Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1899-09-09

From a window of the viceregal lodge
Earl Spencer saw in the distance what he
thought was scuffle and spoke of it.
One person who witnessed the crime from
nearer at hand was so overcome by it
that he was unable to identify the perpe-
traitors. A telegraph clerk riding by on
his wheel saw the bodies and reported to
the police, and then the news spread.
The Government acted with promptness
and vigor. A reward of 10000 for the
arrest of the assassins and { 600 for any
information about them was offered. and
all the detective resources of England and
Ireland alike were set to work, but all in
vain. No enemy of Ireland was in the
secret and no friend of Ireland would be-
tray it. Suspicious were rife-and accu-
rate-and arrests we're made, but in the
absence of evidence the suspects had to
be released.
How many were concerned in the plot
is not known, and now can never be
known. All kinds of claims and state
ments have been made, but the only
sifted and tested evidence was that wrung
slowly and painfully from the informers
at the trials in April and May 1888. This
evidence established varying degrees of
guilt against eighteen different persons,
including four who had fled the country.
Three informers were allowed to go free.
Here we may pause to note the astonish-
ing circumstance that none of those
whose necks were i'll danger sought to
escape. France refused to deliver one of
the conspirators, Frank Byrne, and the
United States refused to deliver John
Walsh, Sheridan and lyman, who were
also wanted by the British government.
But all the actual participants in the
affair remained in Dublin, where the hand
of Justice could reach them in an hour,
and still they escaped arrest until No
vember, when Pat Delaney, one of the
iaunting-car four, made an attempt to
shoot Judge Lawson, and this and an at
tempt to shoot Mr.. Field the foreman Of
the grand jury, put the authorities on the
track of the conspiracy. Arrest and de-
tention was easy under the crimes act,
the associations of the suspected men
were inquired into and followed up, and
finally in January the government felt
secure in arresting twenty-six men and
charging them with the murder.
Even then there would have been no
hope of conviction, except through the
one reliance of England against all Irish
uprisings-the ihformer.
As the days and the months passed on
suspicion began to haunt the minds Of
the weaklings and cowardice changed
their hearts to jelly. The Government
found its first witness in one Farrell, who
turned Queens evidence, though his
neck was in no danger.
Weakened by his detection Michael
Kavanaugh, the driver of the jaunting-
car, next turned on his associates and be-
came a witness against them. The last
and most odious of the informers was
lanes Carey, who had given the signal
which sent Cavendish and Burke to death
and who in his craven fear of the gallows
pronounced on himself doom as certain
as any the Judge could have given.
The trials, based on the information
thus obtained, were held in April and
May. The harvest of the Assize was as
follows
Sentence of death was passed on Joseph
Brady, Tim Kelly, Dan Curley, Tom
Caffrey, Mike Pagan and Pat Delaney.
The sentence of Delaney was commuted
to penal servitude for life and subse-
quently reduced to ten years; he had
turned informer. Sentences of ten years
were imposed OH Dan Delaney, a brother
of Pat; on James Mullet, the Chairman
of the organization, and on McCaffrey,
O'Brien and Moloney.
The life sentences, which have now all
been RENTED, were those of Joseph
Mullet, Joe Hanlon and Fitzharris.
No story of the Phoenix Park tragedy
would be complete without the epilogue
of the doom of Carey, the informer, an
event which stirred Ireland scarcely less
deeply than the killing of Cavendish and
Burke.
The Government did its best to save
him from the vengeance openly threat
ened against him. He was kept safely
in Jail, was safely and secretly spirited
away to England, and as Australia would
have none of him, he was secretly and
safely shipped with his wife and sever
children from London on the night Of
July on board the Kinfauns Castle
, bound for Cape Town.
, The Irish banshee goes not overseas
but Carey's banshee must have put al
extra croak in her laugh as she told hei
weird sisters that Carey had sailed on the
/ same ship with passenger from Americs
/ registered as Mcdonald.
His real name was O'Donnell; he wa
: one of the Invincibles;" he mad,
, Carey's acquaintance on the trip to Cap,
, Town, and from Cape Town took tn,
same vessel to Natal.
t On the voyage the informer, doubles
| suffering from that impulse of self-be
{ trayal which seems to be part of tn,
' criminal instinct. became confidential
$ O'Donnell had had his suspicious as t
E the identity of his fellow-p passenger. l