Historians tell us the origin of fist fighting belongs to Greek mythology. The champion pugilist, Jack Brotighton, formulated the earliest prize ring code of rules, in England, on the 10th August 1743. The longest recorded fight with gloves was between Andy Bowen and Jack Burke in New Orleans, U.S.A., on the 7th April 1893. The fight lasted one hundred and ten rounds, seven hours and nineteen minutes, but was declared a no contest when both men were unable to continue. The longest bare-knuckle fight was one of six hours and fifteen minutes between James Kelly and Jack Smith at Melbourne, Australia, on the 19th October 1856. The greatest recorded number of rounds is 278 in four hours thirty minutes when Jack Jones beat Patsy Tunney in Cheshire in 1825. The great Dan Donnelly fought George Cooper in Donnelly's Hollow on the plains of Kildare. This contest was a bare-knuckle fight, which has been talked about for generations and various accounts of the contest have been documented. The ballad makers praised the Great Dan in their compositions. Donnelly won that famous contest and earned for himself a niche in the boxing annals. The first world heavyweight title fight with gloves, and three-minute rounds, was between John L. Sullivan and Gentleman James J. Corbett in New Orleans, U.S.A., on the 7th September 1892. Corbett won in twenty-one rounds. Many young Irishmen in America made a name for themselves in the ring and many more of Irish descent are on the Roll of Honour.

Dick McRedmond, or Dick the Boxer as he was known locally, was born at the Curragh, Cadamstown, in 1906 into a very old farming family, which had farmed the lands of the Curragh for generations. His father was James McRedmond and his mother was Brigid Mulvey from the Gap Glen in the foothills of the Slieve Bloom Mountains. He attended the local national school and was very fond of sport and hurling. From an early age he showed magnificent physique. At the age of nineteen, he was six feet three inches in height and was fourteen stone in weight. He hurled with the local school team. As one local said, "he was the makings of a good one". After leaving, he attended the Albert Agricultural College, Glasnevin, Dublin. On finishing his term at college, he was presented with the following reference:

"This is to certify that Richard McRedmond of Cadamstown, Birr, Kings Co. was a pupil in the College during the session October 1923 to August 1924. In addition to taking part in all the operations of a large tillage and dairy farm, Richard McRedmond attended lectures and classes in the principles of agriculture and the cognate sciences. He proved himself earnest, industrious and thoroughly reliable. Altogether I can in full confidence recommend Richard McRedmond for any post which he deems within his powers, being sure that he will discharge his duties intelligently and conscientiously."

He also attended the Vocational School, Tullamore. When leaving he was presented with the following certificate:

Scoil na gCeard, An Tulach Mhór, 27th. May 1925.

I know the bearer Richard McRedmond to be a high minded industrious and noble Irish boy, of lofty ideas, blameless character and possessing all the characteristics necessary for any position of trust. He is one of those we can badly spare from Ireland, magnificent physique and splendid moral character Gentle as a child, but with a super abundance of physical power. It is sad that our economic conditions are such that we must lose his type as the country is only slowly recovering from the disastrous effects of the Civil War. Only 19 years of age, though appearing from his splendid physique much more, he was too young fortunately to be connected with the Civil War which wrought so much harm.

I have every confidence in recommending him for expert work in agriculture. He only needs opportunity to make good. This certificate speaks for his practical and his skilled knowledge.

SIGNED
E.J.Delahunty-Principal,
Offaly County Committee,
Technical Education

In the year 1925, Dick McRedmond left his native Cadamstown for Australia. There he worked in Melbourne for some time before deciding to go to Sydney where he met his Uncle Dick, who introduced him to a sheep farmer who worked a farm in the great outback. Dick spent six months on the great plains where seldom you would see a human being. He returned to Sydney where he obtained a job in a foundry. It was quite by accident that Dick entered the boxing arena. Fr. Lloyd had a boxing club called St. Joseph's to which Dick was a frequent visitor. On a particular night, Fr. Lloyd invited Dick to spar with one of the club members and Dick agreed. He put up such a performance that he was invited to join the club. He fought his first bout for charity and so Dick McRedmond entered the world of boxing.

His first programmed fight was against Jim White of Queensland, a giant of a man, weighing seventeen stone. This Dick won easily and he was next matched against Jim R. Dwyer, a former heavyweight. The fight took place at Sydney Stadium and before the fight Dick was presented with a pair of green tights with gold harps. It was before this contest that Dick changed his name to Pat Redmond, by which name he was known during his boxing career. The fight with Dwyer was a tough contest but, after eight rounds, Pat Redmond knocked out his man.

His next fight was with James Pickering from New South Wales. Pickering stood six foot five and a half inches and eighteen stone in weight. He had fought all over America, Canada and Australia. He was a contender for the Australian heavyweight title. He was also a noted rugby player and was a favourite with the public. The Melbourne Star and Sydney Chronicle wrote before the fight, "Pickering is the best; he will show the Irishman how to fight". Pat Redmond was given no chance. The fight took place at Rushcutters Bay, Sydney, before a capacity crowd. The crowd cheered Pickering as he stepped into the ring. The small contingent of Irish followers made their presence felt when Pat Redmond climbed through the ropes wearing his green tights with the gold harps.

From the first round, the Irishman followed Pickering round the ring. In the first and second rounds, Pickering went to pieces. In the third round, he hit the middle rope and then fell on his face from a perfect knockout. Pat Redmond's next fight was with ex-heavyweight champion Jack Leahy. This was a fifteen rounder and the papers remarked that the eighteen stone Irish giant was in great shape. He certainly was, for he knocked out Leahy in the fourth round. Redmond did not get much time to relax. His next contest was with Harry Gill, whom he knocked out in the second round.

Pat Redmond's next fight was with Wally Walker. The Sydney Sportsman, described the fight as follows: "In tile first round Walker hit the big Irishman flush in the eye, then Pat got slightly wild, he rushed at Walker with murder in his heart. He floored Walker to the canvas where he was counted out." Redmonds next contest was with Blackie Payne, which was a fifteen round contest. This fight did not live up to expectations as Pat beat Payne inside three rounds. The only fight Pat Redmond lost in his bid for the Australian heavyweight title was against Dom McLeoid, the Melboune heavyweight. McLeoid knocked out the Irishman in the seventh round. This did not deter Pat. He was back again in the ring against Vic Simmons. This fight went on for seven rounds when a police inspector stopped the fight and so saved Simmons from a knockout. This fight was brought up in the House of Commons under the heading "Boxing Brutality. Questions in Parliament. When the assembly met yesterday, Mr. Fitzpatrick asked the Chief Secretary (Mr. Bruntkell) if he had seen the fight between Simmons and McRedmond; he was told it was disgraceful and brutal. He asked the Minister, "Would he prevent a repetition of such a thing happening again". He also read a report from inspector Scott of the police department who observed the contest."

Pat Redmond's next fight was with Blackie Miller. Miller had just returned from America where he lost to Tom Heaney. Miller then beat Johnny Squires of England. He beat the German, Ludwig, in three rounds; he also outpointed Marcell Nilles of France; he beat Martin Bourke in Madison Square Gardens. He lost again to Tom Heaney. He then fought Krute Hansen, Harry Willis, Jack Delaney and Johnny Rusko. He then lost to Jack Skarkey. These fights were in preparation for the contest with Pat Redmond. The Miller-Redmond fight took place at Rushcutters Bay, Sydney, on Tuesday, September 21st 1929. The Sydney News reported as follows:

"Miller started as favourite as he stepped into the ring to face the giant Irishman Pat Redmond. In the first round, Miller scored all the points and received a great ovation from the large crowd at Rushcutters Bay Sydney. In the second round the Irishman began to warm up and he drove Miller against the ropes before the bell sounded. The third round Miller tried to hit Pat everwhere, from his instep to the top of his head. Being an Irish man, Pat did not like this so he decided to finish it. Brushing Millers attempts at his jaw aside, Pat pranced up and down, he then let fly with the left hook to Millers jaw, then a straight right to the body and Millers head hit the boards. After the count of ten he was carried from the ring and Pat Redmond was champion again. Now Pat was in line for the Australian heavyweight title against Bill Brogan the reigning champion."

The Saturday Evening Post Sydney May 29th.1929 reported the contest as follows:

"Pat Redmond weighing eighteen and a half stone and standing six feet five inches was the first to swing his huge frame through the ropes and Brogan wearing a New South Wales rugby sweater followed soon after amid the cheers of the crowd. The fans to a man were with Brogan and they gave him a great reception when he stripped for the fray. When the men squared up in the middle of the ring, Redmond in his usual orthodox fashion, Brogan rushed him but Redmond kept him at bay with an arm like a tree trunk. Brogan then rushed him to the ropes and pounded his body, crashed home a left to the body and swinging his right to the jaw, Redmond fell. He took several seconds before he rose to his feet. Brogan then dashed into the attack, Redmond held him off with his left hand and placed solid rights to the body. The round ended with both men trading punches in the centre of the ring. Redmond commenced the next round in style; he started off with rights to Brogan's face and soon had the blood flowing from the nose. The men had the huge crowd roaring with excitement. When Brogan nailed Redmond to the ropes, Redmond took it all in good part and boxed on, stabbing his left and shooting his right into Brogan's ribs. Halfway through the round Brogan began to slow down, he had to wait for Redmond to come to him. The giant Irish man gave him no rest, he attacked fiercely the whole time and when Brogan returned to his corner, his face covered with blood, he was a weary fighter. Redmond apparently took notice of the advice offered him in his corner, for he started the next round with a flurry of blows, lefts to Brogan's damaged nose and rights to the body had the Australian on the canvas. He just beat the count and rose to his feet to meet another battering which spilled him again. Again he staggered to his feet, hardly able to raise his arms and after making one last dying effort by swinging a terrific right at Redmond's jaw, Redmond then battered him to the canvas for the full count. The crowd did not take it well over Redmond's victory. They saved their cheers for Brogan as he left the ring and so Pat Redmond, the giant Irishman, had won the Australian heavyweight championship.

After winning the title, various fighters were put up against him; he took them all in his stride. And so Redmond was matched against Primo Camera for the world heavyweight championship. The Irish fans all over the world waited for the contest. The New York Herald wrote;

And so the Irish giant Pat Redmond met Primo Camera for the world title. Camera won by a knockout in the first round. Many experts in boxing circles have stated, "Had Redmond weathered the first round he would undoubtedly have beaten Carnera. It was also stated that Pat needed a little more training; in this his manager was to blame. Beyond doubt, Pat proved himself a fighter.

It was recorded they were the biggest pair of fighters that ever graced the ring. Redmond had a special pair of gloves made for him, as the ordinary gloves would not fit his large hands. Pat also wore his favourite green trunks with the gold harps which were presented to him after his first fight by Fr. Lloyd of Melbourne.

Whenever lovers of boxing meet, Pat Redmond's name is remembered. He stood alone in Australia and was admired by all nationalities. He carved a name for himself in the world of boxing, he settled on a farm in Co. Limerick where he died a young man. Whenever great men are talked about on the slopes of the Slieve Blooms, the name of Dick McRedmond will always be remembered as one of Cadamstown's favourite sons.

I am most grateful for the information I received and permission to write the story of Dick McRedmond from the following; Tom and Mary McRedmond, Castleconnell, Co. Limerick, Jim McRedmond Curragh, Cadamstown, John McRedmond Kinnitty, Mary Spollen Daingean Rd. Tullamore and David McRedmond, Canberra.

Source: At the Foot of Slieve Bloom - History & Folklore of Cadamstown, Paddy Heaney

(Daily Mirror, January 24, 1979)

The two brothers, Francis and Mark Foy, never looked back after that and soon built their business into one of the most successful department stores in Sydney. Its growth was due primarily to the commercial ability of the older brother Francis Foy who had already helped build up the well-known Melbourne store Foy and Gibson's.

Selling out to his partner there because he wanted a free hand to run the business Francis Foy gambled on starting anew in Sydney. He succeeded because his mind bubbled with shrewd business ideas and stunts that soon had Sydney's more conventional retailers worried.

In desperation they tried to thwart Mark Foy's growth by circulating stories that the Foy brothers were Chinese. Francis Foy retaliated by dyeing his hair bright green and standing one St Patrick's Day at the door of his shop with a huge placard. It proclaimed: "Foy is no Chinaman. He's an Irishman - ask the ladies." The younger brother Mark was somewhat overshadowed by the dominating and flamboyant Francis who was 10 years his senior.

FATHERING

He largely left the store that bore his name in Francis's hands and eventually abandoned it to concentrate on other interests such as fathering 18-footer sailing on Sydney Harbour and founding the famous Hydro Majestic Hotel in the Blue Mountains.

The family that made such a mark on Sydney retailing was in fact French in origin. Flour miller Marc Foy migrated from the Somme Valley to Ireland at the time of the French Revolution. He started his own mill at Banagher in County Offaly married an Irish girl and raised and Irish family.

One of his sons, born in 1815, was christened Mark as an anglicised form of his father's French name of Marc. Unlike his brothers young Mark Foy did not go to work in the family mill. Instead in his early teens he went off to Dublin and got a job in the drapers firm of Todd and Burns. With a flair for business he progressed rapidly and was soon promoted from counter-hand to buyer being known in the trade as the "boy buyer."

Mark Foy married an Irish coileen named Mary Macken in 1848 and six children, three girls and three boys, began arriving. With his growing family Mark Foy found that even a buyer's wage was inadequate. So in 1859 he decided to migrate to the golden Eldorado of Victoria.

(Daily Mirror, January 24, 1979)

On arriving in Melbourne he found a job with the Bourke Street drapers Buckley and Nunn but soon launched out with his won shop at Bendigo. His eldest son Francis born in Dublin in 1854 in working in his father's growing store while still at school. At 10 the boy drove a team of bullocks and a dray nearly 160km over a bush track to Melbourne, loaded the dray with merchandise and got it back safely to Bendigo.

The business expanded rapidly and Mark Foy soon had branch stores at Castlemaine, Greytown and Spring Gully Creek. By 1868 he had made enough to close up on the goldfields and open a fine new drapery store in Collingwood Melbourne's busiest suburb.

Francis Foy was then 14 and working full-time for his father. Industrious and with a clever business mind he was the mainstay of Mark Foy's when at 18 he quarrelled with his father. Irish-born Francis always had a "bit o' the divvil" in him as his compatriots would say. O! stocky built with a pugnacious jaw, he could use his fists and indeed it was a fight he had been in that sparked trouble with his father.

Hurt at his father's attitude, young Francis Foy headed for the Melbourne docks and in a short time signed on as a cabin boy on a barque bound for Ireland. He went home to get some clothes bade farewell to his mother and sisters and returned to the ship. By the time his father heard what he was up to the barque was on the point of departure.

Mark Foy raced to the waterfront knowing how stubborn Francis could be he was not going to try to stop him but had put 100 sovereigns in a chamois bag.

The ship was casting off and seeing Francis on deck Mark Foy threw the bag to him. His son picked it up and threw it back. "I need no help," he called "I'll stand or fall on my own feet. Goodbye father." Francis Foy left the ship in Dublin, where he had many relatives and in no time he had a job in the drapery firm of Arnott and Co.

Three years passed and young Foy, at 21, returned to Australia. He rejoined his father's business and before long was virtually running it. When his wife died in 1880 Mark Foy decided he would retire and return to Ireland. Over the next two years he withdrew as much cash as he cold from the business.

A PARTNER

Then in 1882 Mark Foy called he family together and announced he was turning over the business to them. Francis was to run it but his brothers and sisters were also to have shares. Mark Foy sailed for Ireland but never did get home for death claimed him in California not long after he came ashore.

Left with a business seriously short of working capital Francis Foy decided he would have to take in a partner and consulted James Bruce of the warehouse Paterson Laing and Bruce. As it happened, Bruce, a few days later, met a migrant draper from Glasgow, William Gibson, who was looking for a flourishing business in which to invest. Bruce told Gibson to see Francis Foy. "He's one of the cleverest young businessmen in Victoria." Said Bruce. " If you get in with him your future is made."
(Daily Mirror, January 24, 1979)

So Gibson, a much older man, became a partner in the firm. The name was changed to Foy and Gibson's which in time became one of Melbourne's best known stores. But Francis Foy had little part in that development. After three years he decided he could not work in a partnership and told Gibson one of them must buy the other out. They tossed a coin with the winner to continue the business and Foy won but then he noticed his partner's look of anguish and put his hand on his shoulder. "You seem terribly disappointed, William." He said "Do you wish you had won?" Dejectedly Gibson said "yes Francis, I do indeed." Lavpetuously Foy told him to consider that he had won. He said that for $16,000 he would sell the complete Foy interest to Gibson. As the business was worth an estimated $120,000 Gibson wasted no time writing out a cheque for the amount stipulated and Foy walked out.

Francis Foy intended to use the money to start another business in Sydney. His brothers and sisters (whose interest he has sold along with his own) agreed to invest their share with him. So with $16,000 Francis Foy came to Sydney with is brother Mark who had been born in Bendigo in 1864. The youngest brother, Hugh, joined them later.

Francis Foy spent days searching Sydney for a suitable shop to lease before he decided on premises in Oxford Street. He named the shop Mark Foy's after his father's Melbourne business.

From the beginning the store was a moneymaker. Indeed on the opening day police had to be called to disperse the crowds in Oxford Street waiting to enter. Trouble was they were holding up the steam trams. The success of Mark Foy's was mainly due to Francis Foy's business ability and his flair for the unusual.

Instead of periodical sales like other stores he advertised all over Sydney: "Foy's fair is now on." He also invented the slogan: "Aim straight fore Mark Foy's." When balloon ascents were making headlines in Sydney making headlines in Sydney Francis Foy hired one of the balloonists to take off from Hyde Park near his shop. But the balloon got away and wrapped itself round a tower on top of his competitor. Anthony Hordern's in the Haymarket. Old Samuel Hordern was furious, especially when he saw the slogan on the baloon's side: "Aim straight for Mark Foy's."

Mark Foy's developed into a department store and early in the 1900s it was obvious new and bigger premises were essential. Francis Foy had his eye on the island block bounded by Elizabeth , Liverpool, Castlereagh and Goulburn Streets, then a ramshackle warren of small shops, cheap cafes, Chinese herbalists and animal dealers.

There were 15 separate pieces of land in the block and Foy had 15 different people quietly buying them up on his behalf so he got the whole block at a remarkably cheap price ranging from $24 to $40 a foot. Once he had the land Foy took an architect overseas with him to inspect the world's great department stores. Eventually they decided to built on similar lines to the famous Bon Marche in Paris.

The result was Mark Foy's store known as the Plazza and opened in 1908 when Mark Foy retired from active participation in the business. Francis Foy remained in control. He installed the first escalator in Sydney at the Plazza and Mark Foy's was the first Sydney tore to change from horse-drawn to motor delivery vans.

His hobby was racing and he ran a stud farm near Parkes. He named it the Monastery and called the first sire there His Reverence.

Francis prided himself on originality in naming his horses. He once tried to call a son of His Reverence Skin the Goat and when that was rejected substituted No Shenanagan.

Once Foy imported and unnamed English colt. When he was due to be entered for his first race the trainer, John Allsop suddenly remembered the colt had not be named or registered. Allsop raced round to Foy's office but the owner was too busy to be bothered thinking of a name. He therefore waved Allsop out, telling him: "Call him anything you like but let it be something Irish." As Something Irish the horse was duly register red and he subsequently performed well both on the track and as a sire.

CUP DAY

Having spent his early life in Melbourne Francis Foy loved Melbourne Cup Day. He always invited friends to a picnic lunch on tables set up under trees at Flemington and champagne flowed freely.

At the Cup of 1913, although his health was failing, the 64-year-old Francis Foy staged a gayer and happier party than ever before. Just before the race a bookmaker approached and asked Foy if he wanted to have a bet on the Cup. "Not on the Cup said Francis Foy with a wistful smile. "But I'll bet you 3.1 that I don't get back to Sydney alive." Two days later this unique character among Australia's business magnates suffered a heart attack travelling home. He died on the train as it pulled into Goalburn.

The following extract is taken from the "Dictionary of Australian Biography."

MARK FOY

FOY, MARK (1810-1884), draper, was born at Moystown, King's County, Ireland, son of Marc Foy, French emigré and flourmiller, and his wife Catherine, née Hennessy. He was educated at Banagher and was reputedly intended for the legal profession but because of family problems he was apprenticed to a drapery firm in Dublin. In 1858 he arrived at Melbourne in the Champion of the Seas. He probably worked first for Buckley & Nunn but in 1859 went to the goldfields. He had a butcher's shop at Campbell's Creek till 1861 when he moved into a produce store at Castlemaine. In 1873 he went to Bendigo where his brother Francis had a wholesale produce business. Early in 1867 Mark went into partnership with Robert Bentley, a storekeeper. In December 1868 he followed a new rush to Spring Creek, in Melvor Shire, where by January 1869 there was said to be 'a business for every claim at work'. They raw settlement suffered great discomforts and at a public meeting in Foy's premised on 24 February he moved that Spring Creek be constituted a borough. He was elected to a committee for planning separation of the town from nearby Heathcote, the new borough of Graytown was proclaimed on 9 August 1869 and named after Wilson Gray, a family friend. On 11 September Foy became magistrate for the Melvor General Sessions. He also helped to arrange the first borough election and on November was elected a councillor. However, the town's decline continued and he soon dismantled his shop and went to Melbourne. On 11 February 1870 the partnership with Bentley was dissolved 'by mutual consent'.

Foy set up a new drapery shop in Smith Street, Collingwood, where he prospered, occupying three shops by 1875 and six by 1880. At Carrum Swamp he selected 195 acres in November 1871 and later another 129 acres. In November 1882 he settled the Smith Street business on his eldest son Francis, withdrew his capital, brought in William Gibson as Francis's partner and left with his wife for Europe. In San Francisco his health worsened and he died on 14 January 1884. Soon afterwards Francis sold on to Gibson and moved to Sydney to establish a new business under his father's name.

Energetic and resourceful, Foy was described as a 'Liberal Conservative' and was later said to have donated money to Sir James McCulloch's party. He was also sympathetic to the early closing movement. He was married twice: first in Ireland about 1848 to Mary Macken (d. 21 March 1879) by whom he had six surviving children: and second in Melbourne to Catherine Power (d.1930) by whom he had one son.

The following is an obituary of Mark Foy (1865-1950)

FALL CAUSES DEATH OF LEADING BUSINESSMAN

Mr. Mark Foy, who with two other brothers started the firm of Mark Foy's Limited more than 70 years ago, died in St. Vincent's Hospital last night, aged 85.

Mr. Foy, who lived at Victoria Road, Bellevue Hill, died following a fall in his garden at his Bayview cottage. He was admitted to hospital at noon yesterday and died about midnight.

Mr. Foy was in bed about 4 o'clock yesterday morning, when he thought he heard a burglar in the grounds. He got out of bed and was walking through a garden patch when he slipped.

Mr. Foy was one of Sydney's leading business figures. He was known for his generosity and donated large amount to charity. He was also "prominent" in the sporting world. His main activity was sailing and he was the originator of 18ft sailing in Australia. He owned many championship boats and sailed them in England and Europe.

In his youth Mr. Foy was also a good rifle shot. In America when 16 he won several medals for shooting. Mr. Foy was born in Bendigo. His father, an Irishman started the Melbourne firm of "Foy and Gibson."

The Foy family decided to branch out into Sydney, and Mr. Mark Foy and two other brothers came here and established the business. He was the only surviving brother. Mr. Foy built the Hydro Majestic at Medlow Bath.

Sydney Flying Squadron's fleet will fly black mourning ribbons from masts in Saturday's race in the Harbour. This will be the Squadron's tribute to its founder and its patron, Mr. Foy.

Mr. Foy founded the Squadron in 1892 and retained the keenest interest in it until his death. SFS secretary (Mr. W.J. Anderson) said today that all skippers should see black ribbons were flown on Saturday. "Mr. Foy's death has cast gloom over the Sport, his sportsmanship and generosity will long be remembered" added Mr. Anderson.

Mr. Foy is survived by two sons and two daughters. Mr. Mark F. Foy, Mr. F. J. Foy, Mrs. McGahey and Miss Sheila Foy. No arrangements have yet been made for the funeral.

The decline from glory of Medlow Bath's famous Hydro Majestic probably began during World War II, when convalescing American servicemen billeted there played havoc with the historic hotel.

"Instead of getting out of bed to turn a light switch off, they'd shoot the bulb out with a revolver," said Mrs Mary Shaw, grand-daughter of the hotel's founder, Mark Foy. "They had mouse traps hidden on couches and chairs to catch the unwary and they rolled some statuary down the cliffs at the back... They disposed of a herd of wild goats that my grandfather had imported... the whole lot of them for target practice just for something to do."

It was a long way from the hotel's more refined days, initially as a spa built by Foy from a collection of properties he had acquired along the ridge line in the village of Medlow (the "Bath" was added only after the health resort opened in July 1904).

There, all manner of bizarre and curious health treatments - for anything from nerves to migraine to liver complaints - were administered under the supervision of Dr. George Baur, late of Munich. But the "hydropathic sanatorium" was a short-lived fad. Foy cannily transformed it into a tourist destination that was, according to the Blue Mountains' locals studied librarian, John Low, "sophisticated, expensive and very fashionable" and a mecca for Sydney people during the 1920s and 1930s.

Some rooms in the massive hotel (it stretches 300 metres along the cliff top overlooking the Megalong Valley) have been closed for up to 30 years, or used as storerooms. Now, however, it is undergoing a revival under the ownership of the Malaysian businessman Mr King Hock Mah and the management of the Peppers Hotel Group.

Under a conservation plan and development application lodged with the Blue Mountains City Council, an extensive two-year restoration/refurbishment is proposed to take the hotel back as far as possible to its earlier styles.

(The Sydney Morning Herald, Saturday, December, 1997)

Mr Mike O'Connor, managing director of the Peppers Group, said the hotel's 100-odd rooms will be reduced to 84 rooms and the public spaces restored to their individual styles, which range form high Victorian to Art Deco or Moderne. A conservation plan for the 89 hectares of garden, bush walks and surrounds is also being prepared.

When it opened (during a snowstorm), the Hydro boasted its own telephone system, electricity and refrigeration plant. The domed "casino", imported from Chicago, and the guest wings were joined by a long gallery decorated with artworks.

It was a fitting resort for the likes of Nellie Melba (who donated a grand piano to the hotel), Bertha Krupp of the German armaments family, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, King Edward VII (who celebrated his birthday there in 1909) and Sir Edmund Barton (who died there in 1920).

The aim now is to restore the grandeur. They're even likely to install a sauna and steam-room as a tribute to the hydrotherapy that made the hotel famous.

Surgeon, Thomas Naghten Fitzgerald, was born on 1 August 1838 at Tullamore, Ireland, son of John FitzGerald and his wife Catherine Naghten, née Higgins. He was educated at St Mary's College, Kingstown, and the Ledwich School of Medicine, Dublin, taking his clinical studies at Mercer's Hospital (L.R.C.S.I., 1857); there he was dresser to Richard Butcher who was surgeon to the Queen and outstanding in pre-Listerian British surgery. In 1857 FitzGerald won a commission in the Army Medical Service but had to resign because of illness. As a ship's surgeon he arrived at Melbourne in July 1858. Almost immediately he was appointed acting house surgeon at the Melbourne Hospital until E. M. James returned from England. FitzGerald then opened a private practice near the hospital in Lonsdale Street West. He had applied for the position of surgeon to the Bendigo Hospital but was beaten on the chairman's casting vote. Elected an honorary surgeon to the Melbourne Hospital in 1860, he held that post until 1901 and in 1902-07 was consulting surgeon. He had similar consulting appointments at St Vincent's, Queen Victoria and Austin Hospitals and in 1884 the first clinical lectureship in surgery created by the University of Melbourne at the Melbourne Hospital In his long service there he influenced large numbers of medical graduates whose memories of 'Fitz' were among their cherished hospital recollections. When he resigned as senior surgeon his colleagues placed a tablet in the Melbourne Hospital vestibule commemorating his long association with the institution; this tablet is now in the operating suite of the hospital at Parkville.

FitzGerald was extremely rapid, resourceful and successful in the operations possible at that time and he introduced original methods, described in the Australian Medical Journal in 1887, in the treatment of inguinal hernia, fractures, cleft palate and talipes. His technical skill was great: his mere tying of a knot in a cleft palate operation was said to be a work of art. Brilliant and dexterous as was his operating, his diagnostic skill was also noteworthy. He seemed to have an extra sense, so that he could describe the position of fragments in a fracture as accurately as if they were demonstrated by x-ray; his deductions from symptoms were equally unerring and his opinion was widely sought by patients.

FitzGerald, under average height with a large handsome head, sideboards, broad shoulders, deep chest and dignified carriage, was a distinguished figure in any assembly. To undaunted surgical courage he added instant resourcefulness; with unexpected developments one operation would change into another as if all had been prearranged and no emergency ever took him aback. He had little facility in the spoken or written word; his occasional lectures were more practical than theoretical, and in the wards students learnt more from what he did than from what he said. Always kind and considerate both with his patients and his colleagues he held high the honour of his calling and became the unquestioned leader of the profession in all the Australasian colonies.

During FitzGerald's life the science and art of surgery and medicine were revolutionized. In a presidential address to the Medical Society of Victoria in January 1900, he reviewed some of the changes from 1860 to 1900: 'Will such a difference ever reoccur... shall we ever again go through such a period of unlearning, such a period of relinquishing beliefs, of learning that most of the remedies in which at one time we had so much faith were in reality delusions, more harmful than beneficial'. In his own branch of surgery he said that it was 'not until 1874, about ten years after Lister had commenced his experiments, that things began to wake up in operative surgery'. Before Lister's researches were published, FitzGerald had been deeply impressed by the differences in the dangers of simple and of compound fractures, and in order to avoid the yet unexplained risks of surgical infection, he devised a whole system of subcutaneous surgery through small incisions. But he had neither the biological knowledge nor the speculative insight that led Lister to his epoch-making discoveries. Perhaps because of his success FitzGerald did not at first fully appreciate Lister's contribution, although his own concern about surgical infection led him to condemn the Melbourne Hospital as a source of wound infection in 1886; he refused to operate for a time and with Richard Youl precipitated an inquiry by a select committee of the Legislative Council. Chaired by J.G. Beaney, with whom FitzGerald had been in legal conflict in 1863, the committee's report favoured the hospital. In 1890 FitzGerald gave evidence to the royal commission on charities.

At his death two of his distinguished pupils. Harry Allen, professor of pathology in Melbourne, and George Syme, later president of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, wrote appreciations of FitzGerald and his work; both spoke of him as 'a genius'. In 1884 he visited Ireland and became a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland; the examiners were said to have been astounded by the rapidity of his amputations. In May 1897 he was knighted, the first Australian to be so honoured for eminence in the medical profession. In the Boer war he offered his services to the imperial government, and for three months in 1900 was a consulting surgeon in South Africa. For this work he was appointed C.B. in 1900 and thanked by the Victorian government. His South African experiences were published in the Intercolonial Medical Journal of Australia, December 1900. He was president of the Medical Society of Victoria in 1884 and 1900, the surgery section at the first Inter-colonial Medical Congress in 1887 and the Australasian Medical Congress at Sydney in 1889.

Before his wife died in 1890, beside his private hospital he had built an Italianate mansion, Rostella, a place of gracious hospitality; his tennis court was a miniature club and in his active years he always played before breakfast. With his lucrative practice he maintained a 'handsome brougham complete with two magnificent horses and coachmen and footman in livery' to take him daily to the hospital gates and to the races each week. A skilled four-in-hand driver he loved horses, breeding them at his Doncaster country home and racing under the name of T. Naghten; his most successful horse was Rhesus, winner of the Victorian

Grand National Hurdle Race in 1882. A familiar figure at Remington, he was surgeon to the Victoria Racing Club for many years. Among his collection of line pictures was Lefebvre's 'Chloe', which has long adorned Young & Jackson's Hotel, Melbourne. Soon after his return from South Africa FitzGerald relinquished his hospital position and most of his private practice because of ailing health. Little benefit was derived from a voyage to England and on a later trip to Cairns he died in the Wyreena on 8 July 1908 at sea off Townsville from the after-effects of pneumonia; he was buried with Roman Catholic rites in the Melbourne general cemetery.

On 17 December 1870 FitzGerald married Margaret, daughter of James Robertson, of Struan House, Launceston, Tasmania. Of their three daughters, Ethel married Captain (later Admiral) Lumsden, Eleanor married Edward Cairns Officer, and Kathleen married Colonel Archibald Douglas. On Kathleen's death in 1951, her residuary estate was bequeathed to the University of Melbourne for founding a surgical scholarship in memory of her father.

Catholic priest, Patrick Dunne, was born at Philipstown [Daingean], King's County (Offaly), Ireland, son of Patrick Dunne, farmer, and his wife Mary, née Rigney. He trained at Carlow Seminary and was ordained on 8 March 1846. After four years of service to his native diocese of Kildare, he volunteered to join the newly formed Melbourne diocese, 'rising above the opposition of dearest relatives and priests'. He arrived in Melbourne in the Digby on 7 September 1850 and was appointed to Geelong. After a brief stay, the first of two in that mission, he was transferred to the new mission of Pentridge (Coburg), and acted as chaplain to the 'infamous Stockade'. In October 1851 he journeyed to Ballarat on horseback, celebrated the first Mass on that goldfield and performed many baptisms in the lower Wimmera. In 1853-56 he established at Geelong twelve schools under the Denominational Schools Board, as well as the first Catholic secondary or grammar school.

At Port Fairy in 1856 his independence and turbulence led him into a dispute with Bishop J. A. Goold over trust money for a church building. He also became involved with P. Bermingham, M. McAlroy and other clerical and lay critics of the Polding and Goold administrations in Sydney and Melbourne. As a result Dunne was virtually banished and spent much time in Rome and Ireland, adding to the rising chorus of complaints leveled at Church management. In December 1858 he returned to Melbourne as a migration chaplain but was forbidden to exercise his priestly functions by Goold's vicar-generals, J. Fitzpatrick and P. B. Geoghegan. After writing a long document in his own defence, addressed to Folding, Dunne returned to Ireland. Roman authorities were compelled finally to take note of many of his grievances, but Dunne himself, at Goold's instigation, was forbidden to return to Australia. Far from being discouraged he persuaded Irish bishops to allow him to open a minor seminary at Tullamore, County Offaly, which was designed to give an initial training for missionary volunteers to Australia.

In the early 1860s Dunne co-operated with James Quinn in a migration scheme which contributed to the settling of the Darling Downs. The first migrants arrived at Brisbane in the Erin-go-bragh in August 1862. Financial difficulties in the new Brisbane diocese, linked with sectarian objections to the migration scheme, brought Dunne to the Goulburn diocese in April 1868 where his zeal was directed by Bishop William Lanigan into constructive work. After a term as first president of St Patrick's College and cathedral administrator at Goulburn he transferred to the Gundagai-Jugiong mission. On the death of his friend Michael McAlroy in 1880 Dunne succeeded as vicar-general, retaining his title and the confidence of his bishop when he was transferred to Wagga Wagga in 1883 and to Albury in 1887. He helped to plan many churches, including St Michael's in Wagga.

Dunne was one of the best-known priests of the last half of the nineteenth century, often injecting a tumultuous note into church affairs and quarrelling with bishops and public officials. He was a pioneer who responded to the demanding challenges to extend his religion in frontier conditions. At times impatient and adopting sledge-hammer methods in newspaper controversy, his total achievement was a tribute to his vision as much as to his methods. Even in retirement in the 1890s he was a respected national figure, still making his determined thrusts into affairs of church and state.

On 21 July 1900 he died at Albury and was buried in the grounds of Newtown Orphanage, now St John's Orphanage, Wirlinga, Albury.

Farmer and politician, William Telford Webb, was born on 28 July 1842 at Tullamore, King's County (Offaly), Ireland, son of Richard Webb, farmer, and his wife Maria, née Telford. His parents and their six children arrived in Melbourne in the Black Eagle on 28 January 1859 and settled at Tylden near Kyneton, but in 1863 William went to the Dunstan goldfields near Otago, New Zealand. He was moderately successful but returned after surviving a severe snowstorm in Gabriel's Gully in which three hundred people died. In 1868 he selected land at Nanneella near Rochester. By 1878 he, his mother and his uncle William Telford owned 900 acres. He was an enthusiastic supporter of McColl's northwest Victorian canal and irrigation scheme, first proposed in 1871, and became a commissioner of the United Echuca and Waranga Waterworks Trust from its inception in October 1882. He was chairman of the Campaspe Water Trust in 1889-1903. Elected in 1873 as the first farming representative to the Echuca (later Rochester) Shire Council, Webb was a councillor until 1892 and president in 1877-79. In May 1879 he was active in refounding the Rochester branch of the National Reform and Protection League, whose aims were to seek reform of the Legislative Council and to secure direct representation of farmers in parliament. He also represented the shire at meetings of the Decentralization League. In 1883 he unsuccessfully contested the seat of Rodney in the Legislative Assembly but was elected in April 1889 with James Shackell and soon became a powerful advocate of farming and irrigation interests. He held the seat until September 1897, he was commissioner of public works and minister for agriculture from January 1893 to September 1894 and vice-president of the Board of Lands and Works from February 1893 to September 1894 in the Patterson ministry.

By 1889 Webb had given up active farming and lived in Rochester, where he set up as an agent and grain-buyer for farmers, ran a milling and butchering business, and was a founder of the Yeomanry stores in Mackie Street. He was also a promoter in 1889 and chief shareholder of the Fresh Food and Frozen Storage Co. Ltd which operated creameries, butter factories and cool stores throughout Victoria until its voluntary liquidation in 1902. It was one of the companies investigated and censured by the 1905 royal commission on the butter industry. Webb's belief in the worth and wealth of farming industries was the rock on which he stood in the gloom and instability of Victorian politics in the l890s. In December 1903 he won the seat of Mandurang in a by-election but lost in the general elections of 1904.

On 24 October 1883 at St Matthew's Church, Prahran, he had married Elizabeth Alice Everitt, a 21-year-old milliner. In 1909 a stroke partially paralysed him, but he remained fairly active in Rochester until his sudden death from heart failure while on holiday at St Kilda on 17 January 1911. He was survived by his wife and three of their five daughters.

Mary Ward takes her place alongside the Rosses, Jolys and Stoneys in the Offaly people of science gallery. Born Mary King, Ferbane, 27 April 1827. Died Birr, 31 August 1869. She married Henry William Crosbie Ward (of Castleward, Strangford, Co. Down ) and had three sons and five daughters. She was the youngest child of Henry and Harriett King. An aunt Mary Lloyd was married to the 2nd Earl of Rosse. Addresses:
1827-1857 'Ballylin', Ferbane, King's County;
Trimbleston, Booterstown, Nr Dublin;
1861-1864 'Bellair', Moate, King's County;
1864-1869 A number of addresses in or near Kingstown, Dublin.

Mary King did not attend school or university but was educated at home in Co. Offaly by a governess. William, the 3rd Earl of Rosse, was Mary's cousin and she was a frequent visitor to Birr Castle (see earlier entries on William 3rd Earl of Rosse and his two sons). She observed and chronicled the building of the giant telescope in the castle grounds. Through her famous cousin she met many of the most eminent men of science of the day.

Mary became well known as an artist, naturalist, astronomer and microscopist yet she never received any formal marks of distinction. It should be borne in mind that women could not become members of societies or institutions nor obtain degrees or diplomas during their lifetime. It was very difficult for them to become established or recognised in scientific or literary fields until well into the last quarter of the 19th century. Nevertheless Mary was the first woman to write and have published a book on the microscope in spite of the fact that it was very difficult to find publishers who would accept book manuscripts from women. When her first book on the microscope was published in London in 1858 Mary did not use her full name but was referred to as The Hon. Mrs W. She was to write three books on scientific subjects and numerous scientific articles while performing the duties of wife and mother of a rapidly growing family. Her book on the microscope was reprinted at least eight times between 1858-1880.

An exceptionally fine artist and painter, she illustrated all her own books and papers and also those of others. Sir David Brewster F.R.S came to visit her father's house and soon she was preparing microscopic specimens for him These specimens she drew and painted, and the coloured illustrations may be seen in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1864. She also made the original drawings of Newton's and Lord Rosse's telescopes which can be seen in Brewster's Lifè of Newton. In 1864 Sir Richard Owen asked Mary to send him a copy of her painting of the natterjack toad for the collections of the British Museum. An article by Mary on 'Natterjack Toads in Ireland' had been published in a scientific journal and this paper was reprinted in full in The Irish Times in May 1864 with a very complimentary editorial comment. When eighteen years old her parents bought her a fine microscope which she continued to use and to demonstrate with enthusiasm until her death.

Her first microscope book was produced privately by Shields of Parsonstown in 1857. It was called Sketches with the Microscope and only 250 copies were printed. I have seen a copy of this fine example of local printing - a book which is extremely rare and was printed in Birr. It was published in 1858 by Groomsbridge of London as The World of Wonders Revealed by the Microscope Teachings in 1864. Telescope Teachings, a companion volume to Microscope was published in 1859.

On 31 August 1869, when she was 42, Mary, Henry and two of Lord Rosse's sons were traveling on a steam carriage invented by their father when it jolted and threw Mary to the ground where she was crushed by one of its heavy wheels and died instantly.

The following article appeared in the King's County Chronicle of 1st of September 1869 the day following the accident:

APPALLING ACCIDENT.
SUDDEN DEATH OF THE HON. MRS. WARD.

On yesterday the people of Parsonstown were much excited and grieved at a sad accident which occurred in the town. In the afternoon of yesterday the Hon. Captain Ward, his wife, the Hon. Mrs. Ward, The Hons. Clare and Charles Parsons, and Mr. Biggs the tutor to the young gentlemen, were on a steam carriage which has been built by Lord Rosse. The vehicle had steam up, and was going at an easy pace, when on turning the sharp corner at the church, unfortunately the Hon. Mrs. Ward was thrown from the seat and fearfully injured, causing her almost immediate death. The unfortunate lady was taken into the house of Dr. Woods which is nearly opposite the scene of the unhappy occurrence, and as that gentleman was on the spot everything that could be done was done, but it was impossible to save her life. The utmost gloom prevades the town, and on every hand sympathy is expressed with the husband and family of the accomplished and talented lady who has been so prematurely hurried into eternity. The deceased lady was the sister of J. G. King, Esq., Ballylin, and the untoward occurrence will plunge several noble families into grief. The body was last night taken to Birr Castle where it awaited the coroner's inquest which was held today. The deceased lady and her husband had been for the past week on a visit with the Earl of Rosse. The Hon. Mrs. Ward was a lady of great talent, and accomplished in literary and scientific pursuits. A very interesting book of hers, "Sketches with the Microscope," was published at this office [Shields of Parsonstown] some years ago. The work displays persevering research, and set forth in an attractive dress.

THE INQUEST.

On this day at 10 o'clock John Corcoran, Esq., coroner, held an inquest at the Castle on the body of the Hon. Mrs. Ward. The Resident Magistrate, H. G. Curran, and James Rolleston, J.P., were in attendance. The following respectable and intelligent jury were sworn: - Messrs, B. W. Fayle, (foreman), James Connolly, Henry Davis, R. Goodbody, John O'Meara, John Murphy, George Dooly, Matthew Keane, Thomas Hornidge, Stephen Matthews, Wm. Paxton, Wm. Boyne, and Wm. Delany.

Mr. Richard Biggs was the first witness examined. I knew the deceased, the body now viewed is that of the Hon. Mary Ward; have known her for about a week. There were on yesterday five people on the steam carriage of whom Mrs. Ward was one; she was sitting on the corner of a raised seat; next to her was Captain Ward her husband; I was guiding the engine; at the corner of Cumberland-street and Oxmantown Mall on yesterday, at about half-past 8 O'clock; we had just turned into Cumberland - street when I felt a slight jolt and saw Mrs. Ward fall; I jumped off immediately; I cannot give any reason for the jolt. The Hon. Clare and Charles Parsons were also sitting; Hon. Charles was on the back of the engine; I jumped off at once when I saw the deceased fall, and found her already in the hands of two men; there was no sign of life in her then.

To a juror - The jolt could not have been by catching in the curb stone.

Mr. Rolleston said he was present and saw the engine turn the corner outside the curb stone. Mary Magrath deposed as follows - I was in my mother's house in Cumberland street yesterday; at about 20 minutes past 8 I saw the engine coming and called a friend of mine who never saw the engine before; I saw the lady fall; saw the engine "rise" at one side; saw the lady fall off; the wheel was raised at the opposite side to Dr. Woods'; the engine was just turned at Mr. Goodbody's side; the wheel hit the lady and pushed her on one side; I assisted her into Dr. Woods; she appeared to try to grasp something and had nothing to catch; a man was up to the lady at the same time, he is a man named Flannery; the lady was bleeding at the time; she bled from her mouth, nose, and ears; she afterwards worked like as if in convulsions as we were carrying her into Dr. Woods'; I believe the affair to be an accident.

Mr Biggs (to a juror) - Under ordinary circumstances there was no danger in the machine.
Could have stopped the engine in a very short time.

Mr. James Rolleston, J. P. deposed as follows: - On yesterday I left the castle door at the same time that the engine left: the Hon. Randal Parsons walked along with me to the lodge where we overtook it; it went at a moderate pace; we kept near it till it got near the centre of the Mall; we had it in view till it turned the corner of Cumberland-street, near the church; it appeared to me to go slowly round the corner; the noise of the engine ceased shortly after it turned the corner; I saw people running. I do not think the engine was very dangerous; the front wheels from from the excellent management gave great stability to the engine; the engine was going about from 31/2 to 4 miles an hour. Dr. Woods deposed, I saw the deceased about two minutes after the accident occurred; she was then merely breathing, with a spasm of the tongue; she died in about one minute after I saw her her neck was broken and her jaw bone greatly fractured, she was bleeding a great deal from the ears which showed there was a fracture of the base of the skull: she was a good deal bruised about the face and her lips cut: these injuries were the cause of her death.

The jury without retiring the jury gave in a verdict , that the deceased came to her death by an accidental fall from a steam engine on which she had been riding in the town of Parsonstown on the preceding day. The jury begged to express their sympathy with the Hon. Capt. Ward in his sad bereavement and also that there was no blame attaching to any person in connection with the occurrence."

In November 1835, Mr. Smith, agent for the Rev. William Brownlow Savage, Rector of the Union of Shinrone, Kilcommon and Kilmurry, filed two bills for tithes against Mr. Thomas Tiquin, a prominent businessman from Rusheen, Kilcommon. The foundations of the mill and house where Tiquin and his family carried on a successful milling business can still be seen at the Three Roads in the townland of Rusheen. The total sum claimed amounted to one pound, twelve shillings and eight pence. Tiquin refused to pay the tithes and a court case followed. Despite being defended by the eminent Q.C., Mr. Rolleston of Glasshouse, Tiquin lost his case, was arrested, and confined in the barracks at Shinrone, before being transferred to Newgate prison now known as Kilmainham. The details of the court case remain unclear, but it seems that Tiquin was convicted on a legal technicality, which was regarded as being most unjust at the time. Furthermore, the fact that legal costs were awarded against Tiquin aroused considerable anger amongst those demanding reform of the Tithes. The trial and imprisonment so affected Tiquin, that despite being 'one of the finest young men in the King's County, upward of six feet two inches in height, and the idol of his neighbourhood', he died shortly after his imprisonment. (Valentine Trodd, Midlanders, pp 13-14)

Daniel 0' Connell and the Catholic Association, realised that the indignation which the trial and death of Tiquin had aroused could be used to bring added pressure on the Government to abolish the Tithes. The coffin, borne in a plain hearse, drawn by four black-plumed horses, left Dublin on Thursday evening. Four placards were attached to the hearse bearing the inscription, "Funeral of Mr. Thomas Tiquin of Shinrone, in King's County, who died on Thursday 30th May, 1837, while under imprisonment in the Four Courts, Marshalsea, Dublin. For The Tithes". The funeral was followed by Mr. Rey, the Assistant Secretary of the Catholic Association, along with two other associates.

While on its way to Shinrone, stopping over in Kildare on the Thursday and Mountrath on the Friday, thousands of people, on foot, on horseback and in cars, carriages and gigs, accompanied the cortege. On the Saturday, Tiquin's two brothers, together with his wife Maryanne and other relatives arrived in Roscrea to await the arrival of the funeral from Mountrath. The Catholic Association had arranged that the funeral should proceed through Shinrone and Dunkerrin, but the family decided that the remains should be taken directly from Roscrea to Birr and then on to the family burial grounds at "All Saints" in Banagher.

On the Saturday, while hundreds prayed in the chapels of Shinrone and Roscrea for the "victim who so nobly sacrificed himself for his country", hundreds of friends and neighbours from Shinrone proceeded to Mountrath, Castletown and Borris-inOssory to accompany the remains to the church in Roscrea. Among the cortege were Fr. 0' Meara and Fr. Kelly, Roscrea, Fr. Dore, C.C. Shinrone, Fr. Nolan, Dunkerrin, and Fr. Cleary, P.P. Kilcolman.

On the Saturday night, the funeral made its way to Bin where the Roman Catholic Bishop, Most Rev. Dr. Kennedy, after addressing an estimated crowd of seventeen to eighteen thousand people, advised them to disperse quietly. It was Bishop Kennedy, then Fr. Kennedy, together with Thomas Lalor Cooke who had been responsible for stopping the Greenboys march on Shinrone in 1828.

It was three o'clock on Sunday when the funeral reached the "All Saints Well" burial ground, Banagher, where Tiquin was laid in his grave. On its way to the burial ground. the hearse had to stop for half an hour to allow the people from Shinrone, Cloghan, Banagher, Roscrea, Lockeen and Durrow to arrive. It is estimated that in all, 200,000 people took part in the funeral on that day. (Leinster Express, 10th June 1837)

In 1838, the following year, the Tithes were abolished. Tiquin became known as The Last Tithe Martyr' and it seems certain that just as the march of the Greenboys was influential in hastening the passing of Catholic Emancipation, the imprisonment and subsequent death of Thomas Tiquin accelerated the abolition of the Tithes.

Source: Noel MacMahon, In the Shadow of the Fairy Hill, Shinrone and Ballingarry - A History, pp 108-111.

Report in the Leinster Express - 10th June 1837.

THE FUNERAL OF THOMAS TYQUIN,
THE "TITHE MARTYR."

Has been the stock in trade of the O'Connell journals for the last week, and hence-with their wanted veracity- they have this discusting blasphemios exhibition protrayed in the most extravagant terms as a subject of" the great sympathy" and excitment through the country ." But the Martyrdom" of Tyquin, at the shrine of agitation, has not been sufficient to excite the people any further than to exhibit the folly and mischevious tendency of the advise of those unprincipled persons, which have never yet effected any substantial service for their duped fellow countrymen- who, in the various relations of life, are the most intolerable tyrants and self knaves, if we view them as magistrates, landlords, traders, or even patriots. We are convinced, that were it not for the influence of the Roman Catholic Clergy possesses over the people,and which they abused to such a ruinous extent, the funeral of Tyquin would have been even a greater failure, and the best proof we can offer in corroboration, is the following fact:- The Rev N. O' Connor, P.P. of Maryborough-whose pious and exemplary conduct on all occasions, has been acknowledged by men of all creeds and parties- declined to countenance the up becoming and unchristian display: and the result was, that the remains of Tyquin passed through the town, without having attracted the smallest attention, or a single individual having joined the procession, which consisted of two suspicious and rather ill-looking persons, on an old jaunting car proceeding at a slow pace at the rere of the hearse, on which, and on the coffin on a placard conspicuously displayed-:

"Funeral of Mr Thomas Tyquin, of Shinrone in the King's County, Tithe Victim, who died on Tuesday 30th May, 1837, while under imprisonment in the Four Courts' Marshalses, Dublin, for Tithe. The funeral will leave Dublin on Thursday Morning at 7 o'clock and proceeding through Rathcoole and Naas will arrive at Kildare, where the body will remain all night, and thence be conveyed on Friday to Mountrath and on Saturday to Roscrea and Dunkerrin.

THE FOLLOWING BOMBAST WE EXTRACT FROM THE WEEKLY REGISTER:-

The General Association very properly determined to do honour to the brave men's memory, a committee was appointed to make arragements for conducting his funeral to its destination at 9 o'clock on Thursday morning the funeral started from Michael's Hill the residents of the undertaker, Mr. Martin and proceeded out the city on the road to Kildare under the direction of the active and intelligent assistant secretary of the General Association. Mr. T. M. Ray. The body was borne by a hearse and four, and followed by several vehicles companied by gentlemen anxious to show a mark of respect to the memory of one, who had proved ready to suffer all things for conscience sake. As the procession proceeded to Rathcoole it was joined by considerable numbers of the country people amounting to several 1000's, who accompanied it till within a mile of Naas, where it was met by the very excellent and zealous clergyman of that parish, the Rev. Gerald Doyle, his curate, the Rev. Mr. Hackett; Christopher Flood, of Yeomanstowns, Esq., and several of the parishioners of the reverend gentlemen. Nearer the town the Rev. Mr. Kearney, P.P. of Lelane, and the Rev. Mr Tierney, P.P. of Prosperous, joined the funeral procession.

"The procession moved off from Naas at such a rapid pace as soon forced most of the pedestrians to fall behind, though some of them continued to run along with the horses even to Kildare. At Newbridge,as at Nass and Rathcoole, the bell tolled the good mans knell, and warned the people of the arrival of the funeral, who crowded with a melancholy interest around the hearse that contained the remains of the last victim, as they called him with a sorrowful emphasis.

"When we passed the Curragh the greater part of the horsemen returned, and the funeral reached Kildare accompanied by several vehicles and a few equestrians shortly after 6 o'clock. Here the hearse and the gentlemen accompanying it remain all night, and will proceeded towards Mountrath at an early hour of the morning".

WE HAVE BROUGHT THE PROCESSION TO KILDARE, WITHIN FIFTEEN MILES OF MARYBOROUGH, WHERE, AS WELL AS IN MOUNTRATH, IT WILL BE PERCEIVED HOW THE "VICTIM "PROCEEDED. THE FREEMAN HAS CONTRIBUTED THE FOLLOWING :-

"TITHE VICTIMS FUNERAL"

THRID DAY - The two brothers of Tyquin arrived in Roscrea with the family of the deceased, and immediately returned, taking different directions through the country to apprise the people that the route had been changed and their earnest entreaty. It was originally intended by the association that the funeral should proceed through Shinrone and Dunkerrin. This was, however agreed on without consulting the wishes of the relatives-their burial ground being at "All Saints Well", four miles beyond Birr. Under these circumstances it was at once decided that the body should be conveyed from Roscrea agreeable to their desire, the distance to either place been much the same. Thousands and thousands along the road are in preparations along the line. The manifestation of public opinion exhibited in the King's County almost exceeds credibility.

Early in the morning the people from Roscrea and its vicinity came pouring in. Some of his own friends from Shinrone were almost momentarily joining the throng. In the chapel prayers are celebrated during the morning about 9 O'clock there was a high mass. At Castletown, three miles further on, we were joined by about three hundred, every now and then a few horsemen could be descried at a distant, and as we reach them, silently fell in.

When we reached Borris-in-Ossory, the procession consisted of cars, gigs, horseman, which proceeding at a rapid rate along the road, the crowds of pedrestians who at first taught to keep up were reluctantly compelled to return. Leaving Borris, we proceeded forward, followed by more than five hundred well-mounted horsemen, and about two hundred vehicles of various descriptions. The former comprised many respectable inhabitants of Mountrath, among them the Rev. Messrs Nolan. P.P. Conroy, C.C., Nowlan, C.C.,D, Egan, Esq., P. Lawlor, Esq., E. Cahill, Esq., Doctor Pim, and several others. As we continued along, the numbers rapidly increased, and again we were obliged to go slowly forward, as at every step made from the surrounding counties joined us - groups every moment were discernible crossing the fields- and others sitting by the wayside awaiting our approach. Now, indeed, the men of Shinrone (the victim's native place) were easily distinguished. Where ever number were collected standing across the road, the fierce, irrepressible imprecations that burst from them told but too well the nature of there feelings. This ebullition never passed the first outbreak-it was promptly and invaribly subdued by the interference of the clergymen. A little further on, accompanied by two hundred men, John New, a man we believed familiar to our readers met us - himself a successful opposer of the system which his unfortunate friend (for they were neighbours) had been immolated by. He came to honour a fellow patriot - and has sincere a one as ever breathed. This man for nine months braved the horrors of a dungeon sooner than pay one pound and five shillings tithes. He came out of it wasted and worn, but his resolution firm and unaltered: and as he triumphantly produced to the thousands who flocked around the card presented to him by the General Association, on his liberation from the prison, gratuitously admitting him a member of that body, solemnly he swore he would meet the same fate of the man who was before him, rather than pay tithes. Could the wild huzza the responsive shout greeted their declaration be heared by the tithe hunters, and then indeed would the prison gates of Dublin Marshalsea be thrown open to the tithe marthrs.

From Borris - in - Ossory forward the crowds momentarly increased. The curates of Shinrone and Roscrea advanced several miles from the last pirce to meet the procession, and brought intelligence that the chapels in their respective districts had been unceasingly occupied by the inhabititants in prayers for the victim who had so nobly sacrificed himself for his country. Multuides were in the rere making their way to join the man of Mountrath-the perseverance of the people and their patient suffering under the influence of the oppressive heat of the day, well evinced what their feelings and sympahty were. It was intended that the funeral should move very slowly in advance from Roscrea to Birr halting for a hour at the former place; they were several times requested to walk, as they would certainly overtake it in Roscrea; nothing could induced them to comply; their coats and shoes were taken off, and they ran along side without a murmur, but to attempt to shake them off was useless. Towards three o'clock Roscrea appeared in the distance, the road communicating with its literally alive with countrymen walking out to meet us. In the County Tipperary appears such a spirit of persevring but quite and constitutional resistance to tithes that it would be utterly immpossible to oppose with the most distance propect of success. Amid the ringing of chapel bells we entered the town of Roscrea; countless masses of the populance proceeded in advance of the funeral, while a line of cars intervened between a strong body of horsemen who brought up the rere, among which were included the followly gentlemen - Stephan Egan, Esq., Roscrea; Reverand Meara. Kelly, C.C., Roscrea; Dore, C.C. Shinrone; Nolan, Dunkerrin, Blake, P.P., Bowma: Doyle C.C., ditto: Egan,C.C., ditto; Cleary, C.C., Longford; Cleary P.P., Kilcolman, with several others. As the procession proceeded it filled up several streets with a compressed body of peasantry, who were receiving every quarter of an hour fresh additions to there already overwhelming numbers; The earnestness an determination of a people in a cause must be calculated by the sacrifices they suffer and the privations they endure to carry out a principal for the attainment of which they have been assiduously labouring; and it is no small sacrifice indeed for the poor man who cheerfully devotes his time and presence to the cause of his country when neither one or the other is requisite or called for. To the class of the persons who were most zealous in paying the request to the man who's exertions during his life for the welfare of his country were untiring and who's premature death will be useful beyond his anticipation in furtherence of the good cause, and the value of which in all probability is not appreciated at the present;, their time is their money and most disinterested did they spur every selfish consideration and to a man attend for the purpose of evincing there sympathy, and show how readily they would brave the same peril, although the fatal results of a disinterested patriotism unflinching consistence and hardihood were conspicuous to them in thid most appalling form. The sad spectacle of two cars following the hearse, containing the broken hearted remains of a once independant and happy family had to no effect saved to urge them on to a similar and daring and unyielding preseverance.

I have but time to say that this day (Sunday) we committed to the grave Mr. Tyquin in his family burial ground "All Saint Well". There is no riot, no disorder or confusion of any description during the sad ceremony, although the multitudes presented no novel and imposing an appearance as to call forth the mark surprise of some gentlemen who could not conceive the possibility of collecting such numbers together.

FOURTH DAY - by the time the funeral reached its destination for the night (Birr) the concorse of people were really tremendous. The procession formed in the same manner as it proceeded through the towns-pedestrians in advance, cars, and & C., Succeeding, and horsemen in the rere; with few exceptions, the towns people closed their shops through respect for the memory of the man whom they knew so well, and who had so recently led them to election victory and triumph. There could not have been less than fifteen or eighteen thousand men blocking up the narrow streets of the town. While the funeral was on its route to the chapel, where every preparation for the reception of the afflicted family of Mr. Tyquin by the cooperation and active sympathy of the most Rev. Dr. Kennedy, the Roman Catholic Bishop, had been prepared, while the multitude was yet standing around the hearse gazing at the placard- the bishop addressed them briefly, but most effectually, as to the necessity of there immediately dispersing cause of apprehension to the inhabitants. This advice was immediately adopted by them, and in a few minutes there were to be seen no traces of the stiring scene which had been but just exhibited.

About three o'clock nest day (Sunday) we set out amid a heavy fall of rain to 'All Saints Well.' Although the weather was showery and unpropitious and numbers took refuge in every place likely to afford shelter during the continuance of the rain, still to compute the vast body who accompanied us out of the town would be perfectly impossible. Like the fiery cross of Scotland, the intelligents of the place and time of his burial had spread to an extent and with rapidity hardly credible. This appeared every moment more and more evident as we advanced, and the weather brighted, the haze rising from the hills exposed the crowds who were hastening to assist in the interment of their countryman. As we gained the cross roads, the hearse was compelled to stop for more than half a hour, to allow time for the people to come up, who were hastening on from Cloghan, Banager, Roscrea, Lockeen, and Durrow. Horsemen galloped up the different roads in advance, to beg that the requested of the travelers would be compiled with, which was granted. After a reasonable time had elapsed, the funeral moved on, at every step fresh arrivals joining us. The victim was laid in his grave. I need hardly say how deeply regretted".- Freeman's Journal.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LEINSTER EXPRESS

Sir,- The Freeman of Wednesday having occupied a large portion of its columns with an account of the funeral procession of Tyquin, and the "intense interest", the narrative in the Freemans is a issue of falsehoods. Friday evening last the hearse passed through this town and though the Market House and Chapel gates were posted with placards the day previous, announcing the arrangements of the funeral, and its remaining in Mountrath for the night, it passed through unnoticed, excepting an individual here and there, gazing at the unusual sight of a hearse covered with placards, but no gathering of the people.The funeral on Saturday morning,though market day, and delayed in the Chapel 'till near 11 o'clock, proved the most miserable failure; though the correspondent of the Freeman states the concourse of 1000 giving the fall latitude of Priests, Monks, national school children, women and the usual routine of urchins, who usually attended every stir that occurs in a town they did not number 200, not including the most respectable inhabitants of the town whom Freemans did not forget to name, in junction with the Priests amounting to a Brewer and a M.D. I merely mentioned this circumstance to show that the most glaring falsehoods are resorted to, in ordered to keep up agitation, and that the country people being by the time heartily sick of the slave driving of the agitating crew that infest this country; the Priests are yoked in, in order, to goad their infatuatd slaves into oppostion against their best friends.

I am, Sir, Your obenient servant.
VERITAS
Mountrath 8th June 1837