Whiteboys in Ireland..."transported" in the 1830s to Australia as convicts

[allycat]

Dear Rootschatters,

Were anyone's ancestors white boys?  That is to say, they were part of secret societies that existed in Ireland protesting against English Protestant landlords.

I have been finding out that a lot of my forbears were 'transported' to Australia for "illegally swearing oaths" in the 1830s aboard the various ships of the time, the James Laing, the Parmelia, Parmelia II, etc. along with all the others in their white feet group.  It is told that they were informed upon by one of their own, Kavanaugh, who was not transported.

They were 'lifers' in Australia and I happen to think they were rather heroic.  One can't imagine the conditions they endured, and not for personal gain of themselves, but to bring attention to the suffering of others.

I am proud of my ancestor/s and wish I could tell them.

Allycat, Australia.

[kidja]

In 1837 one of my ancesters, a young widow Murphy from Ballynatona, Wicklow, was put in jail to be tried at the next assizes for Whiteboyism. This was during a period where many tenants were in arrears and there was a lot of unrest.

A year later through fear of further unrest there was reference to "Ballynatonas wiil be found guilty and transported, they will be tried at the next assizes" . However because there was no evidence of Whiteboyism the widow Murphy and the other tenants in Ballynatona remained in possession of their land.

Catherine

[Christopher]

Hiya Allycat and Kidja,

The Whiteboys (formed about 1759) were so called because many of them wore white when they went out on their nightly raids. Maybe the Klu Klux Klan, formed in America over 100 years later, based themselves on the Whiteboys. It would be interesting to know if anyone had ancestors in the Carders, Terry Alts, Rockites, Whitefeet or Thrashers. These were some of the names by which the Whiteboys were known in later years. 

Christopher

[surfcity]

Hi Allycat,

My gg granduncle was sent to Australia for "swearing unlawful oaths" in association with the theft of arms in Tipperary. He was Denis Dillon Martin and he arrived in 1835 on the "Hive 2" which was sunk in Wreck Bay, just south of Sydney. Only one life was lost, most made it to shore. I too am very proud of Denis. My gg grandfather Michael, followed him out in 1855, along with other family members, so we have Denis to thank for coming to this Country.

[kreewater]

My 2x great grandfather was a Whiteboy and transported for Life also. With great respect, I think you should read a little more about the movement before thinking of them a heroic". Regardless of their motives,  their tactics were lawless and sadistic and murder cannot be condoned at any level.  Many times they did not attack the landowner, but rather the poor tenant farmer because he had no way to defend himself.  After reading so much about them, my 2x great grandfather is NOT someone I would think of as "heroic".
They were also a cowardly lot, it would seem, thinking nothing of having many men pick on one.  Not too proud of my ancestor I'm afraid!

kreewater

[Ada Zeeks]

The Whiteboys were not a new thing in the 1800s, there were similar issues in the 1700s and they had various names including ribbonmen.  It was agarian violence for lots of reasons.... rent, taking of land, the famine... there were multiple and ongoing clashes and uprisings.

The Whiteboys were not angry because of religion... the landlord was the landlord and if they were 'difficult' then the attacks, murders and crimes crossed over any perceived religious barrier.  Roman Catholic landlords were attacked too....  It just happened more to the protestant or ANglican because they were mainly English or aligned with the ENglish.

In 1824 the Parliament in England passed the Insurrection Act... it was tough, but 1830 they did the Whiteboy amendment to that Act, which meant any perceived threat or intimidation was enough for the tenants to be tried for crimes against the government.... treason.

There were special juries set up which meant these convicts were processed and transported faster than most, because they were seen to be a threat to the 'peace' of Ireland.... although there was never really peace, there were ongoing and multiple issues. But the agarian violence was dealt with quickly.  Eg... arrested in March and transported by June... which happened to a few I have researched.

I think our perspective of them can be mixed.  We can't judge people with todays standards or todays laws and whilst we know violence is wrong, the ethics of oppression is too, there were unscrupulous landlords who were awful and I can see why they were attacked. When the famine was in Ireland, the landlords did not let their tenants even fish from streams, rivers or the ocean, which I feel is unforgivable.  The Irish landlords suffered too... when tenants couldn't pay, they still had bills to pay or staff to pay wages for.  The English government almost ignored the Irish landlords, with the requirement on landlords to provide relief for their tenants.... but soon their money ran out too. There were landlords murdered because of their treatment of tenants... and in the case of Mahon from Strokestown (who was killed).... his estate had become so fragile with finances that it was cheaper for him to ship his tenants/workers and their families to the US than pay their wages.

There was no side that was innocent.... it was a terrible time and terrible situation. We can't judge them on a situation we have never been in.

I do feel proud of people who stand up to bullies... those who stand up and speak out.... although I don't condone violence... I feel their violence was simply because of their desperation for the situation they were in.

IN answer to your question, yes I have a whiteboys in my ancestry and whilst I don't like the violence, i appreciate the reasons for it. They were protecting their families and not giving up without a fight... but it was always going to be unfair on them.. the English just made new laws which made the Irish suffer more.  And I really do have my heart feeling the pride of the Irish and their stand that they didn't want England to take it...  Of all things we should pass to our descendants, its the love and respect for our ancestors and what they sacrificed for us....because they came to new worlds with nothing, so their descendants could have  a better life than they had... and we do.