William Mangan

Following on from the defeat and eventual surrender of the small Franco-Irish army of General Humbert at Ballinamuck on the 9th of September, 1798 to greatly superior forces under General Lake, and after the last rebel held foothold of Killala was captured, so began the hunt for the Irish who had rebelled against the Empire.Once such man pursued was William Mangan, born in Rathbawn, near Sion Hill outside the town of Castlebar. Mangan was a local hero in his own short lifetime, for it was he who had guided Humbert’s army through the ‘Windy Gap’ and along the mountain path to the heights overlooking the town of Castlebar, on the night of the 26th of August, thus ensuring Humbert the element of surprise which contributed to the infamous victory over the British in what became known as ‘The Races of Castlebar.’

He led the army a short distance from the road, they then left the main road and marched by Ballinahaglish road, past the old cemetery, and off by Castlegore Wood to Knockfree, on the eastern side of Lough Conn, near the town of Crossmolina. The weather, which up to then had been unusually good, suddenly broke and the troops arrived in Lahardane in the midst of a rain storm. After a short stop, during which they were fed by Father Conroy and his parishioners, the wet and weary troops, with Mangan again leading them,

It is said that Captain Mangan fought bravely at Castlebar and in all the engagements, up to and including, Ballinamuck. He was one of the lucky few to escape, and after making his way safely back to Mayo, he was proclaimed an outlaw and for the next twelve months made the Hills of Erris his battlefield. In September 1799, Mangan was surrounded by the British at the home of his friend, James Corcoran, near Lahardane. In the skirmish which followed, Corcoran was killed by the British, and the house set alight. With guns blazing, Mangan raced from the inferno, but was captured a short distance away, at the farm of Mrs. Cawley, and shot dead - it is said that every man of the patrol shot him.

The soldiers then cut off Mangan's head and spiked it on the entrance gates to the nearby Ormsby mansion, now the Jesus and Mary Secondary School, Gortnor Abbey. Later that night, his headless corpse was spirited away to Addergoole cemetery, and buried close by his comrade, Father Conroy. It is claimed in local folklore that Captain John Ormsby(connected to Gortnor Abbey House) the British commander on the day, had Captain Mangan's letter of pardon in his pocket.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/25535541?read-now=1&refreqid=excelsior%3A27d4840199d2ce5124c820841aad0919&seq=3(Patrick Hogan)