Name

Hugh Cosnahan

Biography

Castletown merchant, sent alongside George Moore to London in March 1765 carrying the Keys' resolution and their hopes. The choice to send him alongside Moore was deliberate — Moore was the constitutional man, Cosnahan the commercial man who understood what suppressing the trade would actually do. He told the Duke, face to face, that if the Duke had simply gone to Dunkeld and let the storm blow over, the Island might have been left in peace. The Duke's reply: 'as Matters then stood in the House of Commons, he should lose all his Revenues without any Compensation.' Cosnahan also testified under oath that the Keys and merchants would have voluntarily supported increased duties if anyone had asked. Nobody asked.

Active Period

fl. 1760s

Place

Castletown

London

Period

Atholl Lordship

Crown Administration

Role / Office

Merchant

Commissioner

Member of the Keys

Book Chapter

Chapter 7

Chapter 12