on to lend some veffels, to put water on the yet-burning ftraw. After doing every thing poffible, the military and yeomanry were difmiffed; and about one o'clock at night, the fire again broke out and confumed the whole of the building.

On the following day, a number of gentlemen met at the fovereign's, and Mr. Fitzgerald came there; Drill and Willock were brought in cuftody, and no charge being preferred against them by Mr. Fitzgerald, or any other perfon, they were discharged. They have brought actions for defama

tion.

Captain Rawfon felt much for the diftrefs of the reverend Mr. Keegan, the parish priest, a man of moft exemplary conduct; and offered him the ufe of a large house he had lately purchased near the town, for a temporary chapel : He accepted the offer; and the house was prepared accordingly. His good intentions were fruftrated, as the rebellious had more influence than their worthy paftor, and not one man would attend him in the houfe of a heretick. Such is the force of fanaticism !

The affidavit of Thomas Davis, of Profperous.

County of the city of Dublin,

to wit.

THE examination of Mr. Thomas Davis, late of Profperous, in the county of Kildare, who being duly fworn on the Holy Evangelists, maketh oath and faith, That for many nights previous to the night of the twenty-third of May laft, this examinant and his family were very much alarmed, left they should be attacked by the rebels, commonly called United Irishmen; that examinant thought that he and his family were in fome degree secure by the arrival of detachments of the Ancient Britons, and the North Cork militia; that, however, examinant ftill continued to be alarmed, as his house was at a confiderable diftance from the barracks. Examinant faith, that he was awakened about the hour of one o'clock in the forenoon, by the barking of a large dog he had; and fome time after he was alarmed by the firing of fome fhots. Examinant faith, that on looking out of his window, he perceived a great body of people, armed with pikes and fire-arms, between whom and the foldiers in the barracks a conftant firing was maintained; that as the balls paffed by this examinant's houfe, (and one of them

clofe

close to his head,) he withdrew, and let down the window; that foon after examinant faw the barracks on fire, and heard the foldiers exclaim, "The house is on fire: We fhall be burned or fuffocated: We can fight no longer!" That foon after examinant faw the roof of said barrack fall in. Examinant faith, that the faid rebels, whofe numbers had encreased so much as to fill the streets of Profperous aforefaid, and to cover the adjacent fields, on the falling in of the roof of faid barrack, gave many fhouts, which feemed to rend the skies, and made this examinant and his family. thrill with horror; that the faid rebels exclaimed, that the day was their own, and they would then plant the tree of liberty. Examinant faith, that the faid rebels knocked at his door, and defired to have it opened, expecting to find there a party of foldiers, who had been billetted there a fhort time before, and Mr. Stamers, who had lodged therein when he went to receive his rents, as part of the town of Profperous aforefaid belonged to the faid Stamers. Examinant faith, that as the faid rebels approached his house in a large body, fix of them preceded the reft, mounted on fome of the horfes which they had taken that morning from the Ancient Britons at Profperous aforefaid; that examinant, as foon as he came out of his door, was furrounded by a party of the faid rebels, who prefented their pikes at him, and who he expected, from the ferocity of their looks, would inftantly have put him to death; that one of faid rebels held a musket at examinant's breaft, with his fingeron the trigger; that another of the faid rebels, who was a turf cutter, held a drawn fword over examinant's head; and examinant verily believes, they would have instantly put him to death, but a young man in the crowd, who seemed to have fome influence, interpofed, beat down the musket which was prefented at his breast, and said, they should not kill him. Examinant faith, that he knew many of the faid rebels to whom he and his family had been very kind; that foon after the faid rebels went in queft of the faid Stamers, who lodged at some distance from the faid town; that having feized him, the faid Stamers, they led him through the street, by examinant's houfe, furrounded by a number of pikemen, while a low fellow held a pistol at his head. Examinant faith, that as he paffed by the house of examinant, he, the faid Stamers, caft a melancholy farewell look at examinant and his family; that foon after the faid rebels maffacred the faid Stamers. Examinant faith,

that

that soon after he went out, with an intention of enquiring for his friend Mr. Norris, an inhabitant of Profperous afore faid; and that before examinant had gone far, he was again furrounded by the faid rebels, who, he verily believes, would have put him to death but for the interference of the perfon who had faved him before. Examinant faith, he difcovered foon after that Mr. Brewer, a refpectable manufacturer of faid town, who had employed many of the faid rebels, had been maffacred by them, and that his body had been mangled with favage barbarity Examinant faith, that they alfo maffacred a poor old man, of the age of feventy years, and upwards, who ferved as a ferjeant in his majesty's forces, having confidered him as an orangeman, though examinant is convinced in his mind that the only reafon why the faid rebels murdered the faid ferjeant was his being a proteftant. Examinant faith, that when the faid rebels had committed the faid barbarities, they exclaimed with savage joy, "Where are the hereticks now? Shew us the face of an orangeman!" Examinant faith, that many women who were acting with the said rebels used expreffions of that tenor, as often and as loud as the men; and that fome old women who were amongst them, feemed to brighten up on the occafion, and to fhew as much fervent joy as the youngest amongst them: That fome of the faid women kiffed and congratulated their fathers, their husbands, or their brothers, on the victory they gained, and exclaimed with joy, "The kingdom is our own, for Dublin and Naas have been taken, and are in poffeffion of our friends-down with the hereticks! down with the orangemen!" Examinant faith, that many of the wretches who had been actors in that bloody fcene, had come into the town of Profperous aforefaid the preceding day, and in the presence of captain Swayne, of the city of Cork militia, (whom with a party of his regiment, they had maffacred that morning, viz. the twentyfourth of May,) and alfo in the prefence of their parish prieft, of the name of Higgins, had declared their contrition for their past errors, and gave the strongest affurance of their loyalty in future; that many of the faid rebels furrendered their pikes to the faid Swayne; and as fuch furrender was confidered as a teft of their repentance, and as neceffary to entitle them to a written protection, numbers of them lamented that they could not obtain.fuch protection, as they never had a pike; and that many of them de clared, they would fell their cow to purchase a pike, if they VOL. II.

knew

knew where it could be bought. Examinant faith, that notwithstanding these declarations, many of the faid rebels appeared in the rebel ranks, well armed with pikes. Examinant faith, he is convinced in his mind that the faid rebels would have plundered and burned all the other loyal houses of Profperous aforefaid, and would have murdered the remaining proteftant inhabitants thereof, but that a patrol of the Ancient Britons and the city of Cork militia, being a part of the detachment they had murdered that morning, unexpectedly approached the town; and that the faid rebels, on their appearance, fled towards the bogs and moraffes. Examinant faith, he could not refrain from hedding tears at feeing such scenes of favage barbarity; and that a fervant who continued faithful to him, desired him not to shew any figns of concern, left he might draw on him the anger and vengeance of the rebels.

THOMAS DAVIS.

Sworn before me, the 16th of September, 1798,

THOMAS FLEMING, lord mayor of the city of Dublin.

The affaffination of Mrs. Dale.

WHEN the general infurrection took place in the county of Kildare, on the 24th of May, 1798, Patrick Dowling, a rebel captain, having affembled his corps, difpatched a party to bring before him Jofeph Dale, who lived at a short distance from Dowling's habitation. Dale being a proteftant, and dreading the fate of perfons of the fame perfuafion, came very reluctantly. He was then informed, that he and his wife would be put to death, unlefs he joined Dowling's party, which he confented to do, on obtaining a promife that his wife fhould fuffer no injury. Dale, on marching by his own door with the rebel party, perceived his wife in tears, which was the last time he faw her alive. Dowling and his party having marched towards Athy, in order to attack it, were fuddenly intimidated, and immediately difperfed, on feeing captain Rawfon and his loyal Athy yeomanry, confifting of proteftants, advancing towards them. Dale, on returning to his own house, found it open, and the floor covered with blood. His fears fuggefted what had happened; for, on going to the garden behind his house, he saw the earth newly turned up; and on removing

part

part of it, he discovered the mangled body of his unfortunate wife. It was proved on the trial of Elizabeth Byrne, James Byrne her fon, Mary Dowling, the wife of captain Dowling, with Winifred and Elizabeth Dowling, her daughters, held at Naas, at the Lent affizes, 1801, for that county, that Mary Dowling had addrefed a number of women who had collected at her house, and informed them, that they must go murder Catherine Dale, the orange whore. Upon which they affembled a number of boys, and, on entering the house, found the deceased with a prayer-book in her hand. James Byrne knocked her down with the churn-ftaff; on which Elizabeth Byrne dragged her body ont of the house into the road, where the was ftoned to death by the boys, who were fupplied with ftones for that purpose by the women. Thefe facts were proved by two of the boys, who were thus employed in this barbarous murder. They were, at the time of giving their evidence, not more than fourteen years old; and, confequently, at the time of the murder, they could have been but eleven. They underwent a long and ftrict cross-examination, and yet were perfectly confiftent even in the moft minute circumftances. They were afked by the learned and humane judge Downes, why they joined in murdering Mrs. Dale? and they answered, becaufe fhe was a proteftant. Their evidence was confirmed by a poor proteftant yeoman, who had escaped from the rebels, and lay concealed behind a hedge, and by another man, whom Elizabeth Byrne compelled to bury the body of the deceased, under a threat of reporting him as a cowardly rafcal to the rebels, if he dared to refuse. These wretches met the fate which their crimes deferved, having been convicted and hanged.

No. XVI. 1.

The following addrefs to the inhabitants of the county of Wicklow was printed and generally diftributed:

WE, the magiftrates of the county of Wicklow, after the moft ferious deliberation, the most correct information, and the most cautious delay, have at length confidered it as our indifpenfable duty, to have recourfe to the ftrong measure of proclaiming the county to be in a state of disturbance, as the only means to crush the feeds of rebellion, to reprefs outrage, and to protect innocence.