As former prisoners, the two Boston had intimate knowledge of the inner workings of the Fremantle Prison and their contributions helped lead to the success of the rescue mission. Cashman strongly supported agrarian agitation in Ireland. In 1881, he published the first biography of Michael Davitt, a founder of the Irish National Land League. Cashman's "The Life of Michael Davitt" was published the same year Davitt was again imprisoned for after he accused the chief secretary of Ireland W. E. Forster of "infamous lying"..