Francis Magan facts for kids

Francis Magan (born May 24, 1774 – died 1843) was an Irish lawyer who became known as an informer. He secretly provided information that led to the arrest and death of Lord Edward Fitzgerald, a key leader in the Irish Rebellion of 1798.

Early Life and Education

Francis Magan was born in Dublin, Ireland, on May 24, 1774. His family, the Magans of Umma-more, came from County Westmeath. His grandfather and uncle were doctors in Dublin, while his father, Thomas Magan, was a wool merchant. Thomas Magan was also involved in politics and was named a supplier to King George III. This honor likely came through his friend Francis Higgins, who owned a well-known newspaper called The Freeman's Journal.

In 1788, Francis Magan was accepted into Trinity College, Dublin, though he started attending in 1791. He joined the College Historical Society but was not very active. In May 1794, he took an oath of loyalty to the British king, which was required for Catholic lawyers at the time. After this, he traveled to London to continue his law studies at Lincoln's Inn.

Career and Betrayal

Magan returned to Dublin in 1796 and became a lawyer, joining the Irish Bar at the King's Inns. Records show he also worked for the Irish government's revenue service, which collected taxes.

Francis Magan is mainly remembered for one important action. In April and May of 1798, he secretly told the British government where Lord Edward Fitzgerald was hiding. Lord Edward was a very important leader of the United Irishmen, a group planning a rebellion. He was preparing to lead thousands of rebels, known as "Croppies," during the 1798 Rising.

The British government had offered a reward of £1,000 (a huge amount, worth about £1.5 million today) for information leading to Lord Edward's capture. Magan was a member of the United Irishmen's committee for Dublin, which is how he knew Lord Edward's location. He even hosted a meeting of this committee on May 17, 1798, where Lord Edward was present and might have stayed the night at Magan's house.

The next day, Magan sold this information to Dublin Castle, the center of British rule in Ireland. Based on Magan's tip, Major Sirr and his soldiers tried to arrest Lord Edward as he left a house on Usher's Island. With more information from Magan, Major Sirr later found Lord Edward, who was ill with a fever, at 153 Thomas Street. During his arrest, Lord Edward was injured and sadly died a few days later in Newgate Prison in Dublin.

For many years, no one knew that Francis Magan was the informer. He lived a quiet life afterward. It was only in 1892, nearly a century later, when a book called Secret Service Under Pitt by W. J. Fitzpatrick was published, that Magan's secret was revealed. It turned out that Francis Higgins, Magan's friend, received the £1,000 reward for Lord Edward's betrayal, and Magan himself received £300 a year for his role.

A fortune left by a Francis Magan later helped to establish St. Vincent's Hospital, Fairview, in Dublin in 1857.