Ederney Village

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Ederney Village Stories and pictures of Ederney and surroundings where I grew up a few years ago. I am proud of having grown up there, and of my grandfather Adam Eves.

11/10/2026

May 4th 1916. THE COUNTESS MARKIEVICZ. A STRANGE PERSONALITY. The capture of the Countess Markievicz at Dublin is an episode in the career of one of the strangest personalities in the ‘Ireland for the Irish’ movement. In England she was only known by repute in trade union circles but in Dublin she has been for years identified with extreme Socialism. During the regime of Jim Larkin at Liberty Hall Countess Markievicz and Miss Larkin were in charge of the food distribution, and she was very active during the transport workers’ strike in Dublin. When the exchequer failed, as it often did, the Countess unfailingly came to the rescue. The soup kitchen at Liberty Hall reached the highest point of efficiency, and indeed became eventually the only means of subsistence of many of the strikers. The Countess, apparently approaching middle age, was of undeniably attractive appearance. In the days of the strike she affected Irish dress and was usually a lively figure in the processions of strikers. It may be added that the lady before her marriage was Miss Constance Georgine Gore-Booth, the daughter of Sir Henry William Gore-Booth, fifth baronet of Lissadell, County Sligo. She is the organiser and trainer of the Scouts, who have supplied a large portion of the rebel forces. She is described as wearing a man’s green uniform and carrying a r***e and bayonet. Countess Markievicz, who is an Irish woman of good family, is married to the polish nobleman who is at present fighting against the Germans. I.R.

May 4th 1916. THE COUNTESS IN GREEN. HOW SHE SURRENDERED. LAST KISS TO HER REVOLVER. How Countess Markievicz surrendered with a force of 120 Sinn Feiners who had been in possession of the Royal College of Surgeons from the outbreak of the rebellion has been related. Countess Markievicz was in command of the party which had seized the College and when she found the position was hopeless she evidently decided that it was not worth taking any more risks. It was the last place in St., Stephen’s Green held by the rebels. At eight o’clock on Saturday morning the white flag was hoisted, and a communication was sent to the officer commanding of the attacking forces to say that the Garrison would surrender at 11.00. At the appointed hour Countess Markievicz marched out of the College followed by her force walking two abreast. She was dressed entirely in green – green tunic, a green hat with a green feather in it, green putties and green boots. It was a rather impressive scene. She marched to where the opposing force was waiting and going up to the officer in command, saluted, put her revolver to her lips and kissed it before handing it to him, gave up her bandoleer and announce that she was ready. The men were disarmed, and the squad was marched under an armed es**rt through Grafton Street and Dame Street to the castle. I.R.

May 4th 1916. SEVEN POLICEMEN WERE SHOT DEAD IN AN ATTACK IN COUNTY MEATH AND 18 WOUNDED. A Navan correspondent says – The indignation of the entire population of County Meath has been roused to the fullest extent by the perpetration in this peaceful county of the cold blooded and carefully planned attack on a force of local police seven of whom have been shot dead including one District Inspector and three civilian chauffeurs wounded, one of whom has since succumbed. These murders have been perpetrated by a body of Sinn Fein rebels numbering over 400 who have made their way from County Dublin. At midday on Friday the County Meath police authorities received information that the rebels had attacked Ashbourne police barracks. County Inspector Gray, District Inspector Henry Smyth, Navan and a force of some 50 constabulary left in motor cars for the district. The Sinn Feiners however had laid a carefully prepared attack, having secreted themselves in a small grove by the roadside at a place called Rathgate. In the field they had entrenched themselves and at each end of the road they had taken up a position for attack. Hardly had the police got out of the motors nearing the ascent to the hill when a fusillade of bullets were sent into their midst. Sergeant John Shanagher of Navan was shot through the heart almost as he was leaving his car. I.R.

May 4th 1916. REBELS IN JACOB’S FACTORY. SNIPING IN DUBLIN. Though the Republic is definitely at an end and its leaders in custody, fighting in Dublin has not quite ceased as yet. One or two points are still held by little groups of unyielding rebels, who make rather a solid resistance by shooting and sniping from behind barricaded positions and as an official expressed it ‘there may be a series of Sidney streets for a little time.’ But all the main strongholds have surrendered. White flags were waved from window or roof or barricade. British soldiers at once accepted the signal, marched boldly into these strongholds and took prisoner the garrisons. Groups of these prisoners, some young and simple looking, others older and more sinister looking, but all dejected as they marched between strong guards of British soldiers were among the many q***r sights to be seen in Dublin streets. One of the main strongholds that refused to surrender was Jacobs biscuit factory. A few days ago this place was a high centre of rebel activity. Rebel r***eman defended it over barricades made of flour and sugar in sacks. Girl nurses wearing red crosses on their arms and girls wearing green costumes cooked and attended to the needs of rebel fighters. Today the building is nothing but a husk of walls, jagged and blackened by shell and fire. The women had left, and the place was defended by a few remaining rebels who refused to surrender. The military by some means gave them intimation that if they did not yield the place would be blown to bits. They still refused. Preparations for the last act were quickly set in hand and field guns pounded the place with shells. I.R.

May 4th 1916. POSTAL OFFICIAL’S ARREST. THREE SINN FEINERS DROWNED. A further sensation has been added to the seizure of a boat with arms and am******on in Tralee Bay by the arrest of a prominent member of the Tralee Irish Volunteers Mr. Austin Stack and Cornelius Collins, one of the accountants of the G.P. O Dublin who were charged with conspiracy and aiding and abetting the importation of arms from Germany. Both were remanded in custody. A man of unknown nationality who refused to disclose his identity was conveyed to Dublin under a strong es**rt. The bodies of two unknown men were recovered from the River Laune, near Killorglin. They are described as of the labouring class, and are believed to be natives of Limerick. Each had a revolver and some rounds of am******on and the Sinn Fein badge. It appears that the previous night a motor car was three passengers and a chauffeur plunged over the quay wall at Ballykissane. The three passengers were drowned but the chauffeur escaped. The body of the third victim has not been recovered yet. I.R.

May 4th 1916. MEATH CAPITULATION. AN ENVOY TALKS WITH HIS GENERAL. An insurgent lieutenant with 10 men carrying a white flag entered Dublin from Meath on Saturday with a view to the surrender of the forces in that country. The lieutenant was allowed to have an interview with the prisoner Pearce to confirm the surrender and afterwards to return to Meath to make arrangements for the men to come in. Piles of r***es belonging to the rebels were on Saturday morning taken into the castle. I.R.

09/10/2026

May 4th 1916. THE REBELLION. INCIDENTS AND COMMENTS. The riots in Dublin are the subject of almost universal ridicule, mingled with severe reproaches addressed to Mr. Asquith because of his ‘wait and see’ policy wires the Daily Mail, New York correspondent. Of course the Sinn Feiners and the Clan-na-Gael separatists who form probably not more than five per cent of the Irish population of America are jubilant and are flooding the newspapers with all sorts of exorbitant statement alleged to have been cabled here in code regarding the extent of the trouble. Already they have issued the flamboyant call for a mass meeting to be held on behalf of the windows and orphans of the Dublin ‘martyrs’ and protest against the ex*****on of Sir Rodger Casement.
The state of chaos in the city is such that one has to be in it to realise it. Few firms were able to pay wages on Friday or Saturday because no money could be obtained from the banks. There is electric light, but it will be a long time before the tramway service can be resumed because the Sinn Feiners have demolished the power station as well as wrecking many of the tramway cars.
Until Thursday the rebels were full of resolution and were adopting many ingenious devices for getting in am******on. That day at Rathmines two coffins were opened by the guards; one contained a body and the other am******on. A closed hearse was full of am******on.
On Sunday afternoon some hundreds of the people of Enniskillen and district followed to their last resting place at the New Cemetery the remains of Private Knox 12th Battalion Royal Inniskillings Fusiliers who met his death by the accidental bursting of a hand gr***de which he was about to throw during the street fighting in Dublin.
The Sinn Fein sharpshooters were mainly young men between 18 and 23 who had made themselves proficient at a range in the Wicklow Mountains. Military officers say that they were remarkably accurate marksman.
Connolly and his men gained possession of a wireless station at Steven’s Green and by this agency sent out the proclamation of an Irish Republic to the world.
In the neighbourhood of the Custom House says Mr. Neville of Belfast I saw at least eight woman lying dead. Hundreds of others were wounded but these were carried away for treatment in the City Hospitals. In Mercer’s alone over 600 cases were treated.
The remains of Constable Magee who was shot in Louth at the same time as Lieutenant R. L. Dunville of the Grenadier Guards was wounded were interred at Falcarragh, Co., Donegal. It appears that Constable Magee was carrying dispatches to his superior officer when he was held up on the roadside by a number of armed insurrectionists who took possession of the dispatches and after perusing the contents they placed him against the hedge and shot him. The constable received no fewer than four bullet wounds in the region of the heart and lived only 20 minutes. F.T.

May 4th 1916. COMPLETE SURRENDER IN DUBLIN. MANY PRISONERS SENT TO ENGLAND. The following communiques were issued by the Field Marshal Commanding-in-Chief of the Home Forces on Monday. All the rebels in Dublin have surrendered and the city is reported to be quite safe. The rebels in the country districts are surrendering to mobile columns. There were 1,000 prisoners in Dublin yesterday of whom 489 were sent to England last night. F.T.

May 4th 1916. MILITARY NOTES. PETTIGO MAN KILLED. Private S. T. Read, Canadian Infantry who has died at the Canadian General Hospital, Boulogne from a gunshot wound was the youngest son of Mr. Robert Read, Post Office, Pettigo. He enlisted at Saskatoon; Canada in July last where he was employed as clerk in the Bank of Commerce. Before getting his appointment at the Canadian Bank he was a pupil at the Belfast Royal Academical Institution. His brother Fred is serving in the Princess Patricia’s and his eldest brother Alexander is a captain in the Black Watch. His sister Jennie who has been a military nurse since the commencement of the war was with him at his death. F.T.

May 4th 1916. CONCERT IN THE BARRACKS. In Enniskillen Barracks, on the night of the 26th an enjoyable concert was held in the gymnasium for the entertainment of the men who have been confined to barracks since the outbreak of the Dublin revolt. Each item was encored. When Captain Thomas, adjutant, announced that martial law had been proclaimed there was an outburst of enthusiasm. It required about 70 men to furnish all guards at the Enniskillen bridges for a day and at the changing of the guards the usual formalities were observed of the outgoing saluting the incoming guard etc. These guards inspired public confidence. I.R.

May 4th 1916. COLLAPSE OF THE SINN FEIN REBELLION IN DUBLIN. THE SINN FEIN REVOLT IS CRUSHED AND THE LEADERS MAKE AN UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER. THE PHANTOM IRISH REPUBLIC WHICH EXISTED ONLY IN THE IMAGINATION OF SOME THOUSANDS OF SINN FEINERS IN DUBLIN, BORN ON APRIL 24TH AND PERISHED FIVE DAYS LATER AMID UNIVERSAL RIDICULE AND CONDEMNATION. The bank of Ireland was saved because opposite is Trinity College, where the O.T.C. are stationed and the young officers had a warm reception in readiness. The rebels came along in great style anticipating no trouble in shooting down the half dozen soldiers who were always on guard at the bank and as they advanced there was a crack of r***e fire and some of the attacking party rolled over shot. The college had been transformed into a veritable fortress and in place of the usual windows there were sandbags loopholed, behind which armed officers were waiting to give battle to those who threatened the bank. The insurgents were stupefied for a moment and hesitated as to what they should do. Some of the group gave an inspiring lead to their fellows and with acclamation the crowd pressed on with their enterprise. Again came a volley and more victims fell. The rebels, realizing that so far as this adventure was concerned they were checkmated, turned and fled and that is how the Bank of Ireland was saved. I.R.

May 4th 1916. The footpaths of Sackville Street were one wild welter of disorder and debris. Troops of tatterdemalion boys and girls were having the time of their lives. The more youthful of them were smeared with butterscotch and toffee and chocolate from head to foot and carried parcels of similar confectionery and sweets galore. Young fellows by the dozen were in possession of packets and boxes of ci******es, while the air was fragrant with the odour of choice ci**rs designed for other lips. Boxes of ci**rs were offered to passers-by for a shilling, while many old ladies were festooned with necklaces and trinkets looted from jeweller shops. In the midst of all the tragedy a touch of comedy was not wanting. It was provided by the spectacle of scorers of robust and elderly women squatting on the footpath endeavouring to compress their too ample feet into fashionable boots and shoes. I.R.

08/10/2026

April 27th 1916. MOTOR CARS STOPPED. ARMS BROUGHT TO CAVAN AND TO SOUTH FERMANAGH AND THE BAWNBOY DISTRICT. About two weeks ago to motor carers conveyed a quantity of r***es and am******on to County Cavan and South Fermanagh. They eluded the police and got distributing their arms. We have remarked for several Saturday nights that about 11.30 to 12 o’clock motor cars passing up Enniskillen street, returning on Sunday night about the same time. Strange motor cars, conveying coffins, openly passed through our streets under the noses of the police; and the number of the coffins and drivers did not arouse any suspicion. These cars plied through the town by day and night till Colonel Sir John Leslie, Bart., took the matter in hand, when the civil power had failed; and now he has stopped all motor cars by guards on the two bridges. I.R.

April 27th 1916. LISNASKEA. DEFENDANT AND HIS PIG WERE BOTH ARRESTED AND LOCKED UP. Patrick Crudden, Slushill was arrested for being drunk and disorderly on the 19th of April. Constable Killduff said that defendants language was not of the very best. The defendant said he was walking down the street with a pig on his back, and the pig kicked him and he was not pleased with it and he may have said something wrong. The chairman of the magistrates asked was the pig alive and he was told indeed it was ‘and could kick like a good one.’ ‘Was the pig in the barrack too?’ The defendant said yes it was arrested. He was fined five shillings 6d and costs and Constable Reagan prosecuted the same defendant for kicking him on the shins on the 19th while in the barrack lock up after arrest for the charge proved above ‘and only he was drunk he did not think that the defendant would have kicked him.’ A fine of five shillings and costs was imposed. I.R.

May 4th 1916. THE REBELLION CRUSHED. The Dublin Sinn Fein Rebellion of Monday, April 24, collapsed on the succeeding Saturday evening; and the foul blot on Ireland, destitute of excuse, and a disgrace before civilisation without one redeeming feature, was brought to an ignominious close. O, the infamy of it! That Irishmen who prate so much of their country as if it were more than any other, who rave so much of their breed as if endowed with superior virtues, should descend so low as to accept German gold to assassinate their own fellow countrymen; and with the hire of foreign corruption and murder in their pockets should hide to slay unarmed victims and shelter themselves in places of strength to shoot down children and women and priests and all those who trusted to the elements of brotherhood and the laws of civilisation, went abroad without arms, and made war on the constituted authorities of the country. They assassinated, they fought behind shelter, they murdered unsuspecting victims, and then when hopelessly beaten cried ‘Hands up, we give in.’ The Hands Uppers’ of Ireland are the scum …………..

Fancy Mr. Pearse, a dreamer, who some 10 or 12 years ago advocated in Enniskillen the formation of the Gaelic League, making it evident that what he was really driving at was a separation movement and other literary and professional men thinking they could become generals against trained men, and lead some thousands of enthusiastic dup to success against the British army. The Gaelic League is as dead as the Rebellion and now some other Irish fools will try to devise some other fad with which to play on the simple souls who were led to believe in the purity of Irish Nationality – even when it was bought with German gold. I.R.

May 4th 1916. DUBLIN VICTIMS BURIED. Private Knox of the 12th (Reserve Battalion) Inniskillings, who met his death last week in Dublin, was buried in the New Cemetery, Enniskillen with full military honours on Sunday. Knox, it appears, was firing a bomb when it accidentally exploded and killed him.
During last week’s Dublin Rebellion 2nd Lieutenant Crockett of the 12th Inniskillings, was accidentally killed by a bomb. Mr. Crockett’s brother is in the Cadet Corps in Enniskillen. He belonged to Londonderry, and his remains were removed to the place for internment. I.R.

May 4th 1916. DUBLIN NEWS. THE ATTACK ON TCD. PROMPT AND DEADLY REPRISALS. On Tuesday the rebels took am******on shed at Bachelors Walk from which they had Trinity College under close and direct fire. On Wednesday at the suggestion of the provost Dr. Mahaffey a field gun was brought to the roof of the College and the am******on shop was blown to pieces. 11 men who ran out of this were all killed by a machine gun. During those terrible days a term examination was held with exact ceremony within the walls of the ancient and dauntless University.
The Irish Times is officially informed that the damage done to structures and records in the Four Courts is not such that any great delay will take place in reopening. When the military authorities have handed over the custody of the buildings the work of clearing will occupy two or three days and it is anticipated that Monday 9th May at the latest shall see business resumed.
It was manifestly impossible to hold the General Synod in Dublin this week with any prospect of the attendance of the clergy and laity from the provinces owing to the outbreak of the rebellion in Dublin and elsewhere throughout Ireland, the Lord Primate intimated that the Synod would be postponed to some future date of which the members will all receive due notice. F.T.

May 4th 1916. HALF-HOLIDAYS. Pettigo weekly half-holiday. The merchants of Pettigo have agreed to close their business premises every Wednesday from the 3rd of May at 1.00 PM. The merchant and drapers of Fivemiletown have agreed to close their respective places of business every Wednesday at 1.00 commencing 12 April in order to give their assistants a half-holiday. F.T.

May 4th 1916. REBELLION. The tales that are told of the crimes perpetuated under the aegis of the strangely established ‘Republic’ form amazing reading. It is almost inconceivable that such things could occur. The record of wholesale bloodshed, the deliberate sniping at innocent individuals whose sole crime was being on the public thoroughfares, the rabid, insane destruction of property, the wild incomprehensible notions of overcoming and crushing all authority – these things make one almost despair of the future of the country. Every blessing and privilege a people could enjoy has been granted to Ireland in fullest measure – shall we say in excess? The only gratitude manifested is revolution by a large section of the populace - horrors and barbarities almost incredible. Not for a score of years will it be possible for Dublin to recover from the devastation and ruin to which it has fallen a victim. One of the pleasantest and handsome cities in Europe has been battered and bruised until it has become a picture of sadness and desolation. F.T.

07/10/2026

Fermanagh Herald April 22nd 1916. A GERMAN SHIP SUNK OF THE IRISH COAST. In an attempt to land arms in Ireland, Sir Roger Casement is arrested. The Secretary of the Admiralty announces: during the period between PM April 20 and PM April 21 an attempt to land arms and am******on in Ireland was made by a vessel under the guise of a neutral merchant ship, but in reality a German auxiliary, in conjunction with a German submarine. The auxiliary sank, and a number of prisoners were made amongst whom was Sir Roger Casement. Sir Roger Casement was brought to London on Sunday morning. He was met at Euston by officers from Scotland Yard, and is now detained in military custody. It is understood that evidence as to his proceedings in Germany since the outbreak of war will be produced at his trial.

April 27th 1916. OPEN REBELLION! PROCLAMATION OF AN IRISH REPUBLIC. A RISING IN DUBLIN! THE CITY TAKEN POSSESSION OF BY SINN FEIN VOLUNTEERS. DUBLIN CASTLE TAKEN AND RECAPTURED. THE POST OFFICE SEIZED. SOLDIERS AND PEOPLE SHOT DOWN. THE CITY IN TERROR. Liberty Hall in Dublin has been taken by the navy and army. The following Official statement of the position is issued by the Lord Lieutenant: - During the night of the 25th of April a royal naval reserve gunboat shelled and troops subsequently occupied Liberty Hall, the Headquarters of the Sinn Fein forces. Meanwhile large reinforcements have arrived in Dublin, including detachments of 10,000 troops from England, with Artillery, Engineering and Medical Corps. In other portions of the city the situation is well in hand, repairs to railway lines now are being rapidly effected. A Royal Proclamation was published yesterday (Wednesday) which substitutes trial by court martial for offences hitherto triable by Civil Court. I.R.

April 27th 1916. IT SEEMS LIKE A DREAM, YET IT IS ALL TRUE! THERE HAS BEEN AN INSURRECTION IN DUBLIN AND THE PROCLAMATION OF AN IRISH REPUBLIC BY SINN FEIN. Rumours about an insurrection in the capital and the chief places being taken possession of by Sinn Fein Volunteers and the whole thing reads like the impossible. Owing to the cutting of the wires and breakdown of telegraphic communications, and the seizure of the General Post Office, Dublin, we have to depend for news upon travellers who have passed through the danger zone. The rebellion took place on Easter Monday morning, being a bank holiday and the day of Fairyhouse Races, was a day when the military would be supposed to be on leave; and it was selected for the occasion by the Sinn Feiners, who had all arrangements made for an insurrection, move their battalions under arms, and prepared to seize the city.
1. The Post Office was taken possession of. 2. The outer portion of the Bank of Ireland was seized. 3. One of the minor barracks was taken by an armed party. 4. The bridges across the Liffey were seized and guards placed upon them and barricades raised honour the keys. 5. Dublin Castle was for a time seized till it was recaptured. Tuesday morning saw a portion of the city in the hands of the rebels to the extent that they overawed the population. They disarmed police, they shot down soldiers returning on furlough, and numbers of innocent people were wounded. Points of vantage like the Daily Express office at Cork Hill, and the corner of Sackville Street and Lower Abbey Street were seized, the slates were ripped off the roofs and their machine guns placed in position to sweep the streets. One of the first places seized was the General Post Office, on which machine guns were placed; and machine guns were also placed on Messrs. Cleary’s establishment opposite.
One informant saw a party of cavalry ride up Sackville Street, and the commanding officer, some men and several horses were shot down by men in upper windows. Telegraph and telephone communications were broken, wires cut, and railway bridges destroyed so as to delay help coming to the forces of the Government. Owing to the bridges being destroyed the trains could not bring troops from the Curragh and regiment after regiment had to march to Dublin. All motor cars were seized. Mr. Jack Lemmon and Mr. Harvey were on their holidays and their car was seized. It was expected that all available cars around Enniskillen would have been seized for Government purposes also. The rush, the expedition of the whole plan, and the wonderful success which attended it at the outbreak, the standard of public who could scarcely believe been used to be true. We cannot obtain details of the street fighting, or of the way the street car as were flung on the roadway is to make…..

…… r***e fire. There is no prospect at present of the military at Enniskillen being needed at Dublin. Mr. Birrell, who is largely responsible for the trouble, was in England, away from the country which he, by his policy, precipitated into such a state of rebellion. At Enniskillen a military guard was placed over the Sligo railway bridge at Killyhevlin and at the town bridges. In Dublin shops were looted in all directions and valuables taken, so that it was said gold rings could be bought cheaply in the streets; and big coats were cast out of the windows for a few shillings. Horses which were shot in the streets were permitted to lie there for barricades. Rolls of paper were seized in the Irish Times office to form barricades. Bicycle shops were raided by the rebels, and the bicycles were taken out by them to form entanglements. There has been some uneasiness in Blacklion, owing to the proximity to Glenfarne having a lot of Sinn Feiners but we do not think there is any cause for anxiety. There may be sympathisers, but leaders and action and organisation are other things. I.R.

April 27th 1916. A PLOT TO LAND ARMS. A GERMAN CRUISER SUNK AND SIR RODGER CASEMENT CAPTURED. It is officially announced that during the period between the afternoon of the 20th of April and that of the 21st an attempt to land arms and am******on in Ireland was made by a vessel under the guise of a neutral merchant ship but in reality a German auxiliary, in conjunction with a German submarine. The auxiliary sank, and a number of prisoners were made, amongst whom was Sir Rodger Casement. He was brought to London on Sunday morning. He was met at Euston by officers from Scotland Yard and is now detained and in military custody. I.R.

April 27th 1916. THE ROYAL INNISKILLING BAND CONCERT EVENING IN ENNISKILLEN TOWNHALL HAS BEEN CANCELLED OWING TO THE RISING IN DUBLIN AND THE STATE OF PUBLIC FEELING. Owing to the extraordinary state of things in Dublin and the country it is well to know that the chief authority in Enniskillen and district is vested in Colonel Sir John Leslie, Bart., under the Defence of the Realm Act; and if anything should arise to cause him to take over all public control, all the ordinary civil proceedings will be subordinate to military authority. Colonel Leslie has sent out cavalry patrols placed guards on the bridges of Enniskillen and taken precautions. The soldiers are provided with ball cartridge and have strict orders to stop motor traffic. The police have taken charge of the petrol supply locally. I.R.

06/10/2026

April 20th 1916. THE DEATH OF LORD CLANRICKARDE – THE BEST HATED MAN OF HIS TIME. The death has occurred at his London residence, 13 Hanover Square, in his 84th year, after a long illness, of the Marquis of Clanrickarde, who at one time was probably the most hated man in Ireland, and the most friendless even among his own class. A
Non-resident landlord, he achieved the unenviable distinction of being the most ruthless of evictors, detested alike by his tenantry and the land owning classes, for the latter were exasperated that their general character should be besmirched by the acts of a man who was not the type but something apart by himself. His long and bitter fights with his tenantry form a black chapter in the Irish Land agitation, which was happily closed when, after lengthy litigation, his Galway estates were required by the Consolidated Districts Board for £238,000.
It was on the Clanrickarde estate that the Plan of Campaign was first suggested. Possibly the only time the Marquis was seen in Ireland was at the funeral of his father, and when his mother died he did not come over. Indeed not one of his tenants seem to have ever seen him, though such was his power that at one time it was said he could return his grey mare to Parliament if he liked. His intervention in debate to denounce the Evicted Tenants Bill caused a sensation in the Gilded Chamber. His passionate, but thin and cracked voice railed against the offending measure. His pale face was convulsed with bitter feeling as the torrents of his wrath descended on the Bill and its authors. Two or three times producing from his waistcoat pocket a small vial containing a brown liquid he imbibed the stimulant and inveighed greater than ever against the Bill. His utterance, so dramatic, chilled rather than thrilled his hearers. Not peer present give him the slightest suggestion of applause.
Nearly nine years ago a bill for the expulsion of Lord Clanrickarde, under the 10 minutes rule was made by Mr. Duffy. The measure passed its first reading by a very large majority, in which were three nephews of the Marquis, one said to be his favourite relative, but it never went any further.
A long, thin, pallid figure, shabbily dressed, with high cheekbones, a highly intellectual forehead and some 5 feet 7 inches in height describes him physically. The late Mr. Labouchere, who was with him at the British Embassy in Paris, described him as parsimonious and miserly unlike his spendthrift father and brother. When he came in to his estates they had a rent roll of £20,000 a year from poor land, and while his agents had to carry their lives in their hands, he remained in London immovable and impenetrable, while he drove his tenants to such exasperation as to make the estates the hotbed of the land revolution. Though he never recognized defeat even when Acts of Parliament were passed to deal with this case, Lord Clanrickarde had some good points as the landlord. In some ways Lord Clanrickarde really was not a bad landlord; indeed he was indulgent to appeals and allowed arrears to run up in many instances. He mentioned that when the Government valuers wanted part of the Clanrickarde estate some of the tenants who had not been evicted objected to the functions of these officials, contending that as they had not paid any rent for 12 or 14 years they were entitled by prescriptive right to occupy the land rent free. The agrarian records do not bear out the view that Lord Clanrickarde was a considerate landlord, but it was in the political aspect of the land war that he appeared to the worst advantage and cut an unenviable figure.
There was however another side to the Lord Clanrickarde character. Mean and eccentric in appearance and reported to be a miser, he was an ardent connoisseur and collector of art, rare pictures and china being the main objects of his activities in this direction. Lord Clanrickarde filled yet another role that of the money-lender. Furthermore until he was well past 80 he was an enthusiastic skater, and had the reputation of being an adept at skating on one leg. I.R.

April 20th 1916. ……. resist a sudden enemy attack. I was prepared for a display of this racial trait. I was disappointed. Cooler and less perturbed men never marched to what was certain death for so many. When the order came the men had just finished a spell in the trenches. They were cleaning their boots preparatory to a turn in billets. To have a well-earned rest taken from them so suddenly must have been annoying, but they showed no sign. In the 10 minutes left before the onward march began they went on with the boot cleaning as though they were getting ready for a day’s holiday. In a quarter of an hour they were swinging along the road chanting one of the pretty songs of their country. In another half hour they were under fire from the German great guns that were dropping huge shells by the score, converting the smoothest of roads into a series of pits deep enough to bury half a dozen men at a time. Halfway down the road we came in sight of the detachment the Irish were to reinforce. They are awaiting a German attack, which is rapidly developing under cover of a heavy artillery fire design to harass the defenders of the position, and at the same time prevent reinforcements reaching them. Shells continue to drop amid the Irish and their losses are not slight. Still they press on with the cheerfulness of their race. Now the enemy attack on their comrades is being pressed home in real earnest. Clouds of enemy infantry settle down in front of the position and soon swarm over the parapet. It is only then that the wonderful Irish betray excitement. There is no holding them back, and their officers don’t try to. A great cry, obviously a battle cry breaks from the lips that were chanting a baby’s lullaby only a few minutes before and the tide of Irishmen sweeps onward irresistibly to overwhelm the Teuton foe. I am told that their cry was, Faugh-a-Ballagh. Nothing could be more sublime than that onward sweep against the increasing rain of German shells. The intrepid Irish seemed to cover the intervening yards at a single bound and range themselves by the side of their sorely pressed English comrades. The Germans were in overwhelming strength, but that didn’t seem to trouble the Irishmen. Into the German hordes the Grenadiers flung scorers of hand gr***des at 30 yards distance. Violent explosions followed and the effect on the closely packed enemy ranks was deadly. Before the enemy could recover the Irish were upon them with the spring suggestive of tigers defending their cubs against hostile attacks. In spite of their numbers, the Germans were helpless against that glorious dash. They were swept off their feet and scattered in great confusion. I.R.

Fermanagh Herald April 22nd 1916. PETTIGO HALF-HOLIDAY. We the merchants of Pettigo have agreed to close our business premises every Wednesday from the 1st of May at the hour of 1.00.

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