The rebels, after entering the town, fearched every recefs, and every chimney in the inn, for him and his officers. Sir Fenton Aylmer then fell back, and joined a fmall corps of yeomen infantry, commanded by captain Jones, about a mile at the other fide of the town, determined to give them battle. On taking his ground, which was in fir Percy Gethin's lawn, he found, to his mortification, that the infantry had retreated, and that all his corps, except fourteen who were proteftants, had deferted him; the remainder, who were Romanifts, not being able, as they said, to mount their horfes in the hurry, remained behind; and the rebels were fo friendly to them, that they only deprived them of their arms, without offering them any injury. The papifts in captain Jones's corps retired to their respective houses, in the fame manner, without being molested by the enemy. The rebels then burned the houfe of Jofeph Robinfon, a proteftant, an active conftable, and clerk of the parish church of Donadea, then the barrack, and afterwards Courtown, the feat of lieutenant Aylmer; fwearing at the fame time, that they would burn the house of every bloody proteftant. They afterwards proceeded to Donadea, to burn the house of fir Fenton Aylmer, but were diverted from doing fo, by being informed that their own friends had lodged many valuable articles in it for fafe cuftody; and they gave orders to have them removed, that they might execute their malignant purpofe. But having been engaged in fome other enterprife, they fortunately forgot it. Nicholas Newenham, one of fir Fenton's videts at Kilcock, having, from exceffive zeal, advanced too far, was taken prifoner by the rebels, and was a witness of the destruction of his father's house, close to Donadea, which they burnt, because he was a proteftant; for they publickly announced their determination to deftroy the property of every perfon of that perfuafion. Having Having led young Newenham to their camp, they compelled him to dig his own grave; and during five or fix days they carried him often to the brink of it, and threatened to throw him in and bury him alive; and whenever they did fo, they compelled him to fay his prayers at the edge of it; and while performing his devotion, they mocked his religion, and curfed him, as a heretick; at laft one of them, more humane than the reft, fhot him, threw his body into the grave, and covered it lightly with earth. Thefe facts have been fubftantiated by the affidavits of different rebels, who afterwards obtained their pardon. About a month after, as fir Fenton Aylmer was coming to Kilcock with fourteen dragoons, he was way-laid near Clane, and had a narrow efcape, as the hedges were thickly lined with rebels. Very for tunately for him, he had an advanced guard, confifting of four men, of whom they killed three, which alarmed them, and enabled them to make their retreat to Sallins. One of the advanced guard was Archibald Noble, a proteftant, and late of the Fermanagh militia, noted for his courage and loyalty; and fuch was their hatred towards him, that they fired the inftant they faw him, by which the remainder of the party were faved. William Aylmer, a rebel general, declared after. wards, that he fhould have cut off the whole of them by the ambush which he had laid, but that he could not reftrain the impetuofity of his men. Next day they lay in wait a fecond time for him and his party. Of eighteen papifts in fir Fenton Aylmer's corps, eleven deferted on Sunday the eleventh of June, 1798, with their full arms and accoutrements. The other feven that remained faithful, were officers fervants, or perfons who immediately depended on proteftant gentlemen for their fubfiftence. A respectable A refpectable proteftant clergyman was taken prifoner, and conveyed to the camp at Timahoe, where he faw a priest haranguing the rebels; and he affured them that they muft fucceed, as all the people in Connaught were up and under arms. INSURRECTIONS IN THE COUNTRY NEAR On the feventeenth of March, 1798, John Glennan, a proteftant, was murdered near the Moat of Ardfcull; and a few days after, John Lucas, parish clerk at Narraghmore, a man far advanced in years, was decoyed out of his houfe by his brother-in-law, and aflaffinated. These atrocities, and the conftant robbery of proteftant houfes of arms, alarmed the loyalifts fo much, that they invited Mr. Rawfon, of Glaffealy near Athy, to command them; and he was foon at the head of one hundred and forty men, fteady in fupport of their king and country. By their active exertions and the difcoveries that were made under the direction. of that excellent officer general Campbell, the leaders of infurrection were fpeedily apprehended in the vicinity of Athy. Many hardened rebels fought. for chieftains in more diftant parts, and feveral hundreds acknowledged their crimes and furrendered their pikes. Colonel Keating, a moft active magiftrate and intelligent officer, perceiving that the ftorm was gathering, raifed fixty yeomen cavalry and twenty infantry for the prefervation of the peace; and it is to be lamented, that the Roman catholick members of those corps, with few exceptions, proved afterwards to be difaffected; and that many of them, in violation of their oaths of allegiance, turned their arms against their king and country. This amiable gentleman went to the different popifh chapels, and frequently exhorted the multitude VOL. I. Z to to renounce their treasonable defigns, and to return to their allegiance; but finding all his efforts fruitlefs, he left the country in despair; an ill-fated event for the neighbourhood where he refided! for, had he remained, his good fenfe would have contributed much to avert the ftorm which hung over the county of Kildare.. In the month of January, 1798, captain Rawfon, to undeceive and conciliate the people, published addreffes at all the chapels in his neighbourhood, of which fee. a copy in Appendix, No. XV. and for this, his noted loyalty, and his active exertions as a magiftrate, he was condemned by a committee of afsaffination, which fat in his vicinity; and the ruffian who made an attempt on the life of Mr. Darragh, having been employed to murder him, lay in wait for him at different times, in a fhrubbery near his house, and would have affaffinated him, but that he was fortunately attended by his fon, who was armed. On the memorable twenty-fourth of May, an exprefs arrived from Dunlavin to general Cainpbell, and intelligence was brought to captain Rawfon, that the popish multitude were in a state of infurrection on every fide, and the proteftant inhabitants of Narraghmore requested to know what measures they were to take for their protection. The general sent an exprefs to Dunlavin, with directions how to proceed; and captain Rawfon fent another to Narraghmore, with orders to the loyalifts to fall back on Glaffealy with an affurance that a party would foon go to their affistance; but both the expreffes were murdered by the way; and fuch of the unfortunate proteftants. of Narraghmore as could not effect their efcape, remained in the village, without any afliftance. General Campbell fent a detachment of the Suffolk fencibles,, under the command of major Montrefor, by Glaffealy, to the affiftance of the Narraghmore loyalifts, whilft he went with another towards Muiloghmast-hill. Early Early in the day, James Murphy of the waterworks, as principal in command, with a number of rebel captains, collected the whole country, men, women, and children; in fhort, every one capable of bearing a pike; and they, with their united force, proceeded to attack the village of Narraghmore. Nine loyalifts, who retired into the court-house, fuccessfully refifted them for two hours, and at last beat them off. John Jefferies, the permanent yeoman ferjeant of the Narraghmore corps, having a house with much property which he wifhed to defend, imprudently led his little party into it. The routed rebels were met by Daniel Walsh, a traitorous yeoman of that corps, who has been fince defervedly hanged; and he rallied, and brought them back to the attack. Jefferies's houfe being foon fet on fire, the loyalifts parleyed, and the rebels promifed that their lives fhould be fpared, provided they furrendered their arms; but the inftant they came forth, the pikemen fell to butcher them. No lefs than fix traitors were ftabbing together at Thomas Young; but the clashing of their pikes, and the confufion which arofe from their eagerness to fhed his blood, having fufpended his fate for a moment, Fitzpatrick, one of the traitors of the Narraghmore corps, cried out to the pikemen to clear his way; and he inftantly blew out the brains of his fellow foldier, with the musket which he had received to ferve his king and country; he then feized a pike, and transfixed the body to the ground, crying out, "That's the way to kill a heretick!" Thomas Alcock, and Mofes Borroughs, an old man of eighty years, (whofe venerable locks fhould have protected him,) were next inhumanly butchered. The other fix were referved to be hanged in the adjoining wood of Narraghmore. The rebels then fet fire to every proteftant houfe in the town, in which the women were particularly active. On their retiring, the mangled body of poor old Borroughs Z 2 was |