John Henry Blake (1808 – 29 June 1882) was a murdered Irish land agent.

Biography

John Henry Blake was the third and youngest son of Lieutenant-Colonel John Blake of Furbo,

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

and Maria Galway of

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

. He was a member of one of

The Tribes of Galway The Tribes of Galway () were 14 merchant families who dominated the political, commercial and social life of the city of Galway in western Ireland between the mid-13th and late 19th centuries. They were the families of Athy, Blake, Bodkin, Brown ...

. He worked firstly as a

bailiff A bailiff is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. There are different kinds, and their offices and scope of duties vary. Another official sometimes referred to as a '' ...

on the Blake estate at Furbo, but in the late 1830s moved to Kiltullagh,

Athenry Athenry (; ) is a town in County Galway, Ireland, which lies east of Galway city. Some of the attractions of the medieval town are its town wall, Athenry Castle, its priory and its 13th-century street-plan. The town is also well known by virt ...

, to act as his infant nephew's land agent. He lived at Rathville House, Raford, in the parish of Kiltullagh. In later life, Blake was an agent to

Hubert de Burgh-Canning, 2nd Marquess of Clanricarde Hubert George de Burgh-Canning, 2nd Marquess of Clanricarde ( ; 30 November 1832 – 12 April 1916), styled Lord Hubert de Burgh until 1862, Lord Hubert de Burgh-Canning until 1867, and Viscount Bourke until 1874, was an Anglo-Irish asc ...

. Clanricarde was commonly held to be the worst landlord in all Ireland, and infamous for his evicting of tenants. However, he lived in London so it was easier to target Blake. Both Blake and his driver, Thady Ruane, were shot on the way to attend mass in

Loughrea Loughrea ( ; ), is a town in County Galway, Ireland. It lies to the north of a range of wooded hills, the Slieve Aughty Mountains and Lough Rea, the lake from which it takes its name. The town's cathedral, St Brendan's, dominates the urban sk ...

. Blake's wife, who was present, survived the incident. Despite several months of investigation and seven arrests on suspicion, no one stood trial for the murders. The incident occurred during the height of the

Land War The Land War () was a period of agrarian agitation in rural History of Ireland (1801–1923), Ireland (then wholly part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom) that began in 1879. It may refer specifically to the firs ...

and was one of a series of deaths and aggravations that occurred at this time in the county. It was especially shocking as it was the assassination of an agent of a peer of the realm. He was survived by his wife Harriet (died 1917) and their sons Edmond (1876–1944) and Henry. He was buried in the family tomb at Furbo.

References

Books

* ''The Land War in South East Galway (1879–1891)'', a thesis by Anne Finnegan * ''The Woodford Evictions'', a thesis by Thomas Feeney * ''A Forgotten Campaign'', ed. Michael Shiel and Desmond Roache, n.d. * ''Clanricarde Country'', Woodford Heritage Group, Woodford, n.d. * ''Maamtrasna - The Murders and the Mystery'', Jarlath Waldron, de Burca, Dublin, 1992 * ''Daly of Raford'', James N. Dillon, in ''Kiltullagh/Killimorday - As The Centuries Passed:A History from 1500-1900'', ed. Kieran Jordan, 2000. * ''Blakes of Rathville House'', James N. Dillon, in op. cit. * ''The Land Wars'', Kevin and Kieran Jordan, in op.cit. * ''John Henry Black - Victim or Villain?'', Catherine Kelly Desmond, in op. cit. {{DEFAULTSORT:Blake, John Henry 1808 births 1882 deaths 19th-century Irish people Deaths by firearm in Ireland Murder victims from County Galway People murdered in 1882 People from County Galway People murdered in Ireland Unsolved murders in Ireland

Biography

See also

References

Books