I was induced to commit great rogueries; I became acquainted with a gang of tories who kept their rendezvous in the county of Kerry with whom I committed such cruel and barbarous actions that we were all obliged to disperse and shift every one for himself….

Coming to Dublin, he soon joined another gang and from smaller thefts he lifted his game to stealing from the property of the wealthy; we have to surmise that he met Stevens and probably the Byrn and Fenly lot, and that the two newcomers were set up to fall.

Both men show aspects of that timeless quality of criminals – no honour amongst thieves. They both pointed the finger at individuals, even from the scaffold, and in Barnel’s case, in both his statements he had a vindictive few words to say about the printers. As always in such literature, the villains are concerned about their image and reputation. Barnel today would probably be writing true crime books or telling his tales to a journalist.