The Carlow Sentinel 1830s to 1920s was first
published by Henry Malcomson in Tullow Street, it later moved to
Dublin Street and afterwards to Court Place where it was owned by T.
H. Carroll. Its last proprietor was George Langran. Source:
Michael Purcell.
Tithe wars
Philip Germaine 1832
Carlow Sentinel.
May, 1832.
TITHES
--- Mr Philip Germaine's Cattle.
It
having been ascertained that Mr Butler, the sub-Sheriff of Carlow,
intended to seize upon cattle of Philip Germaine of Rathvilly for
non-payment of tithes, upwards of five thousand persons assembled from
counties of Wicklow, Kildare and Carlow, to witness the auction.
All
business at this busy season was suspended ; numbers poured into
Baltinglass and Rathvilly to accompany the cattle to Carlow.
Fortunately, however, probably for the public peace, the Sheriff
relinquished his intention of seizing the cattle during the present
excited state of the public mind.
Thank you Mike for the bit about Philip Germaine and the tithe wars in
1832.
It's interesting to see how three different reports of the same
incident vary. (Maybe history IS bunk!) The Carlow Sentinel reports it
as virtually a non-event involving some 5000 people. However a letter
from Edward Dwyer to Daniel O'Connell dated May 27 1832 describes how
between 40 to 50 thousand people had assembled for the auction in an
orderly and sober manner under the leadership of their clergy, but not
one bid for the cattle was received, which were then returned home to
Mr Germaine.
The third version is from Philip Germaine himself,
recorded in an interview in the Freeman's Journal, January 18, 1886.
He says there were at least 500 military and police under arms
guarding the cattle. "Immense crowds congregated at the seizure and
the sale" which was to pay the tithe charge of £1100 per year, and
which "I could not admit was a just debt". Afterwards "Fully three
thousand people assembled on my farm and cheered and blew horns, and
the mountains were covered with bonfires to give me encouragement".