Such was the malignity of the rebels in the county of Kildare, that a party of them, in order to diftrefs the metropolis, endeavoured to obftruct the navigation of the Grand canal, by cutting its banks, and emptying its water into the adjacent country; but they were surprised and prevented by captain Griffith of Millicent, who killed fome of them.

The vicinity of Athy remained peaceable, and it was believed that the difaffected had given up their deftructive schemes; but on the night of the twentyfourth of December, 1798, a party of rebels, most of them from the Wicklow mountains, and under the command of Matthew Kenna and Redmond Murphy, two Kildare ruffians, fet fire to the house of Mrs. Hannah Manders, clofe to Glaffealy, and murdered her, her two fifters, and Mr. John Anderfon her nephew, all proteftants, and a fervant woman of the Romish perfuafion, and threw their bodies into the flames, in which they were reduced to afhes.

*

They then burned the dwelling-house of captain Rawson, and all his furniture; and in one hour destroyed the production of twenty-five years of ac tive industry.

A Roman catholick fervant, who was in Mrs. Manders's house, was fuffered to pafs unmolefted; but Anderson, attempting to follow him, was fhot.

The Roman catholick maid fhewed her attachment to the rebels, by putting her head out of a door, and calling to them to take care of Keane, the brother of one of them, who was in the ftable. He was accordingly led out, and refcued from the flames; but she met with that fate which the deserved; for refembling Mrs. Manders in perfon, they mistook her, and piked her to death.

In a fhort time after, captain Rawfon had one Whelan, an affaffin, better known by the nick-name of Black Top, apprehended, for the murder of the

years.

Manders'

They were unoffending religious women, far advanced in

Manders' family; and he was tried before a courtmartial at Carlow.

It appeared on the evidence of Mrs. Margaret Mc. Ivers, the niece, who efcaped through a back window, that, when the houses were fet on fire, Black Top stood at the door with a musket and bayonet, to prevent any of the proteftant part of the family from efcaping: That fhe applied to him to take the young infant the held in her arms out of the flames, and that the would take her chance; but he replied, "No, you damned heretick bitch! you may burn together; nits will become lice."

Immediately Howard, a traitorous yeoman, who had been often hofpitably entertained in the house, entered it with a mufket and bayonet; on which Mrs. Manders was overjoyed at feeing him, fuppofing that he came as her deliverer; and the expressed a hope that he would not murder her; but the obdurate ruffian replied, by knocking her down with the but-end of his mufket, and transfixing her aged body to the floor.

An old fuperannuated fifter, who had not left her bed for many months, crawled into the garden, and endeavoured to conceal herfelf in a fquare of cabbages; but fhe was purfued and piked, and her body was thrown into the flames.

Black Top and Fitzpatrick (the murderer of Thomas Young at Narraghmore,) were convicted, and executed where they had committed these horrid crimes.

In the fpring of 1800, one of the villains became an approver, and gave captain Rawfon full information. Shortly after, Howard was taken in the county of Carlow, by a fon of the captain's; and Kean and Bryan, two more of the affaffins, were alfo apprehended. Thefe three were brought to trial at the affizes, and fully convicted, to the fatisfaction of a crowded court, and of the very humane judge Kelly, who, in paffing fentence, declared, "That it was the firft cafe that ever came before him in which

he

he did not feel diftreffed; but that he felt great fatisfaction at being the inftrument, under Providence, of ridding the world of fuch monsters."

On the trial it was proved, that captain Rawson's house and out-offices were burned in revenge for his loyal exertions; and that the Manders' family was affaffinated merely because they were hereticks.

On this trial Mrs. Margaret Mc. Ivers, Mrs. Manders's niece, corroborated the teftimony of the approver against Howard, in what has been before ftated; and he, Keane and Bryan, were hanged and beheaded at Glaffealy.

All the cottagers contiguous to that place, to whom captain Rawfon had acted with fingular humanity for above twenty years, were among the foremost in plundering his house.

POISONING AT RATHCOOL.

Though the efforts of rebellion were crufhed at Rathcool, on the general rifing, yet the rebels, indignant at the. difappointment, endeavoured to accomplish their nefarious defigns on the twenty-fecond of June, by poisoning the garrifon there. On that day, captain Jofeph Hewan of the Angusfhire regiment, was ordered to march from Tallagh to Hazel Hatch, with twenty of his men, to reinforce the party there; and having halted his men at Rathcool, the head quarters of his regiment, to refresh them, fome of them, after having been there about an hour, were reported to be very ill. On enquiry, it appeared, that after having eaten fome bread and milk they were feized with a great ficknefs in their ftomachs, accompanied with a head ach, and a violent vomiting and griping; and they faid, that they thought they had a ball of fire in their breafts.

Mr. Irwine, furgeon of the regiment, communicated these symptoms to colonel Hunter, who commanded there, and his fufpicion, that the bread which

This was acknowledged by the approvers on the trial.

which they eat, had been poifoned. On which the colonel ordered the baker and his man into cuftody.

The men of both parties began now to be taken ill with the fame fymptoms, by five or fix at a time; the commanding officer then ordered the baker and his boy, and one Doyle, who was strongly fufpected, to eat fome of the bread; but more of the men becoming fick, and the malignity of their diforder increafing, he ordered the two former to be fhot. The latter grew as fick as any of the foldiers; but nobody doubted of his innocence, and his wife and children were affected in the fame manner, as they had eat of the bread. Doyle kept a low publick house, in which fome of the foldiers had been entertained. Many of them would have died, but that they were relieved by medical affiftance. The fymptoms were fometimes abated by an emetick, but they often returned with redoubled violence; and then oil or melted butter, as a fubftitute, afforded them relief, Some of them were feized with fuch ftrong convulfions, that two or three men could not hold them, but with difficulty,

Mr. Robinson, a proteftant clergyman, his wife and feven children, who were paffing through Rathcool, were affected exactly in the fame manner, in confequence of having eaten fome of the bread.

Next day the officers of the Angusshire regiment were well informed that the roads, fields, and ditches near Rathcool, were crowded on the preceding night with men well armed, and that they difperfed when the bakers were fhot, and reinforcements came from Dublin, Tallagh, and Hazel Hatch. They intended to have furprised the garrifon, when debilitated by poifon.

Some of the bread which had produced fuch dreadful effects in those who had eaten of it, was given to a cat and a dog, and they died of it. Some hours after the baker and his boy were fhot, his house was fearched, and a paper, containing two ounces of yellow arfenick, was found in his bakehoufe;

honfe; which, being fent to Dublin to a furgeon, proved, on the analyzation of it, to be that kind of poison.

ATTACK UPON MAYNOOTH.

From the fuppofed fanctity of this town, as a college had been recently erected there, and endowed. at a very great expence by the protestant state, for the education of popish priests, it was hoped that it would not have been molested by the rebels; however, the proteftant inhabitants of it and its vicinity were as much the object of the fanguinary rage of the rebels, as in any other part of the county of

Kildare.

About twenty of the Carton cavalry, of which his grace the duke of Leinfter was captain, and Thomas Long and Richard Cane, efquires, were lieutenants, did permanent duty there, for fome time, previous and fubfequent to the twenty-fourth of May; and ten of them were constantly stationed on the different avenues leading into the town: the duke was absent at that time in England.

About one o'clock in the morning of the tenth of June, 1798, two men approached the town and addreffed one of the corps, who was at an outpoft; and pretending to be travellers, and that they had loft their way, begged admittance into the town, to get a lodging, but on 'being refufed, they drew back a few paces, and both fired at the fentinel at the fame time; on which, he galloped with the utmoft fpeed to the guard-room, and alarmed his fellow-foldiers; and was pursued by about five hundred rebels, headed by William Aylmer their commander.

Such was the difaffection of the corps, that, though they were alarmed in due time, only feven mounted their horfes to face the rebels; and of thofe feven, but four fired at him; and they were under the neceffity of retreating, left they fhould be overpowered by the great fuperiority of numbers. Lieutenant