On the evening of the 6th his
followers were attacked by a detachment of soldiers at Ballyhurst Fort,
about three miles from Tipperary; Burke saw the uselessness of
resistance, and advised his followers to disperse--an injunction which
they appear to have obeyed. Burke himself was thrown from his horse and
captured. He was conveyed to the jail of Tipperary, and was brought to
trial in the Greenstreet court-house, in Dublin, on the 24th of April
following. He was convicted of high treason, and sentenced to death in
the usual form. The following speech delivered by him after conviction
is well worthy of a place in the Irish heart:--
"My lords--It is not my intention to occupy much of your time in
answering the question--what I have to say why sentence should not be
passed upon me? But I may, with your permission, review a little of
the evidence that has been brought against me. The first evidence
that I would speak of is that of Sub-Inspector Kelly, who had a
conversation with me in Clonmel. He states that he asked me either
how was my friend, or what about my friend, Mr. Stephens, and
that I made answer and said, that he was the most idolised man that
ever had been, or that ever would be in America.
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