Joseph Lenaghan

343

Maureen Withey on 25th April 2022

https://stors.tas.gov.au/CON13-1-1P29 List of Convicts to VDL per Lady Nelson. (to NSW per Providence.) Edward Carrol, age 30, Tried County of Limerick, August 1810, Life. Bad. Michael Sheile, age 55, County of Dublin, October 1809, 7 years, Gardener. Joseph Lenaghan, age 27, County Westmeath, August 1809, 7 years. Good. John McCue, age 35, City of Dublin, Sept. 1809. 7 years. Francis McGavern, age 30, County Cavan, March 1809, Life, Good. Eleanor Doyle, age 20, City of Dublin, June 1810, 7 years, Indifferent. Judith Quinlan, age 19, City of Limerick, August 1810, 7 years, Very bad. Ann Byrne, age 30, City of Dublin, March 1809, 7 years. Mr Mills. Indifferent. Note underneath: N.B. Francis McGavern, mentioned in the extract above from the Indents of the Providence, is not embarked as had been intended, he having absconded. 29 June 1812. Signed Thos. Campbell.

71

Robin Sharkey on 14th January 2014

IriSH PETITION, dated 15th March 1810. Joseph Lenaghan sent his own petition to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. At that time in 1810 he was aged 26. In seeking amelioration of his sentence he said he had a wife and one child. The Chief Justice (the trial judge) did not support mercy being shown writing that there were no grounds for mercy to be shown.

71

Robin Sharkey on 13th January 2014

Joseph Lenaghan arrived on the Providence in July 1811. He was aged 27 on the ship's muster prepared before embarking from Cove in Dec 1810. He was married with one child. He was tried at Mullingar Assizes, County Westmeath on 28 July 1809. He was found guilty of all three indictments of which he was charged: 1. Uttering a forgery by antededating a Deed of assignment of land (forgery) and then producing the document in court as the attorney of one of the parties to it (Uttering). 2. for subordination of perjury by procuring a witness to swear that the deed had been signed on the date stated on it and to have witnessed that fact 3. for conspiracy to defraud James Grady (through the exhibiting of the deed at a trial). His trial was reported in the Freemans Journal dated 3 August 1809, p2, from which is the following summary: Lenaghan was Attorney for Maurice Finegan and was also Attorney for George Russell the elder and his son George Russell the younger. The "back story" was that George Russell, the elder, had properly made a lease of lands, called Ardbuckan in County Westmeath, to James Grady. Then Grady, within his rights under this lease, had brought a legal action of ejectment against Maurice Finegan so as to recover the lands. Joseph Lenaghan was acting as attorney for Finegan to defend him against the action for ejectment. Unfortunately to defend his client, and to deprive James Grady of his rights (defrauding him by conspiracy) Lenaghan engaged in all the criminal acts with which he was charged. He changed the date on a certain Deed of Assignment of land made in 1809 from George Russell the elder to George Russell the younger to a much earlier date of March 1802, for the purpose of establishing that Finegan (who had the action of ejectment brought against him) had in fact leased the land from George Russell the Younger, when he really had not, and for the purpose of defeating the proper lease James Grady had taken from George Russell the elder (under which he claimed to eject Finegan). He also made it appear that the Deed of Assignment between the two Russells had been witnessed at the time including by one Richard Matthews who swore at the ejectment trial that the Deed had been witnessed in both his presence and the other witnesses' presence (the other being claimed by attorney Lenaghan to be now dead) on 17th March 1802. This witness at the ejectment trial had been procured and suborned by Lenaghan to give false evidence. The case had been clearly proved, including by the prisoner's own letter to Russell. The Judge (who was the Chief Justice of Ireland) said he intended to pronounce the severest judgement the law would warrant but as there were doubts about how long Lenaghan could be transported under the particular Statute, he postponed sentence on the first two counts, but ordered Lenaghan back to prison for one year on the conspiracy and to be placed in the public pillory three separate times. Lenaghan was finally sentenced on the forgery and perjury counts 9 months later when the Court sat again at Mullingar on 16th and 17th March 1810, when he was sentenced to be transported for seven years. AS a "Special" i.e. an educated convict, he was given a Ticket of Leave almost straight away, two months after arrival, on 1st September 1811. * Does not appear to have tried to practise in the NSW Court although three other ex-convict barristers were doing so (Edward Eager, George Crossley and George Chartres) until 1814 when newly arrived judge Jeffrey Bent refused to hear them in his court. * One year after arrival, on 29 June 1812, he went to Tasmania on the "Lady Nelson". He received a 50 acre land grant at Sorell in Tasmania. * August 1816 at Port Dlarymple, Tasmania (later named Launceston) he contributed £2 to Waterloo soldiers' fund. * His original sentence would have expired by March 1817. * At least during second part of 1817 he was Clerk to the Magistrates at Port Dalrymple (VDL Police Fund accounts noted his half year's salary to 31 Dec 1817 being £7 10s) * He was still Clerk to Magistrates and Commandant at Port Dalrymple as at 30 June 1819 (at the same salary)