1.
I have a question I hope someone can help me with - when members were elected to Wicklow's Board of Commissioners in the early 1880's, they were required to take an oath of office before they could act as commissioners. Does anyone know what that oath was? Did it involve a pledge to serve the Queen, to recognise her and her ministers as Ireland's sovereign power, and Dublin Castle as their Administrative seat? I'd say it did, but I can't be sure.
I ask because I'm interested in Joe McCarroll, a Tyrone man who arrived in Wicklow town in about 1870 and established himself as 'a shipping broker and agent of the Dublin and Wicklow Manure Company'. Joe was to go on to become one of Wicklow's 'most prominent land agitators' (Donnelly, 1999, p. 9*). It seems he was first elected to the Board of Commissioners in August 1883, but didn't take the oath. At that time, all commissioners were legally obliged to take the oath if they wanted to act as commissioners. It simply wasn't enough to be elected per se. To act without taking the oath was to risk a severe fine. And anyone knowingly serving with a commissioner who had refused to take the oath, or who had simply neglected to take it within the requisite period, could also face a fine.
On Thursday September 6 1883, a meeting of the Town Commissioners of Wicklow was held at the Town Hall "for the purpose of electing four commissioners to act as representatives of the Town Council on the Harbour Board." Present were Joseph Smyth, the Chairman of the Board, A. Doolittle, W. Desaix, Dr J P Byrne, J Hamilton, Captain R. Halpin, Tynaston Edwards, J Flanagan and Joe McCarroll.
Robert Wellington Halpin, the Commission's long-serving Town Clerk and Harbour Board Secretary, was at home on his death bed, gaunt, jaundiced, spitting blood and still grieving for his wife, Frances, who had died the previous March. In his absence as Secretary to the Commissioners his son, Robert jnr, stood in. The role should have gone to the young man who had been trained for it - Edwin Francis Halpin. But Edwin had fled Wicklow after the scandal of the Marryat affair in 1876, and hadn't returned since. For that reason the role went to Robert jnr, who acted on his father's advice.
The election was held soon after seven o'clock in the evening, but Edwards and Flanagan had arrived too late to take part. After taking his seat, Edwards asked if he could cast his vote anyway. The Chairman (after much hesitation) said - As you were not here at seven, the hour named for the election, I cannot receive your vote.
At this point a number of commissioners expressed their dissatisfaction.
McCarroll, perhaps sensing that something was up, said - The Chairman is quite right.
To which Captain Halpin replied - Who made you Chairman?
After some heated discussion Mr Smyth agreed to accept the votes of Flanagan and Edwards. The resulting count was: Smyth 7, Carr 6, Flanagan 5, McCarroll 5, Doolittle 4.
Before the Chairman could announce the result, Mr Desaix stood up and asked if every member sitting at the board had taken the oath.
Mr Carroll, after much hesitation, was understood to say that he had not.
Mr Edwards rose to order - Mr McCarroll not having taken the oath was not at present a town commissioner, and had no right to speak or vote at the board. We cannot recognise Mr McCarroll as a town commissioner, therefore since he is not in a position to be elected a harbour commissioner, his name should be struck out of the return.
Mr McCarroll - If Mr Edwards takes that view I will ask the chairman to administer the oath to me now.
Mr Halpin (secretary pro tem) said he had received a letter from Mr Burkitt, solicitor to the board, in reply to a query as to Mr McCarroll's eligibility to sit as a commissioner. With the commissioners' permission, he would read it.
The Chairman (snappishly) - I am not going to allow you to speak unless you are called upon.
At this there were expressions of disapproval and cries for the letter to be read.