James Connery

71

Robin Sharkey on 6th February 2014

SEAMUS CONNERY B 1810 Waterford County, arrived "Hive" for shooting a man; LIFE. There were three CONNERY brothers, two of whom who gained notoriety in Waterford for two of them being being protected by the country people while they were hunted during 1835 till 1838 for escaping from custody on their way to Cork for transportation for 7 years. All had been involved in faction-fighting in Waterford. They were: 1. SEAMUS (James) Born approx 1806 2. PAURIC (Patrick) Born approx 1807 3. SEAN (John) Born approx 1810 ? * Parents Patrick & Mary Connery, nee Lynch. * Village of Ballyconnery nearby indicates the family had been in the area for centuries. * This Connery family lived near the town-land of Bohadoon, Bohadoon is in the Colligan valley on the slopes of the Commeragh mountains, then thickly wooded. The parents rented 20 acres of hillside land. AT Bohadoon - * The middleman Sir John Nugent Humble sub-let in small parcels to farmers. He placed a man named Maurice Hackett on the parcel next to the Connerys, supposedly to watch over them, and made him gamekeeper of an area up the mountain that had been Sean’s job. the feeling was that Humble wanted them off the land. * May 1831: Sean and Seamus killed Hackett. They dressed as women and fired shots at him while he was walking in a field beside a relative who was ploughing. They missed, he ran but got him climbing over the wall into the wood. They bashed his head into the ground with the butts of their guns. * The Connerys were members of the local Poleen Faction - fighters at fairs etc Waterford Lent Assizes, 6th March 1834 SEAN charged with murder of David Tobin who had been walking with Sean and others on 5th October 1833 returning home from Dungarvan market (about 7 miles) when he was hit by a stone on the side of his head, became paralysed and died two days later. NOT GUILTY SEAN Charged with Manslaughter of Currane/Krehane whose head was bashed with sticks by a gang of men at the fair of Ballykeerogue on 2nd October 1833 so that he died two weeks later. He had been selling porter in a tent at the fair and Sean had taken a cart-load of beer to the fair to sell for a man in Dungarvan. Presumably economic rivalry was involved worsened by the fact that Currane was a member of the rival GOW Faction. Sean was NOT GUILTY together with 7 other members of the Poleen faction. (Waterford Mirror and waterford Chronicle, both 8th March 1834) Waterford Lent Assizes, 12 March 1835 (3) SEAN and SEAMUS Both charged over the death of Maurice Hackett, bashed to death in a field four years earlier in May 1831 near the village of Bohadoon. They were charged with conspiracy to murder and shooting at Maurice Hackett. * NOT GUILTY on conspiracy to murder charge * HOWEVER Seamus was convicted of manslaughter of Hackett on evidence that he was overheard to say that he had shot Hackett and that Hackett could not recover after what he had given him. * NOTE also the principal prosecution witness was Laurence Crotty who told police he recognised both Sean and Seamus but in court claimed he did not know Sean. He was convicted of perjury for this and transported for 7 years on the same ship as Seamus. * SEAMUS: Death recorded commuted to LIFE * Sent to NSW on the Hive, departed May 1835 “HIVE” * Left Cove in May 1835. On 10 December 1835 * “Hive” ran aground on the coast of NSW at Bermagui. * All convicts survived and were taken on to Sydney and finally arrived Christmas Eve in 1835. SEAMUS on INDENTS: Aged 30, RC, Single. Farm-servant. Crime: Shooting. Trial 12th March 1835 LIFE. 5’7 3/4” tall, Light brown hair, chestnut eyes & sallow complexion. Arrived missing his canine tooth in R upper jaw and a crooked top of little finger on R hand. ?Lawrence Crotty was also aged 30, but married with child. An RC laborer, he was 5’8” with a brown complexion (!) brown hair and hazel eyes and scar on right side of chin. CONVICT LIFE IN NSW * On arrival Seamus was assigned to Mr H E Riley, a settler at Yass. * 15 March 1844 Ticket of Leave. Allowed to remain in District of Port Macquarie Written on the side of this ticket is “Petition for Absolute Pardon refused. Now refer Regd 55/816 - December 1855” ( Worked for Dr Rowland Traill near Port Macquarie) * Recommended 30 June 1849 for conditional pardon * Sept 1850 Conditional Pardon Granted. (All personal details same as on the indent) LIFE IN NSW FREE * Appears to have returned to Sydney to join his brothers, Sean and Patrick who had arrived in December 1838 after finally being captured. They had got Conditional Pardons in 1848 and were living in Paddington area. John was married with one surviving young son (James), Patrick remained single. * 1851, July, - Youngest brother, John, died aged 40 or 41. He and one of the brothers (James or Patrick?) had been heading to the goldfields when a fight broke out at their camp at Emu Plains and James was severely beaten and died. The Coroner found he died of an existing disease!! * - 1854 fined 40s for cutting shrubs on Crown land * 1855 - Absolute Pardon * 1856 - charged with assaulting police and fined 40s after the police came to their house to arrest a visitor who was refusing to be apprehended and both James & Paddy joined in to expel the police from their house. Just like old times in Waterford!! * 1857 DEATH at Paddington NSW