n a January evening in in 1866, Martin Hogan of 6, Barrington Street, Limerick, stood at the door of Peter Cur- ran's Pub, at l Clare Lane, near Merrion Square, Dublin. He checked that he was not observed and entered. With James Wilson, he had deserted from the Fifth Dragoon Guards in November, 1865, when it became too difficult for them to oper- ate as organisers and prop- agandists in the regiment. Although gazetted as deserters, they remained on in Dublin, hiding in safe Fenian houses, and working among the sol- diers for the lrish Republican Brother- hood. The inside of the pub was dimly lit, but a fire blazed at one end. The 'Cur- rans of Clare Lane' was a byword amongthe in the city, and was a favourite meeting-place of the lead- ing I.R.B. men of the British regiments stat~onedin Dublin. The men who were in the pub on that evening were all ca- valrymen from the Fifth Dragoons and the Tenth Hussars who had joined the Fenian Brotherhood. Martin Hogan did not pause in the bar but continued upstairs to a private parlour. He stepped inside the room, and thus began for him a nightmare that was only to end ten years later in one of the most audacious escape stories in Australian penal history -the Catalpa Rescue - in which he was to play a key part. The men had come to the pub that evening on the orders of John Devoy, the lrish Republican Brotherhood's chief organiser for the . He had personally recruited Hogan and Wilson, whose desertions were pre- cipitated by the wave of Fenian arrests in September, 1865. Martin Hogan was then twenty-eight years old, having been born in Limerick City in 1838. The lrish Republican Brotherhood was founded by on St. Patrick's Day, 1858, and its members became known as Fenians. By l866 the Brotherhood claimed to have 80,000 oath-bound members in Ireland and 15,000 in the British Army. And there weje other volatile forces ready and -willing to help in bringing about the revolution the I.R.B. had long plotted. arti in ~o~an'sfamily home, 6~aih~tonstreet, ~imerick. Twenty-three years old, and one of the youngest men present, he was a man of forceful personality. Of sturdy build and dark complexion, his face showed his determined character. He had served in the ,, simply to learn infantry tactics for the revolution. When he had finishe' speaking, he introduced McCaffertf . , The concept of cavalry warfare put fob;-;" ward by McCafferty was complete'ly new to the other men, whose training had been strictly carried out in the trad- itional role of cavalry. He discussed the hit-and-run tactics and the raids and forays of his irregular cavalry. There had been no set-piece charges: they had rarely fought at close quarters, and when they did they had used revolvers and sabres. These views were completely unex- pected and alien to the cavalrymen pre- sent. Their misgivings were not helped by McCafferty's strange accent and turn of phrase. Martin Hogan, particu- larly, must have found it difficult to relate to this concept of warfare. One of the best and strongest swordsmen in the British Army, he could cut in two an iron bar hanging from a barrack-room ceiling with one blow, but his training and experience had not included revolver fighting. By the end of the meeting, however, the American's reputation and know- ledge had made a favourable impres- sion, even if he had not inspired affec- tion. As the men left the meeting, they were buoyed up with confidence and hope for the future. But, as had hap- pened so often before, their hopes would shortly turn to despair. Because of the all-embracing type of structure of the Fenian organisation, there were many informers in the movement, including Patrick Foley of the Fifth Dragoons. And the policewere ready to pounce. On 22nd February, 1866, John Devoy and most of the A title page of the 'Wild Goose; No. 3, NovemberZ.9, 1867... On fhis the rich alluviallands of Limerick, then other leaders were arrested on infor- by the lordly Shannon far away ...' (Mitchell Library, N.S. W.). mation supplied by Foley. Arrests of Fenians became a daily occurance. Hogan and Wilson did not escape, and It has been estimated that about a ers behind Union lines, captured a were surprised in their sleep on 10th quarter of the soldiers who fought in large haul of badk/ needed ammuni- February. They were taken to Chancery the Union and Confederate armies in tion, loaded it on to barges which he Lane Station and charged. The court- the American Civil War were Irish. had seized, and brought the cargo martials all took place in the Royal (now These armies had provided the Fenians down the Mississippi River, under fire Collins) Barracks, and the sentence was with the tough, trained officers and sol- from Federal batteries. death, subsequently commuted to diers it required. One of these men, With McCafferty and Hogan in the penal servitude for life. In all, 68civilian Captain John McCafferty, was present parlour were John Devoy, John Boyle and military Fenians were sent to Eng- in the room on the night of 17th O'Reilly. Patrick Keating and James land to serve theirsentences, and in the January, 1866. He was the man Hogan Wilson, a highly intelligent man, whose following months the prisoners were and the others from the Fifth Dragoons real name was McNally. McCafferty, an moved through various jails, including and Tenth Hussars had come to hear in expert in cavalry tactics, was to be the Chatham, Portsmouth and Dartmoor, the crowded parlour. The American- commander of a special cavalry unit in until they finally arrived at Portland born McCafferty, from Sandusky, Ohio, the proposed rising. The six were no Prison. had fought on the Confederate side as ordinary soldiers, but men of the high- an officer with Morgan's Guerillas, an est calibre who had been carefully Popage to Sreemantle irregular cavalry unit, and his military hand-picked for the unit. -*-v-< exploits were known to the Fenians. He Devoy outlined the military strategy Early on the morning of 15th October, had taken a detachment of cavalry raid- to be deployed in the insurrection. 1867, the prisoners in Portland Prison l

... eq stl long sick1 deaf the (

- - lndii '... on Thursday, 9th January, 1869, the Hougourmontdroppedanchorinthe Swan River,' the theil whil were roughly awakened and ordered board and were taken in relays to the and so became Brownslow's assistants Thlk from their cells. Shouts of 'chains, Hougoumont. They stumbled up the on the long voyage. Hall chains' echoed between the dank gangway, and stood frozen and dumb Even in these harsh conditions, the Swt walls. Somk 279 prisoners, including on the deck as their chains were Fenians showed themselves to be a the, 62 Fenians, were chained together in knocked off. Strange, harsh voices cal- resourceful lot; they managed to pro- to a groups of ten for transportation to led out their registered numbers and, cure pen, ink and paper, and so were just Australia. Among the sixty-two were one by one, the prisoners joined a line able to publish a broadsheet, which Th$ seven soldier Fenians who were to that sank into the black bowels of the they called The Wild Goose. This ong make prison escape history - John ship. Upon deck,anchorchainsscreech- unique publication contained articles prig Boyle O'Reilly, James Wilson, Martin ed, riggings strained and sails floated by various Fenian prisoners; it shor- tho1 Hogan, Thomas Hassett, Thomas Dar- aloft as the Hougoumont headed for the tened the journey forthe prisoners, and ragh, Michael Harrington and Robert channel and the open sea. The dreadful was also very popular with the officers Cranston. voyage was under way. and crew, and this popularity helped to Below decks, the Fenians found alleviate the harsh treatment meted out themselves in the forward hold with to prisoners. Seven issues were pub- Latr murderers, thieves and forgers. Wilson lished, and all have been preserved in hot quickly chose a corner where a whale- the Mitchell Library of New South StUj In the storm-racked harbour the875 ton oil lamp guttered and hammocks could Wales. Many years later, when Boyle gut frigate the Hougoumont was straining be slung - and which could be O'Reilly was a free man and leading Pefl at the anchors. She carried the broad defended! The conditions were appal- citizen in Boston, he vividly recalled iml arrow of the convict ship, in starkwhite, ling. The stench of two years of human those days and nights: evd on her bare, sinister hull. The wind and cargo remained. There were neither Amid the dim glare of the lamp, the and rain tore through her canvas, and washing nor toilet' facilities. The hold men at night would group strangely inq washed her teak decks. Since she had and hull were grimed with grease and on extemporised seats. The yellow wh' been captured from the French two dirt, and were also very cold and damp. light fell down on the dark forms, lirrl years before, the ship had served the The ship struggled for days in fierce throwing a ghastly glare on the pale the transportation trade. But now, as the storm conditions as it made its way out faces of the men as they listened with tor last voyage of a convict ship to of the channel and into the Bay of Bis- blazing eyes to Davis's 'Fontenoy' or Fet Australia was about to commence, so, cay. The wild tossing of the ship 'The Clansmen's Wild Address to wa too, was a heroic episode in Irish, caused many injuries and violent sea- Shane's Head'. m B Australian and American history. sickness. The ship's doctor, Surgeon In his book, The lrish in Australia, pub- as It is not difficult to imagine the Brownslow, was appalled at the lack of lished in 1987, Patrick O'Farrell sum- uri thoughts of the lrish convicts as they preparations for medical needs. He med up the voyage: 'Like the Young ha dragged their chains in lines of twenty decided, according to one account, to Irelanders, though a step below them firf along the quay on that morning, press some of the more able-bodied on the social scale, the leaders of the i nd towards the ship standing off Portland prisoners into service as medical aids. Fenian group were superior convicts, '34 harbour. Out of the misty gloom a The soldier Fenians were obvious travelling with the privilegesof political no small paddle-wheeled steamer choices, because they had some know- - -@%gaers and gentlemen ... educated, m i emerged. The convicts were pushed on ledge of splints and binding wounds, cultivated and very hostile to their prl 1 Fremantle 'short'jettyandcustomshouse in the 1870s. (Library Boardof Western Australia).

... environment. new surroundings. Fleeting thoughts and wrote of it in a book called Still, the voyage to Fremantle was a of escape crossed their minds. O'Reilly, Australind, published in 1903: long, dreary journey of storms, sea- who had escaped from Dartmoor and Fremantle consisted of one principal sickness, punishments, floggings and had been caught only because of sheer street made up of Hotels and stores death. And so the ship sailed on round bad luck, whispered: 'There will be a and a few Government buildings, the Cape of Good Hope, and across the way. There has to be a path to liberty. including the lmperial convict depot, Indian Ocean. The Fenians were spared I'll find that path'. But, like the other a lighthouse and a number ofprivate the worst of the treatment because of prisoners, he was soon to be disil- dwellings all glaring in whitewash. their discipline, and the respect in lusioned. Each house had its green verandah which they were held. Finally, on Two contemporary accounts do not blinds and encircling verandah. A Thursday, 9th January, 1869, the paint a very flattering picture of the few churches made upan apparently Hougoumont dropped anchor in the town. The first by the English novelist, sleepy but really flourishing town- Swan River,,and, on the following day, Anthony Trollope, is dated 1872: ship, which might be described as a the convicts were taken in small boats Fremantle has certainly no natural city ofpublic houses, flies, sand, con- to a mist-shrouded Fremantle harbour, beauties to recommend it. It is a hot, victs and stacks ofsandalwood. just outside Perth in Western Australia. white ugly town with a very large Although hardly yet a city, the fact that The grim voyage was over, but the pris- prison, a lunatic asylum, anda hospi- he found Fremantle flourishing was in oners were about to face another tal for ancient and worn out convicts no small measure due to the labour so prison, in anotLier land, twelve ... At Fremantle there is hardly a man conveniently and cheaply supplied by thousand miles from home. whom it can be worth the reader's convicts then serving their sentences. while to have introduced to him. Even the prison itself had been built by Another picture of Fremantle is given the convicts who were doomed to live by William Taunton who visited it in in it. 1876, the year of the Fenian escape, Inside the jail, the prisoners were Later that morning, through a cloud of hot dust, the chained line of prisoners stumbled their way along the quay, guarded by a platoon of the Enlisted Pensioners Reserve. The Fenians first impression of the town was of white everywhere. It was a collection of one and two-storey houses, shops and bus- iness premises, many constructed of white-painted wood and some of limestone and sandstone. Dominating the view was a huge dirty, white limes- tone structure with star-shaped walls. Fenians did not need to be told that this was the Imperial Convict Establish- ment of Fremantle, notoriously known as 'The Establishment', the highest sec- urity prison in the colonies. Nobody had ever escaped from this fortress. At first sight, it seemed only slightly more intimidating than Chatham or Dartmoor: its walls were not very high, not much higher than the walls which might surround a country estate. The 'the chainedline ofprison~k'. prisoners continued to study their Prisoners exercising in front offremantle Gaolin the 1850s (Library Boardof Western Australa).

lined up facing a rostrum. Surrounding some ship of foreign registry was out of prison routines. Although, they suc- the parade-ground were the three the question, because the waters con- ceeded in gaining the trust of the prison storey cell block, some smaller bar- tained vicious sharks, and escapees officers and administrators, they hated racks, storehouses, a Church of Eng- would be torn to shreds before they Australia. Very few of them were to land chapel, residences and some even reached a ship. Doonan did not stay in the country on their release guardhouses. A few trees cast sad even bother to mention the water from prison and most regarded it as shadows on the dusty white of the police, the constant police patrols 'this most miserable of all miserable crushed limestone parade-ground. through the town, or the local defence places'. John 'Galtee Boy' Casey, in let- From a staff-pole a Union Jack hung organisation, but he was all too accu- ters to his home, expressed their limply in the hot morning air. A stocky rate in his brutal assessment of thesitu- attitude: Western Australia was an 'in- grey-haired man, in a white and tropi- ation. A remarkable Royal Engineers' fernal Country, a desperate fraud offer- cal helmet, mounted the rostrum and officer, named Edmund G.W. Hender- ing false inducements to immigrants. looked silently over the assembled son, described Western Australia as a The colonists themselves sickened prisoners. After a few moments, during 'vast natural gaol'. The prison staff him: these were people who poisoned which all sound ceased, he began to believed that escape was impossible. and shot Aborogines who, if properly speak in a flat, quiet, but penetrating To the north east and south lay insuper- developed, would be found superior to tone - the voice of a man with no able obstacles with every conceivable the thick-skulled and narrow-minded doubts about his power of life and hazard, human and natural. If a pris- bigotry of the colonists of W.A.' He death. 'l want your undivided attention. oner broke away, there was nowhere to went on to allege: 'The Australian Irish That is my first order'. He stopped and go. To the west was the ocean. were generous in collecting money to gazed without interest over the heads Although the Fenians knew much enable released Fenian prisoners to of the silent ranks. 'My name is about prison escapes, there was no return home, but they were people of Doonan. I am Assistant Superintendant escapes from - not little consequence or principle, of this prison ... my word is law'. There yet! demeaned by' lowly origins and the was neither drama nor threat in his The days became weeks, the weeks contagion of an environment domi- voice. He was simply stating a fact. lengthened into months and the nated by sympathy with England.' He went on to read the rules of the months dragged into years. At night Casey's bitter account of Western prison and to describe the punish- the prisoners were paired into cells, Australia and its people in thelrishman ments for breaking them - flogging, seven feet by four, and nine feet high. of 4th June, 1870, give a fairly typical solitary confinement and extension of They were all assigned to work-parties, Fenian (and ) view. He sentence. Frequently he added the some inside, some outside the jail. went on: words l... the punishment for which is Inside, they cooked, scrubbed, cleaned The population of Western Australia death'. He paused, and this time looked and scoured, day in and day out. Dreary may be divided into two classes - directly along the lines of emaciated drudgery, with no relief or hope was those actually in prison, and those men. He continued again in a matter- their lot. But one of them, John Boyle who more richly deserve to be there' of-fact voice: 'Some of you will think of O'Reilly, was picked out as a different ... all are equally dishonest. What ways of escaping. I will save you the class of prisoner and assigned to the more can be expected from a nation trouble and tell you how. There are two library. ' of felons. Murder and murderous ways of escaping from this prison, by Outside they worked In gangs, either assaults are manly sports to the col- land or by sea'. in or about the town, building, repair- onists ... they live and die like dogs ... He warned them against escaping by ing, paving streets and disposing of More real depravity, more shocking land 'through the most cruel country garbage. They were slaves used for any wickedness, more undisguised vice God ever turned over to the devil', a task the settled community required to and immorality is to be witnessed at country of deserts, salt-lakes, bitter be done; they were sent into the bush, midday in the most public deceiving springs, sun-parched plains, sometimes for weeks at a time, build- thoroughfares of Perth, with its without water, red hot rocks, poison- ing roads or bridges, clearing land, and population of 1,500, than inany other ous insects and death-dealing snakes. tormented by insects at night. This out- city of fifty times its population, 'You cannot live, you can go mad, you side work in thetown and thesurround- either in Europe or America. will die - unless I find you first. And I ing countryside gave them a know- In 1869 Boyle O'Reilly was sent to Bun- will, and you will be glad I did, and be ledge of the local geography and gen- bury, about a hundred miles south of grateful for flogging and the chaining'. eral conditions, which was later to Fremantle, to assist in the administra- And there was less hope of escape by Drove most useful. tion of a road-clearinq proiect. While 'sea. No English ship's master would Most of the Fenianswere patiehC!iiiW.-- there, he made friends-iith~atherPat- conceal them aboard ship. To swim to disciplined, and quickly learned the rick McCabe. With the priest's assis- tance.he succeeded in escaping by hid- treatment longer without danger to ing in the bush, and later rowing to an their lives'. In regard to the mental American whaler, the Gazelle. The state induced, the Medical Superin- account of his escape is another story. tendent of Fremantle Prison George Suffice it to say, that it -became the Attfield, felt obliged to observe in an model for the subsequent Catalpa annual report: 'solitary confinement ,' rescue. Furthermore, on board the ... does, I am well assured, from first Gazelle O'Reilly became friends with to last, exert a gradually increasind the third mate, Henry C. Hathaway, and wear and tear upon the mind: When 1.. ' another link was forged in the chain of Hogan had served three months, ~tt-J' events which was about to lead to the field reported that he was 'suffering rescue. somewhat in health: and recom- mended his removal on medical grounds. He was duly released and transferred to a different work-party at Champion Bay. Comptroller-General Henry Wakeford was satisfied that the Fenians had caused relatively little trouble. When Of the 62 Fenians who were trans- called upon by Governor Hampton to ported to Australia, 9 were from give an account of their conduct, he Limerick. Here is a list of their names recommended that their good conduct and other details: warranted a response in the form of a Daniel Bradley, b. 1847, Kilmallock, Martin Hogan in Fremantle Prison. reduction of their probationary periods Limerick, 10 yrs., CP 1871, left W.A. before tickets-of-leave were granted. 1872. Hampton approved of this recommen- Thomas Daly, b. 1846, Kilmallock, nial patriotism. It appears that Martin dation and reported accordingly to the Limerick, 5 yrs., FP 1869, to Ireland Hogan may have been goaded by a Home Government. There was to be 1869. loyalist warder who had heard of the one exception to this general Maurice Fitzgibbon, b. 1848, Kilmal- O'FarreIl's assassination attempt. response: Martin Hogan was excluded lock, Limerick, 5 yrs., FP 1869, to San In his detailed study The Fenians in from the concession. Francisco 1869. Australia, Keith Amos describes how Dennis Hennessy, b. 1846, Kilmal- loyalist feeling had been whipped up at lock, Limerick, 7 yrs., FP 1869, to San several protest meetings, the largest of Francisco 1869. which was chaired by the cruel and cor- Martin Hogan, b. 1846, Limerick city, rupt Governor, J.S. Hampton, on 24th life, escaped to U.S.A. 1876. April. Keith Amos has written: Michael Noonan, b. 1844, Kilmallock, 'Hampton was loudly cheered when he Limerick, 5 yrs., FP 1869, to Ireland assured the gathering that Fenianism 1869. in any form would be "stamped out Patrick Reardon, b. 1847, Kilmallock, quickly" the moment it appeared in Limerick, 7 yrs., FP 1869, to Ireland d. ther colony'. Hampton went on to state 1871 Kilmallock. his attitude to the Fenian convicts, and John Sheehan, b. 1837, Kilmallock, also made an indirect reference to Mar- Limerick, 7 yrs., FP 1869, to San Fran- tin Hogan: cisco 1869. ... We have amongst us a few men John Shine, b. 1827 Douglas, who have been transported to this Limerick, 10 yrs., CF 1878, to Mel- colony as treason-felony convicts; bourne 1882,then probably to U.S.A. they have endeavoured to call them- Abbreviations: b = born, CF = certifi- selves political prisoners. I hope such cate of freedom, CP = conditional a distinction will never be conferred pardon, FP = free pardon, d = died. upon them (cheers). With the excep- On 21st April, 1869, Martin Hogan tion of the Military Fenians, the rest became the first Fenian to be reported have behaved themselves. for misconduct in the colony. It was Residential magist'fates were bound to stated that Hogan had abused and accept a warder's evidence rather than threatened Assistant Warder Munday a convict's word, as the Fenians were 'The game of bluff Cover of John Denvir's pam- at a quarry by the Swan River, and had later to learn to their cost. An uneasy phlet, Liverpool, 1882 'My flagprotects me; if you walked off to the Swan Convict Station, three months passed before Martin fire on this ship, you fire on the American flag: after declaring that he would no longer Hogan was sentenced. Keith Amos has Denvir'sPenny Irish Illustrated Library. work there. described his fate: An explanation for Hogan's Hogan was sentenced to six months behaviour was given in a letter to John hard labour in seDarate confinement: Assistant Superintendent Joseph Devoy from James Wilson. He wrote a severe punish;nent, in some ways Doohan continued to maintain strict that Hogan was 'going to kill a warder more damaging than a flogging order in the prison. The only lrish that spoke slightingly of Ireland'. (after hard labour, if so sentenced), Catholic among the supervisory offic- Another possible influence was that was served in a dark cell, the prisoner ers, he would, in time, have good the incident occurred five weeks after chained and denied bedding - or if reason to rue the day the Fenians ever set foot on Fremantle soil. Six years Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, had bedding provided, then no clothes - --C been shot and wounded by Henry strict silence maintained, anda bread la%r,ihe pressure and strain of his James O'Farrell, at a picnic at Clontarf and water diet; it was interrupted office were to force his early retirement on Sydney Harbour, as,tQe first royal only upon medical advice that con- on medical grounds, after he had suf- tour got under way in a'frenzy of colo- finees were 'unable to bear such fered a nervous breakdown. During Martin Hogan's term in Fre- tain McCafferty. I am one of that through the bush to the coast where mantle there was, at least, one Limerick unfortunate band and am now under thevessel might be, and so clear out ...' family in the town. Charles Finnerty, an sentence of life penal servitude in Martin Hogan had also written to his army officer, had arrived in Western one of the darkest corners of the father at 6 Barrington Street, Limerick, Australia in 1859 from Limerick, with earth, and as far as we can learn from appealing for help in Ireland. Again, his wife and family. As commandant of any small news that chances to reach Wilson wrote to Devoy: 'Let me tell you the Free Volunteers, the enrolled milit- us, we appear to be forgotten, with that Martin and I expect you to do ary pensioners, his path wa6 to cross no prospect before us but to be left in something for us.' Nine months passed that of Martin Hogan in a, most drama- hopeless slavery to the tender mer- with no reply. Wilson wrote once again, tic way before the latter shook off the cies of the Norman wolf. but there was still no reply. It seemed brown dust of Western Australia forthe But, my dear friend, it is not my like a desertion to the prisoners. So last time. hard fate Ideplore, for Iwillingly bear what was going on in America? itfor the cause ofdear oldIreland, but Imust feel sadat the thought ofbeing forgotten, and neglected by those more fortunate companions in enter- In 1870, as a result of public opinion in prise who have succeeded in eluding On a March, 1875, evening in Mas- Britain and abFoad, the British govern- the grasp of the oppressor. IfI had the sachusetts, George S. Anthony, ship's ment declared an amnesty for the means I could get away from here captain, came to John T. Richardson's Fenians, on condition that the released any time. Itherefore address you in store at 18 Water Street New Bedford, prisoners would go into exile for the the hope that you will endeavour to which was then the whaling capital of unexpired portion of their sentences. procure and send me pecuniary help New England. Richardson was his However, the Duke of Cambridge, for that purpose and Iwill soon be father-in-law. Earlier in the day Captain Commander-in-Chief of the British with you. Anthony's wife Eunice, had given him a Army, refused to countenance cle- Give mylove and regards to all old message from her father to come to the mency for the military Fenians, includ- friends - Roantree, Devoy, Burke store that evening. George Anthony, at ing the fifteen in Freemantle.And so, on (General), McCafferty, Captain Hol- 29 years of age, was an experienced the morning of the general release, den, O'Donovan Rossa, St. Clair and whaling captain, but had promised his they said farewell to their civilian com- others, not forgetting yourself and wife that hewould go whaling no more, rades with heavy hearts. There was, Mrs., and believe me that, even and had settled for a job in a New Bed- however, a ray of hope. The released should it be my fate to perish in this ford engineering works. But he still prisoners promised to organise a villainous dungeon of the world, the longed for the sea. Something about rescue as soon as possible, so Hogan, last pulse of myheartshall beat "God Richardson's summons had made him Wilson, Hassett and the others waited Save Ireland". feel instinctively excited. He walked Deva patiently and hopefully, but no word Direct your letter to Rev. Father through the chemist's shop, past coils he hi came, or even a sign of release or McCabe, Fremantle. Do not put my of rope, sheets of sail, hanging brass ters l rescue. Had their comrades in America name on the outside of the letter. whaling-lamps, oil-skins, kegs, and atter and Australia,-Devoy, O'Reilly, Curran, Yours truly, barrels and into a private office. As well In tk Cashman and the others - forgotten Martin J. Hogan, as being a chandler, Richardson was a anni them? But, when all seemed lost, fate Erin go bragh! ship's agent. The room was wood- Balti intervened on their side, as it had inter- (Gaelic Americani 16th July, 1904) panelled. On the walls hung several pic- tee l vened so often in the past against This letter, and others written later by tures of whaling ships, old framed bills to th them. Wilson, show something of the of lading, a harpoon and a portrait of His In 1871 a public reception was given indomitable spirit of the soldier Richardson's wife. An oil-lamp hung heal in New York by for the Fenians, left to rot for life in prison, from the ceiling, over a mahogany he released Fenians. A newspaper con- twelve thousand miles from home. As desk. The corners of the room were wai taining a report of the reception found quickly as the post and clandestine dim. Sitting around the desk were of l its way into Fremantle Prison, possibly methods of communication would Richardson, Henry Hathaway, who lett! through one of the few prisoners who, allow, they received a reply from Devoy was now chief of night police in New site when released, had remained in Fre- which gave them new hope. He prom- Bedford, and three other men. dot mantle, or through Fr. Patrick McCabe, ised to do his utmost on their behalf. Richardson introduced John Devoy, the who had moved there. This report con- But then there was silence. Hassett Jim Reynolds of New Haven and John pin tained the New York address of Peter became impatient and attempted to Goff of New York, all Fenians and the Bra Curran, who, during the round-up of escape, but was recaptured and put on members of the Clan na Gael commit- De' 1866 and '67, had fled the house in a chain-gang. Despair began to set in. tee who had been appointed to wa Clare Lane. Martin Hogan remembered The hard conditions weakened the pris- organise the rescue. It was Devoy who bu the night long before at Curran's house oners physically and mentally. The held George Anthony'sattention: there thf in 1866, when he had listened, inspired, Fulham brothers hgd already died, and was a fierce, determined dedication Ric to Devoy and McCafferty. He wrote Patrick Keating had been given an about the bearded, swarthy man which an l immediately to Curran. This letter, liter- amnesty through death. These three communicated itself instantly. Captain fur ally a voice from the tomb, was to be Fenians were buried in Fremantle. Anthony's life was about to be changed the motivating force which moved On 4th September, 1873, James Wil- in an unimaginable way. an th Devoy and Clan na Gael to initiate the son wrote a sharp letter to Devoy com- During the despair of the Fremantle rescue: plaining about the delay. But he also Fenians Devoy had not forgotten, and W re Perth, Western Australia, suggested a way of escape, which was had not been idle. He had not written, May ZOth, 1877 the plan that was eventually adopted, because he had nothing positive to tell ni Mydear Friend: with some modifications: 'There are them. He had put the rescue proposi- S6 tb In orderthat you may recollect who some good ports where whalers are in tion to the executive of Clan na Gael, it is that addresses you, you will the habit of calling ... it would not be but the divisiveness of the organisation S' remember on the night of January much risk for any vessel, whaler or had frustrated agreement, and the cost tt 17th, 1866, some ofthe Fifth Dragoon otherwise, to run in on some pretence of mounting a rescue attempt halfway a Guards being in the old house in or other. And if we had the means of across the world, with apparently poor t( Clare Lane with John DevoyandCap- purchasing horses (we) could make mmes of success, deterred them. 3 A specialgrievance. This Civil War recruit- ing poster for the Union army appeals to Irishmen not only as defenders of their adopted country, but also as the enemies of England. The Confederate 'cotton lords' are identified as the trading partners and natural allies of Ireland'sper- secutor. The emphasis upon the rights andpower of thepeoplealso hada special appeal for labourers nursing a grudge against aristocratic landlords and their counterparts among the southern plan- ters. Other recruiting posters of the time pointed out that training in the American army would serve Irish Americans in lre- land's coming war of liberation. 'It has been estimatedthataboutaquarter of the soldiers who foughtin the Union and Con- federate armies in the American Civil War were Irish. These armies hadprovidedthe Fenians with the tough, trained officers andsoldiersit required. One of these men, Captain John McCafferty, was present in the room on the night of 17th January, 1866. He was the man Hogan and the others from the Fifth Dragoons and Tenth Hussars had come to hear in the crowded parlour, The American-born McCafferty, from Sandusky, Ohio, had fought on the Confederate side as an officer with Mor- gan's Guerillas, an irregular cavalry unit!

Devoy had begun to despair, but when rescue had been effected. They had the Devoy outlined the history of the he had read Hogan's and Wilson's let- benefit of the advice and experience of Fenian movement, the state of the pris- ters he decided that a rescue should be all the returned prisoners, most of oners in Fremantle Jail and the plan of attempted, regardless of risks or costs. whom were now in the United States rescue. Anthony was not bound to Ire- In this grim mood, he went to the and, of course, the invaluable experi- land in any way, and knew little of its annual convention of Clan na Gael in ence of John Boyle O'Reilly, the only history, but Devoy's emotional appeal Baltimore in July, 1874. After a commit- one to have made a successful escape. touched his Yankee love of liberty and tee hearing agreed to put the proposal It was at O'Reilly's suggestion thatthey his sense of adventure and yearning for to the convention, Devoy rose to speak. contacted Hathaway, who had bef- the sea, which had been frustrated by a His eloquent and forceful appeal was riended him on the Gazelle. boring land job. He accepted. Later that heard in silence. When he had finished, On 29th January, 1875, Devoy left night, when he returned home, he told he did not sit down. The delegates New York for New Bedford. He stopped his wife what he had decided. She waited for him to continue. Instead, out in Boston, and got a letter of introduc- bowed to the inevitable, and gave him of his pocket he took Martin Hogan's tion to Hathaway from O'Reilly. In New her full support. letter, and began to read it in the tense Bedford, Hathaway's recommenda- silence. When he had finished, he sat tions gave the rescue plan a decisive down. After a second or two of silence, and firm direction which it had previ- the delegates rose and the slow clap- ously lacked. He recommended that ping, stomping and shouts of 'Erin go they purchase and fit out a whaler, put Bragh' rose to a tumultuous crescendo. a trustworthy captain aboard, and send On the evening of Thursday, 29th April, Devoy had won. A committee of ten her on, what would be forthe most part 1879, the Catalpa began her voyage, was appointed to organise the rescue, of the voyage, a genuine whaling with a crew of Malays, Kanakas, Por- but the main work was carried out by expedition to Western Australia. He tuguese Negros, a normal whaling the three men who had come to explained that such a voyage could pay crew. The first mate was Sam Smith, Richardson's office - Devoy, ~e~fiolds its way, or even mate a profit. How- who was later to be told of the real pur- and Goff. ever, the cost of buying and filling a pose of the voyage, and Dennis Dug- In the following months a major whaler was more than Devoy's funds gan was the Clan na Gael representa- fund-raising effort was organised would support. The fund-raising was tive aboard. among Clan na Gael members recommenced. By April, 1875, the The question of effecting the land throughout the United States. Security Catalpa had been purchased with Jim rescue, which had to be organised on was a major consideration, and it was Reynolds, who subsequently became the ground in Australia,was next consi- remarkable that, given the 5,000 Clan known as 'Catalpa Jim', as managing dered. Devoy knew the man for the job. na Gael members who were canvas- owner. Hathaway had contacted John For John Devoy to have gone himself, sed, no word of the plan ever reached Richardson to find a suitable captain, which he had wished to do, would have the ears of the British authorities. and Richardson instantly recom- attracted too much attention. But John The plan was a nebulous affair at this mended his son-in-law, Captain J. Breslin had all the qualifications for stage; its main objective was to use George S. Anthony. Thus it came about the task. It was Breslin who had plan- the money collected to buy a whaler that Captain Anthony faced John ned the escape of James Stephens and to callat a port in Western Australia Devoy in the little lamp-lit room, late on from Richmond Prison in Dublin. He to take the men aboard when a land that March evening in 1875. - h- a- commanding appearance, impeccable manners, a fine intellect, and a decisive mind. Breslin left New York, where he was then living, on 19th July, 1875, and travelled to San Fran- cisco. There, he picked up Tom Desmond, who was to accompany him at the request of the California Clan na Gael members who had contributed half of the total amount cdlected. Desmond was to prove a courageous and invalu- able aide. In Los Angeles, Breslin was given a detailed briefing about the prison, its routines, and the local topography by John Kenealy, one of the prisoners released indhe amnesty. Breslin and Desmond set sail from San Francisco on Monday, 13th September, bound for Sydney. The final links in the chain of rescue, which had started with O'ReiIly's friendship with Hathaway on board the Gazelle, were about to be forged. On the high seas, the Catalpa had been about the dangerous business of hunting and killing whales. At the same time, Captain Anthony kept a fairly steady course for his main objective - ences on the small writing table in his what the Catalpa crew had expected as Western Australia. The crew killed a room, purporting to show his extensive a matter of course, as they made their whale early in the voyage, but gales financial interests. wages on the number of catches made. prevented them from firing the trypots The week after he arrived in Freman- But the Catalpa was a whaler with a dif- to boil the hand-shredded spermaceti, tle, Breslin learned that one of the ferent purpose, and maintained her which produces the most prized of all Fenians released on amnesty, William course off the coast of Africa and on the oils a whale can yield. By Sep- Foley, was living in Fremantle. He was towards Cape Town. The crew had tember they had reached the Azores, in bad health, and lived by doing odd become suspicious, and Captain where they refitted the ship and jobs and running errands. All the Anthony was worried. Winds were replenished their provisions. prison officers and guards knew him, poor, and progress was slow. 3y the Breslin an'd Desmond arrived in Syd- and he often had occasion to go into captain's reckoning, it would he early ney on 15th October, 1875. Breslin was prison. Breslin gave him a note to April before they reached Australia. En travelling under the alias, 'James Col- smuggle to Wilson, to alert the prison- route there occurred an extraordinary tins', with papers to pass himself off as ers to be ready for a rescue attempt. We coincidence. On 16th February a British a wealthy businessman. Des- can only imagine how Hogan, Wilson merchantmen the Ocean Bounty came mond's alias was 'Tom Johnson', and and the others felt when they read the within hailing distance. Caqtain he passed himself off as a man in note. The long wait and frustrations Anthony thought that she might have search of work in Australia. had not been in vain. some accurate charts of the Australian Immediately they contacted John During the following weeks 'Collins' coast, and signalled that he would like Edward Kelly and John King, two of the became well known in Fremantle. to come aboard. When he returned to most senior Fenians in Australia. To Much sought after because of his man- the Catalpa after about an hour, he cal- their astonishment, they learned that ifest interest in business opportunities, led Sam Smith to his cabin. 'Mr. Smith, the Australian Fenians were also plan- his manner, learning and social skills you'll never believe it, but that ship's ning to rescue the Fremantle Six, but made him popular. He met Doonan, the skipper was Captain Cousins, and he their scheme was not as elaborately prison superintendent, on a social was captain of the Hougoumont when organised at the 'Americans'. The occasion and was invited to see the she took the men we seek to prison in Australian Fenians threw their weight prison. Doonan presumably conducted Australia. The charts he gave me were and their money behind the Catalpa him on a guided tour of 'The Establish- the very ones he used on that voyage'. plan. King was assigned to Fremantle. ment', and this gave him an invaluable After that encounter, the ship coursed Breslin and Desmond travelled to Mel- insight into the wdrkings of the prison. briskly along, knowing that she was in bourne, and hence to Albany, arriving With this information, and, through the home stretch. On 27th March the there on 13th November, 1875, having further communication with the pris- masthead look-out shouted the wel- agreed not to acknowledge each other oners, Breslin finalised the plan. But come words 'land dead ahead.' on the journey. the time could not be set until the Meanwhile Martin Hogan continued From Albany, they took the coastal Catalpa arrived. Three months passed to write regularly to his father in steamer, the Georgette, and arrived in with no sign of the ship and 'Collins' Limerick: Fxmantle on 16th Noyember. Breslin, found it increasingly difficult to main- Fremantle Prison, alias Collins, the wealthy speculator, tain his credibility. At various times he Western Australia, called loudly for a carriage, while envinced interest in wool, sheep-farm- 7 7th March, 1876. Desmond, of humbler status, trudged ing, timber and gold projects. But he My Dearest Father, towards the centre of town, where he was running out of ideas and time, with I received your letter of November boarded the stagecoach for Perth. still no sight of the Catalpa which gave me some comfort to hear In Fremantle, Breslin checked into Awhaling ship usually chartsa lonely from you and I am so happy that you the Emerald Isle Hotel, demanded the course, cruising endlessly and errati- enjoy your health. You say, dear best roorn, and insisted on a first-class cally in search of whales, going where- - Ttker,write every mail, if possible. I service. He also left letters and refer- ver the mammal is to be found. That was am not able to do that. I will do my best to write every two months. thus able to keep in touch with Foley tory. Walsh and McCarthy were also Months and dayspass away from me and Breslin. King had arrivedfrom Syd- informed. Breslin went to Bunbury on in my long suffering that often I wish ney with more money. So, too, had the mail-car and met Captain Anthony to Heaven that the day I received sen- Denis McCarthy from Cork, and John to work out further plans. The men, on tence of life that it was death. It would Walsh from Durham, sent by the I.R.B. being rescued, were to be driven by keep me out of long years of misery. in Ireland, in yet another concidence, to horse-and-buggyto Rockingham, twenty Dear Father, you gsk me did I get the effect a rescue. All remained to assist in miles south of Fremantle, where a boat ticket of leave. I will not for some the,rescue. But where was the Catalpa? from the Catalpa was to be waitindon years to come. Dear Father, send me Restless and awake at dawn on 29th the beach for them. /, nothing, no matter what kind it may March, Breslin stepped out of the hotel The Catalpa would stand well ou(40 be. Anything my dear mother has left and walked listlessly towards the tele- sea, off Garden Island, and wait for the me keep it till I get it in my own hands. graph office, as he had done morning whaleboat to return with the prisoners. Keep good heart, dear father, I will after morning. Approaching the tele- Breslin suggested that Captain write a long letter next time. graph office, he noticed several new Anthony should see the coast off Roc- Your fond son, notices tacked to the bulletin-board, kingham, so that he would know t Martin J. Hogan. which gave details of the arrival times exactly where to position the Catalpa, Write soon. of ships. He quickly scanned the and so they travelled to Fremantle on When Martin Hogan's father received notices and saw to his intense excite- the Georgette on Sunday, 2nd April. On this letter on 15th June, his son was ment that the Catalpa had arrived at arrival at Fremantle, they were dis- already a free man on the high seas to Bunbury, just south of Fremantle. They mayed to find the gunboat Convict, 'car- America. had made it! The relief was almost rying 2 guns and 30 men schooner-rig- overpowering as he raced back to the ged and fast sailing', in the harbour. The hotel and retrieved the codes Devoy escape was postponed again, this time had given him to use in communicating for a week until the gunboat left. They with the Catalpa. He returned to the used the week to fine-tune the plan. The prisoners were all located in Fre- telegraph office and sent a message to Anthony went to Rockingham and not- mantle at this time, except Wilson, and Anthony requesting the time of the arri- ed its topography; Walsh and McCarthy were engaged in building a resevoir to val in Fremantle. Next, he roused Wil- studied the telegraph lines they were to supply water to shipping in the har- liam Foley to give him a message for cut; Breslin and Desmond, who were to bour. Wilson was training a horse for Wilson to alert the prisoners. He sent take the prisoners to the rendezvous in the prison doctor, and was in and out of King to Perth to inform Tom Desmond, horse-and-traps, rehearsed the pick-up the prison several times a day. He was who was then working in a sausagefac- and the rideto Rockingham.

. . The route of the Catalpa, from 'Thestory of the Catalpa andthe Rescue of the Fenian Prisoners; Irish BookBureau, Dublin, '. .'r Another nerve-stretching delay occurred when the Catalpa was pre- vented from leaving Bunbury due to stormy weather. Finally, the escape was set for Easter Monday, 17th April, 1876. So, on Easter Saturday, Breslin walked to Fremantle jetty and approached near enough for Wilson, who was waiting there, to hear him whisper, 'Monday morning'. Cranston was to tell the jail guard that Harrington and Wilson were to accompany him to shift some furniture at the Governor's House, and so get him outside. Hogan, a coachpainter, was engaged h painting the residence of the Acting Comptroller-General of Con- victs, William Fauntleroy, and was to bring Darragh and Hassett with him. Apart from Hogan, they had all been 'constables' or 'trusties' for years.

Breslin's account of the final escape was published in the Gaelic American in 1904, and it reads: At half-past seven a.m., I drove slowly up the principal street, and, turning to the right, walked my horses by the warders quarters and pensioners' barracks. The men were beginning to assemble for parade. I had arranged with our men that I would have the traps in position on 01 the road at a quarter to eight, and wl would remain so, the nearest being bl within 5 minw,tesf run of the prison, 0 1 until nine o'c1ocka.m. Being ahead of th my time I drove slowly along the Roc- th kingham road, and Desmond coming bc up shortly after, drove by me. Com- fa ing to a shaded part of the road we a r halted and, having divided the hats A and coats 3 to each trap, I com- W menced to drive back to Fremantle, C! Desmond following; time 5 minutes tt' to eight. A few moments later I saw 3 C men in prison dress wheel round and The cover of 'The Fenian Escape from Fremantle, Western Australia; editedby John Watson, University of ti march down the Rockingham road. Western Australia, 1876. S1 Driving up to them I found they were ti Wilson, Cranston and Harrington. I ir directed them to pass on and get into those at the oars, and in a few on the ship and could see her topsails 9 the trap with Desmond and drive minutes all w5s ready and the word quite plain from the crests of the M away. Desmond wheeled his horses was given, "Shove off, men; shove waves. Made sail on the boat. At this il

around, and they were only seated off. " time the weather had become and ready to start when the other Now fairly afloat the word was gloomy, with rain squalls, and we three came in sight, and, on driving "Out oars and pull for your lives! Pull were pretty thoroughly soaked. up to them I found one man carrying as if you were pulling after a The boat made good headway a spade and another a large kerosine whale! ... " under sail and we were rapidly over- can. As soon as I came near enough When about two miles offshore we hauling the ship, carrying all sail and to recognise them, he who carried saw the mountedpolice ride up to the the whole boats crew - sixteen men the spade flung it with vim into the spot where we had embarked, and in all -perched on the weather gun- bush and the holder of the kerosine then slowly drive the horses and whale, with the water rushing in on can bestowed a strong kick upon it in wagons we had used up the beach us from time to time, when, about, good football fashion ... towards the Rockingham Jetry ... seven o'clock as squall struck us, car- At half-past 10 a.m. we made the About half-past 5 p.m. Toby raised rying away the mast, which broke beach and got aboard the whale- the ship 15 miles ahead of us, and the short off at the thwart, and, by the boa:. The men had been instructed to men bent to their oars in order to get - -.-.+, time we had the mastandsailstowed stow themselves in the smallest pos- as near to her as possible before may, the ship had disappeared in sible space, so as not to interfere with dark; at half-past six we had gained the increasing darkness... Fenian escapeesatRontingham, 1876, from 'AustralasianSketcher; 8th July, 1876. (Mitchellfibrary).

On the following morning the back. Standing high in the bow, he you good day: whaleboat sighted the Catalpa again, proclaimed: 'That's the American flag; From all future acquaintance excuse but also saw the Georgette, obviously I am on the high seas; my flag protects me, l pray on course to intercept her. Fortunately, me; if you fire on this ship, you fire on In the service of my country the British ship passed without seeing the American flag.' John J. Breslin the whaleboat. Georgette failed to The Georgette steamed slowly But the four months homeward voyage board the Catalpa and began a search across the stern of the whaler but did turned out to be a more difficult test for for the whaleboat. They ceased rowing not fire a shot. The bluff had run its Breslin than he could have ever envis- and laid low, and the ship passed on. course. The Catalpa and her prisoners, aged. Grievances over the food, gen- About 2pm the Catalpa sighted the now free men, set course for America. eral discontent and a change of plan, whaleboat. Simultaneously a police At sea, John Breslin had the last word. which was to have financial reprecus- cutter appeared. It was a race between He posted a letter by 'ocean mailf-on a sions later, led to bitter disagreements the two as to who would reach the piece of floating wood: on board the ship. All the Fenians, Catalpa first. Breslin's account con- Rockingham, April 77, 7876 except Breslin, wanted the ship to head tinued 'We ran up to her side, and To His Excellency the British Gover- straight to New York without delay. scrambled on board in double quick nor of Western Australia:- However, a key factor in the venture time ... The Stars and Stripes were fly- This is to certify that I have this day was the understanding thatthe Catalpa ing at the peak, our boat was hoisted released from the clemency of Her would take time out on the voyage to and in its place at the davitts the ship Most Gracious Majesty Queen Vic- America to kill some whales in order to wore, and was standing on her course toria, Queen ofJ'Great Britain, etc., raise 10,000 dollars to pay the ships inside of two minutes .....l etc., six Irishmen, condemned to crew and meet other costs. But the men Early next morning the Georgette imprisonment for life by the did not relish this delay: aftertheir long arrived again, with eight constables, enlightened and magnanimous gov- period in captivity, they did not con- eighteen pensioners, led by Major Fin- ernment of Great Britain, for having sider that they could be free men until nerty, and a loaded cannon. She fired a been guilty of the atrocious and they reached American soil. shot across the whaler's bows, and unpardonable crimes, known to the Because of this internecine squabbl- then hailed Captain Anthony: 'l tele- unenlightenedportion of mankind as ing, there was confusion when the ship graphed to your government; don't 'love of country' and 'hatred of unexpectedly arrived in New York. You know that you are amenable to tyranny'. For this act of 'Irish assur- However, on 24th August, 1876, the British law in the Colony?'. ance' my birth and blood being my Catalpa sailed triumphantly into her Breslin told Anthony that this was a full and sufficient warrant. Allow me home port of New Bedford, Mas- bluff, because the land-party had cut to add that - sachuSettq, to the cheers of a great the telepraph wires out of Fremantle. In taking my leave now, I've only to crowd and the booming of cannons. The Georgette then threatened to blow say, Meanwhile, back in Australia, the mast off the Catalpa. Captain A few cells I've emptied (a sell in its " mwiptions of the six escapees were Anthony, knowing they were in territo- way); published in the Police Gazette of rial waters, decided to t,Mw the bluff I've the honour and pleasure to bid Western Australia. (The Irishman, 26th The race for the Catalpa, from a drawing by E.N. Russellin The Catalpa Expedition {Mitchell Library). Inset: The Catalpa Six, on their arrival in America.

August, 1876 - reprinted from the Bos- Again in his book The lrish in Australia, Fenianism was too strong a meat ton Pilot) Martin Hogan was described Patrick O'Farrell has given a sober for the average Irish-Australian as follows: assessment of the Fenians in Australia: stomach. They had come to Martin Hogan, Imperial Convict, Reg. Australia, convict or free, in peril of No. 9767; arrived in the Colony per The bold Fenian men soon marched the deep, praying for God's protec- convict ship Hougoumont; received (or rather, sailed) out of Australian tion and mercy, and for His care of a life sentence, 21st August, 1866. history, America-bound. The rescue their loved ones. The Fenians were Description - Stout, age 37 years, of six of them, at Easter 1876, by the made of different sterner stuff. height 5 feet 6 inches, dark brown American whaler, Catalpa was an But despite their mistakes and failures, hair, dark hazel eyes, long visage, adventure story of splendid dash. many of the Fenians were brave and dark complexion. Marks - D left side; Organised from America, costing noble-minded. Martin Hogan, at least, cut left elbow, walks firmly; has the $25,000, involving preorganisation in deserves to be remembered in his gait and appearance of a cavalry sol- Fremantle by spies in disguise, native place - and not only in dier; is a coachpainter; Fenian. escape in an open boat, a chase at Australia's bice~tennialyear. Absconded from Fremantle 8.30 sea by a gunboat, bickering among a.m., 17th April, 1876. those rescued, a happy ending in a Bource$ Among the lrish in Australia theescape delirious Boston - this was all too The Catalpa Expedition by Z.W. Pease, New Bed- was celebrated in the 'Ballad of the exciting, too heady, for sober Irish- ford, 1897. Catalpa': Australian History, even Australian Recollections ofanlrish Rebel by John Devoy, 1929. She was a Yankee whale ship and lrish history, for a century. With the Devoy's post bag, 1871 - 1828: Edited by William commander humdrum, Australians could cope, O'Brien and , 2 Vols, Dublin, 1948, Called the 'Catalpa' by name, those who hadlaiddown their Fenian 1953. Came out to Western Australia banners in Australia. In 1904 a West Library Board of West Australia. And stole six of our convicts away. Australian committee was formed to Western Australian Museum assist two of the remaining Fenian The Story of The Catalpa and the Rescue of the So come all you screw warders and ex-prisoners: one, aged eighty-two, Fenian Prisoners, lrish Book Bureau. gaolers, was in a destitute men's home, the Catalpa 1876: The Fenian Escape From Fremantle, Remember Perth regatta day; other, aged seventy-six was living in Western Australia, edited by John Watson, Univer- Take care of the rest of your Fenians, a tent. Two others were still alive, but sity of Western Australia. Or the Yankees will take them away! did not need such assistance. A Fremantle Mission by Sean O'Luing, Anvil Books, But for all the daring, bravery and suffer- national appeal was launched. In 1965. ing endured in the Catalpa Rescue and total keeping with the Australian The Emerald Whaler by William Laubenstein, Msy- in the transportation of the Fenians, reception of Fenianism from its- flower Dell. these events were not accorded a cent- beginning, the appeal never met its TbelrishinAustralia by Patrick O'Farrell,New South ral place in the lrish Australian world. target. Wales University Press, 1987.