In his entertaining reminiscences last week, John Freyne laments the “Vanishing Knights” and incidentally recalls a Prince among them, the sightless Edward Holohan, better known over a great part of Ireland as “Rambling Jack.”
Mr Freyne tells of the respect and affection, with which this famous wandering minstrel was held in Moate. It was only symptomatic of the esteem-amounting almost to veneration in which he was held in the many counties, that he traversed twice each year, from his native Limerick of the rich pastures, to the shores of Lough Sheelin. A noble hearted Fenian himself, Ned Holohan was a living link with ’67 [The Fenian Rising of 1867] and everything that Fenianism stood for. He was born at Darnstown, near Killmallock, on the way to Bruree in 1839, and he died there on 27th December, 1931 in his 92nd year. He lost his eyesight in the attack on Killmallock Police Barracks in 1867 and his famous old fiddle, which up to then, had been his amusement, became for him his means of livelihood. His herculean physical strength failed, one brown October day, on the main road between Birr and Banagher, while making his way to the later town. He was removed to the old County Hospital at Tullamore where he was among real kind-hearted friends, many of whom still survive. He recovered and took up his permanent abode in Tullamore where he lived until shortly before his death. He returned to his beloved Limerick to die on the spot where he was born. No Irishman did more than Ned Holohan in a humble way, without pension, fee, or reward of any king to tend the Phoenix flame of Irish nationality. He was one of the real old Fenian stock, staunch and true, an inspiring rebel to the end.
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