New-York tribune., 1910-12-07
THE MANCHESTER MARTYRS

TO the Editor Of The Tribune.
Sir: In your paper of yesterday / read
the account of the Irishmen's celebration
of the forty-third anniversary of the exc
cution of Allen. Larkin and Gould mot
O'Brien). whom they designate as the
Manchester martyrs
I am sorry these ceIebrants should be
so ignorant in respect to the events of MS
tory in which their own countrymen are
concerned. They seem to forget or ignore
the fact that these men were Fenians. men
of the lowest type of Irishmen, who imas-
ined they could best acquire their object
By resorting to murder and bloodshed-
Colonel Richard O'Sullivan Burke is al
together wrong in his description of the
events which led up to the hanging of the
three men whose names are given was
living in the Manchester district at the
time and was connected with the local
press From personal recollection I could
have corrected the errors of Colonel Burke,
but prefer to give him. and your readers
aIso who may be led astray by his errone-
Gus description. an extract from an his
toricai record of the event. written fmme-
iiateIy after it occurred. This tells how
Colonel Kelly and Captain Deasey. two of
the most noted and dangerous Fenians,
we're arrested and started IL the ordinary
police van to the city Jail in charge of
Police Sergeant Brett. In the outskirts OF
Manchester the van was attacked by d
large body of men, and the narrative con-
tinues:
Then followed horrible scene The
small body of unarmed policemen made a
brave defence of the door but axe and
crowbar we're vigorously employed, and
forty or fifty men armed with revolvers
were CARRYING on the attack and firing
without mercy Two of the cOnstabIes,
Bromley and Trueman. were wounded; a
civilian named Sprossen was shot in the
ankle Still the door resisted a hole had
been made in the roof and stones had been
let fall on the head of Sergeant Brett. He
had been summoned TO give up the keys.
but steadily refused. Then a panel of the
door gave way and one of the assalants,
a tall Young man. who had led the attack,
and who was afterward identified as Will
lam O'Mearr Allen, presented his revolver
at the wounded policeman with a fresh
demand for the keys. When this was
refused he fired at the lock of the door
and blew it open Again he demanded the
keys-for the cells in the van were each
of them locked-and again was refused
Then he fired point blank at the head OF
Brett who fell mortally wounded the bull
let having passed straight through the
skull The keys were now secured, the
doors unlocked, the two prisoners released
a witness at the trial swore that Allen
said to one of them, "Arrah. Kelly, I'll
die for you before I'll deliver you up
Then Kelly and Deasey made off. Allen
threatening TO shoot any one who fol-
lowed. Five rrisoners-AlIen. Larkin
Gould. Mcclure and Shore-were placed
on trial before Justices Blackburn and
MeIlor They were all proved by num-
Der of witnesses to have led the attack
on the van. The first three were found
guilty and sentenced to death All three
swore that they had not fired the shot that
killed Brett
These facts win show the awful absurd
ity of Colonel Burke's statement: Neither
one of these three fired the pistol. and
the killing of the officer was an accident
pure and simple
A LANCASHIRE MAN.
Rrookl,-n Nov % 1910