This was the making void and null all intermarriages between Catholic and Protestant that should take place after the 1st of May, 1746.

Such an Act was a renewal of the Statute of Kilkenny, and it was a fortunate circumstance to Willy Reilly and his dear Cooleen Bawn that he had the consolation of having been transported for seven years.

Had her father even given his consent at an earlier period, the laws of the land would have rendered their marriage impossible.

This cruel law, however, was overlooked; for it need hardly be said that it was met and spurned not only by human reason, but by human passion.

In truth, the strong and influential of both religions treated it with contempt, and trampled on it without any dread of the consequences.