“Remember I was always true,
Remember that I always tried,
Remember I loved only you,
Remember me and smile”
Cooper / Bamonte / Smith / O’Donnell / Gallup
On occasion I’m invited into local schools to talk about our Drumlin Giants in Rossmore Park. Holding the attention of thirty Tiny Hoomanz can be a challenge at times, but there is a magic word that I simply have to say to get them back to paying rapt attention….treasure. And on other occasions when I have given talks to adults the same word works on even the most cynical soul.
Treasure can imply mystery, adventure, luck , and good fortune. Our minds jump to lost temples, diamond mines, chests filled with doubloons, jewellery, hidden kingdoms, and general other worldliness.
I came across the story of a 17th century Monaghan man, and was hooked when he was linked to one of the largest treasure finds of history.
He was born Archibald Moore, but always hated the name, so later in life he simply told everyone that his name was Archie. He was born in Monaghan in 1666, the son of Quentin Moore, Monaghan Town’s gaoler.
In the 17th century, the position of gaoler in a small town in Ireland was neither lucrative nor sought after. Your pay was dependent on the number of prisoners , for each of which you received a set weekly fee. From this fee you had to maintain the cells, the gaol, feed the prisoners, and pay any other staff. Lots of gaolers eked out their existence by serving starvation rations and charging for visits. Quentin Moore had a different strategy. Each and every month there was a large and well attended cattle fair in Monaghan into which he emptied his inmates on the proviso that the inmates returned that evening and that they handed over everything they’d pick pocketed that day. If any of them were caught by the local yeomanry they were to give their name as ‘Jonny Shortt’, and all of the local yeomen knew that they were from the goal and that they would get a share of the day’s takings from Quentin. His philosophy was “one for you, one for me, one for the royalty”, by which he meant that he’d keep a third, the inmate would get a third, better rations, and a shorter sentence, and a third would be held in reserve to pay off any curious or helpful authorities.
The Monaghan Gaol became known as Jonny Shortt’s Hotel.
Quentin was able to save enough to send his son Archibald to London to train as a customs officer. This in itself was a position that had to be purchased and could lead to great prosperity by charging a commission on duties and tariffs, confiscation and disposal of smuggled goods, and by turning a blind eye. Archibald, gained a reputation as a very efficient, and when necessary, a very practical man to deal with. Moreover he was known to be a man of his word and, like his father, operated the same “one for you, one for me, one for the royalty” philosophy. He took his share, he made sure that the smugglers kept something for their troubles, and that the authorities got enough from all of them to remain uninterested.
He came to the attention of Charles Monck, second Duke of Abernarle, who was investing in a very speculative treasure hunt expedition and wanted a man he could trust to travel with the ship. By all accounts Archie Moore was a man that was trusted by pirates and the law in equal measure, so the Duke offered him a share in a life-changing fortune. Archie told him of his father’s philosophy, to which the Duke replied, laughing.
“Well , well, isn’t that a quaint idea. Where did you say that you were from ?”
“Monaghan, Sir, in Ulster.”
“In Ulster ? I thought you were going to say Sparta, with such, such, egalitarian ideals. But no, my philosophy is one for you, the rest for me, and to all intents and purposes, I am the royalty.” He laughed again. “But my dear Archie, we are talking of more than any of us will need in three lifetimes, so do not worry, you will have enough to buy this egalitarian kingdom on a hill, this…this…what’s it called again ?”
“Monaghan, Sir.”
“Yes, yes, that’s the chap…this Monaghan.”
And so on the 12th September 1686 Archie set sail on the James & Mary in search of the wreck of the mythical Spanish treasure ship, Nuestra Señora de la Concepción , in the Caribbean, under the captaincy of William Phips, an experienced buccaneer and avid treasure hunter. They found the wreck the following January and spent three months diving down and retrieving by hand and bucket silver and gold.
They headed back to England with a hoard of mythical proportions.
“Your Duke would be thrilled if he only knew about half of it.” Phipps said to Archie, when they were mid-Atlantic.
“He would indeed. But I gave my word.”
“He would never know.”
“True , but I would.”
“You are a rum sort Archie. Where are you from again ?”
“Monaghan.”
“I make a vow now never to set foot in Monaghan.”
“Monaghan can sometimes be a state of mind, Captain.”
Phips laughed. He was not an especially greedy man by nature, but he had seen previous successful missions end with the investors getting the majority of everything and the sailors left with scraps.
“With your leave Captain, I will speak to the Duke and ask for special dispensation for your men.”
“I knew you would Archie.”
When they landed in Gravesend Archie was dispatched to London to bring word to the Duke of their success. He insisted on joining Archie in returning to the ship immediately so that he could see for himself.
He was amazed.
“I’m amazed.” He said.
The ship contained 34 tons of silver coins, bullion, jewelry, doubloons, and gold , worth £206,000. Today this may not sound like an incredible sum, but in 1687 the entire annual government revenue for England was a little shy of £2 million. This treasure was enough to fund a war, a fleet of ships or…
The duke kept £50,000, Captain Phips, Archie and the crew got £11,000, each , the crown received £20,000 and the rest went to other investors.
£200,000 in 1687 in simple inflationary terms is £55 million today, but in terms of it’s spending power then, it would be closer to £550 million.
Archie used his fortune to invest in the East India Company, and the South Sea Company, and became a director of both. His life had another great adventure in store…but we’ll get to that another day.
Treasure is defined as
1
a(1)
: wealth (such as money, jewels, or precious metals) stored up or hoarded
buried treasure
(2)
: wealth of any kind or in any form : riches
b
: a store of money in reserve
2
: something of great worth or value
also : a person esteemed as rare or precious
3
: a collection of precious things
Last Friday I went to Marlay Park with my cousin Fiona to see The Cure play. We were both meeting up with other people later , but for three hours we sat on the grass in the sunshine and chatted about our families. She helped me pick a cool tee to add to my collection.
I met up with Baz, his sons, his brother and friends just before The Cure came on stage. At some point I wanted to navigate my way closer to the front for a few songs. I danced with strangers to ‘Just Like Heaven’, ( by dancing I mean that I swayed a bit from side to side…sometimes in time with the music), and then I welled up a little to ‘Treasure’, ( by welled up I mean that I cried a river. I made my way back to where I thought the Lyons were, but couldn’t fine them again, so went back to the front and smiled in wonder at a consummate performance by a genre defining band who were thoroughly enjoying themselves. Robert Smith , the lead singer spoke briefly to the crowd.
“It’s too bright. I don’t like daylight. I mean I know we need it to live, but c’mon, there’s a time and a place.”
On Saturday I got to jog around our Parkrun with my friend Dominic and we discussed world affairs and the idiot proof Casale Paradiso risotto from SuperValu. After post-Parkrun coffee I met Freddie at his fundraiser for Praxis Care. He was too busy chatting up the Monaghan Rose so I chatted to his brother Terry about Monaghan’s All-Ireland prospects…which were short lived as it turned out.
My Soulmate and I had dinner on Saturday night with Elliott and Melby and when the slagging got too much for me I suggested that we watch The Princess Bride, the second greatest movie of all time.
And on Wednesday Elliott and I travelled up to Dublin to meet Robyn. She’d arrived on Monday with friends, including Good Kelsie, to see Empire of The Sun play in Fairview Park. We got to meet the Edinburgh posse before they headed back home , and then we headed out on an impromptu pub crawl.
We started in Bruxelles where I’d had my first ever pint in 1985. We then had pints in David Byrnes, simply because I was wearing my David Byrne tee shirt from the ‘Who Is The Sky’ tour. We had dinner in Saba, pints in The Stag’s Head which I always loved drinking in back in the day. On our way to The Palace Bar I showed them the building on Crown Alley that I’d once bid on the lease for in order to open a Red or Dead franchise. I was outbid by Daryl and Cathy who opened DV8. I stopped bidding at £15,000 per year. Can you imagine ? You couldn’t lease a wheelie bin in Temple Bar for that now.
We finished up in Bowes on Fleet St.
We had a ball.
I told them about all the times I’d been in these places in the past and who I was with.
The next time I’m there I’ll tell my companion about the day Robyn, Elliott and I spent telling tall tales.
All these moments, with these people, Fiona, Baz, Dominic, Freddie, my Soulmate, Elliott and Robyn, are my precious things.
My treasure.
Toodles,
Paul
P.S. Just like you , this is ‘Just Like Heaven’
