Thomas Eyre Lambert (25 April 1820 – 1919) was an Irish

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

and

landlord A landlord is the owner of property such as a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate that is rented or leased to an individual or business, known as a tenant (also called a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). The term landlord appli ...

Overview

Lambert was the son of Walter Lambert and Anne Eyre. He married Sarah Trousdell in August 1850, but died without issue. Lambert gained the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in the service of the

38th Foot The 38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1705. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 80th Regiment of Foot (Staffordshire Volunteers) to form the South Staffordshire Regi ...

. He was at one time a justice of the peace (J.P.) in

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 ...

. He was a descendant of

John Lambert of Creg Clare John Lambert of Creg Clare (fl. c.1610 – c.1669) was an Irish soldier and Royalist. Life A native of County Galway a Hiberno-Norman, Lambert is described as "an officer in Lord Clanricarde's Regiment in the Duke of Ormonde's Army in Ireland 1 ...

. Between 1869 and 1871 he was one of the principals in an

attempted murder Attempted murder is a crime of attempt in various jurisdictions. Canada Section 239 of the ''Criminal Code'' makes attempted murder punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. If a gun is used, the minimum sentence is four, five or seve ...

case which gained national and international attention.

Eviction of the Barrett family

Captain Lambert inherited his father's estate in 1867, at Castle Lambert, a few miles northwest of Athenry. In 1869 he evicted the Barrett family from their farm at Moorepark, close to Castle Lambert. Folklore in the Athenry area relates that during a hunt, a rider asked if Barrett's house was that of Lambert's brother, Thomas. On being told that it was actually the home of a

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasan ...

, the hunt members laughed. Shortly after this, the Barretts were evicted, moving to Swangate in

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 ...

. News reached Peter Barrett, one of the family's older children, who was at the time working as a

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in London.

The shooting

On Sunday evening between 9pm and 10pm, 11 July 1869, Captain Lambert was walking up the avenue of Castle Lambert, returning from dinner at his brother's home in Moorepark. He encountered a man wearing a

bowler hat The bowler hat, also known as a Coke hat, billycock, bob hat, bombín (Spanish) or derby (United States), is a hard felt hat with a rounded crown, originally created by the London hat-makers Thomas and William Bowler in 1849 and commissioned by ...

in the shadow of lime trees. When Lambert asked the man to identify himself, the man remained silent, leading Lambert to set his small dog on him. At this the man faced Lambert, pointed a revolver and shot five bullets from no more than twelve yards. He then ran off through a group of trees called "The Rookery". Lambert had been shot twice in the

stomach The stomach is a muscular, hollow organ in the upper gastrointestinal tract of Human, humans and many other animals, including several invertebrates. The Ancient Greek name for the stomach is ''gaster'' which is used as ''gastric'' in medical t ...

with another

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in his

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. If not for his hard hat, the bullet would have likely impacted his brain and killed him. Lambert rose, staggered towards his house and raised the alarm, with the local

Royal Irish Constabulary The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the island was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom. A sep ...

(RIC), sealing off the Athenry area. Shortly before 10pm, Peter Barrett appeared at Athenry railway station, where he bought a ticket for London. He then proceeded across the road to the Railway Hotel, drawing attention by several requests to members of staff as to what time it was, despite the hotel clock being plainly visible. He was noted as wearing a tall hat. He stepped on the train bound for Dublin. Few policemen were in Athenry, as many had been relocated to

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

to deal with the usual 12 July disturbances, but sub-constable Hayden was alerted in time to board the train where he noticed Barrett. As he fitted the description given by Captain Lambert, he was arrested and taken off at Woodlawn station, between Athenry and

Ballinasloe Ballinasloe ( ; ) is a town in the easternmost part of County Galway, Ireland. Located at an ancient crossing point on the River Suck, evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes a number of Bronze Age sites. Built around a 12th-centur ...

. The following morning he was identified by Captain Lambert as his attacker.

Trial of Barrett

The trial of ''Regina versus Barrett'' was held in Galway in September 1869. Barrett was defended by

Isaac Butt Isaac Butt (6 September 1813 – 5 May 1879) was an Irish barrister, editor, politician, Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, economist and the founder and first leader of a number of Irish nationalist par ...

, who proceeded to attack the prosecution case. Barrett had been searched but no sign of the revolver. Butt uncovered inconsistencies in Lambert's evidence, and scored a major victory when he determined that Lambert (a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

) had suppressed some crucial facts. His efforts were successful in undermining Lambert's credibility. The jury was unable to deliver a verdict, leading to a second trial being held in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. By this stage, the

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had given events detailed coverage and made the case front-page news, becoming a high-profile example of the Irish question, concerning both tenant's rights and

Home Rule Home rule is the government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governan ...

. For a second time, the jury could not give a unanimous verdict, leading to all charges against Barrett been dismissed.

Other shootings

In the mid-to-late 1800s,

had an especially bad reputation concerning land disputes. Some incidents of the times included: * James Connors, shot March 1881. *

Peter Dempsey Peter Samuel Dempsey (born 31 March 1986) is an Republic of Ireland, Irish racing driver from Ashbourne, County Meath. Dempsey began his pro career in Formula BMW UK in 2004, finishing 22nd. In 2005 he finished second in the Formula Ford Walter ...

, shot May 1881. *

Maumtrasna Maumtrasna, historically Formnamore (, 'the great shoulder'), is the highest of the Partry Mountains in south County Mayo, Ireland, rising to above sea level. The summit is broad and flat with several ridges running off it, including Skeltia (' ...

murders of 1882, in which nine members of the Joyce family were shot to death. *

John Henry Blake 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 and Maria Galway of Cork. He was a member of one of Th ...

, shot June 1882.

References

External links

* http://www.familylambert.net/History/bios/thomas.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Lambert, Thomas Eyre 1820 births 1919 deaths People from Athenry 19th-century Irish military personnel Place of death missing Date of death missing 28th Regiment of Foot officers Military personnel from County Galway 19th-century Irish landowners Irish shooting survivors