In bygone days, children on the streets of Belfast were heard to chant, ‘Humpy Joe, Humpy Joe, lift your leg and away you go!’ So who was old Humpy Joe? Well, Humpy Joe was none other than Joseph Gillis Biggar, the Belfast born, Home Rule M.P. for Co. Cavan, 1874 – 1890. His nickname refered to a curvature of the spine, received in a terrible accident when as a teenager, he was thrown from a pony.
Some of my early interest in local history was nurtured through reading books such as ‘An Maide Bán’ by Aogán Ó Fearghail; a man who recently made history having attained the position of Uachtarán Chumann Lúthchleas Gael. It was also Aogán Ó Fearghail’s book which first brought the following story about Biggar to my attention.
Demonstration Time
In January 1884, Joseph Gillis Biggar, had hit the headlines when invited to speak at a National League demonstration in Cootehill. Biggar had travelled by train to Rockcorry for 12 o’clock where he was met by a crowd of loud cheering people, all waving banners. The train then continued on the last leg of its journey to Cootehill.
A huge crowd, including John Fay, President of Drumgoon Irish National League (INL) and Paddy Boyle, Secretary of Drumgoon (INL) had assembled on the station platform at Cootehill to greet Mr. Biggar. Stepping off the train, Biggar was approached by two resident magistrates, Captain Mansfield and Mr. Gibson, who presented him with a proclamation that prohibited the planned demonstration from taking place. Amongst the assembled spectators, there were also 4 district inspectors and 200 constables.
Rubbing a raw
As a politician, Biggar’s modus operandi consisted of four rules, they were: ‘1.Work on government time; 2. aid anyone to spend government time; 3. whenever you see a bill, block it; 4. whenever you see a raw, rub it.’ At Cootehill, the prohibited meeting was indeed a ‘raw’ and Biggar made sure that he would rub it.
Making his way from the railway station, Biggar climbed onto a horse-drawn car and was then ‘followed by a large crowd and by almost sixty policemen and the resident magistrates on cars’. The group ‘drove two miles out of town in the direction of Rockcorry, to meet a contingent from that district. Biggar then made his way back to Cootehill with a very large contingent still in pursuit. The Edinburgh Evening News reported that Biggar drove backwards and forwards between Cootehill and Ballybay for over three hours. With sixty police in pursuit, the chase must have been a spectacle akin to comedy in the eyes of the spectator.
Finally, Biggar managed to stop along the road at Lisnalong, where a large crowd had assembled on a hill. The police were not likely to have been in the best of humour, having completed a three hour marathon, and without hesitation, they immediately began to disperse the gathering. Biggar had no choice but to leave the scene and make his way back to Cootehill, again.
The dinner
Before entering Cootehill, the horse was taken from Biggar’s car, and ‘he was dragged in at a rapid pace, followed by the police, who stopped him several times by drawing police across the road.’ Eventually, they allowed him to make his way into the town. In Cootehill, he made his way to the home of Mr. Patrick Lynch, Bridge Street, where he received dinner. Having had their meal, the doors and windows were opened on Lynch’s house so that the people outside could hear the speeches. Paddy Boyle, Bough, in addressing Biggar, said, ‘you have been battling for our rights when we were sleeping and enjoying the luxuries of this world. We therefore pledge ourselves to adhere to the policy (obstructionism) you have originated, which we believe to be the policy of our illustrious leader, Charles S. Parnell.’
Biggar then spoke about the proclamation which prevented the planned meeting from taking place, stating, ‘now I would say that the man who declared that a breach of the peace would take place in Cootehill today, would be a very fit candidate for an asylum of idiots.’ Having had what you might call an eventful day, Biggar then boarded the night train from Cootehill.
I would like to acknnowledge Cavan Library Service for use of the image of Joseph G. Biggar. To read more about Biggar’s time as an M.P. for Cavan, see: Jack Magee’s account on ‘Humpy Joe the Obstructionist’, in Breifne 2003.
