Smuggling & Dark History
@IrishSmuggling
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James Doherty tweeting on smuggling in Ireland 1750-1850 and Dark History.
Waterford, Ireland
Joined September 2017
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Hy-Brasil, is a phantom island that lies off the Irish Coast . Myth described it as cloaked in mist except for one day every seven years, In 1674, a Captain Nisbet claimed that the island was inhabited by large black rabbits and a magician who lived alone in a stone castle.
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Another from my wandering around
#kilkenny
today. A anti urination stone, often found in lane ways near public houses. The idea is to avoid splashing people would have to stand back into the lane exposing them to public view acting as a deterrent.
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One of my favourite historical images, Gravediggers in Glasnevin Cemetery by Evelyn Hofer.
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The view from Mcloughlins bar overlooking Clew Bay Co Mayo. Probably one of the best views from a pub in Ireland.
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One of the earliest mugshots in Ireland , Fenian John Boyle O Reilly, his original death sentence was commuted to transportation to Australia due to his young age. O Reilly escaped Australia onboard a whaling ship bound for the US.
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June 1631, Algerian pirates raid the village of Baltimore in West Cork, they receive directions from a
#Waterford
fisherman called Hackett they had taken earlier. 107 villagers are captured and sold as slaves. Hackett is hung from the cliffs in Baltimore as punishment.
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1577, between 100 and 400 prominent Irish chieftains and soldiers are lured to Mullaghmast Co Kildare under the pretence of being hired for military service. English settlers and soldiers massacre the Irish with the connivance of authorities , burning some at the stake.
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#OTD
in 1649 Oliver Cromwell lands in Ireland , estimates vary but during the conflict somewhere between 15 and 50 % of the Irish population perish from a combination of War , Plague and Famine .
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One of the few tangible examples of pirate and smuggling history on the irish coast is the existence of stone cut steps. Often in remote locations these were to facilitate the illicit landing of good and provision of supplies. We have an example here in
#Waterford
at Creaden head
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Thompson's of
#Waterford
. The white horse above the door was traditionally a sign that British Soldiers were welcome in an establishment. Thompson's is directly across from the old Infantry Barracks in the city and although a undertakers now still retains a alcohol licence.
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On this day in 1963 Irish army cadets perform ceremonial honours at the funeral of Pres. John F Kennedy. The army's presence was a request of the family as they were very impressed by the cadets drill on their recent visit to Ireland.
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Mugshots of Irish Fenian prisoners taken in 1866.
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Clandeboye 1574, O Neills meet the Crown to parlay, after feasting and 2 days hospitality the crown forces suddenly turn on their hosts massacring 300 men, women and children. O Neills never forgive the treachery. Perhaps the inspiration for the Red Wedding in Game of Thrones.
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Sticking with Fenian mugshots. John Devoy , gained military experience in the French Foreign Legion, participated in the 1867 Rebellion , raised money for weapons during 1916 Rising and the War of Independence. Described by Padraig Pearse as the Greatest Fenian of them All.
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Delighted to reach 9K followers on Twitter, interestingly one of my most popular ever tweets was about a anti urination stone in Kilkenny. Just shows people have a interest in random history. Thanks everyone for the interest. James.
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Spotted on my travels in Mayo recently, not many of these left.
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White Horse above the door, The horse let British soldiers in a garrison town know they where welcome in a public house . Thompsons hold the longest continuous
#Waterford
drink licence although these days the business is a undertakers and the licence is only used for funerals.
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Pitch capping as a form of torture was used to repress the 1798 Rebellion. Captain Swayne placed a cloth dipped in tar on the head of the victim and set alight. Swaynes was later caught sleeping by Rebels and he was piked to death and his body burnt in a barrel of tar.
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The harbour at Fethard Co Wexford, referred to as the smallest harbour in Ireland. Purpose built by landlord Nicholas Loftus (of Loftus Hall fame) in 1741 to give shelter to Revenue cruisers fighting smuggling on the East Coast.
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The burial place of Santa Claus. The tomb of St Nicholas of Myra. Local legend states his remains were moved twice by crusaders until eventually interred in the 12th century Norman settlement at Newpoint Jerpoint in
#Kilkenny
. Happy Christmas everyone.
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Another Fenian mugshot taken in 1866 at Mountjoy prison. LIimerick native Dennis Burke had fought in the American Civil War and returned to Ireland to assist the Fenian Rebellion. As most of the Fenians arrested in Ireland were US citizens they were released relatively quickly.
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Hard to spot unless your looking for it, the small hole in the side of the building was a gun loop added to the RIC barracks in New Ross during the War of Independence period.
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Ireland's saving Private Ryan, the Collins brothers of
#Waterford
. Six men served during WW1 with four casulties.
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Recently I posted about Hunger Stones that warned of drought, closer to home is Kennys Flag a stone in the Suir at Carrick that is revealed in times of low rainfall. A fire was lit on the stone last week in the first time since the 1920s to encourage rainfall.
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A memorial to the "Races of Castlebar" where a combined force of 2000 Irish and French routed 6000 crown troops during the 1798 Rebellion . The panic that ensued after the fall of Castlebar led to the battle getting the nickname the Races.
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After the failed Rebellion of 1867, a number of Fenians were sent to Australian Penal Colonies . By 1876 a small number of militant prisoners remained . John Devoy purchased a ship which sailed to the coast of Australia and stayed in international waters.
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As
#StormBarra
approaches Batten Down the Hatches, in bad weather sailing ships would ensure open cargo holds where covered in canvas to keep out storm water, these canvas covers where kept in place by nailed down long wooden strips called battens. Hence Batten down the Hatches!
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One of my favourite pieces of historical trivia, a old Canon used as a bollard, Patrick Street
#Cork
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One of the worst Irish atrocities, Wexford 1649. Irish and English Royalists hold the besieged town. Offers of surrender are accepted by some & rejected by others. The town walls are breached and Cromwellian troops ravage the town. Around 3000 soldiers and civilians are killed.
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#OTD
1631, Algerian pirates raid the village of Baltimore in West Cork, they receive directions from a
#Waterford
fisherman called Hackett they had taken earlier. 107 villagers are captured and sold as slaves. Hackett is hanged from the cliffs in Baltimore as punishment.
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Sticking with the theme of massacres, 1575 saw one of Irelands worst. The Scots-Irish Clan Mcdonald use Rathlin Island as a sanctuary during their Irish expansion. Their sick elderly and children are sent to the island for safety, Crown forces storm the island and massacre 600.
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Taken in happier times, one of the nicest pub fronts in Ireland. Henry Downes of
#Waterford
opened in 1797.
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A rare example of a Irish Mort Safe. These steel devices were designed to prevent body snatchers from stealing recent corpses. This Mort Safe is in Tullaroan Co
#kilkenny
. Image from Kilkenny Archeology.
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The last image from my wander around
#kilkenny
today. Glass bricks used to leave light into a cellar. A fair few examples in kilkenny. Made by Thomas Burke in Dublin.
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The boat sheds of Lindisfarne. Retired Herring boats on the island are given a new lease of life.
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A Leper hole at Timoleague Friary in Cork, the hole allowed Lepers from a nearby colony to observe mass and to receive sacraments that were passed out on a spoon to avoid contagion.
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A Bible-gun that belonged to Francesco Morosini, Doge of Venice in the 17th century. When closed the gun was fired by pulling the bookmark.
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The Treadmill, invented in 1818 introduced into Irish prisons soon after. The treadmill served no purpose other than punishment of prisoners. Often referred to as the everlasting staircase. The treadmill was banned by inspector of prisons in the 1890s as being overly cruel.
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A King Edward the 7th post box in
#Waterford
city. When the Irish Free State was created these boxes were painted green from their original red.
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Henry Downes of
#Waterford
looking well today, established in 1798. Being trying to get a picture for ages without a car parked in front.
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The burial place of Santa Claus the tomb of St Nicholas of Myra patron saint of sailors, merchants, archers, repentant thieves, children, brewers, pawnbrokers, .
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Barracks constructed after the 1867 Fenian Rebellion were built with defence in mind. The medieval type of architecture lent itself to conflict but also created some beautiful buildings. Cahersiveen RIC Station brought this design to a whole other level.
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Loftus Hall
#wexford
, reputedly the most haunted house in Ireland. Currently under major renovation by the Press Up group of hotels. It will be interesting to see how they handle the supposed reputation of the building.
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So my last post about Fenians this week, in 1867 40 veterans of the American Civil War and members of the Fenian Brotherhood dispatch a ship laden with arms to Ireland to support a Rebellion. They cruise the Irish coast unsuccessfully trying to make contact .
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One of the most picturesque Police stations in Ireland. Ballyduff RIC barracks. The Scots Baronial architecture, as well as looking nice lent itself to defence. Like small castles buildings had gun loops and defensive features . A
@OFARRL1960
image.
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May 1798, the Gibbet Rath Massacre. A force of 1000 Irish rebels accept a amnesty to surrender and gather on the Curragh plains. The unarmed rebels are suddenly attacked by a mixed force of British cavalry and infantry resulting in hundreds of deaths.
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The Tres Hombres off
#Cobh
today, named for 3 friends who started a sustainable transport business, the brigantine sailing ship moves organic and natural cargo in a carbon neutral way, currently on the way to France with a load of craft beer. Pic: fairtradenl.
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Gun concealed in a bible, made for the ruler of Venice in the 17th century. The gun could be fired with the book closed by pulling the silk bookmark.
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One of my favourite historical images, 1920 A British scout plane dropping mail to
#Waterford
Barracks. Misjudged the ascent crashes into neighbouring houses. The novelty of the camera is evident from the Children's faces.
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Templetown Church, Fethard Wexford, originally home to Knights Templar and later home to Knights Hospitalier. A fortified Church which also boasts some graffiti on the medieval doorway from 1847.
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Went old school for Halloween, I can confirm they are hard to carve.
Happy Halloween everyone.
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A year ago today taken in happier times, one of the nicest pub fronts around, Henry Downes of
#Waterford
est in 1787.
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Had a walk around a foggy deserted
#Waterford
last night. Like something out of a spy movie.
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So following on from my book gun tweet yesterday, this is a image from Marsh's Library in Dublin of a book damaged by gunfire during the 1916 Rising
@MarshsLibrary
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On a little road trip today, the old R.I.C station in Portlaw
#Waterford
. The tower acted like a panic room. Internal steel door and rifle slits. In event of attack defenders would retreat into tower .
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Robe and Axe of Giovanni Battista Bugatti official executioner of the Vatican from 1796 to 1869. Bugatti performed his last (of over 500) executions when he was 85 before eventually retiring. When he was wasnt on official duty he sold souvenirs to tourists.
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A wild night of storms here in
#Waterford
. In times of bad weather ships would stretch canvas over their open holds to keep water out. Long strips of wood would be nailed around hatch to keep it closed. These strips of wood were known as battens. Hence batten down the hatches.
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The river Barrow like a mill pond this evening. Beautiful evening.
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So just a little announcement, I'm going to start putting on some Dark History tweets in addition to smuggling mainly concentrating on
#kilkenny
and
#Waterford
with the hope of doing the occasional walking tour. Regards James. Pictured is the old Waterford Gaol.
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The forgotten Pillbox, unseen in decades clearance work above
#Waterford
Plunkett Station has revealed a WW2 era pillbox. It is thought the name of the hillside "Mount Misery" dates from the Cromwellian siege of Waterford when dysentery ravaged the besiegers camp.
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Having just past the 3k mark on twitter I would like to thank everyone for their interest in smuggling and random general history. I have had the pleasure to interact with some great historians here on twitter and thoroughly enjoy it.
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In 1690 King James stayed above Hanrahans Pub in New Ross
#wexford
as he fled the country after his defeat at the Boyne. He may have been attracted to Hanrahans motto of purveyors of Finest Drinks from Grape to Grain.
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One of my favourite historical images, Gravediggers in Glasnevin Cemetery by Evelyn Hofer.
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So yesterday I tweeted that I was delighted to reach 9k followers, mainly due to a tweet about a stone in
#Kilkenny
designed to stop public urinating. The tweet helped by some modern graffiti by Lily has helped me reach 10k followers, it seems people like odd history. Thanks. J.
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Today is the feast day of St James ,Patron saint of Pilgrims and Haymakers. The medieval gate in
#Dublin
was the starting point for Irish pilgrims to the Camino. His day was marked in old Dublin by a drinking festival. Ironically enough it now is the entrance to Guinness.
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Happy Christmas everyone, wishing everyone the best for the year to come. One of my favourite historical photos Gravediggers at Glasnevin Cemetery from a photo by Evelyn Hofer from 1966.
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A Russian cannon I spotted on a recent trip to
#Cobh
. After the fall of Sevastopol in the Crimea war a large number of captured canon were sent to to towns across Britain and Ireland as battle trophies. Many of the canon in England were melted down during WW2.
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Maritime history all around us, beautiful Georgian buildings on the Mall in
#Waterford
The maritime connection is in the brickwork. All the bricks are different sizes and would have arrived in Waterford in the 18th century as ships ballast.
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A recently restored merchants sign in New Ross
#wexford
. The China Tea man dates from the 1800s and a time when visual signs were popular. Tea as a commodity was heavily smuggled into Ireland due to high tariffs.
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Hunger Stones, mainly occuing in Germany but found elsewhere the stones appear on riverbanks during times of severe drought. Some stones carry warnings such as "if you can see me, weep" The stones warn of varying phenomenon such as crop failures and impending famine.
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For anyone in the
#Waterford
area a photographic exhibition I put together of the city during the Civil War period is on display in the city centre library.
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For
#WorldBookDay
A Bible-gun that belonged to Francesco Morosini, Doge of Venice in the 17th century. When closed the gun was fired by pulling the bookmark.
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As autumn is nearly upon , one of my favourite Summer pictures Henry Downes of
#waterford
city established in 1797.
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As
#StormAgnes
approaches Batten Down the Hatches, in bad weather sailing ships would ensure open cargo holds where covered in canvas to keep out storm water, these canvas covers where kept in place by nailed down long wooden strips called battens. Hence Batten down the Hatches!
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Pearse Street Garda Station, originally called College Station and a base for the Dublin Metropolitan Police. A fantastic looking building. Built in 1915 in a Scots Baronial style.
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#OTD
in 1796 Kilmainham Gaol receives its first prisoners ,Nothing says
#darkhistory
like the prison landing at Kilmainham , The gaol housed thousands of prisoners down through the years but most remembered for the site of execution of the 1916 Rising leaders.
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@LakotaMan1
Irish have long memories, the Choctaw helped in us 1847 we repaid some of the debt to the Navajo and Hopi during Covid
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Cromwells Table, Faithlegg
#Waterford
. Looking back towards Hook Head on the left and Passage and Crooke on the right. Local legend states that this is where Cromwell was asked how he planned to capture Waterford and he replied By Hook or by Crook. A fantastic vantage point.
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A mortuary slab still visible at Kilmacthomas Workhouse
#Waterford
. A strict regime was maintained inside and families were kept separate from each other.
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Brothel candles, used in brothels during the 19th century . The candles were used as timing devices and once the candle burnt out the client would have to leave.
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Once a relatively common sight in 19th century graveyards Mort Safes were designed to protect the remains of loved ones from body snatchers. Many were removed in later years and melted down for scrap but some examples remain.
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A early morning picture of the Butterslip in
#Kilkenny
. Love the alleyways in kilkenny. You can just imagine the history.
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#otd
in 1936 , The Battle of Cable Street. 6000 police escort thousands of Fascists through the East End of London for a planned demonstration. Jewish residents and Irish dock workers join forces to prevent the march. After vicious Street fighting the march is abandoned.
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A plaque in
#Kilkenny
to Petronella De Meath, the first woman in ireland to be burned in 1324 for the crime of heresy, Petronella was servant to Alice Kyteler who was accused of murder and witchcraft, Alice fled while the unfortunate Petronella confessed under torture.
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