these people were tried and convicted, the sentence of death following close on the verdict of guilty. One of the condemned was Richard Vincent, copper and tin smith, a native of Lisburn, and the other was named Maxwell. These men were executed almost immediately after receiving sentence, and their heads, after being cut off, were placed on the Market-House beside Munroe's. Not many days after his execution, a sister of the general, one who had been celebrated as a heroine in the national struggle, was passing through the town, and when opposite the Market-House she gazed for a moment at her brother's head, and exclaimed aloud, "Ah, Harry, you will be revenged for all yet!"

Harry Munroe's mother lived in Lisburn for many years after the "day of trouble," and supported herself respectably by keeping a little shop in the house situated on the Sluice Bridge, in Bow Street. She survived the death of her son about seventeen years.

A United Irishman, who gave his name as Crabbe, was the first person hanged for treason in that town. He suffered death on a lamp-post at the corner of Castle Street, and right opposite the Market-House. The charge against him was having a pistol in his pocket and a green cockade hid in his hat. Some reports went to say that he had been a clergyman, but no direct proof of the fact was ever brought forward, nor did a single secret connected with his history transpire, from that day to the present. He was taken prisoner in one of the bye-lanes in Lisburn, and in three hours afterwards was tried, convicted, and executed.


(This article was originally published in the Lisburn Standard on 4 January 1918 as part of a series which ran in that paper each week through 1917 and into 1918. The text along with other extracts can be found on my website Eddies Extracts.)