“Patrick M’GUIRE, County Fermanagh. 
  “John Reilly, County Cavan. 
  “Patrick M’KENNA, County Monaghan. 
  “John Durkin, County Mayo. 
  “Patrick Reilly, County Derry. 
  “Patrick Doyle, County Sligo. 
  “John Farrell, County Meath. 
  “Thomas O’RORKE, County Leitrim. 
  “James M’MANUS, County Leitrim. 
  “John M’MAHON, County Longford. 
  “Patrick Dunn, County Tyrone
  “Patrick Hamill, County Westmeath. 
  “Daniel Gallagher, Glasgow. 
  “John Murphy, Liverpool.”

It will be noticed that of the twelve Irish counties represented above, six are in the province of Ulster, three in Connaught, and three in Leinster, so that the Hibernians appear to have had their stronghold in the Northern province and the adjoining counties in Connaught and Leinster.  This is exactly as one might expect, seeing the necessity for a defensive organisation against the Orangemen of Ulster.  The Order took deep root in Glasgow and Liverpool on account of the convenience of access by sea from Ireland to these cities.

I was too young to have known John Murphy, who signed the letter for the Liverpool Hibernians, but, from what I knew of these afterwards, it is likely that he was a dock labourer.  As I will show, these men, over and over again, to my own knowledge, gave splendid proofs of their courage and love of creed and country.  Their love of learning, too, has been equal to that of their fathers in the days when our country was “The Island of Saints and Scholars.”  Some of these poor men may not have had much learning themselves, but they made great and noble sacrifices that their children should have it.  I noted with interest in the Irish papers recently that the name of the Secretary of the Hibernian Order at the Bridge of Mayo, County Down, was “Brother Denvir.”

Our country sent over to Liverpool, besides sterling Nationalists, as bitter a colony of Irishmen—­I suppose we can scarcely deny the name to men born in Ireland—­as were, perhaps, to be found anywhere in the world.  These were the Orangemen.  If there was one place more obnoxious to them than another it was the club room of the Hibernians in Crosbie Street.  But though in their frequent conflicts with the “Papishes” they wrecked houses and even killed several Irishmen—­for they frequently used deadly weapons against unarmed Catholics—­they were never able to make a successful attack on McArdle’s.  One of my earliest experiences was being on the spot on the occasion of a contemplated assault on the Hibernian club room on the day of an Orange anniversary.  This was in 1843.

Parallel to Crosbie Street, where the club room was situated, was Blundell Street, where my uncle, Hughey Roney, lived in a house immediately behind McArdle’s—­the back door of the one house facing the back door of the other.  This side of the street, with the whole of Crosbie Street, has long since been absorbed by the railway company before mentioned.