Memories Of 1798

Rev. Thomas Alexander, minister of Cairncastle, told me (November, 1841) that on the morning of the 7th of June, 1798, he was at the house of his sister, who died near Crumlin, and on the following day (Friday, June 8th) he came on a. car with his sister, a servant, and five gallons of whiskey, from Crumlin to Cairncastle without molestation. They travelled, how ever, purposely by an unfrequented road. They saw Templepatrick in flames, and when they came to Ballynure, the people were carrying the furniture out of their houses to save it from the soldiers. He arrived at Cairncastle on Saturday, and preached to his people the following day. Mr. Alexander had attended a meeting of United Irishmen before the "turn-out," which was held in Lame, in the house of Mr. Johnston (grandfather of Mr. Thomas Kirkpatrick and Mrs. Sam. Alexander). At this meeting, a man called IJunbar, clerk in the Inver Mills, was in the chair, and he proposed that the Town of Larne should send a. deputation to the French Convention. The meeting adopted the proposal, and further resolved that their chairman should be deputed for this purpose, but he declined the honour. Dunbar was afterwards drowned as he was returning from a Baronial meeting; or rather, lie got a severe cold, in consequence of his horse swimming the river, from which he never recovered. After the turn-out, Mr. Alexander was arrested under the following circumstances. A man called Bob Major, of Belfast, who was deeply concerned in the rebellion, had taken refuge in Cairncaslle, and for several weeks had escaped detection in the houses of Mr. Shaw, of Ballygally, Mr. Lewson (the senior minister), and Mr. Alexander. At length, arrangements were made to have a boat round in Ballygally for to take him off, and Mr. Alexander, Mr. Shaw, and one of the Sweenys (of Lame) went out a little from the shore to reconnoitre for her at the appointed time and place. la the meantime, the boat for which they were on the look-out had been taken by a revenue cruiser, and they, not perceiving how matters stood (for the boat was really in the wake of the cruiser) went on until it was too late to return, for the officer in command of the cruiser, hailing them, said, "Come on, gentlemen. When yon have come so far, don't turn back." So he made them go on hoard the cruiser, where he treated them with the greatest kindness, but told them that they must consider themselves as prisoners, seeing that they were evidently attempting to escape from the country He, therefore, took them with, him to Carrickfergus, but allowed the boatmen to return to Ballygally. Mr. Shaw, who had all along suspected that matters were as they turned out to be, was confined for about a week, and Mr. Alexander for about a fortnight, in the Market-house of Carrickfergua.The life of old Dr. Agnew was saved by Rev r.obert Campbell, of Templepatrick, who gave the doctor secret intimation of the approach of the soldiers, when they came to search his (Campbell's) house for him, as they had been told that he was there. In conseqence of this warning, Dr. Agnew, who (according to old Jamey Burns) then kept a public-house in Templepatrick, had time to make his escape, but his house (he then lived in Templepatrick) was burned. Dr. Agnew was deeply concerned in '98. A meeting of United Irishmen was held at his house on Tuesday, June 5th, two days before the turn-out, at which it was determined to seize the magistrates at their public meeting in Antrim on the following Thursday, the 7th of June, which brought on the Antrim fight. It was to Dr. Agnew's house also, in Templepatrick, that the two volunteer guns were brought out of Belfast, which were hidden in Templepatrick Meeting-house, and one of which was used at the battle of Antrim. The reason of ihis house being used as a rendezvous was that it was a public-house. The late Sam. Kirkpatrick, of the Point, in Lame (who died about 1861, at the age of 81), was & member of the Lame Corps of Yeomen in '98. On ooe occasion he was of a party of that corps who were sent, under the command of Lieut. Baillie, of Alien's Brook (now Millhrook, near Lame), to seize a man for whom a reward of ^50 had been offered. On reaching the house to which their private information directed them, they had to search a loft where a lot of flax was stowed, and to which ihe approach was by a ladder and a very small trap-door. Sam. Kirkpatrick being a very little man, much the least man in the party, he was ordered to go up to the loft by his officer, who said to him, " Now, Kirkpatrick." On getting up to the loft, which was dark, and putting out his hands to search, the first thing he caught was the leg of the man for whom they were looking. He gave it a good squeeze, but said nothing ; and, instead of uncovering his pri/e, he proceeded very deliberately to toss over the whole of the fiax, and lay it carefully on the top of the poor rebel, so as effectually to conceal him. He then rejoined his party below stairs, and told them that he had searched the whrle loft, and there was no man there; when they all went away. The man escaped, and, being afterwards pardoned, went to live as a weaver near Connor. Many years afterwards, Sam. Kirkpatrick, who had thus saved him, happening to be travelling that road, called at his house, and found him sitting at his loom. The weaver did not know who he was, but, hearing him say that he was from Larne, he asked if the Larne Yeomen were in force yet. Sam. Kirkpatrick told him that they were "broken," or disbanded. The weaver said there were some decent men amongst them. Sam said that he supposed they were like other men, some good and some bad. " There was one decent man in them, at any rate," said the weaver, " for he saved my life, when I was very nearly gone." "Oh," said Sam, "was that the night when I caught you by the leg, and covered you up with the flax when you were hiding in the loft?" The man jumped from his seat, and his joy at seeing the man who saved him may be imagined. (Sam. Kirkpatriizk told this anecdote to Billy Hamilton,)