John Fitzgerald of Knockbrack
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Accused Fenian: Master John Fitzgerald, of Knockbrack, Glenmore
Over a month ago one of our readers in Indiana queried if there were many Glenmore Fenians who were forced to flee Ireland for their activities. Danny Dowling related that he was only aware of one person from Glenmore identified as a fenian, John Fitzgerald of Knockbrack, Glenmore. Danny on the first of June 1973 interviewed Mick Gaule, of Killaspy, Slieverue who told Danny that a man known as Master John Fitzgerald, of Knockbrack, Glenmore, was a member of the Fenian Movement in 1867. For his association with this organisation he had to flee the country and never returned. Master John Fitzgerald had the place where Paul Fitzgerald lived in 1974. Master John Fitzgerald was a cousin of old Micil Fitzgerald who lived where the late John Fitzgerald of the interviewer’s time lived.
The Fenians
The term fenian or feniasm was “… used indiscriminately to refer to the upsurge of popular ‘nationalist’ expectation among Irish Catholics…” (Comerford, R.V., The Fenians in Context: Irish Politics and Society 1848–82 (Kindle Locations 2970-2973). R.V. Comerford. Kindle Edition.) The Fenians of the 1860’s were inspired by the Young Irelanders and rebellion of 1848. The two most prominent Fenian organisations were established by two of the Young Irelanders involved in the rebellion of 1848. Both fled Ireland and sought safety in France. John O’Mahony (1815-1877) and James Stephens (1825-1901) would work together and separately to form oranisations that would actively promote Irish independence.
NYCity Library
John O’Mahony (1815-1877) was a native of Cork and was the founder of the Fenian Brotherhood in America. O’Mahony left France and settled in the US in 1853. He named his group after the Fianna the legendary warriors of Ancient Ireland. James Stephens (1825-1901) was a native of Kilkenny City. It has been noted that his early political influence was Dr. Robert Cane (1807-1858), a former Mayor of Kilkenny, a physician, a moderate Young Irelander who was jailed for several months in 1848 without charges ever having been made against him. From a Glenmore link perspective, Dr. Robert Cane was the father of the Kilmakevogue Dispensary doctor appointed in 1867, James Butler Norris Cane (c. 1804-1906) https://glenmore-history.com/dr-james-butler-norris-cane-c-1840-1906/.
Stephens remained in France until 1856 when he returned to Ireland and began what he described as a three thousand mile walk around Ireland to meet former Young Irelanders and other nationalists. In 1857 O’Mahony corresponded with Stephens who established on St. Patrick’s Day 1858 the secret Irish Republican Brotherhood in Ireland. Rivalry soon caused friction between the two groups as by 1865 the Fenian Brotherhood had became large and could afford to send arms to Ireland while the Irish Republican Brotherhood struggled. With the financial backing of the American Fenians Stephens published a newspaper called The Irish People commencing in 1863. This newspaper attracted a new generation of nationalists including Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa, Charles Kickham, Thomas Clarke Luby and John O’Leary.
In the US the Fenian Brotherhood, although a secret society, had a public profile and for the most part engaged in fund raising and other activities without interference from the US government. While the American Civil War (1861-1865) raged Fenian rallies were held in several northern cities. The US Government’s ambivalence toward the American Fenians may have been due to the fact that the British, although professing to condemn slavery, had openly attempted to run the Union blockade of Confederate ports. In exchange for the slave produced cotton of the Confederacy the British sold munitions and other supplies to the South. Additionally, British controlled Canada became a haven for Confederate sympathisers and agents who attempted to burn New York City in November 1864. Some battle hardened Irish American Civil War Union Army veterans splintered from Stephens and led several unsuccessful invasions into Canada. The US Government did little to stop the veterans. The British newspapers in hysterical tones reported on Fenian conspiracies on both sides of the Atlantic.
An uprising was planned in Ireland for the summer of 1865. The plans were discovered and Irish Republican Brother members were arrested and sentenced to prison or transportation to penal colonies in Australia. Immediately, the Irish People newspaper was raided and Luby, one of the editors, and O’Donovan Rossa, the manager, were arrested. O’Donovan Rossa was convicted and sentenced to prison where he defied the prison authorities and was subject to abuse. Stephens was arrested and imprisoned but escaped and again fled to France. The Habeas Corpus Suspension Act was enacted on 17 February 1866 and allowed for the arrest and detention of citizens without trial.
Immediately a large number of persons were arrested and detained without charge or trial. Reports of the abuse of persons arrested and jailed for being involved in the Fenian conspiracy began to be raised in the House of Commons. For questions raised regarding Waterford prisoners see, https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1866/mar/16/ireland-fenian-prisoners-at-waterford#S3V0182P0_18660316_HOC_40.
In searching for newspapers articles concerning the arrest of Master John Fitzgerald, of Knockbrack, Glenmore a list of other County Kilkenny arrestees was compiled. It is not an exhaustive list.
(1) Kilkenny Moderator, Sat. 10 March 1866: John Kavanagh, relieving officer of Kilkenny, Walkin St.; James Holland, a mason, upper Patrick St.; Wm. Dunphy, housepainter, Walkin St.
(2) Kilkenny Moderator, Wed. 21 March 1866: John Lynch, of Callan; and Patrick Comerford, of Lady’s-well, near Danesfort; Thomas Phelan, Sergeant Tailor of the Kilkenny Fusilier Regiment of Militia, was liberated from custody as he was wrongly arrested for being Thomas Whelan, of Kilkenny.
(3) Kilkenny Moderator, Sat. 30 March 1867: Richard Power and Patrick Murphy, living near Glenmore were arrested by Constable Powell, of Glenmore (who upon retirement became the first postmaster of Glenmore see, https://glenmore-history.com/the-glenmore-post-office-its-rise-and-demise/.)
(4) The Evening Freeman, Wed. 4 April 1866: Mr. Grace, of Thomastown, held in Mountjoy.
(5) Kilkenny Moderator, 1 August 1866: Edmond Coyne, of Callan (released & deported); James Cody, of Callan (released & deported); John Lynch, of Callan, released on surety; Michael Heffernan Dunne (still in prison).
(6) Kilkenny Moderator, 1 June 1866: Loche of Callan; and Downey, formerly of Goresbridge were still detained in Kilkenny gaol.
The Arrest of Master John Fitzgerald, of Knockbrack, Glenmore
On Friday the 15th of March 1867 the Waterford Mail reported that Head Constable Brereton, with a party of nine policemen, arrested the previous week a respectable farmer, named John Fitzgerald, of Knockbrack, under his Excellency’s warrant. Mr. Fitzgerald was recently a member of the Waterford Board of Guardians, and at the same time filled the office of chairman of the Kilmackevogue Dispensary committee, and was a man of considerable means. The Kilkenny Journal & Leinster Commercial & Literary Advertiser (20 March 1867) reported that on Monday, Head Constable Breton and a body constabulary, of Rosbercon arrested Fitzgerald. The Waterford News and Star, of Friday the 22nd of March 1867 described Fitzgerald as an intelligent well-educated man “holding a large farm.”
In contrast the Kilkenny Moderator of Saturday the 30th of March 1867 reported that Constable Ward, of Kilmacow and Constable Powell, of Glenmore arrested Mr. John Fitzgerald, a comfortable farmer, living at Ballybrack (sic), near Glenmore and three labourers who worked for him. It was rumoured that Fitzgerald was charged with having acted as a Fenian paymaster. Upon his arrest he was sent to the Thomastown Bridewell “pending further orders from Dublin Castle.” The three labourers, were not named in the article and brought before a special sessions at Kilmacow. James Cody, a prisoner previously arrested was also brought to Kilmacow. While Cody was transferred to Waterford gaol the three farm labourers were released. On the 21st Fitzgerald was transferred from Thomastown to the Kilkenny gaol under a warrant from the Lord Lieutenant, under the Habeas Corpus Suspension Act.
On Saturday the 1st of June 1867 it was reported by the Kilkenny Moderator that Fitzgerald was released from custody by his Excellency’s order after entering into recognizance and post £100 along with £50 each from two unnamed sureties. The terms of his release required him to the peace and orderly conduct for the next two years. It is not known whether Fitzgerald stayed in Knockbrack or went to America as reported by Mick Gaule in 1973.
Just before Fitzgerald was released a clemency meeting was held in Kilkenny City for the “unfortunate men” who were sentenced to death for high treason. The Mayor stated that no man should suffer death except for wilful murder. He hoped that the Queen would not blight her reign by the hanging, beheading and quartering of men “whose folly and whose crimes are traceable to the misgovernment of the country, and the persistent refusal of redress.” (Tablet, Sat. 11 May 1867)
By late July 1868 the last of those detained without trial under the Habeas Corpus Suspension Act were released, but there were about 100 Fenian convicts (including twenty– four soldiers sentenced by military tribunals) in jails in Britain and in Western Australia. (Comerford, R.V., The Fenians in Context: Irish Politics and Society 1848–82 (Kindle Locations 3209-3211). R.V. Comerford. Kindle Edition.) O’Donovan Rossa was released and deported to the US in 1870.
The Fenian Photographs
British authorities began taking “mug shots” of convicts in the late 1850’s. After 1865 persons arrested as Fenians were photographed. Two large collections of Fenian photographs survive. The larger, of 600 photographs taken between 1867 and 1872, is held in the National Archives of Ireland. A ‘Form K’ is attached to most of these photographs, to provide a description of the prisoner. Information recorded includes the particulars for arrest or conviction, the detainee’s physical description, age, literacy, religion, marital status, occupation and place of birth and residence.
A second, smaller collection of Fenian photographs, ‘The convicted and untried political prisoners in Mountjoy’, compiled in 1866, is now held in the NYC Public Library digital collections on-line. This album contains 86 portraits (4in.x3in.), mounted four to a page. The photos of all the political prisoners are identified by name. Fiona Fitzsimmons has noted that, 31% of the Fenian prisoners are recorded as having served in the American Civil War. Despite the endorsement on the title-page, that the photos are of Mountjoy prisoners, Fiona Fitzsimmons has discovered that many of these prisoners were actually held in Kilmainham and elsewhere. See, Fitzsimmons, “Kindred Lines: Prison Photographs,” available at https://www.historyireland.com/volume-24/kindred-lines-prison-photographs/.
The two photograph albums held by the New York City Library originally belonged to Sir Thomas Aiskew Larcom (1801-1879), the permanent Under Secretary for Ireland from 1853 to 1869. Harriet Fyffe Richardson (b.1872), author of Pioneer Quakers (1940), provided the albums to Stanford University at an unknown date; the New York City Library acquired them in 1953.The contents of the two albums were digitalized and made accessible online in 2016. To view the collection Mountjoy “mugshots” of the Fenian political prisoners held by the New York City Library see, https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/search/index?utf8=%E2%9C%93&keywords=fenians.
Without being able to view the records held by the Irish Archives (closed again due to COVID 19) it is not known if this photo is Master John Fitzgerald, of Knockbrack, Glenmore. Given his dress, compared to the other Fenian political prisoners, it seems likely that this is the correct photo.
For a concise account of the importance of the Fenians in inspiring the 1916 Rising see, McNamara, Robert. (2020, August 26). The Fenian Movement and the Inspiring Irish Rebels. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/fenian-movement-4049929.
Dr. Kathleen Moore Walsh