BY JOHN FITZGERALD
(Part two)
A long-running feud between two powerful County Kilkenny families reached a peak in 1768, when Callan Corporation was evenly divided between support for the rival Henry Flood and James Agar. In October Agar received a message from the Deputy Mayor of Callan, Francis Knap of Burnchurch, promising to divert his support from Flood to Agar in return for a farm and a sum of money. Agar invited Knap to come and see him in Callan. But Knap’s wife turned up instead, asking Agar to travel to Burnchurch to meet her husband.
Callan Innkeeper Michael Keogh advised Agar not to visit Burnchurch due to it being “enemy territory.” He offered to go in his place. So, Keogh accompanied Knap’s wife on the journey to meet Francis Knap. But when the Knap residence came into view, Mrs. Knap left Keogh in the carriage, saying she wished to check if her husband was alone. Minutes after she left him, men armed with muskets and crowbars surrounded the carriage….
They pulled the driver to the ground and beat him. The horses were also injured.
Surprised and panic-stricken, Keogh produced the weapons given to him by Agar and fired over the heads of the assailants. He then fled the scene, leaving the pistols behind him in the confusion.
Upon hearing of the ambush, Agar concluded that Flood had hatched a plot to assassinate him. Suspicion deepened when Knap cast his vote for Flood in the election. Agar’s hated foe secured the parliamentary seats.
A few weeks after the apparent murder attempt, Agar demanded the return of the pistols that Keogh had left behind him in the carriage. He accused Flood of stealing them.
The latter denied all knowledge of the pistols and alleged that Agar was hell-bent on discrediting him. He scoffed at the suggestion that he had contrived to lure Agar into a trap at Burnchurch.
On August 22nd, 1769, Agar issued an ultimatum to Flood: Return the pistols or appoint a time and place to meet him. He was challenging Flood to a duel. What had begun as a farcical episode had developed into a deadly showdown.
The two enemies met on August 25th at Dunmore in South Kilkenny. The venue was a field called the Triangle. Flood chose Richard Rothe as his second. Gervase Parker Bushe served Agar. Agar fired first. He seemed nervous and ill at ease as he pointed his weapon at Flood. His hand was shaking as pressed the trigger. When the gun-smoke cleared, Agar was horrified to see Flood standing there, still facing him. He had missed and now it was Flood’s turn.
Flood was smirking, relief written all over his face. He mocked Agar’s poor marksmanship and proceeded to take a pinch of snuff. This greatly incensed Agar who shouted: “fire, you scoundrel, fire!” Flood became convulsed with laughter.
After about two minutes had elapsed, he raised his pistol and took careful aim, still holding the snuffbox between the thumb and forefinger of his other hand. Snorting contemptuously, he fired. The ball struck Agar in the left breast. He fell to the ground, screaming in agony. Seconds later, he died from his wounds.
Flood was charged with murder. On April 13th, 1770, a large crowd turned up at Kilkenny Courthouse for the trial. Flood stood smiling in the dock, brimming with confidence.
The seconds, Rothe and Parker Bushe, gave evidence that Flood had behaved “fairly and honourably” at Dunmore and that he had simply responded to a challenge from Agar. After a speedy deliberation, the jury reached a verdict of “not guilty.”
Flood resumed his political career and the crusade against British interference in Ireland. But the family feud was far from over. James Agar’s son, George, swore he would avenge his father’s death. In 1777, he petitioned for the ousting of the Floods from their parliamentary seats in Callan.
The petition was successful. At the next election, the Agar faction retained the seats, dealing a severe blow to their enemy. The Floods never recovered from this defeat. Their power base had evaporated.
Henry Flood died in 1791 and is buried in the family vault at Burnchurch. George Agar went on to become Baron of Callan. He took his seat in the House of Lords in July 1790. Because he never married, however, his title became extinct when he died in 1815.
The Flood-Agar feud has now passed into history. Its main legacy is the reputation it conferred on a small town in the south east of Ireland. To this day, that town is known as Calain a Clampair-Callan of the Ructions: a testimony to old hatreds and forgotten enmities.
