Captain Kitt,
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
Whiteboys
The Whiteboys ( ga, na Buachaillí Bána) were a secret Irish agrarian organisation in 18th-century Ireland which defended tenant-farmer land-rights for subsistence farming. Their name derives from the white smocks that members wore in their ...
captain, fl. 1820.
Background
Kitt was a native of the parish of
Ballymacward
Ballymacward () is a village in County Galway, Ireland, on the R359 regional road between the main road and rail networks which traverse east-west, 24 kilometres from Ballinasloe and approximately 48 kilometres from Galway City. It was once p ...
and was leader of the Whiteboys in the area. He usually convened the meetings, which were called The Ballinafad, held at his home in Corskeaghdaly. Membership dues were ten pence a year, and Kitt was known to enforce collection.
He had a reputation as a very stern disciplinarian, but it was acknowledged that this was at a time when agitation and evictions had made the county very disturbed.
Hampstead attack
One of his most famous exploits was an attack on Hampstead House while the owner was entertaining a large group of fellow land-lords. According to Martin Finnerty:
''... in the midst of their carousing the house was attacked by ribbonmen under the command of Capt. Kitt. There can be no doubt but the attackers were in possession of heavy fire arms ecauseuntil the big house was levelled by the Land Commission, the window stool of an upper window revealed the strength to some extent of the attackers. This stone stool was made into splinters in the middle and it was evident that nothing less than light cannon was in use. The occupants of the house returned the fire and the attackers were forced to retreat and some accounts reveal with the loss of one man.''
Later life
Kitt's ultimate fate seems to be unknown. Kitt is a very rare surname, found only in parts of east Galway. Latter-day bearers of the name include politicians
Michael F. Kitt, Snr (1914–1974) and
Tony Kett (1951–2009). The
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
-born singer-songwriter
David Kitt
David Kitt (born 1975 in Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish musician. He has released eight studio albums to date: ''Small Moments'', ''The Big Romance'', ''Square 1'', ''The Black and Red Notebook'', '' Not Fade Away'', ''The Nightsaver'', ''Yous'', ...
(born 1975) is the grandson of Michael F. Kitt, Snr.
See also
*
Neddy Lohan
*
Thunderbolt Gibbons
*
Anthony Daly (Whiteboy)
*
Clann Taidg
Clann Taidg was the name of a medieval cantred located in what is now County Galway, Ireland.
It consisted of the parishes of Athenry, Monivea, Tiaquin, Kilkerrin, Moylough, Killererin, Ballynakill-Aghiart (in Killian), Kilmoylan, and possi ...
References
* ''Punann Arsa'', part I,
Martin Finnerty, ''Galway Observer'', 1951.
* ''The Surnames of Ireland'',
Edward MacLysaght
Edgeworth Lysaght, later Edward Anthony Edgeworth Lysaght, and from 1920 Edward MacLysaght ( ga, Éamonn Mac Giolla Iasachta; 6 November 1887 – 4 March 1986) was a genealogist of twentieth century Ireland. His numerous books on Irish surnames ...
, 1978.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kitt, Captain
People from County Galway