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was the loyalty and courage shown by that splendid force, 

 the Eoyal Irish Constabulary. Drawn from among the 

 very people they were called upon to act against, and 

 tempting as it must have been to assist in sharing the 

 plunder, which the people universally thought, from the 

 supineness of the Government, was going to be theirs, the 

 Constabulary yet remained faithful to their order. They 

 were called upon to undergo privations of every kind, — 

 hunger, fatigue, and violence, — ever fighting against their 

 own kith and kin ; but their conduct was the admiration 

 of everyone, and they were never known to fail in their 

 duty. They are undoubtedly one of the finest bodies of 

 men in the world, and much resemble in every way that 

 famous corps, the Guarda Civilia of Spain. 



There were many brilliant deeds of heroism performed 

 in these unhappy times by all classes, and often by 

 delicately nurtured ladies, as well as by humble peasant 

 women, that deserved a lasting record, instead of sinking 

 into oblivion, as has too often been the case. 



An instance occurred near Mallow in 1881 that may 

 well be narrated, showing how the courage of a wife saved 

 her husband's life. A widower named Hanlon was about 

 to be married again, when the family of his bride-elect 

 became boycotted, and, of course, the marriage was thereby 

 prevented from taking place. Hanlon himself was then 

 boycotted also, and as no person in the neighbourhood 

 dared to work for him, an old pensioner of the 20th 

 Eegiment, named Thomas Keefe, who lost an arm at the 

 battle of Inkermann, allowed his eldest daughter, a young 

 girl, to go and help in Hanlon's house. Keefe himself was 

 the tenant of a small farm and house at Nursetown, not 

 far from the other place, where he lived with his wife and 



