Ben O'Flynn (1859-1880) was an Irish-Australian hired gun in the service of the ranch owner Elliott Marston during the late 19th century.
Biography[]
Ben O'Flynn was born in Australia in 1859 to a family of Irish convict laborers, and he found employment at Elliott Marston's Marston Waters ranch in Western Australia. The young O'Flynn was cocky and combative, taking a disliking to the American hired gun Matthew Quigley even before Quigley fell out with Marston; O'Flynn attempted to stir up his boss Tony Dobkin's anger by comparing their outdoor dinners of cold mutton with Quigley's warm indoor meal with Marston, and claiming that he could take down Quigley with his eyes closed. That same night, Quigley threw Marston out of his own home after Marston attempted to convince Quigley to join him in committing genocide against the Aborigines, resulting in a vendetta between the two men. Quigley, who survived being marooned in the Outback with "Crazy Cora", returned to the ranch to confront Marston, and, while he whittled down Marston's last remaining guards to just Dobkin and O'Flynn, O'Flynn ambushed Quigley and shot him in the leg as he was distracted by Dobkin. O'Flynn then lassoed Quigley and dragged him back to the ranch, where Marston had the wounded sharpshooter cut loose of his bonds for a final showdown, involving the Colt 1860 Army revolver, which Marston had come to master. Marston underestimated Quigley, who proved to be just as accurate and fast with a six-shooter; Quigley shot Marston, Dobkin, and O'Flynn in rapid succession, leaving all three of them dead.
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