Thomas Mooney

Life
?1798-1888 [pseud., “Transatlantic”]; emigrated to America, 1841; contrib. to Dublin Pilot and the Nation back home, and wrote “Letters on Emigration“ for the Boston Pilot; travelled widely between Canada, New Brunswick, Wisconsin and New York; issued A History of Ireland from its first settlement to the present time (1846); returned to Ireland, 1850; wrote Nine Years in America (1850) in the form of letters to his farming brother Patrick; proselytised for emigration and warned against alcohol and prostitution; travelled back and forth from America and also visited France; worked as journalist on the Irish World (ed. Patrick Ford), in San Francisco; issued a People’s History of Ireland (1873) and an undated essay, Ireland’s Future; made a reputation for his forthright criticism of English rule in Ireland causing British attempts to ban circulation of Irish World in Ireland; d. 3 May 1888, at Dieppe; an obit. was written by Ford. RIA

[See editorial note on ‘Two George Peppers’ - infra.]

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Works
A History of Ireland, from its first settlement to the present time [...], 2 vols. [3rd Edn.] (Boston: Patrick Donahoe, 3 Franklin St. 1853). [see details].

Bibliographical details
A History of Ireland, from its First Settlement to the Present Time; including a particular account of Its Literature, Music, Architecture, and Natural Resources with upwards of two hundred biographical sketches of The Most Eminent Men; interspersed with a great number of Irish Melodies, original and selected, arranged for musical instruments, and illustrated by many Anecdotes of Celebrated Irishmen, and a series of Architectural Descriptions, by Thomas Mooney, Late of the City of Dublin (Boston: Patrick Donahoe, 3 Franklin St. 1853), 1,652pp.

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Vol I, 802pp. Preface [iv-xiv]. Guide Through the Work [i.e., Contents in XXVI Lectures], xv-xvii. Approbation: Meeting of the Friends of Ireland in New York [19]-21. Address: To the exiled Irishmen resident in the United States, the British Provinces, and in other parts of the world, and to those Irishmen still in bondage in their native country. (pp.22-24.) Approbation: [from the Boston Pilot] & Letters from the Bishops of Boston and New York; Letter from Robert Emmet, Esq. [‘its correct and patriotic views and the mode you have adopted for the arrangement of its contents, which make it one of the most interesting historical compilations I ever met with.’ (p.31)]; 2pp. list of subscribers. Lecture I to Lecture XXVI. (pp.1-802). Volume 1 ends with the Treaty of Limerick and the Flight of the Wild Geese, notably Sarsfield and his last words at Nerwindle.

Frontispiece: Engraving on t.p. facing shows Carolan in a Gothic frame with Dathi, Hugh O’Neill, Sarsfield, and Ollam Fodlah [sic, but Fodhla in text], Brian Boroimhe, Wolfe Tone forming the left and right panels and Curran, Grattan, Flood, Emmet and Lord Edward Fitzgerald occupying the central arch [sic].

Preface [extracts]: Amid all the privations to which the wandering Irishman is subject, there are few that so sensibly affect him as an exclusion from a knowledge of what is passing " at home." In proportion as his mind is cultivated is this pain intense. Every scrap of paper upon which the name of Ireland is impressed becomes dear to him ; an Irish newspaper is a welcome gift, and a book of Irish history or poetry is a prize. The music of his boyhood days, when struck up in his hearing, makes him a boy again. For a moment the heavy burdens of the world are removed, and the care-worn exile becomes for a time softened and spiritualized into a happy being. This may be pronounced a weakness, a childish weakness ; still it delights the wanderer, and is frequently his greatest consolation. (p.xi.)

For the Irishman in exile, this book is specially compiled. It is not a critical history. It is a familiar narrative, in which all that is dear to him is embraced. The history, biography, architecture, and music of his country are treated of, and the monuments of his forefathers’ genius and valor are pointed out. With this book in his possession, he will never be alone. It brings him into communion with the great spirits of the past and the present ; he is again in their society ; he feels the enno [xii] bling influences of their example ; and his mind expands with virtuous and valiant sentiment. As, in well-bred society, we are coerced into corresponding demeanor, so, when we commune frequently with the exalted, whether dead or living, we imbibe their spirit, insensibly become like them, rise in the moral scale, are obliged to be virtuous, and ashamed to be base.

[xiv] This book will call up memories of the past and of the absent. It will bring struggling Ireland into the minds of a new and a great race. The more her history is studied, the more her claim upon the sympathies of man will be established and admitted. It was for her dead more than for her living that the nations sympathized with modern Greece, and armed for her emancipation. This effort, the first to combine in one work the history, science, and biography, of Ireland, if properly seconded by her own sons, will do much to engage the minds of the thoughtful and the valiant in her behalf Every true Irishman will assist in circulating this book, — push its facts and arguments through the press, and have passages from it read aloud in lyceums and reading-rooms. It was not written to aid a party, but to dispel falsehood and establish truth. Every man, who neglects to spread its contents among his neighbors, favors the dominion of calumny and tyranny.

The Irish name has been blackened in America by the pens of calumniators. This book will help to remove the stain. The Irishman in Ireland is prevented, by the libel and sedition laws, from learning the history or the doctrines of freedom. This book will help to enlighten him. Every Irishman in the United States should send one of these books to some friend in Ireland. It wdl be a welcome gift, and its introduction among the Irish farmers will rouse their ambition and fortify their valor. Every Irishman in the United States, who can afford it should have one of these books to lend to his American neighbors. He should be industrious in circulating it from man to man, until all his American neighbors have read it over. If this be vigorously performed at all points of the Union, one or two years will not pass over ere a new and a powerful sentiment will grow up, in favor of Irishmen and Ireland, which will make the path of the exile pleasant in his adopted country, and contribute to exalt his race and his father-land in the scale of nations.’ (xiv.)

URL - [Internet Archive]: https://archive.org/details/historyofireland01moon/page/n21/mode/2up?view=theater.

	GUIDE THROUGH THE WORK. (pp.xv-xvii.)
LECTURE I.	Introduction — Ancient Nations — Egyptians — Phoenicians, &c	[1]
LECTURE II	Phoenician Mythology — Etruscans — Their Discovery of Ireland — First Settlers of Ireland, &c.	[34]
LECTURE III	Government — Legislative Assemblies — Laws — Literature — Religion and Customs of the Ancient Irish from 1260 to 860 B. C.	[51]
LECTURE IV	The Irish Language — Historians of Ireland — Ancient Architecture - Round Towers, &c	[77]
LECTURE V.	The Irish Bards — Their Poetry, &c.	[151]
	LECTURE VI. The Music of Ireland	[180]
LECTURE VII	The Historic Narrative resumed — 860 B. C. to the first Year of the Christian Era — Names and Deeds of twenty Kings — Military Code — Laws of Chivalry — Division of Ireland into Provinces and Counties.	[248]
LECTURE VIII.	From the Birth of Christ to A. D. 141. Names and Deeds of forty-three Kings — Moran — Roman Invasions — Roman Customs contrasted with those of the Irish	[271]
LECTURE IX.	From A. D. 141 to 279. Laws — Caledonian Colony — Leinster Militia — Reign of Cormac	[298]
LECTURE X.	From A. D. 279 to 500. The Constitution of the Irish Militia — Origin of several Irish Families — Defeat of the Romans in Caledonia — Literature, Religion, and Customs of tho ancient Irish contrasted with those of Rome, &c. — The Mission of St. Patrick	[325]
LECTURE XI.	From A. D. 500 to 800. Origin of the Saxons — The English Heptarchy — Spirit of the Christian Ages — The Monks — Numerous Irish Missionaries — Their Labors in Europe	[364]
LECTURE XII.	From A. D. 800 to 1066. Names of fifty-nine Kings of Ireland — State of Europe — Charlemagne — Mahomet — The Venetians — The Danes — Inva-sions and Battles in Ireland — Brien Boroimhe — Battle of Clontarf.	[409]
LECTURE XIII.	Religion, Literature, and Architecture of Ireland in the tenth and eleventh Centuries, with Engravings illustrative of the latter Subject	[448]
LECTURE XIV.	FROM A. D. 1016 TO 1509. Names of nineteen Irish Kings — Norman Conquest — First English Invasion — Magna Charta — Bruce — The Laws and Battles of the Pale.	[545]
LECTURE XV.	From A. D. 1509 to 1603. The Reign of Henry the Eighth — Queen Mary — The Reformation — Seizure of Church Property, &c	[601]
LECTURE XVI.	From A. D. 1560 to 1603. Mary Queen of Scots — Queen Elizabeth — The Fifteen Years’ War — The Deeds of Hugh O’Neill	[635]
LECTURE XVII.	From A. D. 1603-1691. The Reign of .James the First — Charles the First — “Irish Rebellion” — Cromwell’s Invasion — Charles the Second — James the Second — William the Third — Treaty of Limerick — Irish Exiles — Sarsfield	[714]
	[End Vol. I]
LECTURE XVIII.	From A. D. 1691 to 1782. Breach of the Treaty of Limerick — Confiscations — Suppression of Trade and Manufactures — Penal Laws — Reign of Queen Anne — George the First, Second, and Third — Irish Volunteers — Independence	[804]
LECTURE XIX.	From A. D. 1782 to 1798. The Dissolution of the Irish Volunteers — The Rise and Progress of the United Irishmen — Wolfe Tone’s Exertions — Battles of ’98 — Trials and Executions of tliat Period — Fall of Ireland	[858]
LECTURE XX.	From A. D. 1798 to 1800. The United Leaders — The “Union” and the Mode of carrying it	[990]
LECTURE XXI.	Life of Robert Emmet — Russell — Letters of T. A. Emmet and Macnevin — Insurrection — R. Emmet’s last Speech and Death Miss Curran.	[1068]
LECTURE XXII.	Biographical Sketches of the eminent Men of Ireland, that flourished from the Beginning of the Eighteenth to the Beginning of the Nineteenth Century.	[1097]
LECTURE XXIII.	O’CONNELL AND HIS TIMES. — FROM A. D. 1800 TO 1820. His Ancestry — Youth — Professional Career — Duels and Agitation	[1199]
LECTURE XXIV.	O’CONNEIL AND HIS TIMES. — FROM A. D. 1820 TO 1830. The Rise, Progress, and Triumph of the Catholic Association — Biographical Sketches of the Catholic Leaders	1295
LECTURE XXV.	O’CONNELL AND HIS TIMES. — FROM A. D. 1830 TO 1845.The Reform Agitation — The Repeal Agitation — The “Experiment” — Resources and Manufactures of Ireland — Revival of the Repeal Agitation — Monster Meetings — State Trials — Imprisonment and Triumph	[1343]
LECTURE XXVI.	O’Connell and his Family — Father Mathew — The Archbishop of Tuam — Bishop Higgins — William Smith O’Brien, with the leading Repealers, and distinguished Men of Intellect [1554]
NOTES, supplemental, on the Round Towers, the Volunteers, and the Laws and Law-Makers of England 1633
GENERAL INDEX		[1041]
MUSICAL INDEX		[1652]
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References
D. J. O’Donoghue, Poets of Ireland (Dublin: Hodges Figgis 1912), cites Thomas Mooney’s History of Ireland as a source under ‘Isaac Bickerstaffe’ and ‘Michael Doheny’). He is the subject of references in Irish Book Lover, x (1918), 70; xi (1919), 24; xviii (1930), 31; xix (1931), 76–8; xxviii (1941), 36 [acc. Dict. of Irish Biography, RIA 2009].

See Patrick M. Geoghegan, “Thomas Mooney”, in Dictionary of Irish Biography (RIA 2009) - [online].

Notes

Editorial note - Two George Peppers:

Mooney’s History proposes Egyptian and Phoenician origins for Irish civilisation and offers a strenuous defence of the Catholic Church, including the modern papacy, against Protestant critics. It largely deals with the ‘calumny’ of Ireland by British historians in a campaign of vilification which resulted in in the wilfully demotion of the Irish among other nations. Robert Emmet and some other United Irishmen are his beau ideal. The book was written with clearly-expressed motives of placing a knowledge and appreciation of Irish culture within reach of every Irish emigrant in America - but its sheer scale and the somewhat tangled arguments which form each ‘lecture’ (i.e., chapter) might be thought to have the opposite effect. (He blames the stuffy writing of scholars for the fact that women ‘know no history’ in the main, and hopes to remedy this in his own work - especially by its attractive combination of song-anthology with history lessons and biographical sketches of many famous Irishmen. This cross-cultural approach is undoubtedly an innovation but it has not secured his fame to future generations. Even for his contemporaries he seems more like a prodigy than a cultural leader of any sort. More importantly, perhaps, his big book stands in a definite relation to the tradition of Irish historiography going back to Keating, Lynch, the Abbé McGeoghegan - a professed favourite of his and Sylvester O’Halloran - but also in his virulent antipathy to Giraldus Cambrensis, Camden, Ledwich, and others in the Anglo-Irish camp. Mooney’s book stands in a close relation to some other Irish-American histories of Ireiand such as those by Matthew Carey (Vindiciae Hiberniae, 1819) which share the same method of voracious compilation and, inevitably, to the Irish histories of Thomas Moore. Daniel O’Connell is not alone his political hero of the moment but the key figure in the final chapters of his book and he counts - if only default - as a strong proponent of constitutional nationalism rather than a revolutionary of the Fenian ilk. The date of first publication of his history in 1845 largely accounts for this and a reverence for American democracy does the rest. [BS April 2024.]

Caveat: Mooney is quoted in the biographical sketch appended to a copy pamphlet entitled Ireland’s Martyrs [...] (1868), being the transcript of an “address” on British misrule in Ireland, most particularly the recent execution of the Manchester Martyrs, which was read by one George Pepper (1833-1899; q.v.) before a literarry association in N. Caroline in Dec. 1867. In that appendixl, the author - a journalist with the Boston Pilot journalist simply identified as Laffan in an introductory note written by ‘the publisher’ of the pamphlet (seemingly Patrick Donahue) - quotes a paragraph on an earlier George Pepper (?1792-1837) from Mooney’s History of Ireland (1853) giving a brief account of his is career in letters and his early death from fever in 1835, aged only 45. Like Mooney himself, this Pepper had produced a History of Ireland in 1835, bringing the narrative up to the Norman Invasion and drawing on Gaelic sources in translation to illustrate the culture of Ireland during the Gaelic period. This George Pepper began his book as chapters in a miscellany called Irish Shield, or Milesian Monthly, first issued in 1829 - this also being the year of the first issue of the Boston Pilot on which he worked according to Mooney’s account. Four issues were bound together for sale together at the end of that years and but one copy of this volume still exists today. In view of the biography of George Pepper (1) being preserved in a publication by George Pepper (2) without any personal or professional relation being connecting them, it is a simple matter to confusion the details of each as part of the biography of the same man. In fact George Pepper (1833-1899) was a Methodist, originally from Co. Down, who was ordained in America and fought in the civil war, going on to serve 35 years as a minister in Cleveland, Ohio, where he was ultimately buried. Yet he was also, as the pamphlet shows, a staunch supporter of the claims of Irish independence and connected with John Devoy and others in the Fenian movement.

Mooney’s History of Ireland appears to have been first circulated by him among prominent Irish-Americans in an private edition of 1845 and later reprinted as 2 vols. with 1,600 pages between then - numbered continuously - in 1853. The latter edition begins with several ‘approbations’ by figures such as the Bishop of New York and Robert Emmet, Esq., a descendant of Thomas Addis Emmet, brother of the Irish rebel who was executed in 1803. At the time of writing the first edition, Pepper was only eight years dead and probably remembered by Mooney - who knew nothing of the younger George Pepper who only arrived in American in 1858 and was for a long time unknown to the Irish patriotic community there. His fame seems to be restricted to American Methodist circles excepting for some mentions in a correspondence between William Carroll and John Devoy about the Catalpa Rescue of 1876 and other occasions when the hospitality and support of sympathetic Irish Americans was called for. [See further under George Pepper (1792-1837, q.v.) and George Pepper (1833-99. q.v.).

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