William Smith O'brien

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greg petersen on 14th June 2020

1849 Wednesday 24th October,entry in the Maitland Mercury & Hunter River General Advertiser, Shipping Intelligence: H.M.S. Swift, 6 Guns, in which O'Brien, Meagher, and the other Irish state prisoners were to be forwarded to Van Diemen's Land, is a brig, and not a schooner as formerly stated; she is also going to the South American station.-The Swift, 6, was commissioned at this port on Tuesday, by Commander Aldham, who had charge of the Sphynx; her complement is to be sixty-six men. She is to be fitted with all dispatch, and is reported to sail in a few days for the Pacific, to be under the orders of Rear Admiral Hornby, and will go by way of the Cape and Van Diemen's Land. The following officers have been appointed to her: - Lieutenant James E. Bickford; Mates Henry Hawkes, Richard Onslow; Paymaster and Purser, Arthur A. Speed (acting) ; Second Master, E Rowe; Surgeon, John H. Patterson.- Plymouth Paper, June 28.

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greg petersen on 16th September 2017

A Parliamentarian, he took part in the Young Irelander Rebellion. In 1848 the Irish Confederation, a group of Irish rebels tried to overturn the Act of Union with Great Britain in what became known as the Young Irelander Rebellion in Ballingarry, County Tipperary. After the revolution failed four conspirators were tried at Clonmel on the 22nd October 1848 for High Treason: Terence Bellew McManus, William Smith O'Brien, Thomas Francis Meagher and Patrick O'Donoghue they were sentenced to be hanged drawn and quartered. Due to public pressure the sentence was commuted to life transportation in 1849 to Van Diemen's Land, Tasmania on board the Swift. In 1852 MacManus and Meagher escaped making their way to San Francisco, California, where MacManus settled, O'Brien's attempt at escape was thwarted, then in 1854, he was released on the condition of exile from Ireland, he lived in Brussels for two years then finally in 1856, O'Brien was pardoned and returned to Ireland, dying on the 18th June in 1864. O'Donoghue became a thorn in the side of the Governor of Van Diemen's Land, Sir William Denison, publishing a newspaper describing his life and punishments in great detail. He was twice sent to the chain gang for his actions before he too escaped, first to Port Phillip in 1851 aboard the Yarra Yarra and from there he joined the others in America, dying in 1854 on the 22nd January in New York City.