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