Clonmel Chronicle, 1 December 1869

A serious misunderstanding from the Mayor’s Court, Clonmel in 1869. Prior to what follows here a case of serious assault had been heard, which had occurred in the public house of a man named Ross. A soldier called Taylor had been brought to the bar, accused of striking and badly wounding the publican and his son with a bottle. Mid hearing, the officials introduced the star of our little snippet (a drunken pig drover) into proceedings, leading him to the bar where Taylor stood, assuming that he would there patiently await the fairly minor charges that, in good time, would be brought against him. And things were going along smoothly until someone got confused. Indeed, they got quite very confused indeed.

It’s worth noting as an aside that that same week the famed Fenian Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa had been elected as MP for Tipperary. It seems this may have caused some confusion to him too!