JENS BIRKEMOSE. KLAGESANG FOR ART Ó LAOGHAIRE / MED ORIGINAL GRAFIK

JENS BIRKEMOSE (1943-)

Oplag: 500 nr. og signerede eksemplarer. Med 14 original-grafiske arbejder, trykt på Brøndums Grafiske Værksted.

The Life and Times of Art O Laoghaire.
By Peter O'Leary

1. The events of May 4th.1773.

Art O Laoire was 26, a Captain in the Hungarian Hussars, a Regiment of Empress Marie Therese's Army of Austro-Hungary.  On that day in May he was seen in Carriganimma, crossing the footbridge over the River Foherish, and proceeding on horseback along the ridge on the West Bank.  He was riding over a small green inch in the townland of Carrigonirtane when a single shot rang out, killing Art instantly.  He was thrown to the ground and his horse ran off, returning eventually to Art's house in Rathleigh near Macroom.

Shortly before this, a contingent of soldiers, led by a local Magistrate, Abraham Morris from Hanover Hall, also near Macroom, had lined up along a ditch bordering the pound on the East side of the River.  Morris gave the order to fire, and the first shot, which killed Art, came from the musket of a soldier called Green.

That the killing was Official Execution, or maybe Legalised Murder, is supported by three facts.

a. Art had previously been declared an Outlaw under the provisions of the Penal Laws.
b. The soldier Green was decorated for his "Gallantry".
c. Morris himself elected to stand trial by his peers, the local Magistracy, and was found innocent of any crime by those Gentlemen.

In more recent years a small monument has been erected on the spot, which reads
"ar an lathair seo a maraiodh Art O Laoghaire ar an 4u Bealtaine 1773 ar dheis De go raibh se"

(On this spot, Art O Laoire was killed,  4th.May 1773. RIP)