Thank you Mike for the bit about Philip Germaine and the tithe wars in 1832. It's interesting to see how three different reports of the same incident vary. (Maybe history IS bunk!) The Carlow Sentinel reports it as virtually a non-event involving some 5000 people. However a letter from Edward Dwyer to Daniel O'Connell dated May 27 1832 describes how between 40 to 50 thousand people had assembled for the auction in an orderly and sober manner under the leadership of their clergy, but not one bid for the cattle was received, which were then returned home to Mr Germaine. The third version is from Philip Germaine himself, recorded in an interview in the Freeman's Journal, January 18, 1886. He says there were at least 500 military and police under arms guarding the cattle. "Immense crowds congregated at the seizure and the sale" which was to pay the tithe charge of £1100 per year, and which "I could not admit was a just debt". Afterwards "Fully three thousand people assembled on my farm and cheered and blew horns, and the mountains were covered with bonfires to give me encouragement". Cheers Kaye Cole > Message: 3 > Date: Fri, 7 Jun 2013 11:58:31 +0100 > From: Michael Purcell <carlowmike@gmail.com> > Subject: [IRL-CARLOW] Philip Germaine 1832 > To: irl-carlow@rootsweb.com > Message-ID: > <CAKqwSs5ah3D=kHR4XN_HJGGE2rCeVFhTUZV=vcTSXQeCH8ZUzg@mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 > > Carlow Sentinel. > May, 1832. > TITHES --- Mr Philip Germaine's Cattle. > It having been ascertained that Mr Butler, the sub-Sheriff of Carlow, > intended to seize upon cattle of Philip Germaine of Rathvilly for > non-payment of tithes, upwards of five thousand persons assembled from > counties of Wicklow, Kildare and Carlow, to witness the auction. > All business at this busy season was suspended ; numbers poured into > Baltinglass and Rathvilly to accompany the cattle to Carlow. > Fortunately, however, probably for the public peace, the Sheriff > relinquished his intention of seizing the cattle during the present > excited > state of the public mind. >