Thomas Eyre Lambert (25 April 1820 – 1919) was an Irish

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

and

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Overview

Lambert was the son of Walter Lambert and Anne Eyre. He married Sarah Trousdell in August 1850, but died without issue. Lambert gained the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the service of the

38th Foot The 38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1705. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 80th Regiment of Foot (Staffordshire Volunteers) to form the South Staffordshire Regim ...

. He was at one time a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

(J.P.) in

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 = ...

. He was a descendant of

John Lambert of Creg Clare John Lambert of Creg Clare ( fl. c.1610 – c.1669) was an Irish soldier and Royalist. Life A native of County Galway a Hiberno-Norman, Lambert is described as "an officer in Lord Clanricarde's Regiment in the Duke of Ormonde's Army in Ireland ...

. Between 1869 and 1871 he was one of the principals in an

attempted murder Attempted murder is a crime of attempt in various jurisdictions. Canada Section 239 of the ''Criminal Code'' makes attempted murder punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. If a gun is used, the minimum sentence is four, five or seven ye ...

case which gained national and international attention.

Eviction of the Barrett family

Captain Lambert inherited his father's estate in 1867, at Castle Lambert, a few miles northwest of Athenry. In 1869 he evicted the Barrett family from their farm at Moorepark, close to Castle Lambert. Folklore in the Athenry area relates that during a hunt, a rider asked if Barrett's house was that of Lambert's brother, Thomas. On being told that it was actually the home of a

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants ...

, the hunt members laughed. Shortly after this, the Barretts were evicted, moving to Swangate in Athenry. News reached Peter Barrett, one of the family's older children, who was at the time working as a

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in London.

The shooting

On Sunday evening between 9pm and 10pm, 11 July 1869, Captain Lambert was walking up the avenue of Castle Lambert, returning from dinner at his brother's home in Moorepark. He encountered a man wearing a bowler hat in the shadow of lime trees. When Lambert asked the man to identify himself, the man remained silent, leading Lambert to set his small dog on him. At this the man faced Lambert, pointed a revolver and shot five bullets from no more than twelve yards. He then ran off through a group of trees called "The Rookery". Lambert had been shot twice in the stomach with another

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in his

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. If not for his hard hat, the bullet would have likely impacted his brain and killed him. Lambert rose, staggered towards his house and raised the alarm, with the local Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC), sealing off the Athenry area. Shortly before 10pm, Peter Barrett appeared at Athenry railway station, where he bought a ticket for London. He then proceeded across the road to the Railway Hotel, drawing attention by several requests to members of staff as to what time it was, despite the hotel clock being plainly visible. He was noted as wearing a tall hat. He stepped on the train bound for Dublin. Few policemen were in Athenry, as many had been relocated to

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

to deal with the usual 12 July disturbances, but sub-constable Hayden was alerted in time to board the train where he noticed Barrett. As he fitted the description given by Captain Lambert, he was arrested and taken off at Woodlawn station, between Athenry and Ballinasloe. The following morning he was identified by Captain Lambert as his attacker.

Trial of Barrett

The trial of ''Regina versus Barrett'' was held in Galway in September 1869. Barrett was defended by Isaac Butt, who proceeded to attack the prosecution case. Barrett had been searched but no sign of the revolver. Butt uncovered inconsistencies in Lambert's evidence, and scored a major victory when he determined that Lambert (a

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) had suppressed some crucial facts. His efforts were successful in undermining Lambert's credibility. The jury was unable to deliver a verdict, leading to a second trial being held in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. By this stage, the media had given events detailed coverage and made the case front-page news, becoming a high-profile example of the Irish question, concerning both tenant's rights and

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. For a second time, the jury could not give a unanimous verdict, leading to all charges against Barrett been dismissed.

Other shootings

In the mid-to-late 1800s,

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 = ...

had an especially bad reputation concerning land disputes. Some incidents of the times included: * James Connors, shot March 1881. * Peter Dempsey, shot May 1881. *

Maumtrasna Maumtrasna (alternative spelling ''Maamtrasna'') is the highest peak in the Partry Mountains in south County Mayo, Ireland. The Srahnalong River runs southwest from the peak to the westernmost shore of Lough Mask. The townland of Maumtrasna is ...

murders of 1882, in which nine members of the Joyce family were shot to death. *

John Henry Blake John Henry Blake (1808 – 29 June 1882), was a murdered Irish land agent. Biography John Henry Blake was the third and youngest son of Lieutenant-Colonel John Blake of Furbo, County Galway and Maria Galway of Cork. He was a member of one of T ...

, shot June 1882.

References

External links

* http://www.familylambert.net/History/bios/thomas.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Lambert, Thomas Eyre 1820 births 1919 deaths People from Athenry 19th-century Irish military personnel Place of death missing Date of death missing 28th Regiment of Foot officers Military personnel from County Galway 19th-century Irish landowners Irish shooting survivors