a few words respecting the fate of this Rebel Army and its leaders.
FATE OF THE REBELS.
After proceeding some distance from Clonard, along the Dublin road, they turned to the right and took up their quarters for the night in the village of Carbery—where they possessed themselves of Lord Harberton's house, and indulged in drinking wine and spirits to excess—they were most of them intoxicated, in which state had they been attacked, they must have been totally destroyed.—But the force at Clonard was too small, had suffered too severely and expended too much ammunition to attempt a pursuit—On the morning of the 12th of July, the Rebels moved from Carbery to Johnstown, and from thence by the nineteen-mile-house into the county of Meath—They were pursued by Lieutenant Col. Gough, with a small party of the Limerick Militia, and the Edenderry yeomen—An express had been sent to Col. Gordon, commanding at Trim, to march out with a force from thence, and co-operate with the Edenderry detachment—Col. Gordon
accordingly left Trim with 200 men and two pieces of cannon, but from some fatality, yet unexplained, did not join in the attack, which Lieutenant Col. Gough, after waiting some time and reconnoitering the enemy posted upon a hill, commenced against them, with only sixty infantry and twenty cavalry. The event of that engagement is well known, the Rebels were compleatly defeated, leaving immense booty of cattle, &c. behind them.
They were next pursued by General Myers, with detachments of the Dublin Yeomenry and Buckinhamshire Militia, and tho' the General was not fortunate enough to overtake them, yet he drove them towards Slane, where they were attacked by General Meyrick, and in several subsequent days were met by different military bodies who successively routed them, so that at length this formidable body was completely dispersed.
CHARACTER OF COL. PERRY, AND PRIEST KEARNS WHO WERE EXECUTED.
Every man who surrvived thought only of providing for his own safety—Col. Perry and Father
Kearns made their escape into the King's County, and were attempting to cross a bog near Clonbollogue, where they were apprehended by Mr. Ridgeway and Mr. Robinson of the Edenderry Yeomen, who brought them to that town, where they were tried and executed by martial law. Perry was extremely communicative, and while in custody both before and after trial gratified the enquiries of every person who spoke to him, and made such a favourable impression, that many regretted his fate—He acknowledged, that 150 of the rebels were killed and 60 wounded at Clonard—which tho' accomplished by 27 men will not appear extraordinary, when it is known that these 27 men fired upwards of 1300 ball cartridge.
Kearns was exactly the reverse of his companion—he was silent and sulky, and seldom spoke, save to upbraid Perry for his candid acknowledgements—The history of this Priest is somewhat extraordinary—He had actually been hanged in Paris, during the reign of Robespierre, but
being a large heavy man, the lamp-iron from which he was suspended, gave way, till his toes reached the ground—in this state, he was cut down by a physician, who had known him, brought him to his house and recovered him. He afterwards made his escape into Ireland;—was constituted a Curate of a chapel near Clonard, and having suffered so much by democratic rage and insurrectionary fury, he was looked upon as an acquisition in the neighbourhood, then much disturbed by the defenders—He inveighed against these nightly marawders with such appearance of sincerity and zeal, that he was frequently consulted by the Magistrates, and sometimes accompanied them in their patroles—Some suspicion of treachery on his part was at length entertained, from the uniform discovery of the operations agreed upon by the Magistrates, in consequence of which, he was excluded from their councils, and a positive information being sworn against him for instigating a murder which was afterwards actually committed, he fled into Wexford, where he became a member of an assassinating committee,