The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1902-04-05
lc-c-(:-c-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0 90.
HISTORICAL
DEPARTMENT.
S-9-9-0-0-o-0-0-o-@-0 90
A VETERAN FFNIAN-
Patrick McGrath of San Francisco
One of Gen. O'NeiIPs Raiders

=
Ialrs, men are apt to forget, or at least
10 pass over with but little interest the
great movements and the heroic men
VINO nave made stand to change the
world history, and to restore nation
allty to people. 1t is said that repub-
ice are not ungrateful: vet if this as
seFtloh De true, it follows as an equal
ruin mat people who cherish the
nope OF founding republic will not
prove ungrateful to those who make
the effort in their behalf. 1 fear. how
ever, that in the light of history this
assertion of gra tefulness will be found
10 De wanting. However, there are ex-
CeplionS TO all rules, and the object of
TINS sketch is a living proof of the ex-
ception
Patrick McGrath, the sergeant-at-
arms OF the st. Fatrick's day conven-
tloil, and veteran member of Division
- a " H., is one of the heroes of a
movement that had for its aim the
freedom of Ireland. a freedom to be
gained by Wrestling Canada from Brit
lSh control and thus enable it's workers
10 be in position to compel England
10 treat with the Irish Republican lead
erS Tor terms. The terms that the lead
! erS had in view were the restoring of
canada to England for the recognition
OF ireland as q separate and distinct
nation.
Born in Ireland, he worked in Eng
! ldhd trst as steyedore and subse-
! quently as q boss steVedore then came
! to this country in 1860, and at the out
! break of the civil war, like many 9TH
ers OF his young countrymen. he en-
! tered the service of Uncle Sam. It was
Whlle in the service that he became a
| member of the Fenian Brotherhood.
! Joining in New York He was identified
with what was known as the Roberts
wing OF the Brotherhood, and it was
this wing that decided to invade Cana
da from the frontiers of New York.
Pennsylvania and Michigan. At Buff
talo over 10000 men had gathered for
the purpose OF invasion, under COM
mand Of General O'Neil On Friday
morning, June l. 1866. MCGrath. who
was known as the Blackbird." owing
to his complexion, with 500 others, were
ordered to the Canadian side. On cross
ing the border, this intrepid band was
met by and soon were in conflict with
the Queens Own of Toronto, and sew
eral thousand British regulars. There
was several casualties, and the attack
resulted in the defeat of the Irishmen,
VINO were expecting Teinforcements
from the American side, but which did
not arrive in time.
McGrath and many others were TAX
en- prisoners, some of whom were re-
leased without trial, owing to the fact
that they could not be sufficiently iden-
titled to warrant holding them Nc |
Grath and twenty-siX others, however, !
were held, owing to being identified |
by one of the queens liveried Irish, al
British soldier named Sullivan, who |
was also the principal witness against |
this band when the trial took place at !
Toronto. They were tried and convict !
ed of levyng war on her majesty. ,
Upon conviction the twenty-seven were i
sentenced to be hanged, but this sem |
tence was subsequently committed to !
tWenty-one years imprisonment. owing /
to the officials of the United States US
ing their influence in behalf of the
prisoners.
They were removed to the provincial
penitentiary at Kingston. where they
entered upon their duties as convicts I
at hard labor. That their lives here
was not bed of roses may easily be
imagined when it is known that the
deputy warden was an Irish Orange
man named Flanagan, who did all in
his power to make the lives of his Fe-
MAN prisoners as miserable as possible
No two of the Fenians were allowed to
be employed together; speaking, ex-
cept to an officer of the prison. was
no matter how slight, of the rules, were
punishable by logging or the dark cell
with a bread and water diet. So Sc
we're was this strain upon the consti-
tutionS of the Fenians, that the ma
jority succumbed to disease, or to
death shortly after discharge.
One young fellow. Cooney, became
insane and was confined in the prison
asylum. McGrath served in this prs
h. 10 Il.
part of 1872, when he again entered the
United States.
During his early days in the Fenian
movement he was the friend and asso-
ciate of Father Mcmahon of Indiana,
Kyle, Burke, Gallagher and Cooney,
who also became his fellow prisoners,
and all of whom have passed away long
ere this After his pardon he was the
friend and associate in New York and
Chicago of the leading men in the
Irish movements, such men as General
John Stephens, O'Donovan .
Rosa, General .O'Neil, who subse-
quently became one of the wealthiest ]
of Nebraska. and of the well
known Fenian soldiers, Colonies Glee-
son and Sweeney, and Patrick Ford.
All of these but Rosa and Ford have
now passed the divide, and as both are ;
well advanced in years, their stay
amongst us VIII not De very lOHS, |
though we hope that they may be
spared to see Ireland nation.
McGrath, never a very loquacious
person, is so reticent about the Fenian
matter that it is hard to obtain full
account from him of his record in the
affair But to the Irish cause he gave
i've long years of his life just when
he was at his prime. and had it not
1een so, IT is more than likely that he
would today be in the enjoyment of a
to tighten the toll of his
declining years.
Let Irishmen of today be friendly to-
ward one of the few that is left of the
lctive men in the Canadian raid and :
llWays accord to him that respect we l
feel for a hero. Z
Among those who suffered impriS /
,nment with McGrath for the cause [
# Ireland were: Father Mcmahon,
Hickey. Burke, Kennedy, Quinn Max
veil, Gallagher. Cooney, Rogan, Mad
len. Crowley. O'Neil, Colonel Lynch, 9
;levin, Dunn, Norton. who was wound a
d and lost an eye in the engagement a
With the British forces; Whalen, Kyle a
nd Purtell. who also received wounds [
n the same battle.-The Nation. a
Conference From St. Ignatius Loyola. b
Man was created to praise, reverence
nd serve God our Lord, and by this
means to save his soul.
All the other things on the face of
he earth were created for mans sake, q
nd in order to aid him in the prose-
ution of the end for which he was