of the corporation, who piqued himself on the loyalty and tranquillity of its inhabitants, was on the point of inferting in the Waterford newspaper a warm panegyrick on them, the day on which the plot was difcovered.

The honourable colonel Burton, who commanded in Waterford for fome time after the battle of Rofs, affured me, that many Roman catholicks, in rather a refpectable fituation, went privately to him, acknowledged that they were concerned in the plot, expreffed contrition for it, and craved his protection and the mercy of government;' and that he never disclosed their names.

So fure were the confpirators, that a general rifing would take place in confequence of the fuppofed victory of their friends at Rofs, with whom they kept up a close and conftant intercourse, that money was given out to meffengers by their treasurers, to repair to the fouth and western parts of the country, to invoke the mafs of the people to rife. But the fuccefs of the king's troops at Rofs defeated

their schemes.

As many of the fugitives froin Rofs to Waterford, announced in their flight, that the rebels had been successful, moft of the labourers and farmers in that part of the county of Kilkenny oppofite to Waterford fuddenly deferted their different occupations, and repaired to their fellow traitors: But on discovering their difappointment, they returned; and, dreading that their conduct would bring on them the vengeance of the law, they flunk into Waterford, and repaired to fome magiftrates there, to take the oath of allegiance, in hopes of getting protections, to fcreen themselves from the penal confequences of their treafon.

On the trial of Edmond Quin, for being a rebel, held at Waterford, the feventeenth of July, 1799, by court martial, it appeared, that he told John Whelan, when they were both prifoners in the gaol of Waterford, that if matters had remained as they were in the height of the troubles, for two days and two nights, Waterford would have been taken by the United Irifhmen, and that in two months from that time, they would be in poffeffion of it.

The facts contained in this account of the confpiracy at Waterford are not founded on vague affertion, but were proved on court martials, which I have read.

On many of the trials of the diffaffected inhabitants of Rofs and Waterford it appeared, that there was a conftant intercourse between them, and that the fate of Waterford was to have depended on the fucccfs of the rebel army at the former.

Br

By a court martial held at Waterford, the twenty-fecond of June, 1798, John Abbott was convicted of having confpired to affift the rebels in an infurrection in that town, and of faying that he would fet fire to his own houfe for the purpofe of confounding the army; and that he declared, that Thomas Gough and Michael Pohan were preparing to do the fame. It was proved alfo that he had concealed arms.

On the trial of Garret Murphy, by court martial, held at Waterford, the twenty-fifth of July, 1798, captain Lowrie, of the thirteenth regiment, prefident, it was proved, that Mr. Thomas Anthony, architect, who had employed the prifoner, pretended that he had been an United Irishman, for the purpose of learning his fecrets, and that Murphy informed him a few days after the battle of Rofs, that he had been, previous to that event, with Mr. Colclough, in the county of Kilkenny, and that Mr. C. having left him, went to Carrick and Clonmell, to prepare the people there for rifing: That he told Mr. Colclough of the infurrection intended in Waterford, and that he, muft go there to fave a particular friend: That he was fure the king's troops would be compleatly defeated, as there were fo many United Irishmen encamped in the county of Wexford. He told him that there were arms in the outlets of the city of Waterford : That he had been concealed in a ditch in the county of Kilkenny, near Rofs, and miffed fire twice at two gen tlemen, who rode by in their way to Waterford; and that one of them, when they proceeded a little farther, was fhot in the arm: He believed one to be young Mr. Tottenham; that Waterford was the object of the United Irifhmen, when they had defeated the king's troops at Rofs; but that city had nothing to fear, unlefs they fucceeded there. Mr. Anthony gave a most excellent character of him, but fanaticifm had made him a rebel.

Before a court-martial held at Waterford, the twentieth of June, 1798, Patrick Rourke was found guilty of confpiring with others, in an infurrection, and an attack upon Waterford, and that at a meeting of United Irifhmen at his houfe, he declared, that, for the good of the cause, he would fet fire to his own houfe; and that he faid, the object of fetting fire to the houfe was, to create confufion among the king's troops, the cafier to overcome them. It was proved alio, that it was faid at his houfe, that some of the Clare militia, then quartered in Waterford, were to feize the cannon, arms and ammunition, for the purpofe of taking the city.

William

William Lewis, a foldier of the Clare regiment, propofed at the house of Patrick Rourke, in the prefence of fome of his fellow-foldiers, and the United Irishmen of Waterford, to seize the cannon and ammunition then in that city, and to carry them upon the hill, and to fire on it; and that that plan had been agreed upon in the prefence of the militia

men.

By a court-martial held at Waterford the fixth of July, 1798, corporal Curry of the Clare regiment, Simon Ryan, and Thomas Reilly, privates of the faine, were convicted of being concerned in the confpiracy to feize the city and all the cannon in it, for the purpofe of affifting the rebels in taking it; and in having confpired to murder all their officers, except lieutenant Mc. Mahon, who was a Roman catholick. It was propofed there alfo by one Carey, to murder the union corps of that city. At the fame meeting, corporal Woods, in the artillery of the Clare regiment faid, that he had eight or ten United Irifhmen in the artillery, who would draw the guns up the hill, and fire on the town: That a committee was formed to carry that plan into execution. Garret Murphy confeffed on his examination before fome magiftrates, that John Forreftall, publican, at New Rofs, told him, that the rebel army would march through the county of Kilkenny to Waterford, if the king's troops were beaten at Rofs: That great numbers of people at Waterford and Rofs, fome of whom he mentioned, were concerned as officers, or privates, and that he was a ferjeant, and ufed to collect 6dh. per month, from the men under his command, which he paid to meffieurs Hunt, Foot, and Farrell, who were captains, for the purpofe of fending meffengers to Dublin. It was very fortunate that the rebels in the county Kilkenny miftook the day deftined for the attack upon Rofs.

By two court martials held at Waterford, one on the fourteenth of June, the other the twenty-third of July, 1798, it was proved that Walter Power, Richard Connolly, and James Hynes, went to the houfe of Mr. Valentine Lannagan, of Charlestown, with fome other rebels, and took his firearms and ammunition; and that the faid V. Lannagan heard the prifoners fay in converfation, on the feventh of June, that, if it were not for the cannon, they would have cut off the Rofcommon regiment, which marched the day before from Waterford to Rofs, as two thousand United Irifhmen had affembled at Glanmore, on the fixth of June, for that purpose,

Canfpiracy

Confpiracy in the city of Cork.

THE confpiracy was infinitely more terrifick in the city of Cork than in Dublin, because the proteftants of the established church, whofe deftruction was meditated, were much fewer in proportion to the Roman catholicks; and the confpirators were better organized and armed, as the vigilance and the exertions of the executive power were not fo active and vigorous as in the metropolis, the feat of go

vernment.

It was divided into three divifions, the north, the centre, and the fouth; and each of them was fubdivided into fections. It was discovered, that there were one hundred and thirty of the latter, from North-gate bridge, through Blackpool, and that portion of the city, and that each confifted of a ferjeant and twelve men. They were all regimented, and had a regular gradation of officers from a colonel down to a corporal.

An immenfe quantity of pikes was fabricated in Cork. Measures were concerted for taking the magazine; and fo fure were the confpirators of fucceeding, that poles were prepared, exactly fitted to the focket of a bayonet, that they might mount them the instant those weapons, (of which there was a great number in the magazine,) fell into their hands.

There was great difaffection among the popifh yeomen, particularly in the Cork legion. Donovan and Drinane continued members of it till they were arrested; and Sweeny, the chief leader of the confpiracy in Cork, who has been tranfported to Botany Bay, was feized and committed a fhort time after he had been expelled from the corps, for difobedience of orders, in which he manifefted notorious difaffection. Some of them owned to perfons who became approvers, that they entered into it merely to obtain arms and a knowledge of military difcipline. Roger O'Connor, confined in gaol, was the chief director of the union in Cork; and, he paid the bills at the houfes of entertainment which were kept open for the reception of the foldiers, who were regaled in them gratis, with the most delicious fare; and they were even fupplied with concubines, the more effectually to feduce them."

As two foldiers of the Dublin regiment were condemned to be hot for difaffection, John Sweeny, a woollen draper,

diftributed

diftributed printed hand bills, not only among the foldiers, but among the difaffected of the city, and the adjacent county, inciting them to rife in mafs, to overpower the garrifon, and to rescue the prifoners; but doctor Harding, at that time high fheriff, arrested Sweeny in the gaol, while conferring with R. O'Connor, on the morning of the day that the execution of the foldiers took place; by which the infurrection was defeated. The great vigilance, and active exertions of that loyal gentleman, preferved the city of Cork from conflagration and a general maffacre, for which many plots were formed to murder him.

A man of the name of Cafey, was hired to affaffinate him, and was on the point of firing a pistol at him, when fortunately a pig ran between his legs, and threw him down, by which the life of that valuable member of fociety was preferved. A committee of affaffination was conftantly fitting in Cork, by which fir Henry Mannix, captain Weftropp, Mr. Shaw the collector, doctor Harding, alderman Shaw, meffieurs Alexander and Johnfon, high conftables, and other loyal gentlemen, were condemned; and pursuant to their fentence, fir Henry Mannix was fired at, and wounded, near Cork, by one Callaghan, the affaffin hired to murder him; and who immediately repaired to John Sweeny, and claimed the reward which the committee had offered for killing him; but Sweeny refused to pay it to him, as he was not actually killed; but being a woollen draper, he gave him two fuits of clothes, as a recompenfe for the zeal which he displayed in the cause of the union.

Four men, who became approvers at an early period of the confpiracy, continued to attend the committees, and conftantly gave information to the magiftrates of every thing that paffed; and their communications exactly correfponded with the evidence which was afterwards given on the trials of the confpirators by different profecutors.

They often produced black lifts of the principal proteftant families in the kingdom, who, under the denomination of hereticks, were to be affaffinated, and the Beresford family, and Mr. Ogle, were among them; and it was often afferted in these committees, that a person would enfure falvation by killing a certain number of proteftants.*

As

*This reward is held out by the council of Lateran, fee vol. i. p. 11. of the Memoirs; and this opinion was frequently uttered and maintained by the rebels, fee Appendix XIII. an affidavit on the state of Dublin, and Whitney's Affidavit, Appendix XIX.