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CSO/RP/SC/1825/581

Letter from Richard Willcocks, inspector general of police, Roscrea, County Tipperary, to William H Gregory, Under Secretary of Ireland, Dublin Castle, reporting on a public investigation of party animosities in the town of Roscrea and the contention that surrounds the presence of an orange flag. Alludes to the decision of the presiding magistrates to forbid ‘note takers’ at the enquiry and mentions his refusal of an application for that purpose from [Thomas] Sheehan, editor of the ‘Dublin Evening Mail’ newspaper. The investigation, he stresses, is open to persons of all religious persuasion, and comments on the attendance of Mr [James] O’Shaughnessy, Roman Catholic parish priest of Roscrea and Kyle, and some others of his church. [See also descriptions CSO/RP/1825/981, CSO/RP/SC/1825/225 and CSO/RP/SC/1825/285].

12 Jul 1825

1825

CSO/RP/SC/1825/582

Letter from Major George Warburton, inspector general of police for Connaught, Ballinasloe, County Galway, to William H Gregory, Under Secretary of Ireland, Dublin Castle, reporting on the relative calm of his district. The surrounding countryside, he observes, remains comparatively peaceful except for some attacks directed against couriers of provisions around the town of Sligo in County Sligo. Indicates his determination to attend in person at the various assizes and communicate with each of the chief constables, after which he will submit a more detailed report of the state of law and order in the wider district.

13 Jul 1825

1825

CSO/RP/SC/1825/583

Letter from Richard Willcocks, inspector general of police, Roscrea, County Tipperary, to William H Gregory, Under Secretary of Ireland, Dublin Castle, reflecting on the value of the public investigation of party animosities in the town of Roscrea. He notes that [Reverend John] Hamilton, Church of Ireland curate of Roscrea, has sought an adjournment to permit his attendance at official business at Killaloe, County Clare, which has been ceded him. Hamilton, he confides, is a strong orange advocate and hopes his bishop will move him to a different parish in the diocese. [See also descriptions CSO/RP/1825/981 and CSO/RP/SC/1825/581]. Encloses letter from Captain William Dobbin, chief constable of police, barony of Lower Ormond, Borrisokane, County Tipperary, conveying details of an outbreak of disturbance in the town of Cloughjordan during which a number of windows were broken and some persons assaulted being identified as ‘orange-men’. Pressure was put on the police barracks on a few occasions, he reports, by the mob at whose head was one ‘Duff’, ‘a very notorious Character even from the year 1798’. He encloses a copy of a threatening notice placed outside the residence of ‘Clarke’ of Borrisokane, warning him of the consequences of any display of orange emblems.

13 Jul 1825

1825

CSO/RP/SC/1825/584

Letter from Major George Warburton, inspector general of police for Connaught, Ballinasloe, County Galway, to William H Gregory, Under Secretary of Ireland, Dublin Castle, reflecting on some incidents of lawlessness in his district. Encloses letter from R Curtis, chief constable of police, barony of Tirerill, Collooney, County Sligo, reporting an attack on a horse during a stay by the owner at Mr Durham’s at the ‘halfway house’ between Boyle [County Roscommon] and Sligo town on the 13th of June. The horse, it appears, was stabbed and died some time later on the road to Boyle; the owner, he continues, made an unsuccessful attempt in court at prosecuting Durham for the attack on the animal, 7 July 1825. Also copy letter from Major James Baird, commander, 66th regiment of foot, Sligo, County Sligo, [to Lieutenant Colonel Wedderburn, military secretary, Royal Hospital, Dublin] reporting on a malicious attack on a courier of provisions at the halfway house; he continues, ‘the horse was killed, and the provisions scattered on the road’, 16 June 1825. Also encloses letter from Thomas Williams, chief constable of police, barony of Leitrim, Woodford, County Galway, reporting on a violent assailment at the house of Mrs Hanrihan at Moyglass. The attackers, he observes, broke all the windows and damaged internal furnishings with stones, having discharged a gunshot prior to the incident. A likely cause for the outrage, he surmises, is the part played by her son in taking up ‘some cattle for rent due’ by a tenant on Mr Burke’s estate, 11 July 1825.

16 Jun 1825-13 Jul 1825

1825

CSO/RP/SC/1825/585

Letter from Richard Willcocks, inspector general of police, Roscrea, County Tipperary, to William H Gregory, Under Secretary of Ireland, Dublin Castle, reporting on the progress of a public investigation into sectarian animosities in the town of Roscrea. Proceedings for the present are in suspense, he notes, pending the return of [Reverend John] Hamilton, the Church of Ireland curate of Roscrea. As to Hamilton, an unhesitant orange apologist, he observes, ‘it would be no loss to Roscrea, if the Bishop could give him a swing, and would send him out to new South Wales’. [See also descriptions CSO/RP/1825/981 and CSO/RP/SC/1825/583].

14 Jul 1825

1825

CSO/RP/SC/1825/586

Letter from Robert Williamson and John McCain, magistrates, [Lisburn, County Antrim], to William H Gregory, Under Secretary of Ireland, Dublin Castle, drawing attention to a controversy over an orange march in the town of Lisburn on the 12th of July. Encloses statement from Thomas Fulton, magistrate, outlining his exertions and those of William Hawkshaw, magistrate, to defuse the threat to public order caused by an assembly of orangemen in Lisburn. He notes his remonstrance with a leader of that body named George Allen, who refused his assistance in putting a stop to the illegal parade. Also reflects on the inexplicable attitude of Reverend Philip Johnson [magistrate], who openly gave his assent to the orange parade and ‘drove on in his carriage following the procession’; sworn before Williamson and McCain, 13 July 1825. Also encloses statements from Hawkshaw and Williamson describing their efforts to curtail the orange assembly in Lisburn and expressing their displeasure at the part taken by Johnson on the occasion, 13 July 1825. Also encloses copy affidavit of George Allen, shoemaker, Lisburn, admitting he was present in a crowd of between one and two hundred men on the streets of Lisburn ‘for the purpose of commemorating King William’s crossing the Boyne’, sworn before the magistrates on 12 July 1825. [See also description CSO/RP/SC/1825/181].

12 Jul 1825-14 Jul 1825

1825

CSO/RP/SC/1825/587

Letter from Richard Willcocks, inspector general of police, Roscrea, County Tipperary, to William H Gregory, Under Secretary of Ireland, Dublin Castle, drawing attention to an objection to the evidence of William Nash [chief constable of police] in a public investigation into sectarian animosities in the town of Roscrea and seeking the ‘speedy’ determination of government on the question. Encloses statement from [Reverend] John Hamilton, Church of Ireland curate of Roscrea, expressing opinion that Nash should not be heard as a witness in the investigation on grounds his testimony might be untrustworthy since he is ‘charged with offences’. Also letter from Hamilton to Gregory, complaining his ‘feelings have been wounded’ by the mode of investigation conducted by Willcocks. He laments that the enquiry has been marked by ‘impartial justice’ but is anxious to have the matter concluded for the satisfaction of the public. Draws attention to an assault on the police, who were charged with preventing the hoisting of a flag, by a Roman Catholic mob; in the circumstances, he alleges, Willcocks was aware of the transaction and conducted an interview with Nash. [See also descriptions CSO/RP/1825/981 and CSO/RP/1825/1612].

16 Jul 1825

1825

CSO/RP/SC/1825/588

Letter from Thomas Whinnery, district post master, Post Office, Belfast, County Antrim, to Henry Goulburn, Chief Secretary, Dublin Castle, confirming his transmission to William Donlevy, president of the Inland Office of the General Post Office in Dublin, of a receipt from Lieutenant Stewart for a ‘money letter’ previously sent by government.

27 Jul 1825

1825

CSO/RP/SC/1825/589

Letter from Edward Wilson, chief police magistrate of County Tipperary, Thurles, County Tipperary, to William H Gregory, Under Secretary of Ireland, Dublin Castle, reporting on a disturbance of a sectarian nature in the town of Cloughjordan on the evening of the 12th of July. The ire of the assembled crowd, he remarks, was directed against the windows of 5 dwellings thought to belong to persons of an orange disposition. Five persons, he notes, were subsequently arrested for their part in the unrest. He also observes two criminals entered the dwelling house of Mr Frank, near Roscrea, and removed a gun. [See also description CSO/RP/SC/1825/583].

19 Jul 1825

1825

CSO/RP/SC/1825/590

Letter from Richard Willcocks, inspector general of police, Roscrea, County Tipperary, to William H Gregory, Under Secretary of Ireland, Dublin Castle, reporting on the conclusion on the public investigation into sectarian animosities in the town of Roscrea. Conveys almost a whole day was spent in hearing the testimony of William Nash, chief constable of police, barony of Ikerrin; the charges raised against him, he finds, by [Reverend] John Hamilton, Church of Ireland curate of Roscrea, have been largely refuted. His report on the ‘very voluminous’ proceedings of the enquiry, he expects, will be received at Dublin Castle on Saturday next for the Lord Lieutenant’s information. [See also descriptions CSO/RP/1825/981, CSO/RP/SC/1825/583 and CSO/RP/SC/1825/587].

19 Jul 1825

1825