Denis Duggan (1842 - 1884)
Fenian, Member of James Stephens Prison Escape Team, Veteran of the Fenian Rising of 1867,
Member of Clan na Gael, Member of the Catalpa Fenian Prisoners Rescue Team
Denis Duggan was the quintessential Fenian, resolute and fearless, and most of all, dedicated to the cause of Irish freedom, He was a frontline foot soldier who participated in three historic events including the rescue of James Stephens from Richmond Jail in 1865, the Fenian Rising in Dublin in 1867 and the rescue of Irish-born British soldiers, turned Fenians, from the Fremantle Prison in Australia in 1875/6. Not one to seek the limelight, he preferred to remain in the shadows until called upon to undertake another mission.
Childhood
Years
Denis Duggan was born in Dublin in 1842. Little else is known of his early years other than he attended the Model School on School Street in the Liberties in Dublin, and that at some time during his years in Ireland, lived at 21 Upper Dominick Street. During his attendance at the Model School, he made the acquaintance of fellow students, John Devoy and John J. Breslin, both of whom would in later years feature prominently in his life. No information is readily available on his parents or any siblings he may have had.
Growing up during the Great Hunger years (1845 – 1850) was a bitter learning experience for Denis as it was for any child. Although Dublin City did not experience the full impact of the ensuing calamity since its inhabitants depended less on the potato crop for sustenance, nonetheless, tenement dwellers suffered from food shortages and from the diseases the Great Hunger spawned.
After finishing school, Denis took up an apprenticeship with a coach maker.
Fenian Activism in Ireland
In 1861, Duggan joined the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) aka the Fenians. The IRB was founded in Dublin on St. Patrick's Day in 1858 by James Stephens, Thomas Clarke Luby, Peter Langan, Charles Kickham, Joseph Denieffe and Garrett O'Shaughnessy. Its primary purpose was to establish an "Independent Democratic Irish Republic" by any and all means possible. It was organized into 'circles' comprised of units and subunits, somewhat akin to a regimental breakdown. Eventually there were 17 circles in and around Dublin City. Duggan was assigned to one of the circles, possibly the one commanded by John Kerwin. Because of his dedication and trustworthiness, Denis was put in charge of a unit. His duties included recruiting and training new members and ensuring the cohesiveness and readiness of the unit within the circle's organizational structure.
Circa 1863, Dugan relocated to London, where after settling in joined the British Volunteer Rifle Corps, not to defend the British mainland from a perceived invasion by the French Army following the Orsini Affair, but rather, to acquire the military skills needed to oust the British from Ireland. The Rifle Corps volunteers were required to purchase their own firearms as approved by the War Office. Having joined Rifle Corps to acquire the military skills needed to train IRB recruits, it can be safely assumed that Duggan took full advantage of the arms and munitions training, drilling regiments and battle commands, the essential elements of good soldiering.
Shortly after the Irish People newspaper was seized and destroyed by British intelligence in September of 1865, Duggan returned to Dublin to prepare for the long awaited Rising championed by James Stephens, the Head Center of the IRB. Although banned from bring weapons into Ireland by the British government, he ignored the ban and took his rifle with him, concealed in his toolbox. In order to avoid detection by custom officers, he constructed a concealed compartment in the toolbox where he hid the broken-down rifle parts. Despite the fact that the toolbox and tools were thoroughly inspected, he made it through unscathed.
On arriving back in Ireland Duggan set about preparing his unit for battle. During the latter months of 1865, the level of activity by both the British and IRB increased dramatically. British intelligence was busy rounding up the IRB leadership with the help of informers including Pierce Nagle and John Joseph Corridan. At the same time, the IRB was being augmented by hundreds of battle-hardened Fenians from America ready to do battle. The raid on the Irish People newspaper office in September of 1865 netted most of the top IRB leadership. The hunt for the others continued, culminating with the arrest of James Stephens on November 11, 1865. The arrest of the 2nd-tier leaders continued, further disabling the organization's ability to launch a Rising.
In the early months of 1865, Captain Thomas J. Kelly, an emissary of the Fenian Brotherhood in America was sent to Ireland by the Fenian leadership to assess the prospects for a Rising, and to advise on military matters. After Kelly's favorable report was received, as many as 300 officers and other seasoned veterans were sent to Ireland, arriving there at different times via different routes. Because of the American Fenians' pivotal role in the pending Rising, Kelly worked closely with Stephens finalizing the plans. After Stephens was arrested, Kelly's attention turned to his rescue from Richmond Prison. Working with Devoy he devised a plan that involved the participation of a select number of disciplined and trusted Fenians. Duggan was amongst those selected. Click here for a detailed description of the rescue.
In October of 1865, when Devoy was appointed Chief Organizer of British Troops, in Ireland he selected Duggan as one of his bodyguards/assistants. For the following four months Duggan accompanied Devoy to IRB and recruitment meetings in and around Dublin. In February of 1866 both he and Devoy were arrested while attending a recruitment meeting in Pilsworth Pub on James Street, Dublin. Duggan spent a short time in Mountjoy Jail before been transferred to Belfast Jail where he spent several months before been released on bail. After his release he visited Devoy and other prisoners who were in Mountjoy Jail awaiting trial. As prisoners were denied newspapers to deny them access to outside information, Duggan brought them newspaper clippings hidden in a hollowed-out clothes brush, a dangerous ruse for a man out on bail.
Shortly after his rescue, Stephens called off the Rising, despite pleas to proceed by Devoy, Michael Kerwin and other members of the IRB Military Council. After a few months hiding out in Dublin, Stephens made his way to the United States via Paris, arriving in May of 1866. In the meantime. Kelly had returned to the States arriving there a month before Stephens.
When Stephens was deposed as IRB leader in December 1866, Kelly took over control of the organization. In January of 1867, Kelly returned to Ireland to assess the situation, reestablish control of the IRB and plan for a Rising. The oft postponed Rising was scheduled to start in early March of 1867.
On the morning of March 5, 1867, a detachment of Fenians commanded by Patrick Lennon marched from Palmerstown Park in Dublin City to Milltown where they forced the surrender of the RIC Barracks. From there they proceeded to Windy Harbor where they joined up with another detachment of Fenians under the command of John Kerwin. At that juncture, Kerwin, being the senior officer, assumed overall command. However, in an attempt to take the RIC Barracks in Dundrum, Kerwin was shot in the shoulder and was taken from the field. The command of the column reverted back to Lennon. The column continued its march south towards Stepaside where they took the RIC Barracks after threatening to set it on fire. From there they continued on to Glencullen where they forced the surrender of the RIC Barracks after a fire fight that lasted over an hour. After each barrack surrendered, they took the RIC personnel as their prisoners and stripped each barrack of its weaponry.
Duggan was singled out by Lennon for his bravery, stating that he had ‘great nerve and acted with the coolness of a veteran’. Click here for a detailed description of the Rising in Stepaside and Glencullen.
After Glencullen, the Fenians headed for Tallaght where a major encounter was believed to be in progress. Enroute they met Fenians fleeing from there after the poorly organized contingent of sparsely armed Fenians were defeated after running into volleys of rifle fire in the darkness. After hearing that news, Lennon released their prisoners and dispersed his men who made their own way back to their homes to Dublin.
In America
Duggan was a marked man for having taken part in the insurrection and for violating his bail terms. Facing death or a long prison sentence if captured, he had no option but to make his way to America. How or when he arrived in America is unknown.
There is no information easily available as to what Duggan did regarding any involvement, he may have had with Irish Republican organizations after arriving in America. At that time, the Fenian movement was badly factionalized and in a downward spiral to irrelevance. In June of 1867, Jerome J. Collins founded the Napper Tandy Club as a refuge for Fenians caught between the warring Fenian factions. In 1870 the name was changed to Clan na Gael by Sam Cavanagh.
In February of 1871, a final attempt was made to reconcile the warring factions by the Fenian prisoners released by the British in January of 1871 as a consequence of the political pressure generated by the multifaceted and relentless Fenian Amnesty Campaign of 1869. After that last-ditch effort failed, John Devoy, Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa and William Francis Roantree joined Clan na Gael. If Duggan was not a member of Clan na Gael before then, he surely was after his old comrades from their revolutionary days in the 1860s were on board.
During the planning for the rescue of the six Irish-born British soldiers-turned-Fenians from the Fremantle Prison in Australia, Devoy selected Duggan to be the Clan's representative aboard the rescue ship, Catalpa. His selection was based on his confidence in Duggan's fortitude and dedication to safeguard the Clan's investment and see the mission through. The ship's manifest had Duggan listed as the ship's carpenter. Other than Captain Anthony, no one else on board the Catalpa knew of his primary role. From April 29, 1875, when the Catalpa set sail from New Bedford, Massachusetts, until its return to New York on August 29, 1876, Duggan performed as required as did other members of the rescue team. The most harrowing incident was when Duggan and the rescued Fenians were preparing to fight off an attempt by the pursuing Georgette to board the Catalpa and remove the rescued Fenians. Chick here for a detailed account of the Catalpa rescue.
Home to Ireland
After the Catalpa rescue, Duggan, who never sought the limelight, disappeared back into the shadows. By 1879, the Clan was in a state of 'civil war' owing to the machination of a radical element tagged the "Triangle" who were vying for control. There is no account of Duggan engaging in any of the infighting that took place.
In the summer of 1884, Dugan was suffering from advanced tuberculosis. Knowing that death was the only outcome, he returned to home to Ireland to be buried there. His friends and former comrades in arms paid for his passage and also for the care he received at St. Vincent's Hospital in Greenwich Village prior to his departure.
Denis Duggan, a mostly forgotten Fenian, passed away on September 9, 1884, at the age of 42. Below are excerpts from an article that appeared in an Australian daily newspaper in October of 1884 describing his funeral.
Denis Duggan, who died in Dublin on September 9, was one of those who participated in the rescue of James Stephens from Richmond Prison. He was one of the leaders of the Fenian rising in the county Dublin in 1867; but he escaped to America, and some years later he was one of those who successfully planned and aided in the liberation of the Fenian military prisoners in Australia. Duggan returned to Ireland about a month since to die at home, being in a very advanced stage of consumption.
The moment his death became known it was resolved to give him a lying-in state and a public funeral. The corpse was drawn in an open hearse, by four horses, some eight men acting as pall bearers. The coffin was enveloped at the foot by the American flag, and at the head by a green flag bearing a crownless harp "..." Immediately following the hearse came two men, one of whom carried the American flag, and the other a green flag, both folded and shrouded in crape. Michael Davitt was one of the occupants of the carriage which came after the mourning coach. Mr. Wm. O'Brien, M.P., Mr. Leamy, M.P., and Mr. McMahon, M.P., represented the Irish Parliamentary party at the funeral, while there were two members of the Dublin Corporation in attendance. Half a dozen carriages, and as many cabs with people, brought up the end of the procession, which went by Dame-street past Dublin Castle. When the place of Emmet's execution in Thomas-street was reached, there was a halt made for a few moments, and all heads were uncovered. The procession came round by the King's Bridge, along the quays, and up Sackville-street, to Glasnevin Cemetery. The streets were crowded by persons who had been waiting a couple of hours for the funeral. It was two o'clock before Sackville-street was reached. Numbers of persons who had been waiting on the footpath joined the procession, which, by the time it got to Rutland Square, swelled to 15,000. There was a great crush at the grave, but everything passed off quietly. Numbers of detectives were stationed along the route, noting those who were participating in the procession.
Source: Otago Daily Times - 24th October 1884
Contributed by Tomás Ó Coısdealbha
cemetery
Name: Glasnevin Cemetery
ADDRESS: Finglas Road, Glasnevin, Dublin 11, Ireland
GRAVE AND HEADSTONE INSCRIPTION
