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

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:— _ _

T 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, I 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 on 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 ; T 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 off ; 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
sake 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. Trant 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 me of an offer he had
made; I then went up again, and was again called on to
say that Mr. O'Brien was there, when I replied let him
come round to the window ; be 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.