Shercock’s frightening fighting fair
Checkout part II of Jonathan Smyth's fascinating account of the Shercock Fair Day shootings in 1814...
Fresh details came to light in the days following the Shercock Fair Day shootings, which happened on Monday, May 30, 1814. The pages of the ‘Kilkenny Moderator’ communicated that several trifling disputes occurred that afternoon and by six o’clock circumstances became dangerous. Shouts of ‘five pounds for an Orangeman’ were heard and members identified by the crowd were severely beaten before retreating to Caroll’s house where an Orange Lodge was held.
Large quantities of stones were flung at the doors and windows of the house by the furious mob. A message was delivered to Lieutenant Wimp’s house demanding him to ‘give up’ all his arms and ammunition. But not being wimpish, he ignored the request. The marauders turned on Wimp’s home and smashed every window while attempting to break down his doors. But Wimp had a selection of yeomanry on hand and ordered them to protect his property. The people badgered Wimp, to the point that he commanded his men to fire blank cartridges. This irritated the irate protesters even more, and they attacked all the harder. But the yeomanry, who were determined to protect themselves, then loaded the guns with ball cartridges, which they discharged at the mob.
Blame for the bloodshed was ascribed to both parties by the Dublin Journal which spoke of the shame it brought on the country, which was advancing as a civilisation under the illumination of education and yet a ‘disgusting spirit of religious discord’ held the people in ignorance. We may be reminded that the total figure of deaths was twenty two. In June 1814, an official investigation began to find out the truth of what sparked the murderous melee. The ‘gentleman’ employed by the government to investigate the matter, it was said, did so in a manner that was transparent. It was soon recognised that the affray had not been premeditated.
Mr Jameson who was lead counsel for the crown, spoke of the treacherous situation at the Fair in Shercock and said that ‘delinquents, of all parties’ had now been selected to go forward for trial. Robert Johnston was the first of the accused to appear before the judge, charged with the murder of Bryan McCabe. The Rev Thomas Blake was the first witness to be called, and when questioned, he said he attended the Fair on farming business to sell cattle and was not there that day in his capacity as a priest. He lived some 10 to 12 miles beyond the town and reluctantly found himself caught in the midst of the turmoil beside the prisoner’s house. To avoid getting injured in the row, Blake entered Carroll’s house and, no sooner had he done so, two minutes later another group pushed through the doorway with Constable Ben Jones with whom they seemed to be arguing. The priest got hit in the face and went into a back room to wash the blood off and, as he did so, he heard shooting, which he did not believe came from Carroll’s since none of the people there were armed.
Clasping sticks, the mob stoned Johnston’s homestead. But there were guns in the house and, shortly enough, they were pointed out through the windows and unloaded at the people. To escape, those who could, hastily departed from Johnston’s and instead proceeded towards Lieutenant Wimp’s home. Blake intervened and tried restoring calm to the situation by ‘begging to Almighty God’ for both parties to desist but nobody listened, and the priest then fled for his life. Later, Blake openly confessed his total fear of the guns.
Thomas Naulty was in Johnston’s when things got out of hand, and he said he saw Robert Johnston upstairs firing three shots from the window. The first two shots caused no damage but the third wounded a man and he was carried into Clarke’s yard. From Naulty it was understood that trouble began with about twenty persons in disagreement with the constable, which rapidly expanded to huge proportions with persons slowly joining in and others running from the bridge to take part. Naulty had only been to the fair twice before and saw nothing of what happened the policeman, only to comment that he felt the crowd to be ‘furious and ungovernable’. At Wimp’s, a man named Middleton was all gung-ho when he faced the mob, but they pulled the gun off him and broke it.
Robert Anderson of Coroneary believed a mob of around 100 to 200 assembled when he was at the pass on the Bailieborough road into Shercock. He heard them call for the ‘face of an Orangeman’ and then whistling came and people came from every direction to assist them. They destroyed Johnston’s house and tried to force the door in, he recalled. On August 9, 1814, the Belfast Newsletter reported on the verdict reached at the Cavan Assizes in connection with Thomas Black who was indicted for the murder of Hugh Larkin, a victim of the Shercock massacre. A thorough examination of the witnesses had taken time to complete. The jury then retired to consider the matter, and a verdict of ‘not guilty’ was returned. There are more witness statements than I could include but which make interesting reading should anyone want to discover more.
In conclusion, the whole affray started after a disagreement arose over instructions passed on by a policeman to a man walking his horse through the Fair and who refused to heed the instruction given. Next, a mob assembled in larger numbers and when the Orangemen went for the guns, lives were lost. The Liverpool Mercury posed a simple question. They asked why place guns in local men’s hands? And wondered would it not have been better to have had a company of militia on standby to handle an occurrence like this. Thankfully, peace was restored and eventually life became harmonious again.
Many years later, in 1908, there was an air of fun, hope and humour during an Orange walk at Bailieborough when a Shercock man of the Catholic faith named Matthew Fox boldly joined the procession, draped in a green sash, with the following words embossed in gold - ‘Home rule for Ireland and the land for the people.’ Fox’s presence, it was reported, became ‘the centre of attraction’ for the assembled spectators along the route. The peacemaker, Nelson Mandela, who endured decades-long imprisonment because of apartheid, once said, ‘no one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.’
READ PART 1