EXILES from ERIN Also by Bob Reece CONSCRIPTION in AUSTRALIA (With R

Home , Frank the Poet, Second Fleet (Australia), Sydney Cove

EXILES FROM ERIN Also by Bob Reece CONSCRIPTION IN AUSTRALIA (with R. Fonvard) ABORIGINES AND COLONISTS: Aborigines and Colonial Society in New South Wales in the 1830s and 1840s A PLACE OF CONSEQUENCE: A Pictorial History of Fremantle (with R. Pascoe) THE NAME OF BROOKE: The End of White Rajah Rule in Sarawak IRISH CONVICTS: The Origins of Convicts Transported to Australia Exiles frolll Erin Convict Lives in Ireland and Australia

Edited by Bob Reece Senior Lecturer in History Murdoch University

Foreword by Dr A.]. F. O'Reilly, AO

M © Bob Reece 1991 Foreword © A.J.F. O'Reilly 1991

No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London WlP 9HE.

Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

First published 1991

Published by MACMILLAN ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 2XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world

ISBN 978-0-333-56437-0 ISBN 978-1-349-21557-7 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-21557-7

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Copy-edited and typeset by Povey/Edmondson Okehampton and Rochdale, England

For Lesley, Laura, Owen and Anna, who went to Ireland with me Contents

List of Plates vii

Abbreviations viii

Foreword by Dr A.]. F. O'Reilly X

Preface xii

Acknowledgements xiv

Notes on the Contributors XV

1 Introduction 1 Bob Reece

2 The Convicts of the Queen 10 Keith johnson and Michael Flynn

3 General Joseph Holt 27 Ruan O'Donnell

4 The Ballagh Barracks 'Rioters' 57 Niamh Brennan

5 'A Strange Compound of Good and Ill': Laurence Hynes Halloran 85 Kelvin Grose

6 The Ballad of Maitland Jail 112 Bob Reece

7 The True History of Bernard Reilly 135 Bob Reece

v vi Contents

8 Frank the Poet 151 Bob Reece

9 The Connerys 184 Bob Reece

10 Ned Kelly's Father 218 Bob Reece

11 Patrick O'Donohoe: Outcast of the Exiles 246 Richard Davis

12 The Strange Career of William de la Poer Beresford 284 Geoffrey Bolton

Appendix 1: 'Bold jack Donahoe'; 'The Exile of Erin . . .' 304

Appendix 2: Two Songs in Irish about the Connerys - Nicholas Williams 308

Index 324 List of Plates

1a Newgate Prison, Dublin, c. 1779 1b The Tholsel, Dublin, c. 1791 2a General Joseph Holt, 1798 2b The wreck of the Isabella, Falkland Islands, 1811 3a Laurence Hynes Halloran as a Church of England chaplain or clergyman 3b Laurence Hynes Halloran in later life 3c Judge James Dowling 3d Reverend John McGarvie 4a Title page of the chapbook published at Ballinamore, Co. Leitrim, c. 1839 4b Illuminated copy of Robert Burns's 'Man was made to mourn', made in Sydney in 1834 Sa Port Arthur, 1842 Sb 'Gentlemen Convicts at Work and the Convict "Centiped" [sic] at Port Arthur, 1836' 6a 'Battle of the Factions': stick-fighting 6b Ballybricken Jail, Waterford, in the 1890s 7a Patrick O'Donohoe in the dock at Clonmel Court House, 23 October 1848 7b Sir William Denison, Governor of Van Diemen' s Land (later Tasmania) 8a Inniscara Church of Ireland parish church, Co. Cork 8b The Hon. Charles (later Lord) Beresford with Prince Albert and others at Government House, Perth, 1869

vii Abbreviations

ABGR Australian Biographical and Genealogical Research ADB Australian Dictionary of Biography ADM Admiralty Records, Public Record Office, Kew, London AO Audit Office Records, Public Record Office, Kew, London AONSW Archives Office of New South Wales, Sydney BL British Library, London CC&P Convict Correspondence and Petitions, Public Record Office of Ireland, Dublin CI Convict Indents, Archives Office of New South Wales, Sydney co Colonial Office Records, Public Record Office, Kew, London C of I Church of Ireland CR Convict Registers, Public Record Office of Ireland, Dublin CSIL Colonial Secretary's In-Letters, Archives Office of New South Wales, Sydney DNB Dictionary of National Biography GD Governors' Despatches (Van Diem en's Land) GPO Post Office Archives, London HO Home Office Records, Public Record Office, Kew, London HRA Historical Records of Australia, series i ]RAHS Royal Australian Historical Society Journal ML Mitchell Library, Sydney NLI National Library of Ireland, Dublin NSWRG New South Wales Registrar-General's Office, Sydney OP Outrage Papers, Public Record Office of Ireland, Dublin PRIS King's Bench Commitment Books, Public Record Office, Kew, London PRO Public Record Office, Kew, London PROI Public Record Office of Ireland, Dublin PRONI Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, Belfast SCR Supreme Court Records, Archives Office of New South Wales, Sydney

viii Abbreviations ix

SLNSW State Library of New South Wales soc State of the Country Papers, Public Record Office of Ireland, Dublin TCD Trinity College Library, Dublin TSA Con Convict Department Records, Tasmanian State Archives, Hobart Foreword

When I first reflected on the concept of the Keith Cameron Chair of Australian History at University College, Dublin, I had little idea how productive and exciting it would become. My father-in-law, Keith Cameron, was an Australian of Scots extract, self-made, rigorous and a mining engineer of the first rank. In our shared curiosity about Ireland's contribution to the land of his birth, the seeds of the Chair's establishment were sown. As it happened, the ground had already been prepared by Noel McLachlan and Colm Kiernan, who pioneered the teaching of Australian history at UCD under an agreement initiated by the Australian government. When this was terminated in 1985, I was able to arrange with Senator Susan Ryan for the establishment of a permanent Chair named after Keith Cameron. The arrival of the first incumbent, Bob Reece, in 1987 was a dynamic addition to these early building blocks. He and his talented wife, Lesley, put their entire resources - intellectual and personal - at the disposal of the Chair, with spectacular results. It is a fine tribute to his time there that two of the contributors to this volume are former Australian history students who went on to undertake postgraduate work. Beyond his success at UCD, Bob Reece also demonstrated his talents in the area of cultural relations, travelling all over Ireland to speak on different aspects of the historical relation• ship with Australia. Nineteenth-century emigration, voluntary and involuntary, crea• ted the Celtic diaspora of almost 80 million throughout the world today. The contribution of these emigrants to their new homelands is immense, and nowhere is this more evident than in modern Australia where, possibly, nine of the fifteen members of the I 991 Australian Cabinet are of Irish origin. As Bob Hawke, Prime Minister of Australia, said in a historic address to the Dail on new imperialism: This most anti-imperialist of nations is the head of a huge empire in which Australia and the United States are the principal provinces.' He continued: 'It is an empire acquired not by force of Irish arms, but by force of Irish character; an empire not of political coercion but of spiritual affiliation, created by the thousands of Irish men and women

X Foreword xi

who chose to leave the shores of Ireland or were banished from them, and who helped to build new societies over the years.' This new imperialism had its roots in cruelty and pain and expulsion and also in character and assertiveness and the will to win and to endure. Bob Reece and his contributors have woven a brilliant tapestry of this drama, and I for one feel richly rewarded by their efforts and their insights. The pleasure in writing this foreword is the pleasure of someone who has seen a small idea grow to enriched maturity.

A. J. F. O'REILLY Acknowledgements

This book would not have been possible without the generosity of Dr Tony O'Reilly, who, together with the Australian government, endowed the Keith Cameron Chair of Australian History at University College, Dublin, which I occupied between 1987 and 1989. Apart from my great debt to the contributors, thanks are also due to the following: Professor Ronan Fanning, Professor John Molony, Dr Tim O'Neil and Mary Kelly of University College, Dublin; the staffs of the State Paper Office, Dublin Castle, the Old Printed Books Library, Trinity College, and the National Library, Dublin; Michael McMahon and Gerald Kennedy of Corofin, Co. Clare; Des Cowman of Dungarvan, Co. Waterford; Tommy Corcor• an of Bohadoon, Co. Waterford; Kitty and Sean Barry of Clogher, Co. Tipperary; Terry and Sinead Cunningham of Grangebeg, Co. Tipperary; Eilis Dillon of Dublin; Walter McGrath of Cork; Laurence Halloran of Sydney; John Meredith of Thirlmere, New South Wales; and Marianne Davis of Hobart, Tasmania. Danny Cusack in Dublin and Perry Mcintyre in Sydney provided research support and Phillip Thomas, Gary Robins, Pat Connole and John Lloyd enabled me to make a long-postponed leap into word-processing. Suzanne Lewis, Lizzie Finn, Ann McBryde, Robyn Arblaster and Mailee Clarke worked at short notice to get the manuscript finished. I also wish to express my warm appreciation of our circle of Irish friends who were so supportive during our time in Dublin: most notably, Gary Robins and the late Jill Derbyshire, Gearoid Kilgallen, Glynis Casson, Colleen and Alistair Wallace, Pat and Detta Connole, John and Margaret May, David and Georgina Fitzpatrick, Sean and Mary Murphy and Therese and Freddy Wood. I am specially indebted to the Connoles whose cheerful and generous hospitality I enjoyed during my 1990 visit.

Some of the chapters are based on articles which have previously appeared in books and journals. An earlier version of the chapter by Keith Johnson and Michael Flynn on the Queen was published in R. Reid and K. Johnson (eds), The Irish Australians: Selected Articles for

xii Acknowledgements xiii

Australian and Irish Family Historians (Sydney: Society of Australian Genealogists and Ulster Historical Foundation, 1984). Niamh Brennan's chapter on the Ballagh 'riot' appeared in different form in Bob Reece (ed.), Irish Convicts: The Origins of Convicts Transported to Australia, Dublin: UCD, 1989. Kelvin Grose's chapter on Halloran is based on an article originally published by the Australian journal of Education in October 1970 as 'Dr Halloran - Pioneer Convict Schoolmaster in New South Wales: A Study of His Background'. Geoffrey Bolton's chapter is a revised version of an article published in Early Days, the journal of the Royal Western Australian Historical Society, val. 9. pt 2 (1984), as 'The Strange Career of William Beresford'. My own chapter on Bernard Reilly was published earlier under the same title in Breifne (Journal of Cumann Seanchais Bhreifne), no. 26 (1988) and in Australian Folklore, no. 3 (March 1989). Earlier versions of the chapter on Frank the Poet appeared in the Cork Archaeological and Historical Society Journal, vol. XCIII, no. 252 (1988) and in S. Grimes and G. 6 Tuathaigh (eds), The Irish-Australian Connection (University College, Galway, 1989). Earlier versions of the chapter on Ned Kelly's father also appeared in the Tipperary Historical journal (1990) and in C. Bridge (ed.), New Perspectives in Australian History (London: Sir R. Menzies Centre for Australian Studies, 1990). I would like to express my gratitude to the editors of these books and journals for being able to draw on them in this way. I am also most grateful to John Meredith and Rex Whalan for permission to reproduce the poems and ballads of Francis Macna• mara published by them in Frank the Poet (Melbourne: Red Rooster Press, 1979) and to Ron Edwards for permission to reproduce the Jack Donahoe broadside published by him in The Convict Maid ... (Kuranda, Queensland: Ram's Skull Press, 1987). Permission to cite passages in Irish from Nua-dhuanaire, Duanaire Deiseach and Bealoideas was provided by M. 6 Murchu, The School of Celtic Studies of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, C. 6 Marcaigh and the Secretary, Folklore of Ireland Society. My visit to Ireland in 1990 was made possible by a travel grant from Murdoch University and a grant from the Australian Research Council to support the Irish convicts project of which this book is the first product.

Bos REECE Preface

Although my mother's relatives were all Irish, or born in Australia of Irish parents, and I had visited Ireland in Easter 1974, I made no claim to be an authority on the Ireland-Australia connection when I took up the Keith Cameron Chair of Australian History at University College, Dublin, in January 1987. Inevitably, however, I was directed towards this theme. The interest created in Ireland during Australia's 1988 bicentenary resulted in speaking engagements in various parts of the country, the first (and for me the most memorable) in the chapel of Kilmainham Jail in May 1987 on the extraordinary life of Francis MacNamara, better known as 'Frank the Poet'. This encouraged me to look at the lives of other Irish convicts in more detail, notably the Connerys, who were completely unknown to me until I heard Deirdre Nic Eanrulig sing the wonderfully poignant song about them in Galway in January 1988. On my return to Western Australia in January 1990, the idea of putting together a collection of biographical essays began to crystalise and I invited two of my former students at UCD, Ruan O'Donnell and Niamh Brennan, together with Keith Johnson, Kelvin Grose, Richard Davis and Geoffrey Bolton, to contribute individual chapters. The result, I believe, is a fascinating range of insights into Irish and Australian colonial history in the nineteenth century and a connection whose deep significance has been overshadowed until recent times by Australia's continued relationship with Britain. The bicentenary of the arrival of the Queen at Sydney Cove on 26 September 1791 has not given rise to anything like the celebrations of 26 January 1788, but it symbolises the fact that Australian society, virtually from the outset, was strongly influenced by that wonderfully talented and endlessly interesting people, the Irish.

Bos REECE Fremantle Western Australia

xiv Notes on the Contributors

Geoffrey Bolton, AO, is Professor of History at the University of Queensland, Brisbane. A prolific writer, he has published a number of books and articles on Western Australian and Queensland history and is general editor of the Oxford History of Australia, contributing vol. 5, 1942-1988: The Middle Way. His interest in Irish history goes back to the mid-1950s when he wrote a doctorate at Oxford University, The Passing of the Act of Union. From 1982 until 1985 he was the first Director of the Australian Studies Centre at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London.

Niamh Brennan is an honours graduate in history from University College, Dublin. She is currently employed by Dublin Corporation and is working on her MA thesis.

Richard Davis is Reader in History at the University of Tasmania, Hobart. A graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, and the University of Otago, New Zealand. His major work is The Young Ireland Movement and he is currently editing for publication William Smith O'Brien's Tasmanian journal. In 1990 he also published Open to Talent: A Centenary History of the University of Tasmania.

Michael Flynn is an honours graduate in history from the University of New South Wales who recently completed his MA thesis at Sydney University on the Second Fleet of convict transports to Australia in 1790. He played an important part in the preparation for publication of Mollie Gillen's biographical dictionary of the First Fleet, The Founders of Australia.

Kelvin Grose, formerly Lecturer in Education at the University of New England, Armidale, is a member of the Royal Australian Historical Society and of the Professional Historians' Association of New South Wales. He has published widely in the history of education, his major work, co-authored with Jan Milburn, being a study of the New England Girls' School, So Great A Heritage. He now works as an historical consultant, based at Bowral, New South

XV xvi Notes on the Contributors

Wales, and is engaged on a biography of Sir George Gipps, Governor of New South Wales 1838-46.

Keith Johnson is a Fellow and Vice-President of the Royal Australian Historical Society and a Fellow, Councillor and past President of the Society of Australian Genealogists. A co-proprietor of Library of Australian History publishers, North Sydney, he has edited the Genealogical Research Directory since 1981 and was co• editor with Malcolm Sainty of the Census of New South Wales ... 1828.

Ruan O'Donnell is an honours graduate in history from University College, Dublin, who recently submitted his MA thesis on Joseph Holt's involvement in the 1798 Rebellion.

Bob Reece is Senior Lecturer in History at Murdoch University, Western Australia. From 1987 until 1989 he was the first Keith Cameron Professor of Australian History at University College, Dublin. He has published widely in Australian and Southeast Asian colonial history, his most important works being Aborigines and Colonists and The Name of Brooke. Since 1987 he has published a number of articles on the Ireland-Australia connection and edited a collection of essays under the title Irish Convicts: The Origins of Convicts Transported to Australia. He is currently writing a book on the 1798 Irish rebels transported to Australia.

Nicholas Williams is Lecturer in Modem Irish at University College, Dublin. He has published extensively and is a leading authority on early modem Irish texts.