Prionsias Dubh McHugh, alias Black Francis Dubh or Black Frank, was a 'rapparee', or gentleman highwayman, who flourished in the second half of the 18th century
His place of birth was just ten miles from Carne, in Meencloghore (Cloghore), county Tyrone, and his hideouts lay in the Scraghy Hills (Tievemore Mountains) around Templecarne townland. Many of his escapades are still recounted in the folklore of the Pettigo / Lettercran area. He is remembered in local song and story as being valiant, chivalrous, and humane -- a person who robbed the rich and helped the poor
When Prionsias McHugh was finally captured, he was tried and hanged in Enniskillen, along with his companions Richard Monkham, James McCabe, Alex. Wright, Bryan McAlin, and Patrick 'Supple Dick' Corrigan (whose surname is often misleadingly transposed with McHugh's in anecdotal accounts)
At his hanging, 'Black Frank Dubh'* took advantage of the privilege of addressing the crowd and went on at some length. He was eventually interrupted by the hangman and told to be finished. He turned and said "for you it's a long day, but it will undoubtedly be a short one for me", and continued his final oratory
His body was taken by boat, accompanied by a flotilla of small craft, from Enniskillen down Lough Erne to the Waterfoot near Pettigoe, and his remains were laid to rest in Carne cemetery to the north of the village. His grave was probably never marked.
One of the local folksongs, a ballad entitled "Eva Brown's Love Story", begins thusly:
"Come all ye love-lorn damsels who dwell around the town
Till I tell ye the story of lovely Eva Brown
Who loved a bold young highwayman whose name was Francis Dubh*
Who robbed the rich and fed the poor and to his friends was true...."
[*Note: In Irish, "Dubh" is pronounced similar to 'Duuh' or 'Doo'; the Irish spelling of McHugh is Mac Aodha]
His place of birth was just ten miles from Carne, in Meencloghore (Cloghore), county Tyrone, and his hideouts lay in the Scraghy Hills (Tievemore Mountains) around Templecarne townland. Many of his escapades are still recounted in the folklore of the Pettigo / Lettercran area. He is remembered in local song and story as being valiant, chivalrous, and humane -- a person who robbed the rich and helped the poor
When Prionsias McHugh was finally captured, he was tried and hanged in Enniskillen, along with his companions Richard Monkham, James McCabe, Alex. Wright, Bryan McAlin, and Patrick 'Supple Dick' Corrigan (whose surname is often misleadingly transposed with McHugh's in anecdotal accounts)
At his hanging, 'Black Frank Dubh'* took advantage of the privilege of addressing the crowd and went on at some length. He was eventually interrupted by the hangman and told to be finished. He turned and said "for you it's a long day, but it will undoubtedly be a short one for me", and continued his final oratory
His body was taken by boat, accompanied by a flotilla of small craft, from Enniskillen down Lough Erne to the Waterfoot near Pettigoe, and his remains were laid to rest in Carne cemetery to the north of the village. His grave was probably never marked.
One of the local folksongs, a ballad entitled "Eva Brown's Love Story", begins thusly:
"Come all ye love-lorn damsels who dwell around the town
Till I tell ye the story of lovely Eva Brown
Who loved a bold young highwayman whose name was Francis Dubh*
Who robbed the rich and fed the poor and to his friends was true...."
[*Note: In Irish, "Dubh" is pronounced similar to 'Duuh' or 'Doo'; the Irish spelling of McHugh is Mac Aodha]
Prionsias Dubh McHugh, alias Black Francis Dubh or Black Frank, was a 'rapparee', or gentleman highwayman, who flourished in the second half of the 18th century
His place of birth was just ten miles from Carne, in Meencloghore (Cloghore), county Tyrone, and his hideouts lay in the Scraghy Hills (Tievemore Mountains) around Templecarne townland. Many of his escapades are still recounted in the folklore of the Pettigo / Lettercran area. He is remembered in local song and story as being valiant, chivalrous, and humane -- a person who robbed the rich and helped the poor
When Prionsias McHugh was finally captured, he was tried and hanged in Enniskillen, along with his companions Richard Monkham, James McCabe, Alex. Wright, Bryan McAlin, and Patrick 'Supple Dick' Corrigan (whose surname is often misleadingly transposed with McHugh's in anecdotal accounts)
At his hanging, 'Black Frank Dubh'* took advantage of the privilege of addressing the crowd and went on at some length. He was eventually interrupted by the hangman and told to be finished. He turned and said "for you it's a long day, but it will undoubtedly be a short one for me", and continued his final oratory
His body was taken by boat, accompanied by a flotilla of small craft, from Enniskillen down Lough Erne to the Waterfoot near Pettigoe, and his remains were laid to rest in Carne cemetery to the north of the village. His grave was probably never marked.
One of the local folksongs, a ballad entitled "Eva Brown's Love Story", begins thusly:
"Come all ye love-lorn damsels who dwell around the town
Till I tell ye the story of lovely Eva Brown
Who loved a bold young highwayman whose name was Francis Dubh*
Who robbed the rich and fed the poor and to his friends was true...."
[*Note: In Irish, "Dubh" is pronounced similar to 'Duuh' or 'Doo'; the Irish spelling of McHugh is Mac Aodha]
His place of birth was just ten miles from Carne, in Meencloghore (Cloghore), county Tyrone, and his hideouts lay in the Scraghy Hills (Tievemore Mountains) around Templecarne townland. Many of his escapades are still recounted in the folklore of the Pettigo / Lettercran area. He is remembered in local song and story as being valiant, chivalrous, and humane -- a person who robbed the rich and helped the poor
When Prionsias McHugh was finally captured, he was tried and hanged in Enniskillen, along with his companions Richard Monkham, James McCabe, Alex. Wright, Bryan McAlin, and Patrick 'Supple Dick' Corrigan (whose surname is often misleadingly transposed with McHugh's in anecdotal accounts)
At his hanging, 'Black Frank Dubh'* took advantage of the privilege of addressing the crowd and went on at some length. He was eventually interrupted by the hangman and told to be finished. He turned and said "for you it's a long day, but it will undoubtedly be a short one for me", and continued his final oratory
His body was taken by boat, accompanied by a flotilla of small craft, from Enniskillen down Lough Erne to the Waterfoot near Pettigoe, and his remains were laid to rest in Carne cemetery to the north of the village. His grave was probably never marked.
One of the local folksongs, a ballad entitled "Eva Brown's Love Story", begins thusly:
"Come all ye love-lorn damsels who dwell around the town
Till I tell ye the story of lovely Eva Brown
Who loved a bold young highwayman whose name was Francis Dubh*
Who robbed the rich and fed the poor and to his friends was true...."
[*Note: In Irish, "Dubh" is pronounced similar to 'Duuh' or 'Doo'; the Irish spelling of McHugh is Mac Aodha]
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