h of September. At
twelve o'clock on that day, the principal inhabitants met to consult
with Mr. Galwey, the magistrate, as to what course they should adopt in
the emergency. Whilst thus engaged, Dr. Donovan, who had been on
professional duty, rode in from the country, and announced that a body
of men, consisting, as far as he could judge, of from eight hundred to a
thousand, appeared on the outskirts of the town. They were marching in
regular order, ten deep. Twenty-two years after the event, Dr. Donovan
thus narrates the cause of this extraordinary movement, and the
impression made upon his mind by the terrible phalanx, on its appearance
before the trembling town of Skibbereen: "Some difficulty," he says,
"occasionally arose in making out the pay lists," and as the people were
entirely dependent for their day's support on their day's wages, great
suffering and inconvenience resulted from the slightest delay. In
addition to these causes of inconvenience, supplies of food had
sometimes to be procured, and on this particular occasion serious
consequences had nearly resulted from the obstinacy of an official, (a
Mr. H----,) a commissariat officer, who boasted of his experience in
matters of the kind, during the Peninsular campaigns of the Duke of
Wellington, and who refused to allow any food to be sold to the people,
although ready money was offered on the spot. An additional difficulty
arose when it was made known that extensive works in the neighbourhood,
upon which over one thousand persons had been employed, were stopped.
Great excitement was the result, and it was determined by the whole body
of workmen employed upon the Caheragh relief works, to march into
Skibbereen, levy contributions, and enforce compliance with their
demands. About twelve o'clock in the day, a number of persons, amounting
to about a thousand, marched in the direction of the town, and had
nearly reached their destination before the fact was made known. I
believe I was, myself, one of the first who saw the approach of those
once stalwart men, but now emaciated spectres; and cannot describe
adequately the interesting appearance of the body, as they marched
along, bearing upon their shoulders their implements of labour, such as
spades, shovels, etc., which, in the glitter of a blazing sun, produced
a most surpassing effect. Immediately a most exciting scene took place.
Under the apprehension that shops would be rifled, shutters were put up
and doors