Skip to main content

Full text of "Bantry, Berehaven and the O'Sullivan Sept"

See other formats 


Bantry.  Berehaven 


AND 


nraSSRl! 


PT 


\  <^:^&zv^z:ms  , 


TD  Sullivan 


DONAL    O  SULLIVAN,     PRINCE    OF  'BEAR.  AND    BANTRY. 


BANTRY,    BEREHAVEN 

AND 

THE  O'SULLIVAN  SEPT 

BY 

T.    D.    SULLIVAN 

(AUTHOR  OF    "  DUNBOY,   AN  HISTORICAL  POEM  ;  "    "  MEMOIR 

OF   A.   M.  SULLIVAN  ;  "    "  RECOLLECTIONS   OF   TROUBLED 

TIMES    IN    IRISH    POLITICS;"     "EVERGREEN;" 

"SONGS   AND    POEMS;"   ETC,) 


If  cjieAc  caji  cpeAc  Ati  cjieAc  f  o  cIaoi*6  5Aex>eAtAib 
C-peAc  -do  CjteAc  te  cfteACA  cfuoc  eifieAtin 
C^eAc  nA  5C|ieAc  A3  ctAnriA  An  ctAon-cf aojaiI. 

— CA-og  5Aex>eAtAc  6  StulteAbAin, 


Of 


DUBLIN: 
SEALY,    BRYERS    AND    WALKER 

Middle  Abbey  Street 

1908 

BOSTON  COLLEGE  LIBRARY 
CHESTNUT  HILL,  MASS 


PRINTED    BY 

SEALY,    BRYERS  AND  WALKER, 

MIDDLE   ABBEY    STREET, 

DUBLIN. 


TO   THE    MEMORY 
OF 

DONAL    O'SULLIVAN 

PRINCE    OF    BEARE  AND   BANTRY, 

THIS   BOOK   IS   DEDICATED 

BY 

THE  AUTHOR 


1584 


EVERGREEN, 

A  Nets)  Volume  of  Verse, 

By  T.   D.  SULLIVAN, 

Crown  Svo,  1/- 

VVHAT    THE    PRESS    SAYS :— 

"  They  have  the  true  Hibernian  flavour. " — Scotsman. 

"  The  writer  of  those  stirring  verses  has  certainly  given  us 
value  for  our  money.  .  .  The  author  has  an  ear  for  rhyme  and 
rhythm — a  ready  wit,  a  light  touch,  and  a  distinct  sense  of  fun 
— an  equipment  which  many  a  would-be  poet  lacks." — Cork 
Constitution. 

°  The  contents  of  '  Evergreen  '  deal  with  various  topics  of 
current  interest,  and  are  written  in  Mr.  Sullivan's  usual  happy 
vein." — Ulster  Herald. 

"  A  charming  little  volume,  containing  a  splendid  collection 
of  verses  ;  written  in  a  bright  and  racy  style,  for  which  the 
author  is  justly  famous." — Waterford  Star. 

"  Light  and  tuneful  pieces.  .  .  Noting  the  dates  appended 
to  the  songs  and  squibs,  we  are  struck  by  the  appositeness  of 
the  book's  title,  for  the  same  freshness  and  raciness  is  to  be 
found  in  the  latest  pieces  as  in  the  verses  that  delighted  Irish 
readers  and  audiences   in  the  long  ago." — Irish  Iitdependent . 

"  The  charm,  ease  and  grace  of  T.  D.  Sullivan's  poems  are 
too  well-known  to  be  mentioned  at  this  stage  of  his  literary 
career.  His  verses  appeal  to  the  popular  taste,  and  live  in  the 
memory  of  the  people.  .  .  .  One  of  the  neatest  and  best 
printed  books  we  have  seen  for  a  long  while." — The  Kerryman. 

"Genuine  poetry,  clever  rhyme  and  good-humoured 
squib. ' ' — Daily  Express. 

'*  Will  give  much  pleasure  to  lovers  of  poetry  and  good- 
humoured  squibs." — Galway  Express. 

SEALY,  BRYERS  c8  WALKER, 

Middle   Abbey  Street,  DUBLIN. 


PREFACE 


In  Ireland,  every  part  of  which  has  been  the  scene  of 
stirring  events,  and  whose  people  have  experienced 
many  vicissitudes  of  fortune,  the  publication  of  local 
histories  relating  to  the  affairs  of  minor  areas—such  as 
counties,  baronies,  and  parishes — conversant  also  with 
the  public  life  and  actions  of  the  leading  families  and 
personages  in  those  districts,  would,  I  have  often 
thought,  possess  much  interest,  and  be  generally  ser- 
viceable in  the  way  of  our  national  education.  They 
would  be  useful  materials  for  larger  works,  and 
facilitate  their  production. 

There  still  exists  among  the  masses  of  our  people 
(though,  happily,  matters  are  improving  in  that  respect) 
a  lamentable  degree  of  ignorance  of  the  history  of  their 
country.  Generations  have  come  and  gone,  "  lived, 
moved,  and  had  their  being,"  amid  scenes  rich  in 
historic  associations,  knowing  little  or  nothing  about 
them.  Our  land  is  thick  sown  with  memorials  of  a 
troubled  past,  of  times  of  mixed  sadness  and  glory  ;  but 
our  young  folk  tread  historic  fields,  and  see  in  every 
landscape  the  relics  of  stately  towers,  castles,  churches, 
and  monasteries,  having  but  hazy  notions — many  of 
them  having  none  at  all — of  the  tales  connected  there- 
with, and  rarely  seeking  to  acquire  any  knowledge  on 
the  subject. 


vi  PREFACE 

This  work  is  intended  as  a  contribution  to  a  class 
of  national  literature  in  which,  as  I  conceive,  we  are 
somewhat  deficient.  It  is  nothing  in  the  nature  of  a 
guide-book ;  has  nothing  to  do  with  routes  or  fares, 
and  does  not  expatiate  on  the  scenic  beauties  of  the 
regions  with  which  it  is  concerned.  It  has  much  to  say 
of  an  Irish  Sept,  who,  for  a  long  period,  were  the  owners 
and  rulers  of  a  famous  territory.  I  hope  it  may  have 
interest  for  Irishmen  generally  ;  but,  at  all  events,  if  all 
the  O'Sullivans,  at  home  and  abroad — or  even  a  tenth 
of  their  number — show  a  practical  appreciation  of  the 
work,  the  publisher  will  have  a  great  deal  to  do,  and 
the  author  will  be  much  pleased. 

In  the  appendix,  at  the  end  of  the  Volume,  will  be 
found  many  items  of  interest  that  could  not  well  be 
brought  into  the  text.  But  it  will  be  for  the  reader's 
convenience  that  I  should  here  make  a  few  explanatory 
references  to  persons  and  circumstances  mentioned  in 
the  course  of  the  narrative. 

Coming  to  the  Elizabethan  period,  the  "  Lord 
President,"  so  much  in  evidence,  was  Sir  George  Carew, 
Lord  President  of  Munster,  afterwards  Earl  of  Totness. 
It  was  under  his  governorship  the  desolation  of  Munster 
was  carried  out,  the  Castle  of  EKmboy  captured,  and 
the  O'Sullivan  Sept  dispossessed  and  overthrown.  He 
was  the  compiler  of  the  valuable  historical  work 
entitled  Pacata  Hibernia  (Ireland  Pacified),  the 
manuscript  of  which  he  left  amongst  his  papers  for 
publication   after  his    death.      The  first   edition  was 


PREFACE  vii 

issued  in  London  in  1633.  It  is  an  authentic  narrative 
of  the  campaign,  but  written  entirely  from  an 
English  point  of  view.  Of  recent  editions  the  most 
interesting  is  that  of  Mr.  Standish  O'Grady,  published 
in  1896. 

"  The  Earl  of  Thomond"  was  a  member  of  the  O'Brien 
family,  some  of  the  heads  of  which  had  early  attorned 
to  English  rule,  and  rendered  important  service  to  the 
new  masters  of  their  country.  The  Earl  of  Elizabeth's 
time  is  spoken  of  by  Irish  writers  as  "  the  most  active 
and  violent  of  all  the  Royalist  partisans." 

"  Lord  Mount  joy  "  was  an  Englishman  named  Charles 
Blount,  who,  in  1601,  was  appointed  Viceroy  of  Ireland, 
and  who  did  the  work  usually  expected  in  those  times 
from  holders  of  that  office.  We  have  his  name 
commemorated  in  Mountjoy  Square,  Dublin. 

The  fate  and  fortunes  of  those  O'Sullivans  of  the 
olden  time  would  seem  to  have  had  attractions  for  Irish 
writers  from  their  day  to  the  present.  Far  transcending 
in  historic  value  all  other  treatises  on  the  subject  is 
Don  Philip  O'Sullivan's  Catholic  History  of  Ireland, 
admirably  translated  from  the  original  Latin,  and 
annotated  by  Mr.  Matthew  J.  Byrne,  published  by 
Sealy,  Bryers  &  Walker  in  1903.  It  is  a  good  counter- 
blast for  Carew's  Pacata  Hibemia. 

Several  articles  on  the  O'Sullivan  history  have 
appeared  within  the  past  few  years  in  Irish  periodicals. 

The  Journal  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Antiquaries, 
Ireland,  in  its  quarterly  numbers  for  December,  1906, 


viii  PREFACE 

and  March,  1907,  has  a  paper  by  W.  F.  Butler,  M.A., 
F.R.U.I.,  entitled  "  The  Lordship  of  MacCarthy  Mor," 
which  is  largely  concerned  with  the  affairs  of  the 
O'Sullivan  Sept. 

The  Ulster  Journal  of  Archeology  for  July,  1905,  has 
a  portrait  of  Donal  O'Sullivan  Beare,  and  an  account  of 
his  career,  by  the  Right  Reverend  Monsignor  O'Laverty, 
M.R.I.A. 

The  Journal  of  the  Waterford  and  South-East  of  Ireland 
ArchcBological  Society,  in  its  number  for  April- June, 
1901,  has  a  paper  entitled  "  Don  Philip  O'Sullivan ; 
the  Siege  of  Dunboy,  and  the  retreat  and  assassination 
of  O'Sullivan  Beare." 

Other  such  articles  are  : — 

"  Beara's  Last  Defender,"  signed  "  T.  B.  C,"  in  the, 

Record  of  the  League  of  St.  Columba,  Maynooth,  for  years 
1902-1903."  Many  years  previously  the  late  Mr.  John 
George  MacCarthy,  of  Cork,  published  a  historical  novel 
with  a  similar  title,  "  The  Last  Lord  of  Beara." 

"  The  Sword  of  O'Sullivan  Beare,"  by  Michael  Conway, 
in  The  Irish  Rosary  for  September,  1905. 

All  those  publications  have  been  helpful  to  me ;  and 
to  the  writers  and  publishers  I  gratefully  acknowledge 
my  obligations. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE 

Arrival  of  the  Milesian  Invaders  in  Bantry  Bay. — Bere- 
haven  Harbour  called  after  their  Queen,  Beara. — 
French  and  English  Naval  Fight  in  the  Bay  in  1689. — 
The  attempted  French  Invasion  in  1795. — Wolfe  Tone's 
Account  of  the  Expedition  . .  . .  1 

CHAPTER  II. 

The  Elizabethan  Wars.— The  Battle  of  Kinsale.— The 
Spanish  Commander's  intended  Surrender  of  Donal 
O' Sullivan's  Castle  of  Dunboy. — The  Castle  retaken  by 
O'Sullivan's  Men. — Letters  of  O'Sullivan  to  the  King 
of  Spain  . .  . .  . .  . .  9 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  Desolation  of  Munster. — Descriptions  by  English 
Writers. — The  Siege  of  Dunboy  Castle. — The  Massacre 
in  Dursey  Island. — Capture  and  Destruction  of  Dunboy 
Castle. — Fate  of  the  Garrison         . .  . .  . .      14 


CHAPTER  IV. 

O'Sullivan  commences  his  famous  retreat  to  the  North. — 
Unparalleled  sufferings  of  his  Followers. — Fighting  all 
the  Way. — A  Brilliant  Irish  Victory. — Thomas  Davis's 
poems  on  the  O'Sullivans.     Some  other  Quotations     . .     22 


x  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  V.  PAGE 

The  English  Market  for  Irish  Heads. — The  Price  List  issued 
by  the  Lords  Justices  at  Cork. — O'Sullivan  Escapes  to 
Spain. — Is  welcomed  and  honoured  by  the  Kin§^~Is 
Assassinated  by  an  Englishman  at  Madrid  . .      31 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Religious  Troubles. — Endeavours  to  Protestantise  Ireland. — 
Settlements  of  French  and  Dutch  Protestants  en- 
couraged by  the  Government. — Lord  Deputy  Strafford 
and  his  Foreign  Artificers. — A  Huguenot  Settlement  at 
Berehaven  under  Jacques  de  la  Fontaine,  and  what 
became  of  it  . .  . .  . .  . .     36 

CHAPTER  VII. 

How  the  Irish  suffered  for  their  Loyalty  to  King  Charles  I. 
— The  Cromwellian  War,  Confiscations,  and  Planta- 
tions.— Dispossession  of  the  Native  Land-owners  in 
Cork  and  Kerry. — Their  Properties  acquired  by  English 
Adventurers. — Whites,  Brown es,Herberts,  &c.  . .       42 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Romantic  Career  of  Morty  Oge  O'Sullivan. — His 
Shooting  of  Lewellen  Puxley. — A  Military  Force  sent 
from  Cork  to  capture  him. — Their  Attack  on  his  House. 
— Morty  Shot  Dead. — His  Body  towed  at  the  Stern  of 
a  Sloop  from  Berehaven  to  Cork. — His  Head  set  on  a 
Spike  over  the  Jail. — Poems  of  Lamentation  . .     46 

CHAPTER  IX. 

General  John  Sullivan. — A  Leader  in  the  American  War  of 
Independence. — Captures  the  First  Fort  in  the  War. — 
Honoured  by  George  Washington. — Helps  to  rout  the 
English  Army  out  of  Boston. — American  Counties 
called  by  his  name  . .  . .  . .  . .     55 

CHAPTER  X. 

The  Admirals  Sullivan  of  the  British  Navy. — Gunner  John 
Sullivan  of  Bantry  at  the  Siege  of  Sebastopol.— The 
O'Sullivans  in  Literature. — Don  Philip  O'Sullivan  the 
Historian. — Tadh  Gaolach  and  Owen  Roe  O'Sullivan, 
Gaelic  Poets. — Sir  Arthur  Sullivan,  Musician,  etc.      . .     61 


CONTENTS  3d 

CHAPTER  XL  page 

The  Grand  Grabber,  Sir  William  Petty. — His  Acquisitions 
in  Kerry. — He  is  publicly  accused  by  Sir  Jerome 
Sankey  of  Enormous  Frauds. — The  Prosecution  fizzles 
out. — Petty's  Down  Survey. — His  Property  now  "  the 
Lansdowne  Estates." — Scandals  of  their  Management 
in  "  the  fifties." — Stewart  Trench's  Rules  and  Regula- 
tions.— The  ''  Lansdowne  Ward "  in  a  New  York 
Hospital  . .  . .  . ,  . .  . .     68 

CHAPTER  XII. 

The  White  Family.— The  Lords  Ban  try. —Lord  Clinton's 
Purchase  of  Bere  Island. — Extraordinary  Scenes. — 
Descriptions  of  them  by  John  P.  Prendergast, 
Author  of  The  Cromwellian  Settlement  of  Ireland  79 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
Concluding  Observations  ...  . .  . .     83 

Appendix  . .  , ,  « *  . .  .85 


ft  Book  for  Irishmen  to  Bead. 

Recollections  of  CrouWed 

Cimes  in  IrisD  Politics. 

By   T.    D.    SULLIVAN. 
Crows*    8vo.      Cloth,  3s.  6d. 

"  The  volume  will  be  read  with  interest  by  all  who  are 
concerned  with  political  life  in  the  Emerald  Isle." — Dundee 
Advertiser* 

"  For  those  who  desire  a  brightly-written  survey  of  the 
varying  phases  of  the  Nationalist  movement  in  Ireland 
during  the  past  sixty  years  there  is  nothing  better  than  Mr. 
T.  D.  Sullivan's  book."— Pall  Mall  Gazette. 

"  This  is  a  chatty  and  interesting  volume,  written  in  an 
anecdotic  style,  and  covering  a  period  which  goes  back 
sixty  years.  .  .  .  As  a  repository  of  anecdote,  of  des- 
criptions of  events  and  men  during  stirring  times,  we  must 
award  the  book  high  praise." — Irish  Times. 

"...  His  style  is  lucid  and  concise,  his  tone  is 
moderate,  and  he  has  a  gift  for  apt  quotation,  of  pungent 
political  verse  and  amusing  anecdote." — Literary  World. 

" .  .  .  Mr.  Sullivan's  volume  must  be  read  to 
understand  aright  the  Irish  question  of  to-day.  To  Irish 
people  it  will  not  only  have  a  value,  but  a  fascination." — 
Reynolds'   Ntivspaper. 


A   New  Edition  in   Paper  Covers  will 
shortly  be  issued  by  the  Publishers, 


SEALY,  BRYERS  &  WALKER, 

MIDDLE  ABBEY  STREET,  DUBLIN. 


Bantry,    Berehaven 


AND 


The    O'Sullivan    Sept. 


CHAPTER  I. 

BANTRY  Bay  comes  in  for  honorable  mention 
at  an  early  period  of  Irish  history.  It  is  recorded 
that  its  shores  were  the  first  landing  place  of  the 
adventurers  who  came  from  Spain  under  the  command 
of  Queen  Scota,  widow  of  Milesius,  and  captained  by 
her  sons.  In  a  note  to  an  edition  of  Smith's  History  of 
Cork  published  by  Guy  and  Co.  of  that  city,  we  read  : 

Ancient  accounts  differ  much  from  each  other,  some  making 
only  three  sons  of  Milesius  to  land  in  Ireland  ;  but  the  landing  of 
these,  as  well  as  of  Partholanus,  they  all  place  in  the  Bay  of 
Bantry,  which  they  call  Inber  Sceine. 

Bearhaven  is  said  to  have  come  by  its  name  in  this 
way  : — An  Irish  chief  named  Owen  the  Splendid,  having 
been  defeated  in  a  great  engagement  by  "  Conn  of  the 
Hundred  Battles,"  fled  to  Spain,  where  he  married  the 
King's  daughter,  Beara.  Returning  after  the  lapse  of 
some  time  at  the  head  of  a  powerful  force,  his  vessels 
put  into  a  commodious  harbour  on  the  south-west  coast 

B 


2  BANTRY,    BEREHAVEN   AND 

of  Ireland,  with  which  he  was  so  pleased  that  in  honour 
of  his  wife  he  called  it  Bearhaven.  The  haven  in  later 
times  gave  its  name  to  the  extensive  district  now  known 
as  the  barony  of  Beare. 

The  Bay  is  a  great  inlet  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  about 
28  miles  in  length,  varying  in  width  from  five  to  eight 
miles,  free  of  shoals  or  rocks  in  any  way  perilous  to 
navigation,  and  of  great  depth.  On  its  northern  shore 
are  three  harbours,  Berehaven,  Adrigoole,  and  Glen- 
garriffe,  with  Bantry  harbour  on  its  eastern  or  landward 
end.  Two  islands,  like  great  breakwaters,  make  and 
shelter  the  harbours  of  Berehaven  and  Bantry.  Sir 
George  Carew,  in  his  " Pacata  Ribemia"  thus  describes 
the  place  : — 

The  haven  of  Beare  is  situated  twelve  miles  to  the  northward 
of  that  promontory  or  foreland,  so  well  known  by  the  name  of 
Mizzenhead,  or  Carrowhead.  That  which  we  properly  call  Bere- 
haven is  the  sea  which  entreth  between  the  great  island  (before 
mentioned)  and  the  main,  or  country  called  Beare,  or  O'Sullivan's 
country.  At  the  entrance  of  the  harbour  it  is  not  above  a 
musket-shot  over,  I  mean  from  the  castle  of  Dunboy  to  the  great 
island  ;  being  entered,  the  tides  are  slack,  good  anchorage,  and 
convenient  places  to  bring  ships  on  ground,  smooth  water,  five 
fathoms  deep  at  low  water  mark.  Towards  the  north  end  it 
groweth  much  larger,  at  the  least  a  league  over,  and  of  capacity 
sufficient  to  contain  all  the  ships  of  Europe. 

The  writer,  it  will  be  observed,  calls  the  district 
"  O'Sullivan's  country,"  and  as  such  it  was  then  known, 
and  had  been  known  for  a  long  period.  But  it  was  not 
the  native  ground  of  the  Sept ;  they  came  from  a  district 
in  Tipperary,  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Knockgraffan, 
Clonmel,  and  thereabouts,  where  they  had  been  lords 
of  the  soil,  but  whence  they  were  dislodged  by  the 
spreading  power  of  the  Anglo-Norman  invaders.  Then 
they  moved  south  and  joined  their  Milesian  kinsmen 
in  the  wide  district  in  which  was  comprised  the  south- 
western parts  of  Cork  and  Kerry.  There  the  sept  segre- 
gated into  two  great  divisions,  separated  by  a  range  of 


THE  0' SULLIVAN  SEPT  3 

mountains  ;  on  the  northern  or  Kerry  side  of  the  line 
was  the  O' Sullivan  Mor  tribe,  on  the  southern,  or  Cork 
side,  along  the  shores  of  Bantry  Bay,  were  the 
O'Sullivans  Beare. 

Whether  this  settling  down  of  the  newcomers  was 
peaceably  effected  or  not  does  not  clearly  appear  from 
the  record  ;  but  the  resistance,  if  any,  to  their  intrusion 
must  have  been  only  slight  and  desultory.  The  over-lord  of 
those  districts — and  of  a  much  wider  extent  of  territory — 
at  that  time  was  the  MacCarthy  Mor.  The  O'Sullivans 
came  in  under  his  sovereignty,  so  to  say,  and  like  the 
other  septs  under  his  almost  nominal  headship,  they 
undertook  to  pay  him  his  customary  tributes — to 
furnish  him  with  a  prescribed  number  of  fighting  men 
for  his  service  in  time  of  war,  and  with  a  stipulated 
amount  of  supplies  for  himself  and  his  followers  whenever 
he  had  occasion  to  go  on  hostings  or  visitations  through 
his  territory.  Anti-Irish  writers  refer  to  those  "  cuttings 
and  closherings  "  of  the  Irish  chiefs  on  their  clansmen 
as  if  they  were  tremendous  exactions — an  intolerable 
burderf ;  but  they  were  nothing  of  the  kind.  The 
clansmen  lived  in  rude  plenty ;  they  did  not  lack  food 
or  clothing  ;  there  were  no  evictions  for  non-payment 
of  rent — and  no  shootings  of  landlords.  They  loved 
their  chiefs,  to  whom  they  paid  a  moderate  amount 
of  tribute  in  money  as  well  as  in  kind,  but  nothing 
comparable  to  what  is  extracted  from  their  class  in 
our  time  by  Irish  landlords  and  England's  ingenious 
system  of  taxation. 

The  town  of  Bantry,  we  are  told  in  some  old  topo- 
graphical works,  was  formerly  called  Ballygobbin ; 
other  accounts  state  that  at  a  more  remote  period  its 
name  was  just  what  it  is  to-day — "  Bean-traigh," — 
the  white  strand.  In  the  time  of  Oliver  Cromwell, 
Ireton,  son-in-law  of  the  "  Lord  Protector,"  had  a 
fortification  erected  about  a  mile  to  the  south-west 
of  the  present  town.     A  number  of  the  small  traders 


4  BANTRY,    BEREHAVEN    AND 

of  Bantry,  thinking  they  could  do  better  business  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  fort,  built  some  houses  there,  which 
came  to  be  called  "  Newtown,"  but  after  some  time 
both  the  fort  and  the  new  settlement  were  deserted 
and  the  traders  returned  to  their  old  location  by  the 
water's  edge. 

Several  projects  for  the  construction  of  new  forts 
at  Bantry  and  Berehaven  were  devised  from  time  to 
time  by  the  English  governors  at  Dublin  Castle,  and 
recommended  to  the  higher  authorities  in  London, 
but  they  were  not  carried  out.  In  the  Calendar  of 
State  Papers,  Domestic  Series,  of  the  reign  of  William 
and  Mary,  published  in  1906,  we  get  a  specimen  docu- 
ment in  the  following  letter : — 

1694,  April   10,  Dublin  Castle. 

The  Lords  Justices  of  Ireland  to  Sir  John  Trentchard. 

Experience  every  day  shows  us  how  well  some  forts  (now 
demolished)  were  placed  ;  and  how  much  it  would  contribute 
to  the  public  peace  and  safety  if  they  were  restored.  The  town 
of  Bantry  is  seated  in  the  bottom  of  a  large  and  well  frequented 
bay  and  in  the  borders  of  Bearhaven,  Glanaroghty  and  Muskerry, 
where  for  nearly  twenty  miles  there  are  no  Protestant  inhabitants. 
This  is  a  den  of  Tories  who  molest  the  country  round  about  here  ; 
the  Popish  natives  harbour  them,  and,  corresponding  with  the 
French  privateers,  betray  to  them  merchant  ships,  so  that 
within  these  two  years  above  twenty  ships  have  been  taken 
from  thence  by  the  privateers,  The  wisdom  of  former  times 
built  a  fort  in  this  place,  by  which  that  wild  and  rebellious  country 
was  kept  in  awe  by  a  small  garrison.  And  the  Irish,  when  it 
came  into  their  hands  in  1698,  demolished  it,  that  it  might  no 
longer  be  a  bridle  upon  them.  The  re-building  of  this  fort  nearer 
to  the  sea  than  it  was,  will  secure  those  ships  which  shelter  there, 
prevent  this  correspondence  with  France,  unkennel  those  thieves 
that  from  thence  do  so  much  mischief,  and  every  year  save  more 
than  the  whole  charge  will  come  to. 

The  reader  will  notice  the  assumption  in  this  paper — 
which  indeed  runs  through  all  the  Anglo-Irish  literature 
of  the  time,  official  and  unofficial — that  the  only  people 


THE  0>  SULLIVAN  SEPT  5 

who  had  no  right  to  live  in  Ireland  were  the  natives 
whose  fathers  had  been  there  from  the  dawn  of  history. 

Bantry  Bay  was  more  than  once  the  scene  of  a  visit 
from  a  French  fleet  on  anti-English  purposes  intent. 
Every  one  knows  of  the  expedition  under  General  Hoche 
and  Wolfe  Tone  in  December,  1795  ;  but  more  than  a 
hundred  years  before  that  time — in  April,  1689 — a 
sharp  engagement  between  French  and  English  war- 
ships took  place  in  those  waters.  The  details,  sum- 
marised from  Campbell's  Naval  History,  read  thus  : — 

The  29th  of  April  (1689)  Admiral  Herbert,  being  on  the  south 
coast  of  Ireland,  by  his  scouts  discovered  the  French  fleet,  and 
next  day  had  intelligence  that  they  were  gone  into  Baltimore, 
being  forty-four  sail ;  but  on  pursuing  them  the  scouts  had  a 
sight  of  them  to  the  west  of  Cape  Clear,  and  upon  steering  after 
them,  found  they  were  got  into  Bantry  Bay.  The  admiral  lay 
off  the  bay  all  night,  and  next  morning  stood  in,  where  he  found 
the  enemy  at  anchor  ;  but  they  soon  got  under  sail,  bearing 
down  upon  them  (the  English)  in  a  line  composed  of  twenty- 
eight  men  of  war  and  five  fire-ships.  When  they  came  within 
muskct-shot  of  the  "  Defiance,"  who  led  the  van,  the  French 
admiral  (Perrault)  put  out  the  signal  of  battle,  which  was  begun 
by  firing  their  great  and  small  shot  at  the  "  Defiance  "  and  the 
rest  as  they  came  into  line.  The  English  made  several  boards 
to  gain  the  wind,  or  at  least  to  engage  them  closer.  Finding 
that  way  of  working  very  disadvantageous,  Admiral  Herbert 
stood  off  to  sea,  as  well  to  have  got  his  ships  into  a  line  as  to  have 
gained  the  wind  of  the  enemy,  but  found  them  so  cautious  in 
bearing  down  that  he  could  not  get  an  opportunity  to  do  it,  so 
he  continued  battering  upon  a  stretch  till  five  in  the  afternoon, 
when  the  French  admiral  stood  into  the  bay.  The  (English) 
admiral's  ship  and  some  others  being  disabled  in  their  rigging, 
could  not  follow  them,  but  continued  for  some  time  longer  before 
the  bay  ;  and  the  admiral  gave  them  a  gun  at  parting. 

In  this  action  Captain  George  Aylmer,  of  the  "  Portland,"  with 
the  lieutenant  and  ninety-four  seamen,  were  killed,  and  about 
two  hundred  and  fifty  wounded.  On  the  7th  of  May  the  admiral 
got  into  Plymouth  with  the  fleet. 

Clearly   this   was    a   French   victory ;     but    English 
writers  do  not  like  to  call  it  by  that  name. 
The  fleet   despatched  by  the   French   Directory  in 


6  BANTRY,  BEREHAVEN  AND 

the  latter  part  of  December,  1795,  with  a  military 
force  designed  to  aid  a  projected  Irish  rising  against 
English  rule,  met  no  enemy  on  their  way,  but  were 
dispersed  and  wrecked  by  tempestuous  weather.  Such 
vessels  of  the  expedition  as  got  into  Bantry  Bay  remained 
there  for  nearly  a  week — and  a  week  is  a  great  deal 
in  war  time — rolling  and  straining  at  their  anchors, 
without  attempting  to  put  on  shore  the  soldiery  they 
had  brought  with  them — they  were  awaiting  the  arrival 
of  one  of  their  missing  vessels,  the  "  Fraternitie  "  in 
which  was  General  Hoche,  the  commander  of  the 
expedition.  On  board  the  '•'  Indomptable,,,  in  the 
bay  was  Theobald  Wolfe  Tone,  almost  heart-broken 
with  anxiety  and  vexation  as  day  after  day  went  by 
without  bringing  in  certain  of  the  ships  which  had 
left  Brest  on  the  16th  of  the  month,  but  had  parted 
company  in  the  furious  storm  which  burst  upon  them. 
A  few  extracts  from  the  diary  penned  by  Tone  at  this 
time  will  illustrate  the  situation  : — 

December  22nd  (1795). — This  morning,  at  eight,  we  have 
neared  Bantry  Bay  considerably,  but  the  fleet  is  terribly 
scattered  ;  no  news  of  the  Fraternitie.  .  .  .  All  rests  now  upon 
Grouchy,  and  I  hope  he  may  turn  out  well ;  he  has  a  glorious 
game  in  his  hands,  if  he  has  spirit  and  talent  to  play  it 

December  23rd. — Last  night  it  blew  a  heavy  gale  from  the 
eastward,  with  snow,  so  that  the  mountains  are  covered  this 
morning.  ...  It  is  to  be  observed  that  of  the  thirty-two  points 
of  the  compass  the  east  is  precisely  the  most  unfavourable  to 
us.  .  .  .  Oh,  that  we  were  once  ashore,  let  what  might  come 
after  ;  I  am  sick  to  the  very  soul  of  this  suspense.  ...  I  am 
now  so  near  the  shore  that  I  can,  in  a  manner,  touch  the  sides 
of  Bantry  Bay  with  my  right  and  my  left  hand,  yet  God  knows 
whether  I  shall  ever  tread  again  on  Irish  ground.  ...  I  could 
tear  my  flesh  with  rage  and  vexation,  but  that  advances  nothing, 
and  so  I  hold  my  tongue  in  general,  and  devour  my  melancholy 
as  I  can. 

Next  day  came  a  gleam  of  hope  to  the  heart  of  this 
well-nigh  despairing  and  desperate  man ;  but  it  did 
not  last  long.    The  wind,  with  what  an  Irish  Nationalist 


THE  0' SULLIVAN  SEPT  7 

might  regard  as  a  malignant  persistency,  continued 
adverse, — as  if  it  were  English  manufacture,  and  had 
been  sent  straight  across  from  London.  The  diary 
thus  continues : — 

Dec.  24th. — Well,  at  last  I  believe  we  are  about  to  disembark  ; 
God  knows  how  I  long  for  it.  But  this  infernal  easterly  wind 
continues  without  remorse,  and  though  we  have  been  under 
weigh  three  or  four  hours,  we  do  not  seem,  to  my  eyes,  to  have 
gained  one  hundred  yards  in  a  straight  line. 

Dec.  25th. — .  .  .  The  wind  continues  right  ahead,  $0  that  it 
is  absolutely  impossible  to  work  up  to  the  landing  place,  and 
God  knows  when  it  will  change. 

Dec.  26th. — Last  night,  at  half  after  six  o'clock,  in  a  heavy 
gale  of  wind,  still  from  the  east,  we  were  surprised  by  the 
admiral's  frigate  running  under  our  quarter  and  hailing  the 
Indomptable,  with  orders  to  cut  our  cable  and  put  to  sea  instantly. 
.  .  .  Certainly  we  have  been  persecuted  by  a  strange  fatality 
from  the  very  night  of  our  departure  to  this  hour.  We  have 
lost  two  commanders-in-chief  ;  of  four  admirals  not  one 
remains  ;  we  have  lost  one  ship  of  the  line,  that  we  know  of,  and 
probably  many  others  of  which  we  know  nothing  ;  we  have  been 
now  six  days  in  Bantry  Bay,  within  five  hundred  yards  of  the 
shore,  without  being  able  to  effectuate  a  landing  ;  we  have  been 
dispersed  four  times  in  four  days,  and  at  this  moment,  of  forty- 
three  sail,  of  which  the  expedition  consisted,  we  can  muster  of 
all  sizes  but  fourteen. 

Dec.  27th. — .  .  .  At  half  after  four,  there  being  every  appear- 
ance of  a  stormy  night,  three  vessels  cut  their  cables  and  put  to 
sea.  The  Indomptable,  having  with  great  difficulty  weighed  one 
anchor,  we  were  forced  at  length  to  cut  the  cable  of  the  other 
and  make  the  best  of  our  way  out  of  the  Bay,  being  followed  by 
the  whole  of  our  little  sq.uadron,  now  reduced  to  ten  sail,  of  which 
seven  are  of  the  line,  one  frigate,  and  two  corvettes  or  luggers. 

So  miserably  ended  the  French  expedition  to  Bantry 
Bay.1    The  subsequent  career  and  tragic  fate  of  Wolfe 

1  To  memorise  the  expedition  and  honour  its  Irish  leader, 
the  Town  Commissioners  of  Bantry,  in  1898,  — the  centenary 
pear  of  the  Irish  insurrection — gave  to  the  market  square  of  their 
town  the  name  of  "  Wolfe  Tone  Square."  The  motion  was 
made  by  the  Parliamentary  representative  of  the  district,  Mr. 
James  Gilhooly ;  it  was  seconded  by  Mr.  Donovan,  T.C.,  and 
cordially  adopted. 


8  BANTRY,  BEREHAVEN  AND 

Tone,  and  the  outbreak  of  the  Irish  insurrection  in 
1798,  do  not  come  within  the  scope  of  this  work ;  but 
numerous  recent  publications,  at  popular  prices,  bring 
the  record  within  the  reach  of  every  patriotic  Irishman- 
Here  I  turn  back  from  the  period  of  those  naval 
operations  to  deal  with  the  events  of  an  earlier  time, 
when,  in  the  later  part  of  the  16th  century  and  the 
opening  years  of  the  17th,  Ireland  was  being  swept 
with  fire  and  sword  by  the  soldiery  of  England,  and 
the  part  of  the  country  with  which  these  pages  are 
specially  concerned  was  made  the  scene  of  horrors  and 
sufferings  indescribable. 


THE  0' SULLIVAN  SEPT 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  story  of  how  the  territories  of  Bere  and  Ban  try 
passed  from  the  hands  of  the  O'Sullivans  forms 
a  chapter  of  Irish  history  which  I  propose  to 
outline  briefly  in  the  following  pages.  The  overthrow, 
dispossession  and  dispersion  of  the  Sept  date  from  the 
closing  years  of  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth.  From 
the  beginning  to  the  end  of  that  reign  there  was  an 
almost  continuous  tangle  of  wars  between  France, 
Spain,  and  England,  largely  due  to  events  arising  out 
of  the  "  Reformation,"  then  in  its  earlier  stages  ;  and 
Ireland,  refusing  to  accept  the  new  doctrines  and  form 
of  worship  proffered  to  her  by  Henry  the  Eighth  and 
his  daughter,  was  inevitably  drawn  into  the  trouble. 
The  suppression  of  the  monasteries  and  seizure  of  the 
Church  revenues  in  England  had  enriched  whole  swarms 
of  needy  nobles,  sleek  courtiers,  and  adventurous 
soldiers  ;  and  there  was  still  a  field  for  such  profitable 
operations  in  Ireland.  The  opportunity  was  availed  of 
to  the  utmost.  Of  the  ultimate  result — as  regards  the 
shock  of  conflict — there  could  hardly  be  any  doubt. 
England  was  a  consolidated  country,  under  a  centralised 
government,  with  an  army,  a  navy,  and  a  national 
exchequer ;  Ireland  had  none  of  these  things ;  she 
had  chiefs,  and  bards,  and  learned  churchmen  ;  she 
had  warriors  too,  but  their  prowess  had  been  for  the 
most  part  exercised  in  inter-tribal  or  provincial  conflicts, 
and  as  regards  military  science  they  were  behind  the  age. 
Touch  England — even  in  those  days — at  the  remotest 
point,  of  her  territory,  coast,  creek,  or  headland,  and 
the  thrill  was  felt  at  the  centre  of  her  national  life  : 


10  BANTRY,    BEREHAVEN    AND 

the  head  was  turned  round  and  the  fangs  were  bared 
to  bite  whatever  trod  on  the  tail ;  while  in  Ireland, 
Connaught  or  Munster  might  be  invaded  and  raided 
again  and  again  without  Leinster's  or  Ulster's  troubling 
their  heads  about  it.  The  struggle  between  the  two 
countries  was  like  a  collision  between  an  iron  pot,  all 
of  one  piece,  and  a  composite  article  of  really  finer 
material,  but  whose  several  parts  were  ill-cemented 
and  some  of  them  but  slightly  stitched  together.  Or, 
to  vary  the  illustration,  I  would  say  that  when  it 
came  to  a  quarrel  and  combat  between  a  bard  armed 
with  a  harp  and  a  manuscript  and  a  semi-savage  wielding 
a  hatchet,  the  bard  was  bound  to  have  the  worst  of  it. 

The  northern  chieftains,  O'Neill,  and  O'Donnell,  made 
a  noble  stand  and  achieved  some  brilliant  victories 
before  they  were  finally  broken  down  and  overborne. 
In  the  south  the  most  splendid  resistance  to  the 
Elizabethan  forces  was  made  by  Donal  O'Sullivan  of 
Dunboy,  Prince  of  Beare  and  Bantry.  When  O'Neill 
marched  with  an  army  from  Tyrone  to  relieve  Ireland's 
Spanish  allies,  under  the  command  of  Don  Juan  de 
Aquila,  who  were  besieged  at  Kinsale  by  an  English 
army  greatly  superior  to  them  in  number,  O'Sullivan 
brought  a  strong  contingent  of  his  clansmen  to  join 
the  national  ranks.  On  the  night  of  the  23rd  of  December, 
1 601,  the  Irish  forces  and  the  beleaguered  Spaniards 
made  a  badly  concerted  attack  on  the  besiegers.  They 
were  defeated,  thrown  into  disorder,  and  put  to  rout. 
Shortly  afterwards,  the  siege  continuing,  Don  Juan- 
capitulated  and  surrendered  the  town  on  terms  compat- 
ible with  the  honour  of  his  army  ;  but  he  undertook 
at  the  same  time  to  deliver  up  to  Lord  Mount] oy,1  the 
forts  of  Dunboy,  Baltimore,  and  Castlehaven,  into 
which  Spanish  garrisons  had  been  put  by  arrangement 
with    their   owners.    O'Sullivan,     on     learning    of   this 

1  Sir  Charles  Blount,  who  had  been  made  Lord  Deputy  foi 
Ireland  and  Baron  Mountjoy  by  Queen  Elizabeth. 


THE    0' SULLIVAN    SEPT  11 

proposed  handing  over  of  his  castle  to  the  enemy,  was 
furious.  His  view  was  that  the  Spanish  commander 
had  no  right  or  power  to  do  anything  of  the  kind  ;  and 
he  resolved  that  it  should  not  be  done.  But  the  first 
question  was,  how  to  rid  his  castle  of  the  Spaniards, 
into  whose  possession  he  had  given  it  when  he  thought 
they  would  defend  it  to  the  last  against  the  English. 
Finding  that  they  considered  themselves  bound  to 
act  on  the  terms  of  their  commander's  capitulation, 
and  were  resolved  not  to  yield  the  castle  except  to  the 
English,  O 'Sullivan  decided  to  treat  them  to  a  process 
of  summary  eviction.  He  had  some  of  his  men  inside 
the  castle  to  work  an  opening  in  one  of  the  walls  without 
exciting  the  suspicions  of  the  Spaniards,  and  when  all 
was  ready  he  had  eighty  of  his  followers,  in  the  mid  of 
night,  to  pour  in  through  the  breach  and  seize  the  place, 
to  hold  it,  as  he  alleged,  for  the  king  of  Spain.  O'Sullivan's 
men,  acting  on  the  instructions  they  had  received,  offered 
no  violence  to  the  garrison  ;  but  some  of  the  latter 
fired  on  the  intruders  and  killed  three  of  them.  The 
affair,  however  was  quickly  composed,  the  Spaniards 
agreeing  to  accept  transport  from  the  place  by  sea 
to  join  a  party  of  their  countrymen  at  Baltimore.  A 
few  of  their  number  who  were  expert  gunners  were 
induced  by  O'Sullivan  to  remain  to  aid  him  in  the 
defence  of  the  castle,  which  he  knew  would  shortly 
be  besieged  by  a  powerful  army. 

Letters  in  explanation  and  justification  of  his  conduct 
were  then  sent  by  O'Sullivan  to  King  Philip  and  to  two 
of  his  ministers — documents  at  once  forcible  and 
pathetic.  His  letter  to  the  King,  somewhat  abbreviated, 
reads  thus : — 

My  Lord  and  King, 

.  .  .  Upon  the  landing  in  Castlehaven  of  your  generals  with 
a  fleet  and  men  from  your  Greatness,  I  came  to  their  presence 
tendering  my  obeisance  unto  them  in  the  name  of  your  Highness 
.  .  .  and  yielded  out  of  my  mere    love  and  good  will,  without 


12  BANTRY,    BEREHAVEN    AND 

compulsion  or  composition,  into  their  hands,  in  the  name  of 
your  Majesty,  not  only  my  castle  and  haven  called  Berehaven, 
but  also  my  wife,  my  children,  my  country,  lordships,  and  all 
my  possessions  for  ever,  to  be  disposed  of  at  your  pleasure.  .  .  . 
Notwithstanding,  my  gracious  lord,  conclusions  of  peace  were 
assuredly  agreed  upon  betwixt  Don  Juan  de  Aquila  and  the 
English — a  fact  pitiful,  and  (according  to  my  judgment)  against 
all  right  and  humane  conscience.  Amongst  other  places  whereof 
your  Greatness  was  dispossessed  in  that  manner — which  were 
neither  yielded  nor  taken  to  the  end  they  should  be  delivered  to 
the  English — Don  Juan  tied  himself  to  deliver  my  castle  and 
haven,  the  only  key  of  mine  inheritance,  where  upon  the  living 
of  many  thousand  persons  doth  rest  that  live  some  twenty 
leagues  upon  the  sea  coast,  into  the  hands  of  my  cruel,  cursed, 
misbelieving  enemies, —  a  thing  I  fear  in  respect  of  the  execrable- 
ness,  inhumanity,  and  ungratefulness  of  the  fact,  if  it  take  effect 
as  it  was  plotted,  that  will  give  cause  to  other  men  not  to  trust 
any  Spaniard  hereafter  with  their  bodies  or  goods  upon  these 
causes.  .  .  .  My  lord,  in  that  I  judge  this  dishonourable  act  to 
be  against  your  honour  and  pleasure,  considering  the  harm  that 
might  ensue  to  the  service  of  your  majesty,  and  the  everlasting 
overthrow  that  might  happen  to  me  and  my  poor  people,  such 
as  might  escape  the  sword  (if  any  should),  I  have  taken  upon 
me — with  the  help  of  God — to  offer  to  keep  my  castle  and  haven 
from  the  hands  of  mine  enemies  until  further  news  and  order 
from  your  highness. 

Don  Juan,  presumably  a  brave  soldier,  but  apparently 
a  somewhat  theatrical  person,  was  much  incensed  by 
O 'Sullivan's  re-capture  of  his  castle,  which  he  regarded 
as  compromising  his  own  honour,  and  he  offered  to 
re-take  it  for  the  Lord  President,  who,  replied,  in  effect, 
that  he  would  prefer  to  carry  out  that  business  himself. 
We  read  in  the  "  Pacata  "  that  :— 

When  report  was  brought  to  Don  Juan  de  Aquila  (then  in  Cork) 
of  the  surprise  of  Dunboy,  he  took  it  for  a  great  affront,  and 
would  presently  have  drawn  from  Kinsale  the  Spanish  companies 
there  yet  remaining,  and  march  to  Dunboy  to  regain  it  by  force, 
and  deliver  it  according  to  the  composition  into  her  majesty's 
hands,  but  the  Lord  Deputy  and  the  President  (who  were  desirous 
to  see  his  heels  towards  Ireland)  wished  him  not  to  trouble  him- 
self with  that  business,  as,  when  he  was  gone,  the  President 
should  take  order  for  the  reducing  of  it  into  his  own  hands. 


THE    0' SULLIVAN    SEPT  13 

It  does  not  appear  that  King  Philip  found  any  fault 
with  O 'Sullivan  for  what  he  had  done  ;  on  the  contrary 
he  continued  to  be  a  friend  of  the  Irish  chief  to  the  last 
day  of  his  life.  In  "  A  narrative  of  the  state  of  Ireland 
from  the  Spanish  landing  in  Kinsale  till  the  end  of  May, 
(1601)  by  Father  W.  Bath,  SJ.,  Spiritual  Director  of 
the    University    of    Salamanca,  we   read : — 

Don  Juan  made  peace  with  the  English,  and  delivered  to  them 
the  strong  places  which  he  had  retained.  One  of  the  Irish  nobles, 
O'Sullivan,  learning  this,  turned  the  Spaniards  out  of  his  castle 
of  Berehaven,  seized  the  munitions,  and  to  prove  his  loyalty  to 
the  King  of  Spain,  sent  his  son  to  him  as  a  hostage.  His  majesty 
was  greatly  affected  by  this  conduct,  so  much  so  that  he  con- 
ceived a  lasting  esteem  for  O'Sullivan. 

The  favours  and  friendships  bestowed  on  O'Sullivan 
gave  great  offence  to  the  English  government,  and  were 
protested  against  by  one  of  their  Ministers  of  State. 
Here  is  an  extract  from  a  letter  of  his  to  the  English 
representative  at  the  Spanish  Court : — 

As  touching  O'Sullivan,  it  is  very  fit  that  you  let  them  know 
that  the  report  of  the  honor  they  did  him  hath  come  unto  his 
Majesties  ears,  and  that  although  they  will  alledge  that  in  the 
time  of  hostility  betwixt  England  and  Spain  it  may  be  he  did 
them  many  services,  and  may  then  have  deserved  well  at  their 
hands,  for  which  they  have  just  cause  to  reward  him,  yet  since 
by  his  Majesties  happy  coming  to  these  crowns  those  differences 
have  had  an  end,  and  that  there  is  a  perfect  League  and  Amity 
betwixt  them,  his  Majesty  cannot  chuse  but  dislike  that  they 
should  bestow  upon  him  any  Title  or  Dignity,  which  only  properly 
belongeth  unto  him  towards  his  own  subjects  ;  that,  therefore, 
he  would  be  glad  that  they  would  forbear  to  confer  any  such 
titulary  Honour  upon  any  of  his  subjects  without  his  Privity. 

From  all  which  it  appears  that  even  in  the  time  of  his 
overthrow  and  exile  the  English  kept  a  close  watch  on  the 
expatriated  Prince  of  Beare  and  Bantry,  and  did  their 
utmost  to  prevent  his  being  accorded  in  other  lands 
the  recognition  to  which  his  patriotism  and  his  valour 
had  entitled  him. 


14  BANTRY,    BEREHAVEN    AND 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  storm  of  war  which  0 'Sullivan  expected  soon 
burst  upon  his  castle  and  clansmen  at  Dunboy. 
He  made  such  preparations  for  the  reception  of 
the  enemy  as  were  possible  to  him,  strengthening  the 
outer  walls,  excavating  some  trenches  and  setting  up 
obstacles  to  a  hostile  advance.  But  Dunboy  castle,  like 
most  of  those  existing  in  Ireland  at  that  period,  was  but 
ill-fitted  to  withstand  artillery.  The  walls  indeed  were 
thick,  but  the  masonry  was  poor ;  and  once  a  battery 
was  placed  within  range  of  them  and  allowed  free  play 
for  even  a  few  days,  the  ruin  of  such  structures  was 
assured.  To  provide  a  place  of  retreat  in  which  to 
make  a  last  stand  for  the  national  and  catholic  cause, 
in  case  of  defeat  at  Dunboy,  O  Sullivan  sent  a  party 
of  his  men  with  three  pieces  of  cannon  to  hold  possession 
of  Dursey  island  and,  if  possible,  prevent  a  landing 
of  the  enemy  there.  The  island  is  at  the  extreme  end 
of  the  Beara  promontory,  and  is  divided  from  the  main 
land  by  a  great  cleft  of  the  mountain,  of  which  evidently, 
it  at  one  time  formed  part ;  a  deep  and  narrow  channel 
is  thus  formed  through  which  the  tide  runs  with  great 
force,  and  in  which  the  swells  tumbling  in  from  the 
Atlantic  toss  up  huge  waves,  rising  to  an  extraordinary 
height.    The  place  is  thus  described  in  the  "  Pacata  "  : — 

Near  unto  the  haven  of  Beare  there  is  a  small  island  called  the 
Durseys,  which  is  very  strongly  seated  by  nature,  by  reason  of 
the  difficulty  of  landing,  which  is  but  in  one  narrow  entrance, 
which  may  be  defended  with  a  few  hands  ;  and  besides  it  is 
impossible  for  any  boat  to  arrive  at  this  entrance  except  it  be  in 
a  dead  calm,  the  least  gale  of  wind  raising  such  billows  as  do  en- 


THE    0' SULLIVAN    SEPT  15 

danger  any  boat  a9  shall  come  near  the  shore.  This  impregnable 
place  was  selected  for  their  extreme  refuge  if  Dunboy  should  be 
won  by  the  English. 

The  English  commanders  in  Munster  could  now  turn 
their  almost  undivided  attention  to  O'Sullivan's  country. 
They  had  harried,  ravaged,  and  devastated  all  the  rest 
of  the  province.  To  say  they  had  made  a  desert  of  it 
would  be  to  use  an  inadequate  form  of  words,  for  nature's 
deserts  are  peaceful  places  with  no  indications  of  having 
been  ths  theatres  of  murderous  strife  and  cruelty  of 
every  form  and  degree  :  the  desert  made  by  the  soldiers 
of  Elizabeth  was  strewn  with  corses,  studdied  with 
the  ruins  of  castles,  mansions,  churches,  schools,  and 
peasant  homes — the  fields  black  from  the  burning  of 
crops,  dotted  by  skeletons  of  the  victims  of  the  sword, 
fire,  and  famine.  English  writers  of  the  time,  some  of 
them  witnesses  of  the  scenes,  give  harrowing  accounts 
of  the  condition  of  the  country.  Thus  the  historian 
Leland  writes  : — 

The  southern  province  seemed  to  be  totally  depopulated,  and, 
except  within  the  cities,  exhibited  an  hideous  scene  of  famine 
and  desolation. 

In   the   "  Pacata  "  we  read  :— 

Sir  Richard  Pearce  and  Captain  George  Flower,  with  their 
troops,  left  neither  corn  nor  horn,  nor  house,  unburnt  between 
Kinsale  and  Ross.  Captain  Roger  Harvie,  who  had  with  him 
his  brother  Captain  Gawen  Harvie,  Captain  Francis  Slingsby, 
Captain  William  Stafford,  and  also  the  companies  of  the  Lord 
Barry  and  the  treasurer,  with  the  President's  horse,  did  the  like 
between  Ross  and  Bantry. 

Several  other  English  historians  give  painfully  horrible 
descriptions  of  those  scenes,  amongst  them  the  poet 
Edmund  Spenser — a  private  secretary  in  the  employ 
of  one  of  Elizabeth's  chief  governors  of  Ireland,  snugly 
located  on  part  of  the  confiscated  property  of  the 
Desmonds,  and  living  in  a  castle  robbed  from  its  rightful 
owners.  This  litterateur,  place-hunter  and  land-grabber, 


16  BAN  TRY,    BEREHAVEN    AND 

who  had  himself  advised  and  recommended  the  policy 
of  starvation  to  be  employed  against  the  Irish,  penned 
in  his  View  of  the  Present  State  of  Ireland  (and  with 
an  affectation  of  pity)  pictures  of  the  desolation  of 
the  country  and  the  murderous  destruction  of  the 
people  so  shocking,  so  repulsive,  that  even  at  this  day, 
one  cannot  read  them  without  a  shudder.  I  quote 
but  one  specimen,  and  omit  the  most  revolting  part 
of  it  :— 

Notwithstanding  that  the  same  was  a  most  rich  and  plentiful 
country,  full  of  corn  and  cattle,  yet,  ere  one  year  and  a  half  they 
were  brought  to  such  wretchedness  as  that  any  stony  heart 
would  rue  the  same.  Out  of  every  corner  of  the  woods  and  glens 
they  came  creeping  forth  upon  their  hands,  for  their  legs  could 
not  bear  them  ;  they  looked  like  anatomies  of  death  ;  they 
spake  like  ghosts  crying  out  of  their  graves  ;  they  did  eat  the 
dead  carrions,  happy  where  they  could  find  them  ...  in  a 
short  space  there  was  almost  none  left,  and  a  most  populous  and 
plentiful  country  suddenly  left  void  of  man  and  beast. 

The  reader  will  note  the  admission  made  in  this 
"  Spenserian  stanza/'  as  it  might  be  called,  that  Ireland 
under  the  rule  of  its  native  chiefs,  before  the  English 
came  upon  them,  was  "  a  most  populous  and  plentiful 
country."  In  the  ruin  of  it  this  dainty  sonneteer  was 
only  too  glad  to  take  part.  The  fair  lands  and  castle 
of  Kilcolman  were  not  sufficient  to  satisfy  his  greed. 
In  violation  of  even  such  English  law  as  then  existed 
in  Ireland  he  managed  to  take  possession  of  a  large  tract 
of  land  owned,  not  by  the  natives — as  legal  ownership 
went  then — but  by  one  of  the  Anglo-Norman  proprietors, 
Lord  Roche,  Viscount  Fermoy.  Legal  proceedings  to 
recover  the  land  were  taken  against  him,  with  the  result 
that  the  "  gentle  poet  "  was  compelled  to  relinquish 
that  portion  of  his  ill-gotten  gains.  His  end  was  to  die, 
landless  and  hungry,  in  London. 

After  the  capitulation  of  the  Spaniards  at   Kinsale 
and  the  dispersion  of  the  Irish  forces,  Mount  joy  drew 


THE    0' SULLIVAN    SEPT  17 

his  whole  army  together  and  set  out  for  the  reduction 
of  the  last  fortress  on  Irish  ground  holding  out  for  the 
Irish  cause.  But  he  resolved  to  proceed  cautiously. 
On  the  9th  of  March,  1601,  he  instructed  one  of  his 
commanders,  the  Earl  of  Thomond,  to  march  with  a 
large  force  into'  Carbery,  "  and  from  thence  into  Beare, 
there  to  view  in  what  manner  the  castle  of  Dunboy 
was  fortified,  of  the  incredible  strength  of  which  much 
was  noised." 

The  "  Pacata "  tells  us  that  "  the  Earl  marched 
as  far  as  the  Abbey  of  Bantry  about  three  score  miles 
from  Cork,  and  there  had  notice  that  Donal  O'Sullivan 
Beare  and  his  people,  by  the  advice  of  two  Spaniards, 
an  Italian,  and  friar  named  Dominic  Collins,  did  still 
continue  their  works  about  the  castle  of  Dunboy." 
He  also  had  notice  that  Tyrell,  one  of  O'Sullivan's 
most  trusty  captains,  with  considerable  forces,  was 
prepared  to  dispute  the  passage  of  his  army  through 
the  rugged  ground  lying  between  Bantry  and  Berehaven, 
whereupon  the  President  resolved  that  he  would  have 
his  troops  transported  by  sea  to  Beare  island,  whence 
they  should  cross  to  the  mainland  and  proceed  to  the 
reduction  of  the  castle. 

The  Abbey  of  Bantry,  above  referred  to,  was  founded 
in  1540  by  Dermot  O'Sullivan  for  Franciscan  Friars. 
During  the  Elizabethan  war  it  was  sometimes  occupied 
by  Irish  and  sometimes  by  English  soldiery,  but  its 
end  was  to  be  ruined  and  razed  to  the  ground.  An 
incident  in  its  history  is  thus  narrated  in  a  letter  of 
Sir  Warham  Sentleger  to  Mr.  Secretary  Fenton,  written 
at  Cork,   March  24,   1582. 

"  Good  Mr.  Secretary, — The  best  news  I  have  to  advertise  you 
is  that  your  brother  James  escaped  of  late,  a  very  narrow  escape 
of  being  taken  by  the  western  traitors  ;  he  not  knowing  of  the 
defeat  of  his  soldiers,  nor  yet  of  the  abandoning  of  the  Abbey 
of  Bantry,  sent  certain  boats  from  Bearhaven  thither  with 
provisions  for    the  soldiers,  who,  mistrusting  nothing,  came  to 

C 


18  BANTRY,    BEREHAVEN    AND 

the  Abbey,  thinking  to  unload  their  provision,  and  the  men 
being  landed,  the  traitors  lying  close  in  the  Abbey  issued  suddenly 
out  and  took  the  men  and  boats  with  the  victuals,  and  hanged  the 
men.  Your  brother  coming  after  in  another  boat,  not  knowing 
the  traitors  to  be  in  the  Abbey  was  unawares  unto  him  pursued 
with  four  boats  full  of  tratiors,  who  had  taken  him  if  night 
had  not  favoured  him,  which  being  dark,  he  entered  in  among 
the  rocks  where  he  was  forced  to  hide  himself  three  days  and 
three  nights  without  any  sustenance  ;  and  so  with  great  toil  the 
fourth  day  he  reached  the  Castle  of  Bearhaven,  where  he 
remaineth  sick,  by  the  great  toil  he  had  upon  the  sea  and  the 
cold  entertainment  he  had  upon  the  rocks." 

The  site  of  the  Abbey  is  now  the  chief  burial  place 
for  people  of  the  town  and  district.  In  it  was  dug  the 
great  pit  into  which  were  cast  the  coffinless  remains 
of  hundreds  of  victims  of  the  great  famine  of  1847-48. 
Over  the  pit  stands  a  large  granite  cross,  erected  to 
their  memory  in  recent  years  by  the  brothers  Tim  and 
Maurice  Healy.  It  bears  no  inscription  or  lettering 
of  any  kind  other  than  the  Scriptural  words,  "  Blessed 
are  the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord." 

The  siege  of  Dunboy  Castle  practically  commenced 
on  the  6th  of  June,  1602,  and  lasted  until  the  18th,  both 
days  included.  The  little  garrison — only  143  men — 
made  a  heroic  defence,  but  they  had  against  them  an  army 
numbering  over  2,000,  with  two  batteries  of  artillery, 
so  the  little  fortress  was  doomed  from  the  very  commence- 
ment of  the  operations.  While  the  siege  was  in  progress 
the  Lord  President  took  measures  for  the  destruction  of 
the  intended  last  refuge  of  the  O'Sullivans  in  Dursey 
island.  He  had  a  force  of  160  men,  with  some  pieces  of 
cannon,  embarked  for  the  invasion  of  the  island ;  this 
they  effected,  and,  after  a  stubborn  resistance,  made 
themselves  masters  of  the  place.  How  the  defenders, 
after  they  had  surrendered,  were  dealt  with  is  briefly 
told  in  the  "  Pacata  "  :— 

Of  the  rebels  four  were  killed,  two  hurt,  who,  with  all  the  rest 
were  brought  into  the  camp,  and  after  executed. 


THE    O' SULLIVAN    SEPT  19 

But  this  is  not  the  whole  story ;  the  fate  of  a  number 
of  the  islanders,  as  well  as  of  the  garrison,  is  more  fully 
told  by  Don  Philip  O'Sullivan  Beare  in  his  Catholic 
History  of  Ireland.     He  says  : — 

The  inhabitants  were  terrified  by  the  sudden  arrival  of  the 
enemy  ;  some  sought  the  protection  of  the  altars,  some  ran  to 
hide,  some  betook  themselves  to  the  fort,  which  the  few  armed 
men  surrendered  on  the  enemy's  promise  of  safety,  as  it  had  no 
cannon  or  fortifications.  The  English,  after  their  wonted  manner, 
committed  a  erime  far  more  notable  for  its  cruelty  than  their 
honour.  Having  dismantled  the  fort  and  fired  the  church  and 
houses,  they  shot  down,  hacked  with  swords,  or  ran  through  with 
spears  the  now  disarmed  garrison,  and  others,  old  men,  women, 
and  children,  whom  they  had  driven  into  one  heap.  Some  ran 
their  swords  up  to  the  hilt  through  the  babe  and  mother  who  was 
carrying  it  on  her  breast  ;  others  paraded  before  their  comrades 
little  children,  writhing  and  convulsed,  on  their  spears  ;  and 
finally,  binding  all  the  survivors,  they  threw  them  into  the  sea 
over  jagged  and  sharp  rocks,  showering  upon  them  shots  and 
stones.  In  this  way  perished  about  300  Catholics,  the  greater 
part  of  whom  were  retainers  of  my  father  Dermot. 

Hideous  as  this  picture  is,  it  is  quite  of  a  piece  with 
the  ordinary  operations  of  the  English  soldiery  in  Ireland 
during  the  periods  of  the  Elizabethan  and  Cromwellian 
wars.  Of  this  abundant  testimony  has  come  to  us  from 
the  pens  of  English  writers. 

It  may  be  asked  did  the  Irish  not  seek  to  take  revenge 
in  kind  for  these  atrocities  ?  Did  they  never  attempt 
to  follow  the  evil  example  set  them  ?  My  reply  is, 
they  would  not  be  human  creatures  if  they  could  take 
such  usage  tamely.  The  race  of  men  who  could  do  so 
have  not  yet  been  born, — and  never  will  be.  But  as 
a  matter  of  fact  during  the  whole  course  of  the  war 
which  desolated  Munster,  the  cruelties,  the  savageries, 
the  inhumanities  of  the  campaign  were  almost  entirely 
the  work  of  the  English  party.  The  Irish  "  rebels  " 
as  they  were  called,  were  in  their  own  country,  on  their 
own  lands,  the  territories  of  their  fathers  for  many 
generations — in  their  own  homes,  in  the  midst  of  their 


20  BANTRY,    BEREHAVEN    AND 

families  ;  the  crops  were  of  their  sowing,  the  flocks 
and  herds  in  the  fields  were  their  property.  Amongst 
them,  therefore,  a  numerous  and  well  equipped  army 
of  marauders  were  able  to  carry  out  with  comparative 
ease  a  long  campaign  of  spoliation  and  slaughter. 
And  if  sometimes  the  harassed  natives  availed  of 
opportunities  to  give  the  Englishmen  a  taste  of  their 
own  quality,   was  it  any  wonder  ? 

On  the  13th  of  June  an  attempt  to  relieve  the  besieged 
castle  of  Dunboy  was  made  by  Captain  Tyrell,  one  of 
O'Sulli van's  chief  officers  ;  it  was  ineffectual,  because 
the  small  force  under  his  command  could  do  no  more 
than  give  a  somewhat  lively  alarm  to  the  English  camp. 
Nothing  can  rout  and  defeat  one  army  except  another 
army  ;  and  O 'Sullivan  had  no  army  in  the  field.  The 
siege  of  the  castle  went  on  ;  after  a  cannonade  of  seven 
days  duration  the  building  was  beaten  into  ruins.  As 
the  masonry  was  tumbling  about  their  heads  the 
defenders  sent  out  a  messenger  to  the  Lord  President 
with  an  offer  of  surrender  if  their  lives  might  be  spared 
and  if  they  were  allowed  to  march  out  with  their  arms. 
The  response  of  the  Lord  President  was  to  hang  the  envoy. 
The  besiegers  soon  after  effected  an  entrance  into  the 
ruined  building ;  hand-to-hand  fighting  of  the  most 
desperate  character  ensued,  the  defenders  being  gradually 
beaten  from  one  point  to  another  till  they  were  driven 
into  the  cellar,  where  they  made  their  last  stand.  A 
few  of  them  managed  to  get  outside  the  walls,  where 
they  were  immediately  cut  down ;  eight  men  rushed 
to  the  sea  shore  and  attempted  to  swim  across  to  Bere 
island,  but  the  English  captains,  judging  that  something 
of  the  kind  might  be  adventured,  had  three  boats  with 
armed  men  on  board  waiting  for  the  chance,  and  the 
unfortunate  swimmers  were  shot  or  speared  in  the  water. 
The  final  scene  is  thus  recorded  in  the  "  Pacata  "  : — 

The  eighteenth  (June)  in  the  morning  three  and  twenty  more 
likewise  rendered  themselves    simply  to  Captain  Blundell,  who 


THE    O' SULLIVAN    SEPT  21 

the  night  before  had  the  guard,  and  after  their  cannoniers,  being 
two  Spaniards  and  an  Italian  (for  the  rest  were  slain)  likewise 
yielded  themselves  ;    then    MacGeohagan,  chief    commander  of 
the  place,  being  mortally  wounded  with  divers  shot  in  his  body, 
the  rest  made  choice  of  one  Thomas  Taylor,  an  Englishman's 
son  (the  dearest  and  inwardest  man  with  Tyrell,  and  married  to 
his  niece)  to  be  their  chief,  who,  having  nine  barrels  of  powder, 
drew  himself  and  it  into  the  vault  and  there  sat  down  by  it,  with 
a  light  match   in   his   hand,  vowing  and  protesting  to  set  it  on 
fire,  and  blow  up  the  castle,  himself,  and  all  the  rest,  except  they 
might  have  promise  of  life,  which  being  by  the  Lord  President 
refused,  his  lordship  gave  direction  for  a  new  battery  upon  the 
vault,  intending  to  bury  them  in  the  ruins  thereof  ;    and  after  a 
few  times  discharged,  and  the  bullets  entering  amongst  them 
into  the  cellar,  the  rest  that  were  with  Taylor,  partly  by  inter- 
cession, but  chiefly  by  compulsion  (threatening  to  deliver  him  up 
if  he  were  obstinate),  about  ten  of  the  clock  in  the  morning  of  the 
same    day    constrained    him    to   render    simply.  .  .  Sir    George 
Thornton,  the  sergeant  major,  Captain  Roger  Harvie,  Captain 
Power,  and  others  entering  the  vault  to  receive  them,  Captain 
Power  found  the  said  Richard  MacGeohagan  lying  there  mortally 
wounded  (as  before  mentioned),  who,  perceiving  Taylor  and  the 
rest  ready  to  render  themselves,  raised  himself  from  the  ground, 
snatching  a  light  candle,  and  staggering  therewith  to  a  barrel  of 
powder  (which  for  that  purpose  was  unheaded),  offering  to  cast 
it  into  the  same,  Captain  Power  took  him  and  held  him  in  his 
arms  with  intent  to  make  him  prisoner,  until  he  was  by  our 
men    (who    perceived    his    intent)   instantly    killed  ;     and    then 
Taylor  and  the  rest  were  brought  prisoners  to  the  camp.  .  .  . 
The  same  day  fifty-eight  were  executed  in  the  market  place  .  .  . 
The  whole  number  of  the  ward  consisted  of  one  hundred  and 
forty-three  selected  fighting  men,  being  the  best  choice  of  all 
their  forces,  of  the  which  no  one  man  escaped,  but  were  either 
slain,   executed,  or  buried  in  the  ruins,   and  so  obstinate  and 
resolved  a  defence  had  not  been  seen  within  this  Kingdom. 

"  So  obstinate  and  resolved  a  defence  had  not  been 
seen  within  this  Kingdom."  Notable  and  memorable 
words  By  members  of  the  O'Sullivan  Sept  they  should 
be  for  ever  borne  in  memory  as  a  testament  of  glory. 


22  BANTRY,    BEREHAVEN   AND 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  fall  of  Dunboy  caused  the  abandonment 
of  a  second  expedition  which  King  Philip  had 
intended  to  despatch  to  Ireland.  Its  arrival  was 
for  some  time  expected  by  both  the  Irish  and  the  English, 
and  desultory  fighting  went  on  in  various  parts  of  the 
South, — in  all  which  operations  O'Sullivan  and  his  friend 
Tyrell  were  active  participants.  They  achieved  some 
small  successes,  but  by  degrees  they  were  overborne 
by  the  foreigners,  aided,  unfortunately,  by  Irish  allies, 
the  corrupted  and  rotten  refuse  of  once  noble  clans. 
Castle  after  castle  was  captured  and  destroyed ;  the 
homes  of  the  humbler  folk  were  sought  out  in  all  directions 
and  unsparingly  burned  ;  and  a  fresh  sweep  was  made 
of  all  the  live  stock  that  could  be  gathered  in  from 
districts  previously  wasted, — this,  of  course,  with  a 
view  that  such  of  the  natives  as  might  escape  the  edge 
of  the  sword  should  perish  of  starvation. 

Under  those  desperate  circumstances  O'Sullivan 
decided  on  withdrawing  from  the  wasted  and  desolated 
South,  and,  with  the  small  remnant  of  his  forces,  and 
a  number  of  the  members  of  his  immediate  family, 
making  the  best  of  his  way  to  the  territory  of  his  friend 
O'Rourke — an  irreconcilable  "  rebel  "  like  himself — in 
the  county  of  Leitrim.  It  was  a  desperate  venture, 
a  terrible  march,  or  rather  flight,  the  little  party — 
still  fighting  for  their  lives — being  hunted  almost  every 
mile  of  the  way  by  bands  of  denationalised  Irishmen, 
mercenaries  of  Anglo-Irish  settlers  and  recreant  Irish 


THE    O' SULLIVAN    SEPT  23 

families.  A  detailed  account  of  those  operations  is 
given  in  Don  Philip  O'Sullivan's  history  ;  the  "  Pacata  " 
thus  briefly  tells  the  story  : — 

As  they  (O'Sullivan's  party)  passed  by  the  skirts  of  Muskery, 
they  were  skirmished  withal  by  the  sons  of  Teg  Mac  Owen  Cartie, 
where  they  lost  some  of  their  men,  and  most  of  their  carriage  ; 
in  passing  by  Liscarroll,  John  Barry,  brother  to  the  Viscount, 
with  eight  horsemen  and  forty  foot,  charged  their  rear  at  the  ford 
of  Ballaghan,  where  he  slew  and  hurt  many  of  them  ;  and  of 
his  part  one  horseman  was  slain. 

When  they  came  to  the  river  of  the  Shannon,  they,  finding 
the  river  high,  and  no  boats  nor  troughs  to  pass  them  over  into 
Connaught,  they  killed  many  of  their  horses,  and  made  shifts 
with  their  hides  to  make  certain  little  boats,  called  in  Irish 
nevogs,  in  the  which  they  transported  their  men  and  baggage. 
Nevertheless,  before  all  were  passed  the  river,  the  sheriff  of  the 
county  of  Tipperary  fell  upon  their  rear  and  slew  many  of  them. 
Being  in  Connaught  they  passed  safely  through  the  county  of 
Galway  until  they  came  into  the  Kellys'  country,  where  they  were 
fought  withal  by  Sir  Thomas  Burke,  the  Earl  of  Clanrickard's 
brother,  and  Captain  Henry  Malby,  who  were  more  in  number 
than  the  rebels.  Nevertheless,  when  they  saw  that  they  must 
either  make  their  way  by  the  sword  or  perish,  they  gave  a  brave 
charge  upon  our  men,  in  the  which  Captain  Malby  was  slaine, 
upon  whose  fall  Sir  Thomas  and  his  troops,  fainting  with  the 
loss  of  many  men,  studied  their  safetys  by  flight,  and  the  rebels 
with  little  harm  marched  into  O'Rourke's  country. 

The  next  morning,  being  the  fourth  of  January,  1602,  Sir  Charles 
coming  to  seek  the  enemy  in  their  camp,  he  entered  their  quarter 
without  resistance,  where  he  found  nothing  but  hurt  and  sick  men, 
whose  pains  and  lives  by  the  soldiers  were  both  determined. 

What  a  feat  to  be  recorded  with  a  smug  sense  of 
satisfaction — the  killing  of  sick  and  wounded  men, 
not  in  the  heat  of  battle,  but  in  cold  blood,  in  a 
deserted  camp  which  the  English  had  entered  without 
resistance  ! 

This  wonderful  retreat  of  O'Sullivan's  has  been 
expatiated  on  in  terms  of  admiration  and  sjinpathy 
by  many  writers  of  our  own  time,  as  well  as  of  earlier 
dates.  It  has  frequently  be^n  compared  to  the  retreat 
of  the  10,000  Greeks  from  Persia  under  the  command 


24  BANTRY,    BEREHAVEN    AND 

of  Xenophon  after  the  battle  of  Cunaxa.  The  Greek 
warriors  had  a  longer  route  to  traverse,  involving,  of 
course,  a  longer  period  of  danger  and  suffering, 
but  as  regards  endurance,  courage,  and  valour,  the 
men  of  Beare  and  Bantry  were  fully  up  to  that  high 
example. 

O'Sullivan's  little  party  started  from  Glengarriffe 
on  the  31st  of  December,  1602.  With  privations  of  every 
sort,  as  well  as  with  the  swords  and  spears  of  the  enemy, 
they  had  to  contend  all  the  way.  Half-starved,  footsore, 
weary,  worn  out  by  constant  fatigue  and  want  of  sleep, 
some  dropped  out  and  others  died  on  their  toilsome 
journey.  Their  chieftain  rallied,  cheered  and  encouraged 
his  men  as  best  he  could.  One  of  his  little  speeches 
to  them  is  thus  recorded  by  his  cousin  Don  Philip,  the 
historian : — 

Since  on  this  day  our  desperate  circumstances  and  unhappy- 
fate  have  left  us  neither  wealth,  nor  country,  nor  children  nor 
wives  to  fight  for,  but,  as  on  this  instant  the  struggle  with  our 
enemies  is  for  the  life  that  alone  remains  to  us,  which  of  you,  I  ask, 
in  God's  eternal  name,  will  not  rather  fall  fighting  gloriously  in 
battle  and  avenging  your  blood,  than  like  cattle,  which  have  no 
sense  of  honour,  perish  unavenged  in  cowardly  flight  ?  Surely 
our  ancestors,  heroes  famed  for  their  high  spirits,  would  never 
seek  by  a  shameful  flight  to  shun  an  honourable  death,  even 
when  they  could  fly.  For  us  it  will  be  honourable  to  follow  in 
their  footsteps,  especially  as  flight  offers  no  salvation.  See  the 
plain  stretching  far  and  wide,  without  hindrance  of  bog,  without 
thick  woods,  without  any  hiding  places  to  which  we  could  fly 
for  concealment.  The  neighbouring  people  are  no  protection  for 
us.  There  is  none  to  come  to  our  aid.  The  enemy  block  the 
roads  and  passes,  and  we,  wearied  with  our  long  journey,  are 
unable  to  run.  Whatever  chance  we  have  is  only  in  our  own 
courage  and  strength  of  our  own  arms.  Up,  then,  and  on  them, 
whom  you  excel  in  spirit,  courage,  achievements  past,  and  holy 
faith.  Let  us  remember  this  day  that  enemies  who  have  every- 
where  attacked  us  have  heretofore  been  routed  by  the  Divine 
mercy.  Above  all,  let  us  believe  that  the  victory  is  the  gift  of 
God.  Let  us  think  that  Christ  our  Lord  will  be  with  his  servants 
in  their  utmost  need,  and  that  for  His  name  and  holy  faith  we 
join  issue  with  heretics  and  their  abettors. 


THE    0* SULLIVAN    SEPT  25 

For  the  rhetorical  form  of  this  address  the  historian 
probably  is  responsible  ;  but  it  may  readily  be  believed 
that  the  chieftain  spoke  in  that  sense,  and  in  the  native 
tongue,  which  would  carry  his  words  straight  to  the 
hearts  of  his  clansmen.  Scarcely  had  he  concluded  his 
speech  when  the  royalist  cavalry  "were  down  in  full  tilt 
upon  him,"  and  a  protracted  engagement  ensued, 
resulting  in  a  brilliant  victory  for  Donal's  little  band  of 
heroes.  In  this  battle,  says  Don  Philip,  "about  ioo 
royalists  fell,  the  flower  of  their  forces,  their  general, 
Malby,  Richard  Burke,  three  standard-bearers,  as 
many  adjutants,  more  sergeants,  and  the  rest  were 
Irish,  Anglo-Irish,  and  English  gentlemen.  O'Sullivan, 
collecting  the  enemy's  arms  and  colours,  fled  that 
evening  and  following  night  through  a  host  of  surround- 
ing enemies  through  O' Kelly's  country,  with  such  haste 
that  he  left  some  soldiers  worn  out  on  the  road,  and 
overcome  with  sleep. 

After  three  more  days  of  such  toils  and  sufferings, 
all  that  was  left  of  O'Sullivan's  little  band  reached 
the  territory  of  the  friendly  chief,  O'Rourke,  by  whom 
they  were  welcomed  and  hospitably  entertained — for 
O'Rourke  was  a  veritable  "  brother  in  arms,"  as 
resolute  a  "  rebel  "  as  Donal  himself.  When  setting 
out  from  Glengarriffe  they  numbered  about  one 
thousand,  of  whom  only  400  were  fighting  men ; — 
the  rest  were  followers  who  feared  to  remain  in 
the  country  after  they  had  left ;  amongst  them  were 
a  number  of  women.  When  they  entered  O'Rourke's 
castle  there  remained  of  the  fighting  men  only  18  ; 
of  the  non-combatants,  (sutlers,  helpers,  etc.)  16 ; 
and  only  one  woman  had  survived  the  hardships  of 
the  journey. 

The  incidents  of  this  woful  but  glorious  march  seem 
to  have  had  a  special  attraction  for  the  muse  of  our 
national  balladist,  Robert  Dwyer  Joyce,  who  has 
given  us  three  poems    founded   on   them.     From   one 


26  BANTRY,    BEREHAVEN    AND 

entitled  "  Crossing  the  Black  water,"  I  take  the  following 
stanzas: — 

We  stood  so  steady, 

All  under  fire  ; 
We  stood  so  steady, 
Our  long  spears  ready 

To  vent  our  ire — 
To  dash  on  the  Saxon, 
Our  mortal  foe, 
And  lay  him  low 

In  the  bloody  mire  ! 

'Twas  by  Blackwater, 

When  snows  were  white  ; 
'Twas  by  Blackwater, 
Our  foes  for  the  slaughter 

Stood  full  in  sight. 
But  we  were  ready 
With  our  long  spears, 
And  we  had  no  fears 

But  we'd  win  the  fight. 


Horses  to  horses, 

And  man  to  man — 
O'er  dying  horses 
And  blood  and  corses 

O' Sullivan, 
Our  general,  thundered  ; 
And  we  were  not  slack 
To  slay  at  his  back 
Till  the  flight  began. 

Oh,  how  we  scattered 
The  foemen  then — 
Slaughtered  and  scattered 
And  chased  and  shattered 

By  shore  and  glen — 
To  the  walls  of  Moyallo 
Few  fled  that  day. — 
Will  they  bar  our  way, 
When  we  come  again  ? 


Of    another  of  the  defeats  inflicted  by  the  hunted 
chief     on     his     pursuers,     the     same      patriot      bard 


THE    O1  SULLIVAN    SEPT  27 

has  given  us   a  poem  of    nine   verses,  two  of    which 
I  here  quote  : — 

The  ambush  was  set  in  the  Passage  of  Lightning, 

And  now  in  the  moonlight  sharp  weapons  came  brightening ; 

The  lance  of  the  Saxon  from  Mulla  and  Mallow, 

And  the  pike  of  the  kern  from  the  wilds  of  Duhallow, 

Soon  clashed  with  the  swords  of  the  men  of  Berehaven, 

Till  the  echoes  rolled  back  through  the  Glen  of  the  Raven  ! 


Then  O' Sullivan  burst  like  the  angel  of  slaughter 

On  the  foe  by  the  current  of  Geerath's  wild  water  ; 

And  the  brave  men  of  Cork  and  of  Kerry's  wild  regions 

Were  his  rushing  destroyers,  his  death-dealing  legions  ; 

And  onward  they  rode  over  traitor  and  craven, 

Whose  bones  long  bestrewed  the  lone  Glen  of  the  Raven. 

Thomas  Davis  was  profoundly  impressed  by  that 
touching  episode  of  Irish  history,  and  made  it  the  subject 
of  several  poems.  One  of  these  has  reference  to  the 
secret  return  of  O 'Sullivan  to  his  native  place  to  bear 
away  to  Spain  his  wife  and  infant  son,  who,  during 
his  absence  had  been  lovingly  cared  for  by  one  of  his 
faithful  clansmen,  McSwiney.  Of  Davis's  ballad  of 
eighteen  verses  I  can  here  quote  only  the  following  : — 

"  A  baby  in  the  mountain  gap — 

Oh  !  wherefore  bring  it  hither  ? 
Restore  it  to  its  mother's  lap, 

Or  else  'twill  surely  wither. 
A  baby  near  the  eagle's  nest ! 

How  should  their  talons  spare  it  ? 
Oh  !  take  it  to  some  woman's  breast, 

And  she  will  kindly  care  it." 

"  Fear  not  for  it,"  McSwiney  said, 

And  stroked  his  cul-flonn  slowly, 
And  proudly  raised  his  matted  head, 

Yet  spoke  me  soft  and  lowly. — 
"  Fear  not  for  it,  for,  many  a  day 

I  climb  the  eagle's  eyrie, 
And  bear  the  eaglet's  food  away 

To  feed  our  little  fairy." 


28  BANTRY,    BEREHAVEN    AND 

An  hour  went  by,  when  from  the  shore 

The  chieftain's  horn  winding 
Awoke  the  echoes'  hearty  roar — 

Their  fealty  reminding  ; 
A  moment,  and  he  faintly  gasps — 

"These — these,  thank  Heaven,  are  left  me,"  — 
And  smiles  as  wife  and  child  he  clasps.— 

"  They  have  not  quite  bereft  me." 


To  Spain — to  Spain  he  now  will  sail, 

His  destiny  is  wroken — 
An  exile  from  dear  Innisfail — 

Nor  yet  his  will  is  broken  ; 
For  still  he  hints  some  enterprise, 

When  fleets  shall  bring  them  over, 
Dunboy's  proud  keep  again  shall  rise 

And  mock  the  English  rover. 


I  saw  them  cross  Slieve  Miskish  o'er, 

The  crones  around  them  weeping — 
I  saw  them  pass  from  Culiagh's  shore, 

Their  galleys'  strong  oars  sweeping  ; 
I  saw  their  ship  unfurl  its  sail — 

I  saw  their  long  scarfs  waven. — 
They  saw  the  hills  in  distance  fail — 

They  never  saw  Berehaven  ! 

Davis,  indeed,  claimed  kinship  with  the  family  of 
O'Sullivan  Beare,  and  was  quite  proud  of  his  title  to 
do  so.  In  Sir  C.  G.  Duffy's  Life  of  Davis  we  read : — 

His  father,  James  Thomas  Davis,  was  a  surgeon  in  the  Royal 
Artillery,  and  served  in  the  Peninsular  War,  with  the  rank  of 
Inspector  of  Hospitals.  His  mother,  Mary  Atkins,  descended 
from  a  good  Anglo-Irish  family,  which  traced  back  its  line  to  the 
great  Norman  House  of  Howard,  and — what  Davis  loved  better 
to  remember — to  the  great  Celtic  House  of  O'Sullivan  Beare. 

In  a  footnote  Duffy  adds  : — 

From  a  family  genealogy  I  learn  that  Richard  Atkins  married 
Anne,  only  daughter  of  the  O'Sullivan  Beare,  and  by  her    left 


THE    O' SULLIVAN    SEPT  29 

John  Atkins,  who  married  Mary,  second  daugnter  oi  Robert 
Atkins  of  Fountainville,  and  had  two  sons  and  four  daughters, 
the  fourth  of  whom  was  the  mother  of  Thomas  Davis. 

The  writer  of  the  present  pages  published  in  i860  a 
narrative  poem  on  the  siege  and  fall  of  Dunboy,  and 
the  subsequent  fortune  of  O'Sullivan.  It  follows  very 
closely  the  historic  record,  and  closes  with  the  following 
passages,  descriptive  of  the  chieftain's  final  departure 
from  the  land  of  his  fathers  : — 

'Twas  summer  night,  the  rude  winds  slept, 

As  o'er  the  bay  a  vessel  crept. 

Two  muffled  forms  went  pacing  slow 

Along  her  smooth  deck,  to  and  fro, 

Watching  betimes  the  far-stretched  spars 

Sway  back  and  forward  through  the  stars  ; 

Pausing  to  hear  the  watch-dogs'  bark 

From  distant  fields  come  through  the  dark  ; 

And  hear  the  heaving  waters  snore 

Along  the  old  familiar  shore, 

Whose  headlands  only  met  the  sight 

As  gloomier  patches  of  the  night. 

On  passed  the  ship  with  easy  glide 

Unto  Bear  haven's  tranquil  tide  ; 

Her  low  black  boat  in  calm  profound 

Bore  on  one  form  to  Beara's  ground. 

He  moved  about  with  moody  pace  ; 

He  travelled  o'er  and  o'er  the  place. 

Then,  when  the  brightening  of  the  day 

Had  warned  him  from  the  scene  away, 

He  sought  the  sacred  spot  of  all, 

The  ruin — once  a  castle  tall — 

And  wept  upon  the  broken  wall. 

On  board  !  on  board  !  fair  blows  the  wind, 

The  Caha  hills  sink  down  behind  ; 

Beare  Island  dips  ;  tall  Hungry,  too, 

Melts  down  into  the  sea  of  blue, 

No  more,  except  in  dreams,  to  rise 

To  Donal's  or  to  Eileen's  eyes. 

Like  winter  rain,  fast  fell  her  tears, 

And  he,  whose  heart  through  troubled  years 

Its  inward  griefs  in  silence  kept, 

Bowed  down  his  head,  and  wildly  wept. 


30 


BANTRY,    BEREHAVEN    AND 


In  Spain,  high-placed  beside  the  King, 

The  wearied  exiles  rest  at  last ; 
If  honours,  wealth,  and  peace  could  bring 

A  charm  to  hide  the  painful  past, 
'Twas  Donal's  now  ;  but  annals  say 
His  heart  was  by  his  native  bay ; 
His  words  were  of  the  gallant  men 
Whose  good  swords  flashed  through  pass  and  glen 
Where'er  he  led  ;    and  when  he  thought 
O'er  all  the  wrongs  the  Saxon  wrought — 
Their  treacherous  arts,  their  faithless  words, 
More  deadly  than  their  guns  or  swords — 
Their  thirst  for  blood,  their  greed  of  gold  ; 
Their  rage  that  spared  not  young  or  old  ; 
Their  myriad  crimes  that  heaven  must  hate 
And  God  will  punish,  soon  or  late — 
Oft  did  his  thoughts  break  out  aloud, 
And  many  a  time  he  firmly  vowed 
His  race,  though  now  proscribed  and  banned, 
Would  have  and  hold  their  native  land, 
And  guard  with  patriot  pride  and  joy 
The  very  stones  of  old  Dunboy. 


Dunbby  Castle. 
From  a  Map  in  the  Pacata  Hibemia. 


THE    0' SULLIVAN    SEPT  31 


CHAPTER  V. 

IN  the  midst  of  all  this  wrack  and  ruin    the    she- 
dragon,   Elizabeth,   died   (March    24,    1603)     and 
James  the  First  came  to    the    throne.     By    that 
time  the  Irish  war  was  practically  ended.  The  few  Irish 
chiefs  who  until  then  had  been  keeping  up  a  sort  of 
desultory  resistance,  gave  up  the  hopeless   strife,  and 
sought  to  get  terms  from  the  new  monarch,  praying 
that  they  might  be  admitted  to  the  peace  and  allowed 
to  retain  possession  of  their  lands.    With  some  a  settle- 
ment was  made,  but  for  O'Sullivan  and  O'Rourke  there 
was  no  pardon.  Life  in  their  own  country  having  thus 
become   impossible   to   them,   they  were   compelled   to 
seek  shelter  in  foreign  lands.    O'Sullivan  sailed  for  Spain, 
where   he   was   cordially  welcomed   by  the  king,   who 
conferred  on  him  rank,  titles,  and   high  honours,  and 
accorded   to   him   a   considerable   pension   with   which 
to  support  his  dignity. 

While  O'Sullivan  was  carrying  on  his  brave  and  des- 
perate but  vain  resistance  to  the  overwhelming  forces  of 
the  English  crown,  Her  Majesty's  Lords  Justices  issued 
at  Cork  a  proclamation  setting  a  price  upon  his  head. 
The  following  is  a  part  of  the  document : — 

And  it  is  also  proclaymed  that  if  any  psn.  or  psons.  of  what 
degree  or  qualitie  soever  that  shall  unto  the  Lo.  President  bring 
the  live  body  of  that  wicked  and  unnatural  Traitor,  Donell 
O'Sullyvane,  als  O'Sullyvane  Beare,  shall  have  sum  of  Three 
hundred  pounds  ster.,  and  for  the  saide  Donnell's  head  ^200  ; 
and  for  the  bodies  of  the  persons  undernamed,  alive  or  dead, 


32  BANTRY,    BEREHAVEN    AND 

rateably  as  the  same  is  laid  down  upon  them  and  every  one  of 
them  : — 

For  Mac  Morris  liveinge  ^300,  for  him  deade  £200. 

For  Fitzthomas  liveinge  £100,  for  him  deade,  100  marks. 

For  Donell  O'Sullyvane  liveinge  ^200,  for  him  deade,  100 
marks. 

For  the  Knight  of  the  Valley  liveinge  £100,  for  him  deade.  100 
marks. 

For  John  O'Connor  ^100,  for  him  deade  100  marks. 

For  Oliver  Hassey  100  marks,  for  him  deade  050  marks. 

It  does  not  appear  that  those  offers  of  large  rewards 
for  assassinations  produced  any  notable  results.  The 
authorities  never  got  hold  of  Donal  0 'Sullivan  "  liveinge 
or  deade."  But  the  life  of  that  heroic  chieftain  had 
a  tragic  ending.  The  manner  of  it  is  thus  related  by 
his  cousin  Don  Philip,1  who  was  a  witness  of  the  occurrence, 
and  to  some  extent,  unwittingly,  the  occasion  of  it : — 

But  the  last  stroke  of  adverse  fortune  befel  thus  : — On  the 
16th  day  of  the  same  month  (July,  1608),  O'Sullivan,  Prince  of 
Beare,  in  whom  all  the  hopes  of  the  Irish  at  that  time  were  placed, 
unhappily  perished  in  this  manner  :  John  Bath,  an  Anglo- 
Irishman,  and  one  whom  O'Sullivan  held  in  very  high  esteem — 
even  to  the  extent  of  taking  him  under  his  personal  protection, 
bestowing  many  favours  upon  him,  and  even  admitting  him  to 
his  own  table  in  the  circle  of  his  most  intimate  friends — quite 
ungrateful  for  such  high  favours,  carried  his  presumption  so 
far  as  that  when  a  discussion  arose  touching  some  money  ad- 
vanced by  O'Sullivan  as  a  loan,  he,  Bath,  dared  to  make 
unfavourable  comparisons  between  a  family,  one  of  the  most 
illustrious  among  the  Irish,  and  the  English,  from  whom  he, 
himself,  was  sprung.  Philip,  the  writer  of  this  history,  a  cousin  of 
O'Sullivan,  unable  to  endure  this  insult,  expostulated  with  Bath 
upon  the  matter.  The  dispute  proceeded  so  far  that  they 
attacked  each  other  with  drawn  swords,  at  a  royal  monastery 
not  far  from  Madrid.  In  this  contest,  Bath,  terror-stricken,  kept 
retreating,  shouting  at  the  same  time.  Philip  wounded  him  in  the 
face,  and,  as  it  appears,  would  have  slain  him,  had  not  Edmond 
O'Moore  and  Gerald  McMorris  (sent  by  O'Sullivan)  and  two 
Spanish  Knights,  protected  him,  and  Philip  would  have  been 
arrested  by  a  constable  but  for  their  interference.  When  many 
were  attracted  to  the  spot  by  the  quarrel,  among  others  came 

1  See  Appendix 


THE    O' SULLIVAN    SEPT  33 

O'Sullivan,  a  rosary  in  his  left  hand.  Whilst  thus  incautious, 
fearing  nothing,  and  looking  in  quite  another  direction,  Bath 
approached  him  through  the  crowd,  struck  him  through  the  left 
shoulder,  and  again  piercing  him  through  the  throat,  killed  him. 

So  perished  one  of  the  noblest  Irishmen  of  his  time. 
Of  the  members  of  his  family  who  had  accompanied 
him  into  exile  an  account  is  given  by  his  cousin  Don 
Philip  in  a  Latin  poem  prefixed  to  his  Catholic  History, 
from  which  it  appears  that  his  (Philip's)  father  Dermot, 
uncle  of  Donal,  died  at  the  age  of  ioo  years  and  was 
buried  in  the  Franciscan  Church  at  Corunna  ;  his  mother 
followed  soon  after,  and  was  interred  in  the  same  tomb  ; 
his  sister  Helena  was  drowned  on  a  return  voyage  to 
Ireland,  and  another  sister  became  a  nun.  Philip  had 
in  him  the  sea-going  instinct  that  one  might  expect 
from  a  native  of  Dursey  Island,  and  was  also  gifted 
with  literary  talent  and  a  love  of  learning.  He  entered 
the  Spanish  naval  service,  in  which  he  rose  to  the  rank 
of  commander,  and  much  of  his  literary  work  in  defence 
of  his  race,  his  country,  and  his  faith,  was  written  on 
board  ship.  He  must  have  been  a  lonely  man  towards 
the  end  of  his  life,  his  mind  filled  with  memories  of  the 
past.  Thomas  Darcy  McGee  sketches  the  situation 
in  a  pathetic  ballad,  from  which  I  take  the  following 
verses  : — 

All  alone — all  alone,  where  the  gladsome  vine  is  growing — 
All  alone  by  the  bank  of  the  Tagus  darkly  flowing  ; 
No  morning  brings  a  hope  for  him,  nor  any  evening  cheer, 
To  O'Sullivan  Beare  through  the  seasons  of  the  year. 

He  is  thinking — ever  thinking  of  the  hour  he  left   Dunbuidhe, 
His  father's  staff  fell  from  his  hand,  his  mother  wild  was  she  ; 
His  brave  young  brother  hid  his  face,  his  lovely  sisters  twain, 
How  they  wrung  their  maiden  hands  to  see  him    sail    away 
for  Spain. 

One  sister  is  a  black-veiled  nun  of  St.  "Ursula  in  Spain  ; 
And  one  sleeps  coldly  far  beneath  the  troubled  Irish  main. — 
'Tis  Helen  bright,  who  ventured  to  the  arms  of  her  true  lover  ; 
But  Cleena's  stormy  waves  now  roll  the  radiant  girl  over. 

D 


34  BANTRY,    BEREHAVEN   AND 

All  alone — all  alone,  where  the  gladsome  vine  is  growing — 
All  alone  by  the  banks  of  the  Tagus  darkly  flowing  ; 
No  morning  brings  a  hope  for  him,  nor  any  evening  cheer, 
To  O' Sullivan  Beare  through  the  seasons  of  the  year. 

McGee  gives  to  those  pathetic  verses  the  title  of  "  The 
Last  O'Sullivan  Beare";  and  Mr.  Standish  O'Grady, 
in  a  note  to  his  edition  of  the  Pacata  Hibernia,  bestows 
on  Donal  the  same  appellation.  From  the  point  of 
view  of  the  chieftaincy  it  is  quite  correct,  but  not  other- 
wise. It  may  be  that  there  is  not  now  a  lineal  descendant 
of  the  hero  of  Dunboy  in  the  world  ;  but  his  relatives 
were  a  numerous  group,  and  in  the  O'Sullivan  line  were 
entitled  to  keep  the  affix  to  their  names  if  they  so  pleased 
— as  many  of  their  descendants  did  up  to  recently  and 
some  do  still.  The  kinsmen  of  Prince  Donal  did  not 
all  quit  the  country  after  his  overthrow  ;  they  were  not 
all  killed  ;  what  happened  was  that  they  were  robbed 
despoiled,  disinherited  ;  poverty  and  servitude  were 
made  the  lot  of  men  who  had  previously  owned  the  fields 
they  tilled,  the  pastures  on  which  they  grazed,  their  cattle, 
the  vessels  with  which  they  fished  the  seas  and  traded 
with  foreign  countries.  Some  few  members  of  the  stock 
attorning  to  the  new  conditions,  managed  to  retain 
portions  of  their  former  property,  not  indeed  as  chiefs, 
or  proprietors,  but  rather  as  middlemen  or  small  land- 
lords. But,  however  broken  their  fortunes,  they  were 
still  O'Sullivans  Beare,  and  as  such  their  names  are 
written  in  various  State  papers  and  legal  documents 
for  more  than  a  hundred  years  after  the  time  of  Donal 
of  Dunboy. 

As  time  went  on  adverse  circumstances  told  upon 
them  all.  The  loyalty  of  the  Irish  gentlemen  to  their 
legitimate  king,  James  II.,  their  fidelity  to  the  Catholic 
faith,  their  resistance  to  the  infamous  penal  laws, 
wrought  their  ruin.  The  insatiable  greed,  the  intolerable 
arrogance,  the  exasperating  insults  of  their  new  masters, 
broke  the  hearts  of  the  best  men  of  the  old  race.    They 


THE  0' SULLIVAN    SEPT  35 

sank  in  the  social  scale  at  home,  or  left  to  live  under 
happier  conditions  and  seek  fame  and  fortune  in  other 
lands.  Of  those  disinherited  and  expatriated  Irishmen 
it  can  truly  be  said  that  evidence  of  their  fine  natural 
qualities  is  supplied  by  the  fact  that  many  of  them 
achieved  distinction  and  won  high  honours  in  their 
adopted  countries. 

Sir  Bernard  Burke,  in  his  most  interesting  work  on 
"  The  Vicissitudes  of  Families,"  thus  sympathetically 
writes  on  the  subject: — 

"  An  Irish  '  Peerage  '  gives  a  very  inadequate  account  of 
the  royal  and  noble  blood  of  Ireland.  But  few  of  the  Milesian 
races  have  found  their  way  into  the  peerage,  though  some  still 
inherit  a  portion  of  their  ancient  possessions  ;  and  it  is  in  the 
Austrian,  French,  or  Spanish  service,  among  the  middle  classes 
or  perhaps  in  the  mud-walled  cabins  of  the  Irish  peasants,  that 
search  should  be  made  for  the  real  representatives  of  the  ancient 
reguli.  .  .  .  Many  of  the  descendants  of  the  minor  dynasts 
could  probably  be  discovered  under  the  frieze  coats  of  the 
peasants  ;  and  a  genealogical  enquirer  might  trace  in  the  sun- 
burnt mendicant  the  representative  of  the  O'Rorkes,  the 
O'Reillys,  the  O'Ryans,  or  the  O'Sullivans,  who  were  of  fame 

'  Ere  the  emerald  gem  of  the  western  world 
Was  set  in  the  crown   of  a  stranger.'  " 


36  BANTRY,    BEREHAVEN    AND 


CHAPTER  VI. 

AFTER  each  of  the  great  Irish  confiscations — 
those  of  Elizabeth,  James  I.,  Cromwell,  and 
William  of  Orange — many  of  the  new  lords  of  the 
soil  sought  in  a  variety  of  ways  to  supplant  and  crush 
out  the  native  race.  Not  only  did  they  seek  to  surround 
themselves  with  an  exclusively  Protestant  tenantry,  but 
even  with  regard  to  industrial  occupations,  they  gave 
special  encouragement  to  Protestant  craftsmen  to 
come  in  groups  and  little  colonies  from  foreign  countries, 
settle  down  and  ply  their  trades  in  Ireland.  There  was 
much  religious  ferment  and  disturbance  throughout 
Europe  in  those  days  ;  the  "  Reformation  "  was  fighting 
its  way  and  being  fought,  and  some  of  those  who  had 
adopted  the  new  doctrines,  finding  that  life  had  become 
unpleasant  for  them  in  their  own  countries,  moved 
away  to  lands  the  rulers  of  which  were  more  tolerant 
of  their  opinions.  Naturally  a  number  of  them  sought 
shelter  in  England,  and  many  located  in  parts  of  Ireland 
where  conditions  were  specially  favourable  to  them. 
The  majority  of  those  immigrants  were  Dutch  and 
French  Protestants,  and  their  special  industries  were 
the  weaving  of  linen  and  silks.  They  worked  with 
improved  machinery  and  on  new  methods.  It  is  true 
that  the  manufacture  of  "  silks  "  as  they  were  called, 
of  fine  linen,  of  beautiful  woollens,  and  of  artistically 
wrought  articles  of  gold  and  silver  was  carried  on  in 
Ireland  long  before  "  Norman  foot  had  dared  pollute 
her  independent  shore,"  but  in  later  times,  while  the 
Irish  people  were  fighting  for  their  lives,  a  great  advance 
in  all  the  industrial  arts  was  taking  place  in  countries 


THE    0' SULLIVAN  SEPT  37 

more  happily  circumstanced,  and  Ireland  was  left  in 
the  rear.  The  introduction  of  those  foreign  artificers 
would  have  been  a  good  thing  had  the  scheme  been 
devised  and  worked  in  a  friendly,  or  even  merely  com- 
mercial spirit ;  but  in  point  of  fact  it  was  made  part 
of  a  war  against  the  native  race. 

The  chief  promoter  of  that  policy,  in  his  time,  was 
Thomas  Wentworth,  Earl  of  Strafford,  who  had  been 
appointed  Lord  Deputy  of  Ireland  by  King  Claries  II. 
Strafford  was  an  able  man  with  large  ideas  and  despotic 
notions.  He  thought  he  could  mould  Ireland  as  if  it 
were  potter's  clay  in  his  hands,  and  fancied  he  could  shape 
it  into  an  image  and  likeness  of  England.  One  of  the 
instruments  he  relied  on  for  that  purpose  was,  curiously 
enough — the  linen  trade ;  but  with  the  manufacture 
kept  exclusively  in  Protestant  hands.  He  had  in  his 
favour  an  Act  of  the  so-called  Irish  Parliament  entitled, 
"  An  Act  for  encouraging  Protestant  strangers  and 
others  to  inhabit  Ireland,"  which  had  been  passed  some 
years  before  his  appointment.  The  promoter  of  this 
measure  was  the  Duke  of  Ormond  ;  under  its  provisions 
he  and  Strafford — who  seemed  to  be  quite  in  love  with 
the  scheme — were  able  to  set  up  a  number  of  those 
un-Irish — and  it  may  fairly  be  said,  anti-Irish — settlements 
in  various  parts  of  the  country.  But  inspired  by  such  an 
un-national  and  unnatural  spirit  the  project  did  not 
work  very  well.  Enmities,  arising  from  a  variety 
of  causes,  against  King  Charles  and  all  his  friends,  were 
gathering  force  in  England  ;  a  revolt  against  the  despotic 
power  of  the  crown  was  being  concerted  by  men  who 
have  ever  since  been  regarded  as  the  fathers  of  English 
liberty  ;  and  when  they  commenced  operations  for  the 
ruin  of  the  king,  one  of  their  first  blows  was  struck  at 
his  handy-man  and  favourite,  his  Lord  Deputy  for 
Ireland,  Thomas  Wentworth,  Earl  of  Strafford.  They 
managed  to  bring  him  to  trial  for  many  high  crimes 
and  misdemeanours,  the  chief  of  which  was  an  alleged 


38  BANTRY,    BEREHAVEN   AND 

design  to  raise  in  Ireland,  an  army  for  the  service  of  the 
king  which  His  Majesty  might  import  and  employ 
against  his  rebellious  subjects  in  England.  He  was 
brought  to  trial,  and  had  his  head  cut  off  on  Tower 
Hill,  on  the  12th  of  May,  1641.  He  was  a  brave  man, 
and  died  courageously.  Mindful  of  the  fact  that  his 
royal  master,  whom  he  had  served  with  only  too  much 
zeal,  had  made  little  or  no  endeavour  to  save  his  life, 
he  pathetically  quoted  as  he  mounted  the  steps  of  the 
scaffold  the  scriptural  injunction — "  Put  not  your  trust 
in  princes." 

One  of  those  anti-Irish  settlements  was  at  Bandon 
in  the  County  of  Cork  ;  and  the  temper  of  the  dwellers 
therein  may  be  judged  from  the  inscription  set  up  on 
the  gates  of  the  town  : — 

Turk,  Jew,  or  Atheist 

May  enter  here,  but  not  a  Papist. 

A  proud  proclamation,  no  doubt ;  but  its  somewhat 
too  confident  authors  were  not  able  to  live  up  to  it. 

Early  in  the  course  of  the  Williamite  war  (in  1689)  a 
Jacobite  force  entered  and  held  possession  of  the  town. 
What  ensued  is  thus  told  in  the  Cork  Remembrancer  : 

The  Bandonians  having  heard  that  the  Earl  of  Clancarty 
was  marching  with  six  companies  to  reinforce  the  troop  of  horse 
and  the  two  companies  of  foot  then  in  their  town,  commanded 
by  Captain  Daniel  O'Neill,  disarmed  the  garrison,  killed  some 
soldiers,  took  possession  of  their  horses  and  arms,  and  would  have 
done  much  more  if  they  had  been  assisted.  They  then  shut  their 
gates,  and  generously  refused  to  gve  up  any  of  their  leaders  ; 
but  in  the  end  they  purchased  their  pardon  for  £1,000,  with  the 
demolition  of  their  walls,  which  were  razed  to  the  ground,  and 
never  since  rebuilt. 


An  endeavour  was  made  to  establish  a  community 
of  those  un-Irish  people  at  Berehaven  ;  but  it  was  on 
a  minor  scale,  and  did  not  last  long.    The  organiser  of  the 


THE    0' SULLIVAN    SEPT  39 

project  was  an  adventurous  Frenchman,  one  of  the 
Huguenot  refugees,  named  Fontaine.  This  gentleman 
was  the  son  of  a  French  Protestant  minister.  Having 
fled  from  France,  he  lived  for  some  years  in  England, 
where  he  managed  to  support  himself  by  carrying  on 
some  small  industries  ;  he  then  adopted  his  father's 
profession ;  became  a  Protestant  clergyman,  and  in 
the  year  1694  crossed  over  to  Ireland  to  minister  to 
a  small  Huguenot  congregation  in  the  city  of  Cork.  After 
having  served  in  that  capacity  for  some  time  he  took 
the  idea  that  he  could  do  better  for  himself  by  engaging 
in  the  fishery  business  at  Berehaven.  He  rented  some 
land  there  as  a  basis  of  operations,  took  houses  and 
farms  for  a  number  of  workpeople,  got  up  a  fishing 
company,  and  went  to  reside  in  the  place  himself.  Had 
he  confined  himself  strictly  to  this  business  he  probably 
would  have  done  very  well,  but  he  soon  became  a  Govern- 
ment tool  and  made  himself  odious  to  the  people  of 
the  locality.  He  was  appointed  Justice  of  the  Peace, 
and  in  that  capacity  busied  himself  about  many  things 
having  no  relation  to  his  commercial  enterprise.  He 
was  alert  and  active  against  that  class  of  dispossessed 
and  desperate  poor  Irishmen  who,  living  an  unsettled 
life,  occasionally  taking  spoil  from  the  enemy,  and 
ready  for  any  anti-English  adventure,  were  known  by 
the  name  of  "  tories,"  and  he  was  a  vigilant  agent  for 
the  detection  and  suppression  of  contraband  operations 
on  the  southern  coast.  Aware  of  the  enmity  with  which 
he  was  regarded,  and  having  some  knowledge  of  the 
art  of  fortification,  he  set  up  around  his  residence  a 
line  of  earthworks  meant  to  be  serviceable  in  case  any 
attack  should  be  made  upon  it. 

And  his  foresight  was  soon  justified,  for  his  "Sod 
Fort,"  as  it  was  called,  was  more  than  once  made  an 
object  of  attack  by  parties  from  some  of  the  privateering 
craft  that  were  continually  hovering  round  the  coast. 
Two  of  those  affairs  are  described  with  some  fulness 


40  BANTRY,    BEREHAVEN   AND 

of  detail  in  Smiles'  History  of  the  Huguenots  in  England 
and  Ireland,  from  which  I  quote  the  following 
(abbreviated)  passages  : — 

In  June,  1704,  a  French  privateer  entered  Bantry  Bay  and 
proceeded  to  storm  the  Sod  Fort ;  when  Fontaine,  by  the  courage 
and  ability  of  his  defence,  showed  himself  a  commander  of  no 
mean  skill  .  .  .  the  engagement  lasted  from  eight  in  the  morning 
until  four  in  the  afternoon,  when  the  French  decamped  with 
the  loss  of  three  killed  and  seven  wounded.  .  .  .  When  the 
refugee's  gallant  exploit  was  reported  to  the  government,  he 
was  rewarded  by  a  pension  of  five  shillings  a  day  for  beating  off 
the  privateer,  and  supplied  with  five  guns,  which  he  was  authorised 
to  mount  in  his  battery.  .  .  . 

In  the  year  succeeding  the  above  engagement,  while  Fontaine 
himself  was  absent  in  London,  a  French  ship  entered  Bantry  Bay, 
and  cautiously  approached  Berehaven.  Fontaine's  wife  was,  how- 
ever, on  the  look  out,  and  detected  the  foreigner.  She  had  the  guns 
loaded,  and  one  of  them  fired  off,  to  show  that  the  little  garrison 
was  on  the  alert.  The  Frenchman  then  veered  off,  and  made  foi 
Bear  Island,  where  a  party  of  the  crew  landed,  stole  some  cattle 
which  they  put  on  board,  and  sailed  away  again. 

A  third  and  more  serious  attack  was  made  on  the 
Sod  Fort  about  two  years  later,  with  a  different  result. 
We  read  :  — 

On  the  7th  of  October,  1708,  during  the  temporary  absence  of 
Fontaine,  a  French  privateer  made  his  appearance  in  the  haven 
and  hoisted  English  colours.  The  ensign  residing  in  the  fort  at 
the  time,  deceived  by  the  stratagem,  went  on  board,  when  he 
was  immediately  made  prisoner.  He  was  plied  with  drink,  and 
became  intoxicated,  when  he  revealed  the  fact  that  there  was 
no  officer  in  command  of  the  fort.  The  crew  of  the  privateer 
were  principally  Irish,  and  they  determined  to  attack  the  place 
at  midnight,  for  which  purpose  a  part}'-  of  them  landed.  Fontaine 
had  by  this  time  returned,  and  was  on  the  alert.  He  hailed  the 
advancing  party  through  a  speaking-trumpet,  and,  no  answer 
being  returned,  he  ordered  fire  to  be  opened  on  them. 

The  siege  that  ensued  was  vigorously  conducted 
and  lasted  some  hours.  Its  end  was  the  surrender  of 
the  fort  and  the  capture  of  its  garrison.    Fontaine  and 


THE    O' SULLIVAN  SEPT  41 

his  two  sons  were  taken  on  board  the  privateer.  The 
former  was  released  on  Madam  Fontaine's  undertaking 
to  pay  £100  ransom  for  her  husband  and  handing  in 
£30  as  a  first  instalment.  As  security  for  the  remainder 
the  French  captain  took  away  with  him  one  of  the  boys, 
but  he  too  was  released  after  some  time  without  his 
captors  making  any  demand  for  the  unpaid  balance  of 
the  ransom. 

By  this  time  Pastor  Fontaine  had  got  more  than 
enough  of  Berehaven,  and  he  resolved  to  have  done 
with  it.  His  fishing  company  had  turned  out  a  failure — 
it  could  not  possibly  thrive  under  his  management,  and 
in  the  midst  of  such  conditions  ;  his  Sod  Fort  was  soon  in 
ruins,  his  little  colony  of  foreigners  scattered  to  the  four 
winds,  and  he  himself,  a  broken  man,  but  withal  a 
picturesque  and  interesting  character,  a  traveller  in  quest 
of  employment.  He  came  up  to  Dublin,  got  some 
engagements  as  a  teacher  of  languages,  and  ended  his 
days  in  peace. 


42  BANTRY,    BEREHAVEN    AND 


CHAPTER  VII. 

FOR  some  years  after  the  death  of  Queen  Elizabeth 
the  condition  of  South  Munster  continued 
to  be  what  it  has  been  pictured  in  the  foregoing 
pages.  It  was  a  ravaged  and  wasted  land,  in  which 
some  remnant  of  the  native  race  still  managed  to  eke 
out  an  existence.  There  came,  in  fact,  in  the  earlier 
part  of  the  reign  of  her  successor,  James  I.,  a  period  of 
comparative  quiet ;  things  were  settling  down  some- 
what, and  the  new  and  the  old  occupants  of  the  soil  were 
learning  to  tolerate  each  other,  when  a  fresh  trouble  came 
on,  and  Irish  affairs  were  again  thrown  into  the  melting 
pot — if  indeed  they  can  be  said  ever  to  have  been  out  of  it. 

In  the  reign  of  Charles  I.,  son  of  James  I.,  a  section 
of  his  English  and  Scotch  subjects,  after  much  wrangling, 
complaining,  and  protesting,  revolted  against  his  rule, 
and  went  into  armed  rebellion.  This  was  the  outcome  of 
religious  and  political  contentions,  too  complicated  to 
be  dealt  with  here.  Ireland  was  inevitably  drawn  into 
the  strife ;  her  chivalrous  people  took  the  side  of  their 
legitimate  king  and  co-religionist,  though  neither  in  the 
field  of  religion  or  politics  had  he  shown  them  any  favour. 
They  promptly  organised  what  might  be  called  a  national 
government — the  Confederation  of  Kilkenny — and  raised 
an  army  to  fight  for  the  royal  cause  in  Ireland.  But  both 
in  Ireland  and  in  England  the  King's  enemies,  under  the 
leadership  of  Oliver  Cromwell,  proved  victorious,  and 
then  it  was,  indeed,  for  the  Irish  people  a  case  of  "  woe 
to  the  conquered." 

The  lands  of  all  the  Irish  who  had  loyally  stood  by 
the  cause  of  the  late  King  Charles  (beheaded  on  the 


THE    0' SULLIVAN    SEPT  43 

30th  of  January,  1649)  were  now  declared  forfeited,  and 
were  divided  into  portions  for  a  great  auction  and 
lottery  to  defray  the  arrears  of  pay  due  to  the  Crom- 
wellian  soldiery,  and  square  accounts  with  classes  of 
persons  called  "  adventurers  "  and  "  undertakers  " 
who  had  raised  troops  or  advanced  money  for  the 
prosecution  of  the  war.  Those  operations,  of  course, 
took  some  years  to  work  out ;  the  applotments  were 
made  by  commissioners  appointed  for  the  task,  and 
hungry  claimants  swarmed  forth  to  clutch  the  portions 
of  the  wreck  available  for  them.  The  soldiers  had  to 
draw  lots  for  theirs,  and  were  often  greatly  dissatisfied 
with  what  fortune  brought  them — some  acres  of  rugged 
ground  in  many  cases,  and  of  little  value.  The  better 
lands  were  bought  up,  at  a  small  figure,  by  English 
companies  and  persons  of  means,  who  could  look 
forward  to,  and  wait  for,  improvement  in  the  value 
of  their  property.  In  this  manner  the  lands  of  the 
O'Sullivans  in  Cork  and  Kerry  passed  away  from  them. 
On  the  southern  or  Bantry  side  of  the  Beara  range 
of  mountains  a  great  tract  of  territory  came  into  the 
possession  of  a  family  named  White,  of  whom  the  follow- 
ing account  is  given  in  a  standard  work  entitled  British 
Family  Antiquity,  by  William  Playfair,  Esq.,  published 
in  London  in  1810  : — 

The  original  founder  of  this  noble  family  was  Sir  Thomas 
White,  of  Rickmansworth  in  Hertfordshire,  who  was  Lord  Mayor 
of  London  in  1655  '<  founder  of  St.  John's  College  in  Oxford,  and 
brother  of  John  White,  Lord  Bishop  of  Winchester  in  1657. 
On  the  restoration  of  King  Charles  II.,  Sir  Thomas  White  settled 
in  the  South  of  Ireland,  where  he  became  a  purchaser  of  some 
of  the  land  debentures  granted  by  Oliver  Cromwell  to  the  officers 
of  his  army  during  the  civil  wars,  and  had  a  son,  Richard,  who 
resided  at  Bantry  until  his  death  in  1730  ;  having  previously 
married  a  Miss  Hamilton  of  Scotland,  by  whom  he  had  an  only 
son,  Richard,  who  was  bred  to  the  law  and  called  to  the  English 
Bar,  but  never  practised.  He  married,  10th  of  December,  1734, 
Martha,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Dean  Davis,  of  Davistown,  in  the 
County  of  Cork,  and  had  issue  by  her,  one  son  and  one  daughter, 


44  BANTRY,    BEREHAVEN    AND 

viz.,  Simon,  born  8th  of  May,  1739,  an(i  Margaret,  born  in  1738, 
who  married,  8th  of  November,  1756,  Richard,  Viscount  Longue- 
ville,  by  whom  she  had  no  issue. 

Simon  married,  in  August,  1766,  Frances- Jane,  daughter  of 
Richard  Hedges  Eyre,  of  Mount  Hedges  and  Macroom  Castle  in 
the  County  of  Cork,  Esq.  (by  Helena,  the  daughter  of  Thomas 
Herbert,  of  Muckross,  in  the  County  of  Kerry,  by  the  Hon.  M. 
Browne,  daughter  of  Lord  Viscount  Kenmare),  and  dying  in 
1776,  left  issue,  Richard,  the  present  Viscount  Bantry,  who  was 
born  6th  of  August,  1767,  and  married,  10th  of  November,  1799, 
Margaret- Anne  Hare,  eldest  daughter  of  Lord  Ennismore,  by 
whom  he  has  had  issue,  Richard,  born  16th  of  November,  1800  ; 
William  Hare,  born  10th  of  November,  1801  ;  Maria,  born  10th 
of  November,  1805  ;  and  Simon,  born  10th  of  March,    1807. 

This  spirited  nobleman  became  entitled  to  and  received  the 
honour  of  the  peerage,  in  being  created  a  Baron,  31st  March, 
1797,  and  a  Viscount,  29th  of  December,  1800,  by  the  best  of  all 
possible  claims,  intrepid  and  unshrinking  services  in  defence  of 
his  native  land.  When  the  French  appeared  in  Bantry  Bay,  in 
January,  1797  .  .  .  his  lordship's  determined  activity  and 
loyalty  were  so  singularly  exerted  as  not  only  to  compel  the 
departure  of  the  enemy's  fleet,  but  most  probably  save  Ireland 
from  serious  disasters,  torn  asunder  as  she  then  was  by  intestine 
divisions. 

Considering  that  it  was  a  storm  of  adverse  wind  that 
broke  up  the  French  naval  expedition  and  blew  their 
ships  out  of  Bantry  Bay,  it  is  rather  too  much  of  this 
obliging  biographer  to  ask  his  readers  to  believe  that 
Mr.  Richard  White  was  the  organiser  of  the  whole  thing, 
the  elements  only  doing  his  bidding.  What  this  gentle- 
man did  was  to  send  all  the  information  he  could  collect 
to  the  authorities  in  Cork,  and  to  co-operate  to  the 
utmost  of  his  ability  with  their  somewhat  belated  action 
after  the  departure  of  the  French  ships.  His  house 
became  a  sort  of  headquarters  for  English  officers  and 
officials  of  all  kinds,  he  kept  a  sharp  look  out  for  any 
symptoms  of  disturbance  in  that  part  of  the  country, 
and  took  part  in  a  skirmish  against  a  number  of  peasants 
who  had  assembled  to  bar  the  way  of  a  tithe-collecting 
expedition  in  the  pass  of  Keimineagh.    For  these  services 


THE    0' SULLIVAN    SEPT  45 

the  loyalists  of  Cork  presented  him  with  a  gold  medal, 
and  the  Government  conferred  on  him  the  titles  above 
recorded. 

The  White  family  spread,  and  several  of  its  members 
got  on  to  handsome  properties  in  south-west  Cork. 
But  there  were  only  four  Lords  Bantry.  The  first, 
above  mentioned,  married  Lady  Margaret  Anne  Hare, 
daughter  of  the  first  Earl  of  Listowel ;  the  second  was 
their  son  Richard,  who  married  a  daughter  of  the 
Marquis  of  Thomond,  and  died  childless  ;  the  third 
was  a  brother  of  his,  named  William  Henry  Hare  White  ; 
the  fourth  was  another  William  Henry  Hare  White,  son 
of  the  foregoing  ;  he  died  without  issue,  and  the  titles 
became  extinct.  The  second  daughter  of  the  third 
earl,  Lady  Olivia  Charlotte  White — married,  in  February, 
1871,  Arthur  Edward,  Baron  Ardilaun  (the  famous  Dub- 
lin brewer).  The  present  possessor  of  the  estates  is  the 
Hon.  Egerton  Leigh  White,  who  took  on  the  family 
name  and  arms  of  White  by  royal  license,  in  July,  1897. 
A  female  descendant  of  those  Hares-Eyres-Hedges- 
Whites,  married  in  1885,  Major  Charles  William  Bowlby 
of  the  Connaught  Rangers.  Their  family  reside  in  the 
new  "  Dunboy  Castle,"  built — not  far  from  the  ruin  of 
the  old  one — by  one  of  the  Puxleys,  a  relative  of  him 
who  was  shot  by  Morty  Oge. 


BOSTON  COLLEGE  LIBRARY 

CHESTNUT  HILL,  MASS. 


46  BANTRY,    BEREHAVEN    AND 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

IN  the  great  period  of  grabbing  and  gambling  for 
Irish  lands  which  followed  the  Cromwellian 
conquest,  when  Ireland  came  nearer  to  the 
condition  of  "  a  corpse  on  the  dissecting  table  "  than 
ever  she  did  before  or  since,  a  Welsh  adventurer 
named  Puxley  acquired  a  tract  of  land  at  the  mouth  of 
Berehaven  Harbour,  in  which  were  situated  the  ruins 
of  Donal  O'Sullivan's  old  Castle  of  Dunboy.  He  built 
himself  a  residence  in  the  locality,  and  for  some  years 
managed  to  get  along  tolerably  well  in  his  Gaelic  environ- 
ment. On  his  demise  a  near  relative  who  had  previously 
given  the  benefit  of  his  presence  to  the  County  Galway, 
succeeded  to  his  property  in  Berehaven,  and,  with 
encouragement  and  aid  from  the  Government,  set 
himself  up  to  be  a  high  exemplar  of  British  law  and 
order,  a  propagator  of  true  religion,  an  apostle  of  modern 
civilisation,  a  shining  light  to  the  benighted  heathen. 
Forthwith  he  applied  himself  to  the  suppression  of 
popular  illegalities,  the  chief  of  which  was  the  smuggling 
business,  then  in  a  very  lively  condition,  between  Ireland 
and  France.  The  export  of  Irish  wool  to  any  country 
but  England  being  prohibited  by  English  law,  and 
France  being  a  much  better  market  than  England  for 
the  commodity,  a  contraband  trade  naturally  and 
inevitably  sprang  up.  Fast  sailing  craft,  with  the 
forbidden  goods  ingeniously  stowed  away,  plied  between 
the  two  countries,  taking  out  Irish  wool  and  "  wild 
geese  "  (recruits  for  the  French  armies),  and  bringing 
back  wines  and  brandies,  and  other  articles  liable  to  duty, 


THE    0' SULLIVAN    SEPT  47 

without  letting  England's  revenue  officers  have  any 
knowledge  of  their  existence.  The  local  gentry  winked 
at  this  state  of  things,  and  were  glad  to  keep  their  cellars 
stocked  with  such  excellent  vintage  at  so  small  a  cost. 
They  did  not  cordially  co-operate  with  Puxley,  whom 
they  regarded  as  making  himself  entirely  too  busy  in 
these  matters.  Thus  he  came  to  be  at  once  out  of  touch 
with  those  loyal  gentlemen  and  detested  by  the  peasantry. 
But  Puxley  was  a  man  with  a  double  dose  of  "  unctuous 
rectitude  ;  "  he  stood  for  English  "  law  and  order,"  and 
was  either  unobservant  or  contemptuous  of  the  signs 
of  coming  trouble  he  might  have  seen  gathering  round 
him. 

One  of  the  most  skilful  and  daring  of  those  free  traders, 
as  they  might  be  called,  was  Morty  Oge  (young  Morty) 
O'Sullivan.  A  member  of  the  dispossessed  family,  by 
right  one  of  the  chiefs  of  his  sept  and  inheritors  of  its 
property,  thrown  landless  and  poor  upon  the  world,  his 
possessions  being  a  clever  brain,  an  adventurous  spirit, 
and  a  store  of  bitter  memories,  he  became  in  turn  soldier, 
sailor,  "  smuggler,"  and  avenger,  and  ultimately  fell  in 
a  fight  for  his  life  with  the  agents  of  British  law.  In  1742 
he  served  in  the  army  of  Maria  Theresa,  the  brave 
Austrian  queen  then  fighting  for  her  crown  and  dominions 
against  a  group  of  the  European  powers,  and  was 
honoured  by  her  majesty  by  the  presentation  of  a 
handsome  sword.  In  May,  1745,  he  was  at  the  Battle 
of  Fontenoy — one  can  imagine  with  what  delight  he 
bore  a  part  in  the  winning  of  that  important  and  brilliant 
victory.  In  April,  1746,  he  was  with  the  Stuart  Prince 
Charles  Edward,  the  so-called  "  Pretender,"  who  suffered 
irretrievable  defeat  at  Culloden.  His  military  career 
being  thus  ended,  he  returned  to  his  old  favourite,  the 
sea,  and  still  fought  "  against  the  government  "  by 
operations  greatly  to  the  detriment  of  the  British  ex- 
chequer. Being  a  skilful  seaman,  knowing  every  creek 
and  cranny  of  the  coast  of  south-west  Munster,  and 


48  BANTRY,    BEREHAVEN    AND 

beloved  by  his  kith  and  kin  in  those  parts,  he  was  able 
to  carry  on  his  risky,  but  enjoyable  and  profitable, 
business  for  years  without  falling  into  the  clutches  of 
the  authorities,  though  Puxley  was  on  the  watch  for 
him  all  the  time. 

As  to  the  smuggling  trade,  under  the  circumstances, 
it  could  not  rightly  be  called  unpatriotic,  immoral,  or 
dishonourable.  It  was  a  very  natural  endeavour  to 
evade  and  defeat  English  laws  made  for  the  ruin  of  Irish 
industries,  the  pauperising  of  Irish  manufacturers  and 
merchants,  and  the  transfer  of  their  business  to  English 
rivals.  James  Anthony  Froude,  a  writer  who  had  caught 
up — or  it  may  be  inherited — the  Cromwellian  antipathy 
to  the  Irish  race,  but  who  sometimes  could  blurt  out 
candid  sayings  and  show  a  sort  of  contemptuous  com- 
passion for  the  cruelly  oppressed  natives  of  Ireland, 
gives  a  good  sketch  of  England's  war  against  Irish  trade 
in  his  novel,  The  Two  Chiefs  of  Dunboy.  Picturing  one 
Patrick  Blake,  a  prosperous  Franco-Irish  merchant  and 
ship-owner  of  Nantes — an  imaginary  character,  perhaps, 
but  typical — he  says  : — 

His  patriotism  was  as  ardent  as  his  father's  ;  but  his  eye  was 
keen,  and  he  discerned  that  there  were  ways  of  assisting  Ireland's 
cause  in  which  he  could  combine  his  country's  interest  with  his 
own.  He  became  the  agent  of  the  Irish  Brigade.  He  set  on 
foot  the  organisation  for  recruiting  the  young  Catholics  who 
were  impatient  of  English  rule,  collecting  them  under  the  name 
of  wild-geese,  and  bringing  them  over  into  the  French  service 
to  learn  their  trade  as  soldiers.  .  .  .  While  thus  engaged,  he 
discerned  in  the  unfortunate  policy  which  destroyed  the  Irish 
woollen  manufactures  an  opportunity  for  disorganising  the  Irish 
administration,  of  combining  all  classes  and  all  creeds  there, 
peasant  and  landlord,  Catholic  and  Protestant,  in  a  league  to 
defeat  an  unjust  law,  and,  while  filling  the  pockets  of  his  country- 
men, to  build  up  his  own  fortune  at  the  same  time.  Irish  wool, 
at  the  opening  of  the  last  century,  was  supposed  to  be  the  most 
excellent  in  the  world,  and  commanded  the  highest  prices  in  the 
natural  market.  The  English  woollen  manufacturers,  afraid  of 
being  beaten  out  of  the  field  if  the  Irish  were  permitted  to 
compete  with  them,  persuaded  the  Parliament  to  lay  prohibitory 


THE    O' SULLIVAN    SEPT  49 

duties  on  Irish  blankets  and  broadcloth,  which  crushed  the 
production  of  those  articles.  Not  contented  with  preventing 
the  Irish  from  working  up  their  fleeces  at  home,  they  insisted 
that  the  Irish  fleeces  should  be  sold  m  England  only,  and  at  such 
a  price  as  would  be  convenient  to  themselves.  The  natural 
price,  which  the  French  were  willing  to  pay,  was  three  or  four 
times  higher,  and  the  effect  was  a  premium  upon  smuggling, 
which  no  human  nature,  least  of  all  Irish  human  nature,  could 
be  expected  to  resist.  .  .  .  Before  the  century  had  half  run  its 
course,  four-fifths  of  the  Irish  fleeces  were  carried  underhand 
into  France,  in  spite  of  English  laws  and  English  cruisers.  Irish 
lawlessness  for  once  had  justice  on  its  side,  and  flourished  like  a 
green  bay  tree. 

This  line  of  business  had  attractions  for  Morty  Oge 
from  every  point  of  view.  It  was  adventurous,  it  was 
exciting,  it  was  anti-English.  After  his  return  trips  he 
loved  to  slip  back  quietly  to  old  Befehaven,  to  see  again 
the  places  of  his  boyhood,  to  tread  the  soil  that  had  been 
the  property  of  his  fathers,  and  talk  with  some  of  the 
old  people  over  their  altered  fortunes.  And  much  of 
the  news  he  heard  from  them  was  of  a  nature  to  set  his 
blood  aflame. 

Puxley  "  of  Dunboy  "  was  now  the  great  man  of  the 
place,  a  magistrate,  a  revenue  officer,  a  lay  preacher,  and 
general  adviser  to  a  little  colony  of  Welsh  Protestants 
whom  he  had  brought  over  to  be  helpful  to  him  and  be 
an  English  outpost  in  those  parts.  I  make  no  doubt 
that  he  was  in  his  own  estimation  a  very  upright,  impor- 
tant, and  excellent  person  ;  but  it  was  inevitable  that 
by  the  natives  in  that  region  he  should  be  regarded 
simply  as  an  excrescence ;  inevitable  also  that  his  zeal 
and  diligence  in  the  enforcement  of  the  revenue  laws 
should  make  for  him  a  crowd  of  enemies,  and  ultimately 
bring  him  into  collision  with  Morty  Oge. 

Puxley  and  Morty  caught  sight  of  each  other  once 
or  twice — and  probably  each  of  them  felt  that  they 
should  meet  again.  And  meet  they  did.  One  Sunday 
morning,  as  Puxley  and  a  few  of  his  co-religionists, 
were  proceeding  to  hold  a  service  in  a  little  conventicle 

E 


50  BANTRY,    BEREHAVEN    AND 

he  had  built  for  them,  they  fell  in  with  Morty  and  some 
of  his  friends  on  the  way.  Angry  words  were  exchanged ; 
a  quarrel  ensued,  and,  whether  by  accident  or  design, 
Puxley  was  shot  dead  by  Morty  Oge.1 

This  deplorable  incident  created  a  great  sensation 
throughout  the  country.  The  Government  party  took 
prompt  action.  A  military  force  was  despatched  from 
Cork  to  seize  the  offender  and  return  with  his  body  alive 
or  dead.  They  made  their  way  to  Berehaven  ;  but  when 
they  got  there  Morty  was  not  to  be  found.  He  had  gone 
off  to  France.  There  he  might  have  lived  safely  to  the 
end  of  his  days  had  he  been  so  minded  ;  but  his  native 
place  had  a  fascination  for  him,  and  he  made  several 
trips  to  and  fro — 

Even  as  a  hare,  whom  hounds  and  horns  pursue, 
Pants  to  the  place  from  whence  at  first  he  flew. 

— so  would  Morty  pay  furtive  visits  to  his  old  home,  to 
see  again  his  wife  and  child  in  his  mountain  cottage  at 
Eyries,  and  be  welcomed  and  watchfully  guarded  by 
kinsmen  who  loved  him.  But  he  was  caught  at  last. 
Information  of  his  being  in  the  place  was  conveyed  to 
the  authorities  ;  another  expedition — this  time  by  sea 
— was  sent  from  Cork  to  Berehaven,  with  all  the  secrecy 
possible  under  the  circumstances  ;  the  vessel  reached 
the  shore  on  a  dark,  wet,  and  stormy  night,  without 
attracting  attention  ;  the  soldiers  at  once  disembarked, 
and — guided  presumably  by  someone  who  knew  the 
ground — crept  stealthily  up  to  the  cottage  of  the  outlaw. 

1  Mr.  J.  A.  Froude,  in  his  "Two  Chiefs  of  Dunboy,"  gives 
a  purely  fanciful  and  very  absurd  account  of  this  occurrence. 
He  frankly  calls  his  work  a  "  romance,"  but  as  it  is  written  on 
a  historical  basis  and  purports  to  present  a  picture  of  the 
time,  be  should  have  given  a  less  offensive  tone  and  turn  to 
his  inventions.  His  description  of  the  scene  in  the  forge  where 
u  Colonel  Goring,"  (i.e.  Puxley)  lost  his  life,  and  of  the  con- 
trivance by  which  he  and  Morty  Oge  were  brought  to  meet 
there,  is  worthy  only  of  a  "  penny  dreadful." 


THE    O' SULLIVAN    SEPT  51 

The  noise  of  the  rainstorm  prevented  the  occupants 
from  hearing  the  approaching  footsteps  ;  but  the  keener 
ears  of  O'Sullivan's  watch-dog  caught  the  sounds,  and 
the  animal  gave  the  alarm  by  loud  barking.  Morty 
grasped  the  situation  at  once  ;  he  had  been  in  bed,  and 
his  friends  in  the  house  were  sleeping  or  drowsing  after 
the  day's  toil,  but  all  were  immediately  on  their  feet 
and  preparing  to  offer  what  resistance  they  could  to  the 
foe.  The  struggle  that  ensued  is  thus  recorded  in  a 
publication  called  The  Cork  Remembrancer,  printed  in 
that  city  in  1783  : — 

Sullivan  and  his  party  took  the  alarm  directly.  Sullivan 
came  to  the  door  and  opened  it  in  his  shirt,  with  a  blunderbuss 
in  his  hand  ;  at  the  same  time  they  might  have  taken  away  his 
life,  but  the  commanding  officer,  choosing  rather  to  take  him 
alive,  did  not  fire  at  him.  Sullivan  and  his  men  fired  several 
blunderbusses  out  of  the  house  at  the  party,  but  finding  them 
too  strong,  he  thought  on  a  stratagem,  by  sending  them  out  one 
man  at  a  time,  thinking  by  that  means  the  party  would  leave 
the  house  to  follow  them,  by  which  he  may  get  off ;  but  he  was 
prevented  by  the  officer,  who  only  fired  at  the  men  as  they  went 
off.  At  length  Sullivan's  wife,  with  her  child  and  nurse,  came 
out  and  asked  for  quarter,  which  was  granted.  The  officer  asked 
her  who  was  in  the  house  ;  she  answered  no  one  but  her  husband 
and  some  of  his  men  ;  upon  which  he  ordered  the  house  to  be  set 
on  fire,  which  they  were  a  long  time  doing,  the  men's  arms  being- 
rendered  quite  useless  from  the  heavy  rains ;  but  the  house 
being  at  last  set  on  fire,  they  were  obliged  to  come  out.  Sullivan 
behaved  with  great  bravery,  as  did  his  men;  he  stood  and  snapped 
his  blunderbuss  twice  at  the  party,  and  missed  fire  ;  likewise 
the  party  snapped  at  him  twice  and  missed  fire,  and  cocking  the 
third  time,  shot  him  through  the  heart  dead. 

The  soldiers  brought  away  with  them  the  dead  body 
of  Morty  Oge,  and  two  prisoners  named  Sullivan  and 
Connell.  Morty's  body  they  lashed  to  the  stern  of  their 
vessel,  and  so  towed  it  from  Berehaven  to  Cork,  where 
its  head  was  cut  off  and  spiked  over  the  South  Gaol.  A 
like  fate  befel  the  gallant  fellows  Sullivan  and  Connell  ; 
their  heads  were  similarly  displayed  for  the  edification 
of  his  majesty's  subjects,  loyal  and  disloyal. 


52  BANTRY,    BEREHAVEN    AND 

Tradition  has  it  that  the  giver  of  the  information 
which  brought  the  soldiery  upon  O'Sullivan's  house  was 
a  servant  of  his  named  Scully,  but  there  is  no  reliable 
record  to  that  effect ;  doubts  have  been  thrown  upon 
the  story,  and  as  the  statement  can  neither  be  proved 
nor  disproved,  I  think  it  would  be  only  fair  to  pass  in 
this  case  the  Scotch  verdict  of  "  Not  Proven."  It  was, 
however,  made  the  subject  of  a  vigorous  ballad  by  the 
Cork  poet,  J.  J.  Callanan,  a  rendering  of  a  Gaelic  lamen- 
tation for  her  beloved  master  supposed  to  have  been 
uttered  by  the  old  nurse  of  the  family.  I  here  quote  it 
in  part : — 

The  sun  on  I  vera 

No  longer  shines  brightly; 
The  voice  of  her  music 

No  longer  is  sprightly  ; 
No  more  to  her  maidens 

The  light  dance  is  dear, 
Since  the  death  of  our  darling 

O'Sullivan  Beare. 


Had  he  died  calmly 

I  would  not  deplore  him  ; 
Or  if  the  wild  strife 

Of  the  sea-war  closed  o'er  him  ; 
But  with  ropes  round  his  white  limbs 

Through  ocean  to  trail  him, 
Like  a  fish  after  slaughter, 

'Tis  therefore  I  wail  him. 


In  the  hole  which  the  vile  hands 

Of  soldiers  had  made  thee, 
Unhonour'd,  unshrouded, 

And  headless  they  laid  thee ; 
No  sigh  to  regret  thee, 

No  eye  to  rain  o'er  thee, 
No  dirge  to  lament  thee, 

No  friend  to  deplore  thee ; 


THE    O'SULLIVAN    SEPT  63 

Dear  head  of  my  darling, 

How  gory  and  pale 
These  aged  eyes  see  thee 

High  spiked  on  their  jail ; 
That  cheek  in  the  summer  sun 

Ne'er  shall  grow  warm, 
Nor  that  eye  e'er  catch  light 

But  the  light  of  the  storm. 

A  curse,  blessed  ocean, 

Is  on  thy  green  water, 
From  the  harbour  of  Cork 

To  I  vera  of  slaughter, 
Since  thy  billows  were  dyed 

With  the  red  wounds  of  fear, 
Of  Muiertach  Oge, 

Our  O' Sullivan  Beare. 

It  is  obvious  to  anyone  having  even  a  slight  acquain- 
tance with  our  olden  tongue  that  the  poem  from  which 
I  have  quoted  is  founded  on  a  Gaelic  original.  The 
verses  of  imprecation,  which  I  omit,  are  further  evidence 
in  that  direction,  for,  as  regards  both  curses  and  prayers, 
the  swing,  fervour,  and  force  of  the  Irish  language  are 
unequalled.  But  a  more  beautiful  and  touching  lamen- 
tation is  that  of  O'SulhVan's  faithful  follower  and  brave 
comrade  Connell,  written  in  Cork  Gaol  on  the  night 
before  his  execution.  It  is  thus  given  in  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Gibson's  History  of  the  City  and  County  of  Cork,  published 
in  1861 : — 

Morty,  my  dear  and  loved  master,  you  carried  the  sway  for 
strength  and  generosity.  It  is  my  endless  grief  and  sorrow — 
sorrow  that  admits  of  no  comfort — that  your  fair  head  should  be 
gazed  at  as  a  show  upon  a  spike,  and  that  your  noble  frame  is 
without  life.  I  have  travelled  with  you,  my  dear  and  much 
loved  master,  in  foreign  lands.  You  moved  with  kings  in  the 
royal  prince's  army  ;  but  it  is  through  the  means  of  Puxley  I  am 
left  in  grief  and  confinement  in  Cork,  locked  in  heavy  irons 
without  hopes  of  relief.  The  great  God  is  good  and  merciful  ; 
I  ask  his  pardon  and  support,  for  I  am  to  be  hanged  at  the  gallows 
to-morrow,  without  doubt.     The  rope  will  squeeze  my  neck,  and 


54  BANTRY,    BEREHAVEN   AND 

thousands  will  lament  my  fate.  May  the  Lord  have  mercy  on  my 
master  ; 

Kerryonians,  pray  for  us.  Sweet  and  melodious  is  your  voice. 
My  blessing  I  give  you,  but  you  will  never  see  me  again  among 
you  alive.  Our  heads  will  be  put  upon  a  spike  for  a  show  ;  and 
under  the  cold  snow  of  night,  and  the  burning  sun  of  summer. 
Oh,  that  I  was  ever  born ;  Oh,  that  I  ever  returned  to  Bere- 
haven  ;  Mine  was  the  best  of  masters  that  Ireland  could  produce, 
May  our  souls  be  floating  to-morrow  in  the  rays  of  endless  glory  ; 

The  lady  his  wife  :  Heavy  is  her  grief,  and  who  may  wonder 
at  that,  were  her  eyes  made  of  green  stone,  when  he,  her  dear 
husband  was  shot  by  that  ball.  Had  he  retreated,  our  grief 
would  be  lighter  ;  but  the  brave  man,  for  the  pride  of  his  country, 
could  not  retreat. 

He  has  been  in  King's  palaces.  In  Spain  he  got  a  pension. 
Lady  Clare  gave  him  robes  bound  with  gold  lace,  as  a  token  of 
remembrance.  He  was  a  captain  on  the  coast  of  France,  but  he 
should  return  to  Ireland  for  us  to  lose  him. 


THE    0* SULLIVAN    SEPT  65 


CHAPTER  IX. 

AFTER  Donal  of  Beara  and  his  cousin,  Don  Philip 
of  Spain,  I  think  the  most  illustrious  man  of  the 
name  was  General  John  Sullivan,  one  of  the 
heroes  of  the  American  War  of  Independence.  Not 
only  did  he  serve  with  distinction  during  the  war, 
but,  in  point  of  fact,  he  may  be  said  to  have  "  opened 
the  ball."  Trouble  had  for  some  time  been  impending 
between  the  colonies  and  the  "  mother  country,"  a 
conflict  became  inevitable  ;  but,  without  waiting  for  a 
formal  rupture,  Sullivan,  with  a  small  band  of  patriot 
followers,  took  action  and  forced  the  fighting.  He 
captured  the  first  fort  and  the  first  cannon  taken  during 
the  war.  One  of  his  biographers,  his  kinsman,  Mr. 
Thomas  C.  Amory,  relates  the  incident  as  follows  : — 

In  the  spring  of  1774  he  was  a  member  of  the  Provincial 
Assembly  of  New  Hampshire,  and  in  September  of  the  same  year 
was  sent  to  Philadelphia  as  one  of  the  New  Hampshire  delegation 
to  the  Provincial  Congress.  .  .  .  Soon  after  his  return  home  he 
planned  with  Thomas  Pickering  and  John  Langdon  an  attack 
upon  Fort  William  and  Mary  at  Newcastle,  in  Ports-mouth 
Harbour — one  of  the  earliest  acts  of  hostility  against  the  Mother 
Country  ;  and,  by  the  aid  of  a  portion  of  a  force  he  had  been  for 
some  months  engaged  in  drilling  in  their  military  exercises,  in 
preparation  for  the  anticipated  conflict,  carried  ninety-seven 
kegs  of  powder  and  a  quantity  of  small  arms  in  gondolas  to 
Durham,  where  they  were  concealed,  in  part  under  the  pulpit  of 
its  meeting-house.  Soon  after  the  battles  of  Lexington  and 
Concord,  in  April,  had  aroused  the  people  to  a  realising  sense 
that  they  were  actually  engaged  in  hostilities,  these  much-needed 
supplies,  or  a  portion  of  them,  were  brought  by  him  to  the  lines 
at  Cambridge,  where  he  marched  with  his  company,  and  were  uged 
at  the  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill." 


56  BANTRY,    BEREHAVEN    AND 

General  Sullivan  was  a  trusted  officer  and  personal 
friend  of  George  Washington,  Commander-in-chief  of 
the  American  army  and  liberator  of  his  country.  In  the 
siege  of  Boston  by  the  American  patriots — June  1775 
to  March  '76 — the  town  being  then  held  by  an  English 
army  under  General  Gage,  supported  by  an  English 
fleet  in  the  harbour,  Sullivan  rendered  invaluable  service 
to  the  investing  force,  and  was  accorded  a  signal  mark 
of  honour — a  compliment  at  once  to  himself  and  to  his 
nation — by  Washington,  who  issued  the  following 
"  Order  of  the  Day,"  dated  for  the  17th  of  March : — 


Special  Order  of  the 

Day. 

Headquarters ;  March  17 

,  1776. 

Parole— Boston. 

Countersign — St.  Patrick. 

The  regiments    under    marching 

orders    to 

mai 

ch 

to-morrow  morning. 

Brigadier  of  the  Day — General  Si 

Uivan. 

That  was,  indeed,  a  memorable  St.  Patrick's  Day ! 
For  on  that  date,  after  having  withstood  a  siege  of  nine 
months'  duration  (so  protracted  because  the  investing 
force  was  comparatively  small),  the  English  evacuated 
the  city  of  Boston,  and  got  away  in  their  ships.  One 
can  easily  imagine  the  feelings  with  which  General 
Sullivan  led  his  regiments  into  the  city  and  hurried 
forward  the  retreating  foe  ! 

More  than  a  hundred  years  before  that  time  the  chiefs 
of  his  sept  had  been  hunted  out  of  their  patrimony  by 
an  English  army  ;  here  was  he  now  engaged  in  the 
congenial  operation  of  hunting  an  English  army  from 
one  of  their  strongholds  on  American  soil,  and  so  con- 
tributing to  the  wresting  of  a  whole  continent  from  the 
crown  and  government  of  England. 


THE    0> SULLIVAN  SEPT  57 

Boston  was  not  a  bad  balance  for  Berehaven. 

The  writer  of  one  of  the  valuable  historical  articles 
that  appear  occasionally  in  the  New  York  Irish  World, 
at  the  close  of  a  memoir  of  General  Sullivan,  gives  the 
following  brief  outline  of  his  military  services  : — 

It  was  well  for  Sullivan  the  Revolution  broke  out  so  soon,  or 
he  and  his  brave  comrades  would  be  hanged  like  dogs  by  the 
followers  of  King  George.  But  soon  afterward  the  patriot  drum- 
taps  resounded,  calling  upon  every  American  to  arm  in  defence 
of  the  principles  espoused  by  Sullivan,  and  the  first  to  respond 
to  the  call  and  rally  round  the  patriot  flag  was  he  who  committed 
the  first  hostile  act  and  captured  the  first  gun.  He  was  present 
at  Bunker  Hill,  and  took  command  of  the  patriot  army  after  the 
patriots  were  driven  from  their  intrenchments.  At  Long  Island, 
in  the  desperate  and  terrible  retreat  through  the  Jerseys,  at 
Trenton,  Princeton,  Brandywine,  Valley  Forge,  wherever  the 
enemy  were  to  be  met,  wherever  a  breach  was  to  be  stormed  or 
a  battery  to  be  carried,  Sullivan  never  shrank  from  the  duty, 
never  faltered,  but  followed  the  flag  until  at  last  he  saw  it  planted 
over  the  ramparts  of  Yorktown. 

The  surrender  of  Lord  Cornwallis  and  the  British 
army  at  Yorktown,  Virginia,  in  1781,  gloriously  ended 
the  American  War  of  Independence.  But  General 
Sullivan's  services  to  the  newly-made  nation  in  a  political 
capacity  extended  over  many  subsequent  years.  His 
brother  James,  also — a  man  of  considerable  ability — 
gave  good  service  to  his  country,  and  was  twice  elected 
Governor  of  Massachusetts. 

Both  the  brothers  were  lawyers  by  profession,  and, 
as  such,  were  regarded  in  their  early  years  with  rather 
unfriendly  feelings  by  the  unsophisticated  people  of 
Durham  (New  Hampshire),  where  they  resided.  How 
they  made  good  their  footing  amongst  them  is  thus  told 
in  a  Life  of  James  Sullivan,  quoted  by  Mr.  Amory  : — 

At  the  time  of  John's  first  settlement  at  Durham,  a  town  rich 
in  fertile  farms,  its  inhabitants  were  devoted  to  the  peaceable 
pursuits  of  rural  life.      There  prevailed  among  them  a  strong 


58  BAN  TRY,    BEREHAVEN   AND 

prejudice  against  lawyers.  It  was  believed  that  they  were  a 
class  not  required  in  the  community  ;  that  they  fomented  litiga- 
tion for  their  own  purposes,  and  craftily  devoured  the  substance 
of  their  neighbours.  Resolved,  if  possible,  to  secure  their  village 
from  the  presence  of  all  such  promoters  of  discord,  some  energetic 
young  men  gave  the  newly-settled  counsellor  notice  to  quit 
Durham,  threatening  personal  coercion  if  this  peremptory  order 
were  not  speedily  obeyed.  Nothing  daunted  by  this  open  and 
decided  show  of  hostility,  John  Sullivan  informed  them  that  he 
should  not  think  of  it ;  and,  if  they  cared  to  resort  to  force,  they 
would  always  find  him  ready.  The  people  of  the  town  became 
greatly  excited,  and  took  different  sides  in  the  quarrel ;  collisions 
occurred  between  the  parties,  and  in  the  progress  of  the  dispute 
one  of  the  assailants  was  severely,  though  not  dangerously, 
wounded  by  an  over-zealous  adherent  of  Mr.  Sullivan.  The 
affair  already  wore  a  serious  aspect,  when  a  truce  was  called,  and 
it  was  finally  determined  to  settle  the  question  by  a  personal 
conflict  with  any  combatant  the  assailants  should  select.  Their 
chosen  champion  not  being  considered  a  fair  match  for  the  elder 
brother,  who  possessed  great  physical  strength,  James,  at  his 
own  request,  was  substituted  to  do  battle  for  the  law.  The 
encounter  took  place  at  the  time  appointed,  and  James  came  off 
the  victor.  The  people  acquiescing  in  the  result  of  this  ordeal, 
ever  after  placed  the  greatest  confidence  in  John  Sullivan  ;  and 
he  soon  became,  and  continued  through  life,  their  most  beloved 
and  popular  citizen. 


In  old  times  many  controversies  were  decided  by  the 
ordeal  of  single  combat ;  but  this  was  probably  the  first 
occasion  on  which  the  right  of  a  young  lawyer  to  practice 
his  profession  in  a  country  village  was  thus  tried  out 
and  established.  Those  Durhamites  must  have  been  a 
fair-minded  lot  of  young  fellows  ;  they  did  not  mob  the 
referee  (for  I  suppose  they  had  one)  ;  and  in  all  likelihood 
they  appreciated  alike  the  chivalry  of  the  elder  brother 
and  the  prowess  of  the  younger. 

There  were  four  of  those  Sullivan  boys,  and  they  all 
took  the  American  side  in  the  war.  Their  father  was 
an  emigrant  from  Limerick,  where  he  had  filled  the 
position  of  school  teacher.  His  son  John,  when  he  had 
risen  to  fame  and  high  honour,  got  the  old  patriarch  to 


THE    0' SULLIVAN    SEPT  59 

write  for  him  a  short  account  of  his  ancestry — from 
which  I  copy  the  following  record  : — 

I  am  the  son  of  Major  Philip  O'Sullivan,  of  Ardea,  in  the  County 
of  Kerry.  His  father  was  Owen  O'Sullivan,  original  descendant 
from  the  second  son  of  Daniel  O'Sullivan,  called  Lord  of  Bear- 
haven.  He  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Colonel  Owen  M'Sweeney, 
of  Musgery,  and  sister  to  Captain  Edmond  M'Sweeney,  a  man 
noted  for  anecdotes  and  witty  sayings.  .  .  .  My  father  died  of 
an  ulcer  raised  in  his  breast,  occasioned  by  a  wound  he  received 
in  France,  in  a  duel  with  a  French  officer.  .  .  .  My  mother's 
name  was  Joan  M'Carthy,  daughter  of  Dermod  M'Carthy,  of 
Killowen.  Her  mother's  name  I  forget,  but  she  was  a  daughter 
to  M'Carthy  Reagh,  of  Carbery.  Her  eldest  brother,  Colonel 
Florence,  alias  M'Finnen,  and  his  two  brothers,  Captain  Charles 
and  Captain  Owen,  went  in  defence  of  the  nation  against  Orange. 
Owen  was  killed  in  the  Battle  of  Aughrim.  .  .  .  Charles  I  just 
remember.  He  left  two  sons,  Darby  and  Owen.  Darby  married 
with  Elena  Sullivan,  of  the  Sullivans  of  Banaune.  Her  brother 
Owen  married  Honora  Mahony,  daughter  of  Denis  Mahony,  of 
Dromore,  in  the  barony  of  Dunkerron.  .  .  .  My  mother's  sister 
was  married  to  Dermod,  eldest  son  of  Daniel  O'Sullivan,  Lord  of 
Dunkerron.  Her  son  Cornelius,  as  I  understand,  was  with  the 
Pretender  in  ScotlaDd  in  the  year  1745. 

The  family  name  figures  largely  not  only  in  the  history, 
but  also  in  the  topography  of  the  United  States.  There 
are  counties  called  Sullivan  in  each  of  the  following 
States  :— 

Indiana,  New  Hampshire,  New  York,  Mobile,  Pensylvania 
Tennessee,  Missouri. 

The  capital  town  of  Sullivan  County  in  Indiana  is  also 
called  Sullivan.  Then  there  are  townships  and  villages 
bearing  the  name  in  : — 

Aurora  County,  Dacota ;  Livingston  Co.,  Illinois ;  Jackson 
Co.,  Kansas;  Hancock  Co.,  Maine;  Polk  Co.,  Minnesota; 
Laurens  Co.,  South  Carolina  ;    Jackson  Co.,  Wisconsin. 

And  there  are  some  others.  Whether  all  these  places 
were  so  called  in  honour  of  General  Sullivan,  or  whether 
some  of  them  got  their  designations  from  other  settlers 


60  BANTRY,     BEREHAVEN    AND 

of  the  name,  is  more  than  I  can  tell ;   but  there  they 
are  at  all  events. 

Several  members  of  the  Sullivan  sept,  as  well  as  the 
above-mentioned  Cornelius,  were  "  with  the  Pretender 
in  Scotland  in  the  year  1745."  John  Sullivan,  a  native 
of  Kerry,  was  one  of  the  most  distinguished,  important 
and  influential  men  of  the  whole  enterprise.  He  was  a 
trusted  friend  and  counsellor  of  the  Prince — called  by 
his  English  enemies  "  the  young  Pretender,"  and  by 
his  Scottish  and  Irish  adherents  "  Bonnie  Prince 
Charlie,"  "  The  Young  Chevalier,"  and  other  endearing 
names — when  he  made  his  bold  dash  to  recover  the 
throne  of  his  ancestors.  The  campaign,  in  the  course 
of  which  some  brilliant  successes  were  achieved  by  the 
Scots,  was  closed  by  their  disastrous  defeat  at  Culloden. 
Colonel  Sullivan  was  Adjutant-General  on  that  fatefu 
day,  and  placed  the  Prince's  troops  in  position  before 
the  battle.  When  all  was  lost,  it  was  he  who  ensurec 
the  personal  safety  of  his  beloved  chief  by  seizing  his 
horse's  bridle-rein  and  leading  him  off  the  field — as 
Napoleon's  marshals  did  with  the  Emperor  after  Water- 
loo, exclaiming  "  Sire,  we  have  lost  enough  already." 


THE   O'SULLIVAN    SEPT  81 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  Bantry  and  Bearhaven  people,  largely  owing 
to  their  location  and  environment,  v/ere  a  sea- 
going race.  They  had  to  do  with  boats  and 
oars  and  sails  almost  from  their  childhood.  Most 
of  the  time  of  the  younger  men  was  spent  in  fishing  in 
the  bay,  which  for  a  long  period  was  the  resort  of  great 
shoals  of  herrings,  mackerel,  and  pilchards,  while  the 
elder  folk  were  engaged  in  such  farming  operations  as 
were  possible  on  a  rugged  soil,  wind-swept  and  drenched 
with  the  salt  mists  and  sprays  of  the  Atlantic.  Trading 
vessels  calling  in  to  the  harbour  to  land  goods  or  procure 
provisions  often  took  away  with  them  some  fine 
strapping  youths,  who,  in  a  short  time,  became  as 
expert  and  daring  seamen  as  could  be  found  in  the 
world.  English  warships,  on  their  occasional  visits, 
enticed  many  of  them  to  enter  the  naval  service,  in 
which  a  notable  number  of  them  or  their  descendants 
rose  to  high  rank.  In  the  Dictionary  of  National  Bio- 
graphy, vol.  55,  we  read  of  the  following  : — 

Rear-Admiral  Thomas  Ball  Sulivan,  who  had  a  dis- 
tinguished career. 

Admiral  Sir  Bartholomew  James  Sulivan,  eldest  son 
of  the  foregoing. 

Admiral  George  Lydiard  Sulivan,  another  son  of 
Admiral  Thomas  Ball  Sulivan. 

Sir  Charles  Sulivan,  Admiral  of  the  Blue.* 

*  Those  naval  officers  spelled  their  surname  with  one  "  1," 
which  is  not  at  all  a  new  departure,  as  it  is  so  spelled  in  ancient 
Gaelic  writings  ;  the  more  usual  form,  however,  in  Gaelic  as  well 
as  in  English,  gives  the   "11."   In  the  Pacata  Hibemia  the  name 


62  BANTRY,    BEREHAVEN    AND 

A  remarkable  run  of  Admirals  in  one  family  !  The 
second  on  the  foregoing  list  rendered  important  service 
to  the  Admiralty  in  the  matter  of  mappings,  soundings 
and  surveyings  of  coasts,  creeks,  and  harbours  in  various 
parts  of  the  world,  but  was  especially  useful  to  them 
by  his  work  of  that  kind  in  the  Baltic  at  the  opening 
of  the  Crimean  War  in  1854.  He  was  then  Captain 
Sullivan,  in  command  of  the  Lightning.  He  participated 
in  the  attack  made  by  the  combined  French  and  English 
fleets  on  the  Russian  fortress  of  Sweaborg  in  1855,  an(i 
after  their  fire  had  silenced  the  forts  and  set  fire  to  some 
naval  yards,  stores,  and  private  dwellings,  the  joyful 
news  was  telegraphed  to  Paris  and  London  that  Swea- 
borg was  "  destroyed."  Scarcely  had  the  guns  of  the 
Lightning  cooled  when  Sullivan  wrote  a  gushing  letter 
to  his  family  in  England  relating  the  good  news,  and 
in  a  fit  of  confessedly  unaccustomed  piety  giving  thanks 
to  a  higher  power  for  the  same.     He  said  : — 

Sweaborg  is  in  ruins  after  two  days'  bombardment,  and  not  a 
scratch  on  our  side.  ...  It  is  almost  enough  to  excite  my  pride 
to  hear  what  they  all  say  about  my  work.  .  .  .  When  all  was 
finished  at  last,  and  I  went  below — having  just  been  told  what 
the  admiral  said — the  conflicting  feelings  of  gratitude  and 
pleasure  were  such  that  when  I  went  on  my  knees  to  offer  thanks 
to  that  God  who  still  so  wonderfully  aids  me  above  my  deserts, 
and  in  spite  of  my  neglect  of  Him,  I  could  only  burst  into  tears. 

Another  man  of  the  name  distinguished  himself  in  the 
same  war,  and  is  worthy  of  mention  in  a  record  such 
as  this.    He  was  a  native  of  Bantry,  and  as  brave  a  man 

is  always  spelled  "Osulevan  ;"  but  that  work  is  no  authority 
as  regards  die  orthography  of  the  names  of  Irish  persons  or 
places.  O'Rourke,  for  instance,  is  written  "  Orwrke,"  O'Daly, 
"  Odalie,"  and  so  on.  Its  copies  of  letters,  apparently  authentic, 
from  the  chieftain  of  Dunboy  to  the  King  of  Spain,  would  indi- 
cate that  his  own  spelling  of  his  name  was  O'Sulevan.  A  fac- 
simile of  his  signature  which  I  have  seen  gives  the  spelling  as 
O'Sulyvan  ;  but  the  pronunciation  in  all  cases  is  the  same. 


THE    O' SULLIVAN    SEPT  63 

— to  say  the  least  of  it — as  any  of  the  admirals.  An 
interesting  sketch  of  his  career,  from  the  pen  of  a  fellow- 
countryman  and  friend,  Mr.  Michael  P.  Barry,  appeared 
in  The  Catholic  Fireside  (Liverpool),  in  October,  1S80, 
from  which  I  take  the  following  passages  : — 

Most  visitors  to  the  great  naval  dockyard  at  Portsmouth, 
while  being  shown  the  many  objects  of  interest,  have  their 
attention  drawn  by  the  attendant  policeman  to  a  tall  well-built 
man,  with  a  typical  Irish  face,  who  in  all  weathers  is  to  be  seen 
modestly  and  unostentatiously  performing  his  arduous  duties. 
This  is  Mr.  John  Sullivan,  V.C.,  chief  boatswain  of  the  yard,  a 
hero  whose  gallant  breast  has  been  decorated  with  the  most 
coveted  decorations  of  England  and  France. 

Those  acquainted  with  the  district  (Bantry)  may  remember 
the  old  house  at  the  foot  of  Ardnabrahair,  on  the  left  of  the 
"  boreen  "  leading  to  the  graveyard.  Here,  in  April,  183 1,  John 
Sullivan  was  born  in  the  home  of  his  fathers.  As  he  grew  in  years 
he  attended  a  school  in  the  neighbourhood  presided  over  by 
an  estimable  lady,  whose  son,  "  Sandy "  Sullivan  (afterwards 
A.  M.  Sullivan,  M.P.),  was  his  school-fellow  and  friend.  Little 
thought  those  two  boys  as  they  conned  their  lessons,  wrote  their 
copies,  or  alternately  fought  and  revelled  in  their  hot  youth  that 
one  would  live  to  be  the  learned  and  eloquent  Member  for 
Meath,  and  the  other  to  wear  the  most  coveted  military  decora- 
tions on  his  breast.  .  .  . 

On  the  declaration  of  war  against  Russia  in  1854  John  Sullivan 
was  a  chief  petty  officer — boatswain's  mate — on  board  H.M.S. 
Rodney,  which  was  at  once  ordered  to  the  Black  Sea,  with  other 
"  wooden  walls,"  to  commence  operations.  A  naval  brigade  for 
duty  on  shore  was  organised,  composed  of  picked  men,  and  in 
this  brigade  our  boatswain's  mate  was  present  at  the  Battle  of 
Inkermann.  After  this  battle  the  brigade  settled  down  before 
Sebastopol,  and  the  siege  began  in  right  good  earnest.  Young 
Sullivan  was  "  captain  "  of  one  of  the  guns  in  No.  5  Battery,  and 
on  him  devolved  the  honour  of  making  the  first  breach  in  the 
Malakoff  Tower,  and  blowing  up  its  magazine  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  siege.  From  this  achievement  he  won  distinction 
as  a  crack  shot,  and  his  fame  reached  even  to  the  ears  of  the 
Admiral  and  the  Commander-in-chief,  Lord  Raglan.  Admirals 
Lyons,  Stewart,  and  Boxer,  attracted  by  his  reputation,  went 
to  No.  5  Battery  to  see  the  young  Irishman's  practice  against  the 


64  BANTRY,    BEREHAVEN    AND 

enemy,  and  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  him  dismount  one  of 
the  heavy  guns  in  the  Russian  redoubt,  that  being  the  third  gun 
his  battery  had  that  day  disabled.  .  .  . 

On  the  morning  of  the  ioth  of  April,  1855,  a  concealed  Russian 
battery  suddenly  opened  fire  on  the  advanced  works  of  the  allied 
forces,  and  in  a  short  time  did  terrible  execution.  The  allies  were 
dismayed.  Their  gunners  could  take  no  aim  at  this  hidden  foe.. 
whose  missiles  were  decimating  their  men  and  destroying  then 
batteries.  What  was  to  be  done  ?  Some  guide  must  be  given 
to  direct  the  answering  fire.  Suddenly  a  volunteer  is  called  for 
to  plant  a  flagstaff  on  a  small  mound  midway  between  the 
opposing  batteries.  But  who  will  risk  it  ?  A  deathly  silence 
ensues,  broken  only  by  the  terrible  boom  of  those  unerring  guns, 
and  the  moans,  the  shrieks,  and  groans  of  wounded  and  dying. 
A  few  seconds,  which  seem  an  age,  pass,  and  then  out  steps  the 
young  Corkman  and  volunteers  for  the  awful  mission.  He  takes 
the  flag,  and,  leaping  the  breastwork,  runs  steadily  towards  the 
mound,  exposed  the  while  to  a  galling  fire  from  the  Russian 
sharpshooters.  "  When  he  gained  the  mound,"  says  an  eye 
witness,  "  he  was  cool  and  collected  enough  to  take  observations 
right  and  left  to  satisfy  himself  that  he  was  in  an  exact 
line  between  the  Russian  battery  and  the  British  guns.  Then, 
kneeling  down,  he  scraped  with  his  hands  a  hole  for  the  flagstaff, 
and  made  it  secure  with  stones  and  clods  of  earth  he  collected 
there.  He  then  returned  to  the  battery,  miraculously  unhurt^ 
to  receive  the  applause  and  congratulations  his  heroism  deserved. 

The  writer  proceeds  to  relate  some  other  brilliant 
actions  of  Sullivan  during  the  siege,  including  one 
whereby  the  soldiers  of  one  of  the  French  posts  were 
saved  from  almost  certain  annihilation,  and  he  thus 
continues  : — 

The  French  were  so  grateful  for  this  timely  assistance  that 
hundreds  of  them  came  to  see  their  rescuer  and  to  shake  his  hand. 
...  At  the  conclusion  of  the  war  Commander  Kennedy,  of  the 
Naval  Brigade,  recommended  Sullivan  for  the  Victoria  Cross. 
This  decoration  "  for  valor  "  was  conferred  on  him  on  the  25th 
of  July,  1857.  On  the  16th  of  June  in  the  previous  year  the 
Emperor  of  the  French  had  created  him  a  Knight  of  the  Legion 
of  Honour  for  his  services  to  the  French.  In  addition  to  these 
honours,  so  gallantly  won,  our  hero  received  a  medal  for  con- 
spicuous gallantry,  the  Sardinian  medal,  the  Turkish  medal,  and 
the  Crimean  medal,  with  clasps  for  Inkermann  and  Sebastopoi 


THE    O' SULLIVAN    SEPT  65 

He  was  also  the  recipient  of  the  silver  medal  of  the 
Royal  Humane  Society  for  saving,  by  swimming,  the 
life  of  a  drowning  man,  in  the  night  time,  in  a  sea 
infested  with  sharks.  The  memoir  from  which  I  have 
quoted  thus  concludes  : — 

With  all  his  honours  he  remains  a  simple,  straightforward 
civil  man  ;  one  to  whom  all  are  instinctively  drawn  by  a  naive 
artlesness  and  geniality,  and  an  uncommon  amount  of  common 
sense.  Long  may  he  live  to  wear  his  laurels  and  to  gladden  his 
admiring  friends* 

I  am  not  aware  whether  this  brave  son  of  old  Bantry 
is  still  living,  or  whether  he  has  passed  to  that  better 
land  where  Victoria  Crosses  are  of  no  account. 


Many  members  of  the  O'Sullivan  stock  have  been 
notable  otherwise  than  as  soldiers  and  sailors.  In  the 
domains  of  law,  literature,  and  art  they  have  given 
distinguished  men  to  their  country.  Don  Philip,  the 
historian  and  controversial  writer,  has  been  previously 
mentioned ;  it  would  be  unpardonable  to  omit  the 
names  of  the  Gaelic  poets,  Owen  Roe  O'Sullivan,  born 
in  Kerry,  in  or  about  the  year  1748,  and  Tadhg  Gaolach 
(Irish  Thade)  O'Sullivan,  a  native  of  Cork  County,  born 
somewhat  about  the  same  time.  No  sweeter  lyrics  than 
those  of  the  first-mentioned  bard  were  ever  penned  in 
the  melodious  Irish  tongue.  For  a  due  appreciation  of 
the  poetry  of  Owen  Roe  I  would  refer  the  reader  to 
the  critical  study  by  the  Rev.  Patrick  O'Dinneen,  pre- 
fixed to  his  admirable  edition  of  the  poet's  works.  I 
quote  from  it  but  a  few  sentences  : — 

Our  poet  has  solved  the  problem  of  the  connection  between 
words  and  melody  more  successful^  than  it  has  ever  been  solved 
before  ;  and  in  this  respect  he  has  no  rival  in  literature,  ancient 
or  modern.  ...  As  a  lyric  poet  he  stands  in  the  first  rank.  His 
pathos  is  unsurpassed.  He  seizes  on  the  most  tangled  and 
difficult    metrical    system    and    builds   his  poem  on  it  as  if  he 

F 


66  BANTRY,    BEREHAVEN    AND 

were  writing  prose.  His  ear  is  perfect.  There  is  never  a  flaw 
in  his  metre.  .  .  .  Eoghan  Ruad  is  entitled  to  a  supremacy  in 
Irish  literature  from  which  he  cannot  be  dislodged.  Lyric  poetry 
never  flowed  with  such  life  and  motion  as  from  his  pen.  The 
characteristic  vehemence  of  the  Irish  Celt — his  enthusiasm,  his 
warmth  of  nature,  his  tenderness  of  heart — have  in  his  songs 
found  their  highest  expression. 

Owen  was  for  some  time  a  soldier-sailor  on  board  an 
English  warship,  and  fought  in  the  engagement  between 
the  fleet  under  Lord  Rodney  and  that  commanded  by 
the  French  admiral,  De  Grasse,  off  the  coast  of  Dominica, 
in  the  West  Indies.  He  even  wrote  a  poem  in  honour 
of  Rodney's  victory,  but  it  was  a  poor  thing,  being  in 
the  English  tongue,  of  which  he  was  not  a  master.  When 
asked  what  token  of  approbation  he  would  like  to  receive 
from  the  commander,  he  replied  that  what  he  wished 
was  to  be  allowed  to  return  home — a  wish  that  was  not 
granted  to  him.  He  was  an  Irishman  all  through,  a  lover 
of  his  country,  a  sympathiser  with  his  suffering  race. 
His  entry  into  his  majesty's  service  was  not  a  deliberate 
act — it  was  really  more  a  matter  of  accident  than  of 
design.  When  he  got  clear  of  the  army  and  navy,  he 
devoted  his  bardic  powers  to  singing  the  sorrows,  the 
hopes,  and  the  future  glories  of  his  country.  Owing  to 
the  decline  of  the  Irish  as  a  spoken  language,  the  poems 
of  Owen  Roe  O' Sullivan  are  no  longer  common  know- 
ledge in  their  native  place  ;  but  in  their  time  they 
helped  to  nourish  that  spirit  of  Irish  nationality  which 
has  come  down  unbroken  to  our  days  ;  and  in  view  of 
the  Gaelic  revival,  now  happily  spreading  over  the  land, 
may  we  not  believe  that  before  many  years  shall  have 
passed  away  the  old  speech  will  again  be  heard  and 
the  old  songs  sung  on  the  rugged  soil  of  Bere  and  Bantry, 
on  the  slopes  of  the  Kerry  Mountains,  and  midst  the 
"  lakes  and  fells  "  of  ever  fair  Killarney. 

Tadhg  Gaolach  O'Sullivan  was  not  so  consummate  a 
master  of  the  bardic  art  as  was  his  contemporary  Owen 
Roe.  But  he  was  verily  a  "  poet  born,  not  made."  He,  too, 


THE    O' SULLIVAN    SEPT  67 

gave  to  his  people  a  body  of  compositions  which  should 
not  be  allowed  to  die.  Some  of  his  youthful  effusions 
were  not  of  an  edifying  character  ;  he  was  fond  of  an 
idle  and  roystering  life,  and  he  put  the  spirit  of  it  into 
some  of  his  verses:;  but  that  phase  passed  ;  he  became 
a  man  of  profound  and  sincere  piety.  It  is  related  that 
his  "  conversion  "  came  about  in  this  way  : — He  and  a 
party  of  young  companions  were  playing  cards  one 
Sunday  in  the  neighbourhood  of  their  parish  church 
when  they  should  have  been  at  Mass.  As  soon  as  the 
service  was  over,  the  good  P.P.  hastened  to  the  place, 
routed  the  boys,  and  gave  Tadhg  a  lecture  that  made  a 
deep  impression  on  his  mind.  From  that  day  forward, 
with  an  awakened  conscience,  he  "  turned  over  a  new 
leaf."  He  made  his  poetry  a  vehicle  for  prayer  and 
adoration,  for  the  inculcation  of  virtue  and  the  advocacy 
of  pious  practices.  His  devotional  poems  became 
immensely  popular  throughout  Munster.  Often  were 
they  repeated  by  workmen  in  the  fields,  by  fishers  in 
their  boats  at  sea,  around  their  hearths  at  night  by 
peasant  families.,  who  loved  them  next  to  the  Rosary  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin. 

Of  this  honoured  bard,  who  died  while  at  his  devotions 
in  Waterford  Cathedral,  in  April,  1795,  Father  O'Dinneen 
has  written : — "  Tadhg  Gaolach  is  undoubtedly  the 
first  of  Irish  religious  poets,  and  whatever  place  may  be 
assigned  him  among  the  poets  of  the  world  who  chose 
devotional  subjects  for  poetic  treatment,  it  is  certain 
that  no  history  of  religious  poetry  would  be  complete 
without  an  account  of  his  works.'' 


M 


68  BANTRY,   BEREHAVEN   AND 


CHAPTER    XI. 

IN  proceeding  to  give  a  brief  sketch  of  the  condition 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  O'Sullivan  territory 
in  Cork  and  Kerry  in  our  own  time,  it  becomes 
necessary  that  I  refer  once  again  to  the  periods 
of  the  three  great  confiscations — the  Elizabethan, 
the  Cromwellian,  and  the  Williamite.  For  some  years 
after  the  death  of  Elizabeth  there  was  little  doing 
in  those  regions.  The  country  had  been  devastated  ; 
the  old  chiefs  were  gone  ;  the  Gaelic  tribal  and  social 
order  was  in  ruins,  and  the  foreign  grabbers  had  not 
yet  settled  down  securely  on  the  lands.  But  ere  her 
majesty  passed  away  she  had  made  large  grants 
of  the  despoiled  and  almost  depopulated  country  to 
certain  of  her  servants,  flatterers,  and  favourites, 
civil  and  military ;  and  thus  it  was  that  rapacious 
Englishmen  came  into  possession  of  great  tracts  oi 
the  lands  of  the  O'Sullivans,  O'Driscolls,  MacSwineys, 
O'Donoghues,  and  other  native  families  in  Cork  and 
Kerry. 

It  was  not  till  some  years  later,  after  the  Cromwellian 
tornado  had  swept  over  the  country,  that  the  most 
voracious  land-shark  of  his  time — an  English  apothecary 
named  Petty — managed  to  make  himself  the  legal 
owner  of  an  immense  expanse  of  country  on  the  Kerry 
side  of  the  Berehaven  mountains.  Petty  was  a  man 
of  remarkable  ability,  the  possessor  of  varied  talents ; 
in  character  cunning,  covetous,  ambitious  and  un- 
scrupulous. He  saw  in  the  welter  of  Irish  affairs 
a  grand  opportunity  for  advancing  his  fortunes,  and 
he  made  skilful  use  of  it.      In  1652  he  was   physician 


THE    O'SULLIVAN    SEPT  69 

to  the  army  in  Ireland  ;  (he  had  obtained  the  degree 
of  M.D.  in  1649,  and  was  then,  according  to  his  own 
account,  the  proud  possessor  of  £60  in  the  world)  ; 
his  medical  practice  added  to  his  income ;  then  he 
got  other  employments,  one  of  his  posts  being  that 
of  secretary  to  Henry  Cromwell,  Lord-Lieutenant 
of  Ireland.  But  his  great  work — great  for  its  magnitude, 
its  importance,  and  its  effects  on  his  own  fortune — 
was  that  known  as  the  "  Down  Survey  " — a  survey, 
admeasurement,  and  mapping  down  of  the  lands 
confiscated  in  consequence  of  the  "  Rebellion "  of 
1 641.  For  the  execution  of  this  work  Petty  was 
rewarded  with  large  grants  of  land  ;  but  it  was  alleged 
against  him — probably  by  grabbers  less  lucky  or  clever 
than  himself — that  he  had  so  juggled  with  his  maps, 
plans  and  figures  as  to  secure  to  himself  greater  ad- 
vantages both  in  the  way  of  acreage  and  of  cash  than 
he  was  entitled  to.  One  Colonel  Sir  Jerome  Sankey 
formulated  against  him  an  indictment  of  no  fewer 
than  nine  articles,  in  which  he  was  accused  of  "  High 
Misdemeanours,  Breaches  of  Trust,  and  severall  other 
Crimes."  Sankey  appears  to  have  done  his  best  to 
bring  this  impeachment  to  trial  before  the  Council ; 
but,  even  in  our  own  day,  "  the  law's  delay  " — especially 
in  a  case  of  any  magnitude — is  proverbial ;  and  some- 
how the  Sankey  case  would  seem  to  have  fizzled  out — 
probably  from  want  of  means  to  prosecute  the  suit. 
The  upshot  of  the  whole  matter  was  that  Petty  became 
the  legal  owner  of  a  princely  domain  in  one  of  the 
most  picturesque  and  historically  interesting  parts  of 
Ireland.  Standing  on  the  top  of  the  majestic  Mangerton 
mountain,  if  he  could  not  say  "  I  am  monarch  of  all 
I  survey  "  he  could  at  all  events  proudly  feel  that  by 
the  exercise  of  his  wits  he  had  made  himself  lord  of 
an  extensive  territory,  beautiful  beyond  all  description 
and  bound  to  be  very  profitable  in  the  coming  years. 
"I  am  not  certain,"   wrote  Mr.  Francis  Prendergast 


70  BAN  TRY,    BEREHAVEN    AND 

(brother  of  the  historian  John  P.),  in  the  Nation  news- 
paper, "  that  even  in  our  own  days  of  rapid  acquisition 
of  wealth,  anyone  has  exceeded  the  Hampshire  apothe- 
cary of  the  16th  century,  who,  from  being  the  owner  of 
no  more  than  sixty  pounds  sterling,  found  himself  in  less 
than  seven  years  the  proprietor  in  fee  of  all  he  could 
view  from  the  summit  of  Mangerton."  This  notable 
man  carried  on  his  career  of  success  to  the  end  of  his 
life.  In  the  reign  of  Charles  II.  he  was  made  Surveyor 
General  of  Ireland,  and  received  from  that  monarch 
"  the  honour  of  knighthood."  Additional  honours  and 
titles  were  acquired  by  his  posterity.  John,  1st  Earl 
of  Shelbourne,  succeeded  to  the  Petty  estates  on  the 
death  of  his  maternal  uncle  in  175 1,  and  William,  the 
second  of  that  title,  became  the  first  Marquess  of 
Lansdowne. 

A  curious  fortune  befel  the  maps  of  Petty's  Down 
Survey.  Some  of  them  were  consumed  in  a  fire  which 
took  place  in  a  Government  office  in  Dublin  ;  others 
were  shipped  in  a  Government  vessel  for  London,  there 
to  be  engraved.  But  in  those  days  there  were  special 
risks  upon  the  sea,  for,  France  and  England  being  at 
war,  French  privateers  were  doing  a  lively  business 
around  the  coasts  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland.  One 
of  those  craft  fell  in  with  the  ship  that  carried  Petty's 
maps,  attacked  and  captured  her,  and  took  her  off  to 
the  French  port  of  St.  Malo. 

Probably  the  French  Government  were  glad  to  get 
hold  of  Petty's  maps ;  they  gave  them  a  place  in  the 
Royal  Library,  but  there  they  were  so  badly  shelved 
and  so  little  regarded  that  in  a  few  years  the  librarians 
had  lost  all  knowledge  of  them.  Meantime,  English 
officials  who  knew  their  importance  as  documentary 
evidence  in  relation  to  Irish  landed  property,  were 
questing  for  them  in  every  direction.  How  they  were 
discovered  is  thus  told  in  an  official  letter,  bearing 
date  Jan.  27th,  1786,   from  Colonel   Charles  Vallancey 


THE    0>  SULLIVAN    SEPT  71 

to  the  Duke    of    Rutland,    then    Lord    Lieutenant    of 
Ireland. 

Many  fruitless  searches  have  been  made  to  recover  these 
Surveys.  Lord  Harcourt  made  every  enquiry  possible  for  them 
in  France. ;  Lord  Shelborn  did  the  same  ;  the  Catalogues  of  the 
French  Libraries  were  turned  to  in  vain  ;  no  such  maps  appearing 
in  the  Catalogues  under  the  words  Cartes  or  MSS.,  the  librarians 
never  gave  themselves  further  trouble.  I  have  experienced 
the  same  both  at  Oxford  and  Cambridge. 

My  pursuits  this  day  in  the  French  King's  Catalogue  were 
for  old  copies  of  the  Bible,  and  consequently  turned  to  the 
volume  entitled  "  Theology,"  curious  to  know  in  what  manner 
the  collection  was  made.  I  perused  the  Preface,  and  to  my 
great  astonishment  at  page  50  found  the  enclosed  account  of 
the  original  Survey  of  Ireland,  by  Sir  William  Petty,  on  the 
large  scale,  and  I  suppose  complete. 

Colonel  Vallancey  goes  on  to  say  that  if  the  French 
Government  would  not  consent  to  restore  those  maps  to 
the  English  he  believed  that  permission  to  make  copies 
of  them  would  be  granted  on  the  application  of  a  British 
minister  to  the  French  Ambassador. 

The  permission  was  asked  for  and  accorded.  Val- 
lancey made  the  copies  ;  in  recent  years  the  British 
Government  got  them  engraved,  printed  and  published, 
and  they  are  now  on  sale  to  the  public  at  a  moderate 
price.  The  map  of  the  Baronies  of  Beare  and  Bantry 
included  in  the  appendix  to  this  work  is  copied  from  one 
of  them,  but  on  a  reduced  scale.  The  size  of  the  original 
is  2  ft.  8  by  1  ft.  4J  ins. 

The  present  representative  of  the  Petty  family  is 
Henry  Charles  Keith  Fitzmaurice,  fifth  Marquess  of 
Lansdowne,  and  bearer  of  many  other  titles,  who  has 
held  various  high  offices  under  the  Crown.  All  his 
predecessors  in  title  were — as  far  as  Ireland  is  concerned 
— absentee  landlords,  and  his  lordship  carries  on  the 
tradition.  In  the  period  of  the  Great  Famine — 1847-49 
— and  many  of  the  subsequent  years,  the  management 
of  the  Lansdowne  property  in  Kerry  was  such  as  to 


72  BANTRY,    BEREHAVEN    AND 

make  its  name  notorious  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.     For 
this  it  is  not  easy  to  say  whether  the  chief  responsibility 
rested  on  the   "  noble  marquess  "   of  that  time — the 
fourth   in    succession — or   on   his   agent,    Mr.    William 
Stewart  Trench.     The  latter,  I  should  think,  was  the 
inventor  of  the  depopulating  policy  then  carried  out  on 
the  estate,  but  if  so,  the  former  was  the  assentor  to  it 
without   whose   sanction   the   scheme   could   not   have 
been  worked.     Their  plan  was  to  deport  to  America 
hundreds  of  their  starving  tenantry,  and  then  to  enforce 
on  the  estate  such  rules  and  regulations  as  would  prevent 
the  re-growth  of   what   they  regarded   as   a   "  surplus 
population "   on  the  property.     This  proceeding  they 
represented   as   a   benevolent    and   generous   mode   of 
dealing    with    these    poor    creatures.     In    reality    the 
scheme  had  its  economic  and  sordid  side.     At  home 
those   destitute   and  enfeebled  persons  would  become 
entitled  to  relief  under  the  poor  law ;    food,  clothing 
and  medical  treatment  would  have  to  be  provided  for 
them  ;    when  they  would  die,  the  cost  of  their  burial 
would  have  to  be  defrayed    by  the  union.     In  other 
words,  the  charges  for  all  these  things  would  fall  on 
the  noble  landlord  and  such  of  his  tenants  as  were  not 
yet   pauperised — thereby  weakening   their  rent-paying 
capacity.     Obviously  it  would  be  cheaper  for  his  lord- 
ship to  pay  the  passage  money  for  some  hundreds  of 
those  undesirables,  dump  them  on  the  shores  of  America, 
and  so  clear  his  estate  of  them  for  ever.     A  painfully 
significant  circumstance  was  that  so  numerous  became 
the  admissions  of  exiles  from  his  lordship's  property  to 
one  of  the  New  York  hospitals  that  a  ward  in  the  build- 
ing came  to  be  popularly  known  as  "  The  Lansdowne 
Ward." 

For  such  of  the  tenantry  as  were  able  still  to  keep  a 
hold  upon  their  lands,  Trench  formulated  a  set  of 
"  Rules  of  the  Estate,"  subjecting  them  to  a  despotism 
unparalleled  in  the  dominions  of  Czar  or  Sultan.     His 


THE    O' SULLIVAN    SEPT  73 

great  object — next  to  the  getting  in  of  a  stiff  rent — 
was  to  prevent  the  dwelling  of  what  he  regarded  as  too 
great  a  number  of  persons  on  the  estate.  With  this 
view  he  forbade  the  heads  of  families  to  make  arrange- 
ments whereby  any  of  their  younger  members  might — 
even  without  any  sub-letting — get  a  share  of  their  farms 
or  dwelling-houses ;  he  exercised  a  strict  surveillance 
over  marriages  :  to  marry  without  his  permission  in- 
volved being  speedily  turned  off  the  property  ;  and  it 
was  perilous  for  a  tenant  to  harbour,  even  for  a  day  or 
two,  any  friend,  but  especially  any  relative  of  his 
family  ;  a  smart  fine  was  the  lightest  penalty  for  such 
offending. 

An  appeal  to  Dublin  Castle  against  these  exactions 
was  at  one  time  made  on  behalf  of  the  tenantry  ;  the 
reply  of  the  Lords  Justices,  sent  by  Sir  Thomas  Larcom, 
on  the  29th  of  December,  1857,  was  to  the  effect  that 
they  saw  no  grounds  for  interference,  inasmuch  as  Mr. 
Trench  in  these  cases  did  not  act  in  a  magisterial 
capacity,  "  the  arrangements  in  question  being  part  of 
the  private  regulation  of  the  estate."  So  there  was  no 
redress  to  be  had  from  that  quarter. 

Several  illustrative  instances  are  recorded  in  the 
newspapers  of  the  time.  Thus  the  special  reporter  of 
the  Cork  Examiner,  writing  from  Kenmare  on  De- 
cember 30th,  1857,  "tells  °*  fne  daughter  and  the  son 
of  two  tenants  who,  wishing  to  become  united  in 
matrimony,  eloped  from  their  parents'  homes — probably 
with  the  intention  of  saving  the  old  people  from  any 
responsibility  for  their  union — and  got  married  in 
another  part  of  the  country.  The  correspondent 
says : — 

The  "  happy  pair  "  returned  to  the  house  of  the  bridegroom's 
father,  and  remained  there  until  the  circumstances  came  to  the 
ears  of  his  lordship's  driver.  A  warning  was  at  once  given  to 
the  tenant  that  the  young  people  should  remain  with  him  no 
longer,  and  he  was  accordingly  compelled  to  drive  his  son  and 


74  BANTRY,    BEREHAVEN    AND 

his  son's  wife  out  the  doors,  to  get  a  shelter  wherever  they 
could.  This  they  sought  in  the  house  of  the  girl's  father,  and 
for  a  few  days  obtained  it,  until  the  terrible  "  warning  "  again 
came,  and  again  the  unfortunate  pair  had  to  tramp.  I  believe 
they  eventually  made  their  way  to  America,  where  the  young 
man  since  died.  But  the  two  fathers-in-law  were  not  merely 
warned  ;  they  were  punished  for  harbouring  their  son  and 
daughter,  by  a  fine  of  a  gale  of  rent. 

This  was  but  a  specimen  case ;  there  were  many 
others  reported  at  the  time ;  they  were  not  contra- 
dicted ;  they  could  not  be  denied.  The  special  corres- 
pondent already  quoted  says  in  another  letter  that  in  a 
conversation  he  had  with  a  number  of  the  tenants,  one 
poor  fellow  dolefully  said  :  "I  gave  a  month's  lodgings 
to  my  brother-in-law,  and  I  was  fined  two  gales  for  it." 
Another  was  punished  for  having  given  housing  to  a 
labourer  on  his  farm.  Such  was  the  landlordism  of 
the  Petty-Shelburne-Lansdowne-Fitzmaurice  family  on 
the  splendid  domains  they  had  acquired  so  easily  ;  such 
was  their  treatment  of  the  plundered  remnant  of  the 
native  race  whose  fathers  had  owned,  lived  and  prospered 
on  those  lands  for  centuries  before  the  foreign  spoilers 
came  upon  them. 

A  series  of  letters  published  in  the  Dublin  Nation, 
from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Edmund  Fitzmaurice  Donnelly,  of 
Kenmare,  in  the  winter  of  1857  and  the  early  months 
of  the  following  year,  first  drew  the  attention  of  the 
whole  country  to  this  scandalous  state  of  things.  Amaze- 
ment and  indignation  filled  the  popular  mind.  The 
Nation  set  to  work  courageously  to  expose  and  denounce 
the  audacious  pretensions  and  proceedings  of  this 
Bashaw  Trench,  and  the  Cork  Examiner  rendered 
splendid  service  by  sending  a  special  correspondent  to 
report  on  the  situation.  The  facts  thus  placed  before 
the  public  would  now  seem  almost  incredible.  I  doubt 
not  that  the  following  excerpts  from  the  evidence  will 
be  found  interesting. 


THE  O' SULLIVAN    SEPT  76 

From  a  letter  of  Mr.  Donnelly's  to  the  Nation  of 
December  12th,  1857,  I  ta^e  the  following  passages : — 

Why  should  the  poor  tenant  do  more  than  barely  sow  and 
reap  ?  Why  should  he  fence,  drain,  irrigate,  and  cultivate  his 
master's  farm  ?  Why  should  he  work  the  very  flesh  off  his 
bones  and  the  very  blood  out  of  his  veins  in  improving  a  farm 
of  which  he  would  be  deprived  if  he  dared  to  give  his  son  or 
daughter  in  holy  wedlock  without  leave  from  the  lay  "  Vicar- 
General,"  alias  Mr.  Trench  ?  Perhaps  you  will  laugh  at  this 
ludicrous  title — you  would  perhaps  also  laugh  if  you  were  to 
see  a  poor  "  glinster  "  all  the  way  (fifteen  miles  from  Colerns 
or  Glenmore)  running  np  to  the  lodge  to  catch  his  "  reverence  " 
before  he  would  leave  home,  to  get  his  permission  to  marry. 
And  its  the  "  V.-G.'s"  (Trench's)  trick  to  leave  here  just  at  the 
critical  time,  or  not  to  come  here  until  the  last  fortnight  or 
so  of  Shrovetide.  What  was  the  poor  glinster  to  do  then  ? 
Why  I  should  say  he  was  at  liberty  to  adopt  either  of  three  courses 
— marry  without  Mr.  Trench's  leave  and  get  "mopped  out"; 
wait  until  he  could  catch  Mr.  Trench  in  the  course  of  a  half 
year  or  so  ;  or — no,  sir,  I  need  not  say  it.  Please  God,  Irishmen 
or  Irishwomen  will  never  adopt  the  fashion  of  certain  neighbouring 
countries,  that  of  "  living  together  "  as  the  police  reports  in 
the  English  papers  phrase  it. 

For  any  violation  of  the  "  Rules  of  the  Estate " 
heavy  penalties  were  inflicted.  As  regards  Trench's 
marriage  laws,  we  read  in  one  of  the  letters  of  the  Cork 
Examiner's  special  reporter  (John  Francis  Maguire, 
M.P.) : 

A  poor  widow,  whose  cabin  I  entered,  had  the  temerity  to 
get  her  daughter  married  without  the  necessary  permission 
from  the  "  office,"  and  an  ejectment  was  the  immediate  con- 
sequence, withdrawn  only  on  the  payment  of  three  gales  of 
rent,  raised  by  the  sacrifice  of  the  little  produce  at  her  disposal. 
.  .  .  One  man  of  whom  I  made  an  enquiry  as  to  how  he 
had  escaped,  told  me,  with  the  utmost  simplicity,  that  he  had 
got  his  wife  "   just  before  Mr.  Trench's  laws  came   into  force." 

It  is  only  a  wonder  that  this  great  law  maker  did  not  go 
on  a  little  further  and  prescribe  a  limit  to  the  number  of 
children  that  he  would  allow  to  be  born  into  each  family. 


76  BANTRY,    BEREHAVEN   AND 

At  and  about  this  period  Irish  landlordism  had 
reached  what  was  perhaps  its  highest  pitch  of  rapacity 
and  cruelty.  It  was  legalised  tyranny,  robbery  and 
murder.  In  some  parts  of  the  country — in  Mayo  and 
Donegal,  for  instance — its  work  was  carried  on  more 
brutally  than  in  Cork  and  Kerry — that  is  to  say,  with 
less  affectation  of  rectitude  and  of  regard  for  high 
social  and  moral  considerations.  In  later  years,  when 
some  awakening  of  the  public  conscience  to  the  iniquity 
of  this  system  and  the  impolicy  of  allowing  it  to  go  on 
unchecked  took  place  in  England,  the  doings  of  the 
Lansdowne  estate  supplied  to  tenant-righters,  popular 
orators,  and  liberal-minded  statesmen  some  of  their 
most  piquant  illustrations  of  the  urgent  need  for  a 
large  measure  of  land-law  reform.  A  young  Irish 
lawyer,  Mr.  Charles  Russell,  Q.C.,  M.P.  (afterwards  Lord 
Killowen  and  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  England),  visited 
the  place  when  engaged  in  the  writing  of  a  series  of 
articles  entitled  "  New  Views  on  Ireland ;  or,  Irish 
Land  Grievances  and  Remedies  "  (published  in  book 
form  by  Macmillan  in  1880),  and  gave  an  account  of 
what  he  had  seen  and  heard,  in  language  unimpassioned, 
but  all  the  more  weighty  because  of  its  obviously  scrupu- 
lous regard  for  the  verities  of  the  case.  The  publication 
drew  from  Lord  Edmond  Fitzmaurice,  brother  of  the 
noble  Marquess,  a  letter  in  which  an  endeavour  was 
made  to  contradict  and  discredit  the  statements  of  Mr. 
Russell.  Lord  Edmond  disliked  especially  the  recru- 
descence of  the  story  of  the  "  Lansdowne  Ward,"  and 
appeared  to  think  he  had  disposed  of  it  when  he  wrote 
that  it  was  "  an  old  calumny,"  and  that  a  friend  of  his 
whom  he  had  asked  to  look  into  this  matter  during  a 
visit  to  New  York,  had  told  him  on  his  return  that 
"  he  believed  the  whole  story  was  an  impudent  in- 
vention got  up  by  Irish  politicians  for  their  own  pur- 
poses." But  the  incredulity  of  Lord  Edmond's  friend 
was  no  disproof  of  the  statement,  and  evidence  of  its 


THE  O' SULLIVAN    SEPT  77 

truth  was  soon  forthcoming  in  the  following  letter  from 
a  gentleman  who  had  seen  the  controversy  in  the  Press, 
and  who  had  personal  knowledge  of  the  matter  in 
dispute : — 

3  3  Curzon  Street, 

South  Circular  Road,  Dublin. 
Nov.  20,  1880. 

Dear  Sir. — The  information  that  Lord  Edmond  Fitzmaurice 
received  from  his  charitable  "  friend  "  as  to  the  non-existence 
(at  present)  of  the  Landsowne  Ward  in  New  York  Hospital  is 
quite  correct.  The  New  York  Hospital  stood  in  Duane  Street, 
and  was  pulled  down  to  make  room  for  an  extensive  dry  goods 
house  twelve  years  ago.  But  this  much  I  can  assert  from 
personal  knowledge,  that  there  was  sl  ward  known  by  the 
name  of  the  Lansdowne  in  the  hospital,  which  was  as  well 
known  to  New  Yorkers  as  Lansdowne  Road  is  to  Dubliners 
to-day,  If  you  think  this  communication  of  any  value  you 
may  publish  it. 

Eugene  O'Connell. 

P.S. — I  may  add  that  I  am  a  New  Yorker  by  birth,  and  any 
old  resident  of  there  can  bear  out  my  statement. 

Before  I  part  with  the  "  noble  Marquess  "  and  his 
agent  it  is  only  fair  to  say  that  in  the  opinion  of  the 
local  people  and  of  persons  who  went  to  the  district  to 
investigate  and  report  on  the  facts,  the  blame  for  this 
unhappy  state  of  things  lay  not  so  much  with  the 
Marquess  as  with  his  trusted  manager  and  adviser,  Mr. 
Trench.  It  was  pointed  out  that  the  Marquess  was 
an  old  man,  an  absentee  who  never  saw  his  tenants,  and 
took  no  personal  part  in  the  management  of  his  property, 
and  who  therefore  had  to  depend  upon  others  for  his 
ideas  of  the  situation  and  the  part  he  should  play  therein. 
But  such  a  plea  could  not  exonerate  him  from  a  fearful 
responsibility  in  this  matter.  It  was  his  business  in 
such  a  crisis  to  visit  his  property,  see  and  speak  to  his 
tenants,  consult  with  their  friends  lay,  and  clerical,  and 
consider  with  them  what  had  best  be  done  under  the 
terrible   circumstances.     Instead   of   so   doing,    he   re- 


78  BANTRY,    BEREHAVEN   AND 

mained  away  in  his  English  home,  took  no  heed  of  the 
clamour  that  arose  in  Cork  and  Kerry,  and  contented 
himself  with  sending  to  his  agent  a  considerable  sum  of 
money  for  the  expatriation  of  the  half  famished  and 
broken  down  people  to  America. 

The  Petty  family  are  still  in  possession  of  the  spoils 
they  got  hold  of  in  the  Cromwellian  period.  Sir  William, 
the  father  of  the  tribe,  died  in  1687  ;  his  widow,  in 
consideration  of  his  services  to  the  State,  was  created 
Baroness  Shelbourne  for  life.  Their  eldest  son,  Charles, 
died  in  1696,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  brother  Henry, 
who  obtained  the  title  of  Earl  of  Shelbourne.  On  his 
death  in  1752  the  title  lapsed,  but  only  to  be  revived 
after  a  short  interval.  Henry  had  willed  his  estate  to 
his  nephew,  the  Hon.  John  Fitzmaurice,  on  condition 
that  he  should  adopt  the  name  and  bear  the  arms  of 
Petty.  On  his  compliance  therewith  "  his  Majesty  hath 
been  pleased  to  advance  him  to  the  dignities  of  Baron 
of  Dunkerron  and  Viscount  Fitzmaurice  by  privy  seal 
.  .  .  And  his  lordship  hath  been  created  Earl  of  Shel- 
bourne by  privy  seal,  dated  at  Kensington  30th  May, 
and  by  letters  patent  26th  June,  1753." 

The  present  Marquess  of  Lansdowne  (a.d.  1908)  is  the 
fifth  bearer  of  the  title.  Like  his  distinguished  pro- 
genitor, Petty,  he  is  a  very  accomplished  gentleman, 
and  moreover  a  trained  diplomat,  qualified  and  em- 
ployed by  England  to  take  care  of  her  interests  in 
dealings  with  the  sharpest  intellects  of  foreign  nations. 
He  can  buy  his  gloves  in  seven  languages.  The  list  of 
his  titles,  appointments  and  decorations  is  an  affair  of 
"  linked  sweetness  long  drawn  out."  He  has  many  tail- 
feathers  to  his  name.  But  to  Ireland  he  is  "  no  good  "  ; 
he  is  an  opponent  to  her  right  to  self  government ;  he 
is  no  friend  to  popular  interests  at  home  or  abroad, 
and  he  is  no  favourite  with  his  Irish  tenantry. 


THE    O' SULLIVAN    SEPT  79 


CHAPTER    XII. 

THE  landlordism  of  the  White  family,  on  the 
southern  side  of  the  Bera  promontory,  was  of 
a  milder  type  than  that  of  Lord  Lans- 
downe  and  his  man  Trench  on  the  Kerry  side.  The 
Whites  resided  on  their  property.  The  first  Lord 
Bantry— he  of  the  French  fleet  business — was  a  genial 
person,  understood  and  could  speak  some  Irish,  and 
was  not  infrequently  asked  for  advice  by  some  of  his 
tenantry  on  personal  and  even  family  matters.  He 
kept  a  pack  of  hounds  at  Glengarriffe,  and  gave  the  local 
gentry  and  farmers  many  a  day's  sport.  The  tastes  of 
his  son,  the  second  lord,  who  resided  at  Bantry  house, 
were  quite  different ;  he  would  not  mount  a  hunter  for 
any  consideration,  or  even  keep  a  little  yacht  on  the 
bright  waters  of  the  beautiful  harbour  that  lapped  the 
edges  of  his  domain.  But  he  had  a  taste  for  art,  and 
loved  to  decorate  his  house  and  grounds  with  Italian 
paintings  and  statuary.  Their  lands  were  highly  rented, 
but  the  management  of  the  property  was  not  very 
rigorous,  and  there  were  but  few  evictions.  In  the 
time  of  the  third  Lord  Bantry  a  portion  of  the  Bere- 
haven  property  was  put  up  for  sale  in  the  Incumbered 
Estates  Court,  and  purchased  by  an  Englishman,  Lord 
Charles  Pelham  Clinton.  Trouble  arose  out  of  the 
transaction.  Lord  Charles  bought  the  lands  without 
being  made  aware  that  there  existed  arrears  of  rent  on 
the  property,  which  Lord  Bantry  would,  at  his  own 
convenience,  proceed  to  recover  from  Lord  Clinton's 
tenants.  How  Lord  Bantry  managed  to  "  keep  it 
dark,"  and  how  Lord  Clinton  omitted  to  look  to  this 


80  BANTRY,  BEREHAVEN  AND 

question  of  arrears  before  bidding  for  the  property  is 
indeed  surprising,  but  so  it  happened.  The  situation 
and  some  of  the  ensuing  scenes  are  graphically  described 
by  Mr.  John  P.  Prendergast  (Lord  Clinton's  newly- 
appointed  agent)  in  a  letter  of  protest  addressed  to 
Lord  Bantry  and  published  in  pamphlet  form  in  October, 
1854.     I  quote  a  few  passages  : — 

My  Lord. — You  are  already  aware  that  the  business  that 
brought  me  to  Berehaven  was  the  seizing  of  Bere  Island  by 
your  bailiffs  on  the  morning  of  the  8th  September  in  execution 
of  near  200  civil  bill  decrees,  obtained  by  your  lordship  against 
your  late  tenants,  the  islanders,  at  the  Bantry  Quarter  Sessions 
in  January  last,  for  sums  amounting  in  the  whole  to  £1,800, 
found  to  be  due  to  your  lordship  for  rent  and  arrears  of  rent 
to  Michaelmas  Day,  1853. 


It  does  not  concern  your  lordship  to  hear  by  what  accidents 
Lord  Charles  Clinton  was  prevented  from  seeing,  personally 
or  by  deputy,  to  the  condition  of  his  new  purchases,  until  the 
month  of  August  last,  when  his  lordship,  in  company  with  his 
newly  appointed  agent,  visited  them,  and  was  received  by  their 
inhabitants  with  a  warmth  that  indicated  fully  as  much  joy 
at  getting  rid  of  the  old  landlord  as  at  becoming  the  tenants 
of  a  new  one. 

It  was  during  the  hurry  of  this  three  days  visit  that  your 
Lordship  caused  Lord  Charles  Clinton  to  be  informed,  verbally, 
that  you  had  claims  against  the  lately  purchased  properties 
amounting,  roughly,  in  the  case  of  Bere  Island,  to  over  £1,000, 
and  in  the  case  of  the  mainland  estate  to  near  £600 — rather 
a  shock  to  one  who  thought  he  had  bought  free  of  incumbrance 
— but  which  your  lordship  was  good  enough  to  inform  him 
you  would  give  him  time  to  collect  for  you  by  instalments, 
adding,  however,  significantly,  that  if  you  were  not  settled 
with  you  could  break  every  tenant  on  the  island     .     .     . 

On  the  very  day  that  Lord  Clinton  was  leaving  this  country 
for  England — a  short  week  afterwards — he  received  the  news 
that  your  lordship's  bailiffs  were  ravaging  the  island,  driving 
all  the  cows  to  the  pound,  and  threatening  to  carry  off  every- 
thing that  was  not  too  hot  or  too  heavy.     .     .     . 

On  the  night  of  the  9th  of  September  last,  the  second  day 
after  their  descent,  a  large  armed  force  of  police,  summoned 
in  from  the  neighbouring  outposts,  rendezvoused  at  midnight 


THE    O' SULLIVAN   SEPT  81 

at  a  wooded  point  that  juts  into  the  sound,  and  embarked 
hastily  for  the  island.  They  were,  however,  unable  to  overtake 
a  boat  that  started  immediately  to  apprise  the  unfortunate 
islanders  of  the  approach  of  these  ill-timed  visitors.  This 
invading  military  force  reached  the  island  almost  at  the  same 
moment  as  the  friendly  warners,  but  these  last,  being  better 
acquainted  with  the  short  cuts  to  the  hamlet,  had  time  (and 
only  time)  to  summon  the  terrified  inhabitants  from  their  beds, 
when  they,  for  the  most  part  aged  and  respectable  women, 
fled,  half  naked,  up  the  telegraph  hill,  where,  like  a  frightened 
herd,  they  stood  at  gaze  in  the  shadow  of  the  building, 
watching  the  scene  below.  For  seven  days  and  nights  they 
lay  out  on  the  hills,  often  on  the  point  of  giving  in,  through 
aching  bones,  swollen  faces,  and  shivering  limbs. 

One  of  the  skirmishes  which  took  place  in  the  course 
of  the  distraint  of  the  cattle  of  the  poor  tenants  Mr. 
Prendergast  thus  describes  : — 

One,  Thady  Harrington's  wife  (Thady  was  at  sea)  stopped 
a  cow  of  her  husband's  that  had  been  seized  by  one  of  your 
bailiffs  in  mistake  for  one  belonging  to  her  mother-in-law, 
decreed  to  be  in  debt  to  your  lordship.  Her  women  friends 
collected  arouud,  calling  the  bailiffs  and  your  lordship  ugly 
names — as  women  will.  No  stones  were  thrown,  no  blow  was 
struck,  but  the  cow  got  off.  The  fact  is  that  the  women  gathered 
in  a  crowd  at  the  cross  and  barred  the  way  to  the  pound, 
leaving  open  the  road  leading  up  to  the  mountain  where  the  cow 
used  to  graze — a  hint  she  was  not  slow  to  take ;  for,  shaking  off 
her  mistress  who  had  hold  of  one  horn,  and  your  bailiff,  who 
grasped  the  other,  she  released  herself  from  the  hold  of  "  Sooty 
Denis  "  (a  wretched  creature  who  acts  as  spy  for  your  lordship) 
who  was  hanging  by  her  tail,  and,  raising  it  high  in  the  air, 
out  of  his  ugly  clutch,  she  bolted  to  the  mountain. 

The  process  of  "  driving  "  the  seized  cattle  to  the 
pound  and  "  canting  "  them  to  the  highest  bidder  is 
thus  pictured  : — 

Now  let  me  recall  the  familiar  features  of  your  lawless  Irish 
"  driving."  Let  us  suppose  some  sudden  call  of  your  lordship 
for  money:  instantly  your  drivers  scour  the  country,  aided 
by  a  flying  troop  of  boys,  hired  at  fourpence  to  sixpence  a  day. 

G 


82  BANTRY,    BEREHAVEN    AND 

The  boys,  wild  with  delight,  beat  the  cows  out  of  the  fields 
with  sticks  and  stones,  over  hedges  and  ditches,  down  to  the 
pound.  The  owners  follow,  i.e.,  such  as  can  find  a  friend  to 
bail  their  beasts  out  until  the  cant  day  ;  but  the  poor  man's 
cow  often  remains  in  the  pound  till  nearly  dead  of  hardship. 

On  the  cant  day,  towards  the  hour  of  canting,  the  pound  be- 
comes choked,  and  then  comes  the  scene  of  the  strong  cows 
beating  down  and  goring  the  weak.  Often  one  strong  cow  will 
drive  the  others  flying  in  a  whirl  round  the  pound.  Meantime 
the  top  of  the  great  pound  wall  is  thronged  with  the  owners 
of  the  impounded  beasts,  each  watching  his  own  with  anxious 
fear,  lest  they  should  suffer  damage,  and  men  will  often  descend 
among  the  maddened  herd  and  endeavour  to  save  their  cows 
from  the  injuries  inflicted  by  the  stronger  upon  the  weaker 
ones  on  those  occasions. 

Of  one  of  those  scenes,  in  November,  1854,  Mr.  Prender- 
gast  says  :— 

This  last  driving  of  your  lordships'  so  overcrowded  the  great 
circular  pound  of  Rossmacowen  that  the  place  was  a  pool  of 
gore  ;  and  the  bellowings  of  the  tortured  cows  could  be  heard 
at  the  top  of  Hungry  Hill. 

In  later  times,  long  after  the  property  had  passed 
from  the  hands  of  the  Lords  Bantry,  there  were  some 
troubles  between  the  Berehaven  tenantry  and  their 
landlord — at  this  time  a  Mr.  Clinton,  son  of  the  Lord 
Clinton  in  whose  interest  Mr.  Prendergast  wrote  so 
vigorously.  In  May,  1905,  and  the  July  of  the  following 
year,  decrees  were  obtained  and  notices  of  eviction 
served  for  arrears  of  rent — but  this  was  in  the  era  of 
Land  Acts  and  Land  Courts,  and  rent  reductions,  and 
settlements  were  arrived  at  without  any  serious  difficulty. 
A  good  many  of  the  tenants  have  bought  their  holdings 
under  the  Purchase  Act,  and  are  now  their  own  land- 
lords, having  such  a  grip  on  the  soil  of  Beara  as  their 
fathers  had  not  since  the  days  of  Queen  Elizabeth. 


THE    0' SULLIVAN    SEPT  83 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

IT  may  be  that  no  violent  reversal  of  the  great  events 
of  Irish  history  can  now  be  effected ;  but  there 
is  plenty  of  scope  in  various  ways  for  bettering 
the  condition  of  the  Irish  people.  All  men,  no 
matter  of  what  racial  origin,  who  desire  to  take  part 
in  that  good  work  should  get  a  friendly  welcome  to  the 
national  ranks.  As  for  those  who  may  prefer  to  stand 
sullenly  aloof,  unwilling  to  share  in  the  upraising  of  a 
long-oppressed  nation,  looking  with  frowning  eyes  on 
the  increase  of  popular  power  and  public  right,  let  them 
have  it  so  ;  foreigners  let  them  remain.  Ireland  will 
regard  them  simply  with  pitying  contempt ;  and  they 
will  have  no  business  looking  for  sympathy  to  England, 
for  they  will  get  none.  No  people  in  the  world  will 
have  a  good  word  to  say  for  a  class  so  worthless,  so 
heartless,  so  unpatriotic.  It  will  quietly  disappear  from 
the  face  of  the  earth,  "  unwept,  unhonoured,  and 
unsung." 

The  fortunes  of  the  historic  regions  of  which  I  have 
written  have  somewhat  brightened  of  late  years.  Recent 
legislation — the  Local  Government  Act  and  the  Land 
Acts — are  being  happily  availed  of  by  the  people  of 
Bantry  and  Berehaven,  and  by  their  kinsmen  on  the 
Kerry  side  of  the  mountains.  Whatever  may  happen 
in  the  future,  those  districts  have  proud  possessions 
that  can  never  be  taken  from  them — "  the  charms  that 
Nature  gave  them,,,  and  heroic  memories  the  glory  of 
which  will  last  till  time  shall  be  no  more. 


APPENDIX. 


£*>— 


Sir  George  Carew  and  the  Pacata  Hibernia  : — 

To  these  the  references  throughout  the  earlier  chapters  of  this 
volume  are,  of  necessity  numerous.  Sir  George,  Queen  Elizabeth's 
"Lord  President  of  Minister, "  was  the  chief  organiser  of  the  con- 
quest and  spoliation  of  that  province.  The  Pacata  is  his  account  of 
the  operations.  One  Thomas  Stafford  edited  the  papers,  prepared 
them  for  the  Press,  wrote  a  dedication  of  the  work  to  Elizabeth's 
successor,  King  James,  and  got  it  published  in  1636,  some 
years  after  the  death  of  Carew.  Of  Carew  and  Stafford  the 
Rev.  C.  B.  Gibson,  M.R.I. A.,  in  his  History  of  the  County  and 
City  of  Cork,  gives  the  following  appreciation  : — 

"  So  cool  and  cruel,  so  cunning  and  unknightly  a  ruler  (as 
Carew)  never  came  to  Ireland.  We  have  his  effigy  in  the  Pacata 
Hibernia — a  book  written  by  a  man  who  worshipped  him  as  his 
Magnus  Apollo — and  a  more  sinister  countenance  we  never 
beheld.  We  have  no  objection  to  adopt  the  former  part  of  the 
circumscription — for  the  words  go  round  the  picture — Talis  erat 
vultu,  sed  lingua,  mente,  manu." 


The  Reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  p.  9  : — 

The  following  account  of  the  characteristics  of  the  O'Sullivan 
people  is  given  in  the  Parliamentary  Gazetteer  of  Ireland,  published 
in  1846  by  A.  Fullerton  and  Co.,  Dublin,  London,  and  Edinburgh  : 

"  The  Sept  of  the  O'Sullivans  anciently  inhabited  most  of  what 
now  constitutes  the  baronies  of  Beare  and  Bantry.  They  were 
inveterate  opponents  of  the  English  interest  and  the  Protestant 
Reformation,  and  acted  a  zealous  and  self-ruining  part  in  the 
great  rebellion  of  Munster,  towards  the  close  of  the  reign  of 
Elizabeth." 


86  APPENDIX. 

Tyrell,  one  of  O'Sulli van's  most  trusted  Captains  (p.  17) : 

"  While  some  of  his  (Tyrell's)  men  were  prisoners  in  the  hands 
of  the  besiegers,  the  President  propounded  a  "  stratagem  "  to 
the  captain — some  accomplished  piece  of  devilment,  no  doubt — 
by  the  doing  of  which  he  and  his  men  were  to  get  their  lives  and 
liberties.  He  replied  :  "I  will  ransom  my  men  with  money,  if 
that  be  accepted,  but  to  be. false  to  the  King  of  Spain,  my  master, 
or  to  betray  the  Catholic  cause,  I  will  never." — Gibson's  History 
of  Cork. 


Don  Philip  O'Sullivan  Beare,  p.  32  : — 

This  eminent  patriot  and  litterateur,  author  of  the  Historic 
CatoliccB  IbernicB,  is  referred  to  by  some  writers  as  a  nephew  of 
Donal  of  Dunboy.  Judge  Madden,  in  his  recently  published 
work,  entitled  Some  Passages  in  the  Early  History  oj  Classical 
Learning  in  Ireland,  so  speaks  of  him  ;  others  call  him  a  cousin, 
which  T  take  to  be  the  correct  designation,  as  his  father  was  not 
a  brother,  but  a  first  cousin  of  Prince  Donal.  Philip's  age  was 
about  ten  years  when  Donal,  after  having  evicted  the  Spanish 
soldiers  from  Dunboy,  sent  him,  with  his  own  son,  as  a  pledge 
of  fealty  to  the  King  of  Spain.  Young  Philip  as  he  advanced 
in  years  developed  a  high  degree  of  literary  talent,  and  wrote 
several  works  in  the  Latin  tongue,  all  in  defence  of  his  religion 
and  his  country.  Mr.  Matthew  J.  Byrne,  of  Listowel,  Co. 
Kerry,  has  rendered  valuable  service  to  Ireland  by  translating 
into  English  and  getting  published  (Sealy,  Bryers  &  Walker), 
a  most  interesting  portion  of  O'Sullivan's  "  Compendium  of  the 
Catholic  History  of  Ireland  " — the  section  relating  to  the  Eliza- 
bethan war.  I  may  add  that  a  good  deal  of  Don  Philip's  lite- 
rary work  was  done  on  board  ship  while  he  held  a  command  in 
the  Spanish  Navy. 

Robbed,  despoiled,  and  disinherited,  p.  34 : — 

In  the  valuable  work  entitled  Illustrations,  Historical  and 
Genealogical,  oj  King  James's  Irish  Army  List  (1689),  by  John 
D' Alton,  Esq.,  B.L.,  published  in  Dublin  in  1855,  is  given,  at 
considerable  length,  a  record  of  notable  members  of  "  this  noble 
Sept."  I  can  here  give  but  a  couple  of  short  extracts  from  the 
work,  indicating  how  they  were  harried,  despoiled  and  hunted 
down  : — 

"  In  the  Attainders  of  1642  were  Donell  O'Sullivan  Beare,  of 
Berehaven  ;  Philip  O'Sullivan,  of  Loughandy  ;  Owen  of  Inchi- 
clough  and  Drumdivane,  Donell  Mac  Owen,  of  Drnmgarvan  ; 


APPENDIX.  87 

John  Mac  Dermody,  of  Derryne  ;  Gillicuddy  O' Sullivan,  of 
Traghprashy ;  Connor  O'Sullivan,  of  Loughane,  and  Owen 
Neagh  O'Sullivan,  of  Drumgowlane,  all  in  the  County  of  Cork. 
— This  Sept  was  represented  at  the  Supreme  Council  of  Kilkenny 
by  O'Sullivan  More  of  Dunkeiran  and  Daniel  O'Sullivan  of 
Culmagort  ;  while  the  Declaration  of  Royal  Gratitude,  in  the 
Act  of  Settlement,  preserves  the  names  of  Captain  Dermot 
O'Sullivan  of  Kilmeloe,  Lieutenant  O'Sullivan  of  Fermoyle,  and 
Ensign  Owen  O'Sullivan,  all  in  the  County  of  Cork. 

Of  those  outlawed  in  1691  were  Daniel  O'Sullivan  of  Rosma- 
cone,  McDermot  Cnogher  Sullivan  and  Cornelius  Sullivan  of 
Shiskeen  ;  Owen  Mac  Murtough  Sullivan  of  Berehaven,  John 
Mac  Murtough  Sullivan  of  Lanlaurence,  Thady  Sullivan  of 
Killiebane,  Clerk,  all  of  the  County  of  Cork,  with  Dermot  Mac 
Donell  Soolevane  of  Litton,  and  Florence  Soolevane  of  Nodden 
in  the  County  of  Kerry." 

The  place-names  in  the  foregoing  extracts  were  printed  by 
Mr.  D'Alton  as  they  stood  in  old  documents.  In  more  recent 
orthography  "  Nodden  "  is  Nedeen,  a  former  name  of  the  town 
of  Kenmare  ;  "  Lanlaurence  "  is  Clanlaurence  ;  "  Rosmacone  " 
is  Rosmacowen  ;  "  Derryne  "  is  Derreen,  and  "  Traghprashy  " 
is  Trafrask. 


Smugglers  and  privateers,  p.  46  : — 

Privateers  were  a  class  of  vessels  owned  by  private  persons 
or  companies,  and  employed  both  for  trading  and  warlike 
purposes.  Their  chief  business  was  preying  on  the  commerce 
of  the  enemy  in  war  time.  They  were  the  highwaymen  of  the 
sea,  but  carried  "  letters  of  marque  " — a  sort  of  licence  from 
their  own  government  to  cover  their  capturing  and  plundering 
operations,  without  which  they  would  be  pirates,  entitled  to  no 
mercy  should  they  fall  into  the  hands  of  their  enemies.  The 
disorganization  of  trade  and  commerce  caused  by  vessels  of 
this  class  became  so  great  that  modifications  of  the  system  were 
agreed  to  by  the  European  governments  from  time  to  time, 
until  in  March,  1856,  the  Plenipotentiaries  of  the  Great  Powers, 
in  Conference  at  Paris,  arrived  at  a  resolution  that : — 

"  Privateering  is  and  remains  abolished." 

This  Declaration  was  not  pleasing  to  everybody  ;  there  are 
even  now  people  who  hold  that  after  the  outbreak  of  war  the 
speediest  way  of  arriving  at  a  peace  is  to  make  the  continuance 
of  hostilities  as  inconvenient  and  hurtful  as  possible  to  one  or 
other  or  all  the  belligerent  nations.  This  view  is  cleverly 
advocated  in  a  work  by  Thomas  Gibson  Bowles,  M.P.,  published 
in  London  in  1900. 


88  APPENDIX. 

At  Fontenoy,  p.  47  : — 

Morty  O'Sullivan  was  not  the  only  warrior  of  his  name  at  the 
battle  of  Fontenoy.  In  the  French  official  return  of  the  killed 
and  wounded  of  the  Irish  regiments  in  that  engagement,  we  read 
the  names  of  "  Lieutenant  Timothy  Sullivan, — contused  leg," 
and  "  Lieutenant  Florence  Sullivan, — gunshot  in  leg."  A  copy 
of  the  list  will  be  found  in  the  admirable  paper  on  "  The  Irish 
Brigade  at  Fontenoy,"  by  the  Very  Rev.  P.  Boyle,  CM.,  of  the 
Irish  College,  Paris,  published  in  the  Irish  Ecclesiastical  Record, 
for  May,  1905.  It  would  be  well  if  this  most  interesting  and 
valuable  paper,  with  its  excellent  map  of  the  positions  of  the 
opposing  forces,  were  reprinted  and  issued  as  a  separate  tract. 
A  more  recent  association  of  the  family  name  with  that  historic 
field  is  supplied  by  the  patriotic  action  of  the  Hon.  Frank  J. 
Sullivan,  of  San  Francisco,  who  recently  got  fixed  on  the  outer 
wall  of  the  neighbouring  cemetery  a  white  marble  tablet  bearing 
the  following  inscription  : — 


In  Memory  of  the  Heroic  Irish  Soldiers 

Who  changed  Defeat  into  Victory 

At  Fontenoy, 

May     iith,     1745. 

Erected  by  Frank  J.  Sullivan, 

of  San  Francisco,  U.S.A. 


A   handsome    memorial  cross  was  set  up  on  the  site  of  the 
battle  by  the  Irish  Literary  Society  of  London  in  August,  1907. 


Prince  Charles  Edward  "  The  Pretender,"  p.  47  : — 

Several  executions  for  the  crime  of  enlisting  recruits  for  the 
service  of  the  Scottish  Prince,  and  of  France,  are  recorded  in  the 
publications  of  the  time.  Thus  we  read  in  "  The  Cork  Remem- 
brancer, by  John  Fitzgerald,  printed  by  J.  Sullivan,  near  the 
Exchange,  1783." — On  April  18th,  1772,  Captains  Henry  Ward 
and  Francis  Fitzgerald  were  hanged  and  quartered  at  Gallows- 
Green  for  enlisting  men  for  the  Pretender. 


APPENDIX.  89 

W.  Stewart  Trench,  pp.  72  et  seq.  : — 

When  or  how  Mr.  Trench's  agency  over  the  Lansdowne  estates 
came  to  an  end  I  do  not  exactly  know  ;  but  subsequently  he 
boomed  himself  largely  in  the  newspapers  in  connection  with 
the  pill  and  ointment  business.  "  Trench's  Remedies  "  he 
proclaimed  to  be  cures  for  many  of  the  ills  that  flesh  is  heir  to. 
I  can  say  nothing  for  or  against  them,  not  having  tried  them  ; 
but,  if  indeed  they  were  health  restorers,  I  think  it  a  pity  they 
were  not  invented  early  enough  to  be  serviceable  to  the  ex- 
patriated Kenmare  tenantry  in  the  Lansdowne  ward  of  a  New 
York  hospital. 


The  Bantry  and  Berehaven  men  stood  in  with  every  national 
movement  of  their  time.  Within  my  own  recollection  they  were 
Repealers  with  Daniel  O'Connell,  "  Young  Irelanders  "  with 
Smith  O'Brien,  Phoenix  men  and  Fenians  with  O'Donovan 
Rossa  and  James  Stephens,  and  Land  Leaguers  with  Parnell. 
Of  the  Bantry  men  prosecuted  in  connection  with  the  Phoenix 
conspiracy  in  1858,  no  fewer  than  eight  were  Sullivans.  In  the 
ccnstitutional  movement  Bere  and  Bantry  gave  a  remarkably 
large  contingent  to  the  Irish  Parliamentary  Party.  They 
were  : — 

A.  M.  Sullivan. 

T.  D.  Sullivan. 

Donal  Sullivan. 

T.  M.  Healy. 

Thomas  J.  Healy. 

Maurice  Healy. 

William  M.  Murphy. 

James  Gilhooly. 

Timothy  Harrington, 

Edward  Harrington. 

The  Messrs.  Harrington  (who  were  Berehaveners)  "  went 
Parnellite  "  at  the  time  of  the  historic  "  Split,"  and  so  differed 
from  the  rest  of  the  above-named  group,  to  whom  was  then 
humourously  or  sarcastically  applied  the  name  of  "  the  Bantry 
Band."  In  reference  to  this  designation  a  gifted  young  member 
of  the  Parliamentary  Party,  Mr.  John  McCarthy,  of  Roscrea, 
Member  for  Mid-Tipperary,  published  the  following  verses  : — 

"  The  Bantry  band  !  "    "  The  Bantry  band  1  " 
Who  blushes  for  the  "  Bantry  band  ?  " 
Are  truer  men  in  all  the  land, 
Revilers  !  than  "  the  Bantry  band  ?  " 


90  APPENDIX. 

Not  theirs  in  these  or  darker  days 
To  tune  their  harps  to  tyrants'  praise 
Not  theirs  to  gather  venal  bays 
Where  Honour  warps  and  Truth  decays  ! 

Not  theirs  the  part  of  sneering  slave, 
When  good  men  leagued  the  land  to  save  ; 
But  theirs  the  grit  that  foiled  the  knave, 
And  theirs  the  cry  that  cheered  the  brave  ! 

Though  cradled  not  in  halls  built  high 
With  rackrents  wrung  from  misery — 
Mere  Irish,  just  as  you  and  I — 
We  cheer  them  yet  with  fearless  cry. 

For  love  of  Erin  fires  their  hearts, 
And  spite  of  foes  and  traitor  arts, 
Fell  Faction  reels  beneath  their  darts, 
And  still  the  whipped  oppressor  smarts. 

Could  every  town  in  Ireland  show 
Such  Spartan  bands  to  face  the  foe, 
Not  long  we'd  wait  his  overthrow, 
Not  long  we'd  wail  our  country's  woe  ! 

Then,  blessings  on  you,  "  Ban  try  band  !  " 
Speed  on,  speed  on,  brave  "  Bantry  band," 
Till  Freedom  crowns  your  native  land, 
And  ends  your  labours,  "  Bantry  band  !  " 


Mention  should  here  be  made  of  the  distinguished  musician 
Sir  Arthur  Sullivan,  who  has  but  recently  passed  away.  His 
compositions  in  various  styles  and  forms  of  his  art  acquired 
great  popularity,  especially  his  work  in  what  are  known  as  the 
"  Gilbert  and  Sullivan  "  operas.  He  was  born  in  London  in  May, 
t  842,  but  his  family,  as  we  learn  from  the  lately  published  work  of 
his  relative,  Mr.  B.  W.  Findon,  was  Irish  from  both  sides.  "  His 
grandfather  was  a  native  of  Kerry,  and  his  grandmother  (whose 
maiden  name  was  also  Sullivan)  was  born  in  Bandon,  in  the 
adjoining  county  of  Cork."  His  father  was  Thomas  Sullivan,  a 
military  bandmaster.,  and  his  mother's  name  was  Mary 
Clementina  Coghlan.  See  Sir  Arthur  Sullivan  and  His  Operas, 
by  B.  W.  Findon.    Sislevs,  publishers,  London. 


APPENDIX.  91 

Portrait  of  Donal  O'Sullivan  Beare  : — 

To  the  patriotism  of  the  late  Right  Rev.  Monsignor  James 
O'Laverty,  of  Belfast,  we  owe  it  that  an  authentic  portrait  of 
Donal  O' Sullivan  Beare  is  now  to  be  found  in  many  Irish  publica- 
tions. The  reverend  gentleman  had  learned  that  there  was  such 
a  portrait  in  the  Irish  College  at  Salamanca,  and  he  at  once 
commissioned  a  reverend  friend  to  have  a  copy  of  it  painted  for 
him  by  a  competent  artist.  On  receipt  of  this  work,  which  was 
well  executed,  Father  O'Laverty  was  good  enough  to  allow 
copies  of  it  to  be  made  for  use  in  various  historical  books  and 
papers.  One  of  those  reproductions — a  coloured  lithograph — 
is  hung  in  Room  III.  of  our  National  Gallery  of  Science  and  Art, 
Leinster  Lawn,  Dublin.  It  is  a  small  picture,  no  larger  than  the 
engraving  prefixed  to  this  volume  (the  size  of  the  original 
painting  I  do  not  know),  and  is  thus  described  in  the  official 
catalogue  : — 

"  A  small  full-length  figure,  in  trunk  hose,  armour,  and  large 
ruff.  He  wears  the  badge  of  the  order  of  St.  James  of  Compostela, 
of  which  he  was  made  a  Knight  by  Philip  III.  In  upper  portion 
of  picture  is  the  inscription  : — Osullevaniis  Bearrus  Bearrce  et 
Beantvics  Comes  cstatis  slice  LIU.  Ckristi  vero  Domini  MDCXIII. 
Anno,  and  a  shield  of  arms." 

This  shows  that  the  picture  was  painted  in  1613,  when 
O'Sullivan's  age  was  fifty-three,  five  years  before  his  assassination 
by  Bath  at  Madrid. 


The   "  Obstinate   and   Prolonged   Defence  "   of  Dunboy, 
p.  21. 

There  was,  however,  one  of  the  heads  of  the  sept  who  stood 
out  against  his  patriotic  kinsmen  and  gave  what  aid  and 
encouragement  he  could  to  their  enemies.  This  was  Sir  Owen 
O'Sullivan,  known  in  those  days  as  "  the  Queen's  O'Sullivan." 
He  was  a  claimant  to  the  chieftaincy,  and  to  Donal  O'Sullivan's 
Berehaven  territory.  Their  dispute  was  taken  for  trial  before 
the  high  courts  in  England,  where  Sir  Owen  lost  his  case,  after 
which  he  became  a  bitter  enemy  of  his  successful  relative,  and 
took  part  with  the  English  in  their  operations  against  Dunboy 
Castle  and  on  Dursey  Island.  After  the  overthrow  of  Donal  and 
his  followers  Sir  Owen  got  possession  of  Carriganass  Castle,  and 
members  of  his  family  continued  there  and  thereabout  for  some 
time.  The  castle  is  now  a  picturesque  ruin  on  the  banks  of  the 
Ovane  river,  within  a  few  miles  of  Bantry. 


92  APPENDIX. 

In  her  admirable  work  entitled  "  The  Making  of  Ireland  and 
its  Undoing,"  basing  her  statements  on  historic  records,  Mrs. 
Alice  Stopford  Green  says  : — "  The  coasts  of  Ireland  were  famous 
for  their  fisheries — a  trade  carried  on  both  by  the  Irish  and  by 
foreigners.  O' Sullivan,  prince  of  Bear  and  Bantry,  ruled  over 
a  people  who  lived  by  fishing,  and  had  his  native  fleet  :  when 
an  English  ship  seized  a  Spanish  fishing  vessel  off  the  coast  he 
manned  a  small  squadron,  brought  both  ships  to  Berehaven, 
hanged  the  English  captain  and  set  the  other  free." 


Hungry  Hill,  p.  82. — Some  residents  in  the  locality  believe 
that  its  earlier  name  was  "  Angry  Hill,"  and  say  that  its  present 
title  was  given  to  it,  jocosely,  by  a  party  of  military  engineers 
who,  in  the  years  1840  to  '45,  were  hutted  on  its  sides,  engaged 
on  the  new  ordnance  survey,  and  who  often  experienced  some 
difficulty  in  procuring  food  supplies.  But  the  idea  is  utterly 
erroneous.  The  mountain  has  borne  its  present  name  for  at 
least  two  centuries.  Unquestionable  evidence  of  that  fact  is 
supplied  by  the  Down  Survey  map  of  the  Barony  of  Bere  and 
Bantry,  a  copy  of  which  is  included  in  this  volume.  The  survey 
was  commenced  in  1655  and  completed  in  about  three  years; 
the  place-names  were  recorded  on  the  resultant  maps  just  as 
they  were  known  at  that  period,  and  doubtless  had  been  for 
many  years  before  ;  and  the  antiquity  of  the  name  "  Hungry 
Hill  '  is  therefore  undeniable.  It  is  indeed  a  magnificent  moun- 
tain, rising  to  a  height  of  2,249  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
sea.  From  a  lake  on  its  summit,  down  its  precipitous  side,  a 
splendid  cascade,  often  referred  to  as  the  finest  in  the  three 
kingdoms,  tumbles  into  Bantry  Bay. 


A  legal  friend  has  supplied  me  with  the  following  note  : — 

"  In  the  matter  of  John  Mahony's  estate  in  the  Land  Judges' 
Court  (Mr.  Justice  Ross)  in  1903,  on  which  estate  the  Gap  of 
Dunloe  and  other  lands  by  the  Lakes  of  Killarney  are  situate, 
the  root  of  title  proved  by  the  present  owner  was  a  grant  in 
Gaelic  from  The  O' Sullivan  Beare,  written  on  parchment — in 
size  not  much  larger  than  an  ordinary  envelope." 


I  wrote  some  songs  in  praise  of  the  grand  old  bay.      I  here 
append  two  of  them,  and  so  close  this  little  work. 


APPENDIX.  93 


BACK  O'  WHIDDY. 

Off  from  Bantry  pier  we  start 

Sailing — or  it  may  be  rowing-  - 
Lads  and  lasses,  light  of  heart, 
On  to  fair  Glengarriffe  going. 
Oh,  the  harbour's  smooth  enough, 

But  some  heads  get  queerly  giddy, 
Once  we  dip  in  waters  rough 

Round  the  point  and  back  o'  Whiddy. 

Then  there's  chaffing,  back  o'  Whiddy  ; 
Joking,  laughing,  back  o'  Whiddy ; 
Fearful  tales 
Of  sharks  and  whales 
And  huge  sea-serpents,  back  o'  Whiddy  ■ 

Soon  we've  cause  for  tender  cares 

(Thanks,  oh,  thanks,  sweet  rolling  ocean)  1 
And  we  hear  delightful  pray'rs 

Uttered  with  intense  emotion  ; 
Sometimes,  too,  when  waves  and  wind 

Would  try  the  temper  of  a  "  middy," 
Language  of  another  kind 

Is  freely  spoken  back  o'  Whiddy. 

But  that's  no  harm — when  back  o'  Whiddy 
It  has  a  charm — when  back  o'  Wihddy — 
At  least  I  know 
I  judged  it  so, 
Long,  long  ago — when  back  o'  Whiddy. 

Sing  the  beauties  of  Glandore — 

They  deserve  such  celebration  ; 
Say  good  things  oi  Baltimore — 

A  safe  retreat,  a  pleasant  station  ; 
Praise  what  bays  and  creeks  there  be 
From  Mizen  Head  to  Ringaskiddy, 
But  after  all,  the  trip  for  me 

Is  that  which  takes  me  back  o'  Whiddy  I 
Oh,  the  long  waves  back  o'  Whiddy  1 
Oh,  the  strong  waves  back  o'  Whiddy ! 
Oh,  the  joys 
That — girls  and  boys — 
We  knew  when  boating  back  o'   Whiddy  ! 


94  APPENDIX 

BANTRY  BAY  : 

(A  "  Shanty  "  or  Boat  Song.) 

Come  help  me,  boys,  to  sing  a  song, 

And  lilt  a  lively  roundelay  ; 
As  fast  and  free  we  boom  along, 

And  top  the  waves  of  Bantry  Bay. 

A  fair  wind  fills  our  flowing  sail — 
But  let  it  blow  from  where  it  may, 

We'll  woo  the  breeze  or  brave  the  gale 
With  joyful  hearts  on  Bantry  Bay. 

Oh,  there  are  harbours  made  with  hands, 
With  sticks  and  stones,  with  mud  and  clay, 

With  piles  and  beams  and  iron  bands — 
We've  no  such  things  in  Bantry  Bay  ! 

We've  fair  Glengariff's  silvery  tide, 
We've  grand  Berehaven,  where  to-day 

The  fleets  of  half  the  world  might  ride, 
With  room  to  swing,  in  Bantry  Bay. 

Historic  scenes  come  into  view 

As  on  we  plough  our  watery  way  ; 

For  chieftains  bold  and  clansmen  true 
Were  long  the  lords  of  Bantry  Bay. 

And  well  we  hope  the  world  may  see, 
Ere  many  years  have  passed  away, 

The  sons  of  patriot  ancestry 

Again  hold  sway  by  Bantry  Bay. 

So  trim  your  sails,  and  ease  your  sheets, 
And  hoist  your  bunting  bright  and  gay; 

Our  trip  has  been  a  bunch  of  sweets — 
flip  !  hip  !  hurrah  !  for  Bantry  Bay  1 


d^^rb 


NEW    BOOKS. 


Men  and  Maids. 

By  KATHARINE   TYNAN. 
Illustrated  by  Dorothea  Preston. 

Grown  Bvo.    Cioth;    3/6, 

A  Green  Tree. 

By  L.  M.  McCRAITH. 

Crown  8vo.    Cioth.    3/0. 


Lord  Windlesham's 
Tenant, 

By   FARQUHAR   PALLISER. 

Crown  8vo.    Cioth.    3/8 

SEALY,    BRYERS    &    WALKER, 

DUBLIN, 


TWO  IMPORTANT  IRISH   BOOKS, 

LEGENDS  AND  STORIES  OF 
IRISH    PEASANTRY. 

By  JOHN  KEEGAN. 

NOW    FIRST    COLLECTED. 

Edited  by  the  late  V.  Rev.  J.  Canon  O'Hanlon,  M.R.I.A. 
With  Memoir  by  D.  J.  O'Donoghue. 

Crown  8voy  3s.  6d. 

"Those  closely  interested  in  the  study  of  the  social  history  of  the 
peasantry  must  always  admire  this  racy  characteristic  work."— Scots  man. 


BY    THE    BARROW    RIVER 

AND    OTHER    STORIES. 

By  EDMUND  LEAMY,  M.P. 
With  Portrait.  Crown  8vo,  3s.  6d. 

"  They  possess  the  same  brilliancy  of  imagination,  fertility  of  invention, 
and  high  literary  finish,  for  which  other  writings  of  Mr.  Leamy  are 
so  remarkable." — Cardinal  Logue. 

Wow  R@acg^.     Uniform.    Cr.  8vo.     3/6  each. 

THREE    HISTORISAL    ROMANCES. 

By  STANDISH   O'GRADY. 

THE    FLIGHT    OF   THE    EAGLE. 

A  graphic  description  of  Red  Hugh  O'DonnelTs  captivity  and  escape 
from  Birmingham  Tower,  Dublin  Castle,  and  the  subsequent  vengeance  he 
wreaked  upon  his  captors. 

ULRICK    THE    READY. 

An  Historical  Romance  of  the  Irish  Wars  during  Elizabeth's  reign. 
History  set  in  a  halo  of  Love  and  Romance.   The  story  of  a  thrilling  period. 

THE  GATES  OF  THE   NORTH. 

A  stirring  tale  of  Ireland's  Heroic  Age.  The  invasion  of  Ulster  by  the 
Hosts  of  Connacht  under  Meave;  Cuchulain's  defence  at  the  Ford ;  the 
Valour  of  the  Red  Branch  Knights,  all  make  enthralling  reading. 


SeaSy,  Bryers  and  Walker,  Dublin, 


SEALY,    BRYERS    &    WALKER'S 

Popular  Books, 

s.  d. 
THE  SPLENDID  KNIGHT.    A  Book  of  Adventure.    3    6 
By    H.    A.    Hinkson.       Illustrated    by    Lawson 
Wood.     Crown  8vo.     Cloth. 
'*  A  special  interest  for  boys,  and  a  very  appropriate  book  for  a 
school  prize." Cardinal  Logue. 

THE  GREEN  COCKADE.     By  Mrs.  M.  T.  Pender.    3    6 
Crown  8vo.     Cloth. 
"  It  is  with  great  pleasure  that  one  cuts  the  leaves  of  a  novel  by 
Mrs.  M.  T.  Pender.     *  The  Green  Cockade '  is  a  delightful  romance 
of  the  rebellion  period." — Daily  Nation. 

NOTABLE  IRISHWOMEN.  By  C.  J.  Hamilton.  3  6 
8vo.  Cloth.  Illustrated  with  Portraits. 
"The  biographies  themselves  sufficiently  illustrate  the  purpose 
of  the  writer,  which  is  to  show  that  during  the  transition  period,  from 
the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  to  almost  the  end  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  Irishwomen  have  exercised  a  potent,  and,  on  the  whole,  a 
beneficent  influence  on  society,  on  the  stage,  in  the  concert  room, 
as  well  as  the  peaceful  realms  of  literature." — Irish  Times. 

FOUGHILOTRA:     A    Forbye    Story.     By    W.    R.    2    6 
MacDermott.    A  Memorial  of  the  Ulster  Hand-     net. 
loom  Weavers.     Crown  8vo.     Cloth. 
**  Mr.  MacDermott,  while  not  insisting  on  reality  for  all  the 

Incidents  in  the  story,  vouches  for  the  reality  of  character  and 

mental  form  given  in  it  as  existing  in  a  section  of  the  Irish  people. 

Most  of  the  book  is  interesting." — Belfast  News  Letter. 

HI  YOU  :   A  Story  of  the  Sea.     By  Robert  Elliott.    2    6 
Crown  8vo.     Boards. 
"  It  draws  a  pathetic  picture  of  the  hard  life  and  gentle,  self- 
sacrificing  character  of  a  ship's  boy  on  an  old  tea-clipper     .     .     . 
written  with  a  grave  eloquence  none  the  Jess  attractive  for  its  touches 
of  Irish  feeling." — The  Scotsman. 

THE  TURN  OF  THE  TIDE.     By  S.  C.  Oulton.        5    0 
Crown  8vo.     Cloth. 
An  intensely  interesting  and  natural  love  story  of 
the  North  West  Frontier  Campaign  in  India  and  the 
South  African  War. 

SKETCHES    OF    OLD    DUBLIN.     By    A.    Peter.     2    6 
Crown     8vo.     Cloth.     A     remarkable     series     of     net. 
sketches,    giving   a   graphic   picture   of   life   and 
customs  in  the  Dublin  of  the  past  few  centuries. 
Copiously  illustrated. 
"  Miss  Peter  has  placed  us  all  under  a  lasting  obligation.     Her's 
is  not  a  book  to  skim  through  and  have  done  with  ;  but  it  is  a  book 
to  keep,  a  book  to  treasure  up     .    ,    .     .    got  up  in  a  style  second 
to  no  6s.  volume.     It  is  copiously  illustrated      .      .      .      the  price 
at  which  it  is  published  makes  it  easily  the  cheapest  thing  in  the 
book  market." — Weekly  irish  Times. 


A   Few   Important 
Works. 

s.    d. 

ASTRONOMY  FOR  "  THE  MAN  IN  THE  STREET."  5  0 
Illustrated.  By  the  Rev.  E.  A.  Selley,  O.E.S.A.  net. 
Crown  8vo.     Cloth. 

"  One  reads  and  is  interested  in,  even  fascinated  by,  his  account 
of  the  lower  heavens,  and  the  '  clearness  and  simplicity  of  explana- 
tion '  which  he  claims  for  it  are  willingly  conceded." — Irish  Times. 

LANE'S  ENGLISH-IRISH  DICTIONARY.  By  T.  6  0 
O'Neill  Lane.     Demy  8vo.     Cloth.  net. 

"  The  best  English-Irish  Dictionary  that  has  yet  appeared." — 

Athenaeum. 

"  We  have  no  hesitation  in  savins;  that  the  book  is  an  invaluable 
item  in  the  equipment  of  the  student  of  modern  Irish.  Mr.  Lane 
deserves  to  be  heartily  commended  for  his  ^industry." — Weekly 
Irish  Times. 

ART  AND  IRELAND.     By  Robert  Elliott.    With    5    0 
Preface  by  Edward  Marty n.     Illustrated.     Crown 
8vo.     Boards. 

"  The  papers  are  well  worthy  of  the  attention  of  readers  at  all 
interested  in  their  immediate  subject ;  and  they  have  much  in  them 
to  repay  a  perusal  by  anyone  anxious  to  understand  the  principles 
of  Church  Architecture  and  Decoration." — Scotsman. 

THE  SHAKESPEARE  ENIGMA.  By  Rev.  W.  A.  3  6 
Sutton,  S.J.     Crown  8vo.     Cloth. 

"  It  is  worth  the  outlay  to  the  reader  who  is  curious  about  the 
.Baconian     theory      of    the     authorship    of    Shakespeare." — Irish 

Independent. 

"  An      admirably      written      work." — Northern  Wliig. 

THE    ANNALS    OF    WESTMEATH.     Ancient    and    5    0 
Modern.     By   James  Woods.     Preface  by   John 
Hayden,  M.P. 

"  It   is   a   homely   book.      It    breathes    Westineath.      It   oozes 
Westmeath.     It    is    Westmeath    condensed    for    exportation,    and 
planted  here  in  this  southern  land,  under  the  cloudless  blue     .     .    " 
Senor  Bulfin,  in  the  Southern  Cross,  Buenos  Aires. 


SEALY,  BRYERS  &    WALKERS 

HISTORICAL     HITORICS; 

s.   d. 

IRELAND  UNDER  ELIZABETH.  Chapters  towards  7  6 
a  History  of  Ireland  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  being 
a  Portion  of  the  History  of  Catholic  Ireland.  By 
Don  Philip  O'Sullivan  Bear.  Translated  from 
the  Original  Latin  by  Matthew  J.  Byrnb. 
Demy  8vo.  Cloth. 
"One  of  the  most  important  pieces  of  contemporary  history 

relating  to  the  troubled  and  exciting  period  of  the  Elizabethan  Wars 

in  Ireland." — Literary  World. 

ELIZABETHAN    IRELAND.    Native   and   English.    3    6 
By  Major  G.  B.  O'Connor.     With  Coloured  Map 
of  Ireland  made  by  John  Norden  between  1609 
and  1611.     xvi.,  280  pp.     Crown  8vo.     Cloth. 
"  His  pictures  of  the  actual  state  of  Ireland  equal,  if  they  do  not 

sometimes  excel,  the  English  studies  of  John  Richard  Green." — 

Glasgow  Herald. 

TYPES  OF  CELTIC  LIFE  AND  ART.  By  F.  R.  3  6 
Montgomery  Hitchcock,  M.  A.  Author  of 
"  Clement  of  Alexandria,"  "  Mystery  of  the  Cross," 
etc.  Formerly  Scholar,  Double  Senior  Moderator 
and  University  Student  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin. 
194  pages.  Crown  8vo.  Cloth. 
"  It  is  a  volume  that  ought  to  be  on  the  prize  list  of  all  schools." — 
Sinn  Fein. 

"  Mr.  F.  R.  Montgomery  Hitohcock,  M.A.,  has  aimed  at 
popularising  the  iafonoatton  gathered  from  the  Celtic,  and  especially 
Irish  annals  and  authorities  in  the  volume  he  has  prepared.  As  a 
summary  of  interesting  facts,  scattered  in  many  fields  of  research, 
the  book  is  well  done." — The  Scotsman. 

THE  BLOODY  BRIDGE,  and  Other  Papers  relating    5    0 
to  the  Insurrection  of  1641.     (Sir  Phelim  O'Neill's 
Rebellion).     By    Thomas     Fitzpatrick,     LL.D., 
Author  of  the  "  King  of  the  Claddagh."     Demy 
8vo.     Cloth. 
"  The  book  is,  indeed,  a  very  effective  piece  of  special  pleading, 

and  will  have  to  be  carefully  considered  by  all  future  historians  of 

Ireland,  who  aim  at  being  accurate  and  above  partisanship." — 

Spectator. 

"  To  the  students  of  the  painful  confused  chapters  of  Irish  History, 

it  will  be  of  considerable  value." — Antiquary. 

A  SECOND  THEBAID.     Being  a  Popular  account  of    7    6 
the  Ancient  Monasteries  of  Ireland.     By  the  Rev.     net. 
James  P.  Rushe,  O.D.C.     Illustrated.     Demy  8vo. 
Cloth. 

"  .  .  .  .  Our  Holy  Father,  the  Pope,  thanks  you  for  your 
valuable  work,  '  A  Second  Thebaid,'  with  which  His  Holiness  is 
much  pleased.     He  sends  you  the  Apostolic  Benediction." 

Right  Rev.  Mgr.  Bressaw, 
Private  Chaplain  to  His  Holiness,  Pope  Pius  X. 


SEALY,    BRYER8    &    WALKER'S 
HISTORICAL    WORKS. 

HISTORY    OF   THE    QUEEN'S    CO.    Vol.    I.     By    20  0 
Very  Rev.  John  Canon  O'Hanlon.    Edited  by     net. 
Rev.   Edward  O'Leary.    Royal  8vo.    439  pp. 
With  Maps  and  Illustrations. 
"  A   mine  of  archaeological  and   hagiological  learning."  Senor 

BULFIN. 

THE  O'NEILLS  OF  ULSTER.     By  Thomas  Mathews. 

In  three  Cr.  8vo.  Vols.     1,244  pp.     With  Indices,    35  0 
Maps  and  Illustrations.  net. 

"A  great  effort  worthy  of  a  great  subject." — Derry  Journal. 

THE  IRISH  AMERICAN  HISTORY  OF  THE 
UNITED  STATES.  From  the  Earliest  Times  to 
the  Accession  of  Theodore  Roosevelt.  By  the 
Very  Rev.  John  Canon  O'Hanlon.  Impl.  8vo. 
With  Sixty  Portraits  of  Illustrious  Americans, 
Twenty- five  War  Maps,  &c.  25  0 

"  A  notable  achievement  of  industry  and  knowledge." — Northern 
Whig. 

THE    HISTORY   AND   ANTIQUITIES   OF    THE 
DIOCESE  OF  OSSORY.     By  the  Rev.  William 
Carrigan,  C.CM.R.I.A.  In  4  Vols.    4to.  Cloth.     42  0 
1,702  Pages,  with  233  Illustrations  and  Maps.  net. 

"  A  work  not  likely  to  be  superseded  ...  it  is  a  model  of  what 
such  a  History  ought  to  be,  of  what  every  Diocese  in  Ireland 
should  possess."— The  Irish  Times. 

DERRIANA:      ESSAYS   AND    POEMS.       By  the 

Most  Rev.  Dr.  O'Doherty.     Demy  8vo.  Cloth.     7    6 
The  Essays  comprise  "  The   Convention   of  Drom- 
Ceat,"  "  The  Young  Ireland   Movement  and  its  His- 
torian,"   "  The   Rebellion   of  Sir  Cahir  O'Doherty," 
etc.,  etc. 

"  A  splendidly  replete  store-house  of  information  on  Antiquarian 
and  Historical  Subjects,  with  particular  reference  to  the  Diocese  of 
Derry." — Irish  News. 

IRELAND'S  ANCIENT  SCHOOLS  AND  SCHOLARS. 
By  the  Most  Rev.  John  Healy,  D.D.,  LL.D. 
New  Edition.  Revised  and  Enlarged.  Royal  8vo. 
Cloth.  7    g 

*'  The  work  is  arranged  with  the  comprehensive  and  lucid  grasp  of 
history  that  can  come  only  out  of  a  deep  and  intimate  knowledge  of 
the  subject."— Tablet. 


Sealp,  Brpers  $  Walkers 
PuDlicatlons* 

s.  d. 

RECOLLECTIONS    OF    TROUBLED    TIMES    IN    5    0 
IRISH  POLITICS.    By  T.  D.  Sullivan.     With 
Portrait.     Crown  8vo. 

**  ...  As  a  repository  of  anecdote,  of  descriptions  of  events 
and  men  during  stirring  times,  we  must  award  the  book  high  praise." 
— Irish  Times. 

THE  EARLY  HAUNTS  OF  OLIVER  GOLDSMITH.    2    6 
By  Very  Rev.    Dean    Kelly,   P.P.,   M.R.I. A., 
Athbne.      Crown    8vo.       Portrait    on    Cover. 
Illustrated. 

"  This  charming  and  charmingly  written  sketch,  to  be  appreciated, 
must  be  read  and  re-read.  It  is  indeed  a  long  time  since  the  public 
was  offered  so  interesting  and  so  valuable  an  addition  to  Goldsmith 
libraries." — Freeman's  Journal. 

THE  IRISH  PEOPLE;    THEIR  HEIGHT,  FORM    2    6 
AND  STRENGTH.     By  Rev.  Edmund  Hogan, 
S.J.     Cap  8vo.    With  Frontispiece.     Cloth. 

"  In  all  time3  of  which  mere  is  any  record  the  Irish  have  been 
magnificent  anthropological  specimens.  He  gives  their  height, 
weight,  and  strength  at  various  periods  of  history,  and  makes  out 
a  good  case  against  those  who  would  belittle  his  countrymen." — 
Scotsman. 

DROMANA.  The  Memoirs  of  an  Irish  Family.  By  5  0 
Therese  Muir  Mackenzie  (Therese  Villiers  net. 
Stuart).     Crown  8vo.     Cloth.     Illustrated. 

"  The  subiect  teems  with  interest,  being  the  ramified  history  of 
the  Gerakline  family." — Cork  Constitution. 

THROUGH    THE    NEW    COMMONWEALTH.     By    3    6 
William    Redmond,    M.P.     Crown   8vo.     Cloth. 
Profusely  Illustrated!. 

"  It  is  very  interesting,  and   will  widely  circulate  in  Australia." 
Cardinal  Moran,  Archbishop  of  Sydney,  New  South  Wales. 

"  Australian  enterprise,  Irish  piety,  and  their  effect  on  the  march 
of  democracy  are  the  main  theme  of  the  book,  but  here  and  there 
we  get  a  touch  from  the  brilliant  Nationalist's  pen  well  worth  the 
attention  of  prosaic  and  enduring  English  taxpayers."— The  Daily 
Chronicle. 


THE 

Fergusons'  Works. 

Paper. 

HIBERNIAN  NIGHTS'   ENTERTAINMENTS.     By     1     0 

Sir    Samuel    Ferguson.     In    Three    Volumes.  Cloth. 

Crown  8vo.     Each  2    0 

"  The  beautiful  works  by  Sir  Samuel  Ferguson  called  tke  Hibernian 
Nights'  Entertainments,  deal  with  exceedingly  interesting  portions 
of  Irish  History  ;  and  whilst  toe  basis  is  historical,  room  is  given 
for  the  imagination  to  fill  in  details.  They  are  about  the  most 
interesting  historical  works  of  a  romantic  kind  connected  with  Irish 
History  that  I  have  ever  read." — Vide  Speech  of  the  Archbishop  of 
Tuam. 

Paper 

Covers. 

THE    LAYS   OF   THE   WESTERN    GAEL.     With     1     0 

portrait  of  Author  Cloth 

Extra. 

2    0 

"  Sir  Samuel  Ferguson  is  head  and  shoulders  taller  than  any  of 
the  Anglo-Irish  Poets." — Truth. 

CONGAL — A  Poem  in  Five  Books.  Crown  8vo.  Third    2    0 
Edition. 

**  The  best  and  greatest  work  that  Sir  Samuel  Ferguson  has  left 
US." — Blackwood. 

"  One  of  the  works  in  recent  poetic  literature  worthiest  of  being 
known  and  studied." — Frazer's  Magazine. 

Paper. 

LAYS  OF  THE  RED  BRANCH.    By  Sir  Samuel     1    0 

Ferguson.     Fcap.  8vo.  Cloth. 

2    0 

THE  IRISH  BEFORE  THE  CONQUEST.     By  Lady    5    0 
Ferguson.       Third  Edition,  with  Maps,  Revised 
and   Enlarged. 

"There  is  no  other  such  work  on  the  shelves  of  our  National 
Library.  As  a  contribution  to  the  early  history  of  Ireland  it  stands 
unparalleled." — Irish  Times. 


Shilling  Piiblloations  of  Irish  Interest. 

A  CELTIC  FIRESIDE.     By  Thomas  Flynn. 

A  beautifully  conceived  little  volume. 

CURRAN. 

A  Sketch  of  the  Great  Orator,  Poet  and  Patriot. 

EVERGREEN— A  Volume  of  Verse.     By  T.  D.  Sullivan. 
"  Have  a  true  Hibernian  flavour." — Scotsman. 

PADDY— The  Story  of  a  Little  Irish  Boy.     By  Dorothea 
Preston. 
"  A  welcome  addition  to  the  nursery  library." — Cork  Examiner. 

FOR  THE  TONGUE  OF  THE  GAEL.      By  T.  Flannery. 
"Every  page  glistens  with  information." — King's  Co.  Independent. 

IRISH  TOWN  AND  COUNTRY  TALES.     By  Madge  E. 
Denny.     Crown  8vo.     Illustrated. 
"  Elegantly  written  and  humourously  constructed  tales  of  Irish  Life." — 
Freeman. 

A  BUNDLE  OF  RUSHES.     By  E.  L.  Butler. 

"  A  skilful  combination  of  humour  and  pathos." — Catholic  Times. 

NOREEN  DHAS.     A  Tale  of  the  Killeries.     By  "  Aroon." 
"  A  charming  little  story — at  once  simple  and  natural." — The  Lady. 

STUDIES  IN  BLUE.     By  Heblon.     Illustrated  by  C.  A. 
Mills. 

"  The    author  can   claim   to  be   the  Mr.   Dooley  of  Dublin." — Derry 
Sentinel. 

WHITE  HEATHER,  AND  OTHER  TALES  OF  CONNE- 
MARA.     By  "  Aroon." 
"  Fresh,  healthy  and  true  to  life." — Church  of  Ireland  Garette. 

THE  LANE  OF  THRUSHES.     By  Cahir  Healy  and  Cahal 
O'Byrne. 
"  A  decided  addition  to  current  Irish  literature." — United  Irishman. 

SHANE  O'NEILL.     Hereditary  Chief  of  Ulster.     By  Ollamh. 
"  A  remarkable  and  attractive  work." — Nemiry  Reporter. 

WORDS  OF  THE  DEAD  CHIEF.     By  Mrs.  V/yse  Power. 
Prefaced  by  Miss  Anna  Parnell. 
"  Mrs.  Power  has  done  a  good  and  noble  work  in  placing  this  concise  and 
cheap  little  volume  in  the  hands  of  the  Irish  people." — Carlow  Vindicator. 

SEALY,  BRYERS  &  WALKER,  Middle  Abbey  Street, 

DUBLIN. 


Miscellaneous   Publications. 

s.    d. 
SUPERFICIAL  AND  AGRICULTURAL  GEOLOGY. 

IRELAND.     In  Parts.     Now  Ready.    I,  Lime; 

2,  Soils.  EACH,       1       0 

"  Little  masterpieces." — Weekly  Irish  Times. 

}  PAPER 
CLOTH 
1     0 

"  Deal  with  the  various  phases  of  the  National  movement  from 
'48  to  our  own  time." — Daily  Nation. 

SPIRITUAL  LIFE  IN  ITS  ADVANCING  STAGES.     1     0 

By  Archdeacon  Wynne,  Aghadoe.       Crown 
8vo.     Third  Edition.     Cloth. 
"  Writes  with  practical  wisdom  and  spiritual  discernment." — 
Methodist  Recorder. 

A  GARLAND  OF  VERSE.     By  T.  J.  Dunbar.  1     6 

"  There  is  in  all  the  author's  work  an  elevation  of  thought  that  is, 
unhappily,  rare,  in  the  outpourings  of  latterday  minstrels." — 
Munster  News. 

ARROWS  SHOT  AT  A  VENTURE.  By  Rev.  C.  R. 

Williams.  Crown     8vo.  Cloth.  2     6 

"  A  book  to  be  read  through,  and  then  picked  up  at  intervals 
and  read  anywhere." — Waterford  Standard. 

*k  PAPER 

THROUGH  THE  IVORY  GATE.    T.  MacDonagh.    Uoth 

J     2     0 

"  Should  find  a  place  on  the  shelves  of  all  interested  in  the 
literary  revival  in  Ireland." — Irish  Times. 

)  PAPER 
1     0 
CLOTH 
2     0 

"A  new  and  valuable  addition  to  the  poetry  of  Ireland." — 
Freeman. 

THE  IRISH  SQUIREENS.  By  Randall  McDonnell.  1     0 


SEALY,    BUYERS    AHD    WALKER 
DUBLIN. 


EDUCATIONAL    WORKS. 

s.  d. 
FONRBTNG.     The  Newest,  Simplest,  and  Quickest 
Method  of  Recording  Human  Speech.       Fully- 
Explained  in  One  Book.     By  R.  M.  R.     Cloth.     2     0 
**  Any  ordinary  Student  can  easily  master,  and  what  is  better, 
retain  a  knowledge  of  the  Alphabet  in  about  fifteen  minutes." — 
Irish  Times. 

k®     ENGLISH  IRISH     DICTIONARY.  By    T. 

O'Neill  Lane.     Demy  8vo.     Cloth.  6     0 

"  Mr.  O'Neill  Lane's  work  is  a  more  scholarlike  production  than 
that  of  several  living  native  scholars.  The  book  may  justly  be 
described  as  the  best  English- Irish  dictionary  which  has  yet  ap- 
peared."— Athen&um. 

EAGHTRA  GIOLLA  AN  AiVlARAIN,  AND  OTHER 

P0E&18.        By    Red    Donough    Macnamara. 

Edited  by  Thomas  Flannery.      Fcap.  8vo  1     6 

From    Dr.    Douglas    Hyde,    President    of    Gaelic    League — "  I 

congratulate  you  on  your  edition  of  Donnchadh  Ruadh.       Your 

translation   is    twenty   times   better   than    that   of   Standish    H. 

O  Grady." 

LABORATORY      HANDBOOK      OF      ELECTRO- 
TECHNOLOGY.  By    W.     Brown,     B.Sc, 

A.M.I.E.E.,    Lecturer ;     and    R.    G.    Allen, 
A.R.C.Sc.L,     Assistant ;      Royal     College     of     5     0 
Science,  Dublin.      Crown  8vo.      Cloth.  net. 

**  Will  be  found  an  invaluable  help  to  those  who  are  training  for 

the  profession  of  electrical  engineer." — Irish  Independent. 

INTRODUCTORY    PRACTICAL    PHYSICS.  A 

Laboratory  Handbook  on  Physical  Processes. 
By  W.  F.  Barrett,  F.R.S.  and  W.  Brown, 
B.Sc,       A.M.I.E.,       Lecturer       on       Electro- 
Technology.        New    Edition.        Crown    8vo.     2     6 
Cloth.  net. 

"  This  manual  was  one  of  the  best  books  of  its  kind  when  it  was 
first  published  in  i8g2,and  this  revised  edition  will  certainly  increase 
the  demand  for  the  work.' — Irish  Independent. 

CLOTH 

PSYCHIC    AND    NERVOUS    FORCES.        By    J.     2     6 

Turtle  Cooke.     Crown  8vo.     Cloth.  paper 

1     0 

"  The  author  deals  in  language  not  too  technical  for  the  ordinary 
reader  with  a  subject  that  possesses  a  strong  fascination  for  many 
minds." — Cork  Examiner. 


SEALY,    BRYERS    &    WALKER, 

DUBLIN. 


RELIGIOUS  WORKS. 

THE  CHILD'S  PRAYER  BOOK, 

By  Katharine  Tynan. 
Gilt.    Illustrated.  1s  6d.  and  Is.;  Red  Edges,  6d. 
"  A  beautiful  and  holy  little  Book." — Irish  Monthly. 


THE  ST08Y   OF  OUR    LORD   F08    CHILDREN. 

By  Katharine  Tynan.     Cloth.     Illustrated.       1     0 

"  A  beautiful  little  book,  and  deserves  well  of  the  children  for 
whom  it  has  been  written.  ...  So  long  as  such  books  are  being 
written  and  read  the  faith  of  our  children  will  not  die." — The 
Tablet^  London. 

THE  ROSARY  IVSEDITATED.  By  a  Spanish 
Dominican.  A  Method  of  Celebrating  each 
Month  by  Meditations  on  the  Mysteries  of 
the  Rosary.     Cloth,  red  edges,  6d ;    gilt  edges,     1     0 

MEM03R    OF    THE    LIFE    OF    S1STES    BfflARY 

GE^EVSEVE  BE  ALE.  Foundress  of  the 
Congregation  of  Les  Dames  De  St.  Louis  in 
Ireland.  Compiled  by  a  Sister  of  St.  Louis, 
Monaghan.     Cloth.  2     0 

"  Entitled  to  receive  a  warm  reception  at  the  hands  of  devout 
Catholics." — Catholic  Times. 

L3FE  OF  FATHER  CHARLES.  By  Rev.  Father 
Austin,  Passionist.  A  Preface  by  Rev.  T.  A. 
Finlay,  S.J.,  M.A.     Cloth.  2     0 

ST.  FRAN  CSS  OF  ASSSSB.  By  Rev.  L.  de 
Cherance.  Translated  from  the  French  by 
R.  F.  O'Connor.     Illustrated.     Cloth,  gilt.         3     6 

A^SEDI^VAL  HEROOFCARMEL.  An  Historical 
Sketch  of  the  Life  and  Times  of  St.  Peter 
Thomas     By  Rev.  P.  T.  Burke.     Cloth.  3    6 

"  Shows  how  the  religious  orders  strove  to  keep  abreast  of  all 
the  secular  learning  of  their  time." — Tablet. 

BSBLE  HISTORY.     By  the  Right  Revd.  Richard 

Gilmour,      D.D.  Containing      the      most 

remarkable  events  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa-     1     0 
ments.   .  net. 


SEALY,    BRY£RS    AND    WALKBP,    DUBLIN/ 


.»..„.».  wi  ii  .  \mtiyi  Mm  a» 


OciAj/d 


Date  Due 

1      "^ 

i>  /  /  r 

iktfufy  - 

h<v>jcw 

d- 

DEC19^ 

i 



f) 

BOSTON  COLLEGE 


& 


3  9031   01275335  6  |  56  l\.