SNIPPET: Rudyard KIPLING (1865-1936) wrote prose and poetry about the British Empire and gained renown throughout the world. He was also known as a leading supporter of the British Empire. He received the 1907 Nobel prize for literature. In many of his works, he implied that it was the duty of Great Britain to carry "the white man's burden" by civilizing backward races. But he was not just the shallow imperialist that his critics tried to make him appear. His famous poem, "Recessional, " written in 1897 in honor of QUEEN VICTORIA's Diamond Jubilee, contains a strong warning to the British not to exploit other races. KIPLING was born 30 Dec 1865, in Bombay, where his father directed an art school. He learned the Hindustani language from his nurse, and he also learned stories of the jungle animals. At six he was sent to school in England, but until he was 12, poor health kept him from attending. At college, he edited the school newspaper. He wrote of his school-day adventures in "Stalky & Co." (1899). At 17, KIPLING returned to India and soon became a journalist. He wrote sketches and verses which at first were used as "fillers" for unused editorial space. Many were later published in "Departmental Ditties" (1886). At this time he created his "soldiers three," an Irishman, a Cockney, and a Yorkshireman. In 1889, KIPLING returned to England. He described the journey in "From Sea to Sea" (1899). In 1890, he published "The Light That Failed," a frank picture of human suffering and misery. For four years he lived in Brattleboro, VT, where his wife owned property, and there he wrote about Mowgli. "All the Mowgli Stories" shows Mowgli with Baloo, a bear, and Bagheera, a panther. KIPLING was so popular in America that several towns were named for him. He returned to England in 1896. By then, he was a controversial figure because of his attitude toward empire, which many misunderstood. It was only after his death that a fair estimate could be made of his views on the subject. In 1900, KIPLING went to South Africa to report the Boer War for an English newspaper. He wrote the popular "Puck of Pook's Hill: (1906) for children. Before WW-I, he became active in politics. He favored the draft, but not woman suffrage. During the war, he lectured and wrote for the British cause. His only son was killed in WW-I. As stated. KIPLING interested himself in the romance and adventure which he found in Great Britain's colonial expansion. Examples of the courage and skill of soldiers often appear in his stories. Many of his poems and short stories praise the people of the colonies. One of his best examples is the poem "Fuzzy-Wuzzy," which praises the courage of the fuzzy-haired warriors who could sometimes defeat the British soldiers. He wrote, too, of folk legends, and he created animal myths. "The Jungle Book" (1894) and "Just So Stories" (1902) give the wit and wisdom of animals who can talk. Many of the stories in "Soldiers Three" (1888) are full of humor, but others, such as "The Mark of the Beast," are horror tales. Some, like "The Phantom 'Rickshaw," concern supernatural incidents. KIPLING also wrote thoughtful stories about the relations of the British with the people of the colonies. "Without Benefit of Clergy" is a love story on this theme. His poems usually have a lively, swinging rhythm. Typical are "Gunga Din" and "Mandalay." The first tells of the courage of an Indian boy who is shot while carrying water to British soldiers in the thick of battle. "Mandalay" tries to capture the strange atmosphere of the East. KIPLING gave us a wide variety of characters. In "Soldiers Three" and "Plain Tales from the Hills" (1888), there are the three droll soldiers. There is Gunga Din, and most of all, Mowgli, the "man-cub," who appears in the Jungle Books. "Barrack-Room Ballads: (1891), written in the language of a soldier, established a picture of a British soldier's life for many readers. KIPLING's first successful novel was "Kim" (1905). In it he gives a colorful and dramatic picture of the complicated life of the Indian people, as seen through the eyes of the poor orphan boy, Kim. "Captains Courageous" (1897), a story of deep-sea fishermen, is one of his most dramatic stories of the sea. KIPLING's other books include "Rewards and Fairies" (1909), a volume of short stories. His poetry collections include "The Seven Seas: (1896), "Songs from Books" (1912), and "Songs for Youth" (1925). Of Ireland, he wrote: "Where there are Irish there's loving and fighting/And when we stop either, it's Ireland no more!" -- Excerpts, "The World Book Encyclopedia"

I'm looking for some help and advise, if an ancestor was getting guns and bringing them to Ireland, say in the 1850s to 1870s time frame and probably because of that activity there was a ransom place on his head from England which stated in part, "if the person was caught that he would be hung from the nearest ship" . One scenario about how the guns were aquired went some like the following; a) Pick up Cod, other fish in St.John's and sail to Charleston. b) Sell for the fish money, provision the ship and then on to Kingston, Jamaica c) Buy fresh fruit, molasses there and sail back to Charleston. d) Exchange the molasses and fruit for guns, e) Provision the ship, then sail on to Ireland with weapons. As ransom was on his head would he stay away from Ulster? perhaps operating out of Cork or Waterford/ Wexford? Does any of this sound legit to any of your researchers. While some of these facts may have been altered over time, there appears to be some consistency with respect to his either being hung or the ransom to be hung. If this was going on, who might be be working with in Ireland. The Young Irelanders, Fenians, or some other group at the time whose objective was the free Ireland. Any advise would be welcome, my eyes are burning trying to read old newspapers from micro-film! Regards Jack Connors

Hi Jack - The Young Ireland nationalist group was active in Ireland 1842-8, the group comprised mainly of middle-class graduates from both Catholic and Protestant backgrounds, of Trinity College, Dublin. Young Ireland had little popular support outside Dublin or amongst the Catholic clergy, and was divided over its political strategy. Their legacy lay not in the insurrectionary fiasco of 1848, but with their success in infusing a romantic sense of nationality into subsequent generations of Irish nationalists. No expert here, and doesn't answer your particular queries, but the end of the American Civil War released thousands of Irish-American officers for possible Fenian activities in Ireland. Difficulties of integration and prejudice experienced by Irish immigrants in America kept attention focused on Ireland and her problems while in New York revolutionary groups, which continued to exist after those in Ireland had collapsed, produced men ready to continue the independence struggle - a Fenian organization in America that paralleled that in Ireland. There were also successful recruitments of some individuals in Britain's Irish community and the British army. While Fenian revolutionary activities in 1866 and 1867 were short-lived, defeated by informers, bad weather, a well-prepared government, and a disciplined army --agitation for an amnesty for Fenian prisoners and outrage at the execution of the Manchester martyrs mobilized nationalist opinion on a scale the Fenians themselves had never achieved, and provided the basis for the launching of the home rule movement. On 18 September 1867 Thomas KELLY and Timothy DEASY, two leading Fenians, were being transported from the courthouse in Manchester to the county jail when the police van containing them was attacked. The prisoners escaped, but an unarmed police sergeant was shot dead. Twenty-nine arrests followed, and in November five men were convicted of murder. One was subsequently pardoned and another's sentence was commuted, but three men, William O'Meara ALLEN, Michael LARKIN, and William O'BRIEN were hanged. The deaths of these 'Manchester martyrs' prompted a partial reconciliation between the Catholic church and Fenianism, and a groundswell of popular sympathy for the Fenian movement in Ireland. In addition the rising moved GLADSTONE to initiate reforms that would culminate in his conversion to home rule. A complex personality, William Ewart GLADSTONE (1809-98), British prime minister and Liberal Party leader, son of a Liverpool merchant, educated at Eton and Oxford, his ultimate commitment to Ireland was based on a variety of motives: a profound moral sense; an acceptance, born of the Fenian rising of 1867, that Ireland was a separate nationality requiring distinctive treatment; and, relatedly, the realization that constitutional reorganization was necessary if the essential integrity of the United Kingdom and its interests were to be safeguarded. Save your microfilm-strained eyes! Check out one or more of these transcribed old newspaper resources on the Internet to get a feel of what was going on during a particular time period. If you are interested in a particular location (Charleston, etc.) or an organization, you could try using those keywords there and also conduct some "Google" searches, in general, to locate informative websites highlighting Ireland's past revolutionary organizations and secret societies. . Cathy Joynt Labath Ireland Newspaper Abstracts http://www.newspaperabstracts.com/Ireland/index.htm Irish in Iowa http://www.celticcousins.net/irishiniowa/index.htm Ireland Old News http://www.IrelandOldNews.com/ Jean ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jack Connors" <jjc@nf.sympatico.ca> To: <irelandgenweb@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, May 16, 2009 4:18 PM Subject: [Irish Genealogy] Mid 1800s in Ireland > I'm looking for some help and advise, if an ancestor was getting guns and > bringing them to Ireland, say in the 1850s to 1870s time frame and > probably > because of that activity there was a ransom place on his head from England > which stated in part, "if the person was caught that he would be hung from > the nearest ship" . One scenario about how the guns were aquired went some > like the following; > > a) Pick up Cod, other fish in St.John's and sail to Charleston. > b) Sell for the fish money, provision the ship and then on to Kingston, > Jamaica > c) Buy fresh fruit, molasses there and sail back to Charleston. > d) Exchange the molasses and fruit for guns, > e) Provision the ship, then sail on to Ireland with weapons. As ransom was > on his head would he stay away from Ulster? > perhaps operating out of Cork or Waterford/ Wexford? > > Does any of this sound legit to any of your researchers. While some of > these > facts may have been altered over time, there appears to be some > consistency > with respect to his either being hung or the ransom to be hung. If this > was > going on, who might be be working with in Ireland. The Young Irelanders, > Fenians, or some other group at the time whose objective was the free > Ireland. > > Any advise would be welcome, my eyes are burning trying to read old > newspapers from micro-film! > > Regards > Jack Connors