Three miles east of Prosperous was a small village called Clane, where fifty men of the Armagh Militia under subaltern officers had been stationed. They had the assistance of the Clane yeomanry - about twenty men, Catholics for the most part, tenants of the local landlord, a liberal Protestant called Richard Griffith, whose Millicent estate lay a few miles on the Naas side of the village. Only about twenty of the yeomen, with an officer and sergeant, remained with the militia in the town. The rest had dispersed to their houses as usual.
About three in the morning a violent knocking awakened Richard Griffith. On running to the window he learned that a party of more than three hundred men had attacked his guard at Clane and several of the Armagh Militia had been piked to death in their billets. Less than a quarter of an hour later he galloped into Clane to find that the yeomanry had managed to beat off the attack by firing a few rounds from their carbines, while the militia turned out. He drove the attackers across the commons beyond the village. Some took refuge in some huts that duly burned. Many were killed and six prisoners were taken - four of them Griffith's own tenants. One of them was shot after being condemned at the drumhead; the others hanged with less ceremony. On their return to Clane after dealing with 'the rascals', the party heard the news of a massacre.
Three miles away, at Prosperous, Captain Swayne and his little garrison had been surprised by a great mob of rebels, believed to be commanded by Griffith's own first lieutenant, Dr. Esmonde. Fifty of the garrison had been butchered.
Griffith took a roll call of his corps and found that three of the twenty supposed to be on duty that night had in fact deserted to the enemy, taking with them their own and other yeomen's arms. He had hardly time to regroup his yeomen and the Armagh Militia when a second wave of attackers swept down on them along the road from Prosperous. A volley from the carbines brought down six or seven of the leading men, a company of rebels riding the horses and wearing the accoutrements of the vanquished Ancient Britons. Behind, the infantry continued to advance.
'The party made a very formidable appearance', Griffith later told a friend, 'not so much from its numbers, though very considerable, but from the brightness of its arms, the scarlet coats, helmets, etc'.
Unable to secure their flank, Griffith's yeomanry and the Militia made a tactical retreat to a field beside the commons*. The rebels opened a smart fire towards their position, but directed it, fortunately for their assailants, at an angle of forty-five degrees upwards. 'Our fire had better effect', Griffith later reported, 'we killed or wounded a considerable number of the enemy - they very soon fled in dismay. I then charged them with my sixteen yeomen and cut down several rascals whose heads were ornamented with Ancient Britons helmets, Cork Militia hats etc. - the roads over which we rode were instantly covered with pikes, pitchforks and muskets'.
Despite these heartening moves, Griffith reported that the rebels at Prosperous were too strong for him. However, orders had arrived for his troop to retreat to the safety of the garrison at Naas. While the men were preparing to march, and the wounded were being loaded into cars, a yeoman called Phillip Mite, who had not been on duty that evening, confessed to Griffith that he had actually accompanied Esmonde when he led the rebels for the attack on Prosperous, but had made his escape before the action began. Hardly had Griffith heard this confession when Esmonde himself appeared in his usual place at the right of the troop. 'His hair dressed, his boots and breeches quite clean and himself fully accoutered'. Griffith, speechless with astonishment and indignation, rode beside him into Naas. The troop was drawn up opposite the goal, and five minutes later their first lieutenant was lodged 'in the body of it'.
Note
On this very first night of hostilities the rebels set fire to the roof of the Protestant Church. (Sherlock) Wolfe Tone, founder of the United Irishmen, and preacher of the Brotherhood of Irishmen. Protestant, Catholic and Dissenter would surely have turned in his grave.
*The 'field beside the commons' and the 'huts' were up the lane beside McKenna's store. Tradition has it that 'bushes would not grow' at this spot on account of 'the amount of blood spilled there'. (Garret Rourke)
Reproduced from "Le Chéile" by kind permission