When 10,000 gathered in Moate to welcome back political prisoners

One hundred years ago this week 10,000 people gathered in Moate to welcome home the men known as the Mount Temple prisoners. Eugene Robins was chairman of the Athlone No 1 Rural District Council and along with fellow Mount Temple men Thomas Fallon, John King, James Daly and Edward Claffey had spent two months in Tullamore prison. The men were members of the United Irish League who were agitating for a fairer distribution of land. Under a 700-year statute any man who was charged could not call a witness on his own behalf and this statute was used to place the men in jail. The Mount Temple prisoners did not purge their 'guilt' and a major campaign for their release took place, including the setting up of a defence fund, with all the contributors listed in the local paper along with the amount they subscribed. The men were released on September 8 and went to Dublin to recuperate and to get ready for their return to Moate. The return was scheduled for September 12 and would start in Kilbeggan. The various branches of the United Irish League were allocated positions on the march and many local bands were also told when and where to join the march. Those on horseback were to lead the way; four a breast, with participants encouraged to travel by horse. The prisoners met the march in Kilbeggan where they were brought by dray to Moate. The meeting in Moate was attended by two members of the United Irish League of America, Capt O'Meagher Condon, a legendary figure who was sentenced to death with the Manchester Martyrs in 1867 and who avoided the hangman thanks to 'the American flag flying over him'. His declaration from the dock in 1867 'God Save Ireland' became a byword for all Irish nationalists thereafter. Condon was accompanied by National Secretary of the United Irish League of America John O'Callaghan. The two were in Ireland to present John Redmond with $12,000 which had been raise in the USA. Reports afterwards stated that there were no police and no sign of any of the local magistrates at the gathering which passed off totally peacefully. The presence of the US representatives was, it was claimed, the reason there was no aggressive police presence, the powers that be not wanting reports of police activity brought back across the ocean. Speaking to the crowd after receiving a 'splendid ovation' Eugene Robins told the crowd "that if he was to live for 100 years he would always look on that day as the proudest of his life, because of the honour which the people were conferring on him and his friends." He also stated that they were prepared 'to go on with the agitation' and 'as the late Mr Kruger told the rotten British Government, they were prepared to fight them to the bitter end' The monster meeting was addressed by a large number of speakers with the crowd appreciating, in particular, the support promised by Condon and O'Callaghan. One hundred years later as we contemplate difficult financial times it is appropriate to acknowledge the contribution of the Mount Temple Prisoners who paved the way for the work which was later achieved by the Land Commission.