A recent letter addressed to Our Editor revealed the shocking experience of a family subjected to ongoing harassment by an aggressive mob. The letter detailed the relentless attacks on their home, which eventually forced the family to vacate their residence. As a direct consequence of the harrowing ordeal, the individual who penned the letter is currently bedridden due to illness. This tragic situation highlights the extent of the family’s suffering and the lasting impact that these terrifying encounters have had on their well-being.
Sir,
On Friday, May, my daughter being ill, I sent for Dr Long. That night the door to the room was broken into by a mob, who crowded the stairs from the streets. They threw stones into the room, breaking five panes of the window and almost hitting our four-month-old baby. My wife was also stoned and her can was smashed.
Later that evening, a Catholic priest named Timothy Ryn came into the room and confronted us, accusing us of causing annoyance to his people. I responded that if they were his people, they were a disgrace to their clergy. He then said, “Go back; you will only have half of it and you won’t have the best of it.” I asked him to leave the room, but instead, he walked over to the window and said he would stay as long as he liked, and that Dr Long was not a proper person to bring to our people. He left the room eventually.
On June 4th, I received a letter from our landlord, who advised us not to rely on the police for protection, and urged us to leave our location soon. The letter also mentioned that we were defying the local people, which would only make matters worse. Subsequently, I was served with a notice to quit the room by the landlord’s agent, James Monaghan.
As a result of this harassment, I am now bedridden with a sore throat and chest, and cannot speak. Our water supply has been cut off, our key has been taken away, and our windows have been constantly targeted. My daughter even had a stone thrown at her eye, which is now black. My wife and daughter were provided with a police escort to the railway station when they left for Cork on Friday, but their departure was made difficult by the hostile crowd. I wanted to make these facts public, as I am a struggling man and cannot support my family due to my illness.
Hugh McCabe
19 Broad Street, Limerick, 8th June
Belfast News-Letter – Tuesday 11 June 1901