Hercules MULLIGAN (1740-1825) was born in Derry, Ireland. He emigrated to NY and later attended King's College (Columbia University) as a classmate of Alexander HAMILTON. When the British took over NYC during the American Revolution, MULLIGAN remained in the city as a secret agent, posing as a loyalist. He gathered vital intelligence by eavesdropping on British soldiers during their frequent meetings in his clothing store. Thanks to MULLIGAN, WASHINGTON received early notification of his proposed kidnapping by British agents and the British plan to invade PA. MULLIGAN played the part of a Tory so well that many Americans accused him of loyalism when they returned to the city at the end of the war. So when George WASHINGTON returned to NY in late 1783, he made a special effort to draw attention to MULLIGAN's patriotic services, publicly praising him as a "true friend of liberty." Not everyone of Irish descent supported the patriot cause. Like their fellow colonists, most Irish fell into three rather flexible categories -- loyalist, patriot, and undecided. Of the loyalists who filed for compensation, 280 were Irish (compared with 470 Scots and just 290 English).