CROWLEY, KELLY AND M'CLURE.    261

PETER O'NEILL CROWLEY, JOHN EDWARD KELLY, CAPTAIN JOHN M'CLURE.

Three Fenians give Battle to the Waterford Column and Police—Sketch of Peter O'Neill Crowley—Martyrdom of his Uncle, Father O'Neill—The Martyr's Heir—His High Character—Sketch of John Edward Kelly—Goes to School in Halifax—Emigrates to Boston—Becomes a Printer—Joins the Fenians in New York—Passion for Military Knowledge—Instructs the Emmet Guards in Boston—Goes to Ireland—Military Instructor in Cork—Views on Irish Revolution—Duties as Agent of the I. R. B.—Plans at the Time of the Rising—Sketch of John McClure—Native of New York—Joins the 11th Y. V Cavalry—Service—Mustered Out—Goes to Ireland—Attacks Knockadoon Station —Crowley, Kelly and McClure in the Mountains—Fight in Kilcloony Woods —Capture of McClure and Kelly—Death of Crowley—His Funeral—Popular Sympathy- -McClure and Kelly in the Dock—Manly Speeches—Sentence.
 

WHERE there have been so many individual instances of gallantry as the personal adventures of the Fenians exhibit, it is difficult to assign the palm of particular distinction to any one; but it will doubtless be conceded that the fight at Kilclooney Wood, between three Fenians and the British forces, was the most gallant and remarkable conflict of the rising. Indeed, it is well calculated to add a special glory to the cause associated with it, and to indicate a lasting reputation for those engaged in it. That three Fenians should defiantly resist and offer battle to one hundred and twenty soldiers, besides the district constabulary, borders almost on the marvelous. But men, inspired as

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they were, are capable of any sacrifice—even life itself. The names of these self-sacrificing, daring men, are Peter O'Neill Crowley, John Edward Kelly and John McClure ; and their example and record may be handed down to the admiration of those who honor noble deeds- and will strive to emulate them.
Peter O'Neill Crowley was born on the 23d May, 1832, at Ballymacoda, in the county of Cork. His father was a respectable farmer, living in the locality, and his mother was the niece of Father Peter O'Neill, who, flogged in the City of Cork in the year '98, was afterwards sentenced to transportation for life for his alleged complicity in the rebellion of that year. While yet young, Peter Crowley's father died, and his granduncle, the priest, who had been liberated from jail after five years' incarceration, took the boy under his care, and at the time of his death directed that due attention should 'be paid to educate him in all the modern branches of education.
As the wrongs suffered by Father O'Neill were treasured by the family—becoming an inspiration to patriotism—and as they receive an additional interest from the blood poured out by young Crowley to avenge them, a brief account of them, found in "A Critical and Historical Review of Fox's Book of Martyrs, by William Eusebius Andrews," will prove of sad interest. Most of the narrative is extracted from Father O'Neill's own " Remonstrance," dated October 23, 1803. The extract will speak for itself ; we shall only premise that it was written in reply to a law-lord who had spoken of Father O'Neill as " one proved to

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have been guilty of sanctioning the murders of 1798, transported to Botany Bay, and since pardoned by the mercy of Government." After denying in the most solemn manner that he was guilty of the offence charged against him at his arrest, in 1799, he thus
proceeds :
" It was my peculiar misfortune that the charges then made , against me were not only withheld from myself, but even my Mends had no intimation of them, except by common report, which then was busily employed in disseminating the various atrocities supposed to have been committed by me ; but nothing specifically authenticated had transpired ; the very committal was so vague as to have excited the astonishment of a professional friend of mine in Dublin, and to have eventually led to my discharge. I shall now proceed to the particulars of my case : Immediately upon my arrest, I was brought into Youghal, where, without any previous trial, I was confined in a loathsome receptacle of the barrack, called the black hole—rendered still more offensive by the stench of the common necessary adjoining it.
" In that dungeon I remained from Friday until Monday, when I was conducted to the Ball-alley to receive my punishment. No trial had yet intervened, nor ever after. I was stripped and tied up ; six soldiers stood forth for this operation ; some of them right-handed, some of them left-handed men, two at a time (as I judge from the quickness of the lashes), and relieved at intervals, until I had received two hundred and seventy-five lashes, so vigorously and so deeply inflicted that my back and points of my shoulders were quite bared to the flesh But I had
not hitherto shaken the triangle ; a display of feeling which, it seems, was eagerly expected from me. To accelerate that spectacle a wire cat was introduced, armed with straps of tin or lead.
. . . Whatever were its appendages, I cannot easily forget the power of it. In defiance of shame my waistband was cut for the finishing strokes of this lacerating instrument. The very

264 FENIAN HEROES AND MARTYRS.

first lash, as it renewed all my pangs, and shot convulsive agony through my entire frame, made me shake the triangle indeed. A second infliction of it penetrated my loins, and tore them excruciatingly ; the third maintained the tremulous exhibition long enough—the spectators were satisfied."

After detailing the several means to which the officers—commissioned and non-commissioned—had recourse, in order to force from him a confession of
guilt, Father O'Neill proceeds :

" After I had answered him (one of the officers) in the corner of the ball-alley that I would suffer any death rather than acknowledge a crime whereof I was not guilty, he told me that I should be set at liberty if I would agree to a certain proposal which he then made ; but justice and truth commanded me to reject it. When conducted to jail, after a lapse of three hours, I was presented with a refreshment. It appeared to be wine and water, but must have had some other powerful ingredient, for it speedily brought on a stupor. The same officer soon roused me from my . lethargy, with a renewed effort to extort this avowal from me ; he drew his sword ; he declared he would never depart from me until it was given in writing ; he threatened that I should forthwith be led out again, flogged as before, shot, hanged, my head cut off to be exposed on the jail-top, and my body thrown into the river ; that he would allow me but two minutes to determine. Then, going to the door, he called for a scrip of paper, while the sentinel swore terribly at the same time that he would blow my brains out if I persisted any longer in my refusal. Under this impression I scribbled a note to my brother, which they instantly cried out was what they wanted ; the precise expressions of it I do not at this moment recollect ; it purported a wish that my brother might no longer indulge uneasiness on my account, for I deserved what I got. The officer withdrew ; my sister-in-law then got admittance : she told me she had just heard the sentinel say that during my entire punishment, nothing was against me ; however, that the paper I

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had just written would assuredly hang me. I exclaimed that their ' dreadful threats had compelled me to write it, which exclamation being carried to the officer, he returned the next day ; he called me to the jail window commanding a view of the gallows, whereon two men were hanging, their bodies so bloody that I imagined they were red-jackets. A third halter remained yet unoccupied, which he declared was intended for me, should I persist in disclaiming the aforesaid note. Look,' said he, at those men ; look at that rope ; your treatment shall be worse than theirs if you disown what you wrote yesterday ; ' adding that it was still in my power to get free. I imagined from this that he wanted money from me, or a favorite mare which I had occasionally lent him. My answer was—' If you liberate me, you shall always find me thankful, there is nothing in my power that I will not do.' Do not attempt, then,' said he, 'to exculpate yourself,' and then retired. I now procured paper whereon I wrote a formal protest against what he had extorted from me as above ; that, should I be executed, this protest might appear after my death."

After this martyr our hero had been named, and the granduncle was very much attached to his nephew. On Father O'Neill's death, young Peter inherited, under his will, all that the priest was worth hi the world, including his residence. The management of the property was assumed by Peter Crowley's eldest sister, who, some years his senior, endeavored to carry out faithfully the bequest of the deceased clergyman. Time rolled on, and Peter attaining his majority, worked with great energy on the farm which had been left to him, and, by industry and perseverance, soon converted it into a valuable property. He was always a man of exceedingly temperate habits, never having drunk a drop of spirituous liquor since be was ten years of age ; and when his day of toil was ended, he applied himself to study.

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Well versed in the history of his country, and deeply impressed by the dreadful punishment to which his granduncle had been subjected, he was imbued with feelings of the deepest hostility towards the English Government. Peter Crowley's grandfather was like- wise mixed up in the movement of '98, and for two years he was a proclaimed outlaw; in short, he was descended from rebels. It was natural for him to be national; and, joining the Fenian Brotherhood—of which he was a member for several years—he threw himself heart and soul into the movement, fostering its designs and extending its ramifications. Hs na- ture was high-toned and loveable. He was most worthy and excellent in his family relations—the best of brothers; and, rather than cause those with whom he lived any uneasiness, he was accustomed to steal out night, unobserve, with a view to forwarding the at cause which was so dear to his heart, returning in the morning to his work, apparently unfatigued by the loss of his night's rest. The blood of the martyrs was in him, and gave him strength.
The second of this trio of heroes, John Edward Kelly, was born in Kinsale, County Cork, on the 6th July, 1840. His parents emigrated to Halifax when the child was but two years old. He went o school there, and when young, displayed a talent forts drawing, for proficiency in which he received a premium. When about fourteen years of age he removed to Boston, where he served an apprenticeship to the printing

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business, at the expiration of which he came to New York, where he joined the Fenian Brotherhood, in the Spring of 1860. Being an enthusiast with practical ideas, he attached himself to the military department of the organization. He was one of the original members of the " Phoenix Zouaves "—a Company which, at that time, numbered among its members several young men who afterwards distinguished themselves on many a hard-fought field in the service of the Republic—chief among them being Colonels J. P. and Denis J. Downing, Captains John D. Hearne, William O'Shea, and Francis Welply. The two last-named heroes died on the battle-fields of Spottsylvania and Ream's Station ; and all the others were, more than once, severely wounded while attesting their devotion to the cause of human freedom.
Under the tutelage of Captain Thomas Kiely—a splendid military instructor of the United States Army, and a whole-souled Irish patriot—Kelly soon became a proficient in the use of the rifle and bayonet. He was indefatigable in acquiring military knowledge—both theoretically and practically—and he was seldom without " Hardee's Tactics" in his pocket. In the winter of 1860, he went to Boston, and became instructor of the Emmet Guard, which was organized by the Brotherhood soon after his arrival. So highly were his services appreciated, that, on his expressing his desire to go to Ireland for the purpose of aiding his compatriots there in making preparations for the work before them, his friends in Boston insisted on defraying his expenses home.

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After remaining a few days with his old comrades in New York, he sailed for Ireland in the month of April, 1861. Since that time, up to the outbreak in March, 1867, he resided principally in Cork, where his services, in imparting military instruction- to the young patriots of that city and its vicinity, under harrassing difficulties, will be long fondly remembered.
Mr. Kelly opposed the proposition for the Emmet Guard to volunteer into the American service, believing they would be wanting immediately in Ireland. But when in Ireland, and seeing the tendency of events, he was a most earnest advocate of the Union cause. Kelly, it appears, never had much faith in aid from America, always contending that the men in Ireland were able to work out their own freedom ; and it was only, says his most intimate associate, " after the 5th March, 1867, when he saw all the branches broken for want of a common trunk or centre to rally upon, that he admitted that an expedition from America was necessary for success." After his arrival in Dublin, he put himself in communion with the authorities of the I. R. B., and went to Cork, where he obtained work and made friends, even with Orangemen, who were employed in the same establishment. He subsequently went to London, but, disgusted with England and the English, returned to Dublin, and obtained employment on the Irish People when that journal was started. Here his talents were observed, and he was sent to Cork as an agent of the organization. He soon raised a company, and was commissioned a " B." During this period, his means were often at a low ebb,

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but he found welcome and a home in the family of Mr. and Mrs. John Buckley, devoted Fenians, now residents of Malden, Massachusetts. He was fond of alluding to the fact that, while suffering from a severe fever, he, a Protestant, experienced the greatest care from the good Sisters of Mercy and priests in Cork.
Mr. Kelly's duties now took him constantly from Cork to Dublin, and he escaped arrest, on (he seizure of the Irish People, by having been just ordered to the former. The latter part of 1865 found him still organizing in Cork, and encouraging the people, while the appalling scenes of the first Special Commission were being enacted around him. He always worked with such systematized caution, that he could venture on bolder undertakings than even those who were less known. At this time Thomas B. Hennessy, and a few of the Boston men, arrived, to participate in the expected struggle. Kelly took them around the city, showing them the fortifications and strategetical points. It was about this same time that, as Mr. Hennessy writes, " a batch of Western officers left Cork, recalled by Mr. Scanlan. Their defection caused the utmost depression in Cork; and Kelly took his Boston friends to the meetings of the Brotherhood, and, introducing them to the different officers, assured them that numbers of others were on their way over. This action contributed, in a great measure, to re-assure the Centres, who were beginning to get disheartened when they saw the men on whom they depended for leaders deserting them."
After undergoing many privations in Dublin and

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Liverpool in 1866, we find Kelly, in the Fall of that year, engaged as a printer on the Cork Herald, still keeping up the discipline of his men, although he had misgivings as to any movement taking place. Among the nationalists of Cork "Kelly's Men " were known as the avant-garde--all " dare devils like himself." He was only dissuaded from going to aid the Kerry rising, in February, by being reminded that he had " no orders ;" but he made his mind up to make a certain 'movement to rally the people, if the leaders gave no sign of action.

On the Saturday before the rising, he called on Crowley, who was in the city, and, taking a walk with him and Hennessy, unfolded his plans to them. Crowley thought them rash ; but Kelly's eloquence finally won Crowley's consent, who agreed to take part in them if something else did not occur. That " something" was the rising of the 5th. Crowley, grasping Hennessy's hand; said : " Mr. Hennessy, when we meet again it will be on the battle-field !" Hennessy promised to join Kelly's plans, but he was assigned to other duties, with the Cork forces, by Massey. He never saw Crowley again. .

The youngest of the Kilcloony heroes is John McClure, who was born 17th July, 1846, at Dobbs Ferry, Westchester County, State of New York. His parents were both Irish, his father, David McClure, being a native of Tipperary, and his mother, who was of the O'Donnell sept, hailing from Limerick County. They had emigrated to this country several years before, and were in respectable circumstances when John was

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born. He was their fifth child, and growing tip amid th^e simple scenes of country life, imbibed its virtues, and surrounded by the magnificence of Nature, acquired its innate nobility. When able to learn, he was sent to the " district" school of the place, from which he derived a plain English education. He continued at school until about sixteen years of age, when he came to New-York City, and, under the guidance and advice of his elder brother, William James, he obtained a very desirable clerkship, in which occupation he gave satisfaction to his employers. At this time the American civil war was at its height, and the idiosyncrasies of the lad began to exhibit themselves. On the morning of December 5th, 1863, he was missing from his post ; nothing was known of his whereabouts until a note from him, of the 10th inst., stated that he was bound for Washington, having enlisted as private in the 11th N. Y. V. Cavalry, (" Scott's 900.") The efforts of his family to have him return home were unavailing, and so he entered the theatre of war.

After some months of duty at Washington, part of the time being employed as clerk in the Court Martial Rooms there, he embarked with his regiment on board a transport ship for New Orleans, where they were quartered, making occasional incursions into the Confederate country, and checking the guerillas, who were rampant. Eventually his regiment was removed up the Mississippi river, and many were the raids made • by John and his comrades for supplies ; and many hard rides and skirmishes he experienced through Mis-

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sissippi, Arkansas and Tennessee—now foraging, now overawing the guerillas. It was a wild and merry life, with but little of bitterness in it ; and it is a fact that young McClure was never engaged in any of the pitched battles of the war. He was appointed quartermaster sergeant of his company, (" L ") and subsequently quartermaster sergeant of Company "B " The war ended, and the troops marched home. John's regiment was mustered out at Memphis, Tenn., and discharged at Albany, N. Y. On a bright day, early in October, he walked into his brother's place of business much the same kindly lad as he was twenty-two months before, having doffed his military gear at Albany, and purchased a civilian's dress, "more serviceable than elegant." Again he took up the pen, and labored very constantly for over a year.
The strength of the Fenian organization had been great, its hopes high, its disasters many, and in the Winter of '66-7 it arrived at the most ominous period of its vicissitudes. Young McClure never by act or word expressed any special predilection for the movement, and it was not until two days before his departure for the British Isles, that his family knew of his determination to cast himself into the breach, and make one of the forlorn hope of Irish patriotism. There is no doubt but that he was influenced to this course by association with some of the Fenian leaders, who met together occasionally at the house where he resided. Their anticipations were bright as their designs were daring, and awoke the youth's susceptible spirit of adventure. On the 18th day of December,

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1866, he set sail, with his older and more experienced Fenian companions, for the scene of Irish insurrection. They arrived at Glasgow, Scotland, early in January, and scattered to different parts. McClure went from Glasgow to Liverpool, and thence to Cork, from which latter city he wrote to his brother in New York sub-ram, about the middle of February, that, notwithstanding the failure of the F. B. in America in arming their brothers at home, they were resolved to precipitate the death-struggle for independence with the scanty weapons at hand. He was appointed to command the Middleton District, in Cork County.
Such were the antecedents of the three gallant spirits, whose lives had become so honorably united in a common purpose.
On the night of the 5th March, Shrove Tuesday, a large body of men, armed with rifles, guns, revolvers, pikes and scythes, assembled at a given point, and arrayed in military order, they proceeded—according to a preconcerted plan—to the Knockadoon coastguard station. Captain McClure was in command of this party, and made one of the most successful of the insurgent attacks.
After sacking Knockadoon coastguard station, the party proceeded to Killeagh, and were to have joined the Middleton and Castlemartyr contingents. By a mistake—which could only be accounted for by the loss of their leader, Timothy Daly, who was killed—the latter party did not meet the former ; who, tired of waiting, proceeded direct to the Tipperary mountains. Returning from the Galtees, the Ballymacoda con-

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tingent (which tenaciously held together, notwithstanding some defections, settled down in a remote part near Mitchelstown. Here in the defiles and gorges of the chain of mountains which extends beyond Fermoy, towards Mitchelstown,. the insurgents passed their time. Some days before the fatal encounter, having been made aware that the Waterford flying column were on their trail, they changed their position, and separated into small knots, with a view of being better able to elude the vigilance of their pursuers. It is stated that Crowley was in Cork the Thursday prior to the affray ; and that, disguised as a carman, he was enabled to avoid detection. We are also told that the men had ample means of escape to France or other places, but, indulging in the hope that aid would come sooner or later, they determined to the last to stand by the cause which they had embraced, and which they were confident would succeed.
The exact circumstances under which Crowley was in the wood, may not be without interest. By prearrangement, a friend of his (who was in full possession of his whereabouts all through) was to have met him at Kilclooney Wood on Sunday, March 31, or following day, for the purpose of supplying him with some essentials. Scouts anxiously watched, lest their visitor should by possibility pass unseen. It is supposed that they were observed, and that information was in the meantime conveyed to the authorities. Acting on this or other information, the resident Magistrate of Mitchelstown—Mr. Neale Browne—collected the district constabulary, and sent a requisition for the assistance of

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the County Waterford Column. This was composed of a troop of the Sixth Carbineers, two companies of the Sixth Warwickshire infantry, some of the military train, and Royal Engineers—in all about one hundred and twenty men—commanded by Major Bell. Guided by Mr. Browne, Mr. Redmond, resident Magistrate of Dungarvan, and Sub-Inspector Rudge, the troops reached the romantic valley of Aharfoucha at day-dawn on Sunday morning.. Here the collision took place. Here Crowley, Kelly and McClure resisted the combined forces ; and the military are said to have been greatly impressed by their extraordinary pluck and determination.
A stream flows through the valley of Aharfoucha, towards the banks of which Kilclooney Wood slopes down. Forty men, commanded by Major Bell, surrounded it on the south and west sides, in skirmishing order ; the cavalry were posted higher up in the valley, while the constabulary took possession of the Western Mountain, and the carbineers surrounded the houses on the east. The skirmishers were directed to let no one escape from the wood. One of them, perceiving a figure moving among the trees, challenged ; a shot was the reply. The order was then given to advance into the wood, and a sharp fusilade commenced. Finding their hiding-place thus invaded, two of the Fenians who had been concealed, made a rush for the river, firing rapidly at the soldiers as they emerged from the trees. The military returned the fire with vigor.
At this moment Mr. Redmond dashed through the

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military lines, under fire, in pursuit of the fugitives. He overtook Captain McClure as the latter reached the river, and grappled with Min from behind. McClure tried to shoot Mr. Redmond over his shoulder, but in doing so he left himself open to the soldiers, who rushed up to bayonet him. Mr. Redmond commanded them to spare his life, and just succeeded in checking the direction of an outstretched rifle. They struggled for a short time in the water, but McClure was soon overpowered by numbers. His companion, Crowley, was more unfortunate; as he was also jumping into the river, some shots struck him and he fell mortally wounded. The soldiers plunged in after him, and drew him to the bank.
It was found on examination that one of the shots had struck the lock of his musket, breaking the third finger of his right hand, and then rebounded, making a large welt across his stomach. Another shot had entered the middle of his back, and passed out through the right axilla. He was laid on the ground, while the surgeon tried to stanch the blood by pressure. As he lay on the grass, with his eyes devoutly raised to heaven, few (says one account) " could withhold an expression of admiration and sympathy from one who had, in many respects, the qualities of a hero."
Kelly was observed by Ensign Meredith crouching behind a ditch, rifle in hand ; he was summoned to surrender, and, seeing the uselessness of further resistance, threw down his gun, which was afterwards recognized as a coast-guard's weapon. He had a haversack containing a few pounds of raw pork, also

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some ammunition. In his pocket-book were several entries, headed as his " journal of the campaign ;" and the last entry, when five were together, was made on the 7th of March. He had also a green silk flag, with white fringe, a green handkerchief, and map of the County Cork.
An elevating interest centres on the martyr-hero, farmer Crowley. The priest was sent for, and the military surgeon, Dr. Sugrue, who staunched his wounds, read the last prayer from Crowley's own prayer book, which he always carried about him. The dying man was conscious to the last. When asked how he was, he replied, " I feel better now—you were about an hour too early ; if you were an hour later I would have given you a hot reception, and a very nice morning." What he intended to convey by the remark may not be obvious; but it was believed that the remainder of the party, who were not far off, had appointed to meet at Kilclooney Wood at six o'clock that morning. Had they been allowed an opportunity of concentrating in the plantation before the military assembled, there can be little doubt that a fierce and desperate encounter would have ensued. He had been conveyed on a litter to the nearest farm-house, but the people not wishing him to die there, he had to be taken to Mitchelstown, where lie received attention and spiritual consolation.
The last moments of the wounded insurgent were most impressive. For half an hour before he succumbed, a clergyman was present, ministering to the dying man the consolations of religion; and the rev-

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erend gentleman, writing to a friend, describes him in the following terms : "His death was most edifying. Never did I attend one who made a greater impression upon me. He begged of me to tell his sister not to be troubled because of his death, which he hoped would be a happy one." The body of the deceased had been removed to the workhouse, and when it became known who it was, a large crowd collected outside the gate of the union, and insisted upon getting the remains, in order that it might receive the last rites in proper form. When the sister of the deceased arrived, she had some difficulty in obtaining admittance, owing to the commotion outside. The martyr was laid out in his " habit" in the dead-house, and the loving sister immediately recognized her brother. Her request to see his clothes that he wore on the fatal morning was complied with. They were the disguise which he had worn in his expedition, and she did not identify them as his own. The police endeavored to detain them, but Miss Crowley insisted upon claiming them. Besides the scapulars which he wore, he had also attached round his neck a large bronze crucifix and a little medal, the emblems of a Christian " order." The crucifix was shattered in two places, and the medal was bent, plainly indicating they had been struck by bullets. On the chest of the deceased, where the religious tokens had been worn, there was an indentation in the skin corresponding with the size of the medal, as if it had violently pressed against that part of the breast.
An inquest was held the next day, and the jury, af-

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ter exhibiting some doubt, as to the right of such a large body of men firing on three fugitives, ultimately returned a verdict of death from the effects of a gunshot wound inflicted by the military while in the discharge of their duty.
The funeral took place on Tuesday, the 2d April, and awakened the strongest feelings of sympathy. About one hundred women and children, each carrying branches of laurel, formed a procession four deep ; then followed a. scattered group of female friends ; next the hearse. The coffin was strewn with branches of laurel. The sister of the patriot walked after the coffin as chief mourner, her head covered with a dark hood, and being supported by three priests. The love in which Crowley was held by his neighbors, and their sympathy for his hero-death, was exhibited by the closing of all the shops in the town. At Fermoy, during the interval that elapsed for resting the horses, the plumes and hearse were decorated with ribbons and green boughs, and a representation of the Irish harp was placed on one of the panels of the hearse. For miles the coffin was borne on men's shoulders ; and it was only when the "shades of evening" had fallen, that the corpse was placed in the hearse. The following day the remains were removed from his late residence to the place .of interment at Ballymacoda. In consequence of a request previously made by the relatives of the deceased, there was not a renewal of Tuesday's demonstration ; but the mournful procession which followed the corpse expressed their sorrow and regret for the deceased in another and more pathetic

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form. Among the persons who attended the funeral a large body of stalwart, yet respectable young men, were present. After the burial requiem had been chanted, and the prayers of the people offered for the soul of the departed, all that was mortal of Peter Crowley was deposited in the earth, amid the sorrow and weeping of some, and deep expressions of vengeance from others.
Crowley's comrades, McClure and Kelly, were conveyed to Cork Jail, and were arraigned at the Special Commission held in that city on Monday, 21st May, 1867, by Chief Justice Monaghan, Justice Keogh, and Justice George. Their appearance in the dock is thus described: " The demeanor in court of Edward Kelly, as well as that of Captain McClure, was marked by an air of the most complete and unassumed indifference. When called on to plead, each rose from his seat, and in a gentlemanly, firm manner, answered " not guilty." Kelly and McClure looked remarkably well, and appeared to enjoy the change of scene from the cell to the dock. No one, looking at them in a casual way, would suspect them of having taken a part in a most daring and memorable incident of the late insurrection. They are accused of being two of the three men whose bravery, when surrounded by the soldiers and police in Kilclooney Wood, called forth the admiration of the military. The third of that brave trio—Peter Crowley—was shot dead whilst attempting to cross the river which outskirts the wood. Looking at the boyish face of Kelly, and the almost equally youthful and quiet countenance of McClure,

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one could scarcely be convinced how they could have possessed so much pluck and endurance as they, admittedly, displayed."
On the third day of his trial, McClure was induced, after persistent persuasions on the part of the U. S. Consul, Eastman, and his solicitor, to plead guilt', with the " distinct understanding that the United States Government would interpose for his release on giving security to leave the country." On the same day Kelly was found guilty. On the next day, Friday, 25th May, they were put forward and, the Clerk of the Crown having formally asked McClure if lie had anything to say why sentence of death should not be passed upon him, the prisoner rose in the dock, and resting his hands on the front of it, addressed the Court in a loud, calm, manly voice. He said :

"My lords, in answer to the question as to why the sentence of the court should not now be passed upon me, I would desire to make a few remarks in relation to my late exertions on behalf of the suffering people of this country—in aiding them in their earnest endeavors to obtain the independence of their native land. Although not born on the soil of Ireland, my parents were, and from history, and the traditions of the fireside, I became conversant with this country's miseries from my earliest childhood; and as the human breast possesses those Godlike attributes which make men feel for suffering mankind, I felt for Ireland's wrongs, and for her moral degradation, and I felt that I should assist her people in their attempt to right those wrongs and raise her from degradation. I shall not now state to what cause I attribute the failure of the late insurrectionary movement. Nor shall I express a sorrow I do not feel with regard to my own conduct. I am fully satisfied of the righteousness of my every act in connection with the late revo-

The prisoner then resumed his seat, his firm, though gentle manner, the mild restrained enthusiasm which marked those parts of his address which referred to his love of Ireland, making a deep impression on his audience.

Edward Kelly having been asked in like manner if he had anything to say why sentence of death should not be passed upon him, then rose and rested his hands on the front of the dock. He looked rather pale, but his paleness was evidently not caused by trepidation, but by the effort to collect his ideas. His keen, flash-

CROWLEY, BELLY AND M'CLURE. 283

ing, southern eyes were fixed steadily on the judges as he spoke, except where he quoted from the Psalmist, and then they were raised upwards; and for a while the prisoner appeared transported in thought to that world to which he was soon to be consigned. He said :

284 FENIAN HEROES AND MARTYRS.

passed on me. In the part I have taken in the late insurrection, I was only conscientiously discharging my duty. Next to serving the Creator, I believe it is man's solemn duty to serve his country. [After a long pause he continued.] My lords, I have no more to say, except to quote the words of the Psalmist, premising that you will understand me to speak of my country as he speaks of his' If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth ; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy. Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem, who said—Raize it, raize it, even to the foundation thereof. O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed, happy shall be he that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.' In conclusion, my lords, I wish to return my solicitor, Mr. Michael Joseph Collins, my thanks for his untiring exertions in my behalf. To Mr. Heron also, I return thanks for his able defence of me. My lords, I have no more to say."

The prisoner then sat down. At that part of his address where he referred, in terms so apropos, to the informer, Corydon, the soft and serene expression which his face hitherto wore, changed, and his eyes flashed scornfully and wrathfully. After the interruption of the court, he paused for a while, and then, in a voice of deep emotion, and with an air of sudden inspiration, he repeated the beautiful words of the Psalmist, "And his soul went forth with them;" and when he had concluded the quotation and lowered his eyes, he appeared exhausted from the rush of thought and feeling which the words produced. As he repeated the psalm, the Chief Justice leant his head on the bench and appeared deeply moved—in fact very few eyes in the court-house were dry. Sentence of death was then pronounced.

CROWLEY, KELLY AND M'CLURE. 285

McClure is about five feet seven inches in height, light and active, with dark complexion, and reserved manners. In social life he was generous, good-natured and temperate. As a member of the New York Mercantile Library Association here, the books he usually applied for were on military and kindred subjects. His chief study, just before he espoused the Irish cause, was " Campaigns of Napoleon," and Doheny's " Felon's Track."
Kelly is about five feet six inches in height, slightly but compactly built, with a fair complexion, oval face and blue eyes. He was "a swift and clean compositor," a proficient French scholar, and had a habit of insisting on everything being done well and to the minute. His temperament is highly poetical, and he possesses considerable literary talent. Among his other avocations in New York he was writing a tragedy, and had it nearly completed, when his passion for military knowledge absorbed all his faculties. He was brought up in the Protestant faith; but his joining his comrades in the "Rosary of the Blessed Virgin " during their lonely vigils in Kilclooney Wood, shows how little he was actuated by religious prejudices.