High Crimes and Misdemeanors

One of the best quotes I have ever read is this: "The Irish are a fair minded people, they never speak well of one another." I would love to give credit to the source of that quotation, but I read it so long ago, I just don't remember the source.

Now to the point. The 1641 depositions provide eye-witness accounts of what was happening in Ireland in the aftermath of the 1641 risings. The deposition of Alice
Campion (Champyn) of Shannock, County Fermanagh, of 14 April 1642 states that one of those involved in the killing of her husband, Arthur, was Redmond mc Owin Maguyre of Annaharde. On the evidence, in light of the opening quotation, I take it that Alice herself was Irish to say such a terrible thing. (Still, she is just as likely to have been English).

An investigation held in Fermanagh in 1641, during the reign of Charles I, provided information on the leasing policy on the estate in the county that was originally granted to John Sedborough in 1610. It was recorded that the tenants in possession of Tateconnell, Gallan and Dromsur were Redmond McOwen McGwire and Rosse McGuire.

Without more information, which may yet be forthcoming, it sounds as if the property might have been under the over sight of an agent of an absentee landlord. And, it may turn out that Mr. Campion (Champyn) was that agent. It may also have been, in the eyes of the perpetrators a justifiable homicide. I await the rest of the story from William Roulston of the Ulster Historical Foundation.

At this point, there is no proof that I am descended from said Redmond, and on his behalf it must also said that this statement is true of me as well. This is just one example of the unexpected things that are found when poking around genealogical resources.