James Mountaine

James Mountaine (c1819-1868) was an Irish Nationalist, "Young Irelander" and Fenian who lived in Cork, Ireland. For the first twenty years of his life, he spelled his name James Mountain. He was a supporter of Daniel O’Connell and the Irish liberation movement. As an adult he resided at 72 North Main Street, Cork, which has since been demolished, and worked as a shoe-maker. He was involved in the Fenian movement and imprisoned multiple times. By the time of his death, James Mountaine was a well known nationalist.

Mountaine was involved in the Cork Confederate Club, Cork National Reading Rooms, as well as the Brotherhood of St. Patrick.

As part of a group of shoe-makers accused of assault, James Mountaine was first imprisoned in 1848. They allegedly assaulted fellow shoe-maker John M'Donnell over a depute about regulations of their trade. After the accuser failed to appear in court, the case was dismissed and the defendant being bound to keep the peace for 12 months.

The marriage of the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) and Alexandra of Denmark on 10 March 1863 was an occasion for loyalist celebrations in Cork. Houses and shops had their windows illuminated. This increased nationalistic unrest, with windows being smashed and the mayor being roughly handled. Several rioters were prosecuted, including Mountaine. The trial started on 23 March with the charge of inciting the mob of 500 people and property damage. This was held immediately after John Lynch's trial over the same incident. Both were acquitted.

On 5th November 1963, he was seen on a ship to the United States by Irish police. Mountaine claimed that the purpose of the trip was to find his lost son, a surgeon in New York, after many requests from his wife. His search was successful. In December, he was seen in New York by the informant Pearce Nagle visiting the offices of John O'Mahony, a founding member of the Fenian Brotherhood in the United States. His stay in the country was less than three months. He carried a letter of recommendation from James Stephens, a founding member of what went on to be the Irish Republican Brotherhood, to John O'Mahony, which was published after his death:

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