INISTIOGE'S NOTORIOUS RAPPAREE



Inistioge, a beautiful village in Co.Kilkenny, nestles in the valley of the Nore. James Freney, a man whose exploits alarmed and excited the south-east of Ireland over 200 years ago, was born here in 1719. Unlike many other rapparees and highwaymen of the eighteenth century, he died in his bed His father, James and his mother, Ann Phelan, also of Inistioge, worked for Joseph Robbins, the master of Ballyduff, near Thomastown, a few miles away. His father worked his way up to become steward of the estate. Mrs. Robbins, who died in 1742, had taken a fancy to his young son, James, and paid for his education When Joseph Robbins died in 1824, his son George inherited the estate. He employed James as a trainee butler when he was about 16. James however, was wild, fond of gambling, dancing, hurling and cockfighting. He had little interest in his work. About 1743, having married a local girl called Ann, who had a small dowry, they headed for Waterford. He spent his own savings and his wife's dowry on a public house there. This provoked opposition because he was not a freeman of the city. After a short time he was forced to close down and leave the premises. Back in Thomastown, he was soon in debt. He owed his creditors £50, a huge sum in those days, which he could not pay.At his wit's end, he met John Reddy, a member of the Kellymount gang of robbers. James Freney joined the gang and began his career as a highwayman and robber. He had a bay mare named Beefstakes. His first hold-up near Gowran, earned hm £50. As became typical, he gave his victim £1.13.10d to cover his expenses home ! His old employer George Robbins hired him as a groom. From Ballyduff he led a hectic night life with his gang, robbing around south Kilkenny and Wexford. His forceful character soon made him head of the gang and earned for him the title "Captain".Tradition tells that he worked in Ballyduff by day, but when guests arrived, he stole away to their houses to rob them. He was back in time to help them mount their horses in the morning. There is a degree of irony in the story that, alarmed by the robberies in the area,his employer paid James to protect his house against the marauders. That year, 1745, James contracted smallpox and lost the sight of one eye. He was a small man and marked now that his face was pocked. Despite loosing one eye, however, it did not diminish his shooting skills. He left George Robbins when he recovered and moved further afield, robbing now in County Waterford, and now in County Wexford. The myth about him grew - that he was a Robin Hood character, robbing the rich and open handed to the poor. Most robberies were carried out for his own benefit however. Under suspicion atlast, he travelled to Cork to lie low. From there he went to England in 1747. He posed as a merchant in Bath and Bristol. Back in Ireland, he was now closely watched, but he extended his activities into Kildare and Laois. He preyed on travellers on the Kildare and Waterford roads. One incident with a military Officer's wife gained him a name for the grand gesture. Because she had only two and a half guineas in her purse, he gave them back to her. The law caught up with him in 1748 when he and James Bolger were proclaimed as "Tories, Robbers and Rapparees". They had until August to surrender or suffer the charge of high treason. This meant death for them. The net tightened when a £100 reward was offered for his capture. James Freney negotiated a pardon for himself through Councillor Robbins, his old employer's brother, and Lord Carrick. He bargained for his own freedom by betraying his companions. In August 1749, at the Kilkenny Assizes, seven of them were found guilty and hanged. Three others were hanged the following year. He lay low for a few years and in 1754 he published his autobiography. Whether written by himself or with the help of a hedge-school master, it was very succesful. The Life and Adventures of James Freney was reprinted atleast seven times over the following hundred years. It was even used as a text book in some hedge schools. James Freney must have still had influential friends, when in 1776 he was employed as a Supernumerary Tidewaiter (a kind of Customs Official), at New Ross Port. A case perhaps of setting one thief to catch another. He was paid £5 a Quarter (year) for this work. He held this post until his death in December 1788. He is buried in an unmarked grave in Inistioge. Some of his hoard is reputed to be buried on Brandon Hill, near Graigenamanagh. It has never been discovered - yet !

Imelda Kehoe©All Rights Reserved. WHERE IS THE TREASURE on. ...... BRANDON HILL?