THIRD EDITION.—ENLARGED.

..THE IRISH PRIEST
# IN POLITICs:
BllºS REVEALED IN THE EVIDENCE GIVEN ON THIE
HEARING OF THE
MEATHELECTION PETITIONS,
“Mr. Justice O’BRIEN’s decision may have been as creditable to
him as a lawyer as it was, in the tone and matter of many of its passages,
discreditable to him as a Catholic; but we have no hesitation in saying
that if those at whose demand it was pronounced fancy that it will act as
any deterrent to Irish priests from discharging their duties as electors
and as citizens, and as well as the friends and advisers of their people,
they forget the courage, the constancy, and the patriotism of the unconquer-
able and devoted clergy of Ireland.”—/rish Catholic, Ioth December,
1892.
THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN LIBRARIES
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THE IRISH UNIONIST ALLIANCE, PAIACE CHAMBERS, WESTMINSTER,
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PRICE SIXPENCE,

THIRD EDITION-ENLARGED.

THE IRISH PRIEST
IN POLITICS:

AS REVEALED IN THE EVIDENCE GIVEN ON THE
HEARING OF THE

MEATHELECTION PETITIONS
“Mr. Justice O’BRIEN’s decision may have been as creditable to
'him as a lawyer as it was, in the tone and matter of many of its passages,
discreditable to him as a Catholic; but we have no hesitation in saying
that if those at whose demand it was pronounced fancy that it will act as
any deterrent to Irish priests from discharging their duties as electors
and as citizens, and as well as the friends and advisers of their people,
they forget the courage, the constancy, and the patriotism of the unconquer-
able and devoted clergy of Ireland.”—Irish Catholic, 10th December,
I892.
PRINTED FOR AND PUBLISHED BY
THE IRISH UNIONIST ALLIANCE, PALACE CHAMBERS, WESTMINSTER
AND 109, GRAFTON STREET, DUBLIN,
jLOn Odil :
PRINTED BY McCORQUODALE & COMPANY LIMITED,
“THE ARMoURY,” souTHWARK, S.E.
THE following panphlet contains:-
The full text of Bishop Nulty's
Pastoral. gº
-- A surmmary of the evidence given
at the hearings of the South and North
IMeath Election Petitions.
An important passage from the
speech of Mr. T. M. Healy, M.P., in
the South Meath Petition.
The more important passages from
the Judgments of Mr. Justice O'Brien
(South Meath), and Mr. Justice Andrews
and Mr. Justice Johnson (North Meath).
An Appendix contains a report of
the proceedings in the Queen's Bench
T)ivision, Dublin, when the Rev. John
Fay, P.P., was adjudged guilty of Con-
termpt of Court. *
T H E
IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS:
AS REVEALED IN THE EVIDENCE GIVEN ON THE
HEARING OF
THE SOUTH MEATH ELECTION PETITION,
Jä." Trim, on November 16th, 1892, the hearing of the
South Meath election petition commenced before Mr.
Justice O’Brien and Mr. Justice Andrews. The Petitioner was Mr.
J. J. Dalton, the defeated Parnellite candidate; the sitting
member Mr. Patrick Fullam (McCarthyite), being the Respondent.
Mr. Fullam's majority was 83. Mr. O'Shaughnessy, Q.C., Mr.
Drummond, Q.C., and Mr. Miles Kehoe represented the Petitioner;
Mr. D. B. Sullivan, Q.C., and Mr. T. M. Healy, M.P. represented
Mr. Fullam. The Petitioner, amongst other matters, alleged intimida-
tion, practised by means of a certain Pastoral Letter from the Bishop,
Dr. Nulty, which was read in every Roman Catholic church in the
constituency, certain altar denunciations, canvassing and speeches
by clergymen of an intimidating character.
8
THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS.
Mr. O'Shaughnessy, in his opening statement, stated that the
polling booths were
MANNED EY CLERGYMEN
as follows:—
ATHBOY ......... Rev. P. Briody ............ Sub-Agent
BALLYWARY ...... Rev. P. Fagan ............ Do. and Persona-
tion Agent
CLONARD ......... Rev. Michael Woods...... Sub-Agent &
DULEEK ......... Rev T. Gilligan ............ Do. and Persona-
- - - tion Agent
DUNBOYNE ...... Rev. B. Quigley........... e Po. do.
Do. ......... Rev. John Leonard......... Personation Agent
Do. ......... Rev. Chas. Crinnion ..... . Do. do.
JULIANSTOWN ... Rev. P. A. Murtagh ...... Sub-Agent and Per-
somation Agent
Do. ......... Rev. P. Fitzsimons......... Personation Agent
Do. ......... Rev. P. Callery ............ JDo. do.
Do. ......... Rev. P. Flynn .............. G Do. do.
LONGWOOD ....... Rev. C. Shaw ............... Sub-Agent and Per-
sonation Agent
p
Do. ............ Rev. R. M'Donnell ...... Personation Agent
SUMMERHILL ... Rev. John Fay ............ Sub-Agent and Per-
Sonation Agent
Do. . Rev. P. Cantwell ......... Personation Agent
Do. ............ Rev. S. Kelly............... Do. do.
TRIM ............ Rev. H. Behan, P.P. ...... Sub-Agent and Per-
- sonation Agent
Do. ............ Rev. W. Egan............... Personation Agent
Do. ... Rev. P. J. Skelly............ Do. do.
Do. ............ Rev. C. Carey............... JDo. do.
Do. ............ Rev. C. Murray ............ AJo. do.
Do. ............ Rev. J. Cockrane ......... Do. do.
Counting Agents —Rev. J. Cochrane, Rev. P. Cantwell, Rev. C.
Carey, Rev. Michael Woods, Rev. Richard O'Donnell, Rev.
Hugh Behan, Rev. P. J. Skelly, and one layman—Mr. Peter
Cantwell.
THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS. 9
THE BISHOP’S PASTORAL.
After referring to the fact that out of a total population
of 38,133 in South Meath, the Roman Catholics num-
bered 35,618, Mr. O'Shaughnessy read the contents of a
Pastoral Letter, written by the Roman Catholic Bishop (the
Most Rev. Dr. Nulty), which was read by the officiating priest in
every chapel in the constituency.
[The following is the full text of the Pastoral. The more
important passages are printed in larger type.]
“DEARLY BELOVED,-The issue which you are now considering, and which
you will finally decide by your votes at the coming election, is by no means wholly
and purely political. If Parnellism were really such, I should address you not as
a bishop, but as a politician, with some claims, perhaps, on your confidence in con-
sideration of the very feeble, but also of the very honest and earnest part I have
acted in defending your interests and your rights for the last thirty years. Even as
a politician I might claim the right of counselling and advising you on the course
of action you ought to take in the coming crisis, but I could not, and would not,
claim the right of forcing my views and opinions on your acceptance, at least till I
had proved their soundness and truth beyond all controversy or doubt, and entirely
to your own satisfaction. But Parnellism, whose continued existence or practical
extinction you will decide at these coming elections is much more than a purely
political question. Beyond all doubt it is an essentially and an intensely religious
guestion as well, and one that will vitally influence your faith, your religious
feelings, and the moral obligations and duties by which, as Christians and
Catholics, you are conscientiously bound. On Parnellism, under that point of
view, I, as a Bishop, and as a successor of the Apostles, have a Divine right from
God to instruct you and to teach you, and you are bound by a Divine precept to
listen to me and to learn the doctrines and the religious principles I teach you.
Parnellism, like many of the great rebellious movements which heresy has from
time to time raised against the Church, sprung from the foul root of sensualism
and sin. I had a close and an intimate personal knowledge of Mr. Parnell
throughout almost the whole of his public political life. During the whole of that
period I respected and esteemed him as a man of high principle, of pure morality,
and of unblemished honour. I regarded him as the very last of men then living
who would stoop to the degrading meanness of defiling and disgracing himself
by the vilest and foulest form of sensuality and crime.
“I will not dwell on the prurient and disgusting incidents of the Divorce
Court further than to state that they furnished undeniable evidence of his guilt, and
put it, in fact, beyond all controversy or question. The absolute and irresistible
certainty which they furnished of his guilt created in my mind a painful sense of
anguish and agony which were equalled in bitterness and pain only by the sad and
deplorable necessity of parting and breaking with him for ever. God and nature
have vested in every man and woman living three great fundamental rights which
in all circumstances must for ever remain sacred and inviolable. The first of these
is the great natural right which every man has to the quiet and peaceful enjoyment
of the life and existence with which God has favoured him, and during the period
sof time allotted by his Creator for it to run. This right has been sanctioned,
hallowed, and protected by the great commandment of the law—“Thou shall not
kill. The sacred right which a man holds in the chastity and purity of his wife,
and in the sanctity of the marriage bed, is in its own order as important and as
precious as the former. The right is sanctioned, blessed, and protected by the
Divine commandment—‘Thou shalt not commit adultery.’ The third of these is
the right which every man has to the exclusive use and enjoyment of the various
forms of wealth in which he holds a real right of property and ownership, because
they are all the fruit of his own earnings, or because they have been produced by
his own toil and labour,
IO THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS.
“This right is recognised and sanctioned by the Divine precept—“Thou shalt
not steal.” But, notwithstanding the protection thrown around these sacred rights by
the ordinances of God, they may still be violated, and violated to an extent
that would make their enjoyment painfully insecure, and would render them, in
fact, practically worthless. A criminal, vicious, and reckless class of miscreants
exists in human society in all countries, who would violate the most sacred and
venerable of human rights without remorse or scruple, whose violent passions and
evil propensities will not be controlled or restrained by any respect for God's laws.
or by the fear of His justice, whose hands can be tied, and whose vicious instincts.
can be effectively held down only by the moral terror inspired by the most awful
and appalling forms of visible human punishment. Society, therefore, in its own.
defence, and for its own self-protection, has been obliged to erect around these
sacred rights a new bulwark of protection to shield them still further from the
unjust and aggressive assaults to which they are even yet liable. It, therefore, solemnly
warns all evildoers that it will exact ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,’
and that the man who imbues his hands in his brother's blood will expiate his guilt
by an ignominious death on the gallows tree. And society will, and does, execute.
the murderer, not through a feeling of vindictiveness, but for the purpose of
inspiring a moral terror which will make the murderous miscreant recoil from the
commission of a crime that he knows will be punished with such implacable and
merciless severity. The murderer by his crime diffused through society a painful
feeling of insecurity in the tenure in which men held their lives, but his execution
relieved them from that feeling, and restored the enjoyment of life to its
former normal security. In like manner the thief, the robber, or burglar will not
be induced to abandon his business through any feeling of natural abhorrence of
the injustice and wrong he is continually doing, or through a feeling of fear of the
just punishment of God's justice, but the fear of forfeiting his liberty, of the
loneliness and pain of imprisonment, of the galling severity of prison life and
discipline, the terrors of the convict ship, and the nameless horrors of penal
servitude. The fear of these numerous and appalling forms of human punishment
is the only effective deterrent that could make him hold his hands from unjustly,
appropriating the property of others, and keep the precept—-‘Thou shalt not
steal.’ Human justice has not forgotten the sacred right which every man holds
in the chastity and purity of the wife who is the partner of his joys and his
sorrows during his pilgrimage in this world. Neither has it left this right
unprotected and undefended, any more than either of the other two. There is no
species of human depravity or crime that is capable of creating a larger amount of
unmitigated misery, anguish, and distress amongst men than the crime of adultery.
The peace of mind and domestic happiness of the man whose wife has broken her
marriage vows are blighted and irretrievably ruined for ever. The crime by which
she has defiled herself brings disgrace and dishonour on her husband and her
family. Her infamy, as long as her memory survives, will be a source of reproach
and of shame to her children and her children’s children after them, Society does
not leave the punishment of this crime exclusively in the hands of the hangman or
the jailer. Every honourable man and every virtuous woman in the community
has a hand and acts a part in inflicting it. The crime of adultery when freely
admitted, or clearly and judicially proved, naturally excites an universal feeling
of execration, of abhorrence, and of loathing detestation of the criminal in the
breast of every upright man and chaste woman in the community. That feeling.
of hatred or aversion is not the result of a principle of religion or of a dictate
of reason, but rather of an instinct of nature. We still inherit as much of our
original rectitude and justice as will make it impossible for us not to abhor the
adulterer as well as his crime. Hence this instinct of nature has asserted itself
visibly, practically, and effectively in all ages, in all countries, even among Pagans
as well as amongst Christians. The adulterer, therefore, as soon as his crime has.
been clearly proved, finds himself confronted with a deadly, an implacable, and an
aggressive enemy in every upright man and virtuous woman he meets with. They
will not, however, hang him or imprison him, or transport him, or offer him the
slightest violence. But they will assail him with, as it were, the daggers of their
angry, defiant, and threatening looks, they will wound him with, as it were, the
swords of their unconcealed contempt, scorn and abhorrence, and they will assassi-
nate him socially through the intolerable isolation in which they will place him, by
THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS. I I
_*:
the impatient haste and eagerness with which they will fly from him, and shun him as
they would a plague or a pestilence. The deep and impassioned execration with
which all just, upright, and virtuous men will loathe and abhor the adulterer, and
the intolerable social isolation with which they will mercilessly ostracise him, will
amount conjointly to the last and the severest form of human punishment and
suffering . The adulterer may not feel a particle of shame or abhorrence for the
foul moral turpitude of his crime. ... He may be utterly indifferent and insensible
to the fear of God’s justice and of God's eternal punishment; but the impassioned
execration of all that is good, noble, and holy in human nature will cow and make
him tremble. No other form of human punishment can furnish as powerful and as
effectual a deterrent to prevent, to discourage and restrain men from defiling and
disgracing themselves with the foul and odious guilt of adultery.
“That Mr. Parnell had disgraced himself by the crime of vile, habitual and per-
sistent adultery is beyond all doubt. That he never felt the slightest shame or
remorse, and that he never expressed the smallest regret or sorrow for his sin is
equally certain. He never made the slightest atonement or the smallest reparation for
the grave and irretrievable injury he inflicted on the great domestic virtue, on which
the not only peace and happiness of families but the most vital interests of society itself
essentially depend. In punishment, therefore, of his crime, and with a unanimity
hardly ever paralleled, the great public opinion of all the archbishops and bishops
of the secular and regular clergy, and of all that was great, good, and noble in the
laity of Catholic Ireland, degraded and deposed him from the high and distinguished
dignity of the leader of a chaste and religious nation.
“Sorely against our wishes we felt that we could not possibly condone and for-
give even in Mr. Parnell a crime which we are conscientiously bound to reprobate,
to condemn, and to punish in every man living. Adultery is a grave violation of
the fundamental laws of nature, and is, in all circumstances and under all conditions,
an essential, an unnatural, and an intolerable moral evil which will ever and always.
cry aloud for blame and punishment. We cannot change God’s eternal laws. We
can administer them only as we find them. Those who yet maintain that Mr.
Parnell is still entitled to the esteem, the confidence, and the high and honourable
dignity of leader of the Irish nation must hold, too, that he did no wrong which
deserved either blame or punishment ; and, consequently, that habitual adultery,
which was not even regretted, atoned for, or repented of, has nothing whatever in
it that is criminal or sinful.
“On this principle the adulterer who had already emancipated himself from all
fear of God's eternal justice would find himself still further relieved even from the
fear of blame and punishment from the justice of man.”
“But this pestiferous principle would soon foster and encourage the increase
and multiplication of adultery and crime to an extent that would shake and
dislocate the very framework of human society itself. In these circumstances it is
sad and humiliating to see upright, patriotic Irishmen, and chaste, virtuous Irish-
women, striving for the ascendancy of Parnellism, and thus doing their very
utmost to demolish the great breakwater which God and nature have raised up to
protect Christian Society from being submerged by the deluge of adultery and crime
with which the unbridled, licentious passions of wicked men and of shameless and
abandoned women threatened to overwhelm it. In a state of human society in
which there were no prisons or jails, in which deliberate and cold-blooded
assassins and murderers would not be hanged or executed; in which thieves,
burglars and robbers would not be arrested, imprisoned, or transported; and in
which adultery was regarded as a harmless or pardonable pastime, the gifts of life
at its root, and in its source. - -
“But I must confess that I have stronger, deeper, and much
sterner antipathies and dislikes to the anti-Catholic and anti-National
character of the living organisation or party into which Parnellism has
developed. The doctrines of faith, on heaven, hell, purgatory, on
the resurrection of the dead, on the general and particular judgments
to come, and on the other great truths of our religion could never
I 2 THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS.
3 * . . . . . --
*-*m-.
be discovered, proved, and accepted as certain by the reason and
intelligence of man in any possible form of human inquiry. God alone
knew these great truths, and no one but God could reveal them,
teach them, and publish them to mankind. Under the new dispen-
sation, at least, a clear, a distinct, and an intelligent knowledge of
: several of these Divine truths is an essential condition for the
salvation of every man living, because that knowledge is an essential
prerequisite for the supernatural Divine faith, without which no one
can please God. The Almighty was therefore bound by His own
Divine ordinances to furnish the facilities and opportunities that were
not only sufficient, but abundantly sufficient, to bring within every
man's reach that Divine knowledge without which he could not
believe and be saved. The agencies and machinery which it pleased
him to employ for this purpose were the preaching of His Gospel,
the public teaching of His Divine Word, and the explanation
and interpretation of His Holy Law. The great and wonderful work,
,preaching His Gospel and teaching its Divine truths to the whole
world in all ages and generations, He entrusted to the ardent zeal and
untiring labours of His . Apostles and their successors till the con-
‘summation of the world. The commission which He gave and the
Divine command which He imposed on His Apostles and their
successors to undertake and carry out in all nations and throughout
all ages this great work of enlightening the world with the knowledge
of His Divine doctrines was the very last act of His visible presence
in this world: “Go,” said He, ‘and teach all nations, baptising them
in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost,
teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you, and
lo I am with you all days even to the consummation of the world.’
The successive divisions of time by which the actions of men are
imeasured, reckoned, and recorded, do not apply to God or to any of
His Divine acts. God has no past, present, or future. The past
and the future are as near, as close, and as intimately present to
"God as the things that actually exist, and the things that actually
exist are before God as if they did not exist at all. Hence, our
Lord, speaking here as God, addresses the successors of the
Apostles in all ages to the end of time as directly and as immediately
as He did the Apostles themselves. Hence, He commissions and
commands them all, indiscriminately and without any dis-
tinction, to preach His Gospel to all nations and in all
ages, and He promises to remain with them in every age till the
consummation of the world, aiding, assisting, and co-operating with
them in accomplishing the great work He had commanded them to
perform. Hence, I myself and every bishop now living received
directly and immediately from our Lord Himself the same commission
and the same command, and in the very same words as the Apostles
themselves, to preach the Gospel to the men of this generation
exactly as they preached and taught to the men in theirs. As the
men, therefore, of their age received their enlightenment and their
faith from the preaching and teaching of the Apostles, so the men of
the present age, and of every age to the end, do and will receive their
THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS. I 3
–4–
faith from our preaching and that of our successors till the con-
summation of the world. This commission is carried out now
exactly as when the Apostles lived. We all come into this world.
exactly as pagans and infidels, without a shred of knowledge of any
kind, either human or Divine. We are taught our simple elementary
prayers and the rudiments of our religion by our parents. The
elementary knowledge we have thus gained is enlarged, improved, and
becomes clearer and more distinct by the catechistical instructions we
receive from the teachers of the schools to which we are sent by our
parents. That knowledge is still further enlarged and improved, and
is rendered much more rational and intelligent by the lectures
delivered to us by our parish priests or curates when they are pre--
paring us for confirmation. Finally the bishop falls in with us on
and during his visitation to our native parishes. He interrogates and
examines us, sifts and tests the extent, the accuracy, and the truth of
our religious knowledge, and finding it sufficient and satisfactory, he
confirms us and enrols us in the ranks of the strong and perfect
Christians who compose the great supernatural society of the Church.
of God on earth. Thus we learn, then, not on the authority of our-
parents, or our teachers, nor even of our parish priests or curates, but.
on the authority of one who comes to us as an accredited envoy
from God, Divinely commissioned to preach and teach us His Gospek
that the doctrines we have been taught, and in which we have been
instructed, and which we now thoroughly understand, are all revealed
truths contained in the written or unwritten Word of God. Having
ascertained that fact on His authoritative testimony, and aided by
God's grace, we with our whole hearts and souls make an act of faith
in the truth of the doctrines of our religion, on the authority of Him:
who has revealed them, and who cannot possibly mislead or deceive
us. That act of belief is at once a rational, a supernatural, and a
Divine act of Catholic faith. It is in this way, and precisely on these
principles, that Catholics believe in the truth of all the doctrines of their
religion, and what was said of the preaching of the Apostles not only
applies, but was actually said, too, of the preaching of their successors.
“He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved, but he that believeth
not shall be condemned.’
“Now, Parnellism strikes at the very root and saps the very foundations of
Catholic faith.
“I have already proved, I trust to your satisfaction, that Parnellism is much
more than a political question, and that it is an essentially and an intensely-
religious question as well. All the successors of the Apostles in this country—
that is to say the 29 archbishops and bishops of Ireland—have solemnly warned and
taught their respective flocks that Parnellism was unlawful and unholy.
“That it was in distinct, direct, and essential antagonism with the principles
of Christian morality, and even dangerous to their faith as Catholics, and,
consequently that they should shun and avoid it.
“They who refuse to accept that teaching or that principle on the
unanimous authority of the whole Irish Hierarchy, deprive themselves
of every rational ground or motive for believing in the truth of any
of the other doctrines of their religion.
I4. THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS.
“Because it is solely on the authority which they here despise and
decry that they know, or possibly can know, that any one of those
doctrines was ever revealed at all by God Almighty.
“If the bishops can mislead, or deceive their flocks on this
particular doctrine what is to prevent their doing exactly the same in
the case of any of the other doctrines which they are continually
teaching? Invincible ignorance may undoubtedly excuse many of
the misguided but well-intentioned men who still cling to Parnellism,
ibut no intelligent or well-informed man can continue and remain a
‘Catholic as long as he elects to cling to Parnellism.
“Paganism did its very utmost through a cruel, an inhuman, and a bloody per-
-secution of 300 years duration to extirpate and stamp out of existence what it
regarded as the aggressive and execrable superstition of Christianity. English
'Protestantism did the very same thing in this country; and during practically the
same protracted period. The blunt, brutal, and savage expedient employed in
either case to realise this infamous design was to murder and martyr in hecatombs
the Popes, bishops, priests, and religious who preached the Gospels and propagated
the doctrines of Catholicity among the people. If the preaching of the Gospel was
purely the work of man and not principally the work of God these savage per-
secutions would undoubtedly have extinguished and stopped it. The human agents
employed in the preaching of the Gospel may perish and pass away, but our Lord
will find others to take their places, and He has distinctly promised to remain with
them too till the consummation of the world. The preaching of the Gospel of our
Lord must go on earnestly, vigorously, and fruitfully to the end. Nay, it will go
on with increased energy and fruitfulness, and it will actually grow and thrive
under persecution. Religious persecutors in modern as well as in ancient times
have learned and proved by actual experience that the martyr's blood was a divine
'seed from which a fresh, a numerous, and an abundant crop of new Christians
and Catholics invariably sprung.
“Now, Parnellism, like Paganism, impedes, obstructs, and cripples the efficiency,
and blights the fruitfulness of the preaching of the Gospel and the diffusion of that
T)ivine knowledge without which our people cannot be saved.
“It does not now employ the old, coarse, and exploded expedients which failed
the Pagans so egregiously. It will not now murder or martyr, or transport the
bishops or priests who preach the Gospel. But its newspapers and its orators are
now doing their utmost by calumny and ſalsehood, by scorn and ridicule, to decry
and run them down, and to bring them into contempt, odium, and unpopularity
with their flocks.
“Now, the high and Divine dignity of our sacred
character and calling necessarily entitles us to the
reverence, respect, and veneration of every man
who really believes in his religion. It is through
our preaching and teaching alone that the faithful
receive the Divine faith and knowledge without
which they cannot be saved. It is exclusively
through us that the clean and holy oblation of the
Sacrifice of the Mass is offered daily for the living
and the dead on the thousands of altars throughout
our country. It is through our ministry that the
poor penitent gets forgiveness of his sins in the
Sacrament of Penance.
THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS. I5
“The dying Parnellite himself will hardly dare
to face the justice of his Creator till he has been
prepared and anointed by us for the last awful
struggle and for the terrible judgment that will
immediately follow it. Should the day then ever
come when we shall have lost the confidence and
have fallen in the estimation of our people, when,
instead of reverence and respect, they shall regard
us with distrust, aversion, and dislike, when the
‘soggarth aroon’ will be regarded as the base and
corrupt traitor of the interests of his country and
the welfare of his people, then our preaching will
not be listened to, our sacraments will be neglected
and even despised, and the Catholic religion,
purpled and hallowed as it is by the blood of our
forefathers, will be radically extirpated out of
our country. This is the natural tendency and
will be the inevitable result of Parnellism. I
earnestly entreat you, then, dearly beloved, to
stamp out by your votes at the coming election
this great moral, social, and religious evil which
has brought about so much disunion and bad blood
amongst a hitherto united people, which has worked
so desperately, but in vain, to break the golden
link of love that has bound the priests and the
people for centuries inseparably together, which
by sowing dissensions in the National Parliamen-
tary Party has weakened its strength and efficiency
and which has seriously imperilled on the very
eve of victory the claims of our poor country to
its legislative independence. I remain, dearly
beloved,
“+. THOMAS NULTY,
“Bishop of Meath.
“MULLINGAR, 29th June, 1892.”
PROVING THE PASTORAL IN EVIDENCE.
Mr. M. A. CASEY, editor of the Drogheda Independent, proved
that a public copy of the pastoral appeared in the Independent of
2nd July, of which paper Mr. Fullam, the respondent, was part
Proprietor. The Rev. Richard Blake, P.P., of Derry, South
I6 THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS.
Meath, called on subpoena, produced an original copy of the
pastoral; a Latin portion was appended commanding the pas-
toral to be read at all Masses.
The following is a summary of the more important points in
the general evidence,
“FIRE THEIR HEELS AND THEIR Toes.”
Mr. MICHAEL SAURIN, J.P., of Harristown, said “he was at mass on
26th June, at Ballinabrackey. Rev. Patrick O’Connell.
officiated. Before the last Gospel he said he had a duty to perform,
and that duty he would perform by warning the people against the
curse of Parnellism. No Parnellite could receive the sacraments.
worthily. He called them anti-clericals. He warned the fathers and
mothers not to allow their children (sons or daughters) to attend a.
Parnellite meeting about to be held. I attended mass on June 29th at
Castlejordan. Father O’Connell preached. He referred to a
meeting at Clonard, and said he expected every man, woman and child.
in the parish would attend. He told them plainly it was no longer a.
political matter, it was a matter of their holy religion. He said the
procession would start from the chapel at Clonard, and they were alſ
to be present in time to walk to the place of meeting. He would be
present along with Father McLoughlin and go round and see
who was absent. Anyone absent he must know why, and any that.
wilfully absent themselves without a just cause he would meet them on.
the highway and the bye-way, and at the rails, and that “he would fire.
or he would set fire to their heels and toes.’” Mr. Saurin, continuing :-
“I voted at Clonard ; the door was crammed so as to prevent any-
one getting into the booth. The Curate of Ballinabrackey and .
Father McLoughlin were present. When I came up the crowd.
(about two hundred) began to boo and shout “Down with Saurin,’ and
ONE MAN SPAT ON ME.
The clergymen were standing about. The police got me into the
booth. The crowd booed and shouted me down the road when I
came out.”
John F. MonAHAN examined, and said:—“I attended Castle-
jordan chapel on 29th June [a Saint's day], Father O’Connell
delivered a sermon after the first Gospel. He said that there was to
be a Federation meeting in Clonard, that the priest expected every-
body to go, and, in fact, he commanded them to go; that their
parish priest expected them to go, and that he would be going there
himself as well as the parish priest. He said he did not expect them
to do impossibilities, but if any one was absent he would expect them.
to give a good and sufficient reason for their absence. Then he went
on to talk about the Parnellites. He said they were only a handful
or so, that they were “anti-clerics.” Then he recollected himself, and,
said “anti-Catholics.' He would have no compromise whatever with
them. He said that the Parnellites were
THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS. 17
† ====
INFIDELS AND HERETICS,
that he would make it hot for them, that he would meet them in their
homes, on the highways and bye-ways, and ‘in the church,' or “at the
rails'—I could not say which. He also said that anything he took in
hands before he was not put down in, and he would not be put down
this time. He said, too, that “he would set fire to the
heels and set fire to the toes.’”
Mr. EDWARD WEIR, a hale old man, was examined on November 18th.
He said:—“I attended masses at Castlejordan chapel on 26th and
29th June. After the first Gospel, on 26th June, the priest (Father
McLoughlin, I think), when the collection had taken place, turned
to the people, and he alluded to ‘the Guardian.’ I am a Poor Law
guardian. He said, ‘this Pigotted guardian, that was put in on the
Pigotted votes.’ When he said that I was sitting opposite him. As
Soon as the allusion was made to the name of ‘Pigotted guardian,' I
stood up and left the chapel; I went outside. On 29th Father
O’Connell preached a sermon. He commenced by telling the
people a Federation meeting would be held in Clonard, and he
advised the people to go there. He said, ‘There is another matter.
There is a clique of Parnellism here. There is a few who want to bully
the priest,’ and got a little hot with the heat of passion. He said, ‘I
will make thingshot for them here,' and stooping down, he says, “at
the communion rails I will meet them, and in the bye-ways, and will
put fire to their heels and their toes, and make it hot for them.” It
had an effect on me. Next night but one I was going home to my
own place late, and I saw a fire, and I thought my place was on fire;
it was not the house, but they had lit the hedge, and they had put a fire
on the pier of the gate. I wondered if they were going to burn me
Out, and I said I would not be surprised at it after
THE ADVICE THEY GOT ON SUNDAY,
I said to them (about 30 people present) ‘Couldn't you pass by
without burning my place 2' My son went to take the fire down off
the pier, and one young man came forward with a pole and said,
‘Leave that fire alone.' I said to him, ‘Go back there; there might
be harm here.” Then they went back. One man raised the pole to
strike my son, and I went between them.”
Joseph McNAMARA, farmer and mill owner, Castlejordan, was
examined on November 18th. “I was at mass at Castlejordan on
June 29th, Father O’Connell preached. He referred to a
meeting which was to be held that day at Clonard, six miles distani.
JHe advised the people to go—everybody who possibly could. He said
that he would be there himself, and that he would mark and see who
would not be there. He referred then to the parties who would not be
there and said that he would meet them on the highways and bye-
ways and “would put fire to their heels and toes.’ He referre to the
Parnellite party and said they were people he would watch and called
them anti-Catholics. I was at the same chapel on the 3rd July
JReverend Father McLoughlin read the pastoral.
C
18 THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS.
$
—º
NICHOLAS CoonEY, a groom to Mr. Carew, of Kildangan, was
examined on 18th November. “I attended mass at Castlejordan on
June 29th. Father O’Connell said mass and preached. He
said “there was going to be a great meeting at Clonard, and for them,
to meet there, at Clonard chapel, at two o'clock, and that he would be
there himself, and that he would see those who were absent from the:
meeting, and that he would mark them, and that he would make it
hot for them on the highways and bye-ways; and that he would put
fire to their heels and at their toes, and here—beckoning to the rails.’”
Did he say anything further ?
Mr. Justice O'Brien—Did he say he would meet them at the rails 2.
He was beckoning at the rails. He said: “I will put fire at their
heels and at their toes, and at the rails.”
Mr. Kehoe—Did he say anything further ? He said “it was not a
fººl meeting. It was a religious meeting, and for them all to go.
there.”
Now did he say anything else? Yes; he said “the Parnellites were
few in number, and that he would crush them out.”
JoHN CoonEy, coachman to Mr. Thomas Carew, gave evidence on
November 18th. “I am a voter. I was at mass on 29th June at
Castlejordan. I recollect after the collection Father O’Connell.
making some observations from the altar. He told the people to go.
to Clonard—men, women, and children.
He said “that they would meet in Clonard at two o'clock, and that
he would be there himself to see who would be absent or who would
not—that he would make it hot for those Parnellites, behind them
and before them, in highways and bye-ways, everywhere he would
meet them, inside the chapel, outside the chapel, and at the rails.”
Do you remember anything further ? Yes; he said “he would put.
fire to their heels and their toes.”
PATRICK CAREw, a herd, was examined by Mr. Kehoe. “I was at
mass at Ballinabrackey on 29th June. The Rev. Father
O’Connell preached a sermon. He said “that they [the Parnellites].
were holding a meeting and that no one would attend them, and if
they did they might not go near him.’”
Rev. PATRICK O’CoMNELL, curate of Ballinabrackey, cross-
examined by Mr. O'Shaughnessy on November 25th. *
What is the meaning of setting fire to a man's toes and heels 2.
Nothing at all.
And do you mean to say that, standing upon the altar steps, you, a.
priest in your vestments, uttered language of that kind, meaning
nothing at all It was a reply to the language of another person.
Is the altar used to reply to a politician P. It is used in a con-
ditional sense that if anybody in the parish attempted to make it
practically hot—the meaning of it was that we would be well able to.
defend ourselves.
What did you say about firing the heels and toes 2 That is a
THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS. I9
certain statement which emanated from a certain prominent member
of a certain party. That was a floating maxim. r
That is a statement, then, which is a floating maxim 2 To make it
hot in one sense. *
Well, go on 2 If any person undertook to put that maxim into
practice, it would be made hot in return. -
You, in return, said that very soon such a person would find it hot,
and have fire scattered at his heels and toes 2 Yes.
Who was to scatter the fire 2 I don't know. It was not meant—
It was only a metaphor It was only a metaphor. -
Mr. Justice O'Brien—It was not a case of spontaneous combustion ?
(great laughter).
Mr. O'Shaughnessy, Q.C.—Then you said you would scatter fire at
their heels and their toes I did not say scatter fire at their heels
and their toes. I said if any person undertakes or attempts to put
that maxim into practice it would be made hot in return.
Was that on the altar P It would be. I said that, perhaps, very
Soon such a person would find fire scattered at his heels and his toes.
Rev. RICHARD McLough LIN, P.P. of Ballinabrackey,
in reply to Mr. Drummond, said he preached on 26th June and
referred to the election. -
Didn't you on more than one occasion intimate to your congrega-
tion that the question of religion was at stake in supporting or
opposing the Parnellite Party 2 I believe I did, or that religion was
concerned.
More than once 2 Yes.
And didn't you convey that idea to the congregation several
Sundays immediately before the election ? I suppose I did.
And didn't you convey to them that it was inconsistent with
catholicity and their duty as Catholics to support the Parnellite
party 2 I suppose I did. I have no doubt I did.
Did you remember the occasion of the words “Pigottist votes ?”
Not distinctly,
Do you mean to convey by that expression you were not speaking of
the coming election ? If it was on the 25th June it must have been.
Were not you then conveying to your congregation that it would be
a bad thing, a disreputable thing, to support a Parnellite candidate 2
No. It was the duty of every good, honest Catholic to support the
National candidate, no matter who it may be.
SPITTING UPON VOTERS.
NICHOLAs CooMEY swore –“I went to Clonard on the day of
voting with Mr. Carew. It was nearly half-past seven in the evening.
There were about 100 people around the door of the booth hooting
and booing. They gathered round the horse and car, while the others
were inside.
THEY SPAT UPON MY CLOTHES AND IN MY FACE.
Father. Woods was there when I drove up first.”
2O THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS.
John Cooney in his evidence also stated:—“I went to Clonard with
the last witness to vote. There were a hundred persons or more
on the road at the door of the booth.”
Did you notice any clergymen there One; the Rev. Father
Woods.
When you got up there did the crowd do anything 2 They rushed
up and I stepped in.
You got voting 2 Yes.
When you came out did anything occur : Yes, they booed me.
Did anything more happen? One chap drew a stick at me and
tried to hit me.
Mr. Justice O'Brien—Did you hit him 2 No, my lord.
Did you drive away ? Yes.
Mr. O'Shaughnessy—Did they follow you any distance 2 They did.
Were you present at the time they spat at your brother? I saw
him spat at.
Did you see the spit upon him 2 Yes; I saw it on the front of his
coat. It was quite plain.
JAMES GRIFFITHS said:—“I acted as personation agent for
Mr. Dalton at Summerhill. There was a large crowd outside booing
and shouting and calling names. Father Buchanan was
there the whole day. He was giving voters instructions and bringing
them up. When I was leaving the booth at eight o'clock I saw a
young man named Kinahan, who was an agent for Mr. Dalton,
covered with spits.”
FRANCIS BRACKEN, in reply to Mr. Drummondſ:—“I am a voter and
a Parnellite. I went to vote at Clonard after seven o’clock in the
evening. There was a crowd around the booth. I was driven in
by Mr. Carew's two men.”
What are their names? John Cooney and Nicholas Cooney.
... Did they drive the car over close to the door of the booth P , They
did ; and the crowd stood round the horse and tried
to Spit on us, and called out “Roper.”
Did they spit on any persons on the car 2 Yes; upon Nick Cooney.
“When I came out I believe I stood in such danger that they took
me upon the car and left me at home. On the day following the
declaration of the poll, I was at work in Mr. Gill’s field as usual.
There were five men at work in the field besides myself. They said
that none of them would work with me. I stayed at home next day
in consequence of what occurred. My employer called at the house,
and I followed him back to the field. Mr. Gill told them that “if
they did not like to work with me they might go into the road.’
Then they continued working.”
REF USED ADMISSION TO MASS,
MATTHEW BROGAN, a farmer, examined by Mr. Drummond on 18th
November. “I remember going to Clonard chapel on 10th July, the
THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS. 2 I
*—
Sunday before the election. My son, daughter-in-law, her children and
two men accompanied me. When I got to the chapel I did not getin.
I saw a mob outside it. The gate was partially closed. The mob
was between the chapel and me. The gate is a heavy iron one with
two doors. The gate is about four yards from the chapel door.
About 30 or 40 persons, partly young and grown boys, composed the
mob. There was one head man. He was keeping them close to the
gate. He is a married man named John Sheridan. He closed the
gate and would not let me in or anyone with me. He stood against
it and a couple along with him. One man said “Let him in,’ and
another said ‘No, he is a Parnellite.' I said to Sheridan, ‘Are you
going to serve me as you served Dickson and his brother ?’. He
never opened his lips. They (the mob) groaned at me and booed
me till I was off. They said
‘ GO TO ROPER.
He is the Protestant rector. I did not go to mass that day. I went
home. I had no place else to go.”
When your daughter-in-law and the two boys came up were they
let in 2 They were not.
Did they ask to get in 2 did they go up to the gate 2 They shut
the gate upon her hand. *
Did she try to push the gate P They pushed the
gate back and near cut the hand off her.
I suppose she turned home 2 She went home along with her hus-
band and the two children.
You are a voter P I am ; and have been for fifty
years.
What did they do when your son came up They stopped him at
the gate and would not let him in either.
Was there any other Parnellite came up except yourself and
your son P. There were two. *
What are their names? Fagan and Dillon. One is a servant
boy and the other a workman.
Where are they employed 2 One of them is a servant boy for
Mr. Robertson.
They are both members of the Parnellite party 2 Yes, my lord.
They were not let in either ? Neither of them.
They are grown-up young men 2 Yes; one of them is a married
II] all.
“When I came out of the polling booth at Clonard on the election
day a man named Glynn asked me if I was a Parnellite. I said I
was. He said “I’ll kick you,' and I walked away. Glynn is a black-
Smith.”
MICHAEL KENNY, a servant man to Mr. Bernard Robertson, of
Ballyboggan, was next examined. “I remember going to mass at
Clonard chapel on July Ioth. I saw Peter Fagan going before me
to the gate. It was closed against him when he went up. John
Sheridan and William Farrell closed the gates. Mass was going on.”
22 THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS.
*—
When you got up to the gate what happened? It was open letting
in other pecple, and I was going in, and James Fagan cried out—
“HERE's ANOTHER PARNELLITE ; Don’t LET HIM IN.”
Mr. Justice O’Brien—Do you know whether at that time Peter
Fagan had gone in 2 No, my lord, he was not let in at the time.
Mr. Kehoe—Did Peter Fagan turn away ? Yes.
Had he gone away when you got to the gate 2 He was gone on
one side. *
After the expression was used—“Here's another Parnellite; don't
let him in *-what happened 2 The gate was slapped, and my wrist
was caught in the gate.
It is an iron gate 2 Yes. Were you hurt? I was. Did you
turn away ? Yes.
Did you remain any time there? Yes.
“I asked Farrell to let me in to hear mass, and Sheridan told me to
“take myself away out of that.' I am a voter and Parnellite.
Coming away I was hooted and booed at.”
PETER FAGAN, also a servant man to Mr. Robertson, was examined.
“I remember going to mass at Clonard on July 10th. There was a
crowd of persons at the chapel gate. I attempted to get in. Some-
body called out, “here is a Parnellite,’ and not to let him in.
9 2 3
THEY SAID ‘ GO BACK TO ROPER.
*ç
Did you go away or stay? I stopped.
Did you go down on your knees? I went down on my
knees outside the gate on the kerbstone.
Did you say your prayers on your knees on the
kerbstone P Yes.
During the whole of mass P Yes.
Did any one of these men who were keeping the gate kneel down 2
They did for a short time during a part of the mass.
Did they remain at the gate the whole time 2 Yes.
During the whole mass 2 Yes.
Did you hear any hooting or booing from that crowd 2 Yes.
CHRISTOPHER BROGAN was the first witness examined on Monday,
November 21st. He said:—“I remember going to mass at Clonard
on July Ioth. I walked down and I saw the chapel gates shut, and a
party of men and boys inside. I saw some people who were kept
out, as I thought, standing outside the gate ; I saw my wife, who
walked, down before me, amongst the people outside the gate. I
went over to my wife and I asked her what was this about; she
told me
THE PARNELLITES WOULD NOT BE LET IN.
I walked back to the gate from her and I asked John Sheridan, who
was inside, was he at the head of this. He said not. I asked what
did we do that we were kept out of mass. The first thing I heard
was a voice for me to go to ‘Roper,” and they all began booing
THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS. 23
—-4
*—
-vº.
and hissing. They called upon their people to come up, and accord-
ing as they came up they were let in. I said, ‘I drew stones
to the belfry of that chapel, and I am badly treated.”
I walked across the road and looked at some advertisements; I
walked back, and they said, ‘There he is coming again, to strive to
get in.' I went away a few minutes afterwards. My wife went
away before me.” -
A circle Round A voter.
THOMAS BROGAN was sworn, and examined by Mr. Drummond on
November 18th. “I attended mass in Clonard on July 1 oth.
JFather O’Connell officiated. He spoke to the congregation
after the collection. He impressed upon them to go and vote at
Clonard on the following Tuesday, and he said “it was not so much a
political question—that it was
TSSENTIALLY A RELIGIOUS QUESTION.’
He spoke of the pamphlet droppers, and those who carried round
pamphlets, and he said they all knew what pamphlet droppers were.
He then said he wanted to get a name for the man who brought the
pamphlets around, and he said that the right name for him was only
a ‘souper’ (Protestant). I acted as a personation agent for
Mr. Dalton at Clonard. There was a large crowd at the booth,
they were from Castlejordan and Ballinabrackey; Father
McLoughlin and Father O’Connell were there. The crowd
hissed me on the way to the polling booth. I spoke to Father
McLoughlin and he said I had insulted him before. He put
back the crowd. I said “I never insulted any man, much less a
priest,’ and that if I insulted him I was ready to apologise. The
crowd got more enraged then, and they put me with my back to the
wall of the polling booth, and then he said, ‘Leave him alone.’
He drew a circle around me with his walking stick,
and said, “Ileave him alone ; leave him by himself.”
“I went into the booth and remained there until 8 o'clock. I could
not go out for fear of being killed. I left with Mr. Carew, and was
taken up on his car. Father Masterson was there at the close.
The crowd followed us along the road, throwing stones and saying all
sorts of bad names—priest hunters, and everything that way.”
AFRAID TO VOTE.
PATRICK Hogan, farmer, of Castlejordan, was examined by Mr.
Kehoe on November 18th. “I went to vote at Clonard about one
o'clock. There was a crowd straight opposite where they were
voting. ... I met Barney Mitchell and Peter Carr, some of the crowd.
They asked me why didn't I go and vote. I said I was after voting,
and they said that I didn’t, that they watched me too well, and that I
could not vote “unknownst.’ I went away further,
24 THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS.
I WAS AFRAID TO WOTE, t
I went to Thomas Carbery's gate, and Carbery ordered me away.
I went away entirely then. I went home. I did not vote at all.
I was afraid.”
PETER LOGAN sworn on November 18th, and in reply to Mr. Drum-
mond, said:—“I am a voter and a Parnellite. I left to vote at
Clonard on the polling day about eight o'clock, arriving there at ten
o'clock. I saw a crowd when I was approaching Clonard. Father
McLoughlin and Father O’Connell were there. As I
passed the two clergymen I was called “Priest-hunter”
and ‘Roper.’” +
... “ROPERS" AND PRIEST-HUNTERS.
JAMES RAFFERTY was next witness on November 18th. “I remem–
ber the 29th June, the day the meeting was held at Clonard, at which
Mr. Fullam spoke. I was not at the meeting. When the persons
who were at it were returning they stopped at my gate. They called
me ‘Roper' and several other names, and cried, ‘ down with me.’
I am a Roman Catholic. I voted at Clonard. I saw Father
McLoughlin walking about. I was not booed going to the poll.
I can neither read nor write. I was told by a man in the booth to
look at my name and put my pen onit. I voted for Mr. Dalton.
It was after that when I came out that I was booed. On 16th July,
about half-past two in the morning, a crowd of about thirty came to.
my house.
THEY CALLED ME “RoPER, AND SAID “Down witH ME.’
They were coming from a bonfire and were booing and shouting-
Patrick Mooney thought to break in the door, but I had it secure
inside with the crowbar. My house is about nine to ten perches
away from the road. I remained guarding the door with a pitchfork.
One put in his head and got a good peep at the pitchfork—they then
withdrew.”
THOMAS DUNN, a labourer and voter living in Ballinabrackey, was
sworn. He was a Parnellite. “I remember June 29th ; there was a
meeting at Clonard. The people coming back from the meeting
were shouting and booing. This was about eight o'clock in the
evening. I was out looking for the children to bring them home.
James Mitchell followed us down the lane and came into our house,
and I put him out three times. He called out
‘Down witH PRIEST-HUNTERS AND ROPERS.’
The third time he came in my wife threw a tin of water into his
eyes. After that he gave her a box in the face and closed up her
eye and cut her. A young man named James Carew took him
away and I saw no more of him after that.”
* Roper is the name of the local Protestant Clergyman.
THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS. 25
A BONFIRE.
CHRISTOPHER BRENNAN was called and sworn. “On the Saturday
after the election I passed by where there was a bonfire.”
Mr. O'Shaughnessy—You and your wife were going home and you.
had to go that road 2 Yes.
Was the bonfire part of the celebration of the triumph : It was
more for an evicted tenant getting back. e
Mr. Justice O'Brien—Is it for the celebrated Commission 3
(Laughter).
h Mr. O'Shaughnessy—There will be very few bonfires for that, L
think.
Mr. Justice O’Brien—Had the evicted tenant been put out or
back P. He was getting back.
Mr. O'Shaughnessy–Did the crowd say or do anything to you ?
They groaned and called names.
A FRIEST IN A PASSION.
JoHN THOMAS GRIFFIN, Station Master at Drumree, the next witness,
said:—“Close to the railway station I had a flag-staff with an-
inscription on it, “Vote for Dalton and Home Rule.” The flag-
staff was on the railway bridge. My attention was called to the fact.
that Father McEntee had torn down the flag. Some young :
fellows, including my son, had put it up. I asked him for what
reason he pulled down the flag. He said it was a shame for me to
have such a flag or placard—I cannot say which—exhibited.”
Did he do anything to the placard 2 He tore down the flagstaff
and tore the placard from it.
Mr. Justice O’Brien—Did he do this while you were present 2
Yes.
Was it paper material 2 Yes; and large capitals on a board. I
may say the board was my own private property, and it was borrowed.
from me.
What did he do with the material 2
HE JUMPED ON THE PLACARD.
Mr. O'Shaughnessy -What did he do after he jumped on it 2
Witness—I told him that I was ashamed that a clergyman should
get into such a scene of passion as he was in at that time.
What did he say to that He said it was a shame for me to be:
making fun of the dictates and instructions of my bishop.
Mr. Justice O’Brien—Is he a curate or a parish priest ?
Mr. O'Shaughnessy—A parish priest.
Witness—I think he is imported into our parish, but he does not
belong to it.
Mr. O'Shaughnessy—What next occurred 2
Witness—I said he had no right, not being placed clergyman in.
the parish, to interfere with the parish ; and he said that he was five-
years in the parish, and I told him that I did not care about that.
that he was not in the parish now.
26 THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS.
Did that end the conversation between you ?—No ; Father
McEntee grasped the placard, which was at my feet and his, and
he threw it into an adjoining field.
Did you say anything 2—I repeated it was a shame for a clergyman
to allow his passion to dominate him, and he said I might follow him
with the law if I pleased.
SUMMONING “SUSPECTS.”
JOHN MAGENNIs, a milesman on the railway, was next sworn. “I was
at mass in Batterstown chapel. Rev. Father Crinnion is
the curate of the parish. After mass Father Crinnion, partly
in his vestments, on the altar, called out the names of certain persons
(about seven, there might be more); my name was one cf them.
He said that
HE WANTED THOSE PERSONS INTO THE VESTRY
after mass. I was about the second that went.”
What was the business He simply asked me for my vote,
and I would not tell him who I was going to vote for. I told him I
did not wish to make my mind known to anyone—that I was working
in Dublin, and that I did not think I would vote for any of the
parties. The reverend gentleman told me he did not want me to go
in danger of losing my vote.
Mr. Justice O’Brien—Did you give the vote at all? I did.
“He took a ballot paper, and he made an offer, or wanted to show
me the way to make my mark in case I did come. I told him I
knew all about it, and it finished up at that.” &
I suppose he put a mark at Mr. Fullam's name 2 He did not say
anything about that.
Where did the paper come from ?—It was in the vestry, lying on
the table beside where he was after taking his vestments off.
About how many came into the vestry while you were there 2 We
were only
ADMITTED ONE BY ONE,
I have no knowledge of what happened to anyone but myself.
“I should say the men’s names called out were
Suspects. The reverend gentleman read the bishop's pastoral
after the collection same Sunday.”
A MATTER OF RELIGION.
PATRICK KING, a caretaker, was next called:— He said, “I was
canvassed by Father Tynan for my vote for Mr. Fullam,
and I said I would not give it. He told me I had a right to
give it, and I said I thought not. He told me it was a matter
of religion, and I should vote according to my religion. He
said that if I was dying he would not attend me
He said he would leave it to my own conscience.” -
THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS. 27
** DEPRIVED OF CHRISTIAN BURIAL.”
John CowLEy, of Kilcavan, was next 'sworn. He said: “The
IRev. Mr. Tynan is my parish priest. The day before the
election Father Tynan spoke to me about my vote. He met
myself and another man on the road, and he says “Boys, I am
canvassing.” He said to the other man ‘You have a vote.' He
said the same thing to me. I said I thought not, and he said I had.
I said I would vote for neither party if I had one. He told me I
was bound to vote for my religion on the pain of
being expelled from the Church.”
Did he add anything to that ? He did, that I
would be deprived of Christian burial when I died.
“I said I did not know of that ; then I walked away. The other man
stopped with Father Tynan. I met Father McGrath, the
curate, the same day. He told me he was ashamed of me.
“I told him, your lordships, that I never did anything I was ashamed
-of, or that I should have to be ashamed of.”
What did he say then He told me I would not vote for my
‘religion.
Mr. Justice O'Brien—That is the thing he meant you should be
.ashamed of, I should judge, following that observation.
Witness—I asked him if Davitt was going to make religion for
als (laughter). -
I believe Mr. Davitt was candidate for North Meath at the time 2
Yes.
You were not far from North Meath at the time P. Not too far.
What did he say to that P. He said the bishop was making religion,
“ and I suppose you don’t give fourpence about him.”
** A FIERY SERMON.”
Miss JoHANNA CAREw was the first witness on November 19th.
She said:—“I was at mass at Castlejordan on 29th June. After the
-communion Father O’Connell preached. He commenced bis
sermon by making a remark about a few individuals in Castle-
jordan. He said that their conduct was savagery, and he thanked
God that there were only a few, and that
THEY WOULD BE CRUSHED OUT
now after the general election. Then he went on to speak about
a meeting that was to take place at Clonard that day. He said he
would not detain them long in order to give them time to go to the
meeting ; that they were to meet at Clonard chapel at two o'clock
and to walk in a body to the meeting, and that he and Father
IMcLoughlin would be there, and that he would expect everyone
to go. He said this was a religious meeting and not a political one.
Of course, he said, he would not be unreasonable to those who
could not conveniently go, but that he would see those who did go
and those who were out of it, and that he would “make it hot for them
28 THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS.
w -*.
on the roads, in their houses, in the chapel, outside the chapel, at the
rails, with fire to their heels and fire to their toes.’ Then he made
Some remark about those parties going to the sacraments—or going
to the altar, I think—they would commit a sacrilege. He also
made some remarks further, and called them anti-Catholics.
“He called them anti-Catholics and heretics, and said “he was
never yet put down, nor would he now.” I have not
been at mass in that church since.”
A SIN TO BE A PARNELLITE.
Mr. NICHOLAS MARTIN, a large farmer, was next examined. “I
attended mass at Ratoath chapel on July 10th. Father Davis,
read the bishop's pastoral.”
John RogFRs, of Piercetown, the next witness :—He remembered
attending mass on June 29th. “Father Fitzsimons said mass.
He preached, and he took for his text ‘Peter, on this rock I will build
my church.” Mr. Dalton was in the church along with me. He
(Father Fitzsimons) said “the enemy was amongst us.” He
said “the Church had often been attacked from without, but had
always Survived. Now it was attacked from within, and it would
Survive.' I met Father Davis since the election, about a week
before the petition was lodged. He said, in a good humoured sort of
way, ‘that I was a Parnellite and would have to give it up.' I
asked him was it a sin to be a Parnellite P He said,
it was. He said “if I did not follow the bishop in that part I
need not follow him at all.’” º
INSTRUCTION FROM THE ALTAR.
Mr. RICHARD MACINTosh deposed :—“I attended mass at Ardcath.
Sunday week before the voting. Father Carey read the pastoral.
The Sunday before the election Father Carey preached a sermon.
He said “he had the blank form of a voting paper in his hand.’ He
said “the first name was Dalton, and the next name was Fullam.’”
Mr. O'Shaughnessy—What more did he say?
Witness—He said about the voters to go to the booth, and, “in.
the name of God, to put their cross after Fullam’s
name, in the interest of religion and for the good.
of their country.”
THOMAS McCoy said: “I was at mass at Ardcath on July 10th.
Father Carey gave instructions to the people how to vote. He
said that ‘Mr. Dalton's name was first, and Mr. Fullam's next in the
instructions, and for God's sake to make their cross after Fullam's
y 5 y
Ila Iſle,
JAMES BENNETT, a voter, who was in the chapel at same mass,
confirmed the above evidence.
THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS. 29
CLERICAL CANVASSING.
Mr. Robert J. HEANEY said:—“The bishop's pastoral was read
by Father Gillick at mass in Duleek chapel. Father Gillick
called specially at my house. He asked me was it possible that I
would oppose the bishop. I said I did not know what right the
bishop of Meath had to ask me for my vote in a political matter. He
mentioned that I did not read Dr. Reilly's book, which said that the
bishops and clergy had a right to ask the voters to vote as they
wished.”
THE PRIEST IN THE POLLING BOOTH.
ANTHONY GROGAN, of Longwood, was next examined. “I went
to vote at Longwood. Rev. Father Shaw, curate, was in the
booth. I told the officer my name, and that I was down on the
paper as ‘Anthony Geoghegan.’ The presiding officer asked the
agents were they willing that he should swear me to say whether It
was Anthony Geoghegan. I went into the booth three times, the
third time about 7.30. I offered, in presence of Father Shaw,
to take an oath that I was the real person wrongly described on
the register.
HE OBJECTED TO MY GETTING A vote.
The presiding officer said he didn't like to deprive the man of his
vote. The argument continued mostly between Father Shaw
and the officer till three minutes past eight. I was then told to walk
out, that the ballot box was closed.”
EUGENE REILLY examined, and said:—“I went to Longwood to
vote. Mr. Lowndes was the presiding officer. I am described on
the register as “Owen’ Reilly.”
Judge O'Brien—I understand Eugene and Owen are the same 2
Mr. Lowndes asked me was I prepared to swear I was the man on
the list. He was about to swear me when Father Shaw said :
“If you swear him, Mr. Lowndes, I will have him arrested.” I
turned to Father Shaw and I said, “ I cannot but be thankful
to you.” I thought he would be the last gentleman in the world
to introduce me to one of Mr. Balfour's lodging-houses. I then
walked out. I am a Parnellite.”
PRAYING FOR THE PARNELLITES.
ANDREW REILLY, a P.L.G., said:—“I attend Longwood chapel, at
which Rev. Fathers Cassidy and Shaw officiate. Before
the elections there were frequent sermons and allusions to politics.”
Used you go to the same mass every Sunday ? To the second
mass, at which the discourses were sometimes delivered by Father
Cassidy and sometimes by Father Shaw.
What did he say about the Parnellites ? He called them
3O THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS.
Factionists; he told his flock to “beware that they were a cunning,
tricky lot of people, and that we did not understand properly what
we were about or up to.”
Do you remember anything more ? Well, Father Cassidy
used to go on so fast I can hardly remember it.
Do you remember any particular words he used ? He said “that our
bishops never led us astray, and that he expected his flock to follow.”
Do you remember hearing the pastoral read there 2 Yes.
“On the Sunday after the election Father. Shaw delivered an
address from the altar. He returned thanks to his supporters, and to
all the parties that helped him in carrying on this canvass.”
What further did he say 2 He said, “Thank God there
were not many of the others in the parish ’’—of
the seceders. He called on the flock to pray for the people who
withdrew, and did not go with him. The following Sunday Father
Cassidy came out, and he did the same. He called on the flock
to pray for the few was in the parish, and thanked God there was not
many of them in the parish. He then went on with a long sermon,
and said “he was victorious, and won by a neck.”
** TREAT THEM AS WILD BEASTS.”
PATRICK BYRNE, the next witness, said:—“My parish church is Cool,
and parish priest Rev. Father Fay. On the Sunday before the
election Father Fay addressed the people between the Gospels.
He said “the Parnellites were men opposed to the clergy and religion.
That he would treat them as wild beasts in the Zoological Gardens,
and put them in cages. They were without religion, and were,
followers of Garibaldi.' He went on to tell how they should vote for
Mr. Fullam. He would show them, after mass, how to place their
marks on a blank paper. He said “the man who would not vote for
him he would not forgive him then or ever.’ He was in his
vestments at the time.” -
Louis FARRELL, the next witness, said:—“His chapel was Drangan,
and parish priest Rev. Father Fay. I heard Father Fay
read the pastoral and say “he hoped none of his parishioners would
vote for Mr. Dalton.’ He said ‘it was really wrong to do, and that it
would not be lucky to do it.’ He was then standing on the altar.
The Sunday before the poll, to the best of my recollection, he said “he
would never forget them if they would vote against
him or the bishop, and that they would be going:
wrong.’”
HE SAID “I WOULD GO TO HELL.”
THos. DARBY said:—“I was at Kill chapel when the pastoral was
read by Father McDonnell. The next day the priest called at
my house. He came in and he said “whether is it Darby or Murtagh
lives here 2' I stood up and said “I am Darby.” He asked who
I was going to vote for, and I said ‘Mr. Dalton.’ He said “I would
go to hell,” and I said “if I would I would have comrades.’”
THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS. 3 I
HIDING IN A WOOD.
JAMES GUERIN said:—“He was in the booth at Summerhill as per-
sonation agent for Mr. Dalton. Father Cantwell was in the
room. After ten o'clock a crowd collected outside and commenced
booing and hissing. During the day, while at the door, I was called
“priest hunter’ and another name I don’t wish to mention. When I was
going home at eight o’clock, and leaving the town, the people remarked
that they were ashamed of me because of the side I took. I crossed
a wall out of the way of a crowd. I got into a young wood and stayed
there till ten o'clock. I then left the wood, and about thirty people
followed me along the road. They pegged stones at me as I went along,
and some old cans, too. A police car came along and took me up. I
was at Jordanstown chapel on 3rd July. Father Campbell, P.P.,
after the Gospel, read the bishop's pastoral. He went back on
particular words. He remarked ‘that ignorant persons might be
clinging to Parnellism up to this; but then, he said (pointing to the
bishop's remarks), that now, after this, no intelligent or well-informed
persons could remain Parnellites and Catholics.’”
WILLIAM TO VOTE AS PETER.
John Moon EN, of Smithstown, stated that “he was at Julianstown on
the polling day, about 3 o'clock; there were a dozen voters going
into the booth, and Father Callery said “Thanks be to.
God, I am proud of the men of Mornington, that.
they are not a lot of goats.” A man named William.
Reynolds came up to vote: he asked Father Callery, who had
the register in his hand, had he a vote. He asked him what was.
his name, and he looked at the register and he had them marked
off, and he told him to go and say that his name was Peter Reynolds—.
that there was no William Reynolds, and to go in and vote.”
- BLACKTHORNS TO BE CARRIED.
"PAUL LARKIN deposed “he was a farmer living at Castletown. He
was a voter; Summerhill was his polling station. His chapel was Kill,
and Father Cantwell his priest. Father McDonnell one.
of the curates. Father McDonnell read the bishop's pastoral
at Kill on July 3rd. He said at some time that there was going to be
a meeting held at Longwood in support of Mr. Fullam. He told the
people to “go and bring sticks, he would bring one.
himself. He expected some three hundred men to go down.” He
made some allusion to the men canvassing for Mr. Dalton, and said:
that
THEY WERE MARKEDIMEN.
I was personation agent in the booth, at the lower end of the town at
Summerhill. I saw a crowd coming down booing Mr. Carew, who was
a sub-agent. Some of them spat upon a man named Kinlan, I got.
some kind of a kick when I came out. I went to a house where my-
32 THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS.
coat was, and the people of the house would not let me in. Whilst
these things were going on Father Buchanan and Father
“Cantwell were in the street.”
THoMAS MURRAY, of Tandragee, in the parish of Kill, was examined
-on November 21st. He said:—“I remember being at I(ill chapel
•on 3rd July. Father McDonnell, C.C., preached and read the
pastoral.”
Mr. Drummond—After he had read the pastoral did he make any
i-reference to the political parties He did.
What did he say? I forget a great deal.
Mr. Justice O’Brien—Tell us what you do remember.
Witness——“What struck me was this. I went down to canvass the
woters a week before for Mr. Dalton, and he made allusions in his
remarks. He said “there were disreputable persons in
"the parish who went out to canvass, and it would,”
he said, ‘be much worse for them here and here-
: after.” He referred to a meeting at Longwood. He said he would
go to Longwood and he wished them to go there, and anybody who
was unable to walk to let the others carry him, and he advised them to
bring their blackthorn sticks, and that he would bring one himself for
, the purpose of defending himself.”
Rev. Father McDon NELL, C.C., replying to Mr.
O'Shaughnessy, admitted he told his congregation on July 3rd to
attend the meeting and bring sticks with them, and that he would
bring his own stick. He took an active part in canvassing, and saw
‘Murtagh and Darby. He spoke to Murtagh about the pastoral.
“Are you going to vote,” said I, “against your bishop 2 " His
: answer was that he did not care for bishop, priest or Pope. Then I
was irritated at his answer, and I said, “Are you ready to take the
consequences of your words?”
Mr. O'Shaughnessy—At the time you made that speech, which I
will call the “blackthorn " speech, do you remember making any
: speech about cutting down these people 2 I did.
Did you make any observation about a fertile soil and weeds 2 I
did.
I said I would rather strike them or cut the head off them—I can-
-not remember which I said—just as the head of a noxious weed that
was scattering its ruinous seed over a fertile soil. I think my words
were that I would strike them on the head. It would be a little more
natural thing at the time.
ANOINTING THE DYING.
PATRICK HARTFORD, a labourer living at Stamullen, was next
-sworn. He deposed:—“I remember being on the way to a meeting
on June 26th. I met Father Murtagh. There were ten or
twelve of us, and he asked us where we were going. Somebody said
we were going to a National League meeting. There was a man beside
THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS. 33
*—
me, and Father Murtagh said to him : “I did not expect this
from you. But I do from you’ (meaning witness). Then I asked
him what did I ever do on him that he made that on me above any of
the rest. “You are a two-faced man' he said, ‘and I have it in for
you,” or ‘I will have it in for you.’ I asked him then hadn't we
liberty of conscience. ‘Yes’ he said, ‘you may vote for who you
wish when you go to Julianstown, but don't go to that meeting.’
With that the rest went back, all but myself. “Will you go back,”
said he, or ‘will you go to the meeting P’ I made no reply, for I
was determined to go to the meeting, and I did go. Next he asked
me ‘would Frank Fullam (a Parnellite local leader) anoint me
when I was dying P’”
AN ADULTERERS’ MEETING.
THOMAS Connel, the next witness, said:—“I was in Rathfeigh
chapel, at mass, on the Sunday or couple of Sundays before the
election, the same day that Father Callery preached. He
(Father Callery) referred to a meeting at Tara, to be held that
day, a Parnellite meeting.”
Mr. Drummond, Q.C.—Did he apply any epithet or name to those
who went? Yes; adulterers.
Mr. Justice O’Brien—He called them adulterers?
Mr. Drummond, Q.C.—Now, as far as you can give the names and
the words he used about the meeting at Tara 2 He said that the
people who would go would be adulterers, and, as I understood,
rion-adulterers would be going to Screen.
Screen was an anti-Parnellite meeting 2 Yes.
ONLY ERECTED A PLATFORM.
JoHN FRY, a labourer, said:—“On July 1oth Rev. Stephen
ICelly, curate, said mass and preached at Moynalvee. He said that
“this was a religious question as well as a political question, and he
would wish—he would expect that they would all go there with their
bishop and clergy.” Then, my lord, he referred to Mr. Parnell. ‘He
did a great deal of good in his day, but now that he was dead he could
do no more.’ The rev. gentleman continued, and said “he would go
to every house in the parish, or all he could to-day and to-morrow.
That is all I remember, my lord.”
You voted 2 No, sir. I was not allowed to vote.
1Mr. Justice O'Brien—Do you mean to say you claimed a vote 2
Yes, my lord, and would not be allowed to sustain my claim. On
the night of the declaration of the poll my effigy
was burned.
Had you taken an active part in the election ? No; all the active
part was to erect a platform on Friday, the 8th, for a meeting that was
to be held at Moynalvee.
D
34 THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS.
s—
PROTESTANTISM PURE AND SIMPLE I
MICHAEL BRIEN was next witness. He deposed :-‘‘I am a voter.
Dangan is my parish church. I was at mass the Sunday before the
election. Father Buchanan celebrated mass and preached a.
very short sermon immediately after the collection. He spoke from the
altar. He said, ‘I’ather Fay (parish priest of Summerhill) had
read an extract taken from the Independent newspaper.' He read part
of it—‘any man voting at an election should vote according to his own
conscience no matter what Dr. Nulty (or it might be any bishop) might
say.” That's all he read. He would not trouble them with reading
any more, and he said “that this is pure Protestantism—
now that is Protestantism pure and simple.” He
said “he hoped that no Catholic people would read this paper that
would publish such language' as that, or such words.” On 3rd July the
pastoral was read by Rev. Father Fay.”
What did he say with reference to the Parnellite party 2 He said
“that one and all should vote for the priests. He hoped everyone
would, and that anyone that would go against them he would never
forget it to them.”,
Rev. GEORGE BUCHANAN cross-examined, and in reply to:
Mr. Drummond : *
You said that was preaching the doctrine of private judgment? Yes.
And you said that was pure Protestantism 2 I may have used those
words.
That is to say you won't contradict the witness who swears you did P.
I will not.
Witness—I didn't say that Parnellism was “pure Protestantism.”
That for the Parnellites to vote was “pure Protestantism.” Is not
that the sum and substance of it? No, I was referring to the teach-
ing in the “Independent’’ paper, I said when I read that that it was
the Protestant doctrine of pure private judgment—that is to act on a
false conscience, and not to follow or inquire into the teachings of
the bishops and priests. *
Would you mean a false conscience was this—to inquire into the
teachings of the bishops and priests, and if a man agreed with them.
then he has a right conscience, and if he disagrees he has a false:
conscience P No.
What do you mean,by a false conscience? No answer.
MARKING MEN FROM THE ALTAR.
MICHAEL GAUGHAN said “I was at mass at Rathmoleen on
the Sunday the pastoral was read by Father M’Donnell.
After reading it, he said the time had come when no one could
remain a Catholic and be a Parnellite, that a few parties went
through the parish looking for votes, and that they reminded him.
of the wandering jew. He said they went to the highways and
bye-ways and went so far as to say that anyone who would vote
THE . IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS. 35
against them would be marked men. He turned round and struck
the altar, and said that
* HE KNEW WHO WOULD BE MARKED MEN.”
He said that he went himself to some of those parties and
wanted to know what they meant by their politics, and they could
give him no satisfaction but he says, “They had a motive in it, and
an under motive, and I could tell it if I liked.’. He said “there was
to be a meeting held in Longwood on that day, and he required
them all to be there and to bring sticks with them, not for fighting,
but to protect themselves.’ He said, ‘I will be there too, and if
anyone assaults us I will strike the first blow.’ He said “he
would cut them down like a weed that would grow
up and destroy the fertile soil.’ - -
“When we were going home a mob gathered at the chapel
gate. They shouted at me that the castle hacks were now done
any way; more of them told us that we might go to church”; that
it was time to wipe us out.”
You were a Parnellite 2 Yes.
A PARNELLITE'S PROPERTY BURNED.
PATRICK FAGAN was called and deposed on November 2 Ist. He
was a farmer living at Cloudoolan. He said:—“About 27th June, a
man named Clarke came to my house; he was sitting in a
donkey's cart, and he came and called out to know was I within.
When I went out—‘You rotten dog,” says he.”
Mr. Justice O’Brien—This is the way he opened the conversa-
tion (loud laughter).
Witness—He said “I was getting Castle money.” After that he
went home—somebody brought him away.
“On July 13th; after voting, some people came across the fields
to his place and lit a fire about sixty perches from my house.
They got furze and straw, and they called out ‘We will burn
Fagan's effigy.’ They remained from eleven till one o'clock at
night. They called me out. They said they would burn me and
trample on me. I stopped inside. They called me ‘Priest-hunter.”
“On the night of the I5th, a cow shed, a croydon and
harness were burned on me, for which I have claimed
compensation.” - -
:CANvAssiNG AT THE CHAPEL Door.
JAMEs Bonis, the next witness, said:—“I went to Boycetown
chapel on the Ioth July, and near the chapel door I was met by
the parish priest, Father Luke Hope. He said, “he missed
me from the meeting the day before.’ I said didn't he miss
*Protestant place of worships
36 THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS.
sº-
thousands as well as me, and he said “he saw my name on the
registry list, and that I had a vote,’ and he asked me to whom
would I give it, I told him it would be very hard to know it; that
I would not give it him, anyhow.
“I walked into the chapel; I saw him speak to
three or four people as they came in.”
OFFERINGS AT MASS REFUSED.
THOMAS ALLEN was sworn, and said: “I am a parishioner of
Father Fay; one Sunday, before the election, I heard Father
Fay speak of politics in the chapel; he remarked that those who
were not for us were against us : he would rather see a man that
would oppose him openly than a man who would stay at home.
Some Sundays after the election I remember Father Fay going
round with the collection. For four Sundays after the election
he took the copper collection from me.”
Mr. O'Shaughnessy, Q.C.—Will you tell us about what
occurred after that? Well, then, it might be the seventh or
eighth Sunday after that, I happened to be in the front seat in
the chapel, and he would not let me put the money down or take
it from me. He took it from the man beside me and
would not take it from me.
Mr. Justice O’Brien—Did he say anything 2 Not a word, my
lord.
Mr. O'Shaughnessy, Q.C.—I forget whether I asked you if he
salutes you? Not since the election.
Now, before the election did he salute you? Oh, always.
PATRICK Dowd, the next witness, deposed:—“I heard the
pastoral read in Dangan chapel on July 3rd by Father Fay
He said that after this Parnellism was not to be mentioned.
He advised the people in the parish who had votes. He under-
stood there were people in the parish who were not inclined
to vote on either side. He said he would rather see a man
against him than a man who would not vote at all, and he went
on saying that that man was against him.”
Rev. JoBN FAY [who was in charge of a prison warder] deposed
in reply to Mr. Drummond.—On the Ioth July, two days before the
election, in your sermon, did you refer to the Parnellites and the
Parnellite party as being opposed to the Catholic Church and
religion ? Yes.
And you conveyed that a man cannot be a good Catholic if he is a
Parnellite P Yes.
Or a Catholic at all ? He may be a nominal Catholic.
On the 26th June, did you say anything about the Parnellite
party P Did you refer to them on that day also as being irreligious 2
I don't remember. #
º -
THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS. 37
—-ºr-
But didn't you convey that the Parnellite party were against the
Church 2 Oh, of course, that was clear.
Do you state that it was clear that the Parnellite party are against
the Catholic Church 2 Yes.
And did you in every sermon that you referred to them convey
that to your congregation ? No.
In almost every sermon 2 That they were the enemies of the Church.
Mr. Justice O'Brien—Did you say that? I don’t remember the
exact words.
Mr. Drummond—But it is the substance of what you said 2 Yes.
What were the words you used that the old man said, “Not if they
repent.” Did he say that He didn't say “Not if they repent.”
Did he say “If they repent?” No.
Did he say “repent 2 * He did. '
What were you saying 2 I was talking about the treatment they
gave Mr. Davitt in my presence. They almost dashed his brains out
with a stone, and I thought he was killed. I said it was horrible
conduct and he said they would repent.
Of what? Of what I was describing.
Were you specially thanked by the bishop at the retreat for having
contributed to secure Mr. Fullam's return ? I was.
Being one of the principal hands 2 Not exactly ; I worked for
him as I had a right to do.
Was any other clergyman specially thanked 2 Yes, Father
Gillick.
Were those the only priests specially named 2 That day.
Was that at the retreat 2 Yes.
What day was the retreat 2 It commenced about the 17th or 18th
of July.
Was it at the end of the retreat that the political business was
brought in 2 At some part of it.
FATHER ERADY A POWER.
PATRICK MooRE was sworn and said:—“I heard the bishop's
pastoral read in Dunboyne chapel by Father Brady. I attended
mass the following Sunday. Father Brady said that anyone
'that went against the bishop he would have done with him. I
canvassed extensively in my own district for Mr. Dalton. I
asked one man who he was going to vote for and he said
‘Father Brady.’”
Mr. Drummond—I don’t want you to confine yourself to any
particular person, Mr. Moore, but what was their general
reason for not voting 2
Mr. Justice O’Brien—Any man canvassing voters knows when
he comes upon a difficulty of some kind and the causes of the
difficulty. Did you find any difficulty, and was the ground
assigned by those people themselves the influence of Father
Brady ?
Witness—Yes, my lord.
38 THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS.
A MEETING SUMMONED IN THE
SACRISTY.
Mr. THOMAS ByRNE, farmer and shopkeeper, said:—“I am a voter.
In the month of May Father Brady’s curate announced a
meeting in the chapel yard for the following Sunday, to appoint
delegates to attend the convention to be held in Navan, on the Ist
June. I attended the following Sunday. There was a crowd in the
chapel yard, but no meeting.” -
Did you then go in to the vestry 2 Yes.
Did you then speak to Father Brady ? Yes, I asked him was
the meeting to be held in the vestry that was originally announced
for the chapel yard, and he said “Yes.” He asked me was I at second
mass, but I said no, I was at first. He said he had announced
at second mass that the meeting would be held in the
Sacristy. I then asked him would he adjourn the meeting for a
few moments until I acquainted all the people in the yard that
the meeting was being held in the Sacristy, and he said “Yes.” I
went to the people and told them, and they appointed three
delegates to go and interview him. I was one of them. We
went into the Sacristy and protested against the meeting being
held there, that it should be held in the chapel yard as originally
announced.
What followed P. He said he would not hold it in the chapel
yard, and there were a few hot words between previous witness
[Patrick Moore] and Father Brady, and he ordered the
previous witness to be arrested. He ordered one of his friends
to go for a policeman. We adjourned.
“I remember Father Brady preaching since the election. He
referred to political questions; he used the words distinctly that
‘ those who were going against him, or maligning
him, he did not know how they could expect their
priest to attend them or to administer the Last
Sacraments.” He was after alluding, in a general way, to
the political situation at the time, so I take it it was to his
political adversaries he was alluding at the time.”
Mr. O'Shaughnessy— You are an advanced Parnellite 2 Yes.
ON THE WAY TO THE DEATHEED.
John MURTAGH, a labourer, next took his place in the witness box.
He said:—“I live at Kildalkey, and I voted in Athboy. I know the
Rev. Mr. Fagan, curate of our parish. Father Martin,
is the parish priest. About a week before the election I re-
member going for Father Fagan to attend one of my family
who was sick. I met him in the street in Kildalkey. He asked
me did I want him. I told him I wanted him
TO ATTEND A SICK WOMAN,
He asked me after a few perches of travel if I had a vote. ‘Well,’
says I, ‘I do not know, your reverence, until I look after it.” “And
THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS. 39
if you had a vote,’ says he, “who would you give it to ?’ ‘Who
would I give it to,” says I, ‘but to the man who begged the world
for me,’ meaning Mr. Parnell. He called Mr. Parnell then a
blackguard. He said, my lord, that he should go travel that
part of the parish to look for votes, and I told him that he had no
business—that they were all Parnellites in that part. I also told
him he had no business going to the meeting that was in Trim,
that he would get no votes in it—there was a meeting to be held
here a few days afterwards—and that the people had their eyes
open now, that they were not as they were formerly, and that they
saw their enemy and their friend. Then he says—“That the
landlords may come and hunt the whole of ye to
hell’s blazes out of the country.” I said, ‘You wish your
neighbour well, sir.’ He told me then he would kick me
into the ditch, and I told him, my lord, that I would kick him
like a young dog if he would raise a hand to me. Then he said
to me “You ruffian, you will want me at the Last
Day.” “I won’t hear the woman’s confession,”
the said. “I do not care whether you do or not,’ says I. “I will
go for Father Martin.” Then I went in. Then after a
minute or two he came in. I walked out of the house and left
him there. I went back soon after but he had left.”
Mr. Justice O’Brien—Did he attend the woman? Yes.
And heard her confession 2 Yes.
Mr. Drummond—Is your wife dead since She is dead, my
lord.
Mr. Justice O’Brien—How long is she dead 2 Four weeks last
Saturday. *
Mr. Drummond—Was she on her death bed at that
time P Yes, sir.
The Rev. PATRICK FAGAN, C.C., in replying to Mr.
Kehoe, said:—“Murtagh came to him to attend his wife.”
Did you say you would kick him into the ditch, or some words
to that effect? I did, but I had no intention.
Did he say on that day “I do not care whether you hear the
woman’s confession or not ; I will go for Father Martin * *
When I said “if you do not open the gate I will go away,” then
he said “I will go for Father Martin.” He was very active for
Mr. Fullam.
A PRIEST AND “SOUPERS.”
PHILIP GoRAN, the next witness, deposed:—“I am a labourer and
live at Cullenogue. I am a voter. I had a conversation with
I'ather Casey about my vote. He said “he was not going to
let himself be trampled on by soupers,’ ” and God forbid,” says I,
* Protestants who endeavour to convert Roman Catholics.
4O THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS.
‘ that I would allow that to be done.” “If you were dying,”
says he, “whom would you send for P it is not for
the soupers,” I said not a ha'porth, but that “you and I will
be the best of friends, but I will vote for Mr. Dalton.’”
A PENSIONER AND HIS CERTIFICATE.
WILLIAM FARRELL was sworn. He said:—“I was twenty-one.
years in the army and have honours. I live at Kildalkey. I am
a voter. I am in receipt of a pension, and have got certificates,
signed every three months by a minister of religion. I remember
Father Fagan seeing me on Ist July. I was working on the
roads, he was coming from Athboy. He said “Willie, give me
your vote.’ ‘I would, Father Fagan,’ says I, ‘if it was for
yourself.’ ‘Oh, so it is for myself,’ he says. “It is not, Father
Fagan,’ says I. ‘Who will you give it to, then 2' he says. “To
the only honest party in the country, the Independent party, or
the Parnellites if you will,” I answered. He got excited, and so
did I. ‘You won’t give it to your priest, then,’ he says. “No,' says
I, ‘I could not give it to anybody who has any connection with
that cowardly cur, Tim Healy (loud laughter).’ He put up his
hand and said, ‘You have done with me, never come near me;
I will never sign the paper for you again.” Since he
became curate, three years ago, he had signed my paper every
quarter.”
AN OLD CURATE'S INTERFEFENCE.
PATRICK REYNoLDs, examined and said:—“My parish priest is
Father Martin and curate Father Fagan. Immediately
before the polling Father Kenny, a former curate, was down
in the parish. Father Martin did not interfere in politics on
this occasion. The day before the polling I was talking to a
man on the side of the road when Father Fagan and Father
Kenny came up. Father Fagan asked me for my vote. I
said I had no vote, and he said I had. He took some papers out
of his pocket and began to write. I said, ‘If I had a vote I had
promised it. I asked him what he had against the other man
[Mr. Dalton], and he said he was a brother-in-law of Redmond,
and that he was keeping back the Paris funds from the evicted
tenants. He asked me was I at mass on Sunday. I said I was at
second mass.”
HIDING TO AVOID THE PRIEST.
WILLIAM HUGHES, of Warrenstown, deposed :—‘About a fort-
night before the election I saw Father Brady in my garden
after returning from work. I left the house and went up the road
with the intention of not meeting with the gentleman, and I
crossed the gate into a field, and I lay down at the back of the
ditch.”
THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS. 4 I
Mr. Justice O’Brien—A very capable citizen.
Witness (continuing)—“The gentleman crossed through the
gate, and he says to me, ‘Hughes, is it hiding from me you are 2
‘Yes, Father,’ says I. ‘Well,” he says, “for what reason are:
you hiding on me?' I said the reason I was hiding on him was.
that I did not want to have any interference from Father Brady
at all. He called me a low mean ruffian and wretch,
and said he did not think he had the like of me in his parish, and
says he, “Perhaps you will want a priest yet, or me, or some-
office.’ He returned in to my wife and said,”—
[The Court would not admit as evidence what Father Brady
said to witness's wife]. “I am a Parnellite.”
THE SACRAMENT REFUSED.
MICHAEL McKENNA, of Athboy, the next witness, said:—“I heard
Rather Briody refer to the Parnellite party in his sermon on,
IOth July. He said that the people were bound to follow their
priests, and that the clergy and bishops were always safe guides.
in politics, or some words to that effect. He quoted the text in
#;" of what he said—“He that heareth you heareth.
G.
The Rev. Mr. Fox, parish priest of Athboy, spoke to me
about voting.”
Did he make any reference to the sacraments 2 Yes, on the
28th June at the confessional.
Mr. Drummond—I need hardly say I don’t want anything to
be said which occurred in the confessional as part of the con-
fession. I merely want you to say what he said about the sacra-
ments after the confession was over.
Witness—“He asked me was I satisfied as to the course I was
taking in politics. He knew me, of course, intimately, and knew
the part that I was taking.”
Mr. Justice O’Brien—Had you left the confessional at that
time 2 No, my lord, I said I was perfectly satisfied. That I
believed I was pursuing the same course as I always followed in.
politics. He told me that I ought to be reasonable and pay some
respect to the opinions of others who knew, or ought to know, .
more than I knew. He told me to pray to God to direct.
me, and that I might return to him in about a.
week or ten days.
Mr. Drummond—Did he say anything about the sacrament *
He told me that he would not give me absolution.
then, sir.
Mr. Justice O'Brien—And was it after that he said to return to
him in ten days After that. Then I told him that I was fully
convinced that I was right, just the same as if I was before God.
These are the very exact words that I used. There he told
me that he could not admit me to the sacrament.
So then I left.” º
42 THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS.
PRIEST IN CONFESSION J. THE WIFE.
Mr. John McKENNA, a marine dealer of Trim, deposed:—
“Father Hugh Behan canvassed me for my vote. I said “how
Can I go through the country and give you my vote?' Says he, “You
can put it in and no one will be the wiser of it.’ The witness related
how he was only allowed two pints in the day, having the pledge
against any more. He went towards Navan expecting his two sons
coming home from the Militia training, but took ‘a little Sherry
wine.’” He continued—“I came home and I said to myself,
“I am very sorry for breaking the pledge,’ and I determined I'd take
‘no more until I went to the priest, Father Behan. I went
to the priest and saw him. He heard my confession, and gave me
absolution. “And now,” says he to me, ‘we can say what we like
and no one will be the wiser. What are you going to do
with your vote—are you going to give it to me P”
I apologised to him, and said, ‘I have to go through the country, and
how could I go against the country,’ at the same time knowing that
my wife at home was a staunch Parnellite (loud laughter). I then
‘Sang dumb,” and went away home. After going home I sat for a
while, and then told my wife that Father Behan had asked me
again in the confession box, and that I thought I would go
with him. “It would not turn me,’ says I, ‘ and, in the name of
God, will you allow me go with him?” “Have you promised him ''
says she. “I have not, says I. ‘If you did,” says she, “you mightn't
face me' (loud laughter), and she would not let me go with him.”
CANVASSING IN THE CONFESSIONAL.
MICHAEL LowRy deposed that he was a voter. “I was at Confession
with Rev. Father Behan the last Saturday in June. After I
Confessed he asked me was my name Michael Lowry, and I said
yes. He asked me would I vote for my priest. I told him I thought
I had no vote. He said I had. He said not to let on to
anyone that he spoke to me.”
PATRICK KELLIGAN, a bread car driver, was next sworn. He said:—
“I remember being canvassed at Boardmills by Father Behan,
accompanied by Father Skelly. He said would I give him my
vote. I said “I do not know about that.' He said “that as a good-living
man as I was I would go with my clergy.” Some other words passed
that I cannot remember exactly; but he made a motion as if about
to put my name in the book, and Isaid I would not promise. Father
IBehan told me ‘That would do ; drive on.’
On the Saturday before the poll I was at confession with Father
IBehan; before I left the confessional he spoke on the subject
of Parnellism ' and said that ‘ the Parnellites were good some time
ago, and it was not right to follow them now.’”
WILLIAM SKELLy, a voter, deposed:—“In the month of June I was at
confession with Father Behan : before I left the confessional he
THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS. 43
-**
asked me had I a vote, I told him I did not know whether I had or not.
He told me I would have a vote, and that I should have a vote; and
then he told me to vote for Fullam and that I might
, shout for Dalton when I went out in the street.”
JAMEs CowLEy, of Daveystown, sworn, and said :-" I was at Con-
ifession with Father Behan at Boardmills a week before the election.
Before I left the confessional he asked me for my vote. I said I
would not give it to him.”
Geo. PLUNKETT called and sworn. He said:—“I remember the
Saturday night before the pastoral was read. I was at confession with
Father Behan. When my confession was finished he told me that
I would hear a pastoral from the bishop in the morning, and to pay
particular attention to it; that we were living in terrible times, and
he said, ‘You are the only one of them I would speak to.’”
Were you or are you a Parnellite Yes.
FATHER BEHAN AT A FUNERAL.
John TEELING, a civil bill officer, deposed :—“I remember
attending a funeral after the election. Father Behan was
officiating. I went on to answer the responses, and he objected to me.
. He told me to go back out of that.”
Did he give any reason 2 That I was signing the papers for those
fellows. I signed the election papers for the voters, for the
“registration. -
Mr. O’Shaughnessy, Q.C.—Tell me, do you remember speaking to
a man named Rogers about that date 2 Yes. Father Behan came
cup. He said, “I)on’t speak to that man. He would
not go with the priests.”
Dr. NULTY'S SERMON, 29th JUNE.
JAMES Collins, of Trim, the next witness, deposed:—“I was present
in Trim chapel on 29th June; the Most Rev. Dr. Nulty
preached. It was on SS. Peter and Paul’s day, and he commenced
by speaking for some time on SS. Peter and Paul ; and he went on
, and spoke of his own time, when he was curate and parish priest and
bishop, and he said that the doctrines that the great saints taught he
and the other bishops, their direct successors, taught to-day ; he
introduced the General Election at the present crisis in the country,
and said that ‘ Parnellism was nothing better than a
heresy, and that he would approach the death-
bed of a drunkard or a profligate with greater
confidence as to his salvation than that of a
Parnellite.” ”
VINCENT SHERIDAN, of Trim, was the last witness on 21st November,
: He said:—“I was at second mass on 29th June. Rev. Dr.
-INulty spoke from the altar. He said that Parnellism was
44 THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS.
—º-º
morally wrong, that it was improper and unholy; that Parnellites
were losing their faith, and that they were becoming heretics. His
lordship then said that a crowd of drunken rowdies and abandoned
women had assailed one of the purest Irish patriots living and
nearly killed him.”
Mr. Drummond—Referring to Mr. Davitt, I suppose 2 Yes.
“He said if the people did not believe him on this doctrine of
Parnellism, how could they believe him on religious matters, such as
confession and communion ?
He said he was sorry to see the town of Trim a headquarters of
Parnellism.”
*
TOLD TO GO.
JOHN CowLEY was the first witness on November 22nd. He said:--
“In the month of June Father Skelly came to me. I had been a.
year and a half employed by the nuns then as caretaker. Father
Skelly asked me for my vote. I told him I would not give it, and
then he told me to remove and give a chance to a man who would
give it. He said he would speak to Mr. Clarke (Solicitor to the
nuns), and send me to Kilmainham. He said I would not have luck.
I gave up the keys of my house to the Rev. Mother. I told her what
Father Skelly had said to me, and she told me to take care what
would happen my children.”
AN ALTAR WARNING TO ATTEND.
EDWARD BAILEY next deposed :—“I remember being in Dunderry
chapel on July 10th. Father Casey, the curate, preached. He said
the election was about coming off, and he hoped the parishioners
would go with the bishop and the priests, as they usually did, and
that there was a meeting in Navan, and he said that the Parnellites,
or the other party had a meeting on the same day, and that he
expected all his parishioners would go to the meeting and meet at
Johnny Clarke's cross-roads—that they might not fear any disturb-
ance—-that three or four priests would meet them there from some
other places I cannot remember, but I think Bohermeen and Athboy.
That they would hold their meeting on the green opposite the Parochial
House at Navan, and that the other party would be kept down on the
square. He was sure of all the parishioners except,
five or six.”
FATHER FAY'S SERMON.
Mr. THOMAS BARRY examined, and said:—“I was at Cool chapeh
before the election. Father Fay is the parish priest.” [This
witness gave his evidence with great reluctance, and, although
called by the petitioner, was cross-examined by Mr. O'Shaughnessy as
to the statement he gave to the solicitor.]
Mr. O'Shaughnessy, Q.C.—Now, I want to ask you this—Did
not Father Fay say that the Parnellites would be lost or damned P
Well, now, I am not aware. I do not know the meaning or what
was the meaning he meant to convey.
THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS. 45
-up
Mr. Justice O’Brien—You must give us some idea of the words he
said.
Mr. O'Shaughnessy, Q.C.—Now, sir, did he not use the words
“Parnellites will be damned,” and did not a man in the gallery say,
“Oh, your reverence, no, not if they repent?”
Witness—Those are not the words he used. He said, “They will
repent.”
Who said that, O'Keefe P Yes. “Surely they will repent.”
Mr. Justice O'Brien—Mr. Barry, we must have the truth here, no
matter whom it affects—we must have it here. I cannot believe any
man in a congregation in a church would stand up and make use of
an observation like that without something being said. You must
tell what was said. Who did Father Fay speak of, on your oath P
Witness—I think it must have been the Parnellites.
Were the words “lost” or “damned” P I think it was
‘‘damned,” my lord.
Mr. O'Shaughnessy—It was after that O'Keefe called out,
“Not if they repent P’’ Yes.
Did not Father Fay then stop the sermon P Yes.
O’KEEFE COMMITTED FOR CONTEMPT.
EDWARD O'KEEFE, the man referred to by last witness as having
interrupted the Rev. Father Fay’s sermon, was next called,
and refused to take the oath or give evidence. He claimed to be
exempt on privilege.
Mr. Justice O'Brien——What's the privilege P
Mr. O'Keefe—My lord, I am eighty years of age; I am a post-
master. I never took any part in this election, public or private, and
neither my parish priest nor the curate ever asked me a word, and I
respectfully decline. -
Mr. Justice O'Brien—We can't yield to your application. This is
no case of privilege in point of law. The fact that you are a post-
master and eighty years of age does not prevent you from speaking
the truth, and ought not to prevent you from doing it; you must be
‘SWOTI).
Mr. O’Keefe declined to take the Book.
O'Keeffe said “he only wanted a Solitary place to put in the rest of
his days, and was quite willing to submit himself to the court, and
declared since Mr. Parnell died he had no peace. He was a staunch
Parnellite.” The court sentenced him to a month’s
imprisonment for contempt.
Mr. J. J. DALTON, THE PETITIONER.
Mr. J. J. DALton, ex-M.P., the Petitioner, was examined by Mr.
HDrummond on 22nd November. He said:—“I began a tour of the
division on the Sunday following the convention at which I Was
46 THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS.
-º-,
selected (16th June). All communications and answers I had from
the electors made me conclude that I would have the majority of the
VOteS. -
AFTER THE PASTORAL
appeared on 3rd July I was told by my friends in some places.
that the pastoral had altered the state of things considerably.
I was at mass at Athboy on June 19th. The Rev. Father
Briody was the clergyman. After the communion he said he
wanted to refer to a matter which he had often referred to before.
He went on to state that a meeting was announced to be held that
day in the town of Athboy, and that this was a meeting that was to
be addressed by myself and my friends. He told them that I came
down there with Castle money in my pocket, and that we were in
alliance with the Tories. Then he said it was very easy to see who
were on the right side if the people only reflected. On our side were
the bailiffs, the landlords, and emergencymen, and that on their side
were the bishops and priests of Ireland. He then said we came down.
there to oppose the priests. He then alluded to the fact that the
parish priest of Ballinabrackey was removed from the chairmanship,
of the Dispensary Committee, and that the Protestant parson was.
put in his place. Father Briody went on to say: “What kind of
Catholicity is this which allows a man to put out of that position the
reverend parish priest of Ballinabrackey and at that moment the
reverend gentleman stopped abruptly, for reasons which I will state.
Mr. Bernard Carew, who was alluded to, and knowing his brother was
alluded to, was sitting beside me, and he stood up as if to leave the
chapel, and Father Briody evidently saw him, because he said
immediately: “ Keep quiet there, Mr. Carew.” He
then turned round and went on with mass.” x * -
THE DocTRINE OF PRIVATE JUDGMENT. Y.
“I was at mass at Ardcath on, 29th June. Rev. Father
Fitzsimons officiated. He spoke after the collection. He came
down from the altar to the rails. He commenced, ‘Thou art Peter,
and upon this rock I will build My Church.’ Then he went on to say:
that ‘a great many assaults had been made on the Church from time to
time, and that the Church had always prevailed against those assaults.
But before this the assaults on the Church were made by enemies from
without, but on this occasion the assault was made from within the
fold of the Church itself.’ And then he said that ‘the
doctrine of private judgment which was the spirit of
infidelity was now openly advocated through the country, and that
the Church which had withstood so many assaults in former times.
would come out triumphant from this latest assault against it.' That
was practically what he said.” * a *
A BALLOT PAPER ON THE ALTAR.
“I attended mass on Sunday, Ioth July, at Boardmills. Father
Skelly officiated. After the collection he turned round and addressed
THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS. 47
sºm-
the people from the altar. He said:—‘You all know there is to be
an election next week. There are two candidates before you; one of
them is Mr. Fullam, and the other is Mr. Dalton. I ask you.
to vote for Mr. Fullam.” Then he said, I think, that ‘the
anti-Parnellites were winning all along the line, that Mr. Fullam
represented the true Parnellism.’ He pulled out of his,
pocket a sample ballot paper. He held it up as if
to open it. But, as if he had changed his mind, he put it
on the altar before him. He described the situation of the names.
on the ballot paper, and told them that my name was first and
Mr. Fullam's last, and asked them to put the sign of the cross,
after Mr. Fullam's name. He then went on with the mass. He
urned round on the altar as he was walking down after having said:
mass, and said there was another matter he wished to tell them about.
He told them the ballot was absolutely secret; no one knew how-
anyone would vote; that people were not to mind anybody; that all
they had to do was 3 y -
Mr. Justice O'Brien—Is it not to mind anybody who said the-
contrary 2
Witness—That was the substance of what he said—that all they-
had to do was to “wink the other eye” (laughter).
Mr. Drummond—He said, in the words of the song, “Wink
the other eye ’’ (laughter).
Mr. Justice O’Brien—Is there a song 2
Mr. Drummond—There is a music-hall song. *
“He also gave instructions to the illiterate voters as to how to vote.
He told them they were to say they could not read or write.”
SENTRY ON THE BALLOT BOX.
“About I 1 o'clock on the polling day I visited Longwood booth,.
Father McDonnell, the curate of Trim, was acting as person--
ation agent. He was standing right up at the ballot box, and I objected
to his standing so close. Every voter going to the ballot box had to .
stand beside Father McDonnell and touch his shoulder. I put.
it to him as a matter of taste whether he should stand there.”
Father McDonnell said—“That's my taste, anyway.”
Mr. Justice O’Brien—Very courteous. ... "
Witness—He told me he would get me put out.
Mr. Justice O'Brien—The candidate?
Witness—Yes. sº
Mr. Drummond—Was he standing in such a position that the
persons dropping papers into that ballot box had to do so under his
eyes? As I stated, no person could put it in without touching his .
shoulder, and, in case of illiterates, he was standing beside him, and .
...; that time [when in the booth], as a matter of fact, an illiterate
VOted. . & *
“I went into the second booth at Longwood about 11 o'clock,
and found Father Shaw acting as agent for Mr. Fullam. My interests.
were not represented up to that hour. I spoke to the presiding:
48 THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS.
officer on the matter. He said that they (my agents) did not come
until a few minutes after 8 o'clock, and that Father Shaw then
objected to their admittance. The declarations of secrecy had been
'signed the night before.”
Rev. PATRICK SKELLY, C.C., cross-examined by Mr.
JDrummond.
At a meeting of the Holy Family Society, held in the chapel, did
you use these words:—“When the gang of priest-hunters are rotten
in their graves I will be a priest on the altar with my vestments 3 °
I cannot remember.
As a priest, if you used those words you should remember them 2
If I said them I would remember them.
Are you certain I say emphatically I do not remember having
said them.
What is this Society of the Holy Family 2 Males.
There were a good many voters there 2 There may be.
Do you remember preaching the sermon Mr. Dalton referred to ?
Yes.
At Boardsmill 2 Yes.
Did you speak about the election that day ? Yes, I spoke about
, the election.
Did you speak about the illiterate voters, how they were to vote?
Did you specially refer to the illiterates? I showed them how to
VOte.
Do you remember what part of the mass 3 After the collection.
Y Did you produce a ballot paper as described by Mr. Dalton 2
€S.
Where did you produce it from ? From my pocket.
You brought it there to mass for the purpose 2 Yes.
You substituted this for the Gospel of the day ? That's my own
:affair.
But don't you think it is an affair for the public, too ! I am not
• called on to state that.
When you produced the ballot paper what did you say? I showed
the two names—that of Mr. Dalton, which was first, and Mr. Fullam
second, and I told them to put their cross after Mr. Fullam's name.
Mr. Drummond—Did you say to them that although they voted
for Fullam they might appear to support Dalton P Yes.
Did you say “You can, in the words of the song, wink the other
eye?” Yes; I used that expression. I said that owing to the
terrorism existing in the parish.
That is you, standing on the altar, advised the congregation to
support Mr. Fullam and pretend to be supporting Mr. Dalton? No;
..not to pretend, but not to let on as to the person they voted for.
But do not you think that to an ignorant congregation—I do not
speak disrespectfully—to country people that conveyed that they
were to do one thing and pretend to be doing another ? The meaning
• Was Seen. -
THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS. 49
You mean that they were to tell a lie : It was not a falsehood.
They might take any meaning they liked out of it.
You meant that they were to act a lie P No ; I told them to save
themselves by not pretending for whom they voted. *
And you, standing there in your vestments on the altar, felt
justified in hinting to your congregation that they might tell a lie P I
did not say or hint to them to tell a lie. A
PRIEST J. PARSON.
Mr. BERNARD CAREw deposed :—“I was present at mass with
Mr. Dalton on 19th June. Father Briody preached a sermon.
He said that people came there with Castle money in their pockets to
raise a disturbance.” Witness added :—“There was a Parnellite
meeting announced to be held in Athboy that day and we attended
mass before the meeting at this chapel, which was the most
convenient for us. The priest also asked what would they (the
congregation) think of a Catholic who put the parish priest out of
the chair on a committee board in Ballyboughan and put the parish
parson (Protestant) in his stead He also said that the strangers
came there for the purpose of attacking the clergy. I was one of the
strangers in the congregation that day, and Mr. Dalton was another.”
The Rev. PATRICK BRIoDY, P.P., Athboy, on Nov. 24th,
in cross-examination, admitted that he used the words “Castle
money” in his sermon referred to.
EXPERIENCE OF A SUB-AGENT.
Mr. Carew continued:—“I was sub-agent for Mr. Dalton at Sum-
merhill, Father Fay was in the booth. There were three rooms
in the house, which was a labourer's cottage, built by Lord Langford.
The kitchen part of it was used as the open portion of the booth,
where the presiding officer sat. One of the rooms was for the use of
voters, who knew how to vote, and the other was for illiterates. The
illiterates, I found, made a declaration of secrecy in one of the rooms
before Father Fay.”
THE “BEAUTIFUL PASTORAL.”
“The whole day whenever I went out between the three booths, the
people about began to spit in my face, boo, and call me names.
Mr. Drummond-–When these scenes were going on were there
clergymen among the crowd P Yes.
Who were they P Father Buchanan was heading them all
day, and Father Fagan was among them.
y When they were spitting on you was Father Buchanan there?
Y eS.
Did he see them P I am quite sure he did; he was there.
As far as you saw did he do anything to restrain them by word or
act I never heard him speak.
F.
5O THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS.
*.
—s
“Mr. Fullam visited Summerhill before the poll closed and addressed
the people. He attacked me about labourers’ cottages,
and about leaving the chapel while the beautiful.
pastoral was being read. Father Cantwell, who was present,
stamped his foot and threatened me while standing at the door
of the booth. When Mr. Fullam referred to the pastoral, I thought
the crowd would pull me out of the booth.”
THE PRIEST AS CANVASSER.
MICHAEL MURTAGH was next sworn, and said:—“I live with a
man named Darby, at Crossleas. I was in Darby's house when
Father McDonnell came to canvass him. Darby said “he
would not give him his vote.” Father McDonnell asked him
“was he a Catholic 2' and said that “he would not go to
heaven.” He asked me for my name and vote. I told him ‘I
would not give it to him, but I would give it to Mr. Dalton.’ He
asked me “was I a Catholic P’ I said “I was, and intended to die
one.’ He said “you seem to be satisfied to go to the
devil as well.” No more passed; he then went away.”
The evidence of MARY MURPHY, owner of the hotel at Dunshaugh-
lin, regarding the alleged supplying of drink on the day of polling,
closed the evidence in support of the petition.
EEFORE M R. GLADSTONE'S LETTER.
The Rev. ThomſAs TYNAN, P.P., of Johnstown, near
Navan, in reply to Mr. Drummond, said he was present at a meeting
in Navan on 20th Nov., 1890, four days after the divorce proceedings,
at which five-and-thirty priests were present, and heard a resolution.
proposed and carried in support of Mr. Parnell.”
MR. T. M. HEALY, M.P., ON THE
CLAIMS OF THE CHURCH.
This report does not contain any reference to
the speeches of Counsel in the case; but the
following passage from the speech of Mr. T. M.
Healy, M.P., Counsel for the respondent, in which
he reiterates the claims of the Catholic Church.
to make every political question one of morals is.
so important that it is here given :-
“Supposing,” said Mr. Healy, “a candidate arose to maintain in plain
* The following point should not be forgotten by the political student. The
Divorce proceedings opened on 15th November, 1890, and decree misi granted on
17th November. On 25th November Mr. Gladstone’s now famous letter to Mr.
John Morley appeared, said letter being undoubtedly the outcome of the agitation,
raised by the Rev. Hugh Price Hughes and other leaders of Nonconformity.
THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS. 5 I
terms that the law of divorce ought to be instituted in Ireland, the
English law of divorce or the American law of divorce, was he to be
told that in regard to a matter affecting the very root of
society, the very foundations of religion, and in regard to the
candidate who had inscribed on his banner ‘Vote for Smith
and the law of divorce,” that the bishop or the priest was
muzzled, and that he could not affect the minds and the
consciences of his flock 2 Then, the question of education had long
been a burning question in this island. The question of secular
education and religious education was one that would always form a
battleground for intellects of opposing parties, the one to maintain
that education should be given under the sanction of the Church,
purified from error and untainted by views even on scientific questions
which might tend to sap the foundations of religious feeling. The
other order of thought maintained that conic sections had nothing to
do with the seven Sacraments, and that a man might go and attend
his schools, and ought to be allowed to go, and that the State ought
to be prevented from in any way spiritualising their institutions.
These questions roused the keenest conflicts. Candidates came
forward on both sides, and, forsooth, if an election was not to be void
THE VOICE OF RELIGION
must be silent, and rights must be exercised according to what was
called the right of private judgment, or as it had been better phrased,
the right of private stupidity (laughter). For what was the case?
The more ignorant a man was the more obstinate he generally was
grounded upon the impregnable basis of his own ignorance. Many a
man upheld doctrines from which the College of Salamanca could
not move him. The higher the religious question involved the
keener would be the action of the clergy, and the keener the
action of the clergy the more would it be scrutinised and challenged.
Let such a case arise with two candidates, A and B, and in a
pastoral enunciating the opinion of the Ordinary of the diocese is
proved that here was a question of morals, that the Church had
jurisdiction where morals were concerned, and had jurisdiction to
decide its own jurisdiction. Because either it had that jurisdiction,
or every man was a law giver himself. His learned friends might
not like the Catholic doctrine, the State might not like the Catholic
doctrine, the candidates might not like the Catholic doctrine, but
the Catholic doctrine would not be changed for them. The rude
peasants at Clonard gates said “if you want private judgment go
to Roper.' But for those who held with
THE DOCTRINES OF AN IN FALLIBLE CHURCH;
for those who held with Episcopacy descendant and traced from the
Apostles, for those who held that into almost all the relations of life
questions of morality thrust themselves at every chink and cranny, for
such persons that Church, when such questions arose, would declare
§ 2 THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS,
*----------.
* ------_
and would pronounce upon them. They might view with jealousy
the concerted action of an organised priesthood, and enact laws to
punish that priesthood; they might view with horror the doctrine
which imported a binding sanction on the minds of the people to
listen to the teaching of the pastorate—let them root out that Church,
they had the power; but so long as the State sanctioned toleration so
long as it was indifferent to the doctrine that was preached, so long
the question of the truth or the untruth of that doctrine would not be
questioned in a court of law, but so far as the Catholic Church was
concerned it would be a question for the Court of Rome.
JUDGMENT OF...MR. JUSTICE O'BRIEN.
Mr. JUSTICE O'BRIEN, in delivering judgment, said:—“In this case
of the South Meath election, the petition has been presented against
the return of Mr. Fullam, on the ground of undue influence—that
form of it which consists of intimidation of a spiritual kind, and it
contains, besides, allegations of treating and of bribery, and of
physical violence, occurring at the election. With respect to the first
of which, namely—the charge of treating, it may merely be observed
that though made with unnecessary zeal on the part of a witness in
obstructing inquiry, it could not, upon any evidence whatever, have
been maintained, because no person could be so foolish as to suppose
that what was alleged concerning the Rev. Mr. Tynan could
amount to the charge of corrupt treating. And as to bribery, it
may be observed that no evidence at all was offered in support of it, and
that such an agency as bribery, a thing necessarily restricted to a small
number of persons, could not in any state of facts be expected to be
found lying side by side with another agency, alleged to cover the
whole field of the constituency, or that such an incredible thing
should happen as that so great a sum as 4 IOO in a constituency of
over 6,000 persons should be expended upon not more than seven
favoured individuals. With respect to the actual physical violence,
and intimidation of that kind, there was undoubtedly a good deal of
violent conduct at Tlonard and also at Summerhill. Both Mr. Saurin
and Mr. Carew had just reason to complain of it. In judging of the
scene at the former place—at Clonard—we could not leave out of
mind
THE HATEFUL AND ALL BUT NAMELESS
FORM OF IN SULT
that came from the lips of a clergyman, and for which the only
palliation is that it is substantially confessed by the reverend
Mr. O’Connell; nor can we leave out the torches at Mr. Weir's
gate, of which the witness who was examined for the respondent-–the
schoolmaster's son—gave such a lame account. If the violence had
been more general, if voters in other places had refrained from
voting under apprehensions like the two at Clonard, who could
possibly have voted with reasonable zeal and firmness on their own
part, it would be the duty of the court to consider the effect of such
THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS. 53
intimidation on the election; and it could not with such consideration,
acting on the whole Mayo case, admit a set-off of bad conduct, of
violence on the other side, of which undoubtedly the evidence showed
that there was a great deal in the town of Trim, assuming, I
regret to say, the form of unwarrantable insult and disrespect
towards the local clergy; but no voters were really obstructed in
the result. The police, whose appearance is always such a test,
were there and are not here. The evidence of disturbance was at
two or three polling places out of ten, and the conclusion which I
have arrived at, with entire certainty in my own mind, is that there
was no such violence or intimidation at the election in that extent or
degree which would itself justify the Court on that ground in setting
the vast machinery of the constituency again in motion for a new
election. But the great contest remains—a contest that has taken so
much time and involved such vast expense—indicating the struggle
of great forces and interests of a class resolutely clinging to habits and
traditions of power and authority against new ideas—a struggle not
of one time or place of which political parties are but the occasion,
and not the principle, and touching relations and interests of which
on one side no measure is admitted to exist in temporal judgment,
and on the other is considered as affecting the deepest interests of
society, namely, the use or abuse of spiritual influence at an election.”
After a statement of the law applicable to the case, the learned
judge proceeded.
“I now come to the particular grounds on which the validity of this
election is questioned, and the first and gravest is
*
THE PASTORAL OF THE MOST REV. D.R. NULTY,
which was read in all the churches on the 3rd July, setting forth as
it did the Divine authority of the Church, the obligations of the
moral law which Mr. Parnell had violated, and the responsibility of
those who supported Parnellism. All alike with great power of
expression and moral dignity and severity calculated to have the
most powerful effect on the community to which it was addressed.
Parnellism was alleged to strike at the root and sap the very founda-
tions of the Catholic faith. It was stated to have been declared
unlawful and unholy by the successors of the Apostles, though the
resolution of the bishops, which was the foundation of this proposition
as far as I recollect, related solely to the question of political leader-
ship. Those who refused to accept that proposition on the assumed
authority of the Catholic Hierarchy were pronounced to have deprived
themselves of every reason for believing in the doctrines of a revealed
religion, which all rested upon the same authority. “Invincible
ignorance ’—I quote the words—that exception which identifies the
condemned doctrine with heresy, was allowed possibly to excuse
misguided men and women, for it was laid down authoritatively that
no intelligent or well-informed person ‘could remain a Catholic and
continue to cling to Parnellism.” For these
S4 THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS.
STARTLING AND TREMENDO US PROPOSITIONS
the reason suggested in argument was, on behalf of the respondents,
that a spirit of antagonism had of late risen up against the clergy,
that it took the form of attacks upon their sacred office in journals
and in speeches, and constantly strove to weaken and detract from
the respect due to their functions. And if that were the real case, if
the object had been to assert and maintain the just respect due to
the bishops and clergy which is essential to religion and to the benefit
of the graces which it is the function of their ministry to dispense
through the Sacraments, if their wisdom had led them to discern a
rising spirit of opposition to religion in its teaching, and to recognise
in a particular party, constituted, as all parties are in their character,
not merely by principles expressly avowed alone, but by traditions, by
tendencies, by their spirit, and by the language of their organs, had
led them to recognise such elements of danger to religion—elements
some of which, subject to foreign influences and habits were alien
from the faith and obediences of Catholic people in this country—if
that were the real object of the pastoral the motive and the means of
these declarations, and the Most Rev. Dr. Nulty, had declared,
justly or unjustly, that he found in this contest certain issues which he
considered were of great importance to religion and had expressed
his opinion in language in proportion to such an object, no one could
complain justly of such an exercise of his episcopal office and
authority. The language of the pastoral in that case would have
taken the measure of the object with which it was published. But
what was the occasion for the discussion of this delicate and dangerous
QUESTION OF PERSONAL PURITY,
and for the terrible warnings and imputations that were levelled in
the pastoral against the members of a certain party, and were, at
least capable of being applied by them to themselves—though never,
perhaps, so intended—by innocent men and women who cherished
the virture of domestic purity and chastity in their own conduct, and
who would resent the mere taint or breath of the contrary as a
wound giving rise, as these declarations did, to the allegation made in
support of the petition that it was a skilfully constructed wedge to be
driven into a political party, which would inflame, alarm, and excite
by appeals to the strongest and deepest feelings of a catholic
population ? Mr. Parnell was dead. He was dead, and “could do
them no more good,’ to use the expression related by one of the
witnesses of the fleeting nature of gratitude for political leadership.
{n that situation what was the reason, what was the justice, to dig up
the grave, to revive dead and buried shames, to raise the lid of the
tomb and again uncover
THE POOR REMAINs of HUMAN FRAILTY
in order to array a political party in the shroud of departed sin? But
the pastoral, which was the great spring which set in motion the
whole machinery of ecclesiastical organisation in the diocese, was not
THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS. 55
—-re
the only form of influence which the evidence attributed to the Most
IRev. Dr. Nulty. The bishop preached twice on the 29th June
in Trim. In one discourse, according to the evidence, he alluded to
the crisis in the coming election, and said that Parnellism was nothing
but a heresy, and that he would approach the death bed of the heretic
and the profligate with greater confidence as to his salvation than that
of a Parnellite, and he added an expression which, in the silence of
the printed reports, I would not have trusted my own note to quote
until after comparing it with the official report, in referenée to women
who sympathise with Parnellism. In the other discourse on the same
day, he said that Parnellism was moral ruin, that it was improper and
unholy, that Parnellites were losing the faith and becoming heretics;
the also declared, following the same line as the pastoral, if the people
did not believe him on the doctrine of Parnellism, how could they
believe him on such questions as Confession and Communion ?
THE MOST REV. D.R. NULTY
was not himself examined, and we must conclude he would have
been if the reports of the statements attributed to him were not
correct. I cannot admit the least doubt that those statements made
by the Most Rev. Dr. Nulty were made by him under a strong
sense of the obligations attaching to him in his great office, but it
is certain that the declarations made with such authority and energy
must have produced a most powerful impression on the minds of a
‘Catholic community and amongst his own clergy. It was not
strictly correct to state that the meeting of the 1st June, which was
'formally held to adopt candidates for the election in North and
South Meath, or the meetings which preceded it, were exclusively
clerical as was alleged. The laity attended there, perhaps, in the
usual proportion, but the prominent part of the organisation un-
doubtedly fell to the superior station, influence, ability, and ante-
cedents and traditions of the priesthood. From the first moment,
accordingly, the clergy threw themselves into the contest with all the
overwhelming power, organisation, and discipline of their order, and
the zeal of men who could be reckoned upon to have no fear from
popular insult or violence, and to look to no reward. The Church
became converted, for the time being, into
A VAST POLITICAL AGENCY,
a great moral machine moving with resistless influence, united action,
and a single will. Every priest who was examined was a canvasser ;
the canvass was everywhere—on the altar, in the vestry, on the roads,
in the houses. There was no place left for evasion, excuse, affected
ignorance, weakness, or treachery. Of the ten polling places there
was but one, that at Dunshaughlin, in which there was not a priest as
agent and personation agent with or without laymen. That was
alleged to be owing to the fact that the laymen could not be found to
face the hostile feeling that existed, but that reason cannot apply to
cases where there were laymen joined or to localities where, as a
56 THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS.
Summerhill and Clonard, the ascendancy was entirely on the other side.
The presence of the priests, no doubt, would be a strong moral
influence and check upon cowards and traitors, but it was an
influence undoubtedly attended with distinct dangers to the
freedom of voters. Of the whole constituency there were not less
than, I believe, nine hundred illiterate voters who had
to declare themselves in the presence of a priest to whom so many of
them were apparently opposed. The publicity, of course, was the
same where there were laymen in the booth, but the real influence
would not be the fear of publicity, but of disfavour. The voter
would trust the layman less, but would
FEAR THE PRIEST MORE
—the former he might not see again, but the priest he would con-
stantly meet. I do not say that an adverse vote would be remembered
for him, but it is a thing he certainly would fear. At the counting of
the votes there were seven priests named to attend on behalf of Mr.
Fullam, with but one layman. Whether or not their presence on
such an occasion could have any influence, the respondent certainly
at least had a staff of expert and trained logicians who were more than
a match for his opponent on the many questions that arise over voting
papers, and which are of such moment in case of a narrow majority,
Over this highly-equipped army of agents—agents of an
entirely disinterested kind and who could be reckoned upon for
their zeal and fidelity—so diffused the influence of the pastoral,
added, I have no doubt, to a loyal personal attachment for their
bishop that could not but make itself evident in the evidence that was
given ; and the leading idea of the pastoral that
PARNELLISM WAS SINFUL,
that it was a matter of Salvation was in question, was developed with
fidelity and distinctness, and governed the conduct of the whole
election. The shadow of sin was over the whole contest. How that
idea wascarried out and expounded was demonstrated by instances, the
very multitude of which require to be explained by contrary evidence,
and was itself no small argument. But I now must advert to some of
those instances, and pass rapidly over them, because in very great detail
it would not be necessary that they should find their place in the decision
of the court, having been discussed repeatedly on both sides. The
first of these instances was a remarkable one—always Iemarkable—
one of the closing of the chapel gates at Clonard.
That is not altogether an unknown form of popular hostility in
Ireland, but it is never one without great significance, and in this
particular instance undoubtedly was, and was known to be a public
act of excommunication directed against certain political opponents.
I cannot, upon the evidence, yield to the suggestion made by the
counsel for the petitioner, in imputing to the Rev. Mr. Fitz-
Simons any complicity in such
THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS. 5.7
AN UNWARRANTABLE AND VIOLENT ACT,
so foreign to all the ideas of a priest as the exclusion of any
class of people from the House of God. I acquit him of that
entirely. But it was an act that certainly would never have
been committed, or that the persons would never have dared
to commit, unless they were emboldened by the confidence that
it was not likely to meet with severe condemnation. Christopher
Brogan, or Matthew Brogan, and his son, and his son's wife and
his grandchildren, found themselves turned away under
circumstances of great violence and insult and con-
tumely—turned away from the church door in the
face of the public—and it is impossible not to have some
sympathy with that old man when he stated that he had brought
stones to build the belfry that called him to
THE PRAYER HE WAS NOT ALLOWED TO OFFER.
I pass away now from that incident—one of a very remarkable kind—
and I refer next to the extraordinary statement and discourse of the
Rev. Mr. O'Connell—a discourse the substantial part of which
was proved by very little variation by a very great number of witnesses
—that curious and singular discourse in which he stated that he would
put fire te the heels and toes of his opponents. He was examined
himself, and he denied a certain part of the statement. He stated
that the passage or the expression, “highways and bye-ways,’ had, by
Some confusion of the witnesses, been taken from a sermon that he
preached upon the text of the rich man's feast, to which the invited
guests did not come. He did not, however, according to my recol—
lection of the evidence, deny that he had made use of the expression
that he would meet persons in the church or outside it. He did not
deny it at all. And I cannot now entertain any doubt—and there is
hardly a possibility of any doubt being entertained upon it—that
really he did in substance say what he was alleged to have said. It is
'a most extraordinary thing to say that he would
SCATTER FIRE BEFORE HIS OPPONENTS,
or the opponents of a certain party; and it calls back to my memory
from early education the incident in Roman history of the casual,
word of a slave that he would make a bath hot for his master, the
victorious soldier, Vespasian, which was the cause of a great town being
burned : and certainly the incendiarism of the Rev.
Mr. O'Connell's metaphor has tended to produce no small
flame on his own account. It would be an unreasonable thing to
attach to the thoughtless expression of a priest, having not a very long
experience, an importance in exact proportion to the graphic violence
of his language, but there were a lot of statements made by him.
at the same time which certainly tend to aggravate the act of
illustration. Miss Carew was examined, and she stated, in addition
to the account she gave of the sermon preached by the Rev.
Mr. O’Connell, that upon the same occasion he referred to
58 THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS.
the Parnellites as persons that committed sacrilege in their com-
munion, and she took that expression to herself, having been at
Communion the day before. That certainly was a very grave state-
ment on the part of the Rev. Mr. O’Connell,
A VERY CRAVE ACT ON THE PART OF A PRIEST
to pass judgment upon the communion of a member of his own flock.
. I will pass away from the Rev. Mr. O’Connell and refer to
some other incidents which were established in the evidence, all of
them of the same character, but some few of them possessing
-a particular prominence and importance, and some of them which
gave rise to a great deal of dispute. I will take first the case of
the statement alleged to have been made (passing over those of less
importance) by the Rev. Mr. Tynan—a clergyman, I may
take leave to observe, whose demeanour upon this trial, impressed
me with the highest confidence in his statement, and with a
very high opinion of his character. He had an interview—not
a casual one at all—but, apparently, a designed and intentional
interview, with a person named Patrick King immediately before the
election. King has sworn that upon that occasion the Rev.
. Mr. Tynan, upon his refusing to vote for him, or refusing to
give any promise to vote, stated that he would not attend him when
dying. A different kind of statement was attributed to King in a
very curious way, which gave rise to a great deal of discussion, but
King himself distinctly denied it. But while he denies that, and
while his whole demeanour was that of a man who did not want to
tell anything at all beyond the strict necessity of the matter, and that
was the impression he made on my mind, he positively and distinctly
adhered to the expression that Rev. Mr. Tynan said :
HE WOULD NOT ATTEND HIM WHEN DYING.
And there is this further curious circumstance to be remarked upon.
He says that until the interview that he had with this unknown agent
he did not know that the language of the Rev. Mr.Tynan conveyed
the meaning of a threat not to attend him when dying, and upon that
answer of the witness a good deal of argument was founded by
counsel—legal argument, based to a large extent upon the authority
of a decision which was referred to. It was contended that because
King himself was not under the impression at the time that this con-
veyed a threat or a menace to deprive him of the Sacraments that that
would not be undue influence. But I apprehend that that was an
entire mistake, and the facts on which the decision was grounded do
not at all support such an argument, because in the incident referred
to in the Longford trial, before Mr. Justice Fitzgerald, it was abso-
lutely as certain as anything could be that the language used was not
in its own nature calculated at all to convey any menace. It was
language intended merely as personal advice, such as would be given
by one person to another. But upon the account given by Patrick
- King of this language it is impossible not to come to the conclusion
***
THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS. 59
that the language did convey a menace of a certain
Rind, and now what is the account given of it by the Rev.
Mr. Tynan himself in his own words?, The difference is between
saying simply that he would not attend him when dying, and that he
would not like to attend him when dying ; and Rev. Mr. Tynan
did not even confine himself to admitting that he would not like to
attend him when dying, but that he hoped he would not be called
11\DOIl
p TO ATTEND A PARNELLITE.
What was the meaning of that ? Could language of that kind be
used by any person unless to produce a certain impression upon the
mind of the person to whom it was addressed ? I am, therefore, con-
‘strained to come to the conclusion that the Rev. Mr. Tynan did
upon that occasion use language in the interview with
Patrick King, undoubtedly according to its ordinary and
necessary and proper construction conveying the meaning of some
"spiritual loss or some grave inconvenience to him in his spiritual
character against this man King, who had refused to vote for him.
Another witness was also examined in reference to the Rev. Mr.
Tyman—namely, a man named Cowley, who alleged that Father
Tynan, because he had refused to vote for him, or would not
promise to vote for him—the witness was of a very strong political
character, undoubtedly—that the Rev. Mr. Tynan declared that
he was not a Catholic; that
HE WOULD EXPEL HIM FROM THE CHURCH,
or some language of that kind, and that he would be deprived
of Christian burial. Upon his oath the clergyman declares
that this was entirely untrue. I, perhaps, would be disposed to
entertain the idea that this man Cowley had heard some statement
made to the effect that he in fact might incur some sort of a penalty
of expulsion from church or from the communion of the Catholic
Church, and that he himself attached to that according to popular
superstition or popular idea this consequence of being deprived of
Christian burial. But certainly at the same time there was some very
angry dispute, indeed, as the Rev. Mr. Tynan admits, between
bim and this man Cowley, because Cowley related that after the
interview with the Rev. Mr. Tynan, and upon the same day,
according to my recollection, he met the Rev. Mr. M'Grath,
one of his curates, and the Rev. Mr. M'Grath then reproached
him with what he had said to Father Tynan, and used language
in itself calculated, undoubtedly, to convey the impression of great
spiritual hostility existing against him. I asked the question of the
IRev. Mr. Tynan myself and he stated that the Rev. Mr.
M’Grath was here—and the Rev. Mr. M'Grath was here,
apparently, and was not examined as a witness, and I consider the
fact of his not being so examined tends, to some degree, if not to
maintain the statement of this man Cowley against the oath of the
IRev. Mr. Tynan, to remove him from the impression and the
6O THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS.
*~~~~
Suspicion of having altogether mis-stated the character and the nature
of the interview he had with him. Many other cases of the alleged
exercise of similar influence and use of
SIMILAR THREATS
were spread over the whole evidence. I will take that of the Rev.
Mr. M’Donnell who exposed himself undoubtedly to a great deal
of observation, and exposed his evidence to the character of strong"
suspicion in some respects by unusual and unprecedented advice
that he gave from the altar. He had not, of course, very much
experience or he would have known how true it is that “how
oft the sight of means to do ill-deeds make ill-deeds done,’ and
he certainly would never have ventured upon such a very dangerous.
recommendation to his parishioners or flock as to go armed in,
a certain manner to a meeting they were to attend,
stating that he himself would be armed in the same manner, though
only for self-defence. It was alleged that he had used in more
than one discourse passages of a nature tending to convey the im-
pression that great spiritual hostility would occur to the persons who
had refused to vote in a particular manner. One expression was
particularly relied upon, that in which he stated the consequences
that would happen to the persons who voted for Mr. Dalton, “here
and hereafter.’ And, certainly, being bound to weigh and consider
the evidence, and consider it minutely sometimes. I could hardly
accept the construction that has now suggested itself, to his mind, as
the true one, that when he spoke of what would happen “here and
hereafter,’ he meant “here' at present, and “hereafter ' in this.
country, also in this world. The words “here and hereafter,
according to all the ordinary understanding of persons, convey the
impression of temporal and eternal consequences of some kind.
After referring to the case of Murtagh, between whom and the Rev.
Father Fagan a violent altercation took place, and that, although it
was alleged that Father Fagan had stated that he would not visit
Murtagh's wife who was ill, yet he eventually done so. The judgment
proceeds. Now, upon the question of the credit or credibility, it is
impossible altogether to leave out of consideration the incident
between the Rev. Mr. Fagan and the witness Farrell, which is
entirely uncontradicted.
FARRELL WAS A PENSIONER.
and he required in the usual manner, for the payment of his pension,
at certain stated times, a certificate from a rev. gentleman or a
magistrate. Rev. Mr. Fagan was in the habit of signing this for
him, and Stated he would not do it for him in the future, as he
Thad refused him his vote. Farrell’s statement on that is
entirely uncontradicted. Rev. Mr. Fagan did not
dispute one single expression the man uttered, and he, as John
Murtagh declared, according to his own statement that he would
go to the Rev. Mr. Martin. Farrell appears also to have gone.
THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS. 6I
to the Rev. Mr. Martin for his usual certificate, and I cannot
leave that out of consideration in estimating the degree of credit
to be given upon the whole matter to the Rev. Mr. Fagan as
opposed to this man, John Murtagh.
REV. M.R. FAY WAS ANOTHER WITNESS
to whom the statements attributed concerning this election were very
material, and of course of very great matter. I don’t wish to dwell
upon many of the expressions which were attributed to him, some of
which he has atoned for, and which, unless for the necessity of the
matter, ought not to have been introduced again, and not beyond the
measure of a necessity. But, undoubtedly, the Rev. Mr. Fay did
upon several occasions during this election contest distinguish him-
self by language of a very unusual character, which renders it the
more likely that the particular expression imputed to him by one of
the witnesses was really what he did use. He was examined himself
again and cross-examined upon many statements made by him and
language used by him of an unprecedented kind. I merely dwell
upon and refer to one particular expression which he used, and in
reference to that he did not hesitate to declare that a witness named
Barry who was examined had sworn false evidence against him. If
ever there was a witness who deserved credit in a court of justice it
was Barry, because he was the subject of an applicatton to this court
concerning his evidence. He had not attended—am I not right in
saying so P”
Mr. O'Shaughnessy—Yes.
Mr. Justice O'Brien—“He had not attended on his subpoena, and
an application was made to the court which resulted in announcement
that an attachment would be issued against him unless he did attend,
and then only did he come into court. And there was not a word
uttered by Barry upon this trial that was not said reluctantly. He
was silent, he hesitated, he qualified, he extenuated, and it required a
continual course of examination and cross-examination to obtain from
him the actual account of what the Rev. Mr. Fay said. He even
substituted the word ‘lost' for the other and more open expression
of what would happen to a man who voted against Mr. Fullam, and
only in the end he yielded to the statement that what the Rev. Mr.
Fay had said was that
SUCH A PERSON WOULD BE * DAMNED '
And that was the person whom the Rev. Mr. Fay declared to have
sworn falsely concerning him—the man that put himself in the peril
of the law and all its coercive power in order not to tell what he
knew, or for some reason in his own mind that I can suppose to be
no other reason than that he did not, wish to tell what he knew.
Supposing that the rev. gentleman did say so, that, of course, was a
most unequivocal and startling declaration, which would amount to
the strongest form possible of undue influence of a spiritual kind.
Other witnesses—many of them—were examined, between whom and
62 THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS.
—-
the account given concerning their statements it is very difficult to ,
find any real or very great conflict. The Rev. Mr. Buchanan.
was examined, the Rev. Mr. Brady, the Rev. Mr. Cant-
well, the Rev. Mr. Fitzsimons, the Rev. Mr. Gillick;
and although the statements concerning the refusal to administer
the Sacraments to persons who would vote against Mr. Fullam cannot
be said to apply to all those clergymen alike, undoubtedly there.
Were expressions conveyed by them all that were calculated to make.
an impression upon the mind of any Catholic that would indicate that
the would subject himself to the greatest peril
TO HIS SOUL’S SALVATION.—
the greatest peril of a conflict with his religion and duty if he did not
vote as was suggested to him.”
Having referred to the evidence affecting Fathers Brady,.
Gillick, and Cantwell, Mr. Justice O'Brien proceeded :—“It
was stated of the Rev. Mr. Callery upon the occasion when the
polling took place, and he attended some of the voters who went to
vote for Mr. Fullam, that he drew a distinction between them and
their opponents, which was conveyed in the terms that they were not
*A PARCEL OF GOATS,”
a curious expression, which at the time did not occur to myself, but, .
I fear, has a strong significance in its meaning. He was examined,
himself as a witness, and while the counsel was contending for the
distinction between Parnellites and anti-Parnellites the Rev. Mr.
Callery declared that in his opinion there was no distinction at all; .
that Parnellism was the same now as it was before, and the same
before as it is now, and that the distinction was between ‘adulterers;
and non-adulterers.’ An extraordinary expression to have fallen
from him, which showed what was in his mind and in the minds of so,
many as to what were the real issues supposed and alleged to have
been in question during this election—that they were ‘adulterers and
non-adulterers.’ There is one other incident which, though not
directly connected with the question of spiritual intimidation or
spiritual influence, or of any spiritual intimidation or intimidation of
a spiritual kind, I considered it my duty to advert to, namely, the
incident with which the name of
THE REV. FATHER SKELLY
is connected—that curious and unusual circumstances of the
dismissal, as was alleged on one side, and the dismissal by himself, .
as was alleged on the other, of the person who was employed in the
convent of the Sisters of Mercy in Trim. He was canvassed for his.
vote and he refused to give it. He appears to have been employed at
the convent as a labourer, and he appears to have received some
small addition to his wages for the performance of the duty of
collecting for the chapel. There was a statement made in proof of
his supposed political zeal that upon a particular day—a festival of the:
THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS. 63
*-*
church—he was absent from that duty. But there was no evidence:
given, that I recollect, on that point at all—namely, that he had, in
order to attend a meeting or to take part in Some political demonstra-
tion of some kind, deliberately absented himself on an occasion when,
he was required to attend and collect at the chapel. Leaving that
out, let us direct our attention to the other matter—that he was.
canvassed for his vote, and that he refused to give it, and the Rev.
Mr. Skelly stated to him that he must see the parish priest—that he
must tell this matter to the parish priest or see the parish priest. On.
the very same day he went and gave up his situation
—according to my recollection, on the very same day. The suggestion
is that this was a man who considered that he would derive some advan-
tage from a course of that kind, greater than he could from retaining his
employment. He did not appear to have taken any other employ-
ment immediately, nor can I see that the character of the employment
that was referred to—namely, mowing—was open to him at the time
this happened at all. He was supposed to have taken this course
with a view to the advantage of
WHAT IS CALLED POLITICAL MARTYRDOM.
Political martyrdom has undoubtedly some kind of advantages,
but I would rather say, in view of the experience of later times,
that political martyrdom in the town of Trim was
hardly a substitute for his weekly pittance.
He did not appear to have derived any advantage from it what-
ever, and if this man had intended for the time to have derived
any advantage from an act of that kind in substitution for his employ-
ment I would certainly have expected that he would have gone and
made it known immediately and spoken of it immediately. Instead
of that he appears to have kept extremely silent about it. Two.
Sisters of Mercy were examined here, and were examined apparently
with a view of showing that this man had gone of his own accord, for
no sufficient reason, and to show that he was not in any danger at all
of losing his employment, but had gone and given it up. But that
view entirely failed, because each of the Sisters of Mercy who was
examined stated that in the conversation with them he said that he
had refused Father Skelly for his vote, and that they
IN THE SPIRIT OF CHARITY
and consideration for an humble man had said to him that was no
reason for giving up his employment—which I can perfectly understand
--putting a different construction upon, not that the refusal was any
reason for giving up the employment, or the interview was any reason
for it, but suggesting to his mind that there was a mode of avoiding a
difficulty by giving his vote. That was the construction that an humble
man would be disposed to put upon it. Rev. Mr. Skelly was exam-
ined, and he cannot deny, of course, that he stated to this man that
he would tell the parish priest. It has occurred to himself that the
reason he used the expression was merely to report to the parish priest
64 THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS.
that he had failed to obtain the man’s vote, but he could report that
to the parish priest without telling Cowley of it, and I am forced to draw
the conclusion that the statement that he would tell the parish priest
was undoubtedly intended to convey to the mind
of this man that his situation was in danger—
that some complaint would be made of him which would probably
result in the loss of his employment. Rev. Mr. Skelly did not
deny another statement made by the witness, that he had threatened
to have him put in Kilmainham. Put in Kilmainham |
IFor what crime P
WHAT CRIME HAD HE COMMITTED 2
this humble man—what crime had he committed at all 2 No crime
that I can understand, except that, with a decent spirit, not wishing
to make known what had happened to him, apparently under the
frown of a power that he thought he could not resist, he bowed
his head in humble submission, and gave up the
bread of his wife and his children for his own
independence. Some other matters have been introduced into
this case which are of course of an extremely delicate and painful
character—all the incidents connected with the con–
fession. . Whether it was right or wrong to give that evidence—
whatever view may be taken of it on any side, or in any respect, the
evidence was of an unusual and an unprecedented kind. The state-
ment made was that several clergymen, the names of whom are
Tmentioned, had canvassed voters in the confessional, and there is no
person at all—there is no Catholic who cannot understand the
tremendous importance of evidence of that kind. In all the instances
but one, undoubtedly the communication was after the confession was
over ; but there was one incident—
A TREMENDO US AND UN EXAMPLED INCIDENT—
in which this interference with the franchise—entirely innocent, I
believe, and from the purest reasons and motives, according to the
evidence—was allowed to intrude into the mysterious sanctity of the
divine commission itself, and in which the absolution of the penitent
was postponed at least owing to the construction possibly made to
depend upon the vote he gave. And now let me not be supposed to
have any desire at all to do injustice; I was greatly impressed, as my
colleague was, with the demeanour of the Rev. Mr. Fox, an aged
clergyman, not identified to any degree at all by active partisanship in
the contest—a man apparently advanced in life, of great moderation
and great modesty and consideration of his duty, and if such an
incident be strictly correct, it would be open to no ambiguity at all
which we have no means of knowing here. I certainly do unhesita-
tingly come to the conclusion that if the Rev. Mr. Fox did
tundoubtedly speak in confession to this man concerning his vote, he
-certainly did so in the strongest sense of his own duty.”
THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS. 65
*~~~~
Mr. JUSTICE O'BRIEN, in conclusion, referring to the clergy
generally, said:—“I have no doubt, a strong obligation of obedience
to their own bishop, and whether or not in conformity with their own
opinions and sentiments, did use language calculated to convey to the
minds of the voters in this division that their conduct in this election
involved
*,
THE QUESTION OF ETERNAL CONDEMNATION
or the contrary. Now, having expressed that opinion, it remains to
me to say one word concerning the legal aspects of the evidence
concerning this question in relation to agency, and upon that
apparently very little difficulty seems to me to arise. I consider if
ever there was a case of agency established it was in this particular
case. Mr. Fullam was named as the candidate from the very
beginning of the contest, he attended all the meetings held, he
attended there with clergymen, he named them as his agents, as his
personation agents in many instances, he received the subsidy
or money provided for the expenses of the election
from them or some clergyman, he, upon the public occasion
when the victory was celebrated, thanked publicly the clergy for the
services they had rendered, and the only question that would remain
on my mind as the result of the evidence is the application of this
term agent at all, and of the possible application of any such term to
the position the clergy assumed. They appear to me to have fulfilled
positions of principals, while Mr. Fullam was only the agent, and
Mupon that part of the matter, therefore, I have formed my opinion.
We have heard a great deal, of course, of
THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS QUESTION,
and this trial, and a great many arguments and observations had been
made concerning it. I am quite conscious of the great importance
Of it—that it is a struggle between great parties and great interests,
and, it may be, of great consequences. But with the consequences
I have no concern whatever. My concern is with justice;
my allegiance is to justice alone, and in the fulfil-
ment of that obligation I am constrained in justice
to declare that, in my opinion, the election for the
South Division of Meath, both under the statute
and the common law, is void through undue
influence, and must be set aside (applause in court, which
was immediately suppressed).”
Mr. Justice Andrews, in a brief judgment, concurred.
66 THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS.
APPENDIX A.
*sº
THE REV. JOHN FAY, P.P.
On the 11th November, 1892, counsel on behalf of the petitioners:
in the South Meath case applied that the Rev. John Fay, Parish
Priest of Summerhill, Co. Meath, be adjudged guilty of contempt of
court, and that he should be attached for that contempt, expressed
in a sermon delivered by him in his chapel at Dangan on Sunday:
6th November. t $
The following are the words alleged to have been delivered, as
stated in the affidavit of Mr. Peter McCann, solicitor, who was.
present when the remarks were made :- -
“Before I have an opportunity of meeting you again, I shall be on my trial at
Trim with the other priests of the diocese and the bishop, and I am glad of the:
opportunity of showing up the character o. Whese men who will give evidence-
against me. We will expose again the scandal of the Divorce Court. These
people, imbued with the devil, will pursue me to the end. I expect that I am
prepared for it. I tell you the devil will attack me, and they are possessed with
the devil of impurity, the most frightful of passions. Now, this is pure Parnellism.
Is it not a glorious thing to put our bishop like a common criminal in the box after
29 years of service and toil and devotion for you? Now, report this, every word,
accurately, and put it in your Independent. Don’t leave out a single word, for I'll
be there, and I’ll prove that every witness that will come up against me is a black-
dyed scamp. I never intimidated you. I never said I would kill you or break
your neck, or said you would go to hell. You may go there if you like. We will
resume this in Trim.” The reverend father proceeded to lecture on the due
preparation for Extreme Unction, and said, “You may think it strange for me to
refer to bodily cleanliness, but I find it necessary from my great experience, but I
suppose they will put an end to me on the petition in Trim next week. That they
should not look upon him as a mere man, if they did they might have some
prejudice against him, for all had their shortcomings. The priest is the ambassador
of Jesus Christ, and not like other ambassadors. They carried their Lord and
Master about with them, and when the priest was with the people the Almighty
God was with them.”
After referring to the language used by Father Fay, the Lord
Chief Justice of Ireland, in delivering the unanimous judgment of
the Court, said:—
“He is an educated gentleman. Is his education any alleviation ? His educa-
tion ought to have taught him that he should not have done this. Is there any
mitigation to be found in his priestly character 2 The mission of the priest and
the Christian clergyman is to proclaim and to enforce by precept and example the
gospel of peace. I will not refer again to these words, or indicate again in express.
language the doom which is indicated for those who would oppose him. The time
was the Sabbath, the place was the church—even on the altar. I stop—I refrain
from comment, because I do not wish to harrow the ſeelings of the reverend:
gentleman. I wish I could find any mitigation of this language. I
have searched for it. We have considered with great care and great anxiety what
THE IRISH PRIEST IN POLITICS. 67
should be the measure of penalty for conduct such as this. Never, I believe,
in the history of this country, was language—and I say so with the
bitterest pain—more reprehensible proved to have been used, and we
have come reluctantly to the painful conclusion that a fine would be inadequate in
this case, and were it not at the last moment the Rev. John Fay has offered some
words of apology we could not pass what I consider, under the circumstances, the
mild sentence or order that I am now about to announce as the judgment of the
court. We do adjudge the Rev. John Fay guilty of contempt of court, and we do
order that he be imprisoned for one calendar month from the date of his arrest,
and we order him to pay the costs of this application.”—Independent, 12th
November, 1892.
THE REV. GENTLEMAN’S WELCOME
HOME.
Father Fay was released from Kilmainham Jail on Sunday, I Its
December. The Freeman report says:—
“At Maynooth station, the Most Rev. Dr. O'Donnell, Bishop of Raphoe; Very
Rev. Professor Maguire, Maynooth College; Rev. Professor O'Growney, and a
number of other clergymen were waiting on the platform to shake hands with
Father Fay, and congratulate him cn his release. On arriving at Summerhill
Square a meeting was held, and amongst those present were Mr. T. D. Sullivan,
M.P., and Mr. Fullam, ex-M.P. for South Meath. An address from his
parishioners was presented to Father Fay. It stated—
‘We are proud of you to-day, for are you not the one whom God has chosen to
confound our enemies and to hold them up to the world in their true character?
You have always made us feel that you had the courage of your convictions.
Regardless of consequences you have always done your duty. Yours is the
character which wins the hearts of the Irish people. You were bold enough to
speak to your own people from your own altar words which were construed inte
an expression of contempt for a certain judicial tribunal. You were adjudged
guilty by an administrator of the law, and torn from your flock, but—
“Stone walls do not a prison make,
Nor iron bars a cage.”
Your spirit was unconfined, it animated your people, and we are here to-day
to show that it is strong within us.”
“It is well to remember,” says the Dublin JMail, “what it is
that the Most Rev. Dr. O'Donnell thus comes forward, in so public
a manner, if not to approve of, at least to sympathize with. The
excuse which has been offered over and over again for the action
of the South Meath priests is that they uttered words in the
heat of a contested election, and at a time of political excitement.
This excuse does not hold good for Dr. O’Donnell, who has now,
when all is calm, and when he has had ample time to reflect,
taken this opportunity of publicly identifying himself with the
action of a clergyman, who from the altar used language which
a judge of the land has declared to be “the most reprehensible”
he has ever heard used, even in Ireland. The incident is striking,
because it shows with distinct clearness that even some of the
members of the Irish Roman Catholic Hierarchy regard such
conduct as that of the Rev. Mr. Fay to be quite justifiable, and
that his imprisonment entitles him to the deepest sympathy.”
NORTH MEATH
ELECTION PETITION.
HE hearing of the North Meath Election Petition, in which
Mr. P. C. MAHONY, ex-M.P., was Petitioner, and Mr
MICHAEL DAVITT, M.P., Respondent, commenced at Trim
before Mr. Justice Andrews and Mr. Justice Johnson on December
I 5th, 1892. The allegations set forth in the petition were similar to
those put forward in the South Meath case. Mr. Davitt was charged
with having been guilty of undue influence through certain priests
acting as his agents, and through the pastoral letter of the Most Rev.
Dr. Nulty, Bishop of Meath, by whom he was nominated. Mr. F. L.
O'Shaughnessy, Q.C., Mr. M. Drummond, Q.C., and Mr. Miles
Kehoe represented the petitioner. The respondent was represented
by Mr. D. B. Sullivan, Q.C., and Mr. T. M. Healy, M.P.
When the court sat Mr. Sullivan rose and expressed his willingness
to accept the ruling in the South Meath trial, as far as the charge of
undue influence was concerned. Mr. O'Shaughnessy, on the other
hand, said he too was willing, after formal proof of the pastoral, to
accept the decision provided his client, Mr. Mahony, were permitted
to make a personal statement; same time he was quite prepared to go
on with the case. Mr. Justice Andrews pointed out that an election
petition was not a matter concerning individuals alone: it concerned
the purity and freedom of election, and affected the entire com-
munity. The case, he said, should therefore proceed.
[ 70
THE CLERICAL CAUCUS.
Mr. O'Shaughnessy, in his opening statement, related how
Mr. Davitt was selected as candidate at a convention on 2nd June.
Mr. Davitt was proposed by Very Rev. L. Vaughan, P.P.,
and seconded by Francis Sheridan. At same convention it was
proposed by Mr. James Everett, Duleek, and seconded by the
Rev. Father Fay, P.P., Summerhill—
“That an election committee be formed in every parish of the county,
“whose duty it should be to make arrangements to organise and canvass their
“respective districts in the interest of the candidates selected here to-day, and
“to collect the sheriffs' and other necessary expenses.”
Mr. O'Shaughnessy, proceeding, read the Bishop's Pastoral, which,
he stated, was read in every church on 3rd July in North and South
Meath. (The full text of the Pastoral is given on page 9.)
Rev. PETER KELLY, P.P., of Slane, was the first witness.
He said:—“There was a meeting on the 23rd May, in the Parochial
House, Navan (the Bishop's residence). There were about a dozen
elergymen present. We agreed to adopt or recommend Mr. Fullam
and Mr. Davitt to the convention as candidates, and passed a resolu-
tion. I received the Bishop's Pastoral. (Copy produced.) I read it
to my congregation on Ioth July. My curate read it also. I was one
of the proposers of Mr. Davitt, who stopped at my house for a week
during the election. A sum of £200 was collected and given to
Mr. Davitt to pay the nomination expenses.”
MR. DAVITT's PROPOSERs.
Mr. CHARLEs LowRy, Sub-Sheriff of County Meath, was called.
He produced the nomination paper in which the Most Rev.
Dr. Nulty nominated Mr. Davitt and Mr. Patrick Casey seconded
him. In a second paper Mr. Davitt was proposed by the Rev.
Lawrence Coghlan, P.P., and seconded by John Skelly. A
third paper was produced and signed by Rev. Peter McNamee
as proposer, and Nicholas Kelly seconder, on Mr. Davitt's behalf.
Mr. Davitt was described as of “The Parochial House, Slane.”
Dr. NULTY ON THE ALTAR.
Mr. JAMES LAWLOR, town clerk of Navan, was then called.
He said:—“I was at mass at Navan on July 10th. The Rev.
Dr. Nulty spoke after the first Gospel. He said that Mr. Davitt
and his supporters were coming to Navan, and he said he was coming
there more in the interests of religion than in a political matter.
He said he was coming in the interests of religion. He said this
was more a religious than a political question. He said that
I 71 J
the number that would come would cow the
Parnellites, and that the Parnellites were cowards
and rowdies. I left the chapel at that stage, and know nothing
further.”
BERNARD CLARKE said :—“I heard Father McNamee read
the pastoral at Navan on 3rd July. He said there would be an
important sermon at last mass, which I attended. The Rev. Dr.
Nulty, the bishop, preached the promised sermon.”
What did the bishop say? He said “There was to be a meeting of
Mr. Davitt's supporters; that Mr. Davitt would be there himself on
the following Sunday; to come in like lambs and go out like lambs,
but to be armed with sticks, and if booed or insulted that
the people would get their skulls broke in, and that they would be
beaten with the sticks.”
Is that all you remember 2 I left the chapel when I
*heard him say we would get our skulls broke in.
He was still speaking? Yes.
That was the bishop himself 2 Yes.
'PATRICK SHERLock said:—“The Sunday before the polling day
at Navan chapel his lordship [the Bishop] referred to the fact that
that was the last Sunday he would have an opportunity of speaking
to them, and he told them that any man that would vote
for Mahony that he would stand before the bar
of justice in reference to that man who voted
for Mahony and plead against him.”
VINCENT SHERIDAN, son of the Clerk of Trim Union, said:—“I
was at mass at Trim chapel, on 29th June. Dr. Nulty after mass said
“Parnellism was moral ruin, that it was improper and unholy. The
Parnellites were losing their faith and becoming heretics; that if the
people did not believe him on this doctrine of Parnellism how could
they believe him on other things, such as Confession and Communion.’
'He said “the other day in Navan a mob of drunken rowdies and
abandoned women attacked the priests and nearly killed one of the
purest Irish patriots living.’”
Did you understand him to be referring to Mr. Davitt 2 Yes.
CANVASSING IN THE CONFESSIONAL.
PATRICK CoII.INs, of Kells, sworn and examined. He deposed:—
“I am a grocer and provision dealer. I attended mass on 3rd July.
I'ather Casey read the pastoral. In Kells chapel on Ioth July,
JFather Guiman said one reason why he should discontinue the
[ 72 J
support of Parnellism was that a priest in the neighbourhood of
Ballybricken was waylaid and a bulldog set upon him. And also that
. person whom he was going to attend to, died with him. It was a
slander.”
Mr. O'Shaughnessy—Did you find any difference with reference to:
voters before and after that statement 2
Witness—I found a difference with some afterwards.
“I went to confession to Father Jones about a fortnight
before the election. After confession was over the reverend
gentleman spoke to me about my vote and voting for Mr. Davitt.
He was an auxiliary priest brought down for the Sacred Heart retreat.
I declined to accede to his request.”
PRIESTS AS CANVASSERS.
PATRICK TIMMONs, of Gibstown, the next witness, said:—
“Father Dermody is curate of my parish. A Sunday about a
fortnight before the election he was riding by and stopped. He asked
my little girl was I in, and I went to the door and stood “ formenst '
it. He told me to walk down along the road with him—that he
wanted me. I walked down with him. He asked me would I give
him my vote. I told him I had no vote. He told me I had.
“Well,' I said, ‘I got papers, and they were taken back.” “Well,
no matter,’ said he, “you have a vote.' I said “I can't promise your
yet.’ ‘You would rather give your vote to Gerrard, or Bective, or
Everard, or Mr. Jordan,’ my employer, and I said yes, I would give
it to him in preference to any other person, and I was earning my
bread from him, and my people before him. I said then I would go.
by my conscience. He asked me did I know my conscience. I
said yes. He asked me what it was. I said it was my religion and
my faith. FIe told me he would not forget me or
mine.”
KNOCKED DOWN AND KICKED.
JAMES McCABE, of Oristown, said :- “On the day of nomination,
shortly after six, going home from my work and about a mile from
my house, a number of cars came up. There were a number of
priests on them with other people. They were shouting and cheering
for the workmen's friend, Mr. Davitt. The man along with me
began to shout for Mr. Mahony, and one lad jumped off the car and
made for this man, and then a lot jumped off the cars and gathered
around and began to leather him (laughter), and I went over and said,
‘My God, don’t kill the man l’ A few ran at me and knocked me
and dragged me about the road ; one lad came and gave me a welt
[ 73 |
and a kick on the head; blood flowed from me, and my shirt was
full of blood, and I went home. I was confined to bed and the
doctor attended me three times. I did not shout for Mr. Mahony,
I shouted for no one.” &
FATHER GUINAN'S SPECIAL TRAIN.
JAMEs LAVERY, station master at Kells, deposed :—“On Sunday,
July 1oth, Father Guinan was a passenger in the special from
Oldcastle to Navan. Three hundred tickets were sold. The amount
was debited to Father Guinan who paid the balance due,.
43 15s., on the following Tuesday. The Parnellites were kept
out of the train till the others were seated.”
A DAVITTITE CAR PARTY.
JAMEs McDonnELL, of Carlingstown, was the first witness one
December 16th. He said:—“On the day of nomination, 7th July, a.
number of cars drove through the village on the way back. Father
Fagan, my parish priest, was on one of them. A man named
Lawless shouted and cheered, and I went out and booed them.
Father Fagan then drove over to my door and made a bat of the
whip at me. My wife and servant girl took me in by the neck.”
Owen GARson, of Balreask, deposed —“On the night of the
nomination a number of cars passed by where I live. Father
Fagan and a curate were of the party. They came off the cars and
came towards me. I ran into the house and got a shash-hook. They
came up no more when they saw the weapon. Father Fagan
never said a word to save me when they passed. I heard a great
noise and blows at Clinton's gate. I saw the gate afterwards and it
was broken.”
** PRIESTLY INFLUENCE.”
MAURICE NULTY, of Smithstown, near Crossakiel, said:—“The-
day before the election, Rev. James Murphy came to me.
We discoursed on the election. I said to him, “only for priestly
influence and intimidation there would be no
seceders.” We argued for a quarter of an hour, and he said “you.
insulted me and I settled your house and garden for 3os. a year.’
The priest's uncle is the owner of the house, and he said the rent is
not fixed yet. The rent was fixed on 24th February, but the hand-
writing [confirmed in writing] was not done.”
| 74 l
FATHER KELLY ON THE ALTAR.
Miss ANNE KELSH deposed :—“I am a parishioner of Father
JKelly. In Slane chapel I remember during the month of June
him saying from the altar that the fight was upon them, that before
that day month the battle would be fought and won, and he predicted
a victory along the line. Then he said that these men, these
wretched factionists, would be swept into the sea,
that they might get four or five seats. He stated he would not like
to have the conscience of the man and a Catholic who would go to
the booth and vote for ‘these men’ or ‘these members.’ I don’t
remember which. He said a good deal more in the same strain.
He was on the altar and in his vestments at the time, and it was after
the first Gospel. For two or three Sundays before the election every-
one attending chapel carried big sticks. Since the election my
sister and I have been annoyed and insulted, the vilest names have
been called to us. We were in our own house at the time and people
came outside and called bad words. My brother took an active part
in support of Mr. Mahony. On a telegraph pole outside one of our
gates a disgusting production was posted. It commenced—
“Rotten Kelsh. Remember Kitty. The solicitor for slander in the
recent case,’ and on the other side, ‘The Tory spy, Mahony, and
pledge-breaker.’”
ON HIS KNEES IN THE BOOTH.
PATRICK KELSH said he was brother of last witness. “I took an
active part on behalf of Mr. Mahony. I attended a number of
Parnell's meetings after March, 1891 ; up to that time I had been on
best of terms with Father Kelly. I have an aunt up to 80 years
of age living at our house. For the last 50 years there was always
the privilege of mass being said in our house. Since March I met
IFather Kelly on three occasions, and he did not salute me. I
have not had mass in the house since I began to attend Mr. Parnell's
meetings in March, 1891. I acted as personation agent for Mr.
Mahony; Rev. Father Cassidy acted for Mr. Davitt in same
booth at Slane. An illiterate voter came in and threw
himself on his knees before Father Cassidy, and
in a faltering voice he said, ‘I will vote for Mr.
Davitt.” He threw himself on his knees as if he
was going to confession.”
JAMES O'BRIEN, of Dollondstown, said:—“He acted as persona-
tion agent for Mr. Mahony at Slane. Father Cassidy acted for
Mr. Davitt. I remember an illiterate voter coming in by the door,
which was about three or four paces from where the presiding officer
and personating agents were sitting, when he dropped down on his
*ś - [ 75 l
Knees beside Father Cassidy. He put up his hands and said,
“I will vote for Davitt.’
He voted as an illiterate.”
REv. JoBIN CASSIDY, Curate of Slane, was the first witness
examined for the respondent on December 20th. He denied that
an illiterate voter knelt in any reverential attitude to him in Slane
booth. This voter was hard of hearing, and knelt on one knee so
..as to catch the words of the presiding officer in asking him his
name and number on the register. In cross-examination, Father
Cassidy admitted that the two men who swore about this kneeling
voter were respectable men. One man was a parishioner.
About how high is this table that in order to lean down on it he
...had to go down on one knee ? It is an old-fashioned table.
I suppose it is three feet high 2 Hardly.
Did he regularly go down on one knee It appeared to me to be
the act of an uncultured man.
The other people had a better opportunity of seeing than you, I
zunderstand P
The answer of the witness was inaudible.
REv. JoBN CASSIDY was cross-examined regarding the
frefusal of mass in the Kelshes house, as follows:—
Are you not aware that for long years they had mass celebrated in
their house P I heard that. º
Didn't you know that they were asking that to be continued 2 No
. 2.IlSW CI.
Let us come to the point. Didn't you know that ? I didn't.
Then let me understand you, I was there and I never refused to
say mass for them.
I am not talking about yourself personally at all. I have not much
fault to find with you about the matter at all. They told me this,
that Father Kelly said he could not say mass for them.
Why On your oath was it not because they were Parnellites that
mass was not said in that house in which for twenty-five years at
least it had been said 3 I don’t know.
Give a reason now. I don't know. They said that Father
Kelly said he could not say mass for them before I came to the parish.
Didn't you know that this young Kelsh had taken up the Parnellite
side 2 I heard so.
Now letus have your thoughts on the subject. I could not tell the
reason that Father Kelly discontinued mass.
[ 76 )
OBLIGED TO SEE A DOCTOR.
Miss MARGARET KELSH, a sister of Patrick Kelsh. “I was at
eleven o'clock mass at Slane on 3rd July. Father Kelly made
reference to the election from the altar, and said he expected every
man in the parish to attend the meeting about to be held in Navan on
Ioth July; that he would have cars and carts, and even if he had to
take them in wheelbarrows he would take them. He said there was
a gang of hired assassins in Navan, and they should be prepared and
armed to defend themselves. On the 3rd July I heard portions of
the Bishop's Pastoral read by Father Kelly—the paragraph
commencing “the dying Parnellite.” During the months of June,
July and August our gates were opened about a dozen times, and the
cattle found out on the road. I was obliged to see a doctor after the
hooting, caused by excitement and dread.”
“KNEEL, AND BEG MY PARDON."
MARGARET HoRAN, a feeble woman of advanced years, deposed :—
“I live at Oristown with my daughter and son-in-law. About six
o'clock on the day of nomination I went out on the road to see a.
wedding party coming back. A number of cars came up from the
nomination, some of them on the cars asked me to cheer for Davitt.
I said I would not, and they said “Why ’ ‘For what would I cheer
him P’ says I. ‘Why wouldn't you cheer him they said. “I won't
cheer him,” says I, ‘and to hell with him ' (laughter). One of the
men who were on the car stood up, and, fixing his hand that way
(witness indicated by a gesture), spoke something about the Horans,
but I could not say what he said. I stooped down and I lifted up
some clay and I threw it directly towards where the car was stopped.
I turned round, and as I turned round there was a priest coming
within a few steps of me. He said I threw stones at him. “I did
not, sir,’ says I. “Eneel down and beg my pardon,”
says he. He insisted I would kneel down, and I
would not. He put his hand on my shoulder, and I was very
weak, and I just dropped down at his feet. My
daughter then came out. ‘Oh, father,’ says she, “what are you,
doing 2' ‘Why did she throw stones at the priest?’ said he. ‘She
did not,’ says my daughter; ‘where would you get a stone here P’ It
was a little paved street that was in it, my lord. Then my daughter
said, “And if she did, don't strike her.’ ‘I would,” says he, “and I
would strike you, too.” So he turned round and gave her a couple of
slaps, standing on the door step.” * --
Mr. Justice Andrews—Where did he give her the slap 2 On the
cheek.
[ 77 j
A WOMAN STRUCK BY A PRIEST.
Mrs. ANNE O’CALLAGHAN deposed that she was a daughter of the
last witness. “When I went out of the house on the day, related by
my mother, my mother was sitting by the side wall of the house, the
priest standing right straight forment the door. I said, when I
opened the door and seen him, ‘What are you doing, father ?’ ‘Why
did she throw stones at the priest?” he said. I said she did not. I
did not know whether she did or not, but I said the word. He said
that she did, and for the same reason that she should beg his pardon.
I asked him where did she get the stones, and he said she threw
them, no matter where she got them. I said, ‘I)on’t hit her.”
‘I would,” he said, “and hit you, too.” I said that it
would be better not.” -
Did he ask your mother again to beg his pardon 2 Yes; and he
was persevering and leaning over to her to beg his pardon, and I said
to him, “You are very ignorant, father.” “I am ignorant?” he
says, “Certainly,” says I. Then he drew his hand, and he asked
me “Am I ignorant, madam P” drawing his hand.
“Grossly ignorant,” said I. Then one of the men he
had with him made over as if to hit me, and the priest did not let him
hit me, and he said when he was going away, “She will be in
hell yet.” I said, “She won’t be there alone ; when
religion is coming to this she will have plenty of
comrades.”
Did the priest strike you ? Yes; across the face.
Were you near your confinement at the time P
Within two weeks of my confinement.
SEVERELY EEATEN.
MICHAEL O'CALLAGHAN, husband of last witness, said:—“The
IRev. Father Dermody, curate of our parish, at the latter end
of May canvassed me for my vote. He asked me hadn't I a vote 2 I
told him I didn't know whether I had or not. He told me that I had ;
that he saw my name on the sheet. He asked me would I back my
religion, and I said certainly. Then he told me if I voted for Pierce
Mahony I was voting against my religion. On the day of the nomi-
nation, I was coming up to my house after business. I saw some of
the cars; the people came down off the cars. They were beating
two men named Peter Shagley and Willie Holden. They came up
to me and knocked me down.”
How many men came to you ? Nearly a hundred.
Were there some forty or fifty cars? I could not say.
Did they beat you severely 2 Very severely.
You are what's known as a Parnellite 2 Yes.
---. I 78
PROTESTANTS NOT VOTING.
PATRICK KERNAN said he was a monitor in the National School
Oldcastle. “On the day of the declaration of the poll Father-
Graham addressed the people—about four or five hundred. He
said he saw Satan in the eyes of the Parnellites, and made a remark.
about the Protestants not voting.”
AN OLD WOMAN LEAPED ON.
MARY CAFFREY, an aged woman, deposed:—“I live in Butter
Street, Navan. On Ioth July a crowd of Mr. Davitt's supporters.
came up the street and pulled down a flag belonging to Mr. Pierce
Mahony. Instantly I went down, thinking they would not meddle me,
but they riz me up, leaped on me, and put my hip out of joint. I
was laid up five weeks, your honour, and I will be laid up the end of
my life, I am afraid. There was a priest there. He said,
“Let her lie there, the old b .” A man named
Sheridan, chairman of the Poor Law Board, was there. He called
Iſle 2, .”
FATHER DUFFY'S EEHAVIOUR.
JAMES GANNoN, of Rodenstown, said:—“I attended mass early
in June. Father Duffy, the curate, addressed the people before
the last Gospel. He said “there was a meeting got up in Syddon for
that day; got up against the priests and against the church, and he
advised none of his people to attend it, and not to be seen with such
a motley crew or crowd; that their real object in organising it was
to sell their porter.” That might be a reference to myself as I was
engaged in the spirit trade, and I helped to organise the meeting.
“He told the people not to attend from curiosity, that those who,
attended from curiosity would no doubt be put down as Parnellites.
“On 1 oth July I attended a meeting at Navan. Father Duffy
was in Navan also. He came home before me. About eight o'clock
I was in the street with some friends. Father Duffy came down
from the parochial house with a stick in his hand; he was walking in
a defiant manner. When the people saw him in the middle of the
road they divided to allow him to pass. He turned back after
passing through the crowd, and he asked me what I was doing—why
didn’t I go home. I said the people were doing no harm. He told
them to go home in a stern kind of way. Father Duffy walked
away, but came back again. Fearing that there might be a row, and
that I would be held responsible for it, I went to Father Duffy
and told him that he had no right to interfere with the people, as
they were quiet and orderly, and they would go home. He raised
L 79 j
the stick and left the point of it on my breast and said, ‘James, you
are the greatest opponent in the parish.' I said I hoped that it was
in the political sense that I was. He said, ‘Yes, politically.’ Then
I said I was proud of it, or something that way.”
What did he say then P. He pointed towards the house then—-
towards the license board or door, I don't know what he meant—
“I’ll watch that,” he said.
You have a publican's license 2 Yes. -
What did you say to that 2 I said I suppose he was capable of
doing the like. I said the house was conducted well, and I could defy
him and the police.
Did he do anything then? He raised a stick and struck one of the
men in the crowd. He struck him on the head, which was cut and
bleeding. Meehul, the man struck, said or done nothing to Father
Duffy. He then struck another man named Donegan, raising a
lump on his temple. The people then rushed in and took hold of the
stick. I told them to have patience. I got into the crowd and
pushed them on one side. I asked Father Duffy to leave go the
stick. I said “as bad as you think the people you'll not be hit. You.
have nothing to be afraid of.” The people then let go the stick.
JAMES CALLAN was sworn, and said:—“I was in the street at
Rodenstown on July IOth along with about thirty men. I saw the
Rev. Mr. Duffy come towards us from the parochial house. We
separated to let Father Duffy pass through. After going down
about five perches of the road the crowd that was on the street called
for a cheer for Pierce Mahony; they gave a cheer. Father Duffy.
returned, and he passed through the crowd twice; then he turned
short and struck a man named Thomas Meade with a stick.”
Mr. Justice Andrews—Struck him where 2 Struck him on
the side of the head over the ear.
Examination resumed:—-Did you see the blood flowing down his.
cheek 2 I did, sir.
What occurred then P. He went to the extreme end of the crowd
and he struck a man named Dolohan.
How 3 With a stick, on the side of the head, and knocked his hat
off and left a lump on his head.
Did the crowd say anything to him P. Not a word. He said to .
begone home out of that.
What did they say? They said they had as much right to be on
the road as what he had.
“James Gannon spoke to Father Duffy. He called Gannon
his greatest opponent in the parish, and said he had better be careful.
sº
[ 8o I
about that house. “I’ll watch it,” he says, “and I'll
hear of it.”
I was personation agent for Mr. Mahony at Drumcondrath booth.
Father Duffy was outside, he was speaking to voters. There
was a man of the name of John Moore. He asked Father Duffy
had he a vote in the district. Father Duffy had a register in his
hand and he looked over it. ‘It is John Moore here,’ he said, ‘of
Currabeg,' I was standing by. “That isn't you,' says I to the man.
“It is Johnny Moore, of Currabeg.” “Go in,’ says Father Duffy
to him, ‘and vote ’ says he. ‘Be careful what you are doing, John,'
says I. “Don’t get yourself in a hobble.” “Go in and vote,”
says the priest. He told the man two or three times to go in
and vote, and the man didn’t, and I believe he would have gone in
but that I was there.
About 12 o'clock a man was carried out of the booth in a fainting
condition, I thought he was dying. The Rev. Mr. Rooney,
P.P., of Drumcondrath, was outside the door of the booth as the
man was carried out. A man came up and asked him to come and
attend the man. “Come over, your reverence,” he said,
* and attend this man who is dying.” “Go on out of
that’ Father Rooney made answer, ‘I will have nothing to do
with ye.” The man put his hand on Father Rooney’s
shoulders. ‘He is one of our own, your reverence,’ he says, “and
attend him.’ Father Duffy then moved over to where the man
was. I then remarked in Father Rooney’s hearing that if the
man was a Parnellite he would be left to die without the priest.
There was a lot of sticks raised over my head, making
an offer to strike me at once, so I slipped into the Court House to
escape the blows.”
THOMAS MEADE said:—“He was on the street at Rodenstown on the
evening of the nomination. “I Remember Father Duffy coming
up. He struck me on the outside of the eye with a
Toig stick he had. It drew my blood. I gave him no
offence nor said a word. He struck another man also.”
Edward ADDY, of Foxtown, said:—-“Fatherl)uffy made reference
to the election petition in his sermon on Ist November, and a meeting
to be held at Syddon on the following Sunday. He said “that these
gentlemen, not being content with being well beaten, were courting
a greater beating, and that they came now to raise dissension in the
parish, and all that would attend that meeting their
rames would be taken down.’”
FRANCIs DoorigAn, examined on December 20th, and said:—“I
remember Father Duffy coming down the street of Loganstown
[ 81 ſ
on 10th July. He struck me on the head with a stick. I was
-standing with my back to the side of a car. . I did not say anything,
or offer any offence to the rev. gentleman before he struck.”
A DYING WIFE.
LUKE FLOOD, of Oristown, said:—“I am a voter for North Meath.
The Rev. M. Rafferty is curate of my parish. About a fort-
night before the poll he canvassed me for my vote. I told him I
would not give it to him. In the middle of October I asked the
reverend gentleman to come to adminster the last Saera-
rments to my wife who was dying. He told me
to go to Pierce Mahony. I said I came for him. He said it
was a busy day, and that he could not go till the evening. He came
in the evening and attended my wife, who died on the Tuesday
following. He did not speak to me, although he saw me.”
MARCH INTO NAVAN.
Joseph Collins, a farmer, said:—“I remember Father
Rafferty preaching in a neighbouring parish to me on Ioth July.
He said that there would be two meetings in Navan, that Mr. Davitt
would be there, and he told his party to meet at a certain place,
the priests would be there and they would march to
Navan. For a great number of years I had a ‘station” at my house.
Since my avowal of Parnellism the stations have been discontinued.
I met Father Cole on the road one day last March, and he said
I would regret it (my connection with Parnellism) all the days of my
life. He had always up to that time recognised me and been to my
house, since then he has not spoken or recognised me.”
A WIFE COES OUT OF HER MIND.
PATRICK REILLY said:—“On the day of nomination a procession
of brakes and cars passed me at the cross roads. A very old and
feeble man named McCabe was with me. The procession was very
suproarious, shouting and cheering for Davitt, and they asked me, by
-gestures and words, to cheer for the ‘workmen's friend.’ Mr. Davitt
was with them. A general halt was made ; but one car, with three
clergymen and a drunken layman named Gerraghty, the ‘Slasher of
Kells,” moved on. The Rev. Father Woods, administrator of
Navan, was holding him on the car. A number jumped down off
‘the cars. I was struck on the left shoulder with a
* Mass celebrated in a private house.
82 J
pole, and a second man knocked me. I was cut and
wounded. A reverend gentleman saved my life, and I blessed him ;
he told me to remember I saved him. My wife went out of
her mind in consequence of this conduct; she was under the
hallucination that when she heard crowds booing that they were
coming to attack our house.”
A GOOD MAN AND A FENIAN.
PATRICK MEEHAN, a shoemaker in Kells, said:—“A man named
Con. English came to me with a message from Father
Saughran, to know who I would vote for. I asked them who
they were going to put up for member. “Michael Davitt,’
says he, “a good man and a Fenian some time ago.” I
said I had not my mind made up.
I was at the retreat just before the election. I was at confession.
Father Casey spoke to me in the chapelyard about my vote, and
was I going to vote on the priests' side. I said I did not suppose it
would answer me to go on that side.”
** I’M THE COUNTRY.”
MICHAEL GILSENAN, of Kilskyre parish, said:—“He was can-
vassed by Rev. Mathew Kenny the evening before the poll.
A man named Giblin was with him. They were making a house-to-
house canvass. He says, “Come up here, my lad, I want you.' I
obeyed his summons, and the next thing he says is, ‘Why did I
curse the priest ? '.. I says, ‘No,' and he says, “Yes, sir,’ and I
says, ‘No, sir,’ and he says, “Yes, sir.’ I says, “I deny it,” and
he says, “Who are you going to support P’ I says, “The country,”
and he says, “I’m the country, and will you give me your
vote ’’ and I says, “No. Your candidate isn't a competent man for
the Country, nor for the county Meath either, sir. Nor he couldn't
be so and be a man that could pull out a revolver last Sunday, as I
heard. My parish priest was there, and he never told that to me.’
I said he would show more respect for a dog than he did.
when he canvassed me over my vote.”
FATHER CLARKE'S BRUTALITY.
ANTHONY SMITH said he was at Nobber on day of polling. He saw
Owen Reilly knocked down by Father Clarke. “I was a few
yards from Reilly, he was addressing some remarks, but to no one in
Tarticular. Reilly said that everyone should be allowed to vote
[ 83 ]
according to his conscience, then Father Clarke said “withdraw
those words,’ and I turned for an instance, and when I looked round
Reilly was on the ground, and appeared insensible. He was muttering
something like a man in a dream. Mr. Mahony then appeared on
the scene and asked the people to be quiet, and they took his bidding.”
Mr. PIERCE MAHONY, the Petitioner, in his evidence stated :-
“On the day of the polling I went to Nobber, and was met at the
station by a few friends, and the sergeant of police, who communicated
to me that he hadn't sufficient force to protect me, and he asked me
not to go up, I told him I must visit the booths.
Do you remember being in one of the booths when some one
called for you? Yes, Mr. O'Brien.
When you went out did you see a priest, whose name you since
learned to be Father Clarke, on the roadway ? I saw him
surrounded by a very excited crowd. I rushed into the middle and
tried to push them back.
“I inquired what happened, and was told that a man had been
knocked down by a priest. I went over to the man. He was just
beginning, apparently, to become conscious, and I heard a little more
about it. I then went back to the priest and I said, ‘You know
that no man in this country likes to hit a gentleman
of your cloth, and under the circumstances it is
a cowardly thing to hit any man.” He said—“If you
don’t withdraw that I’ll hit you.” I said “I’ll not
withdraw it. It was a cowardly thing.” The crowd then closed in.
Then a reverend gentleman, whom I since learned was Father
Everard, came out of another booth and took Father Clarke
away.”
AN ENGLISHMAN’S OPINION.
Mr. BENNETT BURLEIGH [of the London Telegraph] drew my
attention to the fact that a Magistrate named Mr. Walker was on the
Street. I went up and asked him was he a Magistrate, he said he was.
I called his attention to the fact that a very serious assault had been
committed, and I expressed the opinion that Father Clarke ought
to be arrested. He then said it would be, I think the word he used
was dangerous to arrest a clergyman. Mr. Burleigh said—‘I
don’t know what you do in this country, but we
would make short work of him in England.” I
said I thought it would be his duty to see that the police had his
proper name and address in order that he might be prosecuted.”
[ 84
ATTEMPT AT PERSONATION.
THOMAS FARRELLY, of Oldcastle, said:—“I acted for Mr.
Mahony at Oldcastle. I saw a man named Coyle brought in to vote.
He had to be carried in and out from the car. He was carried up
by four or five agents of Mr. Davitt's. Coyle was personating another
man, and he was objected to and not allowed to vote. He was
cal ried out same way.”
TYPICAL SERMONS.
Mr. FRANCIs Doy LE, a reporter on the Daily Independent staff,
said:——“I attended mass at Oldcastle on 3rd July. Father
Graham officiated at 8 o'clock mass, I took a note of his speech
from the altar. He read the pastoral, and, continuing, said——“That is
a very serious pronouncement to come from the head of the diocese,
and if any man feels inclined to contradict that he is certainly not in
the right faith. He says invincible ignorance may be an excuse for
this, but I think after the light that has been thrown upon the matter
there will be no such thing as invincible ignorance. If any man
believes in Parnellism he really has fallen in the faith, although he
doesn't know it. A man might have been misled into a kind of belief
that he is right, but his conscience must arise and he cannot be
excused by that. This thing of Parnellism is not defined, but is no
less an article of faith. If you believe in it you commit
a mortal sin, you defy the Church and make
yourself open to excommunication.
At second mass Father Brogan, the curate, celebrated mass.
Before he read the pastoral he said:——“Next Sunday Mr. Davitt and
others will address a great county meeting in Navan at three o'clock.
A special train will leave Oldcastle for the Navan meeting at one
o'clock, at a small fare, and will return at half-past six the same
evening. Perhaps I may remark that, owing to the success of the
meeting on last Wednesday, and from the fact that Mr. Mahony will
be present in Oldcastle to-day, I think it would be little short of
political apostacy for any individual, even a single one, who was
present at the meeting on last Wednesday, to attend to-day to hear him
speak. Of course, it is only right and reasonable that he should
address those of his political creed. I think they are very few, and
it is your business to abstain with iron coldness from having hand,
act or part in the meeting to-day which he is going to address.’
He then referred to Mr. Parnell and his one-man power, Captain
O'Shea, and the Galway election; concluding as follows:—“I’ll read
for you the pastoral letter of your bishop on this matter,
and I am quite sure, though it is a little long, you'll listen to it with
[ 85
every respect and attention. In the hierarchy of Ireland I am sure
there is no man who has done so much for Ireland, and for his own
people, and for his own priests. He now comes before you
as the accredited minister of God to teach you. I ask
you to take in every syllable of it and be convinced by it.’
He was standing on the altar in his vestments
when he delivered, this harangue.”
“THE BLESSED SACRAMENT.”
JAMES DALY swore “that on the second day before the polling he
met Father Brady. He asked me was I a Davittite or a
Mahonyite. I said I believed in the policy of Independent Opposi-
tion. On that he jumped off the car and caught me by the throat,
and dragged me about on the road. He held a whip over my head.
I begged him for God's sake not to strike me—-that I was a good
Catholic, and that I never insulted a clergyman in my life, or never
meant to do so. Then he gave me a final shake and let me go.
I did not forget that he was a priest, and was
carrying the Blessed Sacrament about with him,
i. on that account I did not or would not insult
im.”
FATHER CASEY.
PATRICK BYRNE said:—“On the day of the polling I was in Kimgate
Street, Navan, at one o'clock. I was talking to a friend. . There
was some sort of rush, and Rev. C. Casey walked up, raised a
heavy blackthorn stick and struck me on the head,
cut me right through a hard hat, the blood flowed down over my eyes
and blinded me. I had not said a word. I got my wounds dressed
at the local hospital. I was not able to work for three days. I never
knew the reverend gentleman, and never gave him any offence.”
The REV. C. CASEY was examined on December 21st, and said
“he was on the streets at Navan on polling day. There was a crowd
around a man named McDermott.”
What did the crowd do then They rushed as I took it at me—as
much or more at me than at McDermott.
Did they raise their sticks 2 I do not remember about that. They
rushed me round and hustled me about, and carried me away from
the position in which I was standing. My hat was knocked off.
Did you do anything then in self-defence I believe, furthermore,
this man Byrne struck me. I won’t swear to it positively, but I will
tell you about it. Looking back—
| 86 |
Mr. Justice Johnson—Is that the case in which informations have
been returned 2
Mr. O’Shaughnessy—It is, my lord. .
Mr. Justice Johnson—It is exceedingly difficult to try a case on
the merits which is subjudice.
A MARKED MAN.
EDWARD SMITH said “he attended Mr. Mahony's meeting at Nobber.
I was on a car. Mr. Anthony Smith was behind me. Father
Brady was in Kilmainham Wood as we were going through to
Nobber. Father Brady said, referring to Mr. Anthony Smith,
‘Smith, you'll be marked in the parish for the future.’ ‘Well,
Father Brady, I don't care,” said he. “I’ll stick to my principles.’”
ANTHONY SMITH, referred to by last witness, said:--"With reference
to the remark of Father Brady, that I would be a marked man.
I was sitting on my own car, coming down from my mother's house,
when Father Brady appeared on the scene. There is a bridge
on the road, and I did not see him until he addressed me. He re-
marked that I would be a marked man in the parish. I replied that I
would stand by my principles.
On Sunday, the Ioth October, I was coming from mass, accom-
panied by a friend, on the bridge I met a Mr. Fitzsimons. I was
speaking to him on the bridge for his car—I don’t know whether it
was his own car or Father Brady's—but Father Brady arrived
there, and he said to Mr. Fitzsimons that he ought not to be speak-
ing to such a blackguard as I was.”
Did you make any observation ? None.
What happened then He got up on the car, and he pointed a
paper back to me and said I would regret my conduct in the parish
during the past week. I replied that I did not want to hold any con-
versation with him after using these words to me. He then called
me a blackguard two or three times.
What had you been doing 3 I had been doing nothing at all,
except that I had been to a public meeting in support of Mr. Mahony.
** A SOUPER FROM KERRY.”
Mr. A. CASEY, Editor of Drogheda Independent, produced a copy
of his paper of August 6th, containing report headed “Welcome
home to Dr. Nulty,” supplied by Father Kearney, of Mullingar.
Mr. O'Shaughnessy then read from the speech of the Most Rev.
[ 87 )
Dr. Nulty, made on the occasion of his arrival in Mullingar, in
which he said it had been sought in the contest in North Meath to
put Michael Davitt on equality with Mr. Mahony, the Souper* from
Kerry, but that they had carried Davitt triumphantly in spite of Tories
and Factionists.
A GIRL KNOCKED DOWN BY A PRIEST.
PATRICK SHERLock also deposed —“On Ioth July, the day of the
meeting at Navan, a procession came in led by Mr. Davitt. There
were thirty or forty clergymen present. I was standing on the
Courthouse steps, and there was a girl standing just Opposite
me, and a horse was running away behind, and as the horse was
running away, Mr. Davitt and the priests turned, and
as they were turned back they met the girl just opposite me,
and the clergyman up with his umbrella and knocked
her hat off, with the left hand, and struck her with
the stick with the right hand.”
Was she speaking or cheering 2 No more than I was.
Did he knock her down P. He did; and there was
another priest coming to hit her and she lying.
Do you say that he was going again to hit her.” Yes; and I lifted
her up. I said he was not a clergyman that could strike a girl. He
said that “he would put his stick down my throat if
I interfered.”
Was not the girl bleeding 2 She had on a white dress, and there
was blood running down from her head.
As far as you saw on that occasion, were not the clergymen the
ringleaders of the mob There was nothing going in with Mr.
Davitt on that day but murderers.
BADLY EEATEN.
JAMES HARRELL said:—“He acted as personating agent for Mr.
Mahony. In the evening I was passing across the street with a
Mr. Gore to a public house. The crowd assaulted us with
Sticks. I was badly beaten and laid up for a
fortnight. The door of the public house was shut against me.”
* The word “Souper” is used as a term of reproach, applied to Protestants,
whether Nonconformists or members of the Church of Ireland. Its meaning
originated in the fact of gifts of food, clothing and other material comforts
being made by Protestants to Roman Catholic poor, with the object, alleged
by the Catholic clergy, of converting them.
I 88 |
MR. PIERCE MAHONY.
Mr. PIERCE MAHONY, the petitioner, was examined on Dec. 19th.
He said:—“I am a Protestant, so were my father and grandfather.
I used to reside at Kilmorna, near Listowel, Co. Kerry. I have left it
now. I remember attending the County Meath convention four days
after the Divorce Court proceedings. There were thirty-five priests.
present. Father Behan spoke. Father Woods, the
administrator, acted as Secretary of the convention.
I lunched with the Bishop after the meeting, Father Woods,
took me over. His lordship sat next to me and spoke in a friendly
way; I went straight from there to the famous Leinster Hall meeting.
The witness then referred to an alleged insulting statement made by
him regarding the priests of Ireland to Mr. Halley Stewart, an English,
M.P., which he declared was absolutely untrue.
At a Convention held in Trim on 16th June I was selected to
again contest the division: from that date I spent a great part of the:
time in the constituency.”
POLITICAL NEWS FROM THE ALTAR.
REV, JoBN CASSIDY, in cross-examination, was asked:—
Tell me, you are a man, as I understand from your direct
examination, who takes very little interest in politics—is it allowed
by the Rubric to read out from the altar steps the result of a
contested election ? I never heard a word against it. It is an
announcement.
An announcement of what Merely an announcement that might.
be of interest to the parishioners.
You did not read about the Waterford election ? No.
Because the Parnellite won there 2 Yes.
But amongst the prayers of the dead you read.
from the altar step the news of Mr. Redmond’s,
defeat in Cork P I did not read it out amongst the prayers
for the dead. There were announcements of stations and other
ImatterS.
Amongst those matters you read out this interesting anti-Parnellite:
bit of news 2 Yes.
With your vestments on ? Yes.
I 89 l
MR. DAVITT AS CLERICAL MAGISTRATE
MAKER.
MR. MICHAEL DAVITT, the respondent, was cross-examined on
December 21st, as follows:—Did you write a letter to a priest, asking
that certain names should be sent up to the Lord Chancellor to be
appointed justices of the peace 2 No; I asked him for certain names
of popular men in the county eligible for the magistracy,
Listen. Is not that a copy of your letter (handing witness a
document) P That, I think, is a copy of the letter.
That is after the election. Who is this addressed to ? Father
Relly.
Is this it:—
“Ballybrack, Sept. 19th, 1892.
º “DEAR FATHER,-Will you please write to the priests of the chief
districts in North and South Meath requesting them to send in to me
as soon as convenient the names (in full), the addresses and occupa-
tions of the representative laymen who ought to be justices of the
peace—men, for example, like 3 y
Who is the blank? I think Mr. Everett.
Wasn't he a supporter of yours ? He was.
There is another blank. Who is the other ? I do not know the
second one. Probably it was some gentleman from Crossakiel whose
name I cannot recollect.
Another supporter of yours? Another representative of popular
feeling.
Another supporter of yours—of what you call popular feeling 2
Very likely.
Very likely, you say. And then the letter goes on—“Or y
near your place. It is the intention of the Lord Chancellor to create
throughout the country a good number of magistrates, representing
popular feeling, and I wish to submit a number of names from Meath.
The men proposed must be: First, respectable; second, intelligent;
and third, in character and general qualification worthy representatives
of National feeling. No publican is eligible.
“Yours very truly,
“MICHAEL DAVITT.”
Is not that a very queer letter for you to write to the principal priest
who supported you—Father Kelly—at whose house you lived 2
I see nothing wrong in it.
[ 9o l
T H E J U D G M E N T .
©
Q
«»
MR. JUSTICE ANDREWS in delivering judgment, after dealing with
some legal aspect of the case, said—I now proceed to deal, and I shall
do so as concisely as I properly can, with what has been proved
during the trial of this case; and, first of all, with respect to the
charge of undue influence. The undue influence which was relied
on by the petitioner's counsel, both in the opening statement and in
the reply, was that species of undue influence which consists of
spiritual intimidation, by which I mean the infliction or threat of
any spiritual injury, harm, or loss with the object of influencing votes.
The evidence, however, and I heard it with the deepest regret,
disclosed a considerable number of cases which I cannot leave
unnoticed, in which clergymen who had involved themselves, as I
think most unfortunately, in the strife and struggle of this election
contest, allowed loss of temper to betray them into
DEPLORABLE ACTS OF PERSONAL VIOLENCE,
which, in some instances, were sworn to have been committed even
against women, and some of which no provocation could justify.
It is satisfactory that an opportunity for a public explanation of these
acts has been afforded to those who were implicated in them, and
that the respondent's counsel have had an opportunity of addressing
the court upon all these cases. In the course of the evidence for the
respondent some of the alleged acts of violence have been denied, and
others have been presented in a different light from that in which they
were left at the close of the petitioner's case. Still, much that is most
regrettable remains; but as two of these cases have become the
subject of pending prosecutions, and as some others of them may
possibly come to be investigated elsewhere, I shall refrain from
making any further observations respecting them than these: first,
although the clergymen alluded to say, as I shall show hereafter, be
properly regarded as agents of the respondent in relation to such
matters as the promulgation of the bishop's pastoral of the 29th of
June, and the production of the effect which it was intended to
produce among the electors, I think it only just to say that I entirely
acquit the respondent of any complicity, direct or indirect, in these
acts of personal violence, and the remaining observation I have to
I 91 j
make respecting them is that gravely censurable though such acts
after the election could not upon the evidence, and having regard
to the law, have been avoided thereby. As regards -
THE BISHOPS PASTORAL LETTER,
which has undergone so much discussion, I have on a previous
occasion been obliged to express my opinion, which was not
formed without consideration, and which I have been unable to
change. I have not overlooked anything which was so forcibly
urged both at the trial of the South Meath petition, and at this trial,
by the able counsel who led for the respondent in both, nor the clear
evidence given at this trial by the Rev. Peter McNamee.
I can neither decide, nor with propriety offer an opinion upon,
any of the Ecclesiastical or Theological questions which the
pastoral may give rise. These, as I said before, are not matters
for me. Although the Statute Law classes the offence of undue
influence among what it defines as corrupt practices, it is not
essential in order to determine whether this offence has been
Committed to find a corrupt motive in the ordinary sense of those
words. Its illegality both at Common Law under and Statute Law
lies in its interference with what the law so jealously guards—the
freedom of election. It is not my duty or province to investigate the
motives of the bishop or his clergy in relation to the pastoral any
further than to ascertain whether their action was with the object of
influencing votes; but it is my duty to declare that their action with
reference to the pastoral, pending an election, as the expressed
purpose of the pastoral was to induce electors to vote at the impending
election in favour of one candidate and against the other, the election
was voided at Common Law by reason of the widespread
GENERALITY OF ITS INFLUENCE,
and under Statute Law by reason of its amounting to undue
influence within the meaning of the second section of the Act
of 1883, and of its promulgators having been the agents of the
respondent with reference to it—for such I hold they clearly
became. The evidence, in my judgment, irresistibly establishes
that during the election period the respondent was aware of,
and adopted and availed himself without objection of, the action of
the bishop and his clergy in relation to the pastoral, and what was
sought to be thereby impressed upon the electors, and he thus made
them his agents and involved himself in responsibility for their
action in that regard. It appears from his own evidence that
on the 28th June he was aware of the bishop's intention to issue
a pastoral with reference to the election, and that he requested the
IRev. Mr. McNamee to convey to the bishop the respondent's
I 92 l
earnest request not to issue the pastoral until the election was.
over, believing that it could do him no good and might do him,
harm. Whether this request was actually conveyed he did not
inquire, but next day
THE PASTORAL WAS ISSUED AND PUBLISHED,
and it was publicly read in all the chapels on the following Sunday. .
Some of the clergy who so read it commented upon it and enforced
it ; others read it without comment. In both cases it received their
Sanction and obtained publicity as an authorised pastoral from the
bishop, which spoke for itself without comment. No more effective
publicity could have been given, its tendency and object were patent, .
and the respondent with full knowledge of it availed himself of these
things without objection. The case is widely different from that of a .
supporter merely attending a candidate's meeting or even being on
his election committee or simply canvassing for him, though this .
might be more important, and many of the clergy did actively canvass
for the respondent. It has been truly said that laymen were largely
associated with the clergy in matters relating to the election, but it is .
quite plain that
THE CLERGY WERE THE LEADERS
and that the respondent was their nominee, willingly accepting their
aid, influence, and action on his behalf. I do not agree that undue
spiritual influence is, in point of law, subject to exactly the same
considerations as undue influence by physical violence. The former
is a much more subtle form of influence, and its full effect is much
more difficult to estimate. I think it clear that if it has prevailed so .
generally that the result of the election may be reasonably believed to
have been affected thereby, the court, cannot be called on, before
voiding the election, to determine, as a matter of fact, that if this
influence had not existed the result of the election would have been
different. From the very nature of the influence in question this .
could scarcely ever been done, and, in my opinion, even in the case of
undue physical influence of a widespread and general character no
such doctrine applies.
THE HISTORY OF THIS ELECTION
certainly affords no safe grounds for a conclusion that if the
election had been free the result would have been the same. .
On the contrary, any impartial mind which appreciates the
powerful effect likely to be produced by the pastoral and its promul-
gation from the altar by so many parish priests and curates.
[ 93 ]
‘throughout a constituency in which the Roman Catholic
•electors have not yet been divorced from their Spiritual allegiance
to and their veneration for the sacred office of their clergy, must
regard it as at least a matter of grave doubt, considering the marked
difference of opinion which had arisen and prevailed whether a free
-election would not have resulted in the petitioner's return. The
impression which has been produced upon my mind by the evidence,
though it may not in fact be a correct one, is that it would. Sermons
were delivered during the election period by the bishop and a number
of his clergy which I cannot leave unnoticed, though I desire to refrain
from any unnecessary reference to them. Some of them were upon
the lines of the pastoral and some were irrespective of it. There are
portions of some of these sermons which appear to me, if I may be
permitted to say so, little in harmony with the sacred office of the
preachers and the temples of religion in which they were preached.
If upon the entire evidence some of them which referred to bringing
‘Sticks and have been severely criticised as inciting to violence, ought
"not in fairness to be so interpreted, and in my opinion they ought not,
still can it be said that, spoken as they were at a time of great
excitement, they were not likely to lead to violence; and if the
'uncontradicted account given of other of
THESE SERMONS
is even only approximately correct, they unquestionably went far
beyond legitimate counsel or allowable exhortation or appeal, and
their preachers by undue use sadly milused their powerful influence.
To what further length could undue spiritual influence go than for a
bishop to declare from the altar that Parnellism, which was the
political faith of one of the contending parties, was no better than
heresy, and that he would approach the death bed of a profligate or a
drunkard with greater confidence as to his salvation than he would
that of a Parnellite; or for a priest to preach from the altar that to
believe in Parnellism was to commit a mortal sin, and was to defy the
Church and expose to excommunication.
... After dealing with the allegations of violence and treating which the
learned judge held had not been sufficiently proved, he concluded by
declaring that his colleague and himself had come to the conclusion
that the election ought to be voided.
MR. JUSTICE JoHNSON, after some preliminary observations, said:—
I now approach a part of this case with deep regret. To some it
may be a source of some satisfaction, but to those to whom religion
is dear, no matter where they worship, it must be a source of sorrow
and pain. When religion calls upon all who cherish her to stand
| 94 l
together for the right it is said that she should find herself wounded.
in the house of her friends. There is evidence of
ACTS OF ASSAULT BY INDIVIDUAL PRIESTS,
for which two of them now stand returned for trial, and which most
of them have not been examined to deny. It may be that excuse is.
found in this, that, stung by insults, blinded by temper, or anticipating
personal injury to themselves, they were carried away by the impulse
and excitement of the moment, to the commission of acts which their
sober reflection condemns. But for me the question is how do these
acts affect the respondent’s seat. He was no party to them—his
interference—on the evidence before us—when any violence occurred
was in the interests of peace, and we cannot be affected by any isolated
acts of individual men further than—and they were so relied on as I
understood by the petition, as they show the active part which these
priests took in the election which
THEY ALMOST MADE THEIR OWN.
In much the same light, so far as the respondent is concerned, do I
view the withdrawal—for so I find it to be—of the privilege of private
mass from the Kelshes, the ceasing to hold the usual station in the:
house of Collins, a respectable farmer, or angry exclamation to
Gannon, about his signboard and his store. All these are regrettable:
incidents, to be deplored in themselves, but for which the respondent
cannot be held answerable, in my opinion. Nor can the respondent,
in my opinion, be held answerable through this for undue influence
by what for convenience has been rather inaccurately termed physical
intimidation which is not proved in this case. These matters may be
dealt with in the ordinary course of law, but there remains what must,
in my opinion, void this election. The evidence has abundantly
established that undue influence by Spiritual intimidation has prevailed
throughout the entire of the electorate division of North Meath, and
for this the respondent by his agents is responsible by the Common
Law of Parliament and under the Corrupt Practices Prevention Act.
Agency does not depend solely on formal appointment by the
respondent—though he appointed many of the priests his personation
agents—it is a fact to be gathered from all the circumstances in
evidence in each case, and in the present case the evidence is
clear. The respondent placed himself and left himself
IN THE HAND'S OF THE CLERGY
to manage and procure his election. From the railway station to the
parochial house, the residence of the bishop, thence he proceeds to and
returns from the Convention in the Catholic Seminary, where he was
[ 95
adopted candidate. From the hands of a priest, one of the treasurers.
of the fund raised by the organising committee for election expenses,.
he received £200 to pay the sheriff's expenses. Priests accompany
and attend him everywhere, canvass for him, deſiver addresses in their
churches on his behalf; he stays with a priest when in this country,
and gives his residence as a priest's house in the appointments of his
personation agents; he takes the services of the priests; he goes to
the poll on the nomination of the bishop. The evidence of agency
appears to me to be incontrovertible.
THERE REMAINS THEN THE PASTORAL,
Its public promulgation in every parish and in every Catholic Church,
and the means by which its teaching and its influence were urged
and enforced on the Catholic electors. I decline to enter on or
contemplate the theological aspect of the case to which our attention
was invited, and I entirely disclaim any intention to discuss or
consider these matters, which are beyond the Scope of my duty. On
the 2nd July the bishop deemed it fit to publish this pastoral in the
Drogheda newspaper, and he ordered all his clergy to read it on
Sunday, the 3rd July, at all masses in their several churches in a loud'
and distinct voice. It has been so often read—it has been so fully
discussed in all its parts—that I should not feel justified in Occupying
time in discussing it in detail again.
TWO PASSAGES ONLY
I shall refer to. “Now Parnellism,” he says, “strikes at the very root
and saps the very foundations of Catholic faith. I have already
proved, I trust to your satisfaction, that Parnellism is much more than
a political question, and that it is an essentially and an intensely
religious question as well, All the successors of the Apostles in
this country—‘ that is to say the 29 archbishops and bishops of
Ireland’—have solemnly warned and taught their respective flocks
that Parnellism was unlawful and unholy, that it was in distinct,
direct, and essential antagonism with the principles of Christian
morality, and even dangerous to their faith as Catholics, and,
consequently that they should shun and avoid it. They who refuse to:
accept that teaching or that principle on the unanimous authority of
the whole Irish hierarchy deprive themselves of every rational ground
or motive for believing in the truth of any of the other doctrines of
religion, because it is solely on the authority which they here despise
and decry that they know, or possibly can know, that any one of
those doctrines was ever revealed at all by Almighty God. If the
bishops can mislead or deceive their flocks on this particular doctrine
what is to prevent their doing exactly the same in the case of any of
the other doctrines which they are continually teaching f
| 96 l
INVINCIBLE ICNORANCE
may undoubtedly excuse many of the misguided but well-intentioned
men who still cling to Parnellism, but no intelligent or well-informed
man can continue and remain a Catholic as long as he elects to cling
to Parnellism,” and then after powerfully depicting the result if the
priests (as he puts in the Irish, so dear to many, the soggarth aroon)
should ever lose the confidence of his people and be regarded as a
traitor to the interests of his country, he says, “This is the natural
tendency, and will be the inevitable result of Parnellism. I earnestly
implore you then, dearly beloved, to stamp out by your votes, at the
coming election, this great moral, social and religious evil.” This was
addressed to the clergy and laity of the diocese of Meath. It was
published from the altar in every church, at every mass, so that no
one could escape it. It was read aloud by the officiating priest—read
in his vestments. It was affixed in a conspicuous place. The
bishop, preaching at Second mass at Trim, from the
, alter, in his vestments, says, “Parnellism *—and the bishop
has not been called to contradict any of this evidence—“Parnellism
was moral ruin, improper and unholy. The Parnell-
ites were ſofing their faith and becoming heretics;
that if the people did not believe him in the doctrine
of Parnellism, how could they believe him on other
things, such as confession and communion.” Again
at the other mass he is proved to have spoken about Parnellism, and
said—“It was nothing better than heresy; in its teaching it was
immoral and considered so by the Irish priests, and condemned by
the bishops of the Irish Catholic Church; and that he would
approach the deathbed of the profligate and the
drunkard with greater confidence as to his salvation
than that of a Parnellite.” And this was from the altar
and robed in his vestments. Then he said:—“Any woman that
sympathised with Parnellism
WAS WORSE THAN AN ABANDONED WOMAN,”
and then there was this pathetic appeal—“He appealed to us by
everything we held dear, to take his advice on this matter; that he
had lived with us as curate, as parish priest, and as bishop, and that
he hoped the people would give up Parnellism and blot it out from
amidst them.” The old bishop, standing on the steps of the altar,
appealing to his life, that it was spent amongst them, that in the days
of his youth, in his manhood, and then in his old age—all this was
used to enforce this teaching that I have read. In Navan on the 10th
July, the Sunday before the polling,
| 97 J
THE BISHOP MAKES THIS FINAL APPEAL :
it is not the final appeal. He said—Mr. Davitt and his
supporters were coming to Navon, more in the
interests of religion than any political matter. He
said it was more a religious matter than a political matter, and
that the numbers that would come would cow the Parnellites.” The
following appeal, and the only one which it is necessary further to
refer to on the part of the bishop is this. It is the farewell before
the election, it was the Sunday before the polling day. The bishop
referred to it, and he said:—“It was the last Sunday he
would have the opportunity of speaking to them,
and he said that any man that would vote for
Mr. Mahony that he would stand before the Bar of
Justice—which everybody who gave evidence, and
who heard him, says must have meant the Bar of
Almighty God—that he would plead against them in
reference to that.” That was the Sunday before the polling.
My learned brother reminds me that there was a witness examined
deposing to the same circumstance, slightly varying the words, and
we have not had the advantage of these matters explained by the
bishop, which have been urged against him. With regard to the
teaching of the priests, upon that I will only refer to one sermon in
evidence of it. My learned brother has already referred to it, and I
just refer to the earlier part of it. It is
FATHER GREHAN'S SERMON,
and he says:–“I will not now read to you all the pastoral, but I will
read to you the principal portions, which I think you ought well to
consider.” Then he read the pastoral, and he said:—“This is a very
serious pronouncement to come from the head of the diocese.” How
would any of the priests throughout the diocese consider it except as
a serious pronouncement P And then he says—“If any man feels
inclined to contradict that, he is certainly not in the right faith.”
He says—“Invincible ignorance may be an excuse for this,” and here
is the clergyman’s comment—“After the light that has been thrown
upon the matter there will be no such thing as invincible ignorance.
If any man believes in Parnellism, he really has fallen in the faith,
although he does not know it. A man may have been misled into a
kind of belief that he is right, but his conscience must arise, and he
cannot be excused by that ; ” that is to say, the nature of Parnellism
is not defined, but it is no less an article of faith; if you believe in it
you commit mortal sin. Any one who believes in these political
principles commits mortal sin, defies the Church and exposes himself
to excommunication ; lost in mortal sin for the world to come ; in
the world that is, exposed to be cut off from the rights of Communion
with his Church, and the comforts and consolations of religion.
| 98 |
Consider the formidable character of the most
powerful engine in effecting spiritual intimidation.
Regarding its time, its place, its circumstances, in my opinion it
is undue influence. It is, in my opinion, undue influence, within
the Act of 1883, as well as within the Common Law of Parliament,
and I therefore think that this election must be set aside.
I N D E X .
A circle round a voter ... * * > tº º & gº tº º
A Davittite car party e - © e - e. e is a e is e
Addy, E., evidence on Father Duffy e sº • * >
A dying wife ... ... * * > tº ºr ſº tº ºr -
A fiery sermon ... & e - • * * º, e x e e e tº e - e a e
Afraid to vote ... tº gº tº - - - tº e g tº ſº e ºr e > &
A good man and a Fenian
* - ſº
-
Allen, T., evidence on Father Fay ... tº & © º &
A marked man e & e e ºf e tº e G q : ºf 6 &
A matter of religion & © tº & a ve tº e tº tº º
A meeting summoned in sacristy ... is is • * *
An adulterers' meeting... tº º 0. e tº º e e ſº
An altar warning to attend tº e a tº º e
Andrews, Mr. Justice, Judgment ... ºr e º
Anointing the dying ... & © tº © e º tº º sº tº ſº tº g º ºr
An old curate's interference ... tº º ºs tº a º e & © e & &
An old woman leaped on ... tº e e tº º º e - G g is tº
A pensioner and his certificate tº º ºs tº e & & a - © tº gº
Appendix A. ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
A priest and the souper - tº º e tº º © tº e e - e. tº º º
A priest in a passion ... tº º e & E & tº tº tº * * ºn º 4 tº
Asim to be a Parnellite - © tº tº º ſº tº tº e * @ 9 tº º º
A souper from Kerry tº º e * * * tº ſº tº tº ſº º
Assault on an agent ... tº tº º • e e e e e & a tº º:
Assaults by Priests ... ... ... ... 72, 73, 77, 78,
Badly beaten . . ... tº a tº •- • . . • * tº o
Bailey, E., evidence on Father Casey's sermon ... * * >
IBarry, T., , , ,, Father Fay's sermon ...
Behan, Father, canvasser, in confessional box ...
}} » J. McKenna’s evidence ... * * * tº gº &
}} » M. Lowry's evidence * * * * * * º, º º
3) , Mr. P. Mahony’s evidence (bºo to e ſº
}} ,, P. Kelligan’s evidence ... * * *
}} , W. Skelly's evidence * - e. tº º is
}} o, Jas. Cowley's evidence ... ... ...
}} , G. Plunkett's evidence ... - © tº tº ºn tº
?? » at a funeral ... * * * * * * e - e. tº º e
Bennett, Jas., evidence of ... ... Q & B e - e. e is s
Blackthorns to be carried ... & e tº * - e. * - e. * *
Bonis, Jas., evidence on priests canvassing * - c. tº º is
Bracken, F., evidence on the spitting incident ... * * *
Brady, Father, a power... º “º e tº a o
$ 2 3 3 assaults a Parnellite * tº ſº. º
33 53 A. Smith’s evidence on ... * - e.
tº tº º tº e e Jº $ tº
& © tº
• * *
e e
*eºoºe
2
3
87
75, 80, 82, 83, 85, 87
tº e - 87
... 44
tº e º 42
e tº º 42
* c e 42
º 88
{} 42
tº ºn tº 42
* * * 43
* > * 43
© º º 43
28
º 31
35
e 20
tº tº º 37
85
... 86
IOO INDEX.
Brady, Father, E. Smith’s evidence tº tºº º º º tº ſº tº
3 * 9 3 tº aly’s 5 ... ?? tº e º & tº tº º º tº a tº
9 y 3 y P. Moore’s evidence on sermon of tº º ºs
y
2 3 2 p. T. Byrne's , , , , 3 3 © tº gº
5 y 2 3 calls meeting in Sacristy ... tº º ſº tº ſº º
,, W. Hughe's evidence tº tº º tº tº G
3 y tº a tº
Brennan, C., evidence on intimidation at Clonard tº ſº tº
Brien, M., evidence on Father Fay's sermon ... • gº º
Briody, Father, M. McKenna's evidence on sermon of
53 , on duty of people towards priests tº ſº º
y 2 º J. J. Dalton's evidence ... ... ...
?? , B. Carew's evidence He is º jº º º tº ſº º
} } ,, and the parson tº º e in tº tº tº º e tº e tº
} } , cross-examined © º © tº º tº e ſº e tº is
Brogan, C., evidence on refusal of admission to mass ...
2 3 • 9 3 5 }} }} • * *
,, Father, F. Doyle’s evidence on sermon of ...
,, Thomas, evidence on Father O’Connell's sermon
Buchanan, IFather, B. Carew's evidence ... * ſº e tº º
by , cross-examined ... tº tº & sº º s * u, ſº
Burleigh, Mr. Bennett, opinion of gº ºf e gº tº e
Byrne, P., assaulted by Father Casey & © tº tº gº º tº e is
,, , , evidence on 3 2 . tº tº º * g e
,, ... evidence on Father Fay's sermon
Byrne, Thos., evidence re Father Brady ...
C
Caffery, Mary, evidence of , ... * * * © tº g * - tº
Callaghan, Mrs. A., struck by a priest e e & tº e tº
}} 5 3 evidence of ... § º º tº ſº tº
Callan, Jas.; evidence on Father T)uffy ... Q & A
Callery, Father, J. Moonen’s evidence
2? 55 instructs voter to give false name
on Parnellites as adulterers © º º
y • ?
Campbell, Father, on Parnellites ... © tº gº tº a ſº © º ºs
Cantwell, Father, in the polling booth ... ge e & tº e it
Canvassing at tile chapel door tº e ſº * g e § e Q tº e m
2 3 in the confessional tº tº º tº G tº tº g tº & º º
Carew, B., evidence on Father Briody's sermon ... © tº º
25 evidence re Father Buchanan ... º e Q
5 5 evidence re Father Fay ... tº tº º g º ºs tº º º
,, Miss J., evidence on Father O’Connell's sermon
}} 5 y 5 3 9 3 5 3
Carey, Father, instructs voters from the altar ... © tº e
95 ,, J. Bennett’s evidence ... ... ...
53 ,, T. McCoy’s evidence tº tº º tº º Yº tº º º
Casey, Father, P. Goran's evidence... • . . .
E. Bailey's evidence... tº p & Cº. &
y
º . P. Collins’ evidence... tº a º © tº º e tº e
33 2 3 aS Call VaSS6 T . . & Cº º e e º tº * * *
33 ,, . P. Meehan's evidence
5 3. 35 assaults a Parnellite... &
2 3 3 × P. Byrne's evidence... tº @ Qº
2 3 ,, examination of tº e º 'º º te e s tº e s is
y 5 ,, and the Navan meeting ... tº e º 'º tº e
Casey, M.A., evidence of ... * tº e
Cassidy, Father, asks people to pray for Pamellites • * 0.
PAGE
tº s ºf 86
tº tº º 85
tº º º 37
* - C - 8
... ;
tº º ſº 40
tº ſº º 25
tº e & 34
e 41
© tº 49
43
49
49
tº ſº tº 49
22
& 20
* 84
tº º º 23
49
o ºg 34
83
85
85
30
38
78
* @ 77
* 77
tº e 79
3
© 31
* † 33
tº 31
31
35
© tº tº 42
49
tº º º 49
tº tº º 49
e e ſº 27
tº e e 18
tº ſº º 28
tº dº sº 84
& 28
tº is º 39
& e & 44
71
tº tº º 82
& º e 82
© tº e 85
* 85
85
44
15, 85
• * tº 30
INDEX. IOI
- PAGE
Cassidy, Father, A. Reilly's evidence .., tº ſº º e sº ºn tº º º e º * - 29
5 y ,, in the polling booth y tº c is iº tº tº © tº G º ... 74
92 ,, P. Kelsh’s evidence i e o so e s e e s - e. . ... 74
3 ,, evidence of ... & e º tº 6 tº tº t tº & ſº º e & ºr 75
53 - ?? cross-examined ... tº º ºs tº gº gº tº º Q & • * > 75, 88
22 ,, reads political news from the altar ... • 2 º - G º 88
Clarke, B., evidence on Dr. Nulty's sermon & º tº º & 8 71
Clarke, Father, The brutality of ... tº tº º © & 83
2 y ,, . A. Smith’s evidence tº s - tº º ºr * - 82
,, Mr. P. Mahony's evidence... tº a tº - • * ~ ;
9 y * * 0
Clerical canvassing tº e º tº tº e tº º & e - e. tº º o e se
Clerical Caucus, The ... - e. e. © tº e tº e - tº a º s ſº e
Clonard chapel, voters refused admission at
,, . polling booth, intimidation at . ...
Coghlan, Father, Mr. Davitt proposed by... g ºn tº
Collins, Jas., evidence on Bishop Nulty's sermon
,, . Joseph 2, Father Rafferty ... tº º e
2 3 {e 79 Father Casey ... ...
Connel, T., 75 Father Callery’s sermon • & &
Cooney, §: 5 5 Father O’Connell’s sermon ...
Cooney, N., 3 3 tº º
9 3 33 33 the Spitting incident "... e Լ &
Cowley, John, evidence on Father Skelly as canvasser ...
Cowley, J., }} Te Fathers Tynan and McGrath
Cowley, Jas., 51 on Father Behan as canvasser ...
Crinnion, Father, canvasses in chapel tº a tº go s tº
}} ,, J. Magennis's evidence ... tº Q ºn tº s G
ID
Dalton, J. J., evidence on Father Briody’s sermon & $ &
Father Fitzsimon’s sermon ...
Father Skelly's sermon e tº a
73 ,, re Father M’Donnell t
Daly, Jas., evidence on Father Brady ... ...
33 assaulted by tº e º tº e a tº e º tº º
Darby, T., evidence re Father M’Donnell...
Davis, Father, on the Parnellites ... ...
Davitt, Mr., proposed by Priests
33 clerical Magistrate maker
75 cross-examined © tº e
: 5 letter to Father Kelly
Deprived of Christian burial... e - e.
Dermody, Father, as canvasser • e - & e &
3 × 33 P. Timmond’s evidence º
M. O'Callaghan’s evidence ...,
}} }}
77 })
?? 5 y
». }} IS. 3 J. 3 3
Doorigan, F., evidence on Father Duffy
y 2 ,, assaulted by 5 5 tº º º & © e
Dowd, P., evidence re Father Fay ... * - e. tº º e
Doyle, F., evidence on Father Graham's sermon
Father Brogan's sermon
3. * } tº º ºs
Duffy, Father, J. Gannon's evidence * * * e o e © tº º
33 y 2 assault by e tº e e - e. * tº º tº te tº e - G
73 ,, Jas. Callan's evidence e e - e se e - ©
37 2, Thos. Meade's evidence ... tº º º e tº e
}} , E. Addy's evidence tº º ſº
}} , F. Doorigan's evidence ... tº e º • e e
Dunn, Thomas, evidence on intimidation at Clonard ...
... 20, 21,
19, 20, 23,
tº dº tº
r -
72,
tº º º -
27
i
i
ſ O2 INDEX.
- 4. F
Fagan, Father, J. McDonnell's evidence
}} , assaults a Parnellite tº a º
5 y ,, J. Murtagh's evidence tº º º
35 , , , and the dying woman E v. e.
, , , , , cross-examined tº º & e tº e
5 § 9 3 Wm. Farrell’s evidence ...
5 § ,, and the pensioner’s certificate
a. CàIl VaSSCI - , , © º º * *
* E tº
& ſº º
3 × 5 * & * : ' ' - sº * * *
Fagan, Peter, evidence on refusal of admission to mass...
}} Patrick, evidence of ... tº t tº * * *
Farrell, L., evidence on Father Fay's sermon
Farrell, Wm., evidence on Father Fagan ...
Farrelly, Thomas, evidence on Personation
Fay Father, Mr. Davitt seconded by & 9 &
5 5 3 5 P. Byrne’s evidence ... & © tº
5 5. ,, L. Farrell’s , , tº º ſº © tº º
5 5 5 § instructs voters from the altar
7 5 5 3 threatens Parnellites tº º
5 3 3 y M. Brien’s evidence ... tº º e
3 5 5 y Thos. Allen’s evidence
5 x 35 refuses offerings at mass
3 5 5 y |P. Dowd's evidence ... tº e g
2 3 35 Appendix A. . ... * * * * * *
3 3 35 T. Barry's evidence iº a tº
5 5 5 3 B. Carew’s evidence tº º
, , , , cross-examined ... * * * * * *
“Fire their heels and toes” ... * & © tº 9 tº
Fitzsimons, Father, sermon on the Parnellites
7) ,; J. Rogers’ evidence ...
* 5 ,, J. J. Dalton's evidence
Flood, L., evidence on Father Rafferty ...
Fox, Father, M. McKenna’s evidence ...
3 3 3 * refuses the sacrament * * >
Fry, John, evidence on Father Kelly's sermon
27 2 3 not allowed to vote ... tº e ſº
5 § 5 3 effigy burned ... • . . .
G
Gannon, James, evidence on Father Duffy
, assaulted by
}} 5 5 }} tº tº tº tº º º
Gaughan, M., evidence on Father McDonnell's sermon...
Gillick, Father, R. J. Heany's evidence on
25 , , a CanvaSSer ... & © tº º º º
Gilsenan, M., evidence on Father Kenny ...
Goran, P., evidence re Father Casey
Graham, Father, F. Doyle’s evidence on sermon of
5 5 3 P. Kernan’s .,,
Griffin, J. T., evidence re Father McEntee
Griffiths, J., evidence on the spitting incident
Grogan, A., evidence re Father Shaw • * *
Guerin, James, evidence on intimidation ...
Guinan, Father, P. Collins’ evidence tº º º
?? 35 J. Lavery’s. 35 ~ & e
2? ,, and the special train *
* * *
ge º º
in tº e
tº º &
º
* *
*º*º&
* :&º*ege
tº g tº
INDEX. fo3
PAGE
H
Harrell, James, evidence of ... * * * * - º is tº º * * º 87
Hartford, P., evidence on Father º & is a & ſº tº tº ºr & 32
Healy, Mr. T. M., on the claims of the Church ... • * * * * tº 50
Heaney, R. J., evidence on Father Gillick... © tº s e tº º © tº a 29
He said “I would go to Hell” tº a tº º s º a tº º tº s & º º t e e 30
Hiding in a wood tº s 2 tº º º & 0 & gº tº º & ſº º º e ſº º 31
Hiding to avoid the priest ... • . . . . . . tº º tº s tº 40
Hogan, P., evidence on intimidation at Clonard ... tº a & 23
Hope, Father L., evidence of James Bonis - - 35
77 j } a C2. In V2.SS6'1" • . . . . . . # * is & e a * x 35
Horan, Margaret, evidence of... tº º - & º ºr as a tº - 76
Hughes, W., evidence re Father Brady tº 40
I
Illiterate voter and the priest... ... ... ... ... 7 |
“I’m the country.” • * tº º 82
Instruction from the altar * * * tº tº e & a e tº s &
Intimidation at polling booths * * > tº ſº º tº tº º
Jones, Father, P. Collins’ evidence ... & º ºs
7) 5 * 3S canvasser •:- e - ºr tº s is
Judgment of Mr. Justice Q’Brien
77 Mr. Justice Andrews ...
IK
* -
... 28, 47
20, 23, 24
... 72
72
... 52
65, 90
Kearney, Father, A. Casey's evidence ... & ſº tº tº it tº
Relligan, P., evidence on Father Behan as canvasser ...
Relly, Father, J. Fry's evidence on sermon of ſº
}} ,, evidence of ... • 2 & tº tº º * * tº * * *
at the altar • * - - - tº e -
Miss A. Kelsh’s evidence ...
Miss M. , , 5 3 tº g tº
P. Kelsh’s evidence
5 5 3 × tº it tº tº tº e º, º º
23 35 Father Cassidy's 3 y * * * tº t a * * * * * *
e 3.
}} .” Mr. Davitt S letter to $ tº º * - ſº tº º is * * >
Kelsh, Miss Anne, evidence on Father Kelly's sermon
22 35 Margaret 77 5 x 35 3 3
,, P., evidence ... * * * * * * º ºg - tº $ tº tº e tº
Kenny, Father, a canvasser * tº o
5 * }} A. Smith’s evidence * * * is e e
ISenny, M., evidence on refusal of admission to mass
Kernan, P., evidence on Father Graham ... sº tº e * * *
$º ſº º
King, P., evidence re Father Tynan tº º tº ſº tº º He is &
* Kneel down and beg my pardon " tº e º º tº e tº e a
Knocked down and kicked ... e - tº a tº e. tº e . e e ſº
L.
Larkin, P., evidence on Father McDonnell & & e * * *
Lavery, J., evidence on Father Guinan ... ... tº a tº
Lawlor, Jas., evidence on Dr. Nulty's Sermon ... tº e a * * *
Logan, P., , , voting at Clonard... tº º e & º º
Lowry, Chas, evidence of ... * * * 4 tº a * * * tº e it tº a º
Lowry, M., evidence on Father Behan as canvasser ... * * *
ee…&
eeº&
73
70
24
• * * 42
IO4. INDEX.
TMI
MacIntosh, R., evidence on Father Casey’s sermon ...
Magennis, J., evidence re Father Crinnion tº º tº • a s \,.
Magrath, Father, J. Cowley’s evidence on... © tº º tº º º
Mahony, Mr. P., evidence on Father Clarke ... g tº gº
Fathers Behan and Woods
& tº tº tº gº * tº º tº & ©
• 3 3 y 2 3
March into Navan tº e e
Marking men from the altar ... tº a g
Martin, N., evidence re Father Davis * > * *
McCabe Jas., evidence of e tº a ſº
McCoy, Thos., evidence re Father Carey ... tº $ tº
McDonnell, Father, T. Darby’s evidence ... tº a tº
tº º º
sº e e
39 , a CanvaSSer © tº º § º º tº & vº
5 y , instructs people to bring sticks
3 * ,, P. Larkin's evidence ... ... tº e ºs
3 * 92 on the Parnellites ... e e < e
») 35 cross-examined... * , tº & ſº º tº & º
5 y , T. Murray’s evidence ... ... tº c >
5 y ,, J. J. Dalton’s evidence o ſº tº tº a º
as personation agent ... tº º º © º &
9 x 9 3 M. Murtagh's evidence is ſº tº © a g
McEntee, Father, tears down Dalton’s flagstaff ... tº º º
McKenna, J., evidence on Father Behan as canvasser
McKenna, M., evidence re Fathers Briody and Fox
McLoughlin, Father, on the “Pigottist votes '' ... ſº tº a
5 J , at Clonard polling booth ... © º º
2 3 , cross-examined º e ºs tº e a tº ſº tº
McNamara, J. J., evidence on Father O’Connell’s sermon
McNamee, Father, evidence of B. Clarke t tº gº &
Meade, Thos., evidence on Father Duffy e - is
* 5 ,, assaulted by , 5 ) tº gº tº
M’Donnell, Jas.; evidence on Father Fagan
Meehan, P., evidence on Father Casey ...
Saughran
3 y }}
2 • ? 5) * † & © º e
Monahān, J. F., evidence on Father O’Connell’s sermon
Moonen, John, evidence on Father Callery tº $ tº & tº
Moore, P., evidence on Father Brady's sermon up
Murray, T., evidence re Father McDonnell tº gº tº
Murtagh, Father, on anointing the dying ... iº &
2 3 ,, P. Harford’s evidence ... ... ...
, J., evidence on Father Fagan ... ... ...
M., evidence on Father McDonnell as canvasser
Murphy, Father, M. Nulty’s evidence tº ſº tº e tº º tº º ſº
INT
Nulty, Bishop, the pastoral ... tº º q tº gº tº
sermon of June 29th tº tº e º tº dº
J. Collins’ evidence ... ſº º 'º a º º
V. Sheridan's evidence & ſº tº
and the Parnellites ... go tº e • * >
5 3 5 y
93 2 3
3 3 2 3
3 y 5 7 tº te
2 3 , nominates Mr. Davitt & tº tº © º gº
33 ,, Jas. Lawlor's evidence ... ...
5? ,, sermon of July IOth & 8 a
52 > y at the altar © rº tº e tº iº & ©
3. sº
35 5) B. Clarke’s evidence tº $ tº * & Gº
35 }} P. Sherlock's evidence e º ſº © tº º tº e e
V. Sheridan's evidence ... ſº tº ſº & &
$ 3 ,, on the the souper from Kerry ... tº e e
Nulty Maurice, evidence on Father Murphy ... tº º te
INDEX. I O5
O PAG F.
Qbliged to see a doctor • * * © 2 tº • * * - * > - - - - - - tº e e 76
O'Brien, Mr. Justice, Judgment ... . . ... tº 4 - º o º ... ... ... 32
O’Brien, Jas., evidence on Father Cassidy tº e wº • 6 e * * * & ſº tº * * 74
-O'Callaghan, M., evidence on Father Dermody © tº s Q = - tº º 7 7
3 y rs. A., evidence of ... Gº & • * * 4 * * e - 4 * * * © º 7 7
O’Connell, Rev. P., threats to the Parnellites ... * - tº e 1 (;
35 2 3 M. Saurin’s evidence on sermon of * e is 16
92 2 3 J. F. Monahan's , , 33 * * ... 16
3 y 2 3 J. J. McNamara’s 32 22 tº º | 7
3 * 3 5 N. Cooney's 3 5 y? 53 - 18
y y ; , J. Cooney’s 5: 2 3 77 1 &
3 y 9 3 P. Carew’s ; 3 2 9 ... 5 & tº 18
25 5 y cross-examined & © e - - - 1 &
33 * 3 solicits votes from the altar - - - - 23
5) 2 3 at Clonard polling booth ... * * * tº 4 - 2 3
3 * 2 3 Miss Carew’s evidence on sermon of 27
Offerings at mass refused • * * - * * • * e • * * * * * tº tº a to s - 3 6
O’Keefe, Edward, committed for contempt * - e. • * * e - tº * * * 45
On his knees in the booth ... ſº tº º dº ſº tº • * @ * * > tº tº 4- º “ 74.
On the way to the death-bed... * - e. - - - tº e * * * * - 74
O'Shaughnessy, Mr., opening statement ... * - A - - - . 9, 7 0
P
Parnellite voters spat upon ... & J & tº º a * * * - * & & e e 1 : )
27 » refused admission to mass - - - - • º 2 ()
2? praying for the & a tº a 9 º' * * * * * * & © & * * * º º 29
35 voter dismissed from employment * * * © º º © º º - - ... 44
Parnellite's property burned ... * @ e tº º º & e a . 35
Pastoral, the ... tº e e tº ºn tº * & 9 e ºf a * - 4 - * * e - - - 9
7) ,, proved in evidence ... © e e - tº e © tº º * ~ * 1 5
7? », original copy produced © e - 4 - e. tº º º 1 5
Personation at North § tº e a & 4 tº • * e * * ... 84
*5 Thos. Farrelly’s evidence ... - º º - * * e tº º - ... 84
Plunkett, Geo., evidence on Father Behan as canvasser ſº º s tº e º º e 43
Political news read from the altar ... - - - • * * * - e. * - e. - - ... 8 S
Priest, Mr. Davitt proposed by ºr p & . 7 ()
,, girl knocked down by a © º & tº º ºs * - * - - - * - 7
,, in confession v. the wife * c e º e e * G - ºr a º ... ... 42
,, v. Parson ... & © tº * ~ * * * * * * * - - ... 49
I’riestly influence & © s & © e & ſº º w tº º ... 7 3
Priests as sub-agents and personating agents * * * * * * & gº tº 8
, at the polling booth ... © e e tº e a * * * * - e. 24, 29, 51, 49, 74
,, as CanvaSSerS ... 26, 29, 30, 35, 40, 42, 43, 44, 50, 72, 77, 81, 82
, assaults by • * g. tº e ºs º e e ... 72, 77, 78, 79, 80, 82, 83, 85, 87
, march to Navan tº e e - - - • * * * - - * - e. & e - tº gº e ... 81
Protestantism pure and simpl tº º º * * * • * * & a tº & © - tº º ... 34
Protestants not voting & e is * † tº * - e. * > t. * * * * e e & & ... 7 8
R.
Rafferty, Father, as canvasser * - e. e - e. * - e. * * * tº tº e - - ... 8 L
7? » L. Flood’s evidenc • * is • * * * * * * * * tº tº ... 81
55 32 Joseph Collins’ evidence * ~ * * * * * * tº tº 81
,, . James, evidence on intimidation at Clonard tº & © e º º - 24.
Refused admission to mass ... * * * • * * {2 º' tº • * = - - ... 20
Reilly, E., evidence on Father Shaw * G tº tº º º • * ... 25
,, P., evidence on Father Woods .. tº e s * * * º lº tº e 8 1
, , Andrew, evidence on Fathers Cassidy and Shaw e - 29
106 INDEX.
* ,
Reynolds, P., evidence on Father Fay ... ... . ...
Rogers, J., y 3 Father Fitzsimon's sermon
Rooney, Father, refused to attend sick man ... ...
“Ropers” and priest-hunters & e º é e is © tº tº & d >
S
Sacrament refused . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Saughran, Father, as canvasser * & © e q is * - - •
P. Meehan’s evidence ... & e &
5 5 e * - tº
Saurin, M., evidence on Father O’Connell’s sermon ...
Severely beaten ... . ... • ‘7 tº e tº tº © tº e
Shaw, Rev. Father, in the polling booth ... © & © iº & e
?? * > A. Grogan's evidence & © º & &
}} 33 E. Reilly's evidence ... G - e. tº tº tº
}} 32 A. Reilly's evidence ... & Cº. e e is
2 ) 2? returns thanks from the altar tº e
Sheridan, V., evidence on Bishop Nulty’s sermon e e is
Sherlock, P., evidence on Dr. Nulty’s sermon ... tº e ſº
Priest’s assault on a girl tº º e
3. 35 3 3
Skelly, Father, J. Cowley’s evidence tº dº tº * @ e tº º º
?? 55 dimisses Parnellite voter ... * - e. tº s e
2 3 , J. J. Dalton’s evidence ... ... ...
3? , instructs voters from the altar ... tº e &
. , cross-examined e e - tº ſº & - e - tº gº º
Skelly, William, evidence on Father Behan as canvasser
Smith, A., evidence on Father Clarke tº e - tº e º
' ' ', 5 § * } Father Brady
$3 • ? 3 * 2 : 3 3
Spitting upon voters ... e - tº e - e. • e e * - - & 0 &
Summoning “suspects” • * > - - - e e e e - e. tº º º
T.
Teeling, J., evidence re Father Behan , ... * * * e tº dº
Timons, P., evidence on Father Dermody - - - gº tº a
Told to go e tº e - - - g tº e e - e. • e ſº 4 tº e tº e e
“Treat them like wild beasts '' tº e - e q e * - - tº º º
Tynan, Father, as a canvasser • tº - tº º º * * * tº º ºs
» 25 and Christian burial gº tº tº tº º e º º e
3) 25 cross-examined tº º º tº tº º * * * tº º º
> * * , P. King's evidence ... e - e. * - e. vº º tº
ypical sermons... * g e * * * tº º º • * * : * * * tº e G
v
Vaughan, Father, Mr. Davitt proposed by * * * * @ tº
Voters spat upon tº e ºs tº º º C & © * * * e e e
Wy
Wife goes out of her mind ... © º o Q & & tº º
William to vote as Peter e - e. º º º vº º Aº º º ſº
Woman struck by a priest ... ºn tº gº * * * * @ e
Woman leaped on tº e - & © º & e º t * G tº
Woods, #. P. Reilly's evidence e tº e w e - g a gº
, , , ,, . Mr. P. Mahony’s evidence • * * a ge
2 3 ,, N. Cooney’s evidence g g tº - * * gº ºn º
uſuluſ
IGAN

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