By Ann Murphy, Terelton, Co. Cork

Being a predominantly agricultural country in the past, Ireland has a well-documented history of agrarian disturbances, particularly in the late 18^th century and early half of the 19^th century. Many counties all over the country can lay claim to having its own share of agrarian skirmishes and in the period of the 1820s, agrarian violence was particularly evident in Cork.

As historian Maureen Wall notes, agrarian societies had been a major source of aggression towards authority in the 18^th century. However, the rise of the Whiteboys in the latter half of this century was to set a precedent for the agrarian unease in different parts of Ireland throughout the rest of the century and well into the next.

Born in Tipperary in 1761, the Whiteboy movement was an umbrella term for the different breeds of agrarian societies which emerged in different parts of Ireland at different periods of the following century. For example, groups involved in the Whiteboy movement in Cork in the 1820s were known locally as the Rockites while in parts of Connacht, societies such as the Defenders and Ribbonmen existed.

Preceded by such groups as the Rapparees and the Tories, the Whiteboy movement bred a new departure for agrarian groups. Unlike the former groups, the Whiteboy movement was made up of people from the local communities in which Whiteboy groups operated. For example, at the Battle of Keimaneigh which was made famous by Maire Bhui Ni Laoighre’s song "Cath Cheim an Fhia", local men including the sons of the famous poet were involved in the battle against a group of yeomanry led by Lord Bantry.

Characterising the nature of the Whiteboy movement was the anonymity of the leaders of the groups. This anonymity can be attributed to the names which were given to some groups. The term Whiteboy was born from the name signed to many notes left by members of the Whiteboys after an attack – often signed at the bottom of these notes was the name Captain White. The Rockites and Rightboys were so-called because "Captain Rock" and "Captain Right" signed their notes.

Throughout the period of the Whiteboy movement, different reasons sparked the different outrages of agrarian violence. While famine and poverty in the wake of the Napoleonic War have been hailed as being among the reasons why the Whiteboys became so aggravated in West Cork in early decades of the 19^th century, the payment of tithes to the established Protestant church as well as the payment of rent were other causes of outbreaks of violence during the period.

Of particular significance may have been the belief which people put in the prophecies of Pastorini who predicted that Protestantism would be ended in 1825. In the following lines of Cath Chéim an Fhia, Máire Bhuí Ní Laoighre has drawn a close link between the activities of the Rockites at Keimaneigh and Pastorini’s prophecies – "Gurbh é deir gach údair cruinn liom sara gcríochna siad deire an fhómhair, Ins a leabhar so Pastorína go ndíolfaid as an bpóit (An authority has informed me that before the harvest ends the prophet Pastorini is declaring their measure).

Such was the situation all over Cork in the early 1820s that a contemporary newspaper carried a report in April 1822 which showed that the number of prisoners (120) facing trial at the assizes for involvement in Whiteboy activities was only lower than the number of prisoners being tried for robberies and other petty offences (127). According to the report, the figures were

"a painful record of the increase of crime in this county compared with the two preceding years."

By this time, many of those men who had been involved in skirmishes all over Cork county had been tried for their crimes. These included those who had been involved in the disturbances in West Cork.

As already mentioned above, among the more well known skirmishes of 1822 is that which took place at Keimaneigh, west of Ballingeary. However, arguably as important in the history of West Cork and the outlying areas are similar skirmishes which took place at Deshure in Kilmichael, Kilbarry in Inchigeela, Carriganimma near Millstreet, and a further incident at Newmarket.

In order to realise the intensity of the disturbance in West Cork at the time, it is important to view the whole series of events chronologically. While sporadic bursts of action erupted throughout January, the most significant events occurred in a couple of days towards the end of the month. Following is the full sequence of events during that month: