Martin O'Halloran was a member of

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

Land League The Irish National Land League (Irish: ''Conradh na Talún'') was an Irish political organisation of the late 19th century which sought to help poor tenant farmers. Its primary aim was to abolish landlordism in Ireland and enable tenant farmer ...

, .

Biography

O'Halloran was Secretary of the Kiltullagh Branch of the Irish Land League. He was bound over to the police for having made a

seditious Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, establis ...

speech at

Craughwell Craughwell (historically ''Creaghmoyle'', from ) is a town and townland in County Galway, Ireland. Name The name Craughwell is also used as a surname, properly '' Ó Creachmhaoil'', though often anglicised as ''Craughwell'', ''Croughwell'' and ...

in the course of which he threatened to disarm the police, called upon herds to leave their employment and claimed that landlords "were shaking like bulrushes in a bog." Imprisoned March 1881 under Forster’s

Coercion Act A Coercion Act was an Act of Parliament that gave a legal basis for increased state powers to suppress popular discontent and disorder. The label was applied, especially in Ireland, to acts passed from the 18th to the early 20th century by the Ir ...

. The

Loughrea Loughrea ( ; ) is a town in County Galway, Ireland. The town lies to the north of a range of wooded hills, the Slieve Aughty Mountains, and the lake from which it takes its name. The town's cathedral, St Brendan's, dominates the town's skyline ...

area was then notorious for outrages and murder. A leading activist and campaigner, he reportedly held considerable influence in the area. He was active at the time of the murders of James Connors and

Peter Dempsey Peter Samuel Dempsey (born 31 March 1986) is an Irish racing driver from Ashbourne, County Meath. Dempsey began his pro career in Formula BMW UK in 2004, finishing 22nd. In 2005 he finished second in the Formula Ford Walter Hayes Trophy race a ...

, and other assaults in the area. The Special Commission, held in the

Royal Courts of Justice The Royal Courts of Justice, commonly called the Law Courts, is a court building in Westminster which houses the High Court and Court of Appeal of England and Wales. The High Court also sits on circuit and in other major cities. Designed by Ge ...

in 1888, was told that O'Halloran was the president of the Tubber branch of the Land League, and that he spoke at Land League meeting on 12 December 1880 in

, challenging the English Government, claiming that in 24 hours he could dissolve all the police in Galway and urging the people to boycott the police. The Commission was told that O'Halloran was arrested in April 1881.

References

Sources

* ''As The Centuries Passed: A History of Kiltullagh 1500–1900'', edited Kieran Jordan, 2000 * ''The District of Loughrea: Vol. I History 1791–1918.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:OHalloran, Martin Irish land reform activists Members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood People from County Galway 19th-century Irish people

Biography

See also

References

Sources