A day to remember with a memorial in a church in Ballyshannon in Co. Donegal. At first sight the figures would appear to be police but other services also wore similar helmets at times. It is obviously a memorial to the fallen, as the "reversed" rifles is a sign of respect for the dead. Where is it and who does it commemorate?
With thanks to today's contributors, it is confirmed that this image connects to the
Tríd an Lionsa sequence we shared last year, and captures a memorial to an RIC inspector who died in events covered in an episode of that TV series. As noted by the guys below, District Inspector William Martin was killed in violent circumstances during the 1889 Land War, while attempting to arrest the "Patriot Priest" Fr James McFadden. The series of trials that followed were among the first in the country to use photographic evidence (evidence which seemingly persuaded the jury to a reduced sentence and plea bargain)....
Photographer:
Robert French
Collection:
Lawrence Photograph Collection
Date: Catalogue range c.1865-1914. Though after 1889.
NLI Ref:
L_ROY_03125
You can also view this image, and many thousands of others, on the NLI’s catalogue at
catalogue.nli.ie
Info:
Owner:
National Library of Ireland on The Commons
Source:
Flickr Commons
Views: 20316
dearbhaile2
its all there in the picture , murdered in 1889 , at Gweedore in the line of duty , an R.I.C officer
Rory_Sherlock
Here's an account of his death... freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~donegal/deathi...
sharon.corbet
RTE did a radio documentary on the incident. But it was in the land campaign that he became famous. When the landlords agents arrived at one house to evict a tenant, Fr McFadden stood in the doorway. He withstood the bailiffs and orders were given for his arrest the following Sunday as he was saying Mass. This was too much for the people and they resisted it, in the process accidentally killing the police inspector. But the police returned another day and succeeded in taking Fr McFadden, and forty two others from Gweedore, into custody and brought them to trial for the murder of Inspector Martin.
Carol Maddock
More from the Nation, Saturday, 9 February 1889...
guliolopez
As [https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]] mentions, some of the context is given in the plaque itself. But certainly not all of it. As it happens, this image could very easily be added to the Tríd an Lionsa sequence that we saw on this stream in late 2015, as it relates to some of the images (including those below) shown during on particular episode of that TG4 program. (The episode is unfortunately now gone from the TG4 player). What the plaque doesn't reflect is why and how the named RIC member was killed. It was during the Land War, when the inspector attempted went (maybe inadvisably given the outcome) to arrest the local parish priest immediately after mass. The parishioners were (perhaps unsurprisingly) taken-aback at armed men seeming to pursue and accost the priest, and the inspector was struck and killed in the melee that followed. The TV program covered it well I thought. Though the main point of the program was how photography was used in the case that followed (in that, in 1889, the trial was one of the first in Ireland to use photographic evidence). www.flickr.com/photos/nlireland/23350774204/
ɹǝqɯoɔɥɔɐǝq
"SIC ITUR AD ASTRA" (see note) - 'thus one journeys to the stars' is a quote from Virgil's Aeneid. Via en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_astra_(phrase)
Carol Maddock
There was no dilly dally about producing the memorial plaque for District-Inspector Martin, but there were major shenanigans about its installation in the church - here are sections of a huge long article - I couldn't make sense of it all as so much prior knowledge of the protagonists was assumed by the writer! Though that writer did enjoy himself immensely in almost Dickensian descriptive passages. From the Sligo Champion on Saturday, 21 December 1889...
Carol Maddock
So, taken from 1890 onwards...
ɹǝqɯoɔɥɔɐǝq
Via Trove, a slightly different account of Inspector Martin's murder, full of grisly detail - trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/9208472
ɹǝqɯoɔɥɔɐǝq
There is another monument "erected by his sorrowing widow" outside in the graveyard of Kilbarron Parish Church. Is that the same church as above? https://www.flickr.com/photos/garymcmurray/6095389613/
j.coffey78
Father McFadden, song Oh come all you Roman Catholics and listen to my song And likewise pay attention and I’ll not detain you long Concerning Father McFadden who lies in Lifford Jail He was remanded there for trial the court would grant no bail The day he was arrested was a Sunday after Mass It was Inspector Martin the man who did the arrest He caught the priest by the collar with a broad sword in his hand Says he You are my prisoner sir and you must come along The congregation saw their priest arrested at the door And David being among the flock he did one stone procure He stuck the stone into a sling and by the Lord’s command He struck Inspector Martin on the ground where he did stand Some pailing posts were used by those who fought for liberty Their priest they swore for to defend from landlord tyranny No cowardly inspector would their hero take away
mikescottnz
A fascinating incident...
O Mac
[https://www.flickr.com/photos/beachcomberaustralia] That marble monument is outside St Anne's Church in Ballyshannon. www.buildingsofireland.ie/niah/search.jsp?type=record&... It would appear from this article that the plaque above is also in St Anne's . "The Inspector Martin Memorial gravestone erected in 1889 to remember an R.I.C policeman who died in Derrybeg, Gweedore in 1888. There is a plaque to his memory and detailing how he died inside the church." ballyshannon-musings.blogspot.ie/2015_02_01_archive.html www.google.ie/maps/place/Kilbarron,+Co.+Donegal/@54.50284...
Niall McAuley
St. Anne's church, Ballyshannon, in Streetview
Niall McAuley
NIAH entry for St. Anne's CoI mentions the obelisk: Two of the more interesting markers are the Martin Memorial (mason/sculptor was a Alfred P. Sharp); a red polished granite(?) obelisk over a finely carved pedestal, which commemorates William Limerick Martin, District Inspector Royal Irish Constabulary who 'was cruelly murdered at Derrybeg, Gweedore, whilst nobly doing his duty' in 1888 DIA has a ref too: Monument in polished red granite to be erected over grave of late District Inspector Martin. 13 ft high. Octagonal spire with columned die-stand & semi-circular cap with panels bearing badges & emblems of deceased's ranks in RIC.
oaktree_brian_1976
The Latin under the coat of arms says "so we go to the stars"
O Mac
Martin memorial catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000323335
Niall McAuley
Bottom right of the plaque - MATTHEWS, 19 CASTLE ST. EAST, LONDON W
Niall McAuley
Which I think is now Castle Lane
ɹǝqɯoɔɥɔɐǝq
Anyone who has 'Limrick' as a middle name must be ok !
National Library of Ireland on The Commons
Thanks all - Map, date range and description all updated!
sam2cents
Fantastic information, and yet another story worth knowing about. This is one of the most fascinating streams on Flickr. I don't think anybody has made a TV series or movie about the Land War, but there are loads about the famine. I remember seeing an old British movie about the Land War though, although I can't remember what the title was. There was also one on Captain Boycott.
National Library of Ireland on The Commons
Thanks [https://www.flickr.com/photos/sam2cents]! We are also constantly delighted by the information shared by the contributors on the stream :) You make an interesting point about the Land War in popular culture - it is perhaps a previously untapped subject (although hopefully any producers and linguistic coaches make a better go of the accents than previous films based in the same period :) )
sam2cents
[https://www.flickr.com/photos/nlireland] I'd managed to forget all about that, to be sure to be sure. I think maybe we should all decide it never happened. As for the actual Land War, I have read that the pistols the RIC were equipped with were the most advanced in the world, and whereas Colt revolvers in the US were still single action (you had to cock the hammer manually before pulling the trigger) and still loaded by hand with detonation cap, gun powder and a lead ball, these RIC revolvers were already taking brass cartridges and were double-action (pull trigger and hammer cocks and fires in one go). Ireland was definitely treated differently the the rest of the UK. There's some interesting info on Wikipedia about it here if you scroll down to 'other revolvers' stating that General Custer owned a brace of these pistols and possibly carried them at the Battle of Little Bighorn (not that they did him much good): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webley_Revolver#Webley_RIC