13 February 1820: Leonard McNally, playwright, barrister, United Irishman [above] and an Informer died on this day. He was born in Dublin in 1752, and became a barrister in England before returning home to practise at the Irish Bar. He was one of the original members of the Society of United Irishmen and came to and defended many of its members in the Courts. He turned informer in 1794 following the arrest of the French agent the Rev Jackson. The general opinion is that his nerve snapped under threats during interrogation but the exact circumstances that led to his decision to become a tout remain unclear.

His play Robin Hood (1784) was playing in Dublin on the night in 1798 when Lord Edward Fitzgerald was captured on foot of information he had provided. . During 1798 and in 1803 he found himself in the bizarre situation of taking money both from revolutionary defendants before the Courts and from Dublin Castle for providing them with information that would compromise his clients.

Some of his associates had their doubts, and indeed one ‘doubter’ sent him a snake in a parcel from America as a token of gratitude! However his dark secret remained hidden until his death in 1820. Ironically he was given a Patriots funeral. It was only when his family demanded from the British government that his pension of £300 per annum should be continued that his secret life as a traitor was exposed.