The Sun.
London, England, 1868-08-19 00:00:00

THE YO UGIIALL OUTRAGE.

The Cork Examiner, speaking of the attack made on the
dwelling-house of Mr. Drew at Youghal, describes Was
"an event unprecedented in the peaceful records of the
community." The following are the correct particulars, as
far as we have been able to ascertain. About half-past
twelve o'clock, when most of the inhabitants of the district
were attending worship, a party of men, supposed to be
eight in number, but certainly five, all armed with
revolvers, approached the residence of the Rev.
Mr. Drew, rector of Youghal. The residence is a
castle situate about a mile from Youghal, isolated
in position, standing in the midst of ornamental
grounds, which include a plantation of trees. The
castle is a strong building, and appears to have been well
prepared to resist any attack made upon it. On one of its
towers a cannon is mounted, and a sufficient stock of arms
is kept within. At the time the Rev. Mr. Drew, with his
son, Mrs. Drew, and a number of servants, were on the
premises. On their way towards the house, the party met
Mr. Drew's coachman, am an named Walsh, whom they took
into custody and obliged to walk before them to the
hall door. There they knocked, and in reply to an inquiry
from within, one of them replied he had a letter to deliver
to the Rev. Mr. Drew, and requested the door to be
opened. This desire was not complied with, and the party
then, it is stated, threw off all pretence, and boldly
demanded what arms were in the house. The answer they
received was a volley fired from the windows by the occu-
pants of the castle. The attacking party returned
the fire with their revolvers, and a vigorous fusilade
was kept up on both sides for a considerable time. Some
of the assailants attempted to force the front door, and so
persevering and determined were they in their efforts
that they all but effected an entrance. The door, though
a stout one, had so far yielded to the force exerted
against it that it was split almost from top to
bottom, and in a few minutes more the attacking
party would have been in the hall. Expecting the door
to fall in, the attacking party, it is stated, placed
the coachman in front of them, as a shield against
any shots that might be fired against them. Just then,
however, an alarm was raised that the police were
approaching, and the assailants then withdrew, after
having sustained the assault for about half an hour. They
retreated through the plantation, firing as they went;
and they obliged the coachman to accompany them
out of range of the bullets from the castle, and
then compelled him to kneel down and swear that
ho would not give any information concerning the
occurrence or those who took part in it. They then
released him and departed. He at once hastened off to
the police-station at Youghal and reported the outrage,
whereupon Head-constable Goulding, Constable Cosgrove,
and a party of five men under arms hastened to the castle,
which they reached about quarter-past one o'clock.
At that time some of the occupants of the castle were still
firing. The police having assured the beleagured garrison
that they had come to their relief, commenced a dili-
gent search, but there was no trace of the party who had
made the attack. A search was then made through the
town with no better success, and it seemed likely that all
the assailants would escape capture, when Constable Cos-
grove, inspecting passengers by the evening train for
Cork, thought he recognised one of them as answering
the description given by the coachman of the man
who administered the oath to him. A telegram was
at once despatched to the constabulary in Cork,
informing them of what had happened, and direct-
ing them to have an armed party in waiting ou
the arrival of the train. Having taken this precaution,
Constable Cosgrove and another policeman took their seats
in the same compartment with the suspected man, and
watched him during the journey towards Cork. At Tivoli
the man got out upon the platform, and appeared about to
leave the station, when the constables took him into cus-
tody and brought him on to Cork. He stated his name
was Michael D. O'Halloran, bootmaker, 13, Coach-street,
Cork. He has been identified by the coachman. Nobody
on either side, whether attacked or attacking, was injured
sfrray.