Van Dieman's land

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bono=genius

The Fly
Joined
Jul 2, 2003
Messages
221
Location
Canada
can someone tell me what this song is about..i remember reading angela's ashes..and it came up..but i don't remember the whole story behind it..thanks.
 
Wasnt he a Fenian? I would doubt anybody would be transported because their poetry wasnt any good. Treason maybe but not just plain bad poetry.

*says she whos descended from more than a few people who were transported to Port Jackson and Port Arthur*
 
Been searching - He was a Fenian. Most of whom were transported to Western Australia, not Tasmania. Including John Boyle O'Reilly who was transported to Western Australia.

Are you sure this song is about him?
 
Thought he sounded familiar. He was involved with the Catalpa scandal.

When the last of the convict ships, the Hougoumont, arrived in Freemantle, Western Australia in January 1868 with 279 prisoners, sixty of the convicts were Fenians, most prominently John Boyle O'Reilly. One of O'Reilly's comrades, James Wilson, wrote a letter to John Devoy, leader of the Clan na Gael in New York. This letter set in motion the operation which led to the spectacular escape from Australia on the Catalpa.

Devoy had been looking for a project to galvanize the Irish in Ireland and in America, and Wilson's letter sparked the project. Devoy began the rescue effort in 1874 by consulting with Henry Hathaway in Boston. Hathaway had led the rescue of John Boyle O'Reilly from Western Australia. First, a boat was purchased for $5600, the Catalpa. It required a complete overhaul and a crew. By April 1875, the vessel was seaworthy and manned by a crew of Portuguese and African sailors and captained by George Anthony. Captain Anthony understood his mission and its place in the long struggle of Ireland against England. The Catalpa, fitted and ready, sailed out of New Bedford harbor on April 29, 1875 bound for Australia more than 10,000 miles away.

from http://www.irish-society.org/Hedgemaster Archives/australia.htm

All of which has nothing to do with Tasmania.

Unless it was artistic license on U2s part.
 
Yep, John Boyle O'Reilly was
23 years old
occupation = reporter
single
5 foot 6
black hair and brown eyes
oval face, dark complexion
sentenced to death or transportation for mutinous conduct

Another other suggestions?
 
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Ok. Will do. I wasnt slighting you by the way. There is a lot of myth and legend about convicts. I was curious.

I still reckon its dramatic licence. Fremantle doesnt sound so good in a song.

peace :hug:
 
SWlondnr said:
whats wrong with tasmania, oh yeah taz lives there.....prisoners from UK/ireland used to be sent over to australia

It's just a bit of an Australian joke- we tend to view Tasmanians as backwards inbreds! No offence if any Tasmanians read this- lol I know what you think of us mainlanders!
 
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