Michael Byrne (sailor)
Encyclopedia
Michael Byrne was born in Kilkenny
, Ireland
in 1761. He went to sea as an able seaman
at the age of 19. He had served on five naval ships by 1787, when he was signed as an able seaman
by Captain Bligh on the Bounty, primarily to play the fiddle. Bligh wrote I had great difficulty before I left England to get a man to play the violin and I preferred at last to take one two-thirds blind than come without one and described him as being 5 feet 6 inches high. Fair complexion and is almost blind. Plays the fiddle. Has the mark of an issue in the back of his neck.
During the mutiny
on 28 April 1789, Byrne was a loyalist, but he remained on the ship with the mutineers, apparently because his near-blindness added to his confusion. He was put ashore on Tahiti
by Fletcher Christian
. He gave himself up voluntarily when the Pandora arrived in 1791, and subsequently survived the wreck of the Pandora
. He was acquitted of mutiny at court-martial in 1792.
He later served with Bligh's nephew, Francis Bond
, on the Prompte, but it is not known what subsequently became of him.
Kilkenny
Kilkenny is a city and is the county town of the eponymous County Kilkenny in Ireland. It is situated on both banks of the River Nore in the province of Leinster, in the south-east of Ireland...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
in 1761. He went to sea as an able seaman
Able seaman
An able seaman is an unlicensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship. An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination of these roles.-Watchstander:...
at the age of 19. He had served on five naval ships by 1787, when he was signed as an able seaman
Able seaman
An able seaman is an unlicensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship. An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination of these roles.-Watchstander:...
by Captain Bligh on the Bounty, primarily to play the fiddle. Bligh wrote I had great difficulty before I left England to get a man to play the violin and I preferred at last to take one two-thirds blind than come without one and described him as being 5 feet 6 inches high. Fair complexion and is almost blind. Plays the fiddle. Has the mark of an issue in the back of his neck.
During the mutiny
Mutiny on the Bounty
The mutiny on the Bounty was a mutiny that occurred aboard the British Royal Navy ship HMS Bounty on 28 April 1789, and has been commemorated by several books, films, and popular songs, many of which take considerable liberties with the facts. The mutiny was led by Fletcher Christian against the...
on 28 April 1789, Byrne was a loyalist, but he remained on the ship with the mutineers, apparently because his near-blindness added to his confusion. He was put ashore on Tahiti
Tahiti
Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
by Fletcher Christian
Fletcher Christian
Fletcher Christian was a master's mate on board the Bounty during William Bligh's fateful voyage to Tahiti for breadfruit plants...
. He gave himself up voluntarily when the Pandora arrived in 1791, and subsequently survived the wreck of the Pandora
HMS Pandora (1779)
HMS Pandora was a 24-gun Porcupine-class sixth-rate post ship of the Royal Navy launched in May 1779. She is best known as the ship sent in 1790 to search for the Bounty and the mutineers who had taken her...
. He was acquitted of mutiny at court-martial in 1792.
He later served with Bligh's nephew, Francis Bond
Francis Godolphin Bond
Francis Godolphin Bond was a Rear-Admiral in the British Royal Navy. He was a nephew of William Bligh and grandfather of Frederick Bligh Bond. He sailed as Bligh's First Lieutenant on HMS Providence, Bligh's second breadfruit mission to Tahiti following the ill-fated Bounty voyage.-External links:...
, on the Prompte, but it is not known what subsequently became of him.
External links
- Story of the wreck of the Pandora.
- Michael Byrne at lareau.org
- BYRNE (Byrn), Michael, Bounty's Crew Encyclopedia, Pitcairn Island Study Center