Hi Jed!

Meagher was a most interesting person. He seemed to have a polarizing effect on people. They either lover or hated him. Some thought him a bit of an adventurer too. He was educated at a very old, very upper crust R.C. boarding school in England and, to the shock of many people, spoke with an English accent. Meagher lived with his in-laws at an address on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan about 6 blocks from my home (not on Fifth Avenue). His father-in-law was an old-line Anglo-Protestant New York and the two would argue over politics and virtually everything else at breakfast.   

Another very interesting person was Michael Corcoran who was a member of the Revenue police in Co. Donegal. He bacame a Ribbonman, was detected as a double agent and left for America with virtually nothing. It was actually Corcoran who was colonel of the 69th at the time of the Prince's visit (October, 1860).

All the best,
Dan