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CSO/RP/CA/1826/12

Memorandum by unidentified individuals providing a verbatim account of the tenth day’s meeting of a Catholic Association at the Corn Exchange, chaired by Nicholas Mahon; the replies of Lord Riversdale and Col Shaw to invitations to attend a dinner on 2 February were read; Anthony Browne proposed a motion of thanks to Rev Sydney Smyth, Rev Bird and Rev Shepherd of Liverpool; [Christopher] Fitzsimon stated that the issue of a burial ground for Dublin would be taken up in another association; [Stephen] Coppinger refused to abandon his proposal to offer a vote of thanks to the authors of an address from New York; [John] Lawless gave notice of a motion condemning the language used in the ‘monstrous’ oath of allegiance and Mr Dillon called for the repeal of the ‘Protestant Oath’ which barred catholics and dissenters from holding public office and which even Lord Castlereagh found disgusting; Sir Edward Bellew wondered if the committee looking into the accounts and expenditures of the catholic body could legally proceed with their work; Lord Killeen proposed an address to the people of England which would answer the accusations against catholics that they held divided allegiances, sought to overthrow the established church and that they wished to disconnect from Great Britain; Mr Preston believed that the main English opposition came from the its clergy; [Sir Thomas] Wyse agreed that the House of Lords could always rely upon ‘a great mass of spiritual Peers’ who were opposed to them but also noted the cordial relations between English protestants and catholic cardinals in Rome; [Daniel] O’Connell denied a comment attributed to him in ‘Saunders Newsletter’ in which he was alleged to have accused the managers of the Kildare Place Society of spending the societies’ funds ‘at Bath and Cheltenham’; [Richard Lalor] Sheil proposed a vote of thanks to [Patrick] Kelly, catholic Bishop of Waterford for having commenced a census of his diocese. O’Connell proposed a plan to hold simultaneous parochial meetings throughout Ireland for the purpose of preparing petitions; acknowledged that some members were opposed to the idea and moved that the plan be first discussed by a committee of twelve; added that the bishops would be requested to prepare a prayer for the occasion; worried that their enemies could use the meetings to cause disturbances and riots and drew attention to possible difficulties in the north of the country; suggested that such meetings would refute the claim that the peasantry cared little for the emancipation cause; explained how the plan was legal and promised that he would abandon it if it could be proved that it would lead to a breach of the peace. Dillon Bellew supported the plan which would result in 300 petitions containing millions of signatures being laid before parliament; Sir Edward Bellew also feared for consequences in the north; [Nicholas Purcell] O’Gorman felt the plan was quite impracticable and dangerous; Sheil took credit for envisioning the plan which would be best debated in committee; Luke Plunkett did not support the measure as Ribbonmen had also favoured having simultaneous meetings.

26 Jan 1826

1826

CSO/RP/CA/1831/11

Memorandum entitled 'Proceedings at a Meeting of the Commercial Clerks of the City of Dublin', held at the Swan’s Rooms, Batchelor's Walk, Dublin, chaired by John Browne, with verbatim transcription of speeches [some passages include later additions] outlining a number of resolutions relating to repeal of the union, as well as the impact of the union on the commercial clerks of Dublin. Start of meeting delayed by 15 minutes to wait for the arrival of a reporter from the ‘Freeman’s Journal’. Browne explained that although it was ‘unbecoming’ for religious men to meet on the Sabbath, it could not be avoided as the attendees were required to work the other 6 days of the week. Speaking on the success of the campaign for emancipation, he stated that the late King [George IV] and the parliament had conceded in 1829 ‘that which was treason to contend for’ by the United Irishmen some 30 years before – he argued that a similar situation now surrounded the issue of parliamentary reform, which would eventually succeed through the will of the people. Contributions made by a number of speakers. Roderick Martin stated that the administration was opposed to repeal as they felt that the Irish were not fit to govern themselves – he argued that this was true, as they had kept Ireland in a state of fever for the past 30 years, ‘dreaming when asleep and thinking when awake of how we could get back that which they robbed us of’. William Myhan described the Bank of Ireland as the ‘closest of all close boroughs’ as only 4 of its 300 clerks were of the catholic faith, and stated that the economic downturn was particularly hard on clerks as ‘from the education they get they are obliged to mix with persons who have better means and are obliged to dress as Gentlemen, and when out of employment they are sometimes very badly off’. Mr Daly noted that this was the first time commercial clerks had come forward as one to address grievances such as the monopoly of the Dublin Corporation, low wages, and their exclusion from various positions including the Bank of Ireland, the Stamp Office, the Law Room and the Custom House. [Thomas] Steele admonished [John David] Latouche [La Touche], a member of a prominent banking family in Dublin, for his late arrival to the Catholic Association – ‘when the fight was just won he came in to take his share of the spoils of honor’. Referring to a recent letter printed in the paper by Nicholas Mahon which apparently contained a misrepresentation of a recent conversation with Daniel O’Connell, Steele declared that in light of Mahon’s old age, O’Connell had given him until the following morning to print a retraction, at which time he would publish his own version of events. Steele also commented on O’Connell’s strategy which focused first on emancipation and only then moved on to address the issue of repeal, stating that he was ‘a man who knows how to do work… he does not leap to the top of a flight of stairs in his way because he might fall and stumble back… [he said] give me a [fulcrum] for my lever and I will raise the world give me catholic emancipation and we will carry the Repeal of the Union’. In a lengthy analogy, John Buckley depicted O’Connell as medic tending to a sickly Paddy’s bedside, telling him he was ‘too weak for bleeding’ and prescribing him five words written in ‘plain English’ rather than Latin; ‘The Repeal of the Union’, a cure that could only be attained in a shop ‘across the water’. To cries of ‘shame’ from the assembly, Robert Delahoyd[e] lamented the ‘desolate state’ of Dublin city since the union, ‘our Manufactories decreased the houses of our Nobility are Tenements or Rooms and the House of his Grace the Duke of Leinster [Augustus Frederick Fitzgerald, 3rd Duke of Leinster, also known as the Marquis of Kildare] has become what? It has become a receptacle of stuffed Birds and Beasts (and Monkeys)… I hope the Proprietor of it will do us the favor at all events when his Grace pay[s] the debt of Nature to stuff him and place him there’, although he stated he did not know which class of animal the duke would belong to, ‘he has not the common honesty of an ass… I tell you what, we will place him among the reptile tribe’. [John] Lawless remarked that certain members of the catholic aristocracy had been bribed by either money, flattery or the ‘novelty of sitting at a great man’s table… [and now wore] the livery of their Brother Protestants’, in response to which the assembly cried ‘Sheil, Sheil, a groan for Sheil’ [Richard Lalor Sheil]. In light of the many speeches made at the meeting, Mr Montgomery remarked that in his opinion, there was ‘not an era of European history on record what can furnish such material for the future Historians patriotic page as the present’.

30 Jan 1831

1831

CSO/RP/1831/906

Letter from Maj William Miller, [Inspector General of Police in Munster], Nenagh, [County Tipperary], to Lieut Col Sir William Gosset, Under Secretary, reporting on security arrangements at crossover points on the River Shannon between counties Clare and Limerick; stating he has made an inspection of the stations at Castleconnell [County Limerick], O'Brien's Bridge, Birdhill and Killaloe Bridge, and find adequate precautions in place; suggesting, however, that a gate be placed on one side of O'Brien's Bridge to ‘prevent any sudden rush of People across the River during the night’. Also letter from Miller to Gosset commenting further on the measures taken for the security of O'Brien's Bridge; reflecting on the increase of police in the district and the presence of a military detachment; requesting to know if permission can be obtained to withdraw some of the police for service elsewhere in County Limerick.

17 Apr 1831-25 Apr 1831

1831

CSO/RP/1832/2194

Letter from Dr Bird, Banagher, [King's County or County Offaly], to John Gore Jones, magistrate, Eyrecourt, [County Galway], reporting that cholera has appeared in his town and has resulted in rapid fatalities. Also covering letters from Jones, Eyrecourt, to Sir William Gosset, [Under Secretary], suggesting that the military detachment be withdrawn for Banagher during the crisis providing that it will not impact on the preservation of the peace. Also return noting the number of ordnance carriages and stores currently in Banagher, prepared by Lieut Col Robert Douglas and addressed to Maj Gen Sir Thomas Arbuthnot. Also covering letter from [William] Siborn, Assistant Military Secretary, Royal Hospital, Dublin, to Gosset. Also damp press copy of reply from Gosset, Dublin Castle, to Jones. Also letter from William Henderson, Bellmount Petty Sessions, to Jones, reporting the murder of William Egnew on the Galway side of the River Shannon close to Shannon Bridge. Also damp press copy of reply from Gosset, Dublin Castle, to Lieutenant General Sir Hussey Vivian.

3 May 1832-22 May 1832

1832

CSO/RP/1833/393

Letter from John Bird, Mountmelick [Mountmellick, County Laois], to Lieut Col [Sir William] Gosset, [Under Secretary, Dublin Castle], complaining that a sick soldier billeted with him still has not been removed.

31 Dec 1832-30 Sep 1833

1833

CSO/RP/1833/1059

Letter from William Hamilton, Constable, Birdstown, County Donegal, to John Irwin, Chief Constable, Carndonagh, County Donegal, [currently Monaghan, County Monaghan], asking for legal advice on the threat of a fine for selling seized goods without a licence. [Contains list of names not given in this description.]

1 Mar 1833-9 Mar 1833

1833

CSO/RP/1833/3689

Damp press copy letter from Lieut Col [Sir William] Gosset, [Under Secretary, Dublin Castle], to [John] Macleod, [Sub-Inspector], Cavan, [County Cavan], referring to a complaint from Phillip Bird about the fact that the police refused to arrest a certain William [Neal] who had allegedly attacked him.

7 Aug 1833

1833

CSO/RP/1833/3851

Affidavits by Peter Bird, cottier, and his son Philip, labourer, Scalkil [Skalkill], County Monaghan, before Michael Birmingham, magistrate, Kingscourt, [County Cavan], stating details of an assault by John and William Nicol and John Johnson, perpetrated when they were on their way to work in England, and complaining that the police and a magistrate in County Cavan refused to act against the perpetrators. Also, letters from Alexander Kingston Fox, Chief Constable, Kingscourt, and the Sub-Inspector for County Cavan, regarding their investigations into the Birds' complaints, naming George and William instead of John Johnson as among the persons who assaulted the Birds. [Contains list of names not given in this description.]

3 Aug 1833-14 Aug 1833

1833

CSO/RP/1833/3934

Letter from Edmond Cullen, farmer, Crawn [Craan], Leiglin Bridge [Leighlinbridge, both County Carlow], to Lieut Col [Sir William] Gosset, [Under Secretary, Dublin Castle], asking to have confiscated arms restored to him which he needs to protect crops from birds; enclosing testimonial from a local magistrate.

1 Aug 1833-20 Aug 1833

1833

CSO/RP/1833/6067

Letter from SH Atkins, Tithe Commissioner, Bird Hill [Birdhill, County Tipperary], [post town] Killaloe, [County Clare], to Edward John Littleton, [Chief Secretary, Dublin Castle], asking for advice on how to obtain averages in the parishes of Owenduff and Tintown, County Wexford, stating that he was unable to find a surveyor or boundsman.

12 Dec 1833-17 Dec 1833

1833