Denis Bambrick Cashman (March 18438 January 1897) was an Irish political prisoner and diarist who was transported to colonial Western Australia due to Fenianism and wrote of his experiences in a

diary A diary is a written or audiovisual memorable record, with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digita ...

Early life

Cashman was enlisted as a Fenian in 1858, around the age of 16. By the age of 25 he was working as a Law Clerk in

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

. On 12 January 1867, Cashman was arrested (the same day his third child was born) and was brought to trial on 19 February 1867 where he pleaded guilty to treason, he was sentenced to seven years penal servitude. He was first transported to Millibank Prison where he awaited

transportation Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

to Australia aboard .

Transportation

During the journey Cashman kept a diary detailing the day-to-day activities aboard ship and providing a detailed account of the feelings of the convicts and prisoners on the ship. Cashman was also involved in the production of '' The Wild Goose'', the onboard newspaper.

Life in the United States

Like many civilian Fenians, Cashman was pardoned on 15 May 1869. In late October 1869, he and 14 other

Fenians The word ''Fenian'' () served as an umbrella term for the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and their affiliate in the United States, the Fenian Brotherhood. They were secret political organisations in the late 19th and early 20th centurie ...

boarded the ship ''Baringa'' and sailed from

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. He took the Central Pacific Railroad out of California and headed to

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

to meet up with his wife Catherine, his son William, and his good friend and fellow Fenian

John Boyle O'Reilly John Boyle O'Reilly (; 28 June 1844 – 10 August 1890) was an Irish poet, journalist, author and activist. As a youth in Ireland, he was a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, or Fenians, for which he was transported to Western Australi ...

. While in Boston, he worked in the book and publishing department, and later as the business manager of the '' Boston Pilot''. He worked as a top salesman of ''

Donahoe's Magazine ''Donahoe's Magazine'' was a United States–based Catholic-oriented general interest magazine that ran from about 1878 to July 1908, when it was absorbed by the ''Catholic World'' of New York. It was founded by Patrick Donahoe, one-time editor o ...

'', and later as the superintendent of Waste Water Department in Boston. Cashman was involved in the initial stages of planning the

Catalpa rescue The ''Catalpa'' rescue was the escape, on 17–19 April 1876, of six Irish Fenian prisoners from the Convict Establishment (now Fremantle Prison), a United Kingdom, British penal colony in Western Australia. They were taken on the convict shi ...

of six

from Western Australia. After hatching the scheme with Thomas McCarthy Fennell,

John Devoy John Devoy (, ; 3 September 1842 – 29 September 1928) was an Irish republican Rebellion, rebel and journalist who owned and edited ''The Gaelic American'', a New York weekly newspaper, from 1903 to 1928. Devoy dedicated over 60 year ...

, the well known leader of the

Clan na Gael Clan na Gael (CnG) (, ; "family of the Gaels") is an Irish republican organization, founded in the United States in the late 19th and 20th centuries, successor to the Fenian Brotherhood and a sister organization to the Irish Republican Bro ...

travelled to Boston to meet with

and Cashman. As former prisoners the two Bostonians had intimate knowledge of the inner workings of

Fremantle Prison Fremantle Prison, sometimes referred to as Fremantle Gaol or Fremantle Jail, is a former Australian prison and World Heritage Site in Fremantle, Western Australia. The site includes the prison cellblocks, gatehouse, perimeter walls, cottages, ...

, and their contributions helped lead to the success of the rescue mission. Cashman strongly supported agrarian agitation in Ireland. In 1881, he published the first biography of

Michael Davitt Michael Davitt (25 March 1846 – 30 May 1906) was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican activist for a variety of causes, especially Home Rule (Ireland), Home Rule and land reform. Following an eviction when he was four years old, Davitt's ...

, a founder of the

Irish National Land League The Irish National Land League ( Irish: ''Conradh na Talún''), also known as the Land League, was an Irish political organisation of the late 19th century which organised tenant farmers in their resistance to exactions of landowners. Its prima ...

. Cashman's ''The Life of Michael Davitt'' was published the same year Davitt was again imprisoned after he accused the chief secretary of Ireland

William Edward Forster William Edward Forster, Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, PC, Royal Society, FRS (11 July 18185 April 1886) was an English industrialist, philanthropist and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party statesman. As a minister in Gladstone's g ...

of "infamous lying". Cashman was the pall-bearer at O'Reilly's funeral on 13 August 1890.

Death

Cashman died from heart disease in his Boston home on 8 January 1897. He was survived by his wife Catherine and three children.

Diary

His diary was donated to

East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of universities in North Carolina by enrollment, fourth largest university in North Carolina and the only one in the state with s ...

where Professor of English Charles Sullivan III edited it and in this form it was published in 2003. The diary contains poems by Cashman,

and John Flood. The diary is currently housed in the East Carolina Manuscript Collection in Joyner Library at

.A finding aid can be found at this link.
Cashman's Hougoumont Diary
, lib.ecu.edu; accessed 24 August 2017.

In the arts

* Musician and local historian Brendan Woods authored a play about the breakout, ''The Catalpa''. On 15 November 2006, it premiered to a sellout audience at

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

Town Hall, and ran until 25 November. The play is based on Cashman's diaries with poetry by

set to music and dance.

References

External links

Biography
waterfordcountymuseum.org; accessed 24 August 2017. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cashman, Denis 1843 births 1897 deaths Convicts transported to Western Australia Date of birth unknown Members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood Political prisoners in the United Kingdom Recipients of British royal pardons