| Convict Ship Newspaper, The Wild Goose, Re-discovered page 2 Later in 1968, Messrs. Queale and Fitzgerald and Fr. Moynihan pieced together the story of its survival. When Flood died in 1909 (at Gympie, Queensland) he was survived by two daughters, Rosalie, the elder, and Mary. The former entered the Loreto order and ultimately became Mother Patricia. She died in 1961 at Loreto Convent, Kirribilli, North Sydney. It was to her that Flood had bequeathed his cherished manuscript, and some years later before her death Mother Patricia handed it over to her younger sister, Mary, (Mrs. Morgan) with a view to its going eventually to Flood’s grandchildren. Mary’s daughter (Mrs. Johnson) subsequently came into possession of The Wild Goose and it was she who presented it to the Mitchell Library early in 1968. In July of that year she wrote to Mr. Queale as follows: “It is amazing to me that the interest taken in The Wild Goose, as I had tried for 12 months to find someone interested in it or who knew something about the Fenians, but no one was very helpful. The Mitchell Library were the only ones, and they convinced me of its value . . . I knew I could not keep it any longer as it was so frail it would just fall apart one day. I certainly don’t regret letting them have it as it has been of such interest. I am quite sure it was the original, as it was the only one held by the two daughters of John Flood, Rosalie (who was Mother Patricia of Loreto) and my mother, Mary (who was Mrs. Claude F. Morgan). Aunt Rosie handed it to my mother for the purpose of its going to the grandchildren, as she felt it should be kept in the family, and that is how I happened to have it. It has been with us for well over 20 years now.” Mr. Fitzgerald, who has traveled to Sydney to examine it, has satisfied himself beyond any doubt that it is the original. In addition, he has found on it, in Flood’s handwriting, initials which denote the authorship of every contribution and give an invaluable guide to the pen-names used, e.g., “Binn Éider” is Flood himself; “Laoi” and “Kappa” are John Edward Kelly; “Mushra” is Thomas Duggan, “Beta” and “Delta” are Father Delaney. The Mitchell Library has allowed four xerox copies of the publication to be made, one each for Fr. Moynihan, G.P.Fitzgerald, Alan Queale, and one which has come to Ireland for a friend of Mr. Queale, Seán Ó Lúing of Dublin, author of Fremantle Mission, who has kindly loaned his copy to the present writer for the purpose of this article. A microfilm copy has been procured for the library of University College, Cork, from the Mitchell Library. The Cashman Diary Before surveying some of the more interesting contributions to The Wild Goose it is necessary to make some reference to another valuable and important Fenian document discovered in Australia by Mr. Fitzgerald, a copy of which he has supplied to the present writer. This is a typescript copy of a diary kept during the Hougoumont voyage by Denis B. Cashman, who had been a leading Fenian in Waterford and who in later life in the U.S. was to write a biography of Michael Davitt.(6) The typescript, which runs to 25 pages and indicates that the original manuscript diary ran to 28, was discovered by Mr. Fitzgerald in the J. S. Battye Library, Perth, some years ago and he was informed that it had been left there by a Fullbright scholar, Dr. Martin Carroll, who was engaged in research for a thesis on John Boyle O’Reilly entitled “Behind the Lighthouse,” a copy of which is now held in the library. The diary had been copied from an earlier typewritten version stated to be in the possession of the editor of the Ave Maria magazine, Indiana, U.S. In it Cashman gives many fascinating details of the voyage, but only those dealing with The Wild Goose are our concern here. Under date November 5, 1867, he records “a meeting held to see if we could start a newspaper. Meeting composed of Con Mahony, J. Flood, Duggan, O’Reilly, Cody, Casey, Noonan and self . . . J. Flood appointed editor, O’Reilly sub., Kelly manager . . .” Two days later it is recorded that on the suggestion of Ned Kelly the name The Wild Goose was adopted. Cashman himself was appointed to draw the artistic headings, a wreath of shamrocks with the name peeping through it. (This work became his most absorbing occupation throughout the rest of the voyage). The following are some further extracts from the diary: November 9—The Wild Goose made its appearance this evening . . .”; Nov. 10—“The Goose greatly liked last night—it was read by O’Reilly . . .”; Nov. 22—“I have been hard at work preparing The Goose for to-morrow; it promises to be a good number; this occupation pleases me very much”; Nov. 23—“Our third number of The Wild Goose out to-day; the leader on ‘Forethought’ excellent . . . some good poetry . . .”; Nov. 27—”. . . be gone dull care, I’ll endeavour to drown thought by weaving a wreath of shamrocks for next week’s Goose”; Dec. 6—“Hard at work all day for Goose . . .”; Dec. 18—“Up to my eyes in paper to-day weaving wreaths of holly and ivy and shamrock for the Christmas number of Goose . . .” In the last few pages of the diary is recorded the surprising news that so impressed were the captain and mates of the Hougoumont with the Fenians’ publication that Cashman and others undertook the laborious task of making special copies for them and presented them just before they reached Fremantle. Principal Contents of The Wild Goose Prior to the discovery of the Ms. in the Mitchell Library, little was known about the literary merits or otherwise of the contents on The Wild Goose. In J.J. Roches’s voluminous book on the life and work of John Boyle O’Reilly, published in the U.S. in 1891, it is recorded that two of his best known poems, “The Flying Dutchman” and “The Old School Clock” had first appeared in The Wild Goose, the former having been written while the Hougoumont was rounding the Cape of Good Hope, and the other having been composed two years earlier in Arbour Hill military prison, Dublin. This knowledge, however, gave little foretaste of the excellence of some of the other contributions to be found in the 64 pages of the publication. It was not known, for instance, that Ned Kelly of Kinsale had considerable poetic ability. He wrote under the nom-de-plume “Laoi” (in Gaelic lettering). Or that Cloghduv—born Thomas Duggan (grandfather of professor Lucy Duggan, U.C.C., and the late Archdeacon T. F. Duggan) who had formerly been a schoolteacher in Ballincollig and had lost that post on account of his nationalist activities obviously had a deep knowledge of ancient Irish history and mythology. He wrote an unfinished serial story in four issues of The Wild Goose entitled “Queen Cliodhna and the Flower of Erin—a Tale of Our Pagan Ancestors,” under the nom-de-plume “Mushra.” The seven issues appeared on the following dates (all 1867): November 9, 16, 23 and 30; December 7, 14 and 21. The final, or Christmas, issue had 16 pages; all the others had eight. © 2002 Walter McGrath continued |
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