Patrick Dunne

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Dianne Jones on 19th March 2023

SOURCES: Amos, Keith (1988), “The Fenians in Australia, 1865–1880”, Sydney. Keneally, T. (1998), “The great shame and the triumph of the Irish in the English-speaking world”, Random House, New York. --0--

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Dianne Jones on 18th March 2023

Correction: The above should read... FROM JAIL TO THE HOUGOUMONT: 1867, 6 October (not 1866).

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Dianne Jones on 18th March 2023

1869, 9 October: From the Freeman’s Journal, p2: “ARRIVAL OF THE LIBERATED IRISH STATE PRISONERS IN SYDNEY. The Rangatira, with twenty five of the Amnestied State Prisoners on board, left Melbourne at about half-past four o’clock on last Saturday afternoon, but did not arrive in Sydney until some short time after eight on Tuesday morning. This detention was caused by a strong northerly breeze and head sea which the vessel encountered immediately on rounding Cape Howe. The Sub Committee appointed by the Central Committee of Sydney had secured apartments for them at the Italian Hotel, in north George street, and were at their post at the hour when the steamer was due. It had first, on the report of apprehended disturbance on the part of the Orangemen, been arranged that the subcommittee should engage a small steamer and take their friends off the Rangatira somewhere below Port Denison. This intention was abandoned because it might be subsequently alleged, by people who have shown some anxiety to misrepresent the real state of affairs, that the patriots were smuggled ashore. Accordingly the gentlemen deputed to receive the guests took their station on the wharf as soon as they learned that the steamer was coming up the harbour and awaited their arrival. The news of the arrival of “the Fenians” spread with astonishing rapidity in the vicinity, and crowds were immediately rushing to the water’s side to catch a glimpse of the much dreaded revolutionists. By the time time the men had disembarked there were some hundreds on the wharf. There was not even the semblance of a demonstration on either side, not a voice was raised not a gesture made. Indeed save and except the numbers present not the least difference could be noticed between the landing of the ex-prisoners and the landing of an equal number of ordinary immigrants from the neighbouring colonies. The men then marched four abreast to the carriages waiting for them and were driven off to the hotel abovementioned. None of them seemed much the worse for their imprisonment, and all of them declared that bad as penal servitude in Western Australia was, it was infinitely preferable to incarceration in any of the English prisons. They are chiefly from Cork and Limerick, with a few from Dublin, as will be seen by the annexed list. They are very favourable specimens of the young and intelligent Irishmen of the present day, and are evidently imbued with a manly and patriotic spirit. We understand that none of them care about remaining in the colony; the great majority of them will return home to Ireland, and the remainder of them will proceed by the first opportunity to San Francisco. We were highly pleased to see that they were accorded a genuine Irish “Cead mille failthe” without the slightest pretext being given to certain parties, who shall be nameless for the present, at all events, to cry out that a “Fenian demonstration” was taking place, or that “old sores”, whatever kind of wounds they may happen to be, were being ripped open once more. A constant tide of friends and sympathisers, anxious to clasp the hands of the patriots and to congratulate them on their release from their unmerited suffering, flowed through the rooms and threatened occasionally to become a decided nuisance to our gallant young countrymen. It must have been a great relief to them when the hand shaking terminated and they were allowed to retire and rest themselves after their protracted and disagreeable passage from the Sound. On one occasion two members of the detective force mingled with the throng in the room, and although they were instantly recognized there was no more notice taken of their presence than if they had been but a couple of cur dogs that followed the crowd. We regret that we are quite unable to say whether they were able to report anything important to their highly respected, intelligent, and efficient chief. Our friends are by no means confined in their movements, they ramble freely about the city, and so far as we can hear, they have been subjected to no unfriendly molestation or interference of any kind. Their quiet unostentatious and gentlemanly manner has favourably impressed both friends and foes, who have come in contact with them. We append a list of their names, place of birth, where convicted, and nature of sentence, which we make no doubt will prove interesting to many of our readers as by this means they can tell whether they have been acquainted in the old country with the prisoners, or their families:— 1. Mr. John Kenealy [sic], born at Newmarket, county Cork; convicted at Cork, December 1865; sentence, 10 years penal servitude. 2. Mr. Jeremiah O’Donovan, born at Blarney, county Cork; convicted at Cork, December 1865; sentence, 5 years penal servitude. 3. Mr. John S. Casey, born at Mitchelstown, county Cork; convicted at Cork, December 1865; sentence, 5 years penal servitude. 4. Mr. Michael Moore, born at Dublin; convicted at Dublin, December 1865; sentence, 10 years penal servitude. 5. Mr. PATRICK DUNNE [my emphasis], born at Dublin; convicted at Dublin, December 1865; sentence, 5 years penal servitude. 6. Mr. Denis B. Cashman, born at Waterford; convicted at Dublin, January 1866; sentence, 7 years penal servitude. 7. Mr. John B. Walsh, born at Dublin; convicted at Dublin, January 1866; sentence, 7 years penal servitude. 8. Mr. Patrick Doran, born at Dublin; convicted at Dublin, April 1867; sentence, hanged, drawn and quartered. 9. Mr. Eugene Lombard, born at Cork; convicted at Cork, May 1867; sentence, 7 years penal servitude. 10. Mr. Eugene Geary, born at Cork; convicted at Cork, May 1867; sentence, 5 years penal servitude. 11. Mr. David Joyce, born at Ballamacoda, county Cork; convicted at Cork, May 1867; sentence, hanged, drawn and quartered. 12. Mr. Thomas Cullinane, born at Ballamacoda, county Cork; convicted at Cork, May 1867; sentence, hanged, drawn and quartered. 13. Mr. Simon Downey, born at Cork; convicted at Cork, May 1867; sentence, 7 years penal servitude. 14. Mr. Morgan McSweeny, born at Cork; convicted at Cork, May 1867; sentence, 7 years penal servitude. 15. Mr. Denis Hennessy, born at Kilmallock, county Limerick; convicted at Cork, May 1867; sentence, 7 years penal servitude. 16. Mr. Maurice Fitzgibbon, born at Kilmallock, county Limerick; convicted at Cork, May 1867; sentence, 5 years penal servitude. 17. Mr. Thomas Daly, born at Kilmallock, county Limerick; convicted at Cork, May 1867; sentence, 15 years penal servitude. 18. Mr. John Sheehan, born at Kilmallock, county Limerick; convicted at Cork, May 1867; sentence, 7 years penal servitude. 19. Mr. David Cummins, born at Youghal, county Cork; convicted at Cork, May 1867; sentence, 7 years penal servitude. 20. Mr Michael Noonan, born at Kilmallock; convicted at Cork, May 1867; sentence, 5 years penal servitude. 21. Mr. Patrick Riordan, born at Kilmallock; convicted at Cork, May 1867; sentence, 7 years penal servitude. 22. Mr. Patrick Leahy, born at Thurles, county Tipperary; convicted at Cork [incorrect; Nenagh], May 1867 incorrect; 29/7/1867]; sentence, 5 years penal servitude. 23. Mr. Thomas Fogarty, Kilfeacle, county Tipperary; convicted at Cork May 1867; sentence, 5 years penal servitude. 24. Mr. Robert May, born at Drogheda; convicted at Dundalk, August 1867; sentence, 5 years penal servitude. 25. Mr. Patrick Wall, born at Drogheda; convicted at Dundalk, August 1867; sentence, 5 years penal servitude. —0—

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Dianne Jones on 18th March 2023

FREE PARDON: 1869, 5 February: PATRICK DUNNE was one of 35 Fenians who had been transported to Western Australia (as well as others imprisoned in Great Britain) who were given Free Pardons / “unconditionally discharged” by the House of Commons. For a full list, see the Melbourne Advocate, 22 May 1869, p4, at https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/169267360 1869, 22 May: Patrick Dunne received his Free Pardon from the Resident Magistrate at York (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; General Register for Nos 9059-9598 cont., 9599-10128 (R15-R16)). --0—

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Dianne Jones on 18th March 2023

From KW Amos (1987), p364: Dunne, Patrick, born 1844, son of Catherine (b 1807), 161 Townsend St., Dublin; unmarried painter, Dublin, literate, RC, convicted Dublin 31/1/66: 'Endeavouring to swear in a soldier at the Pigeon House Fort'; treason-felony, 5 years p/s; Portland prison (inmate #5381), Fremantle prison, West Guildford road party, York depot (inmate #9722); 5 letters home, character very good. Record: (1) Granted Ticket of Leave, 16/12/68. (2) Drunk and out after hours, 28/12/68 - 7 days at York Depot. (3) Drunk and neglecting his duty, 2/3/69 - 1 month HL and forfeited wages. TL work: (1) Labourer for J. McCarthy, York, 30/- p.w., 17/12/68. (2) Labourer for J. McCarthy, York, £24 p.a., 31/12/68. (3) General servant for C.F. Rasan, York, 30/- p.w., 2/1/69. (4) Labourer for J. McCarthy, York, 30/- p.w., 1/2/69. (5) Labourer for E. Cahill, York, 30/- p.w., 2/4/69. (6) Labourer for Thomas Tomkinson, York, 30/- p.w., 26/4/69. Release: Free Pardon 22/5/69; sailed for Sydney on Rangatira 21/9/69, then to San Francisco on Baringa 21/10/69. --00—

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Dianne Jones on 18th March 2023

From his FREMANTLE JAIL RECORD: DUNNE, Patrick, inmate #9722, arrived 10 Jan 1868 per Hougoumont Date of Birth: 1845 Place of Birth: Dublin Marital Status: Unmarried Occupation: Painter Literacy: Literate Sentence Place: Dublin Crime: Treason [sic] Sentence Period: 5 years Ticket of Leave Date: 16 Dec 1868 Comments: One of 62 Fenians transported on the Hougoumont, the last convict ship sent to Australia. Its arrival at Fremantle on 9 Jan 1868 signalled the end of transportation to this country. Labourer, general servant. To New South Wales, 21 Sep 1869 (https://fremantleprison.com.au/history-heritage/research/convict-database/). --0--

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Dianne Jones on 18th March 2023

On arrival in WA, PATRICK DUNNE, convict #9722, was described as a painter, 23, single, literate, Roman Catholic, 5’8” tall with dark brown hair, hazel eyes, fresh complexion and a stout build; family – mother Catherine, aged 60, of 161 Townsend Street, Dublin. Other marks – “2 pockmarks left arm, wants a tooth in left upper jaw” (Western Australia, Australia, Convict Records, 1846-1930; Convict Department, Registers; General Register for Nos 9599-10128 cont. (R16)). —0—

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Dianne Jones on 18th March 2023

OFF THE WA COAST: 1868, 9 January: From transportee accounts, Ormond Waters (1997, p100) describes their arrival off the WA coast and transfer next day to the mainland: “The Fenian prisoners were the last to be taken ashore from the Hougoumont in small boats and brought to ‘The Establishment’ as Fremantle Prison was called. One convict described the scene in a letter home: ‘Very early on the morning of the 10th, we were put on shore in Fremantle, and marched through the little town of that name to our destination, The Prison. Here we lay for some two days, going through the ordinary routine of prisoners on the first reception. Dressed in a suit of Drogheda linen, ornamented with a red stripe and black bands, typical of the rank we hold in the colony. To wit, convicts.’ The prison rules were harsh. There was a long list of offences, the penalty for which was death. Cells measured seven feet by four feet wide by nine feet high. Prisoners slept in hammocks.” —00—

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Dianne Jones on 18th March 2023

FROM JAIL TO THE HOUGOUMONT: 1866, 6 October: From Tom Keneally (1998), pp565-66: “In Millbank prison, O’Donovan Rossa**, who had spent much time on punishment, sometimes in the ‘black cell,’ from which all light was excluded, sometimes with his hands manacled for weeks so that he had to eat his skilly by lowering his head to the bowl, was visited by the governor. ‘I’ve come to learn if you’ll volunteer to go to the penal settlements of Western Australia.’ Rossa replied, ‘But I’ll do no volunteering.’ ‘The government won’t send you otherwise.’ ‘Then I’ll remain. I prefer to receive their tortures here than in the wilds of Western Australia.’ Ultimately Rossa would be sent to the military prison at Chatham, where many of the American officers were kept. Here, their excessive punishments would help produce the committee of inquiry known as the Devon Commission. But the Fenians in Dartmoor were to be shipped, willy-nilly. Including the much-reduced John Boyle O’Reilly, they were marched out of that awful door and had their last dim glimpse of the Farm, the huge, foul drainage system below the prison. They were chained together for their journey with a ‘bright, strong chain,’ and rode to the railway station. Reaching Portland by rail late at night, they moved through a near-empty world to the prison. Here by lamplight they surrendered their Dartmoor clothes and stood about naked for some hours. ‘To the prison officials this seemed highly amusing,’ said O’Reilly, ‘but to me … the point of the joke was rather obscure.’ Re-clothed and sent out to exercise next day, they found themselves with a party of twenty other Fenians. Many were surprised to see how the Dartmoor regime had weakened athletic O’Reilly. All were aware by now that a ship named Hougoumont already stood off Portland with London prisoners in its hold, and some friends from the London prisons were aboard. Now, on 6 October, chained at wrist, ankle and to each other, twenty men to each gang, the Fenians being kept separate from other prisoners, they were marched a short distance to the little harbour steamer which was meant to take them out to the transport. On the wharf waited a young woman who threw herself weeping against the shoulder of the Dublin Fenian PATRICK DUNNE [my emphasis]. Before the ‘merciless officials’ removed her, O’Reilly saw Dunne, whose hands were tethered, lower his head to kiss the woman, his sister. The 22-year-old Dunne had been given a sentence of twenty years [incorrect; it was five years], which his sister must have thought the equivalent of life. Seated in chains on the steamer, they were taken out to board the Hougoumont, and climbed up a stairway to a deck lined with what O’Reilly called soldiers, but what were probably the 50 veterans of the Pensioner Guard, recruited for service in Western Australia with the offer of free passage and promise of land. Chains were now knocked off convicts’ ankles and wrists, and the Dartmoor and Portland Fenians were ordered below into the dim Hades of the convict deck. As they descended into a space whose sides were entirely made up of massive iron bars, ‘the prisoners within clutched the bars and looked eagerly through, hoping, perhaps, to see a familiar face … As we stood thus, a tall gaunt man pushed his way through the criminal crowd to the door.’ It was O’Reilly’s friend, Patrick Keating, a man of nearly forty years, a soldier from the 5th Dragoon Guards. As they were admitted to the teeming, rowdy prison deck, Keating led them aft, ‘to a door leading amidships from the criminal part of the ship.’ That door was unlocked by someone. And, ‘we were with our friends—our brothers. Great God!” ** In 1856, at age 25, Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa founded the Phoenix National and Literary Society, an Irish nationalist group that aimed to remove the British from Ireland through any means necessary, including armed struggle. --0—

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Dianne Jones on 18th March 2023

1866, 14 May: Patrick Dunne was sent from Pentonville to Portland jail, Grove Road, Portland, in Dorset, where he was listed as inmate #4381; behaviour “very good” (UK, Prison Commission Records, 1770-1951 for Patrick Dunne; Pentonville Prison; Register of Prisoners; 1864-1866). Portland, Portsmouth, Chatham and Spike Island in Ireland were listed public works stations and the second stage in the penal process. After separate confinement, prisoners were “placed on work parties at various locations, most commonly naval stations, where maintenance of facilities was vital for the effective protection of Britain’s far flung commercial and military influences around the world. While there, attitude and behaviour were monitored closely. In theory, only after consistently positive reports was a prisoner moved on to the third stage of his incarceration—transportation.” (Edgar (2018), p40) --0--