The Irish standard., 1892-10-01

DEOuu OfSdul1dLlOl ludH duy uuoA eAoA
within Kelly's reach. He told me he
wanted me to pick out from ten to twenty
Of the very best mon I knew in Dublin
for a special work requiring courage,
coolness and self-control.' In accordance
with these instructions Dewey selected
eight men whom he considered best fit
for the duty, the nature OF which he
knew instinctively. Col. Kelly himself
selected two men-John Ryan, son of a
Liverpool merchant, and another not
named Most of the men selected by
Dewey had seen some kind Of military
service, and they were all determined,
cool, and brave. Their names were:
Paddy Kearney, a Dublin blacksmith;
Michael Cody, friend of Kearney; John
Harrison, corn-porter; Dennis Duggan,
a young coachbuilder: John Mullan, tie
son Of a Dublin shoplzeeper; Matthew
O'Neil, Dublin stoneeutter; John Law
ler and William Brophy, carpenter
These says Dsvoy, with Kelly, the
two men chosen by him, and myself,
werasthe only persons outside the walls
of Richmond Prison that night" MIR.
Devoy says that the purpose if not the
plan became known to at least 2OO men;
and in consequence Of the enthusiasm
of one who spoke to freely too soldier,
the escape barely missed being failure,
At length the day fixed for the escape
arrived. All was ready inside the prison,
and the authorities had not the faintest
suspicion OF anything wrong. Dublin
Castle slept TRANQUILITY that night with
no warning of the panic and consterna-
ii III that would prevail in it ON the NOR
row. Towards midnight the little squad
of men told off for bodyguard dropped
one by one into Lynch's public-house in
Camden street, short distance from the
prison, and gently awaited the word to
move But the promised revolvers we're
not forthcoming, and much disgust was
expressed. But the men were ell pro-
vided in time. Two revolvers were
brought to the spot where Col. Kelly and
few of the men were stationed in tield
opposite the prison, about an hour be-
70 rszsasi1 g. escape of. Nicholas Walsh, a
well-known Dublin artist, who has since
then died in Florence. The men fully
expected fight before morning. A low
mud wall separated the field from sthe
road, and in hole in the inside of this
wall John Ryan had, earlier in the even
ing, deposited coil of stout rope, with
knots arranged at about every two feet
of It's length, so as to- make it easier to
climb by when flung over the wall. Here
the men waited in the drizzling rain for
hours for the signal which was to tell
them that Stephens had been let out Of
the prison, and was waiting inside the
outer wall for the rope to be thrown
over. He was to throw stone over the
wall as signal that the rope was wanted,
and the "quack! quaek!' Of duck re-
peated by Ryan was to announce that
the moment was at hand. There was a
genuine duck in neighboring garden
that raised a false alarm once. The
C,O.I.R. was an hour behind time. When
the prison clock struck one, Breslin left
his quarters in tbs hospital and quietly
opened the door leading to the corridor
where Stephens cell was situated. No
one else was up but Byrne and Stephens,
the latter of whom was waiting in his
cell dressed and ready to move. Ascend
ing the stairs noiselsssly Breslin opened
the two doors leading into the corridor
as quietly as he could, but it was impos-
sible to do so without making slight
noise, The policeman on the other side
of the door at the other end might hear
if he was listening, and if M'Leod was
awake there might be trouble. Stephens
heard Breslin turn the key in the cell
door. He slid from the hammock where
he had been lying dressed. No super
fuous words were spoken. Stephens,
after receiving loaded revolver from
Breslin, followed the latter as noiselessly
as possible out Of the corridor and down
the stairs. Here an anxious pause of a
few minutes was made. If M'Leod, the
iail-bird, rang his gong all would be
over but no sound came from his cell.
He afterwards explained his silence by
saying that the key which let Stephens
out of his cell would also open his, and
that had he given the alarm his throat
would have been cut. Hearing no alarm
Breslin opened the door leading into the
prison yard. Between the yard and the
governors garden was very high wall
which had to be crossed before the outer
wall could be reached. Breshn had
been assured that the ladder used in
lighting the lamps in the yard was long
enough to enable q man to cross the
wall, but on making the experiment now
he found that tail man standing on the
top rung of the ladder could not reach