This was a book which took more than six months to scan and proof. It rambles all over the place and is, in turn, supremely interesting and extremely boring. The Appendix is a book in itself.

So who really informed on Lord Edward? Just about everyone did, could or would have if they'd been offered the money. Extremely popular when published it went through many editions, each one adding information to the last. Trying to keep track of the cast of characters is a full-time job. A book for dipping into - not to be read in one sitting. [KF. Oct 2000.]

"The Sham Squire and the Informers of '98" by William J. Fitzpatrick. 1866.

PREFACES.
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CHAPTER I.
The great Annesley Trial. - Wonderful Adventures. - Murder of Patrick Higgins. - Early Struggles and Stratagems of the Sham Squire. - How to Catch an Heiress. - All is not Gold that Glitters. - A Jesuit Outwitted. - Moral, that clergymen should be slow in introducing suitors without inquiry. - Judge Robinson. - John Philpot Curran. - The Black Dog Prison. - Uprise of the Sham Squire. - Lord Chief-Justice Clonmel. - Sham Statesmen as well as Sham Squires. - Irish Administrations of Lord Temple and the Duke of Rutland. - The Beautiful Duchess. - Anecdotes.

CHAPTER II.
Peculation. - The Press Subsidised and Debauched. - How to get up an Ovation for an Unpopular Viceroy. - Lord Buckingham. - Judges Revel at the Board of the Sham Squire. - A Pandemonium Unveiled. - Lord Avonmore. - A Great Struggle. - The Regency. - Peerages Sold. - John Magee. - Lord Carhampton. - Mrs Lewellyn. - Squibs and Lampoons. - The Old Four Courts in Dublin. - Dr Houlton. - The Duke of Wellington on Bribing the Irish Press.

 

 

CHAPTER III
Lord Clonmel and the Fiats. - Richard Daly. - Persecution of Magee. - A Strong Bar. - Caldbeck, Duigenan, and Egan. - The Volunteers to the Rescue. - Hamilton Rowan. - Artist Arrested for Caricaturing "the Sham." - A neat Stroke of Vengeance. - More Squibs. - Ladies Clonmel and Barrington. - The Gambling Hell. - Inefficiency of the Police. - Magisterial Delinquencies Exposed. - Watchmen and Watches. - Mr Gonne's Chronometer. - Juggling Judges. - Outrages in the Face of Bay. - Ladies unable to Walk the Streets.

CHAPTER IV
Magee's Vengeance on Lord Clonmel. - Hely Hutchinson. - Lord Clare. - The Gods of Crow Street. - Renewed Effort to Muzzle Magee. - Lettres de Cachet in Ireland. - Seizures. - George Ponsonby and Arthur Browne. - Lord Clonmel crushed. - His Dying Confession. - Extracts from his Unpublished Diary. - Deserted by the Sham Squire. - Origin of his Wealth. - MoreTurpitude.

 

 

CHAPTER V.
Hairbreadth Escapes of Lord Edward Fitzgerald. - Testimony of Lords Holland and Byron. - A Dark Picture of Oppression. - Moira House. - Presence of Mind. - Revolting Treachery. - Arrest of Lord Edward. - Majors Sirr and Swan. - Death of Captain Ryan. - Attempted Rescue. - Edward Rattigan. - General Lawless. - Lady Louisa Conolly. - Obduracy of Lord Camden. - Death of Lord Edward Fitzgerald.

 

 

CHAPTER VI.
A Secret well Kept. - The "Setter" of Lord Edward Traced at Last. - Striking in the Dark. - Roman Catholic Barristers Pensioned. - A Lesson of Caution. - Letter to the Author from Rev. John Fetherston-Haugh. - Just Debts Paid with Wages of Dishonour. - Secret Service Money. - An Ally of "the Sham's"' Analysed. - What were the Secret Services of Francis Magan, Barrister-at-law - Shrouded Secrets Opened.

CHAPTER VII.
Was Higgins Guiltless of Oliver Bond's Blood? - Walter Cox - Reynolds the Informer - William Cope. - Insatiable Appetite for Blood-money. - A Dark and Painful Mystery. - Lord Wycombe Walks in the Footsteps of Lord Edward Fitzgerald, and Spies Follow in the Footsteps of Lord Wycombe.

 

 

CHAPTER VIII
Effort of Conscience to Vindicate its Authority- Last Will and Testament of the Sham Squire. - A Tempest Roars Round his Death-bed. - Kilbarrack Churchyard. - A Touching Epitaph -Resurrectionists. - The Dead Wateher. - The Sham Squire's Tomb Insulted and Broken. - His Bequests.

 

 

APPENDIX - Jottings about Ireland 70 Years Ago..

Baratariana. Reynolds the Informer and Mr. William Cope. The Mystery Surrounding Emmet's Grave.
Toping 70 Years Ago. "Deeds relating to Higgins, Magan and others, preserved in the Registry Office, Dublin. The Sham Squire's Bequests.
How Lord Buckingham Punished Jephson and Purchased Jebb. MacNally and Turner. Judge Robert Johnson.
Slang Satires on Shamado and his Friends. John Pollock. O'Connell, "A United Irishman."
The Irish Yeomanry in 1798. Walter Cox - Dr. Brennan. The Rebellion in Wicklow - Fusilade at Dunlavin.
Mr. Macready's Statement. Abstraction of Papers from the Castle Archives. Reminiscences of the Rebellion.
Jemmy O'Brien. MacGuickan, the Treacherous Attorney to the United Irishmen. The Rebellion in Kildare.
General Lawless. Treason in Ulster - Houlton. Projected Rebellion in Cork - Secret Service of Father Barry.
Lord Edward Fitzgerald. Cockaigne the English Spy. Informers not Confined to Ireland.
John and Henry Sheares. Sir Jonah Barrington. Supplemental Note about Mr. Waller and Miss Monro.
The Reign of Terror in Ireland. Emmet's Insurrection. The Step-ladder, or a picture of the Irish Government as it was before Lord Cornwallis's arrival, and during the System of Terror, etc.
Home.