“Sailed Into Killala’s Broad Bay”

Posted on July 16, 2013 by fitzjameshorse

Images from Killala, a few miles from the spot where General Humbert landed with one thousand French troops in late Summer of 1798.

A brief skirmish in Killala and Humbert who had Batholomew Teeling with him as aide-de-camp went on to take Ballina and had unlikely victories at Castlebar and Coolooney, where Teeling was particuarly heroic.

The final battle took place at Ballinamuck in County Longford. The defeated French were prisoners of war and quickly re-patriated to France.
Teeling was among those captured as rebels and hanged at Arbour Hill in Dublin.

There is a large monument to Teeling in Colooney. And a roundabout named for him at Poleglass in West Belfast. He was from the area. The family were linen merchants in Lisburn.

This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged 1798 Rebellion, Ballina, Ballinamuck, Bartholomew Teeling, Castlebar, County Mayo, General Humbert, Killala, Poleglass. Bookmark the permalink.

9 Responses to “Sailed Into Killala’s Broad Bay”

Political Tourist says:

July 16, 2013 at 4:20 pm

Pretty scare time if you were caught in the path of the State looking for revenge.
I doubt certain elements in the Presbyterian community ever got over it.
Although something must have lingered politically.
Why would there be reports of armed Newtownards IRA men turning up to defend Short Strand the early 1920s unless the Republican view still held sway generations later.
Did the Orange State knock any last vestige of Republicanism out of them.

Reply
- fitzjameshorse says:
  
  July 16, 2013 at 4:53 pm
  
  Hard to make a direct comparison between 1798 and 1922.
  Certainly a lot of people kept their heads down in Wexford-Carlow, Antrim-Down and Mayo-Sligo in the years after 1798.
  For example the head of Father John Murphy of Boulavogue who was butchered in Tullow, County Carlow….was left on a spike outside the Mass House in Tullow. The message was very “in your face”.
  In the poem, “The Man From God Knows Where” the narrator who witnesses the execution of Thomas Russell in Downpatrick is already keeping a low profile.
  But I think that there were other factors.
  The Act of Union helped Presbyterians distance themselves from 1798 and really the story of the 19th century is how Presbyterians adopted unionism.
  The “official” Catholic Church position was anti-Rebellion (Maynooth had been opened as a seminary in 1798 as a British response to Republican France and to keep Catholics onside) but Catholic Emancipation emboldened Republicanism.
  These monuments in the West and in South East, mostly sculpted by a man called Shepherd, were mostly built for the Centenary in 1898, which were used by nationalists, republicans, GAA people and Catholics. To a certain extent this meant glossing over some things about 1798.
  There are effectively three versions of 1798.
  There is the actual history of 1798, the re-written version in 1898….and the letgetalongerist sanitised version in 1998.
  
  Reply
Ronan Burns says:

July 17, 2013 at 9:46 pm

I think that in 1798 the Presbyterians envisaged an independent Ireland which they would rule. I suggest that they were latter day versions of Ian Smith and his White Rhodesians.

A generation after Wolfe Tone, the Presbyterians had done their sums and realised that they could not rule an independent Ireland so they became Unionists. If the day comes when a Catholic majority in Northern Ireland seems imminent, do not be surprised if the revert to nationalism – preferring rule from Dublin to rule by their former victims in Northern Ireland. In his final book, Conor Cruise suggested such a strategy for the Prods.

Reply
- fitzjameshorse says:
  
  July 17, 2013 at 9:53 pm
  
  The comparison with white Rhodesians is actually a good one.
  By the way you are NOT banned…nobody is.
  All posts are moderated.
  But in past three weeks people have been saying they are not getting posts thru.
  Dont know whats going on.
  
  Reply
Ronan Burns says:

July 20, 2013 at 2:11 pm

For some reason, when I post I often receive a screen reply “You are posting too quickly. Please slow down.” Have other posters complained of this?

Reply
- fitzjameshorse says:
  
  July 20, 2013 at 3:51 pm
  
  You are the first one to mention that.
  It might be that its not possible to make a comment while one is waiting for moderation.
  
  Reply
  - Ronan Burns says:
    
    July 23, 2013 at 4:43 pm
    
    Not possible to comment when one has a post in the queue awaiting moderation.
    
    That might be the explanation. I will test out that theory.
Ronan Burns says:

July 23, 2013 at 4:44 pm

Testing the explanation.

Reply
- Ronan Burns says:
  
  July 23, 2013 at 4:44 pm
  
  Obviously not the reason.
  
  Reply