Michael Dwyer (1772 - 1825)

Born 1772 in Camara, Glen of Imaal, County Wicklow, Ireland

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Doyle) Dwyer — married 16 Oct 1798 in County Wicklow, Ireland

Descendants

Died 23 Aug 1825 at about age 53 in Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia

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Biography

Michael Dwyer was born in Ireland.

Michael was a Roman Catholic.

Michael Dwyer is Notable.

Michael Dwyer (Míchéal Ua Duibhir) was a captain in the Irish Rebellion of 1798, who withdrew into the Wicklow Mountains where he sustained a guerrilla campaign against British Crown forces.

Early Life

Michael, eldest son of John and Mary (née Byrne), was born in 1772 in Camara, Glen of Imaal.^[1][2]

In 1784, the family moved to Eadestown, County Wicklow.^[3]

Due to the anti-catholic penal laws of the time, Dwyer was educated in a hedge school. This hedge school was run by Peter Burr, a Protestant Trinity-College graduate and United Irishman,^[1][4] likely the source of Dwyer's patriotism.

1798 Rebellion

On the 24th May 1798, the "Dunlavin Massacre" saw the execution of 36 men on Dunlavin fairgreen, including John Dwyer of Seskin, a relative of Michael Dwyer's, and up to nine others hanged from the pillars of Dunlavin Market House.^[5] Whatever might have been his previous determination, the arrest and ill-treatment of his father, the destruction of his cousins and neighbours in the slaughter of Dunlavin gave a fixity of purpose to what determination which could scarcely be relaxed.^[6] Michael Dwyer's military campaign began that day, as soon as news of the massacre reached the Glen of Imaal.^[3]

Dwyer fought in the Ballymanus Division at the Battle of Arklow on the 9th June 1798.^[7]

The Ballymanus Division took part in the Battle at Kilcavan Hill on the 18th June, before reaching Vinegar Hill on the 20th June. On the 21st June majority of the rebels retreated toward Wexford town. However, Dwyer retreated northwards, rejoined some of his comrades and spent the night at Pepard's Castle, before reaching Aughrim on the 24th June.^[1][3] The surviving rebels regrouped for the 2nd Battle of Hacketstown on the 25th June, in which Michael Dwyer lead one of the flanking parties.^[8]

Dwyer took an active an prominent part in the Battle of Ballyellis on the 30th June 1798.^[1]

In July 1798 the rebel forces retreated to Glenmalure. During this time Dwyer was responsible for defence of the valley and became reffered to as the "Governor of Glenmalure".^[1][8] On the 10th November, Joseph Holt surrenders and majority of the rebel army was disbanded.

Michael evacuated Glenmalure on the 6th August before returning to the Glen of Imaal.^[1]

Dwyer took part in the Battle of Keadeen.^[1][9][10]

Marriage and Children

Michael Dwyer married Mary Doyle of Knockandarragh on the 16th October 1798, while still on the run.^[1] They had seven children:^[2]

1. Mary Anne, b.1799 in Ireland.^[2]
2. John, b.1800 in Ireland.^[2]
3. Peter, b.1801 in Ireland.^[2]
4. Esther, b.1804 in Ireland.^[2]
5. James, b.1808 in Australia.^[2]
6. Brigid, b.1808 in Australia.^[2] m. John O'Sullivan.
7. Eliza, b.1810 in Australia.^[2]

Guerrilla campaign

Holt's surrender in November 1798 left Dwyer as the only remaining leader in the Wicklow Mountains. No more than fifteen men usually accompainied Dwyer.^[4]

Battle of Derrynamuck

The most famous incident during Dwyer's guerrilla campaign occurred on the 15th February 1799 at the cottage of Miley Connell in Derrynamuck.

Information recieved from a spy led the military directly to Dwyer, and his usually reliable lookout system failed to alert him of their approach. The rebel occupants of two cottages before Connell's were first captured: Ned Lennon and Thomas Clerk at Hoxey's; and Wat McDonnell, Patrick Toole, John Ashe, John Mickle, Hugh Byrne and Darby Dunn at Toole's.^[3]

The Scottish Highlanders then surrounded Connell's cottage, which housed the rebels Sam McAllister, Patrick Constello and John Savage in addition to Dwyer himself; who were all called on to surrender.^[1] They refused. Costello and Savage were killed in the subsequent conflict, and McAllister, who had been wounded, sacrificed his life to offer Dwyer the chance to escape. Dwyer fled naked and barefoot and burst through the Scottish line to run to freedom.^[11]

Dwyer was the only rebel to escape that night, all others being killed or captured: those caputed were all execute, bar Hugh Byrne.^[3]

End of Campaign

In early December 1803, Dwyer realised his campaign to be insustainable and, through his wife, negotiated with William Hume of Humewood for cease in the campaign.^[3]

Captain Michael Dwyer laid down his arms on the 14th December 1803.^[12]

Imprisonment and Transportation

Despite assurances to the contrary on his surrender, Michael Dwyer was charged with high treason.^[1] He was imprisoned in Kilmainham Gaol from December 1803 to August 1805.^[5]

In August, Dwyer and his wife Mary were transported to Australia, along with his cousin Hugh "Vesty" Byrne, Byrne’s wife Sarah and their children, Arthur Devlin, Martin Burke and John Mernagh. They boarded the Tellicherry at Cobh, bound for Botany Bay.^[8]

Life in Australia

The Tellicherry arrived at Port Jackson, New South Wales on the 14th February 1806. The Wicklow rebels were each given a hundred acres of land at Cabramatta.^[13]

He lived in NSW, except when he was sent to Norfolk Island under Governor Bligh.

Michael Dwyer died on the 23rd August 1825 in Cabramatta, New South Wales.^[13]

The four children, who had been born in Ireland, arrived in Australia in 1828. He had applied for them to join him in 1825 before his death. They were Mary Ann and John, born in 1799 and 1801, and Peter and Esther, born in 1802 and 1804. They had been left in the care of Michael's parents when their parents sailed in the Tellicherry.^[14]

Following his death on 23 August 1825, Michael Dwyer was buried in Devonshire Street Cemetery, but in 1898 his remains were re-interred in Waverly Cemetery. A crowd of over 200,000 attended the re-interment and his memorial stone is the largest of all the monuments over any Irish patriot and still the highest headstone in Sydney.^[9]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9} Dickson, C. (1944). The Life of Michael Dwyer with Some Account of His Companions. Dublin: Brown and Nolan. p.22-23, 38, 44, 47, 55, 78, 106-108, 271.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8} Gorry, Paul (1983-1984). The Family of Michael Dwyer. Journal of the West Wicklow Historical Society, Number 1. pp.30–36.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5} Lawlor, C. (2003). In search of Michael Dwyer. Naas: Leinster Leader. p.26, 60-61, 67, 71.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} O'Donnell, R. (1998). The Rebellion in Wicklow 1798. Dublin: Irish Academic Press. p.69, 340.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Lawlor, C. (1998). The Massacre on Dunlavin Green: A Story of the 1798 Rebellion. Naas. p.60, 139.
6. ↑ Ronan, M. (ed: 1948). The Rebellion in Wicklow 1798. Dublin. p.178.
7. ↑ Power, P. (1998). The Battle of Arklow in Wicklow Historical Society Journal, Vol. 2, No. 4, p.24.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2} Wicklow County Council (1998). Wicklow commemorating 1798-1998: Calendar of Events, p.18-19.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} Lawlor, C. (2006). Michael Dwyer, the Wicklow Chief, A paper delivered at the University of Melbourne on 1 August 2006. Accessed from http://dunlavin.blogspot.com/2007/06/michael-dwyer.html.
10. ↑ Byrne, J. The Battle of Kaigeen. The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0917, Page 197. Accessed from https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/5044724/5034699.
11. ↑ Bartlett, T. Masters of the mountains: the insurgent careers of Joseph Holt and Michael Dwyer, County Wicklow, 1798-1803.
12. ↑ Ronan, M.V. (1948). Insurgent Wicklow 1798. p.124.
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1} Sheedy, Kieran (1997). The Tellicherry Five. p75-80, 129-137.
14. ↑ Dwyer, Seventeen Ninety Eight Memorial. http://www.98memorial.bigpondhosting.com/dwyer/dwyer.html.

See also:

• Wikidata: Item Q3308168, en:Wikipedia
• O'Donnell, R. (2009) Dwyer, Michael. Dictionary of Irish Biography. https://www.dib.ie/biography/dwyer-michael-a2867.
• Gahan, D. (2004). Dwyer, Michael (1772–1825). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. https://www.oxforddnb.com/display/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-8341.
• Kavanagh, J. (2014). Michael Dwyer: The Wicklow Chieftain. Our Wicklow Heritage. http://www.countywicklowheritage.org/page/michael_dwyer.
• O'Sullivan, M. (2012). 1798 Memorial, Waverley Cemetery. Dictionary of Sydney. http://dictionaryofsydney.org/entry/1798_memorial_waverley_cemetery.
• O'Donnell, R. (2005). Dwyer, Michael (1772–1825)'. Australian Dictionary of Biography. http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/dwyer-michael-12896/text23301.
• Michael Dwyer. Immigration Place Australia. https://immigrationplace.com.au/story/michael-dwyer/.
• Memorial: Find a Grave (has image)
  Find A Grave: Memorial #12173 (accessed 11 August 2023)
  Memorial page for Michael Dwyer (1772-23 Aug 1825), citing Waverley Cemetery, Bronte, Waverley Council, New South Wales, Australia (plot: W-16-RC-VL-577A & B to W-16-RC-VL-600A & B); Maintained by Find a Grave.