State of The County of Carlow
1841
From the
Carlow Sentinel,
published in The Times (of London)
on January 21, 1841 (p. 3).
On the 2nd inst., about 3
o'clock in the afternoon, a large body of men
proceeded to the lands of Williamstown and Rathmore,
in this county, shouting and blowing horns. They
visited the houses of Myles Burke and John Kelly,
and threatened others with death if they did not
proceed to Tullow on the Monday following to
register before Mr. Hutton. They next visited the
adjoining townlands, and stated they were the
friends of Mr. O'Connell and would burn the houses
of any who refused to attend the registry. They
paraded that part of the county until a late hour at
night, spreading terror among the peaceable
inhabitants, who are afraid of being murdered if
they attend fair or market.
Another Attack.
- “On Saturday last a man named Kelly, a tenant to
the Hon. Somerset Maxwell, was dragged out of a
house in Kildavin by a ruffian named Connor, and
both Kelly and his wife were savagely treated, for
daring to exercise his privilege conscientiously.
From every part of the barony of Rathvilly we
receive almost daily accounts of the outrages
committed on persons and property; and, not only are
the people's lives endangered if they attend the
worship of God, but they are suffering at home a
kind of systematic persecution unparalleled in the
annals of the most barbarous nations.”
Black List
-
Last week black lists were posted up in the barony
of Rathvilly, containing the names of the
independent electors who voted at the late election
against the Government candidate, and calling on the
people to mark them, and to dispose of the traitors
that voted against their clergy. Copies of these
lists were forwarded to Carlow, as a proof that they
were written by a higher class of incendiaries.
Chapel Riots.-On
the 6th inst., as William Dawson was proceeding to
the chapel of Tullow, he was met at the gate by a
mob and threatened with death if he entered the
chapel. The gates were shut against him, and he was
hooted from the place by the mob. They next entered
the chapel, and dragged out his brother, Francis
Dawson, and ordered him to be off, saying every
supporter of Colonel Bruen should be excommunicated,
and placed beyond the pale of civilised life. The
Dawson’s were under the necessity of effecting their
escape from the lawless mob, that were instigated to
the committal of these outrages by the disappointed
agitators.
Source: Turtle Bunbury
2012