Augustine E. Costello was born in Killimor, Co. Galway in 1846. Little is known of his early childhood years, which were lived during the Great Hunger (1845-1850). The Great Hunger took its toll on the parish of Killimor as it did elsewhere throughout Ireland. In the 1841 census, the population of Galway was 442,000. In the 1851 census, the population was 322,000, a decrease of 27% primarily due to death by starvation and associated diseases, and the exodus out of Ireland, the isle of fear and death. For the following forty years the exodus continued due to continuing sporadic food shortages, landlordism, evictions and other repressive colonial policies, which further reduced the population by an additional 22% to 215,000 according to the 1891 census.

Some time after finishing school, Augustine left Killimor and went to work on the railroad at Kells in Co. Meath. At that time the building of the railway network throughout Ireland was at its peak, and Augustine would have been one of many young men saving up to pay for passage to America.
Arrival in America
Some accounts indicate that Augustine was an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. That is doubtful as the Civil War ended in early 1865 when Augustine was 19 years old. It’s also highly unlikely that a newly arrived immigrant with no qualifications or military experience would fill such a role in a regular army. However, it’s possible the rank alluded to was one he held in the Fenian Army.
It is not known exactly when Costello immigrated to the United States. In his speech from the dock in 1867 he was unwilling to reveal the date or circumstances surrounding his departure from Ireland.
One may speculate that Costello was a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) before he left Ireland. The IRB, whose aim was to establish an independent democratic Irish Republic, was founded in 1858, along with its American counterpart, the Fenian Brotherhood.
The Voyage of Erin’s Hope
In an incredible example of “diaspora nationalism”, on April 12, 1867, about 50 Fenians, many of whom were US Civil War veterans, boarded the Jackmel, a 200-ton brigantine-type vessel docked at Sandy Hook in New Jersey. The commander of the expedition was a former U.S. Army officer who assumed the name ‘John F. Cavanagh’ to hide his identity and further allay any suspicion as to the true nature of the Jackmel‘s destination. James Kerrigan was in command of the Fenians. William J. Nagle and John Warren were his assistants. Costello was one of the eight other officers on board.
Ostensibly the Jackmel was a merchant ship destined for Cuba, but after a day sailing southwards, the Jackmel changed course for Ireland. After nine days sailing the men aboard hoisted a Fenian flag and renamed the vessel Erin’s Hope. Arms and ammunition were hidden in piano cases, sewing machine cases, and wine barrels. One cannot begin to imagine what travelling 3,000 miles at sea was like for these men in the 1860s, let alone with their intended goal of joining an uprising upon arrival.
On May 10th, Erin’s Hope arrived in Sligo Bay and for the following six days sailed from Sligo Bay to Donegal Bay sending unanswered signals to the shore. When questioned by Captain Cavanagh, local fishermen were not aware of a Fenian Rising.
