Defenders (Ireland) - The Forkhill Disturbances

The Forkhill Disturbances

For some time Defender violence in south Armagh increased and it was at the small village of Forkhill that perhaps its most notorious incident took place. In January 1791, the home of the local schoolmaster, a Mr Barclay, was called upon by a body of men. Recognising one of the group, Barclay let them into his home. The crowd rushed in whereupon they strangled Barclay until his tongue came out which they then cut off, along with three of his fingers. The same treatment was then given to Barclay's wife - her tongue removed along with a thumb and four fingers - and her brother who had his calf removed.

While this was reported in the newspapers, the Annual Register of 1791 says that the Barclays and their 14-year-old son's tongues and fingers had been 'chopt off', but not that they had died. 'So black and atrocious an act stands unparalleled in the annals of this country'. The Register was edited by Edmund Burke.

Tension had also been rising in the area following a controversial will which had been interpreted as not allowing Catholics to buy land or renew their leases. Barclay was a Protestant and had refused to allow the local Gaelic speaking children to speak anything but English, and to only say Protestant prayers. He had been given the job by the local landlord Edward Hudson who sought to improve the area, largely by replacing the local tenantry, and as such was very unpopular. The action was an excessive punishment for Mr. Barclay's social crimes, and so the real underlying reason was the non-renewal of farming leases.