A Newbridge connection to the Connaught Rangers India mutiny

At a remove of more than a hundred years, a mutiny by some 300 British Army members of the Connaught Rangers in India likely doesn't excite many ripples in today's County Kildare, writes Brian Byrne.

But that mutiny, ended in the face of machine guns by fellow soldiers from Wales and Scotland, had itself rippled from one of the event's leaders, home to Ireland on leave, seeing British Army soldiers fix bayonets in order to prevent a hurling match taking place. And it still ripples through time to the Kildare Decade of Commemorations, which will mark a Newbridge connection to the mutiny at a talk on 30 August next.

Local historian and author James Durney will be the guest speaker at The 1920 Indian Mutiny - the Newbridge Connection, in Newbridge Parish Centre, commencing at 7pm. The event is hosted by Owl Fella's Press, whose co-founder Valerie Malone has a direct connection to the mutiny through her grandfather John Moorehouse, a Connaught Ranger involved in it. John was married to a Newbridge woman, Julia Carroll, and he and his family suffered badly as a result of participation in the mutiny. 

"Over the years, this man, who I never met in person, introduced himself to me through the conduit of family lore," says Valerie, wife of writer Murt Malone with whom she runs Owl Fella's Press. "As the years passed, I wanted to know more about him, and what exactly he had done to have people occasionally talking about him in hushed tones. As it turned out, it was something of which to feel proud."

So many families in Ireland, and communities including locally Newbridge and Kilcullen, have connections to the British Army that are inextricably linked with the tortured times of a century ago. It's the stories of individuals that make some sense today of a very complicated tapestry, often stained with tragedy, hatred and blood. Individuals like John Moorehouse, whose stories bring family and national histories to life, and hopefully some compassion and understanding. Maybe in some magic of spirituality, those last will ripple back through the decades and bring ease to the souls of those who, like John Moorehouse, suffered 'great and lasting disharmony' and became 'a walking sea of agitation'.

The 1920 Indian Mutiny - the Newbridge Connection will include related prose and poetry readings, and music from Paul McCormack. All are welcome.

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