Owen Mcgreal

343

Maureen Withey on 21st June 2023

Irish Convict Database, by Peter Mayberry. Owen McGreal, age 46, Per Forth (3) 1835, Tried Leitrim, 1834, Life for Forgery. DOB, 1789, native place, Leitrim Co. Married, 3 female children. Catholic.. Trade: Landed proprietor. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- National Archives. Criminal Petitions. HO 17/100/140. Date. 1835 Aug 21 – 1835 Aug 24. Prisoner name: Owen McGreal. Court and date of trial: Summer Assizes, 1834, Ireland, [location not stated]. Crime: Forgery. Initial sentence: Transportation for life. Annotated (Outcome): [Nil]. Petitioner(s): Catherine McGreal the prisoner's wife, forwarded to the Home Office in a letter from Sir Herbert Taylor, Windsor Castle. Grounds for clemency (Petition Details): Prisoner has wife and seven children without support. Additional Information: Prisoner sailed from Cork on the transport ship Forth in February 1834 and is now in New South Wales. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Owen Magrale stood indicted for forging a bond and warrant of Attorney, and having the same executed and uttered. Francis M’Partland, examined by Mr. Burke. Lives place called Cavan, in the County of Leitrim; knows prisoner for some time; passed him a bond for £25 and promissory note for £15 Mr and prisoner made contract and witness was handed over tenant to prisoner ; witness paid out of the bond £310, £2, £1 10s. and £1 12s.6d costs; the bond came into the possession of James Magrale, and to him he paid the remainder of the sum; witness never passed Owen Magrale, the prisoner, any bond but the one; never passed him warrant of Attorney; often saw prisoner write and knows his writing; [Here document was handed to witness.] witness’ name at the bottom that document is not in his [witness’] writing; it is Magrale’s writing, to the best of his belief; the date of the bond that he passed to prisoner, was July, 1833, Cross-examined by Mr. Fitzgibbon. Witness held land from Mr. James Bartley, and was noticed to pay rent to Owen Magrale; he payed Magrale rent for 2 years; ceased to pay him rent in witness pays rent now to Miss Catherine Bartley and to prisoner’s sister; pays 7s. fid. yearly; If this warrant be proved to be forgery, witness will get out of the debts; of course he does not owe it, but if that proved to be a genuine warrant, witness will obliged to pay money he docs not owe: prisoner prisoner is convicted, witness must not pay, acquitted must; witness has other papers bearing his real signature; [Here the witness produced some papers which he deposed to bear his signature ] the signature that paper [shewing one] is not all the Same as on the warrant; if witness, as a stranger, saw the three signatures, he would not say the same hand wrote them; prisoner lent witness £l2 in May, 1832, and passed him his note for 125 principle and [£3] interest tor 12 months; when that note was due, he passed his bond tor £25. out of which he paid £2 15s. £1 12s. 6d. (for costs of latitat,) and £1 10s.; James Magrale got the bond and put it into the hands of attorney Croker, and witness paid to him the difference from what he paid prisoner, to the amount of the bond; prisoner wrote to witness to say, that if he paid any more money to James Magrale, he would bring down an execution on him; prisoner said that James Magrale stole the bond from him, but it was after witness had taken it up. Mr. examined—knows the prisoner at the bar. [The warrant was handed to witness.) He gave witness that .... ... Roscommon and Leitrim Gazette, 19 July 1834.