The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1872-12-26
Death Of an Irish Smuggler.
EY JAMES ANTHONY FRoUDE.


/ In Seribner'7 for December there is
the following graphic description by
{ Mr. FrOude, OF the death OF a famous
Irish smuggleF Of the 18th century:
: It was q strange, wild place, close to
/ the @ea- amidst rocks and oOgs and
and utter desOlstiOn. Neac it stood the
{ wreck OF a TOOfless church, and the
yet older ruins of some Danish pi-
rates nest. The shadOwy form Of the
/ brigsntiHs was visible through the
gray sheet of falling rain, at an an
cbOr in the haFbOr, and from the
i rocks in the entrance came the mOan-
lug Of the Atlantic swell. mOrty,
looking for no visitors on such a night
I had neglected 10 post seutiuels. The
/ house was surrounded and the wolf
( was trapped. The dogs inside were
( the first 10 take alarm. A violent
barking was hesT1, and then sudden
/ ~ the door was thrown open. MOrty
I appeared IN his shirt, fired a blunder-
/ buss st the men who were nearest
/ him and retired. \ vOlley Of small
arms followed from the windows and
Sits in the wall. One soldier was
killed and three others wounded. The
! strietest orders had been given to
] take MOrty, il possible alive, and the
I fire Was not at first returned. The
/ house was evidently full Of men; eigh-
/ teen Of them bo!ted, one after another,
/ in the hope of drawing of the troops
in pursuit. Each, however, was caught
and examined, and when found not
/ to be the man whom the party came
/ IN search Of, was let go. At last there
were but five left in the house. Nor
/ ty saw his time was come. He did
not choose to be taken, and determ-
| ined 70 die like a man. He sent out
/ his wife aud child who were with
him, WITH a request that their lives
might be saved. The officer in COM
mand received them kindly, and gave
them such protection as he could.
/ MOFty himself refused to surrender !; il
/ was determined TO set fire TO the
| thatch, and Wiid-lirs was thrust un-
| der the caves. The straw was soaked
with the wet, and long refused to
I catch. At last it blazed up; the flames
seized the dry rafters the roof fell in;
and, amidst the burning ruins, MOrty
and his four remaining companions
were seen standing at bay, blunder-
/ buss in hand. He was evidently des-
perate, and to save life it was neces-
sAry to shoot him. The soldiers fired;
/ MUrty fell with a ball through his
heart. Two Of his comrades fell st
/ his side; the other two were taken /;
the same two, it so happened, who
had been MOrty's companions at the
murder Of Puxley. One of them, Lit
! tie John Sullivan, as he was called,
was perhaps MOrty's kinsman the
I name of the other was Daniel Council.
/ The barOny Of Iveragh and Dairy
name Abbey, where the COnnells, or
/ OCOnnells, Of later celebrity had al
ready established themselves, was but
seven miles across the water; and it
~ thus possible, and even probable,
I that Daniel COnnell, who had assisted
at the murder Of Puxley, was scion
of the same family which, in the
next generation, produced the Liber-
atOr.
The weather making 1t impossible
to carry of the brigantine, she was
sunk, when daylight came, at her
anchorage. The fire was extinguish-
ed the ruins o! the house was search
ed and MOrty's account books The
Was punctual as Dirh HatteTaick him
self IN his money transactiOnsl, his
bills, notes, and papers were found
uninjured. Among them were found
letters from many persons Of cOnse-
quenee in the country, showing that
tney were accOmplices in the assassin
alton of the revenue officers. Twenty
aukers of brandy and some chests of
tea had been destroyed by the fire.
MOrty's body was carried to Cork,
His head mOuldered upon 8 spike
over the gate of the south Jail. The
rest of him was buried in the Battery.
The prisoners can be traced to the
Jail there is no mention that either
of them were hanged, but of their
future fate the records are silent.
so ended one of the last heroes OF
Irish imagination, on whose chaTac-
ter the historian, who considers that
he aud such as he were the natural
outgrOwth of the legislation to which
it was thought wise and just to sub
NIT his country, will not comment
uncharitabIy. He had qualities which,
had Ireland been nObly governed,
might perhaps have recOnciled him
to its rulers, and opened for him an
honorable and illustriOus career. AT
worst he might have continued 20
serve with his sword a Catholic SOW
ereign, and might nave carved his
way with it to rank and distinction.
He was tempted home by the oppOr-
tunities of anarchy and the hopes OF
revenge. In his own adventurous
way he levied war to the last against
the men and the system under which
Ireland was oppressed. When he fell
ne fell with a courage which made
his crimes forgotten, and the ghost OF
his name still movers about the wild
shores Of the kenmare river, Of which
he was 30 long the terror and the
pride.