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vtJ^U^ ^'a4 SSJ^ ^
P
L
I
JOUENAL
OF THE
CO. KILDARE ARCHilOLOGICAL SOCIETY
AND
SURROUNDING DISTRICTS.
The Council of the County Eiu>are Abgh^ologioal Society do not hold themselves answerable for statements put forward in this Joubnal ; the responsibility rests entirely with the writers of the Papers.
• • • •
• « •'
/••.
A reduced Facalmlle of the OPiginftl Funer&l Entry or Gernld, 14th Earl at KUdare.
JOUEN AL
CO. KILDARE ARCHJIOLOGICAL SOCIETY
SIIREOUNDING DI8TEI0TS.
VOL. in.
JULY, 1899-1903.
DUBLIN: BDWABD PONSONBY, 116 GRAFTON STREET.
•
DUBLUr :
PBIITTBI) BY C. W. GIBBS AlTD fiOlft
WICI^LOW HTKEKT.
• »* , • • •
. ...
» • • « ,
CONTENTS.
VOLUME in, (July Number) 1899-1902.
PASB.
Pboceedinos, and Repobts of Council, .... 65, 185, 271, 403 Lists of Honobary Officbbs and Membkbs, and Bulbs, 72, 141, 277, 410
ExcuBsiON Mebtinos: —
1898. Old EilcuUen, Knockaulin, New Abbey, and Caetlemartin, 69
1899. GelbridgO) Ardrass, BathcofiFy, Glongowes Wood College,
and Clane, • 138
1900. Coghlanstown, Ballymore Eastaoe, The Piper's SCones, and
Poulaphooka 274
1901. Eerdiffstown, Johnstown Inn^ Bathmore, Punohestown,
Tipper, and Fumess, 407
The Hon. Tbeasurbb's Account: —
Up to December,' 1898; . 71
„ „ 1899 140
1900 276
1901, 409
Bbyiews of Books: —
Handcook's *' History and Antiquities of Tallaght, County Dublin,'* 198 Bairs^Historyof the County Dublin," Part I, .... 492
Notice of Book: —
Miss Margaret Stokes's " High Crosses of Ireland," Part II, 402
Obituabt: —
Miss Margaret Stokes, Honorary Member, 201
Papbbs: —
The Gurragh : its History and Traditions. By Lord Walter
FitsGerald, 1
The Holed High Cross at Moone. By Miss Margaret Stokes, 33
John Lye, ot Clonaugh. By the^Bev. E. O'Leary, p.p. Part lU, 39
331704
vi CONTENTS.
Papebs — continued : pagk.
The Carpenter Tomb Slab in St. David's Gharch, Naas. By Miss
A. F. Long and Lord Walter FitzOerald, . . 51
Bathooffy. By the Bev. M. Devitt« s.j., Vice-President, 79
The Wogan Monument at Glane. By T. Cooke-Trenoh, d.l., 99
Clane Abbey. By the late Bev. Professor George Stokes, d.d., 101
The Moat of Glane. By T. Gooke-Trenoh, d.l., .... 107 TheBt. Hon. William GonoUy, p.c, Speaker of the Irish House
of Gommons. By the Bev. G. I. Graham, b.d., 118 The Principal Gentry of the Gounty Eildare in the year 1600.
By Lord Walter FitzGerald, 118
The Song of the Sword of Gerball. Translated by Prof. Euno Meyer, 123
Killeen Gormac. By Lord Walter FitzGerald, .... 149 On the Different Deposits of the Biver Liffey at Millicent. By T.
Gooke- Trench, d.l., 164
Donadea and the Aylmer Family. By the Bev. Ganon Sherlock, u.a., 169 Gounty Kildare Folk-lore about Animals, Beptiles, and Birds.
By " Omurethi," 179
The Lattin and Mansfield Families in the Gounty Eildare. By
the Bev. Ganon Sherlock, m.a., 186
In Memoriam : — Miss Margaret Stokes, 201
Glongowes Wood. By the Bev. M. Devitt, s.j., . . . 207 The Birthplace and Life of St. Brigld of Kildare. By Major-
General F. W. Stubbs, 217
William FitzGerald, of Gastleroe, and his Tomb in the Eilkea
Ghurchyard. By Lord Walter FitzGerald, .... 229 Gounty Kildare Folk-tales. Gollected by Miss Greene, of Mill- brook 254, 368
The Bampart of the Pale at Glongowes Wood. By the Bev. M.
Devitt, 8. J., 284
The Original Anglo-Norman Settlers in the Gounty Eildare.
By the Bev. Ganon Sherlock, M.A. , 290
New Abbey of Kilcullen. By Lord Walter FitzGerald, ... 301
Gastlemartin. By *' Omurethi," 319
Notes on the Collection of Irish Antiquities lately at Edenderry.
By the Bev. E. O'Leary, p.p., 325
Ballymore Eustace and its neighbouring Antiquities. By Lord
Walter FitzGerald, ••.•.... 343
The Wolfe Family of the Gounty Kildare. By George Wolfe, . 361
Hathmore. By Lord Walter FitzGerald, 372
Notes on Grange Con, Gounty Wicklow. By Sir Arthur Vicars, . 382
The Henry Family in Kildare. By the liev. Ganon Sherlock, m.a., 386
Notes on the Sweetman Family. By the Bev. Ganon Sherlock, m.a., 389 Lettice, Baroness of Offaly, and the Siege of her Castle of Geashill,
1642. By Lord Frederick FitzGerald, .... 419 The FitzGeralds of Ballyshannon (Co. Eildare), and their Successors
thereat. By Lord W^alter FitzGerald, .... 425
Notes on Furness, or Great Forenaghts. By Nicholas J. Synnott, 453
CONTENTS. Vll
Papebs — continued: PAok.
John FitzGerald, of Narraghbeg. By *' Omurethi/' . 471 Notes on Mural Graves found in the Foundations of the Chancel of St. Brigid's Cathedral Church, Kildare, in 1891. By the
Very Rev. the Dean of Kildare 479
Miscellanea akd Notes: —
Fnmess, or Forenaghts Great, .57
An Ancient Foot-track of Wooden Planks across the Monavullagh
Bog, 61
Additions to the List of County Kildare High Sheriffs, 63, 265, 898
Calverstown, near Eilcullen, 64
A Constable of Dublin Castle in 1474 64
The Shrule Castle (Queen's Co.) Lettered Stone 129
A Bronze Celt, . 132
Three disused Townland Names in the south of the County Kildare : —
Bahdroo, Dun-fin-yeen, Corally 132
Sixteenth-century Tombstones in the Ballynadrumny Churchyard, 183
The Core-ally Rath, 191
Irish Pearls 192
A Pagan Sepulchral Kist in the Dublin Science and Art Museum, 194 Additional Oil-Paintings of Lord Edward FitzGerald, . 194, 399
Davidstown, near Castledermot, 195
Bases of Crosses at Carragh 195
Philip Flatisbury, a Kildare Historian, 196
Antiquities at Kilkea Castle, 196, 265
The Browne Mausoleum at Mainham, 261
A seventeenth-century Skillet and Bronze Sword at Kilkea Castle, 265
" The Carbrie/' a Dublin Residence of the Earls of Kildare, 267
The Wayside Cross Bases formerly at Little Rath and Prospect, . 268
Gerald Aylmer, son of Sir Andrew, of Donadea, .... 268
St. Brigid and Clane, 269
Old Road Names near Athy and near Dunmanoge, . . . 269
The County Ghilway ArohsBologioal Society, 270
Thomas FitzGerald, Prior of Kilmainham, 884
The Baronies of the County Kildare in 1850, . . 336 The Wife of Sir John Wogan, Knt., of Rathcoffy, who died about
the year 1420, 387
The Extinct Family of Young, of Newtown O'More, County Kildare, 338 David O'Buge, a native of Kildare, and a learned Carmelite of the
fourteenth century, . . » 339
Exhibits by Mr. Cooke-Trench at the Annual Meeting in Naas, 1901, 339
Poul-a-phooka» 391
Notes on a Crozier in the Clongowes Wood College Museum, . 398 The Inauguration of a new portion of the Grand Canal in the
County Kildare, 395
Dr. Daniel Neylan, Bishop of Kildare, 1583-1603, ... 397
viil CONTENTS.
MiBOBLLANKA AND NOTBS — COnHuued : PAOE.
Antiqaities in the BtfaBeom at CloDgowes Wood College, . 398 The Seals of the Athy Corporation, and of the Eildare County
Council, 399
Note on two ancient Carved Stones now at Sherlockstown, . . 401
Tornings, 482
The three Sir Itfaarioe EuBtaoes of the latter end of the seventeenth
century, 484
Irish Warriors and Peasants, a.d. 1521, 486
The Castle of Eildare 489
QUBBZEB AND AnBWEBS TO QUERIBS : —
Derivation of the name " Millioent " ? 131
Who was the father of the Bight Hon. William Conolly, Speaker
of the Irish House of Commons ? 194
A Sherlock Coat-of-Arms Stone. What family are impaled with
the Sherlock Coat? 341
The situation of '* the Black Castle " in Leixlip, .... 341
The father of the Bight Hon. William Conolly, p.c, of Castletown, 342
The Delahyde Family, whose Arms are on the Tipper cross-shaft, 396 Whereabouts is '* Bichard FitzGerald's Cross " ? . .396
Where is the Church of St. Abban, near Leixlip ? . . . 489
Where is Castle Doghenay, near Dunmurry, situated ? 489
The situation of the " Busshopps Courte juxta le Liffe," , 489
The Castles at Leixlip 490
cobrigenda, 493
Dbboription of thb Fbontibpiecb, 494
Index, 496
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PA.OK.
Facsimile of the original " Funeral Entry" of Oerald, 14tb Earl of Kildare,
ob. 11th Febroary, 1611, {FrantUpieee.)
Map showing the antiqnarian remains on the Curragh in ISS?^ . . 1
Plan of the Garragh Camp in 1868 16
The Curragh Camp from the Chapel, looking east, .... 17
The " Wart-stone" at the Rathbride side of the Curragh, ... 21
The Gibbet Bath from the Polo Ground 22
The Obelisk erected in Donnelly's Hollow in 1888 28
William Robert, 2nd Duke of Leinster 80
Fragments of the Holed Cross of Moone (back and front), . . 34, 36 „ ,, „ „ (sculpturing on the shaft frag- ment), 88
The Echlin Coat-of-Arms, 44
Kilshanroe Chapel, from a drawing by the Bev. E. 0*Leary, p.p., . 60
The Carpenter Slab in St. David's Church at Naas, .... 62
A gold ring dug up in the garden at Furness, 67
Interior of Furness Church, from a drawing by the Hon. Gerald Ponsonby, 58
The Long-stone inside the Bath at Furness, 59
Section and plan of the situation of the wooden foot-track across the
Monavullagh Bog, , .... 61
The Gateway into the Bawn of Bathooffy Castle, 81
Sir Charles Wogan, Ent., 82
Bathcoffy House in ruins, 86
The Wogan Coat-of-Arms, 87
The Wogan Altar-Tomb, 1616, in the churchyard at Clane, ... 98
Portions of the Franciscan Abbey at Clane, 102
Map of Clane, showing its antiquarian remains, 108
A Bullaun at Clane, known as "the Wart-stone," 110
The ConoUy Monument in the old churchyard at Celbridge, . .112
The Inscription on a Chimney-piece in Shrule Castle, Queen's County, . 129 The Eilleen Cormao Ogham Stones, from drawings by the late Father
J. F. Shearman . . 148
Map of Eilleen Cormac and its neighbourhood, 151
The **Decedda Stone" at Eilleen Cormac, 156
The Bilingual Ogham Stone at Eilleen Cormac, 156
Bobbing of the Latin Inscription on the Bilingual Ogham Stone, . 157
Bubbing of the human figure, cut on a pillar-stone at Eilleen Cormac, . 158
John Whelan's name, in Hebrew, on a stone at Eillelan Churchyard, . 159
Itqbbing from a cross-inscribed slab at Eilleen Cormac, .... 16Q
X LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
FAQS.
Plan of the Eilleen Gormao Churohyard, 161
Donadea Castle, from a drawing by the Bey. Canon Sherlock, . 168
The Aylmer Coat-of-Arms, 169
Portions of Donadea Castle, from drawings by the Bev. Canon Sherlock, 173, 176
The Lattin Arms, 186
The Mansfield Arms, 188
Antiquities at Eilkea Castle, 197
.The late Miss Margaret Stokes sketching the High Cross at Moone, . 201
Clongowes Wood College (the hall-door side), 206
The Badge of Loyola, 207
The Quadrangle, Clongowes Wood College, from a drawing by A. C.
Michelmore, 208
The Coat-of-Arms, and Inscription over the hall-door, at Clongowes Wood
College 215
St. Brigid's Well at Faughart, Co. Louth, from a photograph by the late
Miss Margaret Stokes, . . . , 216
Map of the ancient territories in the present County Louth, . . 219
Map of Faughart and its neighbourhood, 223
Faughart Church Buins, north side, 224
Two Views of the ruins of Gastleroe, 230
Bubbings from William FitzGerald's Tomb in the Kilkea Churchyard, 236, 238
The FitzGerald Altar-Tomb in the Mortuary Chapel, Kilkea Church Buins, 239 Sculptured Stones in connection with William FitzGerald, of Castleroe,
Eilkea Church Buins 241
Bubbing of the inscription on the Mural Slab, Eilkea Church Buins, . 243
Plan of the Eilkea Church Buins 244
Two Views of the east end of the Eilkea Church Buins, .... 246
The West End of the Eilkea Church Buins, 246
Shape of a Window (in fragments) at Eilkea Castle, .... 247
A Sculptured Slab in the Chancel of the Eilkea Church Buins, . . 248
Ground-plan of Castleroe, 250
Map of the Castleroe District, 253
The Monument in the Browne Mausoleum at Mainham, from a drawing
by A. C. Michelmore, 260
Bubbings of the Crests and Coat-of-Arms on the Browne Monument, 262
The Castledermot Sword, and a Bronze Pot, at Kilkea Castle, . 266
Map of the Bampart of the Pale at Clongowes Wood, .... 284
Comparison of churches in the County Eildare with those in Wales, 297, 298 The Effigies on the Portlester Tomb at New Abbey, KilcuUen, drawn by
Thomas J. Westropp, 300
The same from a photograph, 302
The sides of the Portlester Altar-Tomb, drawn by Thos. J. Westropp, . 304
Bubbing of portions of the Inscription on the Tomb, .... 306
New Abbey as it was in 1782, 307
The Effigies on the Portlester Cenotaph in St. Audoen's Church, Dublin, 308
Bubbing of the Inscription on the Portlester Cenotaph in St. Audoen's, . 310
EUcullen Brid^^e, drawn by Petrie, 314
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. xi
The upside-down portion of the Inscription on the Portlester Cenotaph in
St. Aadoen's, 316
Portions of the Eustaoe Altar-Tomb in the Castlemartin Chapel, . 818
Plan of the Castlemartin Chapel Bains, 822
The Tower of the Castlemartin Chapel Bains, 828
Antiqaities in the Edenderry Maseam, .... 826, 827, 329, 832 Back and front view of the tall Cross in the Ballymore Eastace Church.
yard, 351
Sketch of the Inscription on the head of the tall Cross, . . 352
Gk>oleen-a-waatha Cataract, at Ballymore Eastace, .... 858
The Piper's Stones near Ballymore Eustace, 855
The prostrate Long-stone near Ballymore Eastace 357
Map of Ballymore Eastace and its neighboarhood, .... 359
Portrait of Arthur Wolfe, Ist Viscount Eilwarden, 363
Portrait of the Bev. Charles Wolfe, mjl 366
The Wolfe Coat-of- Arms, 367
An Irish War-piper, carved on a stone formerly at Woodstock Castle,
near Athy, 878
Two Views of the Moat at Bathmore, 381
Bubbings from two Coats-of-Arms (Harrington) Stones at Grange Con, . 384
The Henry Arms, 386
The Sweetman Arms, 389
Poul-a-phooka, 398
A Crozier in the Clongowes Wood College Museum, .... 394
Antiquities in the Museum at Clongowes Wood College, . . 398 Seals of the Borough and of the Town Commissioners of Athy, and of the
Eildare County Council, 400
A Stone, bearing the Sherlock Coat-of-Arms 401
A Sculptured Stone, now at Sherlockstown 402
Lettice, Baroness of Oflaly, ob. 1658, 418
A Miniature of Lettice, Baroness of Offaly, 423
Plan of Ballyshannon Castle in 1650 447
The Long-stone in the Bath at Fumess, 454
Fumess Church from the East, 457
The Chancel- Arch in Fnrness Church, 458
Portion of the FitzGterald of Narraghbeg Cross, 474
Bemains of the Inscription on the FitzGerald of Narraghbeg Cross, 475 Carvings on the FitzGerald of Narraghbeg Cross, .... 476, 477
The position of the Mural Graves, St. Brigid's Cathedral, Eildare, . . 479 Bnbbing of a Window-head, and the Inscriptions on two Tablets, at
Turnings House, 482
Irish Warriors and Peasantry, from a sixteenth-century drawing by
Albrecht Durer, 487
/
Pollu fiUs^^ THE
POLUARD^TOV^ C URRAGH
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KILCULUEM PARISH
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JOURNAL
OF THE
JIw|»oIogical jSwietD of i\t C^wtfi of FJilbart
AND
jSfurronnbing Distnds.
+♦
77^£ CURRAGH: ITS HISTORY AND
TRADITIONS.
By lord WALTER FITZGERALD.
[Read on the 24th February, 1807.]
**Marid Cuirrech oona li, Ni mair nach Ri ro boi foir.**
**The Curraffh, with its beauty, remains, But there lives no king who was over it." —
From **The Book of Leinster," a twelfth-century MS. [Hennessy.]
THE Gurragh at the present time contains 4,885 acres; as the crow flies it is six miles in length, and two miles in breadth at its broadest portion ; its longest axis lies N.-W. and S.-E. ; a walk round its mearin would be a distance of fifteen miles; all these measurements are calculated in statute, or English, mileage.
As to the meaning of the name, Dr. Joyce says it is used in two senses : (1) Gnirreach, or Gurragh, means *' a marshy place,*' and as such is generally used all over Ireland in place-names ; (2) it means '' a racecourse," and in this sense it applies to the Gurragh of Kildare, which was never a marsh.
In an ancient tract known as '' Gormac's Glossary,*' which was written by Gormac MacGnillenan, King of Munster and Bishop of Gashel (who was slain in the Battle of Ballachmoon,
^ : : /THE -GURRACiU : tTS HISTORY AND TRADITIONS.
in the sontb end of the County Eildare, in 908), the word ** Gairrech " occurs twice, and is thus explained : —
** * Cuirrech * is applied to a sheskin or morass, from the corra, or cranes, which frequent it.
" * Cuirrech,* i.e., a curribus, i,e,,Jich carpait (in Irish), which means ' a contest of chariots.'"
From the earliest times the Curragh has been a great common, or unenclosed plain. Its ancient name of *' Cuirrech Life,^' or the Curragh of the Liffey, shows that long ago it reached that river's banks; but since the Anglo-Norman invasion it has gradually been encroached upon from all sides, as is proved by such names along its borders as Pollardstown, Crotanstown, Walshestown, Brownstown, Maddenstown, and others.
The Curragh lay in the ancient district of Magh Life, or Life's plain, so called from Life, daughter of Ganann ^'curchach," and wife of Deltbanna mac Druchta, cup-bearer of Conaire Mor, King of Lreland ;^ from the plain, the river which flows through it was named ; hence Avon Life (distorted to Anna Liffey), or *' the River Liffey," which previous to that time was named ** Ruirtach " — ^i.e., " the chief or noble river.''* Magh Life itself was situated in the O'Byrne territory of Offelan.
There was a custom in pre-Christian times in ancient Erin to hold *' aonechs " (pronounced *' eenaghs'*), or fairs, at the burial- place, or moat, of a king or some noted warrior* Some aonechs were celebrated annually, others triennially ; they originated in the funeral games held in honour of the renowned dead ; and according as the aonechs represented a province or a smaller territory, they differed in size and importance. In connection with the Curragh, the '^ Annals of Ireland** mention two aonechs : —
(a) One was called " Aonech Cholmain," or " Cole- man's Fair ; *'
(b) The other was known as *' Aonech Life," or " the Fair of the Liffey." Neither their sites, nor the date of their institution, are known ; though Dr. O'Donovan in the " Ordnance Survey Letters *' says it is not im- probable that one of them was established by Art *' Mesdelmon,*' son of Setna, the founder of Dun Aillinn, on the neighbouring hill of Enockaulin, or by some one of his pagan successors.
> P. 530 of S. H. O'Grady's «' Silva Gadelica."
' P. 453, vol. X, ** Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy."
THE CURRAGH : ITS HISTORY AND TRADITIONS. 3
There is a twelfth-century vellam MS. in the Library of Trinity CoUege,^ Dablin, which contains a poem said to have been compost by Ossian, son of Finn Mac Cool^ in the third century^ transcribed from a MS. of a mnch earlier date. In this poem Ossian informs as that the then King of Leinster inaugurated the Aonech Life, and that it was at the time of this great assembly that Ossian composed the poem in commemora- tion of the event.^
An aonech performed four functions : —
1st. It honoured the dead by funeral rites, feasts^ and games ; and by raising the keen, or death-song, kept his memory green.
The wake games are a survival of this ancient custom.
2nd. It was a combined parliament and school, at which the people were taught the history of their country and clan, the warlike deeds and pedigrees of their chiefs, and the laws under which they were governed.
8rd. It was the occasion of merry-making and friendly contests. Besides dancing, jugglery, and music, there were horse and foot races, feats of arms, recitations of poetry and long stories, athletic sports and games.
4th. And lastly, it was a great market for the ex- change and barter of live-stock, gold ornaments, weapons of o&nce and defence, embroidery, cloths, and all kinds of home and foreign wares.^
The aonech was governed by strict laws, breaches of the peace, insults to women, &c., being severely dealt with, and no one could be arrested or his goods seized while going to, at, or returning from the fair. It lasted for several days, and was pre- sided over by the king in whose district it was held, who himself distributed the rewards to the successful individuals in the various competitions ; in attendance on him were his brehons, bards, and other state officials.
As at the present day, fatal accidents occasionally occurred at an aonech: thus in the year a.d. 940, "Faelan, son of Muireadhach, King of Leinster, died of a fall at Aonech- Colmaine." *
It is stated in " The Book of Munster,*' as preserved in " The Book of Lecan," that Fiacha, second son of Daire Cearba, ancestor of the O'Donovans, and King of Munster in the fourth
* p. 14, vol. i of the Oasianic Society's Publications.
• O'Ourry's *' Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish." ' '* Annals of the Four Masters."
4 THE CURRAGH: ITS HISTORY AND TRADITIONS.
century, obtained the nickname of " Fidb-gheinte/' i.e., wood- maker, becanse he constructed a horse of wood at the fair of Aonecb Gholmain.^
There were occasions, too, when a hostile chief would take a mean advantage of his enemy, and attack him while presiding at the peaceable aonech : in a.d. 825 occurred ** the destruction of the Fair of Colman, by Muireadhach, against the South Leinstermen, where many were slain.^
To hold a fair in another king's territory was an act of insult to him, and done probably as a boast over his downfall. A case of this sort occurred in the year 954, when there took place " a hosting by Conghalach, son of Maelmithigh, King of Ireland, into Leinster ; and after he had plundered Leinster, and held the Aonech Life for three davs, information was sent from Leinster to the foreigners of Ath-cliath (i.e., the Danes of Dublin), and Awly, son of Godfrey, lord of foreigners, with his forces went and laid an ambush for Conghalach, by means of which stratagem he was taken, with his chieftains, at Tigh Gighrainn (i.e., Tigeeran, a place not identified). Conghalach himself was slain, and a great many others along with him."^
Dr. Joyce, in explaining the word "aonech,*' says: —
''In modem times, and in the present spoken language, this word is always applied to a cattle fair. There is no doubt that in some cases the present fairs are the representatives of the ancient popular assemblies, which have continued uninterruptedly from age to age, gradually changing their purposes to suit the requirements of each succeeding generation. The word ''aenach" forms part of a great number of names, showing that fairs were formerly held at the place, though in most instances they have been discontinued or transferred to other localities." *
About the year 480 the great patron saint of the County Kildare, St. Brigid, came and settled at '' Drumcree ** (i.e., " the Ridge of Clay"), which was then on or at the edge of the Curragh. This place is now Kildare.
There is a legend told, which I have heard from the mouths of the older generation, of how St. Brigid acquired the Curragh for her own use. It was to this effect : —
The King of Leinster who lived at the time that St. Brigid first settled at Kildare, was an uncharitable and close-fisted man. He had repeatedly refused to grant any gi-ound to St. Brigid on which she might graze her few head of cattle. Now, this king had a deformity in the shape of two ears like those of a horse,
* Hennessy's Paper on " The Curragh," p. 351, vol. ix of the ** Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy."
'^ " The Annals of the Four Masters." » Ibid.
* Page 204, First Series of ** Irish Names of Places."
THE CURRAGH : ITS HISTORY AND TRADITIONS. S
which he kept carefully concealed nnder his long hair; bat he daily dreaded discovery, which wonld mean the loss of his throne, as a king mnst be without personal blemish. At last he decided to try what St. Brigid could do for him, and, going quietly to Kildare, he had an interview with her ; the result was that the saint agreed to remove the deformity on condition that she was granted as much land as her mantle would cover. The king willingly promised it, and congratulated himself on having to part with so little of his territoiy. He was then put into a deep sleep by St. Brigid, and when he awoke again, he found his head was furnished with a pair of human ears. On that day week the promised plot of ground was to be handed over. When the day anived, a large crowd assembled to witness St. Brigid receive over the first acquisition of land for her cell. Before removing her mantle, St. Brigid explained to the people the nature of the king's promise ; she then called seven of her nuns, and handing them her mantle, told them to spread it on the ground as far as it would stretch to the north, east, and south. They followed her instructions, and^ to the amazement of the king and his people, the mantle enlarged until it covered the whole of the present Curragh, and more besides. To the east St. Brigid's nuns were stopped close to the Biver Liffey by a smith issuing from a forge with a red-hot iron in his hand ; northwards they met a red- haired woman, and would proceed no further ; while to the south a larger extent of the king's territory would have been covered by the mantle had not the nuns in that direction seen a hare cross their path, and so they put down the mantle, and turned back. Thus it was St. Brigid acquired the Curragh from the ungrateful and miserly king.
In Oiraldus Gambrensis'^ time (the latter end of the twelfth century) the Curragh was also known as '' St. Brigid's Pastures," *' in which," he adds, '' no plough was suffered to turn a furrow ; respecting these meadows, it is held as a miracle that, although all the cattle in the province should graze the herbage from morning till night, the next morning the grass would be as luxuriant as ever."
The oldest written reference to the Curragh is to be found in an ancient MS.^ called the ** Liber Hymnorum," preserved in Trinity College, supposed to have been transcribed from an older MS. in the tenth century. The reference occurs in the celebrated hymn in praise of St Brigid, composed by St. Brogan Claen from a prose narrative communicated to him by his
' That is, Gerald of Wales, the Norman chronicler of the invasion of Ireland by Strongbow. He was the son of William de Barry, by his wife Angareth, siBter of Maurice FitzGerald of Maynooth.
6 THE CURRAGH: ITS HISTORY AND TRADITIONS.
master St. Ultan^ of Ardbraccan, in Meath, whose death took place in 656; in this hymn is the line, '^In Gaillech reidhed Cuirrech," i.e., " the nun who drives over the Curragh."*
In the year 868 the Irish Annals record the death of Coffey, son of Murray, Abbot of Eildare, in praise of whom they say : —
** Cobhthach of the Cuirreach of races, intended King of Lephthe of tunics, Alas ! for the great son of Muireadhach. Ah grief ! the descendant
of the comely fair Ceallach. Chief of Scholastic Leinster, a perfect, comely, prudent sage, A brilliant shining star, was Ooohthach, the successor of Oonnladh.'
»»»
The late W. M. Hennessy, who was an Irish scholar, translates the Irish, '' Cobhthach cuirrigh cuirrithaigh," as *' the racing Coffey of the Curragh ; " but Dr. O'Donovan gives it as above.
Though the Curragh was probably the scene of many a conflict, yet only one pitched battle on it is recorded in '* The Annals of the Four Masters ;*' it is thus noticed : —
** The age of Christ 777 [recte, 782]. The battle of Cuirreach, by the side of Cill-dara, was fought on the sixth of the Calends of September, on Tuesday, between Ruadhri, son of Faelan, and Bran, son of Muread- hach ; wherein Mughron, son of Flann, Lord of Ui-Failghe, and Dubh- dachrich, son of I^idhgnen, were slain in a combat. The victory was gained by Ruadhri."
Sixty-three years after the coming of the Anglo-Normans into Ireland, the Curragh was the scene of an act of inexcusable treachery on the part of some of the Anglo-Norman knights towards one of their own compatriots. The late Sir John Gilbert describes the circumstances of it as follows^ : —
* * William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke and nominal Lord of Leinster, dying in 1231, bequeathed his offices and large possessions in Ireland, Wales, and England, to his brother Richard. Henry III was influenced to prohibit Earl Richard's admission to his inheritance, and, on a charge of treason in Brittany, commanded him, without trial, to quit the king- dom. The Earl Richard, however, sailed to Ireland, took possession of the castles and lands of his family, and defied the king ; the result was the king thought it best to conciliate him, and invested him with the office of Mar^chal and his other hereditary rights.
*'At this time the king was greatly influenced by foreigners from Poitou and Brittany, who laboured to suppress the nobility of England. He sought to prevail against the English barons by the aid of mercenary troops ; but Earl Richard combined with Prince Llewellin, and with success opposed them.
' Venerated on the 4 th of September.
' Hennessy 's Paper in vol. ix of the ** Proceedings of the R. I. A.
* ** Annals of the Four Masters."
* P. 93 of his ** History of the Viceroys of Ireland."
>i
THE CURRAGH : ITS HISTORY AND TRADITIONS. /
" The foreign advisers of the king^ dreading that these successes might eventuate in their own expulsion from England^ devised a plot to cut off the Earl Richard. With this object they despatched letters to the viceroy and Irish barons, requiring them to capture Earl Richard, dead or alive, if he landed in Ireland, and to seize hia castles ; concluding with a promise that his land9 should subsequently be divided amongst them. Having obtained a charter relative to the distribution of the Earl's lands, to which the king in ignorance had signed his name, and for which the Royal Seal attached had been stolen for the occasion, the Irish barons took the oath of confederation, and invaded the lands of the Earl, their feudal lord, who, hearing of their doings, repaired to Ireland, and successfully held his own against them. Disconcerted at their losses, the viceroy solicited a truce, while he sent messengers to England to learn the king's will.
*^ In the meantime Earl Richard appointed a conference on the Curragh of Kildare with the barons. On the Ist of April, 1234, Maurice FitzGerald, the Viceroy, accompanied by Hugh de Lacy and Richard de Burgh, came with a body of soloiery to the place of meeting, while the earl, with Greoffi*ey de Marisco and a few attendants, took up a position some distance away. The negotiations carried on between the parties by Templars, ended by the barons refusing to comply with the ean's demands for the restoration of some of his castles still m their possession ; and,, drawing their swords, they threatened to attack him at once unless he consented to the truce.
'* The earl, at this juncture, was basely deserted by his false friend Geofirev de Marisco ; but, undaunted by superior numbers, and accom- panied by only fifteen followers who remained faithful to him, he charged into the midst of the barons' troops, and for a long time fought bravely, doing great execution on his foes. At last his horse fell under him, and while the earl lay on the ground he received a mortal wound in the back ; he was carried off to one of his own castles, and on Palm Sunday, sixteen days after receiving the wounds, he breathed his last. His body was taken to Eilkenny, and buried in the Dominican Abbey, where the founder, his brother William, had been laid three years before.
*' The death of Strongbow*s grandson ' in this fashion caused great alarm among the Anglo-Norman settlers in Ireland ; but Henry III denied all knowledge of the plot, and by his future conduct soon reassured them."
In ** Marlborongh's Chronicle " it is stated that in the year 1406^ the prior of Great Connell Abbey^ at the head of only twenty English soldiers, pnt to flight two hundred well-armed Irish on the Gan'agh of Eildare. This may be taken cam grano salts.
For the next two or three centuries there is nothing of any importance recorded aboat the Garragh. This is not surprising, when one remembers that the Curragh was only an extensive common. But, at the same time, it was in the hands of the Crown, which kept a jealous eye on its grazing rights thereon ; and when it leased a manor adjacent to the Curragh to any one of its prominent adherents, a careful mention is made in the grant
* Hifl mother was Isabel de Clare, Strongbow's only child, who had married William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke.
8 THE CURRAGH : ITS HISTORY AND TRADITIONS.
of the privilege to enjoy the common: pasture on the Garragh. The following are instances in illustration of this : —
(a) In 1592, a new lease for sixty years, of the manor of Bathbride ^ (which lies at the north-western end of the Curragh), late the possession of David Sutton' of Gonnell and Castletown-Kildroughty attainted of high treason, was granted to John Lye^ of Glonaugh, in the Gounty Eildare. Bathbride is described as '* containing sixty acres of great measure, according to the custom of the country, making 180 acres of standard measure, lying towards the batter or lane of Rollickstone, on the east, leading to the king*s way, betwixt the lands of Bathbride and Priortown on the west, and so from Bichard FitzOerralde's Gross, on the west' side of Gookesland, to the Gurraghe of Eildare, and- to the river Boure on the north, and the Gurraghe of Kildare on the south, with carnmon of pasture on the Curraghe^ and liberty to cut turf on the moor near the west side of the Ghannon*s Wood. John Lye must also maintain one English horse- man, archer, or arquebusier ; he must not levy coyne and livery ; and must not alienate any portions of his lands without licence, except to persons of English parentage, or bom in the English Pale."*
(h) On the southern side of the Gurragh lies Ballysax (i.e., the sedgy or barren townland, vide Joyce). In the year 1584, this manor was leased to Bobert Nangle, a soldier who had served the Oovei*nment faithfully for nearly thirty years, and who had been crippled for life in the Desmond Bebellion, from a wound received in March, 1580, at the assault and. capture of Garrig-a-foile Gastle, in the Gounty Eerry. The Gastle and lands of Ballysax were leased, together with " the common pasture on the Curragh thereunto belonging;'* the said Nangle undertaking to repair and fortify the ruinous Castle of Ballysax, as shall be thought best by the Gouncil for the Queen's service/
M.e., Brigid's Rath. The following extract states after whom it was called: — '*St. Brigidia de Rathbrigde, juxta Curreach Kildarensi, filia Muredacii cum Sancta Adamaria Virgine." [Keledeus and Ketin, Tri. Th.,D. 611.]
^ Vide vol. ii, p. 367, of The Journal.
' Vide the Paper on John Lye of Clonaugh, by the Rev. E. O'Leary, p.p. ; vol. ii, p. 133, of The Journal.
* Vide Elizabeth Fiant, No. 5,745.
* Vide Elizabeth Fiant, No. 4,348 ; and Russell's " Cal. of Docts. , Ire." (1608-1010).
THE CURRAGH: ITS HISTORY AND TRADITIONS. 9
About the year 1682, a '' doBoriptive account of the County of Kildare, by Thomas Monk/' was drawn up for Sir William Petty, in which he gives the following quaintly worded account of the Curragh^ :—
'* Nere the center of this County is the Curragh of Kildare, a large BiMtious plaine and common to all the adjacent neighbourhood, whoe find it a rich and commodious as well as a healthful pasturage, especially for sheep that beare a fine staple and the sweetest flesh of any m the king- dom, it being thronged with flocks all the yeare round. It is about nine miles in compasse, and together with the adjoyneinge grounds, is reckoned one of the most pleasant sytes these kingdoms anywhere can shew. The easie assents, yieldinge noble and various prospects, and the gentle declinings give content to the wearied traveller as well as recreate and please the gentiele horseman and keeper, it being a place naturally addapted to pleasure, and its vicinity to Dublin, being but 17 miles distance, occasions, that hither repaires the Lord Lievt., or Chief e Gk>vemor, when his Majesties important affairs will admitt leasure to imbend and slacken from tyreing cares ; hither are also seen to come all the nobility and geutrie of the kingdome that either pretend to love, or delight in, hawking, hunting, or raceing. For in this clearer and finer aire the falcon goes to a l^gher pitch or mount, so as often to be scarce visible ; the hounds enjoy the scent more freely, and the courser in his swift carreare is lesse sencible of pressure or opposition than other where. And upon any gonerall meetinge or rendavouse of the Army or Militia this is the place, and indeed it is noe unacceptable sight, upon such oocations to see what numbers of gentlemen with faire equipage, good mien and port, appeare there to accompany and attend his Excellency."
At this time, the property of John, the 18th Earl of Kildare, was in a very bad way^ owing to the civil war of 1640-50, and there is a seventeenth-century manuscript at Carton, on which suggestions are made for its benefit during the minority of tha Earl, who came of age in 1682. It is undated and unsigned. There is one reference to the Curragh Races in it, which is as follows : —
'* The Lordship of Kildare^ being now out of lease, where there is an excellent course, it may be worth considering that by my Lord giving a plate of about 40 pounds a yeare, which would bring a vast concourse and expence among his tenants, the lands, on this account, will rise at least twelve pence an acre on that hopes, so that, tho* this seems a matter of pleasure, it will really be of great profitt to many acres of my Lord's lands that lye adjacent to the Curragh of Kildare, and will improve the towne and the rents of the land contiguous to it."
Horse-racing on the Curragh appears to have been of long standing ; but it was not until the year 1696 that the Oovern-
* A copy of this short work was made in 1849 by Dr. George Petrie for the Marquis of Kildare, and is now at Kilkea Castle.
*0f which the townlands of Pollardstown, Miller Hill, Black Hill, and Maddenstown, border on the Curragh.
lO THE CURRAGH: ITS HISTORY AND TRADITIONS.
ment encouraged liorse-breeJiug iu Ireland by giving two Plates of £100 each to be run for annually at the Curragh Races. In the Record Office there are many manuscript volumes containing '' the Receit and Payments of the Receiver-General of his Majesties Revenue in Ireland ; " in which, among other items, the names of owners of the winners of the Government Plates, run for at the GuiTagh Races/ are given }'early from 1696 to 1820. The following three extracts will be sufficient to illustrate the general run of these entries : —
**Paid to John Philips for a Piece of Plate run for on ye Curragh of Kildare the 16th inst., and of his Majesties bounty, given yearely for encouragement to breed horses, as by warrant dated the 13th of September, 1697, and acquittance appears ... £103 16 0
'^ Paid to Lord Mazareen, as of his Majesties bounty,
for the yearly Plate run for by Horses, Mares, and «
Geldings ; won by his Horse on the Curragh of
Kildare, the 26th of July, 1710, as by warrant
dated the 21st August, 1710, and acquittance
appears ... ... ... ... ... £115 0 0
**Paid the Earl of Rosse for his Majesties Plate, run for on the Curragh of Kildare, by Mares only, on the 12th September, 1718, as by warrant dated the 27th September^ 1718, and acquittance appears £119 5 0 "
In 1795, Lord Edward FitzOerald and his wife (Pamela) were living in a small house (now demolished) near the Castle in the town of Kildare, which he rented from Mr. Thomas Gonolly of Castletown. With him was staying, for the races, his friend^ Mr. Arthur O'Connor, m.p. for Philipstown. In connection with this year's Curragh Races, Moore, in his '' Life of Lord Edward/' relates the following sensational incident : —
* * It was about this time (1795) that there took place, on the Curragh of Kildare, a well-known rencontre between Lord Edward and some dragoon officers. The following are, as nearly as possible, the real circumstances of the transaction. Mr. Arthur O'Connor, being at that time on a visit to his friend, they rode together on one of the days of the races to the Curragh, Lord Edward having a green silk handkerchief round his neck. It was indeed his practice at all times (contrary to the usual custom of that day) to wear a coloured silk neckcloth, and on the present occasion lie chose to wear the national, and at that time obnoxious, colour — ^green.
^ Lord Mayo has in his possession at Palnierstown three or four curious old prints, dating about the first half of the last century, in connection with racing on the Curragh. Noble and Keenan's Map of the County Kildare (1752) has on it a sketch of a match for 1,000 guineas between Sir Ralph Gore's ^' Black and all Black," and the Earl of March's ^^ Bajazet," which was run on the 5th of September, 1751, and won easily by the former.
THE CURRAGH: ITS HISTORY AND TRADITIONS. II
** At the end of the race, having left the stand-house in a canter to return home, the two friends had not proceeded far before they found themselves overtaken by a party of from ten to a dozen officers, who, riding past them at full gsJlop, wheeled round so as to obstruct their passage, and demanded that Lord Edward should take off his green cravat. Thus accosted. Lord Edward answered coolly : — ' Your cloth would speak you to be gentlemen, but this conduct conveys a very different impression . As to this neckcloth that so offends you, all I can say is. Here I stand ; let any man among you, who dares, come forward and take it off.' This speech, pronounced calmly and deliberately, took his pursuers by surprise, and for a moment they looked puzzled at each other, doubtful how to proceed ; when Mr. O'Connor, interposing, said that if the officers chose to appoint two out of their number. Lord Edward and himself would be found ready to attend their summons at Kildare.
'^The parties then separated, and during the two following days. Lord Edward and his friend waited the expected message. But no further steps were taken by these military gentlemen, on whose conduct rather a significant verdict was passed at a Curragh ball shortly after, when it was agreed, as I have heard, by all the ladies in the room not to accept any of them as partners."'
Darinf( the troables of '98, the country surronnding the Curragh suffered greatly, both from the maddened peasantry alEid from the revengeful and ill-disciplined soldiery, who were generally allowed to follow their own will unrestrained and un- punished. Even the Cun*agh itself was the scene of a brutal carnage. It occurred on the 29th May, 1798 : the Rebellion had biroken out six days previously. The ofScer in command of the forces near Kildare at the time was General Dundas, an upright and humane officer, then quartered at Castlemartin. A day or two previously he had issued a proclamation offering a free pardon to all rebels who would assemble at the Gibbet Rath on the Curragh on the 29th of May, and deliver up their arms. In answer to this appeal, several hundreds of United Irishmen assembled at the place named. Unfoi*tunately, early on that morning Major-General Sir James Duff arrived at Kildare with 600 men from Limerick, and received information that a large force of the rebels were to surrender and deliver up their arms, for which they had been promised a free pardon. General Duff thereupon proceeded at once to the Gibbet Rath. His force included a yeomanry regiment known as ^' Lord Roden's' fox- hunters." On approaching the place where the rebels had assembled, one man in the crowd, saying he would not hand over his fire-lock loaded, blazed it off in the air. General Duff's force immediately opened fire on the unfortunate men, who threw down their arms, and fled in all directions, hotly pursued
'Moore's "Life of Lord Edward FitzGerald," vol. i, pp. 276-8, of the 1831 edition.
* Robert Jooelyn, Earl of Roden.
12 THE CURRAGH: ITS HISTORY AND TRADITIONS.
by Lord Roden's fox-bantersy who rigbt and left cnt down tbe defenceless peasants, and before the firing could be stopped, and the yeomanry recalled^ some 850 of them lay dead, scattered over the Gurragh; the loss in General Daff's force was nil. Some historians of the Bebellion state that the troops were attacked on this occasion, which led to their returning the fire ; but this is a deliberate lie, concocted to hush up a yast military murder.
In 1804, William Robert, 2nd Duke of Leinster, died at Carton, and was buried in the family vault in the south transept of St. Brigid's Cathedral. The funeral^ was so numerously attended by the gentry and his tenants that, it is said, the pro- cession reached across the Curragh. A legend in connection with the Duke's ancestor — the Wizard Earl — Gerald, the 11th Earl of Eildare, who died in 1585, is related as having occurred on the Curragh : —
It is said that he and his knights lie in an enchanted sleep in a cave under the Rath of MuUaghmast, and that once in seven years, for a short time, the enchanted sleep is lifted, and they have then to issue forth, gallop round the Curragh, visit Kilkea Castle, and then return to MullaghmasL' On one occasion, in the heel of the evening, shortly before '98, a blacksmith named Martin Murphy was driving an ass-cart from Athgarvan to Eildare. On the way across the Curragh be overtook a travelling tinker, and gave him a lift. As they jogged along, collogueing together, their conversation was interrupted by the sound of horses galloping behind them ; they both looked round, and were terrified at seeing approaching them a troop of men clothed from head to foot in armour, led by a knight on a white charger. The leader then halted his troop, and rode forward to where the two terrified men had pulled up by the side of the road. On reaching them, he asked the blacksmith to inspect the state of his charger's shoes. Martin Murphy, plucking up courage, dismounted from the cart and examined each shoe, which, he was astonished to notice, were of silver, and as thin as a cat's ear ; however, the nails were sound, and so he informed the knight, who, after thanking him, rejoined his men and galloped on. When they were alone again, Martin Murphy did not let the grass grow under his ass's hoofs, and soon reached Kildare, where he related his recent adventure, and was corroborated by the tinker. An old man, who was listening in the wonder-struck crowd, suddenly
^ For the expenses incurred by this funeral, see the note at the end of the Paper.
^For the legend, see p. 389, vol. i, and p. 29, vol. ii, of The Journal.
THE CURRAOH : ITS HISTORY AND TRADITIONS. 1 3
exclaimed: "Be the bokey faimer, boyB, it was Gerod-Eeria himself was in it ; ** and he spoke the trnth.
Another version of the tradition is that ** Gerod-Eerla " (Earl Oerald) rides with a chalice in his hand, and that when he appears without it his race will become extinct ; in the former, when the charger's silver shoes are worn ont, the enchantment will be broken, and he will be free.
One of the most popular of the '98 songs is the one called " The Shan Van Vogh" (in English," the poor old woman"), and many are the ballads that have been pat to this air in subsequent times. One verse of the *' Shan Van Vogh " introduces the Curragh thus : —
*' Where will they pitch their camp ? says the Shan Van Vogh, Where will they pitch their camp ? says the Shan Van Vogh, On the Curragh of ICildare, And the boys will all be there With their pikes in good repair. Says the ^han Van Vogh.
(Chorus,)
To the Curragh of Kildare The boys all will repair. And Lord Edward will be there, Says the Shan Van Vogh."
I remember on one occasion, close on twenty-one years ago, getting into conversation with an old herd whom I overtook on the Curragh, and hearing from him (among other remi- niscences of old times) that he and his neighbours were firmly convinced that the time would come when Lord Edward himself would re-appear, and make Ireland a nation once more. In other parts of Ireland, too, the belief in the re-appearance of some long dead chief is prevalent, and this idea is embodied in the following verse, taken from Davis's ballad on " The Oeraldines " : —
*' True Geraldines, brave Geraldines! — as torrents mould the earth, You channelled deep old Ireland's heart by constancy and worth. When Giuckle 'leaguered Limerick, the Irish soldiers gazed To see if in the setting sun dead Desmond's banner blazed.*
*The Siege of Limerick took place in 1691. The Earl of Desmond referred to here was Garrett fitzJames FitzGerald, the 15th Earl, who was slain in 1538. It is said that he and his knights sleep in a cave under the hill of Knocki'idoon, which, stands over Lough Gur, in the County Limerick, and that once in seven years they are to be seen galloping over the surface of the Lough, to return to Rnockadoon again at dawn. Like his kinsman, the Earl of Kildare, his charger's shoes are also of silver, and when they are worn out he, too, will return and claim his own again. (Vide the Ilev. James Dowd's ** County of Limerick," p. 86.) \Thvi Note is contimiecl on the next p<tge.^
14 THE CURRAGH : ITS HISTORY AND TRADITIONS.
And still it is the peasants' hope upon the Curragh's mere, ' They 11 live, who 1l see ten thousand men with good Lord Edward here;* So let them dream till brighter days, when not by Edward's shade. But by some leader true as he, their lines shall be arrayed."
For most of the information giyen below, on the history of the Corragh, since the establishment of a military camp on the Long Hilly my thanks are dae to Major Edmnnd Mansfield, of Yeomanstown House. He informed me that when the Crimean War broke out in 1854, the military authorities established a Gamp of Instvuction on the Curragh without asking the permission of anyone, the idea being that it was only a temporary arrangement; it was designed by Captain (now Colonel) Riche, of the Royal Engineers. This camp proTed so successful that it became a permanent one.
In 1865 the military authorities caused a great deal of discontent in the neighbourhood by stopping, or threatening to stop, certain roads, and by informing the public that they were permitted to cross the CuiTagh through the Camp on sufferance only.
Indignation meetings were held, and it was decided to have the question settled as to the ownership of the Curragh ; for this purpose Parliament granted a Commission. The members on it were Oeneral Gordon, then in command of the Cun*agh forces, and Major Edmund Mansfield, with a Mr. Hallowes, solicitor to the Woods and Forests Department, who watched
Similar traditions are told of other Irish heroes and chiefs, for instance : —
1. Manannan mac Lir (i.e., ^^the son of the sea"), a great navigator, of the Tuatha de Danann colony, who formerly peopled Ireland, made the Isle of Man his principal port, and from him it takes its name. A County of Londonderry tradition relates that this celebrated mariner now lives in a castle below the waves of Magilligan, opposite Inishowen, and that his magical ship is seen there once every seventh year. (^^ Annals of the Four Masters," p. 532, note, vol. lii.)
2. Ivor Gillareagh ("the swarthy youth") macCathal (TDonovan, of Myross, in the County Cork, who lived in the fourteenth century, was also a famous navigator as well as a necromancer. It is believed that he is enchanted in a lough called Lough Cluhir, in the townland of Listarkin, County Cork, and that his magical ship, with sails set, and standard flying, is to be seen once in seven years on the Lough. (^' Annals of the Four Masters," note on p. 353 of vol. iii.)
3. One of the O'Donoghues of the Lakes, who dabbled in the ** black art," and on one occasion showed his power to his wife, was taken from her because she became terrified while he was so doing. He lies enchanted with his followers in a cave below the waters of Lough Leano at Killarney, and they are to be seen every May morning riding across the waters of the Lough.
l6 THE CURRAGH : ITS HISTORY AND TRADITIONS.
the proceedings on the part of the Government. All parties were invited to lay their claims to the " ownership in fee/' but the resnlt left no doubt the Curragh belonged to the Crown. It was equally apparent (continues Major Mansfield) that the Crown had granted from a very early period to various monasteries and properties the right of commonage on the Curragh.^ Most of the properties adjoining the Curragh had been granted the same privilege ; and it appeared that the Crown, though it had prevented people from encroaching by building on the Curragh, had not questioned anybody's rights to put sheep to graze on it.
The consequence was that it was clear that, outside these charter rights, a number of people had acquired rights by pre- scription. The actual occupiers of the pasturage in 1865 were principally mountain shepherds from the County Wicklow/ to the exclusion of the rightful participators.
After the 1865 Commission had furnished their Report to Parliament, a second Commission was appointed in 1869, to settle who were entitled to the pasturage of the Curragh ; what number of sheep they were to put on ; and what portions of the Curragh, discharged of the rights of commonage, should be set apart for the use of the military ; what roads belonged to the county, &c., &c. On this Commission were appointed Henry H. Joy, Alexander Stewart (formerly solicitor to the Board of Works), and Major Mansfield. They decided that the tenants on the townlands^ in the vicinity of the Curragh should be allowed pasturage for as many sheep as they held acres ; that
^ Mr. Hennessy, in his Paper on the Curragh, read before the Royal Irish Academy about the year 1865, states that in 1657 the CommiBsioners appointed to carry out the Act of Settlement returned the Curragh as a pasturage common to various towns, although in the reign of James I and Charies I the right of pasturage thereon was granted to certain l>atentee8 ; but it would seem that these grants were re-grants of rights previously forfeited.
* (Generally called " Rawgorrah men " by the County Kildare farmers.
' Viz. : — Athgarvan, Blackrath, Ballysax, Brownstow^n, Collicknock (including Gorteen and Glanbrettas), Carna, Bishops land, Rahilla, Crockanure, Grey and White Abbey, Gornelscourt, Clongounagh, Hawk- field, Piercotown, Rickardstown, Rossberry, Scarlestown, Moorefield, Ballymanny, Ballyshanuon, Great, Little, and Old Connell, Friarstown, Clogarrett, Crotanstown, Kilmeague, Bally teague, Newtown-Suncroft, Morristown-Biller, Loughbrowne, Kinneagh, Knockawlin, Rathbride (and Newtown and Rolickstown), Walshestown, Blackditch, Tully or French Furze, Sunny Hill, North and South Glebe, Knockbounce, Old Kilcullen, Maddenstown, Walterstown, Red Hills, Dunmurry, Blackmiller*s Hill, Kildare and its adjoinings (Loughminane, Loughloin, &c.), Mooretown, Milltown, Killenagoruane, Knocknagalliagh or Whiter- land, and PoUardstowi).
i8 THE CURRAGH : ITS HISTORY AND TRADITIONS.
the sheep manure Bhonld not be removed from the Gurragh (otherwise the grazing would deteriorate) ; that no animals but sheep should be grazed upon it ; and that the public should not cart or driye across the Curragh except on the roads alone, &c. (From the decision of the Commissioners^ who in many cases disallowed claims, there was not a single appeal.)
The result of the Commission was the Curragh Act of 1870.*
The Banger of the Curragh is an ofScial appointed by the Lord Lieutenant ; how long this post has been instituted I am unable to say ; but the earliest mention of one that I can dis- coyer, is in 1687. His duties were principally to guard the grazing rights, to preyent encroachments, and to mind the game (hares, partridges, &c.). The Crown gave him, to start with, £20 a year and his livery. About the middle of the eighteenth century this salary was increased to £820, and £5 17s. for livery, per annum, besides fees he was entitled to from the Jockey Club, such as a guinea for every horse entered for the Royal or Viceregal Plate ran for on the Curragh, and five guineas for a horse winning that race ; but this has all been abolished by the Curragh Act of 1870, and now the Banger gets nothing. At the present day his livery is a green morning coat with brass buttons, and a buff waistcoat.^
The source from which I have gathered the names of the Bangers,^ given below, is a series of manuscript volumes (four for each year), containing an account of ''the Beceits and Payments of the Beceiver-General of His Majesty's Bevenue in the Kingdom of Ireland ;" they commence about the middle of the seventeenth century, and continue down to the year 1822. They are to be found in the Becord Office, Dublin. The earliest notice of a Banger is in the year 1687; the entry runs as follows : —
** Paid to Simon Allen, as of His Majestie's bounty, for his caro and attention in preserving His Majestie's game in and about the Currah of Kildare, as by concordatum, dated the 0th of June, 1687, with acquittance appears, £10 (for half-year)."
* To be obtained at Thom's, Government Printer, Middle Abbey Street.
^ Canon Sherlock informs me that, according to a miniature he has of his great-grandfather, William Sherlock, of Sherlockstown, who was Ranger of the Curragh from 1765 to 1788, the livery was then white and gold, with green collar and cuffs.
• My thanks are due to Mr. J. McEneiy, of the Record Office, for his assistance to me, as without his help I could not have compiled the List of the Rangers.
THE CUKRAGH: ITS HISTORY AND TRADITIONS. I9
(Two years previously Simon Allen is entered as being paid £10, but what for is not stated.)
The next entry occurs in the following year : —
** Paid to Ed. Woogan, as of His Maj**^ bounty, 6n account of services as ranger at y* Currah of Kildare, -as by concordatum, dated y* 31'* of October, 1688, £10 llB6d."
About the year 1697 John Bates's hame'^ appears, and he is described as '' His Majesty's Game Keeper and Ranger of the Curragh of Kildare.'' From this period the payments to the rangers are entered regularly, whereas previously only an odd entry is made.
List of Rai^gbrs.
In and previous to the year 1687 he was a Simon Allen.
In 1688 Ed. Woogan.
From To
Circa 1697-1780 John Bates.
1780-1752 Thomas Carter, Esq.
1752-1756 Thomas Church, Gent.
1756-1760 Sir Ralph Gore, Bart., of Manor Gore, Co. Donegal.
He was created Baron Gore in 1764, Viscount Belleisle in 1768, Earl of Ross in 1771, and died in 1802.
1760-1765 Charles O'Hara, Esq.
1765-1788 William Sherlock, Esq., of Sherlockstown, Sallins.
1788-1789 Denis Bowes Daly, Esq., of Athgarvan Lodge,
Co. Kildare, and Dalystown, Co. Gal way. He was the son of Hyacynth, second son of William Daly, of Raford, Co. Galway. He was a P. C. of Ireland, and died on the 17th December, 1821.
1789-1799 Lorenzo Moore, Esq.
1799-1818 James Knox, Esq., of Broadlands Park, Co. Mayo.
He was the third son of Francis Knox, Rappa Castle, Co. Mayo. He died on the 21st of October, 1818.
1818-1868 Robert Browne, Esq., of Mooreiield, Newbridge,
Co. Kildare, and Kilskeagh, Co. Galway. He was the eldest son of Dominick Browne, of Kilskeagh, a branch of the Coolarn and Moyne family. He died in 1868.
1868-1892 Henry Moore, 8rd Marquis of Drogheda, of Moore
Abbey, Monasterevin. He died 29th June, 1892.
1892- The Baron De Robeck, of Gowran Grange (formerly
Swordwalstown), Naas.
20 THE CURRAGH : ITS HISTORY AND TRADITIONS.
There appears to haye been no depnty-ranger of the Corragh prior to the Cnrragh Act of 1870. The first Deputy was Lieat.-Gol. Richard Wellesley Bernard, fourth son of Col. Thomas Bernard, of Castle Bernard, in the King's County; on his death, in September, 1877, he was succeeded by Lieut.-CoL F. R. Foster, the present Master of the Horse to the Lord Lieutenant.
We will now describe the antiquarian remains
still existing on the Curragh : —
Holinshed in his ** Chronicles of Ireland " states, on the authority of the Anglo-Norman historian, Giraldus Cambrensis (who wrote in the twelfth century), that the Curragh was the plain on which stupendous upright stones stood ages ago, and which Aurelius Ambrosius, King of Britain, caused to be transported to Salisbury Plain by the enchantments of the wizard Merlin. This is an error on his part, as Giraldus' statement is: —
'* In ancient times there was in Ireland a remarkable pile of stones called *Hhe Giants' Dance," because the giants brought it from the furthest parts of Africa into Ireland, and sot it up, partly by main strength, partly by artificial contrivances, in an extraordinary way, on the plains of Kildare, not far from the fortress of Nass (in Kildarensi planitie non procxU a castro Naseiisi),^
Giraldus probably referred to the Longstones of Punches- town, Craddockstown, Newtown (Tipper), and Fumess, which are still standing near Naas. There are no monoliths, as far as I know, near the Cnrragh.
Dr. O'Donovan, while engaged on the Ordnance Surrey in 1837, inspected the Curragh, and noted down the i*emains of •antiquity on it (this, of course, was before the Curragh Camp came into existence). Writing on the 9th of December, he says *: —
** I visited the Curragh to-day with a view to ascertain what features upon it I consider ancient. There are countless tracks of modem encampments, and also several flat raths, and also two little mounds or tumuli, similar to those called *'Dumhas," in Connaught. I give a rude sketch of all the features, mounds, raths, &c., which I consider ancient.'
** Setting out from Kildare, in the direction of Rathbride, you reach the Curragh after having walked a mile. The road then runs, unfenced,
* Vide Dimock's ** Works of Giraldus Cambrensis," vol. r, and Wright's edition of Forester's Translation of Giraldus' Historical Works, p. 78.
" Vide vol. ii of **The Ordnance Survey Letters," Co. Kildare, at the Koyal Irish Academy.
' These are all marked down on the six-inch Ordnance Survey Map ^OB. 22, 23, and ?8.
THE CURRAGH : ITS HISTORY AND TRADITIONS. 21
■croeB the N.-W. Bide of the Ciirmgh for about s mile. On the left ude of this road, about a quarter o( a mile from its entrBDCe on the Curragh,
" 1, A riuie limt'$t<nie, with several hollows, two of which are sup- posed by the natiTOB to be the impressions of two naked feet ; but upon examining the nature of the atone, one must corae to the »)nolu9ion that they are natural, not artificial, holloffa.
"2. The Wart Stone. About half a mile to the north of this and at the N.-W. extremity of the CuiTagh, where the road entere the townland of R»thbride, there is a Btjuare atone raised on a very small nwund. It is about 33 inches by 44, and about 3 feet in height. It was evidently hammered, and on the top there is a hollow about I foot square, but very shallow, and evidently formed by the chisel. This hollow generally contains some water, which is used for curing warts, and hence the stone
" Tub Wabt Stone," thb bme of a Cbobb.
received the name of " the Wart Stone." Judging by analogy, I should ■uppoee this stone to be the pedestal of a cross, which St. Bridget perhaps erected as a limit of her swred pasturage, for there is no tradition that the Curraijh ever extended farther in this direction, while there is a vivid tradition that it extended southwards as far ae the town of Kildare, and it is said it was on the landti lying between the Curragh and the town that St. Bridget fed her own cow, and that they were her favourite part of the Curragh. There is, however, no tradition of the penton or persona by whom, or period at which, these fields were cut off the sacred paetuiage. If the exact ancient limits of the Curragh could be ascer- tained, it is possible that three other titones of this description would bo found in opposite directions.
" These are the only remarkable stones at present to be seen on the Curragh. Proceeding south- eastwards from this stone, one soon meets a rath with a flat mound and a shallow ditch called
"3. Kahteii-an-airij (Itathin-an-aodhaire), i.e., the little Rath of the She[^erd. It is about thirty-three paces in diameter.
22 THE CURRAGH : ITS HISTORY AND TRADITIONS.
"4. CluB« to the lost ntth there is another similar to it inform and of the same extent ; as well as a eroall
"5. Rath fifteen pacen in diameter. Theee two raths have no distinguish ing epitheta, being called simply the Baheem. Aroimd these raths, in every direction, there are traces of modeiii encampments,' which do not come under the head of antiquity.
" South-east of the Raheen-an-airy there is a —
"C. 8tnall Tiimuliu, now much defaced, perhaps by people dif^ing for money. South-east of this tumulus there is another^
"7- Satk of the same size as Baheen-an-airy, but with a higher rampart ant) deeper ditch.
" South-east of No. 7, at the distance of one mile lies —
Trk O I duet Bath, :
' The two following items copied from the manuscript volumes in the Record Office, Dublin, entitled " The Receipts and Payments of the Receiver-GeDenil of his Majesty's Revenue in the Kingdom of Ireland," show that in 1G88 the Curragh was used as a camping-ground : —
"Paid to Wm. Mullineux, 'Enq,, upon account for utensills and necessaries had from Caleb Warren to the camp at the Currah of Kildare, as by concordatum of the 10th October, 1688, £5 13s. 7d."
" Paid to Wm. Spike for straw for the use of the camp at the Currah of Kildare, as by concordatum of the 10th October, 1688, £38 lis. lOd."
And earlier still, during the Civil War of 1641, the Confederate Catholics encamped on the Curragh. The E]arl of Custlohaveii was in command of them, and in his Memoirs he wrote that " having taken this castle [i.e., Tully, near Kildare], and left a garrison to secure it, 1 encamped on a heath called the Curragh of Kildare, from whence I summoned all the castles thereabouts, and had them yielded."
'It has been suggested that the great Rath of the Curragh was given its present name Ijecause probably a gallows was erected on it, where criminals and highwaymen were left hanginK as a warning to others. The old turnpike road from Dublin to Limerick pasHod near it.
THE CURRAGH: ITS HISTORY AND TRADITIONS. 23
appear that its present name is not ancient. Some modem graves are shown near it..
'* Within about fifty perches of the Curragh stand-house there is a rath called
'* 9. The Flat Baih, which in re et iiomiiief flat ; and about the same distance to the west from this rath is another called —
"10. Walsh's Bath,
" In the south-east extremity of the Curragh, near the townland of Ballysax, there is
"11. A Moat called Moteei^-an-mc (Moitin^an-eabha) — i.e., the little moat of the aspen tree, or perhaps Eva*s Moat (?)w The people used formerly to carry on sports and races here three times a year, like those carried on formerly at Finglas, near Dublin. It is twenty-five feet high.
" But the most remarkable feature on the Curragh is —
"12. The Bace of the Black Pig, which is evidently the track of an ancient road running across the Curragh from Raheen-an-airy in the direc- tion of the great Rath of Dun Aillean, which crowns the hill of Knock- aulin. It runs through a vale of the Curragh, and it would be now difficult to form an idea of its original breadth, as the rains have much altered the surface by washing down its banks and disfiguring it by its deposits. Modem cars, however, are still brought over it.
" I am now inclined to think that tradition generally gives the name of * the Race of the Black Pig '* (Oleann na muce duibhe) to any remark- able trench or dyke of which the true name or history hais been lost."
Besides the above-noticed raths and moats, there are many other small circular earth-works marked on the Ordnance Maps, as well as an ancient track running across the south-eastern end of the Curragh called '' the Black Ditch/' beside which is a pond called Loughbane (the white lake) ; and another called '' Lough- minaun," or the Kid's Pond.
The Gamp is situated on the rising ground called '' the Long Hill ; '^ between it and the stand-house lies a yallej known as " St. Leger's Bottoms."
At the southern end of the Curragh is a portion distinguished by the name of '' French Furze," which is famous for the horse fair held on the 26th of July.' In Gough's edition of '^ Camden's
* Certain dykes, ancient roads, and valleys in Ireland are locally called "the Race or Glen of the Black Pig," and "the Dane's Cast." The former name, as in the case in point, very probably obtained the name from an ancient legend which describes how a tutor to a king's sons in the North of Ireland, reading out of a certain book in a strange tongue during the king*s absence, accidentally transformed the youths into great hounds. The king, on his return home, seeing how matters stood, changed the tutor into a black boar, drove him out of the bawn, and set the hounds in pursuit ; they eventually, after hunting the boar over a great part of Ireland, killed it, returned home, and regained their human forms. Thus the course the boar took in its race for life, at the present day, in certain localities, is known as the Race, Road, or Glen of the Black Pig.
See also vol. ii, p. 383, of The Journal.
* Can it l)e that this date was that of an Aonech centuries ago ?
24 THE CURRAGH : ITS HISTORY AND TRADITIONS.
Britannia/' it is stated that the name " French Furze " is a corrnption of the Irish name, faranta foras^ meaning ''ancient tombs." Dr. P. W. Jojce, on being consulted as to the probability of the i^bove explanation being correct, remarked that it was, in his opinion, very doubtful. He stated that he could not find anywhere that the word faranta signified tombs, except in " O'Reilly's Dictionary,'' and he may have taken it from Camden's work ; also that foraaa, or fows, does mean ancient, and in the plural it should be forasa ; so that if the name was eyer really used by the peasantry, it should have been Jarania fora%a.
There is a portion of an old road still in use at the northern side of the town of Kildare, called '^ Bohereen-na-goor," or the little roads of the turns or circuits — a name derived, according to Mr. Hennessy, from an ancient custom which necessitated any celebrated stranger visiting the Currag^ to perform '' a cor " or circuit round it.^
In the last century the Gurragh must have been a favourite place for coursing hares, as, for their protection, there were formerly three hare-parks on it. One is now the Bathbride fox covert ; the Gamp Hospital is built where the second one was; and the third was at the Ballysax end of the Gurragh. Their sites are marked on the 1887 six-inch Ordnance Survey Maps.
In the '^ Transactions of the Boyal Irish Academy" for 1788, is a statement (for which W. Beauford, a.b., is responsible), that : —
'* A short time since some small earthen tumuli were opened on the Gurragh of Kildare, under which skeletons were found standing upright on their feet, and in their hands, or near them, spears with iron heads."*
Further excavations among the raths and moats on the Gurragh took place about the year 1856, the result of which was reported in the '' Joumar' of the Kilkenny Archasological Society' (now the Boyal Society of Antiquaries, Ireland.) The following is a verbatim account from the above-named Journal : —
** The Rev. James Graves read a communication from Captain A Montgomery Moore, a.d.c. to Lord Beaton, commanding the troops in Ireland, giving an account of some explorations conducted by Lieutenant- Colonel Sir T. Alexander, k.c.b., and himself, at the Curragh of Kildare. The letter was accompanied by the objects of antiquity discovered, which
' Page 349, vol. ix of the **R. I. Academy's Proceedings." ' V^dt vol. ii, p. 53 (Antiquity Section). * Vida vol. V, p. 443.
THE CURRAGH: IIS HISTORY AND TRADITIONS. 25
were kiudly lent for exhibition to the Society* These conaisted of ;— Fird^ a quadrangular iron spear, with a square socket, found in the Gibbet RaUi ; secondly, a large horse's tooth, found at a depth of six feet in the same locality, together with a number of pieces of iron ; thirdly, a silver coin of Edgar, found about one foot beneath the soil in the centre of the rath, in wlMt seemed to be the foundation of the Chief's house ; fourth, a piece of cinerary urn of black, half-burned pottery, which, when entire, had measured about two feet in diameter, found in a tumulus near the rath ; fifth, a bone gouge, found close to the urn just mentioned : sixth, a large portion of an iron spear-head, found a little beneath the soil in the fosse of the tumulus.
*' These antiques had been discovered early in the summer, when several shafts were sunk in the rath.
*^The antlers of deer, horses' teeth, quantities of bones, and fragments of swords and arrows, were found in abundance.
*' In exploring the tumulus already mentioned, which was close to the Gibbet Rath, the digging party (at about eight feet from the surface), came upon a kist of large stones, which contained the vessel of pottery (of which fragments were sent), within which were deposited portions of a human skeleton, comprising fragments of the skuli and some of the teeth of a man. The urn was, unfortunately, broken by the blow of the pick-axe.
"Captain Moore further stated that, in the course of subsequent explorations, another cinerary urn was discovered, but in a fractured stifte ; also about three feet beneath the surface of one of the tumuli with which the Curragh is studded, a kist, comp>osed of five or six long flat slabs, forming an oblong coffin, about seven feet seven inches in length, in which. lay four or five skeletons, unaccompanied by anv relics of ornaments or arms. The stones which formed the kist are still preserved at the headquarters' garden at the Curragh.
'* Captain Moore opened about a dozen of the Carragh tumuli, and found, in every instance, large quantities of bones, in most cases giving one the idea of legs, arms, and skulls having been thrown in promis- cuously, either after a battle or a wholesale massacre. The group of tumuli lay in a small compass.
" Mr. Graves remarked that, in consequence of the slaughter of the insurgents in 1798, on or about the great Rat}i on the Curragh, greiit caution shonld be used to distinguish the pikes used by them from ancient remains. He thought the square-socketed spear-head found in the Gibbet Rath might possibly have been on the insurgents' pike, as it seemed in too good preservation to have belonged to a remote period. The portion of a spear-head found in the tumulus was, however, un- doubtedly ancient, though not belonging to so remote a period as the urn found in the same spot.
*^He hoped Captain Moore had preserved some of the skulls found in the tumuli which he had opened, as their value would be considerable for ethnological purposes.
'* On the motion of the Rev. James Graves, seconded by Mr. Duffy, a special vote of thanks was passed to Captain Moore for kindly forward- ing these objects for exhibition."
These notes on the Cnrragh will close with a short account of the famons Daniel Donnelly, the champion prize-fighter of his day. The year 1816 will always be remembered in Ireland for two famoas victories : one was gained by the British over
26 THE CURRAGH: ITS HISTORY AND TRADITIONS.
the French at Waterlbo, on the 18th of Jane, and the other was won by Dan Donnelly oyer George Cooper, the English champion boxer, on the Gurra^, on the 18th of December. The latter, probably — anyhow in this county— -K^used as mnch interest and rejoicing as the former did. The scene of this prize-fight is at the Athgarvan end of the Curragh ; close beside the public road there is a hollow, on three sides of which the ground rises abruptly to a considerable height, and so forms a naturally perfect amphitheatre (it is, however, likely to .be obliterated in course of time, as the Royal Engineers are working a gravel pit into it on the outside). This hollow, from the above event, has since been known as '^ Donnelly's Hollow."
Dan Donnelly has been described to me as being over six feet in height, and of enormous strength ; but he was ungainly in appearance, as he was loosely built ; and his arms were so extraordinarily long, that he could button the knees of his breeches without stooping to it.
He was bom in Townsend Street, Dublin, in 1770. A Captain Eelly,^ who kept a racing establishment at Maddens- town, on the edge of the Curragh, first brought him into notice. Being in a Dublin cofiee-hoose on one occasion when a ruction occurred in it, Captain Kelly saw Donnelly knock down, with his fists, three men who had set upon him ; afterwards, when peace was restored, he had a conversation with Donnelly, And ofiered to take him in hands and teach him the art of self- defence. Donnelly jumped at the ofier, and accompanied Captain Kelly back to Maddenstown ; as it turned out, the latter had no reason to regret his choice. Such was Donnelly's start in his profession.
The crowning event of Donnelly's life was his victory over the English champion, George Cooper, as stated before, on the Curragh, on the 18th of December, 1815. Thousands of the gentry and country-people gathered at Donnelly's Hollow on that day to witness the fight. So far, I have come across no sporting magazine with an account of the match (though ** Boxiana " and " The Pugilistic " are sure to describe it) ; but
* Captain Kelly, of Maddenstown, was a splendid performer on 'the Irish bagpipes ; so fond of them was he, that he is said to have named his horses after different portions of them. After his death, his widow gave this set of bagpipes to a Mrs. Bailey, of Newtown Bert (near Athy), whose son, Samuel, was also a famous player. Samuel Bailey, after playing on them for years, died in August, 1895 ; in 1897 they were obtained from his daughter Mary, and are now at Kilkea Castle. Bound the stock is engraved : "^ William Kelly, Esq., 1809," The pipes are of ebony, tipped with ivory, and have silver-plated mountings.
THE CURRAGH : ITS HISTORY AND TRADITIONS. 2/
I give below a few verses copied from a coutemporary street- ballad, which is now very hard to get : —
' ' The challenge was accepted, and those heroes did prepare To meet brave Captain Kelly on the Cun*agh of Kildare. The Englishmen bet ten to one that day against poor Dan ; But such odds as these could ne'er dismay the blood of an Irishman.
** When Donnelly and Cooper had stepped into the ring,
* Shake hands,' says Dan to Cooper, * before we do begin.'
From six to nine they parried on, till Donnelly knocked him down ; Old Grania cried, * Well done, my child ! that's worth ten thousand pound.*
" The second round that Cooper fought he knocked down Donnelly ; But Dan had steel, likewise true pluck, and rose most manfully. Right active then was Cooper, and knocked Donnelly down once more. The Englishmen they all cried out, * The battle he may give o'er.'
•* Long life unto Miss Keljy ; she's recorded on the plain ; She boldly stepped into the ring, saying, * Dan, what do ye mean ? ' Saying * i)an, my boy, what do ye mean ? Hibernia's son,' says she, ' All my estate I have bet on you, brave Daniel Donnelly.'
'* ' Dan,' says she, * that you're an Irishman the gentry all do know, So on the Curragh of Kildare this day your valour shew. Be sure you die before you fly, Hibernia's son,' says she,
* My coach and horses I have bet on you, Dan Donnelly.'
'* Donnelly rose up again, and meeting with great might. For, to surprise the nobles all, continued at the fight. Cooper stood on his own defence ; exertion proved in vain. He soon received a temple blow which stretched him on the plain.
** You sons of proud Britannia, your boasting now recall. Since Cooper thus by Donnelly has met his sad downfall. Out of eleven rounds he got nine knock-downs, besides a broke
jaw-bone ; Says Miss Kelly, * Shake hands, brave Donnelly, the victory is all
your own.' "
Donnelly died in Dublin in 1820, aged 50, and was buried in an ancient little burial ground near Eilmainham, called ** Bully's Acre;'^ over his grave a table-tomb was erected, on which was a long epitaph recording his virtues and victories. Not long afterwards this tomb was one night maliciously destroyed; and as it was suspected to be the handiwork of some Guardsman on guard at the Royal Hospital, the regiment became so unpopular with the people that it had to be moved from Dublin. " Bully's Acre " itself has been obliterated, and I believe its site alone is now known.
28 THE CORRAGH: ITS HISTORY AND TRADITIONS.
t DoNiiiuj.Y't) Hollow i
In the centre of Donnelly's Hollow there now stands a small Limestone obelisk, which was erected by means of pablic snb- BcriptioDB collected by the admirers of the Ring. On the faces of the monnment, in raised letters, are cat the following names : —
Front face :-
|
" DONNEU-V |
|
|
Cooper |
|
|
On this Spot, |
|
|
18th Dec., |
|
|
1815." |
|
|
Below this on two shields :— |
|
|
"Dan |
" Geo. |
|
DONNELLV |
COOPKR, |
|
BOBN |
Born in |
|
In Dublin, |
STATFOBDSUraE |
|
1770, |
1791, |
|
Died 1820." |
Died 1834," |
|
Rear face :— |
Public scbsoriptions,
THE CURRAGH : ITS HISTORY AND TRADITIONS. 29
Right face :— Left face : —
•* Cooper " Donnelly
Fought Fought
Lancaster Tom Hall
Joy Tom Oliver. "
molineaux bobinson Kendrick.*'
This obelisk, nnfortunately, is being malicioasly injared by stones thrown at it by George Cooper's disappointed countrymen in the camp.
Maps of the Cubragh.
Probably the oldest map of the Curragh was Sir William Petty's, the aathor of " The Down Survey," taken in the years 1655-6 ; these hand-painted maps were unfortunately almost totally destroyed by fire in 1711, at the time they were kept in a house in Essex Street, where the Surveyor-General then lived. Fragments of the more or less charred remains are preserved in the Record Office, Four Courts, Dublin.
I have in my possession a map of the Curragh published by Henry Walker in 1807| and engraved by Eersting : it is dedi- cated to the 8rd Duke of Leinster. On it are shown the race- courses, and the seats of the gentry and trainers along the edge of the Curragh. In the left-hand top comer is a view of the grand stand, which did not then occupy the place it does at present This map measures 3ft. 7 in. by 2 ft. 1 in.
In 1837 the first issue of the six-inch-to-a-mile Ordnance Survey Maps came out, followed, in 1874, by the new survey to the same scale. On them are marked all the antiquarian remains mentioned by O'Donovan.
The Curragh occupies portions of sheets numbered 22, 23, and 28 of the County Eildare.
There were two Ordnance Maps on the six-inch-to-a-mile scale issued in 1868, which contain the Carragh only — one is a shaded contour, and the other shows the contours in outline. Both give a plan of the camp as it then was.
NOTES. The 2nd Duke of Leinster's Funeral Expenses.
On page 12 mention is made of the gi'eat numbers which attended William Robert, the 2nd Duke of Leinster's, funeral, from Carton to St Brigid's Cathedral, Eildare, in 1804. Sir
r FitObuui. 2kd Dukk o
0€l at Curlon, WU> Oct., iwu.
THE CURRAGH: ITS HISTORY AND TRADITIONS. 31
• •<
Arthur Vicars, Ulstep King-of-ArmSy has kindly lent me a copy of the Undertaker's account, which • amounted to £1,688 Ss. 7d. This large sum was made up ifrom the following items, viz. : —
** Undertaker to Carton to take orders
To a horse for Do.
To a Pillory Horse ... ...
Sedar Coffin and Lead Do.
Convevanoe to Carton ...
Outside coffin trebly gilt
Breast-plate trebly gut ...
Conveyance for (iUegible)
Two Plumbers two days at Carton
Carriage and Turnpike for Do. ...
Postboy
Horse cloths for 6 Horses
Making and trimming Do.
Scutchmgs for Do. and Herse
Wands richly ornamented
Coats, Vests & Breeches for Pages & Conductors
x^xacK x^rape ••* ... ••. •••
A suit of Velvet for the Duke's Horse
Two suits of black for each man & page ... • 24 black cloaks for livery Ser** 4days
6 black cloaks for coachmen
8 pairs of cloves at 3/9| a pair
Herse ana 6 black Horses 4 days ■ ...
G mourning coaches 4 days
8 drivers board wages at 5/5 eadh for 4 days
Undertaker 4 days at £1 2s. ^. each day ... ^ Horse 4 days at 11/4^ . ...
2 pages 4 days at £1 2s. 9di
Conductor 4 days
2 Painters painting Scutchin 2 days Post chaise for Painters
12 dozen pair gloves at £2 5s. 6d. a dozen
24 sheets of Pins
Carriage to take women to town
Postillion
A Pannel Coach broke at Kildare
3 Hoods for women * ... 3 scarfs for Do.
3 Pair Gloves for Do. Turnpike from Carton to Dublin 100 scarfs and bands of quality ... 300 Do. second quality ... 600 Do. for tenantry
• 4.
|
£ s. |
d. |
|
1 2 |
9 |
|
0 11 |
4 |
|
3 8 |
3 |
|
26 0 |
0 |
|
1 4 |
Cf |
|
60 0 |
0 |
|
12 0 |
0 |
|
7 6 |
0 |
|
2 5 |
6 |
|
1 14 |
6 |
|
0 4 |
4 |
|
19 16 |
n |
|
1 8 |
0 |
|
62 11 |
3 |
|
4 18 |
0 |
|
28 0 |
0 |
|
0 15 |
2 |
|
28 0 |
0 |
|
8 17 |
6 |
|
5 4 |
0 |
|
0 11 |
0 |
|
1 10 |
4 |
|
20 0 |
0 |
|
96 0 |
0 |
|
8 13 |
4 |
|
4 11 |
0 |
|
2 5 |
6 |
|
9 2 |
0 |
|
9 2 |
0 |
|
4 11 |
0 |
|
1 14 |
8 |
|
27 6 |
0 |
|
0 18 |
0 |
|
0 17 |
4 |
|
0 2 |
2 |
|
5 13 |
9 |
|
2 17 |
0 |
|
3 0 |
0 |
|
0 16 |
3 |
|
1 11 |
5 |
|
150 0 |
0 |
|
300 0 |
0 |
|
525 0 |
0 |
Total, £1,538 3 7"
It is a pity that the Undertaker's name has not been left on record.
32 THE CUKRAGH : ITS HISTORY AND TRADITIONS.
Sincd this Paper went to press I have come across two allasioDS to the Garragh in Sir John Gilbert's *' Register of the Abbey of St. Thomas the Martyr, in Dublin," which was foanded in 1177. The first reference is particularly interesting, as it shows that in the thirteenth century the grazing rights of the Curragh were at that early period carefully taken into con- sideration ; this o^urs in an Agreement dated the 8th Sep- tember, 1205, between the Abbot of St. Thomas's and William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke (eldest son of the William le Marecbal who married Strongbow's daughter Isabel, heiress of the LordiBhip of Leinster), who died in 1231. In this Agree- ment it is stated that : —
William Marescall gaye in 1205 to the Canons of St. Thomas, of Dublin, in free and perpetual gift, one ■ carrucate and a half of land near the Curach, on the east side, as well as free pasture of the Curach, that is to say, all the land which Drin formerly held, which is called Baliobothelan, and all the land which Bobert Carpenter formerly held^ which is called Belansacse 'i.e., Ballysax), with the tithes belonging to them ; and all the tithes of Keneth (i.e., Einneagh).
The second allusion occurs in an agreement between Cornelius (i.e., Conor) MacGealan, Bishop of Kildare from the year 1206 to 1222, and the Abbot of St. Thomas's, wherein the Bishop and community of Kildare : —
Grant for ever to the Canons of St. Thomas of Dublin the land which William de Stakepol formerly held from the Bishop, that is to say, all the land which lies between Baliboderan. and the great road which leads from the riyer {ah ampne) of Annelifii (now the LifFey) to the Korrah, by name Adgaruan (Athgarvan), at the same rent which the said William paid to them.
( 33 )
THE HOLED'STONE CROSS AT MOONE.
By miss MARGARET STOKES.
ONE of the most striking examples of the combiDation of pagan forms with Christian that has been found in Ireland is the npper portion of a High Cross now lying in fragmeiits in the churchyard of Moone — anciently, Maein-Choluim-Chille^ i.e., '' St. Columbkill's Property."
These fragments all belonged originally to one block of granite. They are three in number, and consist of the lower portion of the head, the upper portion of the shaft, and one arm of the cross. Both faces are sculptured. They measure when joined 2 fb. 6 in. in length, by 1 ft. 2 in. in breadth, and 6 in. in thickness. The arm is 1 ft. 8^ in. across, by 1 ft. 1 in. wide. Three different animals are represented on one of the faces, and in one of them we recognise a strange beast, which is also to be seen on the south side of the shaft of the High Cross, which stands in perfect condition close by. In both instances this animal seems in the act of drinking or of grazing, and his long flapping ears reach the ground, or the surface of the water, as the case may be. Beneath him is a winged lion, and a cable moulding separates it from the next panel, which appears to have been filled with a human figure on a hoi-se (?), of which an ear and the upper portion of the body are visible. A homed animal, with a human figure standing behind it, fills the surface of the arm. There is a strange, though accidental, resemblance in two of these beasts to figures on two archaic intaglios, from the '' Greek Archipelago," published by F. B. Lenormant, which date from the sixth or seventh century before the Christian era — a resemblance partly due to the same cause, the sculptors in both instances having been guided in the engraving by the accident of the form of the space and surface of the stone, which induced them to represent their animals in these strange and most contorted attitudes.
The points where the ring of the cross started are quite visible in the edges of these fragments ; but the fact of deepest interest in the monument is that at the centre-the point of junction of the arms and shaft, where the form of the Saviour, either crucified or in triumph, is generally found — there is a great round hole open to the sky, with the edges of the circle we.l rounded and polished, and four serpents twining their long tails about it.
Flt*n«F,NTS oy thb Hoi.kh CnoHS of Moose.
THE HOLED-STONE CROSS AT MOONE. 35
Thus we see that this monament belonged to the class called by French writers on dolmens *^ pierres percees " — perforated or holed-stones. From what I can learn, such stones in eyery country, except Ireland and the western islapds of Scotland, are clearly pre-Christian and prehistoric in their origin; but we have in Ireland more than one instance where the pierced stone is associated with the cross. At the Monastery of Inis Caltra, on Lough Derg, at Beask and Ballyferritur in DeiTy, at Mainister Kieran in Aran, County Oalway, at Innismurray in Sligo, and St. Finian's Cross at Moville, County Down — the perforated monolith has a cross incised upon it. Hitherto it has been taken for granted that the stone was originally a pagan monument, and that some early Christian missiotiairy had the cross marked on it. This perforated cross of Moone Abbey tells a different story; the perforation and the cross were originally wroaght together, were coincident, and the work probably dates from the tenth century of our era.
This is an extraordinary instance of the lingering of pagan traditions in Irish Christian art One is almost tempted to regard such a monument^ — with the strange antediluvian-looking monsters carved on each side — as a signof reversion to paganism. It calls to mind the practice? of the ancient Jews condemned by the prophets Jeremiah^ and Ezekiel,^ when they placed animal emblems on their temple walls. '' Every form of creeping thing and abominable beast was pouiiirayed upon the walls round about.''
St. Bernard of Clairvaux has been accused of a distaste for fine art, because he had little sympathy with, or admiration for^ the grotesque ; but if this very pagan-looking cross of Moone at all resembles the works he saw and was alluding to, we can hardly wonder that he should ask : '' What is the meaning of these ridiculous monsters, of that deformed beauty, and beautiful deformity, before the very eyes of the brethren when reading ? What are disgusting iponkeys there for, or ferocious lions, or monstrous centaurs, or spotted tigers, or fighting soldiers, or huntsmen sounding the bugle ? Here is a quadruped with a serpent's head, there a fish with a beasfs head. And it is [thought] pleasanter to spend the day wondering at these oddities than meditating on the law of God."
This cross was probably sculptured half a century before St Bernard wrote these words, and may give some idea of the then prevailing style of grotesque.
^ Jeremiah xxiii. 11, * Eajekiel viii, 10,
Fhaomentw ok tub HOI.KI. Cl
THE HOLED-STONE CROSS AT MOONE. 37
Dr. SigersoD, aud Mr. Larminie, Mr. O'Grady^ Mr. Douglas Hyde, and other students of historic legend, ought to feel a peculiar interest in these holed-stones, for some are even now standing in situ in the places indicated in the histories of heroes with which they are making us familiar. The holed-stone is still standing near the Slaney River to which the young Prince of Leinster was chained when he was delivered up by his father to the indignant bard of Niall, whose son he had slain. The stone to which the Celtic hero Fiugal was wont to tie his dog Bran is still shown in the Orkneys ; and during the reigns of Con, of Art, of Cormac, and of Cairbre Lifechair, there was a ceremony performed as the best test of peace, which was to bring an arm-ring of red gold, such as we may see in our museum, to one of these perforated stones, and pass it through the same. The closing words of the story would seem to convey that the gold ring was left in the circle in the stone ; " for," it is added, '' so excellent was the rule of these kings, that no one durst take it away." Our students of ancient superstition and folklore will remember what a mass of such beliefs is recorded throughout the old world, from India to the western islands of Ireland and Scotland, in connection with these stones. In Cork and Aranmore women pass their clothes through the hole for luck. The ceremony at Odin's stone in Orkney, which was tantamount to an appeal to Odin, was the joining of hands through this circular opening, in ratification of a vow.
Propitiatory libations were also, in Orkney, poured through such holes, to propitiate the brownies or demons who presided in their dairies. However, the most universal belief in such pierced stones was in their healing attributes. In the County Carlow, delicate infants passed through this hole are strengthened. In Comwall, children afflicted with rickets or spinal disease are cured in like manner. In Orkney, a child, if passed through, will never shake with palsy. In Cornwall, men afflicted with rheumatism crawl through the hole. And in Ardmore, sufferers from the same disease come to the holed-stone of Declan for this purpose.
To healing, the notion of regeneration connected with these stones may be added. The idea of a new birth obtainable by passing through an artificial orifice is prevalent among the Hindoos. Indeed, throughout all India these pierced stones are common, and devout people pass through them when the opening will admit of it, in order to be regenerated. If the hole be too small, they put either the hand or foot through it. This was symbolical of passing through the sacred Yoni, being born again, regenerated.
38 THE HOLED-STONE CROSS AT MOONE.
Id our own coauty of Kildare w« find two such holed-BtonoB, one atanding in Laragbbryaii churchyard (nenr Majuooth). It meaBures 4 ft. 4 in. in height, 2 ft 6 in. iu breadth ; and the hole is 8 inches in diameter, and 6 inches through the thickness of the stone. This stone is of granite, which, not heing the stone of the district, would indicate that it was imported. The second is in the churchyard at Castledermot, and is called " the Swearing Stone." It is '2 ft. 6 in. high, 1 ft. 2 in. broad, and 6 in. thick, while the bole is 5 in. in diameter. This stone is also of granite.
Withont rasbly venturing on any theory whatever, it seems to be noteworthy, when refening to the grafting of this pagan form of monument on tho symbol of the Gbristiau faith, tiiat all the practices and superstitions connected with these pierced stones are bearing on covenants, propitiation, healing, and regeneration .
[ U NOW UIMIjINu) or THE HoLED CflOtU) OF UoO^E.
" Scuriilureil l.'riigi«B uf Irelmid, laS7."j
Authorities qcotbd.— Lubbock, " Pre-Historio Times," p. 133; "TraiiB. R. 1. Ac«d.," xxiv, p. 329; Fouquet, "Monts. Celtiquee," 1). 72; " Goiitluman's Magfiaiiie," Dec., 1804, p. 689; Wood-Martin, "Rude Stone Monuments of Irelniid," pp. 107-229; Brehon Law Tracts, vol. iv, p. 143 ; Blight, " Ancient Cniases in West Cornwall," p. 07; Borlnee, " Dulmeiie of Ireland," pp. 76, 174, 1)411; Sir Walter Soiitt, "Pirate;" Wilson, " Pre-Hiatorio An«BU,"p. 99 ; G. H. O'Oradr, " Silva Gadelica," p. 209; " Proc. R. L Soc. Antiqs.," vi, p. 168.
( 39 )
JOHN LYE, OF CLONAUGH, CO. KILDARE.
By thb rev. E. O^LEARY, P.P.
PART III
[Continued from p. 359, Vol. II, of The Journal.]
IN former Papers in our Journal it has been shown that John Lye acquired Clonaugh in the year 1571| and that his descendants held it until the end of the following century^ when they lost it through the Williamite wars. In 1691, his grand- son, Francis Lee, was attainted of high treason; all his estates were forfeited to the Grown, and were sold by the trustees of the Lrish Forfeited Estates.
The next owner was Judge Echlin. He purchased 200 acres of Clonaugh, including its castle, at the beginning of the last century, from the trustees of the Forfeited Estates; and by his will, made in 1721, he bequeathed the same to his second son, the Rev. Henry Echlin, d.d.. Vicar of St. Catherine's, Dublin, and V.-G. also of the Diocese of Tuam, and afterwards Dean of Tuam.
The Echlins held possession of Clonaugh during the pre- ceding and half of the present century. In the present paper, therefore, I purpose to give a short history of the Echlin family, derived from a reliable source — ''The Echlin Memoirs," compiled by the Bey. John Echlin, M.A., and kindly presented to me by Sir Thomas Echlin, the present baronet.
The Echlins were a Scotch family who came to Ireland in the reign of James I. This king promoted Dr. Robert Echlin, the son of a Scottish laird, to be Bishop Of Down and Connor, in the year 1613, in succession to Dr. James Dundass, another Scotchman. The history of the Echlin family, therefore, divides itself naturally into three sections. The first section takes us to Scotland, the second to the North of Ireland, and the third to Clonaugh in the County Eildare.
Of the Echlins there is mention for the first time in the year 1296, in the twenty-fourth year of the reign of Edward L This king had invaded Scotland against the Bruce, and during his military progress through the country, and afterwards at a par- liament held"'^! Berwick, he received feafty and homage from a number of the Scotch nobility and gentry. Such acts of loyalty, of course, were highly prized, and the names of these adherents to the kingt\^re inscribed on a roll of honour. To Irish ears the name given to this roll of honour has an amusing sound.
40 JOHN LYE, OF CLONAUGH, CO. KILbARE.
It was called ''The Ragmau Koll.'* In Scotland, 600 years ago^ this is surmised to have been the Scotch for ''document" or "indenture.*' At all events, it was the name given to the docu- ments recording the acts of fealty and homage performed by the Scotch nobles and gentry towards Edward I. On our first introduction to the Echlins, we find them in company with the other nobility and gentry who signed the "Bagman Boll;" thus doing homage to the invader, and tarning traitors to their lawful sovereign, the Bruce. Amongst the, signatories to the roll were Bauf Eghlyn, of the County of Edinburgh ; Bobert de Eghlyn, tenant of the king in same county; Bauf D'Eghlyn of Hadding- ton, tenant of the king in the County of Edinburgh.
There are authentic records of the Echlin familv,a8 follows: ~ John De Eythlyn, 1342 ; Johannes De Echlyne,Vicarof Bynnef in 1407 ; William Echlyng, Laird of Pittadro in Fyfeshire in 1457 ; Balph of Echline, Bailie of Haddington in 1466; James Echline of Pittadro, grand- or great- gi*andson of the above William. Of this William, we find that, in 1542, he and his wife Alison Melvile, received from James Y a charter of the lands of Pittadro. Two years latel* his name appears on a document of a surprising nature, which throws a curious light on the administration of the law in those days. A man named Charles Lyall had been murdered, and the document I have referred to states that "a. respite was made to William Echling of Pittadro, James Echling, and David Echling, his brothers, and James Craig, their servant, for being act and part in the slaughter of the deceased Charles Lyall, committed in February, 1544, — the respite to remain in force for nineteen years. Dated at Lin- lithgow, 5th May, 1544." Surely this was giving them a long day from the hangman's rope. We have no record of how they fared when their nineteen years' lease had expired.
William was succeeded by his son Henry, who had three sons — William; Bobert, Bishop Of Down and Connor; and David, who became physician to Anne of Denmark, wife to James I. There is a petition among the records of the House of Lords, 8rd February, 1642-3, of Dr. Echlyn, physician to the queen, in great distress, because his pension of i^lOO had not been paid for a year and a half. Henry was succeeded by his eldest son, William, who married Margaret, daughter of James Henderson of Fordell in the County of Fyfe. Of her we have the following narrative in Sir James Balfour's "Ai^nals of Scotland," under the year 1649, the same year Charles I was executed : —
** The ladey of Pitttirdo in Fytfeshire,* sister of the house of Fordell- Henderson, being apprehendib for witchcraft, was imprissoned in the Tolbuithe of Edinbrughe in the monthe of Julii this yeire, and a commis* sione given by the parliament then sitting for her tryall, quher shoe
JOHN LYE, OF CLONAUGII, CO. KILDARE. 4I
*
remained until the monthe of December thereafter ; and being w^ill at night was found dead on the morrow all swolnne, the symptomes of poysone been seine on her. It was thought that shoe ather had taken the poysone of herselve, being guilty of that hellish cryme, or tat it had beine administrat to her by the adwysse of her friends and kinred quhom, by her wickednesse (if shoe had been publickly burnt) , shoe had blotted and stained thesse families shoe was descendid off of quhom wer discendit many religious worshippfuU and worthey personages. — 1649."
This occurred in very troubled times, for.iu the same year Charles I was executed. Fortunately for her brother-in-law, the bishop, he had been called to his reward fourteen years before, having died in 1635.
William Echlin was succeeded by his son Henry, the last of the Scottish EchlinSi of whom little is known ; but it may be assumed that, through shame and grief at his mother's disgrace, he parted with the ancestral estates of Pittadro to Uis relatives the Fordell-Hendersons, who have been ever since the proprietors of Pittadro. He is stated to have gone into foreign service, and to have attained the rank of captain. On his death, his uncle, tlie Bishop of Down and Connor, became head of the family, and was the founder of tlie Irish Echlins. He had received his degree of m.a. at St. Andrew's in 1596, and in 1613 was pro- moted by James I to the See of Down and Connor, on the death of his countryman, Dr. James Dundass. We now come to treat of the Irish Echlins.
The Bishop married Jane, daughter of James Seton of Latrisse (Latrisk), Scotland. He had two sons, John and Hagh, and four daughters. He died at Ardquin, County Down, on 17th July, 1635, and was interred in the parish church of Ballyphillipp, alias Tempte-crany, in said county. Hugh was married twice, and had seventeen children, most of whom died young. He was murdered at Caledon Bridge, with all his faithful servants, by the rebels in 1641, as appears in Sir John Temple's '' History of the Irish Kebellion." He had a son, also Hugh of Tynan, who has lefc many interesting entries in his family Bible, and amongst them the following, which describes some of the climatic conditions of this country 200 years ago : —
''Memorandum that on Wednesday being the 3rd of Feb. '91-2, coming from Dublin, betwixt Oorick McRosse and Castle Blayney, I, my man, and one more with us, went astniy and out of our way by the violence of a great storm of snow, and were wandering all that diiy, and our selfes and horses almost cast away ; till by Providence we at last gott to an ould create ' that was wast, and there we lived with great hardship both without meate or any worldly reliefe for the space of 4 days and
* Cretite or Crefight, a booth made of boughs covered over with long strips of turf. The Irish herdmen lived in such booths. — Note appended by Mr. J. C. Stronge.
42 JOHN LYE, OK CLONAUGH, CO. KILDARE.
3 nights, except what we were supplied by could frosty water, which through Providence wonderfully supported us ; soe create a delivery, I hope whiles I live shall never be forgotten by me, and desires that all my family may be mindf ull of the saiue, and all give glory to GUxl for all His mercyes, and especially when they reed this to give Uim glory and praise, in particular for the same, that soe the mercyes and goodness of God may never be forgotten by us all which never shall be by him whoe subscribes himself e Hugh Echlin/'
Bishop Bchlin was succeeded by his eldest son, John Echlin, Esq., of Ardqnin, County Down. He bought the manor of Gastleboy (for many subsequent years in the possession of the Echlin family) from Sir Henry Piers, the 20th July, 1628. He married Mary, third daughter of Sir Francis Stafford, in the County Antrim, Ent., and had issue two sons and three daughters. His second son, Francis, of Clonowen, County Antrim, inherited the estate of his uncle, Sir Edmond Stafford, of Mount Stafford, of '* the far-descended Staffords, Barons of Stafford from the Conquest, and latterly Dukes of Buckingham," whose name he assumed. He married Sarah, daughter of Randal, Earl of Antrim. The present representative of this branch of the Echlin family is Arthur Willoughby Stafford, Esq.
On the death of John Echlin of Ardquin, he was succeeded by his eldest son, Robert, also of Ardquin. He married Anne, daughter of Rev. Alexander Cunningham, *' first Protestant clergyman of Inver and Eillymard, afterwards promoted to the Deanery of Raphoe, all in the County of Donegal." Mrs. Echlin was sister of Sir Albert Coningham, first colonel of the Inniskilling Dragoons, which regiment he himself raised at his own expense. There were issue of the marriage, three sons and one daughter — John Echlin, the heir; Heniy Echlin, the judge; and Robert Echlin, who was general in the army, and greatly distinguished himself both at the Siege of Derry and the Battle of the Boyne. He was M.P. Cor County Monaghan in 1695, and for Monaghan Borough in 170B. His sword, having his name engraved thus : — " Lt.-Gl. Echlin,'' on either side of the blade, was recently presented to Sir Thomas Echlin, Bart.
The second son of John Echlin was, as we have said, Henry Echlin, the Judge, who purchased 200 acres of Clonaugh from the trustees of the Irish Forfeited Estates.
We will now leave the main branch of the Echlin family, which continues in an unbroken line down to the present time, and direct our attention to the Eildare branch.
Henry, afterwards Judge Echlin, entered at Lincoln's Inn as a law student in April, 1679. He was appointed Serjeant-at- Law, 8rd August, 1683 ; one of the Barons of the Exchequer (during pleasure), 20th October, 1690 ; and Justice of the King's Bench, 18th March, 1692. He received the honour of knight-
JOHN LYE, OK CLONAUGH, CO. KILDARE. 43
hood, 5tb November, 1692; and was created a barouet, 17tb October, 1721. We cannot forget that he was brother to Lieat.-General Echlin, who stood very high with William III. He was commissioner for hearing caused in Chancery in 1698, and afterwards in 1710. Besides Gloiiaugh, County Kildare, he had property at Bush, County Dublin^ and at Castle-Hacket, County Mayo. He married Agnes, daughter of Bev. William Mussen, of Belfast, and had issue, three sons and one daughter. By his will, dated 29th January, 1721, he bequeathed Clonaugh to his second son, Henry, who was a clergyman, and entailed the same on his issue. His third son, William, became colonel in the army, married Bachel, widow of Colonel Bobert M'Causland, and had issue, two sons who died abroad, and three daughters, the youngest of whom, Elizabeth, married T. Towneley Dawson, Esq., and had issue, one daughter, Catherine ^Maria, who first married James Tisdall, Esq., and secondly Charles William Bury, Earl of Charleville. He settled his County Dublin property on his eldest son^ Bobert, and entailed the same on his issue. This Bobert Echliu was Barrister-at-Law, and M.P. for Down- patrick in 1692, and for Newry from 1695 till his death. He married Penelope, daughter of Sir Maurice Eustace, Knight, sister of Lord Chancellor Eustace, and had issue, two sons, Bobert and Henry, who were second and third baronets. He did not live to inherit the baronetcy, as he died in 1706, and was buried in St. John's Churchyard, Dublin. His father, the Judge, died 29th November, 1725, and was succeeded in the baronetcy by his grandson, Bobert Echlin, who married Elizabeth, daughter of William Bellingham, of Levens, Westmoreland, and had issue, two sons, who died young, dnd a daughter who married Francis Palmer, of Palmerstown, Co. Mayo, Esq. A very considerable portion of the Echliu property passed through this marriage to the Palmers. Bobert the second, second baronet, dying without surviving issue, on ISth May, 1757, he was succeeded by his brother, Henry Echlin, the third baronet. He married Emily, daughter
of La Boche, Governor of Martinique, and died without
issue in 1799. The baronetcy then passed to the Bev. Henry Echlin, d.d., head of the Clonaugh fbmily, who were descendants of the Judge. He was Vicar of St. Catherine's, Dublin, Vicar-General of the Diocese of Tuam, and afterwards Dean of Tuam. He married Jane, daughter of the Hon. Brabazon Moore, son of the Earl of Drogheda, and had issue, five sons and one daughter. The eldest son, Henry, was father of the fourth baronet. Sir James Echlin, who married his cousin Jane, daughter of Chambre Echlin, of Tallow, County Dublin, and had issue, three sons and three ^ughters. The three latter died unmarried ; and the eldest son, James, an officer in the army, died in Spain
44 John lve. of clonau<;h, co. kildare.
in 1826. The fourth baronet died iu 1HJ6, uuil tvuci bucuoeded by his second son, Frederick Henry EcLlin, the fifth barouet. He died unmarried, at Ruthangau, County Kildare, on May 27th, 1871, aud was succeeded by his hroLber, Ferdinand Fenton Ecblin, the sixth baronet. He married (10th March, 1840), Mary, daughter of William J. Kavanagh, of Grange Beg, County Westm^th, and had issue : James, who died an infant ; Thomas, the present baronet; Henry, John, Bride, and Mary. Sir Ferdinand F. Echlin died 4th July, 1877, at Leixlip, County Kildare, and was snceeeded in the baronetcy by his son, Thomas Echlin, the seventb and present baronet.'
Tnt EcKLiN Coat of Ahus.
The Abms op the Echlin Family. 'J'he Arms borne by the Scottish Echlins were : — Quarterly, 1st, or, a stag in chief gules ; 2nd, nzure, a hound in pursuit
' Note in " The Echliu Meniijira. "- -" It inny bo hore iiieiitioiied that, uwing to the reckluNH extiavi^^nceiif soinu of the fiiniily (Ui wit, the third and fourth baiiinuts anil thuir wivus), their pro pur ty, ulready couBiderably diitiiaished by the feilitre of the male issue of Sit Robert Echlin, tlie second baronet, uiid the marriage of his daugliter, Ehznbeth, with Francis Palmer, was utterly miuandered and lost. Since that |)erii)d of fully and
JOHN LYE, OF CLONAUGH, CO. KILDAKE. 45
argent ; Srd, argent, a Ijmphad (or galley) sable, flag gules ; 4th9 or, a fess cbequy azure and argent (for Stewart). In 1683, Sir James Balfour, Ljon King of Arms, granted to John Echlin, resident in Ireland, whose father, Robert, Bishop of Down, was a son of the laird of Pittadro, a crest, a talbot, passant argent, spotted sable, langued gules, with the motto : ** Non sine Praeda " (i.e., not without gain), and exemplified his arms in an altered form : — 1 and 4, a lymphad (without sail or oars) sable, a flag flying at the mast-head ; 2 and 3, or, fess cbequy, argent and azure ; on a chief argent, a stag courant, pursued by a hound, both gules. The following is an extract from the original grant: —
*'To all and singularc persones to whom theas presentes shall cum, Sir James Balfour of Kinnaird, Knight, Lyone King of Armes throughe all the kingdome of Scotland and lands thereto adjacent, . . . doe fende John Ethleine, es<|uyer, eldest lawf ull sone to Robert Ethleine, Bishop of Doune, within the Province and Countie of Ulster and Down, in the kmg- dome of Ireland, discendit of the Ethleines of Pittadro, a verrie worshipfull familie, in the Countie of Fyiffe, in the kingdome of Scotland, hath requeisted me, the said Lyone King of Armes, by vertow of my office, to give and assigne to his auncient coat of armor a fitting creist and motto, which he may lawfullie beare without wronge doeing or prejudice to others. The which, according to his just requeyst, I have accomplished and graunted. viz., on a ureath argent and gueuUes, a talbot passaunt, argent, spotted sable, langued gueulles, with this motto in an estroll above the creist: *' Non sine Praeda," helmed and manatled gueuUes, doubled argent, as is depictured in the margen .... In witness whereof, I, the said Lyon King of Armes, have to theas my letters patentes, af&xit my hand and seal of office . . . .—22nd day of Julay, 1633.
** Jambs Balfour, Lyone," «&c.
Additional Note on John Lye.
Before concluding this Paper on Glonaagb, I must revert again to the history of the Interpreter, because I am now enabled to give additional and fuller information about the family of this remarkable man. In the first Paper it is stated that the Inter- preter was the son of Francis MacLysach; but I find he was the grandson, his father being also John Lye. It may therefore be taken that there were two Johns, father and son, and that Emery, John, Arthur, Francis, Henry were grandchildren of Francis MacLysach. John, senior, had a brother, Francis — of whom more just now — but I can find no record of any other
ruin, the * Echlins, baronets,' have been reduced to a state of compara- tive poverty. A short but interesting sketch of this 8*id portion of the famity history will be found in Sir Bernard Burke's * Vicissitudes of Families,' Third Series, p. 8. The present Baronet, Sir Thomas Echlin, is endeavouring, by a life of honest industry in the R. I. C. Depot, phoenix Park, Dublin, to obtain a respectable livelihood,"
46 JOHN LYE, OF CLONAUGH, CO. KILDARE.
brother or sister. It may also be taken that it was John, senior^ who became possessed Of the property of the religions house at Glonaugh) and " being seized of divers lands in the said town- land of Clonangh, levelled the tenements^ bounds, and limits of the said religious house, threw down and destroyed the cross and trees, anderected a tower, or small castle, with other buildings.*' But as a set off, I am glad to say that John Lye, senior, had a better claim on the lands of Balyna than I gave him credit for in a former Paper,^ of which the following is proof : — On the 8th March, 1587-8, a lease was granted to John Alee or Lye, of Ballyna, Go. Eildare, yeoman ; the site of the castle of Ballyna, alias Ballycadam, alias Adamstown, lands, Ballyna, Thomas- town, Nurney, Ballymoon, County Kildare, possessions of Walter Delahyd^, attainted, and leased to said Alee for twenty- one years, to hold for ten years from 1558, at a rent of £15 48. 8d.^ The site of Cadamstown Castle is half a mile west of Clonaugh, and Balyna is at a point two miles north of both.
The following are important records of other properties acquired by the father and uncle of the Interpreter, as well as by himself : —
On March 18th, 1550-1, a lease was granted to Thomas Padge and John Lye (also written in the lease " Alye**), of the lands of Lyaghdi," .... Queen's County^ parcel of the manor of Farrinylalor (parish of Eilcolmanbane), Pobleimkeff- ragh, and Poblelysse, to hold for twenty-one years at a rent of £4, provided that the lessee, and after his death his suiBcient assignees, dwell upon the premises," &c., &c.^
On Februaty 18th, 1551, two leases were granted, one to John, the other to Francis. Lease to John Ley, of Balyna, gent., of the lands of Ardeneryn Bahin-Keiran, Kilmeneke, Ballymacgillacrossa, and Batiytyrralaghe, parcel of the lordship of Clanmalier in Offaly (King's County), to hold for twenty-one years at the rent of £14 8s. 4d.'^
Same date. Lease to Francis Ley, soldier, of the site of the nunnery of Killeagh, with the demesne lands and the titles of the tenants ; and the site of the friary of Killeagh, with its lands and the tithes of the tenants, to hold for twenty- one years, at a rent of £9 13s. 4d.'
Francis Ley, or Lye, was killed in May or June, 1552, in an expedition organized by Sir James Crofts, Lord Deputy, into
* See vol. ii, page 140, of this ' Undecipherable in the original. Journal. * Fiants of Edward VI, No. 727.
* FiantB of Henry VIII, No. 443. * Fiants of Edward VI, No. 711.
- Fw,nts of Edward VI, No. 708.
JOHN LYE, OF CLONAUGH, CO. KILDARE. 47
Ulster, when a detachment was sent to Rathlin Island under Sir Ralph Bagenal. Francis Ley wag among the slain. Bagenal himself was taken prisoner hy the McDonnells, and afterwards exchanged for Sorley Boy M'Donnell/ Among the Fiants of Edward YI we find a pardon issued to '^ Sir Ralph Bagenal of the army, especially for the death of Francis Lye. This pardon was issued in 1552.'
In 1575 John Lye received a grant of some lands in addition to Glonaugb, which came into his possession in 1571.'
On May 9th, 157B, a pardon was granted to John Lye of Clonaugh, County Kildare.^ A pardon was issued on August 24th, 1578, to James Oge Walshe mac James, of Moyvalley, gent, '' at the suit of John Lye."^
On May 6th, 1581, Sir Henry Harrington got the Rectory of Rathbride."
December 1st, on payment of » fine of £100, pardon was granted to John 0*Carroll, of Lemyvannon (in Ely O'CarrolI), son of Sir William 0*Carroll, late of the same, and John and Arthur Lye, of Clonaugh, County Meath, feoffees of the said William.'
On August 9th, 1582, a pardon was granted to Arthur Lye^ of Clonaugh, Lawrence Walshe, of Moyvalley, and others/
On March 8rd, 158S-4, John Lye, of Eilleagh, gent., sur- rendered the Priory of the Holy Cross of Eilleagh,^ and on March 9th, was regranted said priory^ with all its appurtenances.
John Lye, father of the Interpreter, died in 1584, and it is to his credit we may place the uprooting and levelling of the religious house at Clonaugh, and the building of the castle on its site in 1578. On June 2nd, of the same year, his son, Emery Lee, got a lease of numerous lands in County Dublin, also St. John's Grange, Clogher, Milltown, Johnstown, &c., the Rectory of Eilcash, County Tipperary, &c,^^
On January 14th, 1584-5, Anthony Deering, one of the Queen's pensioners, was given the reversion of the above lanis, leased to Emery Lye.
On September 17th, 1586, Johanna Delahoyde, widow, of Moyglare, was granted the reversion of the lands of Castle Gar- bury (previously leased to Sir Henry CoUey), Clonaugh, &c.,
> See M. Geoghegan's '* History * Fiant No. 3,291*.
of Ireland." * Fiant No. 3,423.
* Undated, but signed by Sir Jas. • Fiant No. 3,710.
Crofts, who was superseded as Lord ^ Fiant No. 3,782.
Deputy on December 6th, 1552. * Fiant No. 3,949.
' Fiants of Elizabeth. • Fiant No. 4,328.
•" Fiant No. 4,334,
48 JOHN LYE, OF CLONAUGH, CO. KILDARE.
and Touragighe, parcel of the Manor of Balyna, County Eil- dare.*
On January 9tby 1686-7| a lease was granted to John Lye, of Clonanghi County Kildare, gent., of the lands of Rathbride, with common of pasturage on the Curragh of Kildare, Morys- townbiller, &c., to hold for sixty years at a rent of ;£26 4s.'
On September ISth, 1587, John Lye, junior, was appointed State Interpreter; and on June 22nd, 1588, William Dunne was granted the office of " Interpreter for the State,*' at 8d. a day, '* as formerly allowed him ; *' but he was suspended, by a grant of the office to Thomas Cahill on August 29th, 1588.' By Queen's letter of August 9th, 1582, £mery Lye was leased the Abbey of the B.Y.liI. of Eilbeggan, with its appurtenances, for which a fiant was issued on April 17th, 1589/
On November 10th, 1590, a pardon was granted to Sir Charles O'Carroll, orf Leamyvennan, Owen O'Carroll, and Teague O'CarroU, brothers of Sir Charles, and John Lye, of Bathbride, County Kildare/
By Queen's letter of February 21st, 1591-2, John Lye, in consideration of surrendering the lands of fiathbride, &c. — which he did on May the 13th — was granted a new lease of Kathbride (180 acres), Morristownbiller, Croattanstown, &c., for sixty years at a rent of £10 12s. a year.*^ And inasmuch as the lands had been rented above their true value, he was leased anew these lands and others equal to £50 a year. The fiant for the new lease was issued on June 1st, 1592/
By Queen's letter of February 21st, 1591-2, and a letter of the English Privy Council under date of March 22nd, 1591, John Lye was leased the Bectory of Crevaghe (Cruagh) in Harold's County, County Dublin, for sixty years at a rent of 20s., for which a fiaiit was issued on April 26th, 1593.^ He also got a lease of lands in Counties Boscommon, Galway, Meath, Longford, Westmeath, Cork, and Clare, also Little Morristown, County Eildare, to bold for sixty years at a rent of 50s. ll^d. In addition, he was given the lands, mill, and salmon-weir of Castleknock, with other lands in County Dublin, and the Counties of Sligo, Limerick, Clare, and Boscommon, ^nd the Castle of Barrettstown, County Tipperary. Fiant issued March 26th, 1593.'* Subsequently he was leased a messuage and garden in Athboy, County Meath, for sixty years at a rent of
» Fiftnt No. 4,926. • Fiant No. 6,739.
* Fiant No. 4,953. ' Fiant No. 6,745. The new
* Fiant No. 5,259. survey was taken by Fraa.
* Fiant No. 5,322. Capstock.
* Fiant No. 6,484. "^Fiant No. 6,810.
^ Fiant No. 5,803.
JOHN LYE, OF CLONAUGH, CO. KILDAKE. 49
ISs, 4d. Fiant issued January 20th, 1594.^ Also numerous lands in the County Cavan, and one cartron of land in Walters- town, County Westmeath, for sixty years at a rent of £3 48. 6d, Fiant issued March Ist, 1594.^
On the loth August, 1594, John Lye was leased the lands of Kilbelet and Donard, County Dublin, with lands in the Queen's County, and the Counties of Gal way and Limerick, the Castle of Kilbehenny, County Tipperary, the lands of Clogheen and Whitestown, in the same county, the Rectory of Rathreagh, County Longford, and various lands in the County Clare, for sixty years at a rent of £1 5s. 8f d.^
He was also leased the site of St. Catherine's Abbey, Water- ford, and other lands in the Counties of Waterford, Tipperary, and Meath, for sixty years, at a rent of 57s. 4d. Fiant issued January 29th, 1597.
Thus, up to a few years of his death, the Interpreter was acquiring possession of land in every province of Ireland. But in most instances these lands appear to have been of little value, for the rents are merely nominal, and he makes no mention in his will of any lands outside the Counties of Kildare, Meath, and King's.
The following are interesting facts connected with Clonaugh and its neighbourhood about the times we are treating of :
An inquisition was held at Naas on June 18th, 1595, which found that Walter Birmingham, late of Mylerstown, County Kildare, gent., was seised of Moylerstown, or Meylerstown, Clonaugh, Muckland, Kilmore, Kilshangho, and Ballinamallagh, County Kildare. This Walter Birmingham died November 27th, 1581, and was succeeded in his inheritance by his son and heir, Thomas, who was also heir male to Sir William Birming- ham, Baron, of Carbury, who died without issue.
On February 18th, 1597, Thomas Birmingham, of Dunfeirth, County Kildare, got livery, on payment of a fine of £60.
Pardon was granted to Piers Walshe fitz Piers, of Moy valley. County Kildare, gent., on April 18th, 1598, and again on April 6th, 1600. Pardon was granted to William Birmingham, of Dunfeirth, County Kildare, gent., to Pierce Birmingham fitz Meyler, of Clonaugh, and others, April 20th, 1600; and to Owen Mac Art O'Dunne, of Clonaugh, County Kildare on March 80th, 1601.
By Queen's letter of August 1st, 1585, a lease was granted to Patrick CuUen, of Carne, Co. Kildare, of various lands " in con-
' Fiant No. 6,842. « Fiant No. 5,894. * Fiant No. 5,878, where all these lands are separately set forth.
E
50 JOHN LYE, OK CLONAUUH, CO. KILDARE.
sideration of his losses by building the bridge of Blackwater." Fiaut issned Angnst 28th, 1601.
I cannot conclade withont expressing mj acknowledgments and thanks to Sir Thomas Echlin, who in the kindest way has supplied me with " The Echlin Memoirs," and other family documents ; and also to William H. Qrattan Flood, Esq., Enniscorthy, who has placed at my disposal his copions and interesting notes on Clooangb and its neighboarhood, &om which I have derived the Tenable information given in the concluding portion of this paper.
At present there is not a stone of the Castle of Glonangh at or uear the site. Abont fifty years ago they were removed to
Ku,HHANnuE Chatbl, uuilt raou the hatekuls or Clomauoh Cahtle.
build the Roman Catholic church of Kilshanroe, situate abont one mile S.-E. of Clonaugb. At that time the castle was a heap of ruins, and the tenant, a Mr. Mooney, gave the stones of the castle to build the church. And thus it came to pass, after the lapse of 300 jDars, that the very stones which formed the fabric of the religious house at Clonaugb, dedicated to St. Finian, were restored to the same sacred use, and now form the walls of the Church of Kilshanroe.
( SI )
THE CARPENTER TOMB-SLAB IN ST. DA VID'S
CHURCH, NAAS.
By lord WALTER FITZGERALD.
With a BioaBiPHiCAL Sketch op Joshua Cabpbntbr's Life.
By Miss A. F. Lonq.
THE Carpenter tomb-slub, a drawing of which is on the page following, lies in the passage-way running down the middle of St. David's Church in Naas ; it measures in length 6 ft. 8 in., and in breadth, 8 ft. 1 in. ; the material is of some pink-coloured stone. The large lettering on it, as well as the coat-of-arms and motto scroll, are in relief; the small lettering was a later addition, and is incised. The inscription reads :
** HEBE LYETH THE BODY OF I08HVA CABPENTEB, ESQ. : BOENE AT
LYME, IS DEVONSHIRE, THE 12tH OF DEC, 1585,
AND DECEASED AT ELSINOBE THE 2nD OF
MARCH, 1655."
The incised part of the inscription is :^
"He married Ursula, daughter of Richard Vinegor, of Sackfcild Hall, in Suffolke, Esq. , and had issue by her — John, Thoinas, Joshua, Philipp, Cicilia, Ann, Arabella, Ursula, and Mary."
The coats-of-arms here depicted are the Carpenter and Vinegor coats impaled, viz. : —
The Dexter Goat : Paly of six argent and gules, on a chevron sable, three plates each, charged with a cross crosslet of the second. For Carpenter.
The Sinister Coat : Argent^ on a bend azure, three birds of paradise of the field. For Vinegor.
The motto^" Deus [? in] extremis mihi clipeum " — means " Qod is my shield to the last.'*
The Joshua Carpenter to whose memory this slab was placed here, lived at Sigginstown (or Jigginstown, as it is now called), near Naas. This we learn from the following inscription on a chalice belonging to the church of Aghaboe, in the Queen's County: — "Ex dono Ursulae Carpenter viduae lehoschwhsB Carpenter, nuper de Sigginstowne, in com. Eildare,
lYETHTffi
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HE:MARlfiO:VR8ULAsDALU3HTEg To: RfCHARP:Vir€fi9fl:OF:dACK Fl E L D :HAIX; IN^BUFFaLKEtCSat'^ HAD: iSSlUrt BV: H0R: 10 HN2THO MAS:i05HUA:PHfU.IFP:ClSSlt.rA ANN: ARABfitLAS VRSaLATAK)
MARY
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The Carpenter Sl^b in St. Pavip's Church at Naas.
THE CARPENTER TOMB-SLAB IN ST. DAVID's CHURCH. 53
armeg. ecclesiae parochiali de Aghaboe, 14 Mali, 1668. Daniele Nilan, sac. Tbeologiae doctore, Bectore."^
The *' Funeral Entry/' quoted below^ is almost a duplicate of the inscription on the tomb-slab : —
'' Josua Carpenter, Esq., was borne at Liaie in Devonshere ; hee tooke to wife Ursula, daughter of Richard Vinegor of Sackfield Hall, in the Nine Parishes, SufFolke, Esq., by whome hee had issue foure sonnes, viz. John, Thomas, Josua, and Phillipp ; and five daughters, Cissillia, Anne, Arabella, Ursula, and Mary ; of which issue there is now liveing onely the youngest daughter, Mary.
'* The said first-mentioned Josua departed this mortall life the 2nd of March, 1G55, aged 70 yeares and two monethes, and in the same moneth was interred with funerall rights in St. David's church at the Naas, in the Countie of Kildare. [On the tombstone his death is stated to have taken place at Elsinore, which is in Denmark.]
''The truth of the premisses is testified by the subscription of John Browne, whoe hath returned this Certificate into my office to bee ther recorded. Taken by me Richard Carney, Esq., Principall Herauld of Armes of the whole Dominion of Ireland, this 26th of March, 1056."
In the above Funeral Entry the statement that the daughter Mary was the only living issue of Joshua Carpenter appears to be wrong, as in a manuscript volume in the Record Office, called *' The Receiver-General's receipt and payment Books " are the following two entries :—
*' Paid to Philip Carpenter, "Esq., Chief e Sergeant at Armes, for his fee, at £25 per annum " («&c. during the year 1675).
"Paid to Joshua Carpenter, Esq., Chief e Sergeant at Arms, for his fee, at £100 per annum *' (&c. during 1676 and onwards).
In a Funeral Entry it is stated that Joshua Carpenter's granddaughter Ursula, daughter of Thomas Carr (son of Sir George Carr of Yorkshire) of Donore, in the County Kildare, died on the 26th of May, 1675, "and was buried the 27th of the same month in the towne [? tomb] of her grandfather, Josua Carpenter, Esq., in the chancell of the Nase [church]. The truth of the premisses is testified by the subscription of Capt. Phill. Carpenter, His Majesties Principall Serjant at Armes of Ireland."
This Captain Philip Carpenter's death took place on the 2l8t December^ 1676, and he was also interred '^ in the chancell of the Nase." (Funeral entry.)
It is possible that Philip and Joshua, both in succession chief sergeants-at-arms, were grandsons of the man who died in 1665.
' Vide vol. i, p. 475, of Col. Vigors's Reports on the Memorials of the Dead, Ireland.
54 THE CARPENTER TOMB-SLAB IN ST. DAVID'S CHURCH.
Mary Browne (nee Carpenter) died on the 8rd May, 1676 ; and her husband, John Browne, also mentioned above, died on the 18th of December, 1680 ; both were buried in St. David^s Church at Naas. (Funeral Entries.)
BIOGRA.PHICAL SKETCH.
Joshua Carpenter was steward of the household of the Lord Deputy Wentworth. The deputy was in England in 1636, and, writing to his wife, asks her to search for and send to him, as speedily as possible, " my books of account," to assist him in *' my business here, much and intricate ;'* and adds, *' I pray you seek for them till you find them; then advise with Carpenter bow they may be sent hither with all diligence. . . I desire also that you would take Carpenter unto you, and look over all the closet on side of the gallery, and if you find any amongst them concerning Overton, to put them in the trunk with the rest, for I shall need them in making up that account." ^
In 1639 the deputy was again in England, and in one of his letters to his friend Sir George Kadcliffe, speaking of the letting of some farms ^' in the Bernes country,'* that is, on Wentvvorth's Wicklow estate, he appointed two servants to see after this matter; but adds, '^ In any wise, speak with Cai*penter, and lot not this be neglected.^' '
A week later, the deputy, writing again to Badcliffe about his own expected return to Ireland, '' so as I shall desire you to give order to Carpenter that both the pi nances may be ready at Beau- maris by the fifteenth of the same month. In the meantime I would have Carpenter to take course that my pinance be at Beaumaris the 30th of this month, to transport my Lord Justice Lowther back . . . both these appointments. Carpenter must take special care that they punctually be complied with and observed." '
After the arrest of Strafford, unfounded charges of high treason were brought against five of the earl's adherents in Ireland, viz., the Lord Chancellor Sir Richard Bolton, the Chief Justice Sir Gerald Lowther, Sir George Badcliffe, Dr. Bramhall, Bishop of Derry, and Joshua Carpenter. This false accusation has been termed by Pym's biographer as " a master-stroke of Pym's,"* because its object was to disqualify any of the five from giving evidence for Strafford at his trial.
' Cooper's "Life of Wentworth," vol. i, pp. 403-404.
' ** RadclilFe Correspondence," p. 190.
' ** Radcliffe Correspondence," p. 193.
* ** Lives of British Statesmen, by J. Foster, vol. ii, p. 389.
THE CARPENTER TOMB-SLAB IN ST. DAVID'S CHURCH. S5
The Lord Chancellor Bolton and the Chief Justice Lowtber ** were at this time peculiarly necessary at the council board '' in Dublin, so that, at the urgent request of the Lords Justices, they were allowed to remain at liberty. ^
Badcliffe was sent to England, and committed a prisoner to the Gatehouse in London ; Bishop Bramhall and Carpenter were imprisoned in Dublin Castle. None of the five so-called ''traitors 'Were ever brought to trial. When Strafford's trial was over, the charges against them were silently dropped ; but three of them, Badcliffe, Bramhall, and Carpenter, were for two years kept in prison and in uncertainty of their fate.
Strafford, a day or two before his death, solicited the king's good offices for some of his adherents, and especially the three prisoners. Charles promised he would aid them, and special mention is made of '' Carpenter to be at liberty to look to his [Strafford's] estate, or anyone he shall appoint to have care of his children."'^
The king either forgot his promise, or could not fulfil it, for Badcliffe and Bishop Bramhall remained in prison for over two years. When they were released. Carpenter seems to have been forgotten, for in 1644, the Earl of Ormond being appointed Lord Deputy, Sir George Badcliffe, then at Oxford with King Charles, wrote to the new viceroy : —
"That you will be pleaHed to take into your care and protection George Carre and Joshua Carpenter. Your lordship knows them to be honest and able men, nor do I need to recommend them to your lord- ship. ... 1 was about to have been a suitor to the king for something in the behalf of Mr. Carpenter, but I desire that he may acknowledge it only to your lordship.""
George Carre was one of Strafford's private secretaries. It was of him the Lord Deputy Wandesford wrote to his cousin. Sir G. Badcliffe :—
*'What I write of Mr. Carre, I protest the man deserves, and a thousand times more, for I hold him very worthy of great estimation and encouragement." *
After receiving Radclifle's letter, Ormond did exert his in- fluence in Carpenter's favour; for three months later Badclifi'e writes again : —
** I am very much your lordship's servant for your favour shown to Mr. Carpenter at the last meeting of Parliament, whereby ho is freed from the occasion of much clamorous trouble."*
' Leland's *' History of Ireland," vol. iii, p. 73.
* ** Strafford Letters and Despatches," vol. ii, p. 418.
» Carte's " Life of Ormond,*' vol. iii, p. 206.
* '^Radcliffe Correspondence," p. 246.
j1.
* Carte's " Life of Ormond," vol. iii, page 268.
56 THE CARPENTER TOMB-SLAB IN ST. DAVID'S CHURCH.
This doubtless refers to getting the charge of treason with- drawn, regarding which charge Radcli£fe had already on his own behalf solicited Ormond — *^ Let Sir Q. Badcli£fe have yoar help to take off his charge in Parliament."^
Carpenter seems then to have been released by the Lord Deputy; for in May, 1644, Badcliffe writes gratefully to Ormond of "your goodness," and "your noble favours now lately received,'' and '' above all, to Mr. Carpenter, in whose imprison- ment his late lord's honour suffered."^
In Radcliffe's subsequent letters to Ormond, the name of Carpenter does not appear. He probably spent the last years of his life at Jigginstown, in the service of his master's son.
A. F. Long.
' Carte's " Life of Ormond," vol. iii, p. 247. ^ Ibid., vol. iii, p 299.
( 57 )
^isceiiaiica.
A Gold Bimo duo up im the Garden at Furnesh, in May, 1898.
iT.a/^i^tiMt. J Inside :-- Wicklow Gold & Slaney Pearl. iiiBcnpiuiu -j Outeide, in Irish characters :— Gaelic Beauty.
Furness, or Forenaghts Great.
From the back-door of Furness House can be seen the ruins of a church, embosomed in a grove of beautiful ilex trees — as beautiful specimens as exist anywhere. I remember Sir Edward Poynter, the painter — now the President of the Royal Academy — being taken to see this grove ; he remarked he wished he had had time to make a sketch of them for one of his classical pictures.^
It is impossible to say when this church was built, but it must have been erected after the coming of the Anglo-Normans, as may be seen from the pointed doorway and windows.^ In a list of the churches given by the Most Bev. Dr. MacGeoghegan, in 1624, it is mentioned as belonging to the Deanery of Naas.
The stained-glass window already described on p. 452, vol ii of The JouBNAii, and illustrated from a drawing by the Hon. Gerald Ponsonby, could not have belonged to this church, as there is no window large enough to hold it ; the style of ornament of the glass, too, is such as to show that it belongs to a date later than any at which the church was in use, being late seventeenth-century work.
There is a remarkable pillar-stone, 17 ft. in height, and 9^ ft. in girth, standing in the centre of a well-preserved rath, which is situated on the crest of the high ground that rises to the east of the house at Furness. This rath is 880 ft. above the level of the sea, and from it a beautiful view is obtained ; the eye reaches far over the plain of Kildare. Naas seems to be at one's feet, and beyond it the Hill of Allen and the Bed Hills show up clearly in the blue distance, that remarkable beauty of all Irish landscapes.
It is well known that pillar-stones, like the one at Furness, were erected from earliest times to mark the graves of persons of
* To the west of the church ruins stands an English yew, which must be of great age, as it measures in girth thirteen feet, about three feet from the ground ; it is now quite hollow.
' About the year 1200, Kicardus de Lesse, an Anglo-Norman settler in the neighbourhood of Kill, gave to the Abbey of St. Thomas the Church of Fornach, with tithes, drc. His son or brother, John de Lisse, also gave to the Abbey all his rights over the Church of Fomacbbeg. (Ei>.)
jr FUBNEUtl Chl'uch.
ly tllo Udd. UetuUI Ftnuonbi-.J
MISCELLANEA. 59
distinction. This we read Id " The Annals of tbe Four MftsterB" under the year Anno Mundi 3502 {i.e., 1700 years before Christ) :—
" Tea, daughter of Lughaid, son oi Itb, whom Eremon married in Spun, reqaeated him (her hnsband] lo give her a. choice hill, lu her dower, in what- ever plitce aha should select, thut she iniffht be interred, and that har mound and ber gravestone might he thareon raised, and where every prince ever to be born ol her race nhoutd dwi-ll. The hill she selected was Druim Caein (CiLen's ridge), i.e.. Teamhair (now Tara, derived (rom her name. "Ten" and " Mur,'' meaning a palace.)' It is from her it wan called, and in it she wai interred."
I quote this extract tu show clearly what these pillar-stones were intended for ; what particular distinguished person this pillar- stone was intended to lionour, Ijistory, alas, does not relate.
' According to Dr. Joyce, the real derivntion of the name Tsra is ■■ Teamh- racb " (pronounced Taragfa), the genitive ol " Teambair," which Bignifies an elevated spot oommandint; on extensive prospect.
6o MISCELLANEA.
In reference to the name Furness, or Forenaghts, I am aware that Dr. Joyce, in his ** Irish Names of Places," says it means " a bare, naked, or exposed hill; " our Irish writers, in ancient times, were, however, very fond of seeking for the explanation of such names in the facts of Irish history, and generally state the places were named from some warrior or heroine of long ago ; in S. H. 0 'Grady's *' Silva Gadelica," on page 526, is found a passage in which this name, a very rare one in Irish topography, occurs.
In a very ancient tract called the ^^ Dindshenchas*' it is stated that the four daughters of a Meath hero, named Dubthach Dub- thaire, eloped, during their father's absence, with the four sons of a Munster king, named Acher Cerr. The sons were named Fordub, Fornocht, Romper, and Formu. On his return Dubthach went in pursuit of the runaway couples, and, overtaking them in different localities, slew them. Fordub was slain in the Blackford of Maistin (i.e., a ford on the river Greese below Mullaghmast) ; Fornocht fell at Forenaghts, or Furness ; Romper in Glas Romper ; and Formu in Fomu. One of the daughters was killed at a ford on the Greese, not far from Ballitore, called after her ** Ath Truisten,'' or Truistins's Ford.^
In O'Grady's " Silva Gadelica" is the translation of an ancient tract called ** The Boromean Tribute," which describes how St. Moling (of Timolin in this county and of St. MuUin's, County Carlow) obtained from Finnachta, " fledhach " (i.e., the festive). King of Ireland in the seventh century, a remission of this onerous tribute ; this occurred at Dun Aulin, the Rath on the Hill of Knockaulin (where the excursion meeting of the Society took place in September last). Having obtained the remission of the cow-tax, St. Moling started back for his monastery at Rosbroc (i.e. the wood of the Badger), now St. Mullins on the Barrow ; but the men of Erin were by no means satisfied that the Leinster tribute should be lost to them, for it was so vast that everyone used to get a share of it : — " Thrice fifty times a hundred cows, thrice fifty hundred swine, mantles as many, and chains of silver ; thrice fifty hundred wethers, the same of copper cauldrons, and, to be set in Tara's house itself, one great copper reservoir, in which should fit twelve pigs and twelve kine ; thirty cows, red-eared, with calves of their colour, with halters and spancels of bronze, and, over and above that, with bosses of gold."^ The tract goes on to say that " the men of Erin set out to pursue Moling : and where he was, when they came up with him, was in Fornocht^ laying out the site of a milL"3
Mayo.
» See Dr. Whitley Stokes's •• Translation of the Dlndshenchas, " at p. 322 of vol. XV of the " Revue Celtique."
« O'Grady's " Silva Gadelioa," p. 403. » Ibid., p. 423.
MISCELLANKA.
An Ancient Foot-track of Wooden Planks across the Monavulla^h Bog.
MoHAvuLLAOH is a large isolated bog lying near and east of the railway between Kildore and Athy, in the County Kildare. When shooting on the Clogorrab portion of it on the 12th of August last year, the bog-ranger informed me that a man named John Hyland, while cutting turf on the neighbouring Killart part of the Bog (of which Major Borrowea of Gilltown is the proprietor), had come across planlis of oali deep down in the bog. After inspecting the place, I got permission from Major Borrowes to excavate a plank in full length. John Hyland and a couple of hands then set to work to cut a deep trench Bome four perches into the bog, and uncovered the foot-tracli which, according to my directions, was left t'fi Kidr till my arrival.
On examining the timber I found it to consist of white oali planks laid singly in a line, eight feet below the present level of the bog, and having five more feet of black peat below them, before reaching the clay.
62 MISCELLANEA.
The plank measured 21^ ft. in length, 2 ft. in breadth, and was from 4 to 6 in. thick ; when a piece was cut off with a knife, the wood was whiteish in colour. One end of the plank rested on the stem of a small yew-tree, and the other on a stout oak bough, both of which projected far beyond the sides of the plank.
On either side of the plank, stout stakes, gradually brought to a point with some sharp instrument, were driven into the bog about 6 feet apart, some two feet being left above the level of the plank ; and to further tighten the latter to them, long sticks or straight branches were wedged between them lengthways. These stakes were of yew and of oak, and were as sound as the day they were placed in position ; the marks of the cuts, too, where the stakes had been brought to a point, appearing quite fresh.
The planks had not been sawn at the ends, but were hacked away ; the naturally rounded external side rested on the peat. One strange feature in connection with them was that on either side, close to the edge, and from 6 to 8 feet apart, there were holes about 4 in. square. As there were no pegs of any description in them, it is puzzling to know what they were intended for ; they give one the idea that they were intended for the uprights of a hand-rail, but this luxury would not be required except on a dark night. Can they have been made use of in some way when carrying or drawing the timber into position ?
John Hyland informed me that for years he and others cutting turf here before him, had met in with these planks which, as soon as a few feet projected from the turf-bank, they cut through and carried off to repair the pig-sty with. The planks, he said, were all on the one level and laid on the same principle ; all, too, were of oak ; they were laid as if leading from tlie Kilberry direction, and appeared to lead straight to " the Derry " (or DerryvuUagh, to give it its full name), which is an island in the middle of the bog, containing a farm-house and some twelve acres of good tillage land ; a tocher or car-track connects the Derry with Killart on the edge of the bog (a distance of just an English mile), and it is near this that the ancient foot- track is situated.
DerryvuUagh, which slopes to the height of 15 ft. above the level of the bog, means " the Oak-wood height,*' from it the bog is called MonavuUagh, or ** the Bog of the height."
Kilberry (i.e., St. Berach's or Barry's Church) lies a mile and a half to the west of Killart, and contains the ruins of a church, a castle, and a nunnery.
"Killart" is the name of an obliterated churchyard in the townland of Old Court. Some years back, a shopkeeper in Athy, named Keating, took the farm on which the churchyard stood. While it was in his possession he dug up this old, disused burial- ground, and carted off human bones and all, for top-tressing his fields. He had no luck afterwards ; his shop in Athy was twice burned down, and though he was left a large sum of money by a relative, he did not live nine weeks to enjoy it. The two hands he
NOTES. 63
employed in excavating the place, in a few years, met one another in the Carlow Lunatic Asylum. The site of the burial-ground is now a hollow, with two or three aged ash -trees standing by.
The only *'find** that I have heard of on this portion of the Bog, was a wooden vessel containing "Bog-butter." For years it was used to grease the wheels of an ass-cart.
Lying in the gallery of the Science and Art Museum, just outside the doorway leading into the room containing the Boyal Irish Academy's collection of antiquities, is a large oaken plank closely resembling in appearance the MonavuUagh plank, except that it is very much longer and broader, and that it also has a double row of holes down the middle, in addition to those at the sides. Some antiquaries are of the opinion that this huge plank served for a a bridge, whose supports were fixed in the rows of holes.
W. FiTzG.
Additions to the List of tlie High Sheriffs of the County Kildare, given at p. 258 of the 2nd Volume of the Journal.^
1811. David le Mazener.
1354. Maurice Roleg.'
1355. Richard de Penkeston.
1363. John Wogan (of Rathcoffy, Betham's MSS., Ulster's Office).
1372. David Nasshe.
1370. William Wellesley.
1377. Sir Maurice FitzEustace, Kt.
jggg' ' William Wellesley, of Baronrath (vol. xix of Pedigrees, 1399* I Ulster's Office).
1400. John fitzMaurice del Blakehall. (? A Wellesley or an
Eustace). 1408. William fitz Thomas. (Surname unknown). 1422. Thomas Hall. 1430. Sir Edward FitzEustace, Kt. 1448. Robert Flattesbury, Sheriff of Kildare, was slain in the
battle of '* Donerisk" on the 2nd of September (Grace's
Annals). 1505. W^illiam Eustace, of Newlands, near Naas (Betham*s MSS.). 1G29. Walter FitzCierald of WaUerstown, County Kildare; a
branch of the FitzGeralds of Tiniahoe, County Kildare,
died on the 7th August. [Funeral Entries, Ulster's
Office.]
The above-named sheriffs, except where already noted, are all taken from a volume called *• Rotulorum lliberniie.**
W. FiTzG.
* Correction, p. 262.— Edward Sherlock, High Sheriff in 1090, was of Landenstown, not of Sherlockstown. (Ed.)
64 NOTES.
Calverstown (near Kilcullen).
In vol. ii, p. 51, of the '< Transactions of the Boyal Irish Academy/' is a communication read to the above Society by William Beauford, a.b., on the Srd March, 1789, which is to the following effect : —
As some peasants in February, 1788, were digging in a garden at Calverstown, near Kilcullen, in the County of Kildare, one of them dropped his fack, or spade, in a hole under what was always deemed a large rockstone, which just appeared above the ground. To recover the spade they attempted to remove the stone ; this they completed by breaking it into several pieces. Underneath was an oblong cavity or tomb, the sides and ends composed of large flat stones, about 5 ft long, 4 ft. deep, and 4 ft. wide. In this tomb was found a skeleton in a sitting attitude, facing the south, and by its side, near the head, a small urn of very rude workmanship, made of earth, very hard baked, and of a light-brown colour. This was a little broken when found, by pieces of the covering stone falling on it ; but when entire was 5^ in. in diameter at the top, and 2 in. at the bottom, and 4^ in. deep ; the urn was ornamented with car\dngs both in creux and relief.
An illustration of the kist, with the position of the skeleton in it, and another of the urn, are given along with the description of the find ; it is stated that the urn was deposited in the Museum of the Eoyal Irish Academy.
W. FiTzG.
A Constable of Dublin Castle.
For the extra volume for 1896-97 issued by the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, the subject selected for publication was the ** Register of Wills and Inventories of the Diocese of Dublin, 1467-1488," which was edited by Henry F. Berry, of the Record Oflice. On p. 92, mention is made of a Gerald FitzGerrot, who in the year 1474 was Constable of Dublin Castle. Who was he?
W. FiTzG.
C. W. GiBDB & Sox, Printers, 16 Wicklow Slreet, Dublin.
JOURNAL
OF THE
jflw^^ological 0mt\} of i\t Gf^^^k ^^ I\iXii^tt
AND
jSurronnbing Dtstritts.
4-f
^rocccdUtgs.
The Annnal General Meeting of the Society was held on Wednesday, the 18th of January, 1899, in the Court House, Naas, which had been kindly lent by the High Sheriff of the County.
The Earl of Mayo, President of the Society, in the Chair.
The following Members of the Council were present: — Mr. Thomas Cooke-Trench, the Bev. E. O'Leary, Mr. T. J. de Burgh, Mr. H. Hendrick-Aylmer, Hon. Treasurer; Sir Arthur Vicars, Ulster, and Lord Walter FitzGerald, Hon. Secretaries,
In addition, the following Members, and Visitors introduced by Members, were present : —
The Dean of Kildare, the Countess of Mayo, Mr. and Mrs. Edmund Sweetman, Canon Adams, Rev. T. Morrin, Rev. R. D. Skuse, the Misses Sherlock, Mr. George Wolfe, Dr. F. Falkiner, Mr. C. J. Engledow, m.p., Mr. W. Staples, Rev. J. F. Cole, &c.
The Minutes of the previous Meeting of January, 1898, having been read and. confirmed, were signed by the Chairman.
Sir Arthur Vicars, Ulster, Hon. Secretary, then read the Report, of the Council for the year 1898, which was adopted.
Some discussion took place, in which Mr. Engledow, Canon Adams, and others took part, on the inconvenience occasioned at the Excursion Meetings by reason of the encroachment of non- Members and others, who attended from idle curiosity, thereby preventing the Members of the Society and their friends from hearing the Papers read, and inspecting the objects of interest ; and the Council were reqaested to take the necessary steps to
66 PROCEEDINGS OF THE
remedy the evil, while not unduly encroaching on the privilege of those, not Members of the Society, who were seriously interested in the proceedings.
The Hon. Treasurer read his Report for the year 1898, which showed a decided improvement on the previous year as regards the financial condition of the Society. The Report was adopted, with the best thanks of the Society to the Hon. Treasurer, on the motion of Mr. T. Cooke-Trench, seconded by Lord Walter FitzGerald, Hon. Secretary.
The Society received, with great regret, the intelligence of the death of Mr. J. K Sutcliffe, who had acted as Auditor of the Society since its foundation; and the following vote of condolence was passed : —
" That the Members of the Kildare Archaeological Society desire to express their sincere regret at the death of Mr. J. R. Sutcliffe, who kindly undertook the duties of Hon. Auditor of the Society since its foundation, besides evincing a keen interest in its welfare. They beg to tender their condolences to his family.''
The following Resolution was proposed by Mr. T. J. de Burgh, and seconded by Mr. Engledow, and passed : —
**That Mr. A. Warmington, Manager of the Leinster and Munster Bank, Naas, having kindly consented to fill the place of the late Mr. J. R. Sutcliffe as Auditor of the Society, he be appointed Auditor for the ensuing session."
Lord Walter FitzGerald produced a circular which he and his co-Hon. Secretary had issued to the Members in pursuance of the Resolution passed at the last Meeting in January, 1898 — that the Hon. Secretaries be requested to suggest to the Mem- bers some subjects for Papers which would be of interest to the Society.
Mr. Ambrose More O'Ferrall and Mr. Thomas Cooke-Trench, being the Members of the Council retiring by rotation, were re-elected.
The following was elected a Member of the Society : — Mr. C. J. Hobson, U.S.A. In addition, the election of the following at the Excursion Meeting in September last was con- firmed : — Mr. Francis J. Freeman and Mr. J. A. Hannon.
The next business before the Meeting being the fixing of the date and place for the Excursion Meeting, the Bev. E. O'Leary suggested the visiting of Carbury and district by canal-boat from Sallins; and the Hon. Secretaries were requested to make the necessary inquiries, with a view to ascertain if such a course was possible, and a Resolution to that efiect was passed ; and as an alternative Blessington was suggested.
COUNTY KILDARE ARCH/EO LOGICAL SOCIETY. 67
The following Resolution, proposed by Mr. Edmund Sweet- man. and seconded by Sir Arthur Vicars, was passed unani- mouslj : —
*' That fche thanks of the Kildare Archasological Society are tendered to Major Blacker for having facilitated the inspection of Castlemartin Chapel by the Society on the occasion of the Excursion Meeting in September last."
The following Papers were read : —
1. "John Lye's Descendants, and their Successors at Clonaugh, County Kildare," Part III. Conclusion. By Bev. E. O'Leary.
2. "Archaeological Notes." (a) "The Carpenter Tomb in St. David's Church, Naas." (6) " John FitzGerald, of Narraghbeg, County Kildare." By Lord Walter FitzGerald, Hon. Secretary.
3. " Notes on Furness or Forenaughts Great." By the Earl of Mayo, President,
The Earl of Mayo exhibited a gold ring set with an Lrish pearl, the property of Mr. N. Synnott, probably of the early part of the century, and explained that this ring had been found recently during excavations at Forenaughts Great. On the outside of the ring was an inscription in Celtic characters believed to mean "dear," and on the inside, " Wicklow Gold," and " Slaney Pearl." He also exhibited a picture showing the gold mines in Wicklow in last century.
Sir Arthur Vicars, Ulster, exhibited a Spanish armorial tile of the seventeenth century, which bore the inscription, ^'Fluminus impetus letificat civitatem Dei*" (Psalm xlvi. 4). He also showed another fine green enamelled Spanish tile of the sixteenth century, with coat of arms ; and a delicate drawing in pen and ink on vellum of the Loftus atchievement, which was drawn by the celebrated Matthew Buchinger, born without hands or feet in Germany in 1674. This sketch was done at Drogheda in 1722.
Votes of thanks having been passed to the gentlemen who had kindly read Papers and lent exhibits for the Meeting, and to the High Sheriff of the County for the use of the Court House^ the proceedings terminated.
Keport of Council for 1898.
The Council of the Kildare Archaeological Society are happy to be able to report that the Society is in a flourishing condition^ and that a good deal of useful work was done in the past year.
They regret to have to chronicle the loss of a keen supporter of the Society in Mr. J. B. Sutcliffe, whose death quite recently
68 PROCEEDINGS OF THE
will be felt by many outBide the ranks of the Society. Mr. Sutcliffe had kindly acted as our Auditor ever since the founda- tion of the Society — a post for which his excellent business qualities eminently fitted him ; and we should be lacking in respect for his memory if we did not acknowledge his kind help.
The Roll of Membership now amounts to 168^ of which number fourteen are Life Members.
The financial condition of the Society is most satisfactory, as our Hon. Treasurer will show.
The Annual General Meeting was held in the Court House, Naas, kindly lent by the High Sheriff, Mr. Goates, on the 24th January, at which Papers were read, and the usual business of the Society for the year transacted.
In accordance with a resolution passed at the Meeting last February, the Hon. Secretaries drew up a circular, which was sent round to all the Members, pointing out subjects for Papers, and matters of interest in an archsBological and historical sense which might form the basis for Papers, and act as an incentive to Members to aid the objects of the Society.
The Council regret that this step has so far not been pro- ductive to any great extent ; but they hope for better results in the forthcoming year.
The Excursion Meeting in September last took place at Old KilcuUen and district, at which there was a good attendance, notwithstanding that the weather in the earlier part of the day was not very favourable.
Some Members have complained to the Council of the great inconvenience that is occasioned at the Excursion Meetings to the Members by the crowding in of people who do not belong to the Society, and who only come from idle curiosity, preventing the Members from viewing the objects of interest and hearing the Papers read. The Council hope to take steps to avoid the recurrence of any such inconvenience in the future, at the same time not to encroach unduly upon the legitimate desire of the residents of the localities visited from participating in the archadological demonstrations.
In reference to the last Excursion Meeting, Major Blacker has expressed his desire to have the fine Altar Tomb of the Eustaces at Castlemartin restored, which is at present in frag- ments in the chapel. The Society hope to be able to superintend for Major Blacker the carrying out of this very desirable object during the year.
In regard to the Excursions, the Council would welcome suggestions from Members as to districts which might be visited ; and they venture to seek the aid of the residents of these localities in aiTanging for the visits of the Society.
COUNTY KILDARE ARCH^OLOGICAL SOCIETY. 69
They again appeal on behalf of the Hon, Editor for literary eontribntions to The Journal.
Two Members of the Council, Mr. Ambrose More OTerrall and Mr. Thomas Cooke-Trench, retire by rotation, and, being eligible, offer themselves for re-election.
Adopted,
Mato, President
Arthur Vioars, Ulster, W. FitzGbrald,
18th January, 1899.
Hon, Secretaries^
Excursion Meeting, 1898.
The Eighth Annual Excursion Meeting took place on Tuesday, the 12th September, 1898, at Old Kilcullen, Castle- martin, and district.
Newbridge Station was the starting-point, where, by 10 o'clock, the up and down trains had brought their contingents of Members and their friends from the various parts of the county.
The first stopping-place was the Green of Old Kilcullen, some four and a half miles distant, where close by lies Knock- aulin Hill, which was ascended under rather trying circum- stances, for some rain had fallen in the journey from Newbridge, rendering the grass somewhat damp. Here a Paper was read by Lord Walter FitzGerald, and a fine view obtained of the points of interest referred to in the Paper. Descending by way of the Fosse, where the fine ramparts were inspected, the company proceeded to Old Kilcullen Churchyard, not far distant, and here, after a short preliminary account of the various Bound Towers of Ireland had been read. Lord Walter FitzGerald pro- ceeded with his Paper on that one at Old Kilcullen, dealing also with the sculptured cross-shaft, the history of the church not now in existence, and the district generally.
The Members and those present then rejoined the carriages, and drove to Kilcullen, where an excellent luncheon was served at Bardon's hostelry. By this time the weather had changed, and the snn shone out, which doubtless accounted for the large numbers that joined the party here, somewhat severely taxing the accommodation in the hotel.
After luncheon, many amused themselves in wandering over the prettily situated village of Kilcullen, and the old-fashioned garden of the hotel, until it was time to start for New Abbey,
^0 PROCEEDINGS OF THE
where Lord Walter FitzGerald again interested all present by a description of the Eustace altar-tomb, and a detailed history of the Monastery which formerly existed here, but of which, un- forttinately, no traces are now visible.
Resuming their seats, the Members of the Society and their visitors had a pleasant drive to Gastlemartin, passing through the beautiful gates at the entrance to the park — a fine specimen of wrought-iron work, with overhead grill and side wings, dating from about the middle of last century. Through the kindness of the owner. Major Blacker, permission was given to the Society to drive up to the house, a good specimen of an early Georgian mansion ; and from this, the company wended their way through the grounds to the ruins of the Eustace Chapel, which lies at the back of the house.
Here a Paper on the Mortuary Chapel was read by Sir Arthur Vicars, Ulster, and the curiously formed tower described, and the remains of the founder's monument inside the Chapel inspected.
The party then returned to KilcuUen for tea at Bardon's hotel, after which the company dispersed, many driving to New- bridge for their respective trains.
Although the attendance was large, the numbers were not quite up to the average of last year, which may be accounted for in some measure by the inclemency of the weather in the morning.
Amongst the Members and Visitors present were:— Lord Frederick FitzGerald, Canon Sherlock, Hon. Editor, and the Misses Sherlock, Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Synnott, Mr. Robert Cochrane, f.s.a., Hon. Secretary R S. A, L-e.; Rev. E. OXeary, Mr. C. E. A Roper, Mr. George Mansfield and Miss Mansfield, Sir Arthur Vicars, Ulster, Hon. Secretary; Mr. and Mrs. Edmund Sweetmau, Mr. and Mrs. Thos. Greene, Colonel and Mrs. P. D. Vigors, Lord Walter FitzGerald, Hon. Secretary ; Rev. M. Devitt, Vice-President ; Rev. L. Doyle, Rev. Thomas Carberry, Rev. E. H. Waller, The Dean of Kildare and Mrs. Cowell, Rev. J. L. Jesson, Rev. A. L. and Mrs. Rhind, Rev. W. and Mi's. Morrison, Mr. O'Connell, Rev. J. J. Graham, Rev. E. Jones, Miss Sampson, Mr. and Mrs, W. H. Vipond Barry, Mr. K. H. Hallowes, Colonel R J. Greene, Rev. Mr. Harley, The Misses Henry, Mr. Fredk. Franklin, Mrs. Cooke-Trench, Miss Cornwall, Miss Armstrong, Mrs. Mannion, Mr. G. N. Roche, Veiy Rev. M. Langan, Very Rev. Thomas Tynan, Mr. and Mrs. and Miss F. M. Carroll, Mr. John Carroll, Major and Mrs. Blacker, Mrs. Sutherland, Mrs. Murray, Miss M. Cogan, Rev. J. H. Chapman, Mr. Archer, Miss Netterville, Mr. F. Freeman, Mrs. Somers, &c.
COUNTY KILDARE ARCH/EOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
71
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72 PROCEEDINGS OF THE
LIST OF HONORARY OFFICERS AND MEMBERS.
{CORRECTED TO l^th SEPTEMBER, 1890.)
THE EARL OF MAYO.
9ict-'prt8ibent :
THE REV. MATTHEW DEVITT, S.J.
(in order of election.)
THOMAS COOKE-TRENCH, ESQ., D.L. GEORGE MANSFIELD, ESQ., D.L. THE REV. EDWARD O'LEARY, P.P. THOMAS J. DE BURGH, ESQ., D.L. AMBROSE MORE-0'FERR.iLL, ESQ., D.L. THE EARL OF DROGHEDA.
^on. Creasartr :
HANS HENDRICK-AYLMER, ESQ., Kerdiffstown, Sallins.
I^Ott. ^ubttor: ALFRED A. WARMINGTON, ESQ., Munster and Leinster Bank, Naas.
.f oir. Secretams :
SIR ARTHUR VICARS, F.S.A., UUter, 44 Wellington Road, Doblin. LORD WALTER FITZGERALD, M.RLA., Kilkea Castle, Maganey.
IJOIT. fibitor : THE REV. CANON SHERLOCK, M.A., SHERLOCsaTOWN, Sallins.
COUNTY KILDARE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 73
[Officers are indicated by heavy type j lAte Members by an asteriak(*').]
Adams, Rev. Canon, Kill Rectory, Straffan.
Arohbold, Miss, Davidstown, Castledermot.
Aylmer, Miss, Donadea Castle, Co. Kildare.
Aylmer, Algernon, Rathmore, Naas.
AYLMER, H. HENDRIGK-, Hon. Treamrer, Kerdiilstown. Sallins.
♦Barton, Hon. Mrs., Luttrellstown, Clonsilla. ♦Barton, Bertram, Straflfan House, Straflfan.
Beard, T., ild., Glebe Crescent, Stirling.
Bird, Rev. John T., 2 Connaught- terrace, Rathgar.
Blake, J. R., 22 Morehampton-road, Dublin.
Bonham, Colonel J., Ballintaggart, Colbinstown, Co. Kildare.
Bourke, The Hon. Algernon, White's Club, London, S.VV.
Brooke, J. T., Dungannon, Co. Tyrone.
Brown, Stephen J., Ardoaien. Naas.
Burke, Very Rev. E., p.p., Bagnalstown, Co. Carlow. ♦Burtchaell, G. D., m.a., 6 St. Stephen's-green, Dublin.
Byrne, Very Rev. M. J., o.?., College of St. Thomas of Aquin, Newbridge, Co. Kildare.
Cane, Major Claude, St. Wolstan's, Celbridge.
Carberry, Rev. Thomas, p.p.. The Presbytery, Ballitore.
Carroll, Frederick, Moone Abbey, Moone.
Clarke, Mra, Athgoe Park, Hazlehatch, Co. Dublin, ♦(elements, Colonel, Killadoon, Celbridge. ♦Clements, Henry J. B., d.l., Killadoon, Celbridge.
Coady, D. P., m.d., Naas.
Cochrane, Robert, f.s.a., m.b.i.a., Hon. Secretary r.s.a.i., 17 Highfield-road, Rathgar.
Cole, Rev. J. F., The Rectory, Portarlington.
Colley, G. P. A, Mount Temple, Clontarf, Co. Dublin.
Conmee, Rev. J. F., s.j., St. Francis Xavier'a, Upper Gardiner- street, Dublin.
Cooper, Austin Damer, Drumnigh House, Portmarnock, Co. Dublin.
Coote, Stanley, The Orchard House, Wargrave, Berks.
Cowell, Very Rev. G. Y., Dean of Kildare, The Deanery, Kildare.
Cruise, Francis, m.d., Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow.
CuUen, Rev. John, Adm., Carlow.
Cnlshaw, Miss, Johnstown, Straffan.
74 PROCEEDINGS OF THE
Daly, C, 25 Westmoreland-street, Dublin.
Dames, K. S. Longworth, 21 Herbert-street, Dublin.
Dane, J. Whiteside, Abbeyfield, Naas.
Darby, M., m.d.. West End, Monasterevan.
Day, Robert, f.8.a., m.r.i.a., 3 Sydney-place, Cork.
Dease, Colonel Sir Gerald, Celbridge Abbey, Celbridge.
DE BURGH, THOMAS J., d.l., Oldtown, Naas.
DEVITT, Rev. MATTHEW, s.j., Vice-President, Rector of Clongowes Wood
College, Sallins. Doyle, Rev. J. J., p.p., Derrycappagh, Mountmellick, Queen's County. Doyle, Rev. Laurence, c.c, Moone. Doyle, Rev. Mark, c.c, Woodstock Cottage, Athy. Doyle, Rev. Thomas, c.c, Caragh, Naas. DROQHEDA, THE EARL OF, Moore Abbey, Monasterevin. Drogheda, The Countess of, Moore Abbey, Monasterevin. Duggan, Rev. William, c.c, Athy. Dunne, Rev. John, c.c, Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow. Dunne, Laurence, j.p., DoUardstown House, Athy.
Elliott, Rev. William, The Manse, Naas. Engledow,Mrs., Burton Hall, Carlow. Engledow, C. J., m.p.. Burton Hall, Carlow.
Field, John, Kilcock.
Srench, Rev. Canon, u.b.i.a., Ballyredmond House, Clonegal, Co. Carlow. *FitzGerald, Lady Eva, Kilkea Castle, Maganey, Co. Eildare.
FitzGerald, Lady Mabel, Kilkea Castle, Maganey, Co. Kildare. *FitzGkrald, Lady Nesta, Kilkea Castle, Maganey, Co. Kildare. •FitzGerald, Lord Frederick, Carton, Maynooth, Co. Kildare. *FitzGerald, Lord George, Kilkea Castle, Maganey, Co. Kildare.
FitzGerald, Lord Henry, 1 Sloane-court, London, S.W.
♦FITZGERALD, LORD WALTER, m.r.la., Hon. 6Vcrefari/, Kilkea Castle, Maganey, Co. Kildare.
FitzGerald, Sir George, Bart., Killybegs, Sallins.
Fletcher, Rev. Lionel, The Rectory, Straflfan.
Fogarty, Rev. M., Professor, The College, Maynooth.
Foley, Most Rev.Patrick, d.d., Bishop of Kildare andLeighlin, Braganza, Carlow.
Freeman, Francis J., Calverstown, Kilcullen.
Ganly, Rev. C. W., The Rectory, Castledermot, Co. Kildare.
Gargan, Right Rev. Monsignor Denis, d.d.. President of St. Patrick's College,
Maynooth. Garstin, J. Ribton, d.l., f.s.a., m.b.i.a., Braganstown, Castlebellingham,
Co. Louth. Glover, Edward, 19 Prince Patrick-terrace, North Circular-road, Dublin. Graham, Rev. C. I., Kildrought Parsonage, Celbridge. Greene, Thomas, ll.d., Millbrook, Maganey.
COUNTY KILDARE ARCH/EOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 75
Hade, Arthur, &£., Car low.
Hannon, J. A. , Prumplestown, Garlow.
Higginson, Lady, Connellmore, Newbridge.
Hopkins. Mrs., Blackball Castle, EilouUen, Co. Elldare.
Hobson, C. J., 239 West One Hundred and Twenty-fifth-street, New York.
Jesson, Bev. J. L., The Bectory, Eilkea, Co. Kildare.
Johnson, Miss, Lancaster House, Ballinasloe.
Joyce, Patrick Weston, Lyre na Grena, Leinster-road, Rathmines, Dublin.
Kennedy, Kev. H., St. David's Rectory, Naas. Keogh, Surgeon- Major T. B., Castleroe, Maganey, Co. Kildare. Kilkelly, John, ll.d., 46 Upper Mount-street, Dublin. Kirkpatrick, William, Donacomper, Celbridge.
La Toucbe, Mrs. John, Harristown, Brannoxtown. Lentaigne, Bev. Victor, s.j., Ciongowes Wood College. Sallins. Long, Miss A. F., Woodfield, Kilcavan, Geashill, King's County. Longfield, Robert, 19 Harcourt-street, Dublin.
MacDonald, Rev. Walter, d.d., Librarian, The College, Maynooth. MacDonald, J. R, m.d., Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow. M'Gee, Bev. S. B., The Itectory, Dunlavin. M'Sweeny, J. G., 18 Claremount-road, Sandymount, Dublin. Maguire, P. A., 2 Oldtown-terrace, Naas. Mahony, David, d.l., Grange Con, Co. Wicklow. Mahony, George Gun, Grange Con, Co. Wicklow. Manders, B. W., Castleslze, Sallins. Manning. C. S., Bank House, Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow. MANSFIELD, GEORGE, d.l., Morristown Lattin, Naas. Mayo, Dowager Countess of, 20 Eaton-square, London, S.W. MAYO, The EARL OF, President, Palmerstown, Straffan. Minchin, F., j.p., Mooretown House, Kiltegan, Co. Wicklow. Molloy, William B., m.r.i.a., 78 Kenilworth-square, Bathgar. Mooney, William, j.p., The Castle, Leixlip. *Moran, His Eminence Cardinal, Sydney, N. S. Wales, Australia. Morrin, Bev. Thomas, p.p., Naas.
Murphy, The Bight Bev. Monsignor Michael, p.p., St. Brigid's, Kildare. Murphy, W. A., Osberstown House, Naas.
Nolan, Rev. James, c.c, Kilmeade, Athy. Norman, George, 12 Brock-street, Bath, England.
O'Brien, Bight Hon. Sir Peter, Bart., Lord Chief Justice, Castletown, Celbridge. O'Dea, Very Bev. Thomas, d.d., Vice-President, The College, Maynooth. •O'FERRALL, AMBROSE MORE-, d.l., Ballyna, Moyvally. O'Hanlon, Very Bev. John Canon, p.p., 3 Leahy's-ter., Sandymount, Dublin.
76 PROCEEDINGS OF THE
O'Eelly, Robert, m.d., Landenstown, Sallins. ♦CyiEARY, Rev. E., p.p., Ballyna, MoyvaUy. O'Leary, Bev. Patrick, The College, Maynooth.
Palmer, Charles Colley, d.l., Bahan, Edenderry. Ponsonby, Hon. Qerald, 3 Stratford-place, London, W. Ponsonby, Lady Maria, 3 Stratford-place, London, W. Pratt, Mrs., Glenheste, Manor-Kilbride, Co. Dablin.
Qninn, ECev. Bichard, b.a., cc, Eilmeade House, Athy.
Bobinson, John, m.d., j.p., Johnstown-bridge, Co. Eildare.
Boper, C. E. A., b.l., 55 Leeson-park, Dublin.
Byan, Very Bev. John C, o.p., College of St. Thomas of Aqnin, Newbridge.
Bynd, Major B. F., Blackball, Sallins.
Saunders, Colonel B., d.l., Saunders' Grove, Stratford-on-Slaney, Co. Wicklow.
SHERLOCK, Rev. Canon, Hon. Editor, Sherlockstown, Sallins.
Skuse, Bev. Bichard D., Ballykean Bectory, Portarlington.
Somerville-Large, Bev. W., Carnalway Bectory, Kilcullen.
Staples, William, Naas.
Strangeway, W. N., Breiini Villa, Eglinton-road, Donnybrook, Dublin.
Supple, K., D.I.R.I.C., Dunlavin, Co. Wicklow.
Sweetman, E., Longtown, Sallins.
Sweetman, Mrs., Longtown, Sallins.
Swinton, The Hon. Mrs., 82 Cadogan-place, London, W.
Synnott, Nicholas, Furness, Naas.
Taylor, Mrs., Golden Fort, Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow. Taylor, Mark, Golden Fort, Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow. Thornhill, F. Evelyn, Bathangan House, Bathangan. TRENCH, THOMAS COOKE-, d.l., Millioent, Sallins. Trench, Mrs. Cooke-, Millicent, Sallins. Tynan, The Bight Bev. Monsignor Thomas, p.p., Newbridge. Tyrrell, Garrett C, Ballinderry House, Carbury, Co. Kildare.
VICARS, SIR ARTHUR, f.8.a., Ulster King-of-Arms, Hon. Secretary,
44 Wellington-road, Dublin. Vigors, Colonel P. D., HoUoden, Bagnalstown, Co. Carlow.
Wall, Colonel J., Knockareagh, Grange Con, Co. Wicklow.
Wall, Mrs., Knockareagh, Grange Con, Co. Wicklow.
Walsh, Bev. Martin, p.p., Castledermot, Co. Kildare.
WARMINQTON, ALFRED A., Hon. Auditor, Munster and Leinster Bank, Naas.
Weldon, General, Forenaughts, Naas.
Weldon, Captain A. A., Kilmorony, Athy.
Weldon, Lady, Kilmorony, Athy.
COUNTY KILDARE ARCH/EOLOGICAL SOCIETY. JJ
Westropp, T. J., c.b., 77 Lower Leeson-atreet, Dablin. Wheeler, W. I. De Gourcy, m.d., f.r.c.8.i., 32 Merrion-sqnare, N., Dablin. White, W. Grove, 13 Upper Onuond-quay, Dublin. Willis, G. de L., 4 Kildare-street, Dublin. Wilson, Colonel W. F., The Vicarage, Clane. Wilson, Mrs. B. M., Gooloarrigan, Kilcock. Wilson, Miss B. DuprS, Ooolcarrigan, Kilcook. Wolfe, George, Bishopsland, Ballymore-Eustace, Naas. Woollcombe, Bobert L., ll.d., m.r.i.a., 14 Waterloo-road, Dublin. ♦Wright, E. Percival. m.a., m.d.. Secretary r.i.a., 6 Trinity College, Dublin.
|!oir."Pember:
Miss Margaret Stokes, Carrig Breac, Howth, Co. Dublin.
( 78 )
RULES.
I. That this Society be called " The Gonnty Eildare Archaeological Society."
II. That the purpose of the Society be the promotion of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and objects of interest in the county and sur- rounding districts.
III. That the Society consist of a President, Vice-President, Council, Hon. Treasurer, two Hon. Secretaries, and Members, Ladies are eligible for Membership.
IV. That the names of ladies and gentlemen desiring to become Members of the Society shall be submitted, together with the names of their proposers and seconders, to the Council, and, if approved by them, shall then be sub- mitted to the next Meeting of the Society for Election.
V. That the affairs of the Society be managed by the President, Vice- President, Hon. Treasurer, and Hon. Secretaries, together with a Council of six Members. That for ordinary business two shall form a quorum ; but any matter upon which a difference of opinion arises shall be reserved for another meeting, in which three shall form a quorum.
VI. That two Members of the Council shall retire by rotation each year, but shall be eligible for re-election.
VII. That Members pay an Annual Subscription of Ten Shillings (due on the 1st oE January), and that the payment of £5 shall constitute a Life Member.
VIII. That Meetings of the Society be held not less than twice in each year, one Meeting being an excursion to some place of archaeological interest in the district.
IX. That at the first Meeting of the Society in each year the Hon. Trea- surer shall furnish a balance-sheet.
X. That a Journal of the Society be published annually, containing the Proceedings and a column for local Notes and Queries, which shall be sub- mitted to the Council for their approval.
XI. That the Meetings of the year be fixed by the Council, due notice of the dates of the Meetings being given to Members.
XII. That Members be at liberty to introduce visitors at the Meetings of the Society.
XIII. That no Member shall receive The Journal whose Subscription for the previous year has not been paid.
( 78 )
RULES.
I. That this Society be called " The Coanty Kildare Archaeological Society.''
II. That the purpose of the Society be the promotion of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and objects of interest in the county and sur- rounding districts.
III. That the Society consist of a President, Vice-President, Council, Hon. Treasurer, two Hon. Secretaries, and Members. Ladies are eligible for Membership.
IV. That the names of ladies and gentlemen desiring to become Members of the Society shall be submitted, together with the names of their proposers and seconders, to the Council, and, if approved by them, shall then be sub- mitted to the next Meeting of the Society for Election.
V. That the affairs of the Society be managed by the President, Vice- President, Hon. Treasurer, and Hon. Secretaries, together with a Council of six Members. That for ordinary business two shall form a quorum ; but any matter upon which a difference of opinion arises shall be reserved for another meeting, in which three shall form a quorum.
VI. That two Members of the Council shall retire by rotation each year, but shall be eligible for re-election.
VII. That Members pay an Annual Subscription of Ten Shillings (due on the 1st of January), and that the payment of £5 shall constitute a Life Member.
VIII. That Meetings of the Society be held not less than twice in each year, one Meeting being an excursion to some place of archasological interest in the district.
IX. That at the first Meeting of the Society in each year the Hon. Trea- surer shall furnish a balance-sheet.
X. That a Journal of the Society be published annually, containing the Proceedings and a column for local Notes and Queries, which shall be sub- mitted to the Council for their approval.
XI. That the Meetings of the year be fixed by the Council, due notice of the dates of the Meetings being given to Members.
XII. That Members be at liberty to introduce visitors at the Meetings of the Society.
Xin. That no Member shall receive The Journal whose Subscription for the previous year has not been paid.
( 79 )
RATHCOFFY. By the rev. MATTHEW DEVITT, S.J., Vice-Prbsidbnt.
EATHCOFFY— the Rath of Coflfy— is situated in the Parish of Balraheen, in the Barony of Ikeathj, and Oughter- anny. Go. Kildare.
Its castle was once the seat of three Irish Viceroys — Sir John, Sir Thomas, and John De Wogan.
In the baronial charts of Petty there is a very good picture of Rathcoffy Castle, which is represented as a qaadrangular pile, with a tower at its four angles. These charts were, on their way to England, captured by a French pirate, and are now in the National Library of Paris.
When Strongbow by his marriage with Eva, daughter and heiress of King Dermot MacMurrough, became Lord of the ancient Kingdom of Leinster, he gave the greater portion of North Kildare to his young fiiend, Adam de Hereford, who had accompanied him on his expedition to Ireland.
Adam, unable to defend so large a territory, sent to England for his brothers Richard and John to share his spoils and responsibility.
To John he gave the lands of Kill, Kildrought (Celbridge), Glonshanboe, Mainham and its dependencies, to wit, Rathcoffy.
His son, Thomas de Hereford, died without male issue, but left two daughters, one of whom, Eva, married Walter de Roch- ford, who thereby became Lord of Rathcoffy ; while the other, Eleanora, married Milo de Rochford, and gave to him Kill and Kildrought (Celbridge), with all their dependencies.
This Milo de Rochford, Lord of Kill, was the ancestor of the Rochford Boyds, a well-known family in the County Westmeath.
In 1317 the estate reverted to the Crown, and was granted by King Edward II to Sir John Wogan, then Viceroy of Ireland.
The Wogans of Rathcoffy were a very ancient family. De Burgo, in his ''Hibemia Dominicana," says they were descended from a Roman patrician family.
The following extract from his celebrated work may prove interesting : —
"When I was at Florence in Etruria, in the year 1742, I made the acquaintance of a Knight, whose Italian name was Cavaglier Ughi. He gave me a MS., historical, genealogical, and heraldic, which is still in my possession, and which distinctly shows from historical and classical works
8o RATHCOFFY.
that his family was descended from a Roman patrician, named Ug^is, who was sent with other nobles of equal rank to found the city of Florence before the birth of Christ. From that place, later on, some of his race migrated to Saxony, and from Saxony to England ; and are the ancestors of the Anglo-Irish Hugans, Owgans, or Wogans."
It is certain that the family name was varionsly spelt and pronounced. We have still proof of this in the place-names of Hogan's Wood, near Properons, and Owgan's-rpronounced Oogan's — Hole in the Liffey, between Glane and Straffan.
According to De Bargo, the Wogans came first to Ii-eland with Henry II, but they retained large possessions in Wales.
To Sir John Wogan and his son, Sir Thomas, who were Viceroys of Ireland from 1295 to 1309, the king entrasted the odious mission of seizing the persons and property of the Knight's Templars in Ireland in 1807.
In 1294 O'Connor, of Ofialy, wasted Eildare, and, accord- ing to Dr. Leland, '* burned all the rolls and tallyes of that countrie ;" and about the same time many of the English adopted the manners and customs of the natives. '' They afiiacted," says Leland, *' the garb and outward appearance of Irishmen. To prevent or remedy such defects a Parliament was summoned by Sir John Wogan at Kilkenny in 1296, and there passed several laws by which the incursions of the Irish were for a while repressed.'^
Cox, in his History, says that his government was one of the wisest and most moderate Ireland had ever enjoyed.
He was succeeded in the Yiceroyalty by his son^ Sir Thomas, in 1808.
Sir Thomas was not as successful as his father. He set out at the head of the king's troops to invade the O'Tooles' and O'Bymes' country, but was driven back with great slaughter.
In the same year another John Wogan was Viceroy, and suffered an equally disgraceful defeat in Glenmalure.
He it was who held the Parliament at Kilkenny in 1309.
In 1417 Anastacia de Stanton, widow of Sir David fitz Thomas Wogan, Knt., of Kathcoffy, was assigned her dower ; a translation of the original assignment is given at the end of this Paper.
In 1442 Richard Wogan was Chancellor of Ireland.
In 1454 the Castle of Kathcoffy was attacked by some of the Wogans, probably on account of some family dispute.
In an address to Richard Duke of York from the nobles, &c., of Kildare, we read as follows : —
'* Also please your Highness to be advertised that the said William Bottler, Nicholas Wogan, David W^ogan, and Richard Wogan came with divers Irish enemies and English rebels to the Castle of Rathcoffy,
RATHCOFFY. 8l
there as Anne Wog»n, some time wife to Oliver Eiutaoe, then being the King's widow, wai dwelling, and burnt the gfiteB of the said place, imd took her with them, and Edward Eustace, son and heii to the said Oliver, and Bon and heir apparent to the said Anne, and of the age of eight years, and thev took goods and chatteln of the Mid Anne to the value of 600
The Gubwai of fUTScoFFV Oabtlx.
In the Elizabettun wars the Wogans wore generally on the Irish side, and their DBmes frequently occnr in the lists of con- fiscations and pardons.
In 1681 Richard Wogan nas execnted in Dablin, with thirty- six otim knights of Leinster and Meath, for having joined in the rising of Lord Baltinglass and the (VTooles.
In the war of 1641 they are found fighting under the same banner.
When the celebrated Bory O'More raised the standard of rarolt in the County Kildare, Nicholas Wogan, of Rathco%, was a member of the Council of War.
.it GaLl^r}', Dablin,
RATHCOFFY. S3
Bathcofiy Castle was then fortified, and a quantity oi' powder stored in its cellars. In 1642 it was besieged by General Monk, and surrendered to him.
We read in O'Curry's "History of the Civil Wars" as fol- lows : '* The soldiers of Bathcoffy and Clongowes Wood^ having surrendered on terms^ were^ to the number of 120, conveyed to Dublin and executed there, and such a massacre of women and children took place that one-twentieth part of the harvest could not be saved for want of hands." About sixty years ago a large quantity of human bones was found buried on Bathcoffy Hill^ and removed to the neighbouring graveyard of Lady Chapel. They were most likely the remains of the poor victims of that ruthless massacre. Nicholas Wogan, of Bathcoffy^ seems to have escaped the slaughter, as we find him a member of the Confederation of Kilkenny in 1643. His lands were, of course, confiscated ; but a portion, including Bathcoffy, was afterwards restored to the family.
Through all the troubles of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the Wogans remained loyal to the old faith, and were ardent supporters of the Stuart line. Beaders of " Waverley " will remember Captain Wogan^ Flora Maclvor's ideal hero. In 1655 he was with Charles YI in Paris ; but hearing that the Boyal Standard had been raised in the Highlands, he passed over to England, then completely under the dominion of Cromwell.
With a small body of horsemen, he rode north, and succeeded in safely crossing the border, and joining the Highland army. After the battle of Worcester he saved the king's life. At the head of 800 horsemen, he turned on the pursuing army of Cromwell, numbering about 80,000 men, and succeeded in checking their career until the king had ridden out of their reach.
But the most celebrated of the family was the famous Sir Charles Wogan, the confidential friend of the '' Old Pre- tender," James IIL He took part in the rising of 1716, was arrested at Preston, and brought prisoner to London.
Having lain six mouths in durance vile, he and some of his fellow-prisoners effected their escape. Nine grenadiers, with fixed bayonets, attempted to stop them ; but the Jacobites, though completely unarmed, broke through the line and forced the gates of the prison. For an entire day Wogan lay on the roof of a house, while the military, aided by the mob, were searching every lodging-house in the city. In the darkness of the night he made his way to the coast, and passed over to France.
His greatest exploit, however, was his rescue of the Polish
84 RATHCOFFY.
Princess, Maria Clementina Sobieski, who was imprisoned by the Emperor at Innsbruck, to prevent her marriage with James m, the " Old Pretender.''
James confided to Sir Charles the delicate mission of selecting a wife for him from the Catholic rojal families of Europe. His choice fell on Clementina Sobieski, and she soon set out to meet her betrothed at Rome. But, meanwhile, the English Government took steps to prevent the perpetuation of the Stuart line, and persuaded the Emperor to intercept her, and keep her in close confinement at Innsbruck.
But Wogan was not to be outwitted. With three Kildare men of Count Dillon's regiment — Major Gayden, of Irishtown ; Captain Misset, of Dowdenstown ; and Captain O'Toole — he rescued the fair prisoner, and conveyed her safely across the frontier into Papal territory.
For this exploit he and his brave companions were raised to the dignity of Roman Senators.
From James he received the title of Baron.
In 1719 Sir Charles entered the service of the Spanish King, Philip y, and got a commission as colonel in his army.
He was sent on an expedition at the head of 1,300 Spaniards to rescue the fortress of Santa Cruz ; defeated an army of 20,000 Moors.
For this he was raised to the rank of general, and made Governor of Lamancha.
In 1732 and 1733 he was in correspondence with Dean Swift. This correspondence shows that Wogan could wield the pen as well as the sword.
He sent the Dean a cask of Spanish wine, and a packet con- taining some of his literary efforts, in verse and prose, to be corrected by him and his friends.
The Dean in his reply says that he —
*^ submitted them to the few judicious friends I have in this kingdom. We all agreed that the writer was a scholar, a man of genius, and of honour. We guessed him to have been bom in this country (Ireland) from some passages, but not from the style, which we were surprised to
find so correct in an exile, a soldier, and a native of Ireland
In these kingdoms you would be a most unfashionable military man, among troops, where the least pretension to learning or piety, or common morals, would endanger the owner to be cashiered.
*' Altho' J have no great regard for your trade, from the judgment I make of those who profess it in these kingdoms, yet I cannot but highly esteem those gentlemen of Ireland, who, with all the disadvantages of being exiles and strangers, have been able to distinguish themselves by their valour and conduct in so many parts of Europe, I think above all other nations ; which ought to make the English] ashamed of the reproaches they cast on the ignorance, the dullness, and the want of
RathcoffV. 8 s
courage in the Irish natives ; these defects, wherever they happen, arising only from the poverty and slavery they suffer from their inhuman neighbours, and 'the base, corrupt spirits of too many of the chief gentry, &c.
'*By such events as these the very Grecians are grown slavish, ignorant, and superstitious.
*' I do assert that, from several experiments I have made in travelling over both kingdoms, I have found tne poor cottagers here, who could speak our language, to have a much better natural taste for good sense, humour, and raillery, than ever I observed among people of the like sort in England. But the millions of oppressions they lie under, the tyranny of their landlords, the ridiculous zeal of their priests, and the general misery of the whole nation, have been enough to damp the best spirits under the sun."
Sir Charles died without issue at Barcelona in 1768.
There is in the Marquis of Ormonde's MSS. a Paper entitled, *' An alphabetical list of the names of all such persons of the Popish religion within the Kingdom of Ireland who have licences to bear or cari^ arms." It is dated 30th March, 1705, and on ihe list is Lieut.-Col. John Woogan, of Bathcoffy, who is allowed to carry one sword, one case of pistols, and one gun.
In a similar list of 1713 the same quantity of arms, respectively, are allowed to John Wogan and Nicholas Wogan, of Rathcofify.
While Sir Charles was on the Continent, Bathcoffy was still in possession of the Wogans, as the above citations prove, and as is clear from the following extract of a letter from the Dean to him : —
'^I have been often told that you have a brother and some near relations in this country ; and have oftener employed my friends in vain to learn when any of them came to this town. But, I suppose, on account of their religion, they are so prudent as to live in privacy ; although the court has thought it better in point of politicks (and, to keep the good will of Cardinal Fleury, has thought it proper) to make the CathoUcks here much more easy than their ill-willers of no religion approve of in their hearts. And I can assure you that those wretches here, who call themselves a parliament, abhor the clergy of our Church, more than those of yours, and have made a universal association to defraud us of our undoubted dues."
At the close of the last century, Bathcoffy Castle and demesne was purchased by the famous Archibald Hamilton Bowan, who levelled the castle, of which only the western barbican still remains, and erected the mansion, at present in ruins.
This great Irishman had been a friend of Squire Browne, of Castlebrowne, long before Clongowes College was established, and in later years was on the most friendly terms with the Fathers of Clongowes.
It is said that a party of soldiers was sent to Bathcoffy to arrest him as a United Irishman, and the story of his escape
RATHCOFFV.
RaTBCOFPV HoUBE. built BI a. HAHn.TOH HOWAN.
from them has been often told. While the soldiers were ascendiog the stairs' he jamped from the balcony to the lawn below, and springing on the back of a horse that was grazing hard by, rode straight for Clongowes. His parsners just reached the hall-door of Clongowes to see him pass into the " roand room," and immediately fired at him. Bnt he had time to cIoBe the door against their sings, the marks of which may still be seen. We cart well imagine with what feelings be entered that room in later years, and with what gratitude he looked on the door that shielded him from the deadly volley. From the "ronnd room" he rnshed into the library, and seeing that one of the windows was open, with wonderful presence of mind, flung oat his hat, and hid himself in a secret chamber that escaped the notice of his pnrsaers. They, noting the open window and the hat lying derelict on the " ha-ha," concluded that be again had risked a dangerous jnmp, and was still in the open country. Down they sprang in hot pursuit, and proceeded to scour the country for their quarry, who, meanwhile, was well treated by Squire Browne, and baffled every effort to capture him.
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The WoaAN Arub.
88 DAME ANASTACIA WOGAN'S DOWER.
Dame Anastacia Wogan's Doweb.
ON pages 222 or 223 of a volume titled, ''Botnloram Patentinm et Clau8orum GancellarisB HibernisB Calen- darinm'* is given, in contracted Latin, the Assignment of Dower to Anastacia, the widow of Sir David Wogan, Knight, of Rathcoffy. It is dated the 24tb of February, 1417, and is valuable as showing the possessions of the Wogan family at this early period, as well as for giving Place-names, many of which are now obsolete.
When translated, this Assignment of Dower reads^ : —
<< The Assignment of Dower made to Anastacia, who was the wife of David Wogan, knight, of the lands, &c,, which belonged to the said David.
'' In the first place there is assigned to her in the manor of Rathcoffy the gathous,^ the 'colthous' on the south side of the said house ; further the ' torshous,' the ' logshephyn,' the medylbarne, the great orchard on the north side of the gathous, the third part of the haggard on the west side with free entry and exit to the aforesaid parcels ; further the chapel, the kylf, the bawn and the third part of the bakhous on the north side together with the mill therein in common ; further there is assigned to her the long scbephous in the town of Rathcoffy, one messuage which Thomas Ternan holds therein, one messuage which William Oshell (? O'Sheill) holds therein, one messuage which William Omorgh (O'More) lately held therein ; further in the demesne lands of the aforesaid manor, in the first place in the field on the south side of the said town twenty acres of land by estimation, in the east part of the said field ; &rther in the field on the north side of the said town twenty acres of land by estima- tion in the east part of the said field ; further in the field on the west side of the said town twenty acres of land by estimation in the north part of the said field ; further the third part of two acres of meadow called the Nenaghmde, in the midst thereof ; further the KeppagJUane in the Grages ; further the third part of the profits of the court, mill, market and tolls of the town of Kylcoke ; Airther at Maynan two acres and one stang and the third part of a stang of meadow in the midst thereof ; further at the Parkmede of Courtown three acres of meadow in the midst thereof ; further in the Cidver- housemedde one acre and two thirds of an acre of meadow in the midst thereof ; further in Croghesmede the third part of an acre in the midst thereof ; further in Crolemede the third part of an acre of
» To Mr. McEnery and Mr. Radcliff, of the Record Office, Dublin, thanks are due for the trouble they took in making the translation, and comparing it with the original.
' See note at end for explanation of obscure words.
DAME ANASTACIA WOGAN'S DOWER. 89
meadow in the midst thereof ; farther the third p^rt of the Feigh (i.e., wood) of Rathcoffy in common ; farther the third part of the profits of ^ warren of Rathcoffy ; further in the demesne of Maynan twenty two shillings and ten pence chief rent arising from all the lands and tenements of Roger Penkeston in Eichurdstoun and the services of the said Roger ; twelve pence chief rent arising from two messaages of John Ultagh sergeant therein ; and the services of the said John ; one penny and a halfpenny chief rent arising from one messuage of Richard Howlot therein, and the services of the said Richard ; further one penny chief rent arising from the lands of John Rochford therein, and the services of the said John ; the rented lands of Maynan [viz] one messuage and twenty one and a half acres of land which Adam Omoghem hdds to farm and renders yearly twenty one shillings and a penny ; hurther eighteen liores of land therein which WiUiam Graunt holds to farm and renders yearly seventeen shillings and four pence; farther one messuage and fourteen and a half acres of land which Nicholas Braynoke holds to farm therein and renders yearly fourteen shillings and five pence ; further one messuage and two acres which Thomas Smyth holds therein and renders yearly two shillings and eight pence ; further two and a half acres of land which John Oltagh holds therein and renders yearly two shillings and sixpence; further three and a half acres of land which David Andrewe holds therein and renders yearly three shillings and six- pence ; further in Mortoun one messuage and nineteen and a half acres of land and one stang of land therein which John Wisse holds therein and renders yearly eighteen shillings and eight pence ; further ten and a half acres of land which John Cam holds and renders yearly ten shillings and sixpence ; further two acres and three stangs of land which Philip Orewy holds therein and renders yearly two shillings and nine pence ; further of waste land in Maynan twenty three acres and one stang of land in the Mochfield ; further nine shillings and eleven pence chief rent arising from the lands of Richard Losthagh and the services of the said Richard : further the rented lands of Balytarstyn, viz., one messuage and fifteen acres and three stangs of land which John Tyrrell holds therein and renders yearly fifteen shillings and two pence ; further one messuage and four and a half acres of land which Thomas Tyrrell holds therein and renders yearly four shillings and six pence ; further one messuage and two acres of land which John Lang and Robert Lang hold therein and render yearly two shillings ; further two and a half acres of land which Nicholas Goenys holds therein and renders yearly two shillings and six pence; farther two and a half acres of land which Thomas Rochefort the younger holds therein and renders yearly two shillings and six- pence ; further one messuage and three and a half acres and half a stang of land which Nicholas Sagyn holds therein and renders yearly three shillings and eight pence ; further one and a hall acres of land which Richard Roche holds therein and renders yearly
90 DAME ANASTACIA WOGAN'S DOWER.
eighteen pence ; farther half an acre of land which Kchard Barret holds therein and renders yearly six pence ; farther in Sagynesplace one messuage and nine acres of land which Dermicius Obean (Dermot O'Behan) holds therein and renders yearly nine shillings ; BatayUs- place one acre of land which Patrick Odoyng (O'Dunn) holds therein and renders yearly twelve pence ; farther two acres which Walter Herford holds therein and renders yearly two shillings ; farther two acres of land which Maurice Herfort holds therein and renders yearly two shillings ; further one messuage three stangs and the third part of a stang of land which David Prendyrgast holds therein and renders yearly ten pence ; further in JaUgrag one messuage twenty-two and a half [acres] of land which John Folan holds therein and renders yearly eleven shillings and six pence; further three acres three stangs of land which Adoke McT^gyn holds therein and renders yearly three shillings and eleven pence ; further Clonferty one messuage seven and a half acres of land which Gonchour McConcour holds therein and renders yearly seven shillings and six pence ; farther half a messuage, ten acres and two parts of an acre of land which John Manus holds therein and renders yearly ten shillings and eight pence ; Amlrewysplace one messuage, eleven acres, three stangs of land which Walter Boche- fort holds therein and renders yearly eleven shillings and nine- pence ; Bdrew one messuage three acres three and a half stangs of land which Cowlam McCarty holds therein and renders yearly three shillings and eleven pence ; further one messuage, eleven acres of land which William Okenay holds therein and renders yearly eleven shillings ; further of waste land three acres in Tymiggham ; further two and a half acres of waste land in Haghyntrystyn ; further three and a half acres of waste land in Hagherengan ; further half an acre of waste land in Lotjhaii; further in Balyhroke one acre of land ; further of waste land nine acres in Magandiesfeld ; further one and a half acres of waste land in Couldow ; further one acre three stangs of waste land in Batayleaheys ; further one acre one stang of waste land in Costynesheys ; further three acres in Croghgo- neletc of waste land ; further twenty-two shillings and a half penny chief rent arising from the lands &c of Thomas Bermyngeham in Boysestotcn and the services of the said Thomas ; ^the rented lands of Kylcoke, one messuage, six acres of land which Patrick Smyth holds therein and renders yearly eight shillings ; further one messuage and eight acres of land which Richard McHugyn holds therein and renders yearly ten shillings ; further one messuage and one acre and a third which John Obygyn holds therein and renders yearly three shillings and four pence ; further one messuage which Thomas Russell, smyth, holds and renders yearly two shillings and four pence ; further one waste messuage therein on the east side towards Meath ; Courtoun one messuage, ten acres four stangs of land which William Revagh holds therein and renders yearly ten
^ See note at end.
DAME ANASTACIA \VOGAN*S DOWER. 9I
shillings and nine pence ; farther one messuage, eight acres of land which John Stantoun holds therein and renders yearly eight shillings; further one messuage, ten acres of land which John Ca [ ] holds therein and renders yearly ten shillings ; further one messuage, nineteen acres of land which Peter Walsh holds therein and renders yearly nineteen shillings ; further Godartesgrage three acres of land which Thomas Garberagh holds therein and renders yearly three shillings ; Foj'tgloriam one messuage, twenty- three and a half acres and the third part of a stang which Thomas Bretnagh holds therein and renders yearly twenty-three shillings and seven pence halfpenny ; further thirteen and a half acres of land which Edmund McCarty holds therein and renders yearly twelve shillings and six pence ; further one messuage, eleven acres three stangs of land which John Tayllour holds therein and renders yearly eleven shillings and nine pence ; further three acres and one stang of land which Nicholas Smyrte holds therein and renders yearly three shillings and two pence; further eleven and a half acres of land of the waste land in Godartesgrag ; further six acres of waste land in Kyllyesfeld ; further two acres of land in Doncrewy ; further one acre of land in Kephagtia of waste land ; Clonagh one messuage, sixteen and a half acres of land which David Boygh holds therein and renders yearly sixteen shillings and six pence ; further one messuage, seven acres of land which William McLagh holds therein and renders yearly seven shillings ; further the third part of the orchard therein in the south part; Uie manor of Camalin;'^ two- pence halfpenny chief rent arising from the lands &c of John Eustace therein ; and the services of the said John ; further eighteen pence chief rent arising from the lands &c of the Bishop of Kildare therein and the services of the said bishop ; further six shillings and eight pence chief rent arising from the lands &o of the prior and convent of Conal in Balilog, and the services of the same ; further six pence chief rent arising from the lands &c of Philip Harbyster therein, and the services of the said Philip ; the rented lands of CamaXwetjy one messuage, twenty- seven acres three stangs of land which Henry Galle holds therein and renders yearly eighteen shillings ; further one messuage, eleven acres of land which William Eenay holds therein and renders yearly seven shillings and fourpence ; further one messuage four acres and one stang of land which John Obergy holds therein and renders yearly two shillings ; further one acre of land which Thomas Hege holdjs therein and renders yearly eightpence ; Miltoun, nine and a half acres of land and one stang and the half part of a stang which Henry son of Thomas holds therein and renders yearly six shillings and five pence ; further eleven acres of land which Thomas Glaver- ton holds therein and renders yearly eight shiUings and four pence ; further four acres of land which James Whitehoud holds therein and renders yearly two shillings and eight pence ; Ballylug three
1 {
i.e., Camalway.
^
92 DAME ANASTACIA WOGAN'S DOWER.
acres of land which John Goyke holds therein and renders yearly two shillings; farther in Camalwey eleven acres of waste land therein ; next in Lod-shspenlagh one acre next to Loghspenlagh, further one acre to the dyke of Loghspenlagh ; further one acre in Loghencaryke ; further one acre next to the dyke of the aforesaid Logh: further one acre next to the aforesaid dyke ; further of waste land in Miltoun ; two acres in Mote of Henryestown; farther one acre of land next to the aforesaid place; further two acres of land next to Aylmore; further one acre at the Cnokys ; Balylog waste land two acres next to the bridge; further four acres next to the Lotidineris therein ; further twenty acres of land in Carmaneshyll^ in the north part : further the third part of thswood of Rathcoffy, that is to say, two acres in the south part ; further the third part of the wood of Jakesgrag, that is to say, half an acre in the south part ; further the third part of the wood of FernaUy that is to say four acres, in the west part ; further the third part of the park of Courtoun, that is to say, one acre in the north part ; further the third part of the orchard of Courtoun in the north part ; further the third part of Loghmeanagh, that is to say, one stang in the west part ; further the third part of the wood called Lofflyoun, that is to say one stang, in the east part ; further the third part of the wood called MorgKUmdesgrow, that is to say, one stang in the west part ; further the third part of the wood caUed Torraneswody that is to say, one stang, in the west part ; further the third part of the wood called Glake, that is to say, one acre of Belgrewe, in the west part ; further the third part of the xcood of Loghdere and Loghgore, that is to say, ten acres in the west part ; further the third part of the wood lying between Belgrewe and LoghmoTy in the east part ; further the third part of Sagynesgrowe^ in the north part ; further the third part of the wood lying between Sagynesplace and Balytarstyn^ in the north part ; further the third part of Croleswod, in the north part thereof, that is to say, one stang ; further the third part of the wood of Clonfjowe^ in the west part tlierein, that is to say, forty acres ; further the third part of the pasture called Poltgret : further the third part of the wood next to Godartysgrag, that is to say, one stang, on the east side ; further the third part of an acre of land and the third part of an acre of meadow next to Kylcokey in the east part ; further the third part of the meadow between Hogeston and Balmakeghyn ; further one acre of pasture in tJie Gragys next to Eathcoffy, in the east part of the said pasture ; further in Loghrmdyll one acre of pasture in the east part thereof; further of the pasture of Avenagh seven acres, in the north part thereof ; further seven acres of moore in tJie red moore of Uathcoffy^ in the south part thereof ; further in Fynan, twenty acres of moore and pasture therein, in the east part thereof; further seven acres of moore and pasture in the cnaphit moore, in the south part thereof ; further in the great pasture called Mochmore next to Clomhanbowe twenty acres of pasture in the east part thereof; further in the B'ort four acres of pasture, in the north part thereof;
DAME ANASTACIA WOGAN'S DOWER. 93
further in Donerewy three acres of pasture, in the north part thereof; further in Garveys in Garhery thirty two acres of land, 01:1 the west side of the said town ; further four messuages of the new town in Maynan in the midst of the said town on each side thereof.
" Further in the manor ofKylka one chamber called the Enyghes- chambre, the botery, with two small chambers in the Whitetour ; the third part of the cellar therein, in the west part ; the Newe Orchard therein ; the third part of sclatynbame, in the north part therein ; the kitchen, the chapel, the prison, the kyll, the bakhous, together with the mill therein ; the blynprisoun therein ; the newewerke next to the bakhous therein and the gatys^ of Eilka in common therein ; further the chamber of the vicar therein ; the cowhous with the small chamber next to the longstable therein ; the third part of one waste messuage lately called the longstable in the south part of the said messuage therein ; one messuage in which Shane Vale abides and renders yearly twenty pence ; further one messuage in which Molaghlyn More abides therein ; further one messuage in which John Bed abides therein and renders yearly twenty pence ; further one messuage in which Henry Lowet abides therein and renders yearly twelve pence ; eleven and two thirds pence arising from one messuage in which Thomas Nit abides therein; further the third part of the profits of the warren of Molaghrery^ therein and the third part of the profits of the court therein ; fiirther of the demesne land in Kilka in the Horistmfeld twenty two and five sixths acres of land, in the midst of the said field ; further in the field called Molaghrery, in the north part, sixteen acres^next to the Bathyr on the east side of the said field ; further in the field called Coulmoghan therein six acres, on the south side of the said field ; further in tJte Kylfeld therein five and two third acres, on the south side of the said field ; further in the field called Tyrchane therein ten acres next to the Bathyr (road) of Belan; further in the field called the Loghhrech therein fourteen and two third acres, in the east part of the said field ; further in the field called the Ileghhrech therein eleven and a third acres, in the south part of the said field ; further in the LoghcotUe one acre therein of the holding of Henry Ryan ; further in the field called Rathynbecam one and two-thirds acres in the west part of the said field ; further in the HegheouU three acres, in the south part of the said field ; further in the east field of Molaghrery six and two-thirds acres in the north part of the said field ; further in the Kyngesfeld seven acres in the midst of the said field ; further in Foranesfeld eleven and two-thirds acres in the south part of the said field ; further in ^ KUfeld three acres and three and a third stangs, in the north part of the said field ; further in the field called Cdesewe ten acres in the south part of the said field ; further next to the Motmede two acres, on the north side of the said meadow ; further in tlie Stripis
* ? Mullachreelan.
94 DAME ANASTACIA WOGAN'S DOWER.
four and two-thirds acres in the south part of the said field; further in the Carterisfeld two acres and one and a third stangs in the south part of the said field ; further the Croftfdd three and two- thirds acres» in the south part of the said field; further in ike Cvlverhousheifi^ the third part thereof in the north part therein ; further in the meadow between Eilka and Decaneston two acres therein; further in the MotmM, one acre and one stang of meadow, in the north part of the said meadow ; further one acre of the meadow next to the Demeford, in the west part of the said meadow ; further in Lateraghmore the third part thereof, in the north part of the said moore ; further the third part of the common pasture called liayncrogh^ in the west part of the said pasture; further the third part of the common pasture called Molaghrery, in the north part of the said pasture ; further the third part of Halheys^ in the south part ; further one messuage in which Donald Shevyn abides therein ; one messuage in which Nicholas Kenslagh abides therein ; further one messuage in which Thomas Dorane abides therein ; further one messuage in which Maurice Corbet abides therein ; further one messuage in which Patrick Walsh abides therein ; further fifty-three shillings and four pence arising from the burgage of the town of TrystyUlermot ; further four pence chief rent arising from the lands &c of Biohard Balymore in Balycolan therein, together with the lordship and services of the said Richard ; further thirty-eight shillings chief rent arising from the lands &c in Coltoun near Trysteldermot: further four shillings and five pence chief rent arising from the lands &c of John Gytley in ( 'orbaly therein, together with the lordship and services of the said John ; further thirteen shillings and four pence chief rent arising from the lands &c of John fitzEustace in Martynestouriy together with the lordship and services of the said John ; further four pence chief rent arising from the lands &c of the heir of Thomas Maghry in Baihsolby^ together with the lordship and services of the said Thomas ; further four shillings and five pence, rent of one caruoate of land, arising from the lands &c in IveresUm; further sixteen shillings and eight pence chief rent arising from the lands &c of John Noryyn in the Neiietoun together with the lordship and services of the said John ; further six shillings and eight pence chief rent arising from the lands &c of Sir Edward Ferrers knight in the J3tdtoun therein, together with the lordship and services of the said Edward ; further four pence halfpenny chief rent arising from lands &c in Kynnegh therein ; further one clove of spicery for the lands &c of Robert Woddeloke in Brynestoun therein ; further twenty pence chief rent arising yearly from the lands &o of the heir of Thomas Gytley in Whitestoun therein, together with the lordship and services of the said Thomas ; further eleven shillings and one and a third pence chief rent arising from the land of the heir of the said Thomas in Dunfeny therein, together with the lordship and services of the said Thomas ; further twelve pence yearly arising from the lands &c of Kihneow therein^ and the services thereof ; further four
DAME ANASTACIA WOGAN'S DOWER. 95
shillings and five pence chief rent arising from the lands i&c of Deyicodeston therein and the services thereof ; further twentypence chief rent arising from the lands &c in LytylbaUicoyffe therein and the services thereof ; further four shillings and six pence chief rent arising from the lands &c in Mochylbalacoy/fe therein, and the services thereof ; further four shillings and five pence chief rent arising from the lands &c in Deranentoun therein and the services thereof ; further thirteen shillings and four pence chief rent arising from a burgaffe in Kilka and the services thereof; further seventeen pence chief rent arising from the lands &c in Herhei-estoim, and the services thereof ; further twenty pence chief rent arising from the lands &c in the Stonyloun and the services thereof ; further seven shillings and ten pence halfpenny chief rent arising from the lands &c in Dorestoun and the services thereof ; further four shillings and five pence chief rent arising from the lands &c in Carryk and Talounestowiy and the services thereof ; further seven shillings and tenpence halfpenny chief rent arising from the lands &c of John Marchall, together with the lordship and services of the said John ; further thirteen shillings chief rent arising from the lands &c in Falmerestoun and the services thereof; further two shillings and two pence halfpenny chief rent arising in Duneke and the services thereof ; further thirteen shillings and four pence chief rent arising from the lands, &c in Carrekyn and the services thereof ; further four marks and thirteen and a third pence chief rent arising from the burgage of Mone, and the services thereof ; further the third part of the profits of the mill therein ; further twenty two shillings and two pence three farthings chief rent arising from the lands, &c in Giasthely, and the services thereof ; further four pence chief rent arising in Stabolan, and the services thereof ; further thirteen shillings and four pence chief rent arising from the lands, &c in Ardy^ and the services thereof ; further in the manor of Berton four and a half messuages in the south part thereof, as far as Irystoun ; further two carucates therein on the south side of the said town further nine acres of meadow in the south part therein, towards Eilka ; further twenty six acres of pasture in the south part therein ; further one stone house therein called Kyteshotu ; further in Molamast sixty three acres of land, in the south part of the said town ; further in Irystoun four messuages in the north and south parts of the said town ; further forty three and a half acres of land therein in the west part of the said town ; further ten and two thirds acres of meadow therein in the south part of the said town, and the third part of the moor therein in the north part of the said town, and the third part of the pasture therein, in the north part of the said pasture ; further in Balmathoghir one messuage, in the north part of the said town ; further twenty acres of land therein, in the south part of the said town ; further half an acre of meadow and one sixth of an acre of meadow therein, in the north part ; further two and two thirds acres of moore therein, in the south part ; further in Kynnegh four messuages and the third part of a
96 DAME ANASTACIA WOGAN'S DOWER.
messuage, in the east part of the said town ; further one hundred and forty acres of land therein in the east part ; further three and a half acres of meadow in the east part therein ; further in the Moretoun next to Eynnegh five and a half acres of land, in the east part of the said town ; further one acre of meadow therein, in the north part ; further three acres of moore therein, in the east part of the said moore ; further the third part of the culvowson of the church of Kynnegh ; further in the Gragebetagh forty five acres of land, in the west part of the said town ; further five messuages therein, in the east part of the said town ; further six and a half acres of meadow in the north part of the said meadow ; further in Simonestoun and Ramadoyng one carucate and seven and a half acres of land, in the south part of the said town ; further iq Melonesgrange one hundred and sixty acres of land in the west part of the said town ; further six and a half acres of meadow in the west part of the said meadow ; further one acre of moore therein in the west side of the said meadow ; further one acre of moore therein, in the west part of the said moore ; further the third part of the weir therein ; further the third part of the profits of the warren therein ; further the third part of a stone house therein, in the south part ; further three messuages and the third part of a messuage, in the west part; further in SimondesUm and Rama^
duyn ; further in Kylpican sixty acres, in the east part of the
said town ; further in Tancardsstoun next to CorhaUy forty acres, in the east part of the said town ; further in the u:ood of Garvagh one carucate of wood, in the south part of the said wood ; further in the Justysesfdd six and two thii^s acres, in the north part of the said field.
<< Further there is assigned to the said Anastatia the third part of the castle or manor of Clonmor,^ in the east part, with free entry and exit to the parcels aforesaid; further the third part of the manor of Kylpype and Kylpole,^ in the west part ; further four carucates of land in the west part therein, with free entry and exit to the parcels aforesaid, &c. In witness whereof the seal of office of the Eschaetry of Ireland is attached to these presents. Dated the 24th day of February, 5 Henry V (1417)."
' The manor of Clonmore in the (?) County Garlow.
' The manor of Kylpype and Eylpole in the County Wicklow.
DAME ANASTACIA WOGAN'S DOWER. 97
Explanation of Tbbms used in the Assignment.
Qavelar, — Oavel or gabel is a Saxon word, meaning rent or tax. The gavdariw appears to have been a tenant paying a money rent, not holding by service. His holding differs from a burgage possibly by reason of its not being situated in a corporate town. A paraphrase (" rented liuids ") has been adopted above in three places to represent this word.
Clyth or clyt. — ^This word appears to represent cladh (Irish), a dyke or ditch,
Cnaphit is probably for cnapach (Irish), knobby or knotty, connected with cnap (Irish), a hillock, and so signifies " rough," " hillocky."
CoUhous is probably a mistake in the enrolment for colvhous or colver- house, a dovecote ; otherwise it must mean stable.
Torshoiu is probably a similar mistake for torehous, a tower-house.
Logahephyn is evidently intended for longshephyn, a long sheep-fold*
Bakhtms. — Bakehouse.
Blynpri8<mn,—B\iad, or dark prison.
Botery, — ^Buttery.
Oathous, — Gatehouse.
Qatyi, — Gates.
Knyghe^chambTc—l^i^i^^ chamber.
JTytt.— Kiln.
Medylbame, — Middle bam.
Sckephous. — Sheep house.
Sclatynbarne, — Slated bam.
Whitetour, — White tower.
Ttie Bathyr (boher).— The road.
The Feigh (fiodh).— A Wood.
H
The Wooan AIiTAR-toub, ICIG, in the CmntcHYABB at Clane,
( 9^ )
■ THE WOGAN MONUMENT.
Pap^r read by T. COOKE-TRENCH, D.L., at (Hane, September, 1899.
TN the observations which I am about to offer for your con- -^ sideration, I wish it to be distinctly understood that I am merely acting as the mouthpiece of others.- I shall freely quote from the published works of the late Bishop Comerford, Father Devitt, Canon Sherlock, and Lord Walter FitzGerald^ the last two of whom have kindly placed their notes at my disposal.
I happened to have by me a Paper by the late Dr. George Stokes on Clane Abbey ; and when I give you the name of the author, I give you the best possible guarantee that what I shall read to you is authentic as coming from him, and that it con- tains pretty well all thtit is to be learned on the subject. The MS. has been for a good many years in my possession ; but I do not think that subsequent investigation has brought to light much, if indeed anything, that is not contained in it.
The interesting Paper to which we have just listened from Father Devitt on the Wogan family is the best possible prelude to an inspection of the few memorials of this old and important Rildare family that remain to us, and absolves me. from the necessity of saying anything more about them.
If my conjecture is right, the bit of wall before us is not, as has been suggested, a fragment of an old wall, but has been built, probably by one of the family, for the purpose of gathering together and preserving sundry memorials of the Wogans that were in danger of being lost.
The upper tablet bears a plain shield, and the date 1618. I see no reason beyond its present position, which I do not apprehend to be its original one, for connecting it with the Wogan or any other particular family.
The next slab bears date 1716, nearly a hundred years later ; it contains the arms of Wogan, with those of O'Neill on an escutcheon of pretence, implying that a Wogan had married an O'Neill heiress ; and such was the case, for, at the date of the slab, a Nicholas Wogan was living at Bathcoffy, who had married Rose, daughter and heiress of Sir Neill O'Neill, Bart., of Eillileagh, in the Go. Antrim. Lord Walter, to whom I am indebted for the above fact, thus blazons the arms of the two families :
For Wogan : or, on a chief sable, three martlets of the 0rst.
lOO THE WOGAN MONUMENT.
For O'Neill: argent, two lions rampant combatant snpporting a sinister hand conped at the wrist, gnles ; in chief three mallets of the 2d ; in base a salmon, maiant, proper.
The lowest tablet bears the inscription in raised letters :
HBAB • LIETH . INTOMBED THE . BODY . OF . WILLIAM , WOG AN . OF . RATHOOFFIE . ESQVR WHO • DECEASED . THE . LAST OF . DECEMBER . IN . ANN : DO MINI . 1616 . BEING . OF . THE ADOE . OF . XXVn . YEABS
The front of the altar-tomb nnderneath is divided into six compartments, in three of which is a male, and in three a female human figure, with the initials over —
NW . iw • WW . BW . MW . iw.
I am again indebted to Lord Walter for the identification of the owners of these initials. He has nnearthed in Ulster's Office a funeral entry, which reads — " William Wogan of Rathcoffie in the County of Kildare Esq deceased the last day of December 1616. He was married to Anne [Plunkett] da. to Christopher [9th] Lo : Baron of Eilline, by whom Shee had issue Nicholas James Elizabeth Mary and Jane." These, therefore, are the owners of the initials over the figures, and they are the children of him whose death is recorded on the slab above. One is omitted from the funeral entry — namely, w.w., having, perhaps, died young. He was probably named after his father. On one end of the tomb is a representation of the Crucifixion ; the other and the covering slab are plain; and the whole is in a very unfinished state, only one of the figures, a female, being finished, the rest being only blocked out.
( loi )
CLANE ABBEY. By thb. late REV. PROFESSOR GEORGE STOKES, D.D.
(bliORTLT HODiriBD.)
THE Abbeys and Church of Glane have been famous since the first introduction of Christianity into Ireland, though the existing ruins do not belong to the ancient Irish Church, but rather to the Church of the Anglo-Norman period. Let us, however, begin at the beginning. The connection of Clane with Christianity goes back even beyond St. Patrick's time. The Abbey or School of Clane was founded by St Ailbe, Bishop of Ferns, who is said to have preached the Gospel in Ireland before St, Patrick's time ; and among other buildings founded by him in that year was the ancient Church of Kilroot on the shores of Belfast Lough (Reeves's *^ Antiquities of Down and Connor," p. 245). This Kilroot Church was, by the way, afterwards the scene of Dean Swift's earliest ministry, and while there he pro- posed for Miss Waring, as told in his Life by Craik.
Considerable doubt, however, hangs over the actions and labours of St. Ailbe ; and some seem to hold, with reason, that the foundation of Clane by him cannot be placed much earlier than about 520 a.d., which still, however, gives it a veiy respectable antiquity. We can determine from very ancient authorities what its name at that time was, as used by the Celtic aborigines. The Felire, or Martyrology (i.e., Calendar), of Genghus the Culdee was composed about the year 800 ; and the Martyrology of the famous Monastery of Tallaght dates from the same period. Now, the documents of the year 800 expressly call Clane Cluain-Daimh, which the great Irish scholar, Golgan, in his '^ Acts of the Irish Saints," translates, '' Pratum Bovum " (i.e., " the meadow of the oxen ").
He did not, however, long continue to preside over his disciples at Clane. St. Senchell, a famous saint of the sixth century, belonging fo the royal family of Leinster, came along one day looking for a location for himself. He was in all proba- bility at that time an anchorite. The anchorite life seized on the Iiish Church like a contagion in the fifth, sixth, and seventh centuries. The great desire of all saintly pdople was to get themselves to a desert, as it was called, like Simon Stylites at the same period in the Eastern Church. Now, St. Senchell probably desired a solitary place where he and, it may be, a few
A Becibs in Cuke A
Pamt ur THE FuNcisc-AN Abbi^v *t Cukb. IPnm It photo([r»ph by tbe Hot. V. LentAigne, S.J ,
GLANE ABB£V. I03
companions might lead a contemplative life. So St. Senchell came up to St. Ailbe, and asked for a location. And now I must tell the story in the very words of the ancient MS. Life, as given by Golgan : " On March 26th, St. Senchell came up to St. Ailbe and asked for a dwelling, whereupon St. Ailbe said to his dis* ciple, St Eyenan, *Qod has sent St. Senchell to as; let us thereupon give him onr dwelling and all that we have, trusting He will give us another place.' So he'^at once handed over everything to him, and forbade his disciples to remove a single thing. But one of them was covetous, and so he secreted a small brass pot, and carried it away, not regarding the Abbot's command. But when they arrived to a spot a long distance off, the fact of the theft was revealed to the saint. So said he to the boy, ' Why hast thou stolen the pot ? ' The boy being silent, the saint commanded him at once to surrender the pot. But how to return it was the question. The distance was great. The saint placed the pot down on the ground and meditated. But Heaven came to the holy man's relief, and he had the supreme satisfaction of seeing the pot rising into the air by supernatural power, and peacefully sailing away to its proper owner ! " So far Golgan, p. 748. St. Ailbe was the first Abbot of Glane, and St. Senchell the second. We must not, however, confound these early Celtic abbeys with the solid building which now stands before our eyes. The early Celtic abbeys were simply collections of huts of earth, or mud and wattles, or built of loose stones in a bee-hive shape, such as you can still see at Innismurray, in Donegal Bay, or Arran, and along the west coast of Kerry. The loss or change of a monastery did not, therefore, mean any great expenditure of either time or capital. But though the building before you does not represent the ancient Abbey of Clane, the site of it is almost certainly the same as that on which St Ailbe and St Senchell planted their early colleges. St. Senchell did not spend all his life at Glane. He moved on^ and founded another abbey at Killeigh, a celebrated religious house and chapelry in the parish of Geashill, in the King's County, where he presided over a monastery; where, according to the Felire, he ruled over twelve bishops, most of them Britons; 150 monks, and twelve foreigners, Egyptians and Romans, who had sought the quiet and repose and scholarship which Hibernia then^ as always, offered to devout and contemplative souls.
St. Senchell died March 26th, 548. After St Senchell's day historic darkness settles upon Clane till the eighth century dawns upon us. Doubtless the fame of neighbouring abbeys like Kildare and Clonard threw somewhat of a shadow over the
I04 CLANE ABBEY.
less preteutions Abbey of the Liffey« But we may be sore Clane took its own share in the great missionary work of the sixth and seventh centuries, and that some of its sons found their way to lona with Golumba, and to Burgundy and North £taly with. Golumbanus. If Senchell oould attract foreigners (as we know he did) by his teaching, doubtless his disciplea would in return seek out the pagan parts of Europe, that they might sow the seed he had imparted to them.
The eighth century was also famous for its missionary activity. Men like Virgil or Ferghal bore aloft the reputation of the Irish Church for learning and sanctity. The learning he gained at seminaries, humble in buildings, but rich in know- ledge, like Clane, he carried as far as Salzburg and the Alps, where bis memory is still famous. A few brief records, however, are all that history tells of Clane at that time. The Four Masters prove that the abbey continued to exist. A battle was fought round it in 782. In 777, they tell of the death of its abbot, Baubhan by name; in which year, too, a fierce battle was fought on the neighbouring Curragh. But the times were darkening for the Irish Church. The pagan Dane was on the seas. About the year 790 the Danes made their first ificursion upon Ireland. From that time date the round towers of Ireland, made as places of security against those pirates. Places like Clane would have been much exposed to their attacks but for one circumstance. The Danes were sea-rovers ; they were not equipped for long land journeys. Therefore, any place far inland was safe from them ; while, on the other hand, abbeys built on the sea or on navigable rivers, like the Shannon or Suir ojr Boyne, were exposed to a visitation any night. Now, the Danes sailed in very capacious, but very shallow, boats, almost, though not quite, flat-bottomed. They, consequently, could sail up very shallow riyers. They had ft settlement at Baldoyle. They could sail up to the North Bull, but the Liffey was too shallow for them, certainly any higher up than Dublin. Clane, therefore, seems to have escaped their ravages till the year 1035, when they plundered it, but were overtaken by the inhabitants of the surrounding country, and slaughtered before they could escape to their ships.
Clane again emerges in the twelfth century shortly before the Anglo-Norman invasion. The Roman party were at that time making, every effort to enforce conformity to their views throughout Ireland. Gelasius, Archbishop of Armagh, was the first archbishop who received a pall from the Pope in token of his submission to papal authority. But once embarked on the road, he pursued his way with diligence. He insisted on con-
CLANE ABBEY. lOS
formity to Armagh in every respect. Glonmacnoise, Glonard, Lismore, Glend^ough were famons as schools of learning. But Oelasius called a National Synod, attended by twenty-six of the diocesan bishops, who were now introduced in place of the old tribal and monastic bishops. This Synod met at Glane, 1162, and passed a decree that no one should be admitted a Professor of Divinity in Ireland who had not graduated at Armagh, thus giving the College of Armagh a monopoly in Divinity Degrees, and striking a fatal blow at the old famous schools of Ireland, where some of the old anti-papal spirit still lingered. Then came the Anglo-Norman invasion. Glane, of course, came rapidly within the sweep and scope of the Norman party, situated as it was so close to Dublin. The Geltic abbey, of course, rapidly declined. New men, and new fashions, and new foreign orders became the order of the day. Soon the Anglo-Norman Parliament would pass a law that no mere Irishman should be admitted to any religious house or order. The beginning of the thirteenth century was signalized by the foundation of the two great mendicant orders, the Dominicans and Franciscans, who rapidly became the trusted friends and advisers of all the great nobles. About this year — 1260 — the Franciscans arrived at Glane, when Gerald FitzMaurice, Lord of Offaly, built there a stately abbey, the ruins of which we now behold. But what, you may say, became of the old. abbey.? Well, I reply, the .usual course in such cases Was that the old abbey, and any remaining members thereof, were absorbed into the new foundation, and so we may fairly suspect it happened at Glane, if any of the old Irish monks survived ; while the poor huts and slight timber buildings which filled the old site were swept away to make room for the stately Franciscan pile. Gerald FitzMaurice, the founder, died July 18th, 1287, and was buried in this church, where his likeness remained on a marble monument in the choir till the beginning of last century (Archdall's *' Monasticon ").
The notices of this priory became rather scanty during the period which intervenes between the thirteenth and sixteenth century. The abbey shared the fortunes of the Franciscans, or Grey Friars, as they were called. We can imagine them clad in their grey cassocks, chanting their office, and celebrating their solemnities. In the year 1845 a general chapter, and in the following year a provincial chapter, of the same order were held here. In the former it was ordained that the Franciscan monasteries of Kilkenny and Ross should be assigned to the wardenship of Dublin. The priory of Glane must, therefore, have been one of considerable dignity, as otherwise there
lo6 CLANfi^ ABB^V.
wOQld not have been sufficient room to aceommodate such a large number of guests as would necessarily assemble on such occasions. This is not the only evidence that Glane was at an early period a place of considerable importance.
From the Rolls we find that on the 14th March, 1891, the King gi*anted to the Provost, Baili£fs, and Commonalty of the town of Clane, that for seven years they may take custom of goods coming to the town to build anew a certain bridge of the said town over the water of the Analiffy. Whether this was the bridge that was removed a few yeara ago to make place for the present structure I do not know; but it was certainly of very considerable antiquity.
The names of the Anglo-Norman Priors are, so far as I am aware, quite unknown. But, judging from analogy, I should say they were drawn from those of the neighbouring gentry. Thus the Wesley s, of Dangan, furnished a Robert Wesley, last Prior of Great Gonnell, in 1541 ; and he received a yearly pension of £1Q 6s. 8d. as such. Walter Wellesley was Prior of Great Connell, Master of the Rolls, and Bishop of Kildare till 1589 ; while a John Wesley is mentioned as Prior of the same in an inquisition of 1607. Others of the gentry whose names we can still trace took an interest in this Abbey of Glane. According to Wadding, in his " Annals of the Franciscan Order," V. iii, p. 531, the family of Hogan became patrons of this priory in the fourteenth century, or thereabout Now, mark this name Hogan; for we can connect them with Clane for long enough. In 1253 the Hogans founded the Dominican Abbey of Athy in conjunction with another family, the Boysels. The Hogans and Boysels long continued to dwell together amid the plains of Kildare. In a list of the gentlemen of Kildare, dated 1604, the names of the Hogans and Boysels occur.
But this same name, if I mistake not, occurs still later. At the dissolution of the monasteries in Henry YIII's time, the property of this priory was parted by the house to the following persons: — R. Eustace, J. Nevon, Rd. Field, Rd. Roche, and Ed. Browne. Now, Clongowes Wood College was purchased from a Mr. Wogan Browne, who clearly represents the ancient Hogans, quondam protectors and patrons of the Abbey of Clane. These are the Wogans whose monuments we have just been inspecting in the old churchyard of Clane.
( I07 )
THE MOAT AT CLANE,
[Read by T. COOKE-TRENCH, D.L., at Clane, September, 1899.]
I THINK that the hest thing I can do to give you what is known or conjectured about the mound upon which we stand is to read to you what Bishop Gomerford, quoting from O'Curry, says about it in his " Collections/* pp. 98 and 99 : —
^' The Ford of Clane was in the first century the scene of the tragical death of Mesgegra, King of Leinster, who fell here in single combat with Conall Cemach, the champion of Ulster, who had pursued him hither whilst flying from the siege of Howth. Aithim<5, the Ultonian poet, Buniamed Ailghemich, or the Importunate — so called from the fact that he never asked for a gift or preferred a request, but such as it was especially difficult to give or dishonourable to grant — had been sent to the Court of the King of Leinster at Naas, for the purpose of picking a quarrel with the people of that province. He had been hospitably received by Kine Mesgegra, and had many gifts bestowed on him ; but this only made nim the more importunate, and at last he insisted on getting 700 white cows with red ears, a countless number of sheep, and 150 of the wives and daughters of the Leinster nobles to be carried in bondage into Ulster. To these tyrannical demands the Leinster men apparently submitted ; but, having pursued Aithim^ to Howth, they rescued their women. The Ulster men, however, having been reinforced, the Leinster forces were routed. Conall Cearnach T^iV), the most distin- guished of the heroes of the North, pursued Mesgegra, to take vengeance for the death of his two brothers, who had been slain at Howth. He overtook him at the Ford of Clane« where a combat ensued between them in which Mesgegra was slain and beheaded. Conall placed the head in his own chariot, and, ordering the charioteers to mount the Royal chariot, they set out northwards. They had not, however, gone far, when they met the Queen of Leinster, attended by fifty ladies of honour, returning from a visit to Meath. * Who art thou, O woman i * said Conall. ^I|am Mesgegra's wife,' said she. 'Thou art commanded to come with me,' said Conall. 'Who has commanded me?' said the Queen. 'Mesgegra has,' said Conall. 'Hast thou brought me my token ? ' said the Queen. ' I have brought his chariot and horses,' said Conall. 'He makes many presents,' said the Queen. 'His head is here too,' said Conall. 'Then I am disengaged,' said she. 'Come into my chariot,' said Conall. 'Grant me liberty to lament for my husband,' said the Queen. And then she shrieked aloud her grief and sorrow with such intensity that her heart burst, and she fell dead from her chariot. The tierce Conall and his servant made there a grave and mound on the spot, in which they buried her, together with her husband's head, from which, however, he extracted the brain. This Queen's name was Buan^ or the good (woman). After some time, according to a very j)oetical tradition, a beautiful hazel tree sprung up from her grave, which was for ages after called CoU Btutna, or Buana^ hazel. l%e Tumulus beside the river at Clane is supposed to mark the grave of King Mesgegra and his Queen."
THE MOAT AT CLANE. I09
Father Devitt, at p. 810 of your Joubnal, iias given his reasons, which appear, satisfactory, for differing from this sup- position as regards the tender-hearted Bnan ; and for believing that while her hnsband lies beneath our feet, she is buried at Mainham.
Within my memory, but, I am afraid I must add, some sixty years ago, the top of the mound suddenly sank, caused, no doubt, by the collapse of the supports of the sepulchral chamber inside. Mr. M'Gracken, who was then tenant of the mill, began to dig down ; but finding nothing better to reward his labours than some skeletons, he soon desisted, and the secret of eighteen hundred years still remains unrevealed. There used to be a tradition of a secret passage from the monastery to the moat ; but, apart from the absence of apparent motive for such, I think that the fact that the Butterstream runs between the two is prohibitive of such an idea, as, with the imperfect masonry of those days, the water would quickly have found its way into an underground passage, and flooded it.
Just below us is the so-called Sunday's Well. Of the origin of this and similar names, Dr. Joyce, in his '* Irish Names of Places Explained," says :
** In the case of some holy wells it was the custom to visit them and perform devotions on particular days of the week ; and this has been commemorated by such names as Toberaheena (the name of a well and village in Tipperary), si^ifyins the Well of Friday.
** A great many weUs in different parts of the country are called Tober-righ-an-domhnaigh, or Toberreendowney — literally, the Well of the King of Sunday (i.e., of Grod). It is probable that these were visited on Sundays, and they are generally called in English Sunday*s WeU."
Some thirty or forty years ago the bushes about used to be covered with o£ferings (not, it is true, such as to induce theft) by those who believed that they had derived benefit from drinking the waters.
A vague tradition connects this well with St. Patrick. One cannot place much weight upon such unsupported traditions ; but it is on record that he travelled from Co. Meath to Naas, and as Clane would have been on his direct route, it is far from improbable that he may have rested here, and perhaps baptized converts in this very well.
There are in the immediate vicinity of Clane two so-called '^ Wart-stones ;'' one on the roadside, going towards Aghpaudeen, is obviously the base of a cross. Had the original intention of building the new parish church there been carried out, I had settled to restore it to its original use by putting up an Irish
si
II
5 i
THE MOAT AT CLANE. Ill
cross in it. To the other, which stands upon the bank of the stream jnst opposite the Abbey, Canon Sherlock attributes a pagan origin^ the bowl being intended to receive offerings of milk and meal, perhaps for more sinister purposes as well or instead. It was probably on this bulld.n that the head of Mesgegra was placed after his death.
Canon Sherlock, in his Paper read before the Society in 1892, records the existence, some half-century ago, of what was called St. Bridgid's Chair and Thimble, besides a stone said to bear the impress of her feet. These stood in an old quarry, or gravel-pit, a few hundred yards to the south. He suggests ^at they may have been an old cromlech. They were ruthlessly broken up and used for road-metal a couple of generations ago.
( ii3 )
THE RIGHT HON. WILLIAM CO NOLLY, SPEAKER OF THE IRISH HOUSE OF COMMONS.
[A Paper read at the Meeting of the Kildare Archaeological Society, at Celbridge, September 12th, 1899.]
By rev. C. I. GRAHAM, B.D., Incumbbnt of Celbridgb.
WE are gathered to-day round the last resting-place of a distinguished Irishman and true patriot. As we stand here^ it is fitting that something should be said both about him and about that monument to his memory which you have come to inspect ; and Lord Walter FitzGerald, who is the heai*t and soul of our Kildare ArchsBological Society, has asked me to say it. It would haye been more fitting that he himself should have said it, since he has contributed to the sixth number of the second volume of our Journal an article on '' Castletown and its Owners/' which is of the most thorough and exhaustive kind, and is excellently illustrated, from which, with Lord Walter's permission, I shall borrow some of my facts.
And first, about the monument. This beautiful work of art was erected by the widow of the Right Hon. William ConoUy, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons, over his vault in this the old churchyard of Kildrought Parish. It is, as you see, of large size, and in front of it there is some handsome iron grille work, which elicited the most marked expressions of appreciation from our eminent Dublin architect, Mr. Thomas Drew, when he saw it for the first time. The monument, whose sculptor was Thomas Carter, consists of a pediment supported by four pillars, and on its base recline two life-size figures of the Speaker and his wife. His wife's name was Catherine Conyngham, the eldest daughter of Sir Albert Conyngham, sister of Henry, the first Earl of Conyngham. Sir Albert Conyngham was a General of Ordnance in Ireland under William III, and an ancestor of the first Marquess of Conyngham, of Slane Castle in the County Meath.
Hence, in front of the pediment is a coat-of-arms — ^those of ConoUy impaled with those of Conyngham. On the slab in the back of the monument is a long Latin inscription, of which the following translation is given by Lord Walter FitzGerald, taken from Colonel Yigors's Report on the Memorials of the Dead: —
^'H.S. William Conolly, who attained as a reward of his merits the highest honours, was for about twenty years a Commissioner of the
I
114 THE RIGHT HON. WILLIAM CONOLLY,
Revenue in the reign of Queen Anne and George I, and was a Privy Councillor in the reign of George II. He was twice unanimously elected Speaker of the House of Commons in the Parliament of this realm, and ten times held the office of Lord Justice of Ireland, being the first to whom both the sovereign and the people entrusted at the same time the protection of their privileges with the happiest result. As a subject he was loyal ; as a citizen, patriotic.
** In perilous times he, not once or twice, proved that he served his country without forgetting his duty to his king, and served his king without forgetting what was due to his country. Firm, resolute, just, wise, formed by nature for the life of a statesman, his administration of affairs was crowned with success to the great advantage of the Common- wealth. He made a modest though splendid use of the great riches he had honestly acquired, distinguished as he was alike for the courtesy, integrity, and munificence of his disposition. Kind-hearted to all men, he was loyal to his friends, whom he bound to himself in great numbers, and retained their friendship when once he had gained it. Wishing to do good even after his death, he gave directions by his will that a building should be erected on the adjacent lands for the maintenance and education of the children of the poor, and he endowed it for ever with large revenues. Having lived long enough to satisfy the claims of nature and his fame, he died on the 29th of October in the year of our Lord 1729, in the sixty-seventh year of his age. Catherine, of the Conyngham family, has erected this monument to her most worthy husband.*'
Speaker GonoUy rose to wealth and greatness, as so many other Irishmen have done, through his work at the Bar, of which he was a member. As he died at the age of sixty-seven, in 1729, he must have been born in 1662. He lived, therefore, in the reigns of Charles IE, James 11, William III and Mary, Queen Anne, George I, and George II. I do not know that his birth-place has been traced ; though I think I have heard it stated that he came from Ballyshannon. His name, certainly, is Irish; but his nephew, who inherited his property, was a William ConoUy, of Stratton Hall in Sta£fordshire, who married Lady Anne Went- worth, daughter of Thomas, Srd Earl of Strafford. The Speaker seems to have sat in the Irish Parliament as member for Ballyshannon for the first time in 1727, and previously to that to have represented the County Londonderry from 1703. That the family had a large property around Ballyshannon, and that the Speaker himself represented the borough in Parliament, will prove nothing, I fear, about his birth-place.
In 1661 Sir William Dongan, owner of the manor of Castle- town-Kildrought, near Celbridge, was created Viscount Dongan of Clane ; and in 1685 Earl of Limerick. This Earl of Limerick fought at the battle of the Boyne in 1690 on the side of King James; and his only son, Walter, was killed in the battle. After the Treaty of Limerick (1691) the Earl and his wife retired to France, forfeiting his great estates. The forfeited
SPEAKER OF THE IRISH HOUSE OF COMMONS. IIS
estate of Castletown was purchased by the Bight Hon. William Conolljy and he built the present Castletown House in 1725. He was Speaker of the Irish House of Commons from 1715 to 1729, and, as the inscription on his monument states, had been sworn in ten times as Lord Justice of Ireland in the absence of Viceroys.
He was evidently a man of great influence and great wealth in his day. Primate Boulter, in one of his letters, written in 1728 — ^the year before the Speaker died — says : " Mr. ConoUy is retired for some time into the country for his health. His indisposition will prevent me visiting my diocese this summer ; but as his absence will rob the bankers of one to whom they formerly applied, and on whom they could make some impres- sions, I believe we shall get the easier through this business for his being out of the way."
In a letter written after the Speaker's death, Primate Boulter observes : '* It will require time to bring the several clans which united in Conolly to centre in one another. He left a great fortune, some say £17,000 per annum."
Dean Swift also refers to the Speaker. In his Journal to Stella the Speaker's name is three times mentioned. In September, 1710, the Dean writes: "Conolly is out'' — that is, as a Commissioner of Itevenue— '^and Mr. Boberts in his place, who loses a better here [in London], but was formerly a Commissioner in Ireland. That employment cost Conolly three thousand pounds to Lord Wharton [the Lord Lieutenant] : so he has made an ill bargain in his life" — a passage which throws an unpleasantly lurid light on the capability of Lord Lieutenants being bribed in those days for the bestowal of high Government offices.
In the famous " Drapier Letters," Swift also mentions the Speaker, pointing out the e£fect which would be caused by the introduction of Wood's halfpence, thus: "They say Squire Conolly has sixteen thousand pounds a year. Now, if he sends for his rent to town, as it is likely he does, he must have two hundred and fifty horses to bring up his half-year's rent, and two or three great cellars in his house for the storage."
But perhaps I can best convey to you the impression which the Speaker left on the Ireland of bis day by reading you extracts from two documents which I came across in a collection of pamphlets in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin.
The first is the published programme of the arrangements made by Sir William Hawkins, Ulster King of Arms, for the public funeral of the Speaker.
** AJl" this document states, " were to go afoot, if weather
Il6 THE RIGHT HON. WILLIAM CONOLLY,
permitted, from his house in Capel Street — along Gapel Street and the quays to the upper end of Arran Quay, and from thence the corpse will be carried to be interred at Celbridge on Tuesday, November 4, 1729, at 11 in the forenoon." Arrangements were, of course, made for the order in the procession of those who took part in it The fourth contingent was to consist of poor men in black cloth serge gowns and hoods, in number sixty-seven, accord- ing to his (the Speaker's) age, each carrying in his hand a pen- noncil, with the letters of his name and years of his age. The members of the Irish House of Commons were present with their Speaker, Sir Ralph Gore, and Wm. ConoUy, the Speaker's nephew and heir, as chief mourner. The programme concludes with this remarkable order, which might well be imitated in modern times : '' For a publick benefit to the kingdom, all the scarves will be of Irish manufacture." The other document is a funeral ode on the death of the Speaker ; and though we cannot say much for its poetry, it shows how deeply the Speaker had lived in the affections of the people. Dr. William King, Archbishop of Dublin, had died in the same year as the Speaker ; hence the reference in the second line of these lines :
" Now grave, thy conquest boast, now death thy sting, Triumphant o'er a ConoUy and King. Great spirit born o'er Senates to preside, Who now shall stem Oppression's barbarous tide ? Who 'gainst the torrent of Corruption stand, Like thee, no alien to his native land — Who shall bid famine cease and plenty smile, When meagre want dispeoples half our Isle ?
How few like him shall sad Hibemia find. With heart sincere and dignity of mind. Where public and domestic virtues blend, Humble and great, a statesman and a friend. Self -raised, with independent worth he shone, Immortalized by merits all his own ; True to his King, and to his country just. Are titles that outlive the marble bust."
There are at present portraits both of the Speaker and his wife in Castletown House. A small bell formerly belonging to the old church which was destroyed in 1798, and still in use in our new church, bears the inscription: ''The gift of the Honble Catherine Conolly to Celbridge, 1784." The obelisk which stands not far from one of the gates of Carton, and which is a land-mark to all the country round, was erected by the Speaker's widow as relief works in the year 1740. She lived to be ninety years of age, and died in 1752.
SPEAKER OF THE IRISH HOUSE OF COMMONS. II7
But perhaps the most pleasing memorial we have of the Speaker is the school founded by money which he bequeathed for the purpose, and originally intended for the reception of forty orphans or other poor children for their maintenance and educa- tion in the linen or hempen manufacture, or in husbandry. In 1809 this school was transferred by Lady Louisa Conolly to the Incorporated Society for Promoting Protestant Schools in Ireland, and the funds applicable to its support legally vested in its Board, certain rights of nomination being retained by the Conolly family, which still exist.
Within the last two or three years the buildings have been greatly improved and enlarged by the Incorporated Society. But you can still see carved in stone on the front of the school- house which you will pass on your way to Ardrass the arms of the Speaker, a silent memorial to his goodness in days gone by.
Let me, in conclusion, once more freely express my deep regret that so beautiful a monument as this which you have seen of a man so distinguished in Irish public life as was Speaker Conolly should be hidden away in this graveyard, and only seen by a few. In 1884, when there was a minority at Castletown, an effort was made to induce the Conolly family to allow it to be transferred to the new parish church consecrated in that year, where it could be seen by everyone, and be properly preserved. The proposed transference was then refused. But the minority has now ceased, and the present owner of Castletown, Mr. Thomas Conolly, is only too willing that it should be re- moved to the new church at the other end of the village. The undertaking, however, is more costly than might be imagined. I hope, however, that such interest may be stirred up by our present meeting about this matter, that it may soon be possible to remove into the light of day the monument of one whose memory should be dear not to the parish of Celbridge only, but to all Irishmen of every creed.
( ii8 )
THE PRINCIPAL GENTRY OF THE COUNTY KILDARE IN THE YEAR 1600.
By lord WALTER FITZGERALD.
THE following list of the gentry in the County Eildare, exactly 800 years ago, has been made up from various sources, though principally from the Elizabethan Fiants, the Inquisitions and the Funeral Entries. In looking through it, it will be at once remarked how few of the old names are now to be found in the present magistrate roll of the county. The Birminghams, the Eustaces, the FitzGeralds (with the exception of the House of Leinster), the Buttons, the Wellesleys or Weslys, and the Wogans — all ancient Anglo-Norman families, who held great possessions in the county — have altogether disappeared, and Elizabethans or Cromwellians now reign in their stead. This extinction of the old names was mainly caused by the Civil War of 1641, a religious war in which the Roman Catholics, fighting for their faith, lost everything. In this, history repeated itself, for, 500 years earlier, these same Anglo-Norman families had overcome and driven out the original lords of the soil— the O'Kearys of Carbury, the O'Byrnes of Oflfelan, the O'Connors of Oflfaljr, and the OTooles of Omurethi — septs whose territories all lay in the present County Kildare, and whose possessions were divided among the families named above— in addition to the Aylmers, the De Herefords, the De Rochforts, De Stantons, De Vescis, De Mohuns, De Riddlesfords, De la Poers or Powers (from whom the Eustaces or FitzEustaces sprang in the fourteenth century), the Flattisburys, and others.
Of our present landed gentry the Archbolds, the Borroweses, the Bourkes, the De Burghs, the Moores (of Moore Abbejr), the Wolfes, and the Wogan-Brownes settled in this county durmg the seventeenth century. The following century saw the arrival of the CoUey-Palmers, the ConoUys, the Cramer-Robertses, the De Robecks, the Henrys, the Horts, the La Touches, the Lawlesses, the Mansfields, the Medlicotts, and the More-0'Ferralls.
The Principal Gentry of the County Eildare in the
YEAR 1600. Alen : —
Edward fitz Thomas A. ... ... ... Kilteel.
John fitz Thomas A. (ob. 29th Sept., 1616) ... St. Wolstan'0.
Ashe : —
Edward Ashe ... ... ... ... Forenaghts.
Robert Ashe (ob. circa 1608) ... ... Naas.
PRINCIPAL GENTRY OF CO. KILDARE IN 160O. II9
Aylher : —
John fitz Thomas A. (ob. 2(>th June, 1632)
Sir Gerald fitz Richard A., Bart. (ob. 19th Aug.,
X vv% J ••• ••• ••■ ••• •••
Richard fitz Thoniaa A.
Thomas fitz Bartholomew A. (ob. 3rd Nov., 1639)
Bee : —
James Bee (ob. 20th May, 1026)
Bellinos (or Bealino) : —
Richard Bellings (ob. 3rd May, 1600) Heniy Bellings ...
Be&minoham (or Brimikohah) : —
Edward Bermingham (ob. 20th Sept., 1608) ... Edward Bermingham (ob. 20th Sept., 1619) ... William fitz Walter B. (ob. 10th Feb., 1612) ... WiUiam fitz Thomas B. (ob. 22nd April, 1601) John Bermingham (ob. 20th Dec., 1600) Garrett fitz lUdmond B. (ob. 1st Dec, 1636) ... Edmund fitz John B. ... ...
Thomas fitz Walter B.
Richard fitz William B.
Meyler Bermingham (ob. 16th May, 1609)
Richard Bermingham
Cheverh : —
Christopher fitz John C. (ob. 7th Nov., 1640) ...
CoLLEY (or Cowly) : — Sir Henry Colley ...
Da VIES : —
John Davies (ob. 22nd Sept., 1618) ...
Devbreux : —
Robert fitz Walter D., Earl of Essex and Ewe (ob. 25th Feb. , 1601)
DoNGAN (or Dunoan) :—
Sir Walter fitz John D. , Bart. (ob. 21st July, 1626)
Thomas fitz John D.
Edward fitz John D.
William fitz John D. (ob. 11th Dec, 1622) ...
DURNINO : —
Richard Duming (ob. 10th Aug., 1618)
Eustace (or Fitz Eustace) :—
Oliver fitz William E. (ob. 17th March, 1618) ...
Richard Eustace (ob. 20th June, 1613) William fitz John E. (ob. 25th June, 1636) ... Maurice fitz James E. (ob. 24th Jan., 1624) ... Maurice fitz Alexander E. (ob. 31st July, 1619) Nicholas fitz John E. (ob. 1648) Nicholas fitz Alexander E. (ob. 1633)
Courtown.
Donadea. Hartwell. Lyons.
Ballygoran.
Killashee. Surdalstown.
Ballynad rumny .
Carrick.
Clonkeeran.
Dunfierth.
Garrisker.
Grange.
Irrey.
Longwood.
Mucklon.
Rahinelly.
Russel's Wood.
Rathmore. Castle Cai'buiy. Kill.
Monasterevin.
Castletown. Grifienrath. Kiltaghan. Toberogan.
Castlekeely.
BlackhaU, Near PunchcBtowii. Blackrath. Castlemartin. Clongowes Wood. Colbinstown. Confey. Cradockstown.
I20 THE PRINCIPAL GENTRY OF THE
John Eustace (ob. 18th Jan., 1612) ... ... Flemingtown.
Richard fitz James E. (ob. 29th June, 1637) ... Gorteenvacan.
John Eustace (ob. 1623) ... ... ... Harristown.
Christopher fitz John E. ... ... ... Kineagh.
Oliver ntz Thomas E. ... ... ... Mullaghcash.
John fitz James E. (ob. 18th Jan., 1617) ... Newluids.
Fay:—
Meiler, fitz Galfrey F. (ob. 20th Jan., 1629) ... Ballynure,
Near Bathaoffan.
FitzGebald : —
Gerald fitz Edward, 14th Earl of Kildare (ob. j I^^JI^.i, nth Feb., 1612) • l&^^n.
Gerald fitz Philip FitzG. (ob. 29th Aug., 1611) Allen. Sir James, son of Sir Pierce FitzG., Knt. (ob.
26th April, 1637) ... ... ... Ballyshannon.
Pierce fitz Oliver Fitz (ob. Ist Nov., 1616) ... Belan.
Maurice fitz Edmond FitzG. (ob. 20th June, 1610) Birtown.
John fitz Maurice FitzG. (ob. circa 1606) ... Blackball,
Near Clane.
Richard fitz James FitzG. (ob. 1622) ... Booleybeg.
Edward fitz Maurice FitzG. (ob. 10th April, 1636) Brownstown,
Near Kildare.
William fitz Garrett FitzG. (ob. ante 1640) ... Oastleroe.
William fitz James FitzG. (ob. 3()th April, 1612) Donore.
Garrett fitz Maurice FitzG. ... ... Duneany.
William fitz Maurice FitzG. (ob. 16th May, 1620) Glassealy.
Thomas fitz Nicholas FitzG. (ob. 1st April, 1628) Kilmeed. James, son of Sir Maurice FitzG. , Knt. (ob. 20th
Aug., 1602) ... ... ... ... Kilrush.
Thomas, son of Sir Maurice FitzG., Knt. (ob.
20th June, 1611) ... ... ... Lackagh.
John, son of Sir James FitzG., Kt. ... ... Mullaghmoyne.
John fitz James FitzG. (ob. 11th April, 1620) Narraghbeg.
James fitz Gerald FitzG. ... ... ... Osberstown.
John fitz Thomas FitzG. ... ... ... Puncher's Grange.
Redmund oge fitz Thomas FitzG. (ob. 9th Aug.,
1624) ... ... ... ... ... Timahoe.
James fitz Redmund FitzG. (ob. 24th June, 1618) "JDrinanBtown.
Flatisbury (or Flatsbury) : —
Christopher fitz James F. (ob. 23rd Jan., 1612) f Palmerstown
(and Johnstown.
Gaydon (or Geidon) :—
Nicholas fitz John G . ... ... ... Irishto wn.
Near Straffan.
Graham (or Graeme) : —
Sir Richard Graham, Knt. (ob. 7th Nov., 1626) Grangebeg.
Herbert (or Ha rb arte) : —
John fitz Henry H. ... ... ... Coghlanstown.
Sir Edward fitz Nicholas H., Kt. (ob. 3rd Oct.,
1629) ... ... ... ... ... Jigginstown.
COUNTY KILDARE IN 160O.
I2t
Harringtox : —
Sir Heniy Harrington, Kt. (ob. Ist May, 1612) Gallmorestown.
Kerdiffe : —
Jamra Kerdiffe
Latun ; —
William fitz John L. (ob. 15Ui Jan.^ 1616)
Leigh (or Lye) : —
John fitz Francis L. (ob. 7th May, 1612)
Long: —
Bartholomew Long
Mackworth : —
Garrett fitz Humphrey Mackworth ...
Manering (or Mainwaring) : — Richard Manering ...
Metres (or Meares) : — William Meyres
M1S8ET : —
Gerald Misset (ob. 13th March, 1621)
Nangle : —
Robert fitz Garrett N. (ob. 15th Nov., 1615) ...
O'Kelly :—
? Ferdinand O'Kelly
O'MoRE : —
Calloghe (Charles) mac Rory **caech" 0*M (ob. 1601)
Pepper (or Pepard) :—
William Pepper (ob. 24th Sept., 1617)
Plumket : —
Oliver Plonket, Baron of Louth (ob. 5th March,
M.\J\Jt f ... ... ... ... ...
Preston :—
Jenico fitz Christopher P., 6th Viscount Gor- manston (ob. 14th March, 1630)
Roe:—
William Roe (ob. circa 1617)
St. Michael : —
Nicholas fitz Christopher St. M.
Kerdiffstown.
{Morristown- Moynagh.
(Rathbride and ( Clonaugh.
Daars.
Bert.
Leixlip.
Tullaghgorey.
Dowdingstown.
Ballysax.
Cadamstown.
Balyna. Usk.
KiUadoon.
Naas.
Branganstown. Castle Rheban.
Sarsfield (or Sarsfeilde) : —
Patrick, son of Sir William S., Knt. (ob. 9th Jan.,
1630) ... ... ... ... ... TuUy.
John, son of Sir William S. , Knt. (ob. 24th Jan. ,
1615) ... ... ... ... ... Turnings.
122 PRINCIPAL GENTRY OF CO. KILDARE IN l6oa
Sherlock : —
Edward Sherlock ...
Sutton : —
Gilbert fitz Gerald S. (ob. 30th March, 1031) ... Gerald fitz Oliver S. (ob. 19th June, 1016) John fitz William S. (ob. 13th June, 1637)
Sir William fitz Robert T., Bart. (ob. 10th March,
X \#t/0 J •#• ••■ ••• ••• •••
Tipper : —
Patrick Tipper
Walsh : —
James Walsh (ob. Ist July, 1600) Christopher Walsh
Welleslby (or Wesly) — Christopher fitz John W. Richard fitz Gerald W. (ob. 11th March, 1620)...
Walter fitz Richard W. (ob. 1st Feb., 1614) ... Gerald fitz William W. (ob. 12th May, 1003) ...
White (or Whytb) : —
Sir Nicholas fitz Andrew W., Knt. (ob. 24th Feb.,
A\/VX7 J ••■ ••• ••• ••• •••
Walter White WOGAN : —
Nicholas fitz David W. (ob. July, 1636) Gerald Fitz Oliver W. (ob. circa 1601) Thomas fitz David W. (ob. 20th May, 1014) ... Nicholas fitz William W. (ob. 13th Jan., 1610)
Wolfe : —
Nicholas fitz Arnold W.
YOUNGE : —
Gerald fitz John Y. (ob. 23rd Aug., 1613)
Sherlockstown.
Ardrass.
Richardstown.
Tipper.
Carton.
Tipperstown.
Kilmorebrannagh . Mooretown.
Bishop's Court.
BlackhalU Near Calverstown.
Narraghmore. Painstown.
Leixlip. Pitchfordstown.
Blackball. Downings. Newhall. Rathcoffy.
Kilcolman.
New town O' More, Near Tipiier.
( 123 )
THE SONG OF THE SWORD OF CERBALLr
D ALLAN MAC MORE, to whom the following poem is ascribed, was oUaw} or chief bard to King Cerball mac Muirecain of Leinster, who reigned from about a.d. 885 to 909.^ Several other poems or fragments of poems ascribed to Dalian have come down to ns, all of them relating to the affairs of his royal master and the dynasty of Leinster. In a poem of twenty stanzas he celebrates no less than forty battles fought by Cerball. The beginning is (LL. 47 a) :
'* Cerball Currig ca)m-Life cl6d catha for Cond, ra facsin a febdreche arbath Cnogba Corr."
** Cerball of the Curragh of the lovely Liffey^ victor in battle over Beholding his beautiful fa^e Cnogba Corr did die,** ^ [Leih-Cuinny
A poem by him on the Battle of Belach Mugna is quoted in LL. 52 b, in the Annals of the Four Masters (F.M.), A.D. 903, and in Three Fragments of Irish Annals (T.F,), p. 216. Lastly, a poem on the death of Cerball is ascribed to him (F.M., a.d. 904, "Three Fragments," p. 220). It is probable that the poem on Cell Chorbbain (LL. 201 b), from which there are quotations in T.F., p. 224, and F.M., a.d. 904, is also by him.
From these poems, as well as from the various Annals, we are in a position to follow Cerball's career from the time of his accession to the throne of Leinster to his death. He was the son of Murican mac Diarmata, who was slain by Norsemen in 868.^ His foster-mother was Oelserc,' the daughter of Derell, a Frankish king, whom I cannot identify. Cormac mac Cuilennain, the celebrated king-bishop of Cashel, was his foster-brother.
*DallAn mac M6ire ollamh Cerbhaill rf[g] Laighen, T.F., p. 216, 4.
'According to the list of Leinster kings in LL., 39 c, he reigned twenty-four years ; while in the poem on Cell Chorbbain (LL. 201 b 48) twenty-one years are assigned to him (a secht fo thrf .... flathius Cerbaill).
' As to Cnogba, cf . the 15th stanza of our poem.
* Lochlannac/i rosmarb, LL., 39 b, domarbadh la gentibh, T.F., p. 154, 3, do mharbadh la Nortmannaibh, F.M., 801.
**'Gel8earc inghen Deirill ri[g] Frangc ra ail iad maraoen," T.F., p. 220, 12.
♦ Reprinted from the Remie Cdtique by kind permission of the Author, obtained through Miss Stokes. — Er>.
I 2
124 KUNO MEYER.
Gerball sncceeded his brother Domnall on the throne of Leinster. He was a mighty warrior, and most of his life seems to have been spent on the battle-field, though he was also proficient in the arts of peace, if we may credit his eulogist, who says of him (LL. 201 b 42) :
<* Ba hoUom b^rla F^ne, ba l^ignid Uiie mebra, ba faid ba fili forba, ba sui solma na senma."
** He was an oUave in the old-Irish tongue^ he was a diligent reader
[q/* (good) memory^ He was a seer, a perfect poet, he was a ready master of music. ^'
At one time or another he was at war with all the neigh- bouring kings, as well as with the Norse invaders, whom in A.D. 897 he succeeded in driving from their stronghold in Dublin.^ He was the last King of Leinster who held his resi- dence at Naas.^ In 908 he took part in the Battle of Belach Mugna, in which king Cormac was slain. This battle was fought on Tuesday, the 17th September,^ and one year and a day and a half after that battle, i.e., on the 19th September, 909, Cerball himself died,^ of the effects of a wound which he had received in the following manner : —
After the Battle of Belach Mugna, Cerball with a large number of prisoners proceeded to Eildare.^ There, while riding on a spirited horse^ through the street called Srait in Cheime Cloichey or of the Stone Step, and passing the workshop of a fuller, his horse shied and flung him on to his own lance, which his Norse gillie Ulfr' was carrying behind him. From this wound he never recovered. During the year which he had
^ '^londarbadh Gall a H^rinn a longphort Atha Glfath la Gearbhall mac Muiregein 7 la Laignibh," F.M., 897.
*See F.M. II, p. 572, note o. In Dalldn*s poems Cerball is styled " ffaith N^is, H Alend, ri Laigen, rf Gall,"
^ **Hi septdecim Septimber cl6iset cath c^taib ilach,"
F.M., 903. LL., 52 b. T.F., p. 218, 5. ^'La Cerball dorochratar dia mairt ar Maig Ailbe," T.F., p.
216, 15. * *' Nior bo cian a saoghal-somh a aithle Cormac rocuilledh : la go leith, ni maoilriaghal, is aoinbliadhan gan fuilledh,'*
T.F., p. 220, 24. *T.F., p. 214, 14.
^ Ha was a skilful horseman : *' marcach 6s echaib ^a," LL. 201 b 45.
' The Irish form of this Norse name is Ulbh (T.F., 222, 18), corrupted
into Uille (ib., p. 224, 3). Cf. LL., 39 c: *' A ga3 f^in rosmarb a Uim a
gillai f6in." Of this Ulbh O'Curry, ** MS. Mat.," p. 133, makes a leader
of the Danes of Dublin !
THE SWORD OF CERBALL. 12$
still to live, and which he spent at Naas {Gerhall i n-othrus in tan sain in Nda, LL. 52 b 4), he married Gormflaith, the widow of his foster-brother, Gormac, from whom, however, he was soon separated in consequence of a gross insult which he offered to her, (See LL. p. 52 b, and O'Curry, " MS. Materials," p. 132.)
He was buried in the cemetery of Naas, i.e., in Cell Nais or Cell Ghorbbain (now Kill, Go. Kildare),^ " inter patres sues." His successor was Finn, of whom, however, no mention is made in the Annals.
LL. 47 a 60.
1. Mochen, achlaidib Cherbaill ! bdt menic i m6renglaim,'
bat menic ac cur chatha, ac dichennad ardflatha.
Hail, '^ sword of Cerhall ! Oft hast thou bee7i in the great woof (of Oft giving battle, beheading high pnnces, [war),
2. Bapsat menic ac dul chrech il-lamaib rig na robreth,
bat menic ac raind tdna ac degrig do dingbala.
Oft hast thou gone a-raidingin the hands of kings of high judgments, Oft hast tJiou divided the spoil when with a good king worthy of thee,
8. Bdt menic il-laim ragil bail [e] i mbitis Lagin,
bat menic etir rigraid, bat menic im-m6rdirmaib.
Oft hast thou been in a white band where Leinstennen were wont to be, Oft hast thou been among kings, oft among great bands,
4. Mor de rigaib 'ca raba da rachuris chomrama, [chness.
m6r sciath roscaltis i tress, m6r cend, m6r cliath, m6r csem-
Many ice re the kings with whom thou hast been when thou madest
[fight, Many a shield hast thou cleft in battle, many a liead, many a
[chest, many a fair skin.
* T.F., p. 224, note e. Cf. the poem on Cell-€horbMin in LL. , 201 b.
*0'Clery has eanglaim A. inneach, **woof ;" Lhuyd in his *' Archaeo- logia Britannica," O'Brien, and O'Reilly have eanglaim, *'a lining." The ace. pi. englemen (gl., licia) occurs twice in the Lauren tian glosses on the Bucolics, Nos. 68 and 120. It is here used metaphorically for what Gray in his ode, "The Fatal Sisters," calls " the crimson web of
war."
126 KUNO MEYEK.
5. Cethraclia hliadan can br6n rob4 oc Enna na n-ard8l6g
ni rabadais riam i n-argg, acht il-ldmaib rig rogarg.
Forty years without soitow Enna} of the noble hosts had thee, Never wast thou in a strait, but in the hands of very fierce kings.
6. Datrat Enna, nir breth gand, da mac fadein do Dunlang,
tricha hliadan duit'na seilb. do Dunlan// tucais-[s]iu theidm.
Enna gave thee, Hwas no niggardly gift, to his own son, to Dunlanf/.* Thirty years tlwu wast in his possession^ to thmlang thou
[broughtest ruin.
7. Mor rig rottecht ar eoch ard co Diarmait rigda rogarg :
hliadain ar a c6ic dec duit inn airet rob4 ac Diarmuit.
Many a king upon a high steed possessed thee unto Diarmait * tJie Sixteen years was the time Diarmait had thee, [fdfigly, the fierce,
8. I n-oenuch Alend ra bed rattidnaic Diarmait dnrgen,
datrat Diarmait in ri ndr d'fir Mairge, do Murican.
At the/east of Allen upon a time Diarmait the hardy-born bestowed
\thee, Diarmait, the noble Icings gave thee to tlie man of Mairge, to
\_Murican.
9. Cethraeha hliadan co tend robd il-ldim ardrig Alend,
ni raba hliadan can cbath ac Murican m6rglonnach.
Forty years stoxUly thou wast in the hand of the high-king of Allen, Tlwu never wast a year uithout battle while with Mmican of
[mighty deeds,
10. Dotrat Muricdn ri Gall i Taig Carmain do Cberball :
nittuc Gerball do dune c^in robiii ar bitb bude.
In Wexford Murican^ the king of the Foreigtiers, gave thee to
[Cei'ball : While he was upon the yellow earth CerbaU gave thee to none.
11. Bopo dias derg do dias glan i catb Odba na n-6iged :
da farg [b] ais Aed Findliatb f6en i catb Odba na n-ardroen.
Thy bright point was a crimson point in the battle of Odba^ of the
[Foreigners,'^ WJien thou leftest Aed Finnliath^ on his back in tlie battle of
[Odha of the noble routs.
1 i.e., Enna Nia.
' Dunlang mac Enna Niad, F.M., a.d. 241.
* The father of Murican.
* A mount near Navan, Co. Meath, ac Odba, LL. 39 c. *Lit., **of the guests." The Norse invaders are meant.
* Overking of Ireland from 861-878.
The sword of cerball. 127
12. Bopo derg th' faebur, rofess, i mBeluch Mugna ratmess [i] cathMaigeAilbeinnaig fa ndernad ind immarbdig.
Crimson was thy edge, it was seen, at Belach Mugna thou tvast
[proved. In the valorous battle of Ailbe's Plain, throughout which the
[fighting raged.
18. Bomut romaid in cath cain dia darddin ac Dun Ochtair, da darochair Aed garb gl^ isin leccaind 6s Liathmuine.
B^ore thee the goodly fwst broke on a Thursday at Dun Ochtair, When Aed the fierce and brilliant fell on the hillside above
[Liathmuine.
14. I8 romut romaid in cath [in] U romarbad Cellach
mao Flannaodin, linib 8l6ig, i Temraig aird uasabnoir.
Before t/iee the host broke on the day when CeUach^ was slain, Tfie son of Flannacan, with nutnbers of troops, in high lofty
[great Tara,
15. Is romut rothrdiged tess i cath Boinne na mborbchlesSi dar'thuit Cnogba, cleth inn aig, immut f^gad ar th'orgrdin.
Before thee iliey fled southwards in iJie battle of the Boyne of the
[rough feuts, WJien Cnogba fell, the lance of valour, ai seeing thee, for dread
[of tliee,
16. Bopsat fraBchda, nirbsat meirb, rapa laechda do luathfeidm,
dar* thuitt Ailill Frossach Fd.il i tossuch ind immforraind.
Thou wast furious,^ thou wast not weak, heroic was thy swift force, Wlien Ailill Frossach^ of Folfell in the front of tlie onset,
17. Ni rabadais la madma ac Cerball na cdemgarda,
nir atluig lugi n-ethig, ni thanic dar a br^thir..
Thou never hadst a day of defeat with Cerball of the beautiful garths. He swore no lying oath, he xcent not against his word,
18. Nocho rabadais la liuin, fuarais m6r n-aidchi n-aniuil,
fuarais m6r rig co rath dig, liiarais m6r cath it chomddil.
Thou never hadst a day of sorrow, many a night thou hadst abroad, Thou hast found many a king with grace of valour, many a battle
[awaiting thee.
* Cellach mac Flannacdin tigema Breg do marbad la Fogartach mac Tolairg i meabhail, F.M., 890.
^frdechda from frdech, ** a paroxysm of fury," atd. fraech ferci ar Fergus, LU., 16 a 9. ca froech na figed fri feirg ? LL., 255 a 34. don treib rochlecht fraech fergi, LB., 124 b 2, ib. 5.
' '' Ailill mac Eogain an t-airdegnaidh occ 7 an t-ardsaorchlann/' slain in the battle of Mag Ailbe, T.F., p. 210.
128 KUNO MEYER.
19. A chlaidib rig na rolog,^ na sail bith for merugod,
fog^ba duit th*fer ddna, tigerna do dingbala.
0 sivord of the kings of tfie great conjioffrations, do not fear to he
[astray ! Thou shalt find thy man of skill, a lord worthy of thee,
20. Gia festa forsa mbia seilb,^ nd chia risa titre theidm ?
din 16 dochuaid Gerball ass cia 'ca mbia do lepthanas ?
Who shall henceforth possess thee / or to whom wilt thou deal ruin / From the day that Cerball departed, with whom wilt thou be
[bedded ;»
21. Nichatl6iofider sech laiin co r6is Tech Ndis co nertbdig,
bail ita Find [in]na fled, atd^rthar ritt is mochen !
Thou sJudt not be neglected wntil thou coftie to Tech Ndis with
[strong fight, Wliere Finn* of the feasts is they will say to thee Hail !
EuNO Meyer.
' ro-log, ** great fire.'* See Windisch, s. v. log,
^ In this construction bia is the second person, and for seilb, ^^ in the possession'* = Welsh, ar helw. Of. Tochm. Emire 1. 1, Bev, Gdt,, XI, p. 442, atiorsa ar seilb rig na crosSy LL. 199 a 33. See Windisch, s. v. selb,
* lepthanas J '* bed-fellowship," formed from lepaid, like comthaiujus, *' companionship " (" Book of Feni^h," p. 180, 2), from comaid.
* Cerball's successor. The only other reference to him I can find is in the poem on Cell Chorbbdin (LL. 201 b, 11), where he is mentioned as being buried among the Kings of Leinster.
Miscellanea.
The Shrule Castle Lettered Stone.— On the Queen's County side of the Barrow, oppoaite to the soath-weatem extremity of the County Eildare, stand the rains' of the square Castle of Shrule, which was built by the Hartpoles in Elizabeth's reign. The ground-floor consists of a double row of vaulted cellars. A narrow stone staircase leads from the main entrance to the first floor, which contains large windows fnow built up), narrow spike- holes, recesses, and small chambers m the thickness of the walls. The principal fireplace on this floor is a flat arched one ; the upper portion is of three blocks of limestone, the centre acting as a dove- tailing key-stone. The left-hand stone has 'no 'inscription ; but the
right-hand one bears the following letters, cut in low relief, and in a very unworkmanhbe fashion. 'Aiis reads : —
1576:— ROBABT HARPOL GRAIN HARPOL DONACH O'LALOR
This Bobert Hartpole was Constable of Carlow Castle, Sheriff of the County Carlow and of the Queen's County. He was granted a lease of the Manor of Catherlagb (or Carlow) in 1570 ; the lands
130 MISCELLANEA.
of Shroule (or Shrule) in 1575 ; and in the same year the Grange of Eilmagobock, alias Monk's Grange, in the Queens County. He died in September, 1594, and was buried in the Parish Church in Carlow, which was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary ; a sketch of his effigy and tomb is given at p. 184, vol. iii, of Colonel Vigors* *< Eeports on the Memorials of the Dead, Ireland."
Eobert Hartpole's wife was Grany 0*Byrne. In a document, dated 1574, it is stated that *' Hartpoole, constable of Carloe, is matched with a Coltyonean. The Coltyoneans, alias Byrnes, are notable rebels.''^ The Castle of Monk's Grange stands close to the Barrow by the side of a small stream, called ** the Gaillig," a mile to the north of Shrule ; it is now so modernized as to be unrecognisable as an old castle. Formerly over the ancient doorway there was (and may still be) a mural tablet with the date 1588, and below it the initials, ** R. H.," and ** g. b." — standing for Robert Hartpole, and his wife Grany O'Byme.
On the Shrule Stone the '' Donagh O'Lalor " may have been the name of the mason employed in the erection of the castle.
The Hartpoles (also written Harpolls, HartpoUes, &c.) were a Kentish family, the first of whom in Ireland appears to have been the above-described Robert ; his descendants continued to possess Shrule and Monk's Grange till they became extinct in the male line during the first half of this century.
W. FiTzG.
Vide p. 447 of Brewer's *< Calendar of State Papers, Ireland, 1601-1603."
( 131 )
Correspondence.
l^o the Editor of the Journal E.A.S.
Sib, — I wonder whether any of your correspondents can throw any light upon the name of ^< Millicent/' either as to derivation or time of application ? In the ** Down Survey " it is named ** New- town,*' and there are constant references to '* Newtown of Clane." Thus in 1588 it is recorded that Walter Dalle was seized, inter aHa^ of 4a. in the Newtown of Clane. In 1642 Henry VIII granted to Robert Eustace and others, to the use of Sir Thomas Luttrell, of Luttrellstown, in consideration of £88 lis. 8d. paid, and a like sum to be paid, the site of the Monastery of the Friars Minors or Grey Friars of Clane, and the lands of Clane, Newtown of Clane^ Muchrath, Fleshtown, and Laugstown, and lands in Co. Dublin, to hold by service of 20th part of a knight's fee and 9s. 4d. ; and in 1587 there is a grant to Thomas Challoner of lands of Newtown of Clane, and a grove of ash there, part of the lands of Edmund Eustace attainted, 40th part of a knight's fee, and rent £S 15s.
I believe that it was subsequently again confiscated, and granted to the Duke of York, afterwards James II, and that on his abdica- tion in 1689 it was once more confiscated, and granted to one Harman, my predecessor in title. All this appears to have been done under the name of Newtown. In 1768 the Bev. Cutts Harman, Dean of Waterford, made a lease for ever of Millicent, under this name, to Michael Keating, represented in 1798 by Captain Griffith, who commanded the Clane Yeomanry, and did good service to the Royalist cause in that year.
As my conveyances are all from the Landed Estates Court, there are, of course, no recitals in them.
Newtown is, no doubt, an English name. Can anyone tell what the old Irish name was, or when or how the name was changed from Newtown to Millicent ? As shown above, it must have been between 1689 and 1768 ; but further than that I have been unable to obtain any information.
Thomas Cooke-Trench.
( 132 )
^OfC0.
A Bronze Celt. — ^Last year (1898), a good specimen of a ** Winged Celt " was discovered by John FitzGerald, in a square rath on his farm at Stephenstown, near Naas ; it was sent up to the Royal Irish Academy, who purchased it from the finder. The sides of this Celt were ornamented with a broad herring-bone pattern.
The term '< Celt " is used to designate those metal weapon-tools in the shape of axes, hatchets, adzes, and chisels, which, fastened to a wooden haft, were used as weapons of offence or for carpentering and other purposes. The name is derived from the Latin '< celtis " — a chisel. Though in size and form these Celts vary greatly, yet they have been classed under three heads :
1. The Simple flat Celt; which was a plain hatchet-shaped piece of metal which passed into, and probably through, its wooden handle.
2. The Winged Celt ; which mutually received and was received into the handle.
8. The Socketed Celt ; into which the handle was inserted.*
W. PiTzG.
Three disused Townland Names in the South of the county «"<*^'-«-^^-;:^^j Barony of KUkea and Moone.
Corallfff Barony of Narragh aud Bheban West.
1. ^^Eahdrooy — This was the name of a small circular rath which stood by the roadside between Birtown cross-roads and Malone's cross-roads (in the Kilkea direction) on the present townland of Nicholastown. The remnant of it stands on a farm of a man named FitzPatrick ; a former tenant, John Butler, the last sovereign of Athy, demolished it. According to Dr. Joyce, Rahdroo means "The Druids' Rath/' A County Kildare Chancery Inquisition mentions it at the end of the sixteenth century as belonging to the Manor of Nicholastown, near Athy, then in the possession of Sir Pierce FitzGerald, Knt., of Ballyshannon (Co. Kildare), who was slain on St. Patrick's Day, 1598, by the O'Byrnes of Ballinacor in the County Wicklow.
2. ^^ Dun-fin-yeen** (written as it is pronounced). — This rath is shown on the six-inch Ordnance Survey Sheet, No. 87 of the County Kildare, in the right-hand bottom corner, though it is not named thereon ; it is situated on the large townland of Hallahoise.
* Vide Sir William Wilde's Catalogue of Irish Antiquities.
NOTES. 133
In an Inquisition taken in Athy on the 6th of September, 1621, it was found that a portion of the Manor of Kilkea belonging to the Earl of Eildare, consisted of '*Halleheise, Donfinnine, and Whits- ton, 80 acres." A wide oval entrenchment, enclosing a small artificial hillock (said to be chambered), is still traceable.
8. *^ Corally.'' — This was a square rath containing **a cave,*' which was levelled years ago by a Scotchman named Maxwell. It stood, on the townland of Glogorrah, which forms a portion of the southern bounds of the Monavullagh Bog. Amongst the MSS. at Carton there is a copy of two feoffments made between the Earl of Kildare and the Wolfifes of Bewford (i.e., Bert), one dated 1506 and the other 1518. In the former ** Corally " is written Corhaliagh, and in the latter Coralyagh.
W. FiTzG.
Sixteenth-Century Tombstones in tlie Ballynadrumny CFiurcliyard. — Two or three of the earliest unsculptured tomb- slabs, with inscriptions in incised lettering, that I have so far met with in the County Kildare, lie in the churchyard at Ballyna- drumny, not far from the Moyvalley Railway Station, in the Barony of Carbury.
The three inscriptions given below, copied from these slabs, are all but illegible, and required fistfulls of young, juicy elder-leaves rubbed into them to make the letters stand out at all decipherable.
The first inscription is on a slab lying inside the (now demo- lished) walls of the old church, and reads as follows : —
SEPULCHRUM RICHdi FILIl MALACHIE DALY DE BALYNEDRIMNY GENE ROSI RAPARATORIS— HUIUS ECCLESIE — ANNO DOMINI 1554
The late Father Denis Murphy, s.j., recovered the word "Bapa- ratoris*' for me, as only a letter here and there in it could be distinguished ; he also translated the Latin thus : — *' The bwial-place of Bichard, son of Malachy Daly of Ballynadrumny^ the nohle-hom restorer of this Church, in the year of the Lord 1564.*'
The next inscription is taken from a slab lying a short distance to the south of the church ruins ; it is —
SEPULCHRUM DOMINI PATRICIl SHERLOCK DE BALINEDRUMNY GENEROSl ET FAMILI>E ANNO DOMINI 155*
1 34 NOTES.
Lying close beside the last-mentioned stone is a similar slab, possibly of the seventeenth century (the date is gone), as the inscrip- tion is in English, portions of which are quite worn away; the remainder reads :—
THE BURIAL PLACE OF THOMAS ASHE WHO WAS MARRYED UNTO DOROTHY WHYTE DAUGHTER UNTO lAMES WHYTE OF
T DSTOWNE
ESQ BY WHOM HE HAD ONE S TERS
MARRYED CATHERIN PLUNKET DAUGHTBR
UNTO PLUNKET
OF S BY
WHOM HE HAD 2 SONS DAUGHTERS
ANNO DOMINI —
I * * *
Also Thomas Ashe of Kilen agh Disceased June the 4^*^ 1792. Aged * * years.
The last three lines of the inscription are in a different lettering from the remainder, and appear to be of a far later date ; in it the name *' Ashe " formed a clue to the surname in the second line, which was illegible. The firsfc-mentioned Thomas Ashe appears to have been twice married ; his first wife may have belongeid to the Whites of PiTCHFORDSTowNE (as I believe the place-name on the stone was originally intended to read), in the Parish of Cloncurry, and Barony of Ikeathy.
According to the County Kildare ** Book of Survey and Redis- tribution," 1655, a Patrick Plunkett, of Longwood, owned, in the Barony of Carbury, 848 acres in Ballynakill (granted to one George FitzGerald), and 180 acres in Dsbrtlugqs (granted to one Michael Plunkett) ; this may be the other missing place-name on the above slab.
W. FiTzG.
C. W. QiBBR & SoK, Printers, Dublin.
JOURNAL
OF THE
jflwjaolagtcal pmts of t^e GoKntg of Ff ilbart
AND
j^urrottnbing Distnds.
4-f
^rocccMugs.
The ADDual General Meeting of the Society was held on Wednesday, the 24th January, 1900, in the Court House, Naas, which had been kindly lent by the High Sheriff.
The Earl of Mayo, President of the Society, in the Chair.
The following Members of the Council of the Society were present : — Mr. Thomas Cooke-Trencb, Canon Sherlock, Hon. Editor; Mr. H. Hendrick*Aylmer, Hon. Treasurer; Sir Arthur Yicars^ Ulster, and Lord Walter FitzGerald, Hon. Secretaries.
In addition, the following Members, and Visitors introduced by Members, amongst others, were present : —
Mr. and Mrs. Sweotman, Miss SIherlock, Mr. and Mrs. George \Volfe, Mr. Nwholas Synnott, Rey. W. Elliott, Miss Culshaw, Mr. and Mrs. S. J. Brown, Rev. J. Gilmore) Mrs. Cooke-Trench, Rev. T. Morrin, Mr. and Mrs. P. A. Maguire, Mr. Staples, &c.
The Minutes of the previous General Meeting in January, 1899, having been read and confirmed, were signed by the Chairman.
Sir Arthur Vicars^ Ulster, Hon. Secretary, read the Report of the Council for the past year, which was adopted, on the motion of Mr. George Wolfe, seconded by Mr. N. J. Synnott
The Hon. Treasurer then read his Report for the year 1899, and submitted th^ Balance Sheet of the Society, showing a balance of nearly £28 ; and the thanks of the Member's were voted to him, Qn the motion of Mr. Edmund Sweetman, seconded by Sir Arthur Vicars.
Mr. George Mansfield and Rev. £. O'Leary, being the Members of the Council retiring by rotation, were re-elected.
K
136 PROCEEDINGS OF THE
The following were elected Members of the Society : — Mr. G. H. Elliott, Chief Librarian, Free Public Library, Belfast ; Mr. Frank R. Shackleton, Colonel Richard Greene, and Mr. A. Thunder. In addition, the elections at the September Meeting of the following were confirmed : — Rev. Walter MacDonald, d.d., Librarian, Maynooth College; Mr. John Field, o.c, Mr. F. Minchin, Mr. Bertram Barton, Mr. R W. Manders, Sir George FitzGerald, Bart, Miss Calshaw, and Rev. Lionel Fletcher.
Some discassion ensued as to the most desirable place at which to hold the Excursion Meeting in September, 1900 ; after many places had been suggested by Members, it was ultimately decided, on the motion of Canon Sherlock, seconded by Lord Walter FitzGerald : —
"That the Excursion Meeting for the ensuing session of the Society take place at BaUymore -Eustace and district in September.''
■
A programme of the places and objects of interest which it was proposed should be visited was sketched out by the President.
The following resolution was proposed by Sir Arthur Vicars, seconded by the Earl of Mayo, and unanimously passed : —
" That the thanks of the Kildare Archteological Society are hereby tendered to the Rev. M. Devitt, Vice-President of the ' Society, for his hospitable reception of the Society at Clongowes Wood College ; to Mr. CooKe-Trench, for his kind reception of the Members at Millicent ; like- wise to Mr. Barton, for having faciUtated the inspection of Ardrass Chapel, on his property, on the occasion of the Excursion Meeting in September last.
The following Paper was read : —
"The FitzGeralds of Ballyshannon, County Kildare." By Lord Walter FitzGerald, Hon. Secretary.
A considerable number of objects of antiquarian and his- torical interest were exhibited.
The Earl of Mayo showed two prints of matches run off on the Curragh of Kildare in September, 1751, and April, 1815, the former between Sir Ralph Gore's ** Othello, or Black and All Black," and the Earl of March's "Bajazet,'' for 1,000 guineas, and won by the former ; the latter between Captain Gore's "Oak Stick" and Mr. Daly's "Narcissus," also for 1,000 guineas, and won by the former.
Lord Mayo also exhibited an Elizabethan farthing, dug up in the garden at Palmerstown.
Sir Arthur Vicars exhibited, from the Office of Arms, a finely emblazoned pedigree of the Duke of Ormonde of the seventeenth century ; an emblazoned pedigree on yellum,' 1605,
COUNTY KILDARE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 1 37
of the Windesor family; and the original grant of arms to Sir William Petty^ by Sir Richard Carney, Ulster, in 1656. He also showed, from his private collections, the following: — Original Roll of Arms, on yellum, of the sixteenth century; original Faneral Roll of Sir Nicholas Bacon, Lord Keeper to Queen Elizabeth, who died in 1578 ; the funeral procession of William III, 1702, in a series of sixt^n engraved plates ; and a MS. (circa 1485), entitled " Court Ceremonies of Henry VII."
Votes of thanks having been passed to those who had kindly lent exhibits for the Meeting, to Lord Walter FitzGerald for his Paper, and to the High Sheriff of the County for the use of the Court House, the proceedings were brought to a close.
Report of CouNOHi fob Yeab 1899.
The Council of the Eildare Archaeological Society beg to report to the Members that the progress of the Society has been fully maintained in the past year. Although they cannot claim that much practical work has been done in the way of restoration of ancient monuments within the district, never- theless they feel that a good deal of useful work has been done, both in the literature supplied through the medium of The Joubnal, and in the very enjoyable Summer Excursion Meeting.
Although death has removed one or two Members this past year, yet the Society has not so materially suffered as it has on former occasions in the loss of any active Members.
The loss last year of our Auditor, Mr. Sutcliffe, has been supplied by our Member Mr. Warmington having kindly offered his services; and we think our Treasurer's Report will show that the financial condition of the Society is satisfactory.
The Roll of Membership now amounts to 156, of which number fourteen are Life Members, and one Hon. Member.
The Annual General Meeting was held in the Court House, Naas, kindly lent by the High Sheriff, Major St. Leger Moore, on the 18th of January, at which Papers were read, and the usual routine business of the Society transacted.
The Excursion Meeting in September last took place at Ardrass, Rathcoffy, Clongowes Wood College, Clane, and district, which we think may be characterized as one of the most successful and enjoyable Excursion Meetings we have had, both in regard to the attendance and in the places of interest visited.
The Council feel that all the Members will join with them in tendering the thanks of the Society especially to our Vice- President (Rev. M. Devitt) and to Mr. Cooke-Trench, who
138 PROCEEDINGS OF -THE
entertained ns all with sach hospitality, besides coniribating most interesting Papers on the district.
-While the popularity of the Annual Excursion Meetings seems to be on the inci*ease^ it is a matter for regret that the attendance at the January Meetings seems to be on the wane ; and the Council would earnestly urge Members to assist them in their endeavours to get every Member to contribute his quota to The Journal, to make which a lasting depository of historical and archsBological research connected with the district, is the first aim and object of the Society.
We regret to report the death of Sir Thomas Deane, Government Inspector of Ancient Monuments, who' did much work in preserving the ancient monuments throughout Ireland.
Two Members of the Council, Mr. George Mansfield and Bev. £. 0*Leary, retire by rotation, according to Bule YI, and, being eligible, offer themselves for re-election.
Mayo, President.
Walter FitzGbrald, V , ^^„^ Arthur Vioars, Ulster,} Secretaries.
January 2ith, 1900.
Excursion Meeting, 1899.
The Annual Excursion Meeting took place on Tuesday, the 12th September, 1899, at Ardrass, Bathcoffy, Clongowes Wood College, Glane, and the neighbouring district.
Owing to the different times at which the various trains arrived at Hazlehatch Station — the starting-point of the excur- sion-*-some difficulty was experienced by the organizers of the excursion in the arrangements.
As the Dublin contingent anived earlier than the rest. Lord Walter FitzGerald conducted that party to Celbridge, where an opportunity was afforded them of seeing the handsome eighteenth- century Gonolly Monument, and listening to an interesting dis- course on the monument, and the ConoUy family, by Bev. C. I. Graham, Bector of Celbridge. Thence they proceeded to the Charter School, outside the village, where the rest of the members and friends, forming the major portion of the excursion, jdined the party, under the conductorship of Sir Arthur Vicars, and a move was made for Ardrass Chapel, where a Paper was read by Lord Walter FitzGerald.
COUNTY KILDARE ARCH/EOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 1 39
Mach interest was centred in this quaint little building, with its stone roof, which bore evidence of careful restoration by the late Major Hugh Barton, of Straffan, in 1888.
Passing St. Patrick's Holy Well, and the ruins of Barberstown Castle, the Society e.ntered the park of Bathcoffy House in a long string of yehicles, and formed an imposing assembly, to listen to the interesting Paper on the Wogans, who formerly possessed Bathcoffy Castle.
After an inspection of the buildings, the company drove, by the now grass-grown avenue, to Clongowes Wood, to view a portion of the ancient defence, called *' the Pale,^' situated just outside the College grounds. Here the Bev. M. Devitt read a Paper, giving a complete history of this historic earthwork from its formation.
A short drive brought the members and their friends to Clongowes Wood College, where they were received by the Bector, Bev. M. Devitt, Vice-President, and where some 120 were hospitably entertained to luncheon by him. After luncheon, the Bector and Masters conducted those present over the interior of the College, the Library, with its MSS. and treasures, forming a great attraction to the visitors. The members of the Society and those present afterwards adjourned to the Lecture Hall to listen to an exhaustive Paper on the history of Clongowes Wood by the Bector of the College.
The next place on the programme was the site of the ancient Church of Clane. Mr. Cooke-Trench here read an interesting account of the history and antiquities of Clane, including the Wogan altar-tomb in the churchyard, the Franciscan Abbey, the Moat of Clane, and the Holy Well.
Two miles further on the beautiful modern Church of Clane, built by Mr. Cooke-Trench, was reached. This church, although not an object of antiquarian interest, yet affords one of the most perfect modem specimens of interior Celtic ornamentation, which was described by the Vicar, Canon Sherlock.
The last stage of a most enjoyable day was reached at Milli- cent, the fine park of Mr. Cooke-Trench, where the Society was received by Mrs. Cooke-Trench, and invited to tea. A collection of antiquities and objects of archaeological and historical interest was on view in the drawing-rooms ; and this, with the fine interior of the house, much interested those present.
The members and their friends then drove to Sallins Station on the return journey home, after having spent a most instruc- tive archaeological day of excursion, in weather that left nothing to be desired.
I40
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COUNTY KILDARE ARCH/EOLOGICAL SOCIETY. I4I
LIST OF HONORARY OFFICERS AND MEMBERS.
(COSSEOTED TO Ut JULY, 1900.)
THE EARL OF MAYO, P.O.
9Ue-^resiben( :
THE REV. MATTHEW DBVITT, S.J.
CoQlTcU : (in ordeb of election.)
THOMAS COOKE-TRENCH, ESQ., D.L. GEORGE MANSFIELD, ESQ., D.L. THE REV. EDWARD O'LEARY, P.P. THOMAS J. DE BURGH, CAPT., D.L. AMBROSE MORE-0'FERRALL, ESQ., D.L. THE EARL OF DROGHEDA.
$on. Crtsfittrer :
HANS HENDRIGK.AYLMER, ESQ., Kerdiffstown, Sallins.
^on. ^ubitor: ALFRED A. WARMINGTON, ESQ., Munster and Leinster Bank, Naas.
^onr. Stcretams :
SIR ARTHUR VICARS, C.V.O., F.S.A., UUter, 44 Wellington Road, Dublin. LORD WALTER FITZGERALD, M.RLA., Kilkea Castle, Maoanet.
%w, €bt!or :
THE REV. CANON SHERLOCK, M.A, Sherlock<?town, Sallinb.
142 PROCEEDINGS OF THE
" Ptmbers:
Offloera are indicated by heavy type ; Life Members by an aBteriak(*).]
Adams, Bev. Canon, Kill Rectory, Straffan.
Arohbold, Miss, Davidstown, Caatledermot.
Aylmer, Miss, Donadea Castle, Co. Eildare.
Aylmer, Algernon, Bathmore, Naas.
AYLMER, H. HENDRICK-, Hon. Treasurer, Kerdiffstown, SalUns.
*Barton, Hon. Mrs., Luttrellstown, Clonsilla. '^Barton, Bertram, Strafifan House, Straffan.
Beard, T., m.d., Qlebe Cresoent, Stirling.
3ird, Bev. John T., 2 Connaught-terrace, Bath^ar.
Blake, J. R, 22 Morehampton-road, Dublin.
Bonham, Colonel J., Balllntaggart, Oolbinstown, Co. Eildare.
Brooke, J. T., Ballina, Co.' Mayo.
Brown, Stephen J., Ardcaien, Naas.
Burke, Very Bev. E., p,p., Bagnalstown, Co. Carlow. '^Burtchaell, Q. D., M.A., 6 St. Stephen's-green, Dublin.
Byrne, Very fiev. M. J., o.p.. College of St. Thomas of Aqnin, Newbridge, Co. Eildare.
Calie, Major Claude, St. Wolstah^, Celbridge.
Carroll, fVederlck, Moone Abbey, Moone. '^Clarke, Mrs., Aihgoe Park, Hazlehatoh, Co. DubUn.
Clements, Colonel, KiUadoon, Celbridge. ^Clements, Henry J. B., D.L., EiUadoon, Celbridge.
Coady, D. P., u.d., Naas.
Cochrane, Robert, f.s.a., u.b.i.a., Hon. Secretary B.8.A.I., 17 Highfield-road, Rathgar.
Colley, G. P. A., Mount Temple, Clontarf, Co. Dublin.
Conmee, Rev. J. F., s.j., St. Francis Xavier*s, Upper Gardiner-street, DubUn.
Cooper, Austin Darner, Drumnigh House,' Portmarnock, Co. Dublin.
Coote, Stanley, V., Carrowcoe Park, Roscommon.
Cowell, Very Rev. G. Y., Dean of Eildare, The Deanery, Eildare.
Cruise, Francis, m.d., Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow.
Cullen, Rev. John, Adm., Carlow.
Culshaw, Miss, Johnstown, Straffan.
COUNTY KILDARE ARCH^OLOGICAL SOCIETY. I43
Daly, C, 25 Westmoreland-street, Dublin.
Dames, R. S. Longworth, 21 Herbert-street, Dublin.
Dane, J. Whiteside, Abbeyfield, Naas.
Darby, M., mj>., West End, Monasterevan.
Day, Robert, f.s.a., af.B.i.A., 3 Sydney-place, Cork.
Dease, Ck>lonel Sir Gerald, c.v.o., Ceibridge Abbey, Celbridge.
DE BURGH, THOMAS J., Captain, d.l., Oldtown, Naas.
DEVITT, Rev. MATTHEW, 8.j., Vice- President, Rector of Clongowes Wood
College, Sallins. DROQHEDA, THE EARL OF, Moore Abbey, Monasterevin. Drogheda, The Countess of, Moore Abbey, Monasterevin. Dnggan, Rev. William, c.c, Athy. Dnnne, Rev. John, c.c, Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow. Dunne, Laurence, DoUardstown House, Athy.
Elliott, George Hall, Chief Librarian, Free Public Library, Belfast. Elliott, Rev. William, The Manse, Naas. Engledow.Mrs., Burton Hall, Carlow. Engledow, G. J., aLP., Burton Hall, Carlow.
Fi«Id, John, Eilcook.
flrenoh, Rev. Ganon, m.b.i.a., Ballyredmond House, Clonegal, Co. Carlow. *FitzGerald, Lady Eva, Kilkea Castle, Maganey, Co. Eildare.
FitzGerald, Lady Mabel, Kilkea Castle, Maganey, Co. Kiidare. '^FitzGerald, Lady Nesta, Kilkea Castle, Maganey, Co. Kiidare. *FitzGerald, Lord Frederick, Carton, Maynooth, Co. Kiidare. *FitzGerald, Lord George, Kilkea Castle, Maganey, Co. Kiidare.
FitzGerald, Lord Henry, 1 Sloane-court, London, S.W.
'^FITZGERALD, LOfiD WALTER, m.kla., Hon. Secretary, mLkeaCtaile, Maganey, Co. Kiidare.
FitzGerald, Sir George, Bart., Killybegs, Sallins.
Fletcher, Rev. Lionel, The Rectory, Straffan.
Fogarty, Rev. M., Professor, The College, Maynooth.
Foley, Most Rev.Patrick, d.d., Bishop of Kiidare and Leighlin, Braganza, Carlow.
Freeman, Francis J., Calverstown, KilcuUen.
Gkbnly, Rev. C. W., The Rectory, Castledermot, Co. Kiidare.
Gargan, Right Rev. Monsignor Denis, d.d., President of St. Patrick's College,
Maynooth. Garstin, J. Ribton, d.l., f.s.a., u.b.i.a., Braganstown, Castlebellingham,
Co. Louth. Glover, Edward, 19 Prince Patrick-terrace, North Circular-road, Dublin. Graham, Rev. C. I., Kildrought Parsonage, Celbridge. Greene, Colonel Richard, Stoneylands, Dedham, Essex. Greene, Thomas, ll.d., Millbrook, Maganey.
144 PROCEEDINGS OF THE
Hade, Arthur, c.e., Carlow.
Hannon, J. A., Prumplestown, Carlow.
Higginson, Lady, Gonnellmore, Newbridge.
Hopkins, Mrs., Blackball Castle, Eiloullen, Co. Kildare.
Hobson, C. J., 239 West One Hundred and Twenty- dfth-street, New York.
Jesson, Rev. J. L., The Beotory, Kilkea, Co. Kildare.
Johnson, Miss, Lancaster House, Ballinasloe.
Joyce, Patrick Weston, Lyre na Grena, Leinster-road, Rathmines, Dublin.
Kennedy, Rev. H., St. David's Rectory, Naas. Keogh, Surgeon-Major T. R., Castleroe, Maganey, Co. Kildare. Kilkelly, John, ll.d., 46 Upper Mount-street, Dublin. Klrkpatrick, William, Donacomper, Celbridge.
La Touche, Mrs. John, Harristown, Brannoxtown. Lentaigne, Rev. Victor, 8.J., Clongowes Wood College, Sallins. Long, Miss A. F., Woodfield, Kilcavan, Oeashill, King's County. Longfield, Robert, 19 Harcourt-street, Dublin.
MacDonald, Rev. Walter, d.d.. Librarian, The College, Maynootfa. M'Gee, Rev. S. R., The liectory, Dunlavin. Maguire, P. A., 2 Oldtown-terrace, Naas. Mahony, David, d.l., Grange Con, Co. Wicklow. Mahony, George Gun, Grange Con, Co. Wicklow. Manders, R. W., Castlesize, Sallins. Manning, C. S., Bank House, Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow. MANSFIELD, GEORGE, d.l., Morristown Lattin, Naas. Mayo, Dowager Countess of, 20 Eaton- square, London, S.W. MAYO, The EARL OF, p.c, President^ Palmerstown, Strafifan. Minchin, F., Mooretown House, Kiltegan, Co. Wicklow. MoUoy, William R., h.r.i.a., 78 Kenilworth-square, Rathgar. Mooney, William, The Castle, Leixlip.
*Moran, His Eminence Cardinal, Sydney, N. S. Wales, Australia. Morrin, Rev. Thomas, p.p., Naas.
Murphy, The Right Rev. Monsignor Michael, p.p., St Brigid's, Kildare. Murphy, W. A., Osberstown House, Naas. Nolan, Rev. James, c.c, Kilmeade, Athy. Norman, George, 12 Brock-street, Bath, England.
O'Brien, The Lord, Lord Chief Justice, Kildare Street Club, Dublin. O'Dea, Very Rev. Thomas, d.d., Vice-President, The College, Maynootb. *0'FERRALL, AMBROSE MORE-, d.l., Ballyna, Moyvally. O'HanloD, Very Rev. John Canon, p.p., 3 Leahy's-ter., Sandymount, Dublin.
COUNTY KILDARE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. I45
O'Kelly, Koberti m.d., Landenstown, Sallins. ♦(yiEARY, Rev. E., p.p., Ballyna, MoyvaUy. O'Leary, Bey. Patrick, The College, Maynootfa.
Palmer, Charles Colley, d.l., Bahan, Edenderry. Ponsonby, Hon. Gerald, 3 Stratford-plaoe, London, W. Ponsonby, Lady Maria, 3 Stratford-plaoe, London, W. Pratt, Mrs., Glenheste, Manor-Ellbride, Co. Dablin.
Bobinson, John, m.d., Johnstown-bridge, Co. Eildare.
Boper, C. E. A., b.l., 55 Leeson-park, Dublin.
Byan, Very Bey. John C, o.p., College of St. Thomas of Aquin, Newbridge.
Bynd, Major B. F., Blaokhall, Sallins.
Shackleton, Frank B., Ulster's Office, Dablin Castle.
SHERLOCK, Rev. Canon, Hon. Editor, Sherlookstown, Sallins.
Skaae, Bey. Bichard D., Ballykean Bectory, Portarlington.
Somerville-Large, Bey. W., Carnalway Bectory, Kilcnllen.
Staples, William, Naas.
Strangeway, W. N., Breffni Villa, Eglinton-road, Donnybrook, Dublin.
Supple, K., D.I.B.I.C., Dunlavin, Co. Wioklow.
Sweetman, E.,'Longtown, Sallins.
Sweetman, Mrs., Longtown, Sallins.
Swinton, The Hon. Mrs., 82 Cadogan-plaoe, London, W.
Synnott, Nicholas, Furness, Naas.
Taylor, Mrs., Qolden Fort, Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow.
Taylor, Mark, Golden Fort, Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow.
Thunder, A., Hibernian Bank, Naas.
TRENCH, THOMAS COOKE-, d.l., MiUioent, Sallins.
Trench, Mrs. Cooke-, Millicent, Sallins.
Tynan, The Bight Bey. Monsignor Thomas, p.p., Newbridge.
Tyrrell, Garrett C, Ballinderry House, Carbury, Co. Kildare.
VICARS, SIR ARTHUR, c.v.o., f.s.a., Ulster King-of-Arms, Hon, Secretary,
44 Wellington-road, Dublin. Vigors, Colonel P. D., Holloden, Bagnalstown, Co. Carlow.
Wall, Colonel J., Knockareagh, Grange Con, Co. Wicklow.
Wall, Mrs., Knockareagh, Grange Con, Co. Wioklow.
Walsh, Bey. Martin, p.p., Castledermot, Co. Kildare.
WARMINQTON, ALFRED A., Hon, Auditor, Munster and Leinster Bank, Naas.
Weldon, General, Forenaughts, Naas.
Weldon, Captain Sir Anthony A., Bart., Kilmorony, Athy.
Weldon, Lady, Kilmorony, Athy.
146 COUNTY KILDARE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
White, W. Grove, 13 Upper Ormond-quay, Dublin. Willis, G. de L., 4 Eildare-street, Dublin. Wilson, Colonel W. F., The Vicarage, Glane. Wilson, Mrs. B. M., Coolcarrigan, Eiloock. Wilson, Miss B. Dupr6, Coolcarrigan, Eilcock. Wolfe, George, Bishopsland, Ballymore-Eustace, Naas. WooUcombe, Bobert L., ll.d., m.r.i.a., 14 Waterloo-road, Dublin. ♦Wright, B. Percival, m.a.', m.d.. Secretary r.i.a., 6 Trinity College, Dublin.
Miss Margaret Stokes, Carrig Breac, Howth, Co. Dublin.
T?ie foUomng Lihrariet and Societies aUo receive The Joubnal : —
The Editor, <' Ulster Journal of Archaeology," Ardrie, Belfast
The Worcester Diocesan Architectural and Arohsological Society.
The Waterford and South-East of Ireland Archaoological Society.
The Society of Antiquaries of London.
The Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire.
Boyal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland.
Boyal Irish Academy, Da\^son Street, Dublin.
The Library, Trinity College, Dublin.
The National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street.
( 147 )
RULES*
I. That this Society be called " The County Kildare Archfeological Society."
IL That the purpose of the Society be the promotion of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and objects of interest in the county and sur- rounding districts.
m. That the Society consist of a President, Vice-President, Council, Hon. Treasurer, two Hon. Secretaries, and Members. Ladies are eligible for Membership.
IV. That the names of ladies and gentlemen desiring to become Members of the Society shall be submitted, together with the names of their proposers and seconders, to the Council, and, if approved by them, shall then be sub- mitted to the next Meeting of the Society for Election.
V. That the affairs of the Society be managed by the President, Vice- President, Hon. Treasurer, and Hon. Secretaries, together with a Council of six Members. That for ordinary business two shall form a quorum ; but any matter upon which a difference of opinion arises shall be reserved for another meeting, in which three shall form a quorum.
VI. That two Members of the Council shall retire by rotation each year, but shall be eligible for re-election.
Vn. That Members pay an Annual Subscription of Ten Shillings (due on the 1st of January), and that the payment of £5 shall constitute a Life Member.
Vni. That Meetings of the Society be held not less than twice in each year, one Meeting being an excursion to some place of archisological interest in the district.
IX. That at the first Meeting of the Society in each year the Hon. Trea- surer shall furnish a balance-sheet.
X. That a Joubnal of the Society be published annually, containing the Proceedings and a column for local Notes and Queries, which shall be sub- mitted to the Council for their approval.
XI. That the Meetings of the year be fixed by the Council, due notice of the dates of the Meetings being given to Members.
XII. That Members be at liberty to introduce visitors at the Meetings of the Society.
XIIT. That no Member shall receive The Journal whose Subscription for the previous year has liot been paid.
Thb Killkkn Coruac Oobjm B
.4
( 149 )
KILLEEN CORMAC,
By lord WALTER FITZGERALD.
[Read on the 16th September, 1897.]
KILLEEN COBMAC is the name of a barial-groand still in nse, which is situated in the middle of a large field, a quarter of a mile to the south-west of the railway station at Colbinstown, in the townland of that name, and in the County Kildare. It is remarkable for two reasons — 1st, because it is a pagan cemetery adapted to a Christian use ; 2ndly, because it is the only place in the County Kildare where Ogham-inscribed stones are known to exist, though close by, in the Dunlavin district in the County Wicklow, Oghamed stones have been discovered.
The name ''Killeen Cormac" means '^Cormac's little cemetery," or " keel."
Keel, Eilleen, Eilluragh, are all names originally applied to those unconsecrated burial-grounds of pagan origin, in which at the present time still-born or unbaptized children and suicides alone are buried, as none such are admitted into consecrated ground owing to the belief that they are beyond the pale of ftiture bliss.
The late noted Oghamist, Richard R. Brash, did not consider that the present Irish word for church, ''cili,'' was derived, as is supposed, from the Latin word '' cella,^' a monk's cell, but from the Celtic word ''ceal," meaning a concealment, a death; hence the pagan Irish called their graves and cemeteries ''keels; " later on, when Christianity was introduced, the converts forsook the pagan cemeteries, and were buried in consecrated ground ; thus ''God's Acre," together with the primitive church, became known under the one term, " kill"
The preservation of the numerous keels after they were abandoned in .Christian times is due probably to the supersti- tious reverence of the peasantry for the mysterious dead.
A tradition, still told in the neighbourhood, accounts for the man's name, Cormac, in connection with this Eilleen. He is said to have been a king of Munst.er, on whose death a great dispute arose as to the place of his burial, as two powerful clans each wished to inter the body in its own territory. At last, to prevent bloodshed, it was agreed that the bier containing the body should be placed on a waggon, yoked to a team of seven
150 KILLEEN CORMAC.
unbroken bnllocks, which was allowed to follow its own instincts in conveying the body to a cemetery. After travelling a long distance^ the team came nigh to the Doon of Ballynare, from the Timolin direction. Here the bullocks became exhausted from thirst ; but^ on pawing the ground, a spring of water gushed forth, which is to be seen to this day by the roadside, to the south-west of Ballynure Church, and which is said to cure colds. After slaking their thirst, the team proceeded a little further, and, descending the high ground, came to what is now called '^Bullock- hilL'' Here a hound that lay on its master's bier made a. leap forward, and landed on the Eilleen, leaving the impression of one of his paws on a standing stone. The team. of bullocks, proceeding on, crossed the river Greese, reached the Killeen» and refused to go further. Thus was the spot for the burial of King Cor mac decided on. When the body was removed from the waggon, the team commenced its return journey ; and in crossing the boggy ground by the river near Enockbauniah it became engulfed, and waggon and all disappeared for. ever from view.
Killeen Gormac and its Oghamed stones were fir^t brought to public notice in the year 1860, by Father Shearman, then C.G. of Dunlavin. He thus describes the Killeen as it then was: —
'*The site of this old cemetery [he writes] is in a valley of the most picturesque character : the river Greese flows through it, separating at Killeen Cormac the Counties of Kildare and Wicklow, and the Dioceses of Leighlin and Glendalough. In this valley also are many isolated mounds and eskars, retaining names connected with the legends and history of the locality. On the left bank of the Greese is a long cskar, called * BiiUockJvUl.* On the opposite bank of the stream is another eskar, called *Knockbauniah ' ( ? i.e., the hill of the cow or heifer). To the west of this is another elevation : the highest of the group, on its summit, is a rath of large proportions ; at its base flows a small rivulet, known as the * Scnuj- haun' (i.e. , a streamlet^, which joins the Greese west of Killeen. This hill is called ' Rathownbeg (i,e,, the rath of the little river). ^
*^ Between this and Knockbauniah is another eskar of oval shape, measuring in circumference 230 paces ; its major axis lies nearly east and west ; the western end is the highest, and is fashioned into a tumulus, the sides of which show the remains of three terraces. The first terrace on the ground-line was carried round the whole eskar $»the second and third can be traced on the south-western side of the mound ; the whole enclosure is occupied with graves ; and on the summit is an oblong depres- Sjion— the site of the primitive church. A. quantity of large stones lying scattered about plainly indicate the former existence of some structure of primitive design and architecture. This is Killeen Cormac. The'terraces are now in a very ruinous state; but sufficient indications remain to
' This rath-crowned eskar is at the present time being demolished by road contractors for the sake of its material.
o O
152 KILLEEN CORMAC
discover their original design and mode of construction. On the south-east side, the middle terrace is better preserved: it is faced with cyclopian slabs, set ligainst the bank forming the terrace, so that before the effects of time, and the still more destructive agency of the gravediggers, caused their dilapidation, the entire structure, triple-terraced, and crowned by a primitive church, must have presented an imposing appearance. . . . Between the cemetery and Knockbauniah there are some indications of a square structure, in the centre of which are the remains of a circular building ; there is no appearance of stones above the surface. A slight grassy elevation marks most distinctly the ground-plan of the building. * . . . On the east side of the middle terrace a stone remains in sUai. It is about three feet high, and it appears to have been one of the jambs of a door, or opening, leading to a central cave under the tumulus ; the side of the stone is grooved, and its opposite jamb was made in the same manner, so as to let in a thin slab to close the external en- trance
^' About 1830, Killeen Cormac was enclosed with a stone wall, and trees were planted about the mound (by John Bonham, Esq., of Ballintaggart, who died in 1844). Within the enclosures, lying on the terraces, are some inscribed pillar-stones with Ogham inscriptions ; one of these is bi-lingual, with a Latin epigraph and Ogham inscription. A companion mllar-stone has at its top extremity a very antique incised bust of the Kedeemer. A third has a well-defined Ogham inscription carried around its top and sides. There are also some other piUar-stones with short cryptic Ogham inscriptions, and some of the slabs in the terraces have unde&ied Ogham scores on the edges. On the lowest side of the mound there is another piUar-stone. In its top surface there is a mark supposed to represent a nound*s paw. Excavations were made around this stone to seek for Ogham digits, but none appear to have been inscribed on it. Local tradition, with a view, perhaps, to account for the name of this cemetery, tells that this stone marks the grave of ' Cormac, King of Munster/ "
In November, 1870, Mr. Bichard Bolt Brash, the author of *' The Ogham Inscribed Monuments of the Gaedhil in the British Islands/* paid a visit to Killeen Cormac, and was greatly struck with the terraced appearance of this Killeen; but he differed from Father Shearman altogether in his supposition that the tumulus had once been the site of a primitive church. He writes : —
'* There is at present no evidence of there ever having been a church on this site ; the confined and irregular space at the top would be singularly unfavourable for that purpose : there are no squared stones, no trace of a wall or foundation, no pieces of mouldings, mullions, or carvings ; neither any of those certain indications which we so constantly find when all traces of the original walls have disappeared. An artificial mound would be a very unsafe site for a church ; and if Father Shear- man's surmise is correct — that there are chambers in the tumulus — the mound would be a still more unsafe site. I have ^en a great number of
^According to Butterfield, the herd, these earthworks are the site of a castle which was thrown down years ago for the sake of the stones ; but according to the Ordnance Survey Maps, the castle formerly stood near Colbinstown railway station.
KILLEEN CORMAC.
IS3
an<nent.chu]CQhes,.o{ nSi. d^ites, throughout Ireland, but never met with on^ built on an artificial tumulus like that of Killeen Cormac.^.If ^ver there was a churoh in this locality-r-and it is quite possible that such may have been the (iase^t must have been erected somewhere at the foot of this keel, which at the same time was consecrated, and probably a cross set up to entourage its use as a Christian cemetery. It is quite evident that it has been so used, as traces of many modem interments ai^d gravestones are to be found there."
Before describing the Oghamed stones (one of which is destroyed), a few words on the Ogham character may not be out of place here.
The term *^ Ogham '* is used to describe a species of writing in use in very early ages^ the letters of which were formed by a combination of short lines and points, on or at both sides of a middle or stem line. These strokes, which vary in namber from one to five, according to the letter they represent, are of Four different kinds: (1) Groaps of lines to the right; (2) others to the left ; (3) another group obliquely ; and (4) small notches on the stem-line itself. The letter they correspond with is shown in the table given below : —
|
1 stroke ^ 2 Strokes 3 Strokes -represent ] 4 Strokes 1 5 StrokesJ I |
To Right. To Left. |
Obliquely. |
On Stem line. |
|
B L F S N |
H D T C QorCU |
M G NG ST ZR |
A O U E I |
Besides these twenty characters, there are five others, which occur very seldom, and are used to denote diphthongs. Each letter was named after a tree in Irish, and the Ogham alphabet itself was known in old Irish as ^' Beth-luis-nion,"^ being so called from the first three letters — B L N — which it formerly commenced with. The word *' alphabet " itself is formed in the same way, being composed of the first two Greek letters — Alpha and Beta.
The Ogham writing has no divisions between the words; it is read, when found on a pillar-stone, from the base upwards — that is, from left to right ; the edge of the stone forms an imaginary stem line for the strokes. The inscription almost
. * Which he describes as * a low, irregularly shaped oval mound, about 70 ft. by 55 ft., the longer axis lying east and west ; its greatest height above the level of the surrounding field is about 18 feet. '
'I.e., Beth — a birch-tree; Luis — the mountain ash ; and Nion — an ash-tree.
154 KILLEEN CORMAC.
invariably consists of proper names^ the sentence nsnally running thns : '* So-and-so» son of so-and-so." The first name is always in the genitive case, as the words *^ the stone of " were supposed to be nnderstood.
In a fonrteenth-centnry mannscript, known as ** The Book of Ballymote/' is an ancient treatise on Ogham. This MS., there is reason to believe, was originally written in the ninth centnry, and copied into this book from some older volume ; yet^ in spite of this guide, the early attempts made to decipher Ogham inscriptions made no progress ; and it was not until Dr. Graves, the late Bishop of Limerick, worked out a theory of his own, by which he discovered that in most Ogham inscrip- tions a group of strokes occurred which he identified as reading '^Macqui" (the ancient genitive form of Mac — a son), that a clue was found which made sense of the translated Ogham. It was not long after this discovery of Dr. Graves that some bi- lingual Ogham inscriptions were brought to light in Wales, which proved the correctness of his reading ; these bi-lingual inscriptions were in the Ogham and Roman characters, the one being a translation of the other.
Experts in Ogham are still gi*eatly divided as to the use and age of this class of writing. Some have proved to their satisfac- tion that it was only intended to be read by the initiated, and belonged to a distant pre-Christian age ; others, again, argue that the writing is not cryptic^ and that tide lettering was invented by persons having a grammatical knowledge, and acquainted with alphabets of the ordinary kind, and» consequently. Ogham is no older than the period of the earliest introduction of Christianity into Ireland. I myself believe that the Ogham alphabet was in use in Ireland long before the Roman alphabet (on which the Irish lettei*s are founded) was introduced by St. Patrick, that it overlapped the Christian period, and that it was no more in- tended to be cryptic than the contracted ** black-lettered " Latin inscriptions on the tombs of the middle ages. Oghamed pillar-stones as a rule were of a sepulchral nature. Some may have been used as boundary stones in the same way as, at a later period, crosses were set up to define the mearins of church property. Many Oghamed stones have been, even in ancient times, put to a use they were never intended for: they have been discovered among the roofing-stones of rath-caves; they have been found acting as lintels in primitive churches ; and in recent times they have been used as gate-posts and cattle scratching* posts by farmers on whose land they stood. Some, too^ stand in situ, with the Christian symbol carved on them, showing that they have been adapted to a Christian pui*pose ; this, and
KILLEEN CORMAC.
155
the fact that their inscriptions bear no pioas formula, such as *^ pray for/' bo much used on Irish inscribed slabs, tend to prove the very early and pagan character of this class of monument.
The name " Ogham " itself, according to " The Book of Ballymote/' is derived from the inventor, Ogma mac Elthan, brother of Breas, King of Ireland, who reigned close on 1,900 years before the Christian era, as estimated by *' The Annals of the Four Masters."
• too •
■^—M
»••»•
imr
•
The Oghamed stone known as " the Decedda Stone,^' from a name on it, has for several years disappeared ; and it has been ascertained ^ that it was broken np by a mason to repair the wall surrounding this churchyard.^
Mr. K Brash, who examined it in 1870, thus describes it : —
"Its length is 4 ft. 9 in.; dimensions towards the bottom, 16 in. by 9 in. ; at the top, 13 in. by 6 in. It is an undressed pillar of hard, com- pact greenstone, and lies on the ground just inside the gate at the base of the Killeen, a few yards from another Oghamed stone. The inscrip- tion commences at 2 ft. IJin. from the lower end, as usual, on the left- hand angle, runs across the head and down the right-hand angle of the same face ; it is boldly cut ; the consonantal scores are long ; and, with one or two exceptions, the characters are quite distinct and legible, and read as follows : —
/,m^ttii^ iiii mi.^, II . /, HHf .... / ./^0,m,
f X 9 ■ *^ f 6 y * 9 ^9 M f9 tA nt tS /^
M A
9
^ 6
2>I>
E
e
? c
M /9 /S nt
DAMA
a
I M A H
nnr
IV4
'*The twelfth character, A, is scarcely traceable ; the two last dots of the sixteenth are missing, owing to an injury at the angle ; all the rest are in good condition, and the reading is obvious : — ' (The stone of) the son of IMecced, son of Marin.'"
' Vide p. 206, vol. ii, of The Journal.
* Vide p. 380 of the 1895 volume, R.S.A. of Ireland.
156
KILLEEN CORMAa
The late Sir Samael Fergason also gives the same reading. A' cast of ** the Decedda Stone," which formerly belodged to Sir Samnely is in the possession of R A. Stewart MacAlister^ M.A*y St. John's College, GambridgiB.
\\\\,>.
WW
The second Oghamed stone is very remarkable, as bearing two inscriptions, one in Ogham and the other in Roman characters, both apparently of the same age. Mr. Brash gives the following description of it : —
''This is a rough pillar of hard, compact greenstone, 6ft. 4 in. in length, 12 in. by 11 in. at the bottom, and 11 in. by 10 in. at the top. The inscription is, as usual, on the left-hand angle of one of the broader faces, commencing at 2 ft. 4 in. from the lower end, runnipg across the front angle of the head and down the opposite angle of the same face. The arris upon which the characters are cut is very rough and irregular, particularly towards the top, where' there is a large flake off ; this^ how- ever, must have been an original injury, as the inscription follows the present course of the angle. The characters were originally broadly and deeply cut, the scores being of unusual length ; they have an appearance of long weather- wear, but, with few exceptions, are quite legible. • • . . The Ogham inscription I propose to read as follows :—
•>■■■■■ $$
iiii $§m
. Mttlii M
iniiiniii'm m nnr
ixrANosAre i s ah A r re 5
i.e., 'Ufano, Safei, Sah, Attos.*
" I apprehend we have here the * Four true Druids ' of the Roman legend, which is in fair preservation ; the letters are from 4^ to 5 in. high, and appear to have been originally well cut, both broad and deep ; but the weather-wear of ages has worn down the surface of the stone, though we can still trace the letters ; one only is Injured, the R in VERE. 1 think that there are no grounds for asserting that the legends were cut at different periods ; certainly there is nothing in their appearance that
158 KILLEEN CORMAC,
wtiuld justify it. The mode of fonning the characters appears to be the BaiDo ; and they have the aame appearance of age and weather-wear. This monument was evidently erected in the pagan age ; the absence of any sacred emblem or pious formula— such as we find on the earliest of our Christian niemoriala — all evidence to its pagan character. It is a monu- ment to its four membeiH of the Druidic order, probably priestA, whose names are given in the Ogham legend, whose profession— uiat of True or Just Druids— is given in the Roman letters : IV VERB DRWIDES."
In coDclusiOD, Brash snms np thus : —
"The inscribed monuments at Killeen Cormac are of exceeding interest. Firstly, as having been found in a part of our island hitherto supposed to have been destitute of this class of our national antiquities; secondly, an having heen found tn aitn in what was evidently a pagan cemeleiy of the prehistoric period ; thirdly, as presenting us wiui the only Irish example of an Ogham- inscribed stone bearing also an inscrip- tion in Roman letters probably of the same date."
Sir Samnel Ferguson wiitea :—
"There can be no doubt that the word 'Druids' forms part of the Roman epigraph ; and this being the only instance of the mention of Drnids on any known lapidary monument anywhere, the double inscrip- tion cannot but be regarded with extraordinary interest."
Close beside the last described pillar-Btoue is BDOtber bearing no inscriptioD, bat having ao iDcised oatline of a bnet of onr Jjord {?), yery rndely carved, which Father Shearman describes
KILLEEN CORMAC. 1 59
in' 1860 &B bsTing been ciit very slightly ; it now appears fresh and sharp, and differs dightly &om FaUier Shearman's illastra- tion of it. This I believe to be the handiwork of an old man named John Whelan (locally known as " WheUn the Poet "), of Ballinroan, Kiltegan, who used to go about renewing inscrip- tions, traces of whom I hare come across In neighboariDg chnrchyards.* This pillar-stoue is of the same class as the other two ; it measures 6^ ft. in length, from 7 to 10 in. in breadth, and 14 in. at ita thickest part.
The Killeen in every direction is dotted over with modern head-stonoB, as well as ancient green-flag slabs (removed from the terraces to be nsed as head -stones) and pillar-stones of granite and green-flag, some square and others round, all deep sunk in the gronnd.
Among the ancient monnments that are well worthy of notice are two cross-inscribed sUbs, one grooved pillar-stone, two socketed cross-shafts, and fonr or five rongh pillar-stones ; these will be described, and the measurements given of each : —
The cross-inscribed slabs. — Both of these slabs are of green- flag. One stands at the head of a grave on the east summit of the Killeen; on it, in relief, is a pUin cross, 23 in. long and
' Fur instance, on the slab for resting the coffin in the boundary wall (there is qo gateway) ot the Killelan Churchyard, are cut some hieni-
flyphics, which I ascertitinod from John Wboian, "the poot," wore cut ^ him, and represent his n»me in Hebrew letters; some professor at his request liad supplied him with the information. As Whelan may have cut his name ia like mannei' in other loualities, and hh they may be mistaken for Irish by the ignorant, I annex a rubbing of these hireoglyphics.
l6o ■ KILLEEN CORMAC.
18 ID. acroas the arms. - The elab Btands 4 ft. above the grotmd, is 2 ft. in breadth, and about 5 in. in thickness.
The other slab lies flat on the west slope of the Killeen ; a cross ia relief, 16^ in. long and the same across the arms, with a ring or circle joining them, occupies the upper end. Its fall length is 5 ft., and it is 2 ft. 4 in. at the broadest part. In both cases the workmanship is very mde.
The socketed cross- nhafts. — Both these cross-shafts are of granite. One stands 21 in. above the gronnd, on the west sammit of the Killeen, a short distance above the ringed cross slab : it has a socket at the upper end 7 in. ky 9^ in., and 5 in. deep for the insertion of the missing portion.
The second cross-shaft stands on the soatb-east slope of the Killeen : it is 2 ft. 8 in. above the gronnd, and the socket measures 7 in. b; 8 in., in depth 5 in.
In both cases one side of the socket is broken away. The cross-shafts are ronghly squared pillar-stones.
The grooved pillar-stone. — This pillar-stone is of granite : it stands upright on the south-east slope of the Killeen, 32 in. above the ground; in breadth it is 15 in., and 11 in. in thickness. It has two grooves, one on either side ; one
£
Si^^/iU.fCu^L^
M.JC
^U^r,
1 62 KILLEEN CORMAC.
measures 10^ in. in length, 2i in. in widths and about 2 in« in depth ; the other groove is 11 ^in. long, 2 in. wide, and 2 in. deep.
Though I cannot explain the object of these grooves, 1 do not believe Father Shearman's theory, that this is a door-jamb, and that a slab slid into the grooves of this and an opposite jamb, to close an entrance into a cave. The grooves are not long or wide enough, besides which they only commence 7 in. and 2 in. from the top of the pillar-stone.
The pUlar-stones. — Of the granite boulders, one lies flat at the west base of the Eilleen, near the ringed-cross slab: it measures 4 ft in length, with sides of 15 in. and 18 in. Another lies flat near the thorn-tree, at the east end of the Eilleen ; in length it is 6 ft., with sides 18 in. and 19 in. broad, A third rounded boulder stands 3 ft. 8 in« above the ground, also at the eastern end of the burial-ground.
Of the green-flag pillar-stones, one stands at the foot of the Eilleen on the south side: it is 4 ft. above the ground, with sides of 18 in. and 14 in. at the broadest part. A second pillar-stone, 2 ft. 9 in. in height above the ground, 11 in. thick, and 18 in. wide, stands at the east end of the Eilleen, near the thorn-tree. This is the pillar-stone alluded to in the legend as the one on which the hound lit when it leaped from '* BuUock-hill.'^ On the top of the stone is a deep indenture shaped like a dog's paw. The water that lodges in it is said to cure warts.
About the centre of the summit of the Eilleen lie two flat inscribed slabs: they mark the burial-place of the Eustaces of Colbinstown Castle, which stood a short distance to north-east, but which many years ago was demolished, and a farm-house was erected from the stones thus supplied.
^One of the slabs is quite undecipherable in places; but what can be read of the inscription is as follows : —
Pray For v' Soul of M" lane
Eustace Wife of Christopher (?)
Eustace of Gr(angeCon ?) Esq'. Who Was
Here Interred y* Nineteenth Day
Of July 1729 Aged 42 (?) years.
The other slab is legible, and the inscription runs thus : —
Here lies the Body of Bow land Eustace Esq' who departed this life the 23"" September 1761 '
Aged 68 Also Nicholas Eustace, Esq. his father And Margaret Eustace, alias Wicombe,
his Mother.
KILLEEN CORMAC. 1 63
The Colbiustown Eastaces were descended from Alex^uder, a Yoanger son of Sir Thomas Eastace, 1st Viscount Baltinglass. A Coanty Eildare Exchequer Inquisition, taken at Naas in 1591 9 found that : —
<«
Janet Eustace, widow of Alexander Eustace of Colbinstown, died on the 1 9th April, 1 586. That Sir Thomas Eustace of Kilcullen, late Viscount Baltinglass, enfeoffed Patrick White of Naas, and Edmund Eustace of Ballymore in the lands of Oolbinstown ^Ad Crokestown, to the use of the said Janet and Maurice her son. That the said Maurice Eustace, son and heir of the said Alexander and Janet, was aged 30 years and married at the time of his mother's death. That the said Sir Thomas Eustace at the time of his death on the 30th of July, 1549, was seised of the town and lands of Oolbinstown/'
( i64 )
ON THE DIFFERENT DEPOSITS OF THE
RIVER LIFFEY.
By THOMAS COOKE-TRENCH, D.L.
THE rhododendrons did it. I remember as a boy watching, with that mild interest that belongs to an onlooker, the efforts that were made to grow rhododendrons at Millicent Beds were dag oat and filled with tarf-moald, in which the shrabs were planted. For a year or two they throve ; bat the moment their roots got to the bottom of the tarf-moald, and touched the native soil, they turned yellow, refused to blossom, and were thrown out as failures. It became an acknowledged axiom that rhododendrons could not be grown at Millicent.
When I became owner, and from an onlooker was converted into the responsible person, I long acquiesced in this verdict At length, having ascertained that it was only to the presence of lime in the soil that they objected, I resolved to try the place round, and see if I could not find some spot that was free from lime.
The test of lime is probably familiar to most members of this learned Society ; but, in case there should be any who are ignorant of it, I may state that if a few drops of muriatic acid are let fall on a soil containing lime, or on a bit of limestone rock, it will at once boil up vigorously. If it behaves as so much water would, you may then be sure that the soil is free from lime.
I, accordingly, issued forth one morning, accompanied by a man with a spade, and armed myself with a bottle of muriatic acid. All about the house, and right away up to the church, the acid, dropped upon an upturned sod, boiled like mad.
Now, there is to the south-east of the place an alluvial -look- ing, triangular flat of perhaps twenty acres, bounded on two sides by the river, and on the other by a bank of rapidly rising ground. The general lie of the ground conveys the impression that the river had originally run at the foot of this rising ground, and that it had, after its fashion, gradually shifted further and further away, depositing soil as it shifted. To my no small surprise, this flat proved free from lime. I planted my rhododen- drons there; and they are now vigorous bushes of ten feet high, requiring constant cutting back to keep them in any sort of order.
DEPOSITS OF THE RIVER LIFFEY. 165
I say to my surprise, for> if anyone will e:2(:aminet one 4)f those beds of gravel that the river now forms, they will find it llargely^ if not mainly, composed of limestone. The flat I speak of was evidently an aqueous deposit. If it was deposited by the rivei*, ho\^ came it that its deposit at that time was so different from what it is now rolling down ? My surprise was a good deal increeis^d by the following circumstances : I lately enlarged the rhododen- dron ground, and, wishing to make assurance doubly sure, I excavated beds to four feet deep, and filled in with turfr mould; but at one spot, and one only, at that depth I came upon a bed of limestone gravel, much such as the river is now bringini^ down. Wanting the gravel, I followed it till all was exhailsled* In the thickest it was only two feet thick, and extended ov6r an area perhaps twelve feet square. I should suppbse it. to have been a glacial deposit.' It had evidently never been disturbed, lying in layers slightly differing from one another. It contained bones', which must have been deposited with the grayel. These I have, and will be glad to submit them to anyone conlpeteot and willing to examine them. I wrote a history of the case, and submitted it to the best authority I could think of. He wrote hurriedly, as he was just on the point of starting on a scientific expedition to the South Pacific. He suggested that in som6 prehistoric time the drainage of the Wicklow Hills may have come by a much more direct course, thus avoiding much of the limestone district through which it at present runs. This was not satisfactory, because there is no course by which it could have avoided some miles of limestone, sufficient to add a cod* siderable amount of this to its gravel, I then prepared a Paper, setting foi*th' the facts for this Society, in hopes that some member might be able to. offer an explanation; but, before -reading it, I thought it only respectful to you to make quite sure of my facts ; so I travelled over the same ground again with the muriatic acid. Now it happened that in one spot, where a back eddy had collected some fine sand (not gravel), the gardener had raised this to the high bank for potting purposes. This I tested, expecting to find it foil of lime ; but, to my surprise, there was no reaction. I then went to an island which has grown up entirely by deposits from floods within my memory, and found it free from lime. The whole mystery was solved; I had no longer any doubt as to what had taken place.
If anyone will look at a geological map of the district through which the Liffey flows, they will find that it passes through three distinct geological formations. The Wicklow Hills, in which it rises, are altogether granite. The soil, where it is not turf, is nothing but powdered granite. There is an idea that granite is
l66 ON THE DIFFERENT DEPOSITS OF
a very hard and durable stone. The granite that comes from deep down in the quarry is a hard stone, though not really so much so as limestone. This will be seen in ancient buildings', both here and abroad. The sharp edges of the granite (I speak of the ordinary grey granite) are weathered and rounded off, while the limestone shows the mark of the chisel to this day. The sculptures on the temples of Egypt, which are limestone, are as sharp and clear to-day — where they have not been purposely 'defaced — as when they were cut, three thousand years ago ; but the surface* gi*anite is extremely friable, and utterly useless for building purposes. Hence, it results that when the rain or melting snow is of sufficient volume to run off the surface, it carries with it much of the powdered granite which constitutes the soil. This, being in the form of a fine powder, remains suspended in the water while the latter is agitated ; but, being mostly quartz, rapidly subsides anywhere that the water is com- paratively stilly especially if there be any soii; of vegetation to catch it.
If anyone will take a tumblerful of the turbid water of the Liffey in flood, and allow it to settle, which it will very quickly do, examining the sediment under the microscope, he will find it to consist of quartz, mica, and, less apparently, felspar, the three constituents of granite.
When the Liffey leaves the granite country between Blessing- ton and Three Castles, it enters a lower silurian district, and leaves this again just below Castlemartin, where it enters the limestone, through which it flows for the remainder of its Course. The limestone and silurian are both hard stones. They get rubbed and rounded as they roll along, but do not get powdered up like the other. The slight amount which the limestone loses by abrasion is not sufficient to enable either the muriatic acid or the rhododendrons to detect it in the deposit.' The consequence is, that the pebbles of all three formations are rolled along the bottom of the river, forming the gravel-banks so frequent in its course ; but the two are not held in suspension like the finely powdered granite. When the river overflows its banks, it deposits this powdered granite, sometimes to the extent of several inches deep in a single flood, on the overflowed meadows, where the water is comparatively still.
' Indeed, if there be a sufficiency of carbonic acid gas in the water, as there usually is in such water, a large part, if not the whole, of the lime would pass from a state of mechanical mixture to one of chemical combination with the water, and so would necessarily pass away with the subsiding water, leaving no trace behind.
THE RIVER LIFFEY 167
We now know why the deposits on the banks of the river differ in composition from those in its bed.
It is not in Millicent alone that this is the case. Mr. Mansfield found many years ago that rhododendrons would grow freely along the river banks at Morristown Lattin, and in many places bricks are or have been burned — a process to which the presence of lime would be fatal. A specimen which I took from about ten feet deep showed considerable cohesion, and had apparently made some progress towards re-conversion into sandstone.
M
( 169 )
D0t7ADEA AND THE AYLMER FAMILY.^
DONADEA CASTLE is sitaated in the parish of the eame name, which lies in the Barony of Ikeathy and Ougbtar- aoj, in North Kitdare, on the western aide of the Bog of Allen. Donadea is vationsly spelled — Donadea, Donada, Donagheaha, DoD^hdea. The Irish word "Domnadi," which signifies "a church," and also "Sunday," is from the Latin Dominica, " the Lord's Day." It is said that all the chnrches that bear the name of " Domnach," or, in the Anglicised form, " Donagh," were originally founded by St. Patrick, and were so oalled becanse he marked out their foundations on a Sunday. Shear- man, in hie "Loca Fatriciana," gives the name of the place as " Donagh Caoide," "the Church of Cadoc, or Catanns," who was called " St Patrick's Chaplain."' Donadea lies in the route that St. Patrick would take from Meath by Eilcock to CUne ; 80 that there is no improbability in the supposition that he may have founded the church.
' For the gonoral history uf the Aylmei family see Vol. I of the Society's Jot']iNA.L, Tho preaeDt Paper contains some notes on Donadea, with tho history of the AylmerB connected with that place, mainly taken from an account drawn up by Hana Uendrick Aylmer, Esq., of Eerdifiu- town, and kindly placed at my disposal. This has been supplemented by information given me by Miss Aylmcr, of Donadea Caatle. —
W. Sheblock, Ed.
* St. Cadoc is said to have been bimed in Killeen Corroac; but his relics were removed, and preserved for some time in Inoiafoil, County Wenford-
I70 DONADEA AND THE AYLMER FAMILY.
Of the early history of Donadea there is do record. Even when we come down to the English invasion, little is known of it, except that it seems to have been part of the possessions of the Berminghams. Of this family Peter de Bermingham is the first recorded member. He was steward to Gervase Pagenal, Baron of Sndley, of whom he held nine knights' fees in the reign of Henry L His son owned the town of Bermingham, from which the family was called, and which they held as late as the reign of Henry YIII. Robert de Bermingham attended Strong- bow in his invasion of Ireland, and received from him Ofialey, part of " O'Connor's country." ^ Sir John de Bermingham, of *' Donaghdea," Ent., was possessed of the place in 1356, and twenty years later Meiler, his son, was styled of Donaghdea ; but in 1892 the Berminghams forfeited it.
A patent of 1892 discloses the connection of the Crown with this locality, and of John Bermingham's title herein, as the same had been held in capite of James le Botiller, then late Earl of Ormonde, on knight's service, and was forfeited for treason by him 6ommitted ; " whereupon the King granted the whole manor to James, the present Earl of Ormonde, for life, with liberty to aliene the same, saving and excepting the church there, which was specially reserved to the Crown." *
'^ Foster's Baronetage " (1881) says that Donadea came to the Aylmers by the marriage of John Aylmer with Helen Tyrrell, it being originally the property of the de Herefords, with whom the Tyrrells were connected.' This marriage occuiTed about the year 1470. Richard Aylmer, of Lyons, owned it before 1553.
Donadea was bestowed by Richard Aylmer, of Lyons, on his third son, Gerald.'* He was a lawyer, and took a prominent part in the aiOfairs of his time. His first wife was Mary, daughter and co-heiress of Sir Henry Travers, of Monkstown Castle, County Dublin, Master of the Ordnance, by his wife Genet Preston. This marriage was one unlikely to bring hini favour with the Government ; for this lady was widow of that James
* For the history of the Bermingham family in Ireland see Vol. II of the Society's Journal. Their arms were, per pale, indented, or and gules. At Dunfierth, near Donadea, is the effigy of Sir W. Bermingham, on the slab of an altar-tomb. Ob. 1548.
« Burke's ** Visit, of Seats and Arms," second series.
* This appears doubtful, in view of the fact that the Berminghams held in capite from the Butler family. No doubt, a considerable part of the Aylmer property belonged at one time to the Herefords ; but I have nowhere found that they held lands at Donadea : and it is probable that it came to the Aylmers in some way from the Butlers.
* The Donadea Aylmers are the third branch of the family in point of seniority.
DONADEA AND THE AYLMER FAMILY. 171
Eustace, 8rd Visconnt BaltinglaBS, who was attainted for heading a formidable rebellion against Queen Elizabeth; and Gerald Aylmer spent his life in seeking to obtain for his fellow- subjects the abolition of arbitrary taxation, and freedom of conscience.
Lord Baltinglass was attainted in 1585, and in 1589 his widow petitioned the Privy Council for some, grant or annuity to relieve her necessities, caused by loss of position and dower by the attainder ; and Gerald Aylmer is recorded as offering to give a bond for the truth of the statements in her petition. Perhaps his intervention was attended with success ; but, whether from love or from gratitude, certain it is that the lady subsequently married him. Gerald Aylmer's first appearance in London was in 1582, when he went over as the bearer of a letter from Sir H. Wallop (Lord Treasurer of Ireland) to Walsingham, the Queen's Secretary of State. The letter commended him for his deportment in the ''Pale Rebellion'' — whence it appears that he had not taken any active part in that movement. The following year (1583) he "went over again, this time without licence of the Lord Deputy. The reason of his journey to England appears in a Commission given March 81st, 1583, by the noblemen and gentlemen of Meath to Patrick Bermingham to levy 4s. on every ploughland to give to Mr. Aylmer to be their solicitor to Her Majesty for redress from the intolerable charge of '' Cess.^'^ From this it is evident that the chiefs of the Pale determined to send an agent to the Court of Elizabeth to lay before her the grievances for wiiich they could obtain no hearing at home. For this Gerald Aylmer was their accredited agent, and with him were afterwards associated Sir Patrick Barnewall and Burnell, all three being lawyers.
The imperious Tudor Queen was not likely to receive with much favour arguments that taxation without representation was unconstitutional; and accordingly Gerald Aylmer was committed to prison. There is a petition' of his, dated June 14, 1688, from the Marshalsea, and addressed to the Lord Treasurer, setting forth his grievous imprisonment for ninety days, and praying that he may be referred over to Ireland for further punishment if it be needful that he suffer further. In
' Cess was a right which the Crown asserted as part of its prerogative to impose on the country a certain proportion of victuals and provisions of all kinds to be, delivered at what was commonly called ''the Queen's price." It was objected to as (1) unconstitutional, being taxation without the consent of Parliament; and (2) oppressive, because the ''Queen's price " was far below the ordinary market price.
' State iPapers, Ireland, 1586-8.
172 BONADEA AND THE AYLMER FAMILY.
another petition he seeks .licence to return home^ and offers to take many oaths of dntifulness to Her Majesty.
Notwithstanding this imprisonment^ Aylmer was not deterred from a second political mission to England, and this time also without leave. The occasion of this mission was aa endeavour to obtain a removal of the grievances under which the Roman Catholics laboured.
On June 14, 1591, the Lord Deputy and Council wrote to the Privy Council of England, dwelling on the great contempt of Mr. Garrett Aylmer in departing without licence, and that when he was under a bond of d£40 to hear a sermon to be preached by Archbishop Loftus on June 13. There is a general revolt of the Irish to Popery. Aylmer has gone over to solicit their cause.
It appears from a letter of Burnaby Ryche to Secretary Burghley that Aylmer had given the Lord Chancellor's son a horse, in order to get leave for his going to England. It is remarked, as an aggravation of his offence, that '' two years since Her Majesty bestowed gifts on him worth 1,000 marks, but that he has never said Amen when he has heard Her Majesty pi*ayed for."
Gerald Aylmer could not have been many days in London before he was arrested. Sir George Carew, writing to Lord Deputy Fitzwilliam, on July 20, 1591, says: "Gerald Aylmer, my landlord, is close prisoner in the Marshalsea. I think that the rest of that stubborn crew that are enjoined as he is will shortly be sent for."
"Her Majesty's gift** to Gerald Aylmer is explained by Mr. Hans H. Aylmer as consisting of a lease in reversion to him of lands to the value of dS40 English, in consideration of a sum of dE758 8s. BJd. due by Her Majesty to Sir Richard Aylmer, his father, who was victualler of the forts of Leix and Offaley, which, as he remarks, was rather " the payment of a debt than a gift."
Nothing is known of the part taken by Aylmer in the trans- actions of the next seven years ; but in 1598 he was knighted by the Queen. At this time, and probably previously, be was resident at Donadea.
Under James I, Sir Gerald Aylmer continued the long contro- versy which had lasted for over twenty years regarding the Cess ; and he appears, as agent for the chiefs of the Pale» at last to have come to some arrangement with the Government. A compromise was effected^ by which a lump sum was to be paid as Cess by each of the counties of the Pale.
In 1608, Sir Gerald Aylmer was again committed to prison
DONADEA AND THE AVLMER FAMILY. .173
wiih " two other IriBh laner [lawyers] abont the petition they 'presented to the Council aboat tolleratioD of religioQ and other matterB." Notwithstanding this, £ing James created . him a Baronet, Jan. 25, 1621.
FABT or DONADBA CUTLB OS THE MoBTII BlDK. Vrom a drtunng hj CitnDn SberloclC
Sir Gerald's first wife, the Dowager Lady Baltinglass, dying without issae in 1610, he married, secondly, Jnlia, daughter of Christopher Nngent, 14th Lord DeWin, by Mary, danghter of Gerald, 11th Earl of Eildare. She also predeceased him in 1617, leaving one son, Andrew, and two dangnters, Mabel and Julia, the one afterwards married to Sir Oliver Tuite, Bart, of Sonnagh, Westmeath, and the other to Sir Christopher Bamewall, Bart., of Crickstown Castle. Sir Gerald himself died in 1694, his son, Andrew, being then a minor under the gaardianship of Thomasj Earl of Ossory,
Sir Andrew married, just before his father's death. Lady Ellen Bntler, sister of the first, or great, Duke of Ormonde. This lady was a person of great energy and courage, and
174 .DONADEA AND THE AYLMER FAMILY.
defended the Castle of Donadea, 1641, when it' was besieged at this time her linsbandy ' Sir Andrew, was prisoner in Dublin Castle. Sir Andrew was one of a number of well-known gentle- men who were suspected by the Government, and had been arrested, confined as prisoners in Dublin for twelve or fourteen months, tortured, and indicted for high treason. In this he fared no worse than others of the family, notably Gerald Aylmer, of Balrath, whose house was sacked and pillaged, and he himself imprisoned and tortured.
Sir Andrew Aylmer probably thought he had had enough of politics, for after his release from prison he took no active part in public life, in spite of the following appeal made to him by the Supreme Council of the Confederate Catholics:^ — ''His Majestic being brought to a sadd condition by the rebells of England, and their knowen resolution being such to extirpate the Boman Catholique Religion and the professors of it out of His Mejestie's dominions as their oath of covenant doth manifest, and now that the Lord Lieutenant either doth intend to join actually with the said malignants or to surrender the Citty of Dublin and the other seaports and holts in his Lordship's power to their hands, we cannot imagine that you will hould it fitt or consistent with your safety to keepe yrselfe any longer at the accustomed distance as hitherto from the rest of the nation, and therefore wee, who are intrusted by the Confederate Catho- liques for the government of their affairs, wishing well to your preservation, and assuring ourselves you are involved in the same danger with the Confederate Catholiques, have thought it con- venient by these to invite you to the union of the Confederate Catholiques, and to lett you know that wee will not be wanting on your application to us, and uppon your taking of the Oath of Union, to give all furtherance to your preservation. We shall be glad this timely admonition take place with you, and if not, wee shall have this comfort hereby that wee have expressed our affections to the preservation of all Catholiques indifferently, and declared how much we desired to be found your loving friends.'*
In any case, it is plain that Sir Andrew was recognised as a friend to the Royal cause, for in the Act of Settlement, 1662, his manor, castles, towns, villages, messuages, lands, tenements, or hereditaments, in the County of Kildare, were confirmed to him, with such title therein as he had in 1641. At the outbreak of the Rebellion, Elizabeth, Sir Andrew's daughter, married her cousin, Thomas Aylmer, of Lyons. Sir Andrew outlived
* Gilbert*8 ** History of the Confederation and War in Ireland," yol. vi, 1646-8. , ^
1
DONADEA AND THE AYLMER FAMILY. 175
his eldest son, Gerald, who died on the 20th of D^cembel^ 1668/ having married Jane, daughter and. heiress of Philip FitzGdrald, of AUobne (Allen) and Oalduffe, in the County Xildare.
By a Patent of February 9, 1662, "All the Estate of Jane FitzGerald, of Alloone, and that of her ancle, Maurice Fit^sGerald, were granted in fee simple to Sir Gerald in consideration of the especial favour and regard the King had of the many good an;d faithful services, as well at home as abroad, performed by him, his relations and kindred, and pursuant to an agreement made upon his marriage with his Father-in-law.*'
In addition to this, the next Baronet, Sir FitzGerald Aylmer, received in 1666 (being then a minor about three }*ears of age) a further grant of lands from the Grown ; and in 1670 '' a specific grant of 9,000 acres of land, in Kildare, and 1,600 in Sligo/'
Sir FitzGerald studied and travelled on the Continent till 1681, when, at the age of seventeen, he married Lady Ellen Plunkett, daughter of Luke, 8rd Earl of Fingall. He only lived till 1685, dying of smallpox at the early age of twenty-two, and leaving a son. Sir Justin, the 4th Baronet, then very young. When the Revolution of 1689 broke out, his mother, Lady Ellen, being a strong Jacobite, was attainted. She fied to France with her son, who was also outlawed for high treason; but the outlawry was reversed the next year. In 1702, he married Ellen, daughter of Sir Gerald Aylmer, 2nd Baronet, of Balrath, and died in 1711, aged thirty. During his lifetime, a consider- able portion of the Aylmer property in the County Eildare was sold in order to pay off debts. His son, Sir Gerald, the 5th Baronet, was only eight years old when he succeeded his father. He married Lucy, daughter of Admiral Sir John Norris,' of Hempstead, Kent, and Deal Castle, and died, aged thirty-four^ 1736, at his house in Jervis Street, Dublin.
His only son, Sir FitzGerald Aylmer, 6th Baronet, was born the year of his father's death. Being brought up under the sole care of his mother and her relations, who were all Protestants, and sti'ong supporters of the House of Hanover, .he naturally followed them in his religious views. He was High Sheriff of Eildare in 1761, and sat in the Irish House of Commons for Old Leighlin, County Carlow, from 1769 to 1775 ; he was also M.P. for Harristown in Grattan's Pariiament, 1790-98. He died in 1794. His wife was Elizabeth, daughter of Fenton Cole, of Silverhill, County Fermanagh, of the noble house of Enniskillen.
* Vide vol. X, p. 87, of the Funeral Entries.
' For an account of this distinguished officer see Campbell's ''Naval History," vol. iv.
176 DONADEA AND THE AYLMER FAMILY.
B; her he left, beBides three sons, one daaghter, Margaret, who marned Sir John Hort, Bart.
The three sodb were: Sir Feoton Ayliner, and hie twin brother, Lient.- General John A;lmer, and Lieat. -General Arthur Ajlmer.^
It is a singnlar coincidence that the twin brothers, Sir Fenton and Lient. -General John Ajrlmer, married, one a lad; called Jane Grace, the other a lady Grace Jane ; and the ladies
Gateway, Donadka Cabtul
From a dianlng by Canon SlierliKk.
were consine. The wife of Sir Fenton was Jane Grace, daughter of Sir John Evans Freke, Bart., and sister of the 6th Lord Carbery. The wife of General John Aylmer was Grace Jane,
' Lieut. -GcQ. Arthur Aylmer ra. in 1807 Anne, d. and heiress of JtAn Hnrrison, ot Walworth Castle, County Durham, and was the first of that branch. His son, John, who uiBmed Rusumund, d. of Admiral Sir Joaiah Cogbill, Bart., was killed in a t«rri1)Ie niilwaj accident, at Abergele, in Wales in 18C8, t<%ether witli his oldest son, Arthur. His tiro younger Bona— Gerald Percy Aylmer, now of Walworth Castle (High Sheriff of County Durham, 1&B7), and Edmund Aylmer, of 19th Huasars— represent thisfunily.
X)ONADEA AND THE AYLMER FAMILY. 1 77
daughter of William Evans, brother of Sir John Evans Fl^eke, Bart. He died without issue.
Sir Fenton, the 7th Baronet, was High Sheriff of Eildare in 1795. The part he took against the rebels in 1798 is noticed in Mnsgrave's History of the Bebellion« It is said the rebels who burnt Courtown woald have done the same to Donadea if they had not known that their friends had lodged many valuable articles in it for safe custody. Sir Fenton, with a body of fourteen dragoons, had, a month later, a narrow escape of being cut off by an ambush of the rebels near Clane under William Aylmer, of Painstown, the ^'Bebel General.'' In 1804 he purchased from Squire ConoUy, of Castletown, the pack of foxhounds which the latter had been the first to introduce into Eildare. He hunted them till 1814. It was during his mastership that the catastrophe so well known to foxhunters occurred whereby the pack was destroyed in pursuing a fox down the Poulaphouca Waterfall.
Sir Fenton died in 1816. He was succeeded by his second son, Gerald George, the 8bh Baronet, born in 1798, a lieutenant in the 1st Eing^s Dragoon Guards. Ho married, in 1826, .Maria, daughter and co-heiress of Col. Hodson of the E.I.G.'s service, and granddaughter of Sir Richard Hodson, of Carlisle.
Owing to the extravagance of his predecessors. Sir Gerald succeeded to a much-encumbered property. He made it his first duty to free the estate of heavy mortgages, and gave up his commission in the army, that he might live on his property, and devote himself entirely to his duty as a landlord. It may be mentioned that he, in conjunction with the 3rd Duke of Leinster, was mainly responsible for the drainage-works which have done much to reclaim the tracts of land in the Rathangan district of the County Eildare. His interests were entirely centred in his property ; and he built the first stone cottages for labourers in his immediate district, and made part of the road from Prosperous to Donadea at his own expense, and also the first footpath in the neighbourhood. He had a great taste for building, and modernized, not too wisely, much of the house at Donadea. He was also considered a good sportsman. For his last ten years he lived the life of a recluse, and died in 1878, in his eightieth year.
He was succeeded by his only son, Gerald George, the 9th Baronet, bom in 1820, who had been educated principally at home and at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst In deference to his father's wishes, however, he did not take his commission in the regular army, but came back to reside at Donadea, and married, in 1853, Alice Hester Caroline, daughter
178 DONADEA AND THE AYLNfER FAMILY.
of Conway Dobbs, Esq., of Castle Dobbs, County AntrioL By her he had issue, Caroline Maria, born in 1856, and Justin Gerald, bom in 1863.
Sir Gerald only held the Baronetcy five years, during which time his ill-health prevented his taking an active part in county or other affairs. He died in June, 1888, and was succeeded by his only son, Justin Gerald, the 10th Bart, who was educated at Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge. Sir Justin died suddenly, through an accident, while in residence at Cambridge, only five months after attaining his majority.
Of him it may be truly said, all lay in a promise which was not permitted to be fulfilled. He was working for the Mathe- matical Tripos, and had done such good preliminary work that it was expected by those at Cambridge who supervised it that he would take a high place among the Wranglers. He was devoted to his property, and was keenly anxious to fulfil his duties regarding it.
He was succeeded in the Baronetcy by his great-uncle, who thus became Sir Arthur Percy Aylmer, 11th Bart. ; but, being in a dying condition when he succeeded, only held the title about six weeks. Certain property settled by Sir Gerald Aylmer, 9th Bart, went with the title ; but the entailed estates, including Donadea, passed to Maria, Sir Justin's only sister, who now holds them.
Sir Arthur Percy Aylmer was succeeded by his grandson, Arthur FitzGerald, who thus became the 12th Bart., and is still alive. He is an invalid, and childless; and the heir presumptive to the Baronetcy and the property held with it is his only brother, Colonel Fenton John Aylmer, RE., V.C, born in 1862, and lately D.A.A.G. at Bangalore. Colonel Aylmer's record is that of a vei7 brave soldier ; and he is also credited with great ability in the technical part of his profession.
I Ml l«
NTADEA.
m AylmeBi of Donadea Castle)
1. Sir Goral
2. Sir And4 2nd Bal
3. Sir Get 3rdB^
4. Sir FitK ob
'4
7. SirFitzi Ttl^BaTOi Po8thum( Sheriif of ob.
(179 )
@ounfs ^xlbaxe gfolfe-lorc
ABOUT ANIMALS, REPTILES, AND BIRDS.
By OMURETHI.
I J NDER this heading it k to be hoped that some of ^ our members will contribute notes on this* and kindred subjects. The old-world beliefs and sayings are being fast forgotten, as, unfortunately, the younger generation have been educated above such harmless and homely ideas ; so that before it is too late, efforts should be made to collect from the old people such stray fragments of folk-lore a^ still exist in this county.
Legends and '^ enchanted tales/' that to the ignorant only appear to be childish and worthless, to the learned in such matters are greatly valued for comparison with the folk-tales of other nations.
The attempt to collect folk-lore is well within the reach of such of our members as have neither the time nor oppoiiunities for consulting the scattered sources of information required for putting together a Paper on the history of a place or family ; their notes, too, in this line would be a welcome addition to our Journal.
The scraps of folk-lore which follow form a part of a collec- tion made by me at various times and places, the result of con- versations held with old men in this county. Should any member follow my example, it is very important that he should only record what he picks up from hearsay, and not quote any folk-lore that he has met with in books, or other printed sources.
Animals.
Horses. — ^A horse or mare foaled at Whitsuntide is sure to turn out vicious ; if kept, it will cause the death of its owner.
If the exact spot in a field or paddock where a mare drops her first foal be closely searched, a four-leafed shamrock will be found ; and this, as is well known, is a sure charm to the wearer against any witchcraft or " pisherogues.''
A horse or mare entirely of one colour is not lucky ; but if it bears a splash of white on the face, or has a white stocking, it is all right,
l8o COUNTY KILDARE FOLK-LORE.
A horse or an ass's shoe, foand accidentally, should be brought home and nailed, heel upwards, above the doorway to a dwelling on the outside ; this will prevent the ill-effects of witch- craft or the evil eye. If the shoe is not brought home, it should be spat on and thrown over the left shoulder for luck.*
• • •
The Ass, — Previous to our Lord's ride on one into Jerusalem the ass had no stripe on its shoulders ; but, in commemoration of that event, it has since been marked with a cross.
The GoaU — One of these animals being always allowed to graze with cows or bullocks, will prevent the herd from taking diseases.^
A black Sheep. — It is lucky to keep a black sheep with a flock of white ones.
The Hare. — It is a bad. omen if a hare crosses your path when proceeding on a journey or starting for a fair ; the only thing to be done is to postpone your business, and remain at home.
If a woman, who is enceinte sees a hare close to her, unless she at once stoops down, and tears a rent in her skirt, her child will be born with a '' hare-lip.'^ The sight of a dead hare will have the same effect, unless its scut has been previously intentionally cut off to prevent sach a deformity.
Witch- women are said to have the power of assuming the form of hares for the purpose of sucking the milk from cows. A story is told of how once on a time a man with a couple of greyhounds at his heels while passing through some cows that were lying down, put up a hare in the midst of them. After giving it a fair start, he slipped the greyhounds at it ; after a long course, one of the greyhounds, as the hare turned, gave it a
^ In connection with the number of white feet a horse or mare may have, I have been told the following rhyme ; but I cannot aay for certain if it is an Irish superstition or not : —
** With four white feet sell it if you can ; With three white feet lend it to your nlan ; With two white feet give it to your wife ; With one white foot ride it all its life."
* A farmer's daughter (Co. Kildare), being asked if they used the milk of the goat they kept, replied *'no," that they kept the goat " for luck." They gave the kids away for the same reason. It would be unlucky to sell them. Query : Does the goat eat plants which would be injurious to other cattle ?
COUNTY KILDARE FOLK-LORE. l8l
wound in the shonldei^ ; however, by twisting and donbling^, the hare ba£9ed the greyhounds, and, through a gap in the hedge, was seen to jump through the window of a thatched .cabin occupied by a lone woman long suspected of being a witch. The man followed, and entering the cabin saw the old woman pant- ing for breath as she crouched over the fire, and holding a bloody rag to her shoulder ; but there was no sign of thQ hare. The man immediately left the house, and told the neighbours what he had seen; they went and reported what had occurred to the parish priest, who was the means of making the witch- woman quit the district.
The Hedgehog, or Gran-yeoge, — This harmless little animal should never be hurt or molested, as on one occasion, over- hearing the Blessed Virgin Mary express a wish for some apples, it at once went hotfoot off to a neighbour's orchard, rolled itself among some fallen apples, and bore them away sticking to its quills to the Virgin's house, where, having entered it shook them off at . her feet. During the night, however, a Deel, or devil's coach-horse, took a bite out of each one that was uncon- sumed, and tainted them so that they were unfit to be eaten, for which mean act it is killed whenever met with, both by the Grauyeoge and by human beings.
The Weasel. — It is said to be unlucky to molest or kill a weasel, as its relatives will assemble, and either decimate his hen-roost, or will cut and suck the throat of' the person that has injured them. The following incident will also show their revengeful nature. A man who was ploughing along a head- land saw an old weasel bolt from a hole in the ditch : he stopped the horses, and with a bit of iron tore open and followed up the hole, till he came to a nest of young weasels, which he destroyed. At midday his dinner, consisting of slices of buttered bread and a can of buttermilk, was brought by one of his children, and placed on the ditch ; whilst it was waiting there for him, another labouring hand saw a full-grown weasel go up to the little can, dislodge the lid, and spit into it. When the ploughman even- tually came up, he was about to take a drink of the buttermilk, when the other man advised him to leave it down, and related what he had seen happen. The ploughman took his advice, and put down the can, thinking to throw the milk to the pig oti his return home. In the evening, when his day's work was over, he took up the can to proceed home, and then noticed tha^ the buttermilk had turned as blue as a thrushes egg. Con- cluding that this was the bandywork of the weasel, he thanked
i8^ COUNTY KILDARE FOLK-LORE.
the Almighty for his escape from a death hy pbisohing, threw ean and all into the gripe, and never meddled with a weasel again.
Reptiles and Insects.
The Lizard, or Dartlookar. — It is the common belief that it is possible for a Dartlookar to slip down the .throat of a person who falls asleep in the open, and, unless it is evicted, it will in time be the cause of death. I have been told more than once of a case in point, and in each instance the cure was the same :— During harvesting operations pne of the labourers after his mid- day meal fell asleep against a stook of oats ; presently he awoke with a start, feeling far from comfortable, but continued at work till evening ; that night and the following day he was no better, and thought he had caught a chill, but as days went on he grew worse, and the internal pains increased ; at last he consulted the dispensaiy doctor, who prescribed for him, but brought ' no relief; his appetite increased, but his food did him no good, and he got thinner and thinner, his strength failed, the pains were unabated, and he was wasting away. As a last resource he went to a local bone-setter, and explained his symptoms ; the bone-setter ordered him to eat nothing but salted fish, and not to touch a drop of fluid of any description^ in order to create a great thirst ; and when that had taken place, he was to return to him. In a couple of days the poor man came back more dead than alive, and in great agony. The bone-setter then filled a gallon full of water, and instructed the sufferer to kneel beside it, and keep his head open-mouthed over it, but on no account to move a muscle, no matter what spasms might seize him, until
[permission was granted. This he did, and before long a Dart- ookar, after almost showing itself two or three times, at last issued from the man's throat, and planged into the gallon ; it swam for a bit, and then uttered a few chirrups, on which a couple of young ones speedily followed it ; the bone-setter then told the man to rise, and with careful treatment he soon was restored to health.
Frog-spawn.-^Dnnng the winter months one will occasionally^ when out partridge- or snipe-shooting, come across a heap of white, jelly-like substance lying in a field, or in boggy bottoms ; this, the country people invariably tell one, is the remains 6fst fallen star. It is in reality the half-formed spawn of a frog which had been trampled on by cattle.
COUNTY KILDARE FOLK-LORE. 1 83
The Clock and the Deel. — These two insects, the Clock or black beetle, and the Deel (Daw-deel and Damga-deel) or devirs coach-horse, are always killed when met with, for the following reason : — When our Lord was being parsned by the Jews and Roman soldiery, He passed along a road by the side of which a farmer was sowing some black oats in a field. On the following morning, when the farmer went out early to scare the crows and woodquests from his freshly sown oats, he was amazed to find that the crop had sprung up, and was in full ear. Whilst standing stupified at this miracle, a band of armed men hurried down the road, and inquired of him if he had seen such- and-such a man (describing our Lord) pass that way. The farmer replied that the man they wanted had passed along at the time he was sowing the oats; the soldiery on hearing that were about to turn back, and give up the pursuit, when a Clock and a Deel crawled out from under a stone beside the farmer, and called out " neeay " (which is the Irish for " yesterday ") ; but before they could say any more the farmer had rubbed his foot through the two of them ; however, the soldiery had heard enough to determine them to continue the pursuit in this direc- tion ; and hurrying on they overtook our Lord, and brought Him back with them a prisoner. This occun*ed on Spy Wednesday.
It is said to be all the more creditable to kill a Deel before it has time to cock its tail over its back, as it immediately does when alarmed, for defensive purposes.^
BiBDS.
Barn-door Fowl. — A crowing hen is very unlucky; it should be at once caught, decapitated, and the head and the body buried.
On St. Martin's Day (11th November) a cock used to be killed in an out-house, and while bleeding the body was brought into the dwelling-house, and the blood allowed to fall in the four corners of the building, so as to ensure a prosperous year. It was then cooked and partaken of by the whole household.
On old box- or altar-tombs a cock standing up in a three- legged pot is often represented, the idea being that when our Lord was under examination before Pilate, St. Peter was warm- ing himself over a fire at the other end of the hall ; and, on his third denial of our Lord, a cock that was being boiled in a skillet, stood up in the pot and crowed, thereby fulfilling our Lord's prophecy.*
* See alao the tradition in connection with the Hedgehog. ^ An instance of this occurs on the Eustace tomb in the New Abbey Churchyard, near Kilcullen.
N
1 84 COUNTY KILDARE FOLK-LORE.
The Magpie. — To see one magpie is unlncky; bat two or more there is no harm in meeting. Ob seeing the first magpie, yon shonld cross and bless yourself/ and touch your hat (or curtsey) to it, before it is out of sight. It is said to be unlucky to destroy their nests, as in revenge the relatives will assemble, suck the chickens' eggs, or carry off their chicks.
The Swallow. — On no account should the swallow or its nest be molested ; if the one was intentionally killed or the other robbed, the owner's cows would either run dry or milk blood.
The Water-wagtail. — The " willy- wagtail '' is said to have three drops of the devil's blood in its tail ; for each one you kill with stick or stone you break three of the devil's ribs.
The Robin. — It is the height of ill-luck to kill a robin, and anyone who wilfully does so will sup sorrow. It is said that previous to the time of the Crucifixion the robin was a plain little brown bird, with no red plumage on the breast ; but that when our Lord's side was pierced with the spear, a pair of robins tried to plaster up the wound with leaves, and their breasts became stained with His blood, in commemoration of which they bear the honourable traces to this day.
The Cro9s-bilL — Of this little bird, too, it is said that on the same occasion with its then straight beak it struggled to draw away the thorns from our Lord's brow, and in striving to do so its beak became dislocated, and would not close as it used. This, too, was in consequence destined to become an honourable distinction for ever.
The Gratioch (or Creeper?). — One of the oldest breeds of birds in the world is the little ** Gratioch," whose long wing- feathers cross themselves over the back. One day when our Lord, then a boy, was accompanying His parents, St. Joseph remarked as they walked along how strange it was that wherever they went a flock of little Gratiochs always preceded them. " That 's because," replied our Lord, " they are birds of my feather." ^^ How is that," asked His mother, '^ when you have no feathers?" '^ Wait, and in time you shall see," replied our Lord. Years then passed ; the Crucifixion had taken place ; our Lord had risen ; and on next meeting His mother He reminded her of the little Gratiochs of His childhood, and explained how their crossed wing-feathers formed a symbol of His martyrdom.
j ,
•f. 1
COUNTY KILDARE FOLK-LORE. 1 85 J!
The Phillapeen (Pee-wit^ or Oreen Plover), — Phillapeens are the wariest birds in the world ; they were strangers to this oonntry till Brian Boru introduced them from abroad ; he then tamed and trained them to give the alarm if an enemy approached his camp.
The Woodquest or Wood-pigeon. — There is no more con- \
ceited or ignorant bird than the woodquest. It is well known on i
what few twigs it will lay its two eggs. The magpie, on one 1
occasion, is said to have taken pity on it, and commenced to show it how to build a proper nest ; but as each stick was placed, the woodquest would say, ** Shure, I know how to do that myself/' so that at last the magpie called it an ungrateful omadhaun, and flew off in a rage. From that day to this the woodquest has never learnt to make more than the foundation for a nest.
The Wren. — In the verse repeated by the wren-boys on St. Stephen's Day, this wee bird is called ''the king of all birds," for the following reason : — ^Long ago, at a meeting of all the birds for the election of a king, it was decided that whichever bird flew the highest should be chosen king. The eagle, of course, soon outdistanced them all, and when he could soar no higher, he proclaimed himself the winner ; but a wren, which had hid itself in the eagle's crest, now flew out, and went a few feet higher stiU; on claiming the kingship, its appeal was granted by the other birds.
( i86 )
THE LATTIN AND MANSFIELD FAMILIES, IN
THE CO. KILDARE.
The Lattin Abms.
1. The Lattin Family.^
THE family of Latton — ^variously spelled Latin, Latyn, Latoun, and .Lattin — is said to have sprung from the House of Estouteville, of Upper Normandy. After the Conquest the Stutvilles were Barons of Lydedale, in Cumberland. One of them — Walter — is said to have taken the name of Latton, retaining the Stutville arms. The principal families of the Lattons were settled in Berkshire at least as early as 1325 ; but Wilts seems to have been their original home in that district, and from the North Wiltshire Lattons of Latton it is probable that the Irish branch came : at least such is the statement of Ashmole,^ according to whom they settled in Ireland in the reign of King John, and obtained from him grants of land at Morristown Lattin, in Eildare.
William Latoun's name appears in the Irish Records in 1886. John Lattin, h. 1469, m. Alson Eustace, of the Castle- martin family. John Latton was a merchant in Naas at the close of the sixteenth century. He married Alson Ash, daughter of another Naas family. Among the petitioners of the gentry of the Pale to the Lord Deputy in 1605 was N. N. Latyn ; and Stephen Latyn was a member of the Naas Corpora- tion at the same period. In 1590 William Lattin, of Morris- town, son of the above John, and his wife, Anne Luttrell, of
^ From ** Notices of the Family of Lattin," by John M. Thunder, *' Journal of the Royal Historical and Archaeological Association of Ireland," Nos. 71, 72 (1887).
* '* Antiquities of Berkshire."
THE LATTIN AND MANSFIELD FAMILIES. 1 87
Lnttrellsiown, foanded at I^aas an alms-house for poor women. Several members of the Lattin family bequeathed small sums in perpetuity for the support of its inmates; and there is at present a charge on the Lattin property of £20 per annum for that purpose. According to the author of the Paper on the Lattin family^ from which these notes are taken, *^ this alms-house was twice pulled down [sic] — ^first in 1787, to widen the street, and again in 1798, during the Rebellion, to enable the artillery to put their gun in position/' The original inscribed stones were, however, preserved and placed in the new alms-house. In vol. ii of our Journal, at p. 270, is given the inscription. William Lattin was M.P. for Naas in 1613, and Nicholas Lattin in 1689. At St. David's Church, Naas, there is a Lattin tomb- stone, with the following inscription : — *' Gulielmus Lattin de Morristown, Anna Luttrell de Luttrellstown, quorum miserere Deus — me fiere fecerunt — 8. P. Q. 8. Domum eternam. The former stone, erected by W. Lattin and Anne Luttrell, of Morristown, in the year 1660, being broken, this was fixt by Patrick Lattin, and Jane Alcoek of the same place. Anno 1719. Here lyeth the body of John Lattin,^ eldest son of the above Patrick Lattin, who departed this life the 19th day of June, 1732, in the 64th year of his age. Also the body of his son George Lattin, L. Lattin, £sq., who died 8th July, 1773, aged 59. Also the body of his wife, Catherine O'Ferrall, of Ballyna, who died November 1.2th, 1800, aged 66 years.''
John Lattin in 1641 was seized of Morrishtown, Moynagh, 400 acres ; Lowstown, 30 acres and 4 tenements ; Westowne, 80 acres; the Castle of Molestown and 30 a(5res ; Rathash, 22 acres; the grazing of 12 cows and bull upon the Common of Newtown, in the Barony of Naas, with a castle and 4 tenements in Craddockstown, and 1 castle and 8 tenements ; also house and backside in the town of Naas.
Patrick, the last .male of the Morristown Lattins, was born in 1762. He was educated at the College Henry IV^ Paris, and at the University of Turin ; was a captain in the Irish Brigade, and A.D.C. to General Count Dillon. He married, 1792, Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Robert Snow, of Drnm- downey. County Kilkenny, and had issue — Paulina, who married, 1817, Alexander Mansfield, of Yeomanstown, County Kildare. He was a man of high intellectual attainments and
* Known as Jack Lattin, of whom the old rhyme said —
" Jack Lattin, dressed in satin. Broke his heart of dancing : He danced from Morristown To Castle-Brown " [Clongowes Wood].
1 88 THE LATTIN AND MANSFIELD FAMILIES.
brilli&Dt wit. Lady Moi^n, who knew him nell, declared that in his presence " Sheil was silent, and Carran dnll." Thomas Moore, the poet, and Lord Cloncnrry bear equally strong testimony to his wonderfol social talents. He died in Paris in 1886.
The Mansfield A&ms.
2. The Mansfield Fahilt.'
The Mansfield family — a branch of which is now settled in the County Kildare at Morristown-Lattin — belong to the County Waterford. The first of the family who came into Ireland from Nottinghamshire, in the reign of Henry n of England, was Sir Bodtilphns Mansfield, Knt. and Banneret. He had an estate granted to him in the Gonnties of Armagh and Derry, and also in Waterford, Cork, and Limerick. He himself lived at Killongford and Ballinamoltina, in County Waterford, where his descendant, Richard Mansfield (bom 1642-3), was living in 1707. The Irish form of the name is Monvile.' . There is reason to suppose that Manderill is another form of the name, for we find in the Pipe Roll of King Edward HI, abont 1878-9, a process issned against a Sir Walter Manderill, of
' From notes kindly supplied by Colonel Eustace Muiefield, of Landacape, County Waterford.
' The name of Mtuulield in Co . WaUirford is still oallod Monvih, or Moonreel, and MoonveeUgh (plumi), by the Irish -speoking InhabitAnte of the county; pronounced Moonveal,
1 THE LATTIN AND MANSFIELD FAMILIES; 1 89
Ballymaltyn, and other lands; and the name Mandevill was fairly common in those parts of Waterford in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, but seems to have disappeared in the following century, when the Mansfield name again becomes frequent in the records.
The senior or Eillongford house of Mansfield became extinct for want of male issue. Margaret,* the heiress of that house, was married to —
1. Walter Mansfield, of Ballinamultina, in 1599.
2. His son Edmund^ b. 1600, m., 1621, Elenor Nugent, and was succeeded by —
8. His son Walter,^ 6. 1622, m. d. of Nicholas Power. He was transplanted to Connaught in 1658-4. He was one of the ** '49 " Officers, and his son Bichard received £250 on that account. His Waterford property was confiscated when he was transplanted, but part was recovered after the Bestoration.
4. His son Bichard m., 1681, Dorothea Hore. He held a commission as Captain in Colonel BagnoU's Begiment of Infantry in the army of King James IE, and was present at the Battles of Boyne and Aughrim.
5. His son John m, Jane Eustace, d. of James Eustace^ of Yeomanstown, County Kildare ; b. 1688 ; m. 1722 ; vivens 1752.
6. His son, Alexander Mansfield, m. Anne Power.
7. His eldest son John^ m. Elizabeth Woulfe, and obtained half of the Eustace property in County Eildare.^
^ Margaret's only sister, Katherine, m. Nicholas D'Alton, brother of Sir Roger D'Alton, of Knockmoan.
' In the register of persons transplanted he is described : — *' The said Walter Mansfield, freeholder, aged 24 years [an error], being of low stature, browne haire, hath six cows, ffortie sheepe, eighteene garrons and mares, twelve acres of wheate and beare."
' The cUkughters of James Eustace* being co-heiresses of the Yeomans- town property, on the death of their brother Alexander in 1783, the representatives of Jane Eustace and her sister, Catherine Byrne, were Jonn Mansfield and George Bryan, who divided that property between them about 1800. The house, offices, and demesne of Yeomanstown feU to B^an, but John Mansfield rented them from him.
* Walter Henry Mansfield, second son of John Mansfield and Elizabeth Woulfe ; b, 1788 ; served in 18th Hussars tiU marriage, in 1813 ; inherited the Woulfe property ; m. Frances MacDermott. He had issue — 1. John Alexander, a.s.p,, 1860; 2. Walter, d.5.|?., 1873; 3. Owen ; 4. Octavian, d,8.p,, 1890 ; 5. Edward ; 6. Eustace ; 6. 1829 ; of Landsoipe, Kilsheelan, Co. Waterford ; Colonel of the Kildare Militia, from whose notes this Paper has been compiled ; and several daughters.
* James Eustace was Captain in Sir Maurice Eustace's Begiment, King James H. There is a portrait of him at Morristown-Lattin. In the Rebellion of 1798 some rebels broke into the house at Yeomanstown, and, seeing the red coat in the picture, took it to represent an English soldier, and drove a pike through it.
I90 THE LATTIN AND MANSFIELD FAMILIES.
8. His eldest son Alexander m. Pauline, only d. and heiress of Patrick Lattin, of Morristown-Lattin ;^ b. 1786 ; m. 1817 ; died 1842.
9. He was succeeded by his eldest son, George Patrick Lattin Mansfield, j.p., d.l., High Sheriff, 1851, who m. Mary Frances Gonstantia, d. of George Bourke O'Eelly ; b. 19th December, 1820; m. 30th November, 1843; succeeded by his son ; d. January 12, 1889.
10. George Mansfield, j.p., d.l,, High Sheriff, 1874 ; b. February 19, 1845; m., 2nd August, 1877, Alice d'Audebard de Ferussac, eldest d. of the Count d'Audebard de F6russac, of Paris, and has issue—
(1) Eustace Lattin Mansfield ; b. 1879.
(2) Henry Marie Lattin ; b, 1881.
(3) Alexander Lattin ; b. 1882.
(4) Bertrand Lattin, b. 1885 ; d. 1887.
(5) Tirso Louis Mark Lattin ; b, 1888.
(1) Mary Alice.
(2) Marguerite Cecilia.
The Mansfields thus settled in Eildare in possession of the Eustace property about 1783 ; and in possession of the Lattin property, 1817 : in each cietse by marriage.
* Issue of the marriage of Alexander Mansfield and Pauline Lattin, d. and heiress of Patrick lattin, of Morristown Lattin. Date of marriage, 1817. A son, John ; 1. George Patrick Lattin Mansfield ; 2. Alexander John, of the English Bar, m., 14th July, 1863, Maria, eldest d. of Sir John Howley, q.c, H.M. First Sergeant in Ireland; 3. William Henry, Captain 44th Regt. , d. of wounds received before Sebastopol, 1855 ; 4. Richard Walter, late Major Kildare Rifles, d. 1893 ; 5. Edmund Alexander, late Major Co. Dublin Militia ; 1. Eliza Pauline, m., 1837, George, youngest son of Patrick Thunder, of Lagore> Co. Meath. Mr. George Thunder d, in 1877 ; Mrs. Thunder d, in 1878— leaving issue.
( 191 )
^i^ceiianea.
The Core-ally. — The name, as given in The Co. Kildare JouBNALyi was never ased without the definite article. It was invariably called **tbe Coreally.'* It was about an Irish acre in extent, not a perfect square, as the northern and southern sides were somewhat longer than the eastern and western. An embank- ment, thickly covered by bushes and trees, surrounded it. Outside this was a fosse, from ten to twelve yards wide, always fall of water, and well stocked with eels, although there was not a stream within half a mile of it. The only entrance gap was on the south side ; and in spring and summer time the place presented as pretty a sight as anything of the sort in Ireland. The green, smooth sward was then thickly studded with primroses, violets, cowslips, and other wild flowers; while the blossoms of the blackthorn, hawthorn, quicken-tree, wild cherry, and crab formed a pleasing back-ground. The cave ran diagonally across it from the south- east comer. Only one end was, to my knowledge, opened. This was composed of stonework, but was very much defaced and obliterated by searchers after crocks of gold. There were a few gold pieces found there from time to time ; when a child, I saw one of them. The diggers always worked in daylight, as no one had the courage to enter the place after dark. I also saw some spear- heads which were found in an adjacent field. Tradition says that the Coreally was used as a place of retreat or refuge by the monks of Kilart and Eilberry. Eilart lies near the bog edge, midway between the Coreally and Eilberry. I once asked the late Professor Hennessy what was the meaning of the word "coreally,** and, witli- out knowing anything whatever of the place, he said the word was Norman-French {courdU), meaning an underground fortification. K this be correct, some of the monks must have visited Normandy, and, on their return home, carried the name to the confines of Monavullagh bog. It may, perhaps, also be derived firom '*corr,** an enclosure or dwelling, and "Rally, or "Rahilly,** a name still common in the South of Ireland. The trees which formed the old forest here are said to have grown so close together, and the branches to have so interlaced, that the monks used to travel from place to place by paths formed on the boughs. The old story of the betrayal of the monks by the woman who supplied them with provisions in their retreat has been referred to this place. This woman (by the way, she was red-haired) agreed with the priest-hunters to drop peas on her path to the hiding-place,
» Vid€ p. 133, vol. iii.
192 MISCELLANEA.
but the birds were so numerous that they devoured all the peas before the track could be followed. She then made a trail of flummery, which could not be so easily removed ; and by this means the last of the monks here were discovered and exterminated. Maxwell, the Scotch vandal who levelled the Goreally, did not live long to enjoy the fruits of his labour, as he died a few months afterwards; from which event the people about drew their own conclusions. Many years ago, an old man named Redmond, a basket-maker, told me that one day, when getting materials for his trade in the Goreally, he noticed in one corner some fresh clay lying about, and the surface cut in the shape of a grave. Raising the loose sod, he saw the dead body of a respectably dressed man, '4n top-boots, riding-breeches, and blue body-coat," lying under- neath. He replaced the sod, and discreetly held his tongue. Some days afterwards he examined the place again, and found the grave empty. This was in the reign of the Whitefeet. Another old man told me that he heard from his father that the latter, when a young man, often saw a woman who lived in a wild state for some years in the Goreally. She wore scarcely any clothing, and her body was covered with a large crop of hair. She lived in the autumn on wheat and wild fruit, and in winter and spring on food left for her in convenient places by the neighbours. I do not remember what her ultimate fate was.
M. Dabbt«
Irish Pearls. — It may be of interest to give some account of Irish pearls, a specimen of which was found, set in an old gold ring, in the garden at Furness in May, 1898, and afterwards exhibited at a meeting of the Society (see Journal, vol. iii, No. 1, p. 67).
This pearl (as appears from the inscription on the ring) came from the Slaney ; but the Slaney was only one of the many Irish rivers in which the pearl-mussel was found. Harris, in his notes to ** Ware's Antiquities," ^ speaks of them as found in the River Bann, in the Gounty of Down, and in several rivers in the counties of Tyrone and Donegal ; and he adds that in 1094 a present of an Irish pearl was made to Anselm, Archbishop of Ganterbury, by Gilbert, Bishop of Limerick.
Golonel Solomon Richards, of Wexford, writing in 1682,^ says that the Slaney '< oaught to preecede all the rivers in Ireland for its pearle fishing, .... for muscles are daily taken out of itt about fowre, Ave, and six inches long, in which are often fouud pearles for lustre, magnitude, and rotundity, not inferior to orientall, or any other in the world. They have lately been sold by a mer- chant that dined this day with me for 20s., 30s., 40s., and three
»Vol. ii, p. 172.
« "Kilkenny Arch. Journal," 1862-63, p. 91.
MISCELLANEA, 193
pound a pearle, to the goldsmiths or jewellers of London. He sonld twenty lately for twenty broad pieces of gould, and a parcel of small ones for 40 pounds/'
A writer in the ** Dublin Penny Journal " (vol. i, p. 889), speaks of a sum of forty guineas being offered for a Donegal pearl in 1882.
Thomas Dineley, who visited Carlow about 1680 (see <* Kilkenny Archaeological Journal," vol. iv, N.8., p. 46), writing of the Biver Burren, near Ballynunnery Castle, says : — '< There are also found quantity of good Pearle, not unlike Scotch Pearle, which y* Lady of the Castle hath to shew."
Coming to later times, it is stated that the Duchess of Ormonde offered £80 for an Irish pearl ; and P. L. Simmonds, in his work on ** The Commercial Products of the Seas," further states (I know not on whose authority) that Her reigning Majesty paid 40 guineas for a Scotch pearl.
There is no doubt that for many centuries the Scotch river pearl fishery was an extensive and lucrative industry, especially in the Spey, Tay, and Esk rivers.
British pearls are mentioned by Pliny and Tacitus ; but from the first the Bomans seem to have recognised that they lacked the lustre and <* water " of the oriental pearls.
An early ordinance of the Parliament of Paris prescribed that British pearls were not to be set in conjunction with oriental pearls^ except in certain specified cases, as " in a bishop's mitre " — a choice example of paternal legislation.
An attempt was made to revive the Scotch pearl fisheries in 1860 by a German ; but the success was spasmodic, and over* dredging seems to have brought it to an early end.
^e industry still flourishes in Bavaria and Saxony, where German thoroughness has provided a code of regulations, and, needless to add, the best books on the subject.
Dublin jewellers still exhibit specimens of the Irish pearl ; but such as I have seen are very small, and hardly deserve the patriotic commendation (quoted above^ of Solomon Bichards of Wexford*
Though there is not anytning like a systematic fishing industry, pearls are still found in the Slaney. From information I have pro- cured through residents, it appears that the pearl mussel is chiefly found in the northern parts of the river, above the tidal waters, in the neighbourhood of Newtownbarry^ where many fine specimens of pearls have been found in recent years.
Nicholas Synnott.
( 194 )
^otcs and Queries,
Who was the father of the Right Hon. William Conolly, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons? —
Neither the Paper on ** Castletown House," which appeared in our Second Volume, nor the Rev. C. I. Graham's Paper on this cele- brated man, in the last number of The Joubn^il, gives us any information as to William Conolly's parentage; nor have I come across any work that does. I have seen it stated in that interesting little bools Handcock's " History and Antiquities of Tallaght,*' that—
" William Conolly, who rose to be ' the first gentleman ' in this kingdom, was a self-made man. His father was an innkeeper in the North of Ireland, probably in the County Donegal, Of his education nothing is known ; but the profession which he adopted was that of an attorney."
If the above extract is true, it is a puzzle to know how he acquired his enormous wealth. His nationality is doubtful. If he was one of the Irish Connollys, one would not have expected to find him a Protestant ; that fact favours his being an Englishman, as well as the difference in the spelling of his surname; and his heir, too (another William Conolly), hailed from Stratton Hall, in Staffordshire.
W. FiTzG.
Miss Stokes's •* Higli Crosses of Ireland." — Our
readers will be glad to hear that the Koyal Irish Academy have in hands the publication of the second number of this valuable work. The coming part will contain our Moone Cross ; the Cross at Killamery, in the County Kilkenny; the Drumcliff Cross, County Sligo ; and the Cross at Termonfeckin, in the County Louth.
Oil Paintings of Lord Edward FitzGerald.— On p. 382 of the Second Volume of our Journal appears a list of portraits of Lord Edward. One more replica by Hamilton, similar to those numbered 2, d, 4, and 5, has come to my notice ; it belongs to Sir Guy Campbell, Bart.
W. FiTzG.
A Pagan Sepulcliral Kist in the Dublin Science and Art Museum. — There is deposited on view in the Eoyal Irish Academy's Collection of Antiquities, an antiquarian object of the greatest possible interest. This consists of a case containing a
NOTES AND QUERIES. 1 95
Eist, or pagan slab-lined grave, with its accompanying Bepulchral urns. The Kist has been raised, with some feet of the nataral surrounding clay, bodily from the ground. The whole mass measures 8^ by 8 feet, and weighs about three tons. One side of the Kist is removed, to show the formation of its slab-lined sides, top, and bottom ; roughly speaking, it is 2 feet in length, 18 inches in width, and about 20 inches in height ; the depth of the covering slab below the surface was about 2 feet.
The Kist contained three burial urns of various sizes, and orna- merited with different designs ; the largest urn covered the smallest, which rested on a heap of burnt human bones ; the remaining urn was placed alongside, mouth upwards.
The find took place in the month of August, 1898, at Greenhills, near Tallaght, in the County Dublin.
As this is the only example in the British Isles of the removal of a Kist in its entirety, great credit is due to Colonel G. T. Plunkett, the Director of the Dublin Science and Art Museum, and his staff, for having undertaken the excavation, and for having so successfully carried out a most difficult task.
W. FrrzG.
Davidstown, near Castled er mot. — This name, through course of time, has undergone a peculiar change. In a Carton manuscript volume of copies of leases, &c., is mentioned a feoff- ment made on the 6th of February, 1643, by Anthony St. Leger to David Sutton of TuUy and of Kildrought, of, amongst other lands, the townland of Daviestown, alias Davies Vennocke, alias Ballyday- Vennocke, near Tristelldermot." In an Inquisition taken in Athy in 1621, it is called Ballidavisenocke, and foritied part of the Earl of Kildare's Manor of *< Castledermot, alias Tristelldermot, alias Disertdermod.*' This townland is situated to the south of Castle- dermot, and is now divided into two; — Davidstown Lower, and Davidstown Upper.
W. FiTzG.
Bases of Crosses at Carragh. — At the cross-roads just above the village of Carragh is a rough granite base of a cross, known as ** the Wart Stone ; " it is almost invisible, as it is sunk deep in the ground by the roadside near the ditch facing the road leading to Barretstown.
Furthef along the last -mentioned road, about a quarter of a mile from the cross-roads, is another large rough granite cross- base, which lies near the road, but on the other side of the hedge, looking north. A small farmer of the name of M'Cabe lives near it. When I visited the place in 1896, an old man belonging to Carragh, named Kane, informed me that he remembered seeing the
196 NOTES AND QUERIES.
cross standing^ on the base ; bat that some fifteen years ago it was dislodged by treasure-seekers, who excavated under the base, and so overturned it : a heavy storm of thunder and lightning came up while they were at work, and they fled in terror from the spot. The cross itself is now either lost or removed; but a portion of the finctured dowel still remains in the socket, which is 16 inches long and 9 wide.
The first-mentioned cross-base is marked down on the 6-ineh Ordnance Survey Map ; but the second is unrecorded.
W. PiTzG.
Philip Flatsbury, a Kildare Hlstorlan.—In the vil- lage of Johnstown, near Naas, lived Philip Flatsbury. At the request of Gerald, Earl of Eildare, he wrote a History of Ireland, wluch he brought down to a.d. 1517. However, it was never printed, and the manuscript is still preserved in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin, and classed B 55. It is little better than a transcript of Pembridge's and Marlborough's Annals, published by William Camden in his '< Britannia." Holinshed's '' Chronicles of Ireland '* are taken from Flatsbury's History and from Henry of Marlborough.
John Canon O'Hanlon.
Antiquities at Kilkea Castle. — The antiquarian objects shown on the opposite page were all found at or near the castle a good many years ago ; they consist of : —
Fig. 1. — A flint arrow-head dug up in Eilkea churchyard in 1871.
Fig. 2. — A portion of a stone celt, or battle-axe, found on the hill of Mullachreelan in 1854.
Fig. 8. — ^A small ring-brooch found in the bed of the river Greese when sinking for the foundations of '* Eildare bridge *' near the castle, in 1854.
Fig. 4. — A sword found in the bed of the Greese, below the weir at Kilkea bridge, in 1846. (Length, 17} inches.)
Fig. 5. — A bronze celt (6^ inches long, and four inches broad at the cutting edge) found in the Greese at Kilkea in 1846.
Fig. 6. — ^A bronze pin found near the pagan burial-moat at Kilkea in 1854.
W. FiTzG.
1^11 ly^M
AmiQtnTiBs iT KiLRU Cuiuc.
( 198 )
'Review,
"The History and Antiquities op Tallaght, in the County op Dublin," by W. Domville Handoooe, m.a, 2nd Edition, revised and enlarged. Hodges, Figgis, & Co., Ltd., 8s. net.
Miss Mary Butler White has published a second edition of her uncle's excellent little History of Tallaght. In this revised and enlarged edition she has been assisted by Mr. F. Ebington Ball ; the Bev. W. Beynell, b.d. ; Mr. Edward Blackburne, q.c. ; and Mr. M' Sweeny of the Boyal Irish Academy.
The work is an excellent example of the good work that may be done by an educated man, even though he may have no special archaeological knowledge, in preserving and recording all that can be gathered of the history and antiquities of the neighbourhood in which he lives.
The name "Tallaght," otherwise " Taindeacht," is said to mean " the plague monument," or the place where a number of persons cut off by pestilence were interred together. In the year 769 A.D.y according to Bishop Beeves, a monastery was erected on this spot by St. Maelruain. The ancient Martyrology of Tallaght, written in Irish, was compiled at the Monastery by SS. Maelruain and Aengus the Culdee. In this monastery was also preserved the Bell of St. Tigeamach, used when solemn oaths were administered. In 1179 Pope Alexander III confirmed Tallaght with its appur- tenances to the See of Dublin; and from 1840 to 1821 Tallaght was a country residence of the Archbishops of Dublin. In 1578, during an incursion of the Irish from the mountains, a nephew and some servants of Archbishop Adam Loftus were slain at the gates of the Palace.
What became of the ancient Palace does not appear ; but in 1729 Archbishop Hoadly pulled down great part of the Castle of Tallaght, and with the materials built another Archiepiscopal Palace for the See of Dublin. Within less than a century this building had fallen into such a state of decay, that in 1821 an Act of Parliament was passed divesting the Archbishop of Dublin of Tallaght as a Palace ; and shortly after it was demolished.
Besides this history, the little book contains an interesting account of the Castle of Tallaght, and of various seats in the neighbourhood, with particulars of former inhabitants — the Grier- sons (well-known printers), the Lundy Foots, Speaker Conolly, and others. There is an illustration of the ancient Castle, and also one of the Palace built by Archbishop Hoadly.
o
JOURNAL
OF THE
j^r^plogicsl jSfwietg of % Goantg of FJilbare
AND
jSurronnbing Distrids.
4-f
2ftt ^emoxiam.
MISS MARGARET STOKES,
Hon. Member of the Royal Irish Academy ; the Royal Society of Anti- quaries, Ireland ; the Oount^^ Kildare Archceological Society ; and Associate of the Scottish Society of Antiquaries.
THE 20th of September, 1900, was a black day in the annals of Celtic Art. Oil that date, Miss Margaret Stokes passed peacefnlly away in her picturesque home on the Hill of Howth ; and two days later she was laid to rest in the old churchyard of St. Fintan's, a spot endeared to her as being the last resting- place of those relatives she loved so well.
Not only will she be mourned by her kinsfolk and friends, but her loss is a national one ; and many European savants will deeply regret that her labours in the cause of Celtic Art have ceased for evermore.
Her long life was devoted to the Ireland of the past. Never again will ancient Irish Art have a truer or more painstaking historian ; and never again can any other pen so faithfully illustrate the glorious remains of pre-Norman Ireland.
Miss Stokes was unrivalled in her knowledge of Christian Ireland's former greatness. She was untiring in copying from the originals the beautiful and intricate Celtic designs to be found in the famous Book of Kells. She made facsimile draw- ings of the Processional Cross of Cong, the unmatched Ardagh Chalice, the Shrine of St. Moedog, and several other. interesting relics of the Irish saints.
Many ancient cross-bearing sepulchral slabs, with Irish in- scriptions, were carefully drawn by her. The primitive churches,
562 IN MEMORIAM.
with their accompanying holy wells, together with the qaaint legends of their patron saints, had for her a pecoliar charm ; and not only did she search the historic localities in Ireland, hut she went far afield into the moantains and plains of France and Italy, in order to find traces of and pat on record the lahonrs of those holy Celts who became voluntary exiles from their native land in order to spread the light where, till then, the darkness of Paganism alone prevailed.
The great work of Miss Stokes's life, which unfortanatelj was never finished, was her description and drawing of the scalptared High Crosses of Ireland. No one, except those who actually lent her their aid, can conceive the amount of time and trouble she took to reproduce on paper faithfully, panel by panel, the Celtic patterns, and the religious subjects and symbols sculptured on those wonderful memorials of a long by-gone age. Before her end came, she had the satisfaction of knowing that the second part of her grand work was in process of being brought out ; but is there anyone to take her place, or capable of continuing this, the great scheme of her later years ?
Some idea of the variety and extent of her labours in Ireland's cause can be gathered from the list of her works which is appended below — works that have made for her a name that will place her in the forefront of that devoted band of Irish scholars whose aim has been to prove to the world that there existed in ancient Erin a civilization, and a skill in working metals, unequalled at that age in Europe.
Would Uiat we had more like her, for though *'the harvest truly is great| the labourers are few."
WORKS WRITTEN BY HER.
1878. Early Christian Architecture in Ireland.— Imp. B^o. George Bell, London. With many illustrations.
1887. Early Christian Art in Ireland. — Crown 8vo. Chapman & Hall, London. With 106 wood-cuts. Another cheaper Edition was published without date.
1892. Six Months in the Apennines : A Pilgrimage in Search of Vestiges of the Irish Saints in Italy. — Sm. 4to. George Bell, London. With many illustrations.
1895. Three Months in the Forests of France : A
Pilgrimage in Search of Vestiges of the Irish Saints in France. — Sm« 4to. George Bell, London. With many illustrations.
MISS MARGARET STOKES. 203
1895. Notes on the Cross of Cong: — Illustrated with wood-
blocks, and two large coloured drawings. Chromo-litho- graphed by Werner & Winter, of Prankfort-on-Main. Imp. 4to. Dublin University Press. Privately printed (224 copies only).
HER PAPERS PUBLISHED BY LEARNED
SOCIETIES AND IN ARCH^OLOGICAL
JOURNALS.
The Royal Irish Academy.
1888. Proceedings, Vol. II (second series), p. 461. 8vo.
^' Inquiry as to the probable date of the Tara Brooch and the Ardagh Chalice." With a chart, but no illus- trations. (Read 1886.)
1896. Transactions, Vol. XXX. p. 281. 4to.
" Observations on the use of red enamel in Irish orna- ments.*' With a coloured plate containing six Celtic objects. (Bead 1892.)
The High Crosses [of Ireland]: A Publication of the
Royal Irish Academy. Imp. 4to. Dublin University Press. 1898. Part I.— The two Crosses of Castledermot (County Kildare),
and the Durrow Cross (King's County). 190,.. Pakt II.— The Cross at Moone (County Kildare), at Kil-
lamery (County Kilkenny), at Drumcliff (County Sligo), and
at Termonfeckin (County Louth).
The Society op Antiquaries, London.
The Archaeologia. 4to. London. 1871. Vol. XLIII, p. 181.—" The Shrine of St. Moedog (Mogue
of Ferns), and the Gospel of St. Molaise (Molash of
Devenish)." With several careful facsimile drawings.
(Read 1867.) 1888. Vol. XLVII, p. 473. — " On two bronze fragments, supposed
to be a portion of an Irish radiated crown." Illustrated.
(Read 1881.)
The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of
Ireland. — Royal 8vo. Dublin. 1871. Vol. XI, p. 852.—" Irish Art in Bavaria." Illustrated. 1898. Vol. XXII, p. 380.—" St. Beoc of Wexford, and of Lan Veoc
in Brittany." Illustrated. 1894. Vol. XXIII, p. 380. — " A funeral custom in the Baronies
of Forth and Bargy, County Wexford." Illustrated. 1898. Vol. XXVII, p. 137.—" The Instruments of the Passion "
(as sculptured on William FitzGerald's altar-tomb, 1623,
in the Kilkea churchyard, County Kildare). Illustrated.
204 IN MEMORIAL.
The Journal of the County Kildare Arch880logical
Society. 8yo. Dublin. 1894. Vol. I, p. 281.— << The Celtic Crosses of Castledennot."
Illustrated.
1898. Vol. H, p. 431.— *' Old Kilcullen."
1899. Vol. m, p. 88.— "The holed High Cross at Moone."
Illustrated.
The Antiquary. 4to. London.
1891. Vol. XXIII, p. 209.— << Stone Markings ; Hand-prints and Foot-prints." Illustrated.
The Reliquary. 4to. London.
1899. Vol. V, p. 110. — ** On a bas-relief on the Muiredach Grpss at
Monasterboice." [Subject : the condemned being cast
into hell.] Illustrated.
MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS.
A Key to the Panels on the Muiredach Cross at Monasterbolce. — This was a broadsheet printed in 1899 by the Department, to accompany the cast of this cross in the Science and Art Museum.
The Signs of the Zodiac on the Base of Mulredach's Cross at Monasterbolce. — This Paper was read at the Boyal Irish Academy House on the 2drd July, 1900, at an evening meeting of the Boyal Archaaological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, on the occasion of its first visit to Ireland.
[This was Miss Stokes's last work.]
AN UNFINISHED WORK.
An Illustrated Life of St. MalachI O'MorgaIr,
of Armagh.
WORKS SHE ILLUSTRATED.
1861. Sir Samuel Ferguson's Poem on ** The Cromlech on Howth.** With numerous coloured drawings of Letters from the Book of Eells, and other Celtic designs.
1868. Vetusta Monumenta, Vol. VI. Elephant folio.— [A Publication of the Society of Antiquaries, London.] The Bev. James Henthom Todd's ** Descriptive Remarks on Illuminations in certain Ancient Irish Manuscripts." This includes five plates, lithographed in colours, by Storch and Kramer, under the direction of L. Gruner. Of these, all but the last two are from drawings by Miss Stokes. The first (14 by 11 in.) shows the Chi-rho Monogram from the Book of Kells (St. Matthew i. 18). This is probably the finest production of its kind. The other two, which are smaller, are reproductions of illustrations from the Gospels of St. Mark and St. Matthew, taken from the manuscript known as '' The Garland of Howth,"
BmHMB^^r"
MISS MARGARET STOKES. 20$
167B. Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy. Vol. XXIV, p. 488. — Lord Dunraven's *' Descriptions of the Ardagh Chalice and Brooches," with coloured illustrations.
WORKS SHE EDITED.
Christian Inscriptions in the Irish Language, chiefly collected and drawn by George Petrie, ll.d. 4to. Dublin University Press. — This great work was issued in eight parts, forming two volumes, by the Eoyal Historical and Archaeological Association of Ireland (now the Boyal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland) during the years 1870 to 1878, and each part formed its extra '* annual volume."
1872. Vol. I. — Contains inscriptions on slabs at Clonmacnoise, King's County.
1878. Vol. II. — Inscriptions on slabs in other places ; as well as on crosses, shrines, croziers, church doorways, and chalices, &c. [The ^' concluding notices'' in this volume are wholly the work of Miss Stokes.]
Notes on Irish Architecture. — By Edwin, 2nd Eai4 of Dunraven. Imp. 4to. George Bell, London. With numerous photographic illustrations and wood engravings.
1876. Vol. I. — Pagan forts, oratories, and churches.
1877. Vol. II. — Bound Towers and churches.
1891. Christian Iconography : A History of Christian Art in the Middle Ages. By Adolphe N. Didron. 2 vols. Sm. post 8vo. George Bell, London. Translated from the French by E. J. Millington, and completed, with additions and appendices, by Miss Stokes. Numerously illustrated.
HER LECTURES ON THE HIGH CROSSES OF
IRELAND.
12th April, 1897. Delivered to the Boyal Irish Academy. (This lecture dealt with the crosses of Castledermot, County Kildare, and of Durrow, King's County, forming the first part of her work on the High Crosses.) 9th June, 1898. Delivered to the Society of Antiquaries, at Burlington House, London.
14th January, 1899. Delivered to the National Literary Society, in the Leinster Hall, Dublin.
80th November, 1899. Delivered to the Boyal Irish Academy. (This lecture dealt with the crosses of Moone, County Kildare ; Drumcliflf, County Sligo ; Killamery, County Kilkenny ; and Termonfeckin, County Louth — forming the second part of her work on the High Crosses.)
W. FiTzG.
I
( 207 )
Tbk Baimb or Lovou.
CLONGOWES WOOD. By thb rev. MATTHEW DEVITT, S.J., ViCB-PBBaiDBirr.
CLONQOWES WOOD lies aboat midway between the town ofNaasandEiloook, and on the road conaeotiBg the ancient capital of North LeinBter with Tara of the Kings. The name " Clongowes " is derived by Dr. Joyce from the Irieh words Cham, " a lawn," and gobka (prononnced gow), " a smith," and thus cornea to signify " The lawn of the smith." The name does not appear in any record before the fifteenth centnry. Its previoas history seems to have been covered by that of Mainham, of which parish it is still a townland. It would thus at the time of the Conqaest have fallen to the lot first of Strongbow ; from him it passed through the hands of the De Herefords, and Bocb- forts, and then was granted by Edward 11 to the Wogans of Rathcoffey in 1317.'
This theory is confirmed by a Boll of Henry IV, dated 24th Febmary, 1417, assigning the dower of Anastacia Wogan, widow of Sir David Wogan of Rathcofiy.* Among other lands assigned to her was ■' " farther the third part of the tylva de Clongow (Clongowe's Wood), in the western part therein, that is to say, forty acres."
We next find Mainham and Clongowes Wood in possession of the Enstaoes. Thin celebrated Anglo-Norman family held vast estates in the counties of Dublin, Carlow, Wioklow, Kildare, and Meath. The following account of their origin is from a
' See JoDBNAi^ County Kildare Arch. Soc, vol, iii, No. 2, p. 79. ^Ibidem, pp. 79, 92.
CLONGOWES WOOD. 209
MS. of Brother Vincent Enstace, ex-Prior of the convent of Naas in the Ust century^: —
' * The illu8t<rious family of Eustace is lineally descended from Placidus, General of Horse in the Roman army at the siege of Jerusalem under Titus and Vespasian. He was of the tirst rank amongst the Koman Nobility, commonly called Patricians ; having been converted to the Christian faith at a stag-hunt by Jesus Christ Himself, hanging on the cross. Our Lord ordered him to take the name of Eustachius at his baptism, which name signifies *' valiant, or firm, in the faith of Christ." And it is in memory of this occurrence at the hunt that the family bears for crest in the court armour a stag's head and crucifix, with the image of our Saviour hanging on the cross. The family came from Italy to Nor- mandy, and from thence into England, in the time of the Saxon kings. Some of the family came over into Ireland with Henry 11, in the year 1172."
De Bnrgo in the '* Hibernia Dominicana/* says this account is confirmed by ancient history, by books of genealogy^ and by a sepulchral inscription in the Dominican Church of St. Sixtus in Bome.' The following is the epitaph (translated) : " Here lies the Beverend Sir James Eustace, alias FitzEustace, priest of the family of St. Eustachius, the Roman martyr, settled in Ireland for the last six hundred years. He died 5th February, 1712."
The Dominican priory of Naas was founded by the Fitz- Eustaces in 1356 ; and they indicated their claim to this high ancestry by dedicating the Church to St. Eustachius.' From this it would appear that from the fourteenth to the eighteenth century they looked back to the Roman martyr as the founder of their line.
It is but fair, however, to record other views on this subject. The author of the ''Book of Howth/'^in a list of noble English families settled in Ireland, wrote as follows : — ** Eustace, alias Powar, Viscount of Baltinglass, Lord of Eilcullen, to him and to his heirs male A"" H. 8 SS"" (83rd yeai* of Hen. VIII). Their ancestor, Robert Le Powar, was sent into Ireland with commission, and in his offspring hath rested here, a.d. 1176." Again, under date of 1303 : *' Richard Bourke, Earl of Ulster, and Lord Eustace Le Power, entered into Scotland with a great
power of men Mark that the Eustacys [sic]
descended lineally of the second son of the aforesaid Lord Eustas, which were very noble men in those days of knighthood and ability."'^ This theory would make the Eustaces a junior branch of the Powers, afterwards Earls of Waterford. It is
' Copy of MS. kindly lent to me by Mrs. WiUdnson, 4 Hume Street, Dublin.
• ** Hib. Dominic," cap. ix, par. 28, n. ii, and cap. xii — i — n. xv. " Ibid, * Record, Series, p. 22. * " Book of Howth," p. 126.
2IO CLONGOWES WOOD.
remarkable that the arms of both families are the same, viz., a stag's head with a crncifix between the antlers. The motto, however, of the Powers is " Per crucem ad coronam," while that of the Enstaces is '' Cnr me perseqaeris ? "
D' Alton ^ makes them a branch of the FitzGeralds. '' With- out/' he writes, '' any heraldic effoi*t to antedate the existence of this noble house, its Irish branch may be traced to that adven- turer of the first water, Maurice FitzGerald, to whom Henry II gave the barony of Naas. His relative, Eustace, the founder of this line, inherited the northern parts thereof with the barony of KilcuUen."
To reconcile, or decide between, these apparently conflicting views is a task altogether beyond me, which must be left in the hands of expert genealogists. I fear I should not be an impar- tial judge : '^ Cum Platone errare malo, quam rectd cum istis sentire.*' But we shall all, I think, admit that the noble Roman, impetuous in war and in the chase, a lion in the field, a lamb in the presence of the Crucified, fearlessly facing the wild beasts in the amphitheatre, and finally dying by fire for his faith,^ would be a meet progenitor and patron of the typical Norman knight, of whom Newman has written : '^ His very worship was to do battle ; his rite was a passage of arms. He couched his lance to prove the matter of fact that his lady was the beautifuUest of all conceivable women ; he drew his sword on the blasphemer to convince him of the sanctity of the Gospel ; and he passed abruptly from demolishing churches and burning towns to the rescue of the holy sepulchre from the unclean infidel.'' »
The Eustaces flourished for many generations after the Con- quest on the borders of Wicklow and Eildare. In 1462, Sir Kowland, of Harristown, County Eildare, was created Baron of Portlester, County Meath. He was Lord Chancellor and Treasurer of Ireland, and founder of the Franciscan Abbey of Eilcullen. In 1541, Thomas Eustace, of Xilcullen, was created Viscount of Baltinglass.
James, 3rd Viscount of Baltinglass, having risen with Irish against Elizabeth, was attainted, and died without issue in Spain in 1585. His estates were forfeited to the Crown, and his title is still extinct The family produced five Lord Chan- cellors of Ireland, viz., Richard FitzEustace in 1426 ; Sir Edward FitzEustace in 1453; Robert FitzEustace, Baron of
» "Hist, of County Dublin," *' Bally more-Eustace," p. 745. ' Bollandists, Sept. 6*^. Roman Breviary, Sept. 20. * " Historical Sketches," vol. iii, p. 295,
I
CLONGOWES WOOD. 211
PorUester in 1472, who was also Lord Treasurer of Ireland ; Sir Rowland FitzEastace, in 1474 ; and Rowland FitzEustace, Baron of Portlester, in 1496.^
The extent of their property in the County of Elildare may be seen in the frequent mention of their names and places in the State Papers. In these we find them residing in many places still well known and of some importance. They are referred to as Eustaces of Castlemartin, of KilcuUen, of Harris- town, of Moon, of Newlands, of Craddockstown, of Yeomans- town, of Caragh, of Eerdiifstown, of Blackhall (near Punches- town), of Blackrath (near Ballitore), of MuUacash, of Mainham, of Clongowes Wood, and of Confey.
From the genealogies and references extant it would appear that the Mainham branch coalesced with or was the same as that of Clongowes Wood. In the MS. account of the family by Brother Vincent Eustace, already referred to, this branch is derived from the house of Castlemartin, and this is confirmed by the '^ Inquisitiones LagenisB," in which we find John Eustace of Castlemartin in receipt of a rent out of Clongowes Wood in the reign of Elizabeth.^ In the year 1400, Alexander Eustace, son of Alexander Eustace, Castlemartin, founded the house of Main- ham, which, from a reference to the pedigree, will be practically identified with that of Clongowes Wood.
The Eustaces of Clongowes Wood seem to be first alluded to in the State Papers in 1688. Under this date we have a letter ordering the Lord Deputy to make reparation to the Earl of Ormonde for " preys and spoils " made in the Earl's property in the barony of Oughteranny, the owners of which are to prove the amount of damage before William Etistace of the Wood and Davy Sutton. As no place-name, part of which is ** wood,** is connected with Eustace, except Clongowes Wood, also in the barony of Oughteranny, we may take it for granted that Clon- gowes is here referred to. The Eustaces of Clongowes are very frequently mentioned in commissions, &c, of Elizabeth and James I, and in the Inquisitions of those times.
Their castle, situated close to the rampart of the Pale^ was one of the links in the long chain of border strongholds stretch- ing from Maynooth to Blackhall, near Clane, and running parallel to the Liffey, southwards to Harristown. But though nominally posted on the frontier line to repel and overawe the " Wilde Inshe ** beyond it, the Eustaces of Mainham soon became connected by marriage with families of the native race.
' ^'Hibomia Dom.," loc. ci^, and Harris. 'Inquisitiones xvi, Elizabeth.
212 CLONGOWES WOOD.
Alexander Eustace, the founder of the Mainham and Glongowes branch, was married to Mary 0*Bjme ; James, his son, to Margaret O'Toole; and Maurice, his grandson, to Mary O'Eavanagh.^
From such fusion of Norman and Celtic blood sprung the ''rebels " of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Though the Eustaces of Glongowes escaped the confiscations of Elizabeth, their hour was to come when the Irish rose in 1641. In that year, or the year preceding, James Eustace, of Glongowes, mort- gaged his lands to Sir James Dixon,^ and drew his sword for what he deemed to be the cause of faith and fatherland ; and Glongowes was, like BathcoffiBy, the scene of strife and bloodshed. At that time the Puritan commander in the neighbourhood was a certain Gaptain Hues, a Welshman. '' The said Hues murdered Mrs. Eustace, aunt to Sir Robert Talbot, ninety years old, after she had entertained him friendly in her house. The soldiera of Glongowes Wood and Bathcoffey, yielding upon quarter, were conveyed to Dublin, and hanged there ; and upwards of 150 women and children were found in the said places murdered. It is well known that the commons of that country were for the most part destroyed and slaughtered by the English, insomuch that there were not so many left living as could gather the twentieth part of the harvest."^
Tradition tells that the Mrs. Eustace then living at Glongowes refused to surrender the key of some secret chamber or strong- hold in the castle, and that she kept it in her mouth until her jaws were broken by the soldiers.
Such ai*e the stories told of those wild times, and of the men and women who lived in them. In all wars, but especially in civil strife, deeds are done on both sides that the historian shudders to recount. In that same year (1641) at Donadea, quite close to Glongowes, the Protestant clergyman was seized by the Irish, and led to the gibbet. The rope was already round his neck, when he was rescued by a priest, who was completely unknown to him.^ At all events, the property of the Eustaces of Glongowes was forfeited, and among the names of the Papist proprietors forfeiting in the Gouuty of Eildare, appears that of James Eustace, of Glongowes Wood, with those of his neighbours. Sir Andrew Aylmer, Knight, of Donadea, Nicholas Wogan, of Bathcoffy, Garret Sutton, of Bichardstown, Nicholas Sutton, of Barberstown, and John Gaydon, of Irishtown (Straffan).
* Brother Eustace's MS. Account.
* Title-deeds of Clongowes Wood.
» O'Curry's " CivU Wars," Appendix VI, Co. Kildare.
* Cotton's " Fasti Eccles. Hib.^'
.CLONGOWES WOOD. 213
, The Eustaces did not regiEtin their estiates after the restora- tion of Charles, bnt were declared by the Commissioners appointed under that A.ct to be *' Irish Papists, not innocent/' ^nd Clongowes passed from their hands for ever. They were •banished from the kingdom ; but their descendants fought again under James II, and obtained distinguished positions in the army of the French king.
Clongowes Wood was then purchased by Sir Richard Reynell, afterwards Chief Justice of the Common Pleas ; and by him sold in 1667 to the Brownes, who changed the name to Castle- browne. This family intermarried with the Fitzwilliams and Wogans of Rathcoffy, and has been known for many genera- tions as the Wogan-Brownes. Their present representative is Colonel Wogan-Browne, of the 3rd Hussars, now commanding his regiment in India. He has inherited the military tastes of his ancestors, some of whom were distinguished soldiers on the Continent. One of them reached the rank of Marshal in the Austrian service, and was killed at the battle of Prague, 1767. Another General, Michael Browne, of the Saxon army, served under Napoleon before Moscow, and was the last proprietor of Clongowes Wood. Concerning the Marshal's death a curious story is found recorded in the family papers.
While he was fighting abroad, Clongowes was occupied by his sisters, two Misses Browne. At that time one of the rooms opening into the hall of the mansion was used as an ironing room, and in ironing days, the necessary fire made it an attractive resort for the servants of the house. On one such day the door of this room, as well as the hall-door, happened to be open, and the servants gathered together were astonished to see an officer in white uniform enter the hall, and ascend the stairs. They noted that his hands were pressed to his breast, from which blood was flowing ; and when they had sufficiently recovered their presence of mind, they hurried upstairs to a room where the Misses Browne were occupied with some needlework. The ladies, however, on being questioned, replied that they had seen nothing; but on hearing a full description of the apparition, unhesitat- ingly said that it must have been their brother, and that he must have met his death on the field of battle.
Their moumiug was at once ordered, Masses were celebrated for the repose of his soul, and a wake was held with .the prodigal hospitality usual in those days. In a fortnight the despatch came announcing the Marshal's deatii on the very day, at the time of the apparition.
The late General Bjrowne was once asked if he believed this story. He i^lied that he found it hard to do so, and that it might have originated in the desire of the servants to profit
214 CLONGOWES WOOD.
by the celebration of a wake. But one thing he could not| he said, explain — ^how County Eoldare peasants could have de- scribed in detail an Austrian Marshal's uniform.
His own experience, however, might have taught him not to undervalue a Kildare yeoman's fertility of resource, as another story told by himself to Lady Morgan^ will exemplify.
*' Mr. Brown, who was in Germany, wrote to have some fine English horses which were in his own stables at Castle Brown sent over to him. The Irish groom who attended them, and who was known to the family by the name of Ned Byrne, proposed taking them over to his master, though he had never been a dozen miles from Castle Brown in his life ; this was at last afipreed to, and Mr. Brown's agent in London had orders to provide him when he arrived there with an interpreter and guide to accompany him ; but on hearing the immense sum this person was to receive, he would not hear of his master being put to svih an expense^ and * e^vganed ' he would deliver the hastes safe into his master's oum IwmdsJ* When expostulated with, and the distance represented to him, he replied : ' Why, sure, a 'nt I come to the world's end already ? meaning London ; *• devil a much farther lean eo, any how.* He set off therefore for Vienna^ with the ' bastes ;' reached it perfectly safe, and on his arrival, found his master had gone to Florence. As Italy and Grermany were quite equal to Ned Byrne, he set forth again on his travels. As he passed through some garrison town on the frontiers of Germany, Colonel Count Dalton happened to be looking out of a window, and offered to lay a wager with some German officers, that was an Irish groom riding by.
'' On addressing Ned in English, he found he was servant to his friend, Mr. Brown. Much amused with his adventures, he gave him several letters to post-masters on the route, to facilitate his Italian journey, every one of which Ned delivered to his master, unopened^ when he reached Florence. ' What rise was there in them, your honour ? ' he observed : ^ sure what better could I do than I done f ' Ned returned, extremely delighted with his travels to Castle Brown, without having understood a word of any language he had heard, from the time he left England.
*' A few years afterwards, Mr. Brown sent over some horses from Ireland to his brother, the present General Brown, Aide-de-camp to the King of Saxony. General Brown was then at the Court of Dresden, where Ned Byrne had an opportunity of seeing several of his fair country- men, who were in attendance on the Electors. His account of lus residence at Dresden was extremely amusing. 'And there was the giniral in his rigimerUals goins to pray&rs with the Royal Family ; and there was Countess 0*Kelly, and Countess O'Callaghan, mighty glad to see me, and no wise proud ; troth, not a bit of pride among them.' "
Had Ned Byrne lived in the marshal's time, we coald easily account for the servant's accarate description of the Austrian regimentals. As a matter of fact, he belonged to a much better , generation : but " Fuere fortes ante Agamemnona"
Of Ned the following story is told by his grandson, now living at Mainham, where there is a very remarkable moat, referred to in a previous number of this Journal. He is also, of course,
^ '* O'Donnell," a Novel, by Lady Morgan. Notes,
CLONGOWES WOOD. 21 S
scoording to local belief, built by the Danes, and is nov the abode of the " Qood People," and of their treasntes. Now, Ned, in hie continental wanderinf;;B, had met a Dane, and hanng a keen eye to bneinesa, consulted him aa to the best and safest method of ftaining access to the moat and its contents. The Dane was obliging and eqaal to the occasion. He gave Ned a small cane, and told him if he strnck the moat three times at a certain spot indicated by him, its mysterions doors would open, and he slionld have friendly reception.
Two conditions, however, were absolutely essential : he' shonld be absolntelj alone. On his return Ned proceeded to cany oat his instrnctions. Alone and at midnight be sallied forth, cane in hand. But as he approached the moat his conr~ age began to fail. He went back for reinforcements, and, as be thns neglected one of the conditions imposed, he struck in vain.
The marrellouB escape of Archibald Hamilton-Rowan, ot Bathcoffy, from capture by the soldiery in 1798, occurred at the then Castle Browne, and is described on p. 86 of the Third Tolnme of our Joubnai..
The subsequent history of Clongowes Wood is outside the sphere of Archieology. In 1813 it was sold by G-eneral Michael Browne to the Jesuit Fathers, and was by them opened as & Catholic College in 1814.
Inwription over tho hftll-door of Ulon joiroB Wood Collone.
St, Bbioii'b Weu. at Facqhabt, Co. Lohth. (rmm s photognph br tba lata Hlaa Uargftret BtokM.)
( 217 )
THE BIRTHPLACE AND LIFE OF ST. BRIGIT
OF KILDARE}
By MAJOR-GENERAL P. W. 8TUBBS, FeUow Royal Society
of Antiquaries of Ireluid.
COLGAN, in the ''Trias Thanmaturga/' gives six tracts, called '' Lives of Saint Brigit." Except the second and third, and they only slightly, none of them contain anything like a biography. They are mainly records of miracles attributed to her ; plainly legends of a later date, or amplifications of tradition, devoid of any sequence. Dr. Lanigan, who has carefdlly investi- gated all the sources of information then open to him, speaks of the first and sixth Lives as mere poems ; of the second, as a panegyric, rather than a Life ; of the third, as a hodge-podge^ made up at a late period, from which it is difficult to extract the truth ; and the fifth, as well written, but taken from the fourth, a production, he thinks, of the eleventh or twelfth century. Subsequent writers have found the same difficulties Dr. Whitley Stokes, in his Life, taken from ** The Book of Lismore,'' with his valuable notes showing corresponding events in ''The Lobar Brecc," and the Franciscan "Liber Hymnorum,'' &c., has thrown important light on what we are ever likely to know of one who in her time was perhaps the brightest light of Christianity in Lreland,
The Life in " The Book of Lismore," Dr* Stokes says, cor- responds generally with Golgan's third Life by St. Ultan. From these, and the second, by Cogitosus — ^Dr. Lanigan notwith* standiing — ^we may learn something of St. Brigit's earlier years. It is possible to extract from legend and tradition a fair idea of the underlying truth. We, therefore, can only take the main events of her life as they have been handed down to us, with such light as local circumstances, or contemporary customs and habits, as critical aids can afford. We cannot but greatly regret the darkness which covers Brigit's life subsequent to the establish- ment of her monastery at Eildare. There were not so many scribes in Lrish as in English abbeys, who were content to spend their lives within their walls, procuring and copying all the MSS. they could get. Whatever records they kept of their own establishments, none have come down to us.
^ This Paper was prepared at the request, some time ago, of the late Miss Murgaret Stokes, wno wished to have illustrated it from photographs %aken by herself; but this has been unfortunately prevented by her death.
2l8 THE BIRTHPLACE AND LIFE OF
The Life given in '' The Book of Lismore " aptly commences with the fourth verse of the fourteenth chapter of the Apocalypse, ^* Hi sunt qui sequuntur Agnum quocunque ierit/' as applicable to multitudes of holy men and women, among whom was Brigit, daughter of Dubthach, son of Demre, son of Bresal, of the sept of Echaid Find Fuathnairt.
Dubthach, a chieftain of the Offaly country, now partly repre- sented by two baronies in the County of Eildare, was descended, in the eighth generation,^ from Echaid Find Fuathnairt, a younger brother of Con of the Hundred Fights (overking, a.d. 177). Besides his wife, he had bought a bondmaid, Broicsech, by whom he became the father of Brigit She was daughter of Dallbronach, of Dalconchobair, in the south of Bregia/ and was therefore of good descent. ^'Haec erat formosa formi, et moribus bona" (third Life, chap. i). Dr. Lanigan tries to prove from the second and sixth Lives that this is a fable, as throwing discredit on the birth of a holy saint. But such facts are not to be measured by modem standards, though the children of a concubine at that time ranked after those of the legitimate mother. The weight of evidence shows clearly that Brigit's mother was a bondmaid, and not the '* propria conjux," as the prologue to the sixth Life says. It is also clear that she must have been a Christian, and a good one; and that it was owing to her care and influence during Brigit's early years that the girl grew up as she did : '^ A snk pueritia bonarum litterarum studiis inolevit" (second Life, chap. i). Dubthach is not actually termed one of the faithful, but certainly favoured them; though, had he been '^nobilis atque humilis, mitis^ pietate repletus " (prologue to the sixth Life), he ought to have been content with one wife. Another fact we can gather is that, although idolatry had not died out, and *' Druids" ('OfU)), magicians, or wizards were numerous and influential, Christians were not let nor hindered in the duties of their religion.
It is not always easy to fix the date of birth of historical characters ; but in this case the discrepancies are small, chiefly ranging between 451 and 458. Dr. Olden agrees with Dr. Lanigan in choosing 453, following Usher's computation.
^ *' Book of Leinster.^' St. Columba descended directly from Con of the Hundred Fights, but was two generations later.
^ Usually termed Magh Breag ('* Plain of Breag "), the eastern part of Meath ; but at one time described as extending &om the River Liffey to Slieve Fuaid, in Ulster, on the borders of Louth. — ** Book of Rights,'* note, p. 11. **The Annals of Clonmacnoise " distinguish it from Aleltth, sub ann. 760 and 837, '* Meath and Moybrey." Sometimes it seems to be confused with Ciannachta, which lay in Bregia. See M'Geough, **^iBtoi7 of Ireland," chap, viii, part 1.
ST. BRIGIT OF KILDARE.
219
Brigit was not bom in her father's house. ; Dubthach's wife objected to the liking he showed for the bondmaid, and urged her dismissal or sale. Here two personages of note are first mentioned. Bishops Mel and Melchu came from Scotland (" ex Britannia/' third Life ; Bretnaib, Book of Lismore). The wife complained of her husband's preference for the bondmaid. They told her that her seed would serve the bondmaid's, and that the bondmaid's seed would be profitable to hers, which did not mend matters; and Broicsech was sold to a poet of Hui MeicUais, who opportunely had come to the house, with a condition, however, laid down by the Bishops: ** Sell the bondmaid; do not sell the ofifspring."
Broicsech is taken to the poet's house and is again sold^ still under the same conditions, to a certain wizard from Conaille,^
*Knifti«ib«(M«:gti)
PER ROSS
^c€bU of MUes^
Ancient Tebbitobies in the' present Ck>. Louth.
[Map No. 1.]
• eitiAile b^Al A ciifc CooAtU. Dr. Stokes translates this name " Tir- connell," which is usually associated with the more northerly part
i20 THE BIRTHPLACE AND LIFE OF
who brings her to his home. This must have been to Fanghart, in the County of Lonth, which has always been described in legend and in history as the birthplace of Brigii^ Shortly after coming there^ the wizard or Dmid invited the King of Gonailie and his queen to a feast. The queen and the bondmaid were, on the same morning, each delivered of a child. The maidservants (Book of Lismore — third Life) washed Broicsech's daughter in milk.^ The miracle by which the queen's dead son arose out of death when the other infant was laid beside it^ may be passed by.
We are next told that the wizard took Broicsech and the child into Gonnaught, '' for her mother was of Connaught, but her father of Munster." ^ He soon, however^ left Connaught, and returned " to his own patrimony." *
The baptism of the child, and the manner of it, are mentioned to have taken place in Connaught; but in the form of a miraculous vision, in which the wizard saw three angels as clerics.
of Ulster. The * * Book of Rights *' connects Conaille most frequently with the level portion of the extensive territory of the Oirghialla, from Dundalk to Monasterboice. When the words *' Magh " or ** Muir- theimhne are added, it is always so.
* Local legend is very strong both as to the birthplace and the endeavours to persuade Brigit to marriage. No other place disputes the former. Dr. Lanigan quotes from the fourth Life : '' Villa ilia in qua sancta Brigida nata est Fochart Muirthemne vocatur ; quae est in pro- vincia Ultorum, scilicet in regione quae dicitur Conaille Muirthemne." Likewise St. Bernard, in his *' Life of St. Malachy."
^ Dr. Stokes (note on line 1201) says : *' The bathing of the new-bom Brigit in milk may perhaps be the origin of the Irish practice mentioned by Benedictus Abl^. — * Gesta Regis Henrici Secundi,' ed. Stubbs, at 1171. The babe was thrice dipped in milk, which was then thrown into a drain or some other unclean place."
' In the Franciscan version, this passage seems to have been interpo- lated from another place : ^* The angel once came to Brigit, and sent ner to release her mother (who was) with the wizard, Mac Midrui was he. Of Cormomght uxis her mother, and of the Munstei'^neii toas her father ; and in Mag Fenamna in Arad Cliach was he at that time." The omission of the wordd in italics seems to render the sense clearer.
* 3tt u-becA|6 r\nn} bocunj a acaxVoa fciij. (Lismore, 1224.) This is said in the third life to be in Munster. It is not easy to reconcile the accounts of the different parts of Ireland in which Dubthach and the wizard are placed at different times. Dr. Lanigan (chap, vi, note 61) tells us that Mag Fenamna or Magh Femin was between Gashel and OlonmeL To shift the wizard from north of Dundalk to the south of Cashel, and assign him patrimony in both places, is more than improbable. Brigit's subsequent fame made all parts of Ireland desirous to share in the events of her life ; and we must expect to meet with fiuch diffi- culties.
* Book of Lismore, 1215-19 ; two in the third life, app. vii.
ZXTisti-sSTt ^T3C^- _v
ST. BRIGIT OF KILDARE. 221
who poured oil on the girl's head^^ and named her SanctaBrigita. From this it woald appear either that the actual rite was not recorded in the original documents from which this was taken, or that the natural fact has become merged in the supematurol^ It must be recollected that the wizard had not as yet become professedly a Christian^ and been baptized.
The next fact recorded is that the infant rejected the wizard's food, and that he selected a cow which was entrusted to a faith- ful woman> who milked her for Brigit's use. It is hardly straining a point to give this a spiritual meaning in the bringing up of the child ; and the virtues which were a prominent feature of her character were thus developed. '* Everything to which her hand was set used to increase. She tended the sheep ; she satisfied the birds; she fed the poor."
Although the narrative after this runs on, there is a break of several years, and we come to a distinct epoch in Brigit's life. '' When courage, and strength, and size came to Brigit, she desired to go and visit her fatherland." It is abundandy clear that this decision was her own. It is not likely to have been proposed by the mother, who had been sold away from Dubthach's house, or by the master, to whom she was a profitable hand- maid, and always treated her well. The Irish words *' courage, strength/' &c., are strong, so we may fairly conclude that she was then labout sixteen years old. The strength of character, of which we see more as the story proceeds, enabled her to over- come any opposition that might have been offered. Her master even sent a message to Dubthach to inform him. He willingly came, was hospitably welcomed, and received his daughter as a free woman. . Certainly the wizard had learned more than his Druidic religion had taught him. So Brigit with her nurse accompanied her father to Offaly.
While there, she attended, on the invitation of a certain faithful woman, a meeting of the Synod of Leinster, in Moy Liffey ('' Plain of the Liffey "), in Kildare. Bishop Ibbair, who was there, had received intimation in a vision that '^Mary the Virgin'' waa coming, and recognised her on her entrance. "Wherefore," says the Lismore Lif0, '^Brigit is henceforth called the Mary of the Gael."
How long she remained with her father this time we have no means of knowing. After a time she returned to her mother.
' Unction of the head seema to have been part of the baptismal rite, as well as of the rite of Confirmation." — Note, Stokes's '^ Life of Brigit,'* p. 184. The third Life, chap, vii, says : '^ Ordinem complentea baptis- matiB oonsaeto more."
S22 THE LIFE OF ST. BRIGIT OF KILDARE.
•who Wad ill. ^ There is no use in reconnting the miracles which follow. All are of the same character^ showing unboonded charity to all in poverty or distress. The wizard was baptized^ •and Broicsech was set free. He is described as fall of faith ; and remained in Brigit's company till his death. Note must be taken of time during these movements.
The life of Brigit^ after her return to Offaly with her mother, as it was before, is summed up in the words, ^' Whatsoever her hands would find or would get, she used to give to the poor and needy of the Lord.'' ' And the climax is when her fiatiier, dis- pleased with this charity at his expense, takes her to Dunlaing, son of Enna, King of Leinster, to sell her to him; and she gives a Id^er, asking for alms, her father's sword. The general and not the literal meaning is to be taken throughout. Her reply to the king saves her from bondage : '^ The Virgin's Son knoweth •if I had thy power, with all thy wealth, and with all thy Leinster, I would give them all to the Lord of the elements.*' ' '^ Her merit before God is higher than ours," is the king's verdict.
The next circumstance in the Lismore Life seems to come in its natural place, but is earlier in the third Life. And, as it takes us back to the County of Louth, it will detain us a little. Dubthach and his sons are anxious to give her in marriage to a certain man of good kin. They are urgent. Saith Brigit : — ** It is not lively for us if it bring harm upon us." Then she put her finger under the eye, and plucked it out of her head, so tiiat it lay on her cheeL When Dubthach and her brethren beheld that, they promised that she should never be told to go to a husband save the husband whom she should like. Then Brigit put her palm to her eye, and it was healed at once.
Now, local tradition has preserved the same story in three places in the County Louth, with the slight exception that it was owing to the persistence of her suitor or suitors that she so disfigured herself The three places are Faughart, Clonkeehan, andDunleer; and the legends are noticed in the ordnance letters • to Sir Thomas Larcom, by Messrs. O'Keefie and O'Connor, regarding these parishes.
^ Th& Rawlinson MS. says: *' And. her father and her foster-mother almost refused to let her go. However, she went" T*' Stokes's Lives," p. 321). This is quite in accordance with her strengtn of character.
' The third lofe here makes the Saint not quite honest in her .dealingB— ''Quia multa furta faciebat — omnia quae videbat pauperibus . oocultS dabat " (chap. xvi). * .
' This epithet applied to the supreme Creator i^ very ancient.
H
M
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H QQ
H
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3
H
n
I
224 THE BIRTHPLACE AND LIFE OF
In the parifili of Faagbart, and townland of Monaecteeba,! s small mountain stream, &om its source on Slieve na bolea, aboat half a mile off, passes tbrongli the gronnds of a honse called Highlands, near which a bnsh, hnng with rags — snch as may be seen at many s ziarat in India — marks the first station where the occurrence took place. About 200 yards farther on, two more stations, close together, show where the eye was healed. The first Sunday in each qnarter is the special day for pilgrims to make their devotions here. Matthew MacDermott, living in a house close by, is present cnstodian of the stations. Tradition is not nnchangeable ; and the visitor will learn, perhaps to his Borprise, that St. Bri^t's suitor, as well as her hther and brothers, were commisBioned officers in the army.
The illustration opposite p. 217, from a photograph beaati- foUy painted by the late Miss Margaret Stokes, will give a better idea than any description of St. Brigit's Well, a few yards from the old church of which she is patron. It is very anoient.* Its
Favohabt Chubcb BtmfB.
(North Side.)
' See map,
' Tho buUding over St. John's Well in the townbnd of Castletown, aor Dundalk, ^ougb also very ancient, ia not as old as this one.
ST. BRIGIT OF KILDARE. 225
exterior dimensione are : — Height^ 11 feet 1 inch, 4 feet wide, and 8 feet long. The doorway is 8 feet 2 inches high ; 2 feet 2 inches wide at the bottom ; 1 foot 7^ inches wide at top. The church, as will be seen from the photograph of the north wall, though ancient, is of later date than the Saint herself. It is an oblong, of 70 feet by 22, without a chancel, like all the older churches. A little over 200 years after Brigit's death, a battle was fought here (Ann. F.M., a.d. 782) between Aedh Allan, head of the Clanna Neill^ and Aedh Boin^ King of Ulster, in reyenge for the profanation by the latter of the Church of Gill Gunna (Kilcoony, Parish of Ballycloy, Gounty Tyrone). Aedh Boin was defeated, and his head was struck off on the Glochan Ghommaigh (^^ stone of decapitation ")» i^ ^^ doorway of the Ghurch of Faughart. Whether this was the same as the existing building it is not easy to say.
The next place in Louth connected with St. Brigit is the ancient parish (always impropriate) of Glonkeehan, in the parish of Gharlestown. The legend here (see Ordnance letter) is that she prayed to God to make her blind. The name in Irish is cliujD C40d4|i), " meadow of the blind one."
In Dunleer, the legend is that the suitors were many, and she blinded herself, but was healed by praying at a well, called in the Ordnance letters '' Brigit's Well,'* five perches east of the road to Drogheda. The writer of the letter derives the name Dunleer from this circumstance ; and the late Bishop of Down, Dr. Reeves, has shown it to have been Utit) leitte« '' the house of austerity." The first map will show how. these places lay with respect to Faugbart and the Abbey at Louth.
The question naturally arises. If the occurrence be true, and took place in Offaly, how. was it that the tradition has such deep root in Louth, but not there ? The natural and perhaps more probable, reply, is that, leaving out the eye as evident fable, it is impossible not to think that so remarkable a personality^ endowed with unusual gifts of mind, and, we may well believe, of person also, had not many suitors, wherever she lived. Her steady adherence to the purpose of her life must have given her a reputation which followed her, and laid the foundation for many a romantic story. In the girl herself, that determination may not unnaturally have arisen from, and been strengthened by, her knowledge of the circumstances attending her own birth, causing her to look on the married life with dislike^ . . ;
While she was growing up in the wizard's house atFaughart, and the idea of a religious life was developing itself in her mind, she must have sought advice and instruction from those best able to afford it The Abbey of Drumiskin was near ; but if its first
?26 THE BIRTHPLACE AND LIFE OF
Abbot, LugadiuSy son of Oengns, Eiog of Munster, was then alive, a young girl may naturally have shrank from consulting one so superior in station. The Monastery of Louth, only a mile further off, was within easy distance of Faughart* The name of Mochta, who then presided over it, is nowhere men- tioned in any of the Lives ; but he was the friend of St Patrick ; and it is natural to suppose that his counsel was asked and obtained, and that Brigit took the Abbey of Louth in her journeys to and from Eildare. From thence both Clonkeehan andDunleer were on the direct road, and hence the traditions that have fixed themselves at those places.^
The next step in Brigit's life was the formal dedication of herself to the service of God. The ceremony, called in later years '^ taking the veil," was performed, according to the third Life, by Bishop Mel ; but this is disputed by Dr. Lanigan^ who says it was done by MacGaille, of Uisnech (Usney, in Westmeath). *' The Liber Uymnorum " joins the two, saying that Bishop MacCaiJle guided her and seven nuns, her companions, over the Bog of Fai^nech ; and that when they drew nigh to Mel's abode, Brigit desired him to place a caille (veil) over her bead before she entered into Mel's presence. Also, that MacCaille introduced her — *' This is the famous nun out of Leinster, even Brigit" So the orders were read out by Bishop Mel ; and it is further related by the same authority that the Bishop confen'ed on her 4Bpiscopal orders, instead of the ''order of repentance.'* The explanation of this, as a mistake occasioned by inebriation (BAwlinson, quoted p. 328, Stokes), is hardly worth notice were it not for the sake of showing how apt writers of that age were to rush, to a conclusion.
^Brigit's age when she took the veil seems to have been strangely miscalculated. Usher puts it at fourteen years; Lanigan supposes that it was when she was sixteen (chap, viii, § iii), the earliest age according to canonical rules. But, unless the state- ments in all the Lives which bear upon this point are untrue, and unless the periods of her life spent — the second time at Faughart, and twice with her father in Offaly — can be compressed into a few months, she must have been considerably older.
How long it was after taking the veil that she became the head of the monastic establishment we have no certain means of 4etermining. It was fixed at Kill darra, the '' Church of the Oak " (fourth Life — Lan. viii, note 119). Ware and Harris say it was ^ — — ' .
^ ^ See map No. 1. The road from Dandalk to Drogheda^ which went
' along by the sea to Casan Linne (Annagassan)^ was in ancient times the
nulin road. - - t , i ■ . .
mr^raVR
ST. BRIGIT OF. KILDARE. 22)^
fbtinded a.d. 480 ; Lanigan (cL yiii^ § 10), ten years later, when Brigit was thirty-seven. It finally consisted of a monastery as well as a conventy which was nnnsnal; and its development may have taken some time. The fact that she ruled over monks as well as nnns may have given rise to the idea that she had episcopal orders conferred upon her. But, like all monasteries where the abhot had not • episcopal orders, it was necessary that there should be one bishop at least, to perform the necessary ecclesias- tical functions. Gonlaeth is, by general assent, named as the bishop of the monastery, and first Bishop of Eildare.
The second Life, cap. xxxv, contains a description of the church of this monastery long afterwards, mainly, it would seem, for the purpose of recounting a miracle performed by the Saint's power, when it was being repaired, and difficulty was met within placing the gate of the doorway, by which Brigit and her nuns had been wont to enter the church, on its hinges ; and this was overcome after a night spent in prayer by her tomb. According to this, the tombs of Brigit and Gonlaeth were on the right and left of the altar, in monuments adorned with various designs in gold, silver, and gems, and with crowns of gold and silver hanging over them. The building was lofty and spacious to accomm^ate the number of the faithful worshipping there. There were three oratories under the one roof, divided from each other by wooden walls, the exact position of which is not mentioned ; they may have been behind the altar.
Across the church an ornamented partition, painted with figures, and covered with linen hangings, extended from wall to wall By an entrance on the right side, the Chief Pontiff with his attendants, and those who performed the sacred offices, and offered the sacrifice of the Lord, entered into the sanctuary at the altar. By an entrance on the left side, placed transversely, the abbess, her nuns, and the faithful widows only entered. The rest of the church, answering to the nave, was divided along its centre by a partition, the right side being allotted to priests and the faithful of the male sex, and the left to the women and virgins of the faithful.
Such in its later years was the Cathedral Church of Eildare ; but, as before has been said, we are entirely without records of the history of the abbey from its foundation in the end of the sixth century till the beginning of the ninth, after which the frequent incursions of Danes plundered it of any wealth it may have become possessed of, and destroyed all the written records and copies of the sacred books it contained.
We thus may trace how the life of St Brigit wore on. Her strength of mind and will and intellectual ability enabled her
228 THE LIFE OF ST. BRIGIT OF KILDARE,
to gOTem well the imporiatit establishment oyer which she was {daoed. And if ther records of her in this position are nothing* bnt a series of miracles, underneath all we see the same pare- minded charity that had distingaished her earliest years. Li tho words ' of the Lismore Life (line 1696), ** she was fii^m, she was humble, she was forgiving, she was loving." She died in the seventieth or seventy-second year of her age, a.d. 625 (Lanigan, chap, ix, s. vi). Some writers put it two years later. Her festival is the 1st of February.
• f
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( 229 )
WILLIAM FITZGERALD OF CASTLEROE, AND HIS TOMB IN THE KILKEA CHURCHYARD.
By lord WALTER FITZGERALD.
[Read at the Naas Meeting, 1898.]
HALF-WAY between Eilkea Castle and Moganey station, picturesquely standing in an old apple-orchard, are the ruins of an ancient square '' pile " or castle, on which a more modem addition, also in ruins, has been built. This is Gastleroe {/OaisUn ruadh), or, as the name implies, *' the red castle."
It was not an uncommon practice long ago to call a building after its predominating colour, whether caused by the class of stone used in its construction, or for some other reason. Hence we have a townland adjoining that of Castleroe to the south, called Blackcastle ; the castles at Leixlip and at Leighlin Bridge were each known as the Black Castle ; there is also the White Castle in Athy (erroneously called White's Castle by some authorities); in the Queen's County we find another Bed Castle ; and in the County Antrim a Green Castle. Abbeys and churches, too, were in like manner distinguished : the Grey Abbey, Black Abbey, White Church, &c.^ are common name&
For centuries Castleroe has formed a part of the manor of Kilkea, belonging to the Earls of Eildare. It must origin- ally have been not so much a castle (as we understand the word) as a fortified dwelling, in which its soldier-farmer tenants could defy the attacks of their wild Irish neighbours from Offaly, Leix, and the Wicklow Mountains.
There is no history attached to the place ; but when we read of the frequent incursions of the native septs into the Pale or English territory, we may be sure that, if walls could speak, Castleroe could tell a tale of fire and sword, brought about, not only by the hostile clans, but also by rival Anglo-Norman barons, causing civil war, famine, and death, inconceivable to us who live in peaceful times.
Who it was that built the castle is unknown ; and until the end of the sixteenth century there appears to be no mention of its occupiers. One of the first notices of a resident that I have 80 far been able to come across, occurs in a Chancery Inquisition of the County £ildare, taken in Athy, on the 6th September, 1621, wherein it is stated that Gerald, the 15tb £arl of
WILLIAM FITZGERALD OF CASTLEROE. 23 1
Eildare (who died on the 11th November, 1620), granted a new lea^ of the town and lands of " Gi^stlerow-moygany to one William FitzGerald and his heirs.*' This William I have been able to identify as belonging to the FitzGeralds of Blackball, near Clane, who were outlawed in 1641. The source of my information is a MS. volume at Carton, which, among other items, contains a copy of a feoffment made to William Talbot of Carton and others, by Gerald, the 14th Earl of Kildare, on the 81st July, 1608, of the lands of Ballyyounge, alias Yongston, and Ardenegrosse, in the County Kildare, to Uie use of Thomas FitzGerald (? the Earl's only brother), of Eilkea, and his lawful heirs male, and, in default of such issuC) to the use of '* William FitzGerald of Castleroe, within the Countie of Eildare, gent, now servant to the said Earl, and sonne to Gerrot fitzJames FitzGerald, sometyme of Blackhalle, by dane, deceased, and the heires male of his boddy lawfully begotten."
This William FitzGerald was twice married: his first wife was Joan Keating, and his second Cisly Gaydon; the former died on the 21st of February, 1628. I cannot discover the names of more than three of his children. One was a daughter named Mary, married to William, son of James Bochford.^ Another was a son named Garrett, who joined the ranks of the Confederate Catholics in the Rebellion of 1641, and was slain at the Battle of Kilrush (Co. Kildare) in the following year. A contemporary History thus mentions his death : — " A gentleman of the FitzGeralds — Gerrott mac William of Castlerowe — was there killed, a hopeful! young man, an excellent scholar, an exceeding good antiquarist in both Latin, English, and Irish, a traveller, a courtier, and a brave horseman."' In the con- temporary History the scene of the principal part of the fight is called *' Gnocatarife," of which the present name of the place — Bull-hill — is a translation.
The third child was also a son, and christened " Gerald ;" he, on the 9th of May, 1655, was appointed her attorney by Joan, Countess of Kildare, for the supervision of her son, Wentworth, Earl of Kildare's (a minor), possessions in the County of Roscommon. In the letter of Attorney the Countess writes : — ^that she '' appoints her well-beloved friend, Gerald FitzGerald, of Castlerow, in the County of Kildare, her true and lawfuU attorney, in her name to take possession and
* Vide O'Hart.
*Vide Sir John Gilbert's *' Contemporary History of Iriah Afhirs," VoL i, p. 31.
232 WILLIAM FITZGERALD OF CASTLEROE,
agree with the seyeial person or persons now inhabiting, or hath formerly inhabited, the townes and lands of Clone- murry, Bathmore, Bathvegly, and Gorticetrigaghy in the County Boscommon*"
In a MS. volume at Carton, labelled " Letters to George, 16th Earl of Eildare,'' are the copies of two letters in reference to William FitzGerald, which show him to have been a bit of a horse-coper as well as a keen sportsman. The first letter is written by William himself, and is dated from Castleroe, the 29th of January, 1682. It reads as follows : —
** Right hon^" my humble services allwayes remembered to your lordship aud my lady, and my younse lord your sonne, whom I pray God preserve, and that you both may be the father and mother of many more ; and God be praysed that hee has come as a hopef ull heyre unto you. ^
**The blacke mare stayes for your lordship, and the gentleman says your lordship shall have her as cheape as any man and before any ; the
Frise hee conceales until he meetes me himse&e ; I assure your lordship Drill deale as cheape for your lordship as for myself, else I were unworthy to Uve.
*' Soe humbly takinge leave, ever resting and remayninge.
Your honorable's most humble servant to be commanded,
" Will- fitzGerald."
The second letter was written by Maurice FitzGerald,' of Allen, in the County of Kildare (probably from his castle theroj called Eilmeage), on the 25th of September, 1682^ He writes : —
** Eight hon"*' I have sent you two brace of Partridges being y* first fruits of my hawkes labour. I assure your lordship you have, though I bee noe fiiEiulkner, y* best hawke in y* kingdom, and if it please your honor and my very good lady to doe me y* honor one week to come to us, both your honor and her ladyship by seeinge y* hawke fly within y* Hand of Allen shall confirme, I hope what I report of him to bee true. My lord, lette mee know by this bearer y^ tyme certayne that I may pro- vide some venison against my ladyes cominge.
**I killed a brace of Partridges uppon my cosen W" fitzGerald's land of Castlerowes farme, where there is a good store of game. I shall therefore entreate your lordship's letter unto him that noe fiaulkners shall hawke in that liberty but such as your honor shall appoynt or licence.
**I hear of some neighbours towards y* lordship of Maynooth that destroyes y* small store of Partridge that ly that way, they ought to be
^Greorge, the 16th Earl of Kildare, married Lady Joan Boyle, daughter of Richard, the 1st and ''Great" Earl of Cork. The son mentioned in the above letter was Richard, Lord OfiBsdy, who died an infant ; the Earl eventually had two more sons and six daughters.
'He was outlawed in 1641 ; his father was Cterald fitzPhilip Fitz- Gerald of Allen ; they were descended from the Knights of Kerry, of the great house of Desmond* . .
AND HIS TOMB IN THE KILKEA CHURCHYARD. 233
preserved pretiously for your owne use, game thereftbouts beinge very scarce.
** I beseech your honor blame your servants, and lett them have special] direction to bee more caref ull. I could name y* ffiiulkners but that they are my spedall friends.
*' Soe my lord I humbly take leave, and wiU ever live and dy,
* * Your lordship's true servant,
'' Maurice fitzGerald."
In this same year (1682) there was living at Ballyadams Castle, in the Queen's Goanty, near Athy, a certain John Bowen, a descendant of the notorious Shaun-a-feeka Bowen, who was implicated in the treacherous massacre at Mullaghmast fifty-five years before. This John Bowen rented a piece of land near Athy called '' Boshbranghe " (Bosbran) ; but a neighbour gave him much trouble in a dispute about its mearin. In consequence, John Bowen wrote to the Earl of Eildare, and stated he was willing to leave it to arbitration. ^' I will nominate," he wrote, '' Sir James FitzPeers, K^ ; ^ Mr. Gerald fitzMaurice of Glas- healy ; * or Mr. Will™ fitzGerald of Gastleroe ; which in regard they live all neere, is my reason."'
In another letter written from Ballyadams Castle, on the 21st April, 1688, to the Earl of Kildare, John Bowen says : —
'^ Right Hon^'*' my humblest service attend you. I have sent you as many pheasants as I could gett ; as for Partridges, hawkinge tyme beeinge past, and having neyther settinge dogge nor netts, I could not answer your honorable's expectations, beeinge sorry thereof." ^
The use of the '^ settinge dogge and netts " is explained in an old sporting publication called '' The Gentleman's Becreation," by Nicholas Cox, first published in 1674 (with a sixth edition issued in 1721). After a treatise on falconry, and the method of killing pheasants, partridge, cranes, &c., with hawks, there is an article about netting game with the use of decoy birds and calls, almost identically in the same way as is practised by the
^ This was Sir James FitzClerald, Knt., of Ballyshannon, Co. Kildare, whose father, Sir Pierce FitzGerald, Knt., with his wife Ellinor (daughter of Sir Maurice FitzGerald of Lackagh), and two of his daughters, Anne and Catherine, were slain in an attack by the O'Bjrrnes on his Castle of Ardreigh, near Athy, on St. Patrick's Day, 1593. Sir James died on the 26th April, 1637.
* Gerald FitzGerald, of Glassealy (near Narraghmore), was the son of Maurice (by his wife Honora OToole), son of Walter FitzGerald, son of the 8th Earl of Kildare. Gerald died on the 10th of September, 1637.
' Carton MS. Vol., '' Letters to George, 16th Earl of Kildare."
^Carton MS. Volume, called ''Letters of George, 16th Earl of Kildare. '•
234 WILLIAM FITZGERALD OF CASTLEROE,
Phillabeen-oatchers of the present day. This is follbwed by nn account of: —
^'how to take pabtbidobs with a sbttino-doo.
" There is no art of taking Partridges so excellent and pleasant as by the help of a Setting-Dog ; wherefore, before we proceed to the sport we shall give you an account what this Setting-I>(>g is.
'* Tou are to understand, then, that a Setting-Dog is a certain lusty Land-Spaniel. Spaniels are of two sorts : the first findeth Game on the land, the other on the water. Such as delight on the land play their parts either by Swiftness of Foot, or by often Quesbing, to search out and to spring the bird for further hope of reward, or else by some secret sign and privy token discover the place where they fall ; ' the first kind of such serve the Hawk, the second the Net or TVain. The Land-Spaniels have no peculiar names assigned to them, except thev are named after the Bird, which by natural appointment they are alloted to take, for which consideration some are called Dogs for the Falcon, the Pheasant, the Partridge, and such like ; they are commonly called by one name — viz. Spaniek, as if they originally came from Spain.
*' The Setting-Dog is taught by nature to hunt the Partridge more than any chace whatever, running the fields over with such Alacrity and Nimbleness, as if there was no limit to his fury and desire, and yet by Art under such excellent command, that in the very heigth of his career by a Hem or sound of his Master's voice he shall stand, gaze about him, look in his Master's face, and observe his directions, whether to proceed, stand still or retire ; nay, when he is even just upon his prey, that he may -even take it up in his mouth, yet his obedience is so framed by Art, that presently he shall either stand still or fall down flat on his belly, without daring either to make any noise or motion till his master comes to him, and then he will proceed in all things to follow his directions:
'* Having a dog thus qualified by Art and Nature, take him with you where the Partridges do haunt, there cast off your dog and by some word of encouragement with which he is acquainted, engage him to range, but never too far from you, and see that he beat his ground justly and even, without casting about, or flying now here now there, which the mettle of some will do if not corrected or reproved.
'* If in your Dog's ranging, you perceive him to stop on the sudden, or stand still, you must make in to him, for without doubt he hath set the Partridge, and as soon as you come to him, command him to go nearer them, but if he goes not, but either lies still or stands shaking of his Tail, (as who would say — ' Here they are under my nose ') and withal now and then looks back, then cease from urging him further, and take your circumference, walking fast with a careless eye, looking straight before the nose of the Dog, and thereby see how the covey lie, whether close or strag^ing.
'^hen commanding the Dog to lie still, draw forth your net [the nets wherewith you ensnare Partridges must be of double twined brown thread died blue or green, let the mesh be reasonably large or square, almost an inch between knot and knot, let the length of it be about three fathom and the breadth about seven foot, and verge it on each side with strong small cord, and let the ends be also so, that it may lie compass wide ana hollow] ; having drawn forth your net prick one end to the ground, and spread your net all open, and to cover as many of the Partridges as you
'I.e., where they alight.
AND HIS TOMB IN THE KILKEA CHURCHYARD. 235
can, which done make in with a noise, and spring up the Partridges, which shall no sooner rise but they will be entangled in the Net.
'* And if you shall let go the old cock and Hen, it will not be only an act like a gentleman, but a means to increase your Pastime."
Partridge^ quail, snipe, wdodcook^ and other birds were also snared, or canght in gins and traps, probably with the help of decoy birds.
When it was that pheasants and partridges were introduced into Ireland, is unceiiain. According to Giraldus Cambrensis, the historian of the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland, they were unknown in this country in the twelfth century. In the follow- ing century, when the Anglo-Normans had settled down a bit, and were on friendlier terms with their Irish neighbours, they were probably introduced, owing to the sport they afforded to the possessors of hawks. In the year 1887 Grace's *^ Annals of Ireland " record a curious incident that occurred in the vicinity of Dublin. He states that : —
*' On the eve of St. CaUxtus (Oct. 14th) seven Partridges flying from the fields, lighted on the roof of the hall of the Canons of the Holy Trinity ; the boys caught two of them alive, and killed three, the others flew away ; this thing caused much wonder to all persons."
In Henry VIU's reign there were statutes passed strictly forbidding anyone under the degree of a baron to shoot with a hand-gun and hail-shot at any deer, hare, heron, shovelard, pheasant, partridge, or wild swan, on pain of a fine of ten pounds and three months' imprisonment This was enacted to encourage falconry.
Two hundred and fifty years ago — that is, in William Fitz- Gerald of Castleroe's time — ^game must have been very abundant, as the fire-lock and small shot were too expensive for general use in fowling; those pests the jay and the magpie were unknown; foxes were not preserved; and the scald-crow was either destroyed with the hawks or by bird-lime. In those days game of all sorts was just as much appreciated for the table as it is at present, and probably more so, as it was much more difficult to obtain than in these days of big battues, and the *' driving " system. Hollinshed, in his " Chronicles of Ire- land," describing the character of Gerald, the 11th Earl of Eildare (''the wizard Earl"), whose death took place in the year 1585, relates that, though he was short-tempered, yet his anger did not last long. In illustration of this, he tells how on one occasion '' the Earl being in a chafe for tiie wrong saucing of a partridge, rose suddenly from the table, meaning to have rea- soned the matter with hys cooke ; having entered into the kitchen, drownyng in oblivion hys challenge, bee began to commende
236 WILLIAM FITZGfeRALD OF CASTLEROE,
the bnjlding of the roome vberein bee was at do tyme before, and HO leaving tbe cooke uncontrolled, be returned to hys gneBts meryly."
Whether William FitzGerald of Gastleroe took part in the rebellion of 1641 or not is donbtfal. It, however, aeems more than likely that be bad died previons to its oatbreak, as in a list of pereonB oatlawed for complicity in it about this time, his name doea not appear, though bis son Garrett's name is included.
Tbe barial-place of the family, einoe settling down at Caetle- roe, was \he old chorchyard of Kilkea. Attached to tbe west end of tbe Ghorch rains, is a Mortuary Chapel, now ^so in rains, oontaining a vault above which stands a tbree-sided altar-tomb bearing representatiouB of our Lord's Passion and
Tbb Dtrsa balf of the FirzaEUUi Auub-Tomb Slab, 163S.
' Vide toI. iii of Gilbert's " History of the Confederation and War of 1641."
AND HIS TOMB IN THE KILKEA CHURCHYARD. 237
Gmcifixion. The eovering elab ia ornameiited mth a ofobb ran- Ding dowD the centre; while roand the edge is the following iuBoriptioD : —
BaS UBTH WTLLIAHB FITZaEOAIrD AND HIS FIBST WIFB. IVi
, rSBKVABI. IN THE YBAK. C
Of the sideB of the altar-tomb one end is misHiDg, the other hag the CnioiGxioD oarred on it. The front portion is divided
OsK or THE stsB BNSB Or TBI FitzQebau) Altab-Toxb.
into three panels ; oommenoing from the left, the first panel eontaioB acnlptnrings representing —
The flogging-post, with ropes attached for tying np the culprit ; on the top of the post or pillar is the cock which reminded St. Peter of his denial of om Lord ; on either side of the piUsr is a knotted, three-thonged aconite au4 a birch-rod.
IWILLIAM FITZGKRALD OF CASTLEROE. 239
The next panel haa —
The St. Yeronics handk^chief ; the pnrple robe and reed; a aword and the right ear of Malohns, servant of the High Priest; a hand; an ewer and basin in which Fontins Pilate literally washed his hands of amy respOQBibility in oar Lord's death ; three dice ; and the thirty pieces of silver.
240 WILLIAM FITZGERALD OF CASTLEROE.
In the last panel are —
A cross and a orown of thorns: on one side of it is a hammer (including a nail-extractor); a mallet (? with which the prisoner's legs were broken); a pincers and three nails ; and the spear. On the other side of the cross : a ladder ; i^ chalice at the end of a long pole ; a barred lanthom; and an instrument like an extinguisher, also at the end of a long pole (which may be intended for a sponge).
The original position of this tomb was against the east wail of the Mortuary Chapel ; some forty years ago it was discovered hid under fallen debris in a state of collapse. When re-erected by the Duke of Leinster, it was placed against the south wall, possibly because the loss of the missing end is not so noticeable in that position. The entrance to the vault is reached by a short flight of steps two or three paces inside the doorway. In the last century this vault was appropriated by the St. Leger family of Grangemellon, as we learn from the Castledermot Parish Register, one entry stating that on the 20th of March^ 1769^ John St. Leger, Esq., was buried in the Kilkea vault
In connection with William FitzGerald there are some sculp- tured stoneS; which are now built into the west wall of the nave of the Church ruins ; one represents his crest, a monkey carrying a knight's helmet; another a mermaid holding a comb in one hand, and a lock of hair in the other, seated on, or reclining against, a sea-horse (?); this may have been the crest of one of his wives. The two remaining stones formed a mural monument : the upper stone bears the FitzGerald crest and coat-of-arms (on a shield argent, a saltire gules with a crescent for difierence) ; in each of the bottom comers is a small shield bearing arms impaled, viz. —
On the dexter side the FitzGerald and Keating coats (the latter being '' argent, a saltire gules between four nettle-leaves vert,'' with a crescent for difference), below which are the letters I and E, the initials of his first wife.
On the sinister side the FitzGerald and Gaydon coats ('* gules, a chevron between three roses or," for Gaydon); below them S and G, the initials of his second wife.
Exactly below the large centre shield is the date 1680. This must be the date of the erection of the monument, as from his letter, quoted above^ we know that William FitzGerald was alive
...ii.^rflu,,,,^-"
SculptubBd Stokxb is ooKKionoN WITH WUiiiUH FmGBKiU) o:
CUTLRBOB, ElLIE* CBOBCB RmNB.
242 WILLIAM FITZGERALD OF CASTLEROE.
in 1682. The lower portion of the mural monument bears the following Latin ineMsription : —
VIVO EOO, lAM MORIOR MIRABIS VSRBVLA, LSCTOB
IN TEBKIS MORIOB VITA SEGYNDA POLO EST ' VITA NIHILL • PBIA ' EST ' ESTET BUHI^POPA SEGVNDA '
VITA PBIOB DOLVS EST, VITA SECVDA DEGVS ' EOCE OEBALDIKO FVEBA OOIVNCTA GVLIELMO
ECCB KEATmOA FIO IVNCTA lOANNA VIBO VJSGILIM CONIVX CLABA DE BTIBFB GEIDON
IVNCTV8 EBAT, QVI TBES CONDIMVB HOC TVMVLO.
It is not unlikely that William's son, Garrett, was the author of this epitaph, as in the notice of him already given he is described as a good Latin scholar. The following translation of the Latin was made in 1868 by W. E. Coghlan, then a tutor in Eilkea Castle : —
'* I dead still live : the words create surprise ! I died on earth to live again in heaven. My former life was nought but tears and sighs ; But now to me are pomp and glory given — A second life, all happiness in heaven.
*' Lo ! I Joanna Keating, who did join
With William — he, a pious Geraldine, Was first Ceecilia's consort,^ she who came
Straight from Geidon's stock of famous name, We three to death's sharp sting at last succumbed; And ^neath this stone together lie entombed/'
' These sculptured stones were formerly built into the boundary- wall of the churchyard, on the north-west side, and were placed for safety in their present position by the 4th Duke of Leinster. The mortuary chapel must have been their original site ; the proper place, too, of the coat*of-arms stone would be resting on the slab bearing the inscription, and .in that position built into the wall over the altar-tomb. There is said to have been one, if not two, more sculptured FitzGerald stones, which, being in a fractured state, got buried, or were lost
Of the existing ruins of Kilkea Church, which consist of Nave, Chancel, Lady Chapel, and Mortuary Chapel, there is but little now above ground, except the east gable-ends of the Chancel and Lady Chapel, the west gable of the Mortuary Chapel, and portion of the west gable of the Nave.
^ This does not agree with the inacription on the altar-tomb, which states that Joan was William's first wife. The tomb itself appears to have been made in William's lifetime, and the inscription recording his death, and that of his second wife, was never completed.
^wiri^VB*
244
WILLIAM FITZGERALD OF CASTLEROE.
The Nave is the oldest portion of the rnins, and had no oat-stone work at the qnoins; it is built, too, of large boulders of a different class of stone to the additions, which, though built on to, were not bonded into it The Levittstown stone was used for the Nave, and the Clochar^ and Mullachreelan^ stone for the other portions, whose quoins, doors, and windows were of dressed limestone, l^e east windows of the Chancel and of the Lady Chapel are round-headed. The former is of three» and the latter
Gboumb-plan of Eilkea Chubch Buims.
of two lights ; both have a square *' eyebrow '^ above them, as well as the little window (also round-headed) on the north side of the ChanceL These are the only windows in situ.
The two north windows of the Lady Chapel were re-erected in 1892, the cut-stone portions having been dug up just below where they now stand ; between them is a niche, or recess, 4fk. wide and 2ft. deep ; nearly opposite to it is a hagioscope, or " squint,'' which gave a view of the High Altar in the ChanceL
The doorways had a pointed arch ; portions of them, as well as the cut-stone work of various windows, &c., are now collected in the west end of the Nave, together with many little perforated slate-like stones used for the roofing.
The font, now standing near the footpath through the ruins, is of limestone, and in shape like an octagonal barrel : the per- foration is at the side.
^ Quarries in t}ie neighbourhood^
1 CaUBCH (iKTBRtOR).
Tbb Eabt GkI) of Eilkka Chcboh (Eitsbiob).
246 WILLIAM FITZGERALD OF CASTLEROE,
The Mortuary Chapel was probably bnilt by William Fits- Gerald, of Castieroe, early in the Beventeenth oootory. The aide- walle ore nearly level with the gronnd ; bat the west gable is standing : it contains a round-headed door-way (the lintel being of a sinf^e stone), above which is a sqnare window of oat stone closely reaembling those in the more modem portion of Castieroe. During some repairs in 1692 a cut limestone Hotel of a window was discovered below the ground-level, acting as a qaoin stone'; it was extraoted, and placed with similar portions
The West End of the Kileea CBtntca Butm
(Shovine tbe poailioa of tbe Font, PitiQenId Scalptured Btonw, iDdBablasiulof Uie Mortnarr Chapslf .
lying in the castle close by. This window had a flst-arched head ; bnt, straoge to say, resembled no existing window in the church or the castle, though to the latter it may formerly have belonged.
Daring the summer of 1892 a large growth of ivy which was damaging the rains was removed, and the existing walls were repoiuted. Though there were no headstones or graves visible in the Nave or Lady Chapel, yet traces of interments were noticeable when levelling the ground in those portions of the j ruins. At the Bame time the opportunity was taken of plaoing
' See iUuatiAtioD on the opposite page.
AND HIS TOMB IN THE KILKEA CHURCHYARD. 247
new mnllions in the east windows, whieh were in perfect condi- tion, except for the loss of those portions.
The Churchyard is dosed, except to three or four families in the locality who still nse it. . One of them is named Toole, descendants of the ancient clan O'Toole, who formerly owned
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the territory, of Omnrethi, in which Eilkea lies; one of their headstones (which, though nndated, belongs to the eighteenth centnry) bears the following inscription : —
LH.S.
This tl st^e is erected by lohn Tool in memory, of his Posterity,
R
248 WILLIAM FITZGERALD OF CASTLEROE,
We Qow return to Caetleroe.
After the outbreak of the rebellion of 1641, the FitzCter^dfi of Castleroe disappear. On being ontlawed for participation in it, ihey most have left the conntrj. .
The next tenant of the place was an officer in the service of the GoTemment, a Major Thomas Harman, third son of Henry Harman, of Dablia. In 1651 Thomas Harman obtained a lease from Joan, Conntess of Kildare, of Milettstown, near Naae, at a
An DMFiNisHEii Boclptuhed Sub in tbb Chancel of En.KBi OHOitOH.
{In the right hand boCtom eomsr of the slab it carved ui au-Uke anlmaL)
rent of £6, and a yearly "fatt weather-motten at GhriBtmas." To thia lease his m&l is attached, which bears the following ooab-of-arms : — Aznre, a chevron between three rams passant argent.
According to a mannsoript at Carton called " The Bent Boll of the Earl of Kildare's Estate in 1656," it therein appears that Major Harman had obtained a lease for thirty-one years of *' Castleroe and Croket at a rent of £75.*' In 1664 he was fcnighted by the Lord Deputy ; he had been M.P. for Gaxlow in 1659, and for the Borongh of Kildare in 1661. His vrife was Anne Jones, who died in 1683, by whom be had a son, Went- worth, and a daughter Mary, who was first married to Sir Arthur Jones, Knt., of OsberstowD, Go. Kildare (son of Sir Theo-
AND HIS TOMB IN THE KILKEA CHURCHYARD. 249
philas Jones, Ent, by his wife Alice, daughter of Arthur Usher), and secondly to William Moreton, d.d., Bishop of Meath. Sir Thomas Harman died on the 11th December, 1667, and was buried in Christ Church Cathedral, Dablin. He was sacceeded at CasUeroe by his son Wentwor^, who was a captain in the Battle Axe Graards. Wentworth was twice married: first, to Margaret, daughter of Qarrett Wellesley, of Dangan, Gonnty Meath ; and second, to Frances, sister and heir of Anthony Sheppard, of Newcastle, County Longford, by both of whom he had issue. Wentworth Harman ^ died on the 8rd of May, 1714 ; and his sons do not appear to have continued on at Gastleroe, as at this time a family of the name of McBoberts held it on lease.
This family of McBoberts, buried in the neighbouring Churchyard of Dunmanoge.'
According to the CasUedermot Parish Begister:—
1. ''James M'Roberts, sen', was buried in Dunmanoge Chuicb, June y- 5* 1711."
2. '* Mr. James M'Roberts, of Castleroe, buried inDumminoge Chancel, 27 March, 1743."
[A large slab lying flat marks the grave. On it is inscribed : —
HEBB LYBS THB BODY OF | JAMES M^'BOBBKTS WHO | PBPABTED THIS LIFE Y* 25''" OF I MABCH 1743 IN THE 50™ YEAB | OF HIS AGE.
Though many members of the family are buried here, this is the only tombstone in connection with them.]
3. **June 19'" 176B, James M*Roberts of Castleroe, Esq'* after a fort- night's confinement from a slight contusion of his right leg, died suddenly, and was buried by his own particular desire in a Rath near Castleroe House."
This peculiar wish to be buried in the Rath has been thus explained by an old man named Simon Gleeson, who lives close by the place : — This James McBoberts had a land dispute with his landlord^ who was then James, Earl of Eildare (afterwards
> He was the ancestor of the King-Harmans of Rockingham {alias ''Port-na-Carrick-McDermott), Co. Roscommon, whose pedigree is given in Burke's '* Landed Gentry.*'
' The Churchyard of Dunmanoge lies near the public road to Carlow, li mile to the south of Castleroe ; it contains the ruins of the old church, which are featureless. The oldest lettered stone i^ the place stands inside the ruins, and has in relief on it : —
BICHABD . TBEVES OVNY . OOANE
1640.
The flue of the " Cabinet." Windows.
PositioQ of the attaohed reaidsDCie. An arched leoesa.
The boles !oi the beam barrioading the di A pointed oiohed doorwaj. Nbitov staircase. . The original entrtuiae (now built up). The modem entranoe. Portion of the wftll ot the bawn.
WILLIAM FITZGERALD OF CASTLEROE. 251
Itt Dake of Leinster), and won his cftse, on which he swore that, dead or alive, he woald never be got rid of from Gastleroe ; hence his interment on the farm in a Bath lying to the east of the house.
James MoBoberts was a member of that scandalous insti- tution known as " the Hell-fire Club/' whose uniform was a red coat, waistcoat, and breeches, with white stockings. Together with Henry Dixon, of Eilkea Castle, Robert Harpole, of Shrule Castle, Ghaorge Bagenal of Dunleckny, John St Leger of Grangemellon, and others, they met for their orgies in the latter place^ and never failed to keep a seat vacant, in case His Satanic Majesty chose to join them in person.
It is said in the locality that James M cBoberts was buried in the Bath with his favourite horse and two hounds, and that they have several times been met and recognised on the road close by. A large tombstone, measuring 7 ft. 10 in. in length, and 8 ft, 10 in* in breadth, lies, smashed into five pieces, over his grave in the middle of the Bath. On it can be read : —
Here lieth the Body of la' M'Roberts E^q' deceased luno the 20*^ 1*768 Aged 50.
In 1788 the McBobertses disappear from Castleroe, as in this year this large farm was broken up and divided among four or five tenants :— James Lawler, of the town of Garlow, black- smith, was leased the mill portion ; Walter FitzOerald, of Bally- raggan. County ICildare, Gentn., took a lease of the Bath portion for three lives (viz. — the lives of Thomas FitzGerald, of Geraldine, and Walter's sons, James and Allen). This family was a branch of the FitzGeralds of Nurney, County Eildare. Patk. Dowling, farmer, took the Knockroe portion ; and to Anthony Eehoe, of the County* Carlow, was leased the Castle porticm. By him the present house was built in the year 1825, about the same time as the Levittstown chapel,^ close by, repl&ced the former thatched one.
During the summer of 1898 the trustees of the Leinster estate expended a sum of money in securing a dangerous breach above the modem entrance in the Castle ruins. At the same time the walls were repaired internally. A large growth of ivy was cut away, and some two or three feet pf mortar, brick, and stones removed from o£f the floor of the first storey.
* This is dedicated to St. Laurence OToole, who was a native of this locality.
252 WILLIAM FITZGERALD OF CASTLEROE.
The old Castle, and probably the more modem addition to it, were occupied by the FitzGeralds. Their succesdors, probably the McBobertses, altered the old bnilding greatly, as during the recent repairs it was noticed that the original staircase had been built up, and the floor over it cemented right across, a new en- trance being made in the west wall from some attached building not now existing. The fireplace in the south wall, as well as the walls themselves, were plastered all round, as was apparent when the rubbish was removed. This large accumulation of debris must have been caused by pulling down Uie upper storeys of the Castle, to obtain stones for the building of the present house. A " cabinet " or " garde-robe '' occupies the thickness of the wall at the south-east end ; it had another above it.
The height of the old Castle, as it stands now, is about 26 feet; the walls are eight feet thick in the basement, which has a vaulted ceiling, and was lit by very narrow, round-headed windows of cut stone. During the repairs a curious feature was noticed in the walls, and that was, that the original thickness of the walls was only four feet all through, but that, at some remote period, an additional four feet had been added, causing the windows to be changed from a Y- to an X-shaped aperture ; this additional thickness is also noticeable in the breaches (formerly windows) on the first floor. Another strange fact was, that the small window which lighted the loft under the vaulted ceiling, and another which lighted the original staircase, were not carried on through the added four feet of wall, so that during the repairs openings had to be made to let the daylight through. The door- ways on the ground-floor have pointed arches of cut limestone.
The more modern portion of the Castle was built on to the south-west comer of the old square ^' pile." It is of small dimen- sions, and two storeys in height, each floor being lighted by square-headed windows of cut limestone. High up on the east wall are the remains of a projecting chimney supported on brackets.
As is shown on the map opposite, several of the fields around still bear Irish names.
H
O
i
o
CO
s
s
Pm
( 254 )
COUNTY KILDARE FOLK-TALES.
[Oollected by Miss Gi«ene from the namtion of Tom Daly, gaidener
at MiUbrook.]
How the Mahert of Kilrush got the money. — ^The Maliers were herds at Eilrash, Go. Eildare. Old Maber was the herd ; and he had a couple of sons nsed to the work. One day a gossoon came in about the honse, and he couldn't tell his name, or where he came from ; he appeared to be about seven or eight years of age. One of the sons said to the father, " You may as well keep the chap. He will do a turn for you by-and-by, when you get old and he gets hardy." So he kept him ; and the chap used to mind the cattle, and keep them out of the com, and help him. After a time the chap was minding the cattle one di^, and there was a lone-bush in the field, and he fell asleep under it. When he awoke, the cattle were all in the com. So old Maher was ''going to kill him," and send him away; but the chap begged him, and said, " Forgive me for this time, and I won't ever let them break in again." So he forgave him. But on &B next day he fell asleep in the same way, and the cattle trampled on the corn again. Old Maber again was going to send him away ; but he begged him, and^ said, " Only forgive me this time, and I surely will never let them break in again." So he forgave him the second time. On the next day he fell asleep again, and the cattle trampled the com the third time. So Maher came and found him asleep, and said surely he would have to send him away this time, as go he should, when he let the cattle trample the com the third time. " Well, before I go," says the chap, ** do you go and fetch down the fack." But Maher did not see what that was for ; and he was not up for going ; but at all events the boy persuaded him. in the latter end to go for the facL So he brought it, and they dug under the bush ; and not more than a couple of spits under the sod they got a big milk- pan full of gold — one of those great, big earthenware creaming- pans or crocks — full to the very edge ; there wasn't room in it for another piece of money. Old Maher, of course, did not want to send the boy away after that. He would give him any of the money he would have, or do anything he liked for him ; but the boy would not take any of the money. He said, '' Maybe I won't be with you very long." So he died in short after that. And that 's how the Mahers of Kilrush were made up. [Written down in January, 1898.]
. COUNTY KILDARE FOLK-TALES. 255
The Keniyman^s Dream. — There wAb a man, and he lived in Kerry. He had a bit of a garden, and a.Iittle thatched cabin ; but he was a very poor man. One night he dreamed that *' if he was on London Bridge, he would make his fortune ; " but he did not mind it much ; and after a bit he dreamed again if he was on London Bridge^ he would make his fortune. Well^ he did not mind it lliat time either ; but, begor, he dreamt it a third time ; so he thought it must be the truth. He had no way of ^getting to London ; so he scraped up all he had himself, and begged and borrowed more* He tramped oS, and by hook or crook he got there. The next morning he went on to London Bridge, and stayed there all day without seeing any signs of a 'fortune coming to him. He went the next day, and the next, and a good many other days, till at last one day a man came up and asked him was he looking for anyone, or what was he always walking up and down the bridge for. So the Eerryman he up and he told him how he had dreamed three times that if he was on London Bridge, he would make his fortune. ** Och, you foolish man," savs the stranger, *' shui*e I dreamed three times that if I was in Kerry, I would make my fortune ; I dreamt of the very spot," says he, ''in a poor man's cabbage-garden, under a big sally-tree, that there was a heap of money buried.*' Then he gave the Kerryman a description of the place, and the sort of little garden it was, with a little thatched house, and all ; and when he had told him all about it, where was it but his own place entirely? As soon as the Kerryman parted from the stranger, he made back to Kerry as fast as he could, and home to his little house and garden, and there, sure enough, in the very spot the stranger told him of, he dug up a big pot of money that made him up for ever. [Written down February, 1898.]
Hotv Tom Daly's grandmother got back the bewitched btdter. — They say there used to be witches in ould times. I often hard my grandmother telling how the butter was took on her. She was for a long time churning ; but the divil a bit of the butter would come at idl ; all she could do wouldnH bring it. Well, one day she was within in the house spinning, or carding, or doing something that way, when a strange woman that she never saw before came in and asked her could she give her a drink. My grandmother, of course, said '* Yes," and asked her would she take some new milk, or would she rather have water. The woman said she did not mind which ; but she would rather have a drink of butter-milk than either^ *' Oh, then," says my grandmother, '' I can't give you that, for I have none. I have plenty of new milk if you care for it ; but I have no butter-milk."
2S6 COUNTY KILDARE FOLK-TALES.
'^It's a shame on yon/' says the woman, '^to see a fine yoxing woman like jon too lazy to chum and make butter, for I see yon own a cow." My grandmother was a fine^ able slip of a girl ; and she was not then long married at the time. '* Well/' says she,-'* to tell you the truth, it ^s not idleness that has me without it, for/' says she, '^I churn often enough, but save the grain of butter lean bring at all this while back, whatever has come over it." ^* I'll tell you what ails it," says the strange woman : ^' your butter is bewitched ; there is some one taking it, whoever she may be, and may be she does not live very far o£f ; and it 's for to tell you how to get it back that I come here; for I hard about your butter being bewitched," says she ; ** and on account of your being a young, decent, married woman, I didn't like to see you at the loss of it" "Musha, where do you come from?" says my grandmother; '^ and who is after telling you about the butter being taken on me ? " " Never mind, now," says she, " how I hard, or where I come from ; only do as I am going to tell you, and you will get back your butter." So my grandmother said she would do whatever she bid her if she could ; for she was scalded churning and going to bother with the milk, and getting no produce. The strange woman then told her to throw out every sup of milk she had out of all the vessels, and to give them a good scouring and washing and scalding, and rinse them in spring-water ; and she told her when she had them all cleaned to gatiier her milk the same as she always did ; and when she put it in the chum she was to tie a plough-chain round it ; and she told her to go out straight foreninst the door and gather a handful of grass, and tie it in a bundle and hang it up over the door ; and she told her then whatever day she was going to chum to put a tub on the 'floor, and fill it with spring- water, and if anyone came in for a sod of fire while she was churning (in them times if the fire went out they used to go to a neighbour's house for a sod of turf with the fire in it), she was to wait till they went out of the house with the live coal ; and then she was to take another sod of fire off the hearth, and put it down in the tub of water ; and she was to do that as often as anyone took fire out of the house while she was churning. My grandmother said she would do what she told her, and thanked her for her goodness. ^^ What will you give me naw, " asked the strange woman, *' for telling you how to get back your butter ? " " Shure, it 's little the likes of me can give to anyone/' says she, ''for money I have none ; but if you will take a dish of meal, or a thing that way, shure you're welcome." '' Amdi, never mind," says the woman ; ''but I '11 tell you what you '11 do the next time I come this way — ^if I ever come this way again — give me a pat of fresh butter, and a drink of butter-milk ; you will do that
COUNTY KILDARE FOLK-TALES. 257
for me anyhow/' My grandmother said she would, of course/ and said she was very thankfiil to her. The strange woman' went away then; but before she went, begob, she told her if tbiore'^ was more batter on her chaming than what she ought to have, that IB, more than a natural quantity of butter for the comple- ment of milk, she was not to mind, as it would only be her own bntfar that she lost coming back again (they were in the same way in the Castle of Inch at Ihe time ; they could not get the butter, and this same woman told them what to do ; and she charged them five pounds). Well, my grandmother did all she bid her : she scoured and cleaned the ohum and the milk-pans; and she pulled a bunch of grass from foreninst the door, and hung it up over the lintel ; and she gathered the milk the same as she always did, and put it in the churn, and tied a plough- chain round it ; and when she was going to start churning, she put a tub full of spring- water on the floor. Well, she churned away for a while — there was no one with her only a sister-in-law, a girl about the same age as herself — when incomes a woman, a neighbour, that kept a couple of cows, and always had plenty of butter, a power of which she used to sell in Athy and elsewhere ; the woman said her fire was out ; and, going to the hearth, she took up a live coal, and went out with it. My grandmother got into such a fright, she didn't know what to do. She ^as afraid to put a sod of fire in the tub ; but her sister-in-law was not so (she was after telling her what the strange woman told her to do), for she whipped out a sod of fire on the minute, and put it domvk in the tub of water ; and, begor, the fire went out in the turf in the neighbour woman's hand before she was out at the bawn gap. So she came back again, and said it was after going out on her, and took up another sod; and the very minute she went out of the house the sister-in-law took up another and put it down in the tub ; and again the fire went out before the woman reached the bawn gap. And she came back the third time, and the sister-in- law did the same again ; and when the fire went out on her the third time, the woman saw she was tricked, and she came back no more. They got plenty of butter on the churning — twice the complement they should have; but my grandmother did. not mind it, on account of the strange woman telling her she would get back her own. When my grandfather came home that night, she said to him, '' Well, Jim, I have plenty of butter for your supper to-night. You won't have to say again that you got no butter for your supper, and that the cow is no good," and she told him all that had happened. '* Och, to the divil," says he, ''with you and your bewitched butter ; I wouldn't eat a bit of it for all I ever saw." He was always very fearful of pisher^
2*58 .COUNTY KILr>ARE FOLK-TALES,
ogaes. > He wouldn't go datside the door at night withont some one with him, for all Eildare. He made her pat the butter oat of the hoane, as, as long as it was in it he would not stop there. So my grandmother had to put the bewitched butter in tiie eow^ house till morning, when she took it off to Athy, and sold it. But she never saw the strange woman after ; and no one around there knew who she was. Where my grandparents lived was at Moatfield, near the Moat of ArdsouU. [Written down 28rd March, 1898.]
Tommy Johnson. — ^I was after telling Tom some yam ; and '* I '11 tell you a curiouser thing than that," says he. '* It was my Uncle Jim, that 's in the hospital now, if he is alive. I don't know whether he is or no, I didn't go see him this long time. I wasn't able, begob* I must go see him this or next week, please God. At all events, there was a chap of the name of Tommy Johnson. He was about six years of age ; and the divil a step he ever walked. He used to sit by the fire ; and he never put a foot under him to walk up to that time. My undo was a tricking chap. He was about the one age of Johnson. Well, this day Tommy's mother was out somewhere, and he was by himself in the liousoj sitting at the fire, same as he always did, when in ran my uncle, with a shovel in his two hands, and shouted, '' Come, be the mortial shoot ! " says he, '* I '11 cut the feet off of you if you don't get up out of that," at the same time chopping all ai'ound poor Johnson's feet with the shovel, and cursing by this and by that, he would chop his feet off. Begob, with the fright, Johnson lepped up, and out with him through the door, and out with my uncle after him with the shovel ; and, begor, he could walk as well as anyone ever after. That 's as tru0 as the fork is in my hand. So you see there are curious things that way, too, terrible curious things itself* I often hard the ould people going over it, and laughing at it." [Written down 27th April, 1898.]
CahiU and Mtddowney. — ^As curious a story nearly was about Cahill and Muldowney. Poor Muldowney, when he 'd go say any- thing, you might be at the haggard-gate agen he would have it said. Well, Cahill used to be always at him, making game of him, and stuttering and imitating him. They were both young men, and lived next door to one another. . Well, Cahill went to bed all right one night, and in the morning be had the same stutter as Muldowney, only, bad as Muldowney was, you might go seven, aye, ten times as far agen. Cahill would have a thing said. WasnH that nearly as curious as about Johnson ? and that 's as true as you 're there. I remember them both. So yoa see. a pecson should not make game of anyone with any com-
COUNTY KILDARE FOLK-TALES. 259
plaint that way either, glory be to God ! [Written down 27th April, 1898.]
What Dan DonneUy said to the king, — ^* Did you overhear tell what Donnelly said to the king ? " " No." " Well 1 11 tell yon :— The king sent for Donnelly after he baitin' Cooper on the Curragh, and he says, * So you 're the best man in Ireland ? ' says he. 'I am not, my liege,' says Donnelly. Tm the taorst man in Ireland,' says he; ^bnt I'm the best man in England to-day.' So yon see he did not sell his country either," said Tom Daly.
( j6o )
The B&on-NE MoNt)iit»T aku Altak-Tomk in thk Mavso
Co. KiLDlHE.
(From a dntwing t7 A. 0. yichelmore.)
( 26l )
Miscellanea.
THE BROWNE MAUSOLEUM AT MAINHAM.
JUST outside the wall enclosing the churchyard of Mainham, on the Moat side, is a small slated building containing a vault and tomb belonging to the family of Browne of Castle Browne (alias Glongowes Wood), ancestors of the Wogan- Brownes.
The erection of this Mausoleum outside the churchyard precincts was due to a quarrel in 1748 between Stephen Browne and the Protestant Rector of Clane — the Rev. John Daniel — as is explained on a slab built into the wall over the entrance outside the building, the inscription on which reads :—
The within Monument was prepared By y* directio" of Stephen Browne, Esq"* y* day it bears date, w*^ he designed — puting up in y* opposite- church, or ad- -ioyning to it ; 4& a** Browne applyd sever- *al times to his parishminister y* Rev^ lohn Daniel for his consent w*** he refused — him unles s' Browne would give him Five Guineas for soe doing. A Gentlema* whose character is remarkably well kno- wn as well as his behaviour on several — occasions to s* Browne, & y* onely — Clergyman in y* diocese whose passi- -on would prevent their church to — be Imbelisned or Enlarged, & to de- -pr*ve themselves and their successors from y* burial fees ; & he has been ye occasion of oblidging s' Browne to erect s' Monument here on his own Estate of Enheritance w* 8* Browne thinks proper to insert here to shew it was not by choyce he did it.
May y* P« 1743.
On entering the Mausoleum a limestone altar faces one. In the centre of the flat slab are cut five little crosses, with a cherub above and below them ; a male and a female figure kneel on either side of a crucifix on the front of the altar, over the man are the initials ** S.B." (i.e., Stephen Browne), and over the lady *' L B., ob W" (Le., Judith Browne, alias Wogan),
262 MISCELLANEA.
JoBt inside the doorway is a Holy-water trough, on wUch are the iQitials " S. B,, 1748."
The eutrance to the vaolt is to the left, and beyond it stand* a large mnral monament above a bot-tomb, as ia seen in the illastration on page 260.
On the upper portion of this monament is cat in relief a coat- of-arms, helmet, crest, and motto ; with four medallions, three of which contain a different crest, viz. : —
1. "A lion's jamb, oonped and erect, gales," the Wogan Crest.
2. A wolf-like animal's head, with a anake between its jaws. (The family this belongs to has not been, ascertained.)
8. " Ont of a ducal coronet or, a triple plame of ostrich feathers argent," the FitzWilliam crest 4. The fourth medallion is ansoalptared. The crest above the helmet is a wcuMike animal.
C
Si "'
«
MISCELLANEA. 263
The shield below it bears several ooats-of-arms : to describe it heraldically would be to state that it is *' quarterly of five/' i.e., in the upper half are three, and in the lower two coats-of^arms, which will be described in turn : —
1. '^ Argent, a chevron between three cranes sable;" the Browne coat-of-arms.
2. ''Or, on a chief sable, three martlets of the first;" the Wogan coat.
8. " semi of cross-crosslets and a lion rampant ; '*
for an unidentified family.
4. Quarterly, first and fourth, Lozengy argent and gules; second and third gules, on a bend, cotised argent, three popin- jays vert, beaked and legged gules ; " for Fitz William.
6. [This compartment is plain, like the crest medallion below it.]
The motto on a scroll below the shield is qvi non ciconia TiOBis («ic), i.e., " Who will not the crane defend ? "
The inscription on the monument is incised, and reads : —
D. O. M.
Here lye interred y* Bones of Tho' Browne of Castle Browne in y* County of Kildare, Esq', CouncU & Barrester at Law who deceas'd Ap* ye 2^ 1693— And of Begnet his Wife onely daug^»* and heiress of Nicholas Stephens of y* City of Dub- lin, Esq', who deceased Decern' y* 22^ 1665 & of lohn Browne, Esq', onely son & heir of s' Tho' & Begnet who deceased Jan. y* 27"^ 1693 Aged 42, & of Mmtv his Wife Eldest daughter of y* R» Hon"* Will" FitzwiUiam Lord Viscount Fitzw" of Merion who deceased May y* 19, 1693. Which Bones w* several others of s"* Browne's Family were removed from thei' burial place in S* Audeon's Church, Dublin, by y* di- rection of Stephen Fitzw" Browne, Esq', S** lohn & Mary's Eldest son, who w*^ ludith his Wife daugh' to John Wogan of RathcofEy in s' County Esq'
Erected this Monument Anno Dom. 1739.
On the slab of the box-tomb portion of the monument is deeply cut the outline of a coffin with ornamental clasps, and a skull and cross*bones at the lower end ; in the upper portion is seen the head and shoulders of a clad human figure ; while on the breast-plate is inscribed : —
Christopher Browne Esq* died decern' y* 23^ 1736
s
264 MISCELLANEA.
That portion of the slab not occupied with the cofSn has an inscription running parallel with it : it reads as follows : —
Here lyes Interred y* Body of Christopher Browne, Euq*, 2^ son of y*
above-nam'd lohn & Mary Who deceased decern' y* 23^ 1796, aged 53 ; who left a aumm of money
at y* request of his Brother Stephen Fitzw" Browne of Castle Browne in y* County of Elildare, Esq',
for y* erecting y* Monument In Memory of whom his s** Brother hath caused this his figure to be
here placed & also y* Body of Anne Browne, youngest daughter of s' lohn & Mary,
who deceased 2 days before her brother the s' Christopher, aged 55. B. I. P. Here also lyes the
body of the above named ludith who deceased Feb*^ y*17*^ 1746 7, aged 66.
The Stephen Fitz William Browne so frequently mentioned in the ahove inscriptions died on the 8rd of July, 1767.
Bnrke, in his " Landed Gentry," under Wogan-Browne, traces the family down to the present time.
W. FiTzG.
( 26s )
WotcB.
Additions to the List of High Sheriffs of the County
Kildare.
These additional names of High Sherifiis are taken from a znanuscript volmne in the Record Office, Dublin, called " An Index to Exchequer Records ; " they supplement the lists which have already appeared in vol. ii, pp. 258-266, and vol. iii, p. 68, of The Gountt Kit.darf. Abgh^ological Joubnal.
1808. Hugh Canon (vide Bobt. Cane, Hib. Ool.)
1875 (circa), Robert FitzEustace, of Oradockstown.
1898. John fitz Maurice ( surname unknown).
1401. Sir William Wellesley, Kt.
1417. Sir Richard Wellesley, Et.
1421. Sir Edward FitzEustace, Et.
1429. Sir William fitz Thomas, Et. (surname unknown).
1432. Sir Richard Wellesley, Et.
1484. John FitzEustace, of Newland.
1445. Oliver, son of Sir Edward FitzEustace, Et.
1452. Sir Robert FitzEustace, Et., of Ballycutland (Goghlanstown).
1465. Christopher FitzEustace (late of Eillussy), of Eerdiffstown.
1466-9. Philip FitzEustace, of Newland.
1470. Sir Robert FitzEustace, Et., of Ballycutland (Goghlans-
town). 1474-5. Christopher FitzEustace, of Eerdiffstown. 1479. Nicholas Wogan.
1485. Richard Eustace, of Eylgon (? Eilgowan).
W. FiTzG.
A Seventeenth-Century Skillet and Bronze Sword at Kilkea Castle. — On the next page are shown these two antiquarian objects. The skillet was obtained in December, 1899, from Simon Gleeson, of Gastleroe, who some months before bought it for half-a-crown at a kant, or auction, on the Misses FitzGerald*s fiarm at Gastleroe, where for years it had been used as a pitch-pot for branding sheep. Its earUer history is unknown. Between the leg divisions are the initials, date, and small cross, as shown in the dLrawing. The pot is a very heavy one, and the metal is brass or bronze.
In connection with the discovery of the bronze sword, an old man named Pat Doolan, of Gastledermot, since dead, told me a
266 NOTES.
ouriouB ator; a few jeua ago. He said that in the year 1847 a man from Uie Qneeo'B County side of the Barrow, who was a Btranger to Caetledermot, except for occasionallj attending a hoise fair, dieamt for three nights running that treasiire was hid in a certain spot in the ruins of the Francieoan Abbey. When he waa next in Gastledemiot, he confided his dream to three or four friends ; and between them they decided to search the place that very night. The names of the men were Brennan, Booney, EinsheUa, and Doolan, one of whom was a schoolmaster. After dark, accompanied by the
WA
Tim Castlidibuqt Bwoim, and i Bbonze Pot, at Kn.vr.i CiBTUt.
Queen's County man, they started out with a oouple of facks, a shovel, and crowbar, and immediately set to work excavating at the place pointed out to them. Presently they struck a stone, which they raised, and found beneath, in a sort of small grave-like reoeptade, a skull with a deep cut into the crown, and near it the sword in ques- tion, resting on a stone slab. This slab they quiokly laid bare, and prising it np with the crowbar, they discovered below it a silver chalice (said to be in use in the chapel at the present time), and a
NOTES. 267
pair of oandlesticks, each with three branches, and apparently of brass. Though they searched farther, nothing else was found ; so, re-interring the skull, they shovelled back ther clay, and returned to the house. Before parting company, they decided on handing over the candlesticks to the schoolmaster, who was to take them up to Dublin and try and sell them, the proceeds to be divided amongst them. The schoolmaster was seen off to Dublin right enough ; but as from that day to this his friends never again laid an eye on him, it is supposed that the candlesticks were of gold, for which he got '' the full of an ass's car of money," and then decamped to America. This sword, which is very ancient, measures 22^ inches in length in its present condition, and is two inches wide at the broadest part of the blade, which has still a very sharp edge.
" The Carbrle," a Dublin Residence of the Earls of
Kildare.
The ancient residence of the Earls of Eildare in Dublin was ''the Garbrie." The origin of this name is unknown. It was built in what was called the cage-work fashion, like all the ancient houses in Dublin, the walls being intersected by a frame- work of oak, and the interstices filled up with niiimrj. The mansion formed a massive centre and two wings, whose extremities were completed by tall, narrow square towers. On the timber were cut Latin texts, family mottoes, crests, initials, and dates. The whole was surmounted by tall pointed gables, fanciful chimney- stacks, and iron vanes.
The house stood in Skinner Bow, now Ghristchurch Place. In 1582, the Deputy, Sir William Skeffington, being succeeded in . his office by the Earl of Eildare, HolUnshed says : —
*' Kildftre, having reoeyved the aworde, wonlde permit Skeffiington, who ww late govemonre, now, like a meane private person to dawnoe attendance among other saitors at his house in Dnblyn named the Carbry."
In 1584, after the rebellion of the Silken Thomas, the Garbrie was inhabited by the Earl of Ormonde until it was restored to the 11th Earl of EUdare.
In 1689, the Garbrie had been divided into three houses, of which the centre, still caUed the Garbrie, was converted into an inn, or tavern, and was of great resort, as it stood in the principal street leading to the castle &om the western and southern gates of the city.
Harris, in his '* History of Dublin," in 1766, mentions that the oldest house of cage-work then existing was '' that in Skinner Bow, near the Tholsel, in a part whereof Dick's coffee-house was for a
2S8 NOTES.
long time kept ' It was eaJled * the Oarbde/ and appears by histozy to have been inhabited by the Earl of Eildare two hundred and thirty-two years ago ; and how much longer we know not . . . This house is called ' the Oarbrie ' in ancient leases of that noble family still subsisting."
The Garbrie appears to have been taken down soon after that period.
The Wayside Cross-bases formerly at Little Rath and
Prospect.
The two cross-bases mentioned on p. 40, voL i, of The Journal^ were^ in the year 1898, removed by Canon Sherlock to the small ancient burial-ground situated in his demesne near the entrance gate.
They are very similar in shape and material ; both are square blocks of limestone, with a sloping top. The Little Bath stone is, roughly, 82 inches high, with sides of 27 inches, and a socket 18 X 5 inches. The Prospect stone, is, roughly, 24 inches high, 40 inches at the sides, and the socket 17 X 9 inches.
The latter cross-base, in sixteenth-century lettering, has the following incised on one of its sloping surfaces : —
PBTRVS :
WELS :
ME : FECET :
Peter Wels (? or Walsh) was the stone-cutter.
Though these cross-bases are rough and unsculptured, yet, like the Cross-Morris wayside cross {vide p. 250, vol. i, of The Joubkal), they may have had finely carved shafts. The latter was erected to mark the spot where Sir Maurice FitzGerald, Et., of Lackagh, was slain in an encounter with a party of the O'Mores of Leix in 1520. There is no evidence, nor any clue, as to whose memory these first- named crosses were erected.
Gerald Aylmer, son of Sir Andrew of Donadea.
In the Aylmer Pedigree, attached to the Donadea Paper (vol. iii, p. 178, of The Journal), the compiler has made a mistake in calling Sir Andrew's eldest son ** Sir Gerald Aylmer, 8rd Baronet," as he died before his father. This will alter the number of baronets on the pedigree by making them one less, and they will then coincide with the letterpress, which is correct. Burke's Peerage makes the same error.
W. FiTzG-
NOTES. 26^
St. Brlgid and Clane. — Perhaps some of our readers will be able to say whether there is any written account of a connection between St Brigid and Clane, where St. Ailba, Bishop of Ferns, founded a monastery in the sixth century.
My reason for asking is, that a few years ago a man living about a quarter of a mile above Clane, on the north side of the river, and close to the spot where the ancient ford crossed the Liffey, pointed out a spring of water, which he said was called *' St. Brigid's Well." He also said that some forty or fifty years ago there were two curious stones standing near the well, the larger of which was called '' St. Brigid's Chair," and the other '< St. Brigid's Thimble." These stones, situated near an outcrop of limestone rock which was quarried for road-making, were, he said, both broken up to mend roads with by a man named Tyrrell, who never had any luck afterwards. Not more than half-a-mile from this, on the road from Clane to Betaghstown, and just before you reach the doctor's house, is a lane running in the direction of Surmount Cross Boads. This lane also bears St. Brigid's name, being called '<Boher-na-Brid.''
It is possible that St. Brigid,. if she ever made a journey into Meath from Eildare, may have rested at Clane, and that these names originated from that fact.
Ed.
Old Road Names. — {a) Near Athy ; (6) Near Dunmanoge.
(a) Near Athy. The road leading from Athy eastwards to Ctallows-hill is called Boher-hwee^ or << the yellow road."
A narrow winding road to the north-east of Athy, which runs from the Moat of Ardscull Boad at Gallowshill, through the town- land of Prussellstown, goes by the name of Boher-an-oochra^ or << the road of the Fuller."
To the south of Athy, at Chanterlands, there is a bohereen off the Carlow Boad called Ougkra-boura.
About a mile from the town, a public road connects the Carlow road with the Castledermot road at Bray Old Pond. This is named Boher-na-worragah, or " the road of the Pedlars," because, I was informed, in the old days, when Athy was a Corporation, vendors of goods sold their wares along this road without paying a toll, as it was just outside the bounds of the Borough.
(b) Near Dunmanoge. Dunmanoge lies half way between Eilkea Castle and the town of Carlow. The name of this place is a good instance of how impossible it is to arrive at a correct deriva- tion and meaning of a place-name without knowing its original form, so distorted and corrupted by the English tongue have very many Irish names become. The original of Dunmanoge was <* Moghna-Moshenoc." In 1552 this had changed to '' Donahe-
270 NOTES*
mocke, alias ".Moimahemocke/'^ and in 1621 il hftd become " Donne- monooke."^ Of the original form of the name, O'Ddnovan, the great Irish scholar, wrote that '^ the word ' Moghna,' or, < Mughna,' appeared to be a topographical term peculiar to this part of Ire- land;" bat he does not give its meaning. The latter part of the name — Moshenoc — is the name of a saint, Shenan, which takei the endeared form of Mo (my) Shenan Oge (young) contracted to Moshenoc, whose festival was held on the 11th of December.
Close to the churchyard of Dunmanoge is the junction of five roads, three of which have Irish names :—
1. Boher-coyle (or the wood road) leads to Maganey.
2. Tochar-gar (the rough causeway) leads to Garlow across the Dunmanoge snipe-bog.
8. Boher-a-vuttha (the road of the . . . . ?) is the continua- tion of the above two roads for a quarter of a mile eastwards.
Not one of these names appears on the 6-inch Ordnance Survey Maps.
W. FiTzG.
The County Galway Arohadological Society.
We are very glad to see that the County Galway has commenced the good work that our Society has been engaged in for the last ten years. In the month of March, 1900, a meeting was held in <* the City of the Fourteen Tribes," at which it was decided to found an Archfeological Society, the inaugural address bdng delivered by the Most Bev. Dr. Healy, Bishop of Clonfert.
The Hon. Bobert E. Dillon was elected President, and the Bishop of Clonfert Vice-President.
Before the end of the year the first number of their Journal was issued ; it contains three interesting Papers : —
1. << The Aims and Methods of the Society," by the Most Bev. Dr. Healy.
2. " The Thirty-four De Burgo Castles in the Barony of Clare," by Colonel J. P. Nolan, m.p.
8. ** Pre-Norman Galway," by the Very Rev. J. Fahey, p,p,, d.d.
We wish our sister society a *' cead mille failthe " and a long existence, as there is no more interesting county in Ireland than that of the ancient septs of O'Daly, O'Flaherty, O'Eelly, O'Madden, and O'Shaughnessy.
* Morrin's Calendar of Patent and doae BoHs^ kaland. ^ Co. Kildare Chancery Inquisition of James I.
JOURNAL
OF THE
jlrt|»(il(igtcal J^ormtif of t|e GonntB of FJilkre
AND
i^ttrrfliinbing Districts.
4-f
^rocccMngs.
Thb Annual General Meeting of the Society was held on Wednesday, the 20tli February, 1901, in the Court House, Naas, by permission of the High Sheriff.
It had been originally intended to hold the meeting on the 23rd of January — ^the programme for that date having been issued ; but owing to the serious illness and subsequent death of Her late Majesty the Queen, the President and Council post- poned the meeting to the following month.
The Earl of Mayo, P.O., President of the Society, occupied the chair.
The following Members of the Council of the Society were present: — The Rev. Matthew Devitt, Vice-President; Mr. Thomas Cooke-Trench, Mr. H. Hendrick-Aylmer, Hon. Treasurer,- and Lord Walter FitzGerald, Hon, Secretary.
Sir Arthur Vicars, Ulster, Hon. Secretary, sent an apology for non-attendance, owing to indisposition.
In addition, the following Members and visitors introduced by Members, amongst others, were present : —
The Dean of Kildare and Mrs. Cowell, Mr. C. M. Drury, Mr. Robert Oochrane, Han. Secreta/nff R.8.A., Ire. ; Mr. R. W. Manders, Mr. Arthur Fitzmaurice, Miss M. Culshaw, Mr. Algernon Aylmer, Rev. J. Brennan, Bfr. A. 0. Michelmore, Mr. W. Weldon, Mr. Edmund Sweetman, Mrs. Sweetman, Dr. O'Kelly, Mr. Wm. Staples.
The Minutes of the previous Oeneral Meeting, in January, 1900, having been read and confirmed, were signed by the Chairman.
The President read the Report of the Council for the past year, which was adopted on the motion of Mr. Thomas Cooke- Trench, seconded by Mr. Algernon Aylmer.
T
272 PROCEEDINGS OF THE
The Hon. Treasurer read his Beport for the year 1900, showing a balance in favour of the Society of some £10 better than the previons year.
A vote of thanks to the Hon. Treasurer for his Beport was proposed by Mr. R W« Manders, and seconded by the Bev. M. Devitt, and was unanimously passed.
Lt.-Col. Thomas J. De Burgh, and Mr. A. More O'Ferrally being the Members of the Council retiring by rotation, were re-elected.
The following were elected Members of the Society : — Mrs. Betham, Mrs. Geoghegan^ the Bev. Joseph O'Eelly, the Bev. James Brennan, Bector of Clongowes Wood College ; the Bev. F. Boyd Johnston, and Mr. Thomas Kelly. In addition, the elections at the September meeting of the following were confirmed : — The Bev. P. McCarthy, Dr. Thomas More Madden, Bev. F. W. Gason, Bev. S. B. J. Chaplin, Mr. Arthur FitzMaurice, Mr. J. C. Murphy, Mr. E. P. O'Kelly, Bev. Michael Browne, St. Stanislaus' College, TuUamore; Mr. John G« Eustace, Lady Albreda Bourke, Bev. W. Beynell, and Mr. A. C. Michelmore.
The President sketched an interesting tour which the Council suggested should be taken as the Excursion in September, following which suggestion the Bev. M. Devitt proposed, and Lord Walter FitzGerald seconded, the following resolution, which was passed unanimously : —
** That the Excursion Meeting for the ensuing Session of the Society take place at Rathmore, Fumess, and district in September next."
The following Papers were then read: —
" Notes on the Ksh Wolf-dog." By the Earl of Mayo.
" The Original Anglo-Norman Settlers in County Kildare." By Canon Sherlock; read by Bev. M. Devitt in the writer's absence.
"Patrick Sarsfield, Earl of Lucan." By Lord Walter FitzGerald.
Some objects of antiquarian interest were exhibited, includ- ing an old sketch, by Petrie, of Kildare Cathedral, by Mr. Thomas Cooke-Trench, for which a vote of thanks to the exhibitors was passed.^
Mr. Thomas Cooke-Trench proposed, and the Dean of Kildare seconded, a vote of thanks to the High Sheriff (Mr. Wm. T. Kirkpatrick) for the use of the Court House, and to the £arl of Mayo for presiding, after which the proceedings terminated.
* For a description of these exhibits see ** Notes."
COUNTY KILDARE ARCH^OLOGICAL SOCIETY. 273
Report of Council for Year 1900.
The Council feel that the course they took in postponing the meeting of the Society from the 23rd January, owing to the serious illness and subsequent death of Her late Majesty the QueeUi will meet with the approval of all the Members.
They come before the Members this time able to report decided improvement in all departments.
The Hon. Treasurer will show you that the balance has increased from last year, and there are now 161 Members on the roll, of which number seventeen are Life Members.
This is all the gi*eater source of satisfaction when it is con- sidered that the Eildare Archsdological Society has now been in existence ten years, although there were many at the time of its foundation who gave it a life of three years, and foretold that it would die from sheer want of archseological and antiquarian food ! If this occasion should arise, the Society, at any rate, will be able to show a good amount of work done, and some valuable additions to the history of the county and district.
Foremost among the Members who have died during the year must be mentioned our only Honorary Member, Miss Margaret Stokes, whose death is a national loss, and makes a gap very difficult to fill in the literary world of Celtic art. A short memoir of her appears in the cuiTcnt number of The Journal.
They have also to chronicle the loss, since the last meeting, of Mr. David Mahony, of Orange Con.
The Annual Oeneral Meeting was held, as heretofore, in Naas, on the 24th January, 1900, at which the usual business was transacted ; but the Council regret that the attendance was not better, and they hope that the Members will make a greater effort to attend the January meetings in future.
Whatever may be said of the falling-off in the attendance at the January meetings, this cannot be said with regard to the Excursion meetings, which are becoming increasingly popular ; and this Society has always taken credit to itself for having been the pioneer in popularizing Irish archaBological research in this special way. The Excursion last September was held at Bally* more-Eustace and district, and was generally voted a most enjoyable one, although extending over a considerable area.
The Council hope that this year's Excursion may be made somewhat a special one, to celebrate the tenth year of the existence of the Society.
Since the Meeting last year the Society have had the pleasure of welcoming another addition to the ranks of Archseological Societies — namely, that of the County Galway,
274 PROCEEDINGS OF THE
Your Secretaries were applied to by the promoters of that Society for copies of the rules and particulars of the working of the Eildare ArchaBological Society and its Journal; and it is some compliment to the Society to know that the Galway Society adopted the rules and arrangement of the Journal almost en bloc.
With your permission, it is proposed to exchange Journals with this new sister Society.
Two Members of the Council, Lt.-Col. T. J. de Burgh (now on active service in South Africa), and Mr. A. More-0'Ferrall, retire from the Council by rotation, and, being eligible, offer themselves for re-election.
Signed on behalf of the Council, Mayo, President. Arthur Vicars, Ulster,) Hon.
W. FitzGbrALD, ) Secretaries.
Excursion Meeting, 1900.
The tenth Annual Excursion Meeting took place on Wed- nesday, the 12th September, 1900, at Ballymore-Eustace and surrounding district.
The Members of the Society, and visitors introduced by Members, assembled at Harristown Station, which was the rendezvous for the occasion.
The first place on the progi'amme was Coghlanstown Church- yard, where the remains of the old church, and the shaft of the Eustace Cross, and other monuments were inspected. A Paper on the history of the locality was read by Lord Walter FitzGerald.
The party then drove to Ballymore-Eustace, passing a small ancient cross near the roadside in the Park of Stonebrook. In the churchyard Sir Arthur Vicars read a Paper for Lord Walter FitzGerald on the history of the place ; and some discussion followed as to the antiquity of a huge old gi*anite cross situated in the churchyard, the general opinion being that it was not entitled to be ranked amongst early Celtic crosses.
After a visit to the interior of the church — which, however, does not contain anything of archaBological interest — the Members and their friends drove to the " Pipers' Stones,^' alighting on the way to take a view of the beautiful waterfall called Gooleenawautha. An interesting Paper on the Pagan Circle of Stones was read by Lord Walter FitzGerald.
}lr. Hendrick-Aylmer also read an account descriptive of an
COUNTY KILDARE ARCIL^ilOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 275
extraordinary calamity which occurred in 1813| when the best portion of the pack of the Eildare Hounds was lost in the Falls of Poul-a-phooka in its endeavour to pursue its quarry.
A drive of two miles brought the party to Poul-a-phooka Hotel, where an excellent luncheon was served, the Members of the Society present having become so numerous as to neces- sitate their lunching in two contingents.
At this stage what may be called the more serious duties of the day were ended, as Poul-a-phooka, beautiful as it is, contains nothing of archsological interest. But the Society already had had a hard day's work of archsdological study; and the refreshing shades and walks around the renowned waterfall formed a very welcome sequel to a late luncheon.
Towards evening those present returned to Naas Station on their homeward journeys.
In regard to weather the Eildare Archaaological Society seems to have been specially lucky in being favoured with propitious weather for its Excursions ; and this day was no exception to the rule.
It was, however, a matter of some regret to the Members that the President of the Society was unavoidably prevented from attending the meeting; but his official duties were ably performed by the Vice-President.
Amongst the Members and visitors present were : —
The Rev. M. Devitt, Vice-President ; The Dean of Eildare and Mrs. Cowell, Rev. S. B. and Mrs. M'Gee, Mr. H. Hendrick- Aylmer, Hon, Treasurer; Canon Sherlock, Hon, Editor^ and the Misses Sherlock, the Countess of Mayo, Mr. George Mansfield, Lord Walter FitzGerald, Hon. Secretary; Lord George FitzGerald, Hon. Gerald and Lady Maria Ponsonby, Rev. C. L Graham, Sir Arthur Vicars, Ulster, Hon. Secretary ; Mr. and Mrs. Vipond Barry, Lady Mabel FitzGerald, Lady Nesta FitzGerald, Hon. Mrs. Nugent, Mr. K Supple, d.l, b.i.c., Mr. and Mrs. Cooke-Trench, Mr. and Mrs. W. R. MoUoy, Miss L. Russell, Mr. and Mrs. N. J. Synnott, Mr. W. Grove White, Rev. C. W. Ganly, Rev. E. O'Leary, Mr., Mrs., and Miss Minchin, Mr. and Mrs. P. Hopkins, Rev. J. Cullen, Rev. J. Dunne, His Honor Judge Dane, Mr. J. Whiteside Dane, Mr. Martyn, Mr. Algernon Aylmer, Miss Culshaw, Rev. Canon James Adams, Major and Mrs. Maurice 0*Connell, Mr. John G. Eustace, Rev. P. M'Carthy, Judge Law, Mrs. Urquhart, Mrs. Honour, Miss B. Langrishe, Mr. Michelmore, Mr. Nugent, Miss D. Netterville, Mrs. Hopkins, Miss Cornwall, Miss Medlicott, Miss Aylmer, Rev. M. Conroy, Rev. G. A. Cullen, Mr. T. F. Bacon, Miss Edwards, &c.
276
PROCEEDINGS OF THE
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COUNTY KILDARE ARCHi*:OLOGlCAL SOCIETY. 2J7
LIST OF HONORARY OFFICERS AND MEMBERS.
{COnnBQTED TO lit JULY, 1001.)
THE EABL OF MAYO, P.O.
9ut-]prt8tbtnt :
THE REV. MATTHEW DEVITT, S.J.
tf Ottncxl : (in okdeb of election.)
THOMAS COOKE-TRENCH, ESQ., D.L. GEORGE MANSFIELD, ESQ., D.L. THE REV. EDWARD O'LEARY, P.P. LT.-COL. THOMAS J. DE BURGH, D.L. AMBROSE MORE>0'F£RRALL, ESQ., D.L. THE EARL OF DROGHEDA.
$on* C»a»xrtr :
HANS HENDRICK-AYLMER, ESQ., Kerdufstown, Sallins.
Pon. ^ubtlor:
ALFRED A. WARMINGTON, ESQ., Munsteb and Leinbteb Bank, Naas.
{on. ^ecrtlarits :
SIR ARTHUR VICARS, C.V.O., F.S.A., Ulster, 44 Wellington Road, Dublin. LORD WALTER FITZGERALD, M.RLA, Kilkea Castle, Maqaney.
^oiT. Cbttor :
THE REV. CANON SHERLOCK, M.A., Sheblockstown, Sallins.
2/8 PROCEEDINGS OF THE
^embers:
[O/flcers are indicated by heavy type ; Life Members bj* an asterisk (*).]
Adams, Rev. Canon, Kill Rectory^ Straffan.
Arohbold, Miss, Davidstown, Gastledermot.
Aylmer, Miss, Donadea Castle, Co. Kildare.
Aylmer, Algernon, Bathmore, Naas.
AYLMER, H. HENDRIGK-, Hon. Treasurer, Kerdififstown, SalUns.
^Barton, Hon. Mrs., Lattr«llstown, Clonsilla. *Barton, Bertram, Strafifan House, Straffan.
Beard, T., ald., Olebe Crescant, Stirling.
Betham, Mrs., 9 Belgrave-square, Monkstown.
Blake, J. R, 22 Morehampton-road, Dablin.
Bonham, Colonel J., Balliataggart, Colbinstown, Co. Kildare.
Bourke, Lady Albreda, Roseboro', Straffan.
Brennau, Rev. James, s.j., Rector, Ciongowes Wood College, Sallins.
Brooke, J. T.. Ardnaree, Ballina, Co. Mayo.
Brown, Stephen J., Ardoaien, Naas.
Browne, Rev. Michael, s.j., St. Stanislaus' College, Tullamore.
Burke, Very Rev. E., p.p., Bagenalstown, Co. Carlow. *Burtohaell, G. D., m.a., 6 St. Stephen's-green, Dablin.
Cane, Major Claude, St. Wolstan's, Celbridge.
Carroll, Frederick, Moone Abbey, Moone.
Chaplin, Rev. S. R. J., Leinster Lodge, Kildare. "^Clarke, Mrs., Athgoe Park, Hazlehatch, Co. Dublin, "^(/lements, Colonel, KiUadoon, Celbridge. ^Clements, Henry J. B., d.l., KiUadoon, Celbridge.
Coady, D. P., m.d., Naas. ,
Cochrane, Robert, f.s.a., h.b.i.a., Hon. Secretary r.s.a.i., 17 Highfield-road, Rathgar.
OoUey, G. P. A, Mount Temple, Clontarf, Co. Dublin.
Conmee, Rev. J. F., s.j., St. Francis Xavier^s, Upper Gardiner- street, DubUn.
Cooper, Austin Darner, Drumnigh House, Portmarnock, Co. Dublin.
Coote, Stanley, V., Oarrowcoe Park, Roscommon. ^ .
Cowell, Very Rev. G. Y., Dean of Kildare, The Deanery, Kildare.
Cruise, Francis, m.d., Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow.
Cullen, Rev. John, Adm., Carlow.
Culsbaw, Miss, Johnstown, Straffan.
COUNTY KILDARE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 279
Daly, Cm 25 Weatmoreland-Btreet, Dublin.
Dames, B. S. Long^orth, 21 Herbert-street, Dablin.
Dane, J. Whiteside, Abbeyfield, Naas.
Darby, M., m.d.. West End, Monasterevan.
Day, Bobert, f.s.a., u.b.i.a.. Myrtle Hill House, Cork.
Dease, Colonel Sir Gkrald, c.v.o., Celbridge Abbey, Gelbridge.
DE BURGH, THOMAS J., Lt.-Gol., d.l., Oldtown, Naas.
DEVITT, Rev. MATTHEW, 8.J., Milltown Park, Milltown, Co. DubUn.
DROGHEDA, THE EARL OF, Moore Abbey, Monasterevan.
Drogheda, The Countess of, Moore Abbey, Monasterevan.
Drury, Charles M., Ballinolea House, Baltinglass.
Duggan, Bev. William, c.c, Athy.
Dunne, Bev. John, c.c, Baltinglass, Co. Wioklow.
Dunne, Laurence, DoUardstown House, Athy.
Elliott, George Hall, Chief Librarian, Free Public Library, Belfast.
Elliott, Bev. William, The Manse, Naas.
Eustace, John G., Fern Bank, Stow-on- the- Wold, Gloucestershire.
Field, John, Eilcook.
ffrench, Bev. Canon, m.b.i.a., Ballyredmond House, Clonegal, Co. Carlo w. *FitzGerald, Lady Eva, Eilkea Castle, Maganey, Co. Kildare. *FitzGerald, Lady Mabel, Kilkea Castle, Maganey, Co. Kildare. *FitzGerald, Lady Nesta, Kilkea Castle, Maganey, Co. Kildare. *FitzGerald, Lord Frederick, Carton, Maynooth, Co. Kildare. ^FitzGerald, Lord George, Kilkea Castle, Maganey, Co. Kildare.
FitzGerald, Lord Henry, 1 Sloane-court, London, S.W.
* FITZGERALD, LORD WALTER, m.r.la., Hon, Secretary^ Kilkea Castle, Maganey, Co. Kildare.
FitzGterald, Sir George, Bart., Killybegs, Sallins. '^FitzMaurice, Arthur, Johnstown House, Carlow.
Fletcher, Bev. Lionel, The Bectory, Straffan.
Fogarty, Bev. M., Professor, The College, Maynooth.
Foley, Most Bev.Patrick, d.d.. Bishop of Kildare andLeighlin, Braganza, Carlow.
Freeman, Francis J., Calverstown, Kilcullen.
Ganly, Bev. C. W., The Bectory, Castledermot, Co. Kildare.
Gargan, Bight Bev. Monsignor Denis, d.d., President of St. Patrick's College,
Maynooth. Garstin, J. Bibton, d.l., f.s.a., M.11.1.A., Braganstown, Castlebellingham,
Co. Louth. Gason, Bev. F. W., The Bectory, Maynooth.
Glover, Edward, 19 Prince Patrick-terrace, North Circular-road, Dublin. Geoghegan, Mrs., Bert, Athy.
28o PROCEEDINGS OF THE
Graham, Bey. C. I., Eildronght Parsonage, Gelbridge. Greene, Colonel Biohard, Stoneylands, Dedham, Essex. Greene, Thomas, ll.d., Millbrook, Maganey.
Hade, Arthur, as., Garlow.
Hannon, J. A. , Prumplestown, Garlow.
Higginson, Lady, Gonnellmore, Newbridge.
Hopkins, Mrs., Blackball Gastle, Eilcullen, Go. Eildare.
Hobson, C. J., 239 West One Hundred and Twenty-fifth-street, New York.
Jesson, Bey. J. L., The Beotory, Bathangan.
Johnston, Bev. F. Boyd, The Beotory, Eilkea, Maganey.
Joyce, Patrick Weston, Lyre na Grena, Leinster-road, Bathmines, Dublin.
Kelly, Thomas, Gastletown, Celbridge.
Eeogh, Surgeon-Major T. B., Gastleroe, Maganey, Go. Kildare. Kilkelly, John, ll.d., 46 Upper Mount-street, Dublin. Eirkpatrick, William, Donaoomper, Gelbridge.
La Touohe, Mrs. John, Harristown, Brannoxtown.
Long, Miss A. F., Woodfield, Eiloavan, Geashill, King's County.
Longfield, Bobert, 25 Glare-street, Dublin.
M*Garthy, Bey. P., p.p., Ballymore-Eustace. MacDonald, Bev. Walter, d.d., Librarian, The College, Maynooth. M'Gee, Bev. S. B., The Rectory, Dunlavin. Madden, Thos. More, m.d., f.b.c.s., Tinode, Blessington. Maguire, P. A., 2 Oldtown-terrace, Naas. Mahony, George Gun, Eilmorna, Go. Kerry, via Limerick. Manders, B. W., Gastlesize, Sallins. Manning, A. S., Bank House, Baltinglass, Go. Wicklow. MANSFIELD, GEORGE, d.l., Morristown Lattin, Naas. Mayo, Dowager Countess of, 20 Eaton-square, London, S.W. MAYO, The EARL OF, p.c, President^ Palmerstown, Straffan. Michelmore, A G., Glongowes Wood College, Sallins. Minchin, F., Mooretown House, Kiltegan, Go. Wicklow. MoUoy, William B., h.r.i.a., 78 Kenilworth-square, Bathgar. Mooney, William, The Gastle, Leixlip. '^Moran, His Eminence Cardinal, Sydney, N. S. Wales, Australia. Morrin, Bev. Thomas, p.p., Naas.
Murphy, The Bight Bey. Monsignor Michael, p.p., Maryborough. Murphy, J. G., Osberstown House, Naas. Murphy, W. A., Osberstown House, Naas
Nolan, Bey. James, c.o., Kilmeade, Athy. Norman, George, 12 Brock.street, Bath, England
COUNTY KILDARE ARCH^OLOGICAL SOCIETY. 28 1
O'Brien, The Lord, Lord Chief Justice, Kildare-street Club, Dublin.
0*Dea, Very Bev. Thomas, d.d., Vice-President, The College, Maynootb. •OTERRALL, AMBROSE MORE-, d.l., Ballyna, Moyvally.
O'Hanlon, Very Bev. John Canon, p.p., 3 Leahy's-terrace, Sandy mount, Dublin.
O'Eelly, £. P., Baltlnglass, Co. Wicklow.
O'Kelly, Bev. Joseph, o.p.. College of St. Thomas, Newbridge.
0*Kelly, Bobert, h.d., Landenstown, Sallins. •CLEARY, Rev. E., p.p., Ballyna, Moyvally.
O'Leary, Bev. Patrick, The College, Maynootb.
Palmer, Charles Colley, d.l., Bahan, Edenderry. Ponsonby, Hon. Gerald, 3 Stratford-place, London, W. Ponsonby, Lady Maria, 3 Stratford-place, London, W. Pratt, Mrs., Glenheste, Manor-Kilbride, Co. Dublin.
Beynell, Bev. W., b.d., m.».i.a., 22 Ecoles-street, Dublin.
Bobinson, John, h.d., Johnstown-bridge, Co. Kildare.
Boper, C. E. A., b.l., 55 Leeson-park, Dublin.
Byan, Very Bev. John C, o.p., College of St. Thomas of Aquin, Newbridge.
Bynd, Major B. P., Blackhall, Sallins.
Shackleton, Frank B., Ulster's Office, Dublin Castle.
SHERLOCK, Rev. Canon, Hon, Editor^ Sherlookstown, Sallins.
Skuse, Bev. Bichard D., Ballykean Bectory, Portarlington.
SomerviUe-Large, Bev. W., Camalway Bectory, Kilcullen.
Staples, William, Naas.
Strangeway, W. N., BrefiFni Villa, EgUnton-road, Donnybrook, Dublin.
Supple, K., D.I., R.I.C., Dunlaviu, Co. Wicklow.
Sweetman, E., Longtown, Sallins.
Sweetman, Mrs., Longtown, Sallins.
Swinton, The Hon. Mrs., 82 Cadogau-plaoe, London, W.
Synnott, Nicholas, Furness, Naas.
Taylor, Mark, Golden Fort, Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow.
Thunder, A., Hibernian Bank, Naas.
TRENCH, THOMAS COOKE-, d.i>., Millicent, Sallins.
Trench, Mrs. Cooke-, Millicent, Sallins.
Tynan, The Bight Bev. Monsignor Thomas, p.p., Newbridge.
Tyrrell, Garrett C, Ballinderry House, Car bury, Co. Kildare.
VICARS, SIR ARTHUR, c.v.o., f.s.a., Ulster King-of-Arms, Hon, Secretary^
44 Wellington-road, Dublin. Vigors, Colonel P. D., Holloden, Bagenalstown, Co. Carlow.
Wall, Colonel J., Enockareagh, Grange Con, Co. Wicklow. Wall, Mrs., Enockareagh, Grange Con, Co. Wicklow. Walsh, Bev. Martin, p.p., Castledermot, Co. Kildare.
282 PROCEEDINGS OF THE
WARMINQTON, ALFRED A., Hon, Auditor, Munster and Leinster Bank, Naas. Weldon, General, Forenaughts, Naas. Weldon, Captain Sir Anthony A., Bart., Kilmorony, Athy. Weldon, Lady, Kilmorony, Athy. White, W. Grove, 13 Upper Ormond-quay, Dublin. Willis, G. de L., 4 Kildare-street, Dublin. Wilson, Colonel W. F., The Vicarage, Clane. Wilson, Miss R. Dupr6, Coolcarrigan, Eilcock. Wolfe, George, Bishopsland, Ballymore-Eustace, Naas. Woollcombe, Kobert L., li..d., m.r.i.a., 14 Waterloo-road, Dublin. ♦Wright, E. Perclval. m.a., m.d., 5 Trinity College, Dublin.
The following Libraries and Societies also receive The Journal : —
The Editor, " Ulster Journal of Archeology,'* Ardrie, Belfast
The Worcester Diocesan Architectural and Archaeological Society.
The Waterford and South- East of Ireland Archteological Society.
The Society of Antiquaries of London.
The Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire.
The Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, 6 St. Stephen's-green, Dublin.
The Royal Irish Academy, 19 Dawson-street, Dublin.
The Library, Trinity College, Dublin.
The National Library of Ireland, Kildare-street, Dublin.
The Galway Archaeological and Historical Society.
Le Biblioth^calre, Soci^t^ des Bollandistes, 14 Rue des Ursulines, Bruxelles, Belgium.
COUNTY KILDARE ARCH^OLOGICAL SOCIETY. 283
RULES.
I. Thai this Society be oalled " The Coanty Kildare Archsologioal Society."
II. That the purpose of the Society be the promotion of the study and knowledge ol the antiquities and objects of interest in the county and sur- rounding districts.
III. That the Society consist of a President, Vice-President, Council, Hon. Treasurer, two Hon. Secretaries, and Members, Ladies are eligible for Membership.
IV. That the names of ladies and gentlemen desiring to become Members of the Society shall be submitted, together with the names of their proposers and seconders, to the Council, and, if approved by them, shall then be sub- mitted to the next Meeting of the Society for Election.
V. That the affairs of the Society be managed by the President, Vice- President, Hon. Treasurer, and Hon. Secretaries, together with a Council of six Members. That for ordinary business two shall form a quorum ; but any matter upon which a difference of opinion arises shall be reserved for anothe meeting, in which three shall form a quorum.
VI. That two Members of the Council shall retire by rotation each year, but shall be eligible for re-election.
VU. That Members pay an Annual Subscription of Ten Shillings (due on the Ist of January), and that the payment of £5 shall constitute a Life Member.
VIII. That Meetings of the Society be held not less than twice in each year, one Meeting being an excursion to some place of archadological interest in the district.
IX. That at the first Meeting of the Society in each year the Hon. Trea- surer shall furnish a balance-sheet.
X. That a Journal of the Society be published annually, containing the Proceedings and a column for local Notes and Queries, which shall be sub- mitted to the Council for their approval.
XI. That the Meetings of the year be fixed by the Council, due notice of the dates of the Meetings being given to Members.
XII. That Members be at liberty to introduce visitors at the Meetings of the Society.
XUI. That no Member shall receive The Journal whose Subscription for the previous year has not been paid.
( 284 )
THE RAMPART OF THE PALE.
By the rev. M. DEVITT, S.J.
[Read at Clongowes Wood, 12th September, 1899.]
THE rampart, though apparently nothing more than an ordinary " doable ditch/' with a bridle-path on its summit, is, nevertheless, not the least interesting of the many historic remains in which our neighbourhood abounds. What is left of it may be divided into three sections. The first, beginning at the commons of Glane, runs north for about half a mile until it is lost in the level lawn of Clongowes Wood. The second section becomes visible at the eastern gate of the present farm- yard, and can be traced, over a length of about ninety perches, to the lane now leading to Bathcoffey. To reach the third section, we must go about three miles further north, on the Eilcock road ; and here we find it reappearing on the right or eastern side of that road, and, for a length of about eighty perches, separating the civil parishes of Balraheen and Clon- shambo, and the present ecclesiastical parishes of Glane and Eilcock.
It seems strange — almost incredible — that in the fifteenth century this not very formidable fence was raised to mark and to defend the western limit of the British Empire. West of it the king's writ did not run, nor English law bind ; while on the east lay the English Pale, organized completely on the mode of feudal England, and designated by the writers of the time the '' English land." Hence it is that the structure is nowadays spoken of as '' the rampart of the Pale.''
To understand its origin, we must remember that but a very small portion of our island was permanently and completely conquered until the end of Elizabeth's reign. The wave of the Anglo-Norman invasion, that at first seemed destined to cover the whole island, and submerge every trace of Celtic nationality, was soon seen to recoil before obstacles which four hundred years of contest could not efface. One of the chief of those obstacles was found in the physical features of the country. The gi'eat strength of the invaders lay in their heavy and mail-clad cavalry — an arm of which the Irish were utterly destitute. On the level, or gently undulating, plains of Dublin, Meath, Louth, and Eildare, the charge of the Norman horsemen was irresistible ;
3^
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I ^
r>.
THE RAMPART OF THE PALE. 285
the Irish were rapidly hunted from those fair and fertile lands, and compelled to take refuge in the highlands and other fast- nesses that nature had provided for them. But in the mountains, forests, and morasses, the old race held their own. There the heavy cavalry was baffled by the nature of the ground. Entangled in thickets, and floundering in bogs, they were no match for the light-armed Kerne, trained in all the devices of guerilla warfare, and as much at home in the densest forest and most treacherous morass as the woodcock and the snipe.^
Hence we find the English Land gradually and naturally limited by the Wicklow Mountains on the south, and on the north by the Carlingford Mountains and the hilly or boggy land that runs west from them through Monaghan, Gavan, and Long- ford, to the Shannon. The Westmeath shore of the Shannon would be its western limit as far as Athlone. But here the border-line was turned eastward again as far as Edenderry, receding before the impassable woods and bogs of the present King's County and WestEildare — both then parts of the ancient Kingdom of Ofifaly. In the time of Edward I the western border in these parts stretched from Monasteroris, near Edenderry, through Rathangan, Kildare, and Kilrush, to the Barrow, and roughly followed the course of the Barrow to the sea.^ Richard II proposed to force all the Irish to the west of the rivers Boyne and Barrow, and make all the countiy eastwards an exclusively English settlement.^
But two great obstacles baffled him and his successors. In the first place, the country between the head waters of the two rivers, from the Hill of Carbeiy to Monasterevan, was covered with woods and impassable bogs, that spread eastwards well into the County Kildare. The woods have long since disappeared; but the Bog of Allen still remains, within half an hour's walk of Clongowes. This wild and dangerous region was held by the O'Connors, princes of Offaly, and was known to the Irish as the " door " of the Pale, while the chief of the O'Connors was called its '^ key." This latter sept made continual inroads on the English of Meath and Kildare. In 1294 O'Connor ravaged the whole of Kildare, and ^' burnt all the rolls and tallyes of that country." *
In 1298 he burnt the village of Mainham, and put the
' See Giraldus Cambrensis, ** De Exp. Hib.," and " Ulster Journal of Archaeology," vol. vi, p. 147.
» " Calendar of State Doc, Ireland," vol. iii, pp. 265-268. * Prendergast, ** Cromwellian Settlement,'' p. 171. Hardiman on ^' Statute of Kilkenny,*' p. 24.
286 THE RAMPART OF THE PALE.
inhabitants to the sword.^ At last the English of Meath con- sented to pay him tribate, or " blackmail," to the amount of £800 per annum, and those of Kildare £20 per annum — in all, about £10,000 per annum of our present coinage.^
Again, on the east of the Barrow rose the south-eastern highlands, stretching from the centre of Wexford close to the capital itself. This tract of mountainous country, measuring about forty-four miles north and south, and twenty-five miles east and west, remained completely independent up to the reign of James I. Sir G. Garew, writing in 1590, indignantly com- plains that ^' those that dwell even in sight of the smoke of Dublin are not subject to the laws." The chief terror of the Pale at that time was Fiach MacHugh O'Byme. Garew calls him '^the firebrand, the gall of Ireland, the ancient traitor of Leinster;" and Spenser writes of him that ''he hath of his own hardinesse lifted himself up to the height that he dare now front princes, and make tearmes with great potentates." '
These facts help us to appreciate Campion's account of the origin of the word " pale." "An old distinction,^' he writes, " there is of Ireland into the Irishry and the English part, for when the Irish rebels had raised continual tumults against the English planted here with the Gonquest, at last they coursed them into a narrow circuit of certain shires in Leinster, which the English did choose as the fattest soil, most defensible, their proper right, and most open to receive help from England. Hereupon it was termed their pale, as whereout they durst not peep."^ ''Pale" is derived from the Latin palm, a stake. As stakes were used to mark boundaries and make fences, the word was extended in the fifteenth century to fenced enclosures (see Du Gauge, sub voce) ; and hence the area into which the English were " coursed " came to be called the Pale.
The limits of this pale were thus defined at different periods. By an Act of the Parliament of Drogheda in 1488, the bounds were thus traced : '' From Merrion, inclasive, to the water of the Dodder, by the new ditch to Saggard, Rathcoole, Kilhell'(Eilbeel), Bathmore, and Ballymore (-Eustace). Thence to the County of Kildare into Ballycutlan, Hamstown, and Naas ; and so thence to Glane, Eilboyne, and Eilcock. From Kilcock it ran to Athboy, and so ended at Dundalk." ^
» Gilbert, **Hi8t. and Municip. Doc, Ireland," p. 445. Book of Howth," p. 257, Rolls Series.
2 tk
■ Hogan's " Ireland," pp. 40, 41. * '* Hist, of Ireland," ed. 1809. *D'Alton*8 " Hist, of Dublin," p. 34.
THE RAMPART OF THE PALE. 287
In 1516 the border ran from Dandalk through Derver, Ardee, Syddan, Eells, Dangan^ Eilcock, Naas, Kilcullen-bridge, Bally- more-Eustace, Bathmore, Rathcoole, Tallaght, to Dalkey.^
In 1587, according to Justice Luttrell, the Pale ran " from Dublin to Tallaght, and so by the mountain foot into Onghterard, and thence into St. Wolstan's (near Gelbridge), and to Leixlip, and thence to the Barony of Dunboyne, Bathangan, and as the highway extendeth thence into Trim, Athboy, Ardbraccan, Slane, Mellifont, Drogheda — which little precinct is not much above twenty miles in length or breadth/' ^
The above-mentioned places are mostly well known, and by tracing them on the map a vivid idea can be formed of the immense decline of the English power in Ireland from the time of Edward I to that of Henry VIIL
Our rampart, which marks the western border of 1488 and 1515, was built by order of the Parliament of Drogheda, a.d. 1494. It was to be '' a double ditch of six feet high above ground on one side, or part which mireth [meareth] next unto Irishmen/' " ''Every inhabitant, earth-tiller, and occupier, within the Pale was bound to assist in its construction, and was to be remitted one year's rent for his pains." *
The lands immediately to the west of it were called March lands, or the Marches, and were occupied sometimes by the English, sometimes by the friendly L'ish, but were generally the arena of unceasing war, and consequently uninhabitable. Further west lay the land of the '* Irish enemy." The marches were called the '' land of war," and correspond to the " debatable land " on the Scottish border. The chain of castles, close to the line of the rampart at Maynooth, Bathcoffey, Clongowes Wood, Blackball, Naas, &c., stood like sentinels keeping watch and ward against the Irish borderers. The great Lord Marcher, of Leinster, was the Earl of Eildare, who, from his castle at May- nooth, was expected to defend this portion of the Pale from the inroads of the O'Connors on the west, and of the O'Byrnes and O'Tooles on the east and south-east.
In 1524, Garret, Earl of Kildare, was appointed Lord Deputy of Ireland, but was soon summoned to London to answer various charges against him. His chief accuser in the King's Council was Cardinal Wolsey ; and his spirited reply to the latter gives us some idea of the life of a Warden of the Irish Marches in the
* " State Papers," i)art iii, vol. ii, p. 22. 2 D*Alton*8 *' Hist, of Dublin," p. 38.
* Hardiman's ** Statute of Kilkenny," p. 4, note.
U
288 THE RAMPART OF THE PALE.
sixteenth centary. We quote it from Campion — '' As touching my kingdom, my Lord, I would that you and I had exchanged kingdoms for one month. I would trust to gather up more crumbs in that space than twice the revenue of my earldom. But you are well and warm ; and so hold you : and upbraid not me with such an odious storm. I sleep in a cabin, when you lie soft in your bed of down. I serve under the cope of heaven, when you are served under a canopy. I drink water out of a skull, when you drink out of golden 4$ups. My courser is trained to the field, when your jennet is taught to amble. When you are begraced, and belorded, and crouched, and kneeled unto, then I find small grace with our Irish borderers unless I cut them off by the knees." ^
The rampart was soon broken down by the Irish enemy, but subsequently repaired, ''to the great succour, comfort, and defence of the County Dublin." Penalties were enacted against any subject who broke a tract or made a road over it ; and " all hogs, goats, cows, or cattle " injuring it by '' rooting, grazing, or otherwise," were to be confiscated.^ How long it remained a '' succour, comfort, and defence" we cannot precisely determine; but it is clear from Justice Luttrell, quoted above, that within less than fifty years after its erection, the English Pale had receded far from it, and that Clongowes for some period stood, as the phrase then went, '* west of the law."
ReFEBENCBS to THE MaP.
Toheradormin. — The well of the little stream (?).
The An-annia Road (this name is written phonetically) runs from the north back gate of Clongowes to Rathcoffey. The second part of the name seems to be Eanach or Annagh, meaning a marsh or watery place. The road runs mostly through land of this description. In the document on Anastacia Wogan*s dower, p. 92, vol. iii, of The Journal, occurs ** the pasture of Avenagh ;" this may be the same name.
Baheens, — Little forts.
Skeagh, — White thorn-bushes.
Shandoon. — ^The old meadow.
Oappclis. — Pronounced with the o long, as in '* stole." The meaning is doubtful ; but I think it is an abbreviation for ''Gappagh-polis" —
1 *' Hist, of Ireland," p. 170.
« Richey's *' Hist, of the Irish People," p. 229.
THE RAMPART OF THE PALE. 289
*' Cappagh"= a plot of land, and ** polis":= ** [Milas" or ** pailis," signify- ing a fairy lis or rath. There is a similar name in the County Kilkenny — '^Cappafaulish" = the '* garden-plot of the fairy fort." This field or division runs along the back avenue to Clongowes, at the junction of which with the main road to Glane is Butter !mll, on which a *' lis" may have stood. At all events, it is said to be occupied by fairies still. I know that one familv left the house at the foot of tnis hillock a few years ago, owing, they alleged, to their slumbers being disturbed by the fairies. They now live on the Capdoo commons of Clane ; their name is Bracken.
OoUy-mocky River. — The meaning of this name is not known ; the first portion of it possibly is the Irish word, " gola" (gabhala), meaning *^ river forks."
Boher Breedge. — St. Brigid's road.
M. D.
( 290 )
THE ORIGINAL ANGLO-NORMAN SETTLERS IN
COUNTY KILDARE.
By rev. canon SHERLOCK/
f^ EOLOGISTS examining the crnst of the earth have fonnd vX different strata, the age of which can he fixed by their position relatively to one another. It is possible to do this with the names in any country or district. They will generally be found to consist of several layers or strata, so to speak, and from examining them we may learn a good deal of the history of the district. In the present Paper I propose to apply this method to illustrate part of the history of the County Kildare.
I pointed out in a former Paper the existence of a number of Irish names in this neighbourhood. Being Irish, they belong to the most ancient period of its history, though the Irish Celts themselves were invaders and conquerors of the country. If you take a good map, or, better still, acquaint yourselves in a more minute way with the Irish names that survive, you will find that for the most part they are either names of ancient Irish towns, churches, and monasteries, or they are descriptive names of localities and naturnl features — bogs, wells, rivers, hills. This sort of name is nearly always very ancient, and often tells a story of the original natives who have been swept away by repeated invasions of other tribes and nations.
One thing is clear from the study of the remaining Celtic names, and that is that the Irish inhabitants were neither all massacred, nor even all driven from the plains of Kildare into the bogs and mountains. A large proportion, no doubt, were ; but in many cases the new settlers, looking about for wives, as they brought no women over with them, mamed the daughters of Irish chiefs, as their ancestors had married the daughters of Welsh chieftains. Besides this, it was absolutely necessary that they should have men to look after their cattle, and to till their lands. The result was that a considerable Celtic population remained dependent on the new settlers, and it was through these that the Celtic names of natural features — wells, streams, hills, bogs, and forests — as well as of churches, monasteries, and holy places, were preserved and handed down.
The Celtic names are thus the most ancient, and form as it were the first stratum in the nomenclature of the country. Bat
' Bead for him by the Rev. M. Devitt, b.j., at the meeting of the Society in Naas, February, 1903 ,
ANGLO-NORMAN SETTLERS IN CO. KILDARE. 29I
there are besides them a great number of other names scattered through the district of the English Pale, and these have been given by those who have settled in the country since. For instance, there are Danish names which mark the period of the Danish occupation ; and there are names derived from English, Norman, and even Welsh sources. These are not all of the same antiquity. Some of them were given by the first Anglo- Norman settlers who received grants of land ; others by later settlers in the times of Queen Elizabeth and of Cromwell, and even more recently still. My present object is to deal with the names that come next to the Celtic in age — those given by the first Anglo-Norman settlers. At the same time, we must remember that not all of these adventurers kept their grants. Many never settled permanently here, because they had more important interests in England or Wales, or because they found a better opening to their ambition elsewhere. Sometimes they retained their lands here, making them over to sub-tenants, and contenting themselves with occasional visits when their interests were endangered. In some instances they speedily parted with their grants. For instance, Robert de Miler held land in capite from the king near Waterford ; but in 1246 he obtained a royal licence to make an exchange for land in England with Geofirey le Botiler, and the place was thenceforth known as Butlerstown.
Another thing to be remembered is that many of the first grantees were either childless or had only daughters, and so their lands soon passed away into other families.
Still, after making all these allowances, when we open the map of Eildare, we can easily make out a list of names which will give us a fair idea of families whose members came over under Strongbow, and were companions in arms, and settled down as neighbouring proprietors, more especially in the plain of the Liffey.
I do not pretend that we can make out a complete list, because, no doubt, a good many obtained grants of lands which had already names in Irish, and they retained these names when they took possession. But still there were a considerable number whose lands had not been named, and had not been private property before ; and when they took possession of these grants, they had not only to settle there, but to give theii* local habita- tion a name. And so it came to pass that in most instances the property became known by the name of the man who had received it as a grant In nearly all these cases the names of the properties thus named end in the syllable '' town." For instance, Kerdiffstcm;n, Johnstcm^n, ArtiiuiBtown, Bodenstown. Now, this has a peculiar significance, because it tells us that the
292 ORIGINAL ANGLO-NORMAN SETTLERS
men who received these grants of land settled there and made the place their home. They were not very big men, who received grants of large districts, and had to divide them among their followers, and who had to move about from one place to another to defend their extensive territories, or to follow the king, and press their interests at court ; they were the poorer knights and esquires and men-at-arms who came over to seek a home and land, and who when they received grants settled, and called their lands after their own names. When we come upon a name ending in the syllable ''town," it generally means that in that spot one of the adventurers who followed Strongbow had made himself a home, and rooted himself in the country; that it was thenceforth to be his adopted country ; and that meant more than an inva- sion, more than a conquest^it meant a revolution in the whole condition of the country. For before this there were no individual hereditary properties: the land belonged to the tribe ; at the death of the occupier it reverted to the tribe. In that condition there was no fixity of tenure, no right of sale, and certainly no improvements ; for who would make improvements which the mere fact of his death confiscated ?
Where are the descendants of these first adventurers now ? Many of the families are extinct; others have been scattered and impoverished by misfortune, war, rebellion, confiscation, and attainder. Others have acquired property in distant places. In most cases the old families have disappeared from what was their first home in Kildare, and only the names of the places remain to tell us who first made there a settled abode in the days of the vanished past
Well, when by an examination of the names of places we have restored, at least in part, the list of Anglo-Norman adven- turers, who obtained land, and made their homes in the County Kildare in the twelfth and thii*teenth centuries, can we do any more ? Can we trace these knights, esquires, and men-at-arms, back to the place where they lived before they enlisted, and took up arms to follow Strongbow, FitzStephen, and de Lacy across to Ireland ? This is the next point I wish to bring before you. Whence came the early landowners in Kildare ? At first sight it seems that this question could only be answered by a long and laborious investigation, taking each name separately, and trying to trace it in its migrations before it came over here. What makes such an investigation almost hopeless is the absence of fixed surnames in those early days. Of course, there would not be much difficulty in tracing the movements of the great men who received large grants of territories ; but, as I said before, the men whose families we want to trace were not very great
IN COUNTY KILDARE. 293
men ; they were younger sons, poor knights, esqoires, and men- at-arms, who came over here from love of adventure, or because they had no adequate inheritance at home, and who were glad to get grants here, and settle on them. It is obviously much harder to trace such men back^ and yet, by a very curious coinci- dence, it is comparatively easy to do so. I came upon the clue to this in the following way : — One day I opened an atlas in the National Library of Ireland, and in one of the maps I noted the following names of places, all within a comparatively short distance of one another— Castlemartin, Johnstown, Whitechurch, Newcastle, Hodgestown, Nicholastown, Sherlockstown, Bishops- town, Morristown, Punchestown, Gilestown, Flemingstown, Bobestown (or Bobertstown), Lovestown, Golbinstown, Siggins- town, Samonstown, CardifTstown, Barristown, Haroldstown, Habberstown (or Halverstown). Now I should like to ask whether any of you can tell me the county or district in which these names occur. I have little doubt that you will say they are taken from the County Eildare. Tet, I assure you, they are not taken from the map of Eildare, but from the map of Pembrokeshire and Glamorganshire in South Wales.^ We have thus only to compare the maps of Eildare and South Wales to satisfy ourselves that a large number of the adventurers who followed Strongbow had their homes in South Wales pre- viously, and a considerable number of these came from the com- paratively small district of Gower in Glamorganshire. We are able to assert this, because they have left their names recorded in the properties that they held in South Wales, where by a curious coincidence they had done what they did in Eildare, but did not do in England, called their lands after their own names. That both in Wales and Ireland they gave their names to their land, which they had not done in England, is accounted for by the fact, that in England they found places which had for the most part already been owned and named, while in Wales and Ireland the land had been owned by tribes, and had not been portioned out into properties, and had, there- fore, had no special names.
If we extend our observations from the map of South Wales to names recorded in the ancient legal deeds connected with Glamorganshire, we can add a good many more Eildare names to the list. For instance, Osbertstown was called after Osbert, a Gowerman ; Paynstown, after Payn ; Harristown, after Harris,
*The only liberty I have taken has been to put Kerdiffs^ot&n for Cardiff, and Sherlocks^oton for Scurlog, or Sherlock Castle, I have also substituted ** town " for ** ton," these being really identical.
294: ORIGINAL ANGLO-NORMAN SETTLERS
or Henry; Boycestown, after Boyce; BarrettBtown, after Barrett; HerbertstowD, after Herbert ; Palmerstown, after Palmer ; Cradockstown, after Cradock ; HumphreystowD, after Hum- phreys ; DavidstowD) after David. All these were names of men belonging to the little district of Gower.^ The two Brannoxtowns in Eildare were called after two Welshmen ; and I believe that Camalway was held by one of the Aliens who came from Corn- wall, but had settled in Gower, for there was an Allan de Cornalia in Gower; and the old form of Carnal waj' was Carnalaa, or Carnalwa. If I were free to refer to Meath, I could produce names of Anglo-Norman settlers who came from Glamorganshire, such as the Flemings, Barons of Slane, and the de la Meres and Gonstantines. But my subject confines me to Kildare.
I have said that, as a rule, the names in Eildare indicate that the adventurers who settled here from South Wales were not rich men, and did not receive large grants of land ; but there were^ of course, exceptions. Thus we find Maurice Fitz- Gerald, to whom Strongbow granted Naas and Ofifelan. He was connected with Pembrokeshire, where his father^ Gerald, had been Constable of Pembroke Castle, and afterwards President of the County of Pembroke. His brother David was Bishop of St. David's from 1147 to 1176. His granddaughter mairied David Laundres, or de Londres, a cadet of one of the great families of Glamorganshire, where in 1262 they still held four knights' fees. De Londres by this marriage became Lord of Naas. Another of this family was Archbishop of Dublin in 1214. The de Burghs were another family connected with
^ Moreover, as in Glamorgan and Gower, so in Kildare, the places were not only named after the new owners, but the termination *'town," meaning an enclosure, or residence, was added to the name.
With regard to the termination "town," Professor Veitch (*' History and Poetry of the Scottish Border," vol. i, pp. 62, 63) remarks that there is very commonly in the Tweed and adjomiug valleys — indeed, all over the Lowlands— the generic affix "ton," "tun," "toun," or "town." Not only is a congeries of dwellings a "toun," but every farmstead is so called. . . . The " touns" were, indeed, the family possessions of the early clearers of the land, and show the original numerous subdivisions of property. "Tun" means originally a town, or fence; hence a fenced place, or an enclosure; and thus yard, farm, dwelling, and town is described as "a territory lying within the bounds of a tun."
I. Taylor says that the " primary meaning of the suffix *ton' is to be sought in the Gothic 'tains,' the old Norse Henin,* and Frisian 'tene,' all of which mean a twig. . . . Hence, a *tun,' or 'ton,' was a place sur- rounded by a hedge, or rudely fortified by a palisade — cf. the English Tpale,'' Wickliife translates Matt. xxii. 5, " Oon to his town." In Iceland the homestead with its girding wall is called a "tun." (Yet cf. I. Taylor, " Words and Places," p. 118.)
IN COUNTY KILDARE. 295
Glamorganshire and Ealdare, Habei*t de Bargh having a grant of homage And service for the Honour of Gower in the year 1280. The family of Brewses, or Braoses, were Lords of Gower, and William de Braose married Eva, daughter of William le Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, by Isabel, Strongbow's daughter. This family was given the Kingdom of Thomond by Henry II. I mention them here because they were specially connected with the district of Gower, from which so many of Strongbow's adventurers came. Another very distinguished family was connected both with Glamorgan and Kildare. The Yeeles, originally called Yalle, from their residence in Normandy, had settled in Somerset; thence they moved to Glamorganshire, where Robert le Veal was Lord of St. Fagan's, Llandaff. Coming to Ireland with Strong- bow, he was granted lands near Timolin. Walter le Yeele, or Calf, was Bishop of Kildare from 1300 to 1832. Calverstown was probably named after a cadet of this family. In 1200 Robert FitzRichard de Yeele was Lord of Norvagh, where he founded a nunnery, which his granddaughter entered. His descendants continued to be Lords of the Manor till about the end of the fourteenth century. In the churchyard at Timolin under a yew-tree is a twelfth- or thirteenth-century effigy of a knight, supposed to be Robert de Yalle. If this supposition be correct, the effigy is a representation of one of the original Anglo-Norman adventurers.
The next thing you will ask is, How had all these Pembroke and Glamorganshire adventurers who came to Kildare come to be settled in South Wales? and how long had they been there before they started for L*eland ? Mr. Clarke's *' History of the Land of Morgan" enables us to answer this question. He tells us that the Osberts, Martins, Cardiffs, Payns, Barretts, Sherlocks, Pierces, Maunsells, Sigginses, Walters, Cradocks^ Yeeles, Allans, and others had been settled in Pembroke and Glamorgan about eighty years before they sent their descendants over here. They had come into South Wales with or shortly after Robert FitzHamon crossed the Severn in 1098 ; and most of them came from the Counties of Wiltshire, Somerset, Gloucester, Devon, and Dorset, which formed the Honour of Gloucester, of which FitzHamon was Lord. In fact, Mr. Clarke says that in ancient deeds connected with various parts of the Honour of Gloucester may be found scores of names which occur in Glamorganshire.
It is evident that the men who readily enlisted under Strongbow must have been, for the most paii, younger sons, and poor men, who had no special inducements to remain at home. And it is rather interesting to ask why such a large proportion of them came from the little district of Gower. Clarke suggests
296 ORIGINAL ANGLO-NORMAN SETTLERS
that it was becanse they lay near Sti'DngboVs territory, and were on the line of his march to embark for Ireland. I think there was a more nrgent reason than this. The district of Gower and Glamorganshire seems to have been settled by Anglo-Normans who had not got lands in the richer districts of the Honour of Gloucester, from which they came ; and the properties which they were granted in South Wales were, for the most part, yery moderate in size. They were evidently granted for the purpose of settling them as a sort of garrison in the newly acquired district ; and they did so. But where the properties were so small, it followed that there was little pro- vision for younger sons. Mr. Clarke says that in parts of Glamorgan the castles stood so close that it is difficult to under- stand whence their owners derived their revenues. And he mentions that in one place, within a radius of six miles from Barry, half the circle being occupied by the sea, there were twelve castles ; and in the county, mainly in its southern part, there were from thirty to forty. Many of these were the residences of private persons, and were built for the defence of the estate and its tenants. These owners of small properties, with fortified houses or castles in the lowlands of Gower, were continually exposed to incursions of the native Welsh who inhabited the mountains.' What better recruiting-ground could Strongbow have found than this poor but populous and warlike district? And does not this sufficiently account for the large proportion of Gower men among his adventurers ?
And when the younger sons of these hardy men of Gower settled in Kildare, they found themselves in richer land, indeed, but otherwise in similar circumstances to the fathers and brothers they had left at home. They held small grants of land in the plain of the Lifiey ; but they held them under the necessity of continual watch and ward against the native Irish from the mountains of Wicklow or the Bog of Allen. Hence, here as in Gower they had to fortify their houses. And their dwellings became in some cases castles, but most frequently square towers several storeys in height, with a walled yard, into which cattle could be driven for safety. Round the castle were built the wattled huts of the labourers and herdsmen. The old
* Clarke (** Land of Morgan," Part I, p. 24) says : ** The position of the English in Wales during the two centuries following the Conquest was such as to make a castle a necessity ; so much so, that there is no trace of a licentia crendlare having been thought necessary under the Marchers* rule. Every landowner's house was his castle.' The same words might be used to express the state of things in Co. Kildare for a considerable time after the Conquest.
IN COUNTY KILDARE.
297
to were of Onghterard and Kilteel are typical of the original dwellings of the adventurers. How numerous they were is declared by the many ruins of such towers still existing. But of many of them no trace is now left. Thus in Heni7 VU's reign there remained a castle, or tower, at Sherlockstown ; and, later still, there was one at Firmont, part of its walls being incorporated in Mr. Henry's new mansion-house there. There was also a strong castle at Blackball, built to protect the ford over the Biver Liffey at Clane. There are still some small remains of a tower at Blackwood, and part of the old castle at Hartwell ; and probably many of you know of others.
But the adventurers from Glamorganshire were not only com- pelled by similar stress of circumstances to house themselves in Kildare in fortified dwellings like those they had left in South Wales ; they also found themselves in many instances obliged to provide themselves with churches. No doubt, in a good many instances, they availed themselves of the Celtic churches exist- ing on, or near to, their new possessions, and, in process of time, restored or rebuilt them, as at Eill, Glane, and Eillashee. But frequently they had to erect totally new churches for themselves and their dependants. We should naturally expect that in doing so they would follow the type of church-building that they had been accustomed to in their old home ; and, indeed, we have proof that they did so. To tell the truth, there was probably not much to attract them in the common run of native churches ; rude as the ancient stone churches of Gower were, they were, in all likelihood, a considerable advance upon most of the little churches of timber, or wattle- work, that they found in country districts here. They accordingly set themselves to build churches after the Glamorganshire model, as they had built their houses. Indeed, there seems to have been a curious ^ rivalry among them in this respect ;'i^/J^v^ and they appear to have made it a point of honour that each landholder should have his own little church on his estate. It is scarcely possible in any other way to account for the immense number and small size of the churches built by the adventurers. The remains of these churches amply confirm my assertion that they fol- lowed the type of the churches in
<3«»W J. WaU^
.f t^/
« S'
ago ORIGINAL ANGLO-NORMAN SETTLERS
Gower. 'She old Oower cfaarcheawere small and rade bnildingB. Where the; had a chancal, the entrance from the nave was small, with a semi-circular arch. The windows were small, and the window-head often cut oat of one stone.
How similar the Anglo-Norman churches in Kildare were to those of Oower may be seen by comparing the remains of
Bodenstown Chnrcb with the aucient Church of Nioholastown in Gower. It is impossible not to be struck by the likeness. Aud the churches at Sherlockstown aud Kerdiffstown of the same date were similar.
We are sometimes tempted to set down all the remains of village end wayside crosses in this country as Celtic iu their origin, or, at least, as having been adopted by the Anglo-NormaiiB from the Celtic Church. But this is a mistake. The same sort of crosses as existed in Kildare existed also in Oower; and I am not at all sure that the basket- work decoration of some of them was not the Bame in both districts.
Another point of resemblance is to be fonnd in the old fouts. Both iu Oower aud in Kildare the fonts seem to have been very rude rectangular or circular blocks of native stone, with basins oat in them ; and they had on the rim two stoat iron rivets, leaded
IN COUNTY KILDARE. 299
into the stone, for the cover and look, required by the Constitu- tion of Edward, Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1286. There is in Oxwich Church, in Gower, an ancient font of this kind. Comparing a drawing of this with one of the old font still preserved at Sherlockstown, it is plain how similar in character they were — (1) in their extreme rudeness ; (2) in not being lined with lead ; (8) in standing on the ground, or, at most, on a low pedestal ; (4) in each having had a cover and lock.
A further curious correspondence may be found in the fact that the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem had considerable interests both in Gower and in Eildare. They are said to have held at one time nearly all the churches in Gower, and a con- siderable portion of the land. I cannot say what possessions they held over here. But Sherlockstown Church once belonged to the Order, and they had commanderies at Eillibegs and at KilteeL
But it is time to bring this Paper to a close. I have endeavoured to show that the original Anglo-Norman settlers in Eildare belonged to families which, after coming from Normandy in 1066 to 1080, settled in the Counties of Wilts, Gloucester, Somerset, Devon, and Dorset, which formed the Honour of Gloucester ; that shortly afterwards (in 1092) they joined in the invasion of South Wales, where they received gi*ants of lands, settled, built castles, and erected churches ; that about eighty years later, upon the invasion of Ireland in 1170, they sent forth their cadets and younger sons to follow the foiiunes of Strong- bow and de Lacy* I have shown that a considerable number of those adventurers who settled in Eildare came from Glamorgan- shire and Pembrokeshire, and in particular from the small district of Gower; that they gave their lands the old Gower family names, introduced the feudal tenure^ built the same sort of forti- fied houses on their properties ; erected churches of the same style, with the same fashion of fonts and crosses.
So that a Pembroke or Glamorganshire man coming to Eildare now would find himself amid places bearing names familiar to him, and ruins similar in character to those which remain in his own district. And, on the other hand, a Eildare man going now to Pembroke and Glamorgan would be surprised by many a name identical with those he had left behind, and would, in fact, find himself in the cradle of the ancient Anglo- Norman adventurers who took possession of the plains of the Liffey.
The Portlistbb (FiTEEcaTACE) Toxb, 1496, it New Abbkt.
( 30I )
NEW ABBEY OF KILCULLEISf,
With a sketch of the life of the founder, Sir Rolaj^d FitzEcjsti.cb,
Baron Portlester.
By lord WALTER FITZGERALD. [Read on the 12th September, 1898.]
HALF a mile from Eilcnllen Bridge, near the banks of the Liifey, is situated the churchyard of New Abbey; but of this Franciscan establishment hardly a trace now exists: the only portion at present standing forms part of the wall which bounds the churchyard on the west side.
In 1782 considerable portions of the Abbey, though in a very ruinous state, were still standing; they were demolished to provide building material for the chapel which was erected on its site about 1786. There still exists a low wall showing the cruciform shape of the chapel, which was itself pulled down in the year 1878, on the completion of the present magnificent Roman Catholic church, which stands near the town, and whose erection is due to the exertions of the present Parish Priest, Canon Langan*
^^The Annals of the Four Masters" thus record the foundation of New Abbey: —
"The Age of Christ 1486. The Monastery of Kilcullen,for Friars Minor de Observantia, was commenced on the bank of the Liffey, by Roland, son of Sir Edward Eustace."
This Roland Eustace, or FitzEustace, was in 1462 created Baron of Portlester; a sketch of his life is given at the end of this Paper. His death took place on the 19th of December, 1496, and he was buried beside his wife, who predeceased him, in this Abbey, which he had founded. Portions of his altar- tomb still exist ; they consist of a slab, bearing effigies of him- self and his wife, round the edge of which runs an inscription in Gothic characters, now so weather-worn that only a few words here and there are decipherabl& What are left of the sides of the tomb are now built into the old chapel wall for safety. This good act was carried out by Canon Langan about the years 1878-4.
302 NEW ABBEY OF KILCULLEN.
The effigied slab itself is placed on six little Btone pillars aboat the oenti-e of the btirial-groand.
The PoHTiiESTEB (FiizEusTACE) TouB, 1496, AT New Adbby.
The followiDg is a desoription of this tomb, and of the subjects in the panels on the sides : —
The effigy slab measures 7ft. 4in. id length, and 8ft. 7in. in breadth. The heads of both figures rest on square cusbionB, with tassels at the corners ; between the heads are two angels, each supporting one of the cushions.
The arms of both are doubled up from the elbows, so as to enable the hands to lie flat on the chest, palms downwards. The features of both are entirely worn away.
NEW ABBEY OF KILCULLEN. 303
The lady lies on the right of the knight ; on her head she wears a high-horned bonnet, divided at the crown like a ball's hoof, from the back of which drapery falls to the neck. Her dress, open at the throat, falls in straight folds to her feet ; at the waist she wears a belt, ornamented with ronnd bosses, shaped like heraldic roses; her feet rest on a square cushion, also with tassels at the corners.
The knight is covered from head to foot in plate armour ; over the hips and feet it is pliant, on the same principle as the shell on a cray-fish's tail. He wears a high conical helmet, called a '* bascinet,'* the sides of which reach to below the ears ; the ^' visor " is thrown up. Bound the neck and over the shoulders is worn a " Camail '* of chain-mail, like a tippet. The sword hangs well to the front ; its guard-ends both turn down- wards. The feet rest on an animal represented with a curly coat; the head, which was placed near the left foot, is broken off ; the animal's tail resembles the scut of a rabbit, unless it is that it is tucked in between the legs.
The sides of the tomb measure 28in. in height ; the descriptions of the subjects in the different panels will be given in the order that they are built into the old chapel wall. The panels vary in style ; some have plain ogee- shaped arches, and others are large ovals. The spaces between the panels overhead are filled in with floral devices and dragons. There are still traces of the panels having at one time been coloured.
The first panel contains a female figure, crowned, and standing ; in the right band is held a sword, with the point up ; in the left, a small spiked wheel. This represents St. Catherine.
The second panel has a seated crowned female figure, bearing on her right arm a babe in long clothes ; in her left hand she holds a sceptre, with a highly ornamented floral top. This is the Blessed Virgin Mary and Child.
In the third panel there is also a crowned female figure, standing. She holds a book in her right hand. At her feet lies a dragon, whose mouth is pierced by the butt of a cross-topped staff that she holds in her left hand. This is probably St. Margaret.
In these first three figures the hair is shown long, and hanging down the back; the crowns are all of an elaborate design.
X
Pahblb on tre b
R POBTLABTEH ToUB AT NeW AbBBT.
NEW ABBEY OF KILCULLEN. 305
In the fourth panel is the fignre of a nun, standing; she has her left hand up at her left cheek, and the right rests in front.
The next subject is a shield, on which are carved the emblems of our Lord's Passion and Crucifixion ; they include a sponge on a pole ; three scourges (one with three, another with four, and the third with five, knotted lashes) ; the flogging-post (resembling a spiral- stemmed candlestick) ; the cross, on an arm of which hangs the crown of thorns; the spear; a ladder; three nails; a hammer (with a nail-exti*actor) ; a pair of pincers, holding a fourth nail ; and lastly, a skillet, or three-legged pot, in which stands a crowing cock in full plumage (the tradition is that the cock was being boiled at the other end of the Judgment Hall during our Lord's examination by Pontius Pilate, and that, on the third denial of Him by St. Peter, it stood up and crowed, in fulfilment of our Lord's prophecy). The above shield is supported at the top and sides by angels ; the whole device being in a circular panel.
Then comes another small panel containing a Franciscan monk, with his knotted girdle. His hands are in the blessing-giving position.
The next subject is like the last panel but one, above described, except that the shield bears two coats-of- arms — the Eustace and the D'Artois (?) coats quartered. The Eustace coat is '^Or, a saltire gules.'' It bears an annulet (or plain ring) for difference, denoting a fifth son. The other coat is '' Barry of Six." (This coat may be intended for the D'Artois Arms, which were ** Barry wavy of six argent and gules.") This coat-of- arms panel is incomplete, and a portion of the missing part is now being used as a headstone to a grave on the south-eastern side of the burial-ground, having un- fortunately escaped Canon Langan's notice when he collected the tomb together.
The last panel is greatly damaged; but enough of it remains to enable one to distinguish a winged figure, at whose feet lies a dragon, with a portion of a sword-blade, or other instrument, thrust down its throat. This, of coursCji is St. Michael the Archangel.
A very misleading and imaginary description of this tomb appeared in the third volume of '' The Anthologia Hibemica Magazine" for 1794, and was (juoted at p. 121, vol. i, of our
; A
li
Mi 1^1
NEW ABKKV of KILCULLEN. 307
JouRMAli. Archeeological works of the last century are often very inaccarate, and not to be trasted.
Ad inBtance of the extraordinary errore made in " The Antbologia Hibemica" is that it describes the nan as a keener in the Connanght cloak ; and the figures of St. Catherine and 8t. Margaret are represented as being two heralds in the livery of their office. Snch statements, aerioasly given, show astound- ing ignorance of the subject. The article is initialed "B.," whiob, I believe, stands for an individual named William Beaufort, 11.A., Athy, whose drawings, equally untruthfol, illustrate the magazine.
The inscription roand the tomb is also given in the magaiiine ; but it is evidently pure fiction, and so erroneous that I will not repeat it here. Unfortunately, too, it has already appeared in our Joubnal (vol. i, p. 121). Not a word of it there given can be identified in what remains legible of the inscription.
New Abbey, is Adodbt, 1782. From B akstch )iy AusUd Cooper.
Austin Cooper, the antiquary, in his Diary, under the date August the 151^, 1782, has the following entry : —
"About A mile from Old Kilcullen, near the river Liffey, are the ruina of New Abbey, which has been very much destroyed. At pteeent the choir, refectory, and confeBsional chapel only remain entire. In Uie centre formerly stood a beautiful steeple, which fell dowu about eighteen
1 1
f fc
NEW ABBEY OF KILCULLEN. 309
years ago.' In the choir is the raised tomb of the founder ; on it the figure of a man, a sword by his side and a dog at his feet ; on his right side his wife, with a hiah head-dress and flowing lappets; round it an inscription, now so deraced as to have only a letter here and there intelligible. The side stones are ornamented, but now sunk in the ruins.
The rain-water which collects on the slab in the deep hollow formed by the knight's legs, is a care for warts ; bat, to be effective, nine pins should be first dropped into the water, and a tenth thrown over the left shoulder.
Ware, in his '' Annals of Ireland" (published in 1664), gives the two following entries : —
* * ANNO CHRISTI MCCCCXOV.
''Hoc etiam anno, dum Kildarius in Anglia haoreret, a criminibns objectis, se purgaro fatagens (an vero in carcere hue usque detentus nescio) Alisona uxor ejus filia Rolandi Eustacii Baronis Portlesterii mortem obiit in Hibemia, ex dolore (ut putatur) quem in mariti (erumnis & periculis hauserat, et sepulta est in coenobio fratrum minorum de observantia juxta pontem de Kilcullen, quod pater ejus extruxerat." (Vide p. 48.) (Alison FitzEustace was the first wife of Grerald, 8th Earl of Kildare, known as '' Garrett more," or Gerald the Great. She died on the 22nd of November, 1495.)
**ANN0 CURISTI MCCCCXCVI.
"Nunc ut jpergamus, Decembris 19, fatis concessit admodnm senex Rolandus Fitz£u8tace, Baro de Portlester (quem Edwardus lY ad eam dignitatem evexerat Martii 4 1462) & in coenobio fratrum minorum de observantia, propre pontem de Kilcullen, in agro Kildariensi, quod ipse a fundamentis excitarat, tumultus est. Monumentum tamen speciosum sibi et Margaretse Jenico defunctce uxori sus8 extruxerat anno 1455, Dublinii, in ecclesia S. Audoeni, in capella nempe B. Maria) Yirginis, a se itidem construxta ut ex inscriptione sepulchri constat. Reciprocos ille fortunes asstus expertus est. Deputatus fuit aliquandiu Georgii Ducis ClarentisB Locum-tenentis Hibemiae, deinde Cancellarius Hibemite, &per annos plusquam 38, summus Quaestor sive Thesaurarius, eaque dum oburet munia, magnas sibi comparavit opes. Ecce vero rerum humanarum vicissitudinem : Faucis ante obitum annis, Thesaurarii munere exactus, alias, easque non leves, prout antea retulimus, passus est molestias. Filius is erat (ut id etiam hie adnotem) Edwardi FitzEustace Esquitis Aurati, quem Henricus Sextus Deputatum constituerat Richardi Ducis Eboracensis, Hibemiae Locum-tenentis, anno 1454." (Vide p. 51.)
The monument in St. Audoen's mentioned by Ware in the above extinct was a cenotaph erected hy Sir Roland Eustace, of Portlester, during his lifetime, and (judging by the inscription which is given below) subsequent to the- death of his wife,
' According to Gough*s edition of Camden's ** Britannia," the steeple fell in the year 1764.
3IO NEW ABBEY OF KILCULLEN.
Margaret D'Artois, or, as she is called on the monament, '* Margarete Jenico nuper axoris sue.'' Of this cenotaph, the top slab, bearing two effigies, is still in existence, and is now placed inside the entrance of the church tower. The effigies closely resemble those on the New Abbey tomb, and lie in the same position, with the hands in the same attitude.^ The inscription, however, faces inwards, unlike the New Abbey inscription, which is cat in the usual fashion. On the cenotaph it is quite legible, with the exception of the date and a word or two in the second line (which reads in the opposite direction to the remainder) by the left side of the knight's head. Com- mencing near the peak of the helmet, and continuing along the knight's side, it reads : —
Orate p | aia Holandi tffits £u0ta [ce two words iUegibie] ^e pottleer auf buc locu eivc capelfa dedit in bonore I beate Aacie IDdS Si etia I p a^ Aatdatete ?enfco nup uiocte sue. Si p aia'Bs omTtlDeliuDefuctoC aiio Do", m I cccc mi:ii v • '
As can be seen in the rubbing of the inscription, most of the <* m's" and " n's" are left out ; and if the edge of the stone was in a better state of preservation, the contraction equivalents ( — , or «^) would be visible. The " p," with a stroke through the tail, is a contraction for *' pro," and in the case of " nup " for " nuper." The z-like contraction mark at the end of " aiab " denotes the omission of the '' us ; " while the comma-like marks (') at the end of " Portlest' " and of " defuctor," are contractions for " er " and " um " respectively.
There is a very puzzling similarity, it will be noticed, between the letters " c," " e," and the long " s ; " and the con- fusion is added to by several of the letters being conjoined, i.e., the final stroke of one letter also forms a part of the next ifittfip
The date appears to read "M.(C.C.)C.C.XXX.n;" but this is impossible, so the two "C's" must be " X's" and the two " II's," intended for a " U " or " V " ( = 6), which would make it read
* Between the heads is a hole through the slab to wliich several little grooves run, as if with the intention of preventing the accumulation of rain-water.
'Translation : —
'* Pray for the soul of Roland FitzEustace [ ] of Portlester,
who granted this place or chapel in honour of the Blessed Virgin Marv ; and lUso for the soul of Margaret Jenico, formerly his wife ; and for the souls of all the faithful Dead. A.D. 1455."
NEW ABBEY OF KILCULLEN. 311
MCCCCXXXXXV, i.e., 1455, which is the date given by Ware in his Annals, published in 1664.
In the inscription the words '^nuper nxoris sue" would denote that Sir Roland's wife, Margaret D'Artois, was then dead.
Sir Roland Eustace's wife was Margaret, widow of John, third son of Sir John Dowdall, of Newtown, Knight, and daughter of John, or Jenico, D'Artois (or Dartas). The latter had a sister, Joan, who mamed, first, Christopher Preston, father of Robert, Ist Viscount Gormanstown ; and, secondly, Giles Thomdon, Treasurer of Ireland. Their father was Sir Jenico D'Artois, Knight, a native of Gascony, who accom- panied Richard 11 into Ireland in 1894, and for his faithful services to him and his successor was in 1401 appointed Constable of Dublin Castle. He had the custody of the manor and lordship of Trim, and was granted the manor of Ardglass, in the County Down, which, through his descendant Alison Eustace, Lord Portlester's daughter, passed to the Earls of Kildare. Sir Jenico was twice married, first, to Joan Taaffe, daughter of Sir Nicholas Taafie, Knight, of Liscarton, in the County Meath, and widow of Peter Rowe, Chief Justice; secondly, to Elizabeth • . . . , who survived him. His death took place on the 20th November, 1426, and he left issue the son and daughter above mentioned.
Sir Roland Eustace, who was created Baron of Portlester,^ in Meath, by Edward IV, on the 4tb March, 1462, died on the 19th of December, 1496, leaving no male heirs to succeed him. His children were : —
1. Oliver Eustace, ''filus Roulandi FitzEustace, militis domini de Portlester." He was appointed Chief Baron of the King's Bench on the 24th October, 1482,^ and died in his father's lifetime.
2. (?) Richard Eustace, ''filius Roulandi Fitz- Eustace, militis," vivens 1493 ; ob. vita patris.^
' Portlestor was a manor in the Parish of Killaconnigan, and Barony of Lune, County Meath. It previously belonged to the Norman family of Mortimer, Earls of March, till the death of Edmond, the 5th Earl, without issue, in 1424, when it passed to his next heir, his nephew, Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York (son of Edmond Mortimer's sister Anne, Countess of Cambridge), whose son Edward was afterwards King Edward lY of England. In 1455, this manor, according to the inscription on the cenotaph in St. Audoen's Church, was then in Sir Roland FitzEustace's possession.
' Rot. Cane. Hib. Cal., p. 270b.
>Ib., p. 271.
312 NEW ABBEY OF KILCULLEN.
1. Alison, who was the first wife of Gerald, 8th Earl of Kildare, who died on the 8rd September, 1618. Her death took place on the 22nd November, 1495^ and she was buried at New Abbey.
2. Joan married (1) Sir Maurice Eustace, Ent., of Ballycotland (i.e., Coghlanstown), County Eildare ; (2) Richard Plunket, 2nd Baron of Dunsany, County Meath.
8. Maud (or Margaret) married (1) Thomas Mar- ward, Baron of Skreen, County Meath; (2) Sir John Plunket, Knt., of Bewley (Beaulieu), County Louth, ob. 2nd June, 1501.
4. Jenet^ wife of Sir Walter Delahyde, Knt, of Moyglare, County Meath.
Before proceeding to give a sketch of Lord Portlester's life, the few remaining items of New Abbey history will be given.
On the 9th of October, 1517, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Zouche, and wife of Gerald, the 9th Earl of Eildare, died suddenly at Lucan, and was buried at New Abbey ;' she was the mother of Thomas, the 10th Earl, known as ''the Silken Thomas," or " Thomas-an-Teeda."
On the 2l6t of May, 1638, George Brown, Archbishop of Dublin, wrote to Thomas Cromwell, the Lord I^ivy Seal, to use his influence in obtaining for him the about-to-be-dissolved New Abbey and its appurtenances, which he wanted to convert into a private residence for himself. He wrote : —
^^ And where as I wrote unto your Lordship for obteynement of a very poure house of friers, named the New Abbey, an house of the obstynates religion, which lay very commodious for me by Balymore,^ to repaire into in tymes of nede ; I am clene dispatched of any pleasures there, and the profecte theireof gy ven to an Irish man ; so that I am compted an unworthie parson. Whereof to you, my especiall good Lorde, I make my mone, having none other refuge."
It is not recorded whether the Archbishop was successful in his petition.
^ With the exception of his daughter Alison, Lord Portlester*s children are not given in Burke*s ** Extinct Peerage."
The daughters, Joan, Margaret, and Jenet, with their husbands, are mentioned in Morrin's ** Calendar of Patent Rolls," vol. i, page 97.
According to Archdall's edition of ** Lodge's Peerage," vol. vi, page 176, Lord Portlester's wife was Jenet BeUew, widow of John Plunket, 2nd Lord of Killeen.
^ Ware's Annals, page 95.
^ I.e., Ballymore-Eustace, a manor then belonging to the Archbishops of Dublin.
OF PORTLESTER.
t., = Alice
.30.
(Ind. Ex. Rec.)
REFERENCES.
An. 4 M. =» Tbe Axmalii of the Four Masten.
i^rctadall ^ His Bditlon of Lodce'g Peerage.
Borke. « His Extinct Peerage.
Bx. Inq. = Kxebeqner Inquisitions in the Record Office.
Ind. Ex. Bec.=The Index of Bxeheqner Records, Record Office.
lforrIn= Calendar of Chancery Rolls, Ireland.
Rot. Cane. Hib. CaL = Rotnlomm Caneellarin HibemiR Calendsriam.
Ware = 8ir James Ware's Annals of Ireland, 148&-16e8.
I Richard PItzEustaco,
Nfimed in An. 4 M., HTino 1579.
(herald FitzGemld, 8th Earl of Kildare.
oh. 3 Sept., 1613.
(Archdall.)
Sir Man rice FitzEnstace, Kt.,
of IMlycotlaud (Cojfhlau8town),Co.
Kildaro.
(Archdall, Vol. IV, p. 300.)
Sir Thomas PltzEu8tac«, Kt.,
Bnron of Kilcnlleu, Co. Kildare.
Viscount Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow.
ob. 27 June, 1610.
Ex. Inq., Co. Dublin, No. 6 of Ed. VI.
)
Mar^ret Talbot,
d. of Sir Peter Talbot, Kt.,
of Malahide, Co. Dublin.
(Ex. Infj., Co. Dublin, \ No. 6 of Ed. VI. )
Sir John Plunket, Kt., of Beaulieu, Co. Louth.
ob. 2 June, 1601.
(Archdall, Vol. VI, p. 161.)
Sir Walter Delahyde, Kt., of Moy^lare, Co. Meath.
(Morrin.)
NEW ABBEY OF KILCULLEN. 313
According to a County Kildare Exchequer Inquisition (No. 21 of Henry VIII), New Abbey was suppressed on the 80th of April, 1539. It is mentioned as follows : —
"That the Monastery of New Abbey, in County of Ealdare, commonly called the Grey Friars of New Abbey, was founded at a time out of memory.
'* That this monastery, name, dignity, and order of Friars, with its dependencies, was suppressed on the 30th of April, anno Regis Henry VIII, 31(i.e., 1539), by order of the Kin^.
'* That the said monastery contains within its precincts the walls of a church, a belfry, a dormitory, a hall (atcZa), two rooms, and a kitchen, which are in ruins ; a burial-ground ; an orchard ; a garden ; a small paddock for pasture, containing eight acres, all of which the late Prior was seised of in fee in right of his monastery, previous to the said 30th of April."
In course of time the site of this Abbey was leased to various persons, generally for twenty-one years, on the condition of not alienating any portion except to men of English name and nation.
On the 27th of January, 1560, Roland Eustace, 2nd Viscount Baltinglass, had a lease of the place; but it was gi*anted to Edmund Spenser, the poet, on the 24th of August, 1582, as well as an old waste town adjoining, which were in the Queen's hands, owing to the rebellion of James Eustace, the 8rd Viscount.
At the commencement of the seventeenth century Sir Henry Hari'ington, Knt., was in possession of the site of New Abbey and its appurtenances ; on his death on the 1st May, 1612, he was succeeded by his son, Sir John. (County Kildare Chancery Inquisition.)
From this period nothing remarkable is recorded in connec- tion with the place.
The caretaker of this church-yard, Michael Hannigan, informed me that an old man (since dead), named Peter Keenan, dreamed that the bells of the Monastery lie buried in the boggy ground a short distance to the north of the church-yard, opposite to an ash-tree now growing on the ditch which runs in the direction of the river,
A couple of perches to the east of the effigied slab is a large grave ; it is said to mark the spot where the soldiery who fell in 1798 at Old EilcuUen were buried.
Between this churchyard and the town there is a well, which goes by the name of Tubber-molin (pronounced with the accent laid on the last syllable), or St. Moling's Well. Its waters are used as a cure for sore eyes. Can this be the same saint who is the Patron of Timolin, and of St. MuUin's in the County Carlow ?
314 NEW ABBEY OF KILCULLEN.
HolliDshed in his " Chronicles of Ireland " states that a bridge was bailt over the Liffe; at Kilcalleii, in the year 1319,
KiLCDLLBK BtODOE. DBAWN E (From Cromwell'a " Bicnreioni throujjli Im
by a Manrice Jakis, who vaa Canon in the Cathedral Church of Kildare. " Dowling's Annals " add that he bnilt it at his own coat. A drawing of his seal is in the atcbirea of Christ Cbnrcb, Dublin.
Sketch of Lobd Portlester's Life, taken fboh the "Dictionary op National BioaftAPHT."
Roland FitzEuEtace, Lord Portlester (died 1496), Chancellor and Treasurer of Ireland, was the eldest son of Sir Edward FitzEastace, bead of an important Anglo-Norman family, which acquired extensive estates in Eildare and Meatb, in Ireland. The FitzEuBtaces, with the Earls of Kildare and the Geraldines, were among the chief and most active supporters in Ireland of the Yorkiat Party, the head of which was Duke Richard, father of Edward IV. By descent the Duke had claims to large demesnes in Ireland, of which kingdom he was appointed Viceroy in 1449 for Henry VL Sir Edward FitzEustace acted as Deputy in Ireland in 1464 for the Duke of York, and in the
NEW ABBEY OF KILCULLEN. 315
game year his son, Sir Roland, received the appointment of Lord Treasurer there. Sir Roland married Marguerite, relict of Sir John Dowdall, and daughter of Jenico d'Artois, a Gascon officer, who had been employed in military affairs in Ireland by Richard II and Henry lY. A chapel under the patronage of the Blessed Virgin was erected by Sir Roland in the Parochial Church of St. Audoen, Dublin, in 1465.
Edward IV, on his accession to the throne in 1461, confirmed Sir Roland in the Treasurership of Ireland ; and by a patent dated at Westminster, 4th March in the same year, created him Baron of Portlester, in the County of Meath.
He was also appointed temporary Deputy-Governor in Ireland for the Viceroy, George, Duke of Clarence, and took the oath of office on the 12th June, 1462. In that year he presided as Lord Deputy at a Parliament held in Dublin. About this time Portlester was accused of treasonable designs in collusion with the Earl of Desmond. Portlester repudiated the charge, offered trial by wager of battle, and was subsequently exonerated by Act of Parliament.
Another charge of treason made against him at Dublin in 1470, does not appear to have been prosecuted. His daughter, Alison, became the wife of Gerald, 8th Earl of Kildare, Lord Deputy of Ireland. In 1472 the Chancellorship was conferred on Portlester and John Taxton during their lives. Portlester was one of the chief supporters of the Earl of Kildare in his contest in 1478 with Henry Lord Grey, in relation to the office of Deputy in Ireland for Edward IV.
The name of Portlester stands next to that of the Earl of Kildare on the roll of those appointed in 1479 as chief members of the Fraternity of St. George for the defence of the English territories in Ireland.
Under the arrangements made by Edward IV for the adminis- tration of his affairs in Ireland, Portlester was superseded in the Chancellorship, but retained in the office as Lord Treasurer, and the post of Chief Baron of the Exchequer was conferred on his son, Oliver Eustace, in 1482.
Portlester-was reputed to have acquired considerable wealth through his employments under the Crown. In 1486 he established at Kilcullen, on the bank of the Liffey, County Kildare, a convent for Observantine Franciscans, subsequently known as the ** New Abbey."
With the Earl of Kildare and other leaders of the Anglo- Irish, Portlester in 1487 took part in the movement of the Yorkists in favour of Lambert Simnel. In 1488 Portlester again became Chancellor of Ireland, when that office wi^s
3l6 NEW ABBEV OF KILCULLEN.
vacated by Sir ThomaB FitzGerald,' who took command of the Irish soldiers who fooght in the battle of Stoke in 1488. Through the interrention of the Royal Commissioner, Sir Richard Edgecombe, a pardon was issned to Portleater by Henry YII, ander date of 25th May, 1488.
He died at an advanced age in 1496, and was interred in the Franciscan Abbey which he had founded at Kilcollen.
The remains of a stone moDament with recumbent effigies of Portlester and his wife are preserved on the site of the chapel which, as mentioned above, he erected in the Church of St. Andoen, Dnblio.
J. T. G. (i.t)., the late Sir John Thomas Gilbert, Ent.).
Note. Since writing the Paper on New Abbey, Z again tried my hand at reading the two words which are shown as illegible in
the inscription on tbe Eustace cenotaph in St Andoen's Chnrch, Dublin. After Dnsuccesafully endeavouring to decipher the letters in various positions, I at last took up the paper on which I had made tbe rubbing, and holding it to the light with the back towards me, I looked through it at the letters ; I then had
the eatisfactioD of reading the word HlLrns, and possibly the
' Second son of Tbomaa, 7th Earl of Kildare, and anceator of the Ijaclcagh brancb of the FitzGeralde.
NEW ABBEY OF KILCULLEN. 317
other word is nunc ; if so, the beginning of the inscription (when translated) would read : —
** Pray for the soul of Sir Roland FitzEustace, Knight, now of Portlester/' &c
What had made the word melitis illegible in the rubbing is that the stone-cutter had cut the letters upside down, though in the correct order. One could have understood the mistake if he had accidentally cut the word backwards ; but how it was he commenced and finished the extraordinary error of cutting the letters upside down is quite beyond me to explain.
">.
( 319 )
CASTLEMARTIN, By OMURETHI.
CASTLE MARTIN is a name of Anglo-Norman origin ; bnt whether the latter portion of it is a surname or a Christian name, no record exists to inform us ; consequently, the name of the family which originally built a castle here is unknown. As there is another Castlemartin in the Barony of Navan Lower, in the County Meath, it makes the identification of a family impossible when one comes across such vague mention as '^ Henricus filius Philipi de Castlemartyn/' or " Nicholus filius Nicholi de Castromartun/* &c., in early documents.
Holinshed, in his '^ Chronicles of Ireland '* (p. 68), mentions that in 1818 '' Hugh Canon, the King's Justice of his Bench, was slain by Andrew Bermingham between the town of Naas and Castellmarten ; *' these two places, however, lie six miles apart as the crow flies. Andrew Bermingham, who was a son of Richard^ 4th Baron of Athenry, was himself slain by the O'Nolans on the 29th of September, 1822. (Clyn's ''Annals.")
The earliest mention of this place is in the year 1894, when on the 4th of June one '' Malmore Ocoigne de Castelmartin in co' Eyld' *' was pardoned for treason.^
So far as can be gathered, the once powerful family of Fitz- Eustace, or Eustace, was seated here as early as the fourteenth century. This family was sprung from the Le Poers ; and it is not till the latter half of the fourteenth century that the Fitz- Eustace surname was adopted. The Castlemartin family of the Eustaces appears to have been the main stock from which the Eustaces of Newland, Ballycotland (now Coghlanstown), Cradockstown, Clongowes Wood, Confey, &c., spi-ang ; several of which families, and their branches, used Castlemartin church- yard as their place of interment, as one learns from " the Funeral Entries " in Ulster's Office.
In 1448 Castlemartin was the scene of a conflict between the
' P. 161 b, Rot. Cane. Hib. Cal.
320 CASTLEMARTIN.
Irish of Leinster and the men of the Pale, MacFirbis states (in the quaint language of the chronicler) that : —
'* A great army made by O'Connor Faly,* and by the IrLsh of Leinster, marched to Kilcullind and to Castlemartine, wherein Calvaffh O'Connor fell down (wounded) at the door of Castlemartine, so that his sword and helmet were taken from him. Cahir O'Connor and Cathal O'Connor^s son, hearing that O'Connor was taken, they returned towards him courageously, and rescued him forcibly, Calvagh saying that his leg was broken, and the English horsemen were about to bring him into the castle."'
The Bebellion known as the Baltinglass Rebellion (from the fact that James Eustace^ 8rd Viscount Baltinglass, was the principal Leinster nobleman concerned in it) broke out in 1579 ; Maurice, the eldest son of John Eustace, of Castlemartin, threw in his lot with the rebels, was captured and executed in the following year. His father, John, also died in 1680, and by his will left the Manor of Castlemartin, &c., to his second son, William Eustace, as if foreseeing the forfeiture that would ensue if his eldest son succeeded to his property.
On the breaking out of the Bebellion of 1641, Maurice fitz- William fitzJohn Eustace was in possession of Castlemartin. His name appears in the list of persons outlawed for high treason at this time.^ On the 2nd of March, 1648, James^ Marquis of Ormonde, in command of the Parliamentary Army, having lodged in Naas, crossed the Liffey two miles below Castlemartin (? at Athgarvan), and finding this castle was garrisoned by the rebels ''under the command of one Fitz- Gerald," he determined to take the place. But on sending a summons, the garrison of 400 men surrendered, and were allowed to march away. From Castlemartin the Parliamentary forces dispersed, to lodge in the villages about the Curragh, while Lord Ormonde's regiment was quartered in the town and castle of Kildare.*^
In this same year (1643) the Commissioners of Forfeited
* Cathal O'Connor Faly was the son of *' Murrough-na-madhmann,** or Murrough of the Defeats, chief captain of his nation, whose territory was Offaly. Cathal O^Connor Faly was married to Margaret **the hospitable," daughter of Teige O'Carroll, chief of Ely-O'CarroU in the King's County ; she died in 1451. Calvagh died in 1458, and was buried in KiUeigh Abbey, King's County ; his son Con was elected to succeed him as head of the clan.
' MacFirbis'a ** Annals of Ireland," edited by 0*Donovan. ' P. 359, vol. iii, of Gilbert's ** History of the Confederation and War."
* P. 249, vol. ii, Gilbert's ** History of the Confederation and War/'
CASTLEMARTIN. 321
Estates first met at CastlemartiD, bat adjourned to SiggiDstowu, or Jigginstown, near Naas, where was concluded a cessation of hostilities between the Parliament and the Confederate Catholics. In 1647 the castle was taken and burned by the Parliamentarians under Colonel Michael Jones.
On the 8th of February, 1642, the Lords Justices and Council offered a reward of £400 and a free pardon to anyone who would bring in the head of any one of the following County Kildare gentlemen, who were in arms against them : —
Pierce FitzOerald, of Ballyshannon.
Maurice Eustace, of Castlemartin.
Nicholas Sutton, of Tipper.
Rory O'More, of Balyna.
William FitzGerald, of Blackball, near Clane.^
The last of the Eustaces of Castlemartin was Sir Maurice Eustace, Bart, (son of John, son of Maurice Eustace of 1642), who followed James II into exile in France after the Siege of Limerick in 1690, after which all trace of this ancient family disappears. His wife was Margaret, daughter of Brigadier Sir Thomas Newcomen, Knight, by his wife Frances Talbot, sister of the Duke of Tyrconnell.
No trace of the old castle now exists. Having been dis- mantled in 1647> it was probably, like Maynooth Castle, too dilapidated to be worth restoring, and the remains may have been thrown down for material when the present house was erected about the beginning of the eighteenth century by a Mr, Harrison, a Dublin banker.' Over the hall-door is cut the following quotation from Horace : —
**80LICIT-fi lUCUNDA OBLIVIA VITiE,"
I.e., *' the forgetfulnesses of an anxioufi life are pleasant.*'
About the middle of the eighteenth century Castlemartin passed by purchase to Captain Henry Boyle Carter, of Colonel Irwin's Regiment. He was the second son of the Right Honourable Thomas Carter, Master of the Rolls, and a Privy Councillor, of Robertstown and Rathnally, in the County Meath. His son, Thomas Carter, and his grandson, William Henry Carter, D.L., and High Sheriff of the County in 1817, also resided here till the middle of the last century, when Castle-
» P. 388, vol. i, Gilbert's *' History of Affairs in Ireland." * Prewer*8 ** Ireland," vol. iij p. 64,
322 CASTLEMARTIN.
martin passed to the father of the present owner, Major William Blacker/
A short distance to the rear of the hoase are the rains of Castlemartin chapel,' which was dedicated to the Vir^^n ; it was dependent on the Chnroh of Old KilcuUen.
S.m-m^'jii.^ ^Ci*££„ma'/&wx.Ci^C.
These rnins are of small dimensionB ; the ohapel internally measnres 42rt. by 16|-ft. ; the walls are 4ft. in thickness. There is no cut-stone work now remaining in the doors and windows ; the former are pointed arched, and the latter ronnd-headed, with wide splays. A very peculiar feature is the tower at the west end ; it consists of two parallel walls, eighteen inches thick, with a staircase two feet wide between them ; they extend the fall width of the chapel. This tower was an after-addition, as there
' Ctde " Burke's Landed Gentry " tor Carter, ot Shaea fiCanor j and for Blacker. Douglas, of Elm Park, County Armagh.
'"The Anthologia Hibarnica Magazine," vol. i, p. 351, for Hay, 1793, and "Tho London Review" for November, 1794-, have each an article in them on Castlemartin, both apparently written by the same pen (William Beautord, m.a., Athy), They are illuBtrated with the same plates, showing a plan and sketch of the chapel ruins ; but the drawings and description vie with one another in inaccuracy.
CASTLEMARTIN. 323
are traces of a little donble belf^, now built up, visible in the inner wall; and the bonding of the masonry shows that the tower was sabseqaently bailt. The narrow staircase leads from a doorway inside the chapel to another doorway lending ont on to the top of the side walls.'
J*^
s*.^ ^UtoC^^m^A, 4S^4u:.
^ In the centre of the body of the chapel are the foundations of sn altar-tomb ; portions of the efGgy of a knight in armour, and the remains of the sides, divided into panels containing saints, are collected together in the e^t end of the chapel. They are in a very fragmentary and broken condition. One piece, less fractured t£an the rest, contains an angel, with an uplifted sword in one hand, and a pair of scales, with a diminntive human figure iu each scale, in the other hand, representing St. Michael the Archangel weighing souls.
There is no doubt that this was a Eustace monument of the fifteenth or sixteenth century ; and though several branches of the family were interred here, there is no appearance of any other monumeut to them. As late as the year 1665 Sir Maurice J Eustace, of Harristown, the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, died,f| and was buried at Ciistlemaitin ; but even to him there is now
' Buttresses were built by Major Blacker io 1898, againet tho chapel walls, to prop them against falling.
324 CASTLEMARTIN.
no trace of a monument. A funeral entry in Ulster's Office states that he died on the 22nd of June, and was buried on the 7th of July, 1665, in St. Patrick's Cathedral; but this state- ment seems to conflict with that of his widow, Charity, daughter of Sir Robert Dixon, Ent., who expressly states in her will that if she dies in Dublin, she is to be buried near her father in St. Werburgh's, but if she dies in the country (at Harris- town, County Kildare), she is to he buried near her husband at Castlemartm. Her will is dated the 25th June, 1678, and was proved on the 25th July, 1679.
Mention should be made of the fine entrance gates to Castle- martin demesne, which form one of the finest specimens of wrought-iron work of which we are aware in Ireland. Their style would suggest that they are of about the period of 1740.
( 325 )
NOTES ON THE COLLECTION OF IRISH ANTIQUITIES LA TEL Y AT EDEN D ERR Y.
By the Rev. E. OXbaky, P.P.
The Members of the Kildare ArchsBological Society will learn with regret that the Edenderry Museum of Irish Antiquities has become a thing of the past. It was sold by the owner last year to a professor of Cambridge University. The collector of the Museum was Mr. Thomas B. Murray, g.e., land-agent at Edenderry to Lord Downshire. Mr. Murray commenced life as a civil engineer, and worked with Dargan at the Kingstown pier and railway, at Belfast, and also at other places. In the course of the extensive excavations which these works entailed, he made many antiquarian finds, which he carefully collected and preserved. He thus acquired a love for antiquarian objects, and a taste for archsBological studies, which were the joy of his leisure moments during the remainder of his life. He did not, however, devote all his spare time to anti- quities, for he was an ardent sportsman, was well known in the Irish coursing world, and was the successful competitor for many of its trophies.
He lived to a patriarchal age ; and, in the last year of his life, he sold his archaeological collection away from Ireland. It is much to be regretted that he did not give his countrymen an opportunity to buy it. It was a great surprise to the public when it became known that, by private sale, Mr. Murray had disposed of this fine collection to an English professor at Cambridge. Had he only advertised the fact that it was for sale, he would have certainly found willing purchasers at home, and would have made a better bargain. It is gone, however ; and a well-known saying reminds us that ''there is no use crying over spilt milk.'' It only remains for us to secure and retain some record of the collec- tion while it can be done. This is the purpose of the present Paper. I have collected all the information available ; and I now give it to our readers. The Bev. E. L. Murray, m.a., nephew of the collector, has kindly presented me with photographs which he took of some of the museum cases, from which I have made a few sketches of the most important antiquities for the purpose of illus- tration ; and I have got the catalogue of the collection, and much valuable information, from Mr. B. Magill, who was curator of the museum. To these gentlemen I wish to express my acknowledg- ments and thanks. In preparing the catalogue for the printer, and the Notes which accompany it, I have been in doubt as to whether the Notes should be given at the bottom of the page, or introduced
326
EDENDERRY COLLECTION OF ANTIQUITIES.
after the item in the catalogue to which they referred ; and I have decided that the latter arrangement ^yill have the balance of con- venience for our readers.
Museum Book. — T. B. Murray, Edbnderrt.
Case No. 1. Axe-heads, all stone, found in different counties. Number of articles, 22. Most of them were found at Einnefad and Kennedy's Wood, Bahan, both places being in the neighbour- hood of Edenderry.
No. 2. Axe-heads, 1 oval tool stone, or thug gersteer, and a pattoo, the principal weapon of the New Zealanders. All stone. Number of articles, 24.
No. 8. 4 spear-heads, 4 axe-heads, 2 pairs of spurs, I horse-bit, 8 pieces of manacles and pincers; all iron. Number of articles, 17. They were all found in the Biver Boyne, during the progress of the drainage works which were carried out and completed on that river about forty years ago.
No. 4. Manacles, horses* shoes, axes, reaping-hooks, curb- chaiu, stirrup-lock, and 2 '98 pikes ; all iron. Number of articles, 15. One pike was found in the neighbourhood of Edenderry ; the other in Connaught or Donegal.
No. 6. Spear-heads, daggers, swords, and some ring-money ; all bronze. See Figures 1, 2, 8, 4, 6, Plate I. These were picked up
Plate /.
5:denderry collection of antiquities.
327
bv Mr. Murray in different parts of Ireland. The ring-money was about 1 in. in diameter. The spear-heads were bright, flat, and secured to the handles with rivets. The rivet-holes and some, of the rivets were still in their places. The bronze bit was greatly worn.
No. 6. 4 articles found near the Boyne at Eisavanna, in the County of Eildare, in the year 1851. 15 articles in one find, under Drumcooley Hill, on William Morris's farm, near Edenderry, in the year 1854 ; all bronze. Two of these are shown at Figures 6 and 7, Plate 1. 6 is a bronze necklet for a horse, and 7 a small bell supposed to have been attached to the necklet.
No. 7. 48 rings, ring-money, 1 bronze article, 2 spear-heads, found at Grange, in the County of Eildare, 1 foot 8 inches below the surface, in the year 1862. One of the spear-heads was above 12 inches long. Number of articles, 50. See Plate II. One
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spear-head only appears in the photograph. Grange is a town- land beside Einnefad, on the Dublin side of the Boyne, and about one mile east from Edenderry. The illustration has been made from the existing photograph. The find consists entirely of bronze articles — 4 large rings, with a small ring running loose on each of two ; 48 small rings, supposed to have been money ; a
328 EDENDERRY COLLECTION OF ANTIQUITIES.
fibula, or cloak clasp ; a bronze seal ; a socketed spear. This find is supposed to have belonged to a warrior.
No. 8. 1 stirrup, 8 spurs, and 2 other articles, taken from the Boyne near Drogheda many years since, adjacent to the place where Prince William of Orange crossed ; got from Quirk ; iron and brass. Number of articles, 6. These were all found at the site of the Battle of the Boyne. There is no photograph of them.
No. 9. A number of spears and axe-heads ; aJso knives and part of a gun ; all iron. Number of articles, 48.
No. 10. 1 string of amber beads, very large (114); 60 rings (ring-money) ; also 7 other bronze articles, found in one lump of clay, about three miles from Maryborough, Queen's County, in February, 1872 — a large find of bronze and amber. Number of articles, 58. (See Maryborough find, Plate II.) This find was all bronze, except the amber beads and the sandstone seal. The latter was beautifully finished, with markings on the seal-end, the meaning of which was unknown. The amber beads (shown on the string at the top of the illustration) were supposed to have been money ; but no two were of the same weight, or gave any indica- tion of a standard of value. The large hollow ring, concave on the inside, was supposed to be a badge of authority. The two small rings beneath this were hollow and tubular, with openings across each ring, as shown in the illustration. The bronze cloak- pin was neatly finished. From the absence of any warlike weapon, this find is supposed to have been the property of some religious dignitary, and the large ring to have been his badge of authority. They were originally in a wooden box ; but through the lapse of tima, daring which it had been buried in the damp earth, it had mouldered into a lump of clay.
No. 11. 1 pair of ear-rings, 1 bronze adze, found on Garbury Hill, on the east side, in the year 1862, one find ; also 6 articles, one find, under Drumcooley Hill, west side, in the year 1859. Number of articles, 9. The Drumcooley find were 2 bits of broken bronze spears, and 4 rings (money). The Garbury find was unearthed by James Smyth (at present an inmate of Edenderry workhouse), whilst sowing potatoes on the side of the hill, in 1862. The axe-head was used without any handle, by holding the rounded back in the hand. It showed signs of having been ground, and is the only instance of a bronze adze having been sharpened in this manner. With the adze were found the 2 ear-rings shown in the illustration. These rings are the size of a man's finger, and the 3 balls attached are of solid copper. At Garbury there were 2 small crucibles for melting bronze, and 4 bronze pins also found, but not by Smyth, or in the same place.
No. 12. 81 bone articles, found near a small lake in the County Westmeath, in the year 1840; all bone and stone. Number of articles, 81. These were supposed to have been tallies for counting sheep and cattle. Some of the bits of bone had holes, the others
EDENDERRY COLLECTION OF ANTIQUITIES.
329
had notches. The latter are supposed to have represented the sheep, the former the cattle.
No. 18. Ancient Irish bronze hunting-spears. Number of articles, 86. These were found at Drumoooley and Ballinkillen ; both places are near Edenderry. There were no human bones with them, or any indication of the place having been a battlefield ; and hence they are supposed to have been used for the chase.
No. 14. A number of spear-heads and keys, &c. ; all iron. Number of articles, 20. One was the key of Bahan Castle, GouDty Westmeath.
No. 16. A pike and some spear-heads, including 2 of Smith O'Brien's, the cabbage-garden hero. Number of articles, 11. One was a plain pike, the other had a hook and battle-axe.
No. 16. 49 old Irish bronze axe-heads. J^umber of articles, 49.
No. 17. Old spades, reaping-hooks, horses' shoes. And a horse- bit ; all iron. Number of articles, 88. One horse-shoe had very pecuUar fastenings. Five clips came from the shoe up the sides of the hoof, grasping it tightly, and there were holes at the end of the shoe behind, where a bolt had evidently passed through to tighten it on the hoof.
330 EDENDERRY COLLECTION OF ANTIQUITIES.
No. 18. 48 old Irish pins or brooches, 2 harp-keys, and 4 amulets ; bronze. Number of articles, 49. 4 of these were of the Tara pattern, but 1 was supposed to be a modern imitation. Another had a flat, circular head, in the same plane as the pin, ornamented with concentric circles. It was of very bright bronze, and supposed to be modem. 1, with a highly ornamented stem 18 inches long.
No. 19. Old bronze adzes, varying very much in size and shape. Number of articles, 26.
No. 20. 1 earthen bowl, found in the County Galway, in the year 1858. Also one from Derry. An urn, with skull and bones, found with a small human skeleton, in a stone chamber at Eilriney, County Kildare, in the ^ear 1864. One find. Number of articles, 4. The Galway urn contamed the remains of calcined bones like bits of white lime. Plato III, Fig. 1. The Derry urn is shown, Fig. 2. The Eilriney urn, Fig. 8. This townland is at the Dublin side of the Boyne, 4 miles east from Edenderry. The urn was found in a stone chamber, in a sunny upland field sloping south, by a ploughman, in 1854. His plough struck upon the covering stone, and he opened the cist in the hope of finding hidden treasure. Besides the urn, containing ashes, he found in the cist a small human skeleton, that of a girl about eleven years old. The skull was one of remarkable beauty. The museum contained another Eilriney find— a peculiar bronze box, about two inches in diameter. A strong strap of bronze crossed the top of the lid, and, bending round to the side, formed a hinge with the box. It contained two smaller boxes, which fitted into each other. It was supposed to have been used for ecclesiastical purposes.
No. 21. Old Irish bank-notes. Number of articles, 71.
No. 22. Old Irish bronze axes, bronze bowls, a bronze dagger, &c. An Irish bronze axe, found in the Eiver Boyne at Einnefad ; a beautiful specimen of a sword and spur. Number of articles, 10. The bronze axe found in the Boyne at Einnefad is shown on Plate III, Fig. 4. It was the most interesting object in the whole collection, and was the only specimen of its kind existing, having the original handle in position; this was black as ink, and supposed to be briar- wood. If gossip can be trusted, the present owner has refused the sum of d61,200 for it, though the same authority states that a very much smaller sum bought the whole collection from Mr. Murray. The beautiful specimen of a short sword, same Plate, Fig. 5, was found at Ballykillian. The handle had hollows for inlaying work, and one of these cavities contained a bit of amber. Axes Nos. 6 and 7 were of a bright bronze, the colour of gold. No. 6 was brought to a very sharp edge. No. 7 was found at Einnefad. No. 8 is not mentioned in the catalogue. It is supposed to have been a censer. The material is brass ; it stands on four legs ; the lid is pei'forated, and hinged to the side ; and there is a movable bowl inside, like the modem censer.
EDENDERRY COLLECTION OF ANTIQUITIES. 33 1
No. 28. A lot of flint arrow-heads, also a horn axe-head, made from large deer-horn. Number of articles, 51. One of these arrow- heads was a very rare specimen. It had a portion of the original shaft still attached to it, tied on by a string of gut. It is shown at Fig. 9) Plate lU, reduced to one-fourth the natural size. It was found 7 feet deep on an ancient wooden togher or road in Ballin- killen Bog, near Edenderry. With it was found the bone axe or pick shown at Fig. 9, same plate. It is 8 inches long, and is one of the most remarkable of the Irish bone axes. Note the sharp cutting edge at the small end, made by cutting or grinding the bone obliquely.
No. 24. A lot of silver coins of different countries. Number of articles, 97.
No. 25. Swords, daggers, and sheaths, Scotch dirks, Malay creases, Thug knife. Presented b^ Bev. James Oolgan, p.p., of Edenderry, the sword of Tippoo Samb, taken by a British soldier at the battle of Seringapatam, and brought to this country concealed in the baggage of an ofiScer. After the battle a large reward was offered for it ; but the soldier was afraid to produce it. However, on his death-bed he gave it to Father James Colgan, who, of course, did not reveal the name of the donor. The scabbard of the sword was sold for £40. The regiment came to England in 1808. The soldier was discharged in 1810. Number of articles, 11. The sword of Tippoo Sahib is shown at Fig. 8, Plate I ; the Malay creases, which are supposed to be poisoned, at Fig. 9 ; and the Thug knife at Fig. 10.
No. 26. A variety of stones. Number of articles 180. These include the '< evil eye " stone of Carrick Castle, near Einnefad, a mill or quern, and some fonts.
No. 27. Different formation of fossils. Number of articles, 180.
No. 28. Fossil, cut and uncut, also a hard clay or stone, found at the bottom of a stream in the Slieve Bloom mountains, and presented by Mrs. Dames, of Green Hill. Beautiful specimen of fossil.
No. 29. Miscellaneous collection. Number of articles, 100.
No. 80. Fossils and marbles from the limestone formation. Number of articles, 49.
No. 81. Taken from the stomachs of a sheep and heifer. Number of articles, 49.
No. 82. Minerals &om Glonmullen Quarry, Edenderry. Num- ber of articles, 52.
No. 88. Old shoe-buckles. Number of articles, 19.
No. 84. A silver fruit-knife and fork, silver hair-comb, 6 patch- boxes, and Indian case. Number of articles, 8.
No. 85. A lot of copper coins. Number of articles, 461.
No. 86. Old shoes. Number of articles, 17.
No. 87. Collection of bones and teeth. Number of articles, 8.
No. 88. A firkin containing 22 lb. of tallow, found in Bockfield
332
EDENDERRY COLLECTION OF ANTIQUITIES.
Bog, County Eildare ; also forks, spoons, candlesticks, &c. Number of articles, 28.
No. 89. A porcupine fish, a big pike, and a jack perch.
No. 40. A great variety of shells. Number of articles, 250.
No. 41. Turkish pistols, 8 blunderbusses, 1 Waterloo musket, 1 American rifle, taken at Fort William, and brought by Lieut. Edward Murray. Number of articles, 17.
No. 42. Mostly found around the garden wall of Blundell Castle— a marble slab to memory of Christian Forster, Prince Albert of Brandenburg, who came over in the year 1689 ; also a stone communion table from Monasteroris, only two in Ireland. Number of articles, 16.
PlatM I
No. 48. A lot of shells, bronze caldron, width, 2 feet, depth, over 6 inches ; a large bronze pot, height, over 15 inches, width, over 16 inches ; a bronze pot, height, over 12 inches, width, over 12 inches. Number of articles, about 400. The bronze caldron, Plate IV, Fig. 1, was found at the mouth of th^ River Shannon, was of haminered bronze, and when struck^ had a deep,
EDENDERRY COLLECTION OF ANTIQUITIES. 333
sweet sound like a dinner-gong. It is given on its edge as in photo. Fig. 2 is the bronze pot over 12 inches in width and height. It was found at the edge of the Biver Boyne, at the old bridge of Kinnefad, by a man cutting sedge. He thought it was gold, it had such a bright colour. Fig. 3 is the large bronze pot first mentioned in the catalogue. It was found in the bog of Goolcarrigan, near Eobertstown. Figs. 4, 6, and 6 are iron pots not mentioned in the catalogue. Fig. 4 is a pot with a history. It belonged to a family named Stanton, who were blacksmiths, in the time of James U, and who worked as farriers in his armv, following his fortunes as far as Londonderry. After the war they returned to Edenderry, where some of their descendants are living at the present day. This iron pot accompanied them through the campaign. Fig. 5 pot is rimless, and Fig. 6 is the oldest type of the iron pot, and seems to mark the transition from the bronze shape. The Goolcarrigan pot was a well-finished piece of workmanship, and appeared to have been very little used.
On the waU — 4 enormous deer-skulls, with brow antlers and other palmated portions, circumference under antlers, 18 inches ; 25 of the old red deer-heads, 20 or 80 swords of different periods, the bust of the Duke of Wellington when a young man, and one of Tom Moore, the poet, by Eirke ; ancient Irish boar's skull, present Berkshire boar's skull, ancient Irish ox skull, modern ox skull, 8 baptismal fonts, one engraved with '*M.B,C., 1472;" 8 stones, which, from their proportions, are evidently weights ; large hpm of 4 coils; William Carlyle, Dublin, /mh^. One of the deer-skulls was a fine specimen of the extinct Irish elk, and measured 18 feet across the antlers. It was found in the river Garr, a tributary of the Boyne, which enters it from the County Eildare at Ballyboggan.
I have copied two of the illustrations from Sir William Wilde's catalogue of the Boyal Irish Academy^-one of the flint arrow-head, with the bit of shaft attached, the other is the bone axe. The rest of the iUustrations are copied from Bev. Mr. Murray's photographs.
I regret that the foregoing notes are not much fuller and more complete ; but they include sJl the information I could collect. It is also a matter of regret that our Society was not able to arrange a visit to the Edenderry Museum before its disappearance.
( 334 )
^i&cellanea.
Thomas PitzGerald, Prior of Kiimainham, 1438-47. —
Archdall in his ^* Monasticon Hibemicum " states that in 1488 Thomas FitzGerald succeeded William fitz Thomas as Prior of Eilmainham in Dublin, which was a Hospital of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, and their chief establishment in Ireland.
Who the father of this Thomas was is not recorded. Duald Mac Firbis, in his ** Annals of Ireland," gives his pedigree very vaguely thus : —
1444. The Prior of Eilmainham, i.e., the son's son of Thomas, son to the Earl of Eildare.
This Earl of Eildare was probably Maurice, the 4th Earl, who died on the 25th August, 1890, leaving issue the following sons : —
1. Gerald, 5th Earl, died in 1410.
2. John, 6th Earl, died 17 October, 1427. 8. Maurice.
4. Bichard of Ballyshannon, Co. Eildare.
5. Thomas.
This last-named son is, I believe, the << Thomas, son of the Earl of Eildare," mentioned by Mac Firbis. In 1402 he was appointed Sheriff of the County Limerick during the Eing*s pleasure ; and in 1408 he was given the custody of the manor of Any, County Limerick, formerly held by Sir Thomas Clifford, Ent. His death occurred in 1412, if he is the son of the Earl of H^ldare mentioned in thefollowing extract from " The Annals of the Four Masters'': —
Eda Leis (i.e., Eda de Lacy) and the son of the Earl of Eildare fell by each other at Eilmallock (Co. Limerick).
According to Lodge's '* Peerage of Ireland *' (the rare edition of 1745), this Thomas FitzGerald was the father of Gerald from whom sprang the FitzGeralds of Pallice (Pallas) in the County Limerick, and who also had a natural son, William, from whom descended the family of FitzThomas, or MacThomas.
We will now return to his grandson, the Prior of Eilmainham. Gilbert, in his ** History of the Viceroys of Ireland," gives the following incident in connection with the Prior's brothers as illustrating the lawlessness of the times during the first half of the fifteenth century. During the time Sir Leon de Welles was Viceroy, the Prior's two brothers, William and James FitzGerald,
MISCELLANEA. 335
in 1441, kidnapped the Viceroy's brother, William de Welles, ia the following manner: accompanied by their Irish and English soldiery, they lay in ambush at Eilcock, on the borders of Meath, and as William de Welles passed they attacked his escort, slew several of them, and took him prisoner; he was kept in their dungeon until they had obtained the hostages they demanded. While in their hands the Viceroy and Council directed a writ to be issued requiring the Prior, who was an accomplice in the capture, to present himself on a fixed day in Chancery; and, as he did not appear, the Crown seized all the preceptories and manors belonging to the Hospital, except the chief house at Eilmainham ; but this proceeding was annulled when, some time after, the Prior came into court, and produced a royal pardon.
Two years later, Mac Firbis's Annals state that the Prior's brother, William FitzGerald, was slain by the Butlers when engaged with the MacGillapatricks in a preying excursion into Slievardagh, in the County Tipperary ; and in the following year (1444), they state that the Prior himself was rescued by Walter Bermingham's son, when he was confined a prisoner in New Castle.
In 1445, the gentry of the Pale were split into hostile factions owing to the jealousies and quarrels between James, 4th Earl of Ormonde, Deputy to Sir Leon de Welles, and Richard Talbot,^ the English Archbishop of Dublin; the former was summoned to London to answer charges of high treason brought against him by the Prelate. The Prior of Kilmainham was a strong supporter of the Archbishop, and also crossed to London to give his evidence against Ormonde, whom he even challenged to a combat, or duel. Ormonde accepted the challenge, and a day was fixed for them to meet in 8mithfield, the then usual place for judicial duels. Gilbert, in his ** Viceroys," describes what then followed: —
'* The Earl, placed in charge of the Duke of Exeter, Constable of the Tower, waa sworn to appear when summoned before the Ck>uncil, and not to go more than forty miles beyond London, except on a pilgrimage to the shrine of his family saint— Thomas of Canterbury. The Constable of the Tower was subsequently authorized to allow Ormonde to be surely and safely brought to any place nigher Smithiield, * for his breathing and ease against the day of battle.*
"Prior FitzGerald, in the custody of the Treasurer, Giles Thorndon, at London, was by the King's order furnished with money, attendants, and armour, and also, at the royal cost, instructed ' in certain points of arms, by Philip Trehere, fishmonger, a professional swordsman.*
'* On the appointed day the lists were prepared, and the field in readiness ; but the King, at the instance of some London preachers and divines, prohibited the combat, and took the quarrel into his own hands. A number of the chief ecclesiastics and laymen of the settlement (Pale) certified under their seals to the King that they never knew or heard of the treason against his royal person imputed to Ormonde, and that the accusation was maliciously imagined. Having summoned them to Westminster, and investigated the articles, Henry
' Brother to John, Earl of Shrewsbury.
336 MISCELLANEA.
acquitted Ormonde; declared that the charges had originated in envy and malice ; and issued letters patent setting forth that the Earl was faithful in his allegiance, meritorious in his services, whole and unspotted in his fame ; that none should, on pain of royal indignation, revive the accusations or reproach his conduct; and that his arraigners were men of no credit, nor should their testimony be admitted in any case. The EarPs opponent, Richard Talbot, Archbishop of Dublin, Lord Deputy, was commanded by the Grown to attest officially writs to this effect, and to despatch them for public proclamation in the towns of the settlement.
" Prior FitzGerald was soon afterwards ejected from his office at Kilmainham by Friar Hugh Middleton, the Visitor-General of the Hospitallers, for dilapida- tions ascribed to his avarice. FitzQerald's successor (Friar Thomas Talbot) represented to Parliament that when deposed (in 1447) Prior FitzGerald had broken open the box containing the Hospital seal, which he carried off and affixed to many illegal grants, which were consequently annulled."
From this time no farther mention is made of Prior Thomas FitzGerald, and the date of his death is unknown.
W. FiTzG.
The Baronies of the County Kildare in 1350.
Formerly the baronies were more numerous than at the present time ; the following is a list of them in the reign of Edward III ^: —
Babony de Norbagh I ^^^ ^j^^ ^^^ Baronies of Narragh and Rheban
K^sT I E^«^ ^^ West.
Okathy \
OuGHTRYN f ^^^ *^® Barony of Ikeathy and Oughterany.
Offaly, now the two Baronies of West and East Offaly-
MoNE f" ^^^ *^® Barony of Eilkea and Moone.
„ . CoNAiii, now Connell. Carbery, now Carbury. Otymy, now the Barony of Clane. KiLcoLYN, now KilcuUen. „ „ Maynotheslee (^ now the two Baronies of North and ,, DEL Sant I South Salt.
del Naas [ now the two Baronies of North and South DE Bathmore ) Naas.
>» »»
}) ft »» »>
I have not been able to identify the ancient Barony of ''Donlost;'' this place-name is now obsolete. The only other work in which 1 have met with the name is Archbishop Alen's ** Crede Mihi " * (a Register in which are copied documents mainly dealing with the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries). In the list of churches included in the then Deanery of Athy appear, among others, the ** Ecclesia de Donbren, Capella de Dunloste ;"
' Bot. Cane. Hib. Cal., pp. 74 and 161.
' Edited by Sir John Gilbert, and published in 1897.
MISCELLANEA. 337
SO that the Barony of Donlost may have been that portion of the Barony of Narragh and Bheban West which lies on the Queen's County side of the Barrow, and adjoining which are the townlands of Dunbrin Upper and Lower.
As to the Barony of ** Otymy," this name is also obsolete, but it corresponds with the present Barony of Clane. A County Kildare Chancery Inquisition makes mention of '* the Manor of Clane, alias Otmany," in 1617.^ In **Otymy*' was situated a district called **Ar8t,** in which lay " Donnyng," i.e., Downings ; and in 1899 James de Ponkeston was given the custody of the Manor of Bally- keppagh, the lands of Cloughgan, Stableriston, Blackball in Arst, and a watermill in Clane.' Some years previously, i.e., in 1875, Maurice fitzThomas FitzGerald, 4th Earl of Kildare, was com- manded by the King to see that the inhabitants of Arst, Alon (Allen), and the marches of Kildare were able to resist the incursions of the Irish enemy into that part of the Pale.^ In the thirteenth century ** Otymy " was a lordship belonging to Adam de Hereford.*
The old barony called ** Maynotheslee '' was in the FitzGerald territory. After the rebellion of the Silken Thomas, John and Thomas Alen (of St. Wolstan's and Kilteel) were appointed for life Constables and Keepers of the King's Castle of Maynoth, seneschals of the Court, surveyors and keepers of the Manor of Maynoth and Maynothesley and of the woods and forests there, as well as Bangers and Keepers of the Park of Maynoth.^ The name Maynotheslee means the leas or fields of Maynooth ; the latter portion of the name is to be found in Broad-leas and White-leas, formerly portions of the Ballymore-Eustace commons.
The Barony " del Sant '* is now called Salt, a contraction of the Latin Saltus Salmonum, alias Leixlip, or the Salmon Leap.
W. FiTzG.
The Wife of Sir John Wogan, Knt., of Rathcoffy, who died about the year 1420.— In the Wogan Pedigree, which faces p. 79 of the Third Volume of our Journal, Sir John's wife is given as "Margaret . . . ." Holinshed, in his "History of Ireland " (Chronicles section, p. 76), supplies her surname ; he writes that : —
'* In the yeare 1411 marriages were oelebrated among the nobilitie in Ireland. William Preston married the daughter of Edward Pares; and John Wogan matched with the eldest daughter of Christopher Preston ; and Walter de la Hide with the second daughter of the same Christopher."
* No. 17 of James I.
* Rot. Cane. Hib. Cal., p. 166. » lb., p. 97.
* Register of St. Thomas's Abbey, Dublin.
* Morrin's Cal. of Patent Rolls, Vol. I, p. 67.
338 MISCELLANEA.
On p. 78 he states that Edmund {recte, Roger), Earl of March, Lord Deputy of Ireland, having invaded the country of an '* Irish lord called Obren [O'Byrne] at the winning of his chief house," he rewarded several of his captains by making them knights. Among the number were the above-named 8ir John Wogan, of Bathcoffy, Sir Christopher Preston, of Gormanstown, and Sir Walter Delahyde, of Moyglare, the latter two belonging to the County Meath. This occurred in 1397.
In the following year *' The Annals of the Four Masters " state that : — *' A battle was given to the English by O'Byme and O'Toole, in which the Earl of March was slain, and the English were slaughtered/' This occurred at Eellistown in the County Carlow.
W. FiTzG.
The extinct family of Young, of Newtown-O'More, County Kildare. — The following account of this family has been copied from a manuscript volume in Ulster's Office called ''A Visitation of the City of Dublin, commenced in 1607," by Daniel Molyneux, Ulster King of Arms. At the head of the article is a coloured shield bearing the fiamily arms, viz. : —
Bendy of six argent and gules, a lion rampant sable, armed and langued azure.
Newtown-O'More is now Newtown near Tipper.
*' John Toange sonne of Patericke Tounge of Newtown-a-more in ye Ck>anty of Kildare, had to wife Katerin Weston sister of the priour of S^ Wolstanes, by whome he had issae Walter, Gerrotte a Prist, and Thomas.
"It is said that this Paterickes Predecessours sometime were owners <^ Toongston* in Com. Kildare, and that thev were driven thence by the Irish.
** Walter Younge eldest sonne of John, had to wife Margaret daughter of
Hely, by whome he had issue John, James, Nicholas, and Margaret who was first wife to Edmond Wale of Bathmore, and after to Maurice Hickie of Thristledermot.
" John Tounge of Newtown-a-more eldest sonne, had to wife Katerin d' of Bobart Hasquin of the Litle Bath in y* Ck>m. of Kildare, by whome he had issue Patericke, Gerrotte, Thomas, and Anne now a widow.
** Patericke had to wife Katerin d^ of Eustace of Cradokeston in
y« Com. of Kildare, by whome he had issue Ismay, married Thomas Heyvy of Dublin, and Margaret.
" Gerrotte Tounge second sonne of John was Mayor of Dublin in ano 1599, and had to his first wife Isold Kenan, by whome he hath issue Nicholas his only sonne, Joan wife to Henry Locke of Dublin merchant, and Katerin wife to Michaell Segrave. Gerrotte's second wife was Maud d' of Bichard Mainwaringe of Leixlip, widow of James Bian, by whome he hath noe issue.
** Nicholas Tounge had to wife Annice d' of James Bian above-named (which James Bian a litle before his death was chosen to be one of y« Masters of y* Ghauncery) by whome he had issue his only child James, v y" old now 1607.
** Nicholas deceased the xxv of August 1607."
W. FiTzG.
^ Between the Moat of Ardscull and Glassealy.
( 339 )
^otcs.
David O'Buge, a native of Klidare, and a learned Carmelite of the fourteenth century.
{Taken from Holinshed's " Chronicles of Ireland," p. 42 of the Description of Ireland section of the edition ptibUshed in 1586.)
David Obuge, borne in the towne of Kildare, for his learned lectures, and subtile disputations openlie published in Oxford and Trevers in Germanie, he was taken for the gem and lanterne of his countrie.
In his time Giraldus Bononiensis, being Maister Generall of the Carmelits, was at jar with William Lidlington, the provinciall of all the English Carmelites. Wherupon tenne of the wisest and leamedest Carmelits that were then resiant in England, being fuUie elected to resist their Generall— Obuge was chosen to be the for- man of all the said crew. Giraldus Bononiensis understanding that he being an Irishman, was so hot in the controversies was egerly bent against Obuge, because he assured himselfe to have had favour at his hands, by reason Obuge was borne in that countrie where the Giraldines his kinsmen were planted ; and thereupon he was banished to Italic.
The storme in processe of time being appeased, the outcast Carmelite was made the generall gardian of all his fraternitie in Ireland : which countrie by his continuall teaching and preaching was greatlie edified. Over this he was so politike a councellor, that the nobilitie and estates, in causes of weight, would have recourse to him as to an oracle.
He was in philosophic an Aristotle, m eloquence a Tnllie, in divinitie an Augustine, in the civill law a Justinian, in the canon a Panormitane ; he flourished in the yeare 1820, he deceased at Kildare, leaving these learned workes insueng to Posteritie—
Sermones ad clerum, lib. 1. EpistolaB 82 ad diversos, lib. 1. Propositiones disputatas, lib. 1. Lectiones Treverenses, lib. 1. Eegulie Juris, lib. 1. Contra Giraldum Bononiensem.
W. FrrzG.
The following is a description of exhibits shown by Mr. Cooke- Trench at the Annual Meeting in 1901 : —
1. Copy of a water-colour drawing, by Petrie, of Kildare
340 NOTES.
Cathedral in ruins. Tlie original was lent to be copied by the late Miss Margaret Stokes.
2. Rubbing from a carved stone window of two lights let in to the back wall of Turnings House. It had obviously belonged to some earlier building, very possibly to the neighbouring Castle of Whitechurch ; but there is neither history nor tradition as to whence it came.
8. Some curious old tiles with Scripture subjects. There is a tradition that amongst the numerous industrial centres established in Ireland by the refugee Huguenots was a considerable tanning industry in Watling Street. Certainly within living memory nearly every house on the east side of that street, and several on the west, were tanneries. These have now almost altogether been abandoned, one of the last to go being that of Messrs. Kelly & Dunne, whose premises are now absorbed in Guinnesses Brewery. When the tannery was about to be demolished, exhibitor, who is the ground landlord, received a letter from a gentleman well acquainted with the premises to say that in a certain room there were inserted in the wall a number of old tiles, concerning which the tradition was that they had been brought over by the Huguenots, who established the tannery. Upon investigation, about fifty tiles were found sufficiently preserved to make their removal possible ; and, with the consent of the Messrs. Guinness, this was done. The tiles exhibited were some of these.
( 341 )
A Sherlock Coat-of-Arms Stone. — Opposite to the junction of the Osberstown Road with the one from Naas to 8allins, and close to the latter railway station, is a thatched farm- hoase (now in the possession of a man named Eealy), into the stables of which is built, upside down, a block of limestone measur- ing some 18 x 12 inches, on which is carved, in high relief, a shield bearing the Sherlock coat-of-arms (three fleurs-de-lys), impaling on the sinister side a coat resembling "on a chief, a spur." Elaborat emantling falls to either side of the shield, above which is a helmet, and over that again was a crest, now chiselled off (apparently intentionally). No date or initials are visible. A former occupant of the place, named Doyle, is said, years ago, to have brought this stone from 8herlockstown to its present resting- place.
Can anyone of our Members identify the unknown coat-of-arms?
W. FiTzG.
Leixllp Castles. — For some weeks past *' The Weekly Irish Times " has been publishing historical articles on <* The Castles of Ireland," from the pen of Miss C. L. Adams. Leixlip Castle formed the article in the issue of the 8th June, 1901. This notice of the place drew the attention of a resident of Leixlip, who contradicted the statement (which also appears in our Joubnal, vol. ii, p. 898) that the Black Castle of Leixlip was the same as ** The Castle," now the residence of our Member, Mr. William Mooney. The Leixlip informant states that the Black Castle stood at the opposite end of the town to 'Hhe Castle;" that it was occupied by the military in '98, who, as usual, erected a gallows near it ; and that now it is a residence so modernised as to be indistinguishable except to one well acquainted with the locality.
Can any of our readers throw any light on this subject ?
W. FiTzG.
( 342 )
JlnsTDcr to &uerg^
Th6 Father of the Right Hon. William Conolly, P.C., of Castletown.
The following communication has been received from Mr. F. Elrington Ball, in answer to the Query which appeared on p. 194, vol. iii, of our Journal : —
Source of information. — British Museum Add. MS, 750 and 244 (Stowe Papers).
Letter from Sir John St. Leger, Baron of the Exchequer in Ireland (1715-1741), to Lord Chief Justice Parker, afterwards Lord Chancellor of England, and Earl of Macclesfield, dated Dublin, February 21st, 1716-17 :—
/' We expect daily a letter for swearing the new intended Justices, that is, the Archbishop of Dublin, the Chancellor, and Mr. Conolly ; many people here, especially our quality and old gentry, are much offended at Mr. Conolly's being one of them ; this gentleman was lately an attorney, his father keeping an ale-house in the North of Ireland, this being too notorious to be stiffled, but by making long bills and good bargains he is now reported to be worth eight thousand a year, and by a generous way of living, and adhering to the honest cause in the bad times, was chosen Speaker of the House of Commons this Parliament, but has shown himself very unequal to that post, but had still a considerable interest in the house, and gave his assistance to the late Justices in this last Session. This is a true report of him, which I write to your lordship under caution, and only for your own information, and shall add further that Colonel Bladen, our late Secretary, and who I hear is again to be Secretary to my Lord Townshend, was very intimate with Mr. Conolly, and its supposed may have recommended Mr. Conolly to his lordship, as a person very capable to make his government easy. But it's not unlikely that this promotion of Mr. Conolly will make him be so envyed that instead of increasing it may lessen his interest, and that he'd now find opposition everywhere as an ambitious man, and a creature of the government, who before was popular, always appear- ing at the head of the country's interest. I hope it will relish better, when it's done, than while it's doing, for abundance of people are disgusted at it, and others condemn it with silence, tho' visible enough in their faces,"
JOURNAL
OP THE
Jlrt^olagtcal j^acietg of % Gountg of Ffilbare
AND
jSurrounbing Districts.
-i-f
BALLYMORE EUSTACE AND ITS NEIGHBOURING ANTIQUITIES.^
By lord WALTER FITZGERALD.
BALLTMORE EUSTACE is a small town situated on the northern bank of the Liffey, a mile and a half from the famous Ponlaphooka Waterfall. The name '^ Ballymore " means "the great town." The other portion of the name is derived from the once powerful family of Eustace, which sprang from the Peer or Power family, in the fourteenth century, and which owned such extensive possessions between this place, KilcuUen, and Naas, that the district was at one time called by the Annalists '' Griche Instasach," or the Eustace territory.^
Very shortly after the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland, Ballymore became one of the principal Manors belonging to the Archbishops of Dublin, who erected a Castle here for tiie pro- tection of their tenants and property. It must have seen its full share of war and rapine, as it stood on the edge of the Pale, or English land, close to the mountainous country that for centuries sheltered the brave and turbulent septs O'Toole and O'Byrne, who never lost an opportunity of harassing the new settlers on their ancient patrimony in Kildare, out of which they had been driven by the Normans, who came over at the request of Dermot- na-gall MacMurrough, King of Leinster, in the twelfth century.
Of Ballymore Castle not a trace now remains ; its very site even is forgotten, though tradition says it stood on what is now known as " Garrison Hill." In the middle of the fourteenth
^Read by Sir Arthur Vioars at the Ezcursion Meeting on the 12th September, 1900.
' ** Annals of the Four Masters," anno 1547*
A A
344 BALLYMORE EUSTACE
century it is described as containing a minous hall^ a chamber for the Archbishop, a chapel, a little chamber for clerks, a kitchen roofed with shingles, and a stable and grange, which were both thatched.^
In 1203 King John commanded the Justiciary of Ireland that, notwithstanding the prohibition regarding diminution of the King's demesnes, he should cause John Comyn, Archbishop of Dublin, or his messenger, to have the seisin of the Castle of Ballymore, and of the lands whereof he was disseised by the King's order, as well as so much of the Forest of Goillach as he ought to have by the King's charter.^
About this period a controversy existed between the Arch- bishop and William fitzMaurice FitzGerald, Baron of Naas, in reference to their respective boundaries. However, it was decided between them that the road from Bedmoor, near the Castle of Donard, to the river Liffey should be their mearin, the Prelate's portion being to the south, and the Baron's to the north, of the road.^
In 1227 a taxation was made of the dignities of St Patrick's Cathedral, with the object of levying from each non-resident prebendary one-fifth of the revenue of the prebend, for the use of the working clergy. The valuation of the Prebendary of Bally- more on this occasion was twenty marks.^
In 1234 Henry III confirmed the Archbishop's right of holding an eight-day fair here, to commence on the Eve of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin (to whom Ballymore Church was dedicated).^ About this time Archbishop Luke, an English- man, granted Ballymore to St. Patrick's Cathedral, in exchange for Clonkeen (Kill o' the Grange), granted to Christ Church.^
In 1284 King Edward granted to John de Sanford, Arch- bishop of Dublin, free warren in his lordships and manors, so that none should hunt therein without license from the Archbishop or his successors/
The Annals state that in 1306 Ballymore, in Leinster, was burned by the Irishmen, who killed there one Henry Calff, and that thereupon war was made between the Englishmen and the Irish of Leinster.^ This Henry Calfe may have been the Arch- bishop's Constable of the Castle.
In 1317 Moriartagh McMurrough, William McConyn, and other rebels, who were prisoners in the Castle of Ballymore, were
'Men's *' Liber Niger.*'
'^Swoetman's ** Calendar of Documents, Ireland," p. 28.
« D' Alton's " Dublin County." * D' Alton's "Archbishops of Dublin."
' D' Alton's ' ' Dublin County. " ""Ibid. ' Ibid.
^ James Grace's and Thady Dowling's '* Annals of Ireland."
AND ITS NEIGHBOURING ANTIQUITIES. 345
lemoYod in the custody of Geoffrey Brandewode, Sheriff of Dnblin, to the castle there, for greater securityy and to stand their trial.^
In 1855 Geoffrey fitz Eustace and Richard de Penkestown, Sheriff of Eildare^ were directed to see that the garrisons of Kilteel, Bathmore, Ballymore, and Graney, in the County Kildare, were all up to their full strength,^ so as to resist the incursions of the O'TooleSy O'Bymes, and MacMurroughs. In the follow- ing year the sum of £10 was granted by the King to Ade Dodyng, of Ballymore, and his friends, in reward for haying captured or slain Ravenyld macLorcan O'Byme, Murtagh mac Connor O'Byme, and Shaun mac Donnell more O'Byrne.^
In the following year the King caused Maurice FitzGerald, Earl of Kildare, to be severely censured for not having the gar- rison of Ballymore of sufficient strength to guard the marches. The Earl was ordered, at his own expense, to at once personally see that five mounted officers, twelve well-armed ^' hobelers " (or horsemen), and forty bowmen fully equipped, were quartered in the place.^ Thirty years later (i.6., 1386) Maurice FitzGerald, Earl of Kildare ; Sir WUliam Wellesley, Sheriff of Kildare ; Sir David Wogan, Sir Thomas FitzEustace, and Patrick Flattisbmy were appointed to select trusty men to collect a tax, called *' smoke silver," at the rate of a halfpenny a house where a fire was burned, in the Barony of Ballymore, and to spend the money in defraying the cost of the wards guarding the marches/
In 1378 Thomas Minot, Archbishop of Dublin, appointed Thomas fitzOliver FitzEustace as Constable of the Castle of BaUymore, with a salary of £10 per annum, provided he should reside there with his family, and govern the tenants without extortion, and guard and maintain the fortress. This was con- firmed by King Bichard when in Dublin in 1395.^
In 1393 Bobert Waldby, Archbishop of Dublin, was petitioned to lay before the King the grievances which existed in his Manor at Ballymore. One complaint was that the Earl of Kildare had, contrary to the liberties and franchises of Holy Church, quartered 100 kern on his seigniory of Ballymore, and on his tenants there, thereby causing unheard-of devastation. In consequence, the Earl was ordered to remove his kern, and make amends for the damage inflicted.'^
» " Rot. Cane Hib. Cal.," p. 27. ^Ibid,, p. 56.
'Ibid,, p. 59 b. * JWd., p. 60. *iWrf., p. 136.
•D' Alton's "County Dublin;" and Alen's ** Liber Niger," p. 176 of the Journal for 1897 of the R.S.A. of Ireland.
' Graves's *' Roll of the Proceedings of the King's Council in Ireland, 1393."
346 BALLYMORE EUSTACE
Some time between the years 1417 and 1449, daring the time he was Archbishop, Richard Butler appointed Sir Richard FitzEustace, Knt., his Constable at Ballymore ; and at his death he was succeeded in the constableship by his son and heir, Robert FitzEustace, in connection with whom the following Act was passed by a Parliament held at Drogheda in 1468 : —
**The Archbishop of Dublin being seized in right of his See of the Manor of Ballymore, lying between the counties of Dublin and Kildare, among the O'Byrnes and OTooles, Irish enemies, did of ancient times make constables thereof for life, or at will, which constables kept their residence there continually, and especially in time of war, and Richard Talbot, brother of Lord Fumival, Archbishop of Dublin, predecessor to Michael (Tregury), by the assent of his chapter, constituted Sir Richard FitzEustace Constable thereof, to him and the heirs male of his body, and granted him to receive in the said office the profits of the Mill to the annual sum of £10, and £10 a year rent-charge on the said lands. That the said Sir Richard FitzEustace died, and Robert, his son and heir, occupied the said office, but did not make his residence there, but made a sub-constable, one La%vrence O'Rogan, an Irishman both by father and mother, who by nature would discover the secrets of the En^i^lish ; also the said Robert FitzEustace lodged his sheep in the vaults of the said Castle, and wasted the same, and distrained the frank tenants and bur- gesses of the same, under colour of the said rent-charge. Therefore at the petition of Michael (Tregury), Archbishop of Dublin, it is enacted that the said Robert be compelled to keep a sufficient company of Englishmen and no Irish to guard the said Castle ; and if the said Robert put any Irishman, not having his charter of liberty, to ward the said Castle, then it should be lawful for the said Archbishop and his successors to turn the said Robert out of the constableship, and give the said office to any other for life or years.'* '
About the year 1524, the grant of constftbleship, which appears to have become a hereditary ofBce in the Eustace family^ if they chose to claim it, was annulled by the Commissioners sent by Henry YIII, and decided in favour of Archbishop Hugh Inge.^ On the 80th of April, 1540, George Browne, Archbishop of Dublin, and the Chapter of Christ Church and St. Patrick's, sent a letter concerning the Constableship of Ballymore to £jng Henry VHI, of which the following were the contents : —
^ * Received your letters dated Westminster 13th of March [1540] in favour of your servant Patrick Bamewall, to whom and his heirs male you direct us to confirm our right to the Constableship of Ballymore with the mill of the same, which, as it seems by your letters, will presently be void and in your gift by the attainder of Christopher Eustace. I, the Archbishop, whom this request principally touches, was not privy to the finding of any office whereby your Grace should be entitled in this behalf, if any such be taken. Eustace had no estate in the Constableship ; nor
*Page 41, vol. ii, of the old series of '*The Ulster Journal of Archaeology.**
* Page 408, in the 1897 vol. of the ** R. S. A. of Irebind Journal."
AND ITS NEIGHBOURING ANTIQUITIES. 347
have his ancestors held ifc since 1478, in Edward lY's reign'; and in that of Henry YIII Parliament repealed the grant to the Eustaces, and all other such grants made by the Archbishops of Dublin. The Lord of Trymlettiston, your Chancellor, who had the custody of the body and lands of the said Christopher during his nonage, claimed the Constable- ship, and the matter was brought before the Dean of Lichfield, Sir Ralph Egerton, and Sir Anthony FitzHerbert, then your commissioners here, who decreed that the Archbishop and his successors ought to enjoy it, notwithstanding the said grant. The mill, moreover, is not compre- hended in the grant. Before the grant was repealed, it was considered that the revenues of the Archbishop lying in the heart of the English Pale were not sufficient for the Archbishop to defend the residue of his lands lying in the marches and borders of Irishmen, as the said manor doth, joining the O'Tooles, O'Bymes, and E^avanaghs. At present the lands appertaining thereunto are almost made waste, and the rent of assize thereof yearly not leviable above £20 sterling, where in times past it was 340 marks yearly. The rent cannot be increased, or the poor tenants there defended, but by the personal residence of an active person. We think Master Bamewall, who is your Serjeant at law, would not attend thereto, but substitute some other gentleman there of the country under him, who would oppress the poor tenants there, under pretence of their defence, as the Geraldines and Eustaces used to do in times past ; and thus both your lands and revenues and the poor living of the ministers of the Church have decreased there. Sometimes, I, the Archbishop, must resort thither and lie there, as my predecessors have done, for the stay of the country ; and lacking the use as then of the Castle and room of my house, which is very small, with the profits of the mill there, I should not have provision nor lodging in all those parts. We beseech you to have us excused for not conforming ourselves herein."
The Christopher Eastace mentioned in the above letter was of Ballycatlane, alias Cotlandstown, alias Goghlanstown (of which Mr. O'Connor Henchy's demesne of Stonebrook forms a portion). He took part in the Rebellion of the Silken Thomas, for which he was outlawed, taken prisoner, and hanged in 1535. He had married Elizabeth, daughter of John Bamewall, 3rd Baron of Trimlestown. She died on the 11th February, 1549^ leaving issue an only child, Joan Eustace, who married Nicholas Taaffe, of Atholare, in the County Louth.^ The following extracts from an Inquisition taken in Naas in June, 1597, mention some of Christopher Eustace's relatives ; it found that^
*' Sir Robert FitzEustace, Knt. [the Constable of Ballymore mentioned in the Archbishop's letter (quoted above], by his deed dated Edward IV, 19th [i.e., 1479], enfeoffed to certain uses, John Stokes and William Body, Priests, in the undermentioned lands, viz. : — Jagogeston, Baredore, and Rocheston, in the County Kildare, and Bertramston and Roweston in the County Meath.
** That John Stokes, the surviving feoffee, in March, 1486, delivered up these lands to James FitzEustace, son and heir of Sir Robert, who had left them in remainder to his other sons, Oliver, Richard, an^ Maurice.
' Elizabeth Fiant, No. 6,273.
348 BALLYMORE EUSTACE
" That James FitzEustace died on the 12th December, 1522.
'* That his son and heir Nicholas died without issue in 1577.
'* That Oliver and Richard FitzEustace died without issue.
**And that by reason of the attainder of Christopher Eustace of Cutlandstown, son and heir of Maurice Eustace, brother of the above-said James, father of the said Nicholas, the above-named premises had reverted to the Crown."*
We will now hark back to the few remaining items of Ballymore history that are recorded in the State Papers, &c.
In 1419, according to Henry Marlebarrongh's " Chronicle," O'Toole took 400 cows belonging to Balimore, breaking the peace, contrary to his oath.
At a chapter held at St. Patrick^s Cathedral by Michael Tregury, Archbishop of Dublin, John Alen, the Dean (after- wards Archbishop), reported that, owing to the unsettled state of the Irish septs in the County Wicklow, he had been unable in 1468 to visit the Prebends of Tipperkevin, Tipper, Bally- more, Dnnlavan, Yago, Donoughmore in Imaal, Stagonil, and Monahemock (i.e., Dunmanoge, near Maganey), as they all lay near the Irish enemy.^
On the resignation of John Walton, Archbishop of Dublin, in 1484, Gerald " more,'' the 8th Earl of Kildare, then Lord Deputy, forcibly entered into and took possession of twenty-four townlands in the lordships of Ballymore and Castlekevin belong- ing to the See, and held them to the time of his death. After being dispossessed of them for thirty-two years, the then Archbishop recovered them from Gerald "oge,'* 9th Earl of Eildare, on the matter being referred to Patrick Bermingham and Richard Delahyde, Justices, and Bartholomew Dillon, Chief Baron, who decided in his favour.'
The following list of the County Kildare possessions of the Holy Trinity Church (or Christ Church), Dublin, is interesting, as it informs us of the saints to whom some of the county churches were dedicated. Besides Ballymore, they were :—
Tenements in Rathmore. The town and lands of Punchestown, near Naas. The Church of EilcuUen, together with the annexed Chapels of the Blessed Yii'gin Mary, of Castlemartin, and of St. Canice of Kinneagh^ near Athgarvan.
The tithes of Blackrath, alias Canonrath, in the parish of Eilcullen. The Chapels of St. Mary of Gal- moleston (? Calverstown), St. David of Birdynchapel,
^ Co. Kildare Ex. Inquisition, No. 41 of Elizabeth. 'Mason's "History of St. Patrick's," p. 136. »D' Alton's ** Archbishops of Dublm," p. 169.
AND ITS NEIGHBOURING ANTIQUITIES. 349
and of Si John of Eilgone (Eilgowan), together with their tithes, the gift of Thomas fitz John FitzGerald, Earl of Eildare. A tenement and castle in EilcuUen ; lands in that lordship, with their tithes, the gift of Thomas Walleys.^
In 1524 the immediate neighbourhood of Balljmore was the scene of the tragic death of Bobert Talbot, of Belgard,^ in the County Dublin. The Geraldines and the Butlers were, as usual, at daggers drawn ; but the latter at this time were favoured by fortune, and Pierce, 8th Earl of Ormond, was now Lord Deputy. Bobert Talbot was a great favourite with him, and was equally well hated by the Geraldines, who suspected him of spying on them^ and of giving information about their doings to Ormond. Consequently, as he was on his way to spend Christmas in that year at Kilkenny Castle, he was met near Ballymore by a party of the Geraldines under one James FitzGerald, who set upon him, dispersed his followers, and left him dead on the road.' So incensed was the Earl of Ormond when the news reached him, that he brought an impeachment against the Earl of Eildare in England. The James FitzGerald above mentioned is called " Chief of the Earl of Kildare's followers." He, I believe, was identical with James FitzGerald of Osberstown, who is said to have married an Eustace of the Ballycutland family, and who was Constable of the Earl of Eildare's Castle of Lea in the Queen's County at the time of the Silken Thomas's Rebellion.
About the year 1587 Bobert Cowley (Master of the Bolls) wrote to Thomas Cromwell (Secretary of State), making sug- gestions for the better management of the Pale, one of which was that: — ''As Ballymore and Tallaght, belonging to the Archbishop of Dublin, stand most for the defence of the counties of Eildare and Dublin against the O'Tooles and O'Byrnes, therefore it should be ordered that the Commissioners shall see
» "Calendar of Chriat Church Deeds." No. 379.
^According to a County Dublin Exchequer Inquisition, tfiken in Dublin in 1525, it was found that Robert Talbot, of Belgard, died on the 20th November, 1523, and that his wife was Margaret Eustace, of the house of Ballycotland ; that their son and heir, John Talbot, died on the 19th November, 1519, having been twice married — (1) to Ismay Sutton, by whom he had a daughter, Margaret ; and (2) to Elinor Eustace, by whom he had a daughter, Anne ; that these two daughters were next heirs to their grandfather, Bobert.
(The next Talbot of Belgard was Reginald Talbot—? John's brother.)
' Ware's and Thady Dowling's ** Annals of Ireland."
350 BALLYMORE EUSTACE
that the farmers and tenants there shaU be sach Marchers as shall be able to defend those Marches."^
The County Kildare, after the Bebellion of the Silken Thomas, remained for years in a very disturbed state, as many of those who participated in it and were outlawed were forced to lire a " rapparee " existence until they were either captured or had fled the country. It is at this time that '' The A.nnals of the Four Masters" make their only mention of Ballymore Eustace. Under the year 1546 they state that : —
'^Many disaffected persons of the Geraldines rose up against the Saxons, in revenge of their expulsion from their patrimony, namely, William and Maurice-an-fheadha [i.e., of the wood], sons of James *'meirgeach" [i.e., the wrinkled], son of the Earl of Kildare, and many other young men besides these. They did indescribable danuu^s, among which were the plundering of Baile-mor-na-n lustasach [Ballymore Eustace], and the plundering of Rath- bile [Rathvilly, Co. Carlo wj, and of all the country around them ; and the plundering and burning of Rath- lomdhain [Rathangan]. from which they carried away on that occasion many thousands of cows — a number, in fact, that could not be enumerated or reckoned."
In the following year these Annals further state that Maurice and his brother Henry, sons of James '^ meirgach," were put to death and quartered in Dublin ; also that : —
** An irruption was made by 0*More and the sons of Cahir O^Connor into the County of Kildare, and they burned and plundered the greater part of the territory of the Eustaces, where they remained until the Lord Justice overtook them. These Irish were defeated on this occasion, with the loss of two hundred foot-soldiers."
In 1572 it was reported to the Lord Deputy that the Irish rebels had burned all Ballymore, except Mr. Le Strange's house and castle, which was saved through the exertions of a rebel leader, James fitz Maurice FitzGerald,^ a cousin of the Earl of Desmond. The two principal Leinster leaders were Feagh mac Hugh O'Byrne, of Glenmalure, and Rory " oge " O'More, of Leix. •
In July, 1597, John Hoey, His Majesty's Sergeant-at-Arms, had a grant of the town of Ballymore, with a thatched castle and 100 acres, as also common of pasture in the Braddly (i.e., Broadleas), and Bishop^s Hill, near Ballymore,' late in the tenure of Tirloch O'Farrell, parcel of the possessions of James Eustace, late Viscount Baltinglass.
In 1608 the King revivedy in favour of Thomas Jones, Arch- bishop of Dublin, the rights of holding markets and fairs h^e.
* State Papers of Henry VIII, vol. ii, p. 461. 'Hamilton's *' Calendar of State Papers, Ireland." » ** Rot. Pat. Cane. Hib." and vol. ii of Morrin.
t t
352
BALLYMORE EUSTACE
At the time of the Rebellion of 1641^ a Richard Sellings was in possession of 200 acres in Ballymore ; and Walter fitz Nicholas fitz Edmund Eustace of Elverstown, in the Parish of Tipperkeyin, was seised of one castle and sixty acres, called Castle- Ban'j^ in the townland of Ballymore Eustace, as well as of two farms there, called Talbot's land and Bennetts land, which were held of the Archbishop of Dublin. These lands they forfeited, and were outlawed for participation in the Rebellion.^
From this period nothing worthy of note is recorded of Bally- more Eustace. Like most of the other towns in the County Kildare, it suffered greatly during the troubles in '98 ; several of the houses and the Protestant church were burnt; and many of the rebels were slain in the streets, as at this time it was garrisoned by detachments of the Tyrone, Antrim, and Armagh Militia, and some yeomanry under the command of a Captain Beevor.
The place, as we have already said, now contains no trace of the Castle; nor are there any other remains of antiquity, except a couple of granite crosses, which, though ringed, are not perforated.
The smaller cross of the two is now only 6 feet in height ; it is fixed in a base, and most of the head is broken off and lost ; it stands among the graves to the south-east of the church.
The other cross is 11 feet in height above ground ; without excavating at the foot, it cannot be ascertained whether it, too, stands in a base or not. On either side of the shaft, near the head, is a large boss ; another projects from the centre of the head on one side only. In 1689 some incised lettering was cut on the arms outside the double ring on the head ; as far as is legible, it reads :-—
NO^ THE 9 I 1689 I ERECTED BY | BY | AM WALL.
* Ck)unty Dublin Chancery Inquisitions of Charles 11.
AND ITS NEIGHBOURING ANTIQUITIES. 353
Probably it was re-ereoted at this time, aB tlie " cut " of the cross is, in my opinion, of a far earlier date.
Over the boss, too, is an I H S; and over this again are traces of lettering, novr nndecipherable, but possibly reading,
" THIS CROSS WAS."
This cross stands close to the cbnrch on the north-west side.
At the east end of the chorch the fonndationa, overgrovn with briars, of the old charch — perhaps the one dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary — are traceable.
Inside the chnroh tower is placed an ancient unsculptared Font
On the opposite side of the Liffey to Ballymore Enstace, close to the National Schoolhonse, near the entrance-gate to Monnt Cashel demesne, is what is considered a Holy Well, thongh the Pattern- day is forgotten : it is called " Tober'na-grass." As to the meaning of the name. Father M'Carthy, the P.P. of BaUy more Enstace, explains it as meaning " the Well of Favonr or Blessing; " and, in Dr. Joyce's opinion, it means " the Well of the Crosses."
A quarter of a mile aboTC Ballymore Enstace Bridge is a very pictaresque cataract, formed by the Liffey tambling oTer a ridge of rocks; it is called "Gooleen-a-waatha;" and to Dr. Joyce I am again indebted for the meaning of the name.
Ci.1ilii.CT, HBAB BlLLYVOaS EDSTACE.
354
BALLYMORE EUSTACE
It is derived, he Bays, from the Irish words '' Gabhailin-a- bhaidhte/' meaniog literally, '^ the little river-fork of the drown- ing" (i.e., flooding). By some this Irish name has been distorted to '' Golden Water,'* from its resemblance in soand. It is well to rectify mistakes of this sort, and recover, where possible, the true pronunciation of the old Irish names in oar county.
Fisher, in his "Views in Ireland,*' 1795, gives an illustration of this cataract, but calls it '^ Gulna-water Waterfall."
Note.
Archbishop Alen, in his pre-Beformation Register book, called the '' Crede Mihi," gives the following list of churches in the Deanery of Ballymore ; —
NOW CALLED.
|
Ecclesia de Rathsalach |
... |
RathsaUagh, Co. |
Wicklow. |
|
,, Donlouan |
... |
Dunlaviii, |
f } |
|
„ Tobyr |
... |
Tober, |
»» |
|
,, Donard ... |
... |
Donard, |
«) |
|
Capelia de Creuelpy ... ,, Villa Walensifl |
... |
Crehelp, |
9) |
|
... |
Walshstown, |
99 |
|
|
Ecclesia de Sancto Bosco |
... |
Hollv Wood, Danboyke, |
99 |
|
,, Donboke ... |
... |
H |
|
|
Villa Yago |
• . . |
Gaganstown, Co |
. Kildare. |
|
Capelia de Inchebrislan |
... |
Gilltowii, |
9) |
|
,, Villa Brethennoch |
i ... |
Brannockstown, |
99 |
|
Ecclesia de Balicudlan |
... |
Coghlanstown, |
99 |
|
,, Balimor |
* . • |
Ballymore Eustace, |
99 |
|
,, Typerkeivin Capelia de Balibothe |
... |
Tipperkevin, Btulybought, |
99 |
|
... |
>» |
||
|
,, Lechohan |
... |
(Formerly on Broadleas) |
9» |
|
Ecclesia de Kilkeyvin |
... |
Tipper, |
» |
|
Capelia de Tacwarech |
... |
Athgarrett, |
J> |
|
Ecclesia de Kathmor cum capellis |
Rathmore, |
99 |
|
|
KilheUe |
Kilteel |
99 |
|
|
,, Downachyonelach |
Donoughmore in Imaal, Co. |
Wicklow. |
|
|
Capelia de Villa Cumyn |
Cumminstown, |
»9 |
|
|
Ecclesia de Tulachfergus |
Tulfarris, |
»> |
|
|
,, Kilpatrick |
Kilpatrick, |
>♦ |
|
|
Capelia de Villa Haroll |
Haroldstown, |
99 |
|
|
Ecclesia de Kilbride |
Kilbride, |
91 |
|
|
„ Villa Raysin |
1 |
91 |
|
|
„ Kilbodan |
? |
fl |
Pagan Antiquities neab Ballymore Eustace.
The existing objects of antiquarian interest, lying a short distance to the south of Ballymore Eustace, are three in number: —
I'he Piper*8 Stones.
1. Large boulders of granite placed in a circle, 81 yards in diameter, on the townland of Broadleas
3S6 BALLYMORE EUSTACE
Commons, called '' The Piper's Stones." They are now 29 in number, and originally formed a complete circle of closely placed bonlders, though now there are large gaps in the ring, showing where, in times past, many have been broken up and carted off for building purposes. At a place called Athgraney there is a similar circle of stones; and in the Deerpark near Blessington was another, both also called '^ The Piper's Stones;" but this last was entirely demolished years ago for building pur- poses. Though these stone circles are by some thought to be connected with Druidical worship, they are probably sepulchral monuments ; though they may have answered both purposes.
The name of '' Piper's Stones," so often applied to this class of monument, must have had its origin in some now forgotten legend. The only explanation the old people give for the name is that Bag-pipe music, played by the ^'good people," or fairies, is still occasionally heard at the spot.
Colonel Wood-Martin, in his " Pagan Ireland " (p. 268), says that ^^ cromleacs are, when undisturbed, almost invariably surrounded by a circle of large stones." It is possible that a cromleac formerly existed here too, particularly as the County Wicklow Ordnance Survey Letters, written in 1889, mention two large stones as then lying inside the circle, which are not now in existence.
Knockshee Moat
2. A quarter of a mile to the noi*th-east of the Piper's Stones are the remains of a pagan sepulchral Moat, called '^ Knockshee," a name meaning " The Fairy Hill." It, too, is on the townland of Broadleas Com- mons. Unfortunately but little is now left, as some three- fourths of it appear to have been demolished long ago, probably for top-dressing the farm it stands on. An underground passage is said to run from it to '^The Piper's Stones;" but this is not at all likely. What may have given rise to this tradition is, that during the demolition of the Moat, the men employed may have discovered the kist or slab-lined chamber in the middle of it, and mistook it for the entrance to '^ a cave " or passage, of which there is now no trace.
In pagan times annual or triennial fairs took place at these Moats in honour of the dead chief ; they were partly commercial and partly religious gatherings. On
AND ITS NEIGHBOURING ANTIQUITIES. 3S7
the introdQction of Christianity, it ia very remarkable how many of the primitive chnrches were bnilt in close proximity to a Moat ; it was clearly intended that tho power of the Charch sbonld gradaall; attract the aseem- bled crowd from the Moat with ite pagan asaooiations. In our county instances of this proximity are to be found at KJlkea, Birtown, Clane, Mainham, Naas, Bathmore, Old Connell, Glonourry, &c.
Though at the present time there is no trace of a church near thiB Moat, yet Mason, in his "His- tory of St. Patrick's Cathedral " (p. 41), states that Archbishop Alen, who died in 1684, mentions the chapel of "Lechohan " as being situated near a stream called the Sigin, and then in ruins. Mason adds that " Lechohan " was probably situated on that portion of the Commons of Ballymore now called Broadleas.
LoNo Stonr, seab Balltmobe Ecbtace.
(From a Photograph by W. FitiG.)
The Long Stone. 3. Half a mile to the north-west of " The Piper's Stones" is a prostrate monolith of granite, known as
358 BALLYMORE EUSTACE
'VTbe Long Stone/' from which the townland takes its name. It formerly stood in a small rath-like endosare, now levelled, bat was thrown down about the year 1836 ; since its fall a coaple of small Latin crosses have been cut on its upper side. In its present condition it measures 18^ ft. in length and 10 ft. in circumference at the butt. There are fractures at both ends, so that its original length was probably much greater. In appearance it closely resembles the Long Stones of Fumess (or Fornaghts Great), Gradockstown, Punchestown, Newtown (Tipper)/ Kilgowan, and MuUaghmast, which are all of granite, and all in this county.
These Long Stones were sepulchral monuments, though, at the same time, they may have been objects of pagan worship, as we are told, in '' The Annals of the Four Masters," that a stone called ^'Crom Gruach," which stood on Magh Sleacht (i.e., the plain of the worshipping)^ in the Gounty Gavan, was the chief idol of the pagan Irish, till it was overthrown by St. Patrick.
Some Long Stones, like the one at Kilgowan, for instance, have a cross cut on them. It is supposed that this was done by the early saints, who, instead of irritating the people by the destruction of the object of their worship, chose a more peaceful and wiser course in turning it to a Ghristian use, and thus gradually weaned them from pagan practices. The upper portion of the Long Stone of Newtown (Tipper), in like manner, has been rudely fashioned into a cross-head. The stone mentioned in '^ The Annals of the Four Masters,^^ under the year a.d. 998: — "The stone of Lia Alive fell in Moynalvy [Gounty Meath] and four mill-stones were made of it by Maelseachlainn, Monarch of Ireland," was probably a " Long Stone.^'
By Irish-speaking people the standing stone is called " Gallaun."
I know of no existing cromleach (or dolman, as it is called by English antiquaries) in the Gounty Eildare. The name '^ cromleach" is said to mean '^ the sloping stone." It consists of a vast rook, or huge boulder, placed on some upright stones in the form of a small oblong chamber. The finest specimen in all Leinster is one that stands on Browne's Hill (or Kernanstown), near Carlow, just two miles from our county's bounds. The
' Called '* Newtown-O'More " in the Inquisitions
AND ITS NEIGHBOURING ANTIQUITIES. 359
coTering-Btone is computed to weigh 110 tons. How it was raiBed to its present position, over 1,S00 years ago, no man can tell. In the WeBt of Ireland these cromleachs go bj the general name of " Labba Dearmaid agas Orania," or Dermot and Granis's Bed, in allasion to the occupation of them in the second
E Antiquarun Odjgcts Sooth o
centnry by Dermot O'Dyiia and Grania, who had eloped with him to avoid marrying Finn MacCoole,
The sepulchral monument known as a "cam," which con- sists of an immense heap of stones piled over a kist containing
360 BALLYMORE EUSTACE.
skeletons, or burial-urns, is not found in the County Eildare. The reason of this; is that the moat takes its place; as^ according to the material that was handiest^ of such was the monument composed. In the same way the old style of mud-cabin in our county is represented by the stone hovel in the County Galway. Only two townlands in the County Eildare, judging by their names^ possibly had a earn on them : one is '' Carn/' and the other "Carnal way," both in the Poor Law Union of Naas.
( 36i )
THE WOLFE FAMILY OF COUNTY KILD ARE.
By GEORGE WOLFE.
THE name ''Wolfe" was probably adopted as a patronymic when samames became customary. The name is of Saxon or Danish origin, probably the former. The present fiamily settled in Eildare aboat 1650. The first place of residence seems to have been Huttonrede, in the parish of Kill. Before that time there had been a family, who spelt their name in the same way, settled for many centuries in the county, seised of considerable property at Eilcolman, Oldcourt, and ArdscuU, all of which was forfeited by the attainder of Nicholas Wolfe, in 1641 ; and, at the same time, three others of the family were outlawed. The probability is that Richard Wolfe, the first of the present family who settled in Kildare, was descended from this older branch, as he seems to have taken up his residence quietly, considering the disturbed state of the country, and more like a wanderer returning to his native soil than a foreigner settling in a strange knd. There is, however, a theory that the Wolfes of Forenaughts are descended from Randolphus de Rode, alxm Le Wolfe, of Church Lawton, in the county of Chester. The arms borne by this family are exactly the same as those of the Wolfes of Kildare. Colour is given to this view by an article published in the -' Encyclopsedia Londonensis," 1806, page 671, in an account of John, 2nd Viscount Eilwarden.
Richard Wolfe, of Huttonrede, was accompanied to Ireland by one son and four daughters, viz., John, Jane (wife of Hugh Banner, of Punchestown, County Kildare), Dorothy (wife of William Brunton, of Bishopscourt, County Kildare), Anne Katherine, and Eleanor (wife of William Burgoyne). He died about 1678, and was buried in the church at Oughterard.
John, son of the said Richard, seems to have been settled at the date of the Revolution at Baronrath, which he held by a lease from Sir William Sandys, Bart., who was an extensive land- owner in Kildare. In 1693 he obtained a new lease from Sir W. Sandys; and his son shortly afterwards married a niece of that gentleman. John Wolfe appears to have served annually for many years on the Grand Juries of the county. He died in 1715, and was interred at Oughterard. He was succeeded by
362 THE WOLFE FAMILY OF COUNTY KILDARE.
his eldest son, Richard, who married Lydia, daughter of Patrick Page, of Forenanghts, by his wife, Mary, daughter of Sir William Sandys, Bart. From this Richard Wolfe the family spread into three branches — first, that of Forenaughts; second, that of Black- hall ; and third, that of Baronrath. John succeeded his father at Forenaughts, which is now the property of the head of the family. Thomas, the second son, obtained a lease of Blackball from his uncle, John Page. He afterwards purchased the place, along with other property in King's County. Blackball is now owned by Major R. F. Rynd, the eldest son of Helena, daughter and heiress of Peter Wolfe, High Sheriff of County Eildare, 1805, and wife of Christopher Rynd, of Mount Armstrong. Thomas Wolfe married Margaret Lombard, and died in 1787, leaving a son, Theobald (the third son, Theobald, was the eminent counsellor afterwards referred to), and a daughter, Mary. The fourth son, Richard, inherited Baronrath, which remained in the hands of the Wolfe family of that brunch until William Standish Wolfe, who died in 1869, disposed of it I am not aware who purchased it at that time, but it is now in the occupation of Mr. Robert Kennedy, H.M.L.
Richard Wolfe, father of the said brothers, John, Thomas, and Richard, died in 1782, and was buried in the Church of St David's, Naas. His successor at Forenaughts, John, was bom 1700. He was a Captain in the Eildare Militia, High Sheriff, 1755, married Mary, only child of Williams Philpott, and died, 1760. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Philpott, Captain in the Eildare Militia, and High Sheriff of the County Eildare. He married Mary, daughter of Thomas Burgh, of Dromkeen, County Limerick, and died, 1775, and was buried with his wife in St Mary's Church, Dublin. His eldest son and heir was John, Colonel in the Eildare Militia, High Sheriff, 1779, M.P. for Eildare, and afterwards for Wicklow. He raised and commanded a troop of yeomanry, called the Forenaughts Cavalry, the badges and some of the accoutrements of which are now in the posses- sion of the head of the family. He was appointed Governor of County Eildare, in conjunction with William Robert, Duke of Leinster, March 12th, 1803. He married his cousin Charlotte, daughter of his granduncle, Theobald Wolfe, the eminent coun- sellor, and died April 18th, 1816. He was succeeded by his eldest son, John, Captain in the Forenaughts Cavalry, and Deputy Governor, County Eildare, who only survived his father three months, dying in June, 1816. His successor was the Rev. Richard Wolfe, who married, in 1881, Lady Charlotte Sophia Hely Hutchinson, sister of John, 2nd Earl of Donoughmore. Richard Wolfe died 1841, leaving the reversion of his estates to
Ahtuub Woi.re, IsT Vihtocnt Kii.waiidkk. (P»lnled by Humllion.) agreving iu Vul. 1 of lt»rrin)tloii'ii " Uleionn Meuiuim of Irelnnd.'
364 THE WOLFE FAMILY OF COUNTY KILDARE.
his cousin, Theobald George Samuel Wolfe, eldest son of James Wolfe, Major in the Eildare Militia, who succeeded thereto in 1870, on the death of Lady Charlotte Wolfe. Theobald G. S. Wolfe married Elizabeth Henrietta, daughter of Henry Moreland Ball, of Eersiebank House, Stirlingshire, and Tipperkevin, County Kildare, and great-granddaughter of Sir Edward Lovett Pearce, M.P. for Batoath in the Irish Parliament, from whose designs the General Post Office in Dublin and the Irish Houses of Par- liament were built. The Ball family trace their pedigree down to Edward I, being descended from Humphrey de Bohun and the Lady Elizabeth, daughter of that Sovereign. One of that family afforded protection to Prince Charles Edward at Eersie- bank House during the rising of 1745. The Duke of Cumber- land's party searched the house for the Prince, and left behind them a claymore, now in the possession of the family.
Theobald George Wolfe died in 1872, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Bichard, LL.B., M.A., T.C.D., Lieutenant, Boyal Scots Greys. He was killed in the attempt to relieve General Gordon in 1885, at Abu Klea, Soudan, aged twenty-nine, and was buried on the battle-field. He was succeeded by his brother George, born 1859, Lieutenant, Boyal Irish Fusiliers, 1882, 8th Hussars, 1885 to 1890, married, 1888, Emily Maud Mary, only child of Bichard Smethurst, EUerbeck Hall, Chorley, J.P., D.L., High Sheriff for Lancashire, 1874, and widow of J. J. Leeman, D.L., M.P. for York. He has an only child and heiress presumptive, Emily Maud Charlotte.
Many members of the family have served their country with distinction in the army and navy, including Major-General James Wolfe, the hero of Quebec ; with whom kinship is claimed by the Wolfes of Forenaughts, and also on his side, as shown by an autograph letter from him, in the possession of a member of the family living in Canada. Major Edward Wolfe, bom 1781, served all through the Peninsular War, and was wounded slightly at Talavera and Nevelle, and dangerously at the siege of Badajoz. He died in 1875, aged ninety-four. His medal, with six clasps, is now in the possession of the family. Williams Wolfe, B.N., served with distinction in the American War, and was killed in a night attack.
The legal element is also strongly marked in the family — first, in the person of Theobald Wolfe, born 1710, a most distin- guished counsellor in his day, of whom many portraits and engravings by Bartolozzi are in existence. He was twice married, and had five daughters, of whom one, Charlotte, married her cousin. Colonel John Wolfe, of Forenaughts. Theobald Wolfe built the family vault at Oughterard, died 1784, and was buried in it.
THE WOLFE FAMILY OF COUNTY KILDARE. 365
The second great legal personality was Arthur, 1st Viscount Eilwarden, distinguished for his great humanity and love of justice, as well as for his great ability. He served the offices of Attorney- and Solicitor-General, and was appointed Lord Chief Justice in 1796. He represented the borough of Coleraine, and afterwards Jamestown, in the Irish Parliament. He married Anne, daughter of William Buxton, of Ardee. She was created a peeress, August, 1795, with the title of Baroness Kilwarden of Eilteel ; and he, on his elevation to the Bench, was created a peer, with the title of Baron Eilwarden of Newlands ; and after- wards he was created a viscount. On the death of Lord Clare, the Lord Lieutenant, Lord Hardwicke, was desirous of appoint- ing him Lord Chancellor ; but the English Government would not consent, owing, it is believed, to the strenuous efforts which he made to secure Theobald Wolfe Tone a fair trial. He was murdered, along with his nephew, the Rev. Richard Straubengie Wolfe, in Thomas Street, Dublin, in mistake, it is believed, for Lord Carleton, on the night of July 28rd, 1803, and was buried in the vault at Onghterard. He was succeeded by his eldest son, John, 2nd Viscount Kilwarden, who died in 1830. He never married, and, his brothers having died un- married during his lifetime, the title became extinct.
The literary element is represented by the Rev. Charles Wolfe, born 1791. He was the author of " The Burial of Sir John Moore," '' Jugurtha in Prison/' and many other poems and lyrics, which are to be found in the memoir of him written by the late Archdeacon Russell. He died in 1831, was buried in the old ruined church of Clonmell, Cove, Cork, and there is a monu- ment erected to his memory in St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin.
The late Archdeacon John Wolfe, D.D., was also a writer of some repute, and was highly thought of by men of letters in the ecclesiastical world. He was on the eve of promotion to a bishopric when death cut short his career. He was born 1817^ being the second son of Major James Wolfe, and brother of Theobald George Wolfe, of Forenaughts. He died in August,
1871.
In the line of politics, Colonel John Wolfe, of Forenaughts, was M.P. for Eildare, and afterwards for Wicklow, in the Irish Parliament. He was a well-known and most determined anti-Unionist. He was offered a peerage by Lord Clare, if he would vote for the Union, which he declined to do, and in consequence the command of the Eildare Militia was taken from him, and also an appointment he held in the Custom House. He was^ however, some years after the Union, appointed Governor of Eildare, in conjunction with William Robert, Duke
The Rfcv. Ciuhles Wolfe, M.A.,
Author ol " The Burial of Sir John Moore.
ion in Archdeacon RubsoIIV "MeraoirMtf the Bev.CI
THE WOLFE FAMILY OF COUNTY KILDARE. 367
of Leinster. In "The lUse and Fall of the Irish Nation," by Sir Jonah Barrington, he is described in the Bed List as "incor- raptible ; not to be purchased."
Theobald Wolfe Tone, the founder of "The United Irish- men," was godson of Theobald Wolfe, of Blackball, after whom he was named.
The arms of the Wolfes of Forenanghte are : —
Argent, three wolves' heads erased sable, dnoally gorged. Or.
Crest, a wolf's head, sa. dncally gorged, Or.
Motto, Pro Patria Mori.
For many of the above facts, dates, &c., I am indelited to the of my cousin. Colonel Robert Wolfe.
( 368 )
COUNTY KILDARE FOLK-TALES.
[Collected by Miss Greene from the narration of Tom Daly, gardener
at Millbrook.]
(Oontinued from pcige 259.)
How Tom Daly saw the Dead Coach coming down " Sal's HilV^ — I was going home one night, when I lived in Bashfield, and it was late — ^I ^m sure it was up to twelve o'clock or after. Well, I was just at the top of the hill, when I heard the quarest kind of a buzzing nise ever you saw; and I seen something coming towards me along inside of the hedge at MuUachreelan side ; it was a good piece up — about forninst where Matty Kirvan used to live. When I heerd it first, I thought it was a car coming, and I stepped in on the path to let it pass ; but, begor, when I seen it coming inside of the hedge, I stepped out on the road again, and it came on down the drive inside the hedge ; it was buzzing like a thresher ; there was no lights nor nothing, and I couldn't see the shape of it behind the hedge, but it was like a coach. Well, I stood on the road and looked at it, and it went on fair and aisy down to the quarry lane, and I seen it no more. I didn't know whether to wake them at the gate lodge or not, for I was partly afeard I would meet it going down through Bushfield Wood ; but I didn't wake them. I wasn't a bit afeard either, only I didn't like to meet it the second time. I never seen it afther^ and I told my mother when I got in what I seen^ and she said : ''Will nothing keep you from rambling at night, till you get a good fright ? "
They say it is the dead coach, and the men and horses has no heads ; but I never seen it only that once ; but I heard it often when I would be coming home late^ if I was off anywhere. [Told by T. Daly, 1900.]
Mowing the Rath, — I'll tell you a quare thing, too. My grandfather's brother, when he was a young lad, was going out mowing with two ould men that was mowers. Well, they were to mow a rath^ and the two ould fellows was pretty knacky, so they made a bet, which of them would cut the first stroke ; but they let my grandfather's brother get there first, and begor, the first stroke of the scythe he gave on the rath, his thigh broke ! So that shows it isn't right to do them things. I wouldn't mow a rath to-day, for all ever I seen. [T. Daly, 1900.]
How the Boy got the better of the Pooka. — I believe the fairies spit on the blackberries on All Hallow E'en ? It 's the
COUNTY KILDARE FOLK-TALES. 369
Pooka^ they s^y, spits on them, said Daly, and makes them bad on All Hallow E'en. He 's like a mule, and he has his bed over beyant Athy, at Kilberry. They say that if he meets anyr one at dusk, he puts his head between their legs, and carries them through the country all night — through hedges and ditches and trees and everywhere — so they get all scratched and torn. And he always leaves them back in the same spot he got them. There was a boy putting out horses one evening, and begor, the Pooka met him and put his head between his legs, and put him up on his back, and carried him all through the country the whole night, and left him back in the same spot he got him, and he was all torn and desthroyed with thorns. "Will you ride again to-morrow night?" says the Pooka. " I will," says the boy. Well, the boy brought a saddle and bridle and spurs to the place he was to meet the Pooka at, and said he would ride if the Pooka would let him put them on. " All right," said the Pooka, '^ put them on." So he put them on, and the Pooka carried him through the country as before, and every lep he'd give, the boy would give him a prod with the spurs, and had him as torn and bruised as the boy was the night before. The Pooka brought him back to the place they started from, and asked him would he ride again the next night. *^ I will," said the boy. Begor, when they met the next night, the Pooka asked: '^ Have you got the pillyeen paul ? " (meaning the bridle). " I have," said the boy. " Have you the two legs across?^' (meaning the saddle). ''I have," said the boy% ** Have you the diggers?" (spurs). " I have," repeated the boy. "Well, the divil a bit 1*11 carry you to-night," said the Pooka. So that boy was able for the Pooka. [Told by Tom Daly, 1900.]
The Pooka and the silk dress, — I often hard the ould people talking of the Pooka's hole at Kilberry. They never showed me where it was. There was a housemaid at Lord Downes's, and she had a terrible lot of work to do in the evening?. Well, she used to go and lie down and go to sleep, and still the work used to be always done, and done well too. So Lady Downes gave her a silk dress. But, begor, it was the Pooka done the work all the time. One evenin' she was asleep, and the silk dress was lyin' beside her, and the Pooka came and saw it, and took it, and put it on, and said he didn't see why she should be going about in silks, and he doing all the work. So he went off with the silk dress, and would never do another stroke of work for her after. [Told by Tom Daly, November 8th, 1900.]
The Murrain Animal. — I saw a Murrain once. I was lookin' for burds' nests in that low-lying bit of ground there
'3^0 COUNTY KILDARE FOLK-TALES.
next Moaifieldy belongin' to Deegan of Inch Castle. I was only a little chap, not as big — no, not half — as that little chap of FitzPatrick's there below. It was in an ould drain ; it was the size of a young cat, and it had a head just like a cat, and it sat np and looked at me — it had no hair. It was a greenish colour, shining all over, and it was the colour of one of them great big slugs that you see. It was streaked with brown, it had a streak down its back, and then it had streaks going from that on its sides. I ran for an ould man — Tom Flannigan — that lived next to us ; his garden was next to ours, and he came with a stick, and when he saw it, he said it was a Murrain. It was sitting up just the same way when we came back. He tould me it goes along in the dew in the early morning, and the cattle smell it, and follow it and lick it, and the minute they lick it they get the Murrain. He didn't kill it, but I thought be had a right to kill it, and I was afraid to go there for many a day. I never heard tell of one, nor seen one, before or since ; but I remember it well. [T. Daly, 1900.]
HoK) the dead cock showed who stole the silver. — It was an ould man by the name of John Lannigan tould me about it ; I donH remember it meself. He lived in a cottage — ^you might see the remains of it beyond the stream — ^below at George Alcock's. It happened at Grangemellon House, when Mr. Le Glerc lived there. He kep three sarvent girls in it ; and there was silver spoons and one thing and another going, and no one could tell anything about them. So Mr. Le Clerc got a cock killed, and put it in a basin of water in the hall, and he called in the girls one after the other, and tould them to tip the cock with their hand. The first of them didn't mind]: they knew nothing of the silver; and they came in and tipped the cock, and went out again ; but this girl — I think her name was Mary Dunne — was afeard, because she had taken the things, and stayed to the last, and, begor o' war, the very minute she tipped the cock, it lepped up and flapped its wings in her face, and spatthered her all over with blood. So she had to give up the things she tooL It was the quarest thing ever I heerd, and it ^s pai*fectly thrue. I often heerd the ould people at the Park Wall talkin' about it. [Told by T. Daly, 1901.]
The Leprechaun and the Boy. — I heard a boy caught a Leprechaun once, and he held him and bet him, and made him say he'd tell where there was money. So the Leprechaun tould him to get a bit of a stick, and showed him where to stick it down, and said : " There now, if you go and get a fack, and dig there, you'll get money." So he let the Leprechaun go then, and went and got the fack ; but when he came back with
COUNTY KILDARE FOLK-TALES. 37 1
it, the field was stuck all over with hundreds of sticks ; and so that 's the way the Leprechaun thricked him. [Told by Tom Daly, 1900.]
In ould times when they wanted to keep the childher in, they used to tell them when they heard a thrash cracking snails on a stone, that that was the Leprechaun mending his brogues. [Told by T. Daly, 1900.]
The money buried at Inch Cairtle. — They say there is mon^y^ buried in an iron chest in the Castle of Inch. I often heerd tell that different and different people went to dig it up ; and always as soon as they hit the top of the chest with the fack, they would have to leave it and go, with the storm and nise of all sorts that would rise up. The stoutest man would have to go ; and I suppose the chest is there yet. My grandmother often tould me about it. [T. Daly, 1900.']
There is another quare thing about the Castle of Inch. There was a draw-well in the castle yard, and they wanted to fill it up, and they were near a week drawing loads of clay and stones before it was filled up; and then they were drawing loads over it for a week, and one morning they found it was open bigger nor ever it was. [T. Daly, 190O.]
Wells. — I heard of a patthern at Toberara (Well) and at Glassealy Well (that *s St Patrick's Well ; it has a big ash-tree over it). I often heard tell, but I couldn't say if it's true, that the water from Glassealy Well, no matter how long you boil it, it won't boil up. [T. Daly, 1900.]
There was a man called Keating, a rich man, lived near the Toberara holy well, and there was a spring-well on his place' the people used to come to for water. He wanted to stop them coming, but he couldn't, so he put some dirty stuff into the well, BO they had to stop. Well, in two year he was bruck out of it htirely. I always heard tell it 's onlucky to stop people from spring water.— [T. Daly, 1900.]
Deil and Apple. — It is said that our Lord was eating an apple, and there was a deil in it, ever since which the deil has, when crushed/ the smell of an apple.
( 372 )
RA THMORE.
Read by Mr. HANS HENDRICK-AYLMER, at the Society's Meeting,
on the 25th September, 1901.
T^HE meaning of the name "Bathmore" is ^* the great Rath or - Fort," as the circular entrenched strongholds of the Irish were called,: and are still called at the present day. The name, applied to them by the peasantry, of '^ Dane's Forts/' is quite erroneous, and- given in ignorance ;•. but the erection of any such works which puzzle them is attributed to the Danes, in the same way as the destruction of all castles and churches is by them laid to Cromwell's charge.
As was stated on p. 457 of the Second Volume of our Journal, the great artificial mound at Rathmore, which is, unfortunately^ being, demolished by road contractors, is not a mth or fort, bat a Pagan sepulchral Moat ; and, if the name Rathmore is taken from it, it is altogether misapplied.
Shortly after the Anglo-Normans arrived in Ireland, Rath- more appears to have been granted to the Barons of Offaly, as, in a-gi*ant dated 1229, defining the mearing of the forest lands of Luke, Archbishop of Dublin, it is stated that on the west side they were bounded by the land of Naas, and thence to Rathmore, the land of Maurice FitzGerald.^. One. of the witnesses to the deed is a Stephen de Segrave, from whom '' Segrave's Castle ^' in the locality may have been called.
. In 1286 Gerald fitz Maurice oge FitzGerald, 4th Baron of Offaly, was wounded in battle by the O'Briens of Tbomond (Co. Clare), and shortly after died at Rathmore, and was buried at Kildare.^
In July, 1310, John fitz Thomas FitzGerald^ afterwards created Earl of. Kildare, in consideration . of his services to Edward I. during the wars in , Scotland and Flanders, and to Edward 11 in Ireland, was granted, a pardon .for intrusion upon certain lands without licence from the Crown. It appears that a certain John de Verdon during the reign of Henry III (1216-1272) enfeoffed Maurice FitzGerald (5th Baron of Offaly), and Agnes Valentia, or de Valence, his wife, of the Manors of Adare, Croom, Athlackagh, '^ Wrigeda, Grene, and Esgrene,'' all in the County Limerick, to hold to the said
^ Page 262, Sweetman's ''Calendar of Documents, Ireland." * Cox*8 ** History of Ireland," vol. i, p. 77.
RATHMORE 373
Maurice and Agnes and their heirs; and after the said Ma^jrice's death (ante 1274), his son and heir, Gerald, enfeoffed his cousin, John fitz. Thomas FitzGerald, of the Manors of Maynooth and Bathangan, in the County Kildare, and Legh (Lea, Queen's County), with the reversion of the Manors of Geashill in the King's County, and Rathrnore in the County Eildare, and the Limerick Manors. After the death of the said Gerald, without an heir, a certain Juliana de Cogan, aunt of the said Gerald, and sister of the said Maurice, entered upon the said Manors of Rathrnore, Adare, &c., but soon after enfeoffed the said John fitz Thomas thereof, who continued his seizin for a year and more, and then demised them to the said Agnes for life, on whose death he entered into the same without the king's licence. Hence his pardon.^
In 1317 Thomas fitz John* FitzGerald, 2nd Earl of Kildare, obtained the king's permission to enfeoff Brother Roger Outlawe, Prior of Eilmainham in Dublin, in one messuage and fifteen acres of land in Rathmore, together with the advocation of the church there, and all the chapels appertaining to it. Among the number, the churches of Kilbride and of the '' Villa Reysin " were subservient to the church of Rathrnore,^ which was dedi- cated to St. Columbe [? Columbkill, whose festival falls on the 9th of June] .
In 1866 the king sent letters of censure to those persons who had charge of Rathmore, Kylhele (Kilteel), Ballymore- Eustace, and Graney, in the County Kildare, for neglecting to keep up the garrisons in those castles to their proper strength. In particular he blamed Maurice FitzGerald, 4th Earl of Kildare, for neglecting his Manor of Rathmore, which had been granted to the EarFs grandfather by the king's grandfather. The Earl, under pain of forfeiting this Manor, is ordered to go in person to Rathmore, accompanied by five esquires, twelve *' hobelars," or horsemen, and forty bowmen, with other foot- soldiers,, all fully armed and accoutred, and there to take steps to resist the incursions of the O'Byrnes and their confederates, all at the Earl's own expense/
In 1415 Gerald FitzGerald, 5 th Earl of Kildare, received a pardon from the king for all intrusions in the Castle and Manor of Kildare, and in his Manors of Maynooth and Rathmore.^
•Page 364, Brewer's *' Calendar of Carew MSS." (Book of Howth).
*"Rot. Cane. Hib. Cal."
»Alen'8**Credemilii."
* " Rot. Cane. Hib. Cal. ," p. 60a.
^Ibid.
374 RATHMORE.
< In the sixteenth century the Manor of Rathmore contained seven castles, ninety-eight messuages, two mills, and 1^990 acres 6f land. It was composed of the following townlands, many of whose names are now obsolete : —
Rathmore, alias Radmore, alias Ramore.
Rathnakill, alias Rathturkill.
Monefyne, alias Monfyn.
Boueston, alias Boyeston.
Ponceston, alias Poncheston.
Olde Poncheston.
Phillipeston.
Edeston.
Ballitas.
CoUenshill, alias Clonshill.
Ballica, alias Ballecane, alias Plowland.
Fyrhill.
Skeyoke.
Much Grange.
Lytle Grange.
Gilton, alias Giltons.
Rathnargit.
Moygan, alias Myganne.
Rathargid.
Iweliston.
Godamende.
BuUeston. ^Heineston. ^Agret, alias Agarret. ^Lytle Newton.
^Rathowll, alias Rathtoolc, alias RathtoU. ^And Ballore, alias Balligore, alias Ballicore.
" The County Kildare Exchequer Inquisition " (No. 42 of Elizabeth), from which the above names are taken, also mentions the ** Rectory Church of St. Boyan of Gilton," and the " Vicarage Church of St. Columbe of Rathmore."
The Manor of Rathmore was forfeited to the Crown by the rebellion of the Silken Thomas, 10th Earl of Kildare, in 1684 ; and it does not appear to have been regranted to the family when Gerald, the 11th Earl^ in 1554, was restored to his honours and possessions by Queen Mary.
' These last-named townlands were held by John Sutton of Tipper, in trust for James FitzGerald, one of the Silken Thomas's ancles, who forfeited them through rebellion.
RATHMORE. 375
About the year 1536 the King commanded the Deputy^ Lord Leonard Gray, to appoint Martin Pelles as Constable of Athy, and Thomas Alen as Constable of Bathmore. ('' Morrin's CaL," vol i.)
At the latter end of May, or beginning of June, 1588, a Government officer named John Eel way was *^ Constable of the King's Castell of Bathmor/^ Some little time previously he had come upon " two of Tirrelagh Otoly's^ servauntes in the Englishe borders next joynyng to the Tolys cuntre, eting of meat, and for the same did immediately hang them.'' On this reaching Tirlagh O'Toole's ears, he demanded an explanation of this outrageous act during a time when he was at peace with the Government. Kelway appointed a meeting for explanations^ and, assembling the neighbouring gentry, as well as '' certeyn husbondmen and freholders of Rathmore, Newton, and the parishe of Sail," he proceeded to the appointed place, where he met Tirlagh O'Toole and his brother Art Oge. A letter written from Dublin Castle, on the 4th of June, by the Deputy, Lord Leonard Gray, to the King, describes what took place. He states that (the spelling in the letter has not been adhered to) :—
"John Kelway, Constable of your Grace's Manor of Rathmore (which Manor bordereth upon the Tooles'), of his own mind, raised certain gentlemen, poor husbandmen, and labourers, and went to parley with one Tirlagh OToole, with whom I was at peace ; and in the parley- ing they differed, and the said Kelway chased the said Tirlagh, who took to flight to a certain place, where he had ambushed his kern, and so suddenly turned, and set upon the said Kelway with all his ambushment, so that the said Kelway, and certain gentlemen of the country who were in his company, were constrained to take (refuge in) a small pile called the Three Castles, beins upon the borders of the said Tirlagh's country. At which time they slew certain husbandmen and labourers, and a thatched house joining to the same pile put afire, so that the head of the same pile, being covered with thatch, lacking battlement, took fire, and so all burned, so that the said Kelway, and such of the gentlemen as then were with him, were constrained to yield themselves prisoners ; and he being in hand with the said Tirlagh O'Toole, him slew cruelly. Assuring Your Excellent Majesty that divers and sundry times I gave monition to all your Constables joining upon the marches, to beware the train of their borderers, and specially to the said Kelway, who, I assure Your Grace, was as hardy a gentleman as any could be."'^
Richard Aylmer was taken prisoner by the O'Tooles of Wicklow, the Irish sept whose territory lay along the confines of Kildare, in this border fray, an account of which is given in two
» *» State Papers of Henry VIII," vol. iii, pp. 18 and 27. Tirlagh OToole was of Feracullen, and Art Oge of CasUekevin, both in the County Wicklow.
Hbid,, p. 16.
c g
376 RATHMORE.
letters to Sir Gerald Aylmer, Chief Justice of Ireland, bis undo. The first letter (printed in the Oarew MSS., 1515-74, No. 121, dated June 5, 1688), from Sir William Brabazon, the Lord Treasurer, and addressed to Gerald Aylmer, and John Alen, Lord Chancellor, is as follows : —
** Your bedfellows are in health. As to occurrences they be nothing so fruitful as they were at your departure. A great part of Uriell [i.e.. County Louth] is destroyed, preyed, and burnt by them of Femey. . . . . At that time O'Railey was somewhat busy for the death of Kaer Modder, i.e., his brother, who now is at good stay; and as on Friday last past Mr. Kelwey had parliament with Tirloch O'ThoyU [0*Toole] and Art besides the Three Castles ; who had assembled to him certain husbandmen and freeholders of Ilathmore, Newtown, the parish of Kill, and others, and would needs chase Tirloch and Art up to the high mountains, who there had their kerne ready, and turned back and set upon Kelwey, and drove him to the Three Castles, and others with him, and set fire on the top of the Castle, so that they yielded ; wherein was taken Kelwey and your youn^ kinsman Mr. trustice Richard Aybner, young Flattesbury, Lang, and divers others ; and such husbandmen as the kerne met with they slew them, for they had no horses to flee, and as I am informed there was slaia sixty householders. Thomas Lang is let forth, and Mr. Aylmer remaineth with them and some others ; and after that they had Mr. Kelwey within a while they kiUed him and such of the
soldiers as was with him I was never in despair in Ireland
until now."
The second letter (in " State Papers, Henry VIII, Ireland," vol. iii, p. 19, No. 230), from Luttrell to Chief Justice Aylmer, runs thus : —
^* Brother Justice, I oomend me unto you Your nevue
Richard Aylmer, it fer me Mc], shall not come forth, onles he pay his raunson, for so this last day Tirlagh said playnly to mv Lord of Ossery is messenger, and also to my servunt Dogherty, which chauncyed to be at Glendalach, when the discomfortur was made, and durst not cum from thens til this. Al the faut of the same mysaventur is put in Kelwey, both by them of the counte Kildar, that was ther present, and also by the Tolis [O'Tooles] as Pluncket may schow you. Your son Bartholemew scape them hapy, for he was there with Aylmer." ....
According to another account of this fight, the O'Tooles slew Kelway and sixty or seventy of his men. The prisoners they took were Bicbard Aylmer of Lyons,^ young Flatisbury of Johnstown, and Thomas Lang. The latter was released, and the others were detained till the ransom demanded for them was paid. The Lord Deputy wrote to the King that he intended obtaining their release without ransom, and making O^Toole abide by the orders of him and the Council, though it is
^ Nephew of Gerald Aylmer, Chief Justice of Ireland, who was of DoUardstown, in the County Meath.
RATHMORE, 377
acknowledged that Eelway was in fault Bartholomew Aylmer, ^'son to Gerald Aylmer Chef Jastice at the King's pleis in Ireland," was present at the fight, bat made his escape. On the 22nd of August, 1588, Sir William Brabazon, a Privy Councillor, wrote to Thomas Cromwell, Secretary of State : —
*' Toching the garrison of JRAthmore, which Eelway had ; f orasmuche as it is one of the chief keys of defence against the Tholes [O'Tooles] , and that the cuntrie is greatly depopulate in thois quarters, we beseeche your good Lordship, that none be appointed therunto, but sooche one as shalbe an honest man, that wolbe resident ther, having some experience to goveme and defende a cuntrie."
Later on the Council was ordered by the King to put Rathmore in such hands as they consider most fit.^
In 1541 a lease was made of this Castle and Manor, for twenty-one years, to Walter Trott, Vicar of Rathmore ; but, for some reason or other, four years later (1545), the Manor, Castle, and Mill were gi'anted to John Travers of Monkstown (alias Carrickbrennan), County Dublin, Groome of the Chamber, to hold in tail male by the service of a twentieth part of a Knight's fee.^
During the latter half of the sixteenth century this Manor passed by marriage to the Chevers family. John Chevers, of Macetown, County Meath, married Catherine, daughter and co-heiress of Henry Travers of Monkstown, and, dying on the 24th of April, 1599, was succeeded by his son, Christopher Chevers,' grandfather of Edward Chevers, created by James II in 1689 Viscount Mount Leinster ; but on his death, in exile, without male issue by his wife, Anne Sarsfield, sister of the Earl of Lucan, the title became extinct.
According to Friar Clyn's '' Annals of Ireland," Bory oge O'More, who was slain in 1577 by Brian oge MacGillapatrick (a name now changed to FitzPatrick) of Ossory, had for eighteen years ravaged the Pale, during which time he burned Naas, Athy, Carlow, Leighlin Bridge, Rathcoole, Tassagard, Kilbride, Ballymore-Eustace, Killy [? Kill, or Kilteel], and Rathmore. So bold had Rory oge O'More become, that the Lord Deputy, writing to the Queen in 1572, stated that the manner of his coming was by day with bag-pipes, and by night with torch- lights.^ On the occasion of the burning of Naas by him on the 8rd March, 1577, he appears to have taken advantage of the
» " State Papers of Henry VIII," pp. 86 and 335.
« The Fiants of Henry VIII.
' Co. Kildare Ex. Inquisition, No. 42 of Elizabeth.
* Page 490, HamQton's Collection of State Papers, 1509-73.
I ImifB Wab Bao-f.
riy in WoiKtatock Ciutl
RATHMORE. 379
Pattern-weeky as the Lord Deputy wrote that, though there were 600 men in the town at the time, yet no resistance had been made, as they had done themselves, not wisely bnt too well, in honour of their Patron, St Dayid, \^ose Festival is on the 1st of March.^
On the 18th of September, 1680, Sir Henry Wallop, Treasurer at Wars, wrote to Sir Francis Walsyngham, Secretary of State, that on the previous day an encounter took place near Rathmore between a party of horse belonging to the Earl of Eildare and Sir Henry Harrington, then quartered at Belgard, in the County Dublin, and a body of the rebels, under the leadership of a brother of the famous Feagh mac Hugh O'Byme of Glenmalure. The latter had partly burned Rathmore, and were returning towards the mountains, with a herd of cattle, when they were overtaken by the cavalry.^ An account of the fight is thus given in a letter written by the Earl of Kildare on the 19th of September to the Secretary of State : —
'' On the 16th of September I went furthe carying my horsemen and Sir Heniy Harryngton*8 band, and having placed them whear I thought likely est to prevent the rebells coxnyng into the contrey, I retomed to Dublin that night, leaving Georse FitzGerald' my Liewtennant with the Boaldiera. On the morrow at about six of the. clock in the momynge, having with hym Sir Henry Harryngton's Liewtennant, and with them both not past fourtie horsemen, the reste beyng abroade seking victuailles, they hard the crye and saw a towne (Rathmore) fired by the rebells ; wheareuppon they galloped that waie upon the spoore and persued the space of SIX or seven myles, before they could overtake them ; at which tyme the rebells, espying their comyng, lefte the pray which they had, and gathered themselves together, and putt themselves in order for their defence. Whearwith my Liewtennant requyred Sir Henry Harryngton's Leiwtennant to kepe the rereward and to push on the horsemen to hym and he would give the chardge ; and so did, and at leingth goynge over a foorde, brake uppon them and slewe a nomber of them ; after which certaine of the rest that were left alive to the nomber of 24 gott againe together, uppon whom my Liewtennant and Gwydon-berrer [i.e., standard- bearer], with six horsemen more, gave a new chardge, while Sir Henry Harryngton's men and the others were chasyng of the rest; in which chardge my Liewtennant and his horse were slayne and my Gwydon-berrer runnynge him through with his Gwydon-staffe that slew my Lieutennant, was overthrowen hymselfe and his horse ; at which tyme the rest of the horsemen came through them and putt them all to the sworde savinge two which escaped, one of them beyng runne through with a horseman's staffe, after that they had fought a longe tyme very valyantly. Amongs them there were slayne a sonn and two bretheme of Feagh McHew
' Page 259, Dr. Comerford's ** Diocese of Kildare." < Page 253, HamUton's Calendar of State Papers, 1574-85. ' George FitzG^rald was of Tecroghan, in the Co. Meath. His father was Gkrald oge FitzGerald, of Corbetstown, Co. Westmeath.
ThR UOIT AT RaIHUORB.
(Sbowjng the nndiBtiirbed portloti on tbe ^eat Bide-)
The MoiT iT RiTHUOBE. (Bhowing vb«rG it hu Iwen gicsTMed bj' road contnolon.)
RATIIMORE. 381
(Feagh mac Hugh O'Byme), and to the number of fiftie or three score more."*
In 1608 Tirlagh Doyne (or 0*Dunne) was Provost of the town of Bathmore. (Brewer's *' Gal. of Garew MSS.")
From this period there is hut little mention made of this place. Where the Earl of Eildare's Gastle stood is unknown. That known as *' Segrave's Gastle " is now converted into a farmhouse, occupied by a man named Grosby. Except for its thick walls and vaulted lower chamber, it has externally no features to attract the attention of an archsBologist.
Neither the modem Protestant church, nor the ancient burial-ground attached to it, contains any monuments worth describing, with the exception of a fractured portion of a small limestone cross, bearing the Grucifixion in high relief, which is now stuck at the head of a grave on the south side of the churchyard.
As has already been described in our Journal (vol. ii, pp. 112-116) by Lord Mayo, the great Moat, which is 26 yards in diameter at the summit, is being every year more and more destroyed by the road contractors. Many years ago they started excavating material from the eskar or gravel-ridge on which the Moat was raised, and have crept on until they passed through the encircling entrenchment on the north-west side, and attacked the Moat itself, so that one side of it is completely destroyed, and it will unfortunately be only a matter of time before this splendid specimen of a pre-historic sepulchral mound becomes an object of the past. In the year 1894 a kist, or slab-lined grave, was exposed to view about the centre of the Moat, and 20 feet below the sui*face. It contained a skeleton, and it is much to be regretted that at the time the skull was not preserved, as it would have given a clue to experts to decide the probable period to which this renowned hero belonged.
An effort on behalf of this Society was recently made to prevent the further demolition of the Moat; but the Gounty Surveyor said that until another gravel-pit was opened for the road contractors handy to their work, the course of destruction would have to continue.
> Page 201, '' The Earls of Kildare and their Ancestors " (Addenda).
( 382 )
NOTES ON GRANGE CON, COUNTY WICKLOW.
By sir ARTHUR VICARS.
THE name ** Grange Con " is supposed to be of Celtic origin, and to mean " The Grange or Granary of the Hound " — " Con " in Irish being the genitive case of Cu. Grange Con, and Ballynare, and nearly the entire parish of Baltinglass, belonged to the great Abbey of Baltinglass, the rnins of which may still be seen.
After the dissolution of the Abbey, Thomas Eustace, Lord of EilcuUen, was in 1541 created Viscount Baltinglass, and granted the site of the Abbey and lands of Baltinglass, Grangegodley^ Eylmoreth (Eilmoory), Sheltoneston (Haitoneston or Bally- halton), Sleorath (Slerotbie), Newgrange, Gargyn (Cargin), Taghnewran (Teighnoran), Rayhen (Baughen), Branaughton, Newton, Eillemanaghe (Mounkeswood), the chapel and grange of Newhouse (Ballynure), the castle and grange of Grangcon, Grockurrike (Enockoricke or Enockarrig), Baronston (Borane- ston), Gryffynston (Balligriffen), Rodton (Readetowne), Rathbrene (Rathbran), Ballehoke (Hokiston), Newheise (Neweheyes), Tuck- myll, Milleston, and Mangertorlaght (Manger Tirrelaghe). These possessions were forfeited by James, the 8rd Viscount's, rebellion in 1580.
By a letter from Wallop to Walsyngham, dated 17th March, 1583, we learn that ^' Her Majesty is moved to bestow Baltin- glass on Sir Henry Harrington, in respect of his hurts," thereby alluding to his losses as a military servant of the Crown engaged in quelling disturbances of the time.
In October of 1588 Lord Justice Chancellor, writing to Burghley, asks for Sir Henry Harrington to have allowance for the wastes of the house and lands of Baltinglass, lately granted to him at a high rent.
Two years later, Chancellor Archbishop Loftus, writing to Burghley, 24th November, 1585, asks for a better interest in the possession of Baltinglass for Sir Henry Harrington, who had already planted twenty able horse and eighty foot there ; and in the same month we find a petition from Sir Henry to the Queen for an estate in reversion for sixty-one years of the abbey and manor of Baltinglass, and of the towns and lands of Eilbro- derie, in the barony of Bathdown, ancl of Eilpoole, in the 0*Byrnes' country, which is followed by a memorial of Sir Henry Harrington's service in the O'Byrnes' and OTooles' country.
In a letter addressed to Burghley, dated from Grange Gorman, 14th November, 1588, where Sir Henry Harrington
^-1
NOTES ON GRANGE CON, CO. WICKLOW. 383
then lived, he begs that he may have a better survey taken of Baltinglass, and the fee-farm of it or a lease for eighty years. He goes on to say that he has brought in the septs of the O'Tooles, under Shane mac Feagh O'Toole, Cahir O'Toole, and Feagh O'Crosso O'Toole. Has good hope that Feagh mac Hugh 0*Byrne will be honest " There is no tyme I send for him but he will come without protection, and any man in his country that I call for he will delyver, but with condycion not to be hanged, but to geve right for any thinge that shall be proved." He goes on to say that he has drawn to the town of Baltinglass a dozen horsemen, that have no pay of Her Majesty, who shall be there resident continually, to answer all events that shall happen. His band is to be employed as need shall require. Knows that their defence being removed, all shall be spoiled the next day after. Makes more reckoning of twenty such as sit down to live by the soil than of 100 who are to be removed upon every occasion ; and finally ends by a prayer for a further interest in two other parcels — Kilrothery and Kilpoole.
In 1587 we gather from a letter of Sir Henry Wallop to Burghley that Sir Henry Harrington was in England, and he appears to have taken the opportunity to obtain from the Queen a grant of Baltinglass for ever ; for Wallop mentions the fact in his letter.
I have gone into the details of the descent of the abbey lands of Baltinglass, because they included Grange Con, about which we are immediately interested.
In 1691 Sir Henry Harrington is mentioned as being then in England.
In 1608 Sir Henry Harrington is included in a list of captains discharged since 1603. Sir Henry appears to have got into trouble in 1599, for we read that the Earl of Essex marched towards Wicklow, right against the place where Sir Henry Har- rington was ovei'thrown ; and in his report to the Privy Council, Lord Essex says : — '^ On Monday last I called a martial court upon the captains and ofiicers who were with Sir Henry Har- rington when our troops, having advantage of number and no disadvantage of ground, were put to rout, and many cut in pieces without striking a blow. . . .'* The verdict of the court- martial seems to have been a very summary one, for the officers were cashiered, and every tenth private executed !
Sir Henry Harrington escaped by reason of his being a Privy Councillor.
Through a recommendation, in 1611, by the Commissioners for Irish Causes, the patent of the captaincy of the O'Byrnes' country in the County Wicklow was surrendered by Sir Henry
A . . .1°
ScuiiPTDBSD Stones now buu^t into thc Cabtle buihe at Qbinob Con.
(FraiD itubbiujiB IskiD b/ Sir Anhui^Vicin,}
NOTES ON GRANGE CON, CO. WICKLOW. 385
Harrington and hiB son, they getting a pension daring their lives as a recompense, and their heirs £40 yearly.
In a Chancery Inquisition, taken at Wicklow, 28th October, 1618, it is stated that William Harrington alienated the lands to Sir James CarroU, Knt., of Dublin.
In the year 1641, according to the '* Book of Survey and Distribution of Forfeited Estates," Grange Con was in the possession of a Henry Harrington, a Protestant This Henry was, doubtless, the younger son of Sir Henry, and the one whom the stone (1621) now in the Castle wall commemorates.
I may here mention that the fret carved on the stone is really the Harrington knot or badge, which, in this case, is taken from the Harrington Arms : *' Sable, a fret argent.'*
In 1839 this stone, according to the *' Ordnance Survey Letters,'* was in the garden at Grange Con. It was some thirty years ago given to the late Judge Wall, of Knockareagh (formerly Enockarrig), who, some few years back, returned it to Mr. David Mahony, who had it fixed in its present position when doing some repairs to the old ruin.
Sir Henry Harrington, who took such a prominent part in the government of the country in this district, was a son of Sir James Harrington and his wife, Lucy, daughter of Sir William Sydney, of Penshurst (who was father of Henry Sydney, Lord Deputy of Ireland, and grandfather of the celebrated Sir Philip Sydney).
After the death of Sir Henry Harrington, in 1612, in England, we hear of very little of Uie family in these parts ; in fact, their name almost died out, and it was only after tracing them over to Lincolnshire, and a search amongst the Parochitd Begisters and tombstones of Thornton, County Lincoln, that I could find the missing link in a pedigree of the family which I have compiled.
The existing ruins of the Castle are not very ancient ; but it certainly is on the site (if it does not foim a portion) of the original building— probably coeval with Sir Henry Harrington's time or circa 1590 — for in the garden adjoining, and the ground around, have been discovered remains of masoni7. Of course, there are all sorts of stories current concerning underground passages from the Castle in all directions; but I always disregard these legends until I find the passages: and so far, although excavations have been made, none have been discovered.
The present ruin consists of three separate portions. The centre would seem to have been the largest; and I think it probable that at one time all three were connected. That on the right hand must have been a kitchen of some sort, for the remains of the brick oven are still visible.
( 386 )
THE HENRY FAMILY IN KILDARE}
rpHIS family is said to be of French origia, bnt the date of -L its BtittlemeDt in Ireland is not known. The immediate anceBtor of the Kildare family of this name waa the Bev. Robert Henry, a Presbyterian minister, said to have been of Garrick- fergQB, bnt well known in Belfast and Dublin, in which latter place he died in 1699.
I. Thb Stbaffan Fahilt. In the next generation the &mily settled in Kildare, his son Hugh Henry, a Dublin banker, having purchased the Straffaa House estate, in addition to his property in Antrim. He was M.P. for Limavady in 1713, and for the Borough of Antrim from 1727 to 1748. In 1717 he married Anne, daughter of Joseph Leeaon, Esq., and sister of the Ist Eari of Milltowa, by whom be had five daughters and a son, Joseph Henry, of Straffan, who married, in 1764, Lady Catherine Bawdon, co^heiress of her mother, and daughter of the 7th Earl of Moira. This Joseph Henry was Bucceeded by bis sou John Joseph Henry, who mar- ried (1801) Lady Emily FitzGerald, daughter of William, Duke of Leinster. Owing to his extravagance, from one of the richest commoners in Ireland, he became so embarrassed that he was obliged to sell Straffan, and live abroad. Among many other foolish things, be built an underground passage from Stra&n House to the stables. The house, since thrown down, was situated somewhat higher up the river than the present mansioD, which was built by Hugh Barton, Esq., after his purobase of the
THE HENRY FAMILY IN KILDARE. 387
property, but the old stables and offices are those still in use. His eldest son, William, predeceased him, and his second son, Charles, who succeeded nim, had only three daughters. The third son, Sir Hastings Reginald Henry, G.G.B., Admiral, B.N., married the Marchioness of Hastings, in her own right Baroness Ghray de Ruthven, and took the name of Telverton. He had only one daughter, Barbara, who married Lord Ghunfton.
The fourth and last son was Gli£ford Henry, who married Miss Mason. Their son, Frederick Clifford Henry, succeeded his uncle Charles in 1879, and his son, Joseph Henry, bom 1882, and now a volunteer in South Africa, represents the direct line of the Straffan family.
n. The Lodge Pabe Family.
Hugh Henry, brother of John Joseph Henry, of Straffan, built Lodge Park about 1770. It was supposed to be a small copy of Rusborough, as his wife was Anne, daughter of the Earl of Milltown.
His eldest son, Joseph, died young, before his father, and unmarried. There are two portraits of him in Lodge Park — one by Sir Joshua Reynolds, and the other by Sir Thomas Lawrence. His second son, Arthur Henry, who succeeded him, was in the old 18th Light Dragoons, but left the service on his marriage (1812) with Eliza, daughter of George Gun Cuninghame, Esq., of Mount Kennedy, County Wicklow. Of his sons, six were in the army, and one in the Royal Navy. He lived at Lodge Park, and was the second master of the Kildare Hounds. He died in 1856, and was succeeded by his son, Frederick Hugh Henry, High Sheriff of County Antrim, 1862, and of County Eildare, 1868. He married Adolphina F. Gun Cuninghame; and his son, Frederick Robert Henry, born 1862, is the present owner of Lodge Park.
III. The Togheb and Fibmont Family.
Hugh Henry, of Togher, son of the first Hugh Henry, of Lodge Park, was left the property of Toghermore, County Galway, but did not reside there, as there was no house on the estate at that time. He married, in 1816, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Robert Langrishe, Bart, by whom he had eight children — four sons and four daughters. Of these, the eldest, Hugh Henry, bom 1818, married his cousin, Emily Henry, daughter of Arthur Henry, of Lodge ParL In 1865 he bought Firmont, in County Kildare, and built the present mansion. He died in 1888, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Captain Hugh A. Henry.
4?
1 1
ill
ll
St
Si
|||
lit
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389 )
NOTES ON THE SWEETMAN FAMILY >
THE name of this f&milf is believed to be of Saxon origia, though, according to some, it is eqnivaleat to " The Swedeman." It occurs in connection with Oxford and North- amptonshire several times about a.d. 1086. It occurs later in Norfolk and StaSbrdBhire, In 1308 a Robert Sweteman took out a Chancery Writ in Ireland.
In 1360 Milo Sweetman, " a man of wisdom and learning," was Treasurer of Kilkenny. He was elected Bishop of that See ; but the Pope had previously given it to another person. To compensate him, the Pope promoted him to the Archbishopric of Armagh in 1361. He ruled Armagh nineteen years, dying August 11, 1380.
In 187'i there was a Sir Robert Sweetman, whose son and heir was John Sweetman.
In 1385 Maurice Sweteman was Archdeacon of Armagh.
In 1388 Thomas Swetman was Justice in the County Kilkenny.
In 1391 the King granted to John Swetman, Sheriff of CoQuty Kilkenny, half the fines accruing before the Justices of the county, as it was so full of rebels that the Sheriff could not discharge his dnties unless supported by force.
In 1681 pardon of all treasons was granted to John Swet- man, son and heir of Nicholas Swetman, of Castle-yfe, County Kilkenny. He was accused of having joined the rebelliou of James fitzMauriee FitzOerald, of Desmond. His brother Qeorge was executed.
"The material for theao notea has been supplied by Edmund Sweet- man, Esq., of LoQgtown, County Kildare. — Ep.
390 NOTES ON THE SWEETMAN FAMILY.
There is a monament in the ruins of Newtown Church, County Kilkenny, with the inscription : —
" Hie jacent Wilmus Swefcman Baro de Erley et Joha Tobyn ejs. uxor, q obiit A.D. MCOOOCLIII quor animabus ppeiet deus. Ame."
''Here lie William Sweetman, Baron of Erley, & Johanna Tobjni his wife, who died in the year of the Lord 1553. On their souls may Grod have mercy. Amen.**
The principal seat of the Sweetmans was at Castle Eife, and Newtown de Erley, which they held of the King in capite by knight's service. The family, like many others, suffered at the hands of Cromwell, who granted Newtown de Erley to one of bis officers. The story is that this officer, falling ill at Waterford, requested one Baker, a friend, to visit and report on it. The report was so unfavourable, that he parted with it to Baker for money in hand. Castle Eve (or Eife) was plundered and dismantled by the Cromwellians.
In 1770 Patrick Sweetman (brewer) was of St. Stephen's Green, Dublin. He bad no son^ but left two daughters, of whom one married Y. Browne, by whom she had a daughter, Margaret, mar- ried to Edward Lawless, created 1st Lord Cloncurry. The second daughter married her cousin, John Sweetman, died 1784. Their second son, born 1752, was banished in 1796. The eldest son, Patrick, married Eleanor Thunder, of Lagore, County Meath, whose son, Michael Joseph Sweetman (born 1779, died 1852), married Alicia Taaffe, of Smarmore Castle, County Louth. Id 1882 he purchased Captain Burdett's interest in a moiety of Longtown, County Eildare. His son, Patrick Sweetman (born 1803, died 1885), married Mary Cathin, of Waterford, by whom he had five sons — Edmund, Patrick, John, Roger, and Hugh ; and three daughters — Mary Ann, Catherine Mary, and Alicia. He purchased the head-rent of Killibegs, Longtown, and Carry- hills, all in the County Eildare. The eldest son, and present owner of these properties, is Edmund Sweetman, Esq. (bom 1831), married Alice Butler, sister of General Sir Wm. Butler.
On the jamb of a window in Sweetman's Castle, Erley, near Callan, Co. Kilkenny, is a shield bearing the Sweetman Arms, with the letters I. S. and the date 1580. There is a book-plate of Heni7 Sweetman (circa 1745) figured in Egerton Castle's '' English Book-plates," which differs from the above, and also from the Arms given at the head of this notice, the drawing for which last was supplied by Edmund Sweetman, Esq., and cor- responds with the Arms given in a desi^ for a book-plate by Agnes Castle,
( 391 )
Poul-a-p hooka. — This pictaresque and well-known water- fall in the Liffey is situated two miles (by road) to the south-east of Ballymore Eustace.
The name means '' the Pooka*s hole or pool ; " this deep pool lies at the bottom of the waterfall to which it gives its name. The Pooka,* in Irish Fairy mythology, is classed as an animal of a very malignant type, whose one aim is to induce an unwary, benighted person to get on to its back ; having succeeded, it gallops off at a great pace straight across country, passing over hills and glens, fields end bogs, through knocks of furze and briars, till at last it bucks its rider ofif, tattered and torn, more dead than alive from fright and fatigue, into a wet gripe not far from his own home.
The old people will tell one that, as far as can be seen, the Pooka resembles a homed bullock-like animal, or*a great black pig, and that at All- holland- tide it is particularly vicious, and certain to be met with by the thoughtless.
Many lonesome and wild places in Ireland are associated with and called after the Pooka. In our own county there are anyhow two other instances, one is ** Knockaphooka,'* or ** the Pooka's Hill," which is a small hill of peculiar shape, just outside of Castle- dermot ; and the other is " Ploopluck," near Naas, which, accord- ing to Joyce's " Irish Names of Places Explained," is a very vile corruption of the name ** Cloghpook," meaning " the Pooka's stone or stone fort."
The Biver Liffey, for a mile and a half above, and half a mile below, Poul-a-phooka, forms the mearin between this county and the County Wicklow.
In the year 1818 Poul-a-phooka was the scene of a desperate disaster to the Eildare Hounds, then under the mastership of Sir Fenton Aylmer, of Donadea. The following account of it has been kindly copied out for me by Mr. Hans Hendrick-Aylmer, of Kerdiffs- town, from ** The Sporting Magazine " for 1832 (vol. v, p. 882) : —
*'A Letter from Shamhocksuibe.
'*It was in the last year of Sir Fenton's management and Grennon's hunting of these hounds, that a calamity befell them which almost extermi- nated them, and which altogether is so singular an occurrence, though it is not without a parallel,^ that I shall take the liberty to narrate it.
' "Fnckawn," or a he-goat, appears to be a diminutive of the word " Fiica,'' or ** Pooka." The country people call a snail a '* Snail-a-pooka,'* which may have some connection with the same word.
' A similar accident happened to Mr. Hay's Hounds, of Danse Castle, in Berwiokshiie.
D D
a. PhoCognph b; W. Lawrenoe, DabKn.)
MISCELLANEA. 393
" The hoonds met in the month of November, 1818, at the crossroads of Tipper, and, after drawing a neighbouring gorse blank, were trotting on throagh Glending to Troopersfields, when, from a small unenclosed scrub of hazel, a large greyhound fox jumped up almost among the hounds. He proved a mountaineer from Wioklow, for, discarding the adjacent earths and coverts, he made straight for the Wicklow Hills, over such a country and at such a pace as flung the whole field, with the exception of two, who being on that day best mounted, and having fortunately been riding in advance of the hounds, got such a start as enabled them to keep in sight Indeed, though the country was, for Ireland, open, the hills were so severe that nothing but blood could live through it; and one of these nags was thorough, the other better than three-parts bred.
** He passed Liffey Head, and without a check gained the romantic rocks, plantation, and Waterfall of Pole Ovoca [Poul-a-phooka], County Wicklow, where the river Ovoca [! I], so celebrated by Anacreon Moore, is precipitated over a high and rugged ridge of rocks, and which was then unusually swollen by a succession of rainy weather. In this plantation, on the other side of the Ovoca, was the villain's den, and as it came in view the hounds were close at its brush — a distance of twelve miles, all nearly against the hill, having been done in fifty-five minutes.
" To reach this * Highland Home,* he had to cross the river, and no other but the desperate alternative of passing it above the fall, where, being narrowly enclosed by two rocks, it was diminished to the width of a wide brook. This he attempted, and was swept down the fall with twelve couple and a-half of the leading hounds, which had thrown themselves after him with the same head- long and desperate resolution.
'* When Jack Grennon and the writer of this, who were the two next that got up to those two already mentioned, they were all in one mdl6e, fox and hounds, in the foaming eddies under the fall — some killed in the descent, others maimed, but yet living ; among whom was the caitiff and some one or two, who almost exhausted reached land. I do not just recollect, nor do I pretend to pointed accuracy, but I think Skylark, a young bitch, a daughter of Kilkenny Harbinger, and afterwards celebrated in the Kildares, was the sole one who escaped.
*' When Grennon saw the elite of his pack thus swept from before his eyes, he stood (for assistance was impossible) for some time like a statue ; but when he was assured by their lifeless remains floating in the pool below the fall of the loss of two particular veterans, whose names I have forgotten, he could stand it no longer, but burst into tears, and wept long and bitterly."
The Gothic bridge which spans the chasm was built in 1820, from a design by Nimmo. Previous to this the river was crossed half a mile further up by what was called " The Horsepass Bridge," which is not now in existence.
There is an illustration of this waterfall given in Fisher's ** Views in Ireland," which were published in 1795.
W. FiTzG.
Notes on the Crozier in the Clongowes Wood College Museum. — It was found in the Bog of Allen. No other particulars known here.
Fig. 1 shows a sketch of the whole crozier ; it is 4 feet 6 inches high, and apparently of brass. See next page.
The various parts are kept together by small pins driven into the staff.
I MnaEUH OF Clonqoweb Wood Oollmox.
7 A. C. Miohelmoie.)
MISCELLANEA. 395
It has firsts like many other Irish croziers, a wooden staff (pro- bably the original, encased in metal to preserve it). This is covered with thin metal, and has ornamental ends (figs. 2 and 4).
A narrow strip of metal, | of an inch at its widest part, runs up the whole length of shaft and part of upper end. This is enriched with minute interlaced ornament, arranged in panels. There are about twenty of these, and nearly all have different designs.
Fig. 8 shows a view of the end, looking in the direction of the -<- in Pig. 2.
This was originally enriched with champleve enamel, a blue cross, which is more of a mosaic than an enamel, and three stones.
The cross and the upper stone remain, the two side ones are missing. The empty cells are all that remain of the enamel work.
Professor Sullivan states that '* fusible enamels are easily decomposed by water containing carbonic acid.'* No doubt, the damp soil has caused these to perish.
A. G. MiOHELMOBE.
The Inauguration of a new portion of the Grand
Canal In the Co. Klldare.
[Taken from *' Greshaw's Magazine," p. 162, Naas, March 6th, 1787-78.]
'' This day was opened the new County of Kildare Canal. His Grace the Duke of Leinster and the other gentlemen of the company assembled this morning on board of the Milecent packet, where an excellent breakfast, music, &c., were provided. They proceeded, with streamers flying, and the discharge of several pieces, from Sallins, up their own line through the Company's bridge, the Leinster and Wolfe Locks, &c. On entering the new line, they were received with loud and repeated acclamations ; €md as soon as they entered the Leinster Lock, the populace seized the track line, and drew them in triumph to the excavation of the third lock at Old Town. They passed through each of the locks in less than three minutes. The perfect execution of the works, the curving line of the canal, the variety and beauty of the adjacent country, inter- spersed with ancient and modem buildings and improvements, all embellished by the fineness of the day, and enhanced by the con- sideration of the utility of the work to the comfort and industry of the inhabitants of the large tract of country through which it is to pass, filled every breast with a glow of satisfaction."
. ( 396 )
JinstDcr to ©uerg.
The Tipper Monumental Cross, 1616.
In the 2iid volume of our Journal, at p. 215, information as to the owners of the Delahyde and Walsh initials [I. D : M. W] on the cross in the churchyard at Tipper was asked for. I am now able to identify these individuals, and to prove that they stand for John -Delahyde and Margery Walsh, his wife, daughter of John Walsh of Shanganagh, County Dublin. This John Delahyde was the eldest son of Michael Delahyde, of Ballantry (or Ballandry) in the County Meath, who was a younger son of Richard Delahyde, of Lough- shinny, County Dublin, a branch of the Delahydes, who were for centuries seated at Moyglare in the County Meath, and two miles from Maynooth»
According to a County Dublin Exchequer Inquisition (No. 145 of Elizabeth), Michael Delahyde, of Ballandry, died on the 20th September, 1598, leaving by his wife, Marione Plunket, three sons : —
1. The above-named John Delahyde.
2. Eiohard.
8. Peter Delahyde, of Punchestown, County Eildare, and of Corbally, County Dublin.
Peter Delahyde, of Punchestown, died without issue on 20th November, 1625 ; and his heir was his nephew, Michael, son of the above-named John Delahyde, by his wife, Margery Walsh. A Chancery Inquisition of the County Dublin (No. 20 of Charles I) states that John died on the 18th of January, 1616, which is the date of the year carved on the cross in the Tipper churchyard.
W. FiTzG.
Whereabouts is " Richard FitzGerald's Cross " ?
In an Elizabethan Fiant (No. 5,745), granting a lease for sixty years to John Lye, of Clonaugh, in 1591, of Bathbride, mention is made of a Kichard FitzGerald's Cross in defining the mearing of the lands of Bathbride. According to the Fiant, these huids << contained 60 acres great measure according to the custom of the country, making 180 acres of standard measure, lying towards the hater or lane of BoUickstown on the East ; leading to the King's
NOTES. 397
way betwixt the lands of Bathebride and Priortone on the West ; and so from Richard FitzOeralcPt cross on the west side of Cookes- land to the Garraghe of Eildare, and to the river Boure on the NoBTH ; and the Gurraghe of Eildare on the South ; with common of pasture on the Gurraghe, and liberty to cut turf on the moor near the west side of the Ghannon's Wood.*' Several of the names used in this Fiant are now obsolete. The townlands bordering on that of Bathbride at the present time .are — on the East, Pollards- town, Scarletstown, and Milltown ; on the West, Friarstown and Newtown (near Cannonstown) ; on the North, Wheelam (a Fiant of Edward YI calls this place ''the town of Fitz Williams, alias Whitelam, alias Whillam"); on the South, the Gurragh.
On the very edge of the Gurragh, and at the south-west corner of Bathbride townland, there is the socketed base of a cross now known as the ** wart-stone** {vide vol. iii, p. 21, of Thb Journal). Gan this be " Bichard FitzGerald's Gross *' ?
W. FiTzG.
Dr. Daniel Neylan, Bishop of Kildare, 1583--1603.
In July, 1588, Dr. Daniel Neylan, a Connaught or Munster man, succeeded Dr. Bobert Daly as the Protestant Bishop of Kildare.
He had previously been Bector of Iniscathy (Scattery Island), in the Diocese of Killaloe.
On the 2drd of September, 1698, owing to the poverty of his See, Queen Elizabeth granted to him the Bectory and Vicarage of Game, in the Diocese of Eilfenora. (Ware*s *' Bishops.**)
His will is among those of the Dublin Diocese in the Becord Office, Dublin, and is dated the 6th of June, 1608. It is written in Latin, and commences — ** In Dei nomine Amen. Ego Donaldus Nelland, dns epus Killdaren.*' In the will he mentions his wife, EUice Linche (? daughter of Ambrose Linche, of Oalway), his eldest son, William Neylan (or Nelland), and his daughter <<Elicia og ny Nelland,** thus giving the Irish form of her name, and mean- ing— " EUice the younger, daughter of Neylan" (the ** ny ** being a shortened form of " ingen *' == a daughter). It is strange finding the Irish name used in a Latin will. The bishop*s signature appears as — ** Da : Daren ;** it was witnessed by the following : —
Danyell Neyllan, Archydeacon (? of Kildare).
William Nelland.
John Nelane.
Derby Nellan.
Flanon (?) Neyllane.
Thomas Ochonchewer (? O'Connor).
It 18 cnriouB' to remark that not one of these five Neylftns spelt tbeii Buraame alike. The will was proved on the SI9tb at Jane, 1608. According to Ware's "Bishops," Dr. Neylan died on the 18th Alay (a. mistake for June), 1003, at Disert. He had been bishop for close on tvent; years, and was succeeded by a Iiondoner, William Pilsworth, formerly Vicar of Carbury and of St. David's, Naas. Cotton's "Fasti" makes the same mistake as to the month of the bishop's death.
W. FiTzG.
Antiquities in the Mobeoh at CiiONoowEa Wood Cou-eoe.
(Prom Drnwinipi bj- A. V. Michelmore.)
Addition to the List of County Kildare Htgh Sheriffs. 1646. Oliver Sutton, of Ricbardstown.
[Befer to the Lists in vol ii, pp. 258-266 ; voL iii, p. 68 and p. 266.]
W. FiTzG.
NOTES. 399
Additional Oil Paintings of Lord Edward FitzGerald.
Sir Arthur Vicars has kindly brought to my notice that there is a replica by Hamilton, similar to the Carton picture, of Lord Edward in the possession of Mrs. Paley (sister of Lord Bayleigh), of St. Catherine's Court, Bath. Mrs. Paley is a descendant of Lady Charlotte FitzGerald — daughter of James, 1st Duke of Leinster — who was created Baroness Bayleigh in 1821, and whose portrait is also in Mrs. Paley's possession.
Another similar oil painting of Lord Edward is at Holland House, London, and belongs to the Earl of Ilchester ; it has been reproduced in a recently published work called " The Life and Letters of Lady Sarah Lennox" (Lord Edward's aunt), by Lady Ilchester.
These two additional replicas by Hamilton bring the list of Lord Edward's portraits in oils up to eight in number.
W. FiTzG.
The Seals of the Corporation of Athy and of the
Klldare County Council.
On the following page are shown the Seal of the County Council and (for comparison) the Seals of the Borough and of the Town Commissioners of Athy.
When in 1899 County Councils were introduced into this country, the County Surveyor, Mr. Edward Glover, with the assistance of Mr. Bobert Cochrane, the Hon. Secretary of the Boyal Society of Antiquaries of Lreland, designed a seal on heraldic lines, which was submitted to, and approved of by, the County Council. {Vide Fig. 8.)
The device is intended to represent, on three shields, the arms of Leinster, and those of Naas and Athy (the present and former capitals of the county).
The upper shield bears the Province of Leinster arms — a harp. One of the lower shields bears a snake, representing Naas ; and the other is intended for a tower on a bridge, for Athy. The latter would have been better represented according to the original design, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.
Fig. 2 is the seal used by the Town Commissioners of Athy since the year 1875.
Fig. 1 was the ancient Seal of the Corporation of Athy as used in and before the year 1788. The earliest existing Borough Book of Athy commences with that year, and is now preserved at Carton. In it are impressed many prints of this seal.
E E
FIG 3.
! AtHY IND or THE KlIiDAItB CODNTT OoTTSCH^
NOTES. 40 1
The brasB matrix of this seal is also at Carton ; it was presented to the Doke of Leineter by the Town Conunissioners in 1876. As showu in Fig, 1, a tower ia placed on what is meant for a bridge, at) each end of which the FitzGerald flag: flies. The dexter shield bears the Earl of Eildare'a arms, and the sinister shield those of the Fieldings, Earls of Denbigh (viz. — argent, on a fesse azure, three lozenges or) who were the proprietors of the Manor of St. John's, on the right, or Queen's County, side of the Barrow.
W. FiTzG,
Note on two ancient Carved Stones now at Sherlockstown.
1. — The stone here represented is that mentioned by Lord Walter FitzGerald in the last number of the Joubnai.. Mr. Keely, c.o., of Sallins, who kindly presented it to me, together with the other stone represented below, informs me that both stones were bought by his uncle, the late Mr. Doyle, at on auction in the neighbourhood of Ballymore Eustace. Unfortunately, it is now impossible to trace farther where they came from. The three fienrs-de-lys on No. 1 are the arms of the Sherlocks of the County Kildare ; but Bir Arthur Vicars (Ulster) tells me that be has searched in vain for the arms on the sinister impalement. According to him, the oarving dates about early in the seventeenth century. He says : "The sinister coat loois hke: — 'Per less .... and . . . . in chief, a spur and leather . . , , (tinctures not described).'" The spur is a very rare charge. It occurs in the coat-of-amis of the Dalbiac family, London and Franoe, but with " an olive-tree eradicated and fnicted proper " in the base.
2. — Of the second Btoae Sir Artliur bb^s: — "As to the other coat, the cross is that of the Knights Hospitallers of Malta."
The Sculptured High Crosses of Ireland, Part II.
In the month of December last {1901) the Royal Irish Academy isaned, in their "Transactions" series of publications, the second part of the late Miss Margaret Stokes's great work on the sculptured High Crosses of Ireland.
This Number contains the Crosses of — Moone, County Eildare, DrumcIifF, County Sligo, Termonfechin, County Louth, and EiDamery, County Kilkenny.
This Part is an improvement on the former one, as, in addition to illustrations of Miss Stokes's worked-np aides of the Crosses, the same views, for comparison, are reproduced from untouched-up photographs. Whether this work will in time be continued is doubtful, as, though Miss Stokes left behind her plenty of finished material for illustrating other Crosses, yet her descriptions of, and remarks on, them are only fragmentary ; and it would be hard to name a single person who has the great experience and knowledge that she possessed for identifying and recognising the very puzzling subjects sculptured in many of the panels on the High Crosses.
The price of this Part is half a guinea, and it can be obtained from Hodges, Figgis, & Co., of Grafton Street.
JOURNAL
OF THE
Jlrclplogical jSacwtn of % Gountu of Ffilbart
AND
iSurrannbinji Distrids.
4-f
proceedings^
The Annual General Meeting of the Society was held on Wednesday, the 22nd January, 1902, in the Court House, Naas, kindly lent for the occasion by the High Sheriff of the County.
The Earl of Mayo, President of the Society, in the chair.
The following Members of the Council were present : — Rev. M. Devitt, Vice-President; Mr. Cooke-Trench, Canon Sherlock, Hon. Editor ; Mr. H. Hendrick-Aylmer, Hon. Treamrer; and Sir Arthur Vicars, Ulster, and Lord Walter FitzGerald, Hon. Secretaries.
In addition, the following Members, and Visitors introduced by Members, were present : —
Mr. Henry Morton Odium, Mrs. Cooke-Trench, Miss Oulshaw, Mr. and Mrs. George Wolfe, Mr. R. West Manders, Mr. and Mrs. Edmund Sweetman, The Dean of Kildare and Mrs. Cowell, Mr. J. Whiteside Dane, Lord Frederick FitzGerald, Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Synnott, General and Mrs. Weldon, Kev. William Elliott, Mr. and Mrs. S. J. Brown, Mr. P. A. Maguire, Mr. W. Staples, The Misses Sherlock, Rev. J. L. Jesson, Rev. S. Stewart, Mrs. Thunder, Mrs. Crelock, Mrs. O'Kelly, Mrs. Gaussen, Miss Manders, &c.
The Minutes of the previous General Meeting in February, 1901^ were read and confirmed, and signed by the Chairman.
Sir Arthur Vicars read the Beport of the Council for the year 1901, which was adopted on the motion of Mr. Nicholas J. Synnott, seconded by Mr. B. W. Manders.
F F
404 PROCEEDINGS OF THE
The Hon. Treasurer then read his Report on the financial condition of the Society, which was most satisfactory^ and it was adopted on the motion of Mr. Wolfe, seconded by Mr. Cooke-Trench.
The Earl of Drogheda and Mr. Cooke- Trench, being the retiring Members of the Council according to Bule YI, were re-elected.
The following were elected Members of the Society : — Major F. Carroll, The Archdeacon of Eildare, Mr. Henry M. Odlnm, Mr. Thomas W. Brooke, and Mr. A. A. Sbortt In addition, the following elections at the September Meeting were con- firmed : —Mr. Cecil Boche-Borrowes, Mr. Marmaduke Cramer Boberts, and Mr. Peirce G'Mahony,
Mr. B. W. Manders proposed, and Canon Sherlock seconded, the following resolution, which was passed : —
*' That in Bule V the word * six ' be omitted, and the word * seven ' be substituted for it."
Mr. Nicholas Synnott was unanimously elected to the Council of the Society, on the motion of the Bev. M. Devitt, v.p., seconded by Lord Walter FitzGerald.
The question of the locality of the next Excursion Meeting of the Society, and the date upon which it should be held, formed the subject of some discussion, and it was finally agreed upon in the following resolution, proposed by Lord Frederick FitzGerald, and seconded by Mr. Cooke-Trench, which was passed : —
**That the Excursion Meeting for the ensuing Session of the Society take place at Oughterard, Newcastle, Lyons, and district, early in September next.'*
Sir Arthur Vicars proposed the following resolution, which was seconded by Lord Walter FitzGerald, and carried by acclamation : —
*' The Members of the Kildare ArchsBoIogical Society beg to tender their thanks to the Kildare Hunt Club for kindly sanctioning, through its representative, the use by the Society of the Stand-house and pre- mises at Punchestown, on the occasion of the Excursion Meeting of the Society on 26th September, 1901."
A vote of thanks was proposed by the Dean of Eildare to Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Synnott for having kindly entertained the Society on the occasion of its recent visit to Fumess, and to Mr. Synnott for his interesting Paper on the locality, which was seconded by Sir Arthur Vicars, and unanimously passed.
COUNTY KILDARE ARCH/EOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 4OS
The followiDg Papers were read : —
"Notes on Kildare." By the Very Rev. the Dean of Eildare.
** Lettice, Baroness of Offaly, and her defence of Geashill Castle in 1642." By Lord Frederick FitzGerald.
''Some Further Notes on the Parish of Clane.*' By the Bey. Canon Sherlock.
" Carton." By Lord Walter FitzGerald.
A vote of thanksy proposed by Uev. William Elliott, and seconded by Mr. H. Hendrick-Aylmer, was unanimously passed to those who had kindly contributed Papers, and to the High Sheriff for the use of the Court House for the purposes of the Meeting.
Various objects of antiquarian interest were exhibited, among which may be mentioned the following, shown by Sir Arthur Vicars : — Two Irish armorial pavement tiles of the four- teenth century; illuminated initial letters on vellum, from a Psalter of the thirteenth century ; an old leather '' bottel " of the seventeenth century ; some specimens of old lipware of the sixteenth century, found during excavations connected with the Dublin Main Drainage Works; a wine-bottle of the seventeenth century, found in the vaults of Pierstown Castle in 1880, which was destroyed by Cromwell in 1650 ; quaint brass snuffers and stand of the seventeenth century ; two old clay wig-curlers of the seventeenth century; and a pair of spurs used for cock-fighting in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Mr. Synnott exhibited a wood engraving of the north front of Blessington House, now in ruins, dedicated to Lord Viscount Mountjoy, Baron Bamelton, which showed the huntsmen un- coupling the hounds for hunting, and which attracted much interest, as proof of the existence of a Hunt in the county, if not the Kildare Hunt Club itself, at so early a date as circa 1741-46.
The proceedings then terminated.
Report of Council for the Year 1901.
The Council of the Eildare ArchaBological Society have again to report to the Members that the progress of the Society hitherto has been fully maintained this past year. . There are now 160 Members on the Roll, of whom seventeen are Life Members.
Looking back over the ten years that the Society has now been in existence, they feel considerable satisfaction in the amount of work that the Eildare ArchaDological Society has
406 PROCEEDINGS OF THE
been able to do towards ^e elucidation of the history and antiquities of tl^e district over which the Society holds sway.
They regret to have to chronicle the death during the past year of some well-known Members and supporters of the Society. Dr. Darby, of Monastereyan, from time to time seht his quota of contributions to The Journal. One Paper on ^* Irish Place-Names and Local Folk-Lore/! another on '^Archaeo- logical Jottings/' and another on *' Core-alley Bath/' may be mentioned. Mr. Thoijaas Greene, of Millbrook^ was a keen supporter of the Society^ and hardly oyer, missed a Meeting. He contributed to The Journal in yerse " The Legend of Eilkea Castle." And, lastly, Mr. Frederick M. CaiToU, whose Paper on '* Moone Cross " most of us must remember. The Council feel specially indebted to him for the kind assistance they receiyed when carrying out the yery successful restoration of the fine Celtic cross situated at Moone Abbey.
The Annual General Meeting was held in Naas on the 20th February, 1901. They regret that this Meeting was not so well attended as usual ; but this fact was doubtless due to the necessity of postponing the original fixture by reason of the death of Her late Majesty, which sad eyent took place on the yery eye of the original date fixed for our Meeting.
The Excursion Meeting was held in September, Rathmore, Fumess, and district being the localities chosen. An excellent programme was proyided; but, unfortunately, for almost the first time since the foundation of the Society, our proyerbial luck of fine weather deserted us, and had it not been for the welcome shelter afforded by the Eildare Hunt Stand-house at . Punchestown, and the hospitable roof of our Member, Mr. Nicholas Synnott, those attending the Meeting would haye fared badly towiurds the latter part of the day. This was the first year, too, that the Excursion Meeting was fixed for late in September; and it may be a question for consideration whether we should not return to our former custom of holding the Excursion Meeting in future about the middle of the month of September. Putting the weather out of consideration, the Meeting was a decided success.
The Council feel sure that all Members will recognise the courtesy of the Eildare Hunt Club in permitting us to use the Stand-house at Punchestown on this occasion ; and in this connection they may mention that the President of the Society is engaged in collecting material illustratiye of the history of the Eildare Hunt; and they hope that all Members haying material of yalue for this purpose will place it at his disposal The Eildare Hunt is one of the oldest in the United Eingdom,
COUNTY KILDARE ARCH/EOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 407
and, fortunately, still flourishing; its history may, therefore, be considered to come within the scope of antiquarian re- search, for with its history is bound up much of the social life of the county in the past.
It is hoped that before long Pedigrees from the Inquisitions of the County Kildare, and that portion of Wicklow included in the scope of the Society, which are deposited in the Public Becord Office, Dublin, may appear in The Journal. These records contain invaluable information concerning the genea- logical history of the more ancient families of the cx)unty.
Two Members of the Council, the Earl of Drogheda and Mr. Cooke- Trench, retire from the Council by rotation, and, being eligible, offer themselves for re-election.
Signed on behalf of the Council,
Mayo, President.
Arthur Vicars, Ulster, \ Hon. Walter FitzGerald, J ^^r^aries.
Excursion Meeting, 1901.
The Annual Excursion Meeting took place on Wednesday, 25th September, 1901, at Rathmore, Furness, and district.
Sallius Station was the starting-point, to which the Members and their friends journeyed from the various points of the county and from Dublin. A short drive brought the party to Kerdiffs- town House, where portions of a sixteenth-century window lying in the yard and collected from two different portions of the property by the owner, were first inspected ; after which a short walk brought the party to the ruins of the church, which were described by Mr. Hendrick-Aylmer.
Proceeding to Johnstown Churchvard, a Paper on the Flatis- bury Monument, and the history of that family, was read by Sir Arthur Vicars.
Rathmore, the next place on the day's programme to be visited, occasioned a drive of some three miles; and here the attendance was considerably augmented. Most of those present clambered up the sides of the Moat, on the top of which Mr. Hendrick-Aylmer read an interesting Paper on the history of the Moat, which is considered one of the finest in Leinster.
408 PROCEEDINGS OF TFIE
Attention was drawn to the fact that the Society had made efforts to prevent the further demolition of this fine moat by reason of its being used for some years as a gravel-pit, and that the County Surveyor had informed the Society that he was powerless to prevent the course of destruction unless another gravel-pit, convenient for the road contractor's work, was allowed to be opened. Segrave's Castle, close by, was pointed out, and then the company descended, glad to escape the cold winds at such an elevation.
Another drive of some four miles brought the party to Punchestown Racecourse, where a luncheon was prepared in the Stand-house, kindly placed at the service of the Society by the Eildare Hunt Club.
The weather, which up to this point had been fair, though somewhat overcast, changed, and rain descended just when the company had fortunately reached the shelter of the luncheon- room. It had been arranged that a visit should be paid after luncheon to the Longstones of Punchestown, and to the church- yard of Tipper ; but, in consequence of the inclement weather, this part of the programme was abandoned, and all those present betook themselves to the Viceregal Stand, where, under shelter, they listened to an address by Lord Walter FitzGerald on the Longstones in the neighbourhood, and the history of the immediate district.
As the weather showed little signs of brightening, a drive had to be taken in the rain to Furness House, where all assem- bled in the spacious hall while Mr. Nicholas Synnott read a most interesting and emdite Paper on the history of the place, after which they were entertained at tea at the kind invitation of Mr. and Mrs. Synnott.
Some of the more courageous members of the company in- spected the ruins of Furness Church in the grounds, and all finally left for their respective trains at Naas, thus bringing to a close a most successful Excursion, in point of archsdological interest, although it was much marred by the adverse climatic conditions.
As the Eildare Archseological Society has always been ex- tremely fortunate in enjoying good weather for its excursions, which hitherto have always been held earlier in September, a general consensus of opinion was expressed that in future the Excursion Meetings should be fixed earlier in the month*
CraUNTY KILDARE A RCH/EO LOGICAL SOCIETY.
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4IO PROCEEDINGS OF THE
LIST OF HONORARY OFFICERS AND MEMBERS.
{CORRECTED TO Ut JULY, 1002.)
Ijrcstbtnt : THE EARL OF MAYO, P.O.
)9ic(-^rtdtbfnt : THE REV. MATTHEW DEVITT, S.J.
Council : (in order of election.)
THOMAS COOKE-TRENCH, ESQ., D.L. GEORGE MANSFIELD, ESQ., D.L. THE REV. EDWARD O'LEARY, P.P. LT.-COL. THOMAS J. DE BURGH, D.L. AMBROSE MORE-0'FERRALL, ESQ., D.L. THE EARL OF DROGHEDA. NICHOLAS J. SYNNOTT. ESQ.
Don. Srtasnrcr :
HANS HENDRICK-AYLMER, ESQ., Kerdiffstown, Sallins,
^on. ^ubitor: ALFRED A. WARMINGTON, ESQ., Munster and Leinbter Bank, Naas.
Don. Secrttarus :
SIR ARTHUR VICARS, C.V.O., F.S.A., UUUr, 44 Wellington Road, Dublin. LORD WALTER FITZGERALD, M.RLA., Kilkea Castle, Maganey.
Don. ®bitor :
THE REV. CANON SHERLOCK, M.A., Sheki^ckstown, Sallins.
COUNTY KILDARE ARCII/EOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 4II
ggtjembcrs:
[Officers are indicated by heavy type ; Life Members by an asterisk (*).]
Adams, Bev. Canon, Kill Rectory, Strafifan.
Archbold, Miss, Davidstown, Gastledermot.
Aylmer, Miss, Donadea Castle, Go. Kildare.
Aylmer, Algernon, Bathmore, Naas.
AYLMER, H. HENDRICK-, Hon, Trecunirer, Kerdiflfstown, SalUns.
^Barton, Hon. Mrs., Luttrellstown, Glonsilla. ^Barton, Bertram, Straffan House, Skraffan.
Beard, T., m.d., Glebe Crescent, Stirling.
Betham, Mrs., 9 Belgrave-square, Monkstown.
Blake, J. B., Loui Villa, Belmont-avenue, Donnybrook.
Bonham, Colonel J., Ballintaggart, Colbinstown, Co. Kildare.
Bourke, Lady Albreda, Boseboro*, Straffan.
Brennan, Bev. James, s.j., Beotor, Glongowes Wood College, Sallins.
Brooke, J. T.. Ardnaree, Ballina, Co. Mayo.
Brooke, Thomas W., Ardnaree, Ballina, Co. Mayo.
Brown, Stephen J., Ardoaien, Naas.
Burke, Very Bev. E., p.p., Bagenalstown, Co. Carlow. '^'Burtchaell, G. D., m.a., 6 St. Stephen's-green, Dublin.
Cane, Colonel Claude, St. Wolstan's, Celbridge. Carroll, Major Frederick, Moone Abbey, Moone. Chaplin, Bev. S. B. J., Leinster Lodge, Kildare. ^Clarke, Mrs., Athgoe Park, Hazlehatoh, Co. Dublin.
* (elements, Colonel, Killadoon, Celbridge.
* Clements, Henry J. B., D.L., Killadoon, Celbridge. Coady, D. P., m.d., Naas.
Cochrane, Robert, f.s.a., h.b.i.a., Hon. Secretary b.8.a.i., 17 Highiield-road,
Bathgar. CoUey, G. P. A, Mount Temple, Clontarf, Co. Dublin. Conmee, Rev. J. F., s.j., St. Francis Xavier*s, Upper Gardiner-street, Dublin. Coote, Stanley, V., Carrowcoe Park, Roscommon. Cowell, Very Bev. G. Y., Dean of Kildare, The Deanery, Kildare. Cruise, Francis, m.d., Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow. CuUen, Bev. John, Adm., Carlow. Culshaw, Miss, Johnstown, Straffan.
412 PROCEEDINGS OF THE
Daly, C, 25 Westmoreland-street, Dublin.
Dames, B. S. Longworth, 21 Herbert-street, Dublin.
Dane, J. Whiteside, Abbejfield, Naas.
Day, Bobert, F.8.A., h.r.i.a., Myrtle Hill House, Cork.
Dease, Colonel Sir Gerald, c.v.o., Celbridge Abbey, Celbridge.
DE BURGH, THOMAS J., Lt.-Col., d.l., Oldtown, Naas.
DEVITT, Rev. MATTHEW, s.j., MiUtown Park, Milltown, Co. Dublin.
DROQHEDA, THE EARL OF, Moore Abbey, Monasterevan.
Drogheda, The Countess of, Moore Abbey, Monasterevan.
Drury, Charles M., Ballinolea House, Baltinglass.
Dunne, Be v. John, c.o., Baltinglass, Co. Wioklow.
Dunne, Laurence, Dollardstown House, Athy.
Elliott, George Hall, Chief Librarian, Free Public Library, Belfast.
Elliott, Bev. William, The Manse, Naas.
Eustace, John G., Fern Bank, Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire.
Field, John, Eilcock.
fifrench, Bev. Canon, m.r.i.a., Ballyredmond House, Clonegal, Co. Carlow. *FitzGerald, Lady Eva, Kilkea Castle, Maganey, Co. Eildare. *FitzGerald, Lady Mabel, Kilkea Castle, Maganey, Co. Eildare. ^FitzGerald, Lady Nesta, Kilkea Castle, Maganey, Co. Kildare. *FitzGerald, Lord Frederick, Carton, Maynooth, Co. Kildare. *FitzGerald, Lord George, Kilkea Castle, Maganey, Co. Kildare.
FitzGerald, Lord Henry, 1 Sloane-court, London, S.W.
^FITZGERALD, LORD WALTER, m.b.la., Hon, Secretary^ Kilkea Castle, Maganey, Co. Kildare.
FitzGerald, Sir George, Bart., Killybegs, Sallins. *FitzMaurice, Arthur, Johnstown House, Carlow.
Fletcher, Bev. Lionel, The Bectory, Straffan.
Fogarty, Bev. M., Professor, The College, Maynooth.
Foley, Most Bev.Patrick, d.d., Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin, Braganza, Carlow.
Freeman, Francis J., Calverstown, KilcuUen.
Ghtnly, Bev. C. W., The Bectory, Castledermot, Co. Kildare.
Ghtrgan, Bight Bev. Monsignor Denis, d.d.. President of St. Patrick's College,
Maynooth. Garstin, J. Bibton, d.l.. f.s.a., m.r.i.a., Braganstown, Castlebellingham,
Co. Louth. Gkison, Bev. F. W., The Bectory, Maynooth.
Glover, Edward, 19 Prince Patrick-terrace, North Circular-road, Dublin. Geoghegan, Mrs., Bert, Athy.
Graham, Bev. C. I., Kildrought Parsonage, Celbridge. Greene, Colonel Bichard. Stoneylands, Dedham, Essex. Greene, Thomas W., Millbrook, Maganey.
COUNTY KILDARE ARCHiEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 413
Hade, Arthur, c.e., Carlow.
Hannon, J. A. , Prumplestown, Carlow.
Higginson, Lady, Connellmore, Newbridge.
Hopkins, Mrs., Blackball Castle, KilouUen, Co. Kildare.
Hobson, C. J., 323 West One Hundred and Twenty-fourth-street, New York.
Jesson, Bev. J. L., The Rectory, Bathangan.
Johnston, Bev. F. Boyd, The Beotory, Eilkea, Maganey.
Joyce, Patrick Weston, Lyre na Ghrena, Leinster-road, Rathmlnes, Dublin.
Kelly, Thomas, Castletown, Celbridge. Eeogh, Surgeon-Major T. B., Castleroe, Maganey, Co. Kildare. Kilkelly, John, ll.d., 46 Upper Mount-street, Dublin. Kirkpatrick, William, Donaoomper, Celbridge.
La Touohe, Mrs. John, Harristown, Brannoztown.
Long, Miss A F., Woodfield, KUcavan, Geashill, King's County.
Longfield, Bobert, 25 Clare-street, Dublin.
McCarthy, Bev. P., p.p., Ballymore-Eustace.
MacDonald, Rev. Walter, d.d., Librarian, The College, Maynooth.
M^Gee, Bev. S. B., The Rectory, Dunlavin.
Maguire, P. A., 2 Oldtown- terrace, Naas.
Mahony, George Gun, Kilmoma, b.s.o., Co. Kerry.
Manders, R. W., Castlesize, Sallins.
Manning, A. S., Bank House, Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow.
MANSFIELD, GEORGE, d.l., Morristown Lattin, Naas.
Mayo, Dowager Countess of, 20 Eaton-square, London, S.W.
MAYO, The EARL OF, p.c, Prmdent, Pahnerstown, Straffan.
Michelmore, A C, Clongowes Wood College, Sallins.
Minohin, F., Mooretown House, Kiltegan, Co. Wicklow.
MoUoy, William B., m.b.i.a.. Commissioner of National Education, 78 Kenil-
worth-square, Bathgar. Mooney, William, The Castle, Leizlip.
*Moran, His Eminence Cardinal, Sydney, N. S. Wales, Australia. Morrin, Bev. Thomas, p.p., Naas.
Murphy, The Right Rev. Monsignor Michael, p.p., Maryborough. Murphy, J. C, Osberstown House, Naas. Murphy, W. A., Osberstown House, Naas
Nolan, Rev. James, o.c, Kilmeade. Athy. Norman, G^rge, 12 Brock-street, Bath, England
414 PROCEEDINGS OF THE
O'Brien, The Lord, Lord Chief jQstice, Newlands, ClondaUdn.
O'Dea, Very Bev. Thomas, d.d., Vice-Presidezit, The College, Maynootb.
Odium, Henry M, Kllmoney, Bathangan. ♦O'FERRALL, AMBROSE MORE-, d.l., Ballyna, MoyvaUy.
O'Hanlon, Very Bev. John Canon, p.p., St. Mary's Church, Star of the Sea, Irishtown, Dublin.
O'Kelly, E. P., Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow.
O'Kelly, Bev. Joseph, o.p.. College of St. Thomas, Newbridge.
O'Kelly, Bobert, h.»., Landenstown, Sallins. ♦CLEARY, Rev. E., p.p., Ballyna, Moyvally.
O'Leary, Bev. Patrick, d.d. , The College, Maynooth.
O'Mahony, Peirce, Grange Con, Co. Wicklow.
Palmer, Charles Colley, d.l., Bahan, Edenderry. Ponsonby, Hon. Gerald, 3 Stratford-place, London, W. Ponsonby, Lady Maria, 3 Stratford-place, London, W. Pratt, Mrs., Glenheste, Manor-Eilbride, Co. Dublin.
Beynell, Bev. W., b.d., m.b.ijl., 22 Eccles- street, Dublin.
Boberts, Marmaduke Cramer, Sallymount, Brannoxtown.
Bobinson, John, m.d., Johnstown -bridge, Co. Kildare.
Boper, C. E. A., B.ii., 55 Leeson-park, Dublin.
Byan, Very Bev. John C, o.p., College of St. Thomas of Aquin, Newbridge.
Bynd, Major B. F., Blackball, Sallins.
Shackleton, Frank B., Ulster's Office, Dublin Castle.
SHERLOCK, Rev. Canon, Hon, Editor ^ Sherlockstown, Sallins.
Shortt, A. A., Main Street, ^aas.
Skuse, Bev. Bichard D., Ballykean Beotory, Portarlington.
Somerville-Large, Bev. W., CarnalwayBectory, Eilcullen.
Staples, William, Naas.
Sweetman, E., Longtown, Sallins.
Sweetman, Mrs., Longtown, Sallins.
Swinton, The Hon. Mrs., 82 Cadogan -place, London, W.
SYNNOTT, NICHOLAS J., Furness, Naas.
Taylor, Mark, Golden Fort, Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow.
Torrens, The Ven. Joseph, Archdeacon of Kildarct St. David's Bectory, Naas.
TRENCH, THOMAS COOKE-, i).l., Millicent, Sallins.
Trench, Mrs. Cooke-, Millicent, Sallins.
Tynan, The Bight Bev. Monsignor Thomas, p.p., Newbridge.
Tyrrell, Garrett C, Ballinderry House, Carbury, Co. Eildare.
VICARS, SIR ARTHUR, c.v.o., f.8.a., Ulster King-of-Arms, Hon, Secretary 44 Wellington -road, Dublin.
•
Vigors, Colonel P. D., HoUoden, Bagenalstown, Co. Carlow.
COUNTY KILDARE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 4IS
Wall, Gk>lonel J., Knockareagh, Grange Con, Co. Wioklow.
Wall, Mrs., Knockareagh, Grange Con, Ck). Wioklow.
Walsh, Rev. Martin, p.p., Castledermot, Co. Eildare.
WARMINQTON, ALFRED A., Hon. Auditor, Monster and Leinster Bank, Naas.
Weldon, General, Forenaughts, Naas.
Weldon, Captain Sir Anthony A., Bart., Kilmorony, Athy.
Weldon, Dowager Lady, Kilmorony, Athy.
White, W. Grove, 18 Upper Ormond-quay, Dublin.
Wilson, Colonel W. F., Sanningwell, Temple Gardens, Palmerston-road,
Dublin. Wilson, Miss B. Dupr6, Coolcarrigan, Kilcook. Wolfe, G^rge, Bishopsland, Ballympre-rEustace, Naas. . WooUcombe, Robert L., lud., m.r.i.a., 14 Waterloo-road, Dublin. *Wright, E. Percival, m.a., u.d., 5 Trinity College, Dublin.
4l6 PROCEEDINGS OF THE
The following Librariet and Societiet alto receive The Journal : —
The Editor, *' Ulster Journal of ArohaBology," Ardrie, Belfast
The Worcester Diocesan Architectural and Aroheological Society.
The Waterford and South-East of Ireland Archieologioal Society.
The Society of Antiquaries of London.
The Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire.
The Koyal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, 6 St. Stephen*s-green, Dublin.
The Royal Irish Academy, 19 Dawson-street, Dublin.
The Library, Trinity College, Dublin.
The National Library of Ireland, Kildare-street, Dublin.
The Galway Archeological and Historical Society.
Le Biblioth6caire, Soci6t4 des Bollandlstes, 14 Bue des Ursulines, Bruxelles, Belgium.
The British Museum, London.
The Advocates' Library, Edinburgh.
The Bodleian Library, Oxford.
The University Library, Cambridge.
COUNTY KILDARE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 417
RULES.
I. That this Society be called *' The Coanty Kildare Arohsologlcal Society."
XL That the purpose of the Society be the promotion of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and objects of interest in the county and sur- rounding districts.
in. That the Society consist of a President, Vice-President, Council, Hon. Treasurer, two Hon. Secretaries, and Members. Ladies are eligible for Membership.
IV. That the names of ladies and gentlemen desiring to become Members of the Society shall be submitted, together with the names of their proposers and seconders, to the Council, and, if approved by them, shall then be sub- mitted to the next Meeting of the Society for Election.
V. That the affairs of the Society be managed by the President, Vice- President, Hon. Treasurer, and Hon. Secretaries, together with a Council of seven Members. That for ordinary business two shall form a quorum ; but any matter upon which a difference of opinion arises shall be reserved for another meeting, in which three shall form a quorum.
VI. That two Members of the Council shall retire by rotation each year, but shall be eligible for re-election.
VII. That Members pay an Annual Subscription of Ten Shillings (due on the Ist of January), and that the payment of £5 shall constitute a Life Member.
Vni. That Meetings of the Society be held not less than twice in each year, one Meeting being an excursion to some place of archieological interest in the district.
IX. That at the first Meeting of the Society in each year the Hon. Trea- surer shall furnish a balance-sheet.
X. That a Journal of the Society be published annually, containing the Proceedings and a column for local Notes and Queries, which shall be sub- mitted to the Council for their approval.
XL That the Meetings of the year be fixed by the Council, due notice of the dates of the Meetings being given to Members.
XII. That Members be at liberty to introduce visitors at the Meetings of the Society.
XIU. That no Member shall receive The Joubnal whose Subscription for the previous year has not been paid.
LeTTICE, BlHONES
C 419 )
LETTICE, BARONESS OF OFFAL Y, AND THE SIEGE OF HER CASTLE OF GEASHILL, 1642.^
By lord FREDERICK FITZGERALD. [Read at the January Meeting, 1902.]
MOST of the following acoonnt has been taken from the " Earls of Kildare/' a History of the FitzGeralds, by Charles William, 4th Duke of Leinster.
Gerald, Lord Offaly, was the eldest son of Gerald, 11th Earl of Kildare. He died daring the lifetime of his father. He had an only daughter, Lettioe, who married Sir Robert Digby, of Coles Hill, Warwickshire. Lady Digby laid claim to the Barony of 0£faly, and the estates of her grandfather, the 11th Earl, as heir-general. This was decided against her, and, in order to settle the differences, James I created her Baroness of Offaly for life, and awarded her and her heirs the manor of Geashill and the lands of the monastery of Killeigh, comprising the whole Barony of Geashill in the King's County, under the Great Seal of England, dated 11th July, 1619. Sir Robert Digby died in 1618.
At the outbreak of the Rebellion of 1641 she was residing at her Castle of Geashill, and was besieged there by the 0*Dempseys and others in 1642. The casUe was difficult of access, being surrounded by bogs and woods.
Before making the assault^ Henry O'Dempsey, who was the brother of Lord Clanmalier, and other leaders, sent her the following summons : —
'* Honourable,
** We, His Maiesty^s loyal subjects, at the present employed in his Highness' service for the sacking of this your castle, you are therefore to deliver unto us the free possession of the said castle, promise faithfully that your ladyship together with the rest within your said castle 'resiant' shall have a reasonable composition ; otherwise, upon the non-yielding of the castle, we do assure you, that we will bum the whole town, kill all the Protestants, and spare neither man, woman, nor child, upon the taking of the castle by compulsion. Consider, Madam, of this our offer, and impute not the blame of your own folly unto us. Think not that we brag. Your Ladyship, upon submission, shall have a safe convoy to
' The illustrations to this Paper have been presented to The Journal by Lord Frederick FitsGerald .
a a
420 LETTICE, BARONESS OF OFFALY, AND THE
secure you from the hands of your enemies, and to lead you whither yon please. A speedy reply is desired, with all expedition, and thus we surcease.
*' (Signed) Henry Dempsie. Charles Dempsie.
Andrew FitzlPatrick. Conn Dempsie.
Phelim Dempsie. James McDonnell. John Vicars.
**To the Honourable and thrice virtuous Lady, the Lady Digby, these give.''
To this summons Lady Offaly returned the foUowiDg answer : —
*' I received your letter, wherein you threaten to sack this my caatle, by his Majesty's authority. I have ever been a loyal subject, and a good neighbour among you, and therefore cannot but wonder at such an assault. I thank you for your offer of a convoy, wherein I hold little safety, and therefore my resolution is, that, being free from offending his Majesty, or doing wrong to any of you, I will live and die innocently, and will do the best to defend mv own, leaving the issue to God. And though I have been and still am desirous to avoid the shedding of Christian blood, yet, being provoked, your threats shall no wit dismay me.
** (Signed) Lbtticb Offaly.
'* To my cousin Henry Dempsie, and the rest."
Not being able to take the castle by assault, they retired* They then collected, it is said, 140 pots and pans, which an Irishman from Athboy cast into a cannon, having smelted it three times before he succeeded in bringing it to perfection. After two months Lord Glanmalier brought this great gun to Geashill, and then sent the following summons to Lady Oflfaly :—
** Noble Madam,
*' It was never my intention to offer you any injury before you were
E leased to begin with me, for it is well known if I were so disposed, you ad not been by this time at Geashill ; as I find you are not sensible of the courtesies I always expressed unto you, since the beginning of this commotion. However, I did not thirst after revenge, but out of my loving and wonted respect still towards you, I am pleased and desirous to give you fair quarter, if you please to accept thereof, both for yourself, children, and grandchildren, and likewise for your goods. And I will undertake to send a safe convoy with you and them, either to Dublin or to any other of the next adjoinmg garrisons, either of which to be at your own election. And if you be not pleased to accept of this offer, I hope you will not impute the blame unto me, if you be not fairly dealt withal, for I expect to have the command of your house, before I stir from
■ ^^m^
•^•^m
I.
■^^
:!LANMALIERR
Kf^dia or Giles. =
(?) Ellinor.
Ross McGeogbepT&n,
Bon of Conly McGeoghe-
gan, of MoycasheU Co. West-
meath.
SI. 10 Oct., 1680.
Peter Sarsfleld,
of Tally, Co. KUdare.
ob. ante 1661.
1 I Luiie.
11 April, 1033.
(8) Gerald " Oge " FitaGerald, of Timoge, Queeu'8 Coanty.
Outlawed in 1611.
lary.
SIEGE OF HEK CASTLE OF GEASHILL, 1642. 42 1
hence. And if you please to send any of your gentlemen of your house to me, I am desirous to confer thereof at large. And so expecting your speedy answer, I rest your loving cousin,
"(Signed) Lewis Glanmalbboe.
' ' P.S. — Madam, There are other gentlemen now in this town whose names are hereunto subscribed, who do join and unite themselves in this mine offer unto you.
(Signed) '^ Lewis Glanmaleroe. Art 0*Molloy.
Henry Dempsie. Edward Connor.
Charles Connor. Daniel Doyle." John M*Wmiam.
To this letter she sent the following answer : —
" My Lord,
''I little expected such a salute from a kinsman, whom I have ever respected, you oeing not ignorant of the great damages I have received from your followers of Glanmaleroe, so as you can't but know in your own conscience, that I am innocent of doing you any injury, unless you count it an injury for my people to bring back a small quantity of mv own goods, when they found tnem, and with them some others of such men, as have done me all the injury they can devise, as may appear by their own letter. I was offered a convoy by those that formerly besieged me, and I hope you have more honour than to follow their example, by seeking her ruin, who never wronged you. However I am still of the same mind, and can think no place safer than my own house, wherein if I perish by your means, the guilt will light on you, and I doubt not, but I shall receive a crown of martyrdom, dying innocently. God, I trust, will take a poor widow into his protection from all those which without cause are risen up against me.
** Your poor kinswoman,
''(Signed) Lettick Offaly.
"P.S. —If the conference you desire do but concern the contents of this letter, I think this answer will give you full satisfaction, and I hope you will withdraw your hand, and show your power in more noble actions."
On receiving this answer. Lord Clanmalier discharged the cannon against the castle ; but at the first shot it burst. His men, however, continued the attack with their mnskets until evening. As the Baroness was looking out of a window, a shot happened tp strike the wall beside her. She immediately wiped the spot with her handkerchief, showing bow little she cared for the attempts of the assailants. As soon as it was dark the besiegers retreated^ carrying off the burst gun,
422 LETTICE, BARONESS OF OFFALY, AND THE
Before bis departure, Lord Clanmalier wrote the foUowiDg letter : —
" Madam,
'* I received your letter, and am still tender of your good and welfare, though you give no credit thereunto. And whereas, you do understand by relation, that my piece of ordnance did not prosper ; I believe you will be sensible of the loss and hazard you are likely to sustain thereby, unless you will be better advised to accept the kind offer which I men- tioned in my last letter unto you in the morning ; if not, expect no further favour at my hands, and so I rest your Ladyship*s loving cousin,
'* (Signed) Lewis Glanmalesoe.
'*To my noble cousin the Lady Lettice, ** Baroness of Offaly."
To this letter she returned answer by one of her men, who was kept as a prisoner by the enemy : —
** My Lord,
*^ Your second summons I have received, and shall be glad to find you tender of my good. For the piece of ordnance, I never disputed how it prospered, presuming you would rather make use of it for your own defence or against enemies, than to try your strength against a poor widow of your own blood. But since you have bent it against me, let the blood which shall be shed, be required at their hands that seek it For my part, my conscience tells me that I am innocent ; and wishing you so too, I rest your cousin,
"(Signed) Lettice Opfaly."
When threatened with this second attack, she wrote to the Earl of Ormonde as follows, on the 19th January, 1641-2 : —
** My very good Lo.
** In my extremity I have formerly made known to your Lordship by my leters the miserable condition, wherein I then was, being besieged by the Dempsis 16 days togeather, so as if God of his mercy Imd not sent a great glut of rayn we had perished for want of water, at which time they sent me this leter, the copy whereof I send your lordship hearwith, wherby you may see ther insolency and blody resolution which heatherto only God hath prevented (they hav taken all my sheep cateU and horses and set fier of all my winter provision for fiering) and now I remayn as a prisner within thes walles which they threten to bater about my ears, all which extremitys God willing I am resolved to sufer rather than to fall into ther hands that have no sence ether of honner or honesty. Hoping you Lo, and the Lord Justices (to whom I have writen severall times but I fear my leters have bin intersepted) will be pleased to take into your noble considerations my miserable estate, and to send relief in time (for to whom should I make my complaynt if not to your Lordship whos^ inat^
SIEGE OF HER CASTLE OF GEASHILL, 1642. 423
noblenea I know oannot but pity a, lady in diatroa, and in charity send releef to a poor widow eapetiaUy hnveing forces at your ooinmand) which makes me implore your ayd, pardon uiy importunity which is enforced by the necenaity of
"MyLo.
" Your Lo^ affectionat and humble aervant (Signed) "Lbticb Off*ly.
" Goashill this 10 of January 1B41 " For the Earla of Ormond " My yerie good Lord these " humbly."
LeTTICE, BiROMBSS 0? OrriLI.
(FTom a Miuiature M CarUin.)
At this time Sidney, Viscount Lisle, LienL-General of the Horse in Ireland, and son of the Lord Lieutenant, the Earl of Leicester, landed in Ireland, and, hearing that Lady Offaly was besieged undertook to relieve her. He was accompftnied by Sir Charles Coole, with 120 foot and 300 horse. He accom- plished the relief without much difficulty, the enemy not danug to oppose his approach in force, and only Bkirmiahmg from the bocs as they adyanced. The Castle being supplied with provi- - „ A -itTnn r.a/lv OFTniv chose to remain in it. Beins.
DOCS as mev aaYBnucu. -i"° v-»^..- r. — rr_- . - r .
sions and ammunition, Lady Offaiy choae to remain in it. Bemg, however further menaced by Charles 0 Dempaey, she was relieved bv Sir Richard GreenviUe in October, 1642 ; after which she retired to England to Coles HiU, where she died on 1st December,
Bntke, in his " Dormant and Extinct Peerage," states that
424 LETTICE, BARONESS OF OFFAL Y.
Lewis 0*Demp867 ^^^ ^^^ Viscount Clanmalier; his mother was of the house of FitzGerald of Lackagh, of whioh there is an account in Vol. i of our Journal. This Lord Clanmalier was attainted for the part he took in the Rebellion of 1641, and his son Maximilian became the 8rd and last Viscount; and there being no issue, the title became extinct
Burke adds: — " Dr. O'Donovan ('Annals of the Four Masters') states that the O'Dempseys have fsillen altogether from their high estate, and can now only be traced among the fanners and peasantry of L*eland.*' A portion of the old Castle of Geashill still exists.
Lord Walter FitzGerald, in his Paper in Vol. i of Thb Journal, on '' The Ancient Territories out of which the present County Eildare was formed,*' under the title of Offaly, states that it comprises the present Baronies of East and West Offaly, in the County Eildare ; those of Upper and Lower Philipstown, Geashill, Warrenstown, and Goolestown, in the King's County ; Portnahinch and Tinnahinch, in the Queen's County.
This territory belonged to the O'Gonors Faly (so called to distinguish them from the O'Conors of Gonnaught). The portion now East and West Offaly was taken from them soon after the Norman invasion by t^e FitzGeralds.
The O'Conors remained in great strength on their portion until the reign of Philip and Mary, when they were dispossessed, and the O'Dempseys (a sub-tribe of the O'Conors) became the more powerful, and remained so until the Revolution of 1688.
In the ancient " Ui Failghe " one of the sub-districts was Clann Maolughra, or Clanmaliere, the O'Dempsey territory, from which they took the titte of Viscount. The sub-district extended on both sides of the River Barrow, and comprised the present Barony of Upper Philipstown, in the King's County, and that of Portnahinch, in the Queen's County.
NoTB. — Richard S. Reeves, of Rosedale, Shankill, County Dublin, informed me that his family is descended in the female line from Sir Terence O'Dempsey, 1st Viscount Clanmalier, whose eldest son. Colonel Owen O'Dempsey, married Mary Nugent, daughter of Lord Delvin. Their daughter Elinor married Robert Reeves, the ancestor of fiichard S. Reeves. This marriage is mentioned in Burke's '^ Dormant and Extinct Peerage," and Burke's " Landed Gentry." R S. Reeves has a fine Pedigree showing the descent of the chiefs of the O'Dempseys, until the line bcKDame extinct
C 425 )
THE FITZGERALDS OF BALLYSHANNON {CO. KILDARE), AND THEIR SUCCESSORS THERE A T.
By lord WALTER FITZGERALD.
[Read at Naas, on the 24th January, 1900.]
BALLYSHANNON lies five miles to the south-east of the Town of Kildare, in the Barony of West 0£faly.
The original form of the name, as given in '^ The Annals of the Four Masters/' was '^ Bel-atha-Seanaigh/' meaning '^ the moath of Shannagh's^ ford'' (Joyce). A far more ancient name of the place was Ocha orUcha (O'Donovan). Until quite recent times the name was written '' Ballysonan/' The County Donegal, too, can boast of a Ballyshannon, in which lay a fort of great strategic importance in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and which largely figures in the wars of those times.
The earliest mention of our Ballyshannon is given in '^ The Annals of the Four Masters " thus : —
*^ The age of the World 3579 (= b.c. 1621). Conmael, son of Emer, having been thirty years in the Sovereignty of Ireland, fell in the battle of Emania (now the Navan fort near Armagh) ; by him was fought the battle of Ucha."
The only other mention of the place in the Annals is in A.D. 7S8 ; it reads as follows : —
*'The age of Christ 733. The fourth year of Aedh Allan,' son of Fearghal, son of Maelduin, in the Sovereignty of Ireland. Aedh Allan, Kinff of Ireland, assembled the forces of the Leath Chuinn (i.e., the northern half of Ireland) to proceed into Leinster, and he arrived at Ath-Seanaith.' The Leinstermen collected the greatest number they were able, to defend their risht against him. A fierce battle was fought between them. The King, Aedh Allan himself, went into the battle ; and bloodily and heroically was the battle fousht between them both. Heroes were slaughtered, and bodies were mutilated. Aedh Allan and Aedh, son of Colgan, King of Leinster, met each other in single combat; and Aedh, son of Colgan, was slain by Aedh Allan. The Leinstermen were killed, slaughtered, cut off, and dreadfully exterminated in this battle, so that there escaped of them but a small remnant and a few
'A man's name.
'Pronounced "Ay" and Anglicised to "Hugh.** He was slain in battle near Kells, in the County Meath, in 738.
' AlvM Bally atha Seanaigh, Ballyshannon, Co. Kildare.
426 FITZGERALDS OF BALLYSHANNON (KILDARE),
fugitives. The following were the leaders and chieftains of the Leinster- men who fell, namely : Aedh, son of Colgan, King of Ui-Ceinnsealaigh ; ' Bran Bog, son of Morchadh, the second f ing who was over the Leinster- men ; Feaighus, son of Maenach, and Dubhdacrich, two lords of Fotharta ;* the son of Ua Ceallaigh ; the son of Train ; Fiangalach Ua Maeleaith-gin ; Conall Ua Aithechdai ; the four sons of Flann Ua Gonehaile ; Eladhach Ua Maeluidhir;' and many others, whom it would be tedious to enumerate."
" The people of Leath-Chuinn were joyous after this victozy, for they had wreaked their vengeance and their animosity on the Leinstermen. Nine thousand was the number of them that were slain, as is said in these verses : —
** From the battle of Uchbadh the Great, in which a havoc of the Fir Feine
[i.e., the farmers] was made, There is not known on the fair sandy soil the posterity of any Leinster-
man in Ireland. Nine thousand there fell in the battle of Uchbhadh with vehemence. Of the Army of Leinster, sharp wounding, great carnage of the Fir-
Feini.
Aedh Allan sang : —
The Aedh in the clay, the King in the churchyard. The beloved pure dove, with Ciaran at Cluain.^
Samhthann^ sang— before the battle: —
If the two Aedhs meet, it will be very difficult to separate them, To me it will be grievous if Aedh, son of Colgan, fall by Aedh, son of Fearghal.**
From this time till long after the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland^ no farther mention of Ballyshannon occurs in the Annals or Histories of this country.
At what period it came into the possession of the Earls of Eildare is not known ; but it belonged to them at any rate in the latter half of the fourteenth century, as is proved by a copy of a grant in a manuscript volume at Carton called ''Leinster Papers^" wherein it is stated that John Route, priest, handed over to Gerald fitzMaurice FitzGerald, 6th Eari of Eildare, all the
^ A territory formerly comprising the Co. Wexford and portions of the Counties Carlow and Wicklow.
' The two Fotharta were at this period Fotharta-Ua-Nuallain (or Forth O'Nolan), in the Co. Carlow ; and Fotharta-an-chaim, now the Barony of Forth, in the County Wexford.
* Ua Maeluidhir, i.e., O'Moyleer, was probably the chief of Sil Maeluidhir, now the Barony of Shelmalier, in the County Wexford.
* St. Kieran was the Patron Saint of Clonmacnoise ; his festival is on the 9th of September.
'She was the Virgin- Saint of Clonbroney, Co. Longford, and died on the 19th of December, 739.
I.
^ FITZG.J
Continned from
Sir GeraUl mac Shaim FitzG«rald, Knt.,
of Cloncnrry, Blackwood, and Ballyshannon^
on Pedifinree I.
James PitzCeraid, =
of Ballyshannon and Blaokwood.
'Died between 1661 & 1668.
raid, Idare.
.427.
= M4
I. Genet Plnnket, d. of Robert, 6th Baron of Dunsany.
2. Catherine Eufitace, d. of Thomas, 1st Viscount Baltinglass.
Sbann ] of Laragh,
i
I Sir Pierce PltzCerald, Knt.,
of Ballyshannon and Blackwood.
Slain in Aidreigh Oastle, 17th March, 1688.
Ellinor FitzGerald,
d, of Sir Maurice FitzGerald, Knt.
(ob. 1676), of Laokagh,
Go. Kildare.
Slain at Ardreigh Castle, 17th March, 1603.
James FitzGer
Sir James PltzCerald, Knt.,
of Ballyshannon and Blaokwood.
ob. Mth April, 1637, rot 74. Burd. at Ballyshannon.
= Ellinor Luttrell, d. of Thomas Luttrell of Luttrellstown, Co. Dublin.
Garrett PltzCerald =
ob. ▼. p. ante 1627.
k.
d. ( ofDri
SOD of I
of
Col. Pierce PitzGer
of Ballyshannon ; also called '^ Mac Thon
Outlawed in 1641.
Burd. in
iiiiiii
Cathenne =
Richard Butler, of Ballyoile
EUen
EUioe
I
James Wogan,
of Raihcoffey,
Go. Kildare.
Toite.
Grany =: John Uussey,
of Inch.
tierine O'Dtinne, ige**oge" O'Dunne, ^gan, Queen's Co., 3f of hJs Nation.
Garrett.
Rose = Sir William Bermingham,
I of DuDfierth, Go. Kildare. Ob. ante 1546. f 1st Baron of Garbury.
Ob. 17th July, 1548.
I
EUinor
s Bamaby Sherlock.
Anne
= Murrongh O'Melaghlin.
AND THEIR SUCCESSORS THEREAT. 427
towns, lands, and tenements, &c., in BaUysonan, Miltown, Danene, Grages, and Walterston. This grant is dated the 31st March, 1395. These lands at that time were probably held in tmst by Father Ronte for the Earl.
On the 24th June, 1428, Thomas, Bishop of Ossory and Treasurer of Ireland, was ordered by the King to appoint John Drew and John Crone receivers over Ballysonane, which was then in the King's hands, owing to the debts of Gerald, the 5th Earl, deceased.^
Amongst the Exchequer Rolls* is a grant of Ballyshannon in 1498 by Gerald, 8th Earl of Kildare, to Gerald fitzJohn fitzWilliam fitzThomas FitzGerald (which last-named Thomas I believe to have been a son of Thomas, a younger son of Maurice, 4th Earl of Kildare), in whose family it remained till forfeited by Colonel Peirce FitzGerald (also called *' MacThomas " in contemporary Histories), who joined the Confederates in the Bebellion of 1641.
Sir Gerald fitzJohn FitzGerald, Knt, to whom Ballyshannon was granted in 1498, had four years previously obtained a lease of three messuages and 180 acres in Croboy, County Meath, from Christopher Linch of the Knock' (now Summer-hill, Co. Meath). He succeeded his father at Cloncurry, in the County Kildare. To distinguish him from other Geraldines with the same Christian name, he is styled in various documents as — " Gerald Gerott, Shane ys sonne," " Sir Gerald Shaneson,*' or " Sir Gerald macShane, K\/* and '* Sir Gerald macShaun FitzGerald, K^, of Cloncurry."
In 1532 a pardon for intinision was, on the 10th of November, granted to him, wherein he is called "Sir Gerald fitzJohn, otherwise McShane, of the Geraldines of Cloncurry.*' His wife Margaret is included in the pardon, because, after the death of her husband, Simon Petit, the King's tenant of MuUingar and Irishtown, she married Edmund Tuite, tenant of the King's manor of Molenly, and after his death she married a third time with the said Sir Gerald fitzJohn, not having obtained the neces- sary licence from the Crown.^ Sir Gerald appears to have been twice previously married : — First, to Grania, daughter of Garrett Kavanagh, of Garryhill, Co. Carlow ; second, to Catherine, daughter of Oliver Plunket, of Ballylogher, Co. Meath.
His death took place in either 1533 or 1534, and, among a
' P. 264 b, '*Cal. Caiic. Rot Hib."
« ** Index of Ex. Rolls, Record Office, Dublin."
' Co. Dublin Ex. Inqn.
^ Morrin's ** Calendar of Close Rolls," vol. i, p. 4.
428 FITZGERALDS OF BALLYSHANNON (KILDARE),
numerous issue, he had a son James FitzGerald who succeeded him at Ballyshannon.
The first mention of this James FitzGerald that I have come across is in 1584. In that year Dayid Sutton, of Conall and of Castletown-Eildroght (Celbridge), brought charges against Oerald 9th Earl of Eildare of misgovemment while Lord Depaty of Ireland. One complaint was that he did not punish his kinsmen —
*' James FitzGerald, of Ballysonnan, and his brother, who are gpreat suocourers of the thieves of Leix [i.e., the O'Mores], and his brother Piers, who leadeth them through the country to steal ; and the theft to be taken the first night to the E^ackwood, and in the second night to Ballysonnan, and the third night to Leze (? Lea Castle, in the Queen's County), and so from place to plfM3e of their own.** '
In 1688 he, together with Peter or Pierce FitzGerald, late of the Great Grrange by Gloncurry ; Maurice '* baccagh " (i.e., the lame) FitzGerald ; and Edmond Asbold of Maynooth, servant of Lord Leonard Gray, were all indicted for instigating Eedagh O'More, of Stradbally, Shaun McGoyn, of Eildare, and Neal O'Lalor, of Dysart, Gent., to steal cows and horses from the Earl of Ormond and Alexander fitzTurlough, of the Great Grange.'
In the list of those who were examined and gave evidence in 1540 against Lord Leonard Grey, late Lord Deputy of Ireland, appears the name of James FitzGerald of Ballisonan.'
In 1549 his name, together with '^Oliver fitzPiers, of Ballisonan, Richard oge fitzRichanl [? FitzGerald], of Gurduffe,*' County Eildare, are included in a pardon ; but what their crime was is not stated.^
In 1557 and 1560 he was commissioned to the Peace ; and in 1561 Sir Roland Eustace, Viscount of Baltinglass ; Alexander Graik, Bishop of Eildare ; Sir John Alen, Ent., of Alen's Court (St. Wolstan's) ; Sir Francis Harbert, of Ballincutland (Coghlans- town), Ent.; Francis Cosby, Sheriff of the County ; Sir Maurice FitzGerald, Ent., of Lackagh ; Henry CoUey, of Castle Carbury ; Nicholas Wogan, of Rathcoffy ; Thomas Alen,of Eilheele (Eilteel); and James FitzGerald, of Ballisonan, Esquires, were Commis- sioned to be Justices of the Peace for the County Eildare, during the absence of the Lord Deputy in the North, against Shawn
* P. 166 of the 1870 Annuazy of the Royal Society of Antiquaries, Ireland.
' HamQton*8 '* Calendar of State Papers.^*
■Brewer's ** Calendar of Carew ManuscriptB," p. 171.
^Morrin's <* Calendar of Patent Rolls,*' vol. i, p. 174.
AND THEIR SUCCESSORS THEREAT. 429
O'Neill. Their duties were to take masters and arrays of the inhabitants, to cess them for the defence of the country, to punish the law-breakers with fines and imprisonments, to treat with enemies and rebels, and to make terms with them which would be effective during the continuance of the Commission, which itself would terminate on the return of the Lord Deputy/
As this is the latest mention made of James FitzGerald, his death may have taken place about this time. According to Archdall's Lodge, he was twice married: — first, to Genet Plunket, daughter of Robert, 6th Baron of Dnnsany ; ^ secondly, to Cathe- rine Eustace, daughter of Thomas, 1st Viscount of Baltinglass.'
His eldest son was Sir Pierce FitzGerald, Knt., of Bally- shannon and Blackwood (near Downings, Co. Eildare).
Sir Pierce was High Sheriff of the County Eildare in the years 1578, 1674, 1678, and 1681. In 1668 and 1670 he was pardoned for offences which are not given ; in the former he is styled Piers fitz James of Ballisonane, ^ent., and in the latter as of Grangemellon (near Athy). Further pardons of him appear in the years 1674, 1676, 1678, and 1691.^ Pardons in these times were generally bought from the Crown ; the most common crimes were rebellion, .intercourse with the Irish, alienations of land, marrying an heiress or widow without sanction from the Crown, &c., &c.
In 1671 Gerald, Earl of Eildare, and Sir Pierce had Commis- sions to execute martial law in the county, with power to search out all disorders committed in it, and on finding any persons to be rebels, felons, enemies, or notorious evil-doers, to punish them with death or otherwise. In the same category were included harpers, rhymers, bards, idlemen or '' stokers,'' vagabonds, and such horse-boys as had not their master's bill to show whose men they were.*
Further Commissions to him either to execute martial law, or to array and muster the inhabitants of the county, were issued in 1676, 1681, 1683, and 1684.
In addition to his manors of Bally shannon, Blackwood, Nicholastown, &c., he was in 1686 granted a lease for twenty-one years of several plough-lands called martelands (containing each forty acres arable and eighteen acres pasture, wood, and moun- tain), in districts called Farran O'Neill and Leverocke, in the County Garlow, which formerly belonged to Murrough mac Cahir
' The Fiants of Elizabeth, No. 381. ' Arohdall, vol. vi, p. 203. ' Ih. * The FiantB of Elizabeth. * lb.
430 FITZGERALDS OF BALLYSHANNON (KILDARE),
Kavanagh, of TinDahinch^ attainted ; the proyiso being that Sir Pierce should not alien to any except of English parents ; that he should not levy taxes called Coyne and Livery; and that he would maintain two English horsemen.^
Shortly before this period he either built or restored the Castle of Blackwood, the ruins of which now stand on the northern bank of the Grand Canal two miles due west of the town of Prosperous. This ruin is at present a low, square block (with rounded corners), in which can be traced the remains of its vaulted first floor, a few arrow-slits, and breaches in the walls, which were formerly the larger windows ; but the whole place is in a very dilapidated condition.
The original entrance was in the western wall. It is now hid- den under a shed attached to that side of the Castle. Portions of its cut stone- work still remain, showing that it had a pointed arch. Inserted in the wall over this doorway is a small oblong slab, measuring about 2| feet in height, by 2 feet in breadth. On the upper portion of this slab is an incised inscription of five lines, in small rude capitals, while below it is a plain shield in relief, bearing the FitzGerald arms : — Argent, a saltire gules. The inscription runs : —
THIS : CASTLE = WAS : MADE ' BY
PYERS : FITZGERALD - DF 8DNAN : AND - ELINDR GERALD : HIS = WIFE
BALY FITZ THE DF : AVGVST : 1584
The above-named Elinor was the daughter of the Sir Maurice FitzGerald, Ent., of Lackagh, whose efiQgy lies in St Brigid's Cathedral, Eildare.
Sir Pierce, by acting strenuously in the service of the Govern- ment, in his capacity as a commander of a troop of horse in Leinster, made himself greatly disliked. He on one occasion, when serving against the famous rebel Feagh mac Hugh O'Byme, of Ballinacor, in Banelagh, County Wicklow, was taken prisoner by him, and detained until a substantial ransom was forthcoming. Even against his own sept, probably in the execution of his duty as Sheriff, he acted equally sternly, as by his energy a noted outlaw named Walter " reagh " (i.e., the swarthy) Fitz- Gerald was forced to leave his native County of Eildare, and
Elizabeth Fiant No. 4918.
AND THEIR SUCCESSORS THEREAT. 43 1
take refuge in the mountains of Wicklow. This Walter '^reagh " was one of the sons of Maurice FitzGerald, of Glassealy, near Narraghmore, and grandson of Walter, one of the uncles of the Silken Thomas, after whom he was christened. As will he shown later on, Walter ** reagh " took a terrible revenge on Sir Pierce for his treatment at his hands ; this was foretold ten years before it took place by Sir Henry Wallop, Treasurer at Wars, in a letter to the Secretary of State, wherein, after describing Sir Pierce's good services to the Government, he adds that ''he will be killed by the Geraldines whensoever he is without horsemen." ^
On Si Patrick's Day, 1693, the blow feU. Sir Pierce, his wife, Elinor, and two daughters, Anne and Catherine, were at this time residing in one of his castles on his manor of Nicholastown, called Ardreigh, which lies a mile to the south of Athy. This castle is not now in existence; but it is described as then being " a little castle that was but thatched with straw or sedge."* Walter " reagh," on this 17th of March, accompanied by his two brothers-in-law, Felim and Redmond, sons of Feagh mac Hugh 0*Byme (whose daughter, Margery, he had married), with their followers, made an attack on the castle, and succeeded in setting it on fire, and, temble to relate, its inmates, men and women, sJl perished in the flames. One can only hope that such a fearful death to his foe, and his wife and daughters, was due to the inability of the attacking party to rescue them in time.
Besides his eldest son, James, a daughter named Elizabeth, appears to have escaped the fate of their parents and sisters, as in a note under the year 144S, O'Donovan gives a pedigree of the O'Doynes, or O'Dunnes, Chiefs of I Began, in the Queen's County, in which he states that Teige mac Teige O'Doyne married Elizabeth, daughter of Piers FitzGerald, of the County Eildare, by whom he had four sons and four daughters' (one of the latter married James FitzGerald, of Eilrush, County Eildare, who died in 1602 ; while their eldest son, also named Teige, married as his second wife a daughter of Redmond ''oge" FitzGerald of Timahoe, County Eildare, who died in 1580).
At the time of his death Sir Pierce was in possession of the following lands :* —
The Manor of Ballyshannon ; consisting of two castles, twenty messuageg, a mill, and 800 acres in
' HAmilton'fl " Calendar of State Papers" (1574-1686), p. 424.
* Gilbert's '* History of the Confederation," vol. i, p. 205. » Vide vol. iv^. 959.
* Vide " Co. Kildare Chanc. Inquis.," Nos. 1 and 69 of Charles I,
432 FITZGERALDS OF BALLYSHANNON (KILDARE),
Ballyshannon : the lands of ShannistowD, alias Thomas- town; ten acres in Tippeenan; and fifteen acres in Mullaghmoyne.
The Manor of Nicholastowv} (near Athy); containing the lands of Nicholastown, Bathdrne/ Brimoye, alias Breagh (Bray), Grangemellon, and both the Ardrees (Ardreigh).
Besides these two manors, he held the lands of Adamstown, Gaydonstown, and Kilbride, Blackwood, Brocken, Courtdaffe alias Gordaff, Wyesland, Eillnecallagh, GowUcargin alias Gool- carrigan, and Eillcolman, all in the Gonnty Eildture.
Sir Pierce was sncceeded by his eldest son, Sir James FitzGerald, Ent, who was thirty years of age, and married, at the time of his father's death in 1598.
Sir James appears as High Sheriff of the Gonnty Eildare in the years 1696, 1698, and 1606. In 1697, he was Sheriff of Gatherlongh, or Garlow; and as such accompanied the Lord Deputy, Sir William Russell, on his expedition against the O'Byrnes of Banelagh, who were up in arms against the Govern- ment under their famous chief, Feagh mac Hugh O'Byme.^
In a description of the state of Ireland at the arrival of the Earl of Essex, in April, 1699, in which an account of the Irish forces then in rebellion is given, we read that : —
'* In the County Kildare, James iitz Peirs, a Qeraldine, Sheriff of the Shire ; bastard Geraldines, being two base brothers of the [12th] Earl of Kildare ; one of the Delahides ; the O'Dempsys ; and certain of the Eustaces, kinsmen of the late Viscount Baltinglass, attainted ; numbering 230 foot-soldiers and 20 horse, are rebels."^
The two bastard Geraldines above mentioned were Gerald FitzGerald, of Timogue and Morett, in the Queen's County, and his brother, Edward. They were the natural sons of Gerald, the 11th Earl of Eildare.
According to a portion of a manuscript History of this period :^ —
'* James fitz Piers, of the County of Kildare, was the son of an honest gentleman and true servitor of Her Majesty — Sir Piers fitz James
> Called in Archbishop Alen's '' Repertorium Viride" *' villa Nicholai Wallen,"
* Rathdrue is not now the name of a townland, as it is incorporated in the large townland of Irishtown ; a portion of the Bath from which the name was taken is still so called, as a field name.
» Brewer's *' Calendar of Carew MSS.," pp. 257, 258. *Ib,, p. 2»8.
*May, 1599, p. 62 of Atkinson's ''Calendar of State Papers of Ireland," 1699-1600, ^
AND THEIR SUCCESSORS THEREAT. 433
(FitsBGemld), having his father with his whole family burned to ashes by W^ter ' reogh ' (FitzGerald) and his rebellious associates, who, wanting grace, and forgetting his father's injuir, and villan^ of traitors, went into open action, and be<^une a malicious rebel. Immediately after the burning of his father, he went into England, and delivered his grief and great losses. Her Majesty, according to her wonted clemency, graced him in divers ways, and gave him ten horses in pay. After his return, he behaved himself civilly, and was made Sheriff of that county, kept much company with Captain Thomas Lee, who was a great favourer of the Earl of Tyrone (O'Neill), and then in question and disgrace therefore ; and as it may be gathered, infected with that company, underhand this James practised a long time with the Earl of Tyrone, but at length broke out, and his practices were revealed to the Lord Justices. Captain Lee and he making merry together, said Lee, * James, thou and I will be shortly MacRustclyns (that is to say, Robin Hoods), for we can get nothing as we are. These words were brought to the Lord Justices, so that they were both sent for by a pursuivant. Lee appeared, was charged with treason, and was committed to the Castle ; but James would not show himself. He practised to betray the Fort of Leix (i.e., Maryborough), but failed of his purpose. He made claim to the Lordship of Cloncurry, which was the jointure of the Lady Baltinglass,' and, because he could not prevail, he practised with the ward there to betray the same, and so it came to pass. He complained unjustly, as traitors did, of the Earl of Ormonae, Lord Lieutenant-General ; the which compliunt Sir Garrett Aylmer (in the absence of the Earl) answered, and satisfied the Lords Justices, delivering upon his credit and certain knowledge, that the Earl did him no wrong, and that he was void of any gall towards him. James FitzPiers feared the Lord Archbishop of Dublin, for that he in England was examined whether the said Bishop had kept prisoner Rose O'Toole, wife to Feagh Mac Hugh (O'Byme), as malefactors fearing everybody, and dare not trust them- selves. After many mischiefs by him done, when both the Earls of Essex and Ormonde met at Athy, the 12th May anno 1599, with their forces, to pass into Leix for the victualling of the new fort (i.e., Mary- borough), he pulled down the bridge of Athy upon the river of the Barrow, manned the Castle at the bridge foot, and trenched the fords on the river side, to hinder the passage of the horsemen. But when there was a passage found, and horsemen conveyed over to compass the town, the ward ran away, and he, seeing himself in distress, came to the Earl of Essex upon his knees, and desired mercy, and so he was received into favour."
Thus on the 14th of August, 1600, we again find Sir James FitzGerald serving the Government, as he, together with Sir Henry Talbot, with 400 men, were at this time ordered by the Lord Deputy to proceed again into Leix to harass Owny mac Bory O'More.^
' She was Mary, daughter of Sir Henry Travers, of Monkstown, Co. Dublin ; she married : —first, James Eustace, Viscount of Baltinglass, whu died on the 25th November, 1585 ; secondly. Sir Gerald Aylmer, Bart., of Donadea, who died on the 19th August, 1634. Her own death occurred on the 28th of November, 1610.
' Prewer's **Caleqdar of Carew MSS.," p. 431,
34 FITZGERALDS OF BALLYSHANNON (KILDARE),
On the 10th Mareh, 1609, the King instracted the Lord Deputy and Lord Chancellor, at the suit of Sir James (and in consideration of his faithful services in the late wars, the spoiling of his lands, and also the murder of his father and mother by the rebels), to accept surrender of his castle, house, and town of Ballysonan, and to regrant the same, as well as Coshogoowllie/ for ever in fee-simple, to be holden of His Majesty's Castle of Dublin in free and common soccage.^
In April of the same year Sir James was over in England, endeavouring to obtain from the Lords of the Council an allot- ment of the escheated lands in Ulster.' In July, being still in England, and anxious to return to Ireland, he offered to convey the treasure which was about to be sent over/
In 1616 Sir James set Gaydonstown for forty-four years to Richard FitzGerald, of Booleybegg (a younger son of James FitzGerald, of Eilrush, a branch of the Lackagh family) ; and in 1627 he set other portions of his property (to the use of himself and his heir) to Walter FitzGerald of Walterstown, an offshoot from the FitzGeralds of Timahoe, County Kildare.'^
Previous to the year 1628 Sir James endeavoured to obtain some of the lands in the County Wicklow forfeited by the O'Byrnes, of Banelagh. Felim, the son of Feagh mac Hugh O'Byme (who was slain in Glenmalure in 1597), at this time a close prisoner in Dublin Castle, petitioned the Government, on behalf of himself and his five sons, for a regrant of their ancient inheritance ; he, on being allowed an inquiry into his case, proved that the Grand Jury of the County Wicklow, who assembled in 1627, was carefully packed to deprive him and his sons of their lives and estates, the Foreman on this occasion being Sir James FitzGerald, of Ballyshannon, whose parents had been slain by Felim's brothers. He also proved that persons had been bribed, or tortured on the rack, to make them give false evidence against him, while the lives of certain malefactors were spared on condition of doing the same. On the 6th of December, 1628, one of the witnesses who gave evidence at the inquiry in Felim's defence was William Eustace, of Castlemartin, who
*' Beinge duely sworne to sett down in writeing^under his hand what he can say or hath heard or knowne concerning Fhelim mac Pheagh and
^ According to an Elizabethan Fiant, ** Cosogowlie" was in the County Kiidare.
' Russell's *' Calendar of State Papers, Ireland,*' p. 162.
' lb., p. 198. * B., p. 239.
* ** Co. Kiidare Chancery Inquisitions," No. 69 of Charles J.
AND, THEIR SUCCESSORS THEREAT. 435
his sons now prisoners and others, doth declare his knowledge as foUoweth :—
** First, I doe well remember and know that Sir Piers FitsGerrald of Ballysonan in the County of Kildare, Knight^ was taken prisoner by Pheagh mac Hugh Bime, father to this Phelim now prisoner, and some of their followers killed of both sides, as also that he kept him prisoner until such time as there was a cohsideracion given for his enlargement.
*' Secondly, I doe well remember and know that the said Pheagh married one of his daughters to Walter reogh FitzGerrald, when he was banished by the sayd Sir Piers's meanes out of the County of Kildare.
"Thirdly, I doe well remember and know for that banishment and other occasions, that the said Walter reogh FitzGerrald, accompanied with his brothers-in-lawe, this Phelim, now prisoner, and Redmond mac Pheagh now ly ving, and divers others of theire adherents, went &fter to a place in the County of Kildare called Ardrie, w^ere finding the sayd Sir Piers FitzGerrald in a little castle that was but thatched with straw or 8e<^e, sett fire to the same, and burned him, his wife, his daughters, and others there.
" Fourthly, I doe well remember and know that after these occasions, and after the death of the sayd Pheagh mac Hugh, that Sir James fitz Piers FitzGerrald, now living, did goe into England to procure letters for passing the sayd Phelim's lands of Ranelagh, or part thereof, as alsoe that he did prosecute and endeavour all he could to passe the savd lands according to the effect of his sayd letters untill he was crossed by reason of a general instruocion sent soone after by the State of England, after the last great rebellion, for setlins of divers of the Irish of the province of Leinster, and this Phelim and his brother Redmond were by speciall name inserted therein for their antient estate and lands.
*' Fifthly, I doe well remember and know after the settler^ont of the said Phelim and his brother Redmond in theire owne r^^dsessions, it happened, upon theire goeing homewards from Dublii' tliat they and theire company mett with the aforesayd Sir James fit2 Piers FitzGerrald, and others in his company, in the County of Wicklow, takeing away certain stood mares by force from them or from some of theire fiends, and then did take the sayd Sir James prisoner, and killed one of his horsemen, and tooke him then home along to his house (O'Byme's) at Ballynecorre.
'* Sixthly, I doe well remember and know that the sayd Sir James his neere kinswoman, Mary Dempsey, was supposed to be prosecuted by Phelim and his sons, and theire means, for her life ; which was ill taken by the said Sir James and Sir Terence Dempsey, Elnight, father to the said Mary.^
'* Seventhly, I doe well remember and know that now lately by reason of the late plantacion there, Ballymoroghroe and other lands which the sayd Sir James gott into his possession, being taken from him, that he peticioned soone after to the Right Honorable the Lord Deputy for
' Sir Terence O'Dempsy, Ent., Ist Viscount Clanmalier, was married to Mary, daughter of Sir loaurice FitzGerald, Ent., of Lackagh ; her sister Ellinor was Sir James's mother ; so that Mary O'Dempsy was first cousin to 9ir James,
H H
436 FITZQERALDS OF BALLYSHANNON (KILDARE),
recompdnce for the same of some other lands of the plantation there in regard he had been one of the first that moved for a plantation in Ranelagh.
'* Eighthly," 4fco., &a., &c.*
William Eustace's evidence continues for a considerable lengthy but does not further touch upon the BallyshannoD family.
Sir James inherited from his father some 120 acres at Bathtrone, in the County Meath ; it passed into the possession of the family in the following manner: — Rathtrone in the sixteenth century belonged to James, Earl of Ormonde, by whom it was granted to one Rory or Roderick O'Dogherty, who after- wards sold it to Sir Pierce FitzGerald. Sir James^ without obtaining the required permission from the Crown, on the 15th May, 1622, granted Rathtrone to one Walter FitzGerald, of Castletown-Moylagh, in the County Meath, and to one Teige O'Connor, of Ardenowe, in the same county, to the use of James (? son of Walter) FitzGerald, of Castletown-Moylagh, with remainder to the latter's son^ William fitz James Fitz- Gerald.' For this alienation of land Sir James was pardoned in 1629/ In the following year he was again pardoned for an alienation to his second son, Gerald/
In 1682, on the 10th of November, Sir James appointed Walter Weldon, of St John's Boure, County Eildare, Gerald Wall, of Prumplestown, same county, and Nicholas Wogan, of Blackhall, also in the same county, as trustees over his Eildare possessions, to the use of himself during his life, then to the nse of his grandson and heir, Pierce and his heirs^ with remainder to the following and their heirs : — namely^ his other grandson, James, and his sons John, Edward, and Thomas/
In the original of the above Inquisition mention is made of ^^ Sisell fitz Gerrald " (wife of his eldest son, Garrett), who was a widow anyhow in the year 1627, with three children. Pierce, James, and a daughter mai'ried to Christopher Archbold of Timolin ; she was the daughter of James FitzGerald (ob. 1618), of Drinanstown, County Kildare, a branch of the Timahoe family.
Sir James died a widower on the 26th of April, 16879 aged
» Vide "The Case of the O'Bynies of the County of Wicklow," in voL i of Gilbert's '* History of the Confederation and War in Ireland, 1641-1643."
* ** County Meath Chanc. Inquisition," No. 44 of Charles I. » Morrin's ** Calendar of Patent Rolls," vol. iii, p. 510.
* Ih., p. 549.
* '* Co. Kildare Chanc Inquis.," No, 69 of Charles I,
(i
I
I
AND THEIR SUCCESSORS THEREAT. 437
seventy-four years. His will^ is dated five days previously ; it commences in the following manner : —
'* In nomine Dei, Amen. *
*'I S" James ffitzGbrald of Ballisonan, in the County of Kildare, K* beinge weake and feeble in boddy yet sounde and perfect of mynde and memorie, doe make this my last will and testament in manner and forme following.
** Inprimis, I bequeath my soul to Almighty God my creator and redeemer, and my boddy to be buried in the parish Churche of Bally - sonan in the sepulcher of my ancestors.
*' Item, I will and bequeathe and leave unto my grandson Pierce ffitz Gerald all my lands and inheritance within the Kyngdom of Irland, and to the heires males of his body lawfully begotten or to be begotten, reserving to those there joyntures and leases that may or doth appeare by deed ; and for want of such heires males of the said Pierce" (<&c.).
His possessions are left in remainder to those mentioned in the inquisition quoted above, and finally, for want of direct heirs, to Sir Luke FitzGerald, Knight, of Ticroohan, County Meath, and his heirs.
He leaves to his daughter, Catherine, £100, and ten cows (five milch cows, and five dry cows) ; to his daughter, Margaret, £80, and a like number of cows; to his daughter (?), Grany, ten pounds of his ^' cattell ; *' and to his '' coosen," Bichard fitz Oliver ffitz Gerald, £20 sterling.
He mentions, too, a lease of Ballimorchoroe, which he holds from Lord £smonde.^
The following '^ Funeral Entry,*' copied from a volume in Ulster's Office, refers to Sir James's death, and to some of the members of his family : —
*' Sir James fitz Peirce,' of Ballysonan, in fche County of Kildare, Knight,' did marry Eleanor, daughter of (Thomas) Luttrell of Luttrells- towu in the County of Dublin, Esq'* by whome he had issue —
Qarrett fitz Peirce, who did marry Cicely daughter of James fitz Redmond (FitzQerald) of Drynanstown in the County of Kildare, Gent"-
Gerrald fitz Peirce, who did marry Margaret dai^hter of Edmond Wellesley of the Norragh, in the County of Kildare, Esquire.
' Vide the Prerogative Wills in the Record Office, Dublin.
' Sir Laurence Esmonde served in Ireland under Elizabeth, and was knighted by Sir Henry Sydney, the Viceroy. In 1622 he was raised to the Peerage as Lord Esmonde, Baron of Limerick, County Wexford. His death took place 1G46, and from him are descended the Esmondes now of Ballynastra, County Wexford, Baronets of Ireland (Burke's Extinct Peerage " ).
' It will be noticed that this Funeral Entry is in error in making the name ** fitz Peirce " the surname ; and that it only gives the names of Sir «]ram^*8 two eldest spns — i^n unusual proceeding.
438 FITZGERALDS OF BALLYSHANNON (KILDARE),
''The aforesaid Sir James fitz Feirce departed this mortalllife the 26'^ of Aprill, and is to be interred in the church of Ballysonan, the 26*^ of June 1637. The truth of the premises is testified by the subscrip- tion of John FitzGarrett of MuUaghmoyny.*
Colonel Pierce FitzGerald succeeded to the Ballyshannon property, owing to his father, Garrett fitz James, dying during the lifetime of Sir James. He was brought up a staunch Roman Catholic, though his grandfather had died a Protestant. Early in life he adopted a soldier's profession, and both he and his brother, James, saw active service in Flanders under Owen roe O'Neill.
On the breaking out of the Rebellion of 1641, Pierce Fitz- Gerald was appointed Commander of the Garrison at Castle- dermott, by George, the 16th Earl of Eildare, Governor of the County. For that purpose, he was furnished out of the royal stores with arms and ammuniton for a hundred men. Having procured a warrant from the Earl to the Rev. John Walsh, the Vicar, to deliver the castle to him, he in December seized all Mr. Walsh's property which was within or outside the castle, and carrying it off as booty joined the army of the Catholic Confederation at Kilkenny^ and entered heart and soul into the Rebellion.
In the list of the names of the Confederates who signed and took the oath,^ appear the following Leinster Geraldines : —
Edmund and Thomas FitzGerald, of Brownesford, County Kilkenny.
Gerald FitzGerald, of Timoge and Morett in Queen's County. Luke and Henry FitzGerald, of Ticroghan, County Meath. Christopher FitzGerald, of Clonlunan, County Meath. Maurice FitzGerald, of Allen. Pierce FitzGerald, of Ballyshannon.
Besides Pierce FitzGerald (who appears to have assumed the Irish patronymic of McThomas, and as such is described in con- temporary documents), other noted leaders^ of the name were : —
Francis FitzGerald (son of Edward fitzJohn FitzGerald, of Blackball, near Clane), '^ a Franciscan frier^ but noe priest."
* He was also a son of Sir James's, and is mentioned in his will.
* Gilbert's ** History of the Confederation and War," vol. ii, p. 215.
' They are all mentioned in Gilbert's ** History of Affairs in Ireknd. 1941-1653," ^ '
AND THEIR SUCCESSORS THEREAT. 439
Lieut. -Col. FitzGerald, slain in the battle of Linch's
Knock/ County Meath, on the 8th of August, 1647. Captain Garrett " garrough " (? the rough) FitzGerald,
who commanded Lord Castlehaven's body-guard of
horse. Gerald macWilliam FitzGerald, of Castleroe, Co. Eildare,
slain in the battle of Eilrush (near Ballyshannon),
Co. Eildare, on the 15th April, 1642. Captain Gerald ''chrone " (the swarthy) FitzGerald, of the
Leinster Horse, who had seen much service under Owen
'' roe " (the ruddy) O'Neill in Flanders ; he was slain in
the battle of Linch's Knock in 1647.
On the 8th of Febraary, 1642, the Lords Justices and Council issued a Proclamation from Dublin Castle offering rewards of from £1,000 to £800 for the heads of certain leaders of the Confederates, between the 8th of February and the 25th of March ; a free pardon and £800 was offered for the death, in the time stated, of the following County Kildare Gentry —
Pierce FitzGerald, of Ballysonan.
Maurice Eustace, of Castle Martin.
Nicholas Sutton, of Tipper.
Roger, alias Rory O'More, of Ballynah ; and
William FitzGerald, of Blackball (near Clane).''
Pierce FitzGerald himself was appointed Commander of the Leinster Horse, and saw service wherever knocks were going ; he was present at the disastrous defeat of the Confederates at Kilrush in April, 1642 ; in the same year he took part in the battle of Ballybeg, near Old Boss, where he was nearly made a prisoner, and only escaped by his presence of mind in the following manner : — All the Irish that day, to distinguish them- selves, wore a sugaun or straw rope round the waist ; Pierce, in the cavalry charge, finding that he had outdistanced his men, turned back, and saw that his return was cut off by the enemy ; he immediately untied and dropped his sugaun, and galloped back, shouting, *^ Let us follow the Rogues " — a ruse which 'succeeded with the Parliamentary forces, till they saw Pierce cut down one of his own comrades, as they thought ; but by that
' Now called Summer-hill.
'P. 31, Appendix of Borlace's ** History of the Irish Rebellion of 1641."
440 FITZGERALDS OF BALLYSHANNON (KILDARE),
time he was ont of their' reach, and Tejoined his side in safety.^
In 1648 Pierce was present at Timolin, then held by the enemy, whom he summoned to surrender ; they capitulated) and were allowed to march away with their arms and baggage. Pierce then handed over the place to its rightful owner, his brother- in-law, Christopher Archbold.' The former Irish garrison of Timolin had becQ massacred to a man by the Parliamentarians on the 15th of March, 1642.
On the 8th of August, 1647, Pierce was present at the great defeat of the Confederates at Dungan's Hill, near Linch's Knock* (now Summer HjU), in the County Meath, where his brother oflBcer, Captain Gerald " chrone " FitzGerald, was slain.
In 1649 Pierce was at Athy previous to the march of the Confederates on Dublin. He had his residence in Woodstock Castle, and along with him were Captain Maurice FitzGerald, of Allen; Sir John Dongan; Sir Robert Talbot; Dr. Terence Coghlan, a physician of Kilkenny; William Garan, Vicar of Ballysbannon ; and others.^
About this time Pierce's Castle of Ballysbannon was in the hands of the enemy, and he was ordered to invest the place. After a time one of the enemy's spies fell into his hands, and he threatened to hang him, but consented to spare his life, if, on being set free, he would return and inform the garrison that the Parliamentary force in Dublin had been defeated. The promise was given, and the man returned to the Castle. On the following day Pierce sent a trumpeter to summon the Castle, and offer quarter to the garrison ; this was accepted, as, believing their spy's information, they reckoned that no relief could be sent to them. Thus the Castle was given up, and when too late the truth was known.'
In the year 1660, Pierce had to demolish the Castle and Dominican Monastery of Athy, to prevent their falling into the enemy's hands.^
When Pierce's death took place I have not been able to discover ; he may have fled abroad after this period, and died thera By his wife Mary, daughter of Walter FitzGerald, of Walterstown, Co. Kildare, who was living a widow at Gay- donstown in 1687, he had a son Gerald, and two daughters^ Ellice and Cisly.
» Gilbert's •* History of Affairs in Ireland, 1641," vol. i, p. 62. » ib., p. 68. » lb, , p. 166. ' lb., vol. ii, p. 28.
•J6., p. 47. "Jfe., p. 67.
AND THEIR SUCCESSORS THEREAT.
441
According to the Croinwellian redistribution of forfeited estates, as will be seen in the following schedule/ the FitzGeralds of Ballyshannon lost that Manor and the Manor of Nicholastown, retaining only a very small proportion of their former property :—
1655.
Old Proprietor.
Pierce flitzGerald, Irish Papist
Do.
Do.
Do. Do.
Do.
Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do.
Townlonds.
Ballysonnane and Monfilbeene
Mulloghmoyn ...
Half of Tippenan
Nicholastowne . and Rathdrue
Brea ...
Ardrey
Grangemellon ... Part of Blackwood Cowlachorogan ... Abbeyland Gourtduffe Guidenstowne ...
Acreage,
834 190
209
656 348
497
Unsur- veyed.
176 164 273 211 297
To whom granted.
( Thady Linch and Dame \ Anne Baker.
( Earl of Anglesey (i.e., \ Sir Arthur A nn^edey ) .
( Robert Moore, the Duke
< of York, Fra^cia An- ( nesley.
\ Andrew Linch and Dame ( Ann Baker.
I Thady Linch and Dame ( Ann Baker.
( Duke of York (afterr
< wards to the Hollow ( Blades Company).
Garrett ffitzGerrald and Cicisly ffitzGerrald.
According to a County Eildare Chancery Inquisition taken in the year 1668, the townlands mentioned above, from that of Blackwood to that of Guidenstown, are stated to be in the hands of Sisly Dungan (or Dongan), widow, by a decree of the Court of Claims.
Gan-ett or Gerald FitzGerald, Pierce's son, in bis will styles himself as of Blackwood^ in the County of Eildare. His wife was Mary, only child of George (ob. 1669), eldest son of Sir
' Gilbert's '' History of Afiaira in L-eland, 1641," vol. ii, p. 156.
442 FITZGERALDS OF BALLYSHANNON (KILDARE),
Lake FitzGerald, Ent, of Ticroghan, in the County Meath. They had several children, of whom the eldest son was named Lake.
After Gerald FitzGerald's death, abont the year 1682, his widow Mary remarried with Henry FitzGerald, of Ballinderry, County Westmeath, who was the second son of Richard Fitz- Gerald, of Bathtrone, in the County Meath, and who inherited, through his wife, the Ticroghan estates,
Gerald FitzGerald's will is dated the SOth of January, 1681 (i.6., 1682),^ and was prdved on the 1st of May, 1684. His wish is impressed in it '^ to be interred in the ffranciscan Monestery att Kildare.*' One of the overseers of the will is a " Thady Linch of the Citty of Dublin, Gent," whose name occurs repeatedly in the schedule given above of the redistribution of forfeited lands.
I have not succeeded in tracing the history of this family further.
We now return to relate a few incidents in connection with the Castle of Ballyshannon itself.
A contemporary official account of the doings of the Parlia- mentarians during the years 1642-8 states that the army, under James, Marquis of Ormonde, left Dublin on the 1st of March, 1642; that night he lodgfed at Newlands, between Dublin and Naas ; on the 2nd they lodged in Naas ; from thence they crossed the Liffey two miles below Castlemai*tin, in which there was a garrison of the rebels, under the command of one Fitz- Gerald ; from Castlemartin, which was surrendered to them, the army was dispersed to lodge in the villages about the Curragh, Lord Ormonde himself taking up his quarters in the Castle of Kildare. On the 4tb they encamped at '* Downarrowmore " (? Nari*aghmore), and ^' in the way they passed by a place called Ballisonnan, from whence some of the robels came forth as willing to fight, and one in red clothes at a great distance shott at us manie times, that wee might see they had powder to spend in vain/' This night Lord Ormonde Went three miles further, and lodged in the village of Moone.'
On the 8th of June, 1643, the Lords Justices wrote to Sir Michaell Eameley, Ejit., and Colonel Richard Gibson^ stating that on the 19th of May last, for spabial state reasons, orders were given that the force under their command was to forbear to besiege Ballysonan until further orders. Since that time false
^ The legal year ended in March till 1752, when it ended with December, as at present.
'Vol ii, p. 249, of Gilbert's ** History of the Confederation and War, 1641."
AND THEIR SUCCESSORS THEREAT. 443
ramours had been started as to the cause of not attacking that place, whereas : —
'* Concerning Ballysonan, the beseeging of that place was at this Board resolved to be for come, partly in respect of the then scarcitie of pouder in his Majestie's store, which could not without danger to the wholle Kingdome admitt the expense of soe much pouder as the taking of that place by se^e would require, and partly in regard there was then noe possibilitie for Ceding of the horses to bee used in that service. Since which time those two difficidties beeing in part removed, that of the pouder beeing supplyed by the arrivall of a late supply of pouder heere, and that of feeding the horses beeing in part holpen [helped! by the season of the yeare, wherein grass may now be had, which formerly could not be and soe the inhibition is now taken off, and you are left at libertie for endeavouring to take in Ballysonan, as well as Kilka and Castle Dermott, or soe many of the places as you may.
*' (P08TSCBIFT. ) Wee must declare that it is our pleasure, and wee accor- dingly expressly command you, that you lay seege to Ballvsonan, Kilka, or Castle Dermott, before you return hither, and that, although you bee in your march hither, you retourne back for effecting this higmy needful service/' '
The reason for this neglect of capturing Ballyshannon sooner was, according to a letter written on the 16th June, 1648, from Dublin, that : —
" The army that was sent forth under the command of Sir Michael Emley is returned, soe as we have at least five if not six thousand men, soldiers, to feed, besides the inhabitants, and have not money to sett them forth to seeke againe their living abroad. Sir Michael, when he was sent forth, was by speciall words in his commission inhibited to sett downe before Ballisonan being the onely garrison that hath annoyed our convoyes betweene this and Athy. The pretended reason was the scarcity of munition, though there want not those, even amongst the commanders who say that Pierce FitzGarret, the owner thereof, hath too many cosins about the State, l^me may diiscover what is nowe but suspected." '
Another letter, however, dated the 28rd of June, 1648, states that Ballyshannon was not then attacked- because Sir Michael Emely at the time the despatch from the Lords Justices reached him was only one day's march from Dublin, that his forces were footsore, knocked up from exposure, and had only two days' provisions left.^
We have already seen that in 1649 the Parliamentarian garrison of Ballyshannon delivered up the Castle to Pierce FitzGerald on false information. We will now relate its fate
» P. 269, Vol. ii, of GObert's " History of the Confederation and War."
* Ibid,^ Appendix, p. xlvii.
* Ibid.^ Appendix, p. Ixiv.
444 FITZGERALDS OF BALLYSHANNON (KILbARE),
in 1650 by meana of correspondence which passed between Colonel John Hewson, Governor of Dablin, William Lenthall, Speaker of the English Parliament, and Donough O'Kelly, Governor or Constable of Ballj'shannon.^
The first letter is addressed by Colonel Hewson to '' the Honourable William Lenthall/' and is dated from Ballyshannon on the 8rd March, 1649 (old style). It reads as follows : —
*' To the Honourable William Lenthall, Esquire, Speaker of the Parlia- ment of England.
*' Sir, ~ When his Excellency' marched from Dublin towards Munster, he left me intrusted with that garrison, myselfe and those lefte with me at that time being sicke. The first party that recovered were sent after the army ; to wit, about .800 foot and 200 horse, which fought and beat the enemy upon their march, some more of those sicke men that were left recovering, and some recruits coinming ov'er. Aftet I had surprised the strong fort ' upon the Bos of Allin, and taken Castle Martin in the County of Kildare, and placed a garrison therein, about the latter end of December. I marched along with a party of 1,000 horse and foot into the Island of Allin, and summoned Killmaog therein, but finding it not feaz- able to storme without jicuns, I marched tx) Rabride and Ponsers Grange and tooke them, and placed two strong garrisons there, which did give me good footing in the County of Kildare ; then I sent a party and took Kildare, Hertwell, and Cotlingstowne,* three useful garrisons in the said county ; and provisions being spent I returned back to Dublin, there endeavouring to get guns, mortar pieces, and other necessaries, ready to draw forth againe with all possible speed ; in the interim I received propositions from the Grovemour and officers in the strong garrison and fort of Ballisonan, the originall whereof, I here inclosed present you with all under their owne hands, which being by me utterly rejected.
*' I marched upon Tuesday, the 26th of Februaiy, with a party of 2,000 foot and 1,000 horse, towards the County of Kildare, and tooke with me one culverin, one demi-culverin, and one mortar piece.
**The enemy fired their Garrisons of the Fort of Lease,' Blackrath, and the forementioned Castle of Kilmaog, in the Island of Allin, but I shall easily make it tenable againe, it being very usefull for your service ; they also did blow up the Castle of Athy, where they had a strong garrison, and broke up the Bridge.
** Upon the 28th of February, I marched from the Naas, and about four o'clock, with the van of the party, I came to Ballisonan, a strong garrison, double works and moted, full of water one within another, and a mount with a fort upon it. Most of the officers with me esteem- ing the taking of it to be unfeazable, it being late, and I unwilling to
» Vol. ii, pp. 369 and 372, of Gilbert's " History of Affairs in Ireland, 1641-1652."
' The Lord Lieutenant, Oliver Cromwell.
'Blackditch (parish of Nuniey) in another place is mentioned as being captured before Castle Martin.
* Coghlanstown.
* The Fort of Leiz was Maryborough, in the Queen*8 County, called *' Campa " by the Irish.
AND THEIR SUCCESSORS THEREAT. 445
lose time, did send in a summons a copy whereof is here inclosed, and the inclosed answer under the Govemour's hand was presently returned, and the town which was without [i.e., outside of] his works by him was burned that night.
'* I caused a battery to be made, and planted the artillery, and made a fort for the security thereof, having intelligence that the Ix>rd of Castle- haven ^ with 4,000 horse and foot would come to raise me within two dayes, in which fort I could secure the guns and batter their works, whilst I drew off to fight the enemy if need were.
** We played our guns and mortar pieces at the fort upon the mount, intending before night to storme it ; having ladders and all necessaries ready, but before any breach was made, the Govemour did send me paper, which is here inclosed, whereunto the inclosed answer was returned, and he treated with me about the surrender, which was concluded accordingly. The articles signed with both our hands herewith is represented unto you.
'*And now, Sir, you have without the losse of one man this strong place,- and thereby most of the County of Kildare. Those garrisons in this county yet remaining as Castle Dormont, with others I hope' you shall have a good account thereof speedily, from
'* Your humble servant,
** Joh. Hewson. <« Ballisonan, March 3, 1649 (-50).'*
The enclosures mentioned above are given as follows : —
'^ Sir, — I am now marching the Army to reduce that place which you
possesse unto the obedience of the Parliament of England, and it being
-apparent to the world that God is making inquisition in Ireland for
innocent blood, how farre you and those with you may be concerned
therein, I shall observe by your answer hereunto.
** These are to require you to deliver that place you now possesse unto me for the end aforesaid ; whatsoever your return hereunto may be, and the effect thereof, my summons will justifie the future proceedings of
•* Your servant,
**28th Feb. 1649 (-60) *« J. Hewson.
^' For the Grovemour of Ballisonan."
** Sir, — I am now in possession of this place by authority from my King, how you may demand it by authority from the Parliament of England, I know not ; England denying their King, therefore I disobey. And for God, my King, and Country, will defend this place to the uttermost in my power.
" Sir, your servant,
*'Donno(gh)0'li:eUy.«
''Col. Hewson, Commander-in-chief e of the Parliament part now at the field of Ballisonan."
* James Touchet, 3rd Earl of Castlehaven, then of Maddenstown, County Ejldare.
' Col. Donough O'Kelly belonged to Connaught, and was a relative of Sir JamBs Dillon, of the CosteUo Gallen family, County Sligo.
446 FITZGERALDS OF BALLYSHANNON (KILDARE),
'^Sir, — To avoyd the confasion of Chrifltian blood, we send out a drum to demand parley, my desire for the reasons aforesaid is, that you send in a Captaine of yours to treat with us, and we shall send forth a Captaine of ours, who shall demand no more but what is honourable and just, and so Sir, I conclude,
**Your servant.
** March 1,1649 (-50)."
**Donno(gh)0'KeUy.
''Sir, — Blood I doe not thirst after, yet so far a souldier as not to neglect present opportunity, I shall for the end in your letter mentioned send Captaine Hewson according to vour desire, provided you send one or two fully authorised to treate and conclude, and all to be concluded within halfe an houre, provided also you doe not worke at all to repaire what my guns and mortar pieces have demolished, and to that end that Cap^ Hewson may remaine in the mount during Uiat halfe houre.
" Sir, — I shall be glad if your wisdom prevent what otherwise unavoidably will fall out, though not desired oy
'*Your servant,
^'J. Hewson. •* March 1, 1649 (-50)."
The result of the siege and parley was^ that as no assistance coald be expected from Lord Castlehaven, the garrison capitn- lated on the following terms : —
'*!. That the said Garrison and Fort of Ballisonan, shall be immediately delivered with all the ammunition and provisions therein, except as in the insuing article is agreed upon.
**II. That the said Govemour, Officers, and the souldiers shall continue in the Castle untill to-morrow morning at ten of the clock if they please, and then they are to march out of the said Castle and Fort, with a Trumpeter for convoy tenne miles if they desire it, or to any of the next Irish garrisons within tenne miles as aforesaid, the trumpeter remaining without any prejudice. And the said Officers are to march with their Worses and pistolls, and with their colours flying, and drums beating, and the souldiers with their armes, and matches lighted^ and each musketeer one pound of powder, with bullet and match proportionable.
**IIl. Whatsoever Gates and Peas shall apper to be in the Castle belonging to Mistress FitzGerald' shall be restored to her.
** lY. And lastly, for the due performance of the aforesaid articles, we have hereunto set our hands the day and yeare first above written [i.e, the 1* of March 1649 (-50)].
'*John Hewson. Donno(gh) O'Kelly."
On the following day a certain William Basils Attorney*
^ I.e., Mary, the wife of Col. Pierce FitzGerald (Mac Thomas).
^1
AND THEIR SUCCESSORS THEREAT. 447
Oeneral of Ireland, in a letter to the Speaker of the English Parliament, writes: —
**It hath pleased God exceedingly to bless our forces in this place, in their late march into the County of Kildare, where they have taken in the Fort and Castle of Ballisonan by surrender ; surprized Athy, being a passe upon the Barrow and a place of very great concernment, both for the enlarginff of our quarters, investing the enemy, and securing a passe to joyne with my Lord if occasion re<][uire. In all which the ffovemour hath placed garrisons ; as also at Kilmaocke, being the Casue of the Bogge of AUen, which the enemy had burnt, and indeavoured to have sleighted, upon the rumour of his advance from hence ; but the workes are now repaired and made tenable by ours/"
111
The accompanying illustration, showing the Fort of Bally- shannon, is reproduced from vol. iv of '' The Journal of the Kilkenny Archffiological Society"^ (1866-57); the original dravring was then in the possession of J. Y. Akerman, F.S.A., and from it the sketch was made by H. W. King, in 1868, which illustrates '' The Kilkenny Journal."
The following lettered references to the plate corresponc} with the letters given on the plan.
'* A description of the strong Fort of Ballisanon, in Leinster (l(i50).
A. The first place of our Battery of the Blacke Castle.
B. The Black Castle.
C. The workes of the Towne.
D. The Grates of the Outworkes.
E. Another Outworke.
F. A Qnte where one of our Pieces stood.
Q. The high mount fortified which wee stormed. H. The Church. On the other side stood our Mortter-piece. I. The Battery and Pieces. K. The Counter-scarpe.
L. Covert way 12 foot broad, his breastwork 9 foot broad at top. M. The paft 25 foot in five places and 12 foot deep. N. The Rampire and Parapett 30 foot thicke ana in some places 25 foot high.
O. The inner Moate in some places 40 foot broad.
P. The Draw-bridges in number 5.
Q. Bm^s or Dames to keep in Water.
R. A House and Bulworke batered.
S. A Bulworke batered.
T. The Walls about the Castle.
W. The Castle.
V. Houses that flankers the Walls.
X. The Tower whereon their CoUer [standard] stood.
Y. A new Worke.
Z. A Toume-pike.
» Page 367, vol. ii, of Gilbert's ** History of Aflairs in Ireknd." These letters were also published in pamphlet form in London in 1649. ' ITow cajlod the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland,
448 FITZGERALDS OF BALLYSHANNON (KILDARE),
The late Sir Erasmas D. Borrowes, Bart., of Barretstown Castle, visited Ballysbannon in 1857| and has left the following description of the place^ : —
"Last autumn I visited 'the strong fort of Ballysanon' referred to in the last volume of the Journal. No remains of the Castle exist ; whatever of it remained at the beginning of the last century was pulled down by the Annesley family, with which they helped to build a castellated mansion quite close. The immediate defences of the old Castle of the unfortunate Pierce FitzGerald still exist, though somewhat smoothed off by time ; the moat is still there, covered with trees of some forty years' growth, but, strange to say, the remains of the old ashtree so conspicuous in the drawing, can still be traced. I found two lusty scions growing vigorously from, the same old hollow root, right in the centre of the moat (mound). There was no rival near the throne of that old . stock ; it spoke eloquently of the siege of Cromwell and his mortars ; but the mortar practice reminded one of a child and his pop-gun, who brings his little weapon close up to the mark. The spot where the Greneral placeid his mortars was not more than some fifty or sixty yards from the Castle. I found ' Hartwell ' exhibiting the remains of a strong fortress, with one or two large halls, the stone arches yet remaining ; and Kilteel Castle (also, I think, mentioned in the despatch) is quite perfect."
. As mentioned above, daring the latter half of the seventeenth century Ballysbannon passed into the hands of a member of the Annesley family, who were seated at Newport-Pagnel, in Buckinghamshire. According to Archdall's edition of '' Lodge's Peerage/'* the first of this family in Ireland was Sir Francis Annesley, who for nearly forty years faithfully served Kings James I and Charles I in offices and employments of high trust and importance. Early in the seventeenth century he was granted the Manor of Annesley, in the County Tyrone,' the Manor of Mountnorris, in Armagh, the Manor of Cloghmahericat, in Down, the Manor of Sampton^ in the County Wexford, the Manor of Mullagh, in Cavan, and the Castle and Lordship of Roscommon. On the 30th September, 1619, King James instituted the order of Baronets in Ireland, and created Sir Dominick Sarsfield, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, the first Baronet, and Sir Francis Annesley the second. In 1621 he was created Viscount Valentia, and in 1628 Baron Mount- norris of Mountnorris. His death took place in 1660, and he was buried in Thorganby Church, in Yorkshire, By his. wife, Dorothy, daughter of Sir John Philips, Bart., of Picton Castle, in Pembrokeshire, he had several children ; the eldest* son,
* Page 41, vol. v, of **The Jouma of the Kilkenny Archaeological Society."
• Vol. iv, pp. 109-121,
AND THEIR SUCCESSORS THEREAT. 449
Sir Arthnry 2ild Yisconnt Valentia, was created Earl of Anglesey; bnt it is with his second brother, John, that we have now to deal.
John Annesley was born in Dublin on the 11th of September, 1616, and became the possessor of Ballyshannon. Of him Charles II wrote in 1660 : —
** Whereat Captain John Annesley, having the command of a Troop of Horse in the service of our late dear Father of blessed memory, in Ireland, in detestation of that most execrable murder upon our late most royal father, did give up his commission, and refused to act under that usurped power, although in those times he had no other subsistence for himself, his wife and family, but what he had by his Troop, and hath ever since kept himself out of all employment under that power, which was a signal proof of his loyalty to our father and to us. And for that we were engaged for the troops and commands now settled in our realm of Ireland, l^fore application was made to us in his behalf; we do therefore by these our letters, will and require you to settle upon him the command of Captain of such Troop of Horse as shall first become void, and be in our gift in our Army in Ireland, and therefore you may not fail, but see this our letter served in the first place."
Accordingly he had a grant, 9th- of February, 1661, of the first Troop that should become void. He died in the year 1695. By his wife, Charity, daughter of Henry Warren, of Grangebeg, in the County Eildare, he had the following sons (as well as three daughters): —
1. Francis, of Ballyshannon.
2. Maurice, of Little Rath (near Sherlockstown), who married Sarah, second daughter of Richard, 4th Lord of Blaney. He died in London on the 17th of February, 1718. Thiis is the Maurice Annesley referred to on pages 477-8 of the 2nd volume of the Journal.
3. John, of Ballysax, who married Eleanor, daughter of
Bishop, of Bishop Hall, Esq. He died on the 18th April,
1720. Among other issue, he had a son, Francis, of Ballysax, who married Margaret, daughter of Edward Eyre, of Oalway, but died without issue on the 5th of March, 1750, and was buried at Ballyshannon.
4. Oeorge, died unmarried.
5. Robert, also died unmarried.
The eldest son, Francis, of Ballyshannon, married Deborah, sister of Jeffrey Paul, and died in 1707, leaving by her (who died on the 24th December, 1761) four daughters : —
1. Charity, died, unmarried, in 1741, aged 48. 2 Deborah, married to Robert Doyne, of Wells.
450 FITZGERALDS OF BALLYSHANNON (KILDARE),
8. Elizabeth, married to Thomas Haghes, of Aroherstown, Co. Tipperary.
4. Hannah, married to Thomas Spring, Esq., Connsellor-at* Law.
Archdall gives no further particulars in connection with Ballyshannon. If any of our members could throw light on the later history of this place, it would be a welcome addition to our Journal.
A modem Protestant church now stands on the site of the old building, which was dedicated to St. James the Apostle. Notices of the Vicarage of Ballyshannon, at an early date, are few and far between. On the 18th October, 1272, the Justiciary of Ireland was commanded by the King to present Geoffrey, of Kilkenny, cleric, to the vacant Vicarage of ** Balisuthnan."^ In 1302-6, the Church of '' Balythosenan," in the Deanery of Kildare, was valued at 5 marks, and the Vicarage of the same at 80s.' In 1817 the King ordered Walter de Valle, or Calfe, Bishop of Kildare, to present Walter de Kynefare, cleric, to the Church of " Balysothenan."'
In 1536 Philip O'MoUaghan was Vicar.^
In 1616 Roger Danby was '* minister/'^
In 1649 William Oaran was Vicar.^
There is among the MSS. preserved at Carton a folio sheet entitled : — ** A naration Relating to the Advowsom, or Presen- tacion to the Prebendarie of Ballisonan, and Vicaradg of Castel- dermott.^' It is dated the 18th of March, 1678, and reads as follows: —
**S'' James titz Gerrald of Ballisonan in the Countie of E^ildare, K"**, being patrone of y* Prebendarie of Ballisonan affores', did in y* yeere 1634 give unto John Welsh, then Vicar of Castledermott, the advowsom or power of presenting to y* s' Prebendarie of Ballisonan in y* Diooes of Kildare in consideracion of monie lent unto y* s** S'* James by y* s'* John Welsh.
" S'* James deceased in ye yeere 1636 a protestant.
^Mohn Welsh, Vicar of Castledermott, deceased in Skynner-row in Dublin, in Mr. Rob^ Arddagh's house, August, 1646, a minister; and before his decease, by his last will and testam**, left Rob*' Sypthorpe, Lord Bishope of Limericke, overseer of his Will, and William Bulkely, Archdecon of Dublin, and Edmond Welsh,' nephew to y* s*- John Welsh,
> Sweetman's '* Calendar of Documents, Ireland." 'Sweetman's *' Calendar of Documents, Ireland." •Rot. Cane. Cal. Hib., p. 24.
* Co. Dublin Ex. Inquisition. » '* Regal Visitation Book."
• Dr. Comerford's *' Diocese of Kildare."
^ Of Birtown, between Athy and BaUitore,
AND THEIR SUCCESSORS THEREAT. 45 1
executors of his last Will and Testam*' ; Archdecon Bulkely did not administer, but put Edmond Welsh uppon y* Administeraoon in y* Consistorie Court, Doct'* Ryves then being Judge ; Edmond Welsh did administer, prove the Will, and gott out Ar^ of Administracion in his own name, and returned an Inventorie by y* directions of y* Lord Bishope of Limericke and Archdecon Bulkely well knowing that the presentacion to y* Prebendarie of Ballisonan was in Edmond Welsh after the decease of John Welsh, adviced y* s*^ Edmond Welsh as soone as any quietness was after the Rebellion, to present to the s*** Prebendarie, w**^ Edmond Welsh did, and first gave his presentacion to Henery Usher late Archdecon of Kildare for the s** Prebendarie of Ballisonan in the diocess of Kildare, William Goulbume, then Lord Bishope of Kildare, who well kneew the presentacion to bee in Edmond Welsh after the decease of John Welsh, gave y^ s"*- Henery Usher his induction, and Henery Usher was installed in y* 8**' Prebendarie, and injoyed it during his life.
** And after the decease of Henery Usher, Edmond Welsh did present Richard Phylypps to the s**' prebendarie of Ballisonan, Thomas Price (now Lord Archbishopp of Casshell but then Lord Bishoppe of Kildare) being sattisfied w'*** the s** Edmond Welsh his right of presentacion, gave the said Richard Phylypps his Induction, and was instaled and enjoyed the 8*^ Prebendarie of Ballisonan during his life ; and Edmond Welsh doth suppose that M'* Deane Goulbume, son to William Goulbume, late Lord Bishoppe of Kildare, might at lest heer, if not know, the truth of this naration, for Bishoppe Goulbume and John Welsh were maried to tow sisters, daughters to William Pilsworth* Lord Bishoppe of Kildare, «and were Intimate in eatch others concerns.
"Peeter Sarsfield of Tully* in the Counttie of Kildare, Esq'-, Patron of the Yicaradge of Oasteldermott in the dioces of Dublin in the yeere 1635 or therabouts, did in consideracion of som monie lent, give unto John Welsh then Vicar of Castledermott, the advowsome or presen- tacion to the said Yicaradge of Oasteldermott ; John Welsh deceasing as in the naration before expressed concerning the prebendarie of Bnllisonan, William Gk)ulburn late Lord Bishoppe of Kildare requested Esmond Welsh to present Mr. John Goulbume, son to the s"* Lord Bishoppe, to that Vicaradge, w***' y* s* Edmond did, and M' John Goulbume enjoyed the same for a season untill he got other livings,
* According to the ** Funeral Entries :** — *' Elizabeth, daughter of the Right Reverend Father in God, William Pillsworth, Lord Bishop of KUdare, married the Right Reverend Father in God, William Golbome, Lord Bishop of Kildare, who was sonn of Ralph Golbome of Crestleton, in Cheshire, Esq'*, by whom he had issue seven sons and eight daughters." [Bishop Golboum died of the plague in Dublin in 1650.]
"Ann, daughter of the Right Reverend Father in God, William Pilesworth, Lord Bishop of Kildare sometyme ; shee was married to John Walsh, Clerk of Castle Dermott, by whom shee had issue William Walsh and Mary Walsh ; shee departed this mortall life the 2"' of February, 1640, and was interred in the Church of Castle Dermott aforesaid."
SAs mentioned in the narrative, her husband, John Walsh, died in )ublin in August, 1646.]
' Peter Sarsfield was the son and heir of Patrick Sarsfield of TuUy, near Kildare, second son of Sir William Sarsfield, Knt., of Lucan. Peter Sarsfield died previous to the year 1061, he was the grandfather of the famous Jacobite General, Patrick Sarsfield, Earl of Lucan.
n
452 FITZGERALDS OF BALLYSHANNON (KILDARE).
but the place being vacant for 6 months the Lord Archbishoppe of Dublin gave it Doct'* Austine for this tume, but the right of presenta- cion is in Edmond Welsh for y* future, or his assigns ; And I suppose Deane Goulbume doth remember, at lest .... the truth of this nara^n.
''/Die evidences for those presentacions, and much more were lost at Casteldermott, when we were oetrayed in the Castle of Casteldermott the 7*^ of December 1641, but my right of presentacion and our ussadge here was so well knowen to persons of qualitie that all the presentacions I gave passed to this last (to M'' Brereton) w*^out dispute.
"Birtowne IS"" of March 1673.
Edm : Wblsh."
NOTE.
There is not a single trace now existing of the Ballyshannon Castle walls, though the square entrenchment it was surrounded by is distinctly visible, without, however, the projecting bastions at the comers, as shown in the plan of 1650.
The centre of the square entrenchment is now occupied by a ruinous octagonal-shaped building of mason-work, in ruins, which is known as the '* Pidgeon-house."
The outer works shown on the Plan are not now noticeable ; but as the place is thickly planted up with old timber, this helps to hide the lie of the land. The *' Black Castle," too, has disappeared.
The Moat is covered with trees ; it is artificial, and is probably a pagan sepulchral mound, similar to those which are dotted here and there over this county ; near it, too, as so often occurs, is the old burial- ground, in which stands the Protestant church, occupying the site of the ancient building dedicated to St. James the Apostle.
The house, built by the Annesley famUy out of the material supplied by the Castle, is a plain, square, featureless building, covered with dashing, and battlemented in recent times. In an angle of the wall on the south-east side, placed upside do^m, is a limestone slab, some 2 feet long by 18 inches in height, on which are cut in relief the following initials and date : —
MOM
(a horse)
1620
On the left-hand side of the slab is carved a horse-like animal ; a rose-bush, which covers the stone, prevented " a rubbing " being taken of it. Probably this stone came out of the old Castle. I cannot explain the initials,* as at this date Ballyshannon Castle was occupied by Sir James FitzGerald, Knt., who died a Protestant (the only one of the family) in 1637, and was buried in Ballyshannon Church. ^No monument to him, or to any member of his family, exists there ; nor is there one to the Annesley family, who were interred in a vault under the church.
Over the hall-door of the house a small human face in stone is built into the wall. It is said to have been brought from an inn, not now in existence, that stood on the public road close by, called 'Hhe Black Moor."
* The initials here remind one of those on the FitzGerald of Narraghbeg cross-shaft {vide pp. 474-478 of this Volume), viz. : mah; o . mo. ; the year on both bein^ the ver^ same,
^ 453 ) NOTES ON FURNESS, OR GREAT FORENAGHTS.
By NICHOLAS J, SYNNOTT.
THE church, rath, and long-stone at Fumess have already been referred to, or have been the subject of articles or notes in the Journal of this Society, by the Earl of Mayo, the late Bey. Denis Murphy, S.J., Canon Sherlock, and Colonel T. De Burgh. I find also that Lord Walter FitzOerald has already described the churchyard in another periodical ;^ so that this paper is necessarily supplemental to what has been previously published.
The name Forenaghts (of which Furness, or Furnace, is a comparatively modem corruption) signifies, as Joyce points out, ''a bare or exposed hill" (fomocht). Other townlands of the same name are to be found in Cork, Waterford, and Fermanagh. In the Kildare name the plural form has prevailed, probably in consequence of the early subdivision of the townland into two— Forenaghts Great (now Fumess), and Forenaghts Little (now Forenaghts),^ the division being recognised, as will be seen hereafter, as early as the beginning of the thirteenth century.
I am unable to ascertain exactly when and why the modem appellation of Fumess first made its appearance. Richard Nevill, the first of his name who lived here, in his will, dated 1673, and proved 1st of March, 1682, speaks of himself as of ** Great Phomaghts ; " whilst his son, Richard, by his will, proved 27th September, 1720, directed his body to be privately buried in the Church of Furnace. But the modem name took long to crystallize into common use. Though Dr. Pococke, in his '* Irish Tour," styles the place Fumace, when he refers to his visit to the house in 1762, and Arthur Young who stayed here in 1777 ("Tour in Ireland," vol. ii, p. 209), calls it Fumess, I find that Arthur Jones Nevill, who lived here, and was Sheriff of the County Kildare in 1762, is recorded in the official list as of " Fomaghts ;" and, stranger still, according to the list of sheriffs compiled by Mr. Garstin from Lodge's MSS.,^ Philpot Wolfe, and John Wolfe, High Sheriffs in 1756 and 1799, though they certainly lived at Forenaghts, are referred to as of Fumace, and Fumese.
^ ** Journal of the Association for the Preservation of the Memorials of the Dead," vol. ui, No. 2, p. 297.
* Joyce, ** Names of Places," vol. i, pp. 400-401.
' ^iLDJkKE ARGHi^L00iCA.L Jou&NAL, vol. ii, p. 253 et seq,
The Loko-Stohe ih thb Bitr of Fubness [Porenaobts Obb^t), vith Una. Btmkott
NOTES ON FURNESS, OR GREAT FORENAGHTS. 455
With the natural conservatism of their race, the majority of the local carmen still cling to the use of the old name, instead of Fumess.
The Parish of Forenaghts contains, according to Lewis, 765 statute acres, the boundaries, as they appear on the six- inch Ordnance Map, comprising nearly the whole of the town- lands of Forenaghts Great, the whole of Morristown, and also part of the townland of Little Forenaghts, i.e., practically the whole of the modem Fumess, and part of Forenaghts demesnes. The small portion of Great Forenaghts townland that is excluded is bounded on the south by the back road. Forenaghts and the neighbouring (and still smaller) Parish of Haynestown were two chapelries, or perpetual curacies, forming one benefice in the Deanery of Naas, and in the patronage of the bishop. According to Erck's ''Ecclesiastical Register,'' James Slater was admitted Incumbent of this joint benefice in 1787, though Erck remarks that there was no church for the benefice. In MacGeoghegan's list of the ancient parish churches of the diocese, ** Ecclesia de Fornoghts *' is mentioned as a parish church in the middle of the seventeenth centurj', and it is probable that it ceased to be used for religious service after the rebellion of 1641, and the change of proprietors which took place shortly afterwards.^
Though there is a widespread tradition in the neighbom*- hood that '' monks " lived at Fumess, I can find no ground for this belief. Neither Dugdale, Ware, AUemand, nor the anony- mous compiler of '* The Monasticon *' based on Allemand (Stevens), mention any monastery or cell at Furness.
The old church was monastic only in this sense, that in 1210 it was granted, with the tithes, by Richard de Lesse to the Abbey of St. Thomas, in Dublin ; and then there appears to have been a re-grant, incorporating a condition that William de Lesse, the son of the original donor, described as a '* persona,'' or clergyman, should remain in possession of the church and tithes as long as he lived. It appears that in the same year John de Lesse granted to the same abbey the Church of " Fornathbeg," or Little Forenaghts.' I cannot find any further mention of this church at Little Forenaghts.
It is not mentioned, as we have seen, by MacGeoghegan, though he does mention the ''Capella de Hi gginstown,^
f}
» Dr. Oomerford, ''Collections," vol. i, Appendix, p. 259.
« Archdall, " Monasticon," p. 186 ; Harrises " Ware," vol. ii, p. 262 ; " Chartularies of the Abbey of St. Thomas the Martyr, in Dublin," edited by J. T. Gilbert.
4S6 NOTES ON FURNESS, OR GREAT FORENAGHTS.
probably Haynestown. No trace of the bnilding, or even the site of the Little Forenaghts Ghorch, can now be found, and it is not mentioned in the Ordnance Map.^ The Haynestown Church has also disappeared ; it may have been on or near the site now marked '' Castle/' in that townland, on the Ordnance Sheet.'
These de Lesses were probably Anglo-Norman settlers, followers of Strongbow or De Lacy, of whom Canon Sherlock has given such an interesting account in this Society's Journal. As in the case of the examples he refers to, the donor was probably also the builder. Each settler seemed to have been anxious to have a separate church for his own estate ; and to judge by the number of such churches in the immediate neighbourhood, the number of the followers and dependants of these feudal proprietors must have been very large. There were close by, the Churches of Johnstown, Eerdiffstown, Kill, Haynestown, Tipper, and the now demolished Church of Little Forenaghts — five churches in an area two miles in length by half a mile in breadth.
It may be of interest to say something here about the Regular Canons of St. Augustine, whose Abbey of St. Thomas held not only the church at Fnrness, but also the churches at Kill and (Wochtred) Oughterard, and who were, moreover, consider- able landowners in the neighbourhood, including Eerdiffstown and Arthurstown.^ These Regular Canons were of a particular branch styled '' of St. Victor," and are to be distinguished from the much larger and more important Order of Augustinian Canons, who had priories at Naas, Eildare, Connell, and Killashee, in this county, and had, according to Orose C Antiquities of Ireland,'* p. xvii), 220 houses in Ireland. The Canons of St. Victor, according to the same authority, had bat seven monastic houses in Ireland, and appear to have had bat
* Since writing the above, with the assistance of Qeneial Weldon, I have discovered what greatly resembles the south and west walls of the old church on the west of the stable-yard; the west wall abuttins on the pond. About twelve feet from the top of the west gable wall are two narrow square-headed windows.
^ By a Patent Roll, dated May 18th, 1550, licence was given to Sir John Travers, of Moncton, otherwise Oarrickbrennan, in the County of Dublin, to alienate to Luke Netterville, of Douth, and others, amongst other lands, *' the castle and 80 acres of land in Heynestown." Thla Luke Netterville, of Douth, was a Justice of the Queen's Bench in Ireland in 1559.
* " Early Landowners in Kill," by Rev. Canon Sherlock, Kildare Society's Journal, vol. ii, p. 183.
NOTES ON FURNESS, OR GREAT KORENAGHTS. 457
one in this coanty, namely, at St. Wolstan's, near Gelbridge, fonnerl; Scala Coeli, founded by Adam de Hereford in 1206.' The site of the Abbey of St. Tliomas may be seen in Speed's Map, made in 1610 (see Gilbert's " History of Dublin," vol. i), west of the Coombe, and north of the present James's Street.
The church at Furnesa can be described in a few words, for the design is simplicity itself, and it is almost altogether devoid of omsment.
FuHN'EKH CncncR from the E>hi.
The church consieta of a nave and chancel, separated by a semicircalar arch 8 feet 10 inches in height, and of 7 feet 5 inches width at the spring of the arch. The total interior length is S4 feet 7 inches, of which 19 feet 4 inches is the length of the chancel, whilst the nave is 18 feet 9 inches, and the chancel IS feet 5 inches wide. The three long and narrow windows at the west end, of which the centre one is higher and broader than the others, are in a ruinous condition, and seem to have been round-arched, as the other windows of the church, bat the splay is very slight The two windows on each side of
' Harris's " Ware," vol. ii, p. 270. la the Appeodix to " Hibemia DominicatM," the total number of houms of RegulAr Cancins ia put as 231 .
45^ NOTES ON FURNESS, OR GREAT FORENAGHTS.
the chancel and nave are deeply splayed, the splay being roond- arched internally ; that on the south side of the nave is in a good state of preBervation, the stone of the sides of the estemal opening being cnt and chiselled, with a square top in the cose of the nave window. iDternally the south window in the nave measures 7 feet 4 inches by 4 feet 11 inches, that in the chancel 6 feet 1 inch by S feet 9 inches. At the east end there is a double- light semicircular window of out stone, with a deep interior splay. The masonry over this window on the inside is eridently modem, and probably it was originally arched with a deep splay, as seen in the windows on the south side. The two recessed doorways, one on each side of the nave, have semi- circniar arches, with arched drip-stones over, in the exterior of
NOTES ON FURNESS, OR GREAT FORENAGHTS. 459
the wall. Internally the masonry of the arch is squared, evidently to let in the door, which probably was rectangular. On the eastern jamb of the south doorway, about two feet from the ground, a piece of wood (now all but fossilized) let into the masonry was evidently used to hold the door-bolt.
Some old coloured glazed tiles were found recently in cleaning out the chancel floor ; the glazing of some is still quite perfect. It will be noticed from the appearance of the masonry that probably the floor of the chancel sloped down from the altar — a common practice, I believe. A number of old slates, very rough and uneven, were found buried in the clay about. I leave it to experts to determine their probable date ; the usual books of reference inform us that slates were very little used before the sixteenth century. Whilst there is not any particular feature of the church that is absolutely inconsistent with its being of pre-Norman construction,^ the combination of the long triple west window, the double doorway north and south, instead of a single entrance on the west, and the double-lighted east window, point to the date of the church being after the Norman settlement. Probably the donor in 1210 was also the builder.
The square granite font, with a hole in the centre, now in the church was found buried outside the north of the church. There do not appear to be any traces of recess or fastener for the lid-cover, which Canon Sherlock has observed in the fonts of the South Welsh churches of this date.
It will be noticed that there are eleven scaffolding putlock holes in the masonry of the walls at various heights above the gi'onnd, some going right through the walL
I am unable to trace the origin or use of the various cut- stone pillars and scallop-pattern stone urns, of various kinds, that are scattered about in or near the church. It is not impossible that they formed part of an ornamental sepulchral monument round the vault in the centre of the church. There can be little doubt that this vault was formerly the burial-place of the Nevill family, who settled in Fumess some time in the last half of the seventeenth century. In the wills of three members of the family, Richard Nevill, of Great Phornaghts (will dated 1st March, 1682), Richard Nevill (will proved 27th September, 1720), and Arthur Jones Neville (will proved 15th March, 1771), direc-
* E.g., the low chancel arch was a characteristic of early Irish churches, and the deep-splayed semicircular windows were also common before the Norman Invasion.
Petrie, '* Round Towers and Ancient Architecture," pp. 183, 315.
460 NOTES ON FURNESS, OR GREAT FORENAGHTS.
tions are given by the testators to have their bodies buried in the chnrch at Fnmess. At Rathmore Ghnrch, beside and under the east wall, there is also a vault, with covering stone inscribed as being the ** vault and burial-place of the Nevills of Furnace; " but, from the lettering of the inscription, I should judge this vault to be not older than the last (nineteenth) century; in &ct, I doubt whether Bathmore Church now standing is more than a century old. Of the number of headstones in the Fumess Churchyard there are only two with inscriptions. One lying outside the west wall of the church bears the letters and date M.D. 1717. Possibly the Nevills slated the church when they made the vault and monument at the end of the seventeenth century.
The other tombstone, outside the south wall, has been deciphered by the Earl of Mayo, and the result recorded in '' The Journal of the Society for the Preservation of the Memorials of the Dead,'* vol. i, p. 409.
An old granite tombstone, outside the south-west corner of the church, bears incised marks, in the form of a cross ; query, to form the quarterings of a shield ?
Seward, in his '' Topographia," published in 1795, refers to '' a ruin of an old church " at Fumess, ** which has a painted glass of great antiquity, and not inferior in colour and beauty to any in Europe." This must be a mistake. The writer (taking his information at second-hand) probably referred to the semi- circular stained-glass window (still preserved) which until recently was in a room built out on the south side of the house, and was described in this Society's Journal by the late Rev. Denis Murphy, S.J. (vol. ii, p. 452).
The yew-tree on the north-west corner of the churchyard is mentioned by Lowe, in his work on '' The Yew-trees of Oreat Britain,'' as one of the thirty-four trees in Ireland with a girth of over ten feet.
If Mr. Lowe is right in his observations on the age and growth of yew-trees, this specimen cannot be above the age of 860 years.
The Abbey of St Thomas shared the fate of other monastic institutions, and its possessions were parcelled out in the middle of the sixteenth century. In 1545 William Brabazon, ancestor of the present Earl of Meath, got a grant of the site and lands of the abbey, in the City of Dublin, still held, I believe, by the Meath family.
I have been unable to ascertain who were the owners of the lands of Great Forenaghts from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century, and, in particular, whether the Regular Canons owned the lands of the parish as well as the church and tithes.
NOTES ON FURNESS, OR GREAT FORENAGHTS. 461
According to an Exchequer return for 1802-18079 the Churches of St. Molyng and of the Yill de Fornach were valued at 608. per annum, of which the tenth, 6s.^ At the end of the sixteenth century, a family of the name of Ash, or Ayshe, some of whom resided at Naas, and were merchants there, appear as owners of Forenaghts. In 1676 a Lawrence Asshe, of Little Forenoght, was pardoned (Elizabeth, Fiant, No. 2,674;; in 1608 Edward Ayshe, of Furnaghts, appears as one of the Jurors for the County Kildare, and in the same year one Nicholas Ashe is stated to be the Provost of the town of Naas (Cal. Carew MSS., James I, p. 24). William Eustace, brother and heir to Lord Baltinglass, married Margaret, daughter of Ashe, of Great Furnaghts, but did not succeed to the title or lands of bis brother, as they were forfeited for his brother's participation in the rebellion in 1586. I cannot trace any connection between this family of Ashe and that of Ashe, of Moone, in this county, referred to in a former volume of this Journal (vol. i, pp. 40 and 150), nor, again, between them and the Ashes, of Ashfield, County Meath, who at various times from 1585 were M.P.s for Trim (see " Dictionary of National Biography," sul) tit. " Ashe," and Burke's *' Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland," edition of 1834, vol. iii, p. 578). In 1698 one Thomas Ashe appears as a grantee of lands in Kildare from King William and Mary ; and in 1701 Thomas Ashe appears to have his lands in Kildare restored to him as an Innocent ("Hardinge Surveys, 1688-1864," pp. 28-32), qiury, Ashe of Moone ? John Lattin, of Naas, who died circa 1600, married Alson Ash, sister of Robert Ash, of Naas, and from them by this marriage are descended the family of Mansfield, of Morristown Lattin,^ who, I believe, still hold lands belonging to the Ash family in the neighbourhood of Johnstown Inn.
It will thud be seen that the Ashes, Eustaces, and Lattins were connected by marriage, and that in troublous times. This fact may seem to explain the real meaning of some dealings with the Furness property which I shall refer to later on.
We shall see presently that the Ash family continued to own Great Fomaghts down to the period of the Hebellion of 1641 ; although a part of the fcownland, i.e., 1 toft and 20 acres in Great Fomaghts, as described in the Chancery Inquisitions (4th September, 1638), seems to have belonged to Christopher Flattisbury, who also owned Palmerstown and Johnstown. There is in this entry a curious phrase, the explanation of
* ** Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland " (Sweetman), p. 246. ' See Society*B Jouknal, vol. iii, p. 191.
462 NOTES ON FURNESS, OR GREAT FORENAGHTS.
which I should be glad to discover. It declares that " premissa in Great Fomaghes tenentr de Nic White mil/ nt de maner' suo de Leixlep." Why was Great Fornaghts held of the Manor of Leixlip? We know that Adam de Hereford, the original grantee from Strongbow of Leixlip, had also large gi*ant8 of land at Oughterard, and at Kill and its neighbour- hood; and if Great Fornaghts was included in this grant, the mention of the Manor of Leixlip in 1688 may be simply a restatement of the original condition on which all the lands were held when in possession of one person. No manor could be created in the feudal times except by the Crown or by the authority of the Crown ; and once created the original conditions had to be preseiTed.^
It is probable that the Ashe Family were involved in the rising of 1641 (or so suspected), for Thomas Ash^ of the Barony of Salt (in which Great Forenaghts is situate), and William Ash, of Naas, appear in the list prepared in 1656 of proprietors whose lands were forfeited "by the late horrid rebellion."* We find, however, that Thomas Ash and William Ash had already, before the rebellion, mortgaged the lands of ''The Great Forenaghts " to Alexander Eustace of Dowdingstown, in the Parish of Tipper- kevin, and (then) County of Dublin, as appear by the Decrees of Innocents, 15 Charles II (17th Feb., 1668), and, as the Decree finds, Alexander Eustace^ an '* innocent Papist," was on the 22nd October, 1641, seized and possessed of the said lands subject to a mortgage for £160 ; and so Walter Eustace, the son and heir of Alexander Eustace, was granted a decree for posses- sion by the Commissioners under the Act of Settlement and Explanation.
Now we have seen that the Ashes and Eustaces were kinsmen and trusted friends, so that it is not at all impossible that this mortgage (for a small sum) was a friendly transaction designed to preserve the property from confiscation. However that may be, the lands soon changed hands and passed into the possession of a family named Nevill or Neville, for Richard Neville was Sherifi' of Co. Eildare in 1678. The Nevills must therefore have acquired the lands some time between 1668 (the date of the Decrees of Innocents), and 1678, and not in 1649, as Burke seems to suggest (''Dictionary of Landed Gentry/' 4th edn., 8vl>
* See Statute De Donis^ 13 Edw. I, c. i ; Williams on Real Property, sixth edition, pp. 59 and 107'
^ See List prepared by Ohristophei- Gough, 27th January, 1656, by order of the Lords Protectors, quoted by Hart, '' Irish Landed Gentry," pp. 247, 266.
NOTES ON FURNESS, OR GREAT FORENAGHTS. 463
tit ** Neville of Borrismore/' and ** Landed Gentry of Ireland^ 1900," $uh tit. " Neville of Moyfin.")
From this date until the '^forties " of the nineteenth century, the Nevilles lived at Fumess, and appear to have been persons of consequence.
The first Richard Nevill of Fumess married, before 1654^ Margaret, eldest daughter of Sir William Ussher (who was knighted 20th May, 1686, and died April, 1671), by his first wife, Elizabeth, third daughter of Sir William Parsons, Knight and Bart., Lord Justice of Ireland in 1641. According to his funeral entry, he died 13th September, and was buried 16th September, 1682, in the country.
Richard Nevill, the son of the first B. Nevill of Furness, was Sheriff of Eildare in 1692, and was Sovereign of Naas in the same year. He then appears as Recorder of Naas, and M.P. for Naas in 1695, and again in 1708 ; but he was unseated on petition in 1718. (Kildare Society's Journal, vol. i, pp. 200 and 269.) Mary Nevill, the daughter and eventually the heir of this Richard Nevill, married Colonel Richard Edward Jones, who took the name of Nevill, and was father of Arthur Jones Nevill, who was Sheriff of Eildare in 1762 and in 1744, was Surveyor and Director- General of Fortifications. (" Liber Public. Mun. Hib.," part ii, p. 106.) In this position he appears to have got into trouble ; at any rate, he was violently attacked by Flood and the Opposition Party, for defects in barrack works under his super- vision, and finally (No. 1,758) was expelled the House of Commons (where he sat as M.P. for Wexford), for disobeying the order of the House in not making good such defects.^
This did not prevent his eldest son, Richard Nevill (b. 1745), being M.P. for Wexford Borough from October, 1771, to the Union, and afterwards with intervals to 1819 in the United Parliament.
This Richard Nevill was Teller of the Exchequer under the Irish Parliament — a remarkably pleasant office to hold, as, according to the '^ Liber Munerum Publicorum Hiberniffi** (vol. ii, pp. 17, 229) the salary of £2,835 per annum was attached to it, of which £885 went to a Deputy, leaving a net £2,000 for a sinecure office. He appears to have held this office until his death in 1822.'
1 ((
History of City of Dublin," by Gilbert, vol. iii, p. 100 ; Historical Manuscripts Commission; 12th Report, MSS. of Earl of Charlemont, Appendix, p. x, and pp. 188, 279.
**' Anthologia Hibomica," vol. ii, p. 271. Comwallis Correspondence, vol. iii, p. 45, note.
464 NOTES ON FURNESS, OR GREAT FORENAGHTS.
According to the ** Anthologia Hibemioa/' toI. ii, p. 471» a Richard Neville of Farness died at Hot Wells, Bristol, Nov. 80, 1793. I cannot identify this individual ; he is not mentioned by Barke, and there is no will of his in the Record Office. Arthur Jones Nevill, of Furnace, whose will was proved 15th March, 1771, mentioned, besides his eldest son, Richard, another surviving son, Thomas, who, as we shall see hereafter, must have married and had issue. B. Nevill, M.P., who died 1822, and whose will was proved 22nd June, 1822, there mentions only his two daughters, Henrietta and Marianne. It is possible that he had a son, Richard, who predeceased him in 1798.
The eldest daughter and co-heir of R. Neville, M.P., who died 1822, Henrietta, married firstly (25th January, 1805), Edward Dering, eldest son of Sir Edward Dering, 7th Baronet ; and secondly (15th January, 1810, Burke wrongly says 1840) to Sir William Geary, 2nd Baronet.^
The present Sir Henry Nevill Dering, Baronet, and also Sir William Nevill Montgomerie Geary, Baronet, are both descended from this Henrietta Neville, the heiress of Furness. The last Richard Nevill of Furness by his will (proved 22nd June, 1822) divided his property equally between his two daughters, leaving, however, '' Furnace, house, offices, garden, front lawn, and back lawn to the river, cottage, and thirty acres," to his daughter Marianne, with an option to take over the demesne at a valuation. He mentions also in his will a nephew, Dane Draper Nevill, who must have been a son of his younger brother, Thomas, referred to above, but not mentioned by Burke.
The representative in the male line of the first Richard Nevill, of Great Forenaghts, would appear, according to Burke's *' Landed Gentry,*' to be descended from Garrett, the third son of this Richard Nevill, now represented by the Nevilles of Moyfin, County Meath.
I am indebted to G. D. Burtchaell, Esq., M.RI.A., for some notes on the Neville family, which seem to prove conclusively that the tradition (incorporated in many books of reference) that the first Richard Neville, of Furness, was a son of Edward Neville, a cadet of the Abergavenny family, and that, having killed one Sir Samuel Luke in a duel, he fled to Ireland in 1649, has no foundation in fact.
Sir Samuel Luke, who was knighted 20th July, 1624, and was M.P. for Bedford in 1610 and 1659, did not die till August, 1670. In the last edition of Burke's '^ Landed Gentry," the
' Foster's ** Baronetage," tit. '' Dering " and «* Geary.
»»
NOTES ON FURNESS, OR GREAT FORENAGHTS. 465
di£Sculty about Sir Samuel Luke is got oyer by suggesting ** or Lake ; " but there was no *' Sir Samuel Lake " in existence at the time.
Further^ Edward Neville, son of the Hon. Franois Neville, of Eyner, had no sons. He married Margaret, daughter of Sir Francis Palmer, and had four daughters, as appears from a pedigree, dated 1650, in Ulster's Office : —
1. Anne, m. 1st, Sir Richard Southwell; 2nd, John
Trenchard.
2. Frances, m. Lord Ghrey de Ruthyn. 8. Douglas, m. Thomas Pooley.
4. Eatherine.
Moreover, the Arms entered for this Richard Neville in his funeral entry in Ulster's Office are Barry of four, argent and azure, on a chief of the first a saltire gules ; i.e., the arms of the family of Neville, of County Wexford, styled Barons of Rose- garland, settled in the County Wesford since the time of Strongbow.
According to Burke, the arms of Neville, of Moyfin, County Meath, are gules, on a saltire argent, a rose of the field, i.e., the arms of the Abergavenny Nevilles; and, as the pedigree set out in Burke makes the Nevilles of Moyfin to be the male representa- tives of the first Richard Neville, of Fumess, some explanation is needed, in view of the facts we have stated.
An account of the Nevilles of Rosegarland is to be found in the recently published " History of Wexford," by Mr. Philip Herbert Hore.
From the appended pedigree, which has been principally compiled by Mr. G. D. Burtchaell^ it would appear that the Colonel Edward Jones (wrongly called Richard by Archdall, Burke, and other authorities), who married, circa 1717, Mary, daughter, and eventually heiress, of Richard Neville, of Furnace (will proved 27th September, 1720), was of a Welsh family that had been for some time settled in the County Wexford.
The Fumess estate appears to have been settled on Arthur Jones Nevill, son of Colonel Edward Jones and Mary Nevill, on his marriage with Elinor Reeves (see will of Captain Richard Nevill, of Furnace, proved 18th April, 1760). Whether this family of Jones was allied to the Joneses who were Sovereigns of Naas and persons of importance in Eildare in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, I leave to the investigation of others. Nicholas Jones was executor to the will of the first Richard Nevill, of Great Forenaghts (March, 1682), and a Nicholas
466 NOTES ON FURNESS, OK GREAT FORENAGHTS.
Jones was M.P. for Naas in 1692 ; and a Thomas Jones was of Osberstown, and Sheriff of Eildare in 1704.^
I have already mentioned that Arthur Young visited Fnmess in his Irish tour, in 1777, as the gnest of R. Neville, M.P. ; and he records^ at considerable extent, the result of his inquiries into the mode of life of the inhabitants, and their methods of farming. He was struck in his journey from Dublin with the large population of the country ; that it was generally corn-producing ; that the practice prevailed of ploughing with oxen; and that many of the cottiers found employment in spinning. In his various tours throughout Ireland he made careful observations of the wages of labour, and notes that at Fumess the rate for labourers was 8d. a day in the hay and harvest season, and 7d. in winter; whilst a carpenter earned 2s.y and a thatcher Is. 6d,, per day.*
I have little to say of the long-stone in the centre of the rath, or of the rath itself, inasmuch as the long-stones and raths in the neighbourhood of Naas have already formed the subject of an article by Colonel T. de Burgh, in the Society's Journal. (And see drawings vol. iii, p. 59.) I only note that the stone is about 17 feet above the ground, and is rectangular for about 12 feet from the ground (the side dimensions being 2 feet 10 inches by 2 feet 6 inches), and then is jagged, and gradually narrows. It is to be noticed that the six-inch Ordnance Sheet is wrong in marking the long-stone as outside the rath. It has been stated that there is no granite to be found nearer than Ballyknocken, in the County Wicklow, nine miles away, I am not sure that this is quite correct There are no granite quarries ; but on the site of the old pond near Fumess House is a large granite boulder, evidently laid bare after the excavations for making the pond. This seems to be a glacial deposit ; and probably further delving would show that it was not a solitary specimen. The Furness long-stone, and also the Punchestown and Craddocks- town long-stones, visited at the Society's excursion in September, 1901, have no inscriptions} Ogham or otherwise; and they do not, therefore, tell their own story. Tradition also fails us. O'Donovan, in his "Ordnance Survey Letters" (vol. ii, p. 165), records the general tradition as to long-stones — ^that they were either "thrown by the giants from Uisneath Hill, or left in
1 I add here the following query : — How is it that Samuel MUls is descrihed as of Fumess, and Sheriff of Kildare in 1621, although the last Richard NevUl, of Fumess, describes himself as of that place in his will proved 22nd June, 1822 ?
' '* Tour in Ireland," vol. ii, p. 216, and App, ^.
NOTES ON FURNESS, OR GREAT FORENAGHTS. 467
their present position by a witch, or used by the Druids." We need not discuss the ** Deus ex maohina " theories ; and^ as for the third, almost all unexplained Celtic customs and relics are referred to Dmidism, with scanty or no evidence. A writer (Mr. Hitchcock) in ''The Kilkenny Archsaological Journal" (yoL i, 1864-66, pp. 280, 281), speculates that these pillar-stones were originally landmarks dividing the territories of the old chieftains, as lands were then divided in Roman times.^ But a link in the chain of proof is wanting. It has not, that I am aware of, been ever proved that the line of these or other pillar- stones corresponds with known ancient territorial divisions. Another theory, that they had a monumental or sepulchral use, equally lacks corroboration ; and certainly there is none in this case. Probably the theory that best fits in with the known hds, and the surviving practices in pagan countries, is that these rude monuments were the object of a particular form of heathen worship. I have had a precise account of these practices and rites now in vogue in Persia and Afghanistan, Northern India (where these long-stones are also common), from a friend long resident in the East.
The Fumess Rath, which, according to the Ordnance Map, is 648 feet above sea-level, is circular in shape, with an interior diameter of 67 yards. The rampart has a width at the bottom of from 20 to 26 feet The exterior foss is deepest at the northern side, i.e., 20 feet from the top of the rampart, and probably there was originally a lower exterior rampart outside the foss, traces of which are seen on the western side. The rampart is formed of mixed earth and stones, and I cannot find trace of masonry or of '* revetted stonework,'' which Colonel de Burgh states is peculiar to the Furness Rath. (Vol. ii, TCTrnAHTg AnoHiBOLoaiOAL SooiBTY^s Journal, p. 818.) On the east and west sides the earthwork is cut away; but whether these entrances are modem or not it would be difficult to say. The common belief that these raths are inhabited by fairies, accounts for the wild natural growth of trees and shrubs about, as it is considered unlucky to lay violent hands upon them; and I may say the same prevalent belief is apt to baulk the investigations of the inquisitive antiquarian.
I had long been of opinion, judging by the marks in the field adjoining, that there was once a road leading to the south side of the rath, and going towards Brognestown, forming a
^ Of the worship of boundaiy marks in Roman times, under the iignation of the god ** Terminus,** compare Ovid's wdl-known ode.
designatic
^' Tennine sive lapis, sive es defossus in agro, stipes."
JCK
468 NOTES ON FURNESS, OR GREAT FORENAGHTS.
prolongation of the road leading from Johnstown Inn past Lady Garden's house, at Westown ; and this opinion was confirmed by Noble and Eeenan's map of the County Eildare, published in 1762, which shows such a road. Local tradition also speaks of a public road coming from the north, past the old church, And leading towards Haynestown and Newtown Mill.
I cannot ascertain the name of the architect (if there was one), or the date of the present house at Furness, and I can find no trace or tradition of the site of the house inhabited by the Ashes and by the Nevilles when they first came here.
The granite pillar of a sun-dial in the garden bears the incised inscription: —
"RN. 178L"
On the south side of the south wing are the following letters and figures : —
" L A, 1788/'
" L A" possibly means " In Anno."
But probably the centre part of the house is older. If the house was begun about 1781, the builder was Richard Nevill, whose will was proved 18th April, 1760, and who, having been never married, and being about thirty years in the possession of the estates, had the opportunity to save the wherewithal to begin building on a large scale ; for there are many signs that the present structure falls far short of tl^e original plan.
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( 470 )
JOHN FITZGERALD, OF NARRAGHBEG,
By OMURETHI.
NABRAGHBEG is a low hill, lying a mile and a half to the North-east of Gastledermot. It was so called in distinc- tion to Narraghmore, which lies seven miles to the North of it. According to Father Shearman's '^Loca Patriciana/' the fall name of the latter in Irish was '' An forrac mor Patraic," meaning St Patrick's great seat or meeting-place; in the Inquisitions and Fiants it is called '' the Norraghe/' which gives the name to the baronies of East and West Narragh. Hence Narraghbeg ^ means the lesser meeting-place.
Previous to the sixteenth century Narraghbeg and the sur- rounding townlands formed a portion of the manor of Eilkea, belonging to the Earls of Eildare.'
During the sixteenth century the FitzGeralds of Lackagh had possession of it, and paid a head-rent to the Earls of Eildare. By an Inquisition held at '^Lytyl Norraghe'' on the 2nd of January, 1687, it was found that Thomas fitzMorish FitzGerald, late of Balfeaghan, in the County Meath, and of Lackagh, at the time of his death, on the 4th of August, 1588, was seised of 2 messuages and 200 acres in Lytyl Norraghe, 4 messuages and 200 acres in Wassiston, 2 messuages and 90 acres in Rath- scolbyn, and 1 messuage and 140 acres in Hoberston, all held of the King as of his manor of Eilkea/ Owing to the rebellion of the Silken Thomas, the Earl of Eildare's property was at this time forfeited to the Crown.
* In August, 1569, Sir Edmond Butler, of Clogrennan, in the County Carlow, who was then in rebellion, was reported to the Council as having burned "Lyttle Norroth," in the County KUdare. (Hamilton's ^^ Calendar of State Papers, Ireland.")
'In a manuscript volume at Carton, labelled **Leinster Papers," mention is made of a feoffment by Patrick Bedfort, son and heir of John Bedfort, son and heir of Eline Maghery, daughter and heir of Thomas Mashery, late of Rathsculbey, County Kildare, to Gerald, 8th Earl of Kildare, on the 16th January, 1488, of all his lands in Rath- sculbey, Torraght (i.e., Narraghbeg), Molyndreyn, and Testildermot ; besides lands in the County Carlow, viz., Knockefaight, Great and Little Rathbille, and Spureoneston aliai Lisneva.
' County Carlow Exchequer Inquisitions of Henry VIII.
JOHN FITZGERALD, OF NARRAGHBEG. 47 1
At the commencement of the seventeenth century a John FitzGerald was seated at Narraghbeg. He, I believe, was a younger son of James FitsGerald, of Eilrush, who died on the 20th August, 1602, by his wife, a daughter of Teige oge mac Teige O'Doyne, Chief of I Regan, in the Queen's County. There was another John FitzGerald, brother of the Sir Maurice Fitz- Gerald, Ent.y whose effigy lies in St. Brigid's Cathedral at Eildare, and who in his will made the following bequest : —
** Itesc. — I bequiet to my brother John FitzGerald XX** in money, and two good yong horses." *
But as their father, Thomas FitzGerald, of Lackagh, died on the 4th of August, 1688, it is very improbable that this can have been the John FitzGerald, of Narraghbeg ; as, according to the following funeral entry, the latter died in 1620 : —
' ' John FitzGerald, of Noraghbeg, in the Oountie of Kildare deceased the ll*** April 1620 ; he had to wife Elenor [recU, Ellen] d' of Oliver Tidlone of Boylough in the Oountie of Catherlough, by whome he had issue — Elenor, Mary, Mien, and Elizabeth."
[This correction should be noted in the FitzGerald of Lackagh Pedigree at p. 247, Vol. i of The Journal.]
Three of John FitzGerald 's daughters were married : —
Elenor married Teige oge O'Byme, of Ballinvalley,
Goulity Wicklow, and had issue. She died in 1684.
Her will is in the Record Office, and is dated the
4th of June in that year.
Maj'y was also married, according to her father's will
. (? to Patrick O'Hickey). Ellen mkrried William Weisley, of Hobbardstown, Co. Kildare^ and had issue.
According to a County Eildare Chanceiy Inquisition^ taken in Naas on the 18th of May, 1688, Maurice FitzGerald, of Lackagh, was at the time of his death, in 1687> in possession of the manor, towns, and lands of Norraghbeg, Rathscolbin^ Tal- lonston, Hobbardston,^ and Bally vasse alias Waston, held of the Earl of Eildare. By indenture dated the 20th of March, 1682, he granted the premises in Hobbardston, and the water-
' Sir Maurice FitzGerald died on the 26th December, 1575. His will is in the Record Office, Dublin.
'Rathaoolbin is now Roocolvin. There is now no townland called Tallonstown ; it may have been a part of the present large townland of Hobbardstown.
4^2 JOHN FITZGERALD, OF NARRAGHBEG.
mill there, to Ellen Tallon, her heirs and assigns, for which reason she was then (in May, 1688) in possession.
In 1640 John FitzOerald's wife, Ellen Tallon, died intestate, and administration was subsequently granted on the 21 at of November to her son-in-law, William Weisley.*
On the 28rd of October, 1641 , James FitzGerald, of Lackagh, was outlawed for high treason, thus forfeiting his right and title to the manor of Narraghbeg, which, according to ** The Book of Survey and Distribution," passed into the hands of the Duke of York, and then to a John Asgill. Hobbardstown, however, remained in the possession of William Weisley and his wife.
According to the List of Claims entered with the Trustees at Chichester House, Dublin, in 1700, the lordship, castle, town, and lands of Narrabegg, Tallonstown, and Rathcolvin were claimed by Oliver Pleydell, executor of Edmond Pleydell, who had obtained a lease of them for thirty-one years in 1670.
The last family that inhabited Narraghbeg House, long since a ruin, appears to have been that of Slack, as in the west end of the Castledermot Churchyard is a broken and chipped headstone, with the following incised inscription : —
'*THIS BURIEL FLAG BELONG TO Y FAMILY OF Y SLACKS ft HEERE LIBS
Y BODY OF RANDOLL SLAOK OF [NA£ RAGH] BEGG QUAN WHO DECEASED
Y . . OF FE 1723 & IN Y 66 YEA OF HIS AGE.
In a manuscript volume at Carton, labelled '^Leinster Papers,'* mention is made of a lease, dated the 6th July, 1682, for sixty-one years, to a Captain Edward Blunt, of the towns, and lands of Narraghbegge, Boultowne (Bolton), Newtowne, and other town- lands, at a rent of £100 and two couple of fat capons yearly, to be paid at the Castle or House of Maynooth ; conditions are added that he should repair Bolton Castle, and maintain two horsemen and four footmen fully armed.
This Captain Blunt may have become the tenant of Narragh- beg on the death of John FitzGerald in 1620.
We now return to John FitzGerald, who, according to the funeral entry, died on the 11th April, 1620. His will was signed on the 22nd of February, 1619 (i.e., 1620), and was proved on the
* Prerogative Grant, Record Office.
JOHN FITZGERALD, OF NARRAGHBfiG. 47^
following 12th of May. The copy given here was made from the original in the Record Office : —
In Dei nomine, Amen.
*' I, John FitzGerald of Narrebege in the Countie of Kildare^ Gentle- man, of perfect health and memory, God be thanked, doe make my last will and testament in manner and forme following, the 22 day of Feb. 1619.
'* First, I bequiet my sole to Almightie Grod, my Saviour and Redemer, and my bodie to be buryed in the parrish church of Kilcake.
*' item, I make, constitute, and appoint my well-beloved wife Ellen FitzGerrald, als. Tallon, my sole executrixe of this my last will and testa- ment.
^' Item^ I devise and bequiet to my said wife and executrixe all that my fearme of Narrebegge, Hobberstowne, Bally wase, and Rathskolbine, and alsoe my mortegadge of Dowganstowne, and alsoe a paroell of lande which I holde of Sir Bamaby fitzBrien, Knight, fur tearme of yeares to have and to hold the said fearme of Narrebege, Hobberstowne, Ballywase, and Rathskolbine, and the saide parcell of lande in Dowganstowne to the said Ellin Tallon my wife, her executors and assignes for ever, and alsoe the said towne and lands of Dowganstowne, and my mortegadge thereof to the said Ellen her heires and assignes; the said Ellen my wife preferinge my twoe daughters Ellen and Elizabeth FitzGerrald, to good and hon**^ preferment accordinge that she in her discretion shall seeme good.
*^Item, I leave to her alsoe all mv flock of catle, come, and house- hold stuffe, in the said fearmes and landes for the consideration afore- said ; and my further meaning is that such part or porcion of my said fearmes and goods as the said Ellen my wife shall have undisposed that she shall leave the same to the children begotten betwixt her selfe and me, and to none other.
'^Iterrij I beauiet and devise to my twoe daughters Ellinor and Mary allreddy marriea, my mortegadge of half e the parsonadge of Ardristin in the countie of Catherlagh, and the towne and lands of Knockeneran, in the said countie, with theire appurtenances thereof, and my mortegadge thereof, to have and to hold the said moiety of the parsonadge of Ardristin, and the said towne and landes of Knockerran, to my twoe said daughters EUinor and Mary, theire heires and assignes, joyntly and equally to be divided betwixt them.
^^Item, I will and ordayne that my said wife shall dischardge and paye all lawfuU debts due uppon me to any person or persons what- soever.
* * liemf 1 doe will and appoint that my son Patricke O'Hickey shall receave and have of my goods so much as his mother and his foster-father, Dermod O'Banan shall sweare to have come to my hands of his porcion of his father's goods, and 1 appoint that my said wife shall deliver unto him soe mutch more of my owne goods.
'* In witness wherof, 1, the said John FitzGerrald, hereunto my last will and testament, put my hande and seale, the said day and yere first above written.
"-f- John FitzGen*ald's make.
''Being present at the sealing and publishing therof by the said John FitzGerrakl, as his last wiU and testament, those persons whose names are hereunder written.
" Mich. Cowley.
"EdmondO'Kelly,
'« Ellinor Bime, als. FitzGerald.
''James Walsh."
474 JOHN FITZGERALD, OF NARRAGHBEG.
The townlanda named in the third paragraph of the will are DOW : — Narraghbeg, Hobbartstovn, Ballyvase, and Roacolvin ; and are sitaated between Kilkea Castle and GaBtlederniot. Dowganstown is probublj intended for Donganstown, near Carlow ; and Ardristan is iu the Baronj of Bathrill;.
Kilcake is probably the " Killcocke in Kilmsh parish, cod- taining 180 acres," mentioned in " the Snrrey and Distribation Book," as having been granted to Lord Ely after the 1641 period. Neither Kilcake nor Kilcock is the name of a townland in the parish of Kilmsh (Coanty Kildare) at the present time.
John FltzGerald's wish, as expressed in his will, to be buried at " Kilcake " does not seem to have been carried ont, as two portions of a memorial cross erected by his wife were, antU a few years ago, lying about in the charohyard at Castledermot (which is one mile from Narraj;[hbeg), and where it is presamed he was aotnally bnried. Three other portions of the same cross have been identified as belonging to it ; they were found, as described below, scattered some miles apart ; and all were for safety collected together and deposited in Kilkea Castle in 1894.
Fig. I was brought from Mr. Patrick Faroan's garden at Bolton Castle, three miles from Castledermot, where it was being used for a flower-stand. Its position in the cross was probably between the shaft and the upper portion ; it has a socket both above and below.
Fig. II was for years lying at Eilkea Castle ; the opposite face is completely broken off.
Fig. in was discovered lying inside the Bound Tower of Castledermot.
Fig. IT was lying used as a headstone at the west end of Castledermot churchyard. Below the emblems of the Crucifixion is a crowned figure, probably intended for the Blessed Virgin Mary. The upper portion of the opposite side is blank ; but in the lower part is what is intended for the Tallon coat-of-arme, riz. : —
"Or, four bars sable, a canton ai^ent."
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ft «
I
JOHN FITZGERALD, OF NARBAGHBEG. 477
Fig. V IB B small fragment, one face of which is smooth and plain, while the other is completely broken off; at the sideB are portions of the figures of saiuts. The lower end of this fragment is redaced as if to form a dowel to fit into a socket. It was discovered while repairing a haggard wall in Castledermot
The ooraera of this cross were ornamented with a twisted rope-like border, with the exceptions of Figs I and IV, which have a bevelled edge ; the existing portions of the shaft are 7 inches thick and 91 inches in width ; the carving is in low
FtottacB or thi Bumts b .
JoHH FitzQesala's Monvmbmtui Csoee.
St. Juu Uuoi Si. Aiduw. St. Tboium.
relief, except at the sides where the effigies of the saints are deeply cut under ogee-headed niches. Each saint ia similar in
4/8 JOHN FITZGERALD, OF NARRAGHBEG.
appearance^ and only to be distingnished by the emblem or weapon, typical of his martyrdom, which he holds in his hand.
The inscriptions on the different portions are very frag- mentary ; what remain read as follows : —
On portion in Fig. I : —
THIS CBOSS WAS EBiEOTBD BE [sic] ELLEN TA
On Fig. II :—
FOB HEB HY8BAND JOHN FITZQ
And on the portion in Figure III : —
HIS SOVLE WHO DIED XI APE. | 162[0 d]eSIBINO YOU ALL TO PBAI FOB THB[m ].
At the back of this piece appears : —
THIS WORLD IS VANITIE.
And below the foliage device which comes next are the letters — mah : o. m., which I am unable to interpret, unless they are the initials of the stone-mason, and possibly may stand for Mahon O'More.
When the inscription was complete, it must have run some- thing in this manner : —
THIS CBOSS WAS EBBOTBD BE ELLEN Ta[lLON FOB HEBSELF and] FOB HEB HVSBAND lOHN FITZ-
o[erald of nabbebeqe, gent., may god have
MERCY on] his SOVLE, WHO DIED XI APB. 162[0 d]eSIRING YOW all to PBAI FOB THEM * * * *
This John FitzGerald, being descended from the FitzGeralds of Lackagh, who sprang from the 7th Earl of Kildare, bore for bis coat-of-arms ''a saltire gules," had a monkey for his crest, and used " Crom-a-boo *' for his motto.
( 479 )
NOTES ON MURAL GRAVES FOUND IN THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE CHANCEL OF ST. BRIG ins CA THEDRA L CHURCH, KILDA RE, IN 1891.
By the very REV. GEORGE YOUNG CO WELL, M.A.,
Dean of Kildare.
[Read, 22nd January, 1902.]
IT has been thoaght desirable that a short record should be preserved of two mnral interments in the foundations of the chancel (south side) of the Cathedral Church of St. Brigid, Kildare, discovered during the progress of rebuilding in 1891.
When the committee of restoration found themselves in a position to commence rebuilding the ruined chancel, thej resolved to do so as nearly as possible on the lines of the old one, which had been indicated in the plans of the late George Edmund Street, R.A., and were worked out in detail by J. F. Fuller, F.S.A., the Diocesan Architect, under whose careful and skilled direction the work of restoration was so satisfactorily completed.
The contractor was accordingly directed to follow and remove the remains of the old walls, in order to obtain an exact and sure foundation. When the workme^ had removed a small portion of the old walls on the south side, parts of which were exceedingly hard and well bonded, they came one evening unex- pectedly on a grave in the foundation itself, some foot and a half or two feet below the level of the ground, and at a distance of about twenty-four feet from th6 east wall of the south transept. The grave or cist was formed of ordinary masonry, the stones were not specially cut or shaped, and the opening was covered with rough green flags. The interior edge of the cist was straight, and ran parallel to the wall of the chancel. The exterior edge, on the other hand, was roughly shaped, like an ordinary coffin, somewhat like the accompanying sketch. The
'/////////
cist contained a skeleton, perfect apparently to the smallest bones, and the arms were crossed on the breast. I was sent for; but |i crowd had gathered in the meantime, and some of the teeth
480 MURAL GRAVES IN
had been taken as relics, and at least one woman had pat one in her mouth, apparently as a charm for toothache. This skeleton was doubtless regarded as that of an ancient saint ; but as the head was towards the west, the person interred was probably it layman, if the distinction between lay and clerical burials was observed at that time. The hour was late, and it was getting dark, so I had the churchyard cleared, the gate closed, and told the foreman that I would be up in the morning to decide what should be done ; but the hope, I presume, of getting some coins or other relics in the cist, led him to neglect my orders, and when I came next morning, the grave had been cleared, and the bones removed and buried. The foreman declared that nothing beyond the skeleton itself was found in the grave, not even a portion of a coffin.
When the workmen proceeded a few feet further in excavat- ing the foundation, another cist was discovered of a similar character, also containing a large skeleton, but apparently not covered with green flags.
The person buried must have been an immense man. My son, the late C. F. Lloyd Gowell, L.RG.S.L, measured some of the bones, and calculated the height as at least 6 feet 8 inches. He tested his calculations by some personal comparisons, and concluded that the man was considerably taller than he was, and his height was 6 feet 8i inches ; so that the calculation was pro- bably correct. Since writing the above, I have been making inquiries, and am informed by his brothers, who were present, that my son afterwards arranged the bones of the skeleton in order, and measured the length with a tape, which gave the height as 7 feet 6 inches, and that the length of the cist was 8 feet
So fietr as I could find out, nothing else was discovered in this grave. The peculiarity of the second grave was that the narrow end of the cist was towards the west, as if intended for the burial of an ecclesiastic, but that the person actually buried was a layman. At all events, contrary to the shape of the grave, the head and shoulders were placed in the narrow end of the cist The sketch above alluded to is intended to represent not only the shape, but the relative positions, of the two graves in the
wall
If you took an ordinary coffin of very large size, and cut it vertically down the middle from end to end, and then placed the two portions in line with the narrow ends towards each other, a few feet apart, you have the most exact illustration that I can give of the graves.
It was positively stated, as I have said^ that nothing was
CHANCEL OF ST BRIGID'S CATHEDRAL, KILDARE. 48 1
found in the grayes^ so that no eiLtraneons indications have been preserved of the period of the interments, or of the quality of the persons interred. These questions must be answered, so far as they can, by the place and nature of the interments themselves.
The place, in the south foundation of the chancel, indicates the distinfifuished position of the persons buried, whether lay or clerical. The nature indicates, I am inclined to believe, a period coeval with the building of the chancel, probably 1229 A.D., when the Cathedral was restored and beautified by Ralph of Bristol, probably the first English, or perhaps Norman, Bishop of Eildare. Mr. Street, in his report on the state of the fabric in October, 1871, says : — ''This ancient Cathedral appears to have been built in the early part of the thirteenth century.''
The interments could not have taken place subsequently to the erection of the chancel without very great difficulty, and tearing down a large portion of the chancel wall and its founda- tion, unless these " loculi " were originally formed in the foundation, covered with flags, the wall of the chancel built over them, and some indications left to point out where the face of chancel wall could be broken down to admit the bodies of the dead. This provisional arrangement does not seem very pro- bable. On the other hand, of course, the death of two distin- guished persons, just at the time of laying the foundations of the chancel, seems singular. I leave the decision to the learned guesses of the wise.
( 482 )
^tsccllanca.
Turnings. — The illustration given above is from a rubbing, taken by Mr. Cooke- Trench, of a sculptured window-bead of two lights, which is in use at the back of Turnings House. The original rubbing was exhibited at the Annual General Meeting of the Society in Naas, which waa postponed to the 20th February, 1901, owing to the deatli of Her Majesty. Whether this window la in n'tu, or whether it was brought here from another tocahty, is not known ; its mobable date is tiie fifteenth or sixteenth century.
There is said to be another sculptured stone close to the back- door, on which is cut in relief an object like a full-sized cricket- bat ; but it is not now visible, as daring the recent repairs to the house by the present occupant, Mr. Mills, the mason covered the stone with a coat of dashing.
In addition to these stones, there are two others, of small size,
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with lettering on them. Fig. £ is built into the base of gate-pier, attached to the house, leading into the stable-yard ; apparently it reads : " Thomas Par 1711." Fig. II is built into the pier of the gate on the farm-road.
^me of the fields around the house still bear Irish niunes : for
MISCELLANEA. 483
instance, the rocky field facing the hall-door is called '< Clocheraun ; " to thesonth are ''Parkanoss," or ^'Parkanaughy/' and ''Gloonavoy;'* to the north is <^ Gortshannick." Where the Turnings Boad joins the Sallins Boad is a stretch of it called '' Grookaun," and a gate known as the ** Gallows Gate.**
«..^ As to the history of this place very little is known; in the
^ / Inquisitions it goes by the name of '< Surning/' as well as ''Turning "
^.» ^ — a name I cannot explain the meaning of .^
'^ In 1406 the custody of the lands in the town of ** Surnyng "
i' was granted by the king to Thomas Hall, who on the 18th June,
. \ 1422, was appointed Sheriff of the County Eildare.^
S^ In the following century it formed a part of the Manor of
Whitechurch, which belonged to the Viscounts Gormanstown. As
^ early as 1508 Sir William Preston, 2nd Viscount Gormanstown,
enfeoffed Archdeacon Robert Sutton and Thomas Gomwalshe, Vicar of Stamullen, in the Manor of Whitechurch,^ alias TuUaghtipper, containing the towns and lands of le Turnyng, alias Surnyng, Glonyng, Eillenmore, Kilbregaghe, Killussy, Bathmore, near Glane, Gollenblakeston, Ardress, Gloghle, Osbertiston, and Glanwhiche, which were held of the King.^ Sir William died on the 22nd September, 1582, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Jenico Preston, 8rd Viscount, who leased the Manor of Whitechurch, on
'^ the 16th February, 1560, to Patrick Sarsfield, merchant, of Dublin,^
and brother of Sir William Sarsfield, Knt., of Lucan, Gounty Dublin, to whom it passed, and in whose family it remained till it was forfeited by his grandson, William (son of John) Sarsfield, of Lucan, who joined in the Bebellion of 1641.
There was one parcel of three acres in Turnings on Sir William's death in 1616, cfdled '< Gortmuck,'* or *'Monemuck** (i.e., the Garden of the Pig, or Bog of the Pig), which was claimed by Martin Long, of Derry (Daars), as belonging to him.®
After being forfeited by the last-named William Sarsfield, Turnings was granted to Sir Theophilus Jones, Knt., of Osbertstown, in the Gounty Meath. He was the second son of Doctor Lewis Jones, Bishop of Killaloe; he died on the 2nd January, 1684, and was buried in Naas. By his wife, Alicia, daughter of Arthur, son of Sir William Usher, Knt., he left an eldest son, Sir Arthur Jones, Knt., who succeeded him in Osbertstown/
About the year 1582 is recorded a pardon for rebellion of
* In one map of the oounty the name is given as " Twinings."— Ed. ' Bot. Hih. Cane. Cal., p. 1856, and p. 227.
» ArohdalPs " Peerage," vol. iii, p. 77.
* Co. Dnblin Ex. Inqn«
* lb., No. 188 of Eliz.
* Co. Kiidare Chanc. Inqn. No. 17 of James L
' Archdall's *' Peerage," vol. ii, p. 895, and Co. Kiidare Chano.Inqn., No. 5 of Charles II.
L L
484 MISCELLANEA.
Edmond reogh (the swarthy) O'Lalor, of Turnings, gent. ; Margaret, his wife ; Biohard, his son ; Elis, his daughter ; and Murrough O'Dufify, his servant.*
W. FiTzG.
The Three Sir Maurice Eustaces of the latter end of
the seventeenth century.
Tlie existence of as many as three Sir Maurice Eustaces, all of the House of Gastlemartin, at this period, is apt to puzzle genealogists, and to cause confusion when writing of them and their wives. The following notes about each of them are given in the order in which they died : —
1. Sir Maurice Eu$ta4SSy Knt., Lord Chancellor of Ireland, lived at
Harristown, in the County Kildare, and at his house in Damask (now Eustace) Street, Dublin. He was knighted about the year 1640.
His father was John Eustace, of Harristown (ob. 1628), a younger son of William Eustace, of Castlemartin.
His wife was Charity, daughter of Sir Robert Dixon, Knt., of Dublin, by whom he had no issue. In his will Sir Maurice mentions his illegitimate son, Maurice Eustace, of Portlester, County Meath.
He died on the 22nd of June, 1665, and, according to a '* Funeral Entry," was buried in St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin; but his widow's will contradicts this, as she expressly desires in it to be buried near her husband at Castlemartin, if she dies in the country (i.e., at Harris- town), and near her father in St. Werburgh's Church, if she dies in Dublin ; her death took place in June, 1678, when she was aged seventy-two.
2. Sir Maurice Eustace, Bart,, of Castlemartin, was a first cousin
once removed of the Lord Chancellor's.
His father was John Eustace (son of Maurice, eldest son of the William Eustace, of Castlemartin, mentioned above), of Castlemartin ; and his mother was Margaret, daughter of Edmond Keating, of Narraghmore, in the County Kildare.
Sir Maurice was created a Baronet on the 28rd December, 1685 ; and in 1690 he was attainted for fighting for James II.
His wife was Margaret, daughter of Brigadier Sir Thomas Newcomen, Knt., of Sutton, County Dublin, by
' Eliz. Fiant, No. 4,038.
MISCELLANEA. 485
whom be had two daughters, Frances and Maria Henrietta, who both died unmarried.
After his attainder, Sir Maurice served in France, where be died in 1698. His widow survived him, and died in January, 1788.
8. Sir Maurice Eustace, Knt., of Harristoum, was second cousin of his namesake, the Baronet, and nephew of the Lord Chancellor.
He was the second son of William Eustace, the Lord Chancellor's younger brother, by his wife Ann, daughter of James Netterville, of Castletown Kilpatrick, in the County Meath.
Sir Maurice was knighted in November, 1662, and was Member of Parliament for Enocktopher, County Kilkenny, in 1665-6, and for Harristown in 1692-5.
He was twice married, first to Ann, daughter of Sir Robert Colville, Knt., of Newtown, County Down. Her death took place on the 26th of August, 1685, and she was buried at Coghlanstown, County Kildare. The second wife was Clotilda, daughter and heir of Michael Parsons, of Tomduff, County Wexford. She died about the year 1752. By his wives Sir Maurice had one son, who died young, and seven daughters.
His death occurred on the 18th April, 1708, and it is not at all unlikely that he, too, was buried near his first wife, in the Cogbianstown Churchyard, which lies close to Harristown.
My thanks are due to Mr. O. D. Burtchaell, of Ulster's Office, for much assistance he kindly gave me in the above notes.
Of Harristown Castle, which stood in the field opposite to the railway station, a very small fragment now remains. In 1884 Mr. John La Touche, of Harristown, gave permission to his agent to throw down the castle in order to build a schoolhouse, &c., with the materials. In this way many a historic relic of the past has been destroyed by those who should have thought less of their pocket and more of their country's history.
W. FiTzG.
( 486 )
^ofcs.
Irish Warriors and Peasants, a.d. 1521.
Facsimile, actual size, of a drawing by Albreoht Ddrer, dated 1521, now in cabinet of engravings, Berlin. ; A pen-drawing, washed with colour. Over the two figures on
the left is written by Diirer himself : —
*' Also gand dy Krigs man In Irlandia hindr engeland." I (Here go the Warriors in Ireland beyond England.)
Over the three figures on the right is similarly written : —
I '* Allso gand dij paivem In Irlandyen."
(Here go the Peasants in Ireland.)
On top, in space between the two groups, Diirer's monogram and date, 1521.
The drawing was reproduced in facsimile in Dr. F. Lippmann's " Drawings of Albrecht Diirer," Berlin, 1888.
Also reproduced in *' Kilkenny Archaeological Journal," 1877, p. 296.
W. G. S.
This drawing is reduced from a photograph procured by the Earl of Mayo from W. O. Strickland, Esq., of the National Oallerj of Ireland, who has also supplied the notes on the drawing which are printed above. Lord Mayo suggests that these figures would make a splendid subject for treatment in tapestry, if separated a little, and trees and verdure put in by a competent artist.
The Castle of Kildare.
On p. 297 of the 2nd volume of our Journal it is stated that the Castle of Kildare '* may have been built by William de Vesci." As a matter of fact, it was not built by him, but by William le Marechal, or Marshall, Earl of Pembroke, who was, in right of his wife, Isabel de Clare, daughter of Strongbow, Lord of Leinster, and whose death took place in 1219.
This is proved by an Inquisition taken before Sir John Wogan, Knt., Justiciary of Ireland, at Castledermot, on the 26th of February, 1802, when the jurors, upon their oath, found that : —
''William, formerly Earl Marshall, senior, built originaUy the Castle of Kildare on the soil of the Church of Kildare, without the consent of the Bishop and Chapter thereof; that afterwards Ralph (de Bristol), formerly Bishop of Kildare, impleaded the Earl of the site of the Castle, and the Earl, in order to
I
I!
488 NOTES,
make peace, gave to the Bishop and his suooessors 10 marks a year, receivable from the Castle; that Nicholas iCusaok) and his predecessors, Bishops of Eildare, were from that time seised of tne 10 marks a year by the hands of William de Vescy, late Lord of Eildare, and his antecessors, as of the right of their Churoh, until the said William, when he was Justiciary of Irehmd (1290-98), on account of a contention between him and Nicholas, withdrew the rent ; that the rent was detained from Nicholas and his church for nine years, as well after the lands and tenements of William de Yescy came to the king's hands as bciore ; that the lent is wont to be levied in this way, to wit, the bailiff of the Bishop of Kildare goes to the Castle, and demands it from the bailiff of the Castle at the consti- tuted terms; and if he won't pay, the Bishop there is wont to excommunicate the bailiff from day to day until the rent is fully paid.*'*
The De Vesoys inherited the Lordship of Kildare by marriage, thus : — William fitz Eustace de Vescy (ob. 1258) married to his second wife Agnes de Ferrars, heiress to Kildare through her mother, Sibell, one of the daughters of William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke (mentioned above), who had married William de Ferrars, 7th Earl of Derby.
The Castle and Manor of Kildare remained in the possession of the De Vescy family till the death of Sir William de Vescy in 1297, when they reverted to (he Grown. ^
In 1809 William de Wellesley was appointed Constable of the Castle for life ; but ^ in 1816 the Castle and Manor were granted by Edward II to John fitz Thomas FitzOerald, 6th Baron of Offaly, created at the same time Earl of Kildare, in recognition of his services to the Crown during Bruce's invasion of Ireland. It was declared in Parliament that this grant to the Baron of Offaly, together with a three days' siege of the Castle by Edward Bruce, during which William de Wellesley lost many of his kindred, and other circumstances, caused the latter a loss of £500 — in those days a very large sum/
At this period the Castle of Kildare was one of the strongest fortresses in the English districts ; one tower of it alone now remains in existence.
The Earl of Kildare's "Bed Book" states that Richard fitz Thomas FitzGerald, 8rd Earl of Kildare, died on the 7th July, 1881 ; and, according to a post-rfwrtem Inquisition, he held of the king in capite a castle in Kildare, which had four towers, a chapel, and a kitchen ; and that he paid yearly for the site it was built on ten marks to the Bishop of Kildare, at Easter and at Michaelmas.
W. FrrzG.
> Page 54, vol. for 1302-7, of Sweetman*s Calendar of Documents. •^ Vide p. 200, vol. for 1293-1301. of Sweetman's Cal. of Docs., Ire, ' Lynch's *' Feudal Dignities in Ireland," p. 96, *Jb,p.97,
( 489 )
Where Is the Church of St. Abban, near Leixlip?
By a County Kildare Exchequer Inquisition (No. 8 of James I), taken at Oughterard on the 10th August, 1604, it was found that James Cottrell, late Ahbot of the Monastery of St. Thomas the Martyr, in Dublin (also known as Thomas Court), on the 8th October, 1585, with the consent of his convent, had granted the tithes of a moiety of Leixlip to " John Dee, Vicar of the Church or Chapel of St. Abban, lying within the Manor of Leixlip."
W. PiTzG.
Is ''Castle Doghenay," near Dunmurry, in existence?
In a manuscript volume at Carton, called *< Leinster Papers," is a copy of a feoffment to Gerald, Earl of Kildare, of Dunmurry, by James fitz Bobert Creefe, Robert fitz Oliver Greefe, and Walter fitz Theobald Creefe, on the 16th January, 1488. In it '* Castle Doghenay " is mentioned as being situated on the lands of Dun- murry.
W. FiTzG.
The Two Bishop's Courts in the County Kildare.
According to a County Kildare Exchequer Inquisition (No. 2 of Edward VI), William Miagh (Meagh or Meade), Bishop of Kildare, at the time of his death on the 16th of December, 1548, was, in right of his Bishopric, seised of 1 castle, 1 ruined hall, 10 mes- suages, and 120 acres in *' Busahopps Courte juxta le Idfe^'' in the County Kildare, as well as 10 messuages and 200 acres in Busshopps Courte in the Parish of Oughterard, The former Bishop's Court (together with the lands of Ballyvey, alias Be-is-ton, Corbally, Kildare, and Athgarvan) was in after years let to John Wellesley, of Bishop's Court, who died in 1598, and was buried in the Church of Connall (? Great Connell).
The other Bishop's Court was, in 1548, let for eighty-one years to Sir John Alen, Knt., of St. Wolstan's, who, dying without issue, left it to his nephew, Edward Alen, of Kilteel ; this is the Bishop's Court now owned by the Earls of Clonmell, and the only one now giving a name to a townland in the County Kildare.
Where was the Bishop's Court near the Liffey situated ?
W. PiTzG.
( 490 )
The Castles at Leixlip.
The following extract from **The Civil Survey,*' made by James Peisley and Henry ^f akepeace, by virtue of a Commission from the Lord Deputy and Council, bearing date the 21st September, 1654, certainly mentions two castles as then existing in the town of Leixlip, one being known as " the Black Castle," which was not the one now occupied by our Member, Mr. William Mooney. "The Civil Survey " gives the following account of Leixlip : —
|
Yalae of the |
|||
|
said lands |
|||
|
Nnmber of |
as they |
||
|
Name of the Proprietor and Qualification. |
Acres by Estimate of |
weere lett. or worth to |
|
|
the Cnntry. |
be lett in the yeare 1640. |
||
|
George ffitEGerrald, Earle of Eildare, \ |
40 |
£10 |
|
|
Protestant. |
|||
|
Lady Allen, of St. WoUston's, |
54 |
£10 |
|
|
Irish Papist. |
|||
|
Simon Luttrell, of Luttrelstowne, |
45 |
£6 |
|
|
Irish Papist. |
|||
|
In Leixlip. |
|||
|
Pattrick Long and Thomas Germaine, |
23 |
£5 |
|
|
both of Kildone, |
|||
|
Irish Papists. |
|||
|
Sir Nycholas White, of LeizUp, Knight, |
360 |
£115 |
|
|
Irish Papist. |
|||
|
John Gierke, of Dublin, / |
4 |
£1 |
|
|
Irish Papist. / ' 1 |
** There is one Castle called the Black Castle upon the Earle of Kildare his lands in Leixlip aforesaid.
** There is one Come Mill and one Cloth Mill upon the Lady Allen her lands in Leixlip aforesaid, which said Mills were worth to be lett in the yeare 1640 Uie summe of thirty pounds per Ann.
'< There is one ruined Castle with other stone houses of Office, with one garden and orchard upon Sir Nyoholas White his lands in Leixlip aforesaid.
*' There is one Dove-house upon the landb of Sir Nycholas White his land in Leixlip alsoe.
ANSWER TO QUERY. 49 1
" There is one Salmon Leape neare unto the Castle belonging to Sir Nycholas^ White aforesaid.
" There is in Leizlip belonging to Sir Nyoholas White aforesaid twenty aore& of wood fitt for timber, which is valued to be worth ....
'* There is one Little Stone House in Leixlip aforesaid, which was built for the Poore, butt noe other maintenance allowed than the charity of the
neighbours.
• '•
'* There is one small bridge over the Bye Water which runneth through the aforesaid town of Leixlip and meteth the river Liffie.
** There is in Leixlip aforesaid one Parrish Church.
" There is alsoe one Quarrie of Stone, and one Slate Quarrie upon the said lands of Leixlip.
" Gerrald White of Dublin, Proprietour of the Great Tythes of Leixlip afore- said, which said Tythes were sett in the yeare 1640 att the Bent of ffourty pounds per Ann.
''The Castle Tythes of Leixlip being possessed in the yeare 1640 by the Lady White were then sett for ffive pounds per Ann.
*' The Smalle Tvthes of the aforesaid Towne and Parrish of Leixlip belonged unto the clerke in the yeare 1640 and were then sett for ffoure pounds per Ann.
W. FiTzG.
»>
M M
( 492 )
Review.
** A. History of the County of Dubun." By Francis Elbinoton Ball. Part I. The Parishes of Monkstown, Eill-of -the-Grange, Dalkey, Eilliney, Tally, Stillorgan, and KilmacucL Dablin : Alex, Thorn & Co.
The author states that he has undertaken this work chiefly because of the quantity of fresh material which has become avail- able since John D'Alton's well-known " History of the County of Dublin " was written. One hundred and thirty-four pages are devoted to the history of the seven parishes dealt with in this first instalment. The volume is handsomely got up, and well illustrated, and an excellent map of the district is given. The treatment is by no means purely antiquarian ; and probably the general reader will be all the better pleased with it for that reason. The specialist will, however, find ample references, should he desire to consult the original authorities. A considerable space is given to the history of the localities during the eighteenth century, with which period Mr. Ball practically concludes his work ; and probably most people will thank him for the very copious .information he has collected about the various places of residence with which the district abounds, witli the gossip (if we may so irreverently term it) about their respective owners and occupants. At the same time, there are vivid sketches of the events of an earlier age, when the neighbourhood was subject to plundering inroads of the Irish from the Wicklow territory, and the country was studded with strong castles for defence.
As there was once a time when Kinsale was a more famous port than Cork or Queenstown, so there was a time when passengers and merchandise intended for Dublin were landed at the port of Dalkey, which was then a walled town, containing seven strong castles. In its prosperous days, in the fifteenth and sixteenth cen- turies, Dalkey was able to send 200 men at arms to the County Levy ; but when Ringsend became the port of Dublin, its glory faded. Of its numerous castles only two remain, one of which forms part of the present Town Hall. In passing, we should like to ask what Mr. Ball means by speaking of the other as '^a fairly complete ruin " ?
Sporting men may not all be aware that the famous racecourse and the adjoining demesne of Leopardstown were known until the eighteenth century as '^ Leperstown," and belonged to the Leper
REVIEW. 493
Hospital of St. Stephen, which stood where Mercer's Hospital is now built
It is strange to read that so late as 1754 Donleary (now Kings- town) '' was an inconsiderable and dirty village, the abode of a few fishermen ; and the country between it and Bullock was a sterile tract, covered with furze and heath, and traversed by a few foot- paths." Equally strange, to be told that Lord Banelagh, who died in 1797 at Monkstown, found it necessary to establish an association for the repression of the footpads with whom the roads then swarmed.
©orrigcnba.
Page 17. The view of the Curragh Camp is looking East not
West.
Page 88. The so-called Laraghbryan *' holed stone " has been ascertained to be a mill-stone converted into a head- stone, and so is not to be classed with those interesting relics of pagan times.
Page 106. In the lower half of this page every ** Hogan *' should be read Wogan.
Page 178. In the Aylmer of Donadea Pedigree, Sir Gerald Ayhner is stated to be the drd Baronet, which is wrong, as he died before his father, the 2nd Baronet (as is correctly stated on pp. 174, 175). This will make the present Baronet the 12th, and not the ISth, as is stated in the Pedigree.
Page 211. In the 11th line from the top, Blackrath should be given as ^lear Kile alien, and not near Ballitore. The latter belonged to the Wellesleys, Barons of Norragh (i.e., Narraghmore).
Page 248. In the bottom line read '' of Osberstown, Go. Meath."
Page 890. In the 18th line from the bottom of the page, " Carry- hills " should be Curry liiUs.
( 494 )
Jl ^escnpHon of t^e ^ronfts)>tcce.
By sir ARTHUR VICARS.
Some explanatory remarks may be acceptable on tbe Frontispiece ^ to this volume of The Journal.
It is a fac-simile of the Funeral Entry' of Gerald, 14th £arl of Eildare, who died on the 11th of February, 1611 (old style), and, according to the custom of the time, was buried with all the panoply of state befitting his rank, the funeral being marshalled by Ulster King of Arms.
In the centre appears the Earl's Surcoat, in form the same as the Tabard worn by Heralds of the present day, emblazoned with the red Saltire of the FitzGeralds. Above it, the EarPs Coronet, surmounted by the Helm and Lambraquin with Crest ; his Sword being on one side and the Targe, ensigned by his coronet, on the other.
■■ At the top of the page appears the great Banner with the Fitz- Gerald Arms, impaling the Arms of his wife (Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Christopher Nugent, Baron of Delvin), together with all the quarterings to which she was entitled. This, like all the banners, standards, and pennons, is edged with a fringe of the livery colours — white and red.
To the left hand of the Surcoat is shown the great Standard. This flag varied in length according to the degree of the owner ; an Earl's was six yards long, and indented at the fly. Next to the Staff was always the Cross gules of St. George, and the crest of the flag was divided ^* per fesse," and fringed of the livery colours. The rest of the field always had the badge or crest dispersed over it, and the motto, or war-cry, was depicted diagonally across the field.
The pointed flag on the other side is the Pennon, and the small Bannerols show the alliances of the family.
According to custom, the deceased always lay in state in his l^ouse on a Catafalque, with a hearse or canopy over it ; and at the head of the coflin was placed a Chair of State for the Chief Mourner, who was assisted in her lamentations by hired weepers.
The banners, standards, and insignia were all carried in the funeral procession, at which Ulst-er King of Arms officiated in his Tabard, and proclaimed the titles of the deceased at the grave-side.
This beautifully illuminated page forms only one of the many entries of a similar nature of the fltzGerald family that adorn the folios of the Funeral Entries in Ulster's Office.
The Shield at the foot of the page refers only to the Funeral Entry, and did not figure at the burial.
' The fac-simile of the Earl of Kildare's Funeral Entry has been presented to The Journal by Lord Walter FltzGerald. « Volume m, fol. 33,
INDEX.
Adamstown, 432.
Alen, Family of. See List of High Sheriffs; and Kildare Gentry, 118.
Ed ward, 489.
Sir John, 376, 428, 489.
Thomas, 428.
Lady Alen, 490.
AUen, district of, 175, 282, 488.
. Bog of, 444.
• Island of, 444.
Almshouse at Naas, 187. Altar-tombs :—
Browne, 260.
Eustace, 302.
FitzGerald, 239.
Wogan, 99. An-annia Road, the, 288. Annesley, family of, 448-460. See
High Sheriffs. Antiquities at : —
Glongowes Wood College, 394, 898.
Edenderry Museum, 825-383.
Kilkea Castle, 196, 265. Aoneohs (Eenaghs). See Fairs. Arohbold, Christopher, 486, 440. Ardglass, 311. Ardrass, 483.
Ardreigh, 431, 432, 435, 441. Ardristan, 456. Arthurstown, 456. Ashe, family of, 461, 462.
Thomas, 134.
Margaret, 461.
Athy, 269, 377, 399, 483, 440, 444, 447. Avon Life (tee Lifley), 2. Aylmer, family of. See High Sheriffs ; and Kildare Gentry, 119.
of Balrath, Co. Meath, Sir
Gerald, 175.
of Donadea, Sir Andrew, 173,
174, 212, 268; Bartholomew, 877; Sir FitzGerald, 175; Sir Gerald, 170, 171, 172, 176, 268, 876, 433, 493.
Aylmer, Sir Justin, 175.
Elizabeth, 174.
JuUa, 173.
Mabel, 173.
of Lyons, Sir Richard, 170, 172,
876, 376; Thomas, 174.
Bagenal, George, 251. Bagpipes, 26, 377, 378. Balfeaghan, 470. Ballachmoon, 124. Ballads : —
Burial of Sir John Moore, 365.
Donnelly and Cooper, 27.
The Geraldines, 13.
The Shan- van -vogh, 13. Ballinacor, 430, 435. Ballmderry, 442. Ballyadams, Queen's Co., 283. Ballybeg, 489. Ballycutland(Goghlanstown), 266,847.
348, 428, 444. Ballylogher, 427. Ballymore Eustace, 848-854, 378.
Constables of, 344,
345, 346.
Deanery of, 354.
Ballymoroghroe, 486, 437. Ballynadrumny, 133. Ballynure, Doon of, 160. Ballysax, 8, 32, 449. Ballyshannon, Go. Donegal, 426. Ballyshannon, Co. Kildare, 425-462. Manor of, 431, 440.
Prebendary of, 460-452.
Vicar of, 440, 450.
Ballysonan. See Ballyshannon. Bally vass, 471, 473.
Baltinglass, 382.
Abbey possessions, 382.
Balyna, 46, 321 , 439. Bamewall, Sir Christopher, 173.
John, 3rd Baron of Trim-
lestown, 347.
Elizabeth, 847.
N N
496
INDEX.
Baronrath, 862.
Bealaoh Mughna. See Ballaohmoon. Bedford, family of, 470. BelliiigB, Biohard, 852. Bermingham, family of. See High Sheriffs ; and Kildare Gentry, 119. otAthenrVt Andrew, 319;
Richard, 319. of Donadea, Sir John,
170 ; Meiler, 170. of Duf\fierih, Thomas,
49 ; Sir WiUiam, 49. of Meylerstown^ Thomas,
49 -, Walter, 49. Bilingual (Latin and Ogham) ineorip-
tion at Eilleen Cormac, 156, 157. Birtown, 95. Bishopscourt, 489. Blaokcastle of Ballyshannon, 447, 452.
of Leixlip, 341, 490.
Black Ditch, the, 23, 444. Blackhall, near Clane, 287, 321, 862,
367, 438, 489, 441. Black Pig, Bace of, 28. Blackrath. near KilouUen, 348, 444, 493. Blackwood, 428, 429, 430, 482. Blessed Wells, Ballymore Eustace, 353. Clane, 109.
Faughart. 216. 224.
Glassealy, 371.
KilouUen, 313.
Toberara, 371.
Blunt, Captain Edward, 472. Bodenstown, 298.
Bog, ancient wooden foot-path on a, 61. Bog-butter, 62. Boher-an-oochra, 269. Boher-a-vuttha, 270. Boher-Breedge, 289. Boher-bwee, 269. Boher-coyle, 270. Boher-na-Brid, 269. Boher-na-worragah, 269. Bolton Castle, 472. Booleybeg, 434. Bowen, John, 233.
Shaun-a-Feeka, 233.
Boylough, 434.
Braose de, family of, 295. Bray, near Athy, 432, 441. Bridge of Clane, 106.
Kilcullen, 314.
Broadleas, 350.
Browne, family of, 261-264. {See High
Sheriffs.)
— . — General Mionael, 213.
Squire B, 85, 86.
Browne's Ford, 438. Browne's Hill (Kernanstown) Crom- lech, 358.
Bruce, Edward, 488. Buan, Queen of Leinster, 107. Bull Hill, 231. Bullaun at Clane, 110. Bully's Acre burial-ground, 27. Butler, Sir Edmond, of Cloghrennan, 470. - James, 3rd Earl of Ormonde, 170.
James, 1st Duke of Ormonde,
and 12th Earl, 178, 422, 442.
Ellen, 178.
Cadamstown, 46.
Cal£f, Henry, 344.
Calverstown, 64.
Campa (Maryborough), 444.
Canal, opening of the Grand, 395.
CJEinnon, manufacture of, 420, 421.
Cappolis, 288.
Carbrie, house called the, 267.
Carlow, 129, 377.
Cam, a, 359.
Camalway, 91, 92, 294, 360.
Carpenter, family of, 51-56.
Carragh, 195.
Carre, family of, 53, 55.
Carroll, Sir James, 385.
Carter, family of, 321.
Castle Barry, 352.
Castle Browne, 85, 213, 261.
Castle Carbury, 47, 428.
Castledermot, 38, 94, 488, 474.
Governor of, 438.
Vicar of, 438, 442.
Vicarage of, 450-452.
Castle Doghenay, 489.
Castle Eife, 390.
Castlehaven, Earl of, 445.
Castlemartin, 11, 319-824, 348, 434. 442, 444, 484.
Castleroe, 229-252.
Castletown (Kildroght), 114, 115, 428.
Celt, a bronze, 132.
Cerball, King of Leinster, sword of, 123.
Cess, the tax called, 171.
Chalice of Aghaboe, 51.
Charter School (Celbridge), 117.
Chevers, family of, 877.
Cill Chorbhain, 125.
Clane Abbey, 101- 106.
Bridge, 106.
Moat, 107-111.
Si Brigid*s thimble, chair, road,
well, 269.
Clanmalier, district of, 424.
Viscounts of. Sir Terence,
1st Vise., 424; Lewis, 2nd Vise, 421, 422, 424; Maximilian, 8rd Vise., 424.
. INDEX.
497
Clogrennan, 470. Clonangh, 8, 39-50. Cloncurry, 427, 433. Clongowes Wood, 85, 211-215.
College, 215.
Antiquities at, 398.
Crozier at, 393-395.
Clonkeehan, 225. Clonlunan, 438. Clonmel, near Cork, 365. Glonmore, Go. Garlow, 96. Goats-of-Annd : —
Aylmer, 169.
Bermlngham, 170.
Browne, 215, 262.
Garpenter, 51. 52.
Conolly, 113.
Conjngham, 113.
D'Artois, 305.
Echlin, 44.
Eustace, 188, 305.
FitzGerald, 241,478.
Fitz William. 262.
Gaydon, 241.
Harrington, 385.
Henry, .386.
Keating, 241.
Knights Hospitallers of Malta, 402.
Lattin, 186.
Mansfield, 188.
Neville, 465.
O'NeUl, 100.
Power, 188.
Sherlock, 341, 401.
Sweetman, 389.
Tallon, 474.
Vinegor, 51, 52.
Wogan. 87, 99, 216, 262.
Wolfe, 367.
Woulfe, 188. Cobhthach, Bishop of Kildare, 6. Coghlanstown, 444, 485. (See Bally-
cutland.) Colbinstown, 162, 163. Goles Hill, 423.
Golley, family of. Su High Sheriffs ; and Kildare Gentry, 119.
Henry, 428.
Colville, Sir Robert, 485.
Anne, 486.
Gonall Gearnach, an Ulster hero, 107.
Gonnell, Great, 7, 489.
Gonolly, family of. See High Sheriffs.
Right Hon. William, 113-117,
194, 342.
William, 114, 194.
Constable, or Governor, of Castles : —
Athy, 375.
Ballymore Eustace, 344, 345, 346.
Constable of Castles — continued,
Ballyshannon, 445.
Carlow, 129.
Gastledermot, 488.
Dublin, 64.
Kildare, 488.
Lea, 349.
Rathmore, 375 (hu). Conyngham, Sir Albert, 113.
Catherine, 113, 116.
Coolcarrigan, 432, 441.
Coote, Sir Charles, 423.
Corally Rath, the, 133, 191.
Comiao mac Gullenan, King and
Bishop, 123, 124. Cosby, Francis, 428. CoshogcowUie, 434. Cotlingstown, 444. Coyne and Livery Tax, the, 430. Cradockstown, 265. Creefe, family of, 489. Croboy. 427.
Crom cruach, an Idol, 358. Cromlech, a, 358.
• on Browne's Hill, 358.
Crosses : —
High, Moone, 33, 38.
Churchyard, Ballymore Eustace, 351.
Gastledermot, 474. Rathmore, 381. Tipper, 396.
Wayside, Carragh, 195. Clane, 108, 109. Curragh, 21. Little Rath, 268. Prospect, 268.
Richard FitzGerald's (?), 396. Crozier at Clongowes Wood College,
393-395. Culduffe, 175. Curduffe, 428, 432. 441. Currach Life. See the Curragh. Curragh, the, 1-32, 397, 442.
Antiquities on, 20-25.
Battles on, 6, 7.
Races, 10. .
Rangers, 18, 19.
CurryhUls, 390, 493. CuUandstown. See Ballycutland.
Daly, Richard, son of Malachy, 133. Dane's Cast, the, 23. Dane's Forts, the so-called, 372. D'Artois, family of, 311. Jenico, 310, 311.
Joan, 310.
Margaret, 311.
Davidstown near Gastledermot, 195. Deanery of Ballymore Eustace, 854.
498
INDEX.
Dee, John,Yiear of St. Abban's, Leixlip,
489. Delahyde of Ballantry, Michael, 396. of Loughshinny, Riohard,396.
of Moyglarey Sir Walter,
46, 312, 338; Richard, 348 ; Johanna, 47.
of Punchestowfiy John, 396;
Michael, 396; Peter, 396; Dering, family of, 464. Derryvullagh, a bog island, G2. Digby, Sir Robert, 419. Dixon, Henry, 251.
Sir Robert. 324, 484.
Charity, 324, 484.
Donadea, 169-178.
Dongan, the family of. See Kildare
Gentry, 119.
Sir John, 440.
Sir William, 114.
Walter, 114.
Sisly, 441.
Donlost, old Barony of, 336. Donnelly, Daniel, 25-28, 259.
his hollow on the Gurragh,
26, 28. Donore, Co. Kildare, 53. Dowdall, Sir John, 311. Drinanstown, 436, 437. Druids, the foar just, 158. Dun Aulin, 23, 60. Duneany, 427. Dunfinyeen, 132. Dungan's Hill, 440. Dunleary, 493. Dunleer, 225.
Dunlost, old Barony of, 336. Dunmanoge, 249, 269. Dunmurry, 489. Dunsany, 429. Diirer, Albrecht, drawing by, 486.
Echlin, family of, 39, 45. Edenderry, Museum of Antiquities.
325-333. Effigy slabs :—
ConoUy, 112.
Eustace. 300, 809, 323.
FitzGerald, 105. " English land, the," 284. Ernley, Sir Michael, 442, 443. Esmonde, family of, 437.
Sir Lawrence, 437.
Eustace or FitzEustace, family of. See High Sheriffs ; and Kildare Gentry, 119 ; 207, 209, 319.
Sir Edward, 63, 814.
Edward, 81.
Sir Maurice, 63.
Oliver, 81, 345.
Eustace, family of — continued.
Sir Thomas, 346.
Thomas fitz Oliver, 346.
William, 461.
Catherine, 429.
Elinor, 349.
ot Bally euUand (Ooghlanstown-),
347, 348. Christopher, 346, 347, 348; Sir Maurice, 312 ; Sir Rich- ard, 346 ; Robert, 346 ; Joan, 347 ; Margaret, 349.
BaUingUus, Viscounts : —
Sir Thomas, 1st Vise., 163, 429; Sir Roland, 2nd Vise, 313, 428; James, 3rd Vise., 171, 320, 382, 433.
otCastlemartint family of, 320.
John, 320, 484 ; Maurice fitz WiUiam fitz John, 320, 439 ; Sir Maurice, 321, 484 ; Wil- liam, 434, 484.
of Clangowes Wood. See Pedi- gree, 210. James, 212; William, 211; Mrs. Eustace, 212.
of Colbinstown : —
Alexander, 163 ; Christopher, 162 ; Maurice, 163 ; Nicholas, 162; Rowland, 162; Jane, 162; Janet, 163; Margaret (Wicombe), 162.
of Dowdingstoxcn : —
Alexander, 462 ; Walter, 462.
of Elverttown :—
Walter fitz Nicholas, 362.
of Uarristown :
■ Sir Maurice, the Lord Chan- cellor, 323, 484 ; Sir Maurice, 485.
of Newlands : —
William. 63.
of Portlester, family of, 311,312.
Sir Roland, 300, 301, 809, 311, 314-316.
of Yeoniangtown : —
James, 189 ; Jane, 189.
Fairs or Aonachs, 2, 3, 4, 23.
of Colman, 2, 3, 4.
of Lif^, 2, 3. 4.
Farran O'Neill. 429. Faughart, 220. FitzEustace. See Eustaoe. Firmount, 387.
FitzGerald. See High Sheriffs ; and
Kildare Gentry, 120.
Gerald, Constable of DuUin
Castle, 64. Gerald ohrone, 439, 440.
INDEX.
499
FitzGerald — continued.
Gerald garrough, 439.
Maurice, Lord of Maynooth,
372.
Richard, 396, 397.
Richard fitz Oliver, 437.
Thomas, Prior of Eilmain-
ham, 334-336. Barons of Offaly : —
Gerald, Ist Baron, 105 ;
Gerald, 4th Baron ; John,
6th Baron, 488. Baroness of Offaly ^
Lettioe, 419-424. —— Earls of Kildare : —
John, IstEarl, 372, 373;
Thomas, 2nd Earl, 349 ;
Richard, 3rd Earl, 488 ;
Maurice, 4th Earl, 334,
346, 873, 427; Gerald,
5th Earl, 373, 426 ; Ger- ald, 8th Earl, 348, 427,
470; Gerald, 9th Earl,
287. 312, 348, 374;
Thomas, 10th Earl. 374;
Gerald, 11th Earl, 12.
285, 419, 429; Gerald,
14th Earl, frontispiece,
and page 494 ; George.
16th Earl, 232,438,490;
John, 18th Earl, 9. Duke of Leinster,
William Robert, 2nd
Duke, 12, 30, 31, 386. Lord Edward, 10, 11, 194,
399. of Allen : —
Maurice, 232, 438, 440 ;
Philip, 176 ; Jane, 175.
of BaXlinderryt Henry, 442.
of BaUyraggan : —
Allen, 251 ; James, 251 ;
Walter, 251. of Ballyshannon, 233, 426-
448. Pedigrees, 426, 427 ;
3ir Gerald mac Shann,
427; Sir James, 233;
Sir Pierce, 132, 321. of Blackhall {Clane) ;—
Gerrot fitz James. 231 ;
WilUam, 321.
of Booleyheg, Richard, 434.
of Browne's Ford : —
Edward, 438 ; Thomas,
438. of Gastleroe, family of, 231-
243 ; William, 231, 232.
236, 237, 240, 242, 243 ; Gerald mac William,
281, 439.
FitzGerald — continued.
of Castletown Moylagh : —
James, 486; Walter, 436 ;
William, 436. of dofUunan, Christopher,
438. of fJrinanstownj James,
436. of GeraXdine ( TuUagh-
gorey)t Thomas, 251. of Qlassealy, family of, 238.
Gerald, 233 ; Maurice,
431 ; Walter reagh, 430,
431,436. of Kilrush, family of, 471 ;
James, 431, 434, 471. of Laekagh : —
James. 472 ; John, 471 ;
Sir Maurice, 428, 435,
471; Sir Thomas, 316,
470 ; Elenor, 480. 435 ;
Mary, 435. of Leixlip, family of, 350.
James "meirgeach," 350,
374. of Narraghheg^ family of,
470-478 ; John, 470-478.
of Osherstown, James, 349.
of Rathirone, Richard, 442.
of Ticroghan : —
George, 379, 441 ; Henry,
438 ; Sir Luke, 437, 438.
442. of Timahoe, Redmond oge,
431. of Timogue .-—Gerald, 432,
438 ; Edward, 482. of Walterstown: —
Walter, 63, 434, 440;
Mary, 440, 446. FitzGerrot. See FitzGerald. Flatisbury. See High SherifiFs; and
Kildare Gentry, 120. Christopher, 461.
Patrick, 346.
Robert, 68.
Folklore (Co. Kildare), Animals, Birds, and Insects, 179-185, 369, 371.
Folktales (Co. Kildare), 254-259, 368- 371.
Foot- track of oak timber in a bog, 61.
Forenoghts, 362-367, 453.
Cavalry, 362.f
Fort of Leix. See Maryborough.
Forth, Co. Carlow, 426.
Forth, Co. Wexford, 426.
French Furze (Curragh), 24.
Funeral Expenses, Duke of Leinster's, 31.
Procession (Conolly), 116.
N N 2
500
INDEX.
Furness (or Forenaghts Qreat), 57-60, 453-469.
Gallauns or Long-stones, 358. Gal way ArohfiBologioal Society, 270. Garan, William. Vicar of Bally -
shannon, 440, 450. Garryhill, 427. Gay don, John, 212.
Cisly, 231, 237.
Gaydonstown, 432, 434, 440. Geashili. 373, 419, 424. Gibbet liath (Carragh), 11, 22, 25. Glassealy. 95, 233, 371, 431. Golly-mocky River, 289. Gooleen-a-wautha Cataract, 353. Grangebeg, 449. Grange Con, 382-3^5. Grangemellon. 96, 251, 432, 441. Graney, 345, 373. Great Grange. 428. Greenville, Sir Kichard, 423. Greese, the Biver, 60, 150. Grey, Lord Leonard, 428.
Hall, Thomas, 63, 483. Hare parks, 24. Harbert, Sir Francis, 428. Harman, family of, 248.
Sir Thomas, 248, 249.
Wentworth, 249.
Harrington, Sir Henry, 121, 313, 379,
381.
Sir John, 313.
Harristown. 323, 324, 485. Hartpole, Sir Robert, 129.
Robert of Shrule. 251.
Graney, 129.
Hartwell, 444, 448. Haynestown, 455, 456. Hell-fire Club, the. 251.
Henry, family of, 386-388. See High
Sheriffs ; Pedigree, 388. Hereford de, family of, 79.
Adam, 457. 462.
Hewson. Col. John, 444, 446.
High Sheriffs of Kildare (continued
from vol. ii, pp. 258-267), 63, 265,
398. Hobbardstown, 470, 471. Hogan (recte, Wogan), 106, 493. Hogan's Wood, 80. Holed Stones, 35, 37.
of Castledermot, 38.
of Moone, 33-38.
Holy Wells. See Blessed Well. Hounds, disaster to the Kildare, 391,
392. Huttonrede, 361.
Inch Castle, 371. Inscriptions : ^ On the Obelisk erected in Donnelly's
Hollow on the Curragh, 28, 29. On Bell of Celbridge, 116. Bilingual, on an Ogham Stone at
Killeen Cormac, 155, 156. On Chalice (of Aghaboe), 51. On a Chimney-piece (Shrule Castle),
129. On Cro&s-base (Prospect), 268.
head (Ballymore Eustace),
352.
shaft (Tipper), 396.
(Castledermot), 478.
Over a Doorway at Blackwood
Castle, 430; Castle Erly, 390;
Castlemartin, 321 ; Clongowes
Wood College, 215; Mainham
Mortuary Chapel, 261; Monk's
Grange Castle, 130. On mural tablets (Grange Con), 384,
385 ; Bally shannon House. 452 ;
Furness, 468 ; Turnings, 482. Ogham (Killeen Cormac), 155, 156. On Seals of Athy borough, 401. On Seal of Kildiare County Council,
401. On Sepulchral Monuments. See
Tombstones. On a Sundial at Furness, 468. Irish Warriors and Peasants, 486.
Jakis, Maurice, 314.
Jigginstown, 51. 56, 321.
Jones of Osberstown, Co. Meath. family
of. 483; Sir Arthur, 248;
Sir Theophilus, 249, 483 ;
Anne, 248. of Wexford, family of, 465, 466;
Pedigree, 469 ; Col. Edward,
463, 465.
Kavanagh. Garrett, 427.
Murrough, 430.
Grana, 427.
Mary, 212.
Keating, Edmond, 484.
Joan, 231, 237.
Margaret, 484.
Keels or Burial-grounds, 149. Kellistown, Co. Carlow, 338. Kelly, Capt. William, 26, 27. Kelway, John, Constable of Bathniore,
375. 376. Kerdiffstown, 456. Kerne, or light-armed foot-soldiery,
285. Kilberry, Co. Kildare, 62. Kilcake. 473, 474.
INDEX.
5PI
KUcock, 286, 335.
near Kilrush, 474.
Kilcullen, Old, 348. Kildare, County, the ; Anglo-Norman
settlers in, 290-299.
Baronies of,
336, 337.
— Bishops of,
32, 227, 397.
. Castle of, 442,
444,486,487, 488.
Cathedral,479.
, Carragh of,
1-32.
^ Earls of. See
FitzGerald.
__^ - Folk-lore of,
179-186.
Folk-tales of,
254-259, 368- 371.
Gentry in 1600,
of, 118-122.
High Sheriffs
of, 63, 265, 898.
Houndd, 391.
- Place - names
compared with Wales, 293.
. Street in town
of, 124. Kildroght, 428. Kilheale. See Kilteel. Kilkea, Castle and Manor of, 93, 442, 470, 474.
Church of, 236-248.
Kill, 456.
Killart, 62.
Killeen Cormac, 149-163.
Killeigh, 46, 47, 103, 419.
Killibegs, 299, 390.
Kilmeage, 232, 444, 447.
Kilmainham, Prior of, 334-336.
Kilpipe, 96.
KUpole, 96, 382.
Kilroot, 101.
Kilrush, 231, 285, 431, 439.
Kilshanroe, 50.
KUteel, 299, 346, 373, 377, 428, 489.
Kilwarden, Viscounts, 366.
Kinneagh, Co. Carlow, 95, 96.
Co. Kildare, 32, 348.
Kist, sepulchral. 64, 194, 381. Knights Hospitallers of Malta, 402. Knock, Co. Meath, 427. Knockaphooka, 39.
Knookaulin. 23, 60. Knookeneran, 473. Knookshee Moat, 356.
" Labba Diarmaid agus Grania," 359. Laraghbryan, 38, 493. Lattin, Family of, 186-188. See High Sheriffs ; and Kildare Gentry, 121.
Pedigree, 190.
Lea, 373, 428. Lechohan, Chapel of, 357. Lee, Capt. Thomas, 433. Legends of : —
The Black Pig, 23. Castledermot treasure, 266. Castleroe, 249-251. Clane Moat, 107. Clongowes Wood, 213, 214. The Cor-ally Rath, 191. The Curragh, 4, 5, 12, 13. Killeen Cormac, 149. Lough Gur, 13. Mainham Moat, 215. Manannan mac Lir, 14. Mullaghmast, 12. The 0*Donoghues, 14. The O'Donovans, 14. St. Brigid, 221, 222, 225. Leixlip Castle, 341, 490.
Manor, 462, 489.
Leopardstown, 492. Less, de, Family of, 456. Leveroke, 429. Levitstown Chapel, 251. Liffey, The River, 2.
. Deposits at Millicent, 164-167.
Limerick, Earl of (Dongan), 114. Linch, Christopher, of the Knock, 427. Linch, Thady, of Dublin, 441, 442. Linch's Knock, Co. Meath, 427, 439. Lisle, Viscount, 423. Little Rath, 268, 338, 449. Little Narragh. See Narraghbeg. Lodge Park, 387. Long-stones, or Gallauns, 20, 858.
_ Furness, 57, 454, 466.
— — Ballymore Eustace, 357.
Longtown, 390. Luttrell, Simon, 490.
Anne, 186.
Elinor, 437.
Lye, Family of, 45-60. See High Sheriffs ; and Kildare Gentry, 121.
Arthur, 47.
Francis, 46.
John, 8, 45-50, 396.
Mao Gealan, Conor, 82.
502
INDEX.
Mac QillaPatriok, Brian oge, 877. Mao Bustoljns (i.e., Robin Hoods),
483. Mac Thomas, alias Peiroe FitzGerald,
427, 438, 446. M'Goyn, Shaan. 428. M'Hoberts, family of, 249-251. Maddenstown, 26. Magh Breagh, 218. Magh Lif^, 2, 221. Mainham, 261, 285. Mansfield, family of, 188-190. See
High SherifiPs. Maps: —
Ballymore Eustace district, 359.
Of Castleroe townland, 253.
Of Glane, 108.
Of Clongowes Wood district, 284.
Of the Carragh, 1, 29 ; (Gamp) 15.
Of Faaghart townland, 228.
Of Killeen Gormac district, 151.
Of the Gounty Louth, 219.
Kampart of the Pale, 284. March or Marches, the, 287, 350. Marshal, le, family of, 6, 7, 82. ■ William, 486, 488.
Sibell, 488.
Maryborough, 433, 444. Mausoleum, the Browne, 261, 264. Maynooth, 287.
Maynotheslee, Barony of, 337. Mesgegra, King of Leinster, 107. Millicent, 131, 164.
Moat or tumulus, meetings at, 2, 356.
of Ballymore Eustace, 356.
Ballyshannon, 452.
Clane, 107-111.
The Gurragh, 23.
Faughart, 223.
Killeen Gormac, 150.
Mainham, 215.
Bathmore, 380, 381.
Moghna Moshenoc, 269. Monascreebe, 224. Monavxillagh Bog, 61, 62.
Monk's Grange Gastle, Queen's Go.,
130. Monkstown, alias Carrickbrennan,
433. Moone, 422 ; (Gross), 33, 38. " Moore, the Burial of Sir John," 365. Morett, Queen's Go.. 432. Morris town (Moynagh) Lattin, 186-
188. Moteen-an-ou (Moat), 23. Mount Armstrong, 362. Mount Leinster, Viscount, 377. Moyglare, 312, 396. Mullaghmast, 12, 60, 95, 233. Mnllaghmoyne, 432, 487, 488, 441.
Mural graves, 479-481.
Mural Monuments at :— Gelbridge, 112
Glane, 100; Kilkea, 241, 243;
Mainham, 260. Murrain worm, the, 369.
Naas, 125, 377, 442, 444. Nangle, Robert, 8. Narraghbeg, 470, 472, 473. NaTraghmore, 442, 470, 484. Netterville, James, 485.
Luke, 456.
Anne, 485.
NeviUe, family of, 453-469. See High
Sheriffs. New Abbey (KUcuUen), 301, 314. Newcomen, family of, 821.
Sir Thomas, 484.
Margaret, 484.
Newlands, Go. Dublin, 442. Newlands, Go. Kildare, 68, 265, 365. Newtown, of Glane, 131.
de Brley, 390.
O'More (Tipper), 338, 858.
Neylan, Daniel, Bishop of Kildare,
397, 398. Nicholastown, near Athy, 429.
Manor of, 432, 441.
Norragh, the, 295, 437, 470. Nugent, family of, 173.
Mary. 424.
Obituary, Miss Margaret Stokes, 201-
205. O'Banan, Dermot, 473. 0*Buge, Friar David, 339. O'Byme of Banelagh, Go. Wioklow,
members of the sept, 845. Feagh mac Hugh, 286, 850,
379, 888, 480, 488, 434,
435.
Phelim, 431, 484, 435.
Redmond, 431, 485.
Teige oge, 471.
Grany, 130.
Margery, 431.
Mary, 212.
O'CarroU of Ely O'GarroU, King's Co.,
members of the sept, 47,
48.
Teigue, 48, 820.
Sir William, 47.
-^ Margaret, 320.
Ooha or Ucha (Ballyshannon), 425. O'Gonnor Faly of Ofifaly, members
of the sept, 320, 421, 424.
Gahir. 320, 360.
Teigue, 486.
Arthur, m.p. for Philips- town, 10, 11.
INDEX.
503
O'Dempeey of Clanmalier; See Vis- oonnts Clanmalier ; Pedigree, 421 ; memberB of the sept, 419, 424.
Charles, 420, 423.
Conn, 420.
Henry, 419, 420, 421.
Lewis, 420-424.
Col. Owen, 424.
Phelim, 420.
Sir Terence, 435.
Elinor, 424.
0*Dogherty, Rory, 436.
O'Danne, or O'Doyne of Hy Began, Queen's Co.
Teige, 431.
Teige oge, 431, 470.
Tirlagh, Provost of Rath- more, 379.
O'Dyna, Dermot, one of the Feena Erin, 359.
Offaly, Baroness of, 419-424.
District, 424.
OTarrell, Tirlogh, 850.
O'Gane, Onny, 249.
Ogham writing, 153.
Stones, 155, 156.
O'Hiokey, Patrick, 471, 473. O'Kelly, Donough, 445, 446.
Edmond, 473.
George Bonrke, 190.
O'Lalor, Donagh, 129.
Edmond reagh, of Tnrnings,
and his family, 484.
Neal, 428.
0*Mollaghan. Philip, Vicar of Bally- shannon, 450.
O'More of Leix, Queen's Co., and Balyna, Co. Kildare.
Kedagh, 428.
Mahon (?), 478.
Owny mac Rory, 483.
Col. Rory, 321, 439.
Rory Oge, 360, 877.
O'Mnlloy, Art, 421. O'NeUl, Sir Neill, 99.
Owen Roe, 438.
Ormonde, Earls of. See Butler. O'Rogan, Laurence, Constable of
Ballymore Eustace Castle,
346. Osberstown, Co. Kildare, 349, 483.
Co. Meath, 248. 483, 493.
O'Toole, of Feracullen, and of Castle-
kevin, Co. Wicklow.
Art oge, 375.
Cahir. 383.
Feagh Crosdb, 383.
Tirlagh, 376.
Honora, 983.
OToole — continued.
Margaret, 212.
Rose, 433.
Ofcymy, old Barony ot 337. Oughrabowra, 269. Oughterard, 361, 364, 456.
Page, Patrick, of Forenaghts, 362. Pale, The, 211, 284-288.
Derivation of, 286.
Rampart of, 284-287.
Parsons, Michael, 485.
Clotilda. 486.
Partridge in Ireland, 232-285. Pearls, Irish. 192. Pedigrees of the :—
Aylmers of Donadea, 178.
Eustaces of Clongowes Wood, 210.
FitzGeralds of Ballyshannon, 426, 427.
Henrys, 888.
Joneses of Wexford, 469.
Lattins, 190.
Baroness of OfiFaly and the O'Demp- seys, 421.
Wogans of Blackball, Newhall, and Downings, 87 ; of Rathooffy, 79. Pelles, Martin, Constable of Athy, 875. Pictures of Lord Edward FitzGerald,
194. 399. Pilsworth, William, Bishop of Kildare,
451 ; Ann, 451 ; Elizabeth, 461. Piper's Stones, The, 354-356. Plans of : —
Ballyshannon Castle, 447.
Castlemartin Chapel, 322.
Castleroe Castle, 250.
Kilkea Church, 244.
Killeen Cormac Churchyard, 161. Pleydell, Edmond, 472 ; Oliver, 472. Ploopluck, ^91.
Plnnket, Luke, 3rd Earl of Fingall, 176.
Oliver, of Ballylogher, 427.
Patrick, of Longwood, 134.
Robert, 5th Baron of Dun-
sany, 429.
Catherine, 427.
Genet, 429.
Poer, le, or Power, Family, 209. Pooka, the, 368, 369, 891. Portlester, Co. Meath, 300, 301, 311, 314-316, 484.
Baron of, 314-817.
Poul-aPhooka, 391-393. Preston of Gormanstown : —
Chifetopher, 811, 337, d3&
Jenico, 483.
Robert, 311.
Sir William, 488.
504
INDEX.
Preston — continued,
Margaret, 337.
Pramplestown, 436. Punohers Grange, 444. Punchestown, near Naas, 348.
Baoe of the Black Pig, 23.
Baheen-an-airy, 21.
Bampart of the Pale, the, 284-288.
Bangers of the Gurragh, List of, 18, 19.
Bath at Fumess, 467.
Bathangan, 285, 287, 350, 373.
Bathbride, 8, 48, 444.
: — old townland's mearin,
396, 397. Bathooffy, 79-92. Bathcoole, 377.
Bathdroo, or Bathdrue, 132, 432, 441. Bathmore, 345, 372-381, 460.
Cronstable of, 375 (his).
Provost of, 381.
.Townlands in the Manor of,
373.
Vioarof, 377.
Bathscalbey, 470, 471, 472, 473. Bathtrone, 436, 442. Bathvilly, Go. Garlow, 350. Beview of Books : —
Bairs "History of the Gounty of Dublin," 492.
Handcock's *' History and Antiquities of Tallaght, Co. Dublin," 198. Boad-names, old,. 269, 270. Boobford, de, family of, 79.
.James, 231.
Bosbran, J233.
Boscoivin townland, 471.
Bowan, Archibald Hamilton, 85, 215.
ByeiWater, the, 491.
Bytid, family of, 362.
Saints: — Abban (of Leixlip), 489. Ailbe (of Glane). 101, 102, 269. Andrew, 474.
Audoen's Church, 309, 315. Augustine, Order of, 456. Bernard of Clairvaux, 35. Boyan (of Gilltown), 374. Brigid of Kildare, 4, 5.
Her birth-place and life, 217-228.
Traces of her in Clane, 111, 269.
of Bathbride, 8.
Brogan Claen, 5.
Cadoc, 169.
Ganioe (of Kinneagh), 348.
Catherine, 303.
Columbe (of Bathmore), 373.
David (of '* Birdynohapel "}. 348.
(of Naas), 379
- Saints — continued.
Finian.(of Clonaugh), 50.
James, 450, 474.
John (of Kilgowan?), 349.
Mac Gaille (of Usney), 226.
Margaret, 303.
The Blessed Virgin Mary, 303, 322, 374.
Michael the Archangel, 305, 323.
Moling, 60, 461.
Moshenog, 270.
Lawrence O'Toole, 251.
Patrick, 109, 169. 470.
Senchell (of Clane), 101, 102.
Shenan (of Dunmanoge), 270.
Thomas, 474.
Ultan. (of Ardbraccan), 6.
Veronica's handkerchief, 239.
Victor, Order of, 456. Salmon Leap, the, 491. Sandys, Sir William, 361, 362. Sarsfield, family of. See High SherifiFs ; and Eildare Gentry, 121.
of Djahlin, Patrick, 483.
of LucaUy Sir William, 451,
483.
of TuUy, Peter, 451.
Anne, 377.
Seals : — Athy Borough, 400.
Kildare County Council, 400.
Segrave's Castle (Bathmore), 372, 381. Shan van Vogh, verse from the, 13. Sherlock, family of. See High Sheriffs ;
and Eildare Gentry, 122.
Edward, 63.
Patrick, 133.
WilUam. 18, 19.
Sherlockstown, 299, 341.
Shrule Castle, 129, 130.
Sigin stream, the, 357.
Slab, sculptured, at Kilkea, 248.
Slack of Narraghbetg, family of, 472.
" Smoke silver," the tax. of, 345.
Sobieski, Princess Clementina, 84.
Spenser, Edmund, 313.
St. John's Bower, Athy, 436.
St. Leger, John, 251.
St. Thomas's Abbey, DubUn, 456, 457,
460, 489. St. Wolstan's, 457. Stanton, Anastacia de. 80.
Her dower, 88-96.
Stokes, Miss Margaret, list of her
writings, 201-205. Straffan, 38a
Summerhill (Xiinch's Knock), 427. Sunday's Well, Clane, 109. Surnings. . See Turnings. Sutton, family oft See High Sheriffs ; and Kildare Gentry, 122.
INDEX.
505
Sutton, family of — continued,
David, 8, 428.
Garret, 212.
John, 374.
Nicholas, 212, 321, 439
Ismay, 349.
Sweetman, family of, 389, 390. Swift, Dean. 84, 85, 101, 115. Sydney, family of, 385.
Taafle, Nicholas, 347.
Alicia, 390.
Talbot, Sir Henry, 433.
Richard, Duke of Tyrconnell,
321.
Sir Robert, 212, 440.
Robert, of Belgard, 349.
Family of, 349.
Frances, 321.
Tallon, Oliver, 471.
Ellen, 471-473, 478.
Tallonstown, 471.
Tara, 59.
Tassagard (Saggart), 377.
Three Castles, 376.
Ticroghan, Co. Meath, 437, 438.
Tiles, foreign wall, 340.
pavement, 459.
Tigh Gighrainn (Tigeeran), 4. Timahoe, Go. Kildare, 431. Timogue, Queen's Co., 432, 438. Timolin, 295, 440. Tinnahinch, 430. Tipper, 321. Toberadoraun, 288. Toberaheena, 109. Toberara, 371. Tobereendowney, 109. Tobermolin, 313. Tober-na-grasB, 353. Tochar-gar, 270. Togher, 387. Tombstone, Inscriptions on : —
Browne, 263, 264.
Carpenter, 51.
Conolly, 113.
Daly, 133.
Eustace, 162, 209, 306, 310.
FitzGerald, 237, 242.
Lattin, 187.
McRoberts, 249, 251.
Sherlock, 133.
Sweetman, 390.
Toole, 247.
Treves, 249.
Wogan, 100. Tone, Theobald Wolfe, 367. Townland names, disused, 132, 133. Travers, Sir Henry, 170, 171, 377, 433.
Travers — continued .
Sir John, 456.
Catherine, 377.
Mary, 433.
Treves, Richard, 249. Trysteldermot. See Castledermot. Tuite, Edmond, 427.
Sir Oliver, 173.
Tullaghtipper, 483.
TuUy, 451.
Turnings, 340, 482-484.
Ussher, Arthur, 483.
Sir WUliam, 463, 488.
Alicia, 483.
Veal (or Yeele), le, family of, 295. Vescy, Sir William de, 488. Vinegor, Richard, 52, 53. Ursula, 52, 53.
Wall, Gerald, of Prumplestown, 436. Walsh of Shanganagh, John, 396.
Margery, 396.
famUy of. See Kildare Gentry,
122.
Edmond, of Birtown, 451, 452.
Rev. John, of Castledermot, 438,
450 451. Walterstown', 63,427, 434. Warren, Henry, of Grangebeg, 449. Wart-stone, the (Curragh), 195.
(Clane), 109.
— ■ (Curragh), 21.
Weisley, William, of Hobbardstown,
471, 472. Weldon, Walter, 486. Wellesley, family of. See High Sheriffs ; and Kildare Gen- try, 122.
Edmond, 437.
John, 489.
William, 63, 345.
Wheelam, 397.
White (or Whyte). Su High Sheriffs ; and Kildare Gentry, 122.
of Leixlip, Nicholas, 462, 490.
of PitchfoTdttotcn^ James, 134.
Dorothy, 134.
Whitechuroh, Manor of, 483. Wills of :— FitzGerald, 437, 471, 478. Daniel Neylan, Bishop of Kildare, 397. Wogan, family of, 70-100. See High Sheriffs ; and Kildare Gentry, 122.
Edward, 19*
5o6
INDEX.
Wogan, family of — eonUnued.
Sir John, 486.
Nicholas, 99, 428.
William, 100.
of Rathcoffy, family of, 79-88;
Pedigree, 79, 86; Sir Charles, 83-85 ; Sir David. 80, 88, 207» 345; Sir John, 263, 337, 388 ; Nicholas, 38, 99, 100, 212; William, 100; Anas- iaoia, 88-96, 207; Judith, 268. of Dovmings, Pedigree, 87.
of NewhaU and BlackhaUt
Pedigree, 87 ; Nicholas, 486. i
Wogan-Browne, 218. 261, 264. Wolfe, famUy of, 361-367. See High
SheriiTs; and Kildare Gentry,
122.
Rev. Charles, 365.
General James, 864.
John, 463.
PhUpot, 463.
Woodstock Castle, 440.
Yeomanstown, 187, 189. Young, funily of, 888.
Gentry, 122. Youngstown, 888.
See Kildare
END OF VOLUME III.
C. W. GiHDS & Son, Printers, Publin.
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