During the first decade of the century, local peasants formed a secret society called "The Threshers". The group was responsible for a number of "outrages" including destroying crops and breaking into houses. The group wore a uniform of white shirts. In 1806 a local man – Thady Lavin – had informed the local magistrate of the activities of the group. He was later found murdered near Crossmolina. Six local men - Coll Flynn, Laurence Flynn, Charles Flynn, Thomas Horan, Daniel Regan, and Daniel Callaghan - were convicted of his murder, and hanged in Castlebar in December 1806.