The loss of power is a sobering experience for politicians. Confidential files are open to scrutiny by the incoming Government whose first task is usually to provide proof of the incompetence of the previous Government. Commissions of Inquiry investigate the misdeeds of previous administration in order to clear the political air and settle old scores. The old guard of Limerick had reason to be fearful of the political fallout of a second electoral defeat. Between Christmas and the New Year of 1833 they planned their strategy for the future. The first priority was that of damage limitation. They knew from bitter experience that another public Inquiry into their affairs would follow their electoral defeat, just as it had done in 1821. They might have reread the texts of Julius Caesar and Machievielli for political guidance. " Divide and Conquer" is an old political maxim. The old guard of Limerick Corporation decided that if they could not beat their enemy at elections - they would join them. They set out to seize control of St Michael's Parish Commissioners. Elections were due to be held for the seven Commissioners of St. Michael's Parish in October. They already had their foot in the door so to speak. The treasurer of St. Michael's Parish Commissioners was a brother of their own man, Mr. John S.T. Piercy who intended to be Mayor of Limerick in 1834 after John Vereker, jun. had completed his term. A deal was struck. Piercy would be handed the office on a plate provided his brother William co-operated with them. William Piercy was in a quandary. He was the middleman who straddled both camps. He was also one of the two Sheriffs of Limerick. His anxiety is reflected in a Notice that he was directed by Board of Commissioners to insert in the local newspapers.
TENDER PROPOSALS
The Limerick Evening Post of February 25th 1833 reads as follows: "Notice to Builders for Tenders for
building Parish Offices in Henry Street, agreeable to plans and specifications, as can be seen at the Secretary's
Office, 37 George's street, until Monday 11th March, when the contractor will be declared. signed
Wm.Piercy, Secretary. February 25, 1832." The Notice contains a mistake in that he got the year wrong. A
common enough fault in many people following the haze of New Year parties but unusual for a financial man in
late February. The site in Henry Street proved unsuitable as did another site in Roches Street. The Minute
Book of the Meeting of the Commissioners of St. Michael's Parish Commissioners of March 29th record two
resolutions that settled the issue.
Proposals from the following persons for building the intended Parish Offices
were received and read.
From John Stokes & Michael Guerin for..£1,070
From William O'Farrall & Son...........for..£1,225
From William Wallace.......................for..£1,115
Resolved that, in consequence of the above proposals being too high, Our Secretary
do advertise two posts in each of the Limerick newspapers, stating that the Commissioners will continue to
receive proposals until Friday 5th April next from proper persons to build Parish Offices agreeably to the Plan
and Specification to be seen at the Secretaries Office each Day from 10 to 4 o'clock, each and every person
shall give in a detailed estimate for each branch of the building. Resolved that the plot of ground in Cecil
Street, the property of the Earl of Limerick, as tendered to us by his Agent here, Mr Danl. Barrington, be
taken for building Parish Offices on at the annual rent of Nineteen Pounds sterling, for a lease of lives
renewable for ever, with one years rent renewal fine on the fall of each life, rent to commence on the 29th day
of September next and our Secretary is to sign the proposal for the said lot of ground on our behalf to the Earl
of Limerick."
On April 19th 1833 the Commissioners "resolved that the proposal of John Stokes and Michael Guerin to build the new parish offices be accepted, for the sum of £1,070 sterling.". Mr. Nicholas Hannan was appointed superintendent architect to the project. Next day a report appeared in the Limerick Chronicle that "The Commissioners of St Michael's Parish, yesterday, agreed with Mr Stokes, architect, for the sum of £1,070 to erect premises for a Watch-House, Board-Room etc in Cecil Street, to be accomplished on the 1st January next." A few weeks later the Commissioners met and agreed to pay Mr. John Fogarty CE the sum of £3 -10 -0 "for making Plans and Specifications for Parish Offices". Two architects and one engineer are mentioned in connection with this building. As Mr John Fogarty CE drew up the plans for the building, it seems appropriate to credit him with the design. In her landmark book, The Building of Limerick, published in 1991, the author, Judith Hill, points out (pp.118-119) that the term architect in those days had a looser meaning than it has to-day. Builders were often described as architects. John Fogarty CE, his brother Joseph Fogarty who is listed in the local directories as an architect/engineer together with James Pain, architect, are the predominant names who designed most of buildings of the period. Both John Fogarty CE and James Pain were involved in the design of the Athenaeum Lecture Hall, built in 1855 on the same site. Their careers are outlined in a later section of this book (see pp.???)
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Town Hall of the "corrupt" Corporation of Limerick. |
Upper Cecil Streeet Limerick |
In July, the opening salvo shot in the political battle between the old Limerick Corporation and the St. Michael's Parish Commissioners landed in the form of an open letter published in the Limerick Herald. The letter was from Mr.Wm. Worrall, Attorney at Law, who practised in Limerick and Dublin, to William Roche, one of the new M.Ps for Limerick which said, inter alia, that "a searching investigation is about to take place into those hoary iniquities, the Irish Corporations, and in no city, borough or town corporate, are the iniquities of the commissioners more wanted or, we believe we do believe unwelcomed, than among the knot of persons styling themselves "the corporation of Limerick". We do not at all wonder at their reluctance to make the returns required by Parliament; and perhaps; it was unfair them at their hands. Nemo tenetur seipsum accuare, is a Constitutional axiom,. But we must refrain ourselves. Their Honours are now in the hands of justice, and to that power we must heartily commend them, wishing for them and for the city of Limerick -a good deliverance". The letter goes on to ask" Have you seen the last proceedings of the Court of D 'Oyer Hundred? All former acts are as nothing compared to them. They have made a present of £800 to one gentleman (an arrear) and £300 to Mr Furlong, Solicitor, being, I have no doubt, his fee on the later election!!!".
For Limerick Corporation, the dreaded date of an Inquiry into their affairs had been announced. Tensions in the city ran high and even spilled onto the construction site of the rebel "Town Hall" which was emerging from its foundations. In August, the Guild of Carpenters published an Appeal to the Public in the Limerick Times attacking John Fogarty for employing English tradesmen on his Limerick building sites. They asked "Who is this Mr Fogarty, is he superior to Mr Pain whose Architectural attainments have placed him so deservedly high in public estimation". The letter concluded by saying they there was nothing personal in the attack. Mr Fogarty thought otherwise. He said that he had paid the Guild six guineas for each of the three carpenters that he had brought to Limerick and intended "to call them (the Guild) before the Bench at Petty Sessions, not with any hostile intentions but that the Bench, the Public and the other Trades might have the truth from the parties face to face." A storm in the teacup of the history of Limerick's construction industry perhaps but indicative of the tension that prevailed in the city at the time. In September, just a week before the feared Royal Commission sat in Limerick to hear charges of financial malfeasance against the Limerick Corporation, a letter appeared in the Limerick Chronicle criticising St. Michael's Parish Commissioners and the "notorious job that has recently been foisted upon the inhabitants to the tune of £1,700 at least., evidence of which may now be seen in an embyro Watchhouse and other buildings raising in Catherine Street (sic) signed An Unhappy Taxpayer. The confusion over the street names is understandable in retrospect when you realise that the side streets off George Street were still in the course of construction and were consequently were all new and unfamiliar places. Clearly the letter writer hoped to embroil the Commissioners in the scandal that was about to erupt in the city. But as their accounts show, the affairs of the Commissioners were squeaky clean. They prepared themselves for their own election of Commissioners with a Notice in all Limerick newspapers on the 19th September. The Royal Commission sat to take evidence into the affairs of Limerick Corporation on the 26th September when Alderman Henry Watson, the first witness, was examined and gave evidence as to legal authority of the Corporation. Alderman Watson replied that the authority was the Charters of Limerick. The Examination went as follows:
Royal Commission: Is the Corporation considered one by Prescription or by Charter?
Alderman Watson: By both.
Royal Commission: By whom were the Charters granted?
Alderman Watson: By King John., Edward I., Henry V., Edward VI., James I. There has been no charter subsequently to these.
Royal Commission: Under which of those charters has the corporation acted?
Alderman Watson: I think under that of James the I., at present in conformity with a statute 4th Geo.IV.
Royal Commission: Previous to the passing of that act, under which charter did they act?
Alderman Watson: I should think under them all; they selected the best part of them.
Royal Commission: Since the passing of that act, have the Corporation adhered to it?
Alderman Watson: Yes; rigidly.
ALDERMAN HENRY WATSON (1788-1860),
Was the joint owner of the Limerick Chronicle and had been Mayor in 1823, '24 and '25. [He later served under the Reformed Corporation as Sheriff in 1846 and a fourth term as Mayor in 1854]. A traditionalist with a professed interest in local history, it is surprising that he seemed unaware of the two Charters granted by Queen Elizabeth I. The first charter dated 28th October 1575 provided "that no one of Irish blood, or who lived as an Irishman... be thenceforth promoted to any dignity...without the special licence of deputy." The second charter dated 19th March 1582 is an attempt to buy loyalty. In this Charter, the Queen, then in a panic because of the likelihood of a Spanish Invasion , needed support from Ireland. Accordingly she returned to the citizens of Limerick a right which had already been stolen from them by her predecessors; namely "the liberty of walking and exercising in the 'King's Island,' as often as they pleased." Both these charters which Alderman Watson failed to mention in his evidence, were brought to the attention of the public by the Royal Commission in their subsequent report for good reasons. The first was that the exclusion of "Irish" (meaning Catholic) from the corporation was still being "rigidly" enforced in 1833. The second point was that the privilege granted to the citizens to walk and exercise on King 's Island granted by Queen Elizabeth "is now prevented, the island having been completely enclosed since the year 1800, by Lord Gort, who holds it as constable of the castle of Limerick. The enclosure has been made upwards of 16 years, and apparently without remonstrance or objection on the part of the corporation".[Item 140.p.390]. The Inquiry continued for fourteen days. All the Limerick newspapers covered the proceeding in full. The following reports from the Limerick Herald gives an insight into the proceedings. Lord Gort refused to appear before the Commissioners, although his son and nephew, the Messrs Vereker, kept a close watching brief on the proceedings on his behalf.
DIPLOMATIC FLU
The Town Clerk, Mr Parker, cough a mysterious diplomatic flu ailment on a visit to Dublin and sent back a medical certificate from a Surgeon McNamara to explain his absence from the Inquiry. As keeper of the Corporation books and records, his non-attendance greatly hindered the Inquiry who were forced to send to the home of Mrs Parker to search for a "chest of drawers" which supposedly contained the missing files. The chest was empty. Mr Parker from his sick-bed suggested that the Commission search the home of Mr Morris, vice -chamberlain of the Corporation. Dr Gibson, M.D., and a lessee of the city tolls, gave evidence on Day 7 of the Inquiry of his attempts to find the missing papers and swore that Mrs Morris refused to hand him back the files "alleging that Lord Gort owed her money; Lord Gort took one chest from Mrs Morris' by force; it was opened by witness; there were no Corporation papers or books in it; Lord Gort said to witness, that the papers were in the other chests; witness went to Mrs Morris and offered her money, but she would not give up the chests; the chest which the witness opened is at Lord Gort's; witness saw several chests in Mrs Morris's possession, which Lord Gort claimed as his property; saw a chest in Mrs Morris's possession, with three locks." The Limerick Herald reported on October 10th of the proceedings of Day 10 of the Inquiry where William Piercy, City Sheriff and Secretary of St.Michael's Parish Commissioners gave evidence. He outlined the finances of St. Michael's Parish Commissioners and at the end of his evidence, he categorically denied that his fellow Sheriff of Limerick, Alderman Watson "was the result of any arrangement with Lord Gort" On Day 11 of the Inquiry, John Norris Russell, a leading merchant of the Chamber of Commerce, gave evidence against the Corporation and cited the instance whereby the letting of the salmon weir by the Corporation was advertised in only one local newspaper - Alderman Watson's Limerick Chronicle, as one example of the cosy cartel that existed within the council chambers. This instance of favouritism was repeated on Day 13 by George Gloster, a freeman of Limerick who castigated the misuse of the Court of D'Oyer Hundred which had been revived in 1823 following the Limerick Regulation Act and which was supposed to act as a check to the decisions of the council of the Corporation. The most damning evidence came on Day 14, the final day of the Inquiry, when another freeman of Limerick, Thomas Taylor, testified that the Court D'Oyer Hundred was a sham, and hinted that the assembly was still dominated by one group. He described in vivid detail how veteran soldiers of Lord Gort's, Limerick Militia, acted the heavy at the council meetings whenever a division was put to the assembly for a vote that might be seen to "offend" the [Gort/Vereker] interests. Anyone signing a resolution was shouted down as a "turncoat" and pressurised to withdraw the motion. When the commissioners asked "to whom did the freemen dread giving offence?", Mr Taylor, replied: "I beg you not to press an answer to that question." He did however continue to give evidence by recalling that at the at the last meeting of the assembly, the Mayor, John Vereker, jun., spoke to him in an "authoritative tone" demanding aloud that his "name be taken down" for daring to "propose" a motion censuring the power of Gort/Vereker clique. The final witness was the lawyer William Worrall who closed the Inquiry on behalf of the Committee of Irish MPs at the House of Commons who sponsored the Royal Commission who said that he was "employed gratuitously on this occasion" by the Committee who were of the opinion that the charters of Limerick had been violated in recent years and that they were anxious to revive these charters "for the benefit of the people at large." He continued with a detailed list of recommendations for reform. The Royal Commissioners proceeded with their Inquiry until 11th October 1833. Lord Gort let it be known that he would speak to the Commission in private. The Commissioners declined this last minute offer and concluded the Inquiry saying that they "trust that the result of our investigation will be such as will be of benefit to the citizens of Limerick." The Limerick Evening Herald in an editorial on the 17th October conceded that although the prominent members of the Corporation acquitted themselves creditably, (considering they were reluctant and exparte witnesses) before the Commissioners, their Testimony amounted to anything else than an acquittal of the body, to which they belong. A case has been made out, chiefly by their own confession, showing that the administration of affairs cannot, with safety or satisfaction to the public, be confided any longer to the exclusive management of such a corporation as they constitute; for private influence, partiality, malversation, and such a total disregard of the interest and opinions of the citizens at large, have been clearly proved against it."
ROD OF OFFICE
During the Inquiry life went on in the city. St. Michael's Parish held their elections on 2nd of October and returned the following as Commissioners: D. Barrington, Joseph Jones, M. Quin, C. McMahon, C. O' Hara, T.Roche, S. Evans, and Wm. Hartigan. As there was a tie for the seventh place, there was another election for that position. And on October 6th the Limerick Times reported that the Mayor of Limerick, Mr. John Vereker, jun, had surrendered "his rod of office into the hands of his successor, Mr John Tavener Piercy." Next day, John Fogarty CE put a notice in the Herald that his "present concern being too small, he is moving to his new concern in Catherine-street, between Mallow and Hartstonge Street." The Inquiry hearings were the talk of the town. Newspapers were snapped up by citizens eager to hear the latest revelation at the hearings. A new newspaper, The Limerick Guardian was launched on October 12th whose Prospectus said that it was aimed at "the gay and the young " who "will prefer The Guardian for its sprightliness and humour" and promised that its editorial policy was to "be merry and wise.." The Guardian was an immediate hit with its target audience of nouveau riche readers who had prospered in the building boom of the time. Limerick saw itself as a "rising city." Glenthworth street, Baker Place, Barrington street were being and built and named. The City supported five newspapers - The Limerick Chronicle, The Limerick Herald, The Limerick Post and Evening Star, and the new Limerick Guardian. [The Limerick Times was launched in 1834]. Limerick was a boom town.
The Guardian published a satirical account of the Inquiry in the form of play had the patrons of Limerick's fashionable oyster-cellar taverns highly amused, especially the account of the refusal of Lord Gort to appear before the Royal Commission. In November it published a letter from a reader which describes the night life of the city, "at no period within my recollection did our city afford a greater variety of amusement than at the present. We have 'The Brighton Bazaar' at Swinburn's Large Rooms, fitted up in a style that reflects great credit on the Proprietor, Mr. Davis. We have 'The Munster Bazaar,' equally attractive. We have Auctions, Ware-rooms, Sales-rooms, Royal Shades, Harpers, Boxers, Neeromancers and Dancers, and that in bog latin, we call Ansers. But, of all the places calculated to give animation to every thing intellectual, give me "Bindon's Oyster Cellar" --
'Tis there that care will leave each throbbing breast, And festive thoughts, alone, will be caress'd!
A peep at this haunt of wit and humour, between twelve and one, p.m. would be a rare treat. Picture to yourself, from sixty to one hundred gay fellows, not caring a d---- for the world; regalling themselves with Red Bank Oysters, 'Steaming Punch,' Nut Brown Ale, and smoking Cigars --
Oh what glorious times!"
The fruits of the building boom in Limerick was not shared by everybody. The previous year 2,116 people emigrated to the Americas from the port of Limerick. Most of them had been evicted from farms in counties Clare, Tipperary and Limerick. A trend which had started in the late 1820 as a mere trickle of emigration, by 1833 had become a steady stream and which within twenty years would become an exodus of human misery and hope across the wild Atlantic.
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THE DREADED REPORT
The Report of the Royal Commissioners on the County of the City of Limerick was published early in 1834. The document is a masterpiece of brevity and clarity. Within 73 pages, it manages to give a detailed insight into a medieval Corporation established with the Charter of King John in 1199 and other institutions of power within the city. For example, The Guild of Trades, lists fifteen guilds recognised by the Charter of Edward I., in 1291 which included coopers, bakers, tailors,surgeon-barbers, tallow chandlers and masons. By 1833 that list had grown to 21 in number to include ropemakers, tobacconists, slaters, sawyers, painters, cordwainers, shipwrights, millwrights, coachbuilders, broguemakers, hatters and linen weavers. The corporation of the Merchants of the Staple, or guild of merchants originated with the Charter of King James I., (1609) which evolved into the Chamber of Commerce in 1815. The City of Limerick was supposedly ruled by the Corporation (Common Council) who in turn were supervised by the Court of D'Oyer Hundred, an assembly of Freemen. This bilateral system of local government was intended to give a system of checks and balances to prevent abuse of power. But something had gone badly wrong in Limerick. The Report cut straight to the point in their final summary:
" It is to be regretted that the contest, so long maintained by the common council [corporation] against the rights of the citizens of Limerick, and the strong feelings of jealousy and hostility thereby created on both sides, have hitherto retarded the improvement of this important city a fruitless waste of the corporate revenue...with apparently a total disregard to the interests of and welfare of the large community...the secrecy of their proceedings, their apparent devotion to the interests of a particular family,...have afforded other just causes of complaint against the common council, and strongly demonstrate the impolicy of vesting the sole management of public concerns in a self-elected and irresponsible body."
The Report provided specific evidence of financial malfeasance in an analysis of forty five property deals concerning the corporations own land portfolio. All of the corporation members or their connections involved in these illicit transactions to themselves were named publicly. The 'particular family' referred to in the above extract of the Report was that of Lord Gort, whose eldest the Hon. J.P.Vereker had been Mayor in 1831 and 1832 and whose nephew, John Vereker, jun was the Mayor of Limerick at the time the Royal Commission took evidence. Both of these men held two of the most lucrative sinecures from the corporation. Ten of the sixty eight members of the council had connections with Lord Gort who had refused point blank to face the Inquiry in person, claiming that an Inquiry sponsored by the House of Commons had no right to examine a member of the House of Lords. Despite his lack of co-operation, the Royal Commissioners concluded that the council of the Corporation of Limerick was in Lord Gort's pocket. The council was totally unrepresentative of the citizens it purported to represent in "that there is not a member of the chamber of commerce, a respectable merchant or a Roman Catholic in the council, or filling any office of the corporation." The Court D'Oyer Hundred (of elected Freemen) was similarly a closed shop. No citizen could join the Court unless they were Freemen and nobody could become a Freeman without the sanction of Lord Gort. As a result "no act of the common council had been negatived by the Court of D'Oyer Hundred since its restoration"
CORRUPTION LAID BARE.
The members of the Royal Commission, Mr Maziere Brady and Mr John R. Corballis were both lawyers whose private misgivings about the possibility of any reform emerged when they somewhat ruefully concluded that two days before the last attempt at reform -- the Limerick Regulation Act of 1823 -- the Corporation had cynically gone on a binge of dodgy deals to thwart any interference from the Government. The Royal Commission cited as evidence of the Corporation's contempt for reform, the precedent in 1823 with the "election of 19 new burgesses", eight of whom were the sons of existing aldermen and burgesses and another three who were members of Lord Gort's family. This "elected" council then voted a sum of 200 guineas for a portrait of Lord Gort and granted a lease forever of Scattery Island to Sir Christopher Marrett, a burgess of the same council who was also on their committee of accounts. Limerick was in the grip of Lord Gort who refused to let go his feudal power. The Report of the Royal Commission was published early in 1834. There were no sweeping changes in Limerick following the Inquiry. Years later, Maurice Lenihan, in his History of Limerick summed up the feelings in the city by saying that at least "The works of Corporate corruption had become fully laid bare."
In August 1834 the Commissioners of St. Michael's Parish opened their new Offices without any public fanfare, understandable in view of the tense political atmosphere in the city. The resignation of their Treasurer, William Piercy became inevitable. As a High Sheriff of Limerick, he could no longer serve two masters and the refusal of his brother, the new Mayor, John .S.T.Piercy, to meet with a petition to provide a venue for a public meeting of the citizens with their own Members of Parliament caused fury all over the city. Daniel O'Connell and his MPs [collectively known as O'Connell's "tail" by Tories but with a "sting" in it according to witty Repealers] called for meetings throughout Ireland to discuss the leadership crisis within the Tory party between Sir Robert Peel and the Duke of Wellington. The Repeal Party wanted to hear the views of their electorate and to discuss tactics. The issues were grave. The Coercion Bill of the previous year meant martial law in Ireland which effectively stifled all public debate over O'Connell's mandate to repeal the Union and abolish the tithe laws. The Mayor and the Corporation of Limerick dictated that no expressions of democracy would be allowed on their turf. They cited the Coercion law as their reason, effectively closing the loop for free political speech in the city..
The Commissions of St. Michael's Parish Commissioners thought otherwise. They granted the citizens of Limerick permission to hold their Public Protest meeting in their "rebel" Town Hall in Upper Cecil street. It was a baptism of fire for the new building because of all the public building in the city, this venue in Upper Cecil street can, in retrospect, be singled out as the probable birthplace of modern democracy in Limerick. The Limerick Chronicle of the 20th December 1834 records the event in a screaming headline:
ANTI-TORY MEETING IN LIMERICK.
The newspaper was then, and for many years afterwards, continued to be seen as a bastion of Tory support in the city. The editor, however, was faithful to the truth and reported the facts of what took place at that historical meeting in "the yard of the parish offices, Upper Cecil-street." The meeting was chaired by a local solicitor, Caleb Powell, who observed dryly that the "Mayor had not exercised a sound discretion" with his refusal to provide a public forum in the old city to discuss the national crisis. Mr David Roche, MP for Limerick was more forthright in his condemnation when he said: " with respect to municipal reform - nothing could prove its necessity more than the Citizens of Limerick being obliged to assemble in that yard, instead of in their own court-house." His sentiments were applauded by an audience who were furious with their Mayor. The writing was on the wall and everybody present at that meeting knew that sooner or later, Limerick would have to reform its corrupt Corporation. That public meeting in Upper Cecil street kindled a revolution in the city. In the audience a young Limerickman named Martin Honan listened carefully to words of his MPs. In Dublin, later that week, another public meeting took place at the Corn Market where William Smith O'Brien, MP for Clare effected a sea change in his political views with his application for membership of the Anti-Tory Association lead by Daniel O'Connell. The application was accepted and the seeds of the revolution of 1847 were sown. They were stirring times.
Maurice Lenihan in his History of Limerick published in 1866 looked back on the struggle to reform Limerick Corporation with indignation and humour . He castigated "the defenders of corruption" and their "tenacious grasp" on the city. The Municipal Reform Act ( 3 and 4 Vic,. cap.108) was proclaimed on the 19th August 1841. Lenihan remembered the event saying that "unbounded joy prevailed when the glad tidings were diffused throughout the city. On the evening of that glorious and welcome day, a procession of unparalleled magnitude went through the city, followed as it were by the remains of the old Corporation, which were bourne on a funeral car of enormous magnitude; bands of music playing the funeral march accompanied the procession; with a vast array of mourners. The cortege passed along, amid myriads of people, through the principal streets, until its arrival opposite the office in Rutland Street, of the Tory newspaper [Limerick Chronicle] which had for so long upheld the rein of corporate monopoly and spoliation. Here the procession halted; the coffin was brought from its car, laid on the pavement, and with loud cheers of exultation, consigned to the flames." Visitors to Ireland frequently remark that the Irish still remembers to bury its dead with a respectful funeral, a tradition that has being lost in many other nations. Funerals are special in Ireland but they are not always what they appear to be - especially if attended by the watchful eye of the military. The oration at the funeral of O' Donovan Rossa by Patrick Pearse in 1915 is a case in point. It rallied a people to fight on for freedom, despite the death of a hero. The political funeral of an unpopular but still living politician like Mr Samuel Dickson or an entire body of men such as the corrupt Corporation needs an explanation. When Ireland was conquered by England, the lands of the natives were confiscated and granted to soldiers, known as "undertakers" because they undertook to conquer Ireland for England for payment of Irish land. Thus the funeral imagery of the burning coffins of Mr Dickson and the members of the hated old Corporation is a metaphor for something else - a political protest, expressed with typical Irish "black" humour. The mock funeral of the old Corporation was also a satiric re-enactment of the Chairing of Spring-Rice at his election in 1820. By coincidence, the Commercial Building in Rutland Street had formerly housed both the Chamber of Commerce [who purchased the painting] and St Michael's Parish Commissioners. The old Corporation's media champion, the Limerick Chronicle newspaper could hardly ignore the snub. The building became the City Hall in 18-- when the old Exchange in Nicholas Street finally collapsed due to lack of maintenance and remained the City Hall until the construction of the new Civic Offices at Merchant's Quay in the early 1990s.
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From Alderman Cripps House. |
The "funeral party" in 1841 was premature. On 11th November, the "new" reformed Corporation elected Martin Horan as its first Mayor. However the old Mayor, the Hon. Charles Smyth Vereker refused to budge or give up the keys to the Town Hall at the Exchange on a point of law. For a few months, Limerick had two Mayors, two official Town Halls with a third unofficial Town Hall at Upper Cecil Street. The farcical situation had to be rectified by another Act of Parliament which gave validity to the first Act.[ Thus 3 and 4 Vic.]. In July 1842 the reform Corporation seized control of the Exchange. When the legal Mayor, Martin Honan finally got possession and entered the Exchange building, he found the place a shambles. The floors were littered with unpaid bills. All the official records were missing. In July, he instructed Mr Potter, the Law Agent of the reform Corporation to find the priceless Charters of Limerick and other vital documents. Alderman Cripps, a relic of the old Corporation handed over some of them in August. The financial situation was appalling. The new administration inherited bills of over £12,000 from the old corporation.
Mr James Pain, the architect, was owed £1,855, the merchant, Mr William Earson of Catherine Street was owed £109 for coal supplies used to light the old city. The biggest debt was a £9,000 mortgage to the Board of Works for the reconstruction of Thomond Bridge. The painting of Lord Gort, which the old corporation had voted 200 guineas to commission in the 1820s had been "voted" back to him as the final act of the old corporation, just weeks before the new corporation took possession of the Town Hall. It is conjecture to speculate what might have happened this painting had the citizens of Limerick got their hands on it in 1842. The painting is no longer in the public domain but the reputation of the colourful Lord Gort is now legendary due to a mention in the history books by Athenaeum members, the historians Maurice Lenihan and Rev. James Dowd. Both were generous in their praise of the military prowess of the second Lord Gort, then Colonel Charles Vereker who in 1798 captured the army of French General Humbert in battle with only 300 men of the Limerick Militia. The Frenchman is reported to have said "I have met many Generals in Ireland, but the only soldier amongst them was Colonel Vereker" [Dowd]. Both historians utterly disagreed with the politics of Lord Gort but their sense of fairness to his military prowess is testimony to the balance and integrity of their works. Lord Gort voted against the Union in 1800 saying " Having defended my country with my blood; I shall never betray her with my vote" and represented Limerick at both the Irish Parliament in Dublin from 1790 until 1800 and subsequently at Westminster until 1817. He voted for Catholic Emancipation in 1829. Lord Gort died in 1842 aged 74. The old warlord's name still provokes controversy in Limerick but nobody can deny his place in history. He deserves to be remembered as the man who brought the architect James Pain to Ireland to supervise the construction of his Nash designed home at Lough Cutra Castle at Gort, County Galway. James Pain built three bridges in Limerick which are still in daily use.
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by Samuel Lover, RHA. |
The Gort title was inherited by his eldest son, John Prendergast Vereker, the third Lord Gort who was ruined by the Famine, "when he refused to collect rents and gave large sums to charity, including £5,000 to the poor-house. The castle and estate were sold in 1851 when the third Lord Gort purchased the architect Nash's own castle at East Cowes, on the Isle of Wight. It was from this address that a donation of one half of a five pound note was sent to the Mayor of Limerick, Robert MacMahon in 1863 as a contribution to the organ fund from Lord Gort. Another family member J.P.Vereker, Lord Mayor of Dublin sent a cheque for two guineas. [see pp.50-51]. The musical connection of the Gorts with the Shannon continues to this day. Bunratty Castle was purchased by the 7th Lord Gort [Robert Gage Prendergast Vereker ] in 1953 for "something like £1,000" according to Christy Lynch who managed the restored castle when the Medieval Banquets entertainments commenced there in 1962.
The beginning of "interpretative" medieval banquets at Bunratty Castle prompted Frank O'Connor, the Cork writer, to headline a satirical article in the Sunday Independent "A Mick at the Court of King Arthur" in February 1963. Bernard Share in his book Bunratty: Rebirth of A Castle published in 1995 recalls the controversy with great accuracy and humour. People still argue over the aesthetics of this form of entertainment. The venture was an immediate financial success and spawned the new heritage industry in Ireland. The 7th Lord Gort died in 1976 leaving Bunratty Castle as a gift to the State.. A trust was established to run the complex with Shannon Development as management operators. Ironically this Lord Gort's ancestor, the second viscount Gort was the last constable at King John's Castle at Limerick now the scene of yet another controversy between "interpretative" heritage centres and those who object to the commercialisation of Irish history. [See preface for comments].
A UNITED CITY AGAIN
The Municipal Reform Act of 1842 dragged Lord Gort's feudal Limerick Corporation, kicking and screaming, into the 19th century. The fact that it took two Commissions of Inquiry to end their corruption is now a curiosity of history. That titanic power struggle of the last century is surely a comedy script when Shannon Development begin their entertainment operation there in 1997.
The final reform came in 1853 with the Limerick Corporation Act (16th and 17th Vic.). That Act was designed to clear up the remaining anomaly of a city that was still administered by two systems of local Government. The reformed Corporation behaved well enough to allay the fears of citizens of the New Town who agreed to give up the power vested in them by the St Michael's Parish Commissioners Acts of 1807 & 1811. Limerick was a united city again. Maurice Lenihan paid the independents a handsome tribute when he wrote "the power which had been so long and so well exercised by the Commissioners, was transferred to the Reformed Municipal Corporation." Alderman Henry Watson bridged both the old and new Corporations with his personal popularity. He was three times Mayor of the old Corporation and in 1854 elected Mayor of the reformed Corporation during which he exercised an ancient right of the Mayor of Limerick, who as Admiral of the Shannon, [a title granted by James I in 1601] is entitled to "throw the dart" off Scattery Island, as a symbol of the city's jurisdiction of the river. Had the noble Alderman paid attention to the history of the first Charter of Elizabeth in 1580, he might have exercised his rights to seize from " every boat of oysters, coming into the said city once a year, 1,000 oysters; of every boat of herrings, 500 herrings once a year..." a juicy historical titbit recorded by John Ferrar, historian, who had been an editor of the Limerick Chronicle prior to Alderman Watson's ownership of that newspaper. Alderman Watson was also a Commissioner of St Michael's Parish Commissioners and as a friend of the Congregated Trades of Limerick who had a bust of the Alderman in their possession at his death.
To-day, the contribution of these rebel Commissioners is almost forgotten. There are no heritage plaques to those honest Commissioners who cleaned up a corrupt corporation and gave the city the heritage of beautiful streets and buildings in that area of town now known as Georgian Limerick.
SPIRIT OF DEMOCRACY
Yet something of their spirit still remains in Upper Cecil Street, because before they signed away their political power, the Commissioners ensured that the spirit of democracy which they first engendered in their rebel Town Hall would remain with the citizens of the city forever in the same building which became the Limerick Athenaeum. It was a remarkable gift. Many of the Commissioners became founder-donors of the Athenaeum. They financed the new lecture hall as a public forum. It was from this sacred ground that Limerick bestirred itself to fight the great battle for national political independence.
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THE PATRON SAINT OF LIMERICK
.The patron saint of Limerick is St.Munchin. In a thoughtful article in a local historical journal, (NMAJ. Vol. 7. No 4. 1957), the late Canon Michael Moloney, a noted historian, reviewed all the evidence on the saint's life and cautiously concluded that, "In reality the only source of information about Mainchine of Limerick is in the pedigree of the Dal Cais. If we rely on its statements we may take it that Mainchine was connected with Cineal Sedna, and that late in the seventh century a ruling prince bestowed on him the Island of Limerick".
No such scholarly caution is evident in the writing of the 19th century poet, Michael Hogan (1832- 1899), the self styled Bard of Thomond, whose brilliant satires shocked Limerick and engaged the attention of every solicitor in the city at the time. There was no point suing the Bard; he hadn't a "bob" to his name. However he did have talent. In the late 1860s, Peter Tait textile magnate and ship-owner, employed the poet as an unofficial "spin-doctor" to write satirical ballads against his political opponents at election time. These were passed out in broadsheets to balladeers who sang the scurrilous verses in the city's pubs and taverns. Peter Tait was elected Mayor in 1866, 1867 and again in 1868. (see also p. ? ) Nobody was sacred to the Bard; not even the patron saint of Limerick. The poet published a collection of lampoons entitled Shawn-a-Scoob in 1868. In a foward to one, The Curse of Saint Munchin, he explains that the devout saint was building his church when he asked a few locals to lift a heavy stone. They refused and the Saint then asked passing strangers for assistance. They obliged him. The Saint thereupon cursed the citizens of Limerick praying that strangers would prosper in the city and that local citizens would "dwindle and perish". Insert Cartoon/Drawing of The Bard of Thomond
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"Saint Munchin was pleased with the job,
And he laughted with devout satisfaction; Then he gave every stranger a bob Along with his best benediction. "May strangers hencefoward!" he cried, "In Limerick fast prosper and flurish; While, like the bad froth of the tide, The Natives will dwindle and perish, With plenty of nothing to do!"
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But he hadn't all things his own way,
For, in spite of his his good, holy doings, The Danes came from Denmark, one day, And they tumbled his Church into ruins; And Brien Boru leathered their race, For molesting such fine, pious people; Then the protestants took the Saint's place, And soon built up another big steeple; But divil a curse did they give". 
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All good satire must have elements of truth. The legend of Munchin's curse is, of course, a figment of the Bard's creative imagination. However the satire is seen by some as a prophecy. In one verse the Bard quotes the Saint " And ye're harbours shall lose their big ships" [ True]. and in another, "And the beer that ye'll raise to your lips, / Shall be brewed far away from your city". [Sadly true]. The thinly disguised personae of his satires; the Spaights (Spate) and the Taits (Tate) have no descendants in the city and Limerick is no longer famous for its ham. Even the literary works of the Bard himself are controversial. You will find detractors who dismiss his work and conversely a very loyal band of supporters who swear that his brilliantly funny ballad, Drunken Tady and the Bishop's Lady" is a literary masterpiece of its genre.
Patron saint of begrudgers!".
Limerick is not kind to its heros. There are few memorials in the city to the outstanding people who feature in this book. If the Bard himself were alive to comment he might possibly reply: "What can you expect?. The curse is true. Shure isn't St. Munchin the patron saint of begrudgers!". [begrudger, a single word used to describe a jealous or envious detractor who mocks or "puts down" the talents of others, always with malicious intent). Nobody in Limerick today begrudges the international success of two descendants of the Bard, both musicians; the brothers Noel and Mike Hogan of the pop group, the Cranberries who started their musical career at the Theatre Royal (Athenaeum ) in 1991 and have emerged as a spectacular success story of the 1990s with sales of 13 million records. The Bard must be pleased.
The limerick is a humorous or comic form of five line poem with a rhyme-scheme aabba. [said to be from the
chorus "Will you come up to Limerick?"] sung between improvised verses at a gathering. from Limerick in
Ireland. (The Concise Oxford English Dictionary. Eight Edition.1990).
The Complete Limerick Book published in 1927 was edited by Langford Reed who "was known by the
Press as the King of the limerick" . His book was "a big success in England and in America and ran into
several editions" according to his daughter, Miss Joan Langford Reed, who wrote to the Mayor of Limerick,
Mr George E. Russell in July 1955 seeking local comments on the subject She confirmed that her father had
dedicated his original book to the city of Limerick as she intended to do in her revised edition of the work. In
her letter, she wrote that " after much research at the British Museum and other sources, my father believed
that this particular form of verse, the limerick was brought direct to Limerick by the returning veterans of the
Irish Brigade, which was attached to the French army for a period of nearly one hundred years from 1691".
The City Manager, M. O Maicin wrote to the Limerick Chronicle in July 18, 1955 seeking information from
the public on the matter. He quotes Mr Langford Reed who wrote in his preface "According to O'Callaghan's
"History of the Irish Brigade in the Service of France" , the brigade came into existence as a result of the
Treaty of Limerick (1691). The brigade was organised in the City of Limerick and the men of the county of
Limerick supplied the bulk of the original force. Throughout the ninety years of service, something like a
million Irishmen served in it, and the particular form of rhyme (the limerick) which had become so popular in
France became equally popular among her Irish allies". The original work by Langford Reed in 1927 included
limericks by Arnold Bennett, John Galsworthy, Bernard Shaw (sic) and Swinbourne, the poet. In her letter to
the Mayor, Miss Joan Langford Reed says that she intends to update the book with new limericks with
contributions by "Daphne de Maurier, Edward Lear, Malcolm Muggeridge, the editor of Punch, Godrey
Winn, the writer and Mable Lucie Atwell, the artist and others". The origins of the limerick is however
challenged by author E.O.Parrott in his book, Limerick Delight, published in 1985 who quotes writer Gabriel
Rosenstock as saying that name came from a style of verse used by 18th century Irish poets , 'laoi
meidhreach' (a merry lay or song). Clearly the poets of Limerick city, (the Bard of Thomond) and Limerick
county ( the Croom poets) had a hand in its evolution.. There is surely a limerick in the tale somewhere as the
genre demands that the fifth line has a surprise ending, a sting in the tail to give the form a "bite". The limerick
continues to be popular. The Observer newspaper sponsored a competition of limericks which was authored
by the Friends of the Earth. ( Great Green Limericks: selected limericks from the Observer Great Green
Limerick Competition ran in association with the Friends of the Earth. Illustrations by Quentin Owens.
W.H.Allen & Co. London 1989).
An architect sat back and laughed:
'I know that my new plans seem daft.
On each of the floors,
There's no windows or doors-
But at least I've got rid of the draughts,'
(Frank Richards)
A Chappie who came from New York,
Tried to teach a parrot to talk;
But, what a curse!
It worked in reverse;
Now, he goes around saying " Squalk!"
(Spike Milligan).
A Man in the Bible once swore
A Martian had come to his door;
He went to the sink
Where he had a drink,
Then widdled all over the floor.
(Spike Milligan).
A girl from a nice convent school,
Was wicked, sadistic and cruel;
One night, just for fun,
She set fire to a nun,
Screaming: 'Oh, what a silly old fuel!'
(Spike Milligan)
I flew out from Shannon this year,
Looking back with a sigh and a tear;
In my bag was a drop
From the Duty Free Shop.
So I drank myself full of good cheer.
(R.A. Morrissey)
A glutton who lived on the Rhine,
Was asked at what hour he would dine;
He replied: 'at eleven,
At three, five and seven.
At eight, and a quarter past nine'.
(Anon).
The fabulous Wizard of Oz
Retired from Business because
What with up-to-date science,
To most of his clients,
He wasn't the Wizard he woz.
(Anon).
There was a young bard of Japan,
Whose limericks never could scan;
When told it was so,
He said: 'Yes I know,
But I always try and get as many words
into the last line as I possibly can'
(Anon)
There was a person called Tate,
Who went out to dine at 8.08;
But I will not relate
What the person named Tate
And his tete-a tate ate at 8.08.
(Anon).
'Relativity,' Einstein would say,
'Leaves no time to see you today.
But one day I might
Travel faster than light,
And meet you the previous day.'
(P.W.R. Foot)
A considerate cow -it was brown-
Saw the milkmaid looking run-down;
'Don't worry, my dear,'
The cow said: 'Sit here,
And hang on, while I jump up and down."
(Paul Alexander)
There was a young man of Kuwait,
Who went out one night for a date;
He climbed up a palm,
With hardly a qualm,
And there found a date, which he ate.
(Ron Rubin).
There was a young girl in the choir,
Whose voice rose higher and higher,
Till one Sunday night,
It rose quite out of sight,
And they found it next day on the spire.
(Anon).
There once was a young fellow named Hammer,
Who had an unfortunate stammer;
'The bane of my wife,'
Said he, 'is my wife!
D...d...d...d...d...d...d...damn her'
(Anon).
EMIGRATION & FAMINE.
No language can describe the smell of death or the contortions of the living who writhe in hunger. The words of William Lane Joynt, Maurice Lenihan and John Francis Maguire sear with pain when they speak of the Famine. They recorded the unimaginable; their rage burns through the ages with anger and guilt familiar only to those who witness such catastrophes. In November 29, 1853, Lane-Joynt while fund-raising for the Athenaeum said: "The disastrous calamities of the last eleven years...the destruction of the poor man's food...the pestilence that walked by night...the arrow that flew by noon day...the countless hosts who were hurried into untimely graves...the exodus that drained the country of its hardiest children...all these are passing out of remembrance".
EXODUS OF PAUPERS-EMIGRANTS!
Maurice Lenihan, editor and owner of the Reporter and Vindicator wrote in August 18, 1852 a story of the plight of evicted tenants who were given "assisted passage" to Canada on board the Spaight ship Jessy.
EMIGRATION
"The Jessy, from the port of Limerick for Quebec, carried among her passengers, an extraordinary freight, on
Saturday, consisting of thirty two persons from the parish of Killyfynn, on the Gascoigne property, and forty
three persons from the parish of Kilfinane, on the same property, chiefly cottiers who had been evicted. The
determination of the landlord, we have heard, is not to leave a small holder or "pauper" on the estate! The
peculiar feature in the present instance is, that the first batch consisted altogether of proselytes, who were
converted from "the errors of popery" by the pious ministration of the Priest Protection Society emissaries,
and by the gentle pressure and persuasion of the hitherto rather indulgent owners of this extensive property.
The emigrants were superintended to the vessel by a Parson Knox, who impressed on them the necessity of
adhering faithfully to their new faith, in which, it would appear, they felt aught but comfortable, if one were to
judge by the observations in which they indulged in at the expense of their new spiritual instructor. Among the
second batch there were no proselytes and only one Protestant family. We have heard that in addition to a
free passage to Quebec, they have been provided with the munificent sum of twenty shillings each, in all
something about £75 among seventy-five human beings, to enable them to begin the world independently in
the strange and distant land to which they are proceeding. It is also said to be the determination to enlarge all
farms on the Gascoigne property; and as a commencement, it is confidentially asserted that the places held by
these seventy five human beings are now occupied by but four persons. This is a clue afforded to one of the
causes of the Exodus at this season. It supplies its own painful and bitter commentary."
Letters from the Chief Emigration agent in Quebec, Mr A.C.Buchanan, and from Parson Edmond H. Knox of
the Kilflynn Rectory, Kilfinane, Co. Limerick were published in the Limerick Chronicle in November 3, 1852
revealing that the ship Jessy arrives safely on the 29th September at Quebec and revealed that some of the
emigrants were from the workhouse at Kilmallock who proceeded on to join friends in the USA and that the
others were from the estate of Lord and Lady Ashtown who went upstream to try to find work in Montreal.
Buchanan pointed out to Parson Knox that it was "much too late in the season to send out emigrants".
Canadian winters are severe and the prospect of finding agricultural work in October was minimal.
Maurice Lenihan (1811-1895), newspaper owner and historian became a founder member of the Limerick
Athenaeum in 1853 which was opened in 1855 by his friend and former employer, John Francis Maguire MP,
founder of the Cork Examiner newspaper. Both journalists wrote history books. In 1866, Maurice Lenihan
published his History of Limerick and John Francis Maguire gave a reading of his new work, "The Irish in
America", at the Athenaeum in 1868. In July 1889 the Limerick Chronicle reports on the visit of Royal
Historical & Archaeological Society to the Athenaeum. The Meeting was chaired by Maurice Lenihan. The
historians Rev. James Dowd and James Frost attended the two day conference which lead to the formation of
the Limerick Field Club, an archaeological society, who held their 7th AGM at the Athenaeum in 1900. In
1892 Maurice Lenihan published a Notice of a Special Meeting of the Donors & Subscribers to discuss the
future of the Athenaeum and prevent its closure. Maurice Lenihan died in poverty in Limerick during
Christmas week in 1895. His works survive, and his History of Limerick : Its History and Antiquities, first
published in 1866 has been reprinted in 1967 and again in 1991. The character of the man comes throught
most forcefully in his newspaper, the Limerick Reporter and Tipperary Vindicator which he published from
1850 until his death. Only a few years editions (1850, 1852 and 1854) have survived the passage of time to
remain in Limerick. Nevertheless his editorials, are powerful indicments of the brutality of that era. He mocked
the West British Establishment of Ireland with brilliant satirical writing. His readers, mostly disenfranchised
Catholics had an articulate champion. Above all, they had a vindicator. No balanced history of the post
Famine times in Limerick can be written without reference to his work.
EMIGRANTS AS BALLAST!
Francis Spaight (1790-1861), ship-owner, magistrate and merchant of Limerick played a part in this great exodus. His ancestors had migrated from Woolwich, Kent in the mid 17th century and settled in Clare where one Thomas Spaight is recorded as acted as steward for the Earl of Thomond estates. William Spaight, father of Francis, was a Captain in the 65th Regiment of the British Army and served at Bunker Hill during the American War of Independence and who died in 1801 at his seat at Corbally in Clare. At the age of 22 years, Francis married Agnes, daughter of Lieut. James Patterson RN who established a shipping company partnership with his son- in- law in 1812. They introduced the first paddle-steamer ferry "Lady of the Shannon" on the Lower Shannon in 1817, just one year after the first steamboat ferry was inaugurated across the Irish Sea. Francis Spaight moved to Limerick and quickly became a leading merchant and shipowner. In the late 1820s he entered the emigration trade. His social contacts with the Protestant Ascendancy landlords provided him with an opportunity to further his interests. The landlords wanted to clear their overcrowded estates of paupers who were becoming unable to pay the "rack" rents on their tiny holdings. The landlords saw forced emigration as the "solution". Francis Spaight saw profit. In a celebrated and much quoted statement, he gave evidence, both as landlord and shipper to the Select Committee on Emigration in 1847: He was asked if emigration was "a profitable" sideline, for his ships. Spaight replied:- "Most certainly, because our ships would otherwise go out [to Canada] in ballast; and the result is that whatever we get in the way of passengers is so much gain to us". As the new owner of the 4,500 acre estate at Derry Castle, near Killaloe, he had improved its profitability by evictions and bluntly told the Committee that " I have got rid of all the paupers from the Derry Estate". In 1850, as a Magistrate, he complained openly in Court of the nuisance of country paupers who were cluttering the street of Limerick. The Limerick Chronicle noted approvingly that he was the "most extensive shipowner in the South of Ireland, and in whose vessels more emigrants have sailed than from any other port in Ireland". And if Francis Spaight had little compassion for the plight of evicted Papist paupers; he had none whatsoever for those "do-gooders" of his own Protestant class. In 1846, as trustee of the Limerick Philosophical Society at Havergal Hall , he bankrupted the Society into oblivion; evicted the intellectuals and seized their assets. The chastened ex members reformed themselves in 1853 into the Limerick Athenaeum. His second son, James Spaight (1818-1892), was more politically minded and became a subscriber council member and President of the Athenaeum in 1869. He was Mayor of the city in 1856, 1877 and 1883 and was briefly MP for the city in 1858. He finally conceded all hopes of re-election to Parliament in 1871 by yielding to the popular Isaac Butt. In 1887, he was elevated to a knighthood by Queen Victoria to become Sir James Spaight.
LEGENDARY SEA CAPTAINS!
Capt. Daniel Gorman (c1788-1870), the Kilrush born master of the Spaight barque Jessy made over one hundred voyages across the Atlantic. A popular and humane skipper who in 1864 sailed with 90 emigrants of whom 40 were fishermen from the North Strand to Quebec. The Limerick Militia band played the emigrants down the river. A newspaper account at the time described him as the "lucky Captain". The comment is less innocuous that it seems as it refers directly to fearsome reputation of his brother, Capt. Timothy Gorman (1799-c.1870s) whose maritime exploits as a Spaight skipper inspired a haunting sea ballad, the "Sorrowful Fate of Patrick O'Brien", a lament on the fate of that young cabin boy who in 1835 was cannibalised on board the company's new flagship the 3 mast ship-rigged vessel "Francis Spaight" by the casting of lots by the Captain and crew. The voyage became one of the most celebrated sea tales of the 19th century and the story was retold in seaports all over the globe.
In 1858, Capt. T.Gorman lost the 579 ton sailing ship, the "Jane Black" laden with timber on a return voyage from Quebec. The Captain and crew were rescued and returned to Limerick on Jan.7, 1859 to sign off the Register at the Customs House where Capt. Gorman was described as "still in a nervous state". Despite these setbacks, Capt. Gorman sailed as mate with his brother on board the Jessy on April 7, 1862. and in August was given the command of the new Spaight ship "Challenger" with an equity of 8/64 shares in the vessel. The ship was lost in September on her return trip from Canada near Renews Head, north of Cape Race. Captain Timothy Gorman never sailed with the Spaight Line again. His date and place of death are unknown. His brother, Captain Daniel Gorman died peacefully in Limerick and is buried in St.Munchin's graveyard where an anchor, now disfigured, adorns his tombstone.
THE FLIGHT OF THE WILD GEESE TO EUROPE
In October 1691, after the Treaty of Limerick, the Irish soldiers led by Patrick Sarsfield, who had successfully defended the city against sieges by the army of William III of Orange (who had been hired by English Protestants to usurp their own Catholic King James II) , were given a stark choice. They could either join the Protestant army of William or face banishment and follow King James II to Catholic France. Most elected to follow the Catholic king. That treaty was violated almost before the ink on the parchment paper was dry. Harrowing scenes took place as the exiled soldiers embarked on French ships anchored in the river. Wives and children of the soldiers were forcibly removed from the ships and returned to the shore. The ships hoisted anchor and set sail down the estuary. Anguished women leapt into the river to swim after their husbands and were drowned as the ships sailed out of sight. Twenty thousand Irish Catholic soldiers emigrated to France mostly from Cork. Two thousand sailed from Limerick. Promises made to them that their families would rejoin them later in France were never kept. The soldiers became mercenaries and fought for whatever Catholic army in Europe that would employ them. Many rose to prominence. In the subsequent battlefields of Blenheim, Ramilles, Landen and all across Europe the Irish Brigade uttered the immortal cry, "Remember Limerick!" before commencement of battle. In France, a descendant of one of the Limerick "wild geese", Marshal MacMahon (1808-93), became head of the French army. and was elected second president of the Third Republic in 1873. Others went into business, establishing the famous vineyards of Barton, Lynch-Bages and the Hennessy brandy name at Cognac. The satiric verse form, the limerick is attributed to the soldiers of the Irish Brigade.
THE FAMINE EMIGRATION TO NORTH AMERICA.
 on voyage to America Painting by Kenneth King, courtesy of Limerick Harbour Commissioners |
 Irish passenger landing at New York |
For Quebec, with Passengers, the beautiful new first class ship, THETIS, of Limerick, 600 Tons bur- then, J, Younghusband, Master, will sail on the 10th of April, wind and weather permitting. The THETIS is well known as a regular trader, and as one of the fasterst sailing vessels out of this port, having frequently landed her passengers at Quebec in the short space of Twenty-four days. The regularity and cleanliness which is always observed on board the Thetis, makes her a most comfortable Ship for Passengers. The Cabin and Steerage Berths will be fitted up in a most superior manner, and as numbers are already entered, an early application is recommended to the owner, FRANCIS SPAIGHT, Esq at his Office, BEDFORD-Row. CAUTION- the numerous losses and disappointments which are so frequently encountered by Emigrants,should make them most particular in selecting good and well known Vessels, and in avoiding all old and bad Ships, though offered at a reduced rate. The payment of a few additional shillings for a passage is immaterial, compared with the safety, comfort, and speedy arrival of a vessel. Strangers are too often only anxious to obtain Money, which, in the event of any accident or delay, is always difficult, if not impossible, to get refunded. Limerick, April 5. [1834]. |
The British built vessels were the ship, James (800 tons) of London, William C. Laidler, commander and owner, and the Astrea (700 tons) of London, William Ridley, Commander. The poor condition of many of the emigrant ships led to calls for improvements in shipping safety. The Corporation of Limerick were so alarmed about the unseaworthiness of some of these emigrant vessels that on April 12th, 1834, they appointed William Vokes as a temporary Inspector of these ships prior to the arrival of Mr Richard Lynch, R.N, the official Emigration Agent appointed by London. Vokes, a policeman, knew nothing of ships. The ships sailed on April 16th. Richard Lynch, a qualified mariner, took up his appointment in May. The Limerick Star newspaper of June 10th reported the shipwreck of the Astrea with the loss of 240 lives. The survivors included Dr Jerome O 'Sullivan of Rathkeale, the surgeon on board who wrote a harrowing account of the disaster. On the 28th June, Lloyds Shipping Intelligence reported the loss of the James. Only eleven of the 241 souls on board survived the shipwreck. Local newspaperes reacted to the disasters with fury. The Limerick Herald described the James, a 50 year old hulk, as being a "coffin" to all those who died on her. And so a phrase coined by a Limerick journalist entered the lexicon of the English language. The editor of the Limerick Times, Joseph Haydn, in the first edition of that newspaper, wrote of the emigrants: "little did they then imagine that those hopes were destined to perish with themselves in a watery grave...We always contemplate such exportations with a kind of saddened interest; partly thro' a patriotic regret that so many fine spirits should be lost to our native land - thinking, as we do, with Goldsmith, "That a bold peasantry, a country's pride, When once destroyed, can never be supplied"
Historical Revisionism
Contrary to the propaganda of the time, much of this Irish emigration to America was involuntary. The evidence of a deliberate policy by some Protestant landlords to effect an ethnic "solution" to get rid of Irish Catholics and ship them to the colony of Canada is everywhere to be seen in the few Irish Catholic newspapers of the time. Maurice Lenihan's newspaper, The Limerick Reporter and Tipperary Vindicator is aptly named as it recorded an Irish tragedy of biblical proportions. Evidence of a racist attitude towards the Irish can be seen in an extract from the leading 19th century English historian, Lord Macauley, in his monumental 8 volume work: The History of England, published between 1849-1866. He justified the plantation of Ulster with the following comment:
This philosophy of racial supremacy eriority, backed by a powerful British army and navy created the British Empire which went on to enslave four fifths of the peoples of the earth. The late 19th c. boast that "the sun never sets" on this Empire, tinted red - the colour of blood - on classroom maps was part of the furniture in every British and colonial school. Books on history are frequently sponsored by those who control the political agenda. Macauley's historical works are now rubbished as blatant propaganda. The notion that the "ignorant" Irish created their own Famine by a dependance on the potatoe is another expression of racism fostered by 19th century Punch cartoonists. The British Parliamentary Papers on Famine and Emigration reveal further evidence of British colonial attitudes of the time. For example, a popular view was that the problem of Catholic overpopulation of 19th c. Ireland could be solved by shipping the Irish to colonise the underpopulated areas of Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Today, the ethics of that "solution" is widely challenged. When historians re-examine the evidence of the causes of the Famine and the mass emigration of the 19th century; many draw parallels with the "ethnic cleansing" pogroms of recent events in Bosnia. Nobody is suggesting that almost four million Irish people were deliberately murdered by the British but their policy of population removal via emigration and their view of the Irish famine as a Catholic-Irish self-created problem is being put to close examination. The issue is of concern to the people of Ireland and to the descendants of the original emigrants scattered around the world. For example, the story of the great Irish Famine is now being introduced as part of the curriculum in many schools in USA. In Ireland, plans to commemorate the Famine of 1845-1851 are based on a re-examination of the truth of what actually happened in that period of history. The revision of history is fraught with difficulties as the controversy over Neil Jordan's film "Michael Collins" has shown. One of the more intelligent comments made on the subject was in an editorial in the Sunday Business Post of November 10, 1996 which said "...the historian, Memmi, has pointed out that typically, imperialists are not content mearly to seize the land and assets of the colonised and to defeat them in the field of battle. Imperialist conquest is inevitably followed by a determination on the part of the victor to rewrite the history of the colonised. This process reaches its highest point when a concerted attempt is made to obliterate the entire historical memory of the colonised."
"The new settlers were, in civilisation and intelligence, far superior to the native population [Irish]...the settlers [English] were an aristocratic caste, which had been enabled, by superior civilisation, by close union, by sleepless vigilance, by cool intrepidity, to keep in subjection a numerous and hostile population."