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Tribute to Vincent Scully, 8 Mar 1891

  
Details transcribed from a mysterious piece of green silk, with lettering in gold leaf, inherited by my mother, whose grandfather Patrick Condon was the 'Hon. Secretary' of the group responsible for producing it.




 Irish National League of Great Britain

====================

We the members of the Jersey branch of the above League,
hail with delight the temporary residence amongst us of such an
esteemed and philanthropic Irishman as VINCENT SCULLY, Esq.

  We recognise his presence here to-day as a proud distinction
which we will not soon let pass from our memories. We feel it
an honor to be acquainted with a gentleman who has distinguished
himself as a true patriot, both practically and sentimentally, and we
earnestly hope that he will be spared to see his fond hopes realised,
and that when we have a Legislature in College Green to make the
Laws of Ireland for Irishmen, Mr VINCENT SCULLY will find a place
therein, where, we feel sure, his great knowledge of the Country
 and her people will enable him to prove of invaluable service to the

                well-being of all classes of the community.

On behalf of the Branch,
 
We are very respectfully,
 
 


J. HEALY, President
   

G. TIERNEY, Vice-President
   

J. MARKS, Treasurer
   

P. CONDON, Hon. Secretary


" God Save Ireland "


     ST. HELIER'S, JERSEY,		  
                         March 8th, 1891.
 		  


The copy above hardly does the thing justice.  It is slightly larger than A4 size, with unstitched edges.  The writing is surrounded by a fancy ornamented border, also in gold leaf, with an elaborate pattern filling each corner.  The 'W' of the first 'We' is an intricately patterned box - rather like the illuminated initial letters of an old bible.  The spelling of 'honor' could signify some American involvement, but I believe that it may have been an acceptable spelling in 19th century Victorian England.  It was certainly spelt both 'honor' and 'honour' during the 18th century.

My guess is that the piece of green silk was intended to be framed, and presented to Mr Scully.  As it is still in my family's possession, I presume that Mr Scully probably never received it?  Maybe he didn't turn up?

In an effort to find out more about The Irish National League of Great Britain, and Vincent Scully, I tried the local library.  Found several references to a Vincent Scully, MP (Member of Parliament) for Cork from 1852-1857 and 1859-1865.

I also tried the Web for 'Vincent Scully', and found Louis Scully's site "Famous Scullys in History", with several famous Vincents [the site has since disappeared, and cannot be found].  The MP for Cork was not our man, because he died in 1871.  Louis Scully is pretty sure that it was Vincent's son, also Vincent, who was expected at St Helier in 1891. Louis sent the following information about this Vincent Scully -

"Vincent Scully born 1 August 1846 at Mantle Hill, Golden, County Tipperary, Ireland (his parents were Vincent James Scully and Susanne Grogan).  In 1870 he became High Sheriff.  His first marriage was to a Emma Eliza Mary Clare Baron on 28 November 1871 in Ireland.  His second marriage was to a Amelia Eliza Netterville on 22 July 1897 also in Ireland.– Vincent died on 2 November 1927 in Dublin, Ireland."

Back at the library, in "A New History of Ireland, Volume 8", subtitled "A Chronology of Irish History to 1976, A Companion to Irish History, Part 1", I noted the following references to the Irish National League (and it's leader, Charles Stewart Parnell), and Vincent Scully  -

17 Oct 1882 Formation of The Irish National League at a national conference in the Antient Concert Rooms, Dublin.
26 Sep 1883 Meeting of The Tyrone National Registration Association at Auchnacloy, County Tyrone, and an Orange counter-demonstration; the beginning of the "invasion of Ulster" by the National League.
19 Aug 1887 National League proclaimed a "dangerous" association, under 50 & 51 Vict., C.20, S.6.
15 Nov 1890 William H O'Shea awarded a decree nisi in London, because of his wife's adulterous relationship with Parnell.
18 Nov 1890 Pall Mall Gazette demands Parnell's retirement.  The central branch of The National League, at a meeting chaired by John Redmond, reaffirms their confidence in Parnell's leadership.
6 Dec 1890 The Irish Party splits, the vote being 28 followers of Parnell, with 45 against.
8-22 Dec 1890 North Kilkenny by-election campaign - an at times violent contest between Parnellites & anti-Parnellites.
12 Dec 1890 Parnell arrives in Kilkenny to campaign for Vincent Scully.
22 Dec 1890 Sir John Pope Hennessy (anti-Parnellite) defeats Vincent Scully (Parnellite) in the North Kilkenny by-election, by 2,527 votes to 1,362.
7 Nov 1895 Executive of The Irish National League of Great Britain expels [Tim] Healy and replaces him with [Michael] Davitt.
10 Mar 1927 Conference in Dublin of The National League, a political party founded by William Redmond [son of John].

As far as I know, The Irish National League of Great Britain was a non-violent Irish nationalist organisation, but Parnell himself, although a legitimate MP of the Irish Party in the Westminster Parliament, was often accused of having links (not proven) with terrorist organisations.

Further research still required.......

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Page last updated: 13th December 2005, e-mail: martin@hagger.org