The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1848-10-10 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL STANDAR%

THE AFFAIR AT BALLINGARRY,

At the state trial on Wednesday, Sub-inspector Trant
gave the following account of this affair in the course of
his evidence :

I was stationed at Callan in July last; I proceeded to
Ballingarry on the 29th July, between 9 and 10 o'clock ;
between 12 and 1 o'clock I arrived at Ballingarry •, I had
46 men under my command ; after I passed through
Ballingarry I perceived crowds following me, and also
passing to the left along the road ; when I had advanced
about two miles beyond Ballingarry towards the Com-
mons, T observed great crowds in my front, and coming
down from all the hills and shrill whistling; I met with a
road to my right, and judged it would lead to Kilkenny,
and then wheeled the party up that road, excepting a
force from Kilkenny ; we ascended the hill about a mile,
when the people behind took our right, those on the hills
took our rare, and others fell in ou our left, and were
closing on us ; they had pikes and guns ; I could not form
an estimate of the number, for in a crowd with arms
trailed, no estimate could be made ; I saw a slate house
about two fields from us on the right, when I ordered the
men to break and take possession of it, and if refused
admittance to break into it; just as I gave the order to
break, a shot was fired on my left ; I looked round and
saw the man who fired it with the smoke about him about
150 yards from me; the most of the people were then
running flanking, and, closing quickly—about two minutes
would have cut us off from the house; they appeared to
make what haste they could to cut us ofl ; I was last to
the house, and having put my horse to the stable I order-
ed the men to turn in and put all the things they could
to the windows and secure the doors ; while in the act of
fastening up the house I was proceeding up stairs to see
how matters went on there, I heard a voice from the rear
call for the officer; I went to the rear lobby windows
when an unarmed man put up his hand and said for God's
saki let there be no firing, we want to make peace ; I
replied' that if the people did not fire we would not fire,
but that if a shot was fired from without we would fire so
long as a cartridge or a man remained ; I then came in
immediately; I then gave orders to the men; a call was
made by my men from below to tell Mr. Trent that Mr.
O'Brien is here; I then came down and went to the
window where I was informed he had been, but he had
disappeared, and the men told ue of an offer he had
made; I then went up again, and eas again called on to
say that Mr. O'Brien was there, when I replied let him
come round to the window ; he did not come ' • immedi-
ately after that I heard a crash of stones and shots : I
instantly gave orders to fire, and the firing commenced
and continued for about an hour ; after it had gone on for
a considerable time the people did not show in front or
rear, or flank, but they continued firing shots from behind
the walls,

Chief Justice Doherty—How many people were there?
On going up to the house I certainly saw over 3000
persons.

Examination continued—During the firing from the
house there was firing from without ; they had possession
of the houses in the rear, and I heard double-barrelled
rifles rake the stones through the lobby window ; I heard
throughout shots from without as well as from within ;
the shots either within or without were not volleys but
dropping shops ; for about half the time the shots were
very quick; there must have been more than 100 or 200
shots fired from without; the firing for one-third of the
time was incessant.