The Dock and the Scaffold: The Manchester Tragedy and the Cruise of the JacknellSullivan, T. D. (Timothy Daniel)
History
The Dock and the Scaffold: The Manchester Tragedy and the Cruise of the Jacknell
Sullivan, T. D. (Timothy Daniel)
Erin's Hope (Brigantine); Fenians; Ireland -- Biography; Ireland -- Politics and government -- 19th century
About the 26th of May the ship left the Sligo coast. On the
1st of June she arrrivcd at Dungarvan. During the voyage
councils were held on board. Provisions were running short,
and they could not remain much longer at sea. These matters
were made the subjects of discussion. Some were for going to
America, and some for landing; and at last the conclusion was
arrived at that the majority of the officers should be landed,
and that the others should go either to America or to the
Western Isles--the Hebrides. They hailed a large fishing boat,
and offered the man on board £2 to put two men on shore. He
went on board the brigantine, and when he did so, twenty-eight
men who were hitherto concealed, rushed on board his ship. He
asked them if he would land them at Helwick Point, and they
said no, because there was a coastguard station there. They
were eventually landed about two miles from that point, and
they were compelled to wade through water three-and-a-half
feet deep to the shore.
So far the learned gentleman, her Majesty's Attorney-General for
Ireland. His statement was supported by the informations and
the evidence of an informer, Daniel J. Buckley, the Judas of the
expedition. He, however, represented Kavanagh as the captain of
the vessel, and General James E. Kerrigan as chief of the military
expedition. As to the armament on board, they had, he said, "some
Spencer's repeating rifles, seven-shooters, and some Enfield rifles,
Austrian rifles, Sharp's and Burnside's breech-loaders, and some
revolvers. There were about 5,000 stand of arms on board, and three
pieces of artillery, which would fire three-pound shot or shell. With
these pieces the salute was fired on the occasion of hoisting the
sunburst on Easter Sunday. As regards ammunition, there were about a
million-and-a-half rounds on board."
Colonel S.R. Tresilian, in the lecture already alluded to, gave the
following facetious account of the warlike stores which were on board
the vessel:--
We found the cargo to consist of 5,000 rat-tail files, of
different sizes and descriptions. Then there were several
smaller files that mechanics carry in their pockets; then
again there was the flat file, in respectable numbers, that
are used for cutting on either edge, and that are carried
in sheathes, to prevent the mechanics from cutting their
neighbours' fingers. These files were to be distributed to the
paupers in Ireland, to enable them to sharpen their teeth, so
that they could masticate animal food at the grand barbecue
that was to be given on the landing of our vessel. Another
portion of the cargo was 200,000 puff-balls and sugar-plums,
for gratuitous distribution among our English friends and
brethren in Ireland.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account