"Father John Murphy, a priest, who acted as aide-de-camp to the great sacerdotal hero, John Murphy of Boulavogue, and who had accompanied him from Vinegar-hill, fell in this action. He had a dove and a crucifix on his buttons, and letters directed to him were found in his pocket, recommending proper places for encamping. Father John Murphy, the commander-in-chief, who fled from the field of battle, was taken at an ale-house by three yeomen, one of them of the name of McCabe, and led a prisoner to Tullow, the head-quarters of Sir James Duff. He was introduced into a room where the general, his aides-de-camp, Colonels Foster and Eden, the Earl of Roden, Captain McClintock, and about twenty officers, were sitting. Major Hall having asked him some questions which gave offence, in a violent rage the priest made a blow of his fist at the major, which would have knocked him down, but that he warded it off with his arm, on which, however, he received a severe contusion. On searching him, in his pockets his vestments were found, with some letters from Mrs. Richards and other ladies, prisoners at Wexford, imploring him to save the lives of their husbands and relations. He was hanged on the same day-his body was burned-and his head fixed on the markethouse." "*

Meath, where they were again attacked by detachments of the Fermanagh and Carlow militia, the Swords yeoman infantry, and about one hundred cavalry, consisting of a detachment of the Dumfries light dragoons, and three corps of yeomanry, all under the command of Captain Gordon, of the Dumfries. The rebels being in general mounted, Captain Gordon ordered part of his cavalry to pursue them; but on their advancing, the enemy dismounted, and instantly dispersed, not one hundred remaining on the ground, who, when the infantry came up, fled at the first discharge. One hundred and fifty of the rebels fell on this day, without any loss on the part of his Majesty's forces. The small remnant of the insurgent army being now driven to despair, every man thought only of providing for his own safety."-Musgrave.

*"He was about forty-five years old, light-complexioned, bald-pated, and about five feet nine inches high, well made, uniting strength with agility. He was exceedingly irascible, and when in a passion had somewhat the aspect of a tiger. His pix, his oil stock, and a small crucifix, were found in his pocket."—Ibid.

CHAPTER XVIII.

SUPPRESSION OF THE WEXFORD INSURRECTION-PARTY FEELING AFTERWARDS GENERAL HOLT-DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY- MORAL AND MILITARY CHARACTER OF THE WEXFORD REBELS.

WITH the total suppression of open insurrection, the tranquillity of the country was far from resulting as a consequence. A contest between nations may be pacified at once, and friendly relations immediately re-established; but civil war annihilates social feeling; it is not the struggle that originates in thirst of glory, or a yearning after power; but every bad passion is enlisted the contest is marked by ferocity and cruelty generally concludes it.

There is no doubt whatever, but the Irish executive held out the olive-branch to the insurgents, and that, in professing leniency for the past and a redress of grievances for the future, their declarations were honest and sincere. Every act, with one exception, of Lord Cornwallis,* shewed that his object was to conciliate and not coerce; and had he possessed the power to have carried out his intentions, the country would have felt the healing influence of mild government, and the violence of the royalists and outrages of the disaffected would very soon have been effectually repressed.

Whatever might have been the general feeling throughout the kingdom that those terrible scenes which had attended the insurrectionary outbreak should terminate, there was a section of both parties who, from different objects, were opposed to a return of national tranquillity. The royalists were again the ascendant party, and many who before, and through abuse of power, had fanned the smouldering of discontent into the flame of rebellion, were now, from base and interested motives, desirous to interrupt every effort at conciliation, inflame religious prejudices, and exasperate rather than appease. the rebels, many considered themselves placed by their crimes beyond the pale of mercy; others were afraid, from the indiscriminating violence of the yeomanry, to avail themselves of the offered amnesty, and surrender and claim protection,†—and not a few were driven to

Of

**"On the 27th of July, the attorney-general brought in a bill of attainder against Lord Edward Fitzgerald, Cornelius Grogan, and B. B. Harvey, all deceased. This measure was considered rather an act of imprudent severity, or a sort of supplementary vengeance upon the unoffending widow and orphan, and rather as the base posthumous issue of the latter, than the genuine offspring of the present administration. To compensate, however, for this solitary instance of severity, a bill of general amnesty was passed in the course of the session, with the exception only of Napper Tandy, and about thirty others, chiefly fugitives in France."-Plow

den's Historical Review.

"The various outrages that were committed in the country prevented numbers from coming into the quarters of the several commanding officers to obtain protections, as many of the yeomen and their supplementaries continued the system of

such reckless desperation, by destruction of property, or the personal indignities they had undergone, that a thirst for revenge overcame prudential considerations, and when the hope of any political change of government was over, and they were perfectly assured that an outlaw's life and felon's death awaited them, they banded in desperate confederacy-their hand against every man, and every man's hand against them.*

Ruffianly and truculent as most of these outcasts were, there were many among them who had been rendered desperate by ill-usage, and were far more sinned against than sinning. Of this number one celebrated leader was an instance-and Holt's simple narrative of the causes which drove him into outlawry is calculated to excite sympathy for his sufferings, and his crime will be half forgiven when the injuries are detailed which provoked it.

"One morning about half-past five, Mr., before mentioned, of road-money memory, came to my house with a party of the Fermanagh militia, and calling my wife out, inquired where I was. She told him I was cutting turf, and he went away. He returned again about twelve o'clock, made the same inquiry, and went away.

"I returned home to dinner, and having heard of the visits of I began to suspect he meant me no good, and yet I could not imagine any mischief he could do me, as I knew there was no guilt in me. While I was musing about the matter, the serjeant's wife came into the room much excited, and said to me, 'God help you, poor man, your life is in danger.' I rose up and asked her what she meant. She said, 'Your house is condemned, and I am ordered out of it; why I

conflagration, and of shooting such of the peasantry as they met; and this necessarily deterred many from exposing themselves to their view, and prevented of course the humane and benevolent intentions of the present government from having their due effect."-Ibid.

*"Assassinations, from religious or political motives, would probably have ceased, soon after the granting of protections, if some desperate rebels, reinforced by deserters from regiments of Irish militia, had not remained in arms in the mountains of Wicklow and the dwarf woods of Killaughrim, near Enniscorthy. Desertions from these regiments, composed mostly of Romanists, were much apprehended in the time of the rebellion; but providentially here, as in other instances, the event was too late for the service of the rebel cause. A very few went over to the insurgents while they were in force, and these few seemed not to relish well the change from a regular army to a disorderly multitude. Yet, from some strange movement of the mind, after the rebellion was completely quelled, and only a few desperadoes, probably not above three hundred in all, remained in arms, in the two devious retreats above mentioned, many soldiers, particularly of the Antrim and King's County regiments, joined these desperadoes, with whom they could rationally expect no better fortune than a short life of hardship and rapine, ended by gun or halter. So great, however, was the terror of this banditti in the vicinity of their lurking-places, that those Protestants who had remained in the country in the time of the rebellion, now found themselves under the necessity of taking refuge in towns. But, after a little time, the woods of Killaughrim, scoured by the army, were cleared of their predatory inhabitants, who had ludicrously styled themselves Babes of the Wood, and in that quarter tranquillity was restored to the country."-Gordon's History.

who, in the absence of Father Murphy, had assumed the office of chief commander.

On the 23rd of June, Sir Charles Asgill having received intelligence of the rebel inroad on Kilkenny, marched with the garrison of the city to meet them. From not knowing the exact position of the rebels, the movement was rather dangerous-as Kilkenny was left defenceless, and in the absence of the troops, the city was open to surprise. A reconnaissance, under Major Lawder, towards Leighlinbridge, succeeded in obtaining information, and confirmed reports already made by some of the soldiers' wives who had escaped after their capture at Gore's-bridge. Sir Charles instantly marched towards Kellymount, but on arriving there he found that the rebels had moved on Castlecomer, where the colliers had risen en masse—and the troops being completely exhausted, he countermarched in the evening on Kilkenny, detaching, however, a strong cavalry patrol to observe the movements of the insurgents, and attack them should opportunity present itself.

The incursion of the Wexford rebels encouraged the disaffected colliers in the neighbourhood of Castlecomer to break out into open insurrection, and they made a night attack on the barrack of Doonane. In this they were completely repulsed, although the soldiers were taken by surprise, and obliged to defend themselves in their shirts. Next morning the rebels moved to Castlecomer, having bivouacked the preceding night on a ridge five miles from the town.

Reinforced by several detachments of horse and foot, and a number of loyalist irregulars, either from a false security or from having been frequently and unnecessarily got under arms before, when intelligence arrived that the rebels were actually advancing, it was unfortunately disregarded; and, favoured by a thick mist, the enemy had nearly reached the town, before the royalists formed to receive them. The bridge and main street were selected as the best positions—and a strong patrol was sent out, to watch and report the movements of the enemy.

It was the morning of the festival of St. John-and, instead of pushing forward under cover of a fog which rendered objects invisible at the distance of twenty paces, and which would have covered their advance, the rebels halted at Gurteen to hear mass for the second time-and that silly delay most probably saved the garrison. Every thing was favourable for a surprise the fog was so thick, that the royalist patrol was fired on before it saw the enemy-and had the rebels but pushed the troops, they must have been surrounded and cut to pieces. Suddenly the mist cleared, and then, for the first time, the royalists perceived the danger that impended. Seven thousand rebels were in front and flank; the main body in close column on the road; the wings, chiefly musketeers, extended right and left; the whole assuming the form

was fortunately recognized by some of the Wexford soldiers, who had been his prisoners, was apprehended, and afterwards hanged. When arrested, he had the protections of five general officers.”—Musgrave.