John Lynch

Owing to the courtesy of Mr. B. Lipecomb, coroner for the district, in refusing us a copy of the depositions taken at the inquest held upon the remains of the late Mr. Thomas Lynch, we are unable to present our readers with official particulars thereof. But from what we can learn, it appears that the deceased had partaken of a hearty supper and retired to rest about 10 o’clock on Saturday night, 9^th of August; Mrs Lynch retired about an hour afterwards, when the deceased complained of being unwell, and expressed a desire to go to the next room and lay on the sofa, which he did. Mrs. Lynch noticing a change in the deceased, called one of her sons, who immediately attended, and the deceased called for some tea. The young man set about making some tea as quickly as possible, but in the interim, the deceased began to froth from the mouth, and before the desired beverage was prepared had expired. The day before his death, he (deceased) was at Mr. M. Keating’s the greater part of the day, and seemed in his usual lively spirits.

In our last issue, we gave a passing notice of the late Mr Thomas Lynch, who departed this life suddenly at his residence, Clairmont, Gegedzerick in the district of Manaro on the night of Saturday last. We now proceed to lay before our readers as detailed particulars of the life of the deceased as we have been able to gather. The deceased was born in the county of Westmeath, Ireland, in the year of 1812 where he remained under parental care till he reached the age of manhood. In the commencement of the year 1835, when at the age of 23, he took an active interest in the party politics of Ireland, and became “suspected” of insurrectionary motives. A few months afterwards, by means of a girl named Mary Morris, who had been bribed to give false evidence against him, he was impeached, and upon her evidence against him, he was seized upon in his father’s dwelling-house by a strong body of police, and taken into custody. He was first tried for treasonable offences at Castle Pollard, and the same night sent, under strong escort, to the county goal at Mullingar here he was placed upon his trial, on the first day of the Assizes, before a grand jury, charged with treason and abetting insurrection. Perjury and bribery effectively did their job and Thomas Lynch was transported for life. The gist of the evidence upon, which he was apprehended that he is in company with one hundred other men, visited, at night, the residence of the master of the girl Mary Morris with the intention of abstracting firearms there from: but his relatives now on Manaro, and who were at the dwelling-house of the deceased father on the night he is said to have been connected with the alleged marauding party, deny the truth of the girl Morris’s statement. However, in 1835 he went from his native land, he arrived in New South Wales in 1836. Before proceeding further, it may be stated that so great an interest did the late Mr. Thomas Lynch take in the party politics of his native land, and so esteemed was he by his fellow-countrymen, that he was unanimously chosen captain of a body of over one thousand picked men. On his arrival in New South Wales, he was assigned to Colonel Blomfield, of Denham Court, near Camden, who found the exile to be, in every respect, an industrious and trustworthy man. In fact, so perfect was the confidence of Colonel Blomfield in him that he (the colonel) sent him to Manaro to manage the pastoral property at Coolamatong, where the late Mr. Thomas Lynch resided for many years. In 1851 he married Miss Ellen Cane, a native of Limerick, Ireland, and he settled down to a steady hard working life at Coolamatong, still in the employ of the Messrs. Blomfield, As soon as the Lands Acts of 1861 came into operation, he quitted the employment of the Messrs. Blomfield, and availed himself of the provisions of the Alienation Act. By dint of perseverance, industry, and upright conduct, he gradually got on till he became a substantial yeoman, and at the time of his death, was possessor of nearly 1000 acres of freehold land. It would be invidious on our part to attempt a resume of his life on the Manaro; for it is well known to every resident in the district that we have no need to add one word in exposition thereof. If a political battle for the greatest good to the greatest number was fought on the Manaro, he was to the front among the Liberals, as thoroughly Australian in his views as ever he had been devoted to the country from which he had been expatriated. We can say, in conclusion, that his loss, as a warm-hearted friend and good counsellor, will be missed by many on the Manaro; and the absence of his cheery voice and lively manner will long be fly by members of his own class. He was, in every respect, that what was termed the noblest work of God- an honest man; and it will be long before his place is filled in the district. His last appearance in the political world was on the occasion of the contest between Mr A. Moriarty and Mr W. Grahame for the representation of the electorate of Manaro in Parliament. Those who watched the contest will not fail to remember how manfully he spoke out in the cause of Liberalism at Buckley’s Crossing and other places wither he accompanied Mr Moriarty; nor will it be forgotten by those who attended the dinner given to the defeated candidate, on the 16th March 1872. how bravely he (the late Mr Lynch) accepted the defeat of his candidate. On that occasion , he occupied the Vice-Chair; and when proposing the health of Mr. Moriarty he was warmly applauded for the open-spoken manner in which he referred to the contestant particularly so when he said: “ They had all honourably fought the battle, and he knew when the time came they would fight it again.” Later in the evening, a little episode in which the deceased took a prominent part will not be readily accepted by his friends or those who attended the dinner. It was when a few turbulent spirits had endeavoured to create disorder that the late Mr Lynch, rising from his seat, and seeking the chair upon which he sat threatening to “Tipperary” the disorderly few, and that, restored comparative quiet.

The following photos were supplied by Jane Lester [je.lester-at-bigpond.com] 4.10.11






	John Lynch and Elizabeth Miners

Philip Primmer and Mary Lynch	Philip Primmer

Catherine Cruickshank and her mother Bridget Mary Lynch	Eugene Hugh Lynch

*Michael Lynch (1871-1945)*

Mary Ellen (Nellie) Miners (nee Lynch) 1875-1957 standing on right; sitting is Mary Willis (nee Power) Mary Ellen's cousin (1880-1960)	Sitting on left Annie Buckley (nee Lynch), standing Mary Ellen (Nellie) Miners

Annie Buckley (nee Lynch) photo taken on April 17, 1897

Eliza Cecilia Flanagan (nee Lynch) sitting and her right is her sister Annie	*Eliza Cecilia Flanagan nee Lynch*

*Thomas Sylvester Lynch*	*Walter Muthrie Lynch*

Maud Murphy (nee Primmer) 1889-1956	*James Lynch and niece Maud Primmer*

*Stephen Emmanuel Primmer (1890-1984)*	Johanna Marie Primmer (nee Manning) 1886-1969, wife of Stephen Emmanuel Primmer

Wedding of May Primmer (1892-1944) and Cornelius Crowley (1882-1966), 13 August 1913, St Patrick's Church, Kaponga, South Taranaki, New Zealand