Chapter 4: The 1880 Election – Parnell’s Election and My Defeat in County Cork

Parnell and Dillon, with Healy^[1] as their secretary, were in America when the 1880 Election came on,^[2] and Davitt, Biggar,^[3] O’Kelly,^[4] James F. Grehan^[5] and I, with a good many others, went to Cork to meet Mr. Parnell on his return. Some arrangements had been made about contests and candidates, chiefly by Messrs. Davitt and Biggar. I made Biggar’s acquaintance in Cork. I had Cork County arranged and was in communication with leading Tenant Right men in other parts of the country. Parnell travelled part of the way to Dublin in different carriages in order to learn all about the state of affairs. A meeting was held next day in the League rooms, but there was no money to fight the Election. Mr. Davitt had absolute control of the League treasury,^[6] and he contended that the money was not subscribed for Parliamentary uses. I thought at first that he was not serious, but he was more, he was determined not to spend the money of the League on Parliamentary contests. This was Davitt’s view, and Brennan and Egan concurred. “But,” I said, “you are surely not going to allow foes to take up all the high places just for the fun of pulling them down? You can make a revolutionary use of the Parliamentary machine as well as every other political weapon. Get your men elected and don’t let them go to England. Keep them at home and start legislation on your own account.” But it was no use. Mr. Davitt and the advanced men were firm and a week was lost which left very hurried and hot work afterwards. The following Sunday, Mr. Parnell and Mr. O’Kelly went to a League meeting at Enniscorthy where the platform was attacked by a powerful body of extreme men, inspired by Father Joe Murphy and O’Clery.^[7] Among other casualties, Mr. Parnell got his trousers torn from the boot to the hip. He stitched it roughly and wore it during the Election campaign. O’Clerys bludgeon men were more convincing than my arguments, for Mr. Davitt lent Mr. Parnell £1,000 to fight the Elections. I stopped away at my farming during the drifting week, but when I got Monday’s paper I drove to Dublin in haste and met Mr. Davitt and Lysaght Finegan^[8] in O’Connell Street. “Well,” I said to Mr. Davitt, “what now?” He rejoined: “I have advanced money on loan to fight the Elections. He is over in Morrison’s^[9] and he wants to see you.” “All right,” I said. “Where is Finegan going?” “I am going to Ennis,” he says. I asked: “Are you going to win?” “Well,” he says, “if we don’t win we’ll burn the town.” Of course he did win. When I got to Morrison’s I found Parnell and Judge Little in conference. When the judge saw me he exclaimed: “Here is the man for Kildare!” “No,” says Parnell, “Kettle helped to get us into the trouble and now he seems not to care how we get out.” “Now,” I said, “you know that is not true. How much better would the position be if I had my way a week ago.” “Oh, I admit you were right then, but what are you going to do now?” “Anything you want me to do.” “Well, will you come to Kildare?” “Yes. Kildare or any other place you can order me until the Election is over.”

We went to Kildare on a midday train, and had a rare scene with Alderman Harris^[10] in the carriage going down. The Alderman was one of the candidates for Kildare, and he begged and prayed Mr. Parnell to get him adopted with a fanatical fervour I shall never forget. When we got to Athy, which was the nomination place, we found that Father Farrelly and young Kavanagh had a candidate ready in the person of Mr. James Leahy^[11] who represented it for years afterwards. Mr. Parnell turned to me and said: “This fat man will be no use. He will fall asleep in the house. I must propose you.” I never meant to go to Parliament if I could help it, and said: “He will do very well. You may want me somewhere else.” He was not half satisfied, and he cross-examined Mr. Leahy as to how he would be able to attend and sit up at night, but the candidate said “Yes” to everything. So, as his friends were insistent, he had to take him. Father Nolan of Kildare Town was holding a Harris Meldon meeting at the Market House when he came out, but Mike Boyton^[12] moved somebody else to another chair and started a Leahy meeting on the same platform, so after a little Father Nolan said he would not play second fiddle to anyone, so he bid us good-bye and left. When the meeting in Athy was over there were three candidates from Carlow with cars waiting to get Mr. Parnell to go to Carlow and ask them to retire. There were four altogether, but as there was only one required they wanted to make a merit of necessity and retire at Mr. Parnell’s request. We drove to Carlow by a good road on a beautiful evening and there was an Election meeting held at night at the College, at which Mr. Charles Dawson^[13] of Dublin and Limerick was adopted for the Borough seat. Father Kavanagh,^[14] a great admirer of Parnell, presided. The two county seats were managed by the people of Carlow without reference to Parnell and E. Dwyer Gray^[15] and McFarline^[16] were returned as Independents. After dining with the retired candidates, of whom Count Plunkett^[17] was one, Mr. Parnell and I started late at night for Co. Wicklow to be present in Rathdrum at the selection of candidates next day. We stopped at Tullow and got about three hours’ sleep, and started in the grey of the morning to Woodenbridge to catch the early train to Rathdrum. I learned on that occasion a good deal about Mr. Parnell’s experience as a farmer and cattleman. He had done a good deal in the stock line but not much in tillage. One of his comments was that anyone could sell cattle but that it takes a good judge to buy them right. On the run down to Rathdrum I got my first view of Avondale.^[18] It looked from the railway carriage more remote and romantic, like something standing apart, than I ever thought it did afterwards viewed from any other point. We did not go near it that day, but visited Father Carberry and kept moving about Rathdrum (it was a Fair day) from Dr. O’Dwyer’s to, I think, a Mrs. Comerford’s.^[19] We had a band and held two or more meetings. The meeting of the clergy was rather late and protracted, but Parnell hung around although I was tired and sick. But as usual he was right. Only he was about his men would not have been adopted. Corbett^[20] and a stranger named McKoan^[21] were his men, but they later had to fight a Mr. O’Mahony^[22] I think and won only by four votes. We held a meeting in the evening in the town of Wicklow at which I first met Mr. Corbett. On our way to Dublin we travelled with Mr. Toomey, the chief Conservative Election agent for Wicklow and an old acquaintance of Mr. Parnell’s. He was the man whom Mr. Parnell had removed from the Court House when he was High Sheriff of Wicklow. I never listened to a more interesting discussion on politics between two men, Toomey bantering Parnell for leaving the landlord’s lines and ridiculing the new order and the new men, Parnell defending and striking back all round. On our way from the railway to Morrison’s Mr. Parnell pressed me to tell him seriously who had the best of the bout.

Parnell had to attend a meeting at Navan the next day where he got a great ovation from his own constituents, so I got a day off for my farming. When I got to Morrison’s the following morning, he was at breakfast with Arthur O’Connor^[23] whom I met for the first time. He told us about the great meeting at Navan, but I was after reading about a meeting at Cork where the clergy, led by Dean Neville,^[24] made a bad attack on the new Party. I asked him if he read the report. “No,” he said, “What did they do?” “Well,” I said, “they denounced you and all your works, and someone has nominated you for the City so you will have to go to Cork.” “I cannot go,” he says. I have to go to Maryborough^[25] with O’Connor, and Wicklow will be lost unless I visit Baltinglass.” Well, I handed him the newspaper and he read a little of the report, when he exclaimed, “Those priests, will they never keep quiet!” This was the only positive reflection in words I ever heard him utter about the clergy.^[26] After a little thinking he says, “Yes, I must go to Cork. I tell you what I’ll do. I will go and fight the City and you must fight the County.” I said, “The County is settled. Shaw^[27] and Colthurst^[28] have been adopted by the Farmers Club, and all the leading men are pledged to support them. Shaw was pledged to seek a commercial seat in the City if the farmers decided to start a man of their own. Last week they wanted £400 or a man, but they got neither. So the county is settled.”

We went to Maryborough and got Arthur O’Connor started for the Queen’s County.^[29] During the lunch after the public meeting a wire was handed to Parnell, when he stood up sharply and waving the telegram called for a cheer for Ennis and Finegan. So Clare was still the Banner County.^[30]

Mr. Parnell and I started for Cork by the night mail and got there very late, but late and all we were joined at Blarney, I think, by Mr. Riordan, President of the Cork Farmers Club, and some others. They were delighted that Parnell was going to fight the City, but they were shocked at the notion of upsetting the arrangements in the County. In fact they would not hear of it. They told him that if he had sent them a man or £300 the week before they could carry the County but now “we are all pledged to Shaw and Colthurst and we cannot go back on our promise.” He did not push the matter any further, but the very mention of a County contest had a very bad effect on the fight in the City. We arrived in Cork on Friday night and next morning some of the prominent City men called on Parnell, to explain how the matter stood. There were four nominations: Daly, Home Ruler^[31]; Murphy, Clerical Whig^[32]; Goulding, Conservative^[33]; and Parnell. At the beginning there was complete mystery about Parnell’s nomination. The Cork men thought Parnell got himself nominated, and Parnell thought the Nationalists had him nominated, and would consequently have arrangements made for the fight. But instead of that we found all Cork at sixes and sevens about the whole business. We learned a little later in the day on Saturday that it was the Conservatives who advanced the nomination money to an enterprising nephew of Dan Riordan’s, to start Mr. Parnell to break the Whig Murphyite Party and give their man a chance.^[34] They did not expect that Parnell would turn up in person. There was nothing but doubt and misgivings and distrust expressed by about six sets of deputationists who called on Parnell. No one seemed to have the least idea of what should be done, and no one volunteered to do anything until some time in the afternoon a little man with bright eyes, Alderman O’Dwyer, I believe it was, called by himself and said, “Mr. Parnell, you have got to fight this election. No one in Cork seems to be in a position to help you. Just take my advice and make your own arrangements and hold a meeting this evening in some prominent or populous place in the City, and another tonight here in the hotel, and a meeting in the Park tomorrow.” Monday was the polling day. This advice was at once put into operation by a very able solicitor, Mr. Horgan, who was appointed Parnell’s agent, and one only priest, Father O’Mahony, C.C., and I think Tim Healy came on the scene some time on Saturday. There was a small attendance at the evening meeting. There was a great crowd in the street opposite the Victoria Hotel^[35] at night, but all the City seemed to be in the Park on Sunday. It was a beautiful, sunny, calm evening, and only on that and on one other occasion did I ever see Parnell put forth what appeared to be his full powers. He elected to speak from the driving seat of a very high brake where he stood alone. He spoke like a man inspired, and his measured and deliberate but passionate tones rang out to the most distant of the 15,000 or 20,000 people in Cork Park. That speech secured his return, but only to second place, as the public mind of Cork was in a terrible state of confusion as to what was right or wrong just then.^[36]

For all the confusion in the City Mr. Parnell did not give up the notion of fighting in the County. He secured the services of one of the best men in Cork to get a nomination paper filled but so complicated was the case that it took John Heffernan of Blarney four hours going round the markets on Monday morning to get eight men who were not pledged to Shaw and Colthurst. When he got the paper which had to be lodged the same day I fought strongly against standing under the circumstances. Quite a scene took place at my resistance in the presence of Edmund Farrell of Queenstown^[37] and Tim Healy. I asked and pressed Mr. Farrell to stand and Mr. Parnell said, “Yes, Mr. Farrell or any suitable man would do.” Farrell refused, and Mr. Parnell laid his hand on my arm with such force that I turned sharply round and met his gaze. His next words were spoken in a low tone and were, “Will you let me have my way this time.” “Yes,” I said, “and the responsibility.”^[38] My name was put on the paper, but I was so dissatisfied that I turned up at the nomination place only at the very last moment. It was upstairs in a building that was being repaired and it was difficult to get to the stairs, but Mr. Parnell was there and he took me by the arm and literally carried me up just as the clock stood at the last minute of the time. He arranged about the fight in the County and I pretended I had to go to Dublin. So we both travelled in a sleeping saloon where I got such a cold as prevented me from speaking much during the contest. He went on to Leitrim or some place he was expected next day, Tuesday. The only man available to come with me to Cork was F. H. O’Donnell. He came to the Imperial Hotel^[39] in Dublin and was to have joined me at Kingsbridge^[40] on Thursday, but when he saw the joint manifesto of the four bishops who exercised spiritual jurisdiction over Cork County, denouncing my candidature, he declined to enter on such a contest. So I had to go alone and I went on to Queenstown, as Mr. Farrell was the only Tenant Right man in the County who was free to fight. I asked for an interview with the Bishop, but he declined to see me. I returned to Cork that night and met enthusiastic supporters of Parnell in the Wilson family who kept the hotel, and Bill Cahill the famous racing man and a lot of able free lances and Fenians. I was joined next day by that gloriously good dashing Irishman, Lysaght Finegan, who was after winning Ennis. I took no part in the arrangements, but I went by myself to a meeting that had been called in the Farmers’ Club headquarters, but when I got to the door I met a lot of leading farmers coming tumbling out, having been ejected by the free lance politicians and Fenians, and so the County contest was fought with the leading men out of action.^[41] I visited a few towns with Finegan but did little of the work, but I fell into a position in Macroom where I had to strike out to save my own skin.

We were met at the railway station by four fine-looking clergymen who spoke out at once and called us Garibaldians. I was unlucky enough to have a rug with red stripes on it.^[42] It was a fair day, and we decided to go along by the fair green which was in a valley with the road running on a narrow strip of high ground round it. There seemed to be a strong gathering of Colthurst men about as he was holding a meeting later on in the town. The priests and their party who were armed with good sticks followed us, and the crowd was augmented as we went along. When they got us in the narrowest part of the road they called on the people to attack and drive us out of the place. We were hustled off the road very sharply down the green a bit but we decided not to retreat. We got round a cart with a good lamb creel^[43] on it, and this we mounted and Finegan shouted for fair play. We both commenced speaking at different sides of the cart round which a great crowd had gathered. The priest addressed the same crowd from the high ground at the road some perches^[44] away. After about twenty minutes we got the crowd well under control, Finegan talking all the time, and I putting in an odd shot. We told the people not to assault the priests; not to insult them, but to stand together and to push the priests’ party on before them down the road to their chapels and their prayers. This the people did in jolly good humour, and thus ended what at one moment seemed to be an ugly fix.^[45] There is only one other episode worth noting in the Cork election. Finegan and I slept at the New Railway Hotel at Mallow and were out early walking about before breakfast. The head porter came along and asked us did we see the Chief. “The Chief is away in such a place at present,” says Finegan. “Well, you’ll find him in No. 6,” said the porter, “he came in the night.” We bounced into No. 6 and found Parnell wide awake lying on his back and the sun shining on the bed. After the first greeting he says, “Do you know, Kettle, what I have been thinking about for the last few minutes?” “Well, I give it up, so you may as well tell us.” “Why, the land does not belong to the landlords at all.” I answered, “Is it only now you found that out?” “Yes, just within the last hour.” “Why,” I said, “I called them the head stewards of the National Property years before I heard of Davitt or Henry George. In addition, they are unjust stewards who want to confiscate what the people put in and on the land.” “Yes,” he says, “the Irish Land System seems to be bad all through.” A. M. Sullivan wrote a brilliant article on my startling pronouncement.

On the polling day the 250 priests in County Cork turned out and kept watch and ward at all the polling stations. I saw them at the places I visited, and a fine body of men they were, but of course they were politically wrong, and they were all round on my line in about twelve months afterwards. When T. M. Healy’s wire reached me in Dublin announcing that I was beaten by 154 I silently thanked Heaven that I was out of the Parliamentary groove for the time being.

One other matter occurred during the general election that gave Parnell some trouble in after years and threw out another man who had the ability to play many a useful part as a follower of Parnell, but who drifted by being thrown out of the current at this election. Philip Callan^[46] was member for Dundalk and a great follower of Mr. Butt’s. He made enemies by his outspoken and aggressive advocacy of that great old man. Some of these enemies urged Parnell to favour Charles Russell’s candidature against Callan. I had great opportunities through the Tenant Right organisation of getting authentic information on many things throughout Ireland. I advised Mr. Parnell to let Callan alone. “You may put him out of Dundalk, but if you do, he will be returned for Louth in spite of you.” In the midst of the Cork election in a crowded room he held a telegram up the other side of the room announcing that Callan was returned for Louth.