This presentation will focus on the career of Samuel Gray of Ballybay. Remembered in local memory and folklore as the town villain, and a violent sectarian character, this talk seeks to separate some of the myth from the historical reality. It will discuss his role in opposing the Catholic Association’s John Lawless’s entry into Ballybay in 1828, his role as tithe collector, his controversial appointment and dismissal as sub-sheriff of County Monaghan in 1838, his numerous criminal trials for murder and feloniously shooting, and his successful legal appeal to the House of Lords in 1844. The presentation will argue that while his activities were perceived by contemporaries to be intrinsically political, much of his later trials were personal and apolitical in nature.

Patrick Duffy is a PhD candidate at the Department of History at Trinity College, Dublin, funded by a Research Ireland Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship. His research investigates the emergence of a north-south frontier during Daniel O’Connell’s campaigns for Catholic emancipation and repeal of the union by studying politics in County Monaghan.