Halpins of Wicklow, etc. - Part 4

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Part 2.

Doctor William Nolan - As nearly one of the oldest inhabitants of Wicklow, I would like to say a few words on the subject.  It is in our interest to encourage in every way the introduction of English capital into Ireland, and here we have an opportunity of having a business which in England is carried on with great success, and what has made many towns in England as prosperous as they are.  He Dr. Nolan remembered Widness in Lancashire, a mere village, now a prosperous town of upwards of 60,000 inhabitants from the establishment of such works.  As to any injury arising from the works he could give the testimony of his son-in-law, a medical gentleman practicing in the immediate vicinity of many alkali works, to the general good health of the district.

Francis Wakefield, T.C. [a former industrialist from Mansfield who previously owned a foundry.  His personal agent was the Town Secretary, Robert W. Halpin], said that there seemed to be some misconception as to what the nature of the works were; now smelting works would mean the smelting of copper, which he Mr. Wakefield had no hesitation in stating would be injurious to the surrounding environment and the town's inhabitants, but if confined to the manufacture of soda cake he believed would not be injurious.  Now, as there is absence of those who should be interested in the building of villas, &c., and making Wicklow a first-class bathing place, let us now direct our attention to making it a manufacturing place.

James W. Dillon, T.C., agent to the largest Mining Company in the district, seconded the resolution of Mr. Hayden, and remarked that there need be no apprehension of the use of copper for the simple reason it was not in the country to any extent.

The Rev. Henry Rooke read the following letter from the Rev. Henry Brownrigg:-

Having heard incidentally that a meeting was to take place this day in Wicklow, to ascertain the wishes of the inhabitants of the town and neighbourhood with regard to the contemplated establishment of alkali works on the Morrough, and being unable, from illness, to attend in person, I would ask permission to express my sentiments on the subject on paper.  In the latter part of 1866 a movement of the same nature was first made, and this met by a memorial addressed to Earl Fitzwilliam, rapidly got up, but largely and respectably supported and signed, signifying strong disapproval of the project, an assigning substantial reasons for such dissent.

It was supposed that this memorial had succeeded, and that the alkali undertaking had collapsed.  But now it seems that a fresh effort is being made to galvanize it into a new existence.  To meet this movement I would again make use of the same memorial of 1865, a copy of which I now enclose, that it may be read before the present meeting, assembled in Wicklow this day.  I have received letters on the subject from persons of high position, expressing their disapproval of the proposed project.  But I do not feel that it is necessary or expedient to make them public.

I will only in ending observe that Wicklow would appear to be a doomed place, menaced as it is by the bursting of the Vartry water works and the establishment of alkali works on the Murrough.  The plagues of Egypt are re-enacted - "What the hail spares the locusts destroy.''

Henry Brownrigg, Prependary of Wicklow, 27th February 1867.

Mr. Dillon moved that the memorial be read, which was not done.

[the rest of this story will be posted tomorrow.]

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Part 3.

W. Magee, Esq., J.P., read an extract from some of the Dublin papers complaining that some of the works in Dublin had become a nuisance. 

Dr. Nolan in answer to Mr. Magee remarked that the letter was an answer to itself; why did not the inspectors do their duty and not allow the nuisance to continue which they had ample power to do.

The Chairman then put Mr. Hayden's resolution to the meeting, which was passed unanimously.

Mr. Hayden proposed, and Dr. Nolan seconded, that the marked thanks of the meeting be given to Earl Fitzwilliam and the Hon. F. Ponsonby, for their great courtesy in consulting the Town Commissioners and inhabitants, and giving them an opportunity of expressing their opinions.  Mr. Wakefield, having been called to the second chair, a vote of thanks was passed to Mr. Troy for his impartial bearing and the good harmony in which he conducted the meeting, which then terminated.

Mr. Joseph Correll attended to give any information required.

The following is a copy of the memorial referred to by Rev. Brownrigg:

We, the undersigned, the inhabitants of the town and neighbourhood of Wicklow, having heard with alarm and dismay the proposed grant of land from your lordship for the purpose of erecting ''Alkali Works'' on the Murrough of Wicklow, within half a mile of the town, earnestly entreat your lordship's attention to the two enclosed letters, which appeared in the Wicklow Newsletter of 30th September, and which represents the pernicious effect to animal and vegetable life always attendant on such works, and the consequent deterioration of the value of property within several miles of its vicinity.  We, therefore, beg to solicit your lordship's serious consideration to the above statement of facts, before irrevocably inflicting an injury so detrimental to the salubrity and agricultural prosperity of this neighbourhood. 

H. Brownrigg, W. Magee, J. S. Howard, George Wynne, Robert Burkitt, J. W. Fetherston II, Samuel C. Curtis, J. W. De Butts, Daniel Tighe, Charles Tottenham, Robert H. Truell, R. Truell, jun., Henry Shepard, Andrew Nolan, H. Townsend, John Ridge, W. West, John Hunter, Betsey Hagerty, Edmund Hall, Timothy Byrne, William Cullen, Pat. Byrne, Coolawinna, T. T. Robinson, Richard Keegan, H. MacPhail.

4th October 1865.

[I will post copies of the letters of 30 September 1865 next week.]

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Who were the Fenians and what did they want*?  The answer to this question is important, since the organization made a deep impression on Edwin Halpin (1855 - 1924), the youngest son of Robert Wellington Halpin (1814 - 1883), Wicklow's Town Clerk, Harbour Board Secretary, agent for The Nation*, Bookseller, Stationer, Shopkeeper and Post Master.  I'm trying to trace the political evolution of my family, from the liberal nationalism of my great great grandfather Robert, who was influenced by the writings of Ernest Renan and John Stuart Mill, through the socialism and syndicalism of Edwin Halpin, down to the staunch republicanism of William Robert Halpin (1885 - 1951), Edwin's eldest son and my grand uncle.  Edwin's politics are hard to nail down, partly because we know little about him in comparison to Robert and William.  But what we do know, which is based on some documentary evidence and a little family lore, is that Irish self-determination meant a great deal to him.  He despised sectarianism, detested religion, disliked clerics and fiercely objected to the political violence of physical force nationalists like Patrick Pearse and James Connolly.  He reserved a particular dislike for Countess Markiewicz, whom he described derisively as ''a souper'', and had immense respect for Michael Davitt and Jim Larkin.  From the little I know of him, he was not opposed to force per se, provided it was organized and constructive.  This is probably why he liked the syndicalism of the labour movement.  If the majority of the workforce of the United Kingdom and Ireland could be convinced to stage a series of co-ordinated strikes over an extended period of time, the political elites would capitulate and agree to much-needed concessions, including Home Rule for Ireland and universal suffrage.  Edwin also believed in the workers' right to defend themselves against police brutality, and supported the formation of the Irish Citizen Army in 1913, which was organized for that specific purpose.  He backed away from the army, however, when it adopted a more offensive position in relation to the Irish question, and while he admired James Connolly's intelligence, he had no time for his abrasive fanaticism.  He regarded Pearse as being seriously disturbed.

Edwin's nuanced approach to Irish independence was not shared by his son, William.  The two men engaged in furious arguments over the moral and practical advantages and disadvantages of political violence, arguments that came to a head in the last weeks of the War of Independence, when a ten year old boy by the name of Andrew Hanratty - a child Edwin knew well - was killed in an IRA ambush on Saturday, June 4th 1921.  The incident took place in Dublin on the North Strand Road, yards from Newcomen Bridge.  A small detachment of ''E'' Company, 2nd Battalion Dublin Brigade, led by William, armed with revolvers and home made hand grenades, attacked a passing military vehicle as it headed into the city.  The vehicle sped away without returning fire, and neither the British forces nor the IRA reported any casualties resulting from the clash.  Fourteen civilians were not so lucky, although young Hanratty was the only fatality.

To understand how William Halpin found himself embroiled in a vicious war with the British forces on the streets of Dublin in 1921, we need to appreciate the complicated Protestant and Catholic background from which he came.  And that background story requires an understanding of the history of Wickow town in the 1860s, 70s, and 80s.  Critical to an understanding of that history, is a basic knowledge of the Fenian movement.  My next few posts will attempt to provide that knowledge.

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenian

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nation_(Irish_newspaper)

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Part 1.

Fenianism

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Fenianism, a revolutionary movement originating in the greatly expanding Irish immigrant community of the USA following the collapse of the repeal and Young Ireland movements of the 1840s and the discrediting of parliamentary agitation by the collapse of independent opposition.

Difficulties of integration and prejudice experienced by Irish immigrants kept attention focused on Ireland and her problems while in New York revolutionary groups, which continued to exist after those in Ireland had collapsed, produced men ready to continue the independence struggle.  John O'Mahony (1816 - 77), Michael Doheny (1805 - 63), and Joseph Deniffe, together with James Stephens, a veteran of the ineffectual rising of 1848 who had fled to Paris, were chiefly responsible for initiating the Fenian movement.

Stephens, having established a leadership role and with limited financial backing from America, launched a revolutionary society in Dublin on St Patrick's Day 1858, dedicated to secrecy and the establishment of a democratic Irish republic.  Initially, the organization had no specific title, being known variously as 'The Society', 'The Organization', or 'The Brotherhood'.  The name 'Fenian', a reference to the warriors of ancient Ireland, originated with a parallel branch of the organization in America headed by John O'Mahony and, by extension, came to describe the movement in Ireland.  Stephen's continental experience was reflected in a clearly defined hierarchical structure with each member's knowledge of the society supposedly limited to the personnel of his own section.  In practice neither organization nor secrecy corresponded with intention.

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Part 2.

Both Stephens and T. C. Luby (1821 - 1901), another 1848 veteran, quickly got down to putting the society on a national footing and made significant progress.  In the process, the movement inevitably attracted police attention, Catholic church opposition, and competition from constitutional nationalists, especially A. M. Sullivan and the former Young Irelanders associated with the Nation newspaper.  Stephens proved adept at wrong-footing Sullivan's attempts to revive constitutionalism; however, his own position was undermined in a split with his American associates when he sought to improve his financial position by starting a newspaper, the Irish People.  This breach of secrecy resulted in his position within the overall movement being reduced to European representative and organizer of the Irish people.  But more seriously, the newspaper offices provided a convenient target for the government, which had successfully infiltrated the movement, and when the end of the American Civil War released thousands of Irish-American officers for possible Fenian activities in Ireland, it launched a pre-emptive swoop which netted Luby and other prominent members such as John O'Leary and Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa.  Stephens was also arrested soon after. 

The government strike was effective: 1865 was the optimum year for a rising.  The movement had a relatively strong urban base and had recruited successfully in Britain's Irish community and the British army.  But by 1866 it was on the defensive and was further weakened by leadership splits in the American body.  Stephens, recently sprung from jail, took control of the American organization but lacked the money and arms to put the long heralded rising into effect, and was replaced at the end of the year by military men determined on armed action regardless of the circumstances.  A weak attempt in February 1867 was followed by a more significant, but hardly impressive, rising on the night of 4 - 5 March.  All Fenian actions were short-lived, defeated by informers, bad weather, a well-prepared government and a disciplined army.  The rising, however, was not without consequences.  Agitation for an amnesty for Fenian prisoners, and outrage at the execution of the Manchester martyrs, mobilized nationalist opinion on a scale the Fenians themselves had never achieved, and provided the basis for the launching for the Home Rule movement.  In addition the rising moved Gladstone to initiate reforms that would culminate in his conversion to Home Rule.

Traditionally regarded as an uncomplicatedly revolutionary movement, Fenianism has recently been subjected to a revisionist treatment, most notably by Comerford, which dilutes the importance of nationalist commitment and emphasizes the social and recreational role the movement provided for its recruits. This treatment has, in the inevitable reaction to 'anti-nationalist' revisionism, in turn been criticized for distorting reality.

- a paraphrased version of an entry by James Loughlin, in the Oxford Companion to Irish History, edited by S. J. Connolly, Oxford University Press, 2007.

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Wicklow Newsletter, Saturday, December 15, 1866.

Arrests In Wicklow.

We regret having to announce that two supposed Fenian Head Centres have been discovered in this county, which had hitherto - apparently, at least - escaped the taint of Fenianism.  Patrick Cunniam, a national schoolmaster at Tinnahely, was arrested on Friday last, by Sub-Inspector Talbot, under a warrant from the Lord Lieutenant.  We believe there were no treasonable documents discovered, but he had been suspected for some time.  The second arrest was that of a shoemaker, named Doyle, at Baltinglass, on Monday last.  They are both in the county gaol. It is stated that the police have several other suspicious characters under close surveillance, and additional arrests may be expected.

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What could qualify as a 'treasonable document'?  On the basis of the following notice, virtually anything. 

Wicklow Newsletter, Saturday, February 24th 1866.

Treasonable Publications.

A little girl was arrested by the Constabulary in this town, for offering for sale songbooks containing seditious lyrics.  As she purchased the books from a Marine Store Dealer in the town, it led to their arrest and the parties are to be tried for their offences. 

A man named Hugh Byrne was committed to goal yesterday, suspected of treasonable practices under the provision of the Habeas Corpus Suspension Act.



In what sense could the contents of a songbook be regarded as seditious?  The following extract, from Young Ireland & The Writing Of Irish History, by James Quinn, University College Dublin Press (2015), may shed some light:

The Nation contended that 'the history of Ireland has not yet been written' and that Ireland could not claim to be a nation until this was done. ... It claimed Ireland was deficient in three crucial areas: 'national self-respect, knowledge of our own past, and national ballads'.  The comparison was often drawn with Scotland, whose ballads were seen to be an integral part of Scottish nationality, and the words of the Scottish patriot Andrew Fletcher were quoted approvingly: 'it is of little consequence who makes the laws of a country if the song-making be in proper hands'.  The Nation dedicated itself to the task of giving the Irish people better songs to sing, claiming that nothing could succeed until these had laid 'a fertile deposit in the public mind'.  Raising the tone of Irish popular song accorded with Young Ireland's mission of national improvement. ... In his Songs of Ireland, the Young Irelander Michael Joseph Barry explicitly rejected songs which are un-Irish in their character of language, and those miserable slang productions, which, representing the Irishman only as a blunderer, a bully, a fortune-hunter, or a drunkard, have done more than anything else to degrade him in the eyes of others and, far worse, to debase him in his own.

... [Thomas Davis, one of the founders of the Nation and its most talented contributor], regarded a comprehensive ballad history as 'the greatest book (religion apart) that a country can possess' and lauded the part ballads had played in forging national sentiment in Scotland, Spain and Germany.  The proposed work began in the Nation on 18 January 1845 with a ballad on the battle of Clontarf of 1014; others on 'The battle of Callan AD 1261', 'The Coming of St. Patrick' and the 'Battle of Credran AD 1257' followed.  However, their quality did not match Davis's hopes and the series came to an abrupt end in May 1845. 

In keeping with Young Ireland's prose historical writings, most of the pieces in the ballad history series celebrated military victories.  Such 'war songs' were a staple of the Nation, allowing the paper to express militant nationalist sentiment while avoiding the risk of prosecution by placing it in a historical setting.  Davis saw them as a subtle and insidious form of propaganda that could appeal to the patriotic instincts of even political opponents.  However Tories such as Isaac Butt, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu and John Wilson Croker were deeply uneasy at the inflammatory language of much Young Ireland verse, and The Times of London commented, Let a man make his thoughts rhyme, and there is hardly any amount of treason and iniquity he may not utter...no sedition appears too daring to be spoken, no atrocity too great to be recommended with impunity...

In 1843 the most popular of these songs were collected and published as the Spirit of the Nation, in a cheap shilling edition.  It was enormously popular, going into six editions in its year of publication.  By 1877 it had gone through 50 Dublin editions, and was also published in Boston and New York; it remained in print for over 90 years with a 97th edition published in 1934.  - pp. 42 - 50.

There is every chance, therefore, that the little girl arrested by the Constabulary in Wicklow in February 1866 was selling a cheap edition of Songs of Ireland or Spirit of the Nation.

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The Wicklow Newsletter, February 24th 1866.

Editorial

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The steps taken by the government within the last eight or ten days are well calculated to check Fenianism and restore confidence.  The large number of arrests made in Dublin and throughout Ireland generally, combined with the knowledge that the least whisper of treasonable practices is enough to deprive the whisperer of his liberty until, at all events, the first of March 1867, will, undoubtedly, rid Ireland of a swarm of traitors and mischief-makers; and the number of troops arriving daily, and spreading over the country, will prevent any chance of an outbreak.  Still it is too much to suppose that the Fenian fever will subside all at once, or the treason-mongers drop all their plans.  For a long time the authorities must be vigilant and watchful.  No suspected person should be left at liberty for an hour, and wherever evidence to warrant a conviction can be had it should be obtained.  The Government, however, would be greatly helped in their action if they could prevail on that of America to discountenance Fenianism there.  By the last accounts, money was flowing freely into the Fenian treasury, and arms too were supplied in quantities.  While this state of things exists there, we cannot hope to be quite free of the plague of Fenianism here.  Besides, the notion of invading Canada appears to be abandoned and the whole energies of the body directed towards Ireland.  It is best that it should be so.  The Government could not in honour refuse to defend Canada, and it is much easier to defend Ireland from any filibustering expedition.  In fact it would be almost a thing to be desired that such should be attempted at once, that the dupes of the movement in this country might see their last hope fade away.

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The Wicklow Newsletter, February 24th 1866.

Part 1.

Suspension Of The Habeas Corpus Act.

There has not been within our memory any meeting of Parliament which has had such significance and importance since the memorable year of revolutions, 1848, as the meeting of last Saturday, when both Houses of the Legislature were specially called, at the desire of the Government to pass an extraordinary measure.  The Commons were convoked at noon, but before that hour numbers of the members had arrived, thus bearing witness to their anxiety relative to the great event which was to transpire.

Sir George Grey, the representative of the Crown and Government, so far as the internal control of the United Kingdom is concerned, rose amidst the breathless attention of the House to ask its sanction to so extraordinary a measure that it is only common justice to believe the Government felt to be absolutely necessary.  The speech of the Home Secretary was virtually a splendid bill of indictment against the Fenians, whether American or English, but dealing with them only so far as they existed and worked out their villainous projects on the British empire.  He showed that the Fenian conspiracy had assumed proportions of the most dangerous character; that especially since the termination of the American war it had become largely developed; that the disbanded Irish in America had organized themselves in conjunction with their countrymen at home to subvert the power of the British crown in the sister island; and that in Ireland bodies of men were arming themselves and preparing for an insurrection.  Sir George Grey then showed that there was but a choice between two things - either military repression or the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act.  ''I have watched every symptom of the conspiracy,'' said the Home Secretary, ''for many months, and it is my conviction that no time should be lost in suspending the Act.  Unless this is done there cannot be responsibility for the safety of the country.  With that power I hope to avert any serious mischief.''  The loud cheering which came from all parts of the House at this request showed the opinion of men of all parties.  The House evidently felt that it was no party question; the Government sought to act for the good of the entire kingdom, and not least for that of Ireland than for the benefit of any other portion of the British dominions.

Men of all shades of opinion heartily fell in with the views of the Government.  Mr. Disraeli, while blaming the Government for some of their past acts, cordially supported the proposal of the Home Secretary, Mr. Bright, than whom no man is more jealous of the liberty of the subject, , earnestly entreated that the evils under which he considers Ireland now suffers might seriously be taken into consideration, but he too heartily approved the extreme power that government sought to obtain.  Mr. Roebuck, Mr. Horsman, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer - men of a very different cast of mind, and the two former remarkable for their independence of political opinion - and several other members, looking at the subject from various points of view, all agreed that the time had come when the liberties of a portion of Ireland should be curtailed.  The result was that while only six individuals were found to vote against the Government proposal, 364 voted for it.  In the House of Lords the same hearty approval of the step which Ministers felt themselves compelled to take was manifested; and thus, within a few hours, the Habeas Corpus Act was suspended, so far as Parliament could act, and her Majesty's sanction was speedily given.  Throughout the country there is scarcely any other feeling but that of regret that such a measure should be necessary, accompanied by a hearty approval of the course which our Government has taken.