Mary Walsh, Bonnet Made by Margaret Richards, Committee Member Roses from the Heart Waterford. Emer Powell, curator, advised on Clonmel symbols.
Mary Walsh Convict No.847 from Clonmel, Co. Tipperary born in 1811.
Mary was tried in Tipperary on the 3rd December 1840, aged 29 years, for aiding the attempt of two other women in stealing a piece of cashmere wool from a shop in the town. She strenuously denied the charges, or that she was at all acquainted with the other participants. Despite this, Mary, a mother of three young children, was found guilty and sentenced to 7 years transportation. She was admitted to Grangegorman Penitentiary on the 25th February 1842 and left on the 9th April 1842. The following day the 10th April 1842 she was on the convict ship Hope left Ireland, bound for Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania) Arrived Hobart 17th August 1842.
Mary's husband James fought against this sentence, starting a petition and getting signatures from over 25 characters of high repute, including the Mayor of Clonmel. It was to no avail.
Mary was described as being orderly and well conducted, who could not read or write. She was 5’6’’ with a fresh complexion and dark brown hair. She departed on the Hope on 10th April 1842 from Dublin, arriving in Hobart on the 17th August 1842.
She was deported, along with her youngest daughter (aged 1). Upon arrival, Mary's daughter was taken from her and placed in Queens Orphanage Hobart and died 10 May 1844 which was 18 months later.
Mary worked in a number of estates and houses in Tasmania for the next 7 years before she was declared free and released, receiving her Certificate of Freedom on 8th January 1849.
Recently a letter from Mary's husband was recovered. Sent to Mary's last known place of residence, 3 years after she departed Ireland, the letter was a heartfelt and deeply touching tribute to the love between the two. James expresses his wish to travel to Tasmania to be reunited with his true love. But Mary would never receive the letter. She had already moved houses and the letter was never forwarded to her. James's letter can now be found at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.
Research by Ann Fitzgerald and Eleanor Murphy Roses from the Heart, 2023
References:
Epic The Irish Emigration Museum (2018) [Facebook] 10 April. available: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2049976818548887 [accessed 3 March 2023]
Boland R. (2006) ‘Love letter from another world’, Irish Times, 20 October. available: https://www.irishtimes.com//love-letter-from-another-world-1.1018211 [accessed 3 March 2023]
FCRC Female Convicts Van Diemen’s Land Database [online], available: https://itsfilemaker4.its.utas.edu.au/fmi/webd/Female_Convicts_in_VDL_database [accessed 21 October 2020].