Captain Kitt

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Captain Kitt, Irish Whiteboys captain, fl. 1820.

Background

Kitt was a native of the parish of Ballymacward 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.

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 part of the kingdom of the Soghain of Connacht.

Contents

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 [because] until 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-born singer-songwriter David Kitt (born 1975) is the grandson of Michael F. Kitt, Snr.

Michael F. Kitt Snr was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician and long-serving Teachta Dála (TD).

Tony Kett was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician and member of Seanad Éireann. In 1997, he was elected to the 21st Seanad by the Administrative Panel. He was elected again in 2002 and in 2007.

Dublin capital and largest city in Ireland

Dublin is the capital and largest city of Ireland. It is on the east coast of Ireland, in the province of Leinster, at the mouth of the River Liffey, and is bordered on the south by the Wicklow Mountains. It has an urban area population of 1,173,179, while the population of the Dublin Region, as of 2016, was 1,347,359, and the population of the Greater Dublin area was 1,904,806.

See also

Neddy Lohan, Captain of Irish Whiteboys, died in 1820.

Thunderbolt Gibbons, was the moniker of a Whiteboys captain in Ireland in the early nineteenth century.

Anthony Daly was a native of Rahruddy, a townland west of Loughrea, County Galway, Ireland, and a leader of the local Whiteboy movement. Daly was hanged on the Hill of Seefinn in 1820 for attempted murder.

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References

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