Thomas Dromgoole speaking at a meeting of the Catholic Board in Dublin; represented as Doctor Drum "letting the cat out of the bag". Coloured etching, 1813.

Dromgoole, a physician, was voicing anti-Vetoist opinions. "Dromgoole became a prominent member of the Roman Catholic board, which was established in the early nineteenth century to further the cause of Catholic emancipation. An anti-vetoist, he was opposed to the purchase of freedom for the Catholics at the price of giving the government a veto in the appointment of their bishops. In 1813 he made some vigorous speeches on the subject, which materially contributed to the temporary defeat of the Catholic Emancipation Bill. … Dromgoole's staunch defence of the rights of Irish Roman Catholics was regarded as intemperate and sectarian by moderate Catholics and Dublin protestants alike, drawing down a hornets' nest around his ears. Condemned by the Freeman's Journal and lampooned by Dr Brennan in the anti-Catholic Milesian Magazine as 'Dr Drumsnuffle', Dromgoole was also censured by the Catholic board at its meeting of 24 December 1812. This was later rescinded when wider Catholic opinion came out in the doctor's support. Daniel O'Connell confessed privately that he hated Dromgoole ‘most cordially’ … for his role in exacerbating divisions among Catholics on the veto question." (Oxford dictionary of national biography)