Name: A history of Ireland in the eighteenth century
Author: William Edward Hartpole Lecky (1838–1903)

Father Nicholas Sheehy of Clogheen executed on false testimony

Clogheen · town · Tipperary · 1764–1766

Nicholas Sheehy, parish priest of Clogheen, was accused of complicity in Whiteboy violence and the murder of informer John Bridge. Acquitted in Dublin, he was re-tried at Clonmel in a scandalously partial trial and hanged and quartered despite protesting his innocence to the last.

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the trial rose and informed the court that Keating had been engaged in a Whiteboy affray in which two soldiers had been killed. The effect of such a proceeding at such a moment may be easily imagined. Keating was at once carried away to Kilkenny gaol. His evidence was utterly discredited, and several witnesses who had come to give evidence for the prisoner were so intimidated that they left the court. Keating was afterwards tried at Kilkenny, chiefly on the evidence of the same witnesses who gave testimony against Sheehy, and he was honourably acquitted, but before that time. Sheehy was in his grave. The unhappy priest was found guilty, hanged, and quartered. With his last breath on the scaffold he protested his absolute innocence of the charge for which he suffered.
He may not have been altogether the innocent martyr that he has been represented, but there can be little doubt that his trial was infamously partial, and it is probable that he was wholly guiltless of the murder of Bridge. The circumstances of the trial, and the fact that Sheehy alone of the Whiteboy victims was in holy orders, left a deep and lasting resentment in the popular mind. The grave of Sheehy was honoured like that of a saint. A Sheehy jury became a proverbial expression in Ireland for scandalous partiality. Stories were collected and believed of how all the chief persons connected with the tragedy came to some unhappy end, and the executioner of Sheehy was, some years later, murdered in a fierce popular outbreak.1

Internet Archive historyofireland02leckuoft, Chapter 10

George Robert Fitzgerald imprisons his father at Rockfield

Rockfield · townland · Mayo

George Robert Fitzgerald seized his father and kept him confined for five months at his house at Rockfield, guarded by 200-300 armed ruffians, with cannon mounted around the house to prevent rescue.

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hours of the night, to the terror of the superstitious peasantry, who, as the chase swept by and as the red gleam of the torches flashed through the darkness, imagined that hell had broken loose and that demon hunters were infesting the land. In consequence of a fierce family quarrel he seized upon his father and kept him for five months in strict confinement in his house at Rockfield, under the guard of 200 or 300 ruffians who followed his fortunes, and many of whom had escaped from gaol. Cannon were mounted around the house ; all communications were cut off; although the younger brother obtained without difficulty a writ, the sheriff did not dare to execute it, and, at last, when the assizes were being held at Castlebar, George Robert Fitzgerald appeared of his own accord in the court house, and calmly took his place among the grand jurors of the county. The audacity of the proceeding, however, proved too great. The younger brother was present, and at his request the judge ordered the arrest of Fitzgerald, who was tried, found guilty, and sentenced to three years' imprisonment and to a heavy fine. As was generally expected, he did not lie long in prison. Pistols were conveyed to him. He soon in broad daylight escaped, returned to Rockfield, which lay about three miles from Castlebar, and caused the cannon which defended his house to be fired several times in honour of his release. The younger brother urged upon the sheriff the necessity of executing the writ, but was informed that without the assistance of regular troops such an enterprise was hopeless, and Fitzgerald not only remained at large, but exercised a general terrorism over the whole country.
He soon, however, by his own reckless imprudence, fell within the grasp of the law. About three weeks after his escape from Castlebar he ventured to Dublin in the company of his father, and was there, by the in-

Internet Archive historyofireland02leckuoft, Chapter 49

As the companion tells it

Somewhere around here at Rockfield, George Robert Fitzgerald held his own father prisoner for five months. After a fierce family quarrel, he seized the older man and kept him in strict confinement in his house, guarded by 200 or 300 armed ruffians, many of them escaped from gaol. Cannon were mounted around the building and all communication was cut off. His younger brother got a writ without difficulty, but the sheriff did not dare to execute it. When the assizes were being held at Castlebar, Fitzgerald appeared of his own accord and calmly took his place among the grand jurors of the county. The audacity was too great. The brother was present, and at his request the judge ordered the arrest. Fitzgerald was tried, found guilty, and sentenced to three years' imprisonment and a heavy fine. He did not lie long in prison. Pistols were conveyed to him, and he escaped in broad daylight, came back here, and had the cannon fired several times in honour of his release. The brother again urged the sheriff to act, but was told that without regular troops the enterprise was hopeless. Fitzgerald remained at large and exercised a general terrorism over the whole country. About three weeks after his escape from Castlebar, he ventured to Dublin in the company of his father, and was there taken at last.

Sheehy's trial held at Clonmel amid intimidation

Clonmel · town · Tipperary · 1766

Despite an implied promise that he would be tried in Dublin, Sheehy was tried by his enemies at Clonmel. A party of horse surrounded the court, witnesses were intimidated, and the chief defence witness Keating was dragged away to Kilkenny gaol mid-testimony.

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eented to turn King's evidence, had accused Sheehy and several others of being mixed up in the conspiracy, and had afterwards disappeared suddenly. His body was never found. It was sworn on the trial that he had expressed his intention of flying from the country, and though it is probable he was murdered, the fact cannot be said to have been ever positively established.1 In spite of the implied promise Sheehy was tried by his enemies at Clonmel, and the trial appears to have been one of the most scandalous ever known in Ireland. The most important witnesses were the three whose testimony had already been discredited by a Dublin jury. A party of horse surrounded the court and admitted or excluded those whom they pleased, and the intimidation exercised was such that the attorney of Sheehy found it necessary to leave Clonmel by night. The chief witness for Sheehy was a person named Keating, of known property and credit in the county, who swore in the clearest and most emphatic manner that Sheehy had been lodging in his house on the night when the crime was supposed to have been committed, and could not possibly have been present. Immediately after he had given this evidence a clergyman who was the chief manager of
1 O'Leary afterwards said that there was a report that Bridge had been seen in Newfoundland, but he is careful to add that he cannot vouch for this being the case (O'Leary's Works, p. 282) ; and a letter written by Sheehy to Major Sirr the night before the execution (which Madden believes to be certainly genuine) confesses that Bridge had been murdered, and that Sheehy knew the fact, though probably only by the confessional. He protests very earnestly his innocence, but

Internet Archive historyofireland02leckuoft, Chapter 10

As the companion tells it

As you pass through Clonmel, you are in the town where one of the most scandalous trials ever known in Ireland took place in 1766. Sheehy had been given an implied promise that he would be tried in Dublin, but instead he was tried here by his enemies. A party of horse surrounded the court, admitting or excluding whom they pleased. The intimidation was such that Sheehy's attorney found it necessary to leave Clonmel by night. The most important witnesses against him were three whose testimony had already been discredited by a Dublin jury. The chief witness for Sheehy was a man named Keating, of known property and credit in the county, who swore in the clearest manner that Sheehy had been lodging in his house on the night the crime was supposed to have been committed and could not possibly have been present. Immediately after he gave this evidence, a clergyman who was the chief manager of the prosecution had him dragged away to Kilkenny gaol.

Sheehy's grave venerated as that of a saint

Clogheen · town · Tipperary · 1766

After his execution, the grave of Sheehy became an object of popular veneration and his trial gave rise to the proverbial expression 'a Sheehy jury' for scandalous partiality in Ireland.

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He may not have been altogether the innocent martyr that he has been represented, but there can be little doubt that his trial was infamously partial, and it is probable that he was wholly guiltless of the murder of Bridge. The circumstances of the trial, and the fact that Sheehy alone of the Whiteboy victims was in holy orders, left a deep and lasting resentment in the popular mind. The grave of Sheehy was honoured like that of a saint. A Sheehy jury became a proverbial expression in Ireland for scandalous partiality. Stories were collected and believed of how all the chief persons connected with the tragedy came to some unhappy end, and the executioner of Sheehy was, some years later, murdered in a fierce popular outbreak.1
1 The fullest contemporary Madden (United Irishman, 1st accounts of this case are to be series) has taken great pains to found in Exshaw's Magazine, collect all the extant evidence re- June 1776 ; in Curry's State of lating to the case. A year after the Catholics', and in Anlnq itiry the execution of Sheehy some into the Causes of the late Riots informers at Kilkenny asserted in Munster, published anony- that the Whiteboy movement waa mously by Curry in 1766. Mr. a plot for the Pretender, origi-

Internet Archive historyofireland02leckuoft, Chapter 10

Fitzgerald's midnight hunts terrify peasantry

Mayo · parish · Mayo

George Robert Fitzgerald was accustomed to hunt the fox in the dead hours of the night, terrifying the superstitious peasantry who believed demon hunters were infesting the land as torches flashed through the darkness.

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hours of the night, to the terror of the superstitious peasantry, who, as the chase swept by and as the red gleam of the torches flashed through the darkness, imagined that hell had broken loose and that demon hunters were infesting the land. In consequence of a fierce family quarrel he seized upon his father and kept him for five months in strict confinement in his house at Rockfield, under the guard of 200 or 300 ruffians who followed his fortunes, and many of whom had escaped from gaol. Cannon were mounted around the house ; all communications were cut off; although the younger brother obtained without difficulty a writ, the sheriff did not dare to execute it, and, at last, when the assizes were being held at Castlebar, George Robert Fitzgerald appeared of his own accord in the court house, and calmly took his place among the grand jurors of the county. The audacity of the proceeding, however, proved too great. The younger brother was present, and at his request the judge ordered the arrest of Fitzgerald, who was tried, found guilty, and sentenced to three years' imprisonment and to a heavy fine. As was generally expected, he did not lie long in prison. Pistols were conveyed to him. He soon in broad daylight escaped, returned to Rockfield, which lay about three miles from Castlebar, and caused the cannon which defended his house to be fired several times in honour of his release. The younger brother urged upon the sheriff the necessity of executing the writ, but was informed that without the assistance of regular troops such an enterprise was hopeless, and Fitzgerald not only remained at large, but exercised a general terrorism over the whole country.
He soon, however, by his own reckless imprudence, fell within the grasp of the law. About three weeks after his escape from Castlebar he ventured to Dublin in the company of his father, and was there, by the in-

Internet Archive historyofireland02leckuoft, Chapter 49

Clergyman mutilated near Urlingford

Urlingford · town · Kilkenny · 1761–1785

Lord Luttrell related that near the town of Urlingford in County Kilkenny, a friend riding found a pair of ears and a cheek nailed to a post, and soon overtook the mutilated clergyman to whom they belonged.

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In some districts and periods the outbreaks were chiefly agrarian; in others they were more especially directed against tithes. At first the Protestant clergymen appear to have been rarely or never molested, and the tithe-farmer was the special object of the popular antipathy. There were,' however, some instances of clergymen who received savage threatening letters, and were obliged to fly from their parishes through fear of Whiteboys, and in a few cases their houses were attacked, their property was injured, and they themselves underwent atrocious personal outrages.1 Lord Luttrell related to the Irish House of Commons how one of his friends riding one morning near the town of Urlingford, in the county of Kilkenny, found a pair of ears and a cheek nailed 'to a post, and soon after he overtook a muffled figure riding on in great and evident pain, which proved to be the clergyman to whom they belonged.2
It is not surprising that in the extreme panic produced by the outbreak it should have been attributed to political or religious causes. It was reported that French money was frequently found in the pockets of arrested Whiteboys ; that men with the appearance of officers and speaking French had been seen in remote districts of the south ; that Whiteboys had been known to march in large bodies and with the discipline of regular soldiers ; that

Internet Archive historyofireland02leckuoft, Chapter 9

As the companion tells it

As you pass through Urlingford in Kilkenny, there is a grim story from the time of the Whiteboy outbreaks. In this period, attacks were often directed against tithes, and Protestant clergymen were sometimes targeted with threatening letters, driven from their parishes, and subjected to atrocious personal outrages. Lord Luttrell told the Irish House of Commons how one of his friends was riding one morning near this town and found a pair of ears and a cheek nailed to a post. Soon after, he overtook a muffled figure riding on in great and evident pain, which proved to be the clergyman to whom they belonged. The extreme panic produced by such outbreaks led some to attribute them to political or religious causes. It was reported that French money was found in the pockets of arrested Whiteboys, and that men with the appearance of officers speaking French had been seen in remote districts of the south.

Fitzgerald surrenders himself at Castlebar assizes

Castlebar · town · Mayo

During his confinement of his father, George Robert Fitzgerald appeared of his own accord at the Castlebar court house during the assizes and calmly took his place among the grand jurors, before being arrested at his brother's request.

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hours of the night, to the terror of the superstitious peasantry, who, as the chase swept by and as the red gleam of the torches flashed through the darkness, imagined that hell had broken loose and that demon hunters were infesting the land. In consequence of a fierce family quarrel he seized upon his father and kept him for five months in strict confinement in his house at Rockfield, under the guard of 200 or 300 ruffians who followed his fortunes, and many of whom had escaped from gaol. Cannon were mounted around the house ; all communications were cut off; although the younger brother obtained without difficulty a writ, the sheriff did not dare to execute it, and, at last, when the assizes were being held at Castlebar, George Robert Fitzgerald appeared of his own accord in the court house, and calmly took his place among the grand jurors of the county. The audacity of the proceeding, however, proved too great. The younger brother was present, and at his request the judge ordered the arrest of Fitzgerald, who was tried, found guilty, and sentenced to three years' imprisonment and to a heavy fine. As was generally expected, he did not lie long in prison. Pistols were conveyed to him. He soon in broad daylight escaped, returned to Rockfield, which lay about three miles from Castlebar, and caused the cannon which defended his house to be fired several times in honour of his release. The younger brother urged upon the sheriff the necessity of executing the writ, but was informed that without the assistance of regular troops such an enterprise was hopeless, and Fitzgerald not only remained at large, but exercised a general terrorism over the whole country.
He soon, however, by his own reckless imprudence, fell within the grasp of the law. About three weeks after his escape from Castlebar he ventured to Dublin in the company of his father, and was there, by the in-

Internet Archive historyofireland02leckuoft, Chapter 49

As the companion tells it

Up ahead is Castlebar in Mayo, and it has a remarkable story from the eighteenth century. George Robert Fitzgerald had seized his own father in a fierce family quarrel and kept him for five months in strict confinement at his house at Rockfield, under the guard of 200 or 300 ruffians, many of whom had escaped from gaol. Cannon were mounted around the house and all communications were cut off. His younger brother obtained a writ without difficulty, but the sheriff did not dare to execute it. When the assizes were being held here at Castlebar, Fitzgerald appeared of his own accord in the court house and calmly took his place among the grand jurors of the county. The audacity of the proceeding proved too great. His younger brother was present, and at his request the judge ordered the arrest of Fitzgerald. He was tried, found guilty, and sentenced to three years' imprisonment and a heavy fine. As was generally expected, he did not lie long in prison. Pistols were conveyed to him and he soon escaped in broad daylight. He returned to Rockfield, about three miles from Castlebar, and caused the cannon defending his house to be fired several times in honour of his release. The sheriff told the brother that without regular troops such an enterprise was hopeless, and Fitzgerald remained at large, exercising a general terrorism over the whole country. About three weeks after his escape he ventured to Dublin in the company of his father, and was there arrested.

Fitzgerald's later execution for murder

Mayo · parish · Mayo

George Robert Fitzgerald, nephew of the Bishop of Derry and commander of a volunteer light cavalry troop, was about three years after these events hanged for a very aggravated murder.

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The Bishop did everything in his power, to aggravate by his conduct the dissension between the Convention and Parliament. He was now accustomed to go about, escorted by a troop of volunteer light cavalry enrolled and commanded by his nephew, George Robert Fitzgerald, a man who about three years later was hanged lor a very aggravated murder, and whose history had been already a strange illustration of the utter lawlessness prevailing in some sections of Irish life. He was the son of a gentleman of considerable fortune in the wildest parts of Mayo. His mother, Lady Mary Hervey, once maid of honour to the Princess Amelia, and sister to three successive Earls of Bristol, had been, compelled by the gross ill usage of her husband to seek a separate maintenance, and became in later life a prominent figure in the early Evangelical movement, and an intimate friend of Venn and of Fletcher of Madeley.2 George Robert, their eldest son, was educated at Eton; he connected himself by marriage with the great families of Leinster and Conolly ; travelled on the Continent, was presented at the French Court, wrote both prose and verse with some grace, and concealed under the appearance of a well-bred, polished, and almost effeminate gentleman, a character reckless and savage to the very verge of insanity. He was soon noted as one of the best shots, one of the most desperate duellists, and one of the most arrogant bullies in the West, and a crowd of stories are told of the savage animosity and the brutal insults with which he pursued his enemies, and of the terror which he excited in the wild country in which he lived. Among many other strange freaks, he was accustomed to hunt the fox in the deadest
1 Hardy's Life of Charlemont, ii. 106.

Internet Archive historyofireland02leckuoft, Chapter 49

Man blown to pieces for stealing Whiteboy gunpowder

Munster · province · 1761–1785

A man who appropriated two pounds of powder concealed for the Whiteboys was discovered, forced to pour the powder into his hat, and then blown to pieces when it was ignited beneath him.

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article of the Whiteboy code were merely seized and compelled to swear that they would never repeat the offence ; but more commonly they were punished with great atrocity. One of the mildest punishments was to drag a man at midnight from his bed, often in midwinter, beat him, and leave him bound and naked in a ditch by the roadside. In one case, which is related in detail, the captors bound their prisoner to the post of a turnpike gate and compelled the keeper to swear that he would not relieve him till a certain number of hours had passed. In another, they carried a man who had threatened to inform against some illicit distillers about a mile on a bier, and left him bound in the very streets of Cahir, where he remained unrescued the whole night. Not unfrequen^ly they carried their victim to a newly dug grave and left him, sometimes with his ears cut off, buried up to the chin in earth, or in thorns or furze. Men were placed naked on horseback on saddles covered with thorns, or with a hedgehog's skin. Many cottages were burnt and their inmates forced to abandon the country. A man once appropriated two pounds of powder which had been concealed for the Whiteboys. They discovered him, and having obliged him to pour the powder into his hat, they placed it beneath him, ignited it, and blew him to pieces. Their threatening notices were filled with the most savage menaces, and their outrages in some districts were so frequent and so severe that scarcely anyone dared to resist them. The description given, by a conspicuous magistrate, of the agrarian crime in 1831 may be applied without qualification to the period of the first Whiteboy rising : ' The combination is directly opposed to the law, and it is stronger than it, because it punishes the violation of its
duce one single instance of any Whiteboys in the counties of man's being murdered by the Cork or Kerry.' — Ibid. p. 311.

Internet Archive historyofireland02leckuoft, Chapter 8

Popular gratitude to Chief Justice Aston near Clonmel

Clonmel · town · Tipperary · 1765–1770

Crowds lined the road for ten miles from Clonmel to bless Sir Richard Aston, the Chief Justice, for his moderation and humanity in trying Whiteboy cases, kneeling and praying for him as their protector.

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In some districts, it is said, so many of the inhabitants fled in terror from their homes that the land remained untilled, and there were grave fears of a famine.1 One of the strangest episodes of the Whiteboy period was the exuberant gratitude which was shown in Tipperary to Sir Richard Aston, the Chief Justice of Common Pleas, who appears to have shown in the trial of Whiteboy cases a moderation and humanity rarely found among the local magistrates. ' For about ten miles from Clomnel/ writes a contemporary Protestant historian, ' both sides of the road were lined with men, women, and children, who, as he passed along, kneeled down and supplicated Heaven to bless him as their protector and guardian angel.'*
One case of oppression has acquired a great prominence in Irish popular traditions, and it appears indeed to have been exceedingly flagrant. Nicholas Sheehy, the parish priest of Clogheen, in the county of Tipperary, was a man of very respectable parentage, and related to several of the Catholic gentry of the district. He was described by an historian of his own faith3 as ' a giddy and officious, but not ill-meaning man, with somewhat of a quixotic cast of mind towards relieving all those within his district whom he fancied to be injured or oppressed,' and it is admitted that many hundreds of his parishioners were Whiteboys. Whether, as is very probable, Sheehy had been criminally mixed up with the movement, or whether he had simply set himself up as an opponent of acts of local oppression, it is now impossible to say, but it is certain that he had made himself in the highest degree obnoxious to the Protestant gentry of his neighbourhood, that he was more than once arrested, but released through want of

Internet Archive historyofireland02leckuoft, Chapter 10

As the companion tells it

Up ahead you have Clonmel, in Tipperary. Back in the Whiteboy years, around the late 1760s, something strange happened on the road out of this town. Sir Richard Aston was the Chief Justice of Common Pleas, and he had been trying Whiteboy cases. What made him unusual was that he showed moderation and humanity in those trials, something the local magistrates rarely did. The people responded in a way that startled even contemporary historians. A Protestant writer of the time recorded what happened. For about ten miles from Clonmel, both sides of the road were lined with men, women, and children. As Aston passed along, they kneeled down and supplicated Heaven to bless him as their protector and guardian angel. In some districts so many inhabitants had fled in terror from their homes that the land went untilled, and there were grave fears of famine. That was the backdrop. Aston stood out against it. The same period produced the case of Nicholas Sheehy, the parish priest of Clogheen in Tipperary. He was a man of respectable parentage, related to several Catholic gentry of the district. A historian of his own faith described him as a giddy and officious, but not ill-meaning man, with a quixotic cast of mind towards relieving all those within his district whom he fancied to be injured or oppressed. Many hundreds of his parishioners were Whiteboys. He had made himself highly obnoxious to the Protestant gentry of his neighbourhood, and was arrested more than once, though released through want of evidence.

Peep of Day Boys and Defenders clashes in Ulster

Ulster · province · 1785–1789

Sectarian conflict originating in a private quarrel escalated into a religious war between the Presbyterian Peep of Day Boys and Catholic Defenders across Ulster. Bodies of several hundred men clashed, several lives were lost, and a reign of terror prevailed in large districts, eventually merging into Orangemen and United Irishmen.

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unconnected with religion, but they speedily assumed the character of a religious war. The former, who were exclusively Protestants and mainly Presbyterians, professed a determination to enforce the law disarming Papists, and they were accustomed to enter their cottages in early morning to search for and to seize arms. The Defenders were exclusively Catholics, and were professedly, as their name imports, a purely defensive body. In truth, however, both sides were animated by a furious hatred, and both sides committed many acts of violence and aggression. The disturbances appear to have begun in 1785, but they continued for several years, and the Peep of Days ultimately merged into Orangemen, and the Defenders into United Irishmen. Bodies of several hundreds of men of the lowest class on more than one occasion came into collision : several lives were lost ; a reign of terror prevailed in large districts of Ulster, and it led to a new enrolment of Protestant volunteers to maintain the peace.1 In Munster the Whiteboy outrages were certainly not of a religious origin, but they were directed mainly, though not exclusively, against the payment of tithes, and they appear to have been not unfrequently organised in Catholic chapels.
As the party strengthened which demanded Catholic

Internet Archive historyofireland02leckuoft, Chapter 90

Armagh identified as prophesied 'Armageddon' by Francis Dobbs

near Armagh · town · Armagh · 1780–1799

The eccentric lawyer Francis Dobbs, a prominent Volunteer organiser, became convinced the Messiah was about to descend to reign in Ireland, and that Armagh—said in Irish to mean 'the Hill of the Great Teacher'—was the predicted site of Armageddon. His prophetic obsession blended strangely with his political career.

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phecy was the passion of his life, and when this chord was struck his whole being seemed suddenly changed. He had convinced himself that the present dispensation was at an end, that the Messiah was just about to descend to reign in person upon earth, and that he was first to appear in Ireland. Armagh, called in Irish Ardmaceaddon, or the- Hill of the Great Teacher, was the predicted Armageddon. The sea of glass, the golden harps, the robes of linen, foreshadowed the insular position, the national arms, the national manufacture of Ireland : the Giant's Causeway was the stone of Daniel ; and in 1799, Dobbs in Parliament opposed the Union in an extraordinary speech in which, in a strain of passionate earnestness, he contended from the Books of Daniel and Revelation that by amalgamating Ireland with England it would run counter to the whole scheme of prophecy. In 1 780, however, these eccentricities had not yet fully appeared, and on more than one occasion Dobbs took a considerable part in directing the course of Irish politics.1
' The epidemic madness,' as Lord Buckingham called it, ' so assiduously circulated by Lord Charlemont, Mr. Grattan, Sir W. Osborne, and Lord Carysfort,' 2 rapidly spread, and on April 19, 1780, Grattan introduced a declaration of independence into the Irish House of Commons. It consisted of a series of resolutions asserting that while the crown of Ireland was inseparably annexed to that of Great Britain, while the two nations, united under one sovereign, were indissolubly connected by ties of interest, loyalty, and freedom, no power on earth but the King, Lords, and Commons of Ireland was competent to make laws for Ireland. The speech

Internet Archive historyofireland02leckuoft, Chapter 37

Soldiers fire on Dublin mob, killing one man

Dublin · city · Dublin · 1784

After a man involved in the riots was publicly whipped in Dublin, the mob attacked the soldiers on guard, who opened fire, killing one man and wounding several others.

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These results, however, were not immediately attained, and the rejection of the protecting duties in 1784 at first produced considerable disturbances. Rutland had soon to report a long series of outrages in the metropolis of the most dangerous kind. Soldiers were more than once called in to repress them, and they became the objects of fierce popular animosity. Several were brutally houghed by butchers in the streets, and the crime assumed such dimensions that a special Act was passed to make it capital, and to throw the support of the wounded soldiers on the district if the culprit was not detected.1 Many tradesmen or artisans, who had imported English goods, or worked at low wages or in branches of manufacture to which they had not been bred, or who had come up from the country to work in Dublin when Dublin workmen were on strike, were tarred and feathered after the American fashion or otherwise ill used. On one occasion a man, who had been concerned in some of these outrages, being publicly whipped, the mob attacked the soldiers on guard, who fired, killed one man, and wounded several others. On another a threatening mob burst into the gallery of the House of Commons, and it was found necessary to call in soldiers to eject them. On a third the Duke of Rutland was hooted in a theatre. A paving
« 23 & 24 Geo. III. o. 66.

Internet Archive historyofireland02leckuoft, Chapter 56

As the companion tells it

Dublin in 1784 was a troubled city. The rejection of protecting duties that year brought a long series of outrages, and soldiers were called in more than once to repress them. Several soldiers were brutally houghed by butchers in the streets, and a special Act made the crime capital, with the district bearing the cost if the culprit was not found. On one occasion a man who had been concerned in some of these outrages was publicly whipped. The mob attacked the soldiers on guard. The soldiers fired, killed one man, and wounded several others. Tradesmen who had imported English goods, or worked at low wages, or come up from the country to work when Dublin workmen were on strike, were tarred and feathered after the American fashion. A threatening mob burst into the gallery of the House of Commons, and soldiers had to eject them. The Duke of Rutland was hooted in a theatre. It was a season of danger in the capital.

Steelboys besiege Belfast to free a captured comrade

near Belfast · city · Antrim · 1770–1772

When one Steelboy was confined at Belfast, a large body of Steelboys accompanied by thousands of peasants marched on the town and forced the authorities to surrender him.

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The conduct of Lord Donegal brought the misery of the Ulster peasantry to a climax, and in a short time many thousands of ejected tenants, banded together under the name of Steelboys, were in arms. They were mainly, at first almost exclusively, Presbyterians.1 Their distress was much greater than that of the Oakboys, who preceded them, and, as is usually the case, their violence was proportioned to their distress. They destroyed or maimed great numbers of cattle. They attacked many houses, and were guilty of many kinds of violence, and they soon administered illegal oaths, and undertook the part of general reformers. One of their number being confined at Belfast, a large body of Steelboys, accompanied by many thousands of peasants, who neither before nor after took any part in the insurrection, marched upon that town and succeeded in obtaining his surrender. Large bodies of soldiers were soon sent to the disturbed districts, and several Steelboys were tried at Carrickfergus, but by the supposed partiality of the juries they were acquitted. The Parliament then passed an Act authorising the removal of the trials from the disturbed counties to the city or county of Dublin, and some rioters were accordingly tried at Dublin, but the feeling against the new law was so strong that they were acquitted. In December 1773, Parliament retraced its steps and repealed the
of the county the lands are subset the country.' — Ibid, eii deep, so that those who actu- ' In the very remarkable peally labour it are squeezed to the tition which the Steelboys drew very utmost. It is equally no- up recounting their grievances, torious what use is made by they describe themselves as ' all grand juries of the powers given Protestants and Protestant disthem to levy cess for making senters.' Lord Townshend, howroads and bridges. Jobs upon ever, says that Papists and men jobs, the one more infamous than of all professions except Quakers another, serve to support the in- soon joined them. — Townshend terest of some leading men in to Bochford, March 18, 1772.

Internet Archive historyofireland02leckuoft, Chapter 11

Armed Whiteboys terrorise Kilworth at night

Kilworth · townland · Cork · 1761–1775

A large mounted party dressed in white rode into Kilworth at three in the morning firing shots and forcing residents to illuminate their windows out of fear.

Read the passage

they marched into the large village of Cappoquin, drew up in front of a horse barrack, fired several shots, and marched by the sentry who was on guard while their piper played ' The Lad with the White Cockade.' * On a third, a large party well mounted and clad in white rode into the little town of Kilworth, in the county of Cork, at three in the morning, firing many shots, and compelled the inhabitants at once ' to illuminate their, windows, which was done speedily and in great order, more from fear than respect.' The terrified inhabitant who wrote to inform the Government, had heard that 7,000 men were assembled in the mountains near Dungarvan, and that 20,000 would 'assemble next week near this town to go on some grand project.' a More commonly, however, the tactics of the Whiteboys were less ostentatious, but much more formidable, and their small parties moving silently in the dead of night committed depredations which threatened to reduce a great part of Ireland to absolute anarchy.
They announced from the beginning, that their object was ' to do justice to the poor by restoring the ancient commons and redressing other grievances,' 3 and they soon undertook to regulate the whole relation between landlord and tenant, and to enforce a new system of law wholly different from the law of the land. They waged especially a desperate war against- titheproctors and tithe-farmers, against the system of Kerry bonds, against a class of men called canters, who were accustomed to bid for the tithe of their neighbours' land, and who by Whiteboy terrorism were almost extirpated from Munster.4 They issued proclamations forbidding any man under terrible penalties to pay higher rates of

Internet Archive historyofireland02leckuoft, Chapter 8

As the companion tells it

Somewhere around here, in the 1760s or early 1770s, a large party of men, well mounted and dressed all in white, rode into Kilworth at three in the morning, firing many shots. They forced the inhabitants to illuminate their windows, and the people did so speedily and in great order, in the words of a contemporary, more from fear than respect. A terrified resident wrote to the Government with wild rumours he had heard, that 7,000 men were assembled in the mountains near Dungarvan and that 20,000 would gather the following week for some grand project. The Whiteboys' stated aim was to do justice to the poor by restoring ancient commons and redressing other grievances. They took it upon themselves to regulate the whole relationship between landlord and tenant, enforcing a system of law wholly different from the law of the land. They waged desperate war against tithe-proctors and tithe-farmers, and against canters, men who bid for the tithe of their neighbours' land, who were almost extirpated from Munster through Whiteboy terrorism. More commonly their tactics were quieter than this display at Kilworth, small parties moving silently through the dead of night, committing depredations that threatened to reduce a great part of Ireland to absolute anarchy.

Butchers houghed in the streets of Dublin

Dublin · city · Dublin · 1784

During the disturbances following rejection of protecting duties, several people were brutally houghed (hamstrung) by butchers in the streets of Dublin, prompting a special Act making the crime capital.

Read the passage

These results, however, were not immediately attained, and the rejection of the protecting duties in 1784 at first produced considerable disturbances. Rutland had soon to report a long series of outrages in the metropolis of the most dangerous kind. Soldiers were more than once called in to repress them, and they became the objects of fierce popular animosity. Several were brutally houghed by butchers in the streets, and the crime assumed such dimensions that a special Act was passed to make it capital, and to throw the support of the wounded soldiers on the district if the culprit was not detected.1 Many tradesmen or artisans, who had imported English goods, or worked at low wages or in branches of manufacture to which they had not been bred, or who had come up from the country to work in Dublin when Dublin workmen were on strike, were tarred and feathered after the American fashion or otherwise ill used. On one occasion a man, who had been concerned in some of these outrages, being publicly whipped, the mob attacked the soldiers on guard, who fired, killed one man, and wounded several others. On another a threatening mob burst into the gallery of the House of Commons, and it was found necessary to call in soldiers to eject them. On a third the Duke of Rutland was hooted in a theatre. A paving
« 23 & 24 Geo. III. o. 66.

Internet Archive historyofireland02leckuoft, Chapter 56

As the companion tells it

Dublin in 1784 was a troubled city. The rejection of protecting duties sparked disturbances, and Lord Lieutenant Rutland reported a long series of outrages. Soldiers were called in to repress them and became targets of fierce popular animosity. Several soldiers were brutally houghed, hamstrung, by butchers in the streets. The crime grew so common that a special Act of Parliament made it a capital offence, and if the culprit was not caught, the cost of supporting the wounded soldier fell on the district. Tradesmen who had imported English goods, or worked at low wages, or come in from the country to work during strikes, were tarred and feathered after the American fashion. When one man involved in these outrages was publicly whipped, the mob attacked the soldiers on guard, who fired and killed one man and wounded several. A threatening mob burst into the gallery of the House of Commons and had to be ejected by soldiers. The Duke of Rutland himself was hooted in a theatre.

Disappearance and suspected murder of informer John Bridge

Clogheen · town · Tipperary · 1764

John Bridge, a Whiteboy turned King's evidence who accused Sheehy and others, disappeared suddenly and his body was never found, though it was widely believed he had been murdered by fellow Whiteboys.

Read the passage

says, 'the accusers and the accused are equally ignorant of the fact, as I have been informed, but after such a manner I received the information that I cannot make use of it for my own preservation ; the fact is that John Bridge was destroyed by two alone, who strangled him on Wednesday night, October 24, 1764. I was then from home, and only returned home the 28th, and heard that he had disappeared.'— Madden's United Irishman. (1st seriea, pp. 57, 58.)
44 IRELAND IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENtURY. CH. ill.

Internet Archive historyofireland02leckuoft, Chapter 10

Lord Donegal's mass eviction of tenants near Belfast

near Belfast · city · Antrim · 1770–1772

The absentee Marquis of Donegal raised enormous fines on his tenants when leases fell in, preferring wealthy Belfast merchants to existing tenants, confiscating improvements and turning land to pasture, driving a vast population from their homes.

Read the passage

Another and more formidable, though less extensive, outbreak, occurred about eight years later in the counties of Antrim and Down, and was mainly attributed to the oppression of a single man. The Marquis of Donegal was one of the largest proprietors in the North of Ireland. He was an absentee, and when his leases fell in, instead of adopting the usual plan of renewing them at a moderate increase of rent, he determined to raise a sum which was stated at no less than 100,OOOZ. in fines upon his tenants, and as they were utterly unable to pay them, two or three rich merchants of Belfast were preferred to them. The improvements were confiscated, the land was turned into pasture, and the whole population of a vast district were driven from their homes.3 This case, though the most flagrant, was
1 Hardy's Charlemont, i. 190, in the Counties of Monaghan and

Internet Archive historyofireland02leckuoft

The Giant's Causeway as 'the stone of Daniel' in Dobbs's prophecy

near Giant's Causeway · population centre · Antrim · 1780–1799

In his apocalyptic vision linking Ireland to biblical prophecy, Francis Dobbs interpreted the Giant's Causeway as representing 'the stone of Daniel,' part of a scheme in which Irish landscape and symbols foreshadowed the nation's destined role in the end times.

Read the passage

phecy was the passion of his life, and when this chord was struck his whole being seemed suddenly changed. He had convinced himself that the present dispensation was at an end, that the Messiah was just about to descend to reign in person upon earth, and that he was first to appear in Ireland. Armagh, called in Irish Ardmaceaddon, or the- Hill of the Great Teacher, was the predicted Armageddon. The sea of glass, the golden harps, the robes of linen, foreshadowed the insular position, the national arms, the national manufacture of Ireland : the Giant's Causeway was the stone of Daniel ; and in 1799, Dobbs in Parliament opposed the Union in an extraordinary speech in which, in a strain of passionate earnestness, he contended from the Books of Daniel and Revelation that by amalgamating Ireland with England it would run counter to the whole scheme of prophecy. In 1 780, however, these eccentricities had not yet fully appeared, and on more than one occasion Dobbs took a considerable part in directing the course of Irish politics.1
' The epidemic madness,' as Lord Buckingham called it, ' so assiduously circulated by Lord Charlemont, Mr. Grattan, Sir W. Osborne, and Lord Carysfort,' 2 rapidly spread, and on April 19, 1780, Grattan introduced a declaration of independence into the Irish House of Commons. It consisted of a series of resolutions asserting that while the crown of Ireland was inseparably annexed to that of Great Britain, while the two nations, united under one sovereign, were indissolubly connected by ties of interest, loyalty, and freedom, no power on earth but the King, Lords, and Commons of Ireland was competent to make laws for Ireland. The speech

Internet Archive historyofireland02leckuoft, Chapter 37

Whiteboy display at Cappoquin barracks

Cappoquin · town · Waterford · 1761–1775

A body of Whiteboys marched into Cappoquin, drew up in front of a horse barrack, fired shots, and marched past the sentry while their piper played a rebel tune.

Read the passage

they marched into the large village of Cappoquin, drew up in front of a horse barrack, fired several shots, and marched by the sentry who was on guard while their piper played ' The Lad with the White Cockade.' * On a third, a large party well mounted and clad in white rode into the little town of Kilworth, in the county of Cork, at three in the morning, firing many shots, and compelled the inhabitants at once ' to illuminate their, windows, which was done speedily and in great order, more from fear than respect.' The terrified inhabitant who wrote to inform the Government, had heard that 7,000 men were assembled in the mountains near Dungarvan, and that 20,000 would 'assemble next week near this town to go on some grand project.' a More commonly, however, the tactics of the Whiteboys were less ostentatious, but much more formidable, and their small parties moving silently in the dead of night committed depredations which threatened to reduce a great part of Ireland to absolute anarchy.
They announced from the beginning, that their object was ' to do justice to the poor by restoring the ancient commons and redressing other grievances,' 3 and they soon undertook to regulate the whole relation between landlord and tenant, and to enforce a new system of law wholly different from the law of the land. They waged especially a desperate war against- titheproctors and tithe-farmers, against the system of Kerry bonds, against a class of men called canters, who were accustomed to bid for the tithe of their neighbours' land, and who by Whiteboy terrorism were almost extirpated from Munster.4 They issued proclamations forbidding any man under terrible penalties to pay higher rates of

Internet Archive historyofireland02leckuoft, Chapter 8

Dr Clarke of Armagh seized and paraded by Oakboys

near Armagh · town · Armagh · 1763

Dr Clarke, Rector of Armagh, had raised tithe exactions sharply and became a target of the Oakboys, who seized him and carried him in derision through various parts of the country.

Read the passage

It was in the summer of 1763 that bodies of men, sometimes 400 or 500 strong, assembled to the sound of a horn, wearing oak boughs in their hats. They erected gallows, attacked houses, compelled clergymen to swear that they would not levy more than a specified proportion of tithe, and laymen that they would not assess the county at more than a stipulated rate, entered into an engagement to make no more high roads, and assaulted all whom they found working on the roads. Dr. Clarke was seized and carried in derision through various parts of the country, and many of the clergy were compelled to take refuge within the walls of l)erry.2 The flame spread rapidly through Armagh, Tyrone, Deny, and Fermanagh; but no very serious crimes were committed, and the Protestant rising of the North was wholly free from the atrocious cruelty which disgraced the Catholic insurgents of the South. It arose among a people who were much less wretched and much less ignorant. Their tithes, even at the worst, were more
1 See the curious speech of parish near Enniskillen, was

Internet Archive historyofireland02leckuoft, Chapter 10

Conspiracy to assassinate seven MPs uncovered in Dublin

Dublin · city · Dublin · 1784

A newspaper called 'The Volunteer's Journal' advocated assassination during the Dublin disturbances, and three men were arrested on a charge of conspiring to assassinate seven members of Parliament who had opposed protecting duties.

Read the passage

Act, which was supposed to press heavily on the poorer ratepayers, was the cause, or, as the Government believed, the pretext, of new disturbances. Houses were attacked, members of Parliament were insulted, threatening letters became very common, and a Press of the most savage and seditious nature had arisen. One paper, called ' The Volunteer's Journal,' was especially conspicuous for its scarcely disguised advocacy of assassination, and three men were actually arrested on a charge of being concerned in a conspiracy for assassinating seven members of Parliament, who were conspicuous in opposing protecting duties. With inefficient watchmen, timid magistrates, and a fierce mob, these outrages passed almost unpunished. There were vague rumours, resting on no real evidence, that French influence was concerned in them, and that officers of the Irish brigade in the French service had secretly come over to Ireland. It was, however, the firm conviction of the Lord Lieutenant that some of the ( master manufacturers ' were at the bottom of the outrages, and that considerable sums had been subscribed to foster them.1
They appear to have been almost exclusively confined to Dublin. In April, Rutland, while describing

Internet Archive historyofireland02leckuoft, Chapter 56

As the companion tells it

As you pass through Dublin, this is the city where, in 1784, a wave of disturbances swept the streets during a crisis over protecting duties. Houses were attacked, members of Parliament were insulted in public, and threatening letters became commonplace. A newspaper called The Volunteer's Journal stood out for its barely concealed advocacy of assassination. Three men were arrested and charged with conspiring to assassinate seven members of Parliament who had been conspicuous in opposing those duties. With inefficient watchmen, timid magistrates, and a fierce mob, the outrages went almost unpunished. The Lord Lieutenant believed that some of the master manufacturers were behind the violence and that considerable sums had been subscribed to foster it. There were also vague rumours of French involvement, that officers of the Irish brigade in the French service had secretly come over to Ireland, but these rested on no real evidence. The troubles appear to have been almost exclusively confined to Dublin.

Kerry cows bled weekly amid famine

Kerry · county · Kerry · 1760–1778

During the summer months of extreme want, when potato stores ran out, cabbages boiled with a little milk were the poor's only food and many died of diarrhoea. A remembered saying that 'Kerry cows know Sunday' recalled how cattle fattening on summer grass were weekly bled to provide a holiday meal for their half-starving owners.

Read the passage

altogether unfavourably with that of English labourers. Their food was much more abundant. Their children, unlike those of the Englishmen, were seldom without milk, and the absence of money in their dealings with their employers made it impossible for them to drink, as was common in England, a week's wages in a single night.1 But the cottier population, who multiplied recklessly by early marriages over the barren lands of Kerry or the West, were perhaps as miserable as any class of men in Europe. To escape starvation was almost their highest aim, and even for this it was often necessary for them to spend a part of every summer in vagrant mendicancy. The months of July and August, when the old potatoes were exhausted, were generally months of absolute famine. Cabbages, boiled in water and mixed with some milk, were then the sole sustenance of the poor, who died in multitudes from diarrhoea; and a still remembered saying, that ' Kerry cows know Sunday,' recalls the time when the cattle being fattened by the summer grass underwent a weekly bleeding to make a holiday-meal for their half-starving owners.8
A very similar agrarian condition had long existed over a great part of Scotland, and, indeed, in many countries in an early stage of civilisation. The system of middlemen, the system of cottier labour, a population multiplying recklessly on a barren soil, barbarous methods of agriculture, enormous vagrancy and periodical famines were all well known in Scotland, and were cured at last by economical changes which swept away a great portion of the population. In Scotland, however, the painful transition was mitigated by the great

Internet Archive historyofireland02leckuoft

As the companion tells it

As the road takes you through Kerry, this county in the eighteenth century was home to a cottier population, multiplying recklessly through early marriages on barren land, who were perhaps as miserable as any class of men in Europe. To escape starvation was almost their highest aim, and for this it was often necessary to spend part of every summer in vagrant mendicancy. The months of July and August, when the old potatoes were exhausted, were generally months of absolute famine. Cabbages boiled in water and mixed with some milk were then the sole sustenance of the poor, who died in multitudes from diarrhoea. A still remembered saying, that "Kerry cows know Sunday," recalls the time when cattle fattening on the summer grass underwent a weekly bleeding to make a holiday meal for their half-starving owners. Their condition compared not altogether unfavourably with that of English labourers. Their children were seldom without milk, and the absence of money in their dealings with employers made it impossible for them to drink a week's wages in a single night, as was common in England. A very similar agrarian condition had long existed over a great part of Scotland. The system of middlemen, cottier labour, a population multiplying on barren soil, barbarous methods of agriculture, enormous vagrancy and periodical famines were all well known there.

Man bound overnight in the streets of Cahir

Caher · town · Tipperary · 1761–1785

Whiteboys carried a man who had threatened to inform against illicit distillers about a mile on a bier and left him bound in the streets of Cahir, where he remained unrescued the whole night.

Read the passage

article of the Whiteboy code were merely seized and compelled to swear that they would never repeat the offence ; but more commonly they were punished with great atrocity. One of the mildest punishments was to drag a man at midnight from his bed, often in midwinter, beat him, and leave him bound and naked in a ditch by the roadside. In one case, which is related in detail, the captors bound their prisoner to the post of a turnpike gate and compelled the keeper to swear that he would not relieve him till a certain number of hours had passed. In another, they carried a man who had threatened to inform against some illicit distillers about a mile on a bier, and left him bound in the very streets of Cahir, where he remained unrescued the whole night. Not unfrequen^ly they carried their victim to a newly dug grave and left him, sometimes with his ears cut off, buried up to the chin in earth, or in thorns or furze. Men were placed naked on horseback on saddles covered with thorns, or with a hedgehog's skin. Many cottages were burnt and their inmates forced to abandon the country. A man once appropriated two pounds of powder which had been concealed for the Whiteboys. They discovered him, and having obliged him to pour the powder into his hat, they placed it beneath him, ignited it, and blew him to pieces. Their threatening notices were filled with the most savage menaces, and their outrages in some districts were so frequent and so severe that scarcely anyone dared to resist them. The description given, by a conspicuous magistrate, of the agrarian crime in 1831 may be applied without qualification to the period of the first Whiteboy rising : ' The combination is directly opposed to the law, and it is stronger than it, because it punishes the violation of its
duce one single instance of any Whiteboys in the counties of man's being murdered by the Cork or Kerry.' — Ibid. p. 311.

Internet Archive historyofireland02leckuoft, Chapter 8

As the companion tells it

As the road takes you through Caher, there is a story from the Whiteboy years that belongs to these streets. The Whiteboys were a secret combination in the Irish countryside, and their code punished those who broke it. Some offenders were merely seized and made to swear they would never repeat the offence, but more commonly the punishment was atrocious. One of the milder forms was to drag a man from his bed at midnight, often in midwinter, beat him, and leave him bound and naked in a ditch by the roadside. In another case, captors bound a prisoner to the post of a turnpike gate and made the keeper swear he would not relieve him until a set number of hours had passed. Here in Cahir, they took a man who had threatened to inform against some illicit distillers. They carried him about a mile on a bier and left him bound in the very streets of the town. He remained there, unrescued, the whole night. The Whiteboys went further elsewhere. They carried victims to newly dug graves and left them buried up to the chin in earth, or in thorns or furze, sometimes with their ears cut off. Men were placed naked on horseback on saddles covered with thorns. Cottages were burnt and their inmates forced to abandon the country. One man who had appropriated two pounds of powder concealed for the Whiteboys was made to pour it into his hat. They placed it beneath him, ignited it, and blew him to pieces.

Starving Crowds Parade Dublin Streets in Black Fleece Protest

Dublin · city · Dublin · 1777–1779

During the severe economic distress caused by the American war and trade embargoes, half-starving crowds in Dublin paraded the streets carrying a black fleece as a token of their poverty and distress. This was part of the broader collapse of Irish commerce and manufacturing in the late 1770s.

Read the passage

French, but it was very positively stated that it waa imposed by an unconstitutional stretch of the prerogative at the instigation of private individuals, in order to favour a few private contractors in England. The rupture with France was in no part of the Empire felt so severely as in Ireland ; for one of the effects of the laws restraining Irish commerce with England and her colonies had been to establish a close commercial connection between Ireland and France. It was said by a very able writer on the economical condition of Ireland, that ' two of her provinces may at this very day be called provinces of France as much as of Great Britain.' l All this commercial intercourse was now cut off. French and American privateers swarmed around the coast, and universal distress set in. The price of black cattle, and of wool; rents, credit, private business and public revenue in all their branches rapidly sank, and thousands of manufacturers lived on charity or abandoned the country. In Dublin, half-starving crowds, carrying a black fleece in token of their distress, paraded the streets. The pressure was so severe that in 1778 Ireland was obliged to borrow from England 50,900Z. for the payment of her troops, and the value of the imports from England was 634,444Z. below the average of the four preceding years.2 The want of employment, complained one of the best economical writers in Ireland, was at this time such that two-thirds of the country was uninhabited. At least 15,000 Irishmen were seeking their living in foreign armies ; and, perhaps, a still greater number in other capacities on the Continent. At every opportunity great numbers were flying across the sea, and as the same extension of pasture which diminished
1 Comparative View of the * Walter H. Burgh on The

Internet Archive historyofireland02leckuoft, Chapter 23

As the companion tells it

As you pass through Dublin, the city carries an old story of hunger. Between 1777 and 1779 the streets here saw half-starving crowds parading, each carrying a black fleece as a token of their distress. The cause was a commercial ruin that spread across the whole country. The rupture with France hit Ireland harder than any other part of the Empire, because laws restraining Irish commerce with England and her colonies had driven Irish trade into a close connection with France. One writer said two of her provinces might be called provinces of France as much as of Great Britain. All that intercourse was now cut off. French and American privateers swarmed around the coast. The price of black cattle and wool rapidly sank. Rents, credit, private business and public revenue in all their branches fell. Thousands of manufacturers lived on charity or abandoned the country. The pressure was so severe that in 1778 Ireland was obliged to borrow from England 50,900 pounds for the payment of her troops. The value of imports from England was 634,444 pounds below the average of the four preceding years. One of the best economical writers in Ireland complained that the want of employment was such that two-thirds of the country was uninhabited. At least 15,000 Irishmen were seeking their living in foreign armies, and perhaps a still greater number in other capacities on the Continent. At every opportunity great numbers were flying across the sea.

Whiteboys break open Tralee gaol

Tralee · townland · Kerry · 1761–1775

Whiteboys broke open the gaol at Tralee and released the prisoners held there, one of several bold acts of open defiance during the Whiteboy disturbances.

Read the passage

In some cases the Whiteboys acted with all the audacity of open insurgents. Great bodies of men traversed the country, often in the open daylight, wearing white cockades and blowing horns. In several cases they awaited an encounter with soldiers. They broke open the gaol at Tralee and released the prisoners. They threatened to burn the town of Newmarket, in the diocese of Cloyne, unless a Whiteboy confined there was released. They burnt several houses which soldiers had occupied, and alarms were spread, though apparently without real foundation, that they were seeking by intercepting provisions to threaten Limerick, Cork, and Ennis with famine.1 On one occasion in the beginning of the outbreak they assembled at Lismore, and affixed a placard at the post-office door requiring the inhabitants on the following night to illuminate their houses and provide a certain number of horses bridled and saddled, and the injunction was punctually obeyed.8 On another,
1 This was asserted by Bishop Woodward in his very alarmist pamphlet, p. 96. The reader should, however, compare the account, given by Father O'Leary in his curious and eloquent ' defence of his conduct and writings,' of the exaggerations which gained currency under the influence of panic. Among otheis, in Monkstown (near Cork), at the height of the bathing season, ' two wags for the sake of diversion sounded an old horn in the dead of the night and threw all the ladies and gentlemen into a panic. In

Internet Archive historyofireland02leckuoft, Chapter 8

As the companion tells it

Somewhere close to Tralee, between 1761 and 1775, the Whiteboys broke open the gaol and released the prisoners held inside. They were acting with the audacity of open insurgents, great bodies of men traversing the country in open daylight, wearing white cockades and blowing horns. In several cases they waited for an encounter with soldiers. They burnt houses that soldiers had occupied, and they threatened to burn Newmarket unless a Whiteboy confined there was set free.

Mass sheep slaughter on the Ballinasloe-Clara road

Ballinasloe · town · Galway · 1778

A letter from 1778 describes how a single person travelling from Ballinasloe fair to Clara had 760 sheep killed in one night, with no one daring to send a horse to remove the carcases at more than the Whiteboy-set price.

Read the passage

As early as January 1762 an informant writes from the county of Tipperary that c above 500 men frequently assemble with shirts over their clothes doing whatever mischief they please by night, under the sanction of being fairies, as they call themselves.' ' The fairies are composed of all the able young fellows from Clonmel to Mitchelstown.' They had levelled great numbers of enclosures, sent many threatening letters, rescued property which had been seized by landlords for non-payment of rent, compelled cloth weavers to lower the price of their goods, seized all the horses they could discover around Cahir, and established such a terrorism in the county that if any farmer dismissed a servant or a shepherd no one dared to take his place unless ' he had more interest with the fairies.' No one was allowed to bid for a farm which had been put up to auction until it had been waste for five years on pain of death or of the burning of his house.1 Grass land was sometimes turned up to oblige the landlord to let it for tillage, and great numbers of cattle were killed or hamstrung. A letter in 1778 tells how a single person passing from Ballinasloe fair to Clara had 760 sheep killed in one night, and next morning no one dared to send him a horse to carry away the carcases, or to bid more for them than 3s. Qd. a sheep, that being the rate which the Whiteboy proclamations had prescribed. In the same year the chief inhabitants of a portion of the King's County speak, in a memorial to the Government, of ' v ist num-
1 Qivil Petitions, Irish Jtegort

Internet Archive historyofireland02leckuoft, Chapter 8

As the companion tells it

Coming up now is Ballinasloe in County Galway. Back in 1778 this was a fair town, and that year a letter told what happened to one man driving his sheep from Ballinasloe fair toward Clara. In a single night he had 760 sheep killed. Next morning no one dared send him a horse to carry away the carcases, and no one dared bid more for them than the Whiteboy proclamations had prescribed. The Whiteboys were the secret bands who had been terrorising the countryside since the 1760s, levelling enclosures, sending threatening letters, killing cattle, and forcing prices down by decree. So a man could lose nearly 800 sheep and find not a soul willing to help him move the dead, because the price the Whiteboys had set was the only price anyone was allowed to pay.

Threat to burn Newmarket over jailed Whiteboy

Newmarket · town · Cork · 1761–1775

Whiteboys threatened to burn the town of Newmarket in the diocese of Cloyne unless a captured Whiteboy confined there was released.

Read the passage

In some cases the Whiteboys acted with all the audacity of open insurgents. Great bodies of men traversed the country, often in the open daylight, wearing white cockades and blowing horns. In several cases they awaited an encounter with soldiers. They broke open the gaol at Tralee and released the prisoners. They threatened to burn the town of Newmarket, in the diocese of Cloyne, unless a Whiteboy confined there was released. They burnt several houses which soldiers had occupied, and alarms were spread, though apparently without real foundation, that they were seeking by intercepting provisions to threaten Limerick, Cork, and Ennis with famine.1 On one occasion in the beginning of the outbreak they assembled at Lismore, and affixed a placard at the post-office door requiring the inhabitants on the following night to illuminate their houses and provide a certain number of horses bridled and saddled, and the injunction was punctually obeyed.8 On another,
1 This was asserted by Bishop Woodward in his very alarmist pamphlet, p. 96. The reader should, however, compare the account, given by Father O'Leary in his curious and eloquent ' defence of his conduct and writings,' of the exaggerations which gained currency under the influence of panic. Among otheis, in Monkstown (near Cork), at the height of the bathing season, ' two wags for the sake of diversion sounded an old horn in the dead of the night and threw all the ladies and gentlemen into a panic. In

Internet Archive historyofireland02leckuoft, Chapter 8

Whiteboy horse seizures around Cahir

Caher · town · Tipperary · 1762

An informant from Tipperary described 'fairies' (Whiteboys) active between Clonmel and Mitchelstown, who seized all the horses they could discover around Cahir and imposed a terrorism controlling farm labour.

Read the passage

As early as January 1762 an informant writes from the county of Tipperary that c above 500 men frequently assemble with shirts over their clothes doing whatever mischief they please by night, under the sanction of being fairies, as they call themselves.' ' The fairies are composed of all the able young fellows from Clonmel to Mitchelstown.' They had levelled great numbers of enclosures, sent many threatening letters, rescued property which had been seized by landlords for non-payment of rent, compelled cloth weavers to lower the price of their goods, seized all the horses they could discover around Cahir, and established such a terrorism in the county that if any farmer dismissed a servant or a shepherd no one dared to take his place unless ' he had more interest with the fairies.' No one was allowed to bid for a farm which had been put up to auction until it had been waste for five years on pain of death or of the burning of his house.1 Grass land was sometimes turned up to oblige the landlord to let it for tillage, and great numbers of cattle were killed or hamstrung. A letter in 1778 tells how a single person passing from Ballinasloe fair to Clara had 760 sheep killed in one night, and next morning no one dared to send him a horse to carry away the carcases, or to bid more for them than 3s. Qd. a sheep, that being the rate which the Whiteboy proclamations had prescribed. In the same year the chief inhabitants of a portion of the King's County speak, in a memorial to the Government, of ' v ist num-
1 Qivil Petitions, Irish Jtegort

Internet Archive historyofireland02leckuoft, Chapter 8

As the companion tells it

As you pass through Cahir, you are travelling through country that the Whiteboys terrorised in 1762. An informant wrote that above 500 men were assembling by night, shirts over their clothes, calling themselves fairies. They were the able young fellows from Clonmel to Mitchelstown, and around Cahir they seized every horse they could find. They levelled enclosures, sent threatening letters, and rescued property that landlords had seized for unpaid rent. They forced cloth weavers to cut their prices. Their grip on the county was such that if a farmer dismissed a servant or a shepherd, no one dared take the place unless, in the informant's words, he had more interest with the fairies. No one could bid for a farm put up at auction until it had been waste for five years, on pain of death or the burning of his house. Grass land was sometimes torn up to force the landlord to let it for tillage, and great numbers of cattle were killed or hamstrung. The Whiteboys called themselves fairies, but what they imposed was a rule of fear across the farms of Tipperary.

Bishop of Derry suspected of importing arms via Birmingham

Derry · street · Tipperary · 1784

After the dissolution of the Convention, the government grew alarmed at the Bishop of Derry's inflammatory speeches urging Catholic emancipation, and induced a spy from near Derry to attach himself to the Bishop to discover whether he was importing arms from Birmingham.

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another revolution of power had taken place, which was destined to exercise a great influence in Ireland. The Coalition Ministry had fallen. Pitt came into power with an irresistible majority, and in February 1784 Lord Northington left Ireland, and the Duke of Rutland succeeded him as Viceroy, with Thomas Orde as his Chief Secretary. For some months after the dissolution of the Convention a dangerous agitation might be discerned. ' A rage for supporting the Convention,' wrote one of Charlemont's best informed correspondents, ' has laid hold on the yeomanry. ' l The Northern prints were full of passionate addresses, and the Bishop of Derry in emphatic language urged the volunteers to make the political emancipation of the Catholics one of their first objects.2 The Government, alarmed at his proceedings, for a time contemplated the possibility of prosecuting him, and induced a gentleman from the neighbourhood of Derry to attach himself to him as a spy in order to learn his intentions, and to discover whether it was true, as they suspected, that he was importing arms from Birmingham.3
The distress which had been so severe in 1783 still continued. In the beginning of 1784 a proclamation was issued forbidding the export of oats, oatmeal, and barley, and Irish letters continually speak of food risen almost to famine prices ; of great multitudes of workmen unemployed ; of riots to prevent the transport of food from one part of the country to another ; of nonimportation agreements ; illegal combinations of workmen ; industry in all its forms lamentably depressed. The cry for protecting duties became louder and louder,

Internet Archive historyofireland02leckuoft, Chapter 52

Famine prices and food riots amid 1784 distress

Ireland · place · 1784

In the beginning of 1784, distress from the preceding year continued, with a proclamation forbidding export of oats, oatmeal, and barley, food prices rising almost to famine levels, and riots to prevent the transport of food from one part of the country to another.

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The distress which had been so severe in 1783 still continued. In the beginning of 1784 a proclamation was issued forbidding the export of oats, oatmeal, and barley, and Irish letters continually speak of food risen almost to famine prices ; of great multitudes of workmen unemployed ; of riots to prevent the transport of food from one part of the country to another ; of nonimportation agreements ; illegal combinations of workmen ; industry in all its forms lamentably depressed. The cry for protecting duties became louder and louder,
1 Sam. Maxwell to Charlemont, * March 20, 1784 (most secret

Internet Archive historyofireland02leckuoft

Whiteboys enforce illumination at Lismore

Lismore · townland · Waterford · 1761–1762

Whiteboys assembled at Lismore and posted a placard at the post-office door demanding illumination of houses and provision of saddled horses, and the order was obeyed.

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In some cases the Whiteboys acted with all the audacity of open insurgents. Great bodies of men traversed the country, often in the open daylight, wearing white cockades and blowing horns. In several cases they awaited an encounter with soldiers. They broke open the gaol at Tralee and released the prisoners. They threatened to burn the town of Newmarket, in the diocese of Cloyne, unless a Whiteboy confined there was released. They burnt several houses which soldiers had occupied, and alarms were spread, though apparently without real foundation, that they were seeking by intercepting provisions to threaten Limerick, Cork, and Ennis with famine.1 On one occasion in the beginning of the outbreak they assembled at Lismore, and affixed a placard at the post-office door requiring the inhabitants on the following night to illuminate their houses and provide a certain number of horses bridled and saddled, and the injunction was punctually obeyed.8 On another,
1 This was asserted by Bishop Woodward in his very alarmist pamphlet, p. 96. The reader should, however, compare the account, given by Father O'Leary in his curious and eloquent ' defence of his conduct and writings,' of the exaggerations which gained currency under the influence of panic. Among otheis, in Monkstown (near Cork), at the height of the bathing season, ' two wags for the sake of diversion sounded an old horn in the dead of the night and threw all the ladies and gentlemen into a panic. In

Internet Archive historyofireland02leckuoft, Chapter 8

Clergy take refuge within the walls of Derry from Oakboys

Derry · street · Tipperary · 1763

During the Oakboy disturbances against tithes and road taxes, many clergymen were compelled to flee their parishes and take refuge within the fortified walls of Derry city.

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It was in the summer of 1763 that bodies of men, sometimes 400 or 500 strong, assembled to the sound of a horn, wearing oak boughs in their hats. They erected gallows, attacked houses, compelled clergymen to swear that they would not levy more than a specified proportion of tithe, and laymen that they would not assess the county at more than a stipulated rate, entered into an engagement to make no more high roads, and assaulted all whom they found working on the roads. Dr. Clarke was seized and carried in derision through various parts of the country, and many of the clergy were compelled to take refuge within the walls of l)erry.2 The flame spread rapidly through Armagh, Tyrone, Deny, and Fermanagh; but no very serious crimes were committed, and the Protestant rising of the North was wholly free from the atrocious cruelty which disgraced the Catholic insurgents of the South. It arose among a people who were much less wretched and much less ignorant. Their tithes, even at the worst, were more
1 See the curious speech of parish near Enniskillen, was

Internet Archive historyofireland02leckuoft, Chapter 10

Failed cotton manufacture at Prosperous, Co. Kildare

Prosperous · town · Kildare · 1784–1789

Captain Brooke received £25,000 to establish a cotton manufacture at Prosperous in County Kildare, but the great enterprise ultimately failed despite the parliamentary investment.

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entirely arisen within the period we are examining, the latter had rapidly increased. In 1788 Foster observed that in the six preceding years the annual export of linen had risen from twenty to thirty millions of yards.1 A number of other manufactures and industries were at the same time growing up. The silk manufacture underwent violent fluctuations, but it was stated in the Irish Parliament in 1784 that there were at that time no less than 1,400 silk looms at work in Dublin, employing 11,000 persons.2 In a speech in 1785, Foster, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, stated in the Irish Parliament that formerly Ireland was accustomed annually to import new drapery to the amount of upwards of 300,000 yards, but that the importation had almost ceased, and the native manufacture had so developed that the exports of Irish drapery exceeded 650,000 yards a year.3 The cotton manufacture was only introduced into Ireland atter 1780, but in 1785 it was computed that it already employed nearly 30,000 people. In 1783, 4,OOOZ. was granted by the Parliament for cotton machinery, and in the following year the Vice-Treasurer was directed to issue bills to the amount of 25,OOOZ. to Captain Brooke for carrying that manufacture into the county of Kildare. His great manufacture at Prosperous in that county ultimately failed, but several other cotton manufactures were scattered over Ireland, and Irish printed cotton obtained a considerable reputation and is said to have been largely smuggled into England.4 The glass manufacture, which had been crushed by the iniquitous English law of George II. forbidding the Irish to export their glass
1 Irish Parl. Deb. viii. 319. » Ibid. iv. 56, 57.

Internet Archive historyofireland02leckuoft, Chapter 87

Lord Kenmare's exertions against Whiteboys in Kerry

Tralee · townland · Kerry · 1761–1785

In Kerry, the Catholic nobleman Lord Kenmare was the most active person in arresting the Whiteboys, and the Protestant clergy assembled at Tralee to formally thank him for his efforts to protect them.

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I have dwelt upon this point at some length, because the assertion that the Whiteboy disturbances were a kind of religious war has been repeated even to our own day. It owes its origin partly to the natural panic which spread through the few scattered Protestants of Munster, and partly also to political motives. Yet it is certain that a large part of the Catholics exerted themselves quite as much as the Protestants in suppressing the disturbances. In Kerry the most active person in arresting the Whiteboys was Lord Kenmare, the great Catholic nobleman of the county; and the Protestant clergy assembled at Tralee voted an address to him, thanking him for his admirable exertions for their protection.1 In the county of Kilkenny the first effectual stand against the Whiteboys was made by the Catholic inhabitants of the little town of Ballyragget, who, at the cost of several lives, repelled a party who had attacked one of their houses.2 The Catholics of Cork, at the veiy beginning of the disturbances, met to concert measures for their repression, and offered a large reward for the apprehension and conviction of the rioters.3 Considering that the priests had usually sprung from the lower order of the people, and that they were wholly dependent upon them, they appear on the whole to have acted with great uprightness and courage. The Catholic bishop of Cloyne, in March 1762, issued a pastoral urging those of his diocese to use all the spiritual censures at their disposal for the purpose of repressing Whiteboyism; and some years later, Dr. Troy, who was then titular
take this opportunity of express- ness which he has shown me in

Internet Archive historyofireland02leckuoft, Chapter 9

As the companion tells it

Somewhere around here, Protestant clergy gathered at Tralee to thank Lord Kenmare, the great Catholic nobleman of Kerry, for his efforts against the Whiteboys. He was the most active person in the county in arresting them, and the clergy voted an address thanking him for what they called his admirable exertions for their protection. The Whiteboy disturbances spread panic among scattered Protestants in Munster, and some called it a kind of religious war, but that view persisted partly through fear and partly through political motives. In fact, Catholics worked just as hard as Protestants to put the disturbances down. In Kilkenny, Catholic inhabitants of Ballyragget made the first effective stand against the Whiteboys, repelling an attack at the cost of several lives. Catholics in Cork met early on to concert measures and offered a large reward for apprehending rioters. The Catholic bishop of Cloyne issued a pastoral in March 1762 urging his diocese to use all spiritual censures to repress Whiteboyism.

Ballyragget Catholics repel Whiteboy attack

Ballyragget · town · Kilkenny · 1761–1785

In County Kilkenny, the Catholic inhabitants of the small town of Ballyragget made the first effectual stand against the Whiteboys, repelling an attacking party at the cost of several lives.

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I have dwelt upon this point at some length, because the assertion that the Whiteboy disturbances were a kind of religious war has been repeated even to our own day. It owes its origin partly to the natural panic which spread through the few scattered Protestants of Munster, and partly also to political motives. Yet it is certain that a large part of the Catholics exerted themselves quite as much as the Protestants in suppressing the disturbances. In Kerry the most active person in arresting the Whiteboys was Lord Kenmare, the great Catholic nobleman of the county; and the Protestant clergy assembled at Tralee voted an address to him, thanking him for his admirable exertions for their protection.1 In the county of Kilkenny the first effectual stand against the Whiteboys was made by the Catholic inhabitants of the little town of Ballyragget, who, at the cost of several lives, repelled a party who had attacked one of their houses.2 The Catholics of Cork, at the veiy beginning of the disturbances, met to concert measures for their repression, and offered a large reward for the apprehension and conviction of the rioters.3 Considering that the priests had usually sprung from the lower order of the people, and that they were wholly dependent upon them, they appear on the whole to have acted with great uprightness and courage. The Catholic bishop of Cloyne, in March 1762, issued a pastoral urging those of his diocese to use all the spiritual censures at their disposal for the purpose of repressing Whiteboyism; and some years later, Dr. Troy, who was then titular
take this opportunity of express- ness which he has shown me in

Internet Archive historyofireland02leckuoft, Chapter 9

Whiteboy disturbances erupt violently in Kilkenny

Kilkenny · city · Kilkenny · 1784

Towards the close of 1784, Whiteboy disturbances broke out again with great violence in the county Kilkenny and spread widely over several counties.

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their magnitude, added : ' I have the satisfaction at the same time to find that the country is in a perfect state of quiet. The judges have finished their circuits, and at no place whatsoever did the grand juries show any spirit of discontent or any attempt at innovation. I hear of violence nowhere but in the metropolis.' * Even in Dublin the disturbances, though for a time very serious, in a few months subsided, and a Press Bill, which was introduced by Foster, did much to check them. It provided that the true names of every newspaper proprietor must be registered ; made receiving or offering money for printing or forbearing to print libels a high misdemeanour, and prevented the sale of unstamped papers in the streets.2 Towards the close of the year, however, the Whiteboy disturbances broke out again with great violence in the county Kilkenny and spread widely over several counties.
An incident, which occurred in Dublin in the spring of 1784, added seriously to the alarm. The ' Liberty ' corps of the volunteers — so called because it was recruited in the Earl of Meath's liberties, where the woollen manufacturers chiefly dwelt — thought fit without consulting any other volunteers to advertise for recruits, and enlisted about two hundred of the lowest class, who were chiefly Roman Catholics. Such a proceeding was wholly contrary to the wishes of Charlemont, to the general custom of the volunteers, and to the law which forbade Catholics to carry arms without licence, and at a time when the spirit of outrage was so rife in Dublin it was peculiarly dangerous. The other corps of the volunteers marked their disapprobation by refusing to join the Liberty corps at their exercises : but neither the Government nor the leaders

Internet Archive historyofireland02leckuoft, Chapter 56

Priest buried in brambles near Kildare for denouncing Whiteboys

Kildare · town · Kildare · 1761–1785

A priest in County Kildare was buried up to his neck in brambles and thorns as punishment for having denounced the Whiteboys, showing that clergy of both faiths could be targeted.

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proceed from religious prejudices.'1 One priest in the county of Kildare was buried up to his neck in brambles and thorns for having denounced the Whiteboys,2 and a very considerable number of Protestants of the lower orders were implicated in the later outrages.3 Arthur Young, in 1779, after a careful examination, gave it as his decisive opinion that no religious or political motives mingled with the disturbances ; and that the only evidence that had been adduced to the contrary was that of informers ' of the most infamous and perjured characters.' 4 Lord Charlemont was strongly anti-Catholic in his sentiments, and he erroneously believed that the Whiteboys were exclusively Catholic, but his opinion about the causes^of the disturbance was equally decided. ' The real causes,' he said, ' were . . . exorbitant rents, low wages, want of employment, farms of enormous extent let by their rapacious and indolent proprietors to monopolising land-jobbers, by whom small portions of them were again let and re-let to intermediate oppressors and by them subdivided for five times their value among the wretched starvers upon potatoes and water ; taxes yearly increasing, and still more tithes, which the Catholic, without any possible benefit, unwillingly pays in addition to his priest's money ; . . . misery, oppression, and famine.'5
1 Irish Parliamentary Debates, county of Kerry, about the provi. 409, 445. ceedings in that county: 'Many

Internet Archive historyofireland02leckuoft, Chapter 9

As the companion tells it

As you pass through Kildare, this is the county where a priest was buried up to his neck in brambles and thorns for having denounced the Whiteboys. The Whiteboys were a secret agrarian movement active in these decades, and the priest's punishment shows that men of the cloth could be singled out regardless of their faith. Arthur Young, after careful examination in 1779, gave his decisive opinion that no religious or political motives mingled with the disturbances, and that the only evidence to the contrary came from informers of what he called the most infamous and perjured characters. Lord Charlemont, though he erroneously believed the Whiteboys were exclusively Catholic, agreed on the real causes. He said they were exorbitant rents, low wages, want of employment, farms of enormous extent let to monopolising land-jobbers, then sublet and subdivided for five times their value among the wretched starvers upon potatoes and water, taxes yearly increasing, and still more tithes, which the Catholic unwillingly pays in addition to his priest's money. His summary was misery, oppression, and famine.

Rumoured mass Whiteboy gathering near Dungarvan

Dungarvan · townland · Waterford · 1761–1775

An informant reported that thousands of men were said to be assembling in the mountains near Dungarvan, with rumours of a much larger gathering planned nearby.

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they marched into the large village of Cappoquin, drew up in front of a horse barrack, fired several shots, and marched by the sentry who was on guard while their piper played ' The Lad with the White Cockade.' * On a third, a large party well mounted and clad in white rode into the little town of Kilworth, in the county of Cork, at three in the morning, firing many shots, and compelled the inhabitants at once ' to illuminate their, windows, which was done speedily and in great order, more from fear than respect.' The terrified inhabitant who wrote to inform the Government, had heard that 7,000 men were assembled in the mountains near Dungarvan, and that 20,000 would 'assemble next week near this town to go on some grand project.' a More commonly, however, the tactics of the Whiteboys were less ostentatious, but much more formidable, and their small parties moving silently in the dead of night committed depredations which threatened to reduce a great part of Ireland to absolute anarchy.
They announced from the beginning, that their object was ' to do justice to the poor by restoring the ancient commons and redressing other grievances,' 3 and they soon undertook to regulate the whole relation between landlord and tenant, and to enforce a new system of law wholly different from the law of the land. They waged especially a desperate war against- titheproctors and tithe-farmers, against the system of Kerry bonds, against a class of men called canters, who were accustomed to bid for the tithe of their neighbours' land, and who by Whiteboy terrorism were almost extirpated from Munster.4 They issued proclamations forbidding any man under terrible penalties to pay higher rates of

Internet Archive historyofireland02leckuoft, Chapter 8

A history of Ireland in the eighteenth century

The stories, best first

Father Nicholas Sheehy of Clogheen executed on false testimony

George Robert Fitzgerald imprisons his father at Rockfield

Sheehy's trial held at Clonmel amid intimidation

Sheehy's grave venerated as that of a saint

Fitzgerald's midnight hunts terrify peasantry

Clergyman mutilated near Urlingford

Fitzgerald surrenders himself at Castlebar assizes

Fitzgerald's later execution for murder

Man blown to pieces for stealing Whiteboy gunpowder

Popular gratitude to Chief Justice Aston near Clonmel

Peep of Day Boys and Defenders clashes in Ulster

Armagh identified as prophesied 'Armageddon' by Francis Dobbs

Soldiers fire on Dublin mob, killing one man

Steelboys besiege Belfast to free a captured comrade

Armed Whiteboys terrorise Kilworth at night

Butchers houghed in the streets of Dublin

Disappearance and suspected murder of informer John Bridge

Lord Donegal's mass eviction of tenants near Belfast

The Giant's Causeway as 'the stone of Daniel' in Dobbs's prophecy

Whiteboy display at Cappoquin barracks

Dr Clarke of Armagh seized and paraded by Oakboys

Conspiracy to assassinate seven MPs uncovered in Dublin

Kerry cows bled weekly amid famine

Man bound overnight in the streets of Cahir

Starving Crowds Parade Dublin Streets in Black Fleece Protest

Whiteboys break open Tralee gaol

Mass sheep slaughter on the Ballinasloe-Clara road

Threat to burn Newmarket over jailed Whiteboy

Whiteboy horse seizures around Cahir

Bishop of Derry suspected of importing arms via Birmingham

Famine prices and food riots amid 1784 distress

Whiteboys enforce illumination at Lismore

Clergy take refuge within the walls of Derry from Oakboys

Failed cotton manufacture at Prosperous, Co. Kildare

Lord Kenmare's exertions against Whiteboys in Kerry

Ballyragget Catholics repel Whiteboy attack

Whiteboy disturbances erupt violently in Kilkenny

Priest buried in brambles near Kildare for denouncing Whiteboys

Rumoured mass Whiteboy gathering near Dungarvan