Sources for Irish genealogy tend to thin out in the early
nineteenth century and become sparse indeed by the 17th century.
Carlow, for a variety of reasons, tends to be more fortunate than
many counties in terms of sources. This is particularly true in
South Carlow where R.C. Parish Registers run back into the late 18th
century. In my search for data on 18th century South Carlow
Kavanaghs I was able to find considerable early information. A
militia list from1806, only 8 years after the rising of 1798
contains only a few Kavanagh names. However, there may be
significant reasons for this paucity as outlined below.
Militias have been present in Ireland since 1666 during war
tensions with France. However, these militias, often raised by
Protestant aristocracy, tended to be intermittent phenomena, being
seen as necessary in time of crisis. However, in 1793 a full time
force within the British Isles, was instituted in conjunction with
increasing tensions with post-revolutionary France. Although,
initially compulsory, it became voluntary after large scale unrest.
The officers were nearly all Protestant but the ranks were
overwhelmingly Catholic. By 1797 reports of significant influence by
the Defenders and United Irishmen (both revolutionary organizations
in the eyes of the establishment) led to court martials and
executions. It was reported generally that the militias performed
adequately against the 1798 insurgents. However, there certainly
were significant defections in various areas. There were also
somewhat paradoxical confrontations. For example in Wexford the
North Cork Militia (supporting the government), made up of a major
proportion of Irish speaking native Irish, clashed with the Wexford
insurgents whose leadership included several well known Protestants
who were allied with the United Irishmen.
The Yeomanry, on the other hand, was a relatively recent arrival
on the scene. It was organized in Ireland about 1797 to counter the
United Irishmen and Catholic defenders. Its officers were Protestant
and the rank and file overwhelmingly Protestant. It was also often
closely allied with the “Orange Order” and “Orange Lodges”
(Protestant political society commemorating the Victory of William
of Orange at the Battle of the Boyne but whose aim was to maintain
the English/Protestant hegemony in Ireland). The Yeoman were often
used to police the local populace which accounts for ballads
springing from the 1798 rising which make special mention of the
cruelty of some of the Yeoman units.
In South Carlow the Borris Kavanaghs were the landlords over the
majority of land in St. Mullin’s Barony as well as some land in the
south of Idrone East Barony. Generally up until the 1790’s the
Kavanaghs had been apparently been regarded in a generally positive
fashion by their Irish tenants. The Kavanaghs leased their land to
middlemen (several of whom were Kavanaghs who had lost their land
earlier in conflicts of 1690 or 1641) who in turn sub-let the land
to sub-tenants. The middlemen might lease several hundred acres and
then sublet it to tenants who held as little as an acre although
this system changed after 1798.
Many of the Kavanaghs served in the area militia although it
would appear that none of them, except possibly the Borris
Kavanaghs, served as officers. There was a slowly building
discontent in the period of time prior to 1798. Contemporary court
papers from Carlow note the arrest of one James Kavanagh for
seditious activities in near St Mullins.
When the insurrection broke out there were three major actions in
South Carlow. The Wexford insurgents crossed the Scullough Gap and
marched through Knockroe and past Rathanna (through the area behind
a Catholic Chapel (the present church dates from a later time). They
then engaged the English forces (probably primary the Yeomanry) near
Killedmond. There were two attacks on Borris House itself. The first
of these occurred on May 24, 1798. These insurgents were probably,
to some degree, local and certainly included some Kavanaghs, but
they were driven off by a Yeomanry force led by a Captain Kavanagh,
likely of the Borris family. It is reported that there were 50
killed and wounded. Finally on June 12, 1798, the insurgents from
Vinegar Hill in Wexford seeking arms and ammunition, attacked Borris
House again, possibly with the aide of local rebels, but were
repulsed by elements of the Donegal Militia.
We know of three Kavanaghs were active among the insurgents in
South Carlow. Their “Colonel” was a Morgan Kavanagh, merchant, of St
Mullins. He is described by Thomas Kavanagh of Borris in a
contemporary letter as being a relative and Thomas complains that he
had done many favours for Morgan including loaning him money.
Morgan’s ultimate fate is unknown. Another Kavanagh implicated
(perhaps wrongly) in the insurrection was Maurice Kavanagh of Drumin
who was denounced to the authorities by his stepmother (perhaps
hoping to gain material advantage for her own son). He was
ultimately hanged. This episode was the subject of a popular novel
of the early 1900’s entitled “Shadow on the Scaffold”. Finally,
James Kavanagh was sentenced to transportation for his part in the
insurrection. There were other Kavanaghs who were active in the
struggle of 1798 but these three are the ones that current evidence
identifies.
The following extract of South Carlow Kavanaghs has been copied
from a Carlow Militia list of 1806. The official criteria for
enrolment were “Fit and Proper to Serve”. It would be extremely
unlikely that the authorities would want to train or to put weapons
in the hands of those who were deemed unreliable. However, it seems
unlikely that the authorities could know for certain where a
recruits sympathies lie, despite the activities of informers. So we
should take this list in context. It clearly would not contain the
names of men whose families were known sympathizers to the
insurgents of 1798, certainly would not contain anyone who was
active with the insurgents but might include men whose real
sympathies simply could not be known. Also, by this time service was
voluntary. For all of these reasons the militia list was simply not
a systematic census of militia age males. The lists that were
available covered only St Mullins Barony (Lower) and Kiltennel
(Civil) Parish. There were no lists available for other areas of
South Carlow. The list would probably contain the names of men from
about age 18 to about 55. Although, there are a number of Kavanaghs
serving in the militia the numbers are relatively small.
By 1806 there were perhaps 70-80 or more Kavanagh families in St
Mullins Barony that contained perhaps 150 or more Kavanagh men of
militia age. We find 21 Kavanaghs serving. However, in the Kiltennel
Parish list the percentages are even less. Here we are talking about
20 or so Kavanagh families with somewhere around 30-40 men of
militia age which yielded a single Kavanagh serving. Does this, in
some way reflect the fact that Kiltennel Parish was less influenced
by the Borris Kavanaghs since most of the land was owned by non
local landlords such as the Bagenals of Bagnelstown and the Earl of
Courtown (in Wexford).? On the other hand nearly all of St Mullins
belonged to the Borris Kavanaghs.
St. Mullins Barony (Lower) Militia List-1806 (Kavanagh extracts)