it, he retreated to Gorey, and had many narrow ef capes in doing fo. In his way thither, he beheld the houses of proteftants on fire, in every direction. I fhall refer the reader to the affidavit of George and Elizabeth Williams, for the fcene of defolation which the country, for many miles round, exhibited on Whitfunday. Mr. ferjeant Stanley arrived at Gorey, from Dublin, on Saturday the twenty-fixth day of May, in his way to Cork, where he was to hold a special commiffion. Captain White fent fix yeomen cavalry to efcort him as far as Ennifcorthy. Two of them, George Greenly and James Shaw, ftopped, on their return, at their own houfes, where they were murdered. Margaret Greenly, the fifter of the former, on hearing that her brother had fallen into the hands of the rebels, fled to his affiftance, in hopes of deprecating their anger, but they barba. roufly murdered her. Shaw was defperately wounded, and carried to his bed, with a profpect of his recovery; but the rebels returned in a fortnight, and butchered him with ferocious cruelty: They fpared the house, because his mother was a papift. † Mr. ferjeant Stanley was next day escorted to the city of Waterford by John Grogan Knox, efquire, cap tain of the Healthfield cavalry, which was a most perilous fervice, as the mafs of the people in the country, through which he paffed, were in a ftate of infurrection. As father Michael Murphy, who acted with fuch profound diffimulation, made a confpicuous figure in the rebellion, I fhall fay a few words on his origin and progrefs through life. He was born at Kilnew, near Kilmuckridge, of mean parents, and was bred at a hedge-fchool at Oulart, by one Prendergast, an itinerant pedagogue; and having received holy orders, he went to Bourdeaux, recommended to the VOL. I. E e Abbé • Appendix, No. XVIII. 5. + Michael Fitzpatrick, who headed the gang of affains that murdered him, was convicted of that crime at Wexford, the twenty-eighth of September, 1799, and hanged. Plate III. 2. Abbé Glynn, prefident of the Irifh college there, by the reverend James Caulfield, then parish prieft of New Rofs, but now popish bishop of Ferns, which appears by the following letter: Reverend Sir, Rofs, October 23d, 1785. "The reverend Michael Murphy, a fubject of the diocese, and ordained a priest last Whitfüntide, now bound for your city, for the purpose of profecuting his ftudies of philofophy and theology, craves a line from me in his favour to you: I can only fay, he is well recommended to me, as a fober, regular, well-behaved man; and if it is convenient to you, I shall efteem your accommodating him for the above end. I believe he is the laft of the fet that applied to me, wherefore I hope I fhall not have occafion to trouble you again for fome years. I have the honour to be, &c. At his return from France, he became an officiating priest at Ballycanew, and behaved himfelf there with very great propriety, till the rebellion broke out; but, under the veil of fan&tity, he concealed a furious and fanguinary fpirit, which difplayed itself on the morning of Whitfunday; when, at the head of a numerous party of his parifhioners, whom his evangelical inftructions had converted into robbers and affaffins, he proceeded towards Oulart, burning the houses of proteftants, and murdering fuch of their inhabitants as could not escape. I have been well affured, that he narrowly efcaped from the deftructive spirit of French republicanifm, when his order was on the point of being annihilated in France; and yet he manifefted a ftrong predilection for the principles of that nation, and a defire to join them, fhould they land in Ireland. The most memorable event occafioned by the fanatical rage of the rebels on Whitfunday, was the defeat of a detachment of the North Cork regiment at at Oulart, near Kilmuckridge, of which the af flicted family of the reverend Mr. Burrowes were eye-witneffes, a few hours after their own catastrophe happened; and as it was in a great meafure the caufe of the dreadful scenes of carnage and plunder which foon after happened in the county of Wexford, 1 think it proper to give the reader a circumftantial account of it. On the morning of Whitfunday the twenty-feventh of May, 1798, at an early hour, the town of Wexford was alarmed by the arrival of Edward Turner of Newfort, efquire, a magiftrate, who informed the officer commanding the garrifon, that his houfe had been befet that morning by a large body of infurgents, who had feized the pikes which they had furrendered to him a few days before, after having taken oaths of allegiance, and that they were affembling in great numbers. The garrifon confifted of part of the North Cork militia, captain Boyd's yeomen cavalry, and doctor Jacob's yeomen infantry. A detachment of the cavalry was ordered to fcour the country; and about the hour of eleven in the forenoon, one hundred and nine picked men of the North Cork, under the command of lieutenant-colonel Foote, marched out to attack the infurgents; and on their march towards Oulart, they were joined by colonel Lehunte's yeomen cavalry. From that time the fituation of the town was truly diftreffing: The rebels were underftood to be in confiderable force; and the anxiety of the inhabitants for the fate of the brave men who marched out to oppofe them, was aggravated by the reports of the horrid atrocities they had committed in their progrefs through the country; for, between two and three o'clock, they had received intelligence at Wexford, of the murder of Mr. D'Arcy, the reverend Mr. Burrowes, and the burning of their respective houses. E e 2 All * Plate III. 2. † Ibid. III. 4. ‡ Ibid. III. 2. All was folemn filence and anxious expectation! but ftill encouraging accounts were received of the North Cork militia, before whom the rebels were faid to be flying in every direction. But this delufive hope was of fhort duration; for about the hour of four o'clock, Mr. Perceval, the high fheriff, rode into town, with the melancholy account of their total defeat and deftruction; and foon after lieutenantcolonel Foote, and one ferjeant, the wretched remains of that fine and valiant body of men, were feen penfively riding over the bridge, and approaching the town: And now the folemn filence of that awful morning was fucceeded by a truly heart-rending scene. Most of the North Cork, who fell in the action at Oulart, were married men; and as foon as their fate was known, their widows and orphans ran into the streets, filling the air with their cries, dif maying every heart, and piercing every foul with fhrieks of anguifh and defpair, This fatal affair took place at Oulart, about eight miles off, where the rebels, to the number of five thoufand, were pofted on the fide of a hill. A detachment of them defcended from it, apparently with a defign to engage the king's troops; though this turned out in the event to be but a ftratagem, for the purpose of furrounding and surprising them. The rebels, having been broken and difperfed by a general volley, fled up the hill towards the main body, and were purfued by the North Cork militia, who were broken into fmall parties during the purfuit, from the number of hedges which they had to clamber over. In the mean time, father John Murphy, who commanded the rebels, fent numbers of them circuitously under cover of the hedges, to attack the militia on either flank, and in the rear, while the main body charged them in front. This artifice fucceeded, for they were furrounded, overpowered by numbers, and the entire party was cut to pieces, except the lieutenant-colonel, a ferjeant, and three privates. They were attended by colonel Lehunte's Lehunte's corps of yeomen cavalry, in which there were twenty-four Roman catholicks; and of these, twenty deferted to the rebels on that morning before the action began, which contributed to their fuccefs. This action was thus defcribed to me by perfons of veracity, who were fpectators of it. Lieutenantcolonel Foote has given the following relation of it in a letter to a friend: "I marched to a hill called Oulart, where between four and five thoufand rebels were pofted. From their great fuperiority of numbers, it was not my intention to have attacked them, unless fome unforeseen favourable circumstances would warrant that meafure; however, my officers were of a contrary opinion. I met here part of a yeoman cavalry corps, about fixteen; the remainder, with their ferjeant, having that morning joined the rebels. I halted with this corps, while I fent a note by their trumpeter to Wexford, with orders for two officers and forty men to march thence to us to fupport our detachment; apprehending that the rebels, from their numbers, might intercept our retreat. Afterwards, when I joined the party, I found that they were moved forward by the officer next in command; and the foldiers cried out, that they would beat the rebels out of the field. By this movement we were immediately engaged with the rebels, who fired from behind the hedges, without fhewing any regular front. We beat their advanced party from one hedge to another, which they had fucceffively occupied, and fired from on us, killing great numbers of them, till they retreated in much disorder to the main body, which confifted moftly of pikemen. I confidered this a favourable opportunity of forming the detachment, for the purpose of retreating, or of receiving the enemy in a good pofition; and I used every exertion to effect it; but unfortunately the too great ardour of the men and officers could not be restrained. They rushed forward, were furrounded, and overpowered by numbers. They dif played |