The Sun.
London, England, 1867-04-04 00:00:00

~~

IRELAND,

DUBLIN, April 3.

The details of the affair at Kilclooney-wood are •
most interesting. The wood is situate about seven
miles from Mitchelstown, county of Cork. It was
reported to the authorities that a party of the rebels
had been lurking there for some time. Mr. Neale
Browne, R.M., with Sub-Inspector Rudge and the
constabulary of the district, went out last Thurs-
day week in search of them, but none were found.
Acting upon further information, Mr. Browne for-
warded a requisition for the services of the 'Water-
ford flying column, and on Saturday the column,
commanded by Major Bell, and accompanied by
Mr. Redmond, R.M. (Dungarvan), proceeded from
Lismore to Mitchelstown, and at 1 o'clock on Sun-
day morning started, by the southern road, to the
neighbourhood of Kilclooney-wood, Mr. Neale
Browne, R.M., Sub-inspector Rudge, and about 20
constabulary from Mitchelstown, Kildorrery, and
Kilbenny, proceeding by another road, which led to
the northern side of the wood. The column, which
consisted of one troop of the 6th Carbineers, two
companies of the 6th Royal Warwickshire Infantry,
and some of the Military Train and Royal Engi-
neers, in all about 120 men, was distributed so as to
completely surround the wood. What followed is
narrated by the witnesses at the inquest, which was
held at Mitchelstown on Monday. Mr. Henry Ed-
ward Redmond, stipendiary magistrate, stationed
at Dungarvan, deposed that he was out on the
morning of Sunday, the 31st of March, with the
Waterford flying column, at Kilclooney-wood. He
reached the wood about 5 o'clock a.m. Major
Bell ordered the wood to be surrounded, and he
sent Lieut. Carey in command of a small detach-
ment. The wood ran north and south, and the
high road ran north and south also. Lieut. Carey's
party was posted on the south side of the wood.
Mr. Redmond went to search some houses on the
west side. While there he heard some shots in the
wood. He immediately ran towards the firing.
On getting to the fence near the wood he saw
some of the soldiers firing in the wood. He
called out and asked them what was that for—had
they been fired at? The answer was " Yes ; they
fired at us first, and they are firing now." He then
ran forward a little in front of the skirmishers and
saw two men, one armed with a rifle and the other
with a revolver, and they were going from tree to
tree, firing on the soldiers. He told the men to
protect themselves. Almost at this moment the two
men turned and ran towards a river, which was then
not more than 20 yards distant. Immediately on
seeing them turn he called out to the force to cease
firing. They did so, the soldiers repeating his order
one to another. The two men rushed forward and
jumped into the river and endeavoured to cross it,
one a little above the other. Mr. Redmond jumped
in after one of them, and some of the soldiers after
the other. The one presented his revolver at Mr.
Redmond, who caught him in the river, and presented
his revolver at him, and they had a struggle. He
called upon him to surrender, and he did so. The
deceased man was the other who had jumped into
the river. Immediately after he captured M'Clure
he saw the soldiers drawing out the deceased, who
was laid on the bank. He was then wounded and
lay on his back. Ile was bleeding profusely from
a gunshot wound under his right arm. He was
also wounded in the left hand, one of the fingers
being injured. The stock of his rifle was smashed by
a bullet. There was a bayonet on it, about where he
held it. The damage was near the guard of the
trigger. We sent immediately for the doctor and
priest ; the military doctor—Dr. Segrave—was on
the spot and did everything he could for him. He
even read prayers for him. Witness heard no other
shots fired after he gave the order " Cease firing."
Consequently the deceased must have been wounded
before that. The bugle sounded at the top of the
hill " Cease firing" about the same time. Deceased
said he did not fire at all ; that he would have fired,
but his rifle missed. This statement was positively
denied by James Pye, a soldier, who swore posi-
tively that Crowley fired at him first, that he
and the other man kept firing from behind
trees as they retreated towards the river. They
fired about nine or ten shots altogether. This wit-
ness jumped into the river and pulled out the de-
ceased. He had his head under water, and was float-
ing down stream, which was about 3ft. Gin. deep.
Mr. Neale Brown, R.M., corroborated this evidence.
He further stated that Dr. Segrave, while endea-
vouring to stop the bleeding of hiS wound with one
hand, read prayers from a book which he held in the
other; that when deceased complained of the cold
of the ground the soldiers gave their coats to make
a bed for him ; they waited some time for the clergy-
man, and then.he was taken up by the soldiers and
carried out of the plantation. The clergyman over-
took them, and the man was laid down and left with
him. He was afterwards raised again by the sol-
diers, and carried by them out of the road. They
tried to get him into a respectable farmer's house,
but both the man and his wife refused him admit-
tance. The only way of giving him assistance and
saving his life was to bring him to Mitchelstown.
They brought him on a cart until they met Dr.
Rogers, who kindly took him into his phaeton. Dr.
Segrave went with him, and the hospital sergeant
followed on the car, with the police escort close to
them. When he came into Mitchelstown the man
was dead. On the conclusion of the inquiry the jury
without any hesitation found " That deceased had
died from the (effects of a gunshot wound caused by
the firing of the military party in the execution of
their duty." The number of soldiers firing in the
wood was five, and one of them was hit by the rebels.
M'Clure first gave his name as M‘Guinness ou being
0
questioned, but afterwards said it was M'Clure ;
and his description, it is said, exactly corresponds
with that in the Hue and Cry of the " Captain "
M'Clure who headed the party of Fenians that
attacked Knockadoon Coastguard station. The re-
volver which he had contained six chambers, three of
which had been discharged. A package of tea was
also found upon him. Kelly wore across his shoul-
der, when captured, a havresack, which was found
to contain a quantity of ammunition and of raw
pork, besides a drill book, a book on the first leaf
of which were written the words " Journal of the
Campaign," and which contained an account of the
attack upon Ballynockin Police-station, and several
other incidents of the recent rising ; a lithographed
map of the county of Cork, and a plan of a part of
the county, neatly drawn with pen and ink. Crowley
was very widely known in this part of the country.
He was a well-to-do farmer, having a long lease of
about 50 acres of land between Cloyne and lAidleton.
He was about 36 or 40 years of age, but was not
married. His sister, who came to claim his body,
informed the police that when he left his home about
a month ago he took 40 sovereigns with him. Va-
rious conjectures are made as to the object with
which he and his two companions came to this part
of the country. Some people think there must have
been a large body of men in the wood, who have
escaped, and in corroboration of this view it is said
that one other man was seen escaping over the hill
during the encounter at Kilclooney-wood. It is also
said that after the attack on Knockadoon Coastguard
station, M'Clure and the principal men engaged in
the attack managed to get on board a small vessel
near Youghal, which was to convey them to France;
and that the vessel was driven back by the easterly
gales which prevailed, and was obliged to put into
Queenstown harbour, where the party on board suc-
ceeded in effecting a landing without the knowledge
of the police ; and that when they were encountered
at leilelooney they were making their way to the
Galteee to join a body of Fenians supposed to be in
concealment there. It is more probable that they
were moving about through the country from one
hiding-place to another from the time of the at-
tempted rising, and that they either sought to
make an unusually long rest in the wood where
they were captured, oio.d-y of Fenians
were engaged in secretly
organising a fresh b
in expecta-
tion of American aid. The prisoners are de-
scribed as young men of middle height and
average build. Kelly
appears t
In his featuresopossess more
and the
than usual intelligence.
style of wearing his light, spare beard, he pre-
sents the appearance of an American. His
manner
is stated to be rather well-bred, and his handwriting
—if that be his which appears in the papers found
in his havresack—particularly neat. M'Clure is

stouter and coarse-looking, with large, bold, staring
eyes, and a mouth and chin expressive of much de-
termination. • There was nothing at all military in
the garb of either of the men. Crowley's funeral
gave occasion to a manifestation of feeling on the
part of the people, which was not the less significant
for its silence. The reporter of the Daily Express
adds that " The first part of the proeession was
formed by about a hundred and ten women, walk-
ing in regular lines, four and five abreast, and carry-
ing in their hands green boughs, which they occa-
sionally waved, as if in a species of defiance of the
police, confident that they might do so with im-
punity. No man or boy ventured to carry any
emblem, and the male portion of the procession
generally walked with a good deal of irregularity.
The coffin was borne on the shoulders of the people,
the white-plumed hearse, the emptiness of which
was made conspicuous by its glass panels, following
behind. According to the usual custom when it is
intended to show respect to the memory of the dead,
there is a shutter or two left standing up in each
shop window of the town. A bell is at this moment
tolling the knell of a lady who has died at her re-
sidence, about three miles distant from Mitchels-
town, but I am told that the half-closing of the shops
in the town is to honour the dead Fenian, whose
funeral procession has just passed up the street."
A man named Terence Kelly was arrested yester-
day morning at Clonskeagh, by the police of the E
division. Ile is stated by the police to be one of
the party who attacked the constabulary station at
Glencullen, upon which occasion, they say, he was
armed with a rifle. Previous to the attack on Glen-
cullen, it may be recollected that four of the metro-
politan force and five of the constabulary were cap-
tured by the Fenians. They were subsequently re-
leased on the police in the barracks consenting to
give up their arms. It would now appear that one
of the policemen who was prisoner on that occasion
recognised Kelly and took him into custody. The
prisoner was removed to Kilmainham.
The following Roman Catholic clergymen have
been served with a summons from the Speaker of
the House of Commons to appear without delay be-
fore the select committee of the house at present en-
gaged in trying the merits of the petitions presented
against the return of Capt. the Hon. Chas. White,
and haveleft for London :—The Rev. John Scanlan,
P.P., Toomevara ; Rev. Joseph Magrath, P.P.,
Silvermines ; Rev. Eugene Malone, P.P., Puckane;
Rev. Cornelius O'Brien, P.P., Lorrha ; and the
Rev. Con Gleeson, R.C.C., of Portroe.

On Monday night the steamer leaving Dundalk
for Liverpool was crowded with emigrants, all of the
farming class, and apparently persons in a comfort-
able position, being well dressed, and having with
them large heavily laden boxes. The scene at the de-
parture of the steamer was affecting. The deck was
crowded. There were at least 120 persons, young
and old, and numbers of them were bitterly weeping
as they bade a last farewell to their friends on shore.