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GENEALOGY^ 
941.6501 
OLld 
v.l 


f^^J^DDtrr  COLLECTIOR 


GfiM 


ALLEN  COUNTY  PUBLIC  LIBRARY 


GENEALOGY 

3  1833  00675  2007    OLld^^°^ 
v.l 


AN  HISTORICAL  ACCOUNT 

DIOCESE 

gamn  and  Cjnnjin 

ANCIKNT   AND   MO|,>ERN, 

IJY 

Tin;  liHY.  JAMKS  O'LAVERTY.  M.H.I.A., 

PAIMSH  PRIEST  OF  HOLYWOOD. 


"  B,-in(iii/ii-r  til t^  days  of  old,  think  upon  every  (ifiu'ration  :  ((sk  thi/ 
J'atli'i;  and  he  will  declare  to  thee  :  thy  elders,  and  they  will  i^-U 
tJifi .'' — Dkitt.  xxxii.  7. 


VOL.     T 


DUBLIN: 

AMES  DUFFY  &  SONS,   15,  WELLTN(iTON  gUAY 

1S78. 


BELFAST: 
PRI\TEI>  BY  MOAT,  BROTJfKRS, 

potttnoer's  KNTKV. 


To 


1456938 


Tin;  ]Mosr  1{e\.   Patrick  Dokriax.  D.D.. 

I.oiili  JUSHOI'  OF  Dowx  Axn  ('OXXOH, 

WHO, 

l:V    THE    KU  EOT  I  OX    01' 

Chuuche.s,  3Ioxast(c  Institutioxs,  axi»  S<;n()()hs. 

I  [AS     KESTOREl>     AL:\lOST     TO     ITS     AXCIEXT     SPLEXDOLnt 

The  Diocese  of  Dowx  and  Coxxor. 
This  Voli^me 

>     Muse    KESl'KCI'FrrjA'    AXD    most    HUMBIA'    DEUK'Ali'  I 

By  the  Author. 


PREFACE 


The  work,  of  which  this  is  the  first  volnme,  was  originally 
undertaken  for  the  purpose  of  ])lacing  before  the  people  of 
Down  and  Connor  the  meagre  accounts,  whieli  oral  tradition, 
and  a  lew  public  documents,  had  presei'ved,  of  the  heroic 
priests,  who  braved  the  terrors  of  the  Penal  T^aws  to  break 
to  our  forefathers  the  Bread  of  Life,  and  who,  under  God, 
were  the  instruments  of  preserving  to  us  the  faith  of  ancient 
Ireland.  When,  however,  I  was  engaged  in  gleaning  among 
the  people  traditions  regarding  their  old  pastors,  I  found 
among  the  farmers  of  Down  and  Antrim^  both  Catholics  and 
Protestants,  a  zeal  and  enthusiasm  to  know  all,  that  could  he 
known,  of  the  old  churches  and  castles,  raths  and  other 
remnants  of  the  remote  past,  which  they  have  always 
generously  respected  and  preserved,  notwithstanding  their 
desire  of  subjecting  to  tillage  every  foot  of  tlieir  farms.  This 
compilation  has,  therefore,  assumed  its  present  form,  in  order 
to  supply  to  the  inhabitants  of  this  diocese,  what  ail  admit  to 
be  a  glaring  deficiency  in  our  National  Education,  by  point- 
ing out  the  historical  and  intellectual  associations,  in  which 
the  country  is  so  rich,  and  wliicli  may  well  increase  our  pride 
to  belong  to  it ;  and  in  order  to  teach  the  peoi^le,  that  in  almost 
every  field  objects  of  interest  are  to  be  found,  serving  still 
more  to  embellish  the  scene  of  nature,  and  still  more  to 
augment  that  generous  patriotism,  which  attaches  us  to  our 
native  soil.  But  in  the  words  of  Camden,  '^  //  any  there  he 
tphich   are   desirous  to   he  strangers  in  their  owne  soi/e,  and 


forrainers  in  thdr  mcne  citie,  they  may  so  continue,  and 
therein  flatter  themselves.  For  such  I  have  not  ivritten  these 
lines,  and  f alien  these  paines^  lam  far  from  presumiugthat 
this  book  is  what  it  should  have  been.  However,  the  total 
want  of  diocesan  and  jiarochial  records,  except  those  of  a 
few  yeai'S  standing,  will  iu  part  explain  some  of  the  diffi- 
culties against  which  I  had  to  contend.  I  am  conscious,  at 
least,  that  I  spared  no  pains.  I  have  been  in  every  field, 
examined  every  graveyard,  and  convei'sed  with  every  person 
capable  of  giving  me  the  least  information.  The  reader  has 
placed  before  him  the  substance  of  all  the  topographical  notes 
relating  to  the  i)laces  treated  of,  which  are  to  be  found  in 
any  of  the  Irish  historic  publications.  My  task  has  leen 
rendered  comparatively  easy  by  that  inestimable  woi-k  of 
Dr.  Reeves,  "'The  Ecclesiastical  Antiquities  of  Down, 
Connor,  and  Dromoi-e,"  which  T  have  always  followed  as  my 
safest  guide. 

I  have  to  exjjress  my  obligations  to  Mr.  J.  W.  Hanna,  of 
Downpatrick,  who,  in  the  kindest  manner,  gave  me  the  list 
of  the  parish  priests  of  the  various  parishes  of  the  diocese, 
which,  upwards  of  thirty  year.s  ago,  he  collected,  chiefly  from 
traditional  sources.  I  have  also  to  record  my  thanks  to  S, 
Ferguson, Esq.,  L.L.D.,  M.R.I. A.,  and  W.  M.  Hennessy,  Esq., 
M.R.I. A.,  for  the  readiness  with  which  they  facilitated  my 
researches  in  the  Record  Office. 

Holywood,  January,  1st,  1878. 


CONTENTS. 

(References  to  the  Notes  are  in  Italic.) 
Introduction,  containing  the  general  history  of  Down  and 
Antrim  from  the  earliest  date  to  the  fifteenth  century,  IX. 
Milesians,  XI.  Ulster,  XII,  Eed  Branch  Knights  of 
Ulster,  XIII.  "  Battle  of  the  CoUas,"*  XIV.  The  original 
inhabitants  of  Ulster  driven  into  Down  and  Antrim,  XV. 
Descendants  of  Niall  of  the  Nine  Hostages,  XVT.  Wars 
of  the  Kinel-Owen  with  the  Ulidians.  Hy  Nialls,  XVII. 
Part  of  the  Book  of  Rights  relating  to  Down  and  Antrim, 
Dalaradia,  Dalrieda,  and  other  territories,  XIX.  Mac 
Sherry,  0' Sherry,  XXIV.  O  Carrol,  XXV.  OMooney, 
O'Lavery,  XXVI.  The  Kings  of  Ulidia,  XXVIII.  Battle 
of  Moira,  XXXI.  The  Danes  invade  Ulidia,  XXXIV.  The 
Kinel-Owen  under  their  Princes,  tlie  M'Loughlins,  O'Neills, 
and  others,  war  against  the  Ulidians.  O'  Heflariu,  O'Linchey, 
XLII.  Inauguration  of  the  Princes  of  Kinel-Owen  hy  O'Hagan 
and  0'Ka7ie,i  XLVI.  Custom  of  blinding  dethroned  Pririces, 
O'Hamill.  The  English  invasion,  LIV.  MacCloslcey,  LVI. 
King  John^s  expedition  from  Carlingford  to  Carrickfergus 
andhack,\NYll.  O'Dugan's  Poem.  OBunlevy,  MacAnulty, 
CHaughey,  O Haughean,  CLavery,  LX.  O'Mtirney,  Macle- 
murry,  O^Murry,  MacMahon,  0' Kenny,  M^ Kinney,  O'Garvey, 

*  Irish  historians  generally  say  that  the  "  Battle  of  the  Collas"  was 
fought  in  the  barony  of  Farney,  Co.  Monaghan,  but  they  never  could 
identify  the  precise  place,  the  author  places  it  at  Aghaderg,  Co.  Down. 
See  Cormellan's  edition  of  the  Four  Masters,  p.  2. 

+  The  author  finds,  that  he  was  misinformed  with  regard  to  the 
identification  of  the  tomb  of  Magnus,  p.  XLVI. 


LXI.  O'Uayivey,  Devenmj,  M'llvenni/,  LXII.  The  natives 
harshly  treated  by  the  English,  LXIII.  Battle  of  Down, 
A.D.  1260,  LXV.  The  Clannaboy,  LXVII.  Petition  from 
the  clergy  and  nobles  of  Down  to  the  King,  LXVIII. 
Addenda,  Parish  of  Drumaroad,  and  Clanvaraghan,  LXX. 
Kilmegan,  names  of  the  inhabitants  of  Castleioellan  in  1766, 
LXXI. 

Parish  of  Kilkeel,  or  Upper  Mourne,  1.  "  The  slaughter 
of  Cathair-Boirche"  an  Irish  tale,  2.  Tamlught,  9.  Green- 
castle  Church,  10.  Kilkeel,  11.  Parish  priests,  15.*  Parish 
church,  22.     Kistvaens  Cromleach,  23. 

Parish  of  St.  Maiy's,  or  Lower  Mourne;  Father  jMacCann's 
description  of  Mourne,  25.  Killniologe,  23.  Annalong,  28. 
Ballachauery,  28.     Parish  priests,  29.     Churches,  33. 

Iveagh,  34.  Moy-Cova,  Chiefs  of  Iveagh,  35.  Eathfri- 
land,  c7. 

Parish  of  Kilcoo,  Ufuniena,  a  place  of  public  assemblies, 
Stone  Forts,  38.  Dominicans,  39.  Ruined  Church  of  Kilcoo, 
40.      Parish  Priests,  41.     Church,  45. 

Parish  of  Maghera,  or  Bryansford,  47.  iSlieve  Donard 
and  St.  Douard's  Chapel,  48.  Newcastle,  50.  Church  of 
Maghera,  51.  Legend  regarding  St.  Donard,  52.  Rath- 
scillan,  53.  O Loughlin,  55.  Cromleach  aud  Pillar  Stone, 
Parish  Priests,  57.  The  '•  Faruham  Eeformatiou,"  59. 
Lord  Eoden's  Estate,  73.     Churches,  64. 

Parish  of  Kilmegan,  Graveyards  in  Carrowbane,  Drum- 
buckwood,  65.  Kilmegan,  Church  Hill,  and  "Wateresk, 
Watertiry,  66.  Dundrum,  67.  Inner  Bay  or  Lough  Ruray, 
Feast  of  Brier  bid,  69.  Dominicans,  71.  Franciscans,  74. 
Parish  Priests,  77.     Churches.  79. 

Kinelarty ,  Mac  A.rtam,  31.     Forde,  8  6 . 

Parish  of  Loughinisland,  Ancient  Churches  in  Farraufad, 
*  P.  21,  hue  6,  for  1845  read  1855. 


89.  Seaforde,  91.  Tannaglimore,  Magheraloue,  92.  Churches 
in  the  Island,  93.  Magheratimpany,  95.  Parish  Priests, 
93.     Kebellion  of  1803,  99.     Church,  105. 

Lecale,  its  Chiefs,  109.  English  Invasion,  112.  O'Gilmore 
O'Murney,  113. 

Parish  of  Ballykinlar,  &c.,  Drumcath  and  Eathcath,  116. 
Lord  Mountjoy's  Expedition  to  Lecale,  117.  De  Courcy's 
Grant  of  Ballykinlar,  119.  Lismoghan,  121.  Drunibo, 
where  situated,  122,  Killyglinnie,  125.  Earl's  Park, 
Tyrella,  126.  An  old  Tradition,  An  old.  Irish  Tale,  127. 
liathmullan,  130.  Parish  Priests,  131.  Churchf^s,  136. 
A  Stone  Circle,  137. 

Parish  of  Bright,  Ereuagh,  139  Circle  of  Stones  in 
Ballynoe,  Church  of  Ballyuoe,  141.  A  Charter  granting 
lands  to  the  Monastery  of  Mahee  Island,  142.  Conversion 
of  St.  Mochay,  The  road  by  which  St.  Patrick  came  to  Bright, 
143.  Church  of  Coniamstown,  144.  Russell,  \i5.  Grange- 
walls,  146.  Church  of  Bright,  147.  Ardglass  Estate,  149. 
Tullinespick,  150.  Ballynagalliagh,  Rossglass,  151.  Chapel 
near  St.  John's  Point,  152.  Irish  mode  of  interment,  154. 
Kilbride,  155.  Castleivard  Estate,  156.  Parish  Priests, 
158.     Churches,  164. 

Parish  of  Dunsford  and  Ardglass,  Castles  of  Ardglass, 
Pillar  Stone,  166.  Ardglass  Estate,  Murders  in  1643,  169. 
Ardglass  Church,  172.  Ardtole,  173.  Ross  Church,  174. 
Dunsford,  175.  Tollumgrange,  176.  Bishop's  Court 
Ornamented  Slab,  177.  Sheepland,  179.  Legend  regarding 
St.  Patrick,  180.  Killard,  181.  Parish  Priests,  182. 
Churches,  187. 

Parish  of  Bailee,  189.  Ballylenagh,  Ballynagross,  Bally- 
culter.  Parish  Priests,  192.  Churches,  198.  Meaning  of 
the  word  "  Bohog,^'  1 99. 

Parish  of  Kilclief,  Extract  from  the  *'  Inquisitiones  Ultonice" 


showing  the  names  of  the  old  }y)'oprietors  in  Lecale,  200. 
Clmrch  of  Ballyorgau,  201.  Chapel  of  Balljwooden,  203. 
Ballynarry,  Kilclief,  204.  Strangford  Lough  and  Strang/ord 
town,  205.^Casfcle  of  Kilclief,  207.  Archdeacons  of  Down, 
208.     Parish  Priests,  211.     Churches,  215. 

Parish  "of  Saul,  Tubberdoney,  Templecormac  (see  also 
p,  304),  217.  Aiidleystoion,  218.  Castleivard  Demesne, 
Walshestown,  219.  Raholp,  220.  Cromleach,  222.  Church- 
walls,  Croshihonan,  223.  Ballintogher,  224.  Place  where  St. 
Patrick  landed,  225.  Mr.  Hanna  on  the  Legend  regarding  the 
Sepulture  of  St.  Patrick,  228.  Church  of  Saul,  229.  Tobber- 
ua-suil  Well,  232.  Ancient  Tomis  called  "  Con/esdotials,"  237. 
Stone  on  tv/iich  St.  Patrick  2)'>'ayed,  Old  form  of  Interment, 
238.  Priests  interred  in  Saul,  259.  Slievenagriddle  Cromleach 
Stone  Circle,  240.  Parish  Priests,  O'Laverty,  241.  Churches, 
Alter  Stone  of  Saul,  246. 

Parish]  of  Down,  Struel  Chapel  and  Wells,  248.  Struel 
Stations,  256.  Dr.  Shiel,  Bishop  of  Down  and  Connor,  on 
Pilgrimages  and  Stations,  252.  ''  Samson's  Stone,  253. 
Priory  of  St.  Thomas  the  Martyr,  Priory  of  St.  John  the 
Baptist,  254.  Priory  of  Regular  Canons,  called  the 
Monastery  of  the  Irish,  258.  Franciscan  Friary,  MacCann, 
259.  The  IMound,  2G4.  Celtchair  of  the  Battles,  a  famous 
Ulster  champion,  the  Cathedral,  267.  llelics  of  St.  Patrick, 
St.  Bridget,  and  St.  Columba,  269.  The  Abbots,  Ereiiach 
explained,  274.  Daimhliag  explained,  276.  Round  Tower 
and  Ci'Tcular  entrenchment,  277.  O'Carlan,  0' Donnelly,  the 
English  Invasion,  279.  Changes  in  the  Cathedral  by  De 
Courcy,  Charters,  282.  St.  Patrick's  Grave,  285.  Shrine 
of  the  Hand  of  St.  Patrick,  287.  Shrine  of  the  jaw-hone  of 
St.  Patrick,  289.  Some  account  of  De  Courcy,  29').  The 
Battle  of  Down,  293.  O'Carra,  or  Corr,  MacLoughlin,  294. 
O'Kane     295.       O'Henrg,     MacDermot,     CGormely,     296. 


O'Hanlon,  MacNamee,  297.  O'Devawj,  Wacd,  298.  Destrixc- 
tion  of  the  Cathedral,  Priors  of  Down,  301.  What  was 
done  with  the  Monastic  lands,  Downpatrick  estate,  303. 
Chapel  of  Quarter  Cormack,  304.  Ballydugan,  Ballykilbeg, 
Grctnnoges,  305.  Ballyrolly,  306.  Crolly,  Ballykilbeg,  307. 
Sale  of  portions  of  Downpatrick  Estate,  A.D.  1710,  Purchasers 
and  present  Proprietors,  308.  Parish  Priests,  309.  Doion- 
patrick  as  it  loas  A.D.  1708,  310.  Popish  Clergy,  A.D.  1697, 
MacMullan,  313.  Deans  of  Doion,  314.  Benvir,  315. 
Churches,  317.  Convent,  3 19.  Identification  of  the  stone 
on  which  St.  Patrick  prayed,  after  he  landed,  o20. 

Parish  of  Inch,  (tc  ,  Abbey  Church  of  Inch,  Cooscray,  an 
Irish  hero,  321.  Excavations  among  the  ruins  by  Mr. 
Phillips,  325.  Kilmore,  328.  Eadenian,  Listooder,  Killy- 
man,  329.  Clontaghnaglar,  Killinchy-in-the- Woods,  3o0. 
Cluntagh,  Killowen,  331.  Killrasy,  or  Killyandrews,  Parish 
Priests,  332.  Churches,  336.  KiUyleacjh  Castle,  337.  The 
Irish  Elk,  339. 

Barony  of  Dufferin,  the  principal  events  which  occurred 
in  it,  340.      Rath  and  Dun  explained,  344. 

Parish  of  Saintfield,  Eathgormau,  Riughaddy,  Dunsj' 
Island,  345.  Skettrick  Island,  346.  Killinchy;  Kilkeerau, 
347.  Folklore,  the  Cat  of  C lough,  the  Ossianic  ballad  "  27ie 
Hunt  ofSliahh  Truim,"  O'Roney,  348.  Mahee  Island,  349 
Dunnyneill  Island,  35('.  Ancient  Legend  of  St.  Moehay,  356. 
Abbots  of  Aendruim,  or  Mahee,  358.  Charters  to  Mahee 
Church,  360.  Petition  of  "  Captayne  Browne,^'  The  Estate  of 
Ardmillan,  367.  Castle-Espie,  Tullynakill,  Ballyministra, 
369.  Kilmood,  Eavarra,  Magherascouse,  Saintfield,  370. 
Price,  Saintfield  Estate,  371.  Killnagarrick,  Killaney,  372. 
Lands  of,  possessed  by  Lord  Downshire,  373.  Ancient 
Woods,  Pillar  Stone,  Oghley,  Ancient  Public  Assemblies  at, 
374.  Parish  Priests.  375.  Churches,  380.  Lis  and  Cathair 
explained,  381. 


VIU  CONTKXTS. 

The  Territory  of  the  Ards,  tlie  principal  events  which 
occurred  in  it,  382.     Tenant  Right,  389, 

Parish  of  Portaferry,  Witter,  390.  Temijle  Cowey,  391. 
Stone  Circle,  Quintin  Bay  Castle.  392.  Knockinelder, 
O'Goivan,  noio  Smith,  2>^Z.  Ballytrustan,  395.  Ballyphilip, 
396.  Temple  Craney,  398.  Portaferry  C-A.^t\e,  Savage,  399. 
Freeholders  in  the  Arris  200  years  ago,  O'Coran,  M^Ley, 
0' Domegaii,  M'Grae,  O'Conan,  400.  Ardquiu,  Savage, 
Nugent,  402.  Deny,  404.  Parish  Priests,  40G.  Church, 
408.  Census  of  Sriiitfjiehl,  Killinchey.  and  Killi/leagh,  A.D. 
176G,  409. 

Parish  of  Ballygalgit,  410.  Hock  Savage,  Castleljoy,  411, 
Corody  arul  Mortuary  explni lied ^  414.  Slano.s,  410.  Parish 
Piiests,  418.     Church,  419. 

Parish  of  Ardkcen,  421.  Savages  of  Ardkeen,  423.  Lislian, 
424.  Gransha,  Echlinville,  425.  Ballyhalbert,  Kirkcubbin. 
427.  Ini.shargy,  0' Flinn,  428.  Balliggan,  429.  Bally- 
waiter,  Black  Abbey,  430.  Grey  Abbey,  433.  Temple 
Crone,  Cairn.  Chapel  Island.  Parish  Priests,  441.  Churches, 
446.     Mount  St.  Jo.seph,  448. 


INTRODUCTION. 


AS  this  book  is  intended  for  tlie  fireside  reading  of  many 
who  have  not  devoted  much  attention  to  Irish  History, 
it  becomes  necessary  to  place  before  them  some  of  the 
principal  events  which  effected  changes  within  the  ten-itory 
comprised  in  the  united  Diocese  of  Down  and  Connor.  The 
early  history  of  Ireland,  like  that  of  other  countries,  is  filled 
^vith  legendary  and  poetical  details.  Rejecting  as  unworthy 
of  any  credit  the  stories  regarding  an  antedehnian  colon- 
ization, Ii'ish  historians  say,  that  Parthalon  (pronounced 
Paralaun),  Li  the  year  of  the  world  2520,  led  a  colony  of 
a  thousand  followers  to  Ireland.  He  was  the  fii-st  who 
cleared  any  pnrt  of  Ireland  of  the  primeval  woods.  One 
of  the  plains  said  to  have  been  cleared  by  him  was  Magh 
Latrainn  (Larue)  in  Dalaradia.  His  son  Rndhnudhe 
(Rooi-ey)  was  drowned  in  Loch  Rudhruidhe  (the  Inner  Bay 
of  Dundrum),  when  the  sea  burst  over  the  land  and  formed 
that  inlet  which  %vas  named  from  him.  A  similar  irniption 
of  the  sea  over  "the  land  of  Brena,"  which  formed  Loch  Cuan, 
now  Strangford  Lough,  occun'ed  in  the  following  year. 
Slainge,  (Slany)  son  of  Parthalon,  was  interred  iii  the  gi-eat 
earn  on  the  summit  of  Slieve-Donard,  and  the  mountain  was 
long  named  from  him  Sliabh-Slainge  (Slieve-Slany).  Three 
hundred  years  after  their  ariival,  the  entire  colony,  then 
numbering  9,000   })ersons,  perished  by  a  pestilence  leaving 


X  DOWX  AND  CONNOR. 

the  country  once  more  without  inliabitants.  Ireland  having 
remained  waste  about  thii-ty  years  was  colonized  by  a  people 
from  the  vicinity  of  the  Euxuie  Sea,  led  by  a  prince  named 
Neimhidh  (pronounced  Nevy)  whose  descendants  occupied 
the  land  for  about  200  years,  and  were  engaged  in  building 
raths  and  clearing  woods.  They  erected  Eath-Cimbaeth 
(Rath  Kimbey)  in  the  plain  of  Magh-Seimhne  (Moy  Sevne, 
now  Island-Magee)  and  cleared  that  plain  of  wood.  Nevy 
with  2,000  of  his  followers  was  carried  off  by  a  pestilence, 
and  the  remnant  of  his  people  was  engaged  in  constant 
conflict  Avith  a  race  called  Foniorians  who  are  said  to  have 
been  African  pirates,  perhaps  Canaanites  or  Phoenicians 
expelled  from  their  country  by  Joshua.  Tlieir  principal 
strongholds  were  along  the  north  coasts  of  Ulster  and 
Connaught,  and  the  traditions  of  after  ages  represent  them 
as  a  race  of  Giants.  From  them  the  Giant's  Causeway  was 
called  Clochan-na-Fomoraighe — the  causeway  of  the  Fomor. 
ians.  One  of  the  terrible  conflicts  between  Nevy  and  the 
Fomorach  is  called  the  battle  of  Murbholg,  now  ]\Iurlow  Bay 
in  the  County  of  Antrim.  Worn  out  by  these  battles  the 
remnants  of  the  people  of  Nevy  made  their  escape  from 
Ireland  under  three  chiefs,  one  band  fled  to  Albion  under 
Briotan  Maol,  from  whose  name  Albion  is  said  to  be  called 
Britain.  Another  band  passed  into  the  northern  parts  of 
Europe  where  they  grew  into  the  famous  people,  the  Tuatha 
de  Danann,  who  afterwards  iuA'aded  Ireland,  and  the  third 
party  of  refugees  made  their  way  into  Greece  whence  they 
returned  to  Ireland  under  the  name  of  Firbolgs.  Two 
hundred  and  sixteen  years,  say  our  bardic  annalists,  Nevy 
and  his  race  remained  in  Ireland.  After  this  Ireland  was  a 
wilderness  for  two  hundred  years.  It  was  in  the  year  of  the 
world  3266  that  the  Fii-bolgs  came  from  Greece  under  five 
chieftains  and  took  possession  of  Ireland.     It  is  far  more 


INTRODUCTION.  XI 

likely  that  tlie  Firbolgs  were  a  colony  from  Belgic  Gaul  (Fir 
Bolg — Belgian  men).  After  the  lapse  of  about  half  a 
century  the  country  was  seized  by  a  fresh  horde  of  invaders, 
the  celebrated  Tiiatha  de  Dananns,  about  whose  magical  and 
mechanical  skill  some  wonderful  stories  are  told.  They  are 
considered  by  some  to  have  come  from  Greece,  by  others 
from  Denmark,  they  were  however  a  race  less  numeroiis  but 
more  civilized  than  the  Firbolgs. 

It  was  in  the  year  of  the  world  3,500,  and  1,700  before 
Christ,  according  to  the  Four  Masters,  or  A.M.  2934  and 
B.C.  1015,  according  to  O'Flagherty's  chronology,*  that  the 
Milesian  colony  arrived  in  Ireland.  To  this  colony  our 
historians  assign  an  eastern  origin  and  describe  its  various 
migrations  for  several  hundred  years  until  it  arrived  in 
Spain,  whence  it  sailed  to  Ireland.  The  commanders  of 
the  Milesians  were  Heber,  Heremon  and  Ir.  The  race  of 
Heber  called  the  Heberians  became  kings  and  chiefs  of 
Munster.  The  descendants  of  Heremon,  or  the  Heremonians 
supplied  kings  to  nearly  every  part  of  Ireland  except 
Munster.  The  race  of  Ir  possessed  Ulster  for  many  cen- 
turies. From  the  conquest  of  Ireland  by  the  sons  of  Milesius, 
to  its  conversion  to  Christianity  by  St.  Patrick,  one  hundred 
and  eighteen  sovereigns  of  all  Ireland  are  enumerated.  Of 
this  number  sixty  were  of  the  race  of  Heremon,  twenty 
nine  of  the  posterity  of  Heber  and  twenty  four  of  the  race 
of  Ir,  three  wex-e  descendants  of  Ith,  the  uncle  of  Milesius, 
whose  race  was  located  in  Munster,  one  was  a  Firbolg  and 
one   was  a  woman.     The  Milesians  are  also  named  Scoti, 

*  The  Four  Masters  follow  in  chronology  the  computation  of  tlie 
Septuagint  as  given  in  the  Chronicon  of  Eusebius  by  St.  Jerome,  who 
says,  "  From  Adam  to  the  Flood  are  2242  years,  but  according  to  the 
Hebrews  there  are  1656  years."  Most  of  the  ancient  Irish  historical 
poems  followed  the  computation  of  the  Hebrews. 


XU  DOWX    AND    CONNOR. 

from  whom  Ireland  was  called  8cotia,  and  in  more  modern 
times  the  same  people  have  given  their  name  to  Scotland. 

Ulster  being  one  of  the  five  provinces,  into  which  Ireland 
was  divided,  was  named  Cuigeadh  Uladh — the  fifth,  or 
province  TJladh  (pronounced  Ula)  ;  its  name  is  derived 
according  to  Keating  and  others  from  Ollsaiih — great  wealth  ; 
— or  according  to  others  from  Ollamli  Fodhla  (Ollav  Folbi) 
one  of  its  greatest  kings,  who  became  monarch  and  legislator 
of  Ireland.  Kings  of  the  posterity  of  Ir  mled  over  Ulster 
for  more  than  a  thousand  years.  One  of  those  princes, 
Sobhairce  (Sovarkey)  king  of  Ulster  and  joint  king  of  Ii'eland 
erected  a  forti-ess  on  a  bold  rock  projecting  into  the  sea  near 
the  Giant's  Causeway.  This  was  named  Dim-Sobhairce  or 
the  foi'tress  of  Sobhairce  where  he  fixed  his  royal  residence 
nearly  nine  centimes  before  the  Christian  era ;  it  is  now 
called  Dunseverick.  Another  fortress  and  royal  residence  of 
the  kings  of  Ulster  was  at  Rath-Mor-Muighe-Linne,  or  the 
Rath  of  Mora  of  Moylinny  near  Antrim,  it  was  named  from 
Mora,  wife  of  Breasal,  King  of  Ulster,  A.D.  161.  Ciml)aoth, 
(Kimbee),  King  of  Ulster,  who  became  monarch  of  Irelandfroni 
about  350  to  300  years  before  the  Christian  era  erected  the 
l)alace  of  Eamhain  Macha  (Avan  Macha),  the  earth-works  of 
which  are  to  be  seen  at  the  ISTavan  Ring  near  Ai-magh.  This 
palace  was  named  from  his  queen  Macha,  a  celebrated  heroine, 
who  succeeded  her  husband  in  the  throne  and  was  the  only 
female  who  ever  i-uled  Ireland  in  ancient  times. 

The  Kings  of  Ulster  had  their  chief  residence  at  the  palace 
of  Eamhain  Macha,  or  Emania,  for  nearly  seven  centuries  ; 
from  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  years  before  the  Christian 
era  to  a.d.  332.  During  this  time  about  thirty-five  Kings 
reigned,  all  of  the  Irian  race  except  three  or  four  of  the 
Heremonians.  One  of  the  greatest  of  those  Irian  Kings  of 
Ulster  was  Ruadhraidhe  Mor  (Roorey  Mor),  who  flourislied 


INTRODUCTION.  Xlll 

about  150  years  before  the  Chiistian  era;  his  descendants 
are  called  the  Clanna  Rory,  and  in  history  they  are  frequently 
named  Rudricians  from  Rudricius,  the  latinised  form  of  his 
name.  Conchobhar-Mac-Nessa  (Concovar,  or  Connor  Mac 
Nessa),  an  Irian  prince,  ruled  over  Ulster  about  the  period 
of  the  Incarnation.  His  reign  is  rendered  illustrious  in  the 
works  of  the  Irish  bards  on  account  of  the  exploits  of  the 
Red  Branch  Knights  of  Ulster,  the  chief  champions  of  whom 
were  Cuchullin,  Conall  Kearnach,  Keltcar  "  of  the  battles," 
whose  residence  was  on  the  great  mound  of  Downpatrick ; 
Laoghaire  Buadhach  (Leary  the  valiant) ;  and  Cethern 
(Kehern),  who  resided  at  Dunkern — ^the  Giant's  Sconce — 
and  at  Mountsandal,  which  was  erected  by  his  grandfather, 
the  grandson  of  Rooi'ey  Mor.  The  first  King  of  Ulster  not 
of  the  Irian  race  was  Fiatach  Finn,  a  descendant  of  Heremon; 
he  usurped  the  throne  of  Ireland,  and  was  slain  a.d.  39. 
From  him  are  descended  the  Dal-Fiatach,  a  powerful  tribe 
located  in  Down  and  Antrim,  who  supplied  most  of  the 
Kings  of  Ulidia  from  the  fourth  to  the  twelfth  century. 
Elim,  who  was  of  the  Irian  race,  succeeded  to  the  throne  of 
Ulster  ;  he  and  the  Irians  joined  the  plebeians  in  expelling 
the  monai'ch  and  the  aristocracy  a.d.  56,  and  Elim  usurped 
the  monarchy,  but  the  Irish  Chroniclers  say  that  Cod  took 
vengeance  on  the  usiirper  and  his  plebeian  supporters,  for 
"  Ireland  was  without  corn,  without  milk,  without  fish,"  till 
the  rightful  heir  Tuathal  slew  Elim  after  twenty  yeai"s' 
usurpation.  Tuathal  (Tooal)  established  his  line  more  fii'mly 
by  exacting  from  the  people  an  oath  "  by  the  sun,  moon,  and 
elements,  that  his  posterity  should  not  be  deprived  of  the 
sovereignty."  Neither  his  great  power,  nor  the  oath  his 
subjects  swore,  saved  the  Heremonian  Tuathal  from  the 
ambition  of  Mai,  King  of  Ulster,  a  descendant  of  Conal 
Kearnach,  and  consequently  an  Irian.     He  slew  the  monarch 


XIV  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

Tuathal  in  a  great  battle  foiiglit  a.d.  106,  at  the  base  of 
Ballyboley  Hill,  where  the  Six-Mile  Water  and  the  Larne 
River  take  then-  rise.  But  Tuathal's  son,  Feliniy  Rechtar, 
or  the  Law-maker,  avenged  his  father,  and  again  won  back 
the  sovereignty  from  the  race  of  Ir.  Conn  of  the  Hundred 
Battles,  son  of  Felimy,  ascended  the  throne  a.d.  123, 
and  he  too,  after  an  eventful  reign,  was  slain  a.d.  157,  by 
Tibradi  Tirech,  the  Irian  King  of  Ulster.  Conn's  successor 
and  son-in-law,  Conary  II.,  was  the  father  of  the  three 
Carbrys,  one  of  whom  Carbry  Riada  (Rioghfhada,  i.e.,  of  the 
long  wrist)  was  the  ancestor  of  the  Dalriads  of  the  County 
of  Antrim,  and  of  the  tribe  of  the  same  name  in  Scotland. 
This  Carbry  Riada  is  mentioned  under  the  name  of  Reuda, 
by  Venerable  Bede,  as  the  leader  of  the  Scots  who  came  from 
Hibernia  into  All)a  and  obtained  the  territory,  which  the  Scots 
held  in  his  time  in  Alba,  or  Scotland.  A.D.  322,  Fiacha 
Sravtinne,  King  of  Ireland,  a  descendant  of  Conn  of  the 
Hundred  Battles,  was  slain  by  the  thi-ee  Collas,  the  sons  of 
his  own  brother  ■  but  when  the  eldest  of  the  Collas  had 
occupied  the  throne  four  years,  he  was  deposed  and  expelled, 
together  with  his  brothers  and  followers  into  Scotland,  by 
Muii-each  Tirach,  the  son  of  Fiacha,  the  previous  monarch. 
In  a  short  time  the  three  Collas  returned,  and  were  reconciled 
to  their  cousin.  King  Muireach  Tii-ach,  who  directed  their 
ambition  against  the  Irian  kingdom  of  Ulster,  which  had  so 
often  inflicted  injury  on  the  Heremonian  race.  The  monarch 
supplied  them  with  troops,  with  whicli  they  marched  into 
Connaught,  and  seven  legions  of  the  Firbolg  tribes  of  Con- 
naught  instantly  joined  their  standard  ;  with  this  force  they 
marched  into  Ulster,  to  Achadh-leithdheirg,  ( Agha-ley-yerig), 
now  Achaderg,  in  the  barony  of  Iveagh.  There,  was  fought, 
A.D.  332,  the  battle  of  the  three  Collas,  which  lasted  during 
seven  days,  and  the  slaughter  was  so  great  that  the  earth 


INTRODUCTION.  XV 

was  covered  with  dead  bodies  from  Carn-Eocliy  (probably 
Drummillar  near  Loughbrickland)  to  Glenrighe  (Glenree), 
now  the  vale  of  the  Ke^viy  River.  Fergus  Fogha  (Foha), 
the  last  Irian  King  of  Ulster,  perished  in  the  battle, 
and  the  victors  immediately  marched  on  the  royal 
palace  of  Eamhain  (at  the  Navan  Ring,  near  Ai-magh), 
which  they  plundered  and  burnt  to  the  gi-ound.  The  Collas 
parcelled  out  among  themselves  the  entire  of  Ulster,  west  of 
Glenrighe,  Lough  Neagh,  and  the  Bann ;  and  from  this  down- 
ward, the  name  Uladh  (Ula),  or  its  Latinised  form,  Ulidia,  is 
applied  to  the  circumscribed  territory  of  the  Clanna  E,oorey» 
narrowed  by  this  conquest  to  the  County  of  Down  and  the 
lai'ger  portion  of  Antrim,  for  the  north  of  the  latter  coxinty 
was  already  in  the  hands  of  the  Dalriadans.  About  this 
time,  to  save  themselves  from  utter  destruction,  the  unfor- 
tunate Ulidians  made  the  fosse  and  rampart,  which  is  now 
called  the  Dane's  Cast,  in  Glenrighe — the  glen  of  the 
Newry  River.  The  Irians*  made  many  an  effort  to  recover 
their  lost  territory,  but  always  in  vain;  and  their  descendants 
cherished  the  memory  of  their  wi'ongs  for  more  than  twelve 
himdred  years,  scarcely  ever  omitting  an  opportunity  of 
leaguing  themselves  with  the  enemies  of  Heremonian  race. 
Yet  even  in  the  little  territory  which  remained  to  them  the 
Irians  were  far  from  being  s\ipreme.  In  the  year  22, 
Fiatach  Finn  began  to  reign  in  Emania,  he  was  of  the  race 
of  Heremon,  and  from  him  the  Dal  Fiatach  are  descended ; 

*  Long  previous  to  the  final  overthrow  of  the  Irian  Kingdom  of 
Ulster  internal  dissensions  drove  off  several  of  its  princes,  from  whom 
are  descended  the  O'Connors  of  Kerry,  the  O'Loughlins  of  Bui-ren  in 
Clare,  the  MacRannals  of  the  County  Longford,  the  O'Moores  and 
O'Lawlors  of  Queen's  County,  the  Mac  an  Bhairds,  or  Wards, 
hereditary  poets  to  several  chiefs,  the  O'Carelons  of  Glen  Dermod, 
who  settled  among  the  Kinel-Owen  (but  other  and  perhaps  better 
authorities  say  that  they  are  of  the  Kinel-Owen),  the  O'Ferrals  of 
Annly  in  Langford  and  many  others. 


XVI  DOWX  AND  CONNOR. 

they  resided  in  Irian  territory,  and  after  the  disastrous  battle 
of  the  three  Collas  they  fled  along  with  the  Irians  before  the 
conquerors  into  the  circumscribed  Ulidia,  and  to  that 
territory  during  seven  centuries  they  supplied  more  than 
three  fourths  of  its  Kings,  while  in  the  (Jounty  of  Down 
they  left  to  the  Irians  only  Iveagh,  Kinelarty,  and  Dufierin. 
Niall  of  the  Nine  Hostages  was  the  most  illustrious  of  the 
descendants  of  Tuathal  of  the  Heremonian  line,  he  opposed 
the  Romans  in  Bi-itain  and  pursued  them  into  Gaul,  whence, 
it  is  said,  his  soldiei's  carried  off"  8t.  Pati-ick,  then  a  youth  in 
his  sixteenth  year  who  was  destined  afterwards  to  be  the 
chief  apostle  of  Ireland.  Niall  crowned  with  laurels  was 
assassinated  on  the  banks  of  the  Loire,  A.D.  405,  by  one  of 
his  own  subjects.  Poems  of  Flann  of  the  Monastery,  or  of 
Monasterboice,  preserved  in  the  Book  of  Leinster  tell  us  that 
Conall  Gulban,  the  ancestor  of  the  Cinel  Chonaill  (Kinel 
Connell),  accompanied  by  his  brothers  Eogliau  ((Iwen),  Enna 
and  Cairbre,  without  the  assent  or  assistance  of  their  father, 
the  monarch  Niall  of  the  Nine  Hostages,  conquered  from  the 
Clann  Colla*  and  the  tribes  of  Noi'th  Connaught  a  territory 
for  himself  and  his  brothers.  In  after  ages  the  descendants  of 
these  brothers  were  known  as  the  "Northern  Hy-Niall"  while 
the  descendants  of  their  other  brothers  on  whom  King  Niall 

*  After  the  Collas  had  defeated  the  Irians  and  previous  to  the 
irruption  of  the  Hy  Nialls,  the  territory  of  the  Oirghialls,  or  Clann 
Colla,  was  bounded,  according  to  a  MS.  in  Trinity  College,  (see  Tlie 
Battle  of  Magh-Rath,)  by  the  noblest  rivers  in  Ulster,  the  Boyne, 
the  Bann,  the  Erne,  and  the  Finn.  It  appears  that  the  descendants 
of  the  Collas  possessed  a  considerable  portion  of  present  County  of 
Derry,  till  they  were  dispossessed  by  Muircheartach,  the  grandson  of 
Owen  and  monarch  of  Ireland,  from  A.D.  503  to  A.D.  527,  who  is 
called  the  Hector  of  the  Cinel-Eoghain.  But  after  this  period  the 
Kinel-Owen  encroached  to  a  great  extent  upon  the  country  of  the 
Clann  Colla,  who,  in  their  turn,  encroached  still  further  on  the 
Ulidians. 


INTRODUCTION.  XVll 

bestowed  all  the  lands  of  Meath  were  distinguished  in  Irish 
History  as  the  "  Southern  Hy-Niall."*  It  is  only  with 
Eoghan  or  Owen  we  have  here  to  do — the  ancestor  of  the 
Cinel-Eoghain  or  Kinel-Owen,  whose  name  still  sui'vives  in 
the  niodei-n  Inishowen  and  Tyrone,  which  together  with  the 
modern  County  of  Derry,  were  occupied  by  the  descendants 
of  Eoghan,  son  of  King  Niall.  This  prince  fixed  his  royal 
residence  at  the  Grianan  of  Aileach  (the  palace  of  the  stone 
fortress,  now  Greenan-Ely)  that  had  been  built  by  one  of  the 
earliest  of  our  kings  on  a  hill  upwards  of  800  feet  above  the 
sea  level  and  at  the  distance  of  about  four  miles  from  Derry.  f 
In  this  Cvclopian  palace,  the  walls  of  which  are  in  some  places 
fifteen  feet  in  thickness,  and  surrounded  by  three  concentric 
ramparts,  St.  Patrick  visited  and  blessed  Owen  and  his  sons. 
Their  descendants,  whose  chiefs  were  styled,  Kings  of  the 
Kinel-Owen  and  Lords  of  Aileach,  continued  to  be  the  most 
inveterate  enemies  of  the  Ulidians  until  at  last  in  the  four 
teenth  centuiy  under  the  name  of  the  Clannaboy  or  the  Clan 
of  Aodh-buidhe  O'Neill  they  made  themselves  masters  of 
the  most  fertile  districts  of  Antrim  and  Down. 
A.D.  432.     St.  Patrick  came  to  Ireland..]: 

*  The  chief  branch  of  the  southern  Hy  Nialls  was  called  the  C'lann 
Cohnain  from  Colman,  who  nourished  about  the  year  562  ;  after  the 
assumption  of  surnames  the  chief  family  of  this  clan  took  the  name 
of  O'Maolseachlain,  or  O'Melaghlin  from  their  ancestor,  Maolseachlain 
or  Malachy,  monarch  of  Ireland.  They  now  modernise  their  name 
into  MacLoughlin,  and  are  numerous  in  Meath  and  the  neighbouring 
counties,  but  are  distinct  from  the  MacLoughlins  of  Derry,  who 
belong  to  the  Xorthern  Hy  Nialls. 

t  We  are  every  day  told  that  the  comparative  prosperity  of  Ulster 
owes  its  origin  to  the  Scotch  element  in  the  northern  population, 
but  ages  before  the  Plantation  the  Hy  Niall  princes  ruled  all  Ireland 
from  their  mountain  foi'tress  of  Aileach.  Was  this  superiority  owing 
to  the  Ulster  Plantation  ? 

t  St.  Patrick's  missionary  labours  through  Down  and  Connor  will 
be  noticed  when  treating  of  the  various  parishes. 


XVIU  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

A.D.  478.  The  battle  of  Oclia  forms  a  memorable  era  in 
Irish  history  ;  Oliol  Molt,  son  of  Dathi,  was  slain  in  it  by 
his  own  relatives  the  family  of  Niall  of  the  Nine  Hostages, 
which  thereby  got  possession  of  the  supreme  government  and 
held  it  uninterruptedly  for  five  hundred  and  nineteen 
years.  The  Hy-Nialls  were  assisted  by  Fiachra,  son  of 
Laeghaire,  King  of  Dal-Araidhe.  "  It  was  on  this  occasion 
that,  the  Lee  and  Cairloegh  were  given  to  Fiachra  as  a 
territorial  reward  for  the  battle."  (Four  Masters.)  The 
territory  of  Lee  was  on  the  west  side  of  the  Bann  and 
is  included  in  the  present  barony  of  Coleraine.  Cairloegh  is 
named  Carn  Eolairg  by  the  Annals  A.D.  5.57,  and  O'Donnell's 
Life  of  Columbkille  mentions  Carraig  Eolairg  as  a  place  in 
the  diocese  of  Derry  "  at  the  margin  of  the  strait  of  the 
Foyle."  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  this  territory 
included  the  mountain  above  Magilligan,  hence  the  Synod 
of  Rathbreasil  which  assigned  to  the  Bishop  of  Connor 
all  the  territory  which  the  Ulidians  possessed  since  the 
introduction  of  Christianity  mentions  Benyevenagh  as  one 
of  the  boundaries  of  the  diocese.  The  Hy-Niall  princes 
were  only  in  this  restoring  a  part  of  the  country  of  which 
the  Ulidians  had  been  depi'ived  by  the  invasions  of  the 
Collas  and  the  Kinel-Owen.* 

A.D.  557.  "The  battle  of  Moin-Doire-lothaii'  was  gained 
over  the  Cruithnigh  by  the  Ui  Neill  of  the  North,  i.e.,  by 

*  The  territory  seems  to  have  been  only  a  stripe  along  Lough 
Foyle  and  the  river  Bann  ;  it  did  not  include  the  parish  of  Magilligan 
nor  reach  the  river  Eoe,  since  Benyevenagh  and  not  the  Roe  is  given 
by  the  Synod  of  Rathbreasil  as  the  boundary  between  the  Diocese  of 
Connor  and  that  of  Ardstraw,  now  incorporated  in  the  Diocese  of 
Derry,  it  may  have  extended  into  Magilligan  as  far  as  Duncrun — 
Dun  Cruithne  (the  fort  of  the  Cruithue  pronounced  Crooine — the 
Picts).  It  did  not  extend  into  Aghadovey  since  St.  Guaire,  the 
foiinder  of  that  church  was  a  descendant  of  Colla  Uais,  and  erected 
his  church  in  the  territory  belonging  to  his  tribe. 


INTRODUCTION.  XIX 

the  Cinel-Conaill  and  the  Ciuel-Eoghain  wherein  fell  seven 
chieftains  of  Cruithnigh  together  with  Aedh  Breac ;  and  it 
was  on  this  occasion  that  the  Lee  and  Carn-Eolairg  were 
forfeited  to  the  Clanna  Neill  of  the  North."  (Four  Masters.) 
Dr.  Reeves  thinks  that  Moin-Doire-lothair  is  Moneymore  in 
in  the  parish  of  Derryloran,  County  Deny,  According  to 
the  Annals  of  Ulster  the  battle  was  fought  between  the 
Cruithnigh  or  Dalaradians  themselves,  who  seem  to  have 
disputed  about  the  jjartition  of  lands.  The  Hy  JSTialls  who 
assisted  one  of  the  pai-ties  reassumed  the  territory  extending 
from  Benyevenagh*  to  the  Bann  which  they  had  given  A.D. 
478  to  the  Dalaradians,  aiid  though  the  Bishops  of  Connor 
continued  to  exercise  jurisdiction  over  the  territory  till  after 
the  Synod  of  Rathbreasil,  held  about  1118,  the  temporal 
princes  of  the  Dalaradians  never  again  recovered  possession 
of  it. 

We  have  yet  extant  an  ancient  record,  the  Leahliar  na 
g-ceart,  or  Book  of  Bights,  which  purports  to  have  been 
drawn  up  by  St.  Benen,  the  discijile  of  St.  Patrick,  but  its 
owii  internal  evidence  proves  it  to  be,  at  least  in  its  i^resent 
form,  of  much  more  recent  date,  though  it  is  &  document  of 
very  great  antiqiiity.  It  treats  of  the  rights  of  each  of  the 
Kings  and  the  revenues  payable  to  them  from  the  inferior 
Kings,  and  of  the  stipends  paid  by  the  superior  Kings  to 
their  subsidiary  chiefs  for  their  services.  It  contains  the 
following  tract  on  Uladh  or  Ulidia  : — 

*  The  Kinel-Owen  must  have  felt  how  dangerous  to  themselves  it 
was  to  permit  Benyevenagh  to  be  in  the  hands  of  a  hostile  race.  The 
author,  accompanied  bj'  some  friends,  visited  it  on  the  30th  August, 
1877.  From  its  summit,  which  has  an  altitude  of  1 260  feet,  a  watch- 
man could  with  great  facility  observe  any  military  movements  all 
along  the  flats  of  Magilligan,  Aughanloo  and  Myroe,  through  the 
valleys  of  the  Roe  and  the  Foyle,  and  along  the  shores  of  Inishowen 
and  far  up  the  glens  among  its  mountains.  Even  Derry  and  Aileach 
itself  are  quite  visible  in  that  interesting  panorama. 


XX  DOWN    .AND    CONNOR. 

*■  The  privileges  of  the  King  of  Uladh  (Ula) 
Of  the  wages  and  of  the  stipends  of  the  Uladh  here.  In  the 
fii'st  place  the  King  of  Uladh,  when  he  himself  is  not  King 
of  Eire  is  entitled  to  be  by  the  side  of  the  King  of  Eire,  and 
he  is  to  hold  the  first  place  in  his  confidence  and  society 
while  he  is  along  with  the  King  of  Eire.  And  when  he  is 
departing  he  obtains  fifty  swords  and  fifty  steeds  and  fifty 
cloaks  and  fifty  cowls  and  fifty  scings  (a  portion  of  horse 
trappings),  and  fifty  coats  of  mail  and  thirty  rings  and  tea 
gi-eyhounds  and  ten  matals  (a  kind  of  cloak)  and  ten 
drinking-horns  and  ten  ships  and  twenty  handfuls  of  leeks* 
and  twenty  sea-gulls'  eggs.  All  these  are  given  to  the  King 
of  Uladh  every  third  year  from  the  King  of  Eire." 

Tlie  King  of  Uladh  thus  distributes  stijyonds  among  his 
Kings,  viz : — 

Twenty  drmking-horns  and  twenty  swords  and  twenty 
greyhounds  and  twenty  bondmen  and  twenty  steeds  and 
twenty  cloaks  and  twenty  raafals  and  twenty  cumhals  (three 
cows)  from  the  King  of  Uladh  to  the  King  of  Dal-Araidhe.  f 

*  Old  Irish  writings  make  frequent  mention  of  leeks  ;  they  served 
as  a  substitute  for  pepper  and  other  spices  introduced  at  a  latter 
period. 

iDal-Arakllie  (D&X  XvA,y^, or  a,<.\ti's,  Latinised  Dalaradia,  is  named  from 
the  word  Z)ai  "posterity"  and  ^rafWAe,  otherwise  FiachaAraidhe(Aray) 
a  King  of  Ulster  who  flourished  A.  D.  "236.  The  territory  of  Dalaradia 
lay  to  the  south  of  Dalrieda  ;  and  the  river  Ravel  formed  a  part  of 
the  boundary  between  the  two  territories.  The  Four  Masters  record 
at  the  year  A.M.  3510  the  eruption  "of  the  Fregabhail  (Ravel) 
between  Dal-Araidhe  and  Dal-Rieda."  Colgan  (Trias.  Thaum.) 
says  "  Dal-Aradia  is  a  maritime  and  eastern  district  of  Ulster,  which 
extends  from  the  town  of  Newry  to  Slemish,"  but  O'Flagherty  says  it 
extended  "  from  Cairg-inver  (\n  Island  Magee)  as  far  as  Linnduachaill 
(at  Annagassan,  Co.  Louth)."  It  therefore  included  the  entire  present 
Counties  of  Down  and  Antrim,  except  the  territory  of  Dalrieda, 
which  comprised  the  modern  baronies  of  the  North-East  Liberties  of 
Coleraine,  Dunluce,  Kilconway,  Cary  and  Glenarm  ;  and  until  about 


INTRODUCTION.  XXI 

Three  steeds,  three  landmen,  tliree  women,  three  ships  to 
the  King  of  Dal-Eiada.* 

the  time  of  St.  Patrick,  it  seems  to  have  inchided  the  Co.  Louth. 
The  name,  Dalaradia,  was  generally  applied  only  to  the  northern 
portion  of  the  territory.  Thus  the  Bishop  of  Connor  was  styled 
Bishop  of  Dalaradia,  while  the  Bishop  of  Down  was  styled  Bishop  of 
Uladh  or  Ulidia.  Dalaradia  was  also  at  times  called  Crich  na 
Cruithne — The  country  of  the  Ciuithne  or  Picts — because  a  colony 
of  Cruthinians  or  Picts  from  North  Britain  settled  in  it  about  a 
century  before  the  Christain  era  and  became  mixed  by  intermarriages 
with  the  old  Irish  of  the  Irian  race.  Adamnan  speaks  of  St.  Comgall, 
who  was  a  Dalaradian,  as  belonging  to  the  "  Cruthinian  people." 
The  native  annals  record  the  names  of  many  of  the  chiefs  of  this 
territory  and  their  transactions  ;  fiom  these  we  learn  that  the  lord- 
ship of  Dalaradia  after  the  aesumption  of  surnames  was  enjoyed 
principally  by  chiefs  named  Lethlobhar  (Lawlor)  and  Ua  Loingseach 
(O'Linchey).  Duald  MacFirbis  has  ]>reserved  the  pedigrees  of  these 
families-  Leathlobhar,  from  whom  the  O'Lawlors  take  their  name 
was  the  thirteenth,  and  Longseach  from  whom  the  O'Lincheys  take 
their  name,  was  the  sixteenth  in  descent  from  Fiacha  Araidhe,  the 
common  progenitor  of  the  Dalaradians.  See  Reeves's  P]ccl.  Antiq. 
The  territory  was  conquered  by  Sir  John  de  Courcy  and  passed  into 
the  possession  of  the  I'arls  of  Ulster.  The  invasion  of  the  Scots 
under  Edward  Bruce  and  the  war  of  the  Logans  so  weakened  the 
English  power  in  Dalaradia  that  the  territory  passed  into  the  posses- 
sion of  the  Clannaboy  O'Neills,  and  the  County  Antrim  portion  of  it, 
extending  from  the  Ravel  to  the  Lagan,  was  called  North  Clannaboy, 
while  a  large  part  of  the  County  Down  portion  was  denominated 
South  Clannaboy. 

*  Dalrh-da — the  descendants  of  IMghfada — Cormac,  the  grandson  of 
Conn  of  the  Hundred  Battles,  was  remarkable  for  his  hostility  to  the 
Ulidians,  and  to  revenge  the  protection  given  by  the  Picts  to  his 
rebel  subjects  in  Ulster  he  invaded  Scotland.  It  was  in  this  war 
that  Cairbre  Righfada,  or  ('airbre  "the  long  handed,"  distinguished 
himself.  This  prince  was  of  the  Heremonian  race,  and  was  son  of 
Conaire  II.  King  of  Ireland,  who  was  killed  A.D.  16.").  In  reward 
for  his  services  the  monarch,  Cormac,  bestowed  on  him  territories  in 
the  present  County  of  Antrim  and  in  Scotland,  each  of  which  was 
afterwards  called  from  him  Dalrieda. — The  territory  (Dal)  of  the 
descendants  of  Righ-J'ada  (pronounced  Riada).  The  territory  acquired 
by  Cairbre  in  Scotland  lay  in  Arg,yleshire  and  the  adjoining  parts. 


XXll  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

In  the  latter  end  of  fhe  fifth  century  Ere,  a  descendant  of  Cairbre 
Eiada,  was  prince  of  Dalriada  in  Ulster,  for  during  the  first  two 
centuries  the  descendants  of  Cairbre  were  generally  located  in  the 
Antrim  Dalrieda,  as  the  Picts  proved  too  powerful  for  them  in 
Scotland.  Fergus,  Loarn  and  Aongus,  the  three  sons  of  Ere,  led 
another  colony  to  Albany  and  became  masters  of  a  great  part  of  the 
West  of  Scotland,  and  Loarn  became  the  first  King  of  the  Albanian 
Scots  A.D.  503.  His  brother  Fergus  succeeded  in  513,  and  their 
posterity  continued  as  Kings  of  Dalrieda  in  Scotland  until  A.  D.  842, 
when  Kinneth  MacAlpin,  one  of  their  race  conquered  the  kingdom  of 
the  Picts,  and  thus  became  the  first  King  of  all  Scotland.  The  last 
descendant,  in  the  male  line,  of  Cairbre  Riada,  who  sat  on  the  throne 
fo  Scotland  was  Alexander  III.,  who  died  A.D.  1286,  but  the  Kings  of 
the  houses  of  Baliol  and  Bruce,  and  consequently  all  the  sovereigns  to 
her  present  most  gracious  Majesty  were  descended  maternally  from 
the  Milesian  prince,  Cairbre  Riada,  who  gave  name  to  Dalrieda, 
which  as  Colgan  tells  us  is  now  contracted  into  the  modern  name  the. 
Route.  While  the  descendants  of  Cairbre  Paada  rose  to  such  impor- 
tance among  the  Albanian  Scots,  those  of  the  Antrim  Dalrieda  long 
since  became  extinct,  or  what  family  names  they  assumed  after  the 
establishment  of  surnames  in  the  tenth  century  we  have  no  documents 
to  prove,  but  it  seems  highly  probable  that  they  were  driven  out  at  an 
early  period  by  the  Clann  Colla,  for  we  rind  the  Ui-Tuirtre  and  Fir- Li, 
of  whom  O'Flinn  or  O'Lynn  was  King,  were  in  possession  of  Dalrieda 
at  the  date  of  the  English  invasion.  In  the  year  1210,  King  John, 
who  was  then  at  Carrickfergus,  bestowed  Dalrieda  upon  Alan,  Earl 
of  Galloway,  who  was  also  a  maternal  descendant  of  Cairbre  Riada. 
Dr.  Reeves  gives  a  roll  bearing  date  1213  preserved  in  the  Tower  of 
London,  which  records  the  terms  of  this  grant  which  conveyed  to  him 
"Dalreth,"  the  Island  of  Rathlin,  the  cantred  of  "  Kynilalmerach  " 
(Killymurris  ?)  the  land  of  Gweskard.  (The  Deanry  of  Twescard  in 
the  Taxation  of  Pope  Nicholas  contained  nearly  all  Dalrieda),  the 
land  of  Latherne  (Larne)  and  two  cantreds  beyond  the  Bann,  viz  : 
that  of  "Kunnock"  (Kennaght)  and  that  of  "Tirkehit  "  (Tirkeeran), 
except  some  lands  around  the  castle  of  "  Kilsantan  ;''  the  church 
lands,  and  lands  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Larne  and  Glenarm,  which 
had  been  granted  to  one  Duncan  Fitz  Gilbert,  a  Welshman.  The 
Earls  of  Ulster  seem  however  to  have  had  extensive  possessions  in 
the  Route.  Patrick,  son  of  Thomas  of  Galloway,  was  murdered  at 
Haddington  in  1242  by  the  Bissets  ;  after  this  deed  John  Bisset  and 
Walter  his  uncle  fled  to  Ireland,  where  they  obtained  a  settlement  in 
the  Glynns,  under  the  Earl  of  Ulster,  the  descendants  of  this  John 
assumed  the  patronymic  Mac  Eo'in — son  of  John — and  were  possessed 


INTRODUCTION.  XXlll 

Four  ships,  four  bondmen,  four  steeds  to  the  King  of 
Oirthear.* 

Six  bondmen,  six  steeds,  six  drinking-horns,  six  swords  to 
the  King  of  Ui  Earca  Chein.f 

Eight  drinking-horns,  eight  cumhals,  eight  noble  steeds, 
eight  bondmen  to  the  King  of  Dal-m-Buinne.  \ 
of  the  "  Baronye  of  the  Glynnes "  (State  Papers,  Vol.  II.)  The 
MacQuillins  were  a  very  powerful  family  in  the  Eoute,  the  name  is 
written  in  Irish  MacUidhelin.  This  Uidhelin,  from  whom  the  family 
derives  its  patronymic,  is  supposed  by  O'Donovan  to  be  a  corrupted 
form  of  the  Welsh  Lhlewellin  ;  and  Duald  MacFirbis  includes  Meg 
Uighliii  an  Ruta — MacQuillin  of  the  Eoute — among  the  Welshmen 
who  came  to  Ireland  with  the  early  English  conquerors.  The 
O'Kanes,  as  soon  as  they  discovered  the  weakness  of  the  English 
power,  ci-ossed  the  Bann  and  located  themselves  in  the  Route,  where 
they  made  themselves  masters  of  the  great  fortress  of  Dunseverick  and 
called  themselves  Clann  Magnus  na  Buaise — the  clan  of  Manus  of 
the  (river)  Bush.— One  of  them  held  Dunseverick  so  late  as  the  time 
of  Cromwell,  when  he  was  executed  for  joining  in  the  war  of  1641. 
About  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century  the  greater  part  of  the 
lloute  was  wrested  from  MacQuillin  by  Sorley-Boy  MacDonnell, 
who,  though  a  Scotchman,  was  the  thirty-sixth  in  descent  from  CoUa 
Uaish,  King  of  Ireland.  The  MacDonnells  claimed  a  hereditary  right 
in  the  Glynns  derived  through  Margery  Bisset,  the  fifth  in  descent 
from  John,  the  first  settler,  but  Sorley's  best  title  lay  in  his  sword. 
3n  1586  he  obtained  from  Queen  Elizabeth  a  grant  of  four  ttioghs  in 
the  Route,  viz  :  that  from  the  Boi/s  (Bush)  to  the  Ba7i,  Donseverig, 
Loghill  (Loughguile),  and  Bulla  Monyn  (Ballymoney)  together  with 
the  government  of  Donluse  Castle.  Sorley's  son,  Randal,  obtained 
from  James  I.,  A.D.  1603,  a  grant  of  all  the  Route  and  the  Glynns, 
a  tract  of  country  extending,  according  to  the  popular  expression, 
"  from  the  Cutts  of  Coleraine  to  the  Curran  of  Larne." 

*  Oithear,  i.e.,  eastern.  Orior  in  the  County  of  Armagh,  formerly 
O'Hanlon's  county,  was  named  Oirthear  but  the  place  mentioned 
in  the  text  seems  to  have  been  in  the  east  of  Uladh. 

+  CTi  Earca  Chein  seem  to  be  located  somewhere  about  Castle  Espie 
(seepage  33).  The  tribe  was  once  located  near  Larne.  MacFirbis 
mentions  among  the  families  of  the  tribe  "  Cealach,  son  of  Bledine, 
King  of  Latharna." 

X  Dal-Buinne,  i.  e. ,  the  race  of  Buinne,  son  of  Fearghus  MacRoig,  King 


XXIV  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

Eight  bondmen,  eight  steeds  with  silver  hits  to  tlie  Kiiig 
of  Ui  Blaithmaic* 

Two  rings  and  ten  ships  and  ten  steeds  and  ten  bridles 
and  ten  scings  to  the  King  of  Dnibthrian.t 

Eight  ships  and  eight  bondmen  and  eight  steeds  iiiid  eight 
drinking-horns  and  eight  cloaks  to  the  King  of  the  Ai-ds.  ■; 

Eight  bondmen  and  eight  women  and  eight  steeds  and 
eight  ships  to  the  King  of  Leath  Cathail.§ 

Three  steeds  and  three  matah  and  tlu-ee  diiuking  horns 
and  three  honnds  to  the  King  of  Boirche.|| 

of  Uladli  just  before  the  Christian  era.  This  Buinne  was  great- 
grandson  of  lUxdhruidhe  Mor,  from  whom  the  Clanna  Ruorey,  or 
Rudricians  are  named.  The  Deaury  of  Dalhoyne  in  tlie  'I'axation 
of  Pope  Nicholas  included  the  churches  of  Drumlw,  Druinbeg, 
Derryaghy,  Blaris,  Magheragall,  Glenavy,  Magheramesk,  AgViagallon, 
Aghalee,  Ballinderry.  There  was  formerly  preserved  among  muni- 
ments of  the  See  of  Down  a  document,  which  purported  to  have  been 
drawn  up  in  121(»  from  earlier  documents,  though  as  Dr.  Jleeves 
remarks,  it  is  much  more  recent.  It  states  that  Engusa  MacMailraba 
a  prince,  who  flourished  in  the  time  of  Brian  Boru  and  ruled  over 
Dalbuine,  gave  to  the  Bishop  of  Down  and  to  his  successors  the 
following  churches  and  lands  in  that  principality,  Landflnijf  (Lam- 
beg),  DrdiKja  (Derryvolgie  ?)  Clantarlb  {ClunterifFe  in  Ballinderry), 
AcaviUy  (Aghalee),  Bathmesgf,  DrumcaU  (Magheragall),  Divar- 
(t.chaid  (Derryaghy),  Dnnnho  and  Blarns.  The  Four  Masters 
record  at  the  year  1131)  that  O'Loughlin  or  MacLoughlin,  chief  of  the 
Kinel-Owen,  led  an  armj'  against  the  Ulidians,  which  slew  along  with 
many  others  "  (rilla-phadraig  MacSearraigh  (MacSherry)  lord  of 
Dal-Buinne."  The  MacSherrys  of  Dalbuinne  are  not  to  be  confounded 
with  the  Sherrys,  or  O'iSherrys,  who  are  also  numerous  in  Down  and 
Connor,  but  are  of  the  Kinel-Owen  race  and  came  here  with  the 
Clannaboy  invasion.  St.  MacCarthen,  the  first  Bishop  of  Clogher, 
who  died  A.D.  50l>  was  ninth  in  descent  from  Buain,  who  gave  name 
to  the  Dal-Buinne. 

•    Ua-Blatltmalc.—see  *' Territory  of  the  Ards." 

+  DuibJi(hria7i—see  "  Barony  of  Dufferin." 

t  Arda — see  "Territory  of  the  Ards." 

(J  Leath-Cathailsee^"  Lecale. '' 

H  Boirche — see  p.  1. 


INTRODUCTION.  XXV 

Ten  drinking-horns  and  ten  swords  and  ten  ships  and  ten 
cloaks  to  the  King  of  Cobha.* 

Six  drinking-horns  and  ten  ships  and  ten  steeds  and  ten 
tunics  to  the  King  of  Muirtheimhne.f 

Tlie  Refections  and  the  tributes  of  the  territories  of  Uladh 
down  here,  viz :  first  on  the  great  region  of  Magh  Line, %  his 
first  refection. 

Three  hundred  beeves  and  three  hundred  cloaks  from  Line. 

Six  times  fifty  oxen  from  Dal-Riada  and  six  times  fifty- 
hogs  and  three  times  fifty  cows  and  three  times  fifty  cloaks 
from  Semhne.§ 

Two  hundred  hogs  and  two  hundred  cows  from  Latharna.|| 

A  hundred  cows  and  a  hundred  cloaks  and  a  hundred 
wethers  from  the  Crotraidhe.H  ' 

*  Cohha — another  name  for  Iveagh— see  p.  34. 

t  Muirtheimhne.  This  territory  comprised  that  part  of  the  present 
County  Louth  extending  from  Cooley  mountains  to  the  river  Boyne. 
It  was  a  part  of  Uladh  when  the  Book  of  Rights  was  written,  but 
it  had  been  wrested  from  that  principaUty  by  the  Oirghialla,  or 
descendants  of  the  Collas,  several  centuries  before  the  Enghsh 
invasion.  After  the  assumption  of  surnames  Ua  Cearbhaill 
(O'Carrol)  of  the  race  of  the  CoUas  occupied  the  most  distinguished 
place  in  the  district,  Donnachadh  O'CarroU  founded  the  abbey 
of  Melifont. 

t  Magh  Line  is  now  Anglicised  into  Moylinny.  According  to  an 
Inquisition  taken  7  Jac.  1.,  the  territory  was  bounded  on  the  south 
and  south-eaf=t  by  the  river  Six-mile-water,  on  the  north  and  north- 
west for  two  miles  by  the  stream  Glancurry  [gleann  a'choire — the 
glen  of  the  pot-like  pool — now  Glenwherry)  as  far  as  the  mountain  of 
Carncally ;  its  boundary  then  extended  southwards  to  Connor  and 
thence  to  Edenduffcarrick  (Shane's  Castle). 

%Semhne,  otherwise  Magh-Semhne,  theancientnameof  Island-Magee. 

II  Latharna  now  Larne.  The  Four  Masters  record  A.M.  2550. 
"  The  plain  of  Latharna  was  cleared  of  wood,"  and  A.  M.  3520  the  fort 
of  "  Rath-Bacan  in  Latharna"  was  erected.  The  present  town  of 
Larne  was  anciently  called  "Inbhear  Latharna"  (Inver  Lama). 

■1  Crotraidhe  (Crotray)  now  unknown ;  in  the  poetical  version  it 
is  styled  "Crotraidhe  of  the  fleet,"  perhaps  the  territory  between 
Carrickfergus  and  Belfast.       It  has  been  already  stated  that  the 


XXVI  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

A  hundred  cows  and  a  hundred  cloaks  and  a  Imndied 
wethers  and  a  hundred  hogs  from  Breadach.* 

A  hundred  beeves  and  a  hundred'  wetliers  and  a  hundred 
hogs  from  the  Forthuatha.f 

Thrice  fifty  beeves  and  thrice  fifty  liogs  from  Mancha.  | 

Ui-Earca  Chein,  with  whom  O'Morna  and  Mac  Gilmore  were 
connected,  were  located  once  near  Lame,  the  Annals  of  Ulster  (old 
translation)  say  that  Ardbo  was  burned,  A.D.  1166,  by  "  ISToars 
Makilli;iori  O'Morna  and  Crotryes."  Their  country  must  have  been 
along  the  coast  between  Island  Magee  and  the  Lagan. 

*  Breadach.  The  church  of  "  Bradach  "  valued  in  the  Taxation 
of  Pope  Nicholas  is  the  ancient  cliurch  of  Breda  now  enclosed  in 
Belvoir  Park,  the  seat  of  Sir  Robert  Batesou. 

t  Forlhuatha,  i.e.,  the  extern  tribes  that  were  not  of  tlie  race  of  the 
people  of  Uladh. 

X  Mancha,  more  usually  called  Moncha,  or  Monaigh  Uladh. 
They  were  a  Leinster  tribe  descended  from  Monach,  fifth  in 
descent  from  Cathair  Mor,  monarch  of  Ireland.  Fergus  Duibh,  a 
prince  of  Ulidia,  and  father  of  King  Muireadhach — of  the  Red  Neck, 
had  two  daughters,  one  of  whom  was  the  wife  of  Eochaidh  (iundat. 
King  of  Oirghialla,  and  the  other  was  the  wife  of  Eochaidh  Ounech, 
Chief  of  the  Posterity  of  DaireBarrach,  the  second  son  of  Cathair  (Cahir) 
Mor,  King  of  Leinster.  When  Eochaidh  Guneeh  slew  Crimthan,  the 
chief  of  the  Hy  Cinnselagh,  another  Leinster  tribe,  the  most  of  the 
posterity  of  Daire  Barrach  were  forced  to  fly  from  Leinster.  Part  of 
the  tribe  of  Monach,  one  of  the  exiles,  located  themselves  on  account 
of  the  relationship  in  the  kingdom  of  the  Oirghialla,  where  they  gave 
name  both  to  Moiun/han  and  to  Fir-Manach  (Fermanagh),  which 
they  possessed  anterior  to  the  Maguires.  Another  part  of  the  tribe 
of  Monach  found  protection  in  Ulidia  on  account  of  their  relationship 
to  Fergus  and  Mureagh— of  the  Red  Neck.  This  part  of  the  tribe  of 
Monach  occupied  lands  in  the  vicinity  of  Belfast  and  Moira. 
According  to  MacFirbis,  the  four  principal  tribes  of  the  Ulidian 
Monachs  were— theCiiiel-Muilche,  the  Ciuel-Lainduin(MacAlinden?), 
the  Cinel-Criodan,  and  the  Cinel-Bredach,  who  gave  name  to  Breda, 
near  Belfast.  Many  of  the  race  of  Monach,  after  the  assunijition  of 
surnames,  were  named  O'Mooney.  The  Aionachs  of  Uladh  were  also 
located  near  the  Bann,  at  a  place  named  Bealacli  Forcedal  (Bellaghy  ?). 
MacCuil,  the  wicked  man,  who  plotted  against  St.  Patrick  in  Lecale, 
but,  who  afterwards  became  the  great  St.  Maughold,  of  the  Isle  of 
Man,  belonged  to  the  Monachs.  (See  Loca  Prtrkiana,  by  Father  Shear- 


INTRODUCTION.  XXVll 

Three  hundred  oxen  and  three  hundred  cows  from 
Duibhthrian. 

Three  hundred  cows  and  three  hundred  hogs  and  three 
hundred  cloaks  from  Leath  Cathail. 

Sucli  are  his  provision-tributes  from  the  noble  tribes, 
exclusive  of  the  unfree  tribes.*  He  has  also  the  collecting  of 
milk  and  ale  and  uamha  (sewing  thread)!  without  any 
opposition  from  them. 

We  will  now  give  a  short  account  of  each  of  the  Kings, 
who  ruled  the  kingdom  of  Uladh,  from  the  battle  of  the  three 
Collas,  A.D.  331,  to  the  English  invasion,  and  we  will  place 
under  each  reign  the  principal  events  which  occuiTed  in  the 
minor  territories,  in  order  that  our  readers  may  have  a  fair 
knowledge  of  the  political  changes  which  occurred  between 
those  dates.  After  the  irreparable  overthrow  already  men- 
tioned, the  people  of  Ulster  retired  behind  the  Bann  and 
Lough  Neagh,  and  into  the  mountainoiis  parts  of  the  present 

man).  The  Moiiachs  were  also  located  somewhere  about  ^[oira.  The 
Four  Masters  record  at  A. D.  1056,  "  Etru,  son  of  Labhriadh  (Lavery), 
chief  of  Monach,  pillar  of  the  glory  of  Ulidia,  died  after  a  good  life," 
andat  A.D.  1172,  "MacGioUa  Epscoip,  chief  of  the  Cla mi — Aeilabhra 
{recte  Ua  Labhra — O'Lavery),  legislator  of  Cath  Monaigh,  was 
treacherously  slain  by DonsleveyO'Haughey(0'Haughey  and  O'Hoey), 
King  of  Ulidia.  The  chiefs  of  Ulidia  who  were  as  guarantees 
between  them,  put  Donslevey  to  death  for  it  ;"  so  that  Monach 
existed  as  a  clan  name  down  to  the  twelfth  century. 

*  Unfree  tribes.  Mac  Firbis  mentions  six  classes  of  unfree  tribes 
among  the  old  Irish.  1.  The  remnants  of  the  Fir-Bolg  and  the 
Tuath  De  Danann.  2.  People  migrated  from  their  own  tribes.  3. 
People,  whose  land  was  subjugated  by  other  tribes  and  they  continued 
in  bondage  iinder  the  conquerors.  4.  People  who  lost  their  freedom 
through  their  evil  deeds.  5.  Descendants  from  external  mercenaries. 
6.  Descendants  of  the  bondmen,  who  came  with  the  sons  of  Milesius. 
The  tributes  and  privileges  of  the  free  tribes  were  lixed  but  the  unfree 
tribes  were  frequently  subject  to  arbitrary  tributes. 

+  Sewing  Thread.  This  tribute  shows  the  antiquity  of  the  linen 
manufacture  in  ancient  Uladh. 


XXVUl  DOWN  AND  CONNOK. 

County  of  Louth  which  they  continiied  to  hold  for  some 
centuries.  Crushed  though  they  were,  they  still  proudly  called 
their  little  territory  Uladli  (Ula — Ulster),  the  designation  of 
their  ancient  kingdom,  and  always  cherished  the  hope  of  re- 
gaining their  lost  greatness.  At  first  the  King  of  Uladh  was 
supreme  over  the  minor  territories  mentioned  in  the  Book  of 
Rights,  but  by  degrees  Dalaradia  became  an  independent  terri- 
tory with  its  boundaries  extending  to  the  northern  limits  of 
the  present  diocese  of  Down,  and  at  times  even  to  the  bounda- 
ries of  the  present  Coimty  of  Down ;  in  fact  the  limits  of  these 
various  states  seemed  to  fluctuate  according  to  the  abilities 
and  the  ambition  of  the  various  princes,  who  ruled  them. 
The  great  cause  of  bloodshed  among  the  old  Irish  was  their 
law  of  succession ;  the  piimitive  intention  was  that  the 
royal  authority  should  descend  "  to  the  oldest  and  most 
worthy  man  of  the  same  name  and  blood."  Succession  was 
confined  to  the  same  family,  but  was  elective  among  the  mem- 
bers of  that  family,  or  what,  perhaps,  would  be  better  expressed 
by  the  word  race  ;  and  family  fends  and  intestine  wars  were 
the  inevitable  consequence. 

Caelbhadh  seems  to  have  been  the  first  King  of  Uladli 
after  the  hattle  of  the  CoIIas.  He  made  a  gallant  resistance 
to  his  enemies,  slew  the  monarch,  and  is  even  said  to 
have  made  himself  master  of  the  throne  of  Ireland  for  a 
year,  when  he  was  slain  A.D.  357  by  the  ancestor  of 
Hy  Nialls  who  again  won  back  the  sovereignty.  Saran 
succeeded  his  father  on  the  throne  of  Uladh  and  reigned  for 
twenty-six  years.  Muireadliach  (Mm-ough)  surnamed  Muin- 
dearg — of  the  Red  Neck — was  the  next  King  ;  he  reigned 
twenty-eight  years  and  died  a  natural  death  A.D.  479.  He 
belonged  to  the  Dal-Fiatach,  and  was  ninth  in  descent  frorii 
Fiatach  the  Fair,  who  gave  name  to  the  family.  Of  all  the 
Kino's  who  ruled  Uladh  from  the  battle  of  the  Collas  to  the 


INTRODUCTION.  XXIX 

year  A.  D.  1 200  only  twelve  belonged  to  the  Clanna  Rory , 
or  ancient  Irian  race  of  Ulster,  the  remainder  belonged  to 
to  the  Dal-Fiatach  family,  descended  from  Heremon.  Yet, 
from  a  variety  of  cu-cumstances,  after  the  year  1200  the 
Magenisses  and  MacArtans,  both  Clanna  Rory  families,  were 
the  most  distinguished  of  the  Ulidians.  Murough  of  "the  red 
neck"  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Eochaidh  (Eoghy),  who  died 
A.D.  503  after  a  reign  of  twenty-four  years.  He  was  the 
father  of  St.  Domangart  or  Donart,  but  on  account  of  his 
opposition  to  St.  Patrick,*  the  saint  prophesied  that  the 
sceptre  should  pass  to  his  brother  Gaii'ioll,  who  after  a  reign 
of  twenty-three  years  died  A.D.  526.  He  was  the  father  of 
St.  Thuan  of  Tamlaght  in  Upper  Mourne,  and,  according 
to  some,  of  St.  Laserian  of  LeighlLn.  The  sceptre  now 
reverted  to  one  of  the  Clanna  Rory,  Eochaidh,  a  descendant 
of  Caelbhadh,  he  reigiaed  twenty  years  and  died  A.D.  547, 
It  is,  from  this  Eochaidh,  according  to  the  Annals  of  Ulster, 
*  The  circumstance  is  thus  related  in  the  Tripartite  (Mr.  Hennessy's 
translation)  : — "  Patrick  said  to  Eochaidh,  son  of  Muiredach,  that 
there  should  never  be  a  king  from  him,  nor  enough  of  his  race  to 
constitute  an  assembly  or  army  in  Ulster,  but  that  his  tribe  should 
be  scattered  and  dispersed  ;  that  his  own  life  would  be  short,  and 
that  he  should  meet  a  tragic  fate.  This  was  the  cause  Patrick  had 
against  Eochaidh,  as  the  learned  say  : — Two  virgins,  who  had  offered 
their  virginity  to  the  Lord,  he  bound  and  sent  on  the  waves  to  be 
drowned,  as  they  refused  to  adore  idols  and  to  marry.  When  Patrick 
heard  this  he  besought  the  king  regarding  them,  but  in  vain.  '  Your 
brother,  Cairell,  has  thy  luck  since  he  granted  me  a  good  request, ' 
said  Patrick,  'and  you  have  lost  it  through  your  disobedience.  He 
(Cairell)  shall  be  a  king,  and  there  shall  be  kings  and  chiefs  of  his 
race  over  your  children,  and  over  all  Ulster,'  so  that  of  him  sprung 
the  race  of  kings,  and  of  his  son  Denman,  son  of  Cairell,  son  of 
Muiredhach,  according  to  the  words  of  Patrick.  Eochaidh's  wife 
cast  herself  at  the  feet  of  Patrick.  He  baptised  her  and  blessed  the 
child  in  her  womb, — i.e.,  the  excellent  and  illustrious  son,  Domangart, 
the  son  of  Eochaidh.  He  it  was  that  Patrick  left  in  his  body,  and 
he  will  be  there  for  ever. "  This  refers  to  the  curious  legend  that 
St.  Donard  is  still  alive.     (See  p.  52). 


XXX  DOWN    AND    CONNOR. 

whose  name  is  written  Eathac  (Ahagli),  the  people  of  Iveagh 
(Ui-Eathach,  pronounced  Hy-vahgh,  the  descendants  of 
Ahagh)  are  named.  Feargna,  son  of  Aongus,  reigned  four 
years,  and  was  slain  A.D.  551  by  Deman,  son  of  Cairioll,  at 
the  battle  of  Druim-Cleithe,  supposed  by  O'Donovan  to  be  at 
Kilclief.  Deman  after  a  reign  of  fourteen  years  was  slain 
A.D.  565  by  the  shepherds  of  Boirinn  (see  p.  46).  Deman 
was  succeeded  by  his  brother  Baodan ;  during  the  reign  of  this 
King  the  Ulidians  attempted,  but  unsuccessfully,  to  repossess 
themselves  of  Emania ;  the  Clann-Oolla,  however,  drove  them 
back  in  the  year  578,  Baodan  died  A.D.  585  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Aodh,  or  Hugh  the  Black,  one  of  the  Clanna  Bory, 
a  man  whose  character  is  written  in  the  blackest  colours  by 
Adamnan.  Though  the  murderer  of  the  monarch  Diarmaid, 
whom  he  slew  A.D.  558,at  Rathbeg,near  Antrim,  and  of  many 
others,  yet  he  contrived  to  obtain  surrejititiously  Holy 
Orders.  After  a  i-eign  of  seven  years  the  wicked  King  was 
slain  A.D.  592  by  Fiachna,  son  of  Baodan,  who  succeeded 
liim  both  in  the  kingdom  of  Ulidia  and  in  that  of  Dalaradia. 
During  his  reign,  in  the  year  594,  Hugh,  monarch  of  Ireland, 
fell  in  the  battle  of  Dunbolg,  near  Hollywood,  in  the  County 
of  Wicklow,  while  endeavouring  to  enf oi'ce  an  ancient  tribute 
of  cows  called  the  Borumean  tribu^te,  which  the  Hy  Niall 
monarchs  always  when  able  exacted  most  cruelly  from  the 
people  of  Leinster.  In  this  engagement  the  men  of  Ulidia 
deserted  the  monarch,  because  they  were  the  hereditary 
enemies  of  the  Hy  Niall  race,  and  they  formed  a  solemn 
treaty  with  the  Leinstermen,  in  commemoration  of  which 
they  erected  a  earn  on  the  mountain,  called  Sliahh  Cadaigh 
— the  mountain  of  the  covenant — now  called  Slieve  Gadoe, 
after  which  they  retired  to  an  insulated  piece  of  land  ever 
since  named  Inis-Uladh — the  Island  of  the  Ulidians — and 
left  the  monarch  to  his  fate.     Fiachna,  son  of  Baodan,  after 


INTRODUCTION.  XXXI 

a  reign  of  thirty  years  was  slain  by  his  cousin,  Fiachna,  son 
of  Deman,  A.D.  622,  at  the  battle  of  "  Lefchead  Midinn  at 
Drung "  which  is  probably  Knocklayd.*  The  people  of 
Dalriada,  in  whose  teiritory  is  Knocklayd,  indig-nant  at  the 
unnatural  conduct  of  Fiachna,  son  of  Deman,  challenged 
him  and  slew  him  in  the  battle  of  Corran  in  less  than  two 
years. 

In  the  year  623  Suibhne  (Sweeney),  the  monarch  of  Ireland, 
a  Kinel-Owen  prince,  was  slain  by  Congal  surnamed  Claen 
(squint-eyed),  or  Caech  (blind  or  one  eyed).  He  was  the 
son  of  Sganlan  of  the  Broad  Shield,  a  descendant  of  Eochaidh 
Cobha  (Achy  Cova)  and  King  of  TJlidia.  It  is  said  he  was 
urged  to  murder  the  King,  by  Domhnalt  (Donnel),  the  head 
of  the  rival  family  of  Kinel-Connell,  in  whose  house  he  had 
been  reared.  Domhnal  ascended  the  vacant  throne,  but  he 
did  not  fulfil  his  promise  of  restoring  to  the  Ulidians  the 
territory  which  they  anciently  possessed.  Congal,  offended 
at  the  conduct  of  the  King,  led  his  Ulidians,  A.D.  624,  to  the 

*  There  is  a  poem  in  the  Book  of  Lecan  in  praise  of  Baodan  this 
king's  father,  which  mentions  "  Dun  Baodaiu  in  Lethead  (Lead)"  and 
"  Baetau  of  Leathead  of  the  seas."     Reeves'' s  Eccl.  Antlq. 

\  In  the  historical  tale,  the  Banquet  of  Dun-na-n-gedh  (Dunnaney) 
a  controversy  occurs  between  Domhnal  and  Congal,  the  latter  re- 
minds the  former  of  the  time  in  which  they  were  both  in  banishment 
in  Scotland  for  disloyalty  to  the  Irish  monarch  Suibhne.  Congal 
says,  ' '  Thou  didst  afterwards  return  to  Erinn,  and  I  returned  along 
with  thee,  for  I  was  in  exile  along  with  thee.  We  put  into  port  at 
Tra'igh  Rudhrakllie  (Tra-Roorey,  now  Dundrum  Bay),  and  there  was 
held  a  short  consultation.  And  what  thou  didst  say,  was,  that 
whosoever  thou  would  get  to  go  and  betray  the  king  of  Erinn,  thou 
wouldst  be  bound  to  restore  his  territory  to  him,  whenever  thou 
shouldst  become  king  over  Eriuu.  I  went  on  that  enterprise,  0  king, 
for  a  promise  that  my  patrimony  should  be  wholly  restored  to  me, 
whenever  thou  shouldst  become  monarch  of  Erinn  ;  and  I  delayed 
not  till  I  reached  Ailech  Xeid  (Aileach  near  Derry)  where  the  king 
held  his  residence  at  the  time.  The  king  came  out  upon  the  green, 
surrounded  by  a  great  concourse  of  the  men  of  Erinn  ;  and  he  was 


XXXll  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

Cyclopian  fortress  of  Dun  Ceitkern  (Dunkern,  now  tlie 
Giant's  Sconce,  Co.  Derry),  but  in  the  battle  Domhnal  was 
the  victor,  and  Congal  fled  from  the  bloody  field  of  Dunkern 
into  Britain,  whei'e  he  remained  nine  years.  He  collected  a 
great  army  of  Saxons,  Britons,  Picts,  and  Albanian  Scots, 
aided  by  these  he  hoped  that  his  Ulidians  would  be  able  to 
drive  the  Hy  Nialls  and  the  Clann  CoUa  from  Ulster. 
Domhnal  (Donnell),  however,  mustered  a  powerful  force,  and 
in  the  battle  which  ensued,  and  which  was  renewed  for  six 
successive  days,  Congal's  troops  were  almost  annihilated  and 
he  himself  slain.  This  was  the  great  battle  fought  A.D. 
634  at  Magh  Rath,  supposed  to  be  the  modern  Moira  in  the 
County  of  Down,  though  Mr.  Hanna  has  brought  forward 
strong  argnments  f  Ulster  Joum.  of  A  rchceol.)  to  show  that 
it  occurred  at  the  Crown  Rath  near  Newry.  This  was 
the  last  great  attempt  of  the  Ulidians  to  recover  their  lost 
territory.  After  the  death  of  Congal,  who  was  of  the 
Clanna  Rory,  a  prince  of  the  Dal-Fiatach  family,  Dunchadh 
(Dunaghy)  son  of  Fiachna,  sou  of  Deman,  was  placed  on 
the  throne  of  Ulidia,  probably  through  the  power  of  the 
Hy  Nialls  ;  he  reigned  nine  years  and  died  A.D.  643.  His 
brother,  Maolcobha,  succeeded  and  reigned  three  years, 
when  he  was  slain  A.D.  646  by  his  own  nephew,  Congal, 
the  Long-headed,  the  son  of  his  i)i-edecessor,  and  was 
succeeded  by  his  son  Blathmac  who  reigned  twenty  years, 
and  died  A.D.  666.     It  is  from  this  prince  the  Hy-Blathmac 

jjlaying  chess  amidst  the  hosts  and  I  made  a  thrust  of  my  spear, 
which  I  held  in  my  hand,  at  the  breast  of  the  king,  and  the  stone 
which  was  at  his  back  responded  to  the  thrust,  and  his  heart's  blood 
was  on  the  point  of  the  spear.  But  as  the  king  was  tasting  of  death 
he  flung  a  chess-man,  which  was  in  his  hand,  at  me,  so  that  he  broke 
the  crooked  eye  in  my  head.  I  was  squint-eyed  before ;  I  have  been 
blind-eyed  since."  Caoch — one-eyed  is  from  the  same  root  as  the  old 
Latin  word  codes  one-eyed,  which  gives  name  to  the  Roman  hero, 
Horatius  Codes. 


INTRODUCTION.  XXXUl 

are  named  (see  the  Territory  of  the  Ards).  During  his 
reign  a  battle  was  fought  at  Fearsat  (Belfast)  A.D.  656 
between  the  Ulidians  and  the  Cruithni  or  Dalaradians. 
The  succeeding  King  was  Fearghus,  son  of  Lodan  (according 
to  othei's  Aedan),  who  reigned  thirteen  years,  and  was 
slain  by  the  people  of  Iveagh  A.D.  689.  The  next  King, 
Bee  Boirche,  son  of  Blathraac,  went  on  a  pilgrimage  A.D. 
704,  and  died  on  his  pilgrimage  at  the  end  of  twelve 
years,  viz.,  A.D.  716.  In  the  meantime  it  would  seem 
that  others  assumed  the  vacant  sceptre,  hence  the  Annals 
record  that  Cucuaran,  King  of  the  Cruithni  and  of  Ulidia 
was  killed  A.D,  706,  he  was  a  nephew  of  Congal  Claen. 
A.D.  712,  "A  battle  was  fought  between  the  two  sons 
of  Bee  Boirche  and  the  sons  of  Breasal,  chief  of  the 
Iveagli,  and  the  victory  was  gained  by  the  sons  of  Breasal." 
A.D.  720,  "Ulidia  was  taken  possession  of  by  Cinaeth 
(Kiney),  son  of  Congalach."  Aodh  Roin,  son  of  Bee 
Boirche,  reigned  twenty-seven  years,  and  was  slain  by 
the  monarch  of  Ireland,  Aodh  Allan,  at  the  battle  of 
Fochart,  A.D.  732.  The  cause  of  this  battle  was  that  one 
of  the  Ulidians  had  profaned  the  church  of  Kilcoony,  in  the 
modern  County  of  Tyrone,  whereupon,  the  bishop  of  Armagh 
who  was  the  confessor  of  the  monarch,  Aodh  Allan,  a  Kinel- 
Owen  prince,  complained  to  the  monarch,  who  caused  the 
head  of  the  king  of  Ulidia  to  be  struck  off  on  the  "  cloch-an- 
chommaigh — the  stone  of  the  decapitation — in  the  doorway 
of  the  church  of  Fochard."  This  stone  is  still  pointed  out 
at  the  doorway  of  the  church  of  Faughard,  Co.  Louth. 

Breasal,  son  of  Aedh  Roin,  was  slain  after  a  reign  of  one 
year  at  Downpatrick,  in  the  year  733.  Cathusaich,  the 
grand-nephew  of  Congal  Claen,  a  prince  of  the  Clanna 
Rory,  after  a  reign  of  sixteen  years  was  slain  A.D.  749  at 
Rath   Bethech   (perhaps   Rathveaghmore,  where   there   are 


DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 


many  raths — see  p.  25.)  Fiachna,  son  of  Aodh  Roin,  -was 
the  next  King,  the  battle  of  Eamhain  Macha  (the  Navan 
Fort  near  Armagh),  wa.s  gained  A.D.  754  by  this  King,  over 
the  Hy  Niall  In  the  year  779  the  monarch  of  Ireland 
induced  Fiachna,  King  of  Ulidia,  to  meet  him  at  Inis-na-righ 
some  island  oif  the  coast  of  Meath  or  Dublin ;  the  Annals 
term  the  conference  "a  royal  meeting,"  Fiachna  died  A.D. 
785.  This  was  the  Fiachna  who  sent  the  tooth  of  the 
wonderful  whale  (see  p.  3),  to  ornament  the  altar  of  Bangor. 
Tomaltach,  one  of  the  Clanna  Rory,  occupied  the  throne  two 
years,  but  was  slain  A.D.  787  by  Eochaidh,  son  of  Fiachna, 
who  seized  on  tho  scejitre.  During  his  reign,  A.D.  796, 
there  was  a  battle  between  the  Ulidiaus  and  the  people  of 
[veagh,  in  which  the  King  of  the  latter  perished.  A  battle 
was  fought  A.D.  8Lii  against  Eochaidh,  by  his  own  brother 
Cairioll,  who  was,  however,  defeated.  In  the  same  year 
Ulidia  was  plundered  by  the  monarch  of  Ireland,  Aedh 
Oirdnidhe,  a  Kinel-Owen  prince,  '•  in  revenge  for  the  pro- 
fanation of  the  shrine  of  Patrick."'  Eochaidh  was  dethroned 
A.D.  807  by  his  brother  Cairioll,  who  occupied  the  throne 
to  the  year  816,  when  he  was  defeated  and  slain  by  his 
nephew,  Muireadhac  (Murough),  son  of  Eochaidh,  who 
mounted  the  vacant  throne.  During  his  reign  the  Danes 
commenced  their  plundering  expeditions.  They  plundered 
A.D.  823,  Downpatrick,  Movilla,  and  Inis-Doimhle  (per- 
haps Chapel  Island  off  Grrey  Abbey);  the  foreigners,  however, 
suffered  a  severe  defeat  in  Lecale.  In  the  year  826  the 
foreigners  were  again  defeated  by  Leathlobhar  (Lawlor),  son 
of  Loingseach,  who  was  afterwards  King  of  Ulidia.  The 
Danes,  however,  continued  to  infest  the  country,  and  in  the 
year  838,  they  established  a  fleet  on  Loch  Eathach  (Lough 
Neagh),  from  which  the  "territories  and  the  churches  of  the 
North   of  Ireland   were  plundered  and  spoiled   by   them." 


INTRODUCTION.  XXXV 

Nevertheless,  a  fratricidal  war  was  ragiug  that  very  year  in 
Ulidia,  Muireadacli  (Mureagli)  the  King  was  slain  by  his 
two  brothers  Aedh  and  Aenghus,  and  Aedh  (Ee  or  Hugh) 
was  slain  by  Madadhan  (Madayan),  son  of  Muireadhac,  who 
mounted  his  father's  throne.  Fortunately  for  the  Irish  a 
band  of  Northmen  hostile  to  the  other  invaders  arrived  in 
Ireland,  A.D.  849.  The  old  invaders  were  called  by  the  Irish 
Finnghoill  (White  Foreigners),  while  the  new  invaders 
were  named  Dubhghoill  (Black  Foreigners  :)  according  to 
Duald  MacFii-bis  the  former  were  Norwegians  and  the  latter 
were  Danes.  In  the  same  year  a  meeting  of  the  Kings  was 
held  at  Armagh,  at  which  the  King  of  Ulidia  was  present, 
but  it  does  not  seem  to  have  been  attended  with  much  result. 
The  Kinel-Owen  invaded  Ulidia,  A.D.  853,  but  were 
defeated.  Madadhan  after  reigning  over  Ulidia  fifteen  years 
"  died  in  religion  " — a  monk — in  the  year  855.  Leathlobhar 
(Lawlor),  mentioned  before,  ascended  the  throne,  he  was  an 
Irian  prince,  and  the  first  of  his  race,  who  had  obtained  the 
sovereignty  since  the  year  787.  He  died  A.D.  871  "after  a 
good  life,"  and  was  succeeded  by  Ainbhith,  the  son  of  his 
predecessor,  who  reigned  eight  years.  Tiiis  King  fell,  A.D. 
879,  in  a  war  with  the  people  of  the  modern  County  of  Louth. 
Eremhon  (Erevon),  the  brother  of  the  last  King  succeeded 
him,  and  was  killed  by  the  Danes  A.D.  885,  after  which* 
Fiachna,  son  of  Ainbhidh  (Anvee)  mounted  the  throne, 
but  he  was  slain  by  the  Ulidians  themselves,  A.D.  886, 
when  Bee,  son  of  Eremhon  (Erevon)  became  King.  He  was 
slain  A.D.  889  by  Aiteidh,  son  of  Laighne.  whose  descend- 
ants under  the  name  O'Haiteidh  (O'Hatey)  wei-e  long 
powerful  in  Iveagh,  but  they  are  now  either  extinct  or 
concealed  under  some  other  name. 

Ateidh    (Atey)    assumed   the  sovereignty  of  Ulidia  im- 
mediately after  the  death  of   Bee ;    and  under    the    same 


XXXVl  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

year  the  Annals  relate  the  followiug  curious  story  : — 
"  There  was  a  conflict  and  dissension  about  Whitsuntide 
at  Ard-Macha,  between  tlie  Kinel-Owen  and  the  Ulidians, 
i.e.,  between  Ateidh,  sou  of  Laighne,  and  Flathbheartach 
(Flaverty),  son  of  Murchadh  ;  but  Maelbrigdhe  (Mulbride 
— the  servant  of  Bridget),  successor  of  Patrick  (Primate) 
separated  'them  afterwards.  After  this  Maelbi'ighde  ob- 
tained reparation  for  the  violation  of  Patrick's  law  (the 
respect  due  to  the  church  of  Armagh),  from  the  province 
of  Ulidia,  together  with  the  delivery  of  their  hostages, 
namely,  thirty  times  seven  cumhals  (a  cumhal  was  three 
cows,  in  all  630  cows),  and  four  Ulidians  to  be  hanged, 
and  as  many  more  from  the  Kinel-Owen."  This  entry  curi- 
ously illustrates  the  manners  of  the  age,  but  the  princes, 
whether  guilty  or  not,  escaped.  Flathbheartach,  son  of 
Murcadli^  lord  of  Aileach,  was  slain  in  891  by  the  Hy 
Breasail,  and  in  the  next  year  A.iteidh  escaped  badly  wounded 
from  a  battle  fought  against  the  people  of  Bregia,  in  which 
many  chiefs  and  three  hundred  of  his  people  and  of  those  of 
Dalaradia  and  Locale  fell. 

A.D.  896  "  A  slaughter  was  made  of  the  foreigners  by 
the  Ulidians;"  and  A.D,  897,  "  Aiteidh,  son  of  Luighne, 
King  of  Ulidia  was  slain  by  one  of  his  own  tribe,"  and 
was  succeeded  by  Aodh,  son  of  Eochaghan,  a  Dal-Fiatach 
prince.  It  was  this  Aodh  who,  when  committing  sacreligious 
plunder  at  the  church  of  Ballyurgan  (see  p.  202),  broke 
his  shin,  hence  the  hill  was  named  Tealach-na-hcrgan — 
the  hill  of  the  shin — now  Ballyurgan.  A.D.  908,  a  fleet 
fitted  out  by  the  Ulidians  was  defeated  off  the  coasts  of 
"  Saxonland"  (England)  by  the  Danes. 

The  Ulidians  assisted,  A.D.  910,  Niall  of  the  Black  Knee, 
King  of  the  Kinel-Owen,  in  a  hosting  against  the  Southern  Hy 
Nialls,  where  they  suffered  a  defeat.     This  Niall,  A.D.  912, 


INTRODUCTIOX.  XXXVll 

invaded  Dalaradia,  and  in  two  battles,  one  at  the  Ravel  and 
another  at  Carn-Ereann(Carnearney)  defeated  the  Dalaradians 
and  the  Ulidians,  killing  O'Leathlobhar  (O'Lawlor),  the 
Dalaradian  King's  brother.  A  peace  was  made  on  the  first 
of  November  at  Tealach-og  (Tiillahoge)  between  Niall  and 
Aodh  King  of  Ulidia.  A.D.  917,  Niall  Glundubh  (of  the 
black  knee),  King  of  Ireland,  assembled  the  forces  of  Ireland 
to  drive  the  Danes  out  of  Dublin.  A  battle  was  fought  at 
Kilmashoge,  near  Rathfarnam,  where  the  Trish  received  a 
disastrous  defeat.  King  Niall  perished  in  the  battle  with 
many  of  his  sub-kings,  including  Aodh,  King  of  Ulidia. 
King  Niall  was  accompanied  by  the  Abbot  of  Bangor,  his 
confessor,  who  administeretl  to  him  the  Viaticum  on  the 
battle  field.  Dubhghall  (Doogall),  son  of  the  preceding  King, 
succeeded.  His  reign  was  disturbed  by  the  Danes,  who  esta- 
blished themselves,  A.D.  922,  on  Lough  Strangford,  and  slew  his 
brother,  but  twelve  hundred  of  them  were  drowned  the  same 
year  in  Loch  Rudhruidhe  (Dundrum  Bay).  Dubhghall  was 
slain  A.D.  923  by  the  Ulidians  themselves,  when  Loingseach, 
the  grandson  of  Leathlobhar  (Lawlor),a  former  King,  ascended 
the  throne,  he  assisted  Muircheartach,  son  of  King  Niall, 
King  of  the  Kinel-Owen,  to  gain,  A.D.  924,  a  great  victory 
over  the  Danes,  where  they  lost  eight  hundred  men  with. 
several  of  their  chieftains.  This,  however,  had  little  eifect 
on  the  foreigners,  four  years  afterwards,  we  find  the  Danes 
of  Loch  Neagli  having  a  fortified  camp  at  Ruhha  Mena — the 
point  of  land  at  the  Main — in  the  present  demense  at  Shane's 
Castle,  where  the  Main  falls  into  Lougli  Neagh.  Loingseach, 
King  of  Ulidia,  died  A.D.  930,  and  was  succeeded  by 
Eochaidh,  son  of  Conall.  Ulidia  was  invaded,  the  following 
year,  by  Conaing,  son  of  Niall,  prince  of  the  Kinel-Owen, 
who  was  assisted  by  the  Danes  of  Lougli  Neagh,  and  he  slew 
twelve  hundred,  while  at  the  same  time  Armagh  was  plun- 


XXXVlll  DOWN    AND    CONNOR. 

dered  by  the  Danes  of  Lough  Strangford.  The  TJlidians,  thi'ougli 
hatred  of  the  Kinel-Owen,  accompanied  the  Banes  on  a 
plundering  expedition  as  far  as  Slieve  Beagh  and  Mucknoe, 
near  Castleblaney,  Imtthey  were  overtaken  by  Muircheartach 
of  the  Leather  Coats,  King  of  the  Kinel-Owen,  "and  they 
left  with  him  two  hundred  heads  (cut  off)  besides  prisoners 
and  spoils."  Eochaidh,  King  of  XJlidia  died  A.D.  935  and 
was  succeeded  by  Madudhan  (Maduwan),  son  of  Aodh,  a 
former  King  The  new  King  slew,  A.D.  940,  Haghnall,  a 
chief  of  the  Danes,  who  had  plundered  Downpatrick.  This 
King  was  slain  A.D.  947  by  the  TJlidians  themselves,  and 
Niall,  his  brother,  succeeded  to  his  throne.  Niall  died  after 
a  reign  of  twelve  years,  A.D.  959,  and  was  succeeded  by 
Ardgal,  son  of  Madudhan.  In  the  following  year,  the 
Kinel-Owen,  led  by  Flaithbheartach  (FJaverty  or  Flagherty), 
lord  of  Aileach,  invaded  Dalaradia  and  plundered  Connor  : 
but  the  Ulidiaus  overcook  them  and  slew  Flaithbheartach 
and  his  two  brothers. 

The  King  of  XJlidia  led  an  array,  A.D.  968,  against 
the  foi'eigners,  he  succeeded  in  plundering  Connor,  whicli 
was  then  in  their  possession,  but  he  lost  many  of  his 
followers — "  he  left  behind  a  number  of  heads."  A.D. 
976.  The  King  of  Ulidia  was  slain  in  the  battle  of  Killniona 
in  which  he  was  assisting  Donnell  O'Neill,  monarch  of 
Ireland,  against  the  Southern  Hy  Niall  and  the  Danes;  he 
was  succeeded  by  Aodh,  son  of  Longseach,  a  former  King  ; 
and  this  Aodh  perished,  A.D.  978,  in  a  war  which  he  waged 
against  the  Dalaradians.  Eochaidh,  the  sou  of  Ardgal,  a 
former  King,  then  mounted  the  throne,  and  in  the  following 
year,  in  conjunction  with  the  monarch  Maolseachluin,  or 
Malachy,  he  laid  seige  to  Dablin,  out  of  which  they  liberated 
two  thousand  Irish  prisoners  and  took  a  large  amount  of 
rich  spoils.     It  was  then  stipulated  that  all  the  race  of  Niall 


INTRODUCTION.  XXXIX 

of  the  Nine  Hostages  should  be  henceforth  free  from  tribute 
to  the  foreigners,  and  Malachy  issued  a  proclamation  declaring 
every  Irishman  then  in  bondage  to  the  Danes  released  from 
captivity — "  Every  one  of  the  Gaidhil  (Gayil),  ^vho  is  in  the 
territory  of  the  foreigners,  in  servitude  and  bondage,  let  him 
go  to  his  own  territory  in  peace  and  happiness."  The  King 
of  Ulidia  went,  A.D.  989,  on  an  expedition  into  Kinel-Owen, 
where  he  lost  O'Haidith  one  of  his  chiefs.  Hugh  O'lSTeill, 
King  of  the  Kinel-Owen,  plundered  Iveagh,  A.D.  998,  and 
carried  off  a  great  cattle  spoil.  Sitric,  the  Dane,  A.D.  1001, 
set  out  on  a  plundering  excursion  into  Ulidia,  in  his  ships, 
and  plundered  Kilclief  and  Inch  and  carried  off  many 
prisoners. 

Brian  Boroimhe  (Boru),  having  conceived  the  ambitious 
project  of  deposing  the  monarch,  Malachy,  obtained  the 
aid  of  the  Danes  and  Leinstermen  against  him.  Malachy 
gave  him  hostages,  or  in  other  words,  acknowledged  him 
monarch  ;  and  the  people  of  Connaught  also  acknowledged 
his  authority.  Brian,  accompanied  now  by  the  deposed 
monarch  and  a  great  force,  marched  to  Dnndalk  to  compel 
the  northern  Hy  Nialls  to  acquiesce  in  the  reA^olution,  but 
Hugh  O'Neill,  who  as  King  of  the  Kinel-Owen,  was  the  pre- 
sumptive heir  to  the  monarchy,  and  Eochaidh,  King  of  Ulidia, 
with  the  whole  force  of  the  Kinel-Connell  and  the  Clann 
Colla  "  repaired  to  the  same  place  to  meet  them,  and  did  not 
permit  them  to  advance  further."  It  would  seem,  however, 
that  the  Ulidiaus  wei-e  inclining  to  join  Brian  against  their 
hereditary  enemies,  the  Hy  Nialls,  for  in  the  following  year, 
A.D.  1003,  the  Kinel-Owen  invaded  Ulidia  and  defeated  the 
Ulidiansin  the  terrible  battle  of  Craebh-tulcha  (Creeve-tulcha 
— the  spreading  tree  of  the  hill — now  Crewe  Hill,  near 
Glenavy).  In  this  battle  Eochaidh,  King  of  Ulidia  fell, 
together  with  his  two  sons,  his  brother,  many  of  the  chiefs, 


XI  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

including  Gairbhidli  (Garviy),  lord  of  Iveagli,  "  and  the 
most  part  of  the  Ulidians."  The  battle  i-aged  as  far  as 
Dun-Eathach  (Duneight  near  Lisburn)  and  Drumbo.  Hugh 
O'Neill  perished  in  the  battle,  and  Donnchadh,  grandson  of 
Longsigh,  lord  of  Dalaradia  and  heir  apparent  of  Ulidia,  was 
slain  on  the  following  day  by  the  Kinel-Owen. 

The  fall  of  their  King  left  the  Ulidians  a  prey  to  dissensions; 
and  the  jealousy  entertained  against  them  by  the  Kinel- 
Owen,  lest  theywould  join  with  Brian,  subjected  them  to  many 
an  invasion.  Brian  cai'ried  off,  A.D.  1004,  "the  pledges  of  the 
Dal-Araidhe  and  Dal-Fiatach,"  and  the  same  year  Flaith- 
bheartach  (Flaverty  or  Flagherty)  O'Neill,  King  of  Kinel- 
Owen,  plundered  Lecale,  slew  its  king,  and  defeated  the 
Ulidians  and  people  of  Iveagh  at  Loughbrickland.  In  the 
following  year,  A.D.  1005,  Brian  again  passed  with  a  great 
force  through  the  Kinel-Connell  and  the  Kinel-Owen,  from 
whom  he  could  obtain  no  acknowledgment  of  submission,  he 
then  crossed  the  Bann  at  Camus,  near  Coleraine,  into  Dalara- 
dia, thence  through  Dalaradia  he  passed  into  Ulidia,  which 
acknowledged  his  sovereignty  by  giving  hostages.  In  the 
meantime  frightful  anarchy  reigned  in  Ulidia.  After 
the  battle  of  Craebh-Tulcha,  Giollacomgaill  (Gillacowgal 
servant  of  St.  Comgall)  the  brother  of  the  slain  king  mounted 
the  throne  of  Ulidia,  and  was  slain  in  the  following  year  by 
his  own  brother  Maolruanaidh  (Mulruany),  who  in  half  a 
year  was  slain  by  Madagan,  and  he  in  a  month  was  slain  in 
the  church  of  St.  Bridget  in  Downpatrick,  by  Duil)hthuine 
(Duffin),  son  of  Eochaidh,  who  was  killed  at  Crabh-Tulcha  ; 
this  prince  was  killed,  A.D.  1005,  out  of  revenge  by  Muir- 
eadhach  (Mureyagh),  the  son  of  his  predecessor,  and  his  son 
Donnell  did  not  obtain  a  longer  possession  of  the  dangerous 
dignity,  for  he  was  slain  by  the  same  murderer  in  the  year 
1006.     Niall,   the  brother  of  this   murderer,  had  scarcely 


INTRODUCTION.  xli 

mounted  the  blood-stained  throne  when  Flaghterty  O'Neill 
entered  Ulidia,  slew  the  lord  of  Lecale,  Cauladh  (Coo-ULi — 
the  dog  or  hero  of  Ulster),  and  carried  off  seven  hostages. 
The  same  prince  again  returned  in  1010,  burned  the  fortress 
of  Dun-Eathach  (Duneight),  "  demolished  the  town,"  and 
carried  off  pledges  from  Niall,  the  King  of  Ulidia.  In  the 
following  year  Flagherty  led  another  army  as  far  as  the 
Ards,  and  "  he  bore  off  from  thence  spoils,  the  most  numerous 
that  king  ever  bore."  Niall,  however,  had  even  a  worse 
enemy  to  contend  with,  Niall,  the  son  of  the  Eochaidh, 
who  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Craobh-Tulcha.  This  in-ince 
encountered  the  King  of  Ulidia,  A.D.  1011,  in  the  battle  of 
the  Mullachs,  where  many  were  slain,  together  with 
Muircheartach  Mac Artain,  Tanist  of  Iveagh  :  he  afterwards 
deposed  the  king,  and  took  possession  of  the  throne. 

Malachy  having  again  recovered  the  sovereignity  after  the 
death  of  Brian  in  the  battle  of  Clontarf,  mai'ched,  A.D.  1015, 
into  Ulidia,  and  compelled  the  Ulidians  to  give  him  hostages. 
That  year,  it  would  seem,  the  dethroned  king  of  Ulidia, 
Niall,  son  of  Diubhtuine  (DufHn),  attempted  to  recover  his 
lost  position  by  the  aid  of  the  Dalaradians,  but  Niall,  son  of 
Eochaidh,  the  King  of  Ulidia,  defeated  the  combined  forces, 
and  slew  his  rival,  together  with  Domhnall,  son  of  Loings- 
each,  lord  of  Dalaradia,  and  Connor  O'Domhnallain 
(O'Donnellau),  lord  of  Hy  Tuirtre.  Niall  was  threatened, 
A.D.  1019,  by  the  ambition  of  another  rival,  perhaps  a 
brother  of  his  own,  one  Flagherty  O'Heochaidh,  but  he 
prevented  the  ambition  of  that  rival  from  again  disturbing 
his  reign  by  blinding  him,  for  according  to  Irish  law,  no  one 
having  a  personal  blemish  could  ascend  an  Irish  throne. 
Niall,  A.D.  1022,  defeated  the  Danes  off  Dublin  in  an  naval 
engagement,  in  which  he  took  most  of  their  ships  The 
Kinel-Owen   invaded   Ulidia,  A.D.  1027,  and   carried  off  a 


Xlii  DOWN    AND    CONNOR. 

great  prey.  A.D.  1036,  Domhnall  O'Huatlimliarain 
(O'Hovarin*),  lord  of  Fir-Li,  was  slain  by  the  Dalaradiaus. 
A.D.  1046,  Connor  0'Liucliey,t  lord  of  Dalaradia,  was  slain 
in  Leinster,  by  the  son  of  Donnell  O'Linchey.  A.D.  1047, 
"  A  great  famine  came  upon  the  TTlidians,  so  that  they  left 
their  territory,  and  proceeded  into  Leinster."  A.D.  1056, 
Niall  son  of  Maelseachluin  (Malachy),  made  a  predatory 
incursion  into  Dalaradia,  in  which  he  carried  off  two  thousand 
cows  and  sixty  prisoners.  A  similar  incursion  was  made  into 
Dalaradia,  A.D.  1059,  by  Ardghar  MacLoughlin,  at  the 
li,ead  of  the  Kinel-Owen,  in  which  he  carried  off  a  great  cattle 
spoil,  and  killed,  or  carried  off  two  hundred  persons.  Niall, 
son  of  Eochaidh,  King  of  Ulidia,  and  his  son,  Eochaidh,  died 
on  Thursday,  September  13th,  1062.  It  is  from  this 
Eochaidh  that  the  family  of  O'Haughey  or  O'Hoey  is 
descended  and  takes  its  name.  Niall  had  reigned  fifty-six 
years ;  he  was  succeeded  by  his  brother  Eochaidh,  who  died 
the  following  year,  1063.  He  was  succeeded  by  Donnchadh 
TJa  Mathghamhna  (Dunoghy  O'Mahony),  who  was  killed  by 
the  Ulidians  themselves,  A.D,  1065,  in  the  stone  church  of 
Bangor.  "  Brodar,  the  enemy  of  Comhghall  (St.  Comgall) 
— it  was  by  him  the  king  was  killed  in  Bangor — was  killed 
by  the  lord  of  Dal-Araidhe."  Donnell  O'Linchey,  lord  of 
Dalaradia,  was  slain  himself  the  same  year ;  and  Echmilidh 
O'Haiteidh    (O'Hatty),   lord  of   Iveagh,    was  slain  by   the 

*  Now  O'Heffarin,  the  district  of  Fir-Li  extended  aloiio;  the  Bann 
near  Coleraine.  The  parish  of  Ballyaghran  (the  town  of  O'HafFarin, 
or  O'Hagharin)  is  named  from  them. 

+  The  O'Lincheys,  lords  of  Dalaradia,  derive  their  name  from 
Loingseach  (a  mariner)  see  p.  xxi.  They  are  numerous  through  the 
Counties  of  Down,  Antrim,  and  Derry.  Some  of  them  have  changed 
the  name  into  Lynch.  The  writer  of  the  "  Life  of  St.  Patrick,"  who 
once  was  a  teacher  in  Loughinisland,  and  his  son,  the  author  of 
Lynch's  Feudal  Dignities,  belonged  to  this  family. 


INTRODUCTION.  xliii 

Kinel-Owen.  The  succeeding  king  of  Ulidia,  Cu-Uladh 
O'FJaithri,*  was  burned,  A.D.  1072,  by  the  men  of  Meath ; 
his  successor,  Aodh  Meranach,  was  drowned,  AD.  1074,  in 
Lough  Neagh.  Donnsleibhe  (Donlevy)  O'Heochaidh,  then 
movinted  the  throne;  he  went,  A.D.  1080,  into  Munster 
"  with  the  chiefs  of  Ulidia  along  with  him  to  serve  for 
wages."  He  went  on  a  similar  expedition,  A.D.  1084,  to 
Drogheda,  but  during  his  absence,  Donnelh  O'Loughlin,  at 
the  head  of  Kenel-Owen,  entered  Ulidia,  and  carried  off 
many  cattle  and  prisoners.  In  the  year  1086,  a  battle  was 
gained  by  the  people  of  Orior,  over  the  people  of  Iveagh, 
wherein  Dounell  O'Hateidh  was  slain  ;  but  another  battle 
wasgained  by  the  Ulidianso\er  theOrighialla,who  wei-e  under 
a  chief  named  Ua  Ruadhagain  (O'Rogan).  This  battle  was 
fought  at  a  place  named  Eocliaill  (the  yew  wood),  which  Dr. 
Donovan  thinks  is  Aghyoghill,  in  the  parish  of  Kilkeel. 
The  people  of  Iveagh,  A.D.  1089,  gained  a  victory  over  the 
people  of  Farney,  and  slew  many  of  their  nobles. 
Donnsleibhe  O'Heochadha,  after  a  reign  of  twenty-four  years 
was  slain,  A.D.  1094,  by  Domhnall  MacLoughlin,  King  of 
Aileach  or  Kinel-Owen,  at  Bealach-Guirt-an-Iubhair  (the 
road  of  the  field  of  the  yew, — now  Gortimore,  in  the  parish  of 
Killelagh,  Co.  Derry).  Donnchadh  (Donghy),  son  of  the 
slain  king,  ascended  his  father's  throne,  and  immediately 
proceeded  to  Dublin  to  enforce  MacLoughlin's  claims  to  the 
sovereignity  of  Ireland,  he  retui-ned,  however,  soon  from 
that  expedition,  and  blinded  Flagherty  O'Hateidh,  lord  of 
Iveagh.  In  'lie  same  year,  the  Ultonians  committed  a  great 
slaughter,  probably  in  battle,  on  the  people  of  Orior.  A 
great  victory  was   gained,   A.D.  1095,   by  the   Dalaradians, 

*  Echmilidh  (Horse-soldier  or  Knight)  was  anglicised  Acholy. 
Flaithrigli  (prince-king),  is  said  to  have  assumed  the  anglicised  form 
Flattry. 


xliv  DOWX  AND  CONNOR. 

over  the  Ulidians,  at  Ard-Achadli  (the  High  Field,  now 
Ardagli,  in  the  parish  of  Ramoan),  where  two  chiefs  named 
O'Cairill  were  killed,  and  a  great  number  along  with  them. 
A.D.  1096,  Cu-Uladh  O'Celeachain  (O'Callaghan),  Tanist  of 
Oriol,  was  slain  by  the  Ultonians.  Three  of  the  ships  of  the 
foreigners  were  captured,  and  their  crews  slain,  A.D.  1098, 
by  the  Ulidians.  An  army  was  led  by  Domhnall  (Donnell) 
O'Loughlin  or  MacLoughlin,  A.D.  1099,  across  Toome,  into 
Ulidia,  to  compel  the  Ulidians  to  acknowledge  him  as  king 
of  Ireland  ;  for  at  that  period  the  Ulidians,  through 
hereditary  hatred  of  the  Hy  Niall  race,  were  prepared  to 
support  the  pretensions  of  his  rival,  Muirchertach  O'Brian. 
]\IacLoughlin's  army  found  that  "the  Ulidians  were  encamped 
before  them  at  Ci'aebh  Tulcha  (Crew  Hill) .  On  coming  together, 
the  hosts  press  the  battle  on  each  other.  Both  the  cavalrie.s 
engage.  The  Ulidian  cavalry  was  routed,  and  O'Hamhraiu 
(O'Havi-an)  slain  in  the  conflict.  After  this,  the  Ulidians 
left  the  camp,  and  the  Clanna-Neill  burned  it,  and  cut  down 
(the  tree  called)  Craebh  Tulch."  This  was  the  sacred  tree 
under  which  the  kings  of  Ulidia  were  inaugurated.  After- 
wards the  Ultonians  were  forced  to  deliver  to  them  two 
hostages,  and  the  Abbot  of  Bangor  as  security  for  two 
hostages  moi-e.  In  the  next  year  O'Brian  brought  a  fleet  of 
foreigners  to  Derry,  which  MacLoughlin  defeated,  and  on  the 
28th  of  May,  lest  the  Ultonians  should  revolt  to  O'Brian, 
he  seized  on  Donnchaidh  (Donaghy)  O'Heochaidh,  King  of 
Ulidia,  and  several  of  his  chiefs  who  had  forgotten  all  their 
engagements.  O'Brian  again  invaded  the  Kinel-Owen,  and 
demolished  the  cyclopian  palace,  Aileach — the  Grianan- 
Ailigh — now  called  Greenan  Ely,  in  revenge  for  Kincora. 
the  royal  residence  of  the  O'Brians,  situated  near  Killaloe, 
which  Domhnall  MacLoughlin  demolished  some  time  before. 
O'Brian  ordered  his  soldiers  to  carry  to  Limerick  a  stone  of 


INTRODUCTION.  xlv 

the  ruined  palace  of  Aileach  in  eacli  sack  of  their  provLsious, 
O'Brian  afterwards  crossed  Feartas-Camsa,  the  ford  at 
Camus,  near  Coleraine.  He  encamped  some  time  at  Cole- 
raine,  which  he  burned,  and  afterwards  entered  XJlidia,  from 
which  he  carried  off  hostages,  and  returned  to  Munster  in 
safety.  The  King  of  XJlidia  "was  liberated  from  fetters  " 
on  the  22nd  of  December,  1 101,  by  MacLoughlin,  in  exchange 
for  his  son  and  his  foster-brother,  in  the  diamldiag  (stone 
church — the  cathedral)  of  Armagh,  through  the  inter- 
cession of  the  successor  of  St.  Patrick,  after  they  had 
mutually  sworn  on  the  Bacall-Isa  (St.  Patrick's  crozier).  In 
the  following  year  there  were,  as  usual,  dissensions  in  XJlidia. 
O'Hateidh,  the  Tanist  of  Iveagh,  was  killed  by  the  XJIidians, 
and  an  army  of  the  Kinel-Owen  led  to  Magh-Cobha  in 
Iveagh ;  but  the  XJIidians  made  an  attack  on  their  camp  at 
night  and  killed  O'Mulfoyle,  an  Tnishowen  chief,  and  another 
person  of  distinction.  The  Primate,  however,  succeeded  in 
effecting  ayear's  truce  between  MacLoughlin  and  O'Brian.  In 
1103,  the  war  broke  out  again,  when  O'Brian  with  the  men  of 
Munster,  Leinstei',  Connaught,  Meath,  and  Ossory  marched 
to  Magh-Cobha  to  protect  the  Ulidians.  O'Brian  with  a 
portion  of  his  troops  proceeded  into  Dalaradia  on  a  preditary 
excursion  where  he  lost  a  number  of  his  chiefs.  In  the 
meantime,  Donnell  MacLoughlin  attacked  the  camp  in 
Magh-Cobha  on  the  5th  of  August,  and  gained  a  great  victory, 
slaying  the  king  of  Leinster  and  many  of  the  Southern 
nobles,  among  whom  were  Rian,  ancestor  of  the  O'Ryans  of 
Idrone ;  and  Gillaphadraig,  of  Ossory,  ancestor  of  the  Fitz- 
patricks.  After  this  victory,  the  Kinel-Owen  and  the  Kinel- 
Connell  returned  home  laden  with  spoils,  including  "the 
royal  tent,  the  standard,  and  many  other  precious  jewels." 
This  year,  "  Maghnus,  King  of  Lochlann  (Denmark)  and  the 
Islands,  and  a  man  who  had  contemplated  the  invasion  of  all 


xlvi  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

Ireland,  was  slain  by  the  Ulidians  with  a  slaughtei'  of  the 
people  about  him."  He  was  slain  in  the  vicinity  of  Down- 
patrick,  where  his  tomb  is  still  pointed  out.  The  Ulidians 
defeated,  A.D.  1104,  the  Dalaradians,  and  slew  a  chief 
named  O'Daimhin.  This  year  again,  MacLoughlin  com- 
pelled the  Ulidians  to  give  him  hostages.  The  king  of  Ulidia, 
Eochaid  (Eoghy)  MacDonlevy  O'Heochaidh  (O'Haughy)  was 
beheaded,  A,D.  1108,  by  two  of  his  chiefs,  O'Mathghamhna 
(O'Mahony)  and  O'Maelruanaidh  (O'Mulroouey).  After 
this  event  there  is  a  considerable  confusion  among  the 
Annalists  regarding  the  successor ;  it  seems,  however,  from 
the  Four  Mastex-s,  that  Donnchadh  O'Heochaidh  was  the 
next  king,  though  MacFirbis  says,  that  Aodh,  son  of  Don- 
levy  O'Heochaidh  was  the  succeeding  king.  MacLoughlin 
again  returned  to  Magh-Cobha  (Moy-Cova),  and  compelled 
the  Ulidians  to  give  him  three  hostages,  which  he  selected. 
Nevertheless,  the  Ulidians  led  an  army,  A.D.  1111,  to 
Tullaghoge,  and  "  cut  down  its  old  trees,"  under  which  the 
princes  of  the  Kinel-Owen  were  inaugurated,*  To  avenge 
this  insult,  Niall  O'Loughlin  or  MacLoughlin,  then  only 
twenty  years  of  age,  marched  into  Ulidia,  and  carried  off  three 
thousand  cows.  After  this,  a  conference  between  Donnell 
MacLoughlin    and    Donnchadh   O'Heochaidh  was   held,   at 

*  The  princes  of  the  Kinel-Owen  were  inaugurated  on  a  stone  called 
Leac-na-riogh — the  stone  of  the  Kings,  at  Tullaghoge,  a  remarkable 
fort  or  rath  in  the  barony  of  Dungannon.  The  Lord  Deputy 
Mountjoy  broke  in  pieces,  A.D.  1602,  the  stone  on  which  "O'Neale 
was  made."  The  chief  was  inaugurated  by  O'Cathain  (O'Kane),  the 
principal  sub-chief,  and  by  O'Hagan.  The  ceremony  consisted  chiefly 
in  placing  in  the  princes  hand  a  white  wand  and  putting  on  his  foot 
an  inaugural  shoe,  hence  the  sandal  always  appears  in  the  armorial 
bearings  of  the  O'Hagans,  The  chief  of  the  O'Hagans  resided  within 
the  entrenchments  of  Tullaghoge,  and  from  it  Lord  O'Hagan  takes 
his  title  of  Baron  of  Tullaghoge.  His  Lordship  is  the  only  peer 
descended  paternally  from  any  of  the  ancient  Ulster  families. 


INTRODUCTION.  xlvii 

whicli  the  Ulidians  delivered  hostages  "for  paying  him  his 
own  demands."  "  The  peace  and  friendship  "  was  of  short 
duration.  MacLonghlin,  probably  offended  at  some  breach 
of  the  treaty,  returned,  A.D.  1113,  and  banished  Donnchadh 
from  the  kingdom  of  Ulidia,  which  he  divided  between  Aedh 
O'Mahony  and  Niall,  son  of  Donlevy  O'Heochy.  The 
Kinel-Owen  seems,  however,  to  have  allowed  the  ex-king  to 
retain  Dalaradia  and  Iveagh.  He  was,  however,  blinded  the 
same  year  by  Eochaidh  O'Mahony  and  the  Ulidians.  A.D. 
1118,  the  people  of  Iveagh  suffered  a  severe  defeat  from 
Murchadh  O'Rogan,  at  a  place  called  Ceann-dara.  Donnell 
MacLoughlin  died,  A.D.  1121;  and  was  succeeded  in  the 
chieftainshi])  of  the  Kinel-Owen  by  his  son,  Conchobhar  or 
Connor,  who,  in  1122,  marched  with  the  Kinel-Owen  "  until 
they  arrived  at  Cill-ruaidh  (Kilroot)  in  Ulidia,  and  they 
carried  off  countless  cattle  spoils."  Niall  MacDonlevy 
O'Heachaidh  about  this  time  founded  the  abbey  of  Erenagh 
(see  p.  139). 

An  intestine  war  occurred,  A.D.  1127,  among  the 
Ulidians,  in  which  Aedh  O'Mahony  and  Niall  MacDonlevy 
O'Heochaidh,  the  two  kings  set  over  them  by  Donnell 
MacLoughlin,  were  slain.  Ceinneidigh  (Kennedy),  son  of 
Aedh  MacDonlevy,  assumed  the  sceptre,  but  he  was  slain 
the  next  year,  A.D.  1128,  and  Raghnall  (Ranall)  O'Heochaidh 
succeeded.  The  same  year  Connor  MacLoughlin,  together 
with  the  Dalaradians  and  the  Oriols  or  Orighialla,  came  to 
Moy-Cova  and  carried  off  the  hostages  of  the  people  of  Iveagh 
A.D.  1130,  an  army  of  the  Kinel-Owen  was  led  into  Ulidia* 
which  defeated  the  Ulidians,  and  slew  Aedh  O'Linchey,  lord 
of  Dalaradia,  Gillaphadraig  MacSearraigh  (MacSherry), 
lord  of  Dal-Buinue,  Dubhrailbhe  MacArtan,  and  many 
others.  They  plundered  the  country  as  far  as  the  east  of  the 
Ards,   destroying  both  lay  and  ecclesiastical  property,  and 


XlVlll  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

they  carried  off  a  thousand  prisoners,  and  many  thousand 
cows  and  horses.  The  chief  men  of  Ulidia  afterwards 
came  to  Armagh,  where  they  made  peace  witli  Connor 
MacLoughlin,  and  left  hostages  with  liim.  In  consequence 
of  these  arrangements,  the  Ulidians  accompanied  Connor 
MacLoughlin,  A.D.  1131,  on  an  expedition  to  Connaught, 
but  during  their  absence,  Tighearnan  O'Rorke  plundered 
Ulidia.  The  plunderers  were  met  in  the  present  county  of 
Louth  by  the  Ulidians  on  their  return  home,  and  in  an 
engagement  which  took  place  between  them,  Raghnall 
(Ranall)  O'Heochaidh,  King  of  Ulidia  was  killed.  The 
Ulidians  led  an  army,  A.D.  1139,  to  TuUach-og,  where  the 
princes  of  the  Kinel-Owen  were  inaugurated,  and  "  they 
burned  the  plain  and  its  churches."  A.D.  1141,  Donnell 
O'Linchey,  lord  of  Dalaradia,  was  slain  by  the  Crotraighi. 
The  tribe  already  mentioned  in  the  extract  given  from  the 
Book  of  Rights. 

A.D.  1147,  "an  army  was  led  by  Muircheartach  (called 
in  English  Murtaugli),  son  of  Niali  O'Loughlin  or  MacLough- 
lin, and  the  Kinel-Owen,  and  Donuchaidh  Ua  Cearbhail 
(Donnough  O'Carrol),  ami  the  Airghialla  (the  Oriols)  into 
Ulidia.  The  Ulidians  were  encamped  at  the  brink  of 
Uchdearg  (Aghderg,  near  Loughbrickland),  to  meet  them  ; 
but  they  abandoned  the  camp  to  the  Kinel-Owen  and  the 
Airghhialla,  who  pursued  them  till  they  reached  the  shore  of 
Dun-droma  (Dundrum),  in  Lecale.  The  Ulidians  gave 
battle  there,  on  the  day  of  festival  of  Paul  and  Peter  (29th 
of^June) ;  but  they  were  defeated,  and  a  great  number  of 
them  slain,  together  with  Archu  O'Flathrai,  lox-d  of  Lecale. 
After  this  the  forces  plundered  and  burned  all  Lecale,  and 
carried  off  hostages  from  the  Ulidians."  In  the  midst  of  these 
tumults,  the  great  St.  Malachy  was  using  every  effort  for 
the  restoration  of  peace,  and  the  promotion  of  discipline  and 


INTRODUCTION.  xlix 

morality  ;  but  uufortuiiately,  his  efforts,  owing  to  the  constant 
wars  of  those  times,  were  too  frequently  fruitless.  He  died 
at  Clairvaux,  on  his  second  journey  to  Rome,  on  the  2nd  of 
November,  1148,  in  the  arms  of  his  dear  friend,  the  illust- 
rious St.  Bernard,  and  surrounded  by  a  number  of  abbots 
and  the  religious  of  his  order.  MacLoughliu  and  O'Carroi 
returned  to  Ulidia  and  carried  off  hostages  and  the  son  of 
the  king  of  Ulidia,  and  placed  four  lords  over  the  territory. 
The  Ulidiaus,  however,  having  detatched  O'Carroi  from  the 
Kinel-Owen  interest,  forgot  their  engagements,  but  MacLough- 
lin  returned  across  Toome,  expelled  Cuuladh  O'Donlevy  or 
O'Heochaidh,  and  placed  Donnchadh,  a  prince  of  the  same 
family,  on  the  throne.  Peace  was  afterwards  made  at  Armagh 
between  MacLoughliu,  O'Carroi,  and  the  Ulidians  "  under 
the  staff  of  Jesus  (St.  Patrick's  crozier),  and  in  the  presence 
of  the  successor  of  Patrick  and  his  clergy,"  and  they  left 
hostages  with  MacLoughliu.  In  the  following  year,  A.D. 
1149,  the  expelled  Cuuladh  returned  to  Ulidia  and  drove  off 
Donnchadh  from  the  chieftainship  of  the  upper  part  of 
Ulidia.  Donnchadh,  assisted  by  his  brother,  Murchadh,  and 
O'Mahony  attacked  the  camp  of  Cuuladh,  but  they  were 
defeated.  After  this  the  combined  forces  of  the  Kinel- 
Owen,  Kinel-Connell,  and  Oirghialla  entered  Ulidia,  and 
plundered  all  the  upper  part  of  it,  from  Carlingford  Bay  to 
Droichet-na-Feirtsi  (near  Newcastle).  A  party  of  them  went 
upon  the  islands  of  Strangford  Lough,  and  they  plundered 
Inis-Cumscraidh  (Inch),  Cill-Aedhain  (pronounced  Killeein, 
its  modern  name  is  not  known),  Moville,  Bangor,  and  all  the 
other  churches  except  Down  and  Saul.  Cuuladh  then 
delivered  his  own  son  to  MacLoughliu,  and  whatever  other 
hostages  he  demanded.  Muircheartach  (Murtough)  O'Lough- 
lin  or  MacLoughliu,  who  had  inflicted  such  injuries  on 
Ulidia,  became  the  unopposed  monarch  of  all  Ireland  in  the 


1  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

year  1156,  wlien  Turlougli  O'Connor,  his  rival,  closed  his 
turbulent  career  in  death,  nevertheless  the  Ulidians  rebelled, 
and  the  monarch  led  an  army  to  chastise  them.  O'Linchey, 
lord  of  Dalaradia,  was  slain,  but  the  Kinel-Owen  lost  one  of 
their  chiefs,  Ua-h-Tnneirighe  (O'Henry).  Cuuladli,  son  of 
Aedh,  son  of  Donlevy  O'Heochaidh,  King  of  TJlidia,  A.D. 
1157,  "died  after  penance  at  Dun-da-leathglas,  and  was 
interred  at  Dun  (Down)  itself."  Aedh,  the  brother  of 
Cuulath  succeeded  him  :  he  was  slain  by  the  Kiuel-Connell, 
A.D.  1158,  when  he  invaded  their  country  along  with  the 
army  of  Kinel-Owen.  After  this  event,  Eochaidh  MacDon- 
levy  O'Heochaidh  became  king.  Because  this  king,  A.D. 
1165,  plundered  some  of  the  neighbouring  territories,  the 
monarch  led  a  great  army  against  him,  which  plundered  the 
whole  country,  except  some  of  the  principal  churches,  and 
deprived  Eochaidh  of  the  kingdom.  Some  time  afterwards 
Donnchadh  Ua  Cearbhaill,*  lord  of  Oirghialla,  brought 
Eochaidh  to  the  monarch  at  Armagh,  and  requested  that  he 
would  again  restore  him  to  his  kingdom.  The  monarch 
restored  him,  but  Eochaidh  was  necessitated  to  deliver  to  him 
his  own  daughter,  and  a  son  of  every  cheiftain  in  Ulidia  as 
hostages.  "And  many  jewels  were  given  to  him,  together 
with  the  sword  of  the  son  of  the  earl"  (some  Danish  trophy). 
He  also  give  up  Bairche  (the  present  ^barony  of  ]\lourne)  to 
O'Longhlin,  who  immediately  granted  it  to  O'Cearbhaill, 
and  a  townland  was  granted  to  the  clergy  of  SabhnaU  (Saul) 
for  the  luck  of  the  reign  of  MacLochlainn  (MacLoaghlin)." 
Nevertheless,  on  the  very  next  year,  A.D.  1166,  this  unfor- 
tunate  King   of  Ulidia,   "Eochaidh  MacDuinsleibhe,  pillar 

*  The  name  Ua  Cearbhaill,  in  Co.  Louth,  is  now  generally  written 
O'Carroll ;  but  in  the  barony  of  Mourne  it  assumes  the  form  O'Carvill 
or  rather  Carvill.  In  Irish  bh  is  equivalent  to  v  or  w,  hence 
O'Cearbhaill  is  modernised  into  both  O'Carvill  and  O'Carroll,  for 
O'Carwill. 


INTRODUCTIO>r,  h 

of  the  px-owess  and  hospitality  of  the  Irish,  was  blinded*  by 
(the  monarch)  Miiircheartach  Ua  Lochlainn ;  and  the  three 
best  men  of  the  Dial-Araidhe,  i.e.  two  MacLoingsighs,  and 
the  grandson  of  Cathasach  OTlathrae,  were  killed  by  the 
same  king,  in  violation  of  the  protection  of  the  successor  of 
Patrick  and  the  staff  of  Jesus,  of  Donnchadh  O'Cearbhaill," 
•fee.  This  so  provoked  0' Carroll,  the  Ulidians,  and  others, 
that  they  invaded  Kinel-Owen,  and  slew  Murtough  Mac- 
Loughlin,  who,  of  all  the  Irish  kings  since  the  days  of 
Malachy  II.,  had  the  most  unquestionable  right  to  the  title 
of  monarch  of  Ireland.  There  were  slain  along  with  him 
Ua-h  Adhmaill  (O'Hamill),!  and  many  others.  As  Eochaidh, 
being  blinded,  could  no  longer  reign  over  Ulidia,  Maghnus 
O'Heochaidii  succeeded  him,  and  Ruaidhri  (Roderick) 
O'Connor  succeeded  MacLoughlin  in  the  monarchy.  O'Con- 
nor, A.D.  1167,  convened  an  assembly  of  the  clergy  and 
chiefs  of  the  North  of  Ireland  at  Athboy,  at  which  there 
were  present  thirteen  thousand  horsemen,  of  whom  O'Carrol 
and  O'Heochaidii  brought  four  thousand.  Several  useful 
regulations^  say  the  Annalists,  were  made  by  this  assembly, 
*' so  that  women  used  to  travel  Ireland  alone."  Roderick, 
with  a  large  army  entered  the  territory  of  the  Kinel-Owen, 
then  called  Tir-Eoghain  (Tir-Owen — the  Laud  of  Owen)  and 
divided  it  between  Niall  O'Loughliu  and  Hugh  O'Neill, 
giving  to  the  former  the  country  lying  to  the  north  of  Slieve 
Gallion,  and  to  the  latter  the  territory  to  the  south  of  that 

*  This  barbarous  custom  of  blinding,  as  a  mode  of  punishment, 
was  much  practised  in  England.  Henry  IE.  caused  the  children  of 
the  noblest  families  of  Wales  whom  he  held  as  hostages  to  be  blinded. 
The  Irish,  however,  blinded  dethroned  princes  to  prevent  them  from 
remounting  their  thrones,  and  they  considered  this  more  humane 
than  putting  them  to  death. 

t  The  O'Hamills  were  distinguished  chiefs  of  the  Kinel-Owen. 
Some  of  them  in  after  times  adopted  the  bardic  profession,  A.D. 
1370,  "Euaran  O'Hamill,  chief  poet  to  O'Hanlon,  died." 


lii  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

mountain.  The  territory  of  the  Kinel-Oweu  comprised  at 
that  period  the  whole  of  the  present  counties  of  Derry, 
Tyrone,  the  barony  of  luisliowen,  part  of  the  barony  of 
Raphoe  together  with  ])arts  of .  tlie  present  county  of 
Armagh.  As  the  Kiuel-Oweu  advanced  its  boundaries, 
the  neighbouring  septs,  who  were  mostly  of  the  Clann- 
Colla,  were  necessitated  to  seek  other  settlements.  The 
Hy-Tuirt)'e  originally  located  in  the  baronies  of  Dungannon, 
in  the  county  of  Tyrone,  and  Loughinsholin,  in  the  county 
of  Derry,  were  driven  over  the  Bann,  where  they  gave 
name  to  the  tract  which  is  comprised  in  the  modern 
baronies  of  Upper  and  Lower  Toome,  forming  the  in-incipal 
part  of  the  rural  deanery,  which  in  1291,  bore  the  name  of 
Turtyre ;  yet  they  must  have  been  in  the  modern  county  of 
Derry  about  the  year  1050,  or  at  least  after  the  assumption 
of  surnames,  as  Loughinsholin  (the  lough  of  the  island  of 
O'Flinn),  Desertolin  (the  desert  of  O'Flinn),  Monesterlin 
(the  monastery  ot  O'Flinn),  and  other  i)laces  in  that  county 
ai-e  named  from  the  O'Flinus  or  O'Lynns,  who  were  the 
chiefs  of  the  Hy  Tuirtre  after  the  assumption  of  surnames. 
The  Annalists  describe  the  character  of  Maghnus  O'Heoch- 
aidh,  King  of  Ulidia,  as  stained  with  every  crime  of  immora- 
lity and  irreligion.  At  the  instigation  of  a  renegade  monk, 
who  had  been  expelled  from  Melifont,  he  drove  out,  A.D. 
1170,  the  monks,  whom  St.  Malachy  had  placed  in  the  abbey 
of  Saul,  and  deprived  them  of  tlier  books  and  all  their  goods. 
The  Ulidians  fitted  out  a  fleet,  A.D.  1171,  with  which  they 
invaded  the  territory  of  the  Kinel-Owen,  and  carried  off  a 
countless  number  of  cows.  h\  revenge,  Niall  MacLoughlin 
entered  L^iidia  where  he  slew  many,  and  carried  off  countless 
cows.  The  king  of  Ulidia  led  a  predatory  force  into  Cuil- 
an-Tuaisceart  (in  the  north-east  Liberties  of  Coleraine),  where 
they  plundered   Coleraine,  and  many  other  clivirches  ;  but  a 


ixTRODucTiox.  liii 

small  party  of  the  Kinel-Oweu  under  Conchobhair  O'Cathain 
(Conchovar  O'Kane)  overtook  them,  and  slew  twenty-one 
chieftains  and  sons  of  chiefs,  together  with  many  of  ths 
commonality  ;  the  king,  thoiigh  wounded,  escaped  from  the 
battle,  but  he  was  slain  a  few  weeks  afterwards  in  Down- 
patrick  by  his  own  brother,  Donnsleibhe  (Donlevy),  who 
succeeded  him  in  the  kingdom,  and  "  by  Grilla-Aeughusa,  son 
of  MacGillaepscoip  (O'Lavery),  ruler  of  Monaigh."  In  the 
year  1172,  this  Gilla-Aenghusa  O'Lnvery  himself  was 
treacherously  slain  by  Donnsleibhe,  and  the  chiefs  who  were 
guarantees  between  them,  put  the  king  to  death  for  his  crime. 
His  son  Cuuladh  was  then  elevated  to  the  thi'one.  In  the 
same  year,  Hugh  Magennis  and  the  Clanna  Aodha,  of 
Iveagh,  slew  Malmurry  MacMurrough,  a  Kinel-Owen  chief. 
This  is  the  first  time  that  the  Annals  mention  the  name  of 
Magennis.  Previous  to  this  date  they  were  chiefs  of  a  small 
territory  and  clan  in  Iveagh,  called  Claim  Aodh,  called  so 
from  Aedh,  one  of  their  ancestors,  while  the  chieftaincy  of 
Iveagh,  to  which  they  afterwards  attained,  was  possessed  by 
a  family  named  O'Haiteidh  (O'Haitey).  The  charter  of 
Newry  abbey  granted  by  Kino;  ^Mnircheartach  MacLoughliu, 
A.D,  1158,  records  the  name  of  Donaldus  O'Hede  as  then 
"rex  Oveach" — king  of  Iveagh,  while  it  enters  "Aedh 
Magnus  Magangasa,  Dux  Clanoeda,  Oveach,  Uladh" — Aedh 
Mor  Magennis,  Chief  of  Clan  Aedh,  of  Iveagh,  of  Uladh. 
The  person  mentioned  in  the  charter  is  probably  the  same 
Hugh  Magennis  who  slew  the  Kinel-Owen  chief.  He  and 
the  Clann  Aedha  plundered.  A.D.  117.3,  a  large  quarter  of 
Armagh;  and  he  himself  was  slain  in  three  months  after- 
wards, "  Niall  MacLoughlin  was  slain,  A.D.  117G,  by  the 
Muinter  Branan — i.e.,  the  Dal-Buinne."  Gooey  O'Flynn, 
lord  of  Hy-Tuirtre,  Firlee,  and  Dalaradia  was  slain  by  his* 
own  brother. 


liv  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

John  de  Coiircy,  one  of  tlie  military  adventurers,  who  had 
come  to  Dublin  along  with  the  English  invaders,*  seeing  the 
extensive  estates,  which  his  companions  had  gained  in  other 
parts  of  Ireland,  determined  to  try  his  fortune  in  Ulster,  which 
had  not  yet  been  invaded.  Having  selected  22  knights  and 
300  soldiers,  he  set  out  from  Dublin  in  the  month  of 
January,  A.D.  1 J  77,  and  in  four  days  arrived  at  Down, 
patrick.  The  utmost  terror  filled  the  inhabitants  at  the 
sight  of  these  adventurers,  who  immediately  commenced  to 
slaughter  the  townspeojile  and  plunder  the  town.  Cardinal 
Yivian,  who  had  come  as  legate  from  Pope  Alexander  III. 
to  the  nations  of  Scotland  and  Ireland,  had  recently  arrii'ed 
from  the  Isle  of  Man,  and  happened  to  be  then  in  Down- 
patrick  ;  the  Cardinal  entreated  De  Courcy  in  vain  to  spare 
a  people  who  were  willing  to  submit  to  the  King  of  England 
and  to  pay  tribute.  These  terms  were  scornfully  rejected 
by  De  Courcy,  and  the  Cardiiaal  encoiu'aged  Rory,  son  of 
Donlevy  O'Heochaidh,  who  was  the  prince  of  Ulidia  to 
defend  his  people.  He,  it -is  said,  collected  ten  thousand 
men  in  one  week  to  deliver  Down  from  the  tyranny  of  the 
English,   but  it   is  obvious  that  the   numbers  are  greatly 

*  Mr.  Haverty  in  liis  valuable  History  of  Ireland  remarks  that 
never  did  a  national  calamity  so  miglity  and  so  dej^lorable  proceed 
from  a  commencement  more  contemptible  than  did  the  English 
invasion.  At  the  invitation  of  Dermot  MacMurrough,  the  immoral 
King  of  Leinster,  Robert  Fitz-Stephen,  with  30  knights,  60  men  at 
arms,  and  300  archers,  disembarked  in  May,  1169,  at  Bannow  near 
Wexford,  and  on  the  25th  of  August,  1170,  Richard  de  Clare,  Earl 
of  Pembroke,  surnamed  Strongbow,  landed  at  Downdonnell  near 
Waterford,  with  an  army  of  1,200  men,  of  whom  200  were  knights. 
St.  Thomas  A-Becket,  archbishop  of  Canterbruy,  was  murdered,  on 
December  29th,  of  the  same  j'ear,  by  certain  wicked  men,  who 
committed  the  murder  to  please  King  Henry  III.  of  England,  and 
he  to  divert  the  minds  of  the  English  people  from  the  murder,  landed 
with  an  army  on  the  17th  of  October,  1171,  at  Crook  in  thecounty  of 
Waterford. 


INTRODUCTION  Iv 

exaggerated.  De  Courcy  took  up  a  favourable  position 
outside  the  town  and  attacked  with  his  usual  bravery  this 
tumultuary  gathering  ;  panic  seized  the  Ulidians  and  they 
were  mercilessly  slaughtered  by  the  trained  soldiers  and  the 
mail-clad  Norman  knights.  On  the  24th  of  the  following 
June,  the  Ulidians,  assisted  by  the  Kinel-Owen,  again  tried 
the  fortune  of  war  against  De  Courcy  with  the  same  want 
of  success  ;  in  this  engagement  the  Kinel-Owen  lost  three  of 
their  chiefs,  Donnell  O'Laverty,  chief  of  the  Clann-Hamill, 
Connor  O'Carellon,  chief  of  Clann  Dermott,  Gilla-Mac-Liag 
O'Donnelly,  chief  of  Ferdroma,  and  MacTomulty,  chief  of 
the  Clann  Mongan,  the  Ulidians  lost  MacArtan,  chief  of 
Kinelarty  (see  page  280).  Dxiring  the  same  year  De  Courcy 
proceeded  with  his  forces  into  Co.  Antrim,  to  the  Hy  Tuirtre 
and  the  Fir-Li,  the  prince  of  these  people,  Cumidhe  (Cumee), 
burned  Armoy  lest  it  would  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
English.  They,  however,  plundered  and  burned  during  this 
expedition  Coleraine  and  many  other  churches.  In  the 
following  year,  after  a  successful  predatory  incursion  into 
the  present  county  of  Louth,  De  Courcy  encamped,  on  his 
return  to  Down,  in  the  valley  of  the  Newry  river,  when  he 
was  attacked  by  O'Carrol  of  Oriel,  and  MacDonlevy  of 
Ulidia,  and  he  lost  450  men.  Some  time  afterwards  he 
went  on  a  similar  expedition  into  Dalaradia  where  Cumee 
O'Flynn  gave  him  so  great  a  defeat  that  he  fled  from  the 
field  with  only  eleven  followers,  who  were  necessitated  to 
travel  on  foot  and  without  food  about  thirty  miles,  until 
they  reached  Downpatrick.  Notwithstanding  the  presence 
of  an  enemy  so  powerful,  the  natives  still  continued  their 
petty  feuds.  Donnell  MacLoughlin,  A.D,  1181,  led  the 
Kinel-Owen  into  Ulidia  and  defeated  the  Ulidians,  imder  their 
King,  E,ory  MacDonlevy,  and  the  Hy  Tuirtre  and  the  Fir-Li 
(Lee)  under  Cumee  O'Flynn ;  while  Eachmarcach  O'Kane 


Ivi  DOWN  AND  CORNOR. 

crossed  Toome  and  carried  off  many  thousands  of  cows  from 
the  Hy  Tuirtre  and  the  Fir-Li.  The  Kinel-Owen,  who  by 
their  continual  invasions  had  rendei-ed  the  Ulidians  unable 
to  resist  the  English,  were  the  only  Ulster  state  able  to 
cope  with  the  foreigners,  yet  they  also  were  miserably  divided. 
Donnell  MacLoughlin  Avas  deposed,  A.D.  1186,  and  Ruadhri 
(Rory)  O'Laverty  was  elected  chief.  This  prince  was  slaiit 
the  following  year  while  plundering  Tirconnell,  and 
Donnell  MacLoughlin  was  then  reinstated,  Vnit  fell  A.D. 
1188  when  pursuing  the  English  gariTison  of  Moy-Cova, 
which,  together  with  a  party  from  Iveagh  had  phmdered  a 
district  of  Tyrone.  Tlic  northern  Irish  sustained  a  great 
loss  in  Cinnee  O'Flynn,  who  was  slain,  A.D.  1194,  by  the 
English,  and  a  still  gi'cater  loss  in  Murtough  MacLoughlin, 
cliief  of  the  Kinel-Owen  who  was  slain,  A.D.  119G,  by 
Donough,  son  of  Blosky*  O'Kane,  immediately  afterwards 
Rory  MacDonlevy,  who  had  now  completely  allied  himself 
to  the  English,  marched  a  force  composed  of  English  and 
Irish  into  Kinel-Owen,  but  he  sustained  a  defeat  -vHth  dread- 
ful slaughter  in  the  vicinity  of  Armagh.  In  the  following 
year,  A.D.  1197,  De  Courcy  marched  to  Eas-Creeva  (the 
Cutts  of  Colei'aiue),  and  erected  the  castle  of  Kilsantan,  o)- 
Kilsandal,  the  remains  of  which  may  yet  be  seen  near 
the  Loughans.  He  placed  in  this  castle  a  garrison  under 
one  Rotsel,  or  Russell,  who  plundered  the  country  as  far 
as  Deny,  but  Flagherty  O'Muldorry,  who  was  now  re- 
cognised as  the  chief  both  of  the  Kinel-Owen  and  the 
Kinel-Connell,  defeated  him  at  the  strand  of  Faughanvale. 
In  the  following  year,  A.D.  1198,  De  Courcy  marched  to 
Tyrone    and    Derry    wliere    he    remained    a    week    or    two 

*  I'liis  MacBhlosgaidh  (pron.  MacCloskey)  is  the  ancestor  of  the 
branch  of  the  O'Kanes  called  MacCloskey,  so  numerous  in  Co.  Derry 
and  in  Down  and  Connor. 


IKTRODUCTIOir.  Ivii 

destroying  Iiiishowen  and  the  country  aronnd  Derry.  He 
intended  to  make  Derry  the  centre  of  new  conquests,  but 
Hugh  O'Neill,  the  chief  of  the  Kinel-Owen,  sailed  to  Larne, 
burned  a  part  of  the  town  and  killed  eighteen  of  the  English. 
The  English  of  Moylinny  and  Dalaradia  mustered  a  force  of 
three  hundred  men  and  attacked  O'Neill,  when  he  .was 
burning  the  town,  but  he  defeated  them  with  such  slaughter 
that  De  Coui'cy  was  forced  to  march  from  Derry  to  save  the 
English  in  Dalaradia.  In  1199,  the  English  of  TJlidia  made 
three  incursions  into  Tyrone,  but  in  the  third  Hugh  O'Neill 
defeated  them  near  Donaghmore,  and  sixch  as  escaped  had  to 
march  at  night  through  the  woods  till  they  crossed  the  Bann 
at  Toome.  In  the  meantime,  Rory  MacDonlevy  and  his 
English  plundered  the  monastery  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul 
at  Armagh,  "  and  he  left  only  one  cow  thei-e."  The  Annals 
of  Inisfallen,  at  A.D.  1200,  in  recording  the  death  of  Rory 
MacDonlevy  O'Heochaidh  by  De  Courcy,  style  him  "  the 
last  King  of  ITlauh."  Thus  perished  that  ancient  dignity 
with  its  degenerate  possessor. 

John  de  Courcy,  it  is  said,  incuri'ed  the  anger  of  King 
John  by  openly  speaking  of  him,  as  the  murderer  of  the 
young  ])rince  Arthur,  the  rightful  heir  to  the  crown  of 
England.  The  king  at  least  commissioned  the  lord  justice, 
Hugh  de  Lacy,  to  deprive  him  of  his  lands  and  to  seize  his 
person.  De  Lacy  marched  with  a  powerful  array  to  arrest 
"  the  conqueror  of  Ulidia,"  and  the  Four  Masters  inform  us 
that  A.D.  1204,  "  John  de  Courcy,  the  plimdererof  churches 
and  territories  was  driven  by  the  son  of  Hugh  de  Lacy  into 
Tyrone  to  seek  the  protection  of  the  Kinel-Owen.  He 
arrived  at  Carrickfergus  and  the  English  slew  great  number* 
of  his  people."  He  seems  to  have  returned  to  Downpatrick, 
where  he  was  arrested.  He  was  conveyed  to  England  by 
the  lord  justice,  Hugh  De  Lacy,  on  whom  king  John  con- 


Iviii  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

ferred  tlie  possessions  of  De  Courcy  and  the  title  of 
Earl  of  Ulster.  Dissensions  were  rife  among  the  English 
colonists.  On  the  20th  of  June,  1210,  King  John  landed 
at  Crook,  near  Waterford,  with  a  large  fleet  and  army. 
Walter  and  Hugh  de  Lacy  fearing  the  monarcli's  displeasure 
fled  to  France.  The  king  marched  through  County 
Down  to  Carrickfergus,  in  which  he  placed  a  gariison  of 
his  own.*     De  Lacy  was  restored  to  all  his  honours  in  the 

*  The  following  account  of  King  John's  expedition,  from  the  time 
he  left  Carlingford  till  his  return  to  that  town  from  Carrickfergus, 
is  taken  from  Sweetman's  Calf  ndar  of  Document  fi  reJatmcj  to  Ireland: — 
JuhjUlh,  1210— At  Carlingford.  July  \2th,  Monday— at  Jordan 
de  Sackville's  Castle  ;  to  Mariadac  (Murtough  O'Brian),  King  of 
Limerick,  10  marks,  prest.  by  Warin  Fitz  Gerald.  (Jordan  de 
Sackville  had  a  castle  in  Ardglass  and  lands  in  Holj'wood,  yet  as 
there  is  no  account  of  the  King  going  by  sea,  the  castle  referred  to 
may  have  been  somewhere  near  Xewry.)  July  14ith,  Wednesday — 
at  Rath  (Maghera  or  Clough  ?)  to  Nicholas  Carpenter  10s.,  Master 
Osbert,  Quarrier,  Alberic,  Ditcher  7s.  6d.,  Masters  Pinell  and  Ernuff, 
miners,  1  mark,  Thomas  Fitzadam,  2  murks  {cancelle.d.)  The  Earl  of 
Salisbury  on  account  of  his  fee  10  marks  paid  to  William  Talbot. 
July  IQth,  Friday — at  the  Mead,  near  Dun  (Downpatrick,  the  j^lace 
is  still  called  Kingstield),  to  Henry  de  Ver  to  make  prests.  to  soldiers 
£40,  to  Warin  Fitz  Gerald  for  play,  5s.  by  the  King.  July  Idtli, 
Monday — at  Carrickfergus,  to  Brother  Thomas,  almoner,  for  alms, 
100s.,  to  Earl  of  Salisburj'  for  his  fee,  40  marks.  Juli/  '2{)th,  Tuesday 
■ — to  Koger  Pipard  to  buy  horses,  2  marks,  paid  to  Walter,  his  man, 
to  Cunsellard,  10s.,  to  the  Knights  of  the  Bishop  of  Winchester,  100s., 
paid  to  Stephen,  the  clerk.  July  20th,  Tuesday — prests.  made  to 
Knights  at  Carrickfergus.  Among  the  names  of  the  Knights  are  Adam 
le  Butiller,  Godfrey  de  Paipe  Forti  (Rochfort),  Robert  Salvagius,  and 
Thomas  le  Salvage  (Savage.)  July  24</t,  Saturday  next,  after  the 
feast  of  the  Blessed  Mary  Magdalen  -  at  Carrickfergus,  to  H.  Fitz- 
Earl  and  G.  Lutterell,  to  make  a  prest.  to  mariners,  200  marks,  to 
H.  de  Ver,  to  make  a  prest.  to  his  bailiffs,  soldiers,  and  knights,  and 
£32  to  make  a  prest.  to  400  foot  soldiers,  to  the  Bi.shop  of  Norwich 
for  payment  to  Godfrey  de  Marisco  and  Thomas  Fitz-Maurice,  to 
make  a  prest.  to  soldiers  from  Monasteria  and  from  Ruda  Midal,  100 
marks.  July  2oth — prests.  made  to  Knights  at  Carrickfergus,  on  the 
day  of  St.  James  the  Apostle.     Among  the  names  of  the  Knights  is 


INTRODUCTION.  Ux 

beginning  of  the  reign  of  Henry  III.  He  imitated  De 
Courcy  in  erecting  castles  and  bestowing  on  the  church  and 
on  his  followers  lands  which  belonged  to  the  natives,  but 
which  royal  chaii,ers  bestowed  on  him.  He  died  at  Carrick- 
fergus,  A.D.  1243,  and  his  possessions  and  the  earldom  of 
Ulster  passed  to  Walter  de  Burgo  through  his  intermarriage 
with  Maude,  the  daughter  and  heiress  of  De  Lacy.  William 
de  Burgo,  Earl  of  Ulster  who  was  murdered  on  Sunday,  the 
6th  of  June,  1333,  by  Robert  Mandeville  and  others,  near 
Belfast,  left  a  daughter  who  mai-ried  the  Duke  of  Clarence, 
a  son  of  Edward  III.,  through  whose  descendants  the 
Earldom  passed  into  the  possession  of  the  royal  family. 

that  of  Robert  Russell,  Total,  1,004  marks.  To  Nicholas,  the 
carpenter,  prest.  10s.  ;  Masters  Pinell  and  ErnufF,  1  mark,  Ralf  de 
Prestbury,  15s.,  paid  to  Masters  Urric,  Osbert,  and  Alberic,  7s.  6d., 
carpenters  and  miners,  &c.  July  26th,  Monday,  on  the  morrow  of  St. 
James — to  Godfrey  de  Crucaumb,  4  marks,  Godfrey  Spigiirnell,  John 
de  Camera,  Adam  IMuirleg,  servants  of  the  chapel,  3  marks  present. 
To  Henry  Fitz-Earl  and  G.  Luterell  to  make  prests.  to  sailors  and 
mariners,  ]  00  marks.  Tuesday,  July  21th— to  Henry  de  Ver  for  his 
own  use,  30  marks,  by  the  King.  Prests.  made  to  Knights  in  the 
Castle  of  Carrickfergus  (Cracf'gus)  on  Tuesday  next,  after  St.  James' 
Day,  before  William  de  Harecurt  and  Richard  de  Marisco.  Among 
the  Knights  are  nine  Knights  of  the  Bishop  of  Salisbury.  Total, 
£196  6s.  8d.  J^dy  28th,  Wednesday  next,  after  the  feast  of  St.  James 
— at  Carrickfergus.  To  the  Bishop  of  Norwich,  to  have  galleys 
made  at  Antrim  (Auntrum)  10  marks,  paid  to  Roger  Pipard. 
Thursday,  Jidy  29th — at  Holywood  (apud  Sanctum  Boscum) ;  to 
Geoffrey  Luterell,  to  make  a  prcst.  to  mariners  of  a  ship  from  Bay- 
onne,  60s.  (This  seems  to  have  been  the  ship  which  carried  the 
King  from  Carrickfergus  to  Holywood.)  Same  day,  to  the  same,  to 
make  a  prest.  to  mariners  and  galley-men,  £17  ;  to  the  Earl  of 
Winchester,  at  Balimoran  (it  is  in  the  parish  of  Killinchey)  5s.,  for 
play,  2d.  (cancelled)  ;  to  Warin  Fitz-Gerald,  for  play  at  Dun  (Down- 
patrick)  lOd.  Jidy  Zlst,  Saturday — at  the  same  place  ;  to  Geoff'rey 
de  St.  Denis,  for  his  wages  and  expenses  in  regard  to  the  King's 
tents,  30s.  August  2nd,  Monday,  on  the  morrow  of  St.  Peter  ad 
Vincula — at  Downpatrick  ;  to  Henry  de  Ver,  to  make  payments  to 
Robert  de  Gaugy  and  his  fifteen  associates,  £12  ;  to  Robert  de  Ross, 


Ix  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

John  O'Dugan,  chief  poet  of  O'Kelly,  of  Ibh  Maine,  wlio 
died,  A. D.  1372,  was  the  author  of  a  Topographical  Poem 
wliicli  gives  the  names  of  the  principal  trihes  in  Meath, 
Ulster,  and  Connaught,  at  the  English  invasion.  The  part 
which  refers  to  Ulidia  is  as  follows  : — 

"  Let  us  lift  our  heads  at  C'raebhRuadh,* 

liet  us  enumerate  the  chief  Kings  of  Uladh, 

'I'lie  lands  of  hospitality,  with  spears, 

The  0'Duinsleihhes,t  the  Oli-Eoohii(lhas.+ 

Of  their  nobles  are  men  of  long  slaughters, 

Tlie  0-h-Aidiths,§  O-h-Eochagains  ; ; 

fireat  acquisitions  are  their  plunders. 

The  O'Labhradhas,*'  the  O'Leathlobliars. 
for  play  at  Carlingford,  with  Warin  Fitz-Gerald,  wlien  the  King  was 
his  partner,  37s.  4d.,  whereof  he  returned  14s.  8d.  (cancelled)  :  to 
the  same,  20s.  4d.,  when  ho  played  with  Warin,  and  the  King  was 
his  \}a,rtnev  (cancelled. )  Amjust  '.ird,  Tuf-^day  followin;/ — at  the  same 
phice  ;  to  Nicholas  the  carpenter,  20s.,  Master  Osbert,  quarry  man, 
and  Alberic,  ditcher,  lOs.  Thomas  Fitz-Adam,  2  marks  prest. 
(cancelled.)  To  Barberill,  to  buy  wax,  4  marks  ;  to  the  Earl  of 
Salisbury,  on  account  of  his  fee  for  Micha-lmas,  20  marks,  paid  to 
John  Bonet.  Anf/mti — at  the  IJann  (apud  Bannum.)  AiifjuKtbtk, 
Tlnirsdaij — at  Carlingford. 

*  Craebh  Kaadh — the  Red  Bvaiicli.  wiis  the  name  of  one  of  the  fortresses  near 
Arrnaisrh  which  belonged  to  tlie  Ultoniaiis  before  the  battle  of  the  Collas. 

t  O'Donlevy  or  MacDonlevy  was  of  the  same  family  as  the  O'Heochadhas  ;  the.v 
belonged  to  the  Dal-Fiatacli  race  and  long  possessed  the  sovereignty  of  Uladh.  After 
the  English  invasion,  and  perhaps  owing  to  the  rise  of  the  Magenisses,  they  were 
driven  out  of  County  Down.  Some  of  them  went  to  Tirconuell  where  they  becania 
physicians  to  the  O'Donnells,  they  are  still  numerous  in  Donegal,  where  their  name 
is  frequently  changed  into  Ultnch  (Ulidian).  Some  of  them  iiassed  into  Scotland 
where  they  were  named  Dunlief  and  Dunlap  and  even  Livingston.  In  addition  to 
Ultach  (Ulidian)  the  family  is  named  Mac.Vnulty  (Mac-an-Ultaicli),  Kinulty  an<l 
Nulty. 

I  O-h-Bochaidh  is  now  Haughey  and  Hoey  :  they  shared  the  misfortunes  of  their 
relatives  the  Donlevys,  and  are  more  nnmeroiis  in  the  other  counties  of  Ulster  than  in 
Down.     Many  of  them  are  in  Donegal. 

§  O-h-Aitidhs  are  frequently  mentioned  in  the  Annals  as  lords  of  Iveagh — the 
name  is  now  unknown  ;  it  may  be  changed  into  O'Hare  or  O'Heer  which  is  very 
common  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Newry. 

II  Now  Anglicised  into  0"Haughean. 

•[  Now  O'Lavery,  a  Leinster  tribe— the  Monaeh,  sea  p.  xxvi.  :  they  were  located 
about  Moira.  By  an  inquisition  taken  at  Risk,  25th  of  March.  1624,  it  was  found  that 
"  Tirlagh  oge  O'Lawry"  who  died,  February  1st,  1623,  was  seized  in  fee  of  the  town- 
ands  of  Risk,  Carualbanagli,  Drumbane,    Gortnamony,  Ballycanal,  Leg,    Feyney, 


INTRODUCTION.  Ixi 

The  O'Loinsighs,  of  stout  champions, 
And  the  O'Mornas,  *  smooth  and  ruddy, 
We  have  made  a  visitation  of  their  territories  ; 
Let  us  discontinue  from  enumerating  the  high  Kings, 
Hereditary  to  their  chieftains  are  acquisitions. 
Of  their  chieftains  are  the  O'Mathgamhnas.t 
The  sub-chiefs  of  Ui-Eachach  Cobha, 
Who  were  powerful  anciently. 
How  tasteful  at  the  meeting  in  each  territory, 
Are  O'Coinne,^  the  active  0'Gairbhith.§ 
Kilminioge,  Gortross,  Drumnabreeze,  Taugliluiuny,  which  are  in  tlie  parishes  of  Moi 
and  Jlagheralin.  Other  inquisitions  represent  these  townlanils  as  solil  by  the  represen- 
tatives of  Tirlagli  oge  O'Lavery  to  Sir  Edward  Trevor  and  Edward  Briigh.    MS.  not 
I  in  the  County  of  Down,  state  that  Lady's  Bridge  was  named  from  an  old  lady  named 
O  La  very — always  called  the  Lady — who  resided  near  it,    sometime   in  the    last 
century,  and  was  possessed  of  a  great  number  of  title-deeds.      A  branch  of  the 
O'Lavery's  was  named  Tren-Lavery,  which  is  frequently  anglicised  into  Armstrong, 
from  a  mistaken  idea  that  the  name  is  derived  from  Lamh  (Lawv — a  hand.)    Ou 
the  contrary  O'Labhradha  seems  a  perpetuation  of  the  name  of  their  remote  fore- 
father, Labhradha  Loingseach,  the  common  ancestor  of  the  Leinster  Kings.     The 
Laverys  were   formerly  possessed  of  an  ancient  bell,  the  Cloy-Ruadh — probably  the 
bell  of  St.   Ronan  Finn   of  Magheralin — but  having  disputed  among  themselves 
about  the  possession  of  it,  they  placed  it  in  the  hands  of  Lord  Moira     Aft«r  about 
00  years  it  was  restored  at  the  request  of  the  different  branches  of  the  family,  and 
given  February  20th,  1815,   by  Mr.  William  Hamilton,  the  agent  of  Lord  Jloira,  to 
the  priest  of  Moira,  to  be  placed  in  the  new  chapel.     See  News-Letter,  March  14th, 
1S15.     All  trace  of  it  is  now  lost. 

*  O'Morna,  :iow  SIm-n  or  Murnin.  O'Morna  was  the  principal  family  among  the 
Hy  Dearca  Chein,  until  it  was  supplanted  by  another  branch  of  the  same  family. 
O'Gilmore  or  MacGiUamuire  now  frequently  modernised  into  Maclemuny,  Mac- 
Firbis  deduces  them  from  Dnach  Galach,  King  of  Connaught  about  the  year  A.D. 
400,  the  common  ancestor  of  the  O'Connors,  O'Flaghertys,  &c.  It  is  not  known 
when  they  came  to  Ulster.  The  Maclemurrys,  who  were  formerly  numerous  through- 
out Co.  Down,  have  all  changed  their  name  into  JIurry.  though  the  O  Murrys  are  not 
descended  from  Duach-Galach,  King  of  Connaught,  but  belong  to  the  Dal-Fiatach 
race,  being,  according  to  MacFirbis,  descended  from  Bec-Boir-che,  King  of  Ulidia. 
(See  p.  xxxiii.) 

t  O'Mathghamhna  (O'Mahana),  gives  name  to  Ballymahon,  near  Holywood,  the 
name  has  now,  throughout  the  County  of  Down,  assumed  the  form  of  MacMahou 
and  MacMan, 

t  O'Coinne,  now  O'Kenny,  or  Kenny.  It  is  more  frequently  found  under  the 
form  M  "Kinney,  now  improperly  changed  into  MacKenna. 

S  O'Gau-bhith  (O'Garvy  or  Garvy).  Dr.  O'Brien  gives,  in  his  Irish  Dictionary, 
a  curious  account  of  this  family,  which  he  says,  was  then  represented  by  Robert 
O'Garvey  and  his  brother  Anthony,  who  were  settled  in  Rouen,  that  they  had  their 
famUy  tomb  in  Newry,  and  were  possessed  of  the  townland  of  Aughnagon,  near 
Newry,  which  they  had  preserved  through  every  revolution,  the  oldest  tenure  in 
Ireland,  or,  perhaps,  in  any  other  country.  This  is  not  true.  By  an  inqtiisition 
taken  at  Newry  in  1635,  it  appears  that  Sir  Edward  Trevor,  of  Rostrevor,  being 


Ixii  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

0-h-Ainbhith*  was  chief  king  there  ; 

He  was  not  neglected,  we  shall  not  omit  him, 

Neither  his  prosperity  nor  his  career  has  been  checked. 

Proud  his  battalion  when  marching. 

Chief  over  Clann-Aedha 

Is  Mag  Aenghusa,t  lofty,  splendid, 

They  have  chosen  the  warm  hill, 

They  have  taken  all  Uladh. 

MacArtan  has  by  charter 

The  steady  stout  Cinel-Faghartaigh,t 

Who  never  refuse  gifts  to  the  poets  ; 

They  are  the  treasury  of  hospitality. 

The  Mag-Dubheamhnas!  without  plunder, 

Are  over  the  high  Cinel-Amhalghadha, 

The  O'Mornas,  stock  of  victory. 

Are  the  props  of  hard-armed  Uladh. 

The  Mag-Duilechains§  of  the  angles, 

Over  the  red-haired  Clann  Breassail. 

.leized  of  "  Aglinegowne"  and  other  towulauAs  in  the  parish  of  Clonallan,  leased  them, 
in  the  reign  of  James  I.,  to  Hugli  M'Con  M'Glasny  Magennisse  of  Milltown  ;  and  by 
another  inciuisitioii  it  appears  that  tlie  same  Hugh,  about  the  year  ItiiJy,  mortgaged 
certain  lands  to  Dudley  Garvey,  of  Newry,  It  is  probable  that  Aughnagon  was 
obtained  by  Garvey  about  that  date  ;  it  continued  in  the  possession  of  the  family 
till  about  bixty  years  ago. 

*  O'Hinbhith,  now  O'Hanvey  or  Henvey. 

t  Maci-Aenc/husa — (Magennis,  see  p.  35.) 

;  Ciuel-Fagliartaigh,  see  p.  SI. 

II  Ma(j-D¥.bheamhiia  (MacDuvauey)  now  Devenny,  and  perhaps  M'llventiy  and 
Venny.  Father  MacCaun,  in  his  IrUh  Itlaerary,  written  about  1(343,  writing  of 
Narrow-water  says,  "This  territory,  which  once  beh^nged  to  the  very  illustrious 
family  of  MacDuiljhne,  was  seized  almost  in  the  memory  of  our  grandfathers,  by  a 
chief  of  the  house  of  Magenis  in  violation  of  the  laws  of  nature."  He  also  says  that 
the  monastery  of  Newry  was  founded  and  endowed  by  a  chieftain  of  the  same  ancient 
family,  and  adds  that  the  family  was  nearlj'  exterminated  in  the  commencement  of 
the  war  of  1(541.  "However,  I  was  on  intimate  terms,"  he  continues,  "  with  the 
head  of  this  ancient  familj ,  a  man  of  integi-ity,  and  withal,  of  unbroken  spirits,  who 
told  me  that  he  had  a  Bull  from  the  Ronian  Pontiff,  sanctioning  the  family  right  of 
that  most  ancient  chieftain  to  i>resent  the  Abbot  of  this  monastery.  Whether  this 
Bull  has  been  lost  in  the  present  disastrous  wars  I  am  unable  to  say."  Cinel- 
Amhalghadlia  (ICinel-Awley)  was  likely  near  Rostrevor. 

§  Mag  Duilechaiii  of  Clann  Breasail,  now  called  M'Goolechan  ;  the  Clanbreasail 
referred  to  is  represented,  according  to  Dr.  Reeves,  by  the  barony  of  O'Nelland  East. 
In  Duburdieu's  Statistical  Survey  of  the  County  of  Antrim,  this  territory  is  described 
from  an  old  MS.  as  "  a  very  fast  country  of  wood  and  bog,  inhabitpd  ?f  i  ?/t  a  sept  called 
the  O'Kellies,  a  very  savage  and  barbarous  jieople,  and  given  altogether  to  spoils  and 
robberies." 


INTRODUCTION.  Ixiii 

O'Coltarain*  of  the  border  town 

Is  dwelling  over  the  Dal  Cuii'b. 

There  has  been  collected  within  in  the  north-east 

The  stock  of  the  nobility  in  Uladh.t 

We  cannot,  at  tlie  pi-esent  time,  picture  to  ourselves  the 
miserable  condition  to  which  the  English  invasion  reduced 
the  natives.  "When  the  Normans  invaded  England,  the 
Saxon  tenant  did  not  feel  his  personal  position  much  changed, 
he  may,  perhaps,  have  had  to  pay  a  higher  rent  to  the 
Norman  lord  than  he  paid  to  the  Saxon  thane  ;  and  when 
the  bad  feelings  generated  by  the  Norman  conquest  had 
passed  away,  it  was  felt  to  be  the  intei-est  of  all,  that  Saxon 
and  Norman  should  form  one  people.  In  Ireland,  on  the 
contrary,  it  was  the  interest  of  England,  that  the  invaders, 
should  continue  to  be  a  foreign  garrison  ruling  amidst  a 
conquered  but  dangerous  foe.  Hence  the  Irish  were  not 
admitted  to  the  enjoyment  of  English  law.^  Marriage, 
fosterage,  orgossipred  with  the  natives  were  by  law  declared 
to  be  high  treason,  forfeiture  of  land  was  the  penalty  of  an 
Englishman  using  the  Irish  language ;  penalties  were  enacted 
against  such  of  the  English  as  allowed  Irishmen  to  graze 
their  lands  ;  au  Englishman  who  was  robbed  by  an  Irishman 
might  reprize  himself  on  the  whole  sept,  to  which  the 
offender  belonged ;  the  murder  of  an  Irishman  was  punishable 
only  with  a  fine,  and  Irishmen  remaining  on  the  lands  seized 
by  the  English  w^ere  considered  as  the  property  of  the  lord. 

*  O'Coltarain,  Dr.  (leeves  conjectiires  gave  name  to  Ballyoulter,  but  it  la  not  to  be 
confouutled  with  tha  family  of  Coulter  which  is  of  English  origin, 

+  The  poet  here  refers  to  the  effects  of  the  battle  of  the  Collets,  by  which  the 
inhabitants  of  Ulailh  were  driven  into  the  nioilern  counties  of  Down  and  Antrim. 

X  The  Irish  were  reputed  aliens  and  enemies,  and  were  denied  the 
rights  of  bringing  actions.  A.D.  1278,  Robert  de  la  E,oche  and  Adam 
Walsh,  indicted  for  a  rape  of  Margaret  O'llorke,  pleaded  "  Xot 
guilty  for  that  the  said  Margaret  is  an  Irishwoman  "  which  being  so 
found  by  the  jury,  the  said  Robert  and  Adam  are  acquitted.  Moran^s 
Cal.  Patent  and  Close  Bolls  ofChanc. 


Ixiv  DOWN  AND  CONNOK. 

April  21st,  1225.  The  King  gives  to  Thomas,  Bishop  of 
Down,  for  the  damage  which  he  sustained  in  the  King's 
service  during  the  war  with  Hugh  de  Lacy,  two  carucates  in 
the  King's  demesne  at  Arte  (Ards),  lying  near  the  Bishop's 
manor  of  Ardquin,  about  the  lake  of  that  townland  (see  p. 
403).  "  Mandate  to  the  justiciary  of  Ireland  to  give  seisin  to 
the  Bishop  of  the  two  carucates,  retainivg  in  the  King's 
hand,  the  Irishmen  dwelling  in  that  land,  whom  the  justiciary 
shall  place  elsewhere  on  the  King's  land."  Sweetman's 
Calendar. 

Notwithstanding  all  their  privileges,  the  English  colonists 
longed  for  the  laws  of  the  Irish  which  would  have  freed 
them  from  the  unnatural  and  debasing  feudal  conditions 
under  which  they  held  their  lands.  Tlie  King  writes  to  the 
justiciary  of  Ireland,  Februaiy  8tli,  1243.  "  By  law  and 
custom  of  Ireland  the  King  may  distrain  widows  by  their 
lands  to  take  husbands  of  the  King's  choice,  provided  the 
widows  be  not  disparaged.  Mandate  that  if  A,  who  was 
the  wife  of  Hugh  de  Lacy,  will  not  take  for  her  husband 
Stephen  Longespee,  as  the  King  had  requested  her,  the 
justiciary  shall  disti-ain  her  to  do  so  according  to  the  custom 
of  Ireland."  Sweetmaris  Calendar.  The  lady  yielded  to 
the  King,  and  gave  her  hand  to  Longespee.  The  Irish  being 
excluded  from  the  benefit  of  the  English  laws,  became,  as  it 
were,  only  tributaries  to  the  King  of  England  ;  ruled  by 
their  own  Bi-ehon  law  they  elected  their  chiefs,  made  peace 
and  war  among  themselves,  and  yielded  only  as  much 
obedience  to  the  King  as  he  could  enforce.  July  7tli,  1244, 
Henry  III.  writes  to  several  Irish  chiefs,  that  "he  is  about  to 
march  against  the  King  of  Scots,  and  prays  them  to  give 
him  their  aid  by  joining  in  person  and  with  a  force  the 
justiciary  of  Ireland."  Letters  on  this  subject  were  sent  to 
O'Hanlon,  "  Brian  O'Nel,  King  of  Kinelun"  (Kinel-Owen). 


mTRODUCTION.  Ixv 

"■  O'Chatan  (O'Kane),  O'Hynery  (O'Heury),  Donald  Mack- 
admel,  MacAnegus  (Magennis),  jMacKartan,  MacGilemuri, 
O'Fleii  (O'Flynu),  King  of  Turteri,"  and  many  others. — 
Sweetmaiis  Calendar.  This  was  the  Brian  O'Neill, 
who,  A.D.  1260,  fought  the  battle  of  Down  against  the 
English  (see  p.  293)  :  they  were  commanded  by  Stephen 
Longespee,  wlio  had  married,  as  mentioned  above,  the  -svidow 
of  the  Earl  of  Ulster.  Sweetman  has  Calendared  the 
following  : — '•  The  King  to  Edward,  his  eldest  son,  (about 
June,  1260),  had  lately  learned  by  letters  of  the  Prior  of  St. 
Thomas,  of  Down,  of  Sir  Roger  de  Altaribus,  Knight,  and 
lloger  le  Tayllur,  Mayor  of  Down,  that  in  a  recent  conflict 
near  Dowji,  the  commonalty  of  the  City  and  County  of  Down, 
had,  by  the  help  of  Divine  grace,  defeated  Bren  O'Xel,  who 
presumptuously  bears  himself  as  King  of  the  Kings  of 
Ireland,  The  King  highly  extols  the  manifest  zeal  and 
devotion  of  the  commonalty.  The  Prior  and  messengers  had 
.supplicated  the  King  to  prevail  on  Edward  to  confirm  the 
liberties  of  the  Prior's  church ;  to  relieve  the  citizens  and 
commonalty  from  payment  to  him  of  100s.  a  year,  in  ox-der 
that  they  might  enclose  their  town  ;  to  confer  in  fee  on  the 
the  knight  aforesaid  some  land  in  Twyscard,  which  had  fallen 
into  his  hands  by  the  slaying  of  the  aforesaid  Irishmen,  and 
out  of  which  he  was  wont  to  receive  40s.  a  year ;  and  to 
grant  to  the  mayor  some  relief  regarding  23  marks  and  40d. 
of  rent.  The  King,  therefore,  exhorts  Edward  to  treat  the 
suppliants  so  liljerally  in  these  respects,  that  others  may  be 
animated  to  seek  the  increase  of  his  advantage  and  honour." 
On  the  21st  of  August,  1260,  Prince  Edward  writes,  that 
he  "  commits  to  Sir  Roger  de  Altaribus,  Knight,  the  land 
which  belonged  to  O'Haugarn  ( Bally agln-an),  in  the  County 
of  Culrath  (Coleraine),  provisionally  as  the  present  tenant 
holds  it  of  Edward's  justiciary,  or  of  the  seneschal  of  Ulster, 


Ixvi  DOWN  AXD  CONNOR. 

and  at  tlie  same  farm,  until  Edwai'd  .sliall  arrive  in  Ireland 
or  further  orders.  So  long  as  Roger  shall  pay  the  rent  and 
properly  treat  the  tenants,  this  land  shall  not  be  taken  from 
him."  On  the  same  day  Prince  Edward  "  commits  to  Roger  le 
Taillur,  citizen  of  Down,  the  vills  of  Arglas  (Ardglass), 
Artbehel  (Artole),  and  Ros,  in  the  County  of  Down,"  to 
hold  under  precisely  the  same  conditions.  Prince  Edward's 
care  of  the  tenants  is  worthy  of  his  fame  as  the  great  King 
Edward  I.  "  The  Mayor  and  commonalty  of  Carrickfei-gus  " 
wrote  to  the  King,  A.D.  1273,  that  "  Od  (Aodh  Buidhe,  or 
Hugh  Boy)  O'Neill,  King  of  the  Kinel-Owen,  and  Commoy 
O'Kathran  {rede  Cumaighe,  or  Cooey  O'Kane),  King  of 
Kenacli  (Keenaght),"  had  lately  invaded  the  King's  land  in 
Ulster,  and  had  taken  hostages  from  the  King's  subjects,  at  the 
instance  of  Sir  Henry  de  Maundeville  and  others,  but  that 
they  were  driven  to  confusion  by  the  valour  of  the  Seneschal, 
Hugh  de  Byset ;  and  the  Mayor  and  commonalty  pray  the 
King  that  he  will  place  faith  in  the  Seneschal.  On  the 
other  hand,  "N.  O'Nel,  King  of  Yncheun  (Inishowen),  G. 
MacDunlene,  King  of  the  Irish  of  Ulster  (MacDunlevy, 
King  of  Ulidia),  O'Flin,  King  of  Cucuria  (recte  Turturia), 
O'Hanlon,  King  of  Ergallia  (Oriel),  D.  MacGilmori,  chief  of 
Anderken,  (Hy-n-Earcha-Chein),  MacKartan,  King  of 
O'Nelich  {recte  Kinelarty),"  wrote  to  the  King,  that  after  the 
Seneschal  and  Hugh  Byset  had  defeated  the  rebels  mentioned 
above,  that  they  endeavoured  to  [)ursue  and  rout  them,  but 
that  some  of  the  council  of  Ireland  endeavour  to  oppress  the 
writers,  they  confide  in  the  testimony  of  the  Seneschal,  and 
they  pray  the  King  that  the  evil-doers  may  not  escape 
punishment.  Otherwise  they  fear  that  this  war  will  be 
followed  asan  example. — ( Swectmanfrom  Rtjmer).  Anarchy 
and  blooodshed  continued  in  Ireland  omongst  the  inhabitants, 
both  of  English  and  Irish  descent,  until  the  death  of  Edward 


INTRODUCTIO'.  Ixvii 

I.  His  son,  Edward  II.,  summoned,  A.D.  1314:,  several  of 
the  Irish  chiefs  of  Down  and  Antrim  to  assist  him  against  the 
Scots,  but  that  people,  by  their  glorious  victory  of  Bannock- 
burn,  on  the  25th  of  June,  1314,  aroiised  among  the  Northei-n 
chiefs  an  ambition  to  shake  oft'  the  English  yoke.  They 
appealed  to  King  Robert  to  lend  them  a  helping  hand,  and 
proposed  to  make  his  brother,  Edward  Bruce,  King  of  Ireland. 
An  expedition  to  Ireland  was  in  consequence  fitted  out,  and 
on  the  26th  of  May,  1315,  Edward  Bruce  arrived  off  the 
coast  of  Antrim  with  a  tleet  of  300  sail,  carrying  an  army  of 
6,000  men.  This  invasion,  which  brought  the  greatest 
misery  on  the  coiintry,  was  terminated  by  the  death  of 
Edward  Bruce  in  the  battle  of  Faughart,  which  was  foiight 
on  the  14th  of  October,  A.D.  1318.  Bruce's  invasion  so 
weakened  the  English  power  in  Down  and  Antrim,  that  the 
authoi'ity  of  the  crown  was  shaken  to  its  foundation,  and 
the  feuds  among  the  nobles,  which  sprung  from  the  murder 
of  the  Earl  of  Ulster,  A.D.  1333,  enabled  a  sept  of  the 
Kiirel-Owen,  called  the  Clannaboy,  to  possess  themselves  of 
almost  the  whole  of  the  territory  comprised  within  the 
diocese  of  Down  and  Connor.  The  Clannaboy  (Clan-Aodh- 
Bhuidhe — the  Clan  of  Hugh  the  Yellow),  were  so  named 
from  Aodh  Buidhe  O'lSTeill,  "  Lord  of  Kinel-Owen,  head  of 
the  liberality  and  valour  of  the  Irish,"  who  was 
killed  A.D.  1283.  His  descendants  were  in  hostility  to  the 
princes  of  Tyrone  for  many  years,  and  eventually  led  with 
them,  all  the  adventurous  youths  of  Derry  and  T^a-one,  to 
try  theii'  fortunes  in  the  Counties  of  Down  and  Antrim. 
( )f  the  many  illustrious  chiefs,  whom  this  race  produced, 
perhaps  the  most  distingiiished  was  Aodh-Buidhe  II.,  "a 
man  who  recovered  most  territory  from  the  English ;"  he 
died,  A.D.  1444,  from  che  effects  of  a  wound  received  in 
Iveagh.     The   state   to   which  the   English   in   Ulster  were 


Ixviii  DOWN    AND    CONNOR. 

about  this  time  reduced  is  well  exhibited  in  the  following 
memorial,  which  is  preserved  in  the  Chapter  House,  West- 
minster. It  was  forwarded  to  Henry  IV.,  about  the  year  of 
lilO,  from  the  clergy  and  nobles  of  Down  : — 

"  To  the  King  owve  souverian  lord. 
"  Meekly  Beseechetli  your  mooste  Noble  Hieghnesse,  and 
preexcellent  grace  youre  humble  Subjectes  and  servantes, 
whose  Seales  imto  tliis  presentes  beth  affixed,  with  all  the 
faithf ull  and  trwe  liege  peaple  of  Therldome  of  Ulster,  whiche 
some  tyme  was  named  the  third  mooste  Riall  Erldome  in 
Christiamte  and  now  in  defaute  of  lordship  and  peaple  with 
youre  enmyes  daily  destroied  and  under  tribute  constitute, 
and  thraldom,  ye  graciousely  toconsidre  the  said  thraldome  and 
ti-ibute  with  th  e  importable  wei-res  upon  youre  said  1  lege  peaple, 
daily  continued  both  by  see  and  land  ;  by  see  -with  Bretones 
and  with  Scottes  of  the  oute  Isles,  whiche  beth  wt.  Irishmen 
enmyes  of  the  land  confedered  that  is  to  say  wt.  Oneyl 
bwy,  O'Kane,  M'g^vylyn,  henry  Oneylle,  Con  Oneylle, 
M'gyunusse,  M'Cartan  and  the  Offlynnes  whiche  with  in 
shorte  tyme  fynally  and  utterly  woll  destroys  youi-e  said 
Erldome  and  peaple  withoute  that  it  be  by  youre  mooste 
gracious  hieghnesse  provided  to  send  ixnto  theyni  a  certain 
of  peaple  to  inhabite  and  to  defende  youre  said  grounde,  othir 
to  said  unto  youre  faithfull  servant  and  trwe  liege  man, 
Janico  Savage,  youre  Senescall  of  Ulster,  whiche  hath  kept 
and  defende  youre  said  cuntray  wt.  grete  aventure  daily  in 
di-ede  he  and  his  men  with  grete  care  hunger  thurste  watch- 
ing bloodeshed  and  mannys  slaghties  ayens  youre  said 
Enmyes  mortell  and  yeven  many  grete  slaghties  and  scom- 
fettes  in  the  whiche  his  frendes  that  was  to  hym  mooste 
socoure  beth  slayne  and  passed  unrewarded  as  yett :  suche 
fees  outhir  suche  rewards  wher  with  he  may  wage  Sawdiors 
to  resiste  and  to  defend  youi-  said  Enniyes  and  kepe  youre 


INTRODUCTION.  Ixix 

said  cuntray  to  be  sped  within  short  tyme  othir  ellys  youre 
said  peaple  well  fynally  be  destroied  and  youre  said  countray 
wt.  your  Enmyes  conqxiered  wating  daly  and  nyghtly  whanne 
the  said  Scottes  of  the  onte  lies  of  Scotland  with  the  said 
Irishmen  confedered  shall  utterly  destroie  theym.  Thiez 
preniisez  to  be  remembred  and  remedied  by  youre  said 
preexcellent  grace :  We  mekely  at  the  Reverance  of 
almighty  Jesu,  which  by  his  prophete  Moises  delyvered  the 
childeren  of  Israel  oute  of  the  thraldorae  and  bondage  of 
Kyng  pharoo  beseecheth  i]i  ^\'ay  of  charite  And  we  daly 
to  pray  for  the  preservying  of  your  maieste  roiall.  Besech- 
ing  mekely  more  ovir  youre  preexcellent  grace  that  it  might 
[)lease  youre  hieghnesse  to  geve  unto  the  berers  herof  Thomas 
lambert  and  dauid  Callau  iu  the  circumstaunce  of  the 
premissez  faith  and  Credence."  (Read  by  Dr.  Reeves  before 
the  R.I.  Academy.) 

To  this  dolorous  petition  are  annexed  the  signatures  and 
seals  of  the  Bishop  of  Down,  of  the  Prior  of  Down,  of  the 
Archdeacon  of  Down,  of  the  Abbots  of  Bangor,  Saul,  Incli, 
and  Greyabbey,  and  of  the  town  of  "  Kilcleth,"  The  seals  of 
the  Master  of  the  Hospital  of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  of  George 
"  Russhel  "  Bai'on,  and  of  the  towns  of  Down  and  "  Ard- 
glasse  "  have  broken  off.  The  seal  of  the  town  of  Kilclief — 
Ville  de  Kilcleth— exhibits  an  ancient  galley  in  full  sail. 

Tliis  Introduction  has  already  extended  too  far,  otherwise 
there  would  have  been  placed  before  the  reader  an  outline  of 
the  Act  of  Parliament  by  which  the  Catholic  Church  was 
suppressed  in  Ireland,  as  far  as  the  law  could  effect ;  of  the 
wars  carried  on  by  the  Irish  against  Queen  Elizabeth  ;  of 
the  settlement  of  the  Scotch  under  the  MacDonnells  ex- 
tending from  Coleraine  to  Larne  ;  of  the  English  Plantation, 
under  the  Earl  of  Essex,  Chichester,  Hill,  and  Conway,  and 
that  of  tlie  Scotch  under  Hamilton  and  Montgomery.     This 


IxX  DOWN  AXD  CONNOR. 

important  part  of  our  history  must  be  for  the  present 
omitted,  as  well  as  the  civil  war  of  1641  and  that  of  the 
Revolution ;  but  another  opportunity  will  be  taken  to  treat 
of  those  subjects,  and  of  the  Penal  LaAvs,  which  produced 
such  sad  effects  in  Down  and  Connor. 

ADDENDA. 


While  these  sheets  Avere  passing  through  the  press,  the 
Rev.  James  M'Aleenan,  P.P.,  Kilmegan,  died  on  the  22nd 
of  February,  1876,  aged  88  years,  and  was  interred  within 
the  Church  of  Aghlishnafin.  After  his  death,  the  parish  of 
Kilmegan  and  a  portion  of  the  united  parish  of  Drumcaw, 
Ballykinlar,  Tyrella,  and  Rathmullan  Avere  re-arranged  by 
the  Bishop.  The  districts  attached  to  the  Churches  of 
Clanvaraghan  (see  p.  80)  and  Drumaroad  (p.  136)  Avere  formed 
into  a  new  parish,  of  Avhich  the  Rev.  John  M'Court,  P.P., 
Ballygalget  (see  .p.  419),  Avas  appointed,  April  5th,  1877,  the 
first  parish  priest.  Since  Father  M'Court's  appointment, 
Col.  W.  B.  Forde  kindly  granted  to  him  at  the  loAA^est  legal 
rent  a  lease  in  perpetuity  of  the  site  of  the  church  and  gi-ave- 
yard  of  Drumaroad,  which  had  been  up  to  that  time  held  by 
a  sort  of  prescription  ;  by  the  same  lease  he  also  granted 
additional  ground  for  the  site  of  a  Parochial  House, 

On  the  5th  of  April,  1877,  the  Bishop  also  severed  from 
Kilmegan  the  district  lying  around  Dundrum  (see  p.  66)  and 
extending  to  Moneycarragh,  Avhich  he  united  to  Ballykinlar. 
Since  the  union  Father  M'Keating  has  obtained  from  the 
Trustees  of  the  Downshire  estate,  an  acre  of  land  in  Dun- 
drum,  free  of  all  rent  and  in  perpetuity,  for  the  site  of  a 
church  and  other  ecclesiastical  purposes. 

The  parish  of  Kilmegan,  shorn  of  the  districts  mentioned, 
was  conferred  on  the  Rev.  John  ^rWilliams,  Avho  had  been 


INTRODUCTION.  Ixxi 

curate  in  the  parish  for  several  years.  Father  M'Willianis 
is  a  native  of  the  parish  of  Loughguile  ;  after  obtaining  a 
preliminary  education  in  the  Diocesan  College,  Belfast,  he 
entei'ed,  in  September,  1861,  the  Logic  Class,  in  the  College 
of  Maynooth.  He  was  ordained  by  Dr.  Whelan,  on  the 
22nd  of  May,  1866,  and  in  August  of  that  year,  he  was 
appointed  Curate  of  Upper  Mourne,  from  which  he  was 
appointed,  November,  1867,  to  the  Curacy  of  St.  Patrick's, 
Belfast,  and  in  June,  1871,  to  that  of  Ballymoney.  On  the 
12th  of  November,  1874,  he  was  appointed  Curate  of  Kil- 
megan,  and  promoted  to  be  Parish  Priest  of  that  parish, 
April  5th,  1877. 

Note  to  p.  65.  In  1766,  the  town  and  townland  of  Castlewellan 
contained  15  families,  of  whom  2  were  Papists,  Terence  and  Elizabeth 
Hagan,  2  sons  and  1  daughter,  and  Con  and  Judith  O'Donnell,  1  son 
and  1  daughter.  The  entire  population  consisted  of  97  Protestants 
and  22  Papists.  The  Protestant  families  were  Lord  and  Lady 
Anuesley,  4  sons,  1  daughter,  20  men-servants  (of  whom  5  were 
Paptists),  6  maid-servants  (of  whom  1  a  Papist).  William  and  Mary 
Bridges,  2  maid-servants,  1  man-servant  (a  Papist).  Andrew  and 
Rebecca  Newell,  1  servant.  Peter  and  Margaret  Hodgins,  5  sons,  2 
daughters,  1  maid-servant,  1  man-servant  (Papist).  John  and  Jane 
Robinson,  1  son,  4  daughters,  1  maid-servant.  Cromwell  and  Ann 
Nicholson,  4  sons,  2  daughters,  1  man-servant,  1  maid-servant  (both 
Papists).  Joseph  and  Grace  Lascells,  2  sons,  1  daughter,  1  man 
servant  (Papist).  Andrew  and  Ann  Munroe,  1  son,  1  daughter,  2 
men-servants  (1  a  Papist).  John  and  Mary  Blair.  John  and  Abigail 
Gordon,  1  son.  .James  and  Deborah  Milligan,  2  sons,  4  daughters, 
1  man-servant  (Papist).  William  and  Prudence  Riddle,  2  sons,  4 
daughters,  1  maid-servant.  Report  of  the  Protestant  Minister  of 
Kilmegan  to  the  House  of  Lords  on  the  groivth  of  Popery. 

Note  to  p.  180.  The  little  creek  near  St.  Patrick's  well  is  named 
Port-a-linne — the  port  of  the  shirt. 

Addenda  to  Note,  p.  400.  O'Coran  is  now  improperly  changed 
into  Curran.  Magrae  is  now  correctly  written  MacGrath  ;  it  and 
O'Corrin  are  Kinel-Owen  names  brought  in  with  the  Clannabo 
invasion  :  they  are  still  common  in  Derry  and  Tyrone. 


DIOCESE 

OF 

DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

PARISH  OF  KILKEEL  OR  UPPER  MOURNE. 

(pjf^HE  barony  of  Mourne  is  strictly  identical  with  the 
^ij^  civil  parish  of  Kilkeel,  which  is  divided  into  the 
ecclesiastical  parishes  of  Upper  Mourne  and  Lower  Moiirne. 
The  former  contains  45  and  the  latter  23  of  the  68  townlands 
into  which  the  barony  is  divided.  The  parish  of  Upper 
Mourne  extends  from  the  Causeway  River,  or  Aghyoghill 
River,  to  tlie  north-eastern  confines  of  the  townlands  of 
Carrigneagh,  Aughnahoory,  and  Kilkeel,  where  it  adjoins 
Lower  Mourne.  Tliough  a  great  proportion  of  the  whole 
area  consists  of  wild,  uninhabitable  mountains,  yet  the  hand 
of  industry  has  laboured  to  subdue  the  sterile  soil  far  up 
their  sides,  and  a  considerable  breadth  of  seaboard  is 
well  cultivated,  and  amjily  supplies  its  dense  population.  In 
the  year  1871,  the  population  of  the  barony  of  Mourne 
was  12,588,  of  whom  7,283  were  Catholics,  and  of  these 
about  5,000  were  in  the  parish  of  Upper  Mourne,  and  the 
remainder  in  that  of  Lower  Mounre.  This  district  was  not 
named  Mourne  before  the  thirteenth  century ;  previous  to 
that  period  it  was  called  Boirche,  and  the  mountains  were 
called  the  peaks  of  Boirche  (Beanna  Boirche).    This  name  has 


2  DOWN   AND    CONNOR. 

lingered  in  the  locality  to  our  own  times,  for  a  man  named 
M'Linden  told  tlie  late  Dr.  O'Donovan  that  the  rath  in  the 
townland  of  Ballymaghery,  near  the  source  of  the  Bann,  was 
called  the  "  Moat  of  Bennboreky."-"'  These  mountains  derived 
their  name  from  Boirche,about  whom  the  "Dinnseanchus,"  an 
ancient  work  on  the  topography  of  Ireland,  tells  the  following 
legend  : — "  Boirche,  a  cow-herd,  son  of  Ros  Righbuidhi  (who 
succeeded  to  the  throne  of  Ulster  a.d.  248);  and  this  pinnacle 
was  his  herd  seat,  and  alike  did  he  herd  every  Cow  from  Dun 
Soibairci  (Dunseverick)  to  Inbhear  Colptha  (mouth  of  the 

*  "  The  slaughter  of  Cathair  Boirche,"  or  that  perpetrated 
in  Boirche's  stone  fortress,  was  one  of  the  prime  stories  which 
a  qualified  poet  was  required  to  be  able  to  relate  to  Kings  and 
Chiefs  (see  O'Curry's  Lectures,  p.  261.)  Lughaidh  Luaighne, 
monarch  of  Ireland,  imposed  two  Kings  on  the  province  of  Ulster, 
to  one  of  whom,  Conghal  Claringneach,  the  son  of  a  former 
monarch,  he  gave  the  southern,  and  to  the  other,  Fergus  Mac  Leide, 
he  gave  the  northern  half  of  the  province.  The  Ulstermen  soon  began 
to  feel  the  weight  of  two  royal  establishments,  whereupon  Congal 
offered,  to  the  Ulster  Chiefs,  on  the  part  of  himself  and  his  colleague, 
to  refer  the  selection  of  a  King  to  the  monarch  of  Ireland.  To  this 
all  agreed,  but  on  their  arrival  at  Tara,  the  monarch's  daughter  feU 
in  love  with  Fergus  Mac  Leide,  and  she  induced  her  father  to  appoint 
her  lover  sole  King  of  Ulster.  Congal  on  hearing  this  decision 
departed  immediately  from  Tara,  collected  all  the  disaffected  of  the 
country  about  him,  and  having  met  the  monarch's  son,  cut  off  his 
head,  and  bade  defiance  to  the  father.  He  was,  however,  soon  forced 
to  leave  Erin  with  all  his  adherents  ;  but  after  some  years  he  returned 
to  his  native  country,  and  landed  in  the  present  bay  of  Dundrum. 
Immediately  on  his  coming  ashore,  he  discovered  that  his  rival, 
Fergus  Mac  Leide,  was  at  that  time  enjoying  the  hospitalities  of 
Cathair  Boirche,  the  princely  residence  of  Eochaidh  Salbhuidhe,  chief 
of  the  southern  part  of  the  present  County  of  Down.  Congal  marched 
directly  to  Cathair  Boirche,  and  surprised  and  destroyed  it  with  all 
that  were  in  it.  From  thence  he  went  straight  to  Tara,  where  the 
monarch  was  defeated  and  beheaded  by  Congal,  who  was  proclaimed 
in  his  place,  and  reigned  fifteen  years.  According  to  O'Flagherty, 
his  reign  terminated  three  years  before  the  invasion  of  Britain  by 
Julius  Caesar. 


KILKEEL   OR   UPPER   MOURNE.  6 

Boyne),  and  from  Boinn  (Boyne)  to  Bean-Boirclai,  and  not 
one  of  his  herd  should  eat  a  morsel  more  than  another  cow 
— whence  it  is  named  Beann  Bolrche."  In  ancient  times  the 
chieftain  of  each  minor  territory  was  entitled  to  receive  from 
the  provincial  king  certain  subsidies.  Both  these  and  the 
tribvites  which  the  minor  chieftains  paid  to  the  provincial 
king  are  recited  in  the  "  Book  of  Eights,"  which  professes 
to  be  a  compilation  of  St.  Benen,  a  disciple  of  St.  Patrick, 
though  it  is  not  so  ancient.  What  subsidy  the  King  of 
Uladh  had  to  pay  to  the  toparch  of  Boirche  is  thus  laid 
down  : — 

"  Entitled  is  the  King  of  Boirche,  the  hero, 
To  six  great  spirited  horses, 

Three  matals  (probably  cloaks),  three  iaclining  drinking  horns. 
Three  fine  hounds,  truly  beautiful. " 

It  is  strange  to  observe  how  the  superior  lord  was  bound  to 
pay  a  certain  subsidy  to  his  inferior.  It  is  probable  that  at 
first  this  was  a  free  gift,  and  eventually  became  a  due.  A 
similar  custom  prevailed  in  Eastern  countries.  We  cannot 
ascertain  from  the  "  Book  of  Rights "  what  tribute  the 
Prince  of  Boirche  paid  to  the  King  of  Ulster,  but  doubtless 
it  was  such  as  to  enable  the  King  to  make  the  present  of 
hoi-ses,  cloaks,  and  drinking  horns. 

"  The  sea  cast  ashore  a  whale  in  Boirche,  in  the  province 
of  Ulster  (say  the  Four  Masters,  at  the  year  739.)  Every 
one  in  the  neighbourhood  went  to  see  it  for  its  wondrousness. 
When  it  was  slaughtered,  three  golden  teeth  were  found  in 
its  head  —  each  of  which  teeth  contained  fifty  ounces. 
Fiachna,  son  of  Aedh  Boin,  King  of  Ulidia,  and  Eochaidh, 
son  of  Breasal,  chief  of  Ui-Eathach  (Iveagh),  sent  a  tooth  of 
them  to  Bangor,  where  it  remained  for  a  long  time  on  the 
altar  to  be  seen  by  all  in  general."  Geraldus  Cambrensis, 
in  the  twelfth  century,  takes  special  notice  of  this  wonderful 


i  DOWN   AND   CONNOR. 

fish,  which  was  cast  ashore,  he  says,  near  Carlingford.  The 
ancient  name  Boreky  was  supplanted  by  the  modern  one  of 
Moiirne  after  the  thirteenth  century.  It  appears  from  a 
pedigree  of  the  MacMahons,  preserved  in  Trinity  College, 
that  it  received  this  name  from  a  tribe  of  the  MacMahons 
who  emigrated  to  it  in  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century 
from  Cre-Mourne,  in  Monaghan,  carrying  with  them  the 
name  of  their  former  inheritance.  This  country  frequently 
changed  its  inhabitants,  owing  to  internal  wars  and 
invasions.  In  the  twelfth  century  the  family  of  Magenis, 
becoming  the  most  powerful  in  County  Down,  super- 
seded that  of  O'Haiteidh* — a  name  now  either  extinct 
or  concealed  under  some  other  form — and  expelled  the 
O'Donleveys  who  migrated  to  Donegal,  where  they  became 
hereditary  physicians  to  the  O'Donnells.  The  void  thei'eby 
left  in  the  population  seems  to  have  been  filled  up  by  other 
tribes  who  sought  an  asylum  behind  the  Peaks  of  Boreky, 
from  the  oppi'ession  that  had  driven  them  from  their  homes. 
The  author  of  the  "  Duan  Eireannach,"  an  ancient  poem 
composed,  it  seems,  in  the  ninth  century,  mentions,  among 
the  other  descendants  of  "  Ir,"  the  seven  septs  which  in- 
habited Leix,  now  the  Queen's  County,  whom  he  styles  "  the 
Seven  Laigse  of  Leinster,"  and  tradition  informs  us  that 
these  were  the  O'Moores,  O'Kellys,  O'Lalors,  O'Devoys,  or 
Deeveys,  MacAvoys,  O'Dorans,  and  Dowlings.  This  race 
had  migrated  from  Ulster  in  ancient  times,  and  it  is  not 
improbable  that  a  tradition  of  origin  induced  them  to  look 
Northwards  for  a  home  when  the  Anglo-Norman  invaders 
made  their  incursions  into  Leix.  Three  or  four  names  iden- 
tical with  those  of  the  "seven  septs  of  Leix"  are  still  numerous 

*  This  family  seems  to  have  left  its  name  on  the  townland  of 
BalljTiahatton,  which,  in  the  Bagnall  patent,  is  written  "  Bally- 
hatten." 


KILKEEL    OR    UPPER    MOURNE.  0 

in  Moiirne  and  the  adjoining  districts  of  County  Down, 
where  we  find  Kellys,  Daveys,  MacAvoys,  and  Dorans.  The 
O'Dorans  were  a  family  which  supplied  the  chief  brehons  or 
judges  of  Leinster.  Those  of  the  "  seven  septs"  who  remained 
in  Leix  were  a  sore  thorn  in  the  side  of  the  English,  or,  to 
use  the  words  of  a  State  paper,  they  were  "  a  heap  of  mur- 
thei'ing  theeves,"  The  people  of  that  portion  of  County 
Down  kept  up  a  kindred  feeling  with  Leinster  men,  even 
down  to  comparatively  modern  times,  as  is  shown  by  a 
tradition  preserved  by  Mrs.  M'Cartan  of  Kilcoo.  (See  Parish 
of  Kilcoo.) 

The  history  of  Mourne  is  associated  with  that  of  the  Castle 
of  Greencastle — one  of  the  finest  specimens  of  Anglo-Norman 
military  architectm-e  in  the  County  of  Down — which  con- 
stitutes such  an  important  feature  in  the  scenery  of  that 
coast,  from  eveiy  point  of  which  it  presents  a  noble  and 
commanding  appearance.  It  was  erected  by  the  early  English 
invaders  to  guard  the  entrance  to  the  Lough  of  Carlingford, 
and  to  secure  a  line  of  correspondence  between  the  Pale  and 
their  outlying  possessions  in  Lecale,  A  sad  eyesore  to  the 
native  Irish  that  Anglo-Norman  fortress  perched  on  an 
abrupt  rock,  and  flaunting  its  red  cross  of  St.  George  in  their 
faces  as  they  looked  from  their  own  mountains  to  the  waters 
of  Cuan-Snamh-each,  by  which  name  they  still  loved  to  call 
the  lough  on  which  the  Norseman  had  imposed  the  out- 
landish name  of  Carlingford.  The  red  cross  is  gone,  and 
the  rank  grass  waves  from  the  ruined  keep,  but  700  years 
have  not  been  able  to  remove  "  the  Irish  enemy  " — whose 
descendants  still  cling  to  the  soil.  A  glance  over  the 
''Calendar  of  the  Close  and  Patent  Rolls"  is  sufficient  to 
show  how  important  a  part  Greencastle  played  in  the  sub- 
jugation of  the  country  : — In  the  eighth  of  Edward  III. 
(a.d.  1335)  an  order  is  given  to  send  six   "  balistas  "   (some 


b  DOWN   AND    CONNOR. 

war  machines),  witli  their  fittings,  to  furnish  "  Yiride  Cas- 
trum  "  (Greencastle)  ;  and  on  the  second  of  December,  in 
the  same  year,  William  de  Logan  is  ordered  to  pay  to  Henry 
de  Maundevill  twenty  marks  ont  of  the  rents  of  the  lands 
belonging  to  William  de  Burgo,  late  Earl  of  Ulster,  which 
were  in  the  hands  of  the  King  on  account  of  the  minority  of 
.the  heir.  The  order  recites  that  the  felons  of  Ulster  had 
lately  besieged  Greencastle  in  Ulster,  and  that  Henry  de 
Maundevill,  with  men-at-arms,  had  twice  come  to  Greencastle 
and  had  relieved  it  at  his  own  expense.  However,  in  1343, 
those  Irish  felons  stoi-med  the  garrison  and  dilapidated  the 
castle,  but  it  was  soon  after  rendered  stronger  than  before. 
Under  the  year  1356  (twenty-ninth  Edward  ITL),  there  is  a 
record  of  a  pardon  gi-anted  to  William  de  Doun,  late  constable 
of  Greencastle,  for  having  seized  and  imprisoned  one  Rosea, 
the  daughter  of  Eichard  Foy.  This  castle,  with  its  lands, 
was  one  of  the  many  lordships  belonging  to  the  powerful 
Earls  of  Ulster,  the  De  Burgos,  or  Burkes,  who  are  now 
represented  by  her  Majestj',  who  inherits  as  their  descendant 
the  title  of  Countess  of  Ulster.  It  appears  by  a  record  of 
the  time  of  Henry  IV.  that  both  Greencastle  and  the  Castle 
of  Carlingford  were  govei-ned  by  one  constable  or  governor, 
Stephen  Gernon,  who  had  a  yearly  salary  of  £20  for  Green- 
castle, and  £5  for  Carlingford.  Stephen  got  into  some 
difficulty,  for  there  is  a  record  of  a  pardon  of  £200  bail 
forfeited  by  his  sureties.  In  the  fourth  year  of  Henry  IV. 
(1403),  John  Moore,  who  had  been  appointed  constable  of 
both  castles,  at  a  salary  of  £25  per  annum,  having  petitioned 
for  an  increase  of  salaiy,  obtained  the  then  large  svim  of  £40 
per  annum,  on  condition  that  he  would  expend  each  year 
ten  marks  in  the  repairs  of  the  two  castles.  This 
salary  was  ordered  to  be  paid  out  of  the  rents  of  the 
lordships  of  Carlingford,  Cooley,  and    "  le  Mourne."      lu 


KILKEEL    OR    UPPER    MOURNE.  7 

the  close  and  patent  rolls  of  the  period  between  the  reigns 
of  Henry  II.  and  Henry  YIL  there  ai-e  twenty  entries  of 
similar  import  referring  to  Greencastle,  the  recital  of  which 
would  only  fatigue  the  reader.  In  1495  it  was  considered  of 
such  importance  that  the  crown  felt  it  necessary  to  decree 
that  none  but  Englishmen  by  birth  were  eligible  to  the  office 
of  govenior.  In  the  reign  of  Edward  VI.,  these  castles  and 
lordships  were  granted*  to  Sir  Nicholas  Bagnall,  and  about 
1620  an  inquisition  held  at  Newry  found  that  "Arthur 
Bagnall  (who  is  at  present  represented  by  Lord  Kilmorey) 
is  seized  of  the  manner,  and  lordshipp  of  Greencastle  and 
lordshipp  of  Mourne,  with  all  the  rights,  members,  and  ap- 
purtenances thereof,  and  of  the  severall  townes,  villages, 
hamletts,  and  parcells  of  land  following,  being  parcells  of 
Mourne  and  Greencastle  aforesaid — viz.,  the  castle,  towne, 
and  lands  of  Greencastle  and  Knocktinell,  the  town  and  lands 
of  Ballyaghyochell."  Then  follow  the  names  of  all  the  town- 
lands  in  the  barony  of  Mourne,  and  some  sub-denominations 
that  are  not  entered  on  any  of  our  modern  maps — "The 
islands  of  Haleboling  and  Great  Islandt  {in  which  the 
burgesses,  commons,  and  freemen  of  Carlingford  have  liberty 
to  gather  and  take  away  limestone  for  building)  with  all  their 
appurtenances  in  the  county  of  Downe  ;  also  of  the  advowson 
of  personage  and  viccaredge  of  the  Church  of  Kilkeel, 
appendant  to  the   same  mannor  or  lordship  of  Mourne  and 

*  The  Inquisition  which  found  that  all  the  lands  belonging  to  the 
monastic  institutions  of  Newry,  Downpatrick,  and  other  parts  of  the 
County  of  Down,  were  vested  in  the  crown,  was  taken  at  Greencastle 
on  the  10th  of  August,  1550,  by  Sir  Thomas  Cusack,  assisted  by  a 
conveniently  pliant  jnrj.  The  original  document  is  preserved  in  the 
Eecord  Office,  Dublin. 

t  Haleboling  is  the  little  island  on  which  the  lighthouse  is  erected. 
Great  Island  is  that  on  which  the  remains  of  the  blockliouse  stands. 
It  is  also  called  Nuns'  Island,  but  I  caimot  tell  why  it  is  so  named. 


8  DOWN    AND    CONNOR. 

Greencastle,  to  whicli  cliurcli  there  belongetli  3  chapells  of 
ease — viz.,  Kilmeegan,  Kilcoo,  and  Tawlaght ;  also  of  a  coiu't 
leeke  holden  every  yeare  at  Greencastle,  extending  through 
all  the  towns  and  lands  aforesaid,  and  all  the  fynes  and  profits 
of  the  said  court ;  a  court  barron  holden  at  Greencastle  from 
three  weekes  to  three  weekes,  through  all  the  townes  and 
lands  aforesaid,  a  franchess  and  libertie  of  return  brevium 
within  all  the  townes  and  lands  aforesaid,  all  felons'  and 
fvigitivis'  goods,  a.nd/elos  de  se,  &,g.,  all  which  premises  are 
holden  of  his  Majtie  by  knights  service  in  Capite."  So  much 
of  the  history  of  the  castle  is  necessary  to  elucidate  the  ecclesi- 
astical historj^  of  the  parish.  Greencastle  witnessed  at  times 
scenes  of  a  more  domestic  nature,  such  as  when  Catherine  de 
Burgo,  on  the  5th  of  August,  1312,  was  wedded  to  the 
Anglo-Norman  knight,  Maurice  Fitzthomas,  and  eleven  days 
afterwards  when  her  youngest  sister  linked  her  fortunes  with 
Thomas  Fitzjohn,  and  in  still  later  times  it  was  the  favourite 
residence  of  the  Bagnalls,  A  manuscrijit  journal  of  an 
English  gentleman's  tour  through  parts  of  Ireland  in  the 
Summer  of  1635,  sjieaking  of  Newry,  says — "He  hath  a 
castle  in  this  towne,  but  is  for  the  most  part  i-esident  at 
Greencastle."  The  principal  portion  of  the  ruin  is  the  great 
keep,  a  rectangular  building  with  square  towers  abutting  from 
each  angle  and  rising  to  a  great  height ;  the  winding  stairs 
by  which  the  turrets  were  reached  still  enable  the  visitor  to 
obtain  from  their  summit  a  varied  and  picturesque  view  of 
great  extent.  On  the  lowest  floor  are  a  number  of  vaulted 
dungeons,  the  strongly-cemented  arched  roofs  of  which  support 
the  second  floor,  which  contains  an  immense  apartment, 
measuring  about  50  feet  by  40.  Portions  of  the  ramparts 
and  other  towers  serve  to  show  the  foi'mer  extent  of  the 
fortress.  Part  of  the  castle,  fitted  up  for  a  residence  probably 
by  some  of  the  Bagnall  family,  about  the  latter  portion  of 


KILKEEL    OR    UPPER    MOURNE.  9 

the  seventeenth  century,  is  at  present  the  residence  of  Mr. 
M'lh-oy. 

After  crossing  the  Causeway  river,  the  first  spot  once 
sacred  to  ecclesiastical  purposes  which  presents  itself  on 
entering  the  diocese  of  Down  is  Tamlaght,  in  the  townland 
of  Lisnacree.  There  are  no  remains  of  a  church,  but  the 
old  graveyard  is  still  preserved.  The  ancient  church  was 
founded  by  St.  Thuan,  whose  festival  is  entered  in  the 
calendar  of  the  O'Clerys  at  April  1,  "Thuan,  son  of  Carrill, 
of  Tamlaght  in  Boirche."  The  name  Tamlaght  signifies  a 
plague  monument,  and  was  applied  to  places  where  people 
who  died  of  an  epidemic  were  buried.  Keating  confounds 
St.  Thuan  with  Ruanus,  or  Cailte  MacRonaiUj  a  cousin 
of  Finn,  and  one  of  the  Fenian  bards,  who  is  fabled 
to  have  lived  many  hundred  years,  and  to  have  told  to  St. 
Pati'ick  the  legendary  stories  of  Ireland.  In  the  preface  to 
the  "  Book  of  Invasions,"  another  work  of  the  O'Clerys, 
which  was  compiled  in  1631,  we  are  told  that  St,  Colum 
Cille,  St.  Finnen  of  Clonard,  and  St.  Comgall  of  Bangor 
induced  the  authors  of  their  time  to  perpetuate  the  history 
of  Ireland  by  collecting  what  was  then  known  of  it.  The 
authors  who  were  engaged  on  this  work  of  national  import- 
ance, according  to  an  ancient  poem,  were — "  Fiontain,  the 
son  of  Bochna  ;  Thuan,  the  son  of  Cairell ;  son  of  Muiredhach 
Muinderg,  of  the  Dal  Fiatach ;  and  Dalian  Forgaill,"*  the 

*  The  zeal  with  which  these  historians  entered  on  their  task,  and 
the  success  with  which  they  collected  the  stories  of  the  past,  gave 
origin  in  after  times  to  a  fable  which  confounded  Fintan  and  Tuan 
with  fabulous  ante-deluvian  personages  of  similar  names.  According 
to  this  wild  story,  they  survived  the  deluge  and  lived  to  relate  the 
history  of  Ireland  in  the  reign  of  Dermot,  son  of  Fergus  Ceirbheol, 
during  this  period  they  underwent  various  transmigrations  ;  from 
which  O'Flagherty  infers  that  the  Irish  Druids  held  the  doctrine  of 
Metempsychosis,  but  the  fable  is  only  a  poetic  way  of  expressing  that 
the  historian  seems  to  have  lived  during  the  events  which  he  records. 


10  DOWN   AND   CONNOR. 

illustrious  author  and  saint.  Dalian,  the  chief  poet  of  Ire- 
land, who  composed  the  "  Amhra"  in  praise  of  St.  Colum 
Cille,  and  who  died  about  the  year  598,  dwelt  at  Clonallan, 
near  Rostrevor,  which  takes  from  him  its  name,  Cluain 
Dallain  (Dalian's  Meadow).  His  festival  was  kept  in  that 
church  on  the  29th  of  January,  St.  Thuan  of  Tamlaght  was 
a  cousin  of  St.  Domangart,  who  gives  name  to  Slieve  Donard, 
and  he  was  brother  to  Deman,  from  whom  probably  the 
townland  of  Rademman,  in  the  parish  of  Kilmore,  is  named. 
His  grandfather,  Muiredhach,  "  of  the  red  neck,"  ascended 
the  pi'ovincial  throne  of  TJlidia,  in  the  year  451.  The 
calendar  of  the  O'Clerys  also  gives  at  the  18th  of  October, 
the  festival  of  "  Moluainen  of  Tamlacht,  in  Boirche."  It 
likewise  records  on  the  13th  May,  the  festival  of  St.rf 
Tighernach  of  Boirche,  who  was  one  of  the  abbots  of  Bangor, 
The  chapel  of  Tamlaght  is  described  in  1622  as  "  i-uined." 

A  furlong  westward  of  the  castle  is  the  ruin  of  Greencastle 
Church.  The  western  gable  with  its  little  belfry  remains 
almost  perfect  while  the  rest  is  greatly  dilapidated.  It  is 
seventy  feet  long  by  twenty-thi-ee  wide,  and  the  side  walls 
are  nine  feet  high.  It  had  only  one  door,  which  was  on  the 
north  side,  with  one  ^andow  in  each  side  wall,  a  lai'ge 
window  in  the  eastern  gable,  and  a  small  one  in  the  western. 
In  the  return  from  the  sees  of  Down  and  Connor,  presented 
to  his  Majesty's  commissioners  at  Dublin,  July  1,  1G22, 
Greencastle  is  not  returned,  nor  does  it  appear  in  the 
"Terriei-,"  which  was  compiled  in  1615,  A  little  to  the 
northwest  is  a  green  moat,  which  appears  to  be  a  tumulus, 
and  probably  contains  a  small  urn  which  holds  all  that  remains 
of  some  great  chieftain.  It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  many 
of  the  ancient  churches  of  Down  and  Connor  stand  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  sepulchral  mounds,  testifying  that 
their  founders  were   too  wise  unnecessaril}^  to  outrage   the 


KILKEEL    OR    UPPER    MOURNE.  11 

feelings  of  their  disciples,  who  had  that  traditional  regard 
for  what  was  hallowed  by  their  ancestors,  which  is  so 
characteristic  of  the  Celtic  race.  The  ancient  churches 
of  Dundonald,  Holywood,  the  Knock,  Ballymahon,  and 
Donaghadee,  and  many  others  erected  close  by  mounds  for 
sephulchral  or  religious  purposes,  seem  to  have  been 
ecclesiastical  structures  intended  to  replace  their  Pagan 
predecessors.  Though  the  ancient  name  of  the  mound  is  now 
unknown  in  the  neighbourhood,  there  can  be  little  doubt 
that  it  is  the  "  Knocktinell "  mentioned  immediately  after 
Greencastle  in  the  patent  of  the  Bagnalls.*  Knocktinell 
— the  hill  of  the  assembly  (Tionoil  an  assembly) — was 
probably  the  place  where  the  princes  of  the  district  were 
inaugurated,  long  before  the  Normans  had  erected  their 
stone  fortress  in  its  vicinity. 

Kilkeel  (the  narrow  church)  in  Catholic  times  was  a 
"Plebaoiia^'  or  mother-church,  the  pastor  of  which  had  under 
his  jurisdiction  the  chapels  of  Kilcoo,  Kilmegan,  Ballaghanery, 
Tamlaght,  and  Greencastle.  Du  Cange  says — "  Plebania  is 
greater  than  a  rectory  and  has  chapels  subject  to  it."  Bishop 
Stillingfleet  says — "  There  were  some  cures  which  had  chapels 
of  ease  belonging  to  them  ;  and  they  Avho  officiated  in  them 

*  Tynwald  Hill,  in  the  Isle  of  Man,  is  like  Greencastle  Moat 
in  name  and  somewhat  in  appearance,  Gough,  in  his  edition  of  Cam- 
den's "  Brittannia  "  says,  speaking  of  the  king  of  the  island — "  The 
mode  of  investiture  and  receiving  him  at  the  first  occasion  is  this. 
He  has  to  sit  on  the  Tinwald  Hill,  in  the  open  air,  in  a  chair  of  state, 
with  a  royal  canopy  over  his  head,  his  face  to  the  East  towards  a 
chapel  eastward  of  the  hill,  where  there  are  prayers  and  a  sermon  on 
the  occasion  ;  and  his  sword  before  him  held  with  the  point  upwards. 
His  barons — viz.,  the  bishoj)  and  abbot,  with  the  rest  in  their  degree 
sat  beside  him  ;  his  beneficed  men,  councils,  deemsters,  before  him, 
his  gentry  and  yoemanry  in  the  third  degree,  and  the  twenty-four 
keys  in  their  order  ;  and  the  commons  stood  without  the  circle  with 
their  clerks,  in  surplices." 


12  DOWN    AND    CONNOR. 

were  called  capellani,  and  hud  their  subsistence  out  of 
the  oblations  and  obventions,  and  were  often  joerpetual  and 
presentative.  And  where  the  incumbents  had  several  chapels 
of  ease,  and  only  assistants  to  sup})]y  them,  the  canon  law 
doth  not  call  them  rectores  but  plebani,  who  had  a  sort  of 
peculiar  jurisdiction  in  lesser  matters,  but  still  they  were 
under  the  bishop's  authority  in  visitations  and  other  ecclesi- 
astical censures."  The  ancient  church  dedicated  to  St. 
Coleman,  which  in  the  return  of  1622,  is  described  as  "ruined," 
was  afterwards  fitted  up  and  used  as  a  Protestant  church, 
till  the  erection  of  the  present  church  in  1815.  There  is  a 
tradition  that  the  old  church  had  been  erected  by  a  foreign 
merchant  in  gratitude  to  the  people  of  Kilkeel,  who  had 
decently  inten-ed  the  body  of  his  son,  who  was  drowned  on 
their  coast.  The  church,  like  several  of  the  most  ancient 
churches  in  the  diocese,  stood  in  the  centre  of  a  rath,  the  foss 
of  which  is  still  quite  visible,  and  around  this  foss  the  remains 
of  the  dead  used  to  be  carried  three  times  immediately  previous 
to  interment.*  Towards  the  west  of  the  chui'ch,  and  im- 
mediately within  the  circular  enclosure,  stands  a  rude  granite 
cross  devoid  of  ornamentation ;  its  pedestal,  a  huge  block  of 
granite  broken  in  two  pieces,  is  sunk  in  the  ground  beside  it. 
According  to  tradition  several  priests  of  the  name  of  O'Doran, 
who  were  pastors  of  Kilkeel,  are  interred  under  it,  it 
still  marks  the  burying-ground  belonging  to  members  of 
that  family.  The  value  of  the  ecclesiastical  revenues  of  this 
parish  in  1306  appears  from  the  return  of  the  valuation  made 
in  that  year  by  Papal  authority  to  have  been  ten  marks,  or 
£6  13s  4d,  but  we  must  remember  that  the  value  of  money 
has  completely  changed  since  that  date.     There  is  preserved 

*  This  ancient  ceremonial  was  carried  out  a  few  mouths  before  the 
writer  last  visited  Kilkeel,  at  the  interment  of  a  Mrs.  Sloan,  a 
member  of  one  of  the  old  families  of  the  district. 


KILKEEL    OR    UPPER    MOURNE.  13 

in  the  Birmingham  Tower  an  account  of  several  articles 
supplied  by  two  citizens  of  Dublin  in  1301  to  the  King's 
army  in  Scotland,  in  which  appears  an  item  which  shows  the 
value  of  money  at  that  date — "  55  carcasses,  1  quarter  of 
salt  beef,  51  bacons,  17  muttons,  £18  18s  4|d."  The 
revenues  of  Kilkeel  seem  to  have  risen  very  much  previous 
to  the  "Reformation,"  for  the  "Terrier,"  or  Ledger,  of  1615, 
which  shows  the  condition  of  the  dioceses  in  their  transition 
state,  informs  us  that  "  the  prebendery  of  Kilkeile  parish 
pays  in  proxies  £2,  in  refections,  £2,  in  synodals,  2s, 
Vicarius  ibidem  (the  vicar  thereof)  pays  in  proxies  20s,  in 
refections  20s,*  in  synodals  2s." — total  of  both,  £6  4s; 
while  for  the  '^  chappel  of  Tamlait  the  curate  pays  in  proxies 

*  Proxies  or  procurations.  Procur  at  tones  from  the  verb  j^rocurarc 
"  to  refresh  " 

"  .  .  .  .  loeti  bene  gestis  corpora  rebus 
"  Procurate  viri." — Virg.  ^En.  ix.,  158, 
are  certain  sums  of  money  which  parish  priests  pay  to  the  bishop  or 
archdeacon  ratlone  visltatlonis.  They  were  anciently  paid  in  neces- 
sary victuals  to  the  visitor  and  his  attendants.  In  early  times  it 
was  the  custom  for  the  bishop  to  visit  each  parish  once  a  year,  but 
when  it  became  customary  for  bishops  to  assemble  their  clergy  in 
their  cathedrals.  Proxy,  or  iwocurcdlon ,  came  to  signify  the  money 
paid  to  the  bishop  or  archdeacon  to  commute  for  the  pro\dsion  or 
entertainment  to  which  he  would  be  entitled  if  he  visited  the  parish. 
Complaints  were  often  made  to  the  Pope  of  the  excessive  charges  of 
the  prociirations,  and  several  councils  and  bulls  legislated  on  the 
subject.  At  the  period  of  the  "  Reformation  "  the  rate  of  proxies 
varied  in  Down  and  Connor  from  twenty  to  two  shillings. 

Synodal  was  a  sum  of  money  paid  to  the  bishop  or  archdeacon  by 
the  inferior  clergj"  at  Easter  visitation,  it  was  called  synodal  because 
it  was  usually  paid  at  the  diocesan  synods  which  were  generally 
held  about  Easter,  hence  the  impost  was  sometimes  Denarii  Paschalcs. 
In  DowTi  and  Connor  the  synodal  at  the  "  Eeformation  "  was  two 
shillings  for  each  benefice. 

Refections  were  fees  paid  as  a  commutation  for  the  entertainment 
which  the  clergy  were  expected  to  provide  for  the  bishop  and  arch- 


14  DOWN   AND   CONNOR. 

2s,  iu  refections  2s,  in  synodals  2s."  lu  this  document  the 
chapel  of  Greencastle  is  not  mentioned,  but  Ballaghanery, 
Kilcoo,  and  Kilmegan  are  separately  taxed,  and  the  benefice 
of  Kilkeel,  which  in  1306  was  valued  at  £6  13s  4d,  had  so 
far  improved  in  monetary  value  that  it  paid  to  the  bishop 
£7,  in  1615. 

It  is  a  very  popular  fallacy  that  the  exempt  jurisdiction 
claimed  for  Mourne  by  the  Bagnalls  and  their  representa- 
tives, is  derived  from  a  jurisdiction  exercised  over  that 
plebania  by  the  abbots  of  Newry.  It  is  obvious  that  if  the 
abbot  had  any  such  jurisdiction  he  would  have  enjoyed  the 
right  of  presenting  the  rector  or  plebanus,  which  privilege, 
on  the  contrary,  the  Crown  assumed.  Moreover,  a  report  on 
the  state  of  the  bishopric  of  Down  and  Connor,  made  by 
the  Pi'otestant  bishop  in  1622,  says,  speaking  of  Kilkeel — 
"  The  rectoiy  impropriate  to  Noe  Abbey  but  all  tithes  small 
and  great  taken  up  by  Mrs.  Bagnall  pretending  a  lease  from 
one  Campion  long  since  deprived  for  non-residence."  The 
whole  story,  as  told  by  his  lordship,  forms  such  an  instructive 
illustration  of  the  manner  in  which  the  great  proprietors 
robbed  the  Establishment  of  the  possessions  which  it  had 
got  from  the  Catholic  Church,  that  it  may  be  given  in  his  own 
■words — "  Two  others,  the  bishop's  immediate  predecessors, 
were  in  possession  and  farmed  severall  parcells  of  this  living 
to  severall  persons.  But  the  bishop  being  in  England  shortly 
after  his  preferment,  souldiers  were  sent  to  take  up  the 
tythes,  and  one  or  two  of  bishop's  farmors  (tithe  farmers) 
being  found  upon  their  journey  in  the  Newrie  were  convicted 
and  kept  prisoners  until  they  were  forced  to  quit  and  sur- 
render their  possession.   The  now  bishop  thereafter  petitioned 

deacons  when  they  presided  at  their  rural  chapters.  From  the 
"  Terrier  "  it  appears  that  in  Down  and  Connor  each  benefice  paid  at 
the  "Reformation"  the  sum  of  two shilUngs. — See  Reeve's  Ecc.  Antiq. 


KILKEEL   OR   UPPER   MOURNE.'  15 

to  ye  Judges  of  Assize,  and  liad  order  to  tlie  Sherife  to  put 
and  keep  him  in  possession,  that  he  being  one  that  dwelled  at 
the  ¥ewrie,  and  tennant  of  Mrs.  Bagnall,  would  neither  put 
him  in  possession,  nor  give  him  his  order  back  againe  ;  that 
he  had  such  order  appeareth  under  his  hand,  and  under  the 
handes  of  the  other  two  justices  of  the  peace;  as  may  be 
seene  there  are  no  tithes  received  by  any  clergyman,  nor 
cure  served,  nor  presentments  of  recusantes  made,*  no  way 
given  to  the  Ecclesiastical  Courts,  nor  to  the  bishop's 
officers,  and  the  confusion  is  within  the  boundes  of  noe  less 
than  XYIeen  myles  upon  the  sea  coast.  Mrs.  Bagnall  hath 
given  severall  commissions  to  severall  persons  to  keepe 
several  spiritual  courtes,  whereof  some  of  tbem  were  laymen ; 
and  severall  persons  have  fled  from  the  censure  of  Bishop's 
Spiritual  Court  in  these  boundes,  and  there  they  have  im- 
munity and  escaped  deserved  censures,  because  the  apparitors 
would  not,  nor  durst  not,  cite  any  person  in  these  boundes." 

The  following  notices  of  the  parish  priests  of  Kilkeel,  or 
Mourne  is  copied  from  Reeve's  ''Down  and  Connor  and 
Dromore  :" — 

A.D.  1369.  The  parish  church  of  Kylkeyl,  in  le  Mourne, 
diocese  of  Down,  vacant  by  the  death  of  John  de  Thrius. 
{"  Reg.  Sweeteman,"  folio  5.  )t 

A.D.  1388.  John  Ehene  (recte  Chene)  presented  by  the 
Crown  to  the  parish  church  of  St.  Coleman  del  Morne. 
("  Calendar  of  Close  and  Patent  Rolls,  Cane,  Hib.") 


*  This  may  be  the  reason  why  so  many  Catholics  located  them- 
selvet  on  the  Bagnall  Estates. 

+  Kegistrum  Milonis  Sweteman,  or  Registry  of  Milo  Sweteman 
Primate  from  1361  to  1380,  containing  records  of  transactions  carried 
into  his  courts,  is  preserved  in  the  Record  Office,  Dublin. 


16  DOWN   AND    CONNOR. 

A.D.  1406.  Patrick  Oweyn,  a  clergyman  of  Meatli,  pi-es- 
ented  by  the  Crown  to  the  church  of  St.  Coleman,  of  Kylkele, 
vacant  by  the  death  of  John  Cliyne.  The  Bishop  of  Down 
refused  institution,  and  nominated  Adam  M'Burnie  (probably 
Burns).  The  case  was  submitted  to  the  Primate,  who,  in 
1407,  pronounced  in  favour  of  the  former,  and  directed 
Thomas  Omostead,  Archdeacon  of  Dromore,  and  two  others 
to  induct  him  and  to  admonish  all  and  singular  the  chaplains 
officiating  in  said  church,  and  all  the  dependent  chapels  to 
render  him  du.e  obedience.  (Reg.  Fleming,  fol.  S,  9,  12  ; 
Cal.  Cane.  Hib.,  p,  183.)*  In  the  same  year,  a  letter  of 
excommunication  was  issued  against  Donald  O'Ronaga 
(O'Roney),  and  Columba  M'Kartan,  chaplains,  for  resistence 
to  the  new  rector :  and  Walter  M'Kartan,  with  other 
parishionei'S,  were  enjoined  to  desist  from  further  opposition. 
On  this  occasion  the  Primate  acts  as  "  Custos  si)intualitatis 
Dromorensis  Dioceseos."     (Ibid,  fols.  12,  136.) 

A.D.  1442.  John  Leche,  canon  of  Armagh,  i-ector  of 
Morna.     (Reg.  Prene,  p.  66.) 

A.D.  1446.  John  Teci,  rector  of  the  parish  church  of 
Killchil,  alias  de  Morun.     (Reg.  Mey,  Lib   1,  p.  92.)f 

A.D.  1456.  John  Leche,  retor  of  Morna,  proctor  for  the 
Bishop  of  Down,  in  a  provincial  synod  at  Drogheda,  8th 
July.     (Reg.  Prene,  p.  32.);;: 

*  Reg.  Fieramg — Register  of  Primate  Fleming,  who  became  arch- 
bishop in  1404,  died  in  1416.  A  ISISS.  partly  on  parchment  and 
partly  on  paper.  This  Register  and  that  of  Sweteman  are  bound  up 
in  one  volume. 

+  Reg.  Mey — Register  of  Primate  ^lej'^,  who  became  archbishop  in 
1444,  died  in  1456. 

t  Reg.  Prene — Register  of  Prene  takes  it  name  from  Primate 
Prene,  who  became  archbishop  in  1430,  died  in  1443.  This  register 
contains  documents  from  1430  to  1471.  These  valuable  registries 
are  preserved  in  the  Record  Office,  Dublin. 


KILKEEL   OR   UPPER   MOURNE.  17 

A.D.  1526.  The  Primate  presented  Cormac  Rotli,  bachelor 
in  decretis,  to  the  rectory  or  plebania  Killcayll,  who  in  the 
following  year,  nominated  Patrick  M'Eowry  to  the  vicarage. 
(Reg.  Crom,  pp.  473,  597.)* 

A.D.  1536.  The  Crown  presented  Peter  Lewis  to  the 
rectory  of  the  parish  church  of  Kyllghill^  alias  Morne,  in 
the  diocese  of  Down,  vacant  by  the  death  of  Cormac  Roth. 
(Rot.  Pat.  28,  Henry  VIII.) 

Peter  Lewis  was  probably  the  last  Catholic  jjriest  who 
enjoyed  the  rich  temporalities  of  the  plebania  of  Kilkeel,  unless 
perhaps  some  one  may  have  been  appointed  during  the  reign 
of  Queen  Mary. 

We  now  enter  the  dai'k  days  of  persecution,  but  even  these 
have  for  us  their  own  peculiar  consolation,  for  they  served  to 
purify  the  Church.  We  now  no  longer  find  the  King  pre- 
senting to  the  benefice  clergymen  whose  sole  title  to  the 
preferment  was  some  service  done  in  the  interests  of  the 
foreign  colony,  thence  forward  the  pastoi-s  of  Kilkeel  were 
selected  from  the  "  mere  Irish,"  or,  as  the  warders  of  Green- 
castle  would  probably  have  expressed  it,  from,  "  the  Irish 
enemy."  There  is  a  long  blank  in  the  succession,  nor,  could 
it  have  been  expected  otherwise,  for  men  whose  entire 
ingenuity  was  called  into  exercise  in  order  to  enable  them  to 
hide  themselves  from  the  vigilant  eye  of  the  Government 
were  not  likely  to  hand  down  their  names  to  prosterity.  In 
1663,'^'  Carolus  Grorey  Vicarius  de  Kilkeel,"  with  many  others 
of  the  clergy  and  laity,  signed  a  petition  which  is  still  pre- 
served among  the  Franciscan  papers  that  have  been  lately 
brought  to  Dublin  from  Rome,  in  which  they  pray  the  bishops, 
on  account  of  the  poverty  of  the  country,  to  prevent  the  Domin- 
icans from  re-establishing  their  order  in  the  diocese.     In  1 670, 

*  Eeg.  Crom. — Register  of  Primate  Cromer,  from  the  year  1518 
to  1535. 


18  DOWN   AND   CONNOR. 

Dr.  Plunket  made  to  Rome  a  retui-n  of  the  priests  of  the 
diocese^  and  one  of  them  is  "  Carolus  Magroney"  (a  mistake  for 
Magrorey.)  The  IMagi-oi-eys  or  M'Eoreys  are  still  numerous 
in  Mourne  ;  but  unfortunately  they  have  corrupted  their 
ancient  name  into  Rodgers.  The  memory  of  this  priest, 
Magrorey,  is  still  preserved  among  them,  even  after  the  lapse 
of  two  centuries.  It  is  said  that  the  priest  having  attempted 
to  settle  a  dispute  which  commenced  at  a  game  of  foot-ball, 
was  stabbed  to  death  by  one  of  the  disputants  :  the  stone  on 
which  he  died,  in  the  townland  of  Ballinran,  is  still  pointed 
out,  and  the  name  of  the  man  who  in  a  moment  of  excite- 
ment committed  the  rash  act  is  not  yet  forgotten. 

On  the  11th  of  July,  1704,  Daniel  Doran  was  registered 
at  the  Assizes  in  Downpatrick  as  Popish  priest  of  Kilkeel 
and  Kilbrony,  He  was  then  forty-six  years  of  age,  and  re- 
sided in  the  townland  Drumrea.  He  was  ordained  in  the 
the  year  1685,  by  Thady  Keough,  Bishop  of  Cloufert.  It 
seems  strange  that  the  parish  priest  of  Kilkeel  should 
reside  in  the  diocese  of  Dromore  and  hold  a  parish  in  that 
diocese.  This  arrangement,  however,  may  have  been  entered 
into  in  order  to  meet  some  difficulties  arising  out  of  the 
persecution. 

According  to  tradition,  the  Rev.  Daniel  Doran  was  suc- 
ceeded by  two  priests  each  named  Bernard  Doran  or  O'Doran, 
who  held  the  parish  of  Kilkeel  successively.  —  Doran,  who 
was  Parish  Px'iest,  of  Kilkeel,  and  is  said  to  have  been  an 
elder  brother  of  Bishop  O'Doran,  died  near  Downpatrick  in 
1751,  and  was  interred  at  the  east  window  of  Down  parish 
church.* 

*  There  is  an  Altar-Stone  in  Ballykilbeg  Church,  on  which  is 
inscribed  "  Pray  for  the  soul  of  John  O'Doran,  1745."  It  was  be- 
queathed to  that  Church  by  the  Rev.  Richard  M'Mullan,  P.P., 
Bright. 


KILKEEL   OR   UPPER   MOURNE.  19 

In  1751,  Rev.  —  MacArtan  became  Parish  Priest.  He 
died  in  1768.  At  his  death  the  parish  of  Lower  Mourne 
was  severed  from  Upper  Mourne  or  Kilkeel,  and  erected  into 
a  distinct  parish. 

Rev.  John  MacArtan  succeeded  his  namesake  in  1768  in 
the  upper  portion  of  the  parish.  He  was  a  native  of  the 
townland  of  Derryoge,  in  the  parish  of  Upper  Mourne. 
After  ordination,  which  he  received  from  Dr.  MacArtan  in 
Seaforde,  at  Quatuor  Tense,  in  December,  1768,  he  was 
immediately  appointed  parish  priest:  During  a  portion  of 
his  long  illness  he  was  assisted  by  the  Rev.  Eugene  Mulhol- 
land,  afterwards  parish  priest  of  Dunsford.  Mr.  Mulholland 
was  succeeded  as  curate  by  Rev.  Daniel  MacArtan,  a  native 
of  Ballykilbeg,  who  afterwards  was  sent  as  curate  to  Dun- 
eane.  Father  John  MacArtan  died  May  9,  1810,  and  was 
interred  in  the  graveyard  attached  to  the  church.  On  his 
tomb  is  inscribed — 

Erected  to  the  Memory  of  the 

Rev.  John  MacArtan, 

P.P.  of  this  Parish  for  Forty-Two  Years, 

Who  Departed  this  Life  on  the  9th  May,  1810. 

Aged  66  Years. 

The  Rev.  John  MacMullan,  P.P.  of  Duneane,was  appointed 
in  1810,  but  he  held  the  parish  only  two  years,  when  he 
returned  to  Duneane.     (See  Duneane.) 

The  Rev.  Richard  Curoe  was  appointed,  on  the  resignation 
of  Mr.  MacMullan,  in  1812.  He  was  born  in  the  townland 
of  Cluntagh,  near  Killyleagh,  in  the  year  1782.  He  com- 
menced his  course  in  the  College  of  Maynooth  in  1799.  "His 
talents  wei-e  of  the  highest  order  (says  an  obituary  notice  of 
him  in  the  Vindicator),  and  so  well  did  he  cultivate  them 


20  DOWN   AND   CONNOR. 

that  not  only  for  his  distinguished  acquirements  but  also  for 
his  unfeigned  piety  and  strict  attention  to  all  the  duties  and 
discipline  of  the  college,  he  gained  the  esteem  and  affection 
of  all,  both  superiors  and  students."  Dr.  MacMullan  sent 
him,  in  the  year  1808,  to  assist  the  Rev.  Hugh  O'Donnell  in 
the  arduous  duties  of  the  Belfast  mission.  After  four  years 
he  removed  from  Belfast,  which  parish  he  declined,  to  become 
parish  priest  of  Kilkeel,  where  he  spent  the  last  thirty-three 
years  of  his  life.  He  performed  all  the  duties  of  this  populous 
parish  unassisted  by  an.y  curate  till  the  Rev.  James  Crickard 
was  sent  as  his  curate  in  March,  1839.  Onhistombintheparish 
cemetery  is  the  following  inscription  : — 

Underneath  are  Deposited  the  Remains  of  the 

Rev.  Richard  Curoe, 

P.P.  of  this  Parish  for  Thirty-Three  Years, 

Who  Departed  this  Life  on  the  23rd  of  May,  1845, 

Aged  63  Years. 

After  the  death  of  Mr.  Curoe  the  parish  was  administered 
by  his  cui-ate,  the  Rev.  Francis  Magennity,  a  native  of  the 
parish  of  Lower  Creggan,  County  Armagh,  who  was  ordained 
by  Dr.  Murray  at  Pentecost  of  1841,  shortly  afterwards  he 
took  charge  of  Ballymacarrett  as  a  temporary  administrator, 
fi'om  which  he  removed  to  the  curacy  of  Kilkeel  in  October, 
1843.  After  administering  the  parish  of  Kilkeel  up  to  the 
date  of  the  appointment  of  a  parish  priest,  he  removed  to  his 
native  diocese,  where  he  was  appointed  curate  of  Dundalk. 

The  Rev.  James  Denvir,  then  parish  priest  of  Glenavy,  was 
appointed  in  Feb.,  1845.  He  was  a  native  of  Ballynarry,  in 
the  Catholic  parish  of  Kilclief.  After  having  acquired  a 
preliminary  education  in  Downpatrick,  he  entered  the  logic 
class  in  Maynooth  College  on  the  25th  of  August,  1826, 
being  then  twenty-one  years  of  age.     He  was  ordained  in 


KILKEEL    OR    UPPER    MOURNE.  21 

Belfast  by  Dr.  Crolly,  September  18,  18Q9,  and,  after  having 
been  curate  in  Downpatiick  and  in  Kilmore,  he  was  appointed 
parish  priest  of  Bally  money  in  1834,  from  which  he  was  pro- 
moted to  Aughagallon  in  1836,  thence  to  Lower  Ards  in  Nov- 
ember, 18i0,  thence  to  Glenavy  in  February,  1843,  from 
which  he  removed  to  Kilkeel,  where  he  died^  June  24,  1845. 
He  was  buried  in  the  graveyard  attached  to  Kilclief  Catholic 
Church,     On  his  tomb  is  inscribed  : — 

Hie  Jacet 

In  Spem  Resurrectionis  beataa 

Revdus.  Jacobus  Denvir, 

Qui  in  diversis  paroeciis 

Diocesis  Dunensis  et  Connorensis 

A  tempore  elevationis  suae 

Ad  statum  sacerdotalem 

Usque  ad  annum  mdcccxlv 

Parochi  munere  functus  est 

Deinceps  usque  ad  obitum 

Paroeciae  de  Mourne  superiore  prefuit 

Morum  urbanitate  insignis, 

animarum  saluti  maxime  studiosus, 

Charitate  catholica  ardens 

Animas  omnium  sibi  conciliavit. 

Diem  obiit  supremum  viii.  Kalendas  Julii. 

Aetatis  suse  anno  li. 

Salutis  autem  reparatse  mdccclv. 

Requiescat  in  pace. 

Justorum  autem  animse  in  manu  Dei  Sunt 

et  non  tanget  illas  tormentum  mortis. — Sap.  iii.  1. 

Rev.  George  Maguire  succeeded  Father  Denvir  ;  he  is  a 
native  of  Downpatrick,  where,  having  received  a  preliminary 
education,  he  entered  the  rhetoric  class  in  Maynooth  College 


aa  DOWN  AND   CONNOR, 

on  the  4th  of  September,  1828.  He  was  ordained  in  Belfast 
at  the  Advent  Quatuor  Tense,  1834,  after  which  he  was  sent 
as  curate  to  Randalstown,  but  on  the  5th  of  February,  1835, 
he  was  appointed  curate  to  his  gi-and-uncle,  Father  Curoe, 
P.P.,  Kilmore,  and  at  the  month's  mind  of  Father  Curoe, 
who  died  July  31,  1844,  he  was  appointed  his  successor  in 
Kilmore.  He  retained  that  parish  till  the  1 4tli  of  October, 
1856,  when  he  was  appointed  to  the  parish  of  Upper 
Mourne, 

THE    PARISH     CHUPtCH. 

During  the  time  of  persecution  Mass  was  celebrated  in  the 
open  air  at  a  place  called  the  Mass  Forth,  in  the  townland 
of  Ballymacgeough.  It  was  only  in  the  year  1811  that  the 
parish  priest,  the  Rev.  John  MacMullan,  commenced  the 
erection  of  a  chapel  on  the  spot  hallowed  by  so  many  tradi- 
tions. It  was,  however,  the  year  1818  before  the  chapel  was 
completed  by  his  successor,  the  Rev.  Richard  Curoe.  A  few 
years  ago,  the  Rev.  George  Maguire  replaced  this  chapel  with 
a  magnificent  church,  which  is  now  nearly  completed,  in  the 
early  pointed  style  of  architecture,  from  designs  by  Messrs. 
O'Neill  &  Byrne,  of  Belfast.  It  is  built  of  squared  granite, 
and  presents  a  very  superior  specimen  of  masonry.  It  con- 
sists of  a  nave,  with  western  tower  and  spire,  sanctu- 
ary, and  double  transepts.  Externally  the  bays  are  marked 
by  canopied  buttresses  of  two  stages,  and  the  walls  of  each 
bay  are  pierced  by  single  lancets,  the  sanctuary  gable  has  a 
five-light  traceried  window,  and  the  gables  of  the  trancepts 
have  each  two  lancets  surmounted  by  a  rose  window.  In- 
ternally the  roofs  are  open  and  stained,  the  longitudinal  and 
transverse  arches  of  the  trancepts  are  supported  by  gx-anite 
columns  with  carved  capitals.     The  extreme  length  of  the 


KILKEEL   OR   UPPEE   MOURNE.  23 

church  is  112  feet,  its  width  across  the  transept  is  88  feet, 
and  the  height  of  the  spire  is  160  feet.  When  complete,  the 
building  will  have  cost  upwards  of  £5,000.* 

*  A  very  fine  example  of  the  class  of  sepulchral  monuments,  com- 
monly called  Kistvaens — or  giants'  graves — may  be  seen  in  a  field 
near  Kilkeel  Catholic  Church.  There  is  also  a  Cromleach  in  excellent 
preservation  near  the  town  of  Kilkeel,  the  top  stone  is  a  rude  granite 
block,  measuring  nine  feet  in  length  and  eight  and  a  half  in  breadth, 
which  rests  on  a  number  of  smaller  stones.  A  Cromleach  consists  of 
from  three  to  six  or  seven  unhewn  pillar  stones  fixed  in  the  earth 
and  varying  in  height  from  five  to  ten  feet,  over  these  a  huge  stone 
is  laid,  generally  in  a  sloping  position.  Many  theories  are  propounded 
to  account  for  their  use,  however  as  urns  filled  with  ashes  of  the 
dead,  and  at  times,  even  entire  skeletons  have  been  found  in  connec- 
tion with  several  of  them,  one  at  least  of  their  uses  seems  to  have 
been  sepulchral.  Cromleachs  have  been  found  buried  in  mounds  of 
elay  or  cairns  of  stone  ;  one  so  placed  was  found  in  Loughinisland 
and  another  in  the  Phoenix  Park.  The  late  King  Frederick  VII,  of 
Denmark,  supposed  that  their  constructors,  after  having  erected  the 
supporters,  surrounded  them  with  a  mound  of  clay,  up  which 
they  rolled  the  top  or  cap  stone,  and  after  it  was  firmly  fixed  on  the 
supporters,  the  clay  was  dug  away,  and  the  Cromleach  left  as  we  see 
it.  They  seem  to  be  the  works  of  the  earliest  inhabitants  of  this  island. 
€romleachs  are  to  be  found  in  India,  Ceylon,  China  (at  Macao), 
Persia,  Palestine,  along  both  sides  of  the  Mediterranean,  in  Denmark, 
in  the  Celtic  portions  of  Europe  in  great  numbers  ;  they  are  even  to 
be  found  in  Nova  Scotia,  and  a  few  on  the  mainland  of  America. 

According  to  Dr.  0'  Donovan  (Letters  in  the  Eoyal  Irish  Academy) 
the  Uarach  was  the  ancient  name  of  the  Kilkeel  River,  and  the 
place  where  its  falls  into  the  sea  was  named  Cois-na-huiraiche, 
There  was  an  ancient  ford  over  this  rirer  in  the  townland  of  Aughna- 
hoory — Ath-na-huiraiche — the  ford  of  the  Uarach. 


THE  PARISH 


ST.  MARY'S  OR  LOWER  MOURNE. 


(^HfoWER  MOURNE  includes  all  the  barony  of  Mourne 
BL  that  is  not  included  in  the  parish  of  Ui:»per  Mourne. 
^  It  extends  from  the  confines  of  the  townlands 
of  Carrigenagh,  Aughnahoorey,  and  Kilkeel,  which  are 
in  Upper  Mourne,  to  the  river  which  forms  the  boundary 
line  near  Ballaghauery  Pass  between  the  baronies  of  Mourne 
and  Iveagh.  Lower  Mourne  contains  about  2,283  Catholics 
but  of  7,283  contained  in  the  entire  barony. 

About  tie  year  1643,  a  Fransiscan  Friar  named  Father 
Edmund  MacCanna,  or,  as  his  name  would  be  written  now, 
MacCann,  visited  this  portion  of  the  country,  and  the 
notes  of  his  journey,  entitled,  Itineranum  in  Hibernia, 
are  now  preserved  among  other  valuable  Irish  manuscripts 
in  the  Burgundian  Library,  at  Brussels.  Dr.  Reeves 
published  in  the  Ulster  Journal  of  Archaeology  a  faithful 
translation  of  this  Latin  tract,  from  which  is  the  following 
extract : — 

"The  Chersonese  which  I  mentioned  above — namely, 
Mugharna  (Mourne) — derived  its  name  from  Mugharna  in 


ST.  Mary's  or  lower  mourne.        25 

Origliillia,*  for  when  the  family  of  MacMahon  were  driven 
by  the  English,  through  craft  and  force,  from  the  lands  of 
Bregiat  into  the  fastnesses  of  Origliillia,  and  when  the  one 
small  territory  was  not  sufficient  to  accommodate  the  two 
families — namely,  the  MacMahons  and  the  MacEochys — the 
latter  sought  for  themselves  another  settlement — namely, 
this  Mugharna,  which  they  subdued  by  force  of  arms  and 
called  after  the  name  of  their  former  inheritance.  Of  this 
they  retained  possession  even  unto  the  times  of  Henry  VIII. 
So  I  learned  from  the  mouths  of  many  aged  men.  This 
Chersonese  is  bounded  on  the  North-East  by  that  exceedingly 
high  mountain,  celebrated  in  the  Western  world,  which 
formei'ly  bore  the  name  of  Slanga,  but  in  the  common  use  of 
modern  times  that  of  Domangart  (pronounced  Donard). 
This  huge  mass  of  land  towers  over  the  sea,  between  which 
and  its  base,  nevertheless,  is  a  thicket  which  the  Irish  call 
Bellach-a-Neaghii — that  is,  the  '^  Pass  of  the  Wood;'  and  what 
a  solemn  feeling  does  the  solitude  of  the  defile,  coupled  with 
the  pious  recollection  of  its  holy  occupants,  inspire  !  For 
here  there  still  exists  the  ruins  of  sacred  buildings,  once 
tenanted  by  some  of  our  country's  saints,  strangers  on  earth, 
of  whom  the  world  was  unworthy." 

In  the  townland  of  Ballyveaghmore  there  is  a  place  called 
Killmologe ;  the  j)eople  have  lost  every  tradition  regarding 
it,   yet  the  place  is  considered  gentle,   and  it  is   therefore 

*  OrighUUa — Orkl,  in  ancient  times  comprised  the  present  Counties 
of  Louth,  Monaghan,  and  Armagh,  it  was  occupied  by  the  descend- 
ants of  the  three  Collas  and  obtained  the  name  of  Oirghiall  from  a 
privilege  granted  by  the  Monarch  of  Ireland  to  the  Collas,  that  if 
any  of  their  race  should  be  demanded  as  hostages,  the  monarch 
should  not  bind  them  unless  with  chains  of  gold,  hence  they  were 
called  Oirrjlualla,  i.e.  of  the  golden  hostages. 

+  The  great  Plain  of  Bregia  embraced  East  ileath  with  portions 
of  Louth  and  Dublin. 


26  DOWN    AND    CONNOR. 

"wonderfully  well  preserved.  Killmologe  signifies  the  church 
of  St,  Luan  or  St.  Lua.*  There  are  many  saints  of  that 
name  St.  Bei-nard  mentions  in  the  life  of  St.  Malachy  a  St. 
Luan,  who  studied  in  Bangor,  and  afterwards  founded  one 
hundred  monasteries.  The  patron  of  Killmologe  is  more 
probably  St.  Moluainen  of  Tamlaght  in  Boirche  (Tamlaght 
in  Upper  Mourne),  whose  festival,  according  to  the 
Martyrology  of  Donegal,  was  observed  on  the  18th  of  October. 
Killmologe  is  a  space  of  ground  nearly  circular,  containing 
almost  a  statute  acre,  its  diameter  being  240  feet.  It  is 
surrounded  by  a  high  ditch  which  is  formed  by  banking  up 
the  clay  which  was  taken  from  the  trench  on  each  side  of  it. 
The  ditch  is  faced  and  topped  with  great  stones  embedded  in 
the  earth.  This  enclosure  has  two  gates  or  openings,  one  to 
the  east  and  one  to  the  west.  On  entering  the  enclosure  by 
the  western  opening  there  is,  on  the  left  side,  what  seems  to 
have  been  a  well,  and  a  little  farther  on  a  large  stone  is  met, 
having  a  cup  shaped  hole  hollowed  out  of  it,  which  may  have 
been  used  for  holding  Holy  Water,  or  perhaps  for  crushing  the 
corn  used  for  food.  On  the  southern  side  of  the  enclosure  are 
three  circles  of  stones  embedded  in  the  clay,  they  seem  to  be 
the  foundations  of  rude  buildings.  One  of  them  which  is 
better  defined  than  the  others  has  a  narrow  opening  on  the 
south  side  towards  the  fosse.  Near  the  eastern  opening,  but 
towards  the  south  side  of  it,  there  are  the  traces  of  a  rude 
square  building.  Outside  the  circumvallation  on  the  north 
side  there  is  a  large  flat  stone,  in  which  ai-e  scooped  two 

*  Moluainen  is  equivalent  to  My  dear  little  Luan.  An 
Irish  way  of  saying  St.  Luan.  The  Irish  used  the  diminutive 
of  the  name  of  a  saint  as  a  mark  of  affection  and  prefixed  Mo-my 
as  an  expression  of  devotion  ;  the  diminutives  an.  in,  og,  were 
often  postfixed,  thus  the  name,  Aodh  by  this  process  is  changed 
mto  Mo-Aodh-og  (Mogue),  while  Luan  becomes  Moluainin  and 
Molog. 


ST.  MARY'S  OR  LOWER  MOURNS.  27 

hollows,  similar  to  what  in  other  parts  of  the  country  are 
said  to  be  the  marks  made  by  the  knees  of  a  saint.  This 
venei-able  spot,  surrounded  by  what  in  ancient  times  was 
called  a  Cashel,  is  exactly  similar  to  an  ecclesiastical  estab- 
lishment described  by  the  Venerable  Bede  as  eiected  about 
the  year  676,  in  the  island  of  Fame,  near  Lindisfarne,  by 
St.  Cudbert,  an  Irishman,  who  had  been  trained  to  monastic 
discipline  in  lona. — "  Now  this  dwelling-place  was  nearly 
circular,  in  measure  from  wall  to  wall  about  four  or  five 
perches.  The  wall  itself  externally  was  higher  than  the 
stature  of  a  man  ;  but  inwardly,  by  cutting  the  living  rock, 
the  pious  inhabitant  thereof  made  it  much  higher  in  order 
by  this  means  to  curb  the  petulance  of  his  eyes,  as  well  as  of 
his  thoughts,  and  to  raise  up  the  whole  bent  of  his  mind  to 
heavenly  desires,  since  he  could  behold  nothing  from  his 
mansion  except  heaven.  He  constructed  this  wall  not  of 
hewn  stone,  nor  of  brick  and  mortal',  but  of  unwrought  stones 
and  turf,  which  he  dug  ovxt  of  the  place.  Of  these  stones 
some  were  of  such  a  size  that  it  seemed  scarcely  possible  for 
four  men  to  lift  them  ;  nevertheless  it  was  discovered  that 
he  had  brought  them  from  another  place  and  put  them  on 
the  wall  assisted  by  heavenly  aid.  His  dwelling  place  was 
divided  into  two  parts,  an  oratory  namely  and  another  dwell- 
ing suitable  for  common  uses.  He  constructed  the  walls  of 
both  by  digging  round,  or  by  cutting  out  much  of  the  natural 
earth  inside  and  outwardly,  but  the  roof  was  formed  of  rough 
beams  and  thatched  with  straw." — Life  of  St.  Cudhert  hy  the 
Venerable  Bede.  An  enclosvire,  such  as  Killmologe,  surround- 
ing a  group  of  ecclesiastical  buildings,  when  it  was  built  of 
stone  or  of  eai'th  faced  with  stone  was  termed  a  Cashel,  and 
sometimes  a  Cahir ;  they  were  in  imitation  of  the  fortresses 
in  use  among  the  pagan  Irish,  and  frequently  they  were  pagan 


liO  DOWN   AND   CONNOR. 

fortresses  tliat  were  given  up  to  the  clergy.*  Killmologe 
may  have  been  Cathair  Boirche,  the  princely  residence  of 
Eochaidh  Salbhuidhe,  before  it  fell  to  the  possession  of  St. 
Moluainen.t 

There  are  traces  of  a  very  ancient  cemetery  in  the  town- 
land  of  Moneydorraghmore,  between  the  public  road  and 
the  Protestant  Church  of  Annalong,  the  site  of  the  cemetery 
is  called  Killyhoran — the  church  of  the  cold  spring  well — 
and  there  is  such  a  well  between  the  cemetery  and  the  sea. 
The  graves  are  cists  formed  of  rough  stones  set  on  edge  and 
covered  with  flag  stones. 

The  old  church  of  Ballachanery  has  almost  entirely  dis- 
appeared ;  the  most  conspicuous  part  remaining  is  a  portion 
of  a  gable,  containing  a  circidar  chancel  arch  six  feet  in  the 
span ;  and  at  the  point  of  the  wall,  from  which  it  springs, 
there  is  a  projection  or  set-off  which  appears  as  if  intended 
to  support  an  inner  arch  of  more  ornamental  character. 
The  wall,  which  is  pierced  by  this  chancel  arch  is  three  feet 
in  thickness.  There  are  still  remaining  portions  of  the  walls 
and  traces  of  the  foundations,  which  show  that  the  church 
consisted  of  a  nave,  measuring  33  feet  by  18  feet,  and  a 
chancel   18  feet  long  by  12  feet  in  width.     A  drawing  and 

*  See  Petrie's  Round  Towers. 

+  An  ancient  poem  preserved  in  the  Martyrology  of  Donegal 
describes  St.  Becan  when  he  was  visited  by  St.  Columbkille  and  the 
Monarch  of  Ireland,  as  engaged  in  erecting  a  similar  structure. 

Making  a  wall  praying 

Kneeling,  pure  prayer, 

His  tears  flowing  without  unM'illingness 

Were  the  virtues  of  Becan  without  fault. 

Hand  on  stone,  hand  lifted  up, 

Knee  bent  to  set  a  rock. 

Eye  shedding  tears,  other  lamentation. 

And  mouth  praying. 


ST.  mart's  or  lower  mourne.        29 

description  of  the  ruin,  by  the  Protestant  Archdeacon  of 
Down,  may  be  seen  in  the  "  transactions  of  Down,  Connor-, 
and  Dromore  (Protestant)  Church  Architecture  Society." 
This  church  is  named  in  the  traditions  of  the  people  "  St. 
Mary's."  The  ancient  cemetery  is  now  unused,  except  for 
the  interment  of  unbaptized  children,  or  as  the  last  resting- 
place  for  the  remains  of  some  friendless  wanderer.  According 
to  the  "Terrier"  of  1615,  "  Capella  de  Ballotheneirry,  or 
part  of  Morne,  nearly  by  ye  sea  from  Newcastle,"  paid  to 
the  bishop  in  proxies,  2s  ;  in  refections,  2s  ;  and  in  synodals, 
2s.  The  church  of  Ballaghaneiy  is  also  called  by  some  old 
people  Killnahattin,  which  name  seems  to  be  derived  from 
the  ancient  family  of  O'Haiteidh,  who  were  princes  of  Iveagh 
before  the  Magennises,  who  are,  themselves,  descended  from 
Aongus,  son  of  Aidith.  The  old  people  also  say  that  thei'e 
are  in  Moui-ne  four  Kills,  viz  : — Killnahattin,  Kilhoran, 
Kilkeel,  and  Kilfeaghan,  the  last  is,  however,  in  the  pai'ish 
of  Kilbroney,  and  diocese  of  Dromore.* 

PARISH    PRIESTS. 

St.  Mary's,  or  Lower  Mourne,  was  incorporated  in  the 
parish  of  Mourne,  or  Kilkeel,  up  to  the  year  1768,  when  the 
Rev.  John  MacArtan  was  appointed  parish  priest  of  Upper 
Mourne,  and  the  Rev.  James  Killen  was  appointed  parish 
priest  of  Lower  Mourne.  Unfortunately  we  are  at  a  loss 
for  the  early  history  of  Father  Killen ;  all  we  know  is  that 
he  was  born  at  Downpatrick,  whither  his  family  had  removed 
from   Clontaghnaglar,  in  the  parish  of  Kilmore,     He  built 

*  Ballaghanery  is  translated  by  Father  MacCana — the  pass  of  the 
wood — but  Dr.  O'Donovan  more  correctly  writes  it  JBealach-an- 
aodhaire — the  shepherd's  pass.  The  name  of  the  stream  Struel- 
Patrick  he  writes  Sruth-phadraig — Patrick's  stream,  and  says,  there 
is  a  tradition  that  St.  Patrick  went  only  as  far  as  that  stream  in  the 
direction  of  Mourne. — See  Letters  of  the  Ordinance  Survey,  Eoyal 
Irish  Academy. 


30  DOWN   AND   CONNOR. 

the  chapel  of  Bally  martin  ;  he  died  about  the  year  1790,  and 
was  interred  in  the  old  gra\eyai*d  of  Kilmore,  but  there  is  no 
stone  to  mark  his  grave. 

The  Rev.  Cormac  O'Hagan  succeeded  Mr.  Killen.  He 
was  a  native  of  the  parish  of  Clonduff,  but  he  atEliated  to 
Down  and  Connor,  and  was  ordained  in  Ballynaliinch  by 
Dr.  Brady,  Bishop  of  Dromore.  After  officiating  for  some 
short  time  as  curate  to  the  Rev.  Felix  Cunningham,  P.P., 
Duneane,  he  was  appointed  to  the  parish  of  Lower  Mourne, 
which  he  held  till  his  appointment  in  181.4  to  that  of  Kilcoo. 

Rev.  John  Magreevey  succeeded  Mr.  O'Hagan.  He  was 
a  native  of  Ballybrannagh,  in  the  parish  of  Bailee.  After 
having  been  ordained  in  1807,  he  went  to  the  College  of 
Kilkenny,  where  he  studied  philosophy  and  theology.  He 
was  appointed  to  Lower  Mourne  in  1814.  Mr.  Magreevey 
retired  from  the  duties  of  the  parish  on  a  pension  in  1827. 
He  died  at  his  residence  in  Bally  beg,  February  4,  1869,  aged 
84,  and  was  buiied  in  Ballycruttle,  where  his  gravestone 
bears  this  inscription : — 

Of  Your  Charity  Pray  for 

The  Soul  of  the 

Rev.    John    M'Greevey,    P.P., 

Of  Mourne, 

Who    Died    4th    February,    1869, 

Aged  84  Years. 

Rev.  Hugh  O'Neill  was  appointed  in  August,  1827.  Mr. 
O'Neill  was  born  in  the  townland  of  Ballygruby,  in  the 
parish  of  Ardtrea,  County  Deny,  but  when  very  young  he 
removed  with  his  parents  to  Gallagh,  in  the  parish  of  Dun- 
eane. He  was  ordained  by  Dr.  Patrick  MacMullan  in  Down- 
patrick,  on  the  11th  of  March,  1811,  after  which  he 
assisted  the   Rev.   Matthew   M'Lernon   (commonly    called 


ST.  Mary's  or  lower  mourne.        31 

Matthew  Mor)  in  Duneane,  while  Mr.  M'Lernon  was  in 
charge  of  that  parish,  which  was  then  under  the  jurisdiction 
of  Father  Peter  M'Mullan,  P.P.,  Rasliarkin,  during  the  time 
that  Father  John  MacMulhin  was  in  Kilkeeh  Mr.  O'Neill 
after  that  went  to  the  College  of  Kilkenny,  where  he  read 
philosophy  and  a  portion  of  theology  ;  he  completed  his 
theological  studies  in  a  college  in  France.  On  his  return  to 
Ireland,  he  was  for  a  short  time  curate  both  in  Dromore  and 
in  Lurgan.  When  he  returned  to  the  diocese  of  Down  and 
Connor,  he  assisted  in  the  mission  as  curate  in  Lisburn  and 
afterwards  in  Culfeightrin,  from  which  he  was  promoted  to 
the  parish  of  Lower  Mourne,  or  St.  Mary's,  in  August,  1827, 
which  he  retained  till  he  accepted  of  that  of  Kilcoo,  on  the 
1 4th  of  October,  1832. 

Rev.  Patrick  Curoe,  a  native  of  the  townland  of  Ballyna- 
garrick,  in  the  parish  of  Kilclief,  succeeded  Mr.  O'Neill. 
Mr.  Curoe  entered  the  Logic  Class  in  Maynooth  College,  in 
August,  1825,  and  having,  completed  his  studies  he  was 
ordained  along  with  the  Very  Rev.  Dr.  Tierney,  of  the 
diocese  of  Armagh,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Mallon,  by  Dr.  CroUy, 
in  St.  Mary's  Church,  Belfast,  in  November,  1829.  After 
remaining  a  few  weeks  in  Belfast,  he  was  sent  as  curate  to 
Duneane,  where  he  remained  six  months,  after  which  he  was 
eight  months  in  the  curacy  of  Rasliarkin,  when  he  was  re- 
called to  Belfast,  which  then  required  an  additional  clergyman 
on  account  of  the  chapel  of  Holywood  which  had  just  been 
opened.  Mr.  Curoe  was  appointed  in  June,  1831,  from  the 
curacy  of  Belfast  to  the  parish  of  Newtownai'ds,  which  he 
retained  till  his  appointment  to  that  of  Lower  Mourne,  on 
the  22nd  of  October,  1832.  Mr.  Curoe  accepted  the  parish 
of  Ballykinler,  in  July,  1834. 

The  Rev.  James  Magee,  a  native  of  the  parish  of  Bally- 
kinler,   succeeded .  Mr.    Curoe.     At   the   age  of  twenty  he 


32  DOWN   AND    CONNOR. 

entered  Maynooth  College  in  the  Elietoric  Class  on  the  19th 
of  October,  1823,  and  was  ordained  by  Dr.  Crolly  in  Belfast, 
in  1828.  He  held  the  parish  of  Lower  Mourne  from  July, 
1834,  till  July,  1842. 

The  Rev.  Hugh  O'Neill,  P.P..  Kilcoo,  took  charge  of 
Lower  Mourne  along  with  his  own  parish  from  July,  1842, 
till  October  1st,  1843. 

The  Rev.  James  Crickard  was  appointed  October  1st, 
1843.  Mr.  Crickard  was  born  in  Ballintogher,  in  the  parish 
of  Saul.  He  was  amongst  the  first  pupils  who  entered  the 
Diocesan  College,  Belfast,  on  its  opening  in  November,  1833. 
He  entered  the  Humanity  Class  in  Maynooth  College  on  the 
26th  of  August,  1834,  and  was  ordained  in  college  by  Dr. 
Healey,  Bishop  of  Kildare,  on  the  3rd  of  February,  1839. 
Li  March  following  he  was  sent  to  be  curate  in  Up}ier 
Mourne,  from  which  he  was  promoted  to  the  parish  of  Lower 
Mourne,  October  1st,  1843.  On  the  1st  of  May,  1852,  Mr. 
Crickard  left  Lower  Mourne  for  the  parish  of  Lower  Ards, 
to  which  he  had  been  appointed. 

The  Rev.  Hugh  Connor  succeeded  Father  Crickard.  Mr. 
Connor  was  born  in  Balh  noe,  in  the  parish  of  Bright.  After 
having  completed  his  course  of  classics  at  the  Diocesan  College, 
Belfast,  he  entered  the  Logic  Class  in  Maynooth  College, 
August  25,  1838.  He  was  ordained  in  college  by  Dr. 
Mm-ray,  June  10,  1843,  and  was  appointed  curate  of  Bright, 
Febitiary  13,  1844,  from  which  he  w^as  appointed  to  the 
curacy  of  Loughinisland,  September  25,  1851,  and  on  the 
23rd  of  April,  1852,  he  was  appointed  to  the  parish  of  Lower 
Mourne,  from  which  he  was  appointed  to  that  of  Kilcoo  on 
the  15th  of  October,  1856. 

The  Rev.  James  Keating  succeeded  Mr.  Connor.  Mr. 
Keating  is  a  native  of  the  parish  of  Blackwater,  in  the  diocese 
of  Ferns.     He  studied  in  St.  Kyran's   College,   Kilkenny, 


ST.  Mary's  or  lower  mourne.  33 

which  he  entered  September  1,  1841.  He  was  ordained  at 
Maynooth  by  Dr.  Murray  in  1847,  and  on  the  6th  of  August, 
in  the  same  year,  he  was  appointed  to  the  curacy  of  Kilmore, 
from  which  lie  was  promoted  to  the  parish  of  Lower  Mourne 
on  the  15th  of  October,  1856. 

CHURCHES. 

Ballymartin  Church  was  bviilt  by  the  Rev.  James  Killen, 
who  died  about  1790.  It  was  entirely  rebuilt  in  1825  by 
the  Rev.  John  Magreevey. 

Glassdrummond  Church  was  built  in  1832. 

Previous  to  the  erection  of  these  churches  Mass  was  cele- 
brated in  Bohogs  or  temporary  erections  in  Annalong  and 
Glassdrummond.  In  the  return  from  the  hearth-money 
collectors  in  1764,  it  is  stated  that  there  were  two  "  Popish 
chapels"  in  the  parish  of  Kilkeel,  but  there  is  no  doubt  that 
the  Popish  chapels  were  mere  temporary  sheds. 


THE  BARONY  OF  lYEAGH. 


ok  PORTION  of  Iveagh  extending  over  the  parishes  of 
Aft  Kilcoo,  Maghera,  and  the  greater  part  of  Kilmegan 
'  ^  is  in  the  diocese  of  Down  and  Connor.  The  district 
which  now  forms  the  baronies  of  Iveagh  received  its  name 
from  Eachach  Cobha,  whose  fathex-,  Fiacha  Araidhe,  died 
A.D.  236.  Its  older  name  appears  to  have  been  Magh  Cobha 
(Moy  Cova) — the  plain  of  Cobha — who,  according  to  the 
Dinnseanchus,  was  the  huntsman  of  the  sons  of  Miletius. 
Dr.  Reeves  has  collected  nearly  forty  entries  from  various 
Irish  Annalists,  referring  to  the  Uibh  Eathach  Cobha 
(Iveagh  Cova)  between  a.d.  551  and  a.d.  1136;  nearly 
all  of  them  relate  to  civil  wars  except  one  "a.d.  703, 
Battle  of  the  plain  of  Cuilenn,  in  the  Ard  of  Uibh  Ethach 
(the  heights  of  Iveagh),  between  the  Ulidians  and  the  Britons, 
where  the  Ulidians  were  victors,"  There  is  no  place  in 
Iveagh  called  at  present  the  plain  of  Cuilenn  or  Moycuilenn  ; 
but  there  is  a  tradition  of  some  great  battle  fought  against 
foreigners,  said  to  be  Danes,  on  the  heights  above  Aughna- 
cullen.  The  grove  in  Moneyscalp  is  filled  with  their  graves, 
and  the  stream  near  it  is  called  Srunawoofa,  which  the  people 
translate — stream  of  blood — (Si'u-na-fola).  The  King  of  Ulster 
was  bound  to  pay  every  third  year  to  the  King  of  Iveagh  a 
subsidy  which  is  thus  recorded  in  the  Book  of  Rights : — 

The  stipend  of  the  King  of  Cobha  of  victory — 
Ten  drinking  horns,  ten  wounding  swords, 
Ten  ships  which  a  host  mans, 
Ten  cloaks  with  their  borders  of  gold. 


BARONY    OF    IVEAGH.  35 

The  chiefs  who  ruled  Iveagh  belonged  to  the  Clanna  Rury 
or  descendents  of  Rudhraighe  Mor.  After  the  assumption 
of  surnames,  the  family  ot  O'Hateidh  possessed  the  chieftain- 
ship almost  uninterruptedly  for  two  centuries.  The  earliest 
record  of  a  prince  of  that  name  is  a.d.  965,  "  Aodh  Ua-h- 
Aitidhe,  King  of  Ui-Eathach  Cobha  was  killed  by  his  own 
tribe;"  and  the  last  is  a.d.  1136,  "Echri  Ua-h-Aitteidh, 
Lord  of  Ui-Eathach,  was  killed  by  the  Ui-Eathach  them- 
selves." This  name  has  disappeared  from  the  district  or  has 
assumed  some  other  form,  perhaps  that  of  Haghy  or  Haughey. 
We  also  find  Muirchertach  MacArtain,  tanist  or  prince- 
elect  of  Iveagh,  he  was  slain  a.d.  1011.  The  Annals  make 
frequent  mention  of  princes  of  Ui-Eachach  named  Ua 
Ruadhcain  (O'Rogan),  but  their  Ui-Eachach  is  not  the 
modern  Iveagh,  they  were  a  tribe  of  the  Oirghialla  descended 
from  Eochaidh,  great  grandson  of  Colla-Da-Crioch,  who  were 
located  in  the  present  barony  of  Armagh,  and  though  they 
frequently  are  mentioned  in  connection  with  I\  eagh,  it  is 
always  as  invaders;  eventually,  however,  when  their  own 
district  fell  under  the  power  of  the  O'Neills,  many  of  them 
came  into  Iveagh  and  the  neighbouring  districts  where  they 
are  still  numerous.  O'Dugan's  Topogi-aphical  Poem,  says — 
"  The  sub-chiefs  of  Ui-Eachach  Cobha"  were  O'Coinne  (now 
Kenny  and  Quin,  but  different  from  the  Quins  of  Tyrone 
and  Derry),  and  O'Gairbhith  (Garvy).  In  the  twelfth 
century  the  family  of  Magennis  rose  into  power,  at  first  they 
were  only  styled  "Lords  of  Clann-Aodha"  of  which  territory 
the  exact  situation  has  not  been  yet  determined,  but  it  was 
so  named  from  one  of  their  ancestors  Aodh,  who  was  seventh 
in  descent  from  Eochaidh  Cobha.  The  charter  of  Muir- 
cheartach  MacLochlain,  King  of  Ireland,  to  the  abbey  of 
Newry  which  was  granted  in  the  year  11-53,  is  witnessed  by 
Aedh    Magnus    Magangasa,    Dux    Clanceda   Oveach   Ulad. 

1456938 


36  DOWN   AND   CONNOR. 

(Aedh  Mor  Magennis,  chief  of  Clann  Aodha,  of  Iveagh,  in 
TJlidia).  la  1314  and  in  1315  the  head  of  the  family  is 
addressed  in  the  letters  of  Edward  II.  as  Dux  Hibernicorum 
de  Ouehagh,  Chief  of  the  Irish  of  Iveagh  (Eymer  Foeder.) 
Marshal  Bagenal  in  his  Description  of  Ulster,  written  in 
1586,  speaks  of  this  district  as  follows: — "Evaghe,  other- 
wise called  M'Gynis  countrey,  is  governed  by  Sir  Hugh 
M'Enys,  the  cyviliest  of  all  the  Irishrie  in  those  parts.  He 
was  brought  by  Sir  N.  (Nicholas)  B.  (Bagnall)  from  the 
Bonaght  of  the  Onels  to  contribute  to  the  Q.  (Queen)  to 
whome  he  paiethe  an  anuall  rent  for  his  landes,  which  he 
hath  taken  by  letters  patentes,  to  holde  after  the  Englishe 
manner  for  him  and  his  heires  males,  so  as  in  this  place 
onelie  of  Ulster  is  the  rude  custom  of  Tanestship  put  awaie. 
Maginis  is  able  to  make  above  60  horsmen  and  nere  80  foot- 
men ;  he  lyveth  very  cyvillie  and  Englishe-like  in  his  house, 
and  every  festivall  daie  wearethe  Englishe  garmentes  amongst 
his  owne  followers," — (Ulster  Journal  of  Archaeology.)  In 
other  words  Sir  Hugh  Magennis  who  had  been  elected  by  his 
people  chieftain  for  life  on  condition  that  he  woixld  guard 
their  rights  and  protect  the  territory  of  the  Clan,*  beti-ayed 
his  trust,  and  became  by  the  power  of  the  queen  landlord  of 
the  lands  which  belonged  to  his  people  and  not  to  himself. 
In  the  month  of  February,  1611,  the  following  grants  were 
made  to  Magennisses  : — Ever  MacPhelimy  Magennis^  of 
Castlewillane,  in  Iveagh,  gent.,  received  a  grant  of  eleven 
townlands,  constituting  the  Castlewellan  estate,  at  the  yearly 
rent  of  £11  Irish,  These  lands  are  in  Kilmegan  and  Drum- 
gooland  parishes.     Brian  MacHugh  MacAgholy  Magennis,  of 

*  It  is  the  tradition  of  this  ancient  Celtic  polity  that  renclers  and 
Avill  render  the  settlement  of  the  Tenant  Right  so  difficult.  Celts 
will  for  ever  cling  to  the  idea  that  the  land  belongs  to  the  people, 
and  though  ages  may  intervene,  Ireland  must  one  day  have,  like 
Belgium,  its  lands  held  by  peasant  pro2yridorshq>. 


BARONY   OF    IVEAGH.  37 

Muntereddy,  gent.,  received  a  grant  of  seven  and  a  half  town- 
lands,  known  as  the  Biyansford  estate,  and  now  held  by  the 
Earl  of  Roden  in  virtue  of  his  descent  from  Brian  Magennis 
aforesaid.  This  grant  was  accompanied  with  a  common  of 
I^asture  through  the  whole  mountain  or  waste  of  Bennyborfy 
( Beanna-Boirche)  in  Iveagli,  the  yearly  rent  being  £7  10s. 
Irish.  These  lands  are  included  in  the  parishes  of  Maghera 
or  Bryansford  and  Kilcoo.  The  head  or  chief  of  the  clan  in 
1610  was  Sir  Arthur  Magennis,  who  from  his  large  estates 
granted  to  him  by  the  King,  granted  to  Glassney  Roe 
Magennis,  of  Bellenemunie  (Ballymoney),  three  townlands,  at 
the  yearly  rent  of  £8  Irish  payable  to  Sir  Arthur.  To  Fer- 
doragh  MacFellimey  MacPrior  Magennis,  of  Clanvarraghan, 
three  townlands  (in  Kilmegan  parish)  at  the  yearly  rent  of 
£8  Irish  payable  to  Sir  Arthur.  The  lands  were  demised 
for  ever,  and  held  of  Sir  Ai'thur,  as  of  his  castle  of  Rath- 
frillan^ — Calendar  of  Patent  Rolls,  James  I.  (The  Mont- 
gomery Manuscripts,  edited  by  Rev.  Geox'ge  Hill.     Vol.  1.) 

*  The  principal  strongholds  of  the  Magennises  were  Ptathfriland, 
Castlewellan,  Newcastle,  and  Scarva.  Dr.  O'Donovan  (Letters  in 
the  R.  I.  Academy)  says,  "The  Irish  of  Rathfriland is  i/?(Kac/i-i?a</i- 
Fravileann — the  summit  of  the  fort  of  Fravileann,  I  could  trace  the 
ring  of  a  very  large  fort  on  the  east  side  of  the  town.  Rathfriland 
is  pronounced  RaafrecUon,  but  I  observe  that  every  word  that  ends 
in  nn  in  Irish,  when  anglicised  in  modern  times,  is  made  nd,  thus 
Ratlifriland,  Drumgooland ,  LoughbrlcJdand.  In  the  Prophecies  of 
Columbkille,  Rathfriland  is  called  Mullach  Curraighe — the  hill  over 
the  bog — and  its  church  Teampid-an-en-docha — the  church  of  the 
one  rock.  But  where  John  M'Alinden  got  the  prophecies  I  don't 
know." 


PARISH  OF   KILCOO 


[^ILCOO  contains  tlie  townlands  of  Ardaghy, Ballymoney, 
Clonachuliion,  Cock-moimtain,  Cross,  Drumena,* 
Fofanny-bane,  Fofauny-reagh,  Letalien,  Moneyscalp, 
Moyadd  (in  Iveagh),  Slievenlargey,  Tullynasoo,  and  Tully- 
ree,  which  form  the  southern  and  western  portions  of  the 
civil  parish  of  Kilcoo,  the  remaining  portions  of  the  civil 
parish  united  to  the  civil  paiish  of  Maghera  constitute  the 
pai'ish  of  Maghera.  The  Catholic  population  of  Kilcoo  in 
1871  was  2,368,  and  that  of  Maghera  1,367,  making  a  total 
in  both  parishes  of  3,735  Catholics,  while,  at  the  same  time, 
the  entire  population  of  the  two  parishes  was  5,608.  There 
is  preserved  in  the  Record  Office  a  return  made  by  the 
gaugers  in  1765  :  "  Parish  of  Kilcoo — Church,  1  (in  good 
order)  ,  meeting-house,  0  ;  convents  and  Popish  chapels,  1 
(in  good  order)  ;  Protestants,  345;  Papists,  1,510.  Parish 
of  Maghera — Church,  0  ;    meeting-house,  0  ;    Popish  chapel 

*  Drumena— the  hill  of  the  Aenech  or  assembly.  The  Aenech 
among  the  Irish  was  Hke  the  Olympic,  Isthmian,  Pythian,  and  other 
public  games  among  the  Greeks.  It  was  at  the  Aenech  the  people 
learned  the  history  and  laws  of  their  country,  and  the  warlike  deeds 
of  their  ancestors  ;  they  enjoyed  music,  dancing,  and  recitation  of 
poetry,  and  witnessed  feats  of  arms,  athletic  sports,  and  horse  racing. 
It  was  also  the  great  market  for  all  kinds  of  produce,  and  was  held, 
like  the  games  of  Greece,  at  the  grave  of  some  great  king  or  hero. 
There  are  in  Drumena  several  stone  forts  or  Cathalrs,  the  principal  one 
is  in  Mr.  Walsh's  farm,  it  is  surrounded  by  a  wall  of  loose  stones  fifteen 
feet  broad,  and  has  under  it  an  artificial  cave  of  the  usual  cyclopean 
architecture.  Similar  forts  and  caves  are  scattered  over  the  neigh- 
bourhood ;  and  the  adjoining  townland  is  Tullyree — the  kings  hill — 
all  testifying  to  the  ancient  importance  of  the  district. 


PARISH   OF   KILCOO.  39 

0;  Protestants,  210;  Papists,  350."  To  this  report  is 
appended  the  following  note  :  "  One  Popish  Fraternity  in 
Kilcoo,  near  Castlewellan  as  is  said."  There  is  also  pre- 
served in  the  same  office  a  report,  signed  "  R.  Phipps. 
Minister,"  made  in  1766  to  the  clerk  of  the  House  of  Lords, 
which  gives  the  number  of  Protestants  and  Popish  inhabi- 
tants in  the  parish  of  Kilcoo — Protestants,  496  ;  Papists, 
2,174.  Robert  Taylor,  1  Popish  priest  :  Charles  Murtough 
1  do,  ;  John  Gribben,  1  fryar ;  Papists,  2,177." 

The  "  Popish  Fraternity  "  were  the  Dominicans  of  Villa 
Nova,  who,  about  1750,  left  a  little  friary  which  they  had 
long  occupied  in  the  neighbouring  parish  of  Kilmegan,  and 
established  themselves  in  Moneyscalp,  where  they  erected  a 
cabin,  the  site  of  which  is  to  this  day  shown  in  the  garden  of 
Mrs.  MuUan,  and  the  people  still  point  out  with  veneration 
the  stone  that  was  their  door-step,  and  another  stone  that 
served  them  for  an  altar  when  their  congregation  became  too 
large  to  find  accommodation  within  their  humble  dwelling. 
Here  they  were  visited  in  1751  by  Dr.  Thomas  de  Burgo, 
who,  in  his  "  Hibernia  Dominicana,"  says  : — "  The  members 
of  this  convent  in  the  year  1756  are — R.  Father,  Preacher- 
General,  Brother  John  Gribben,  Prior,  in  the  54th  year  of 
his  age  and  the  27th  of  his  profession  ;  Father  Brother 
Heber  Magennis,  Sub-Prior,  in  the  49th  year  of  his  age  and 
the  24th  of  his  profession  ;  and  Father  Brother  James  Hillon, 
Procurator,  in  the  53rd  year  of  his  age  and  the  20th  of  his 
profession."*     In  1766,  Friar  Gribben  was  residing  in  the 

*  I  was  told  by  an  old  man,  the  nearest  neighbour  of  Widow 
Mullan,  that  the  friars  were  forced  to  leave  Moneyscalp  because  the 
landlords  (middlemen  under  the  Downshire  family),  John  and  Felix 
O'Neill,  who  lived  at  Banvale,  near  Hilltown,  and  their  brother  Hugh, 
who  resided  at  Ardilea,  near  Clough,  had  raised  the  rent  of  their 
little  farm  so  high  that  they  could  not  pay  it.  The  people  of  Kilcoo 
tell  about  Hugh  O'Neill  one  of  those  stories  of  retributive  justice 


40  DOWN   AND   CONNOR. 

parish  of  Kilcoo.  He  died  in  the  liouse  of  a  namesake  and 
relative  of  his  in  Wateresk.  Friar  Hillan  was  curate  in  1766 
to  Dr.  Macartan  in  Downpatrick.  He  afterwards  was 
curate  in  Bright,  where  he  died  in  the  townland  of  Bally- 
vastin,  and  was  bm-ied  in  Rossglass.  I  have  not  been  able 
to  discover  anything  about  Friar  Magennis.  With  these  the 
Convent  of  Villa  Nova  (Newtownards)  may  be  said  to  have 
died  out.  There  were,  howevei",  after  their  times,  Friars 
Rice  and  Burns,  who  assumed  the  name  and  garb,  but  they 
no  longer  lived  in  the  community,  and  the  disci[iline  of  Villa 
Nova  was  gone. 

We  have  seen  that  in  Catholic  times  Kilcoo  was  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Plebanus  of  Kilkeel.  According  to  the 
"Terrier"  of  1615  the  "  Capella  de  Kilchow  pays  in  syno- 
dals  2s"  to  the  bishop,  which,  doubtlessly,  was  merely  a 
continuation  of  the  payment  that  was  customary  previous 
to  the  "  Keformation."  Along  the  banks  of  the  River  Mudoek, 
in  the  townland  of  Ballymoney,  are  the  few  remains  of  the 
ruined  church  of  Kilcoo.  The  name  Kilcoo  is  said  to  signify 
"  the  Church  of  mourning"  (cumha — pronounced  cooa — 
lamentation) — and  to  have  been  so  named  because  the  body 
of  St.  Patrick  was  there  waked.  This  tradition  is  at  least 
worth  being  preserved,  and  may  refer  to  the  curious  legend 
regarding  the  contention  among  the  followers  of  St.  Patrick 
as  to  where  they  should  inter  his  body.  Near  the  site  of  the 
altar  are  interred  the  remains  of  Friar  Burns,  who  died  in 
the  74th  or  75th  year  of  his  age,  about  the  year  1817.  The 
friar  was  born  in  Ballymagreehan  ;  he  generally  resided  in 

in  which  they  take  so  much  delight.  They  say  that  when  the  friars 
were  dispossessed  of  their  farm  Friar  Gribben  sent  his  horse  to  be 
sold  in  the  fair  of  Dundrum,  where  he  accidently  kicked  Mr.  Hngh 
O'Neill,  who  died  from  the  effects  of  the  hurt ;  ' '  and  now, "  said 
my  informant,  '' the  O'Neills  are  gone  from  Banvak  as  well  as  the 
friars  from  Moneyscalp. 


PARISH   OF   KILCOO.  41 

Burren-reagh,   and  was  the  last  of  the  Dominicans  in  this 

locality. 

PARISH    PRIESTS. 

A  petition  to  the  Irish  bishops  in  1662  is  preserved  among 
the  Franciscan  papers  lately  brought  from  St.  Isidore's,  which 
is  signed  by  "Joannes  Mcllboy,  Vicarius  de  Kilcua," — 
(John  Mcllboy,  Yicar  of  Kilcoo  )  In  the  list  of  the  priests 
of  Down  and  Conner  which  was  forwarded  to  the  Propaganda 
in  1670,  by  Primate  Oliver  Plunk et,  the  name  is  written 
^'  John  McHilby." 

Edward  O'Doran,  a  priest  resident  in  Kilcoo,  was  attainted 
at  Banbridge,  in  the  year  1691. 

In  1704,  Neile  M'llboy,  aged  56,  residing  in  Tullyree,  is 
returned  in  the  list  of  Popish  priests,  as  parish  priest  of 
Kilcoo  and  Kilmegan.  He  received  orders  in  1670  at  Bally- 
vark  (Ballybark,  County  Louth),  from  Primate  'Oliver 
Plunkett.  The  Rev.  Neal  MAvoy*  was  succeeded  by  the 
Rev.  Quillan  or  Hollond. 

Rev.  Robert  Taylor  was  appointed  pai-ish  priest  in  1760. 
He  was  a  native  of  the  parish  of  Duneane.  Mr.  Taylor 
resided  in  the  townland  of  Barren,  and  afterwai-ds  in  that  of 
Cross.     He  had  the  spiritual  charge  of  the  entire  parishes  of 

*  Mrs.  M'Artan,  of  the  parish  of  Kilcoo,  who  was  born  in  1760, 
related  to  Mr.  J.  W.  Hanna  the  following  tradition  :—"  During  the 
wars  in  Ireland  all  the  people  in  this  part  of  the  country  went  to  the 
South  of  IrelaDd,  and  the  Rev.  Neal  M'Avoy,  who  was  parish  priest 
of  Kilcoo,  went  along  with  them  to  Ossory,  to  the  Earl  of  Ossory — 
that  was  his  title,  but  his  name  was  Fitzpatrick — he  stopped  with  the 
Earl  of  Ossory  till  the  peace  was  made,  when  he  came  back,  and  he 
got  his  parish  and  his  house  ;  and  he  was  buried  himself  and  his 
uncle  in  Kilcoo,"  His  uncle  was  John  M'Avoy  or  M'llboy  who  had 
been  parish  priest  in  1670.  This  is  one  of  the  many  traditions  regard- 
ing the  parish  priests  of  every  parish  in  Down  and  Connor  which  Mr. 
Hanna  collected  upwards  of  thirty  years  ago  when  such  traditions 
could  be  obtained.  To  Mr.  Hanna  the  writer  has  to  express  his 
gratitude  for  placing  at  his  service  that  entire  collection. 


42  DOWN   AND   CONNOR. 

Kilcoo  and  Maghera,  in  which  he  was  assisted  by  the  Rev. 
Charles  Murtough  and  Friar  Gribben.  Tovvards  the  end  of 
his  life  Mr.  Taylor  was  very  infirm,  and  the  parish  was 
administered  by  the  Rev.  Michael  Morgan,  who  either  was  a 
native  of  the  parish  of  Drumgooland  or  at  least  ofiiciated  in 
it.  One  tradition  represents  him  as  the  parish  priest  of 
Drumgooland,  and  that  he  had  exchanged  that  parish  for 
Kilcoo  with  Mr.  Taylor,  which,  I  believe,  is  not  correct. 
Mr,  Taylor  died  in  1771,  in  Ballykeel,  near  the  residence  in 
Bally kilbeg  of  his  relative,  the  lady  of  Baron  Crolly,  who  had 
been  a  Miss  O'Neill,  of  the  county  of  Antrim.  He  was 
buried  in  Down  Cathedral  beside  Bishop  Armstrong.  Mr. 
Morgan  became  parish  priest  of  Saul. 

The  Rev.  Cormac  Shell,  a  relative,  as  is  stated,  of  Bishop 
Shell,  was  appointed  to  the  parish  of  Kilcoo,  in  1771.  Mr. 
Shiel  had  been  curate  to  the  Rev.  Felix  O'Donnell,  P.P., 
Aughagallon;  he  died  in  1780, 

Rev.  Daniel  O'Doran  succeeded  Mr.  Shell.  Mr.  O'Doran 
had  been  curate  in  Dunsford  from  1758  to  1764,  when  he  was 
appointed  to  the  parish  of  the  Ards,  from  which  he  I'emoved 
to  Kilcoo  in  1780.  He  died  on  the  17th  of  June,  1785,  in 
consequence  of  a  fall  from  his  horse  which  he  sustained  when 
returning  from  visiting  a  person  named  Denvir  who  was  sick 
in  Loughkeelan.  He  was  buried  along  the  south  side  wall 
and  inside  the  ruin  of  the  ancient  church  of  Ballytrustan, 
near  Portaferry.  On  a  tablet  inserted  into  the  wall  over  his 
tomb  is  inscribed — 

Here  lieth  the  body  of  the  Revd. 
Daniel  O'Doran,  heretofore  Parish 
Priest  of  the  Ards,  he  departed 
this  life  the  17th  of  June,  1785,  aged  50 
years.     He  was  a  man  of  Benevolent 
disposition,  a  stranger  to  Bigotry,  a 
facetious  companion,  and  univers- 
ally Lamented  by  a  numerous  A- 
quaintance. 


PARISH    OF    KILCOO.  43 

After  the  death  of  Mr.  O'Doran  the  parish  was  divided  as 
at  present  into  Kilcoo  and  Maghera.  The  latter,  consisting 
of  the  civil  parish  of  Maghera  and  a  portion  of  the  civil 
parish  of  Kilcoo,  was  given  to  Mr.  M'Alea,  and  Mr,  Fitz- 
simons  was  appointed  to  the  parish  of  Kilcoo.  The  Eev. 
John  Fitzsimons  was  a  native  of  Ross,  in  the  parish  of 
Dunsford.  He  had  been  curate  of  the  entire  Ards,  under 
the  Rev.  Daniel  O'Doran,  and  when  that  parish  was  divided 
in  1780  he  was  appointed  parish  priest  of  Ballypfcilip,  or 
Portaferry,  from  which  he  was  appointed  to  Kilcoo  in  the 
end  of  1785,  or  in  the  beginning  of  the  next  year.  Mr. 
Fitzsimons  was  pi'esent  and  encouraged  the  "  Defenders"  at 
the  battle  of  Ballynagapog,  on  the  road  from  Ballymoney  to 
Rathfriland,  for  which  he  was  much  censured  by  the  clergy 
both  of  his  own  diocese  and  of  Dromore.  He  died  about  the 
year  1798.'  The  parish  was  administered  from  1794  by  Mr. 
Smyth,  who  succeeded  on  the  death  of  Mr.  Fitzsimons. 

Rev.  Hugh  Smith  was  born  in  Crossmore,  in  the  parish  of 
Dunsford,  about  the  year  1 759.  He  was  ordained  at  Erinagh 
in  1789,  by  Dr.  Hugh  M'Mullan  ;  after  ordination  he  proceeded 
to  Paris  to  study,  but  during  the  French  Revolution  he  was 
necessitated  to  pretend  to  be  a  physician,  and,  having  become 
an  assistant  in  a  medical  establishment,  he  acquired  some 
knowledge  of  medicine,  for  which  he  was  afterwards  very 
celebrated.  He  returned  to  Ireland  in  1794,  and  became 
evirate  to  Father  Fitzsimons,  at  whose  death  he  was  appointed 
to  the  parish.  In  1813  he  became  embroiled  in  a  dispute 
with  some  of  his  parishioners,  the  investigation  of  which  was 
referred  by  Dr.  MacMullan  to  the  Bishop  of  Dx'omore.  In 
In  reference  to  this  dispute  it  appears  from  the  county  records 
that  Thomas  Fitzpatrick,  Edward  Rush,  James  Boden,  and 
Daniel  M'Cartan  were  indicted  on  the  26th  of  March, 
1814,  at  the  Assizes,  for  preventing  the  Rev.  Hugh  Smyth 


44  DOWN   AND    CONNOR. 

from  celebrating  divine  service  in  the  chapel  of  Kilcoo, 
on  the  11th  of  April,  1813,  and  for  assaulting  him 
at  the  same  time  and  place.  They  were  severally  found 
guilty,  and  each  sentenced  to  be  imprisoned  six  months,  and 
to  give  security  to  be  of  the  peace  for  seven  years  themselves 
in  £100  and  two  securities  in  £50  each.  Mi\  Smith 
resigned  Kilcoo,  and  was  appointed  in  1814  to  the  parish 
of  Newtownards.  He  erected  the  church  of  Kilcoo,  in  the 
townland  of  Ballymoney.  (For  further  notices  of  him  see 
Newtownards  and  Lisburn.) 

Kev.  Cormac  O'Hagan  was  appointed  in  1814  from  the 
parish  of  Lower  Mourne  or  St.  Mary's.  He  died  on  the  14th 
of  November,  1824,  in  the  seventy-fourth  or  seventy-fifth 
year  of  his  age,  and  was  buried  under  the  first  step  of  the 
altar  of  Ballymoney  Chapel.  Mr.  O'Hagan  was  remarkably 
facetious,  and  the  people  still  relate  many  anecdotes  regard- 
ing him. 

Rev.  Michael  O'Hagan  succeeded  his  uncle,  Father  Cormac, 
in  1824.  He  was  born  in  Fofanny-ban,  in  the  parish  of 
Kilcoo,  in  October,  17 1*1,  and  entered  the  class  of  Humanity 
in  the  College  of  Mayuooth,  on  the  7th  of  April,  1810.  He 
was  ordained  in  June,  1815,  after  which  he  was  appointed 
curate  of  Downpatrick.  In  1819  he  was  appointed  to  the 
parish  of  Glenarm,  which  he  resigned  in  1821  to  become 
assistant  to  his  uncle  in  Kilcoo.  He  was  afterwards  for 
some  time  doing  duty  in  Downpatrick,  from  which  he  was 
pi-omoted  fco  Kilcoo  on  the  deatli  of  Father  Cormac  in  1824. 
He  was  appointed  to  the  parish  of  Ballykinler  in  October, 
1832.  (See  Ballykinler.)  The  remains  of  Mr.  O'Hagan  are 
interred  alongside  those  of  his  uncle  in  Ballymoney  Church, 
but  there  is  no  tablet  to  mark  the  spot  where  the  bodies  of 
those  good  priests  await  their  resurrection. 

Rev.  Hugh  O'Neill  was  appointed  on  the  14th  of  October, 


PARISH   OF   KILCOO.  45 

1832,  from  the  parish  of  St.  Mary's  or  Lower  Mourne  (which 
see).  He  died  October  29,  1854,  and  was  buried  in  Bally- 
money  church-yard.     On  his  head-stone  is  inscribed — 

In  the  hope  of  a  blessed  Kesurrection 
here  lie  the  remains  of  the 
Rev.  Hugh  O'Neill,  P.P.  of  the 
Parish  for  22  years.     He  died 
October  29th,  1854.     Aged  69  years. 

Blessed  are  the  dead  uilio  die 
in  the  Lord.     From,  henceforth  nov\  saith  the 
Spirit,  that  they  may  rest  from  their  labours 
for  their  tvorks  follow  them. 

May  he  rest  in  peace.     Amen. 

After  the  death  of  Mr.  O'Neill  the  parish  Avas  administered 
by  his  curate,  the  Rev.  John  Kavanagh. 

The  Rev.  Hugh  Connor,  the  present  parish  priest,  was 
appointed  successor  to  Father  O'Neill  on  the  15  th  of  October, 
1856.  Mr.  Conner  at  the  time  of  his  appointment  was 
parish  priest  of  St.  Mary's  or  Lower  Mourne  (which  see). 

CHURCH. 

Kilcoo  Church,  in  the  townland  of  Ballymoney,  was 
built  by  the  Rev.  Hugh  Smith  in  the  year  1802,  which  date 
is  inscribed  on  the  lintel  of  the  eastern-door.  In  the  grave- 
yard are  interred  the  remains  of  the  Rev.  John  M'Evoy. 
The  following  is  the  inscription  on  the  grave-stone  : — 

Erected  by  John  M'Evoy,  of 
Ballymoney,  in  memory  of  his 
beloved  son,  Rev.  John  M'Evoy, 
late  missionary  Priest  of  the 
Diocese  of  Dubuque,  U.S.,  America, 
Avho  departed  life  May  6th,  1855, 
aged  30  years. 

Requiescat  in  pace. 


46  DOWN  AND   CONNOR. 

Previous  to  the  erection  of  Ballymoney  Church,  Mass  was 
celebrated  on  an  altar  built  of  sods  and  stones  under  the 
shade  of  a  large  thorn  in  the  fiirm  belonging  at  present  to 
James  Burns,  in  the  townland  of  Drumena.  Mass  was 
also  celebrated  at  the  friary,  in  Moneyscalp,  and  at  Burren- 
Rock*  where  two  cavities  which  once  held  the  Holy  Water 
are  still  to  be  seen  cut  into  the  i-ock.  The  site  of  the 
present  church  was  also  hallowed  by  the  great  sacrifice  having 
been  there  ofiered  up  in  the  days  of  persecution  on  a  large 
stone  which  has  been  built  into  the  eastern  wall  of  the  church- 
yard, but  unfortunately  the  mason  barbarously  broke  into 
two  parts  this  venerable  relic  of  the  past,  because,  in  liis 
opinion,  it  marred  the  symmetry  of  his  work  ! 

*Burren  [Boirrenn—a.  rocky  district)— the  word  according  to  a 
manuscript  preserved  in  Trinity  College,  quoted  by  O'Donovan,  is 
derived  from  Borr,  great,  and  Onn,  a  stone.  There  are  townlanda 
of  that  name  in  the  parishes  of  Dromara,  Clonallon,  and  Kilcoo. 
A.D.  565  "  Deman,  son  of  Cairell,  king  of  UHdia,  son  of  Muireadhac 
Muindearg,  was  killed  by  the  shepherds  of  Boirenn  (Burren)." 
This  Deman  was  cousin  german  to  St.  Domangart,  from  whom 
Sheve  Donard  is  named. 


PARISH  OF 

MAGHERA  OR  BRYANSFORD. 


'^HE  parish  of  Maghera,  sometimes  called,  from  one  of  its 
churches,  the  parish  of  Bryansford,  consists  of  the 
civil  parish  of  Maghera  and  those  townlands  of  the 
civil  parish  of  Kilcoo  which  are  not  included  in  the  ecclesias- 
tical parish  of  Kilcoo.  The  name  of  this  parish  was 
originally  Rath-murbhuilg  (pronounced  nearly  Ra-murlough), 
which  signifies  "  the  rath  at  the  sea  inlet."  There  are  two 
townlands  named  Murlough — one  of  which  is  in  this  parish 
and  the  other  in  the  parish  of  Kilmegan.  The  ''  Calendar 
of  the  Four  Masters"  places  the  death  of  St.  Donard  about 
the  year  506,  but  it  considerably  antidates  the  event, 
"  Domangort,  son  of  Eachach,  Bishop  of  Rathmurhulg,  in 
Dalriada  and  Dalaradia,  a.d.  506."  The  church  of  St. 
Donard  was  in  Dalaradia,  not  in  Dalriada,  which  is  in  the 
north  of  the  county  of  Antrim.  The  error  which  occurs  in 
nearly  all  the  Irish  martyrologies  seems  to  have  crept  into 
them  from  an  early  transcriber  having  confounded  Murlough 
on  the  coast  of  County  Antrim  with  Murlough  on  Dundrum 
Bay.  That  it  is  the  Murlough  in  the  county  of  Down  that  is 
intended,  Dr.  Reeves  shows  by  the  following  quotation  from 
an  ancient  MS.  : — "  Donard,  from  Rath-murhulg,  in  Dalriada 
(recte  Dalaradia),  from  Sliabk-Slanga."  Sliabh-Slanga 
(mountain  of  Slange)  was  the  ancient  name  of  Slieve  Donard, 
which  received  that  name  from  one  of  the  early  colonists 
of  Ireland,  whose  death  is  recorded  by  the  Four  Masters 


48  DOWN   AND   CONNOR. 

undex'  the  year  of  the  world  2533.  "  Slainge,  son  of  Partholan, 
died  in  this  year,  and  was  interred  in  the  earn  of  Sliabli- 
Slanga."  The  earn  of  Slainge  still  forms  a  very  couspicious 
object  on  the  summit  of  Slieve  Donard,  but  the  hero  Slainge 
is  forgotten  in  the  traditions  of  the  neighbourhood,  while  the 
memory  of  St.  Donard  is  enshrined  in  the  veneration  of  the 
people.  Geraldus  Cambrensis  names  Slainge  "  Salcams,"  and 
Donard  "  I)o7mnicus."  He  says — "That  exceeding  high 
mountain  which  overhangs  the  sea  that  flows  between  Ire- 
land and  Britain  is  called  Slanga.  And  because  at  the  foot 
of  it,  after  the  lapse  of  many  ages,  St  Dominicus  had  erected 
a  distinguished  monastery,  it  more  commonly  bears  the  name 
of  Dominicus'  mountain."  The  monastery  to  which  Geraldus 
alludes  is  that  of  Maghera.  Colgan  speaking  of  St.  Donard, 
says  : — "Two  churches  were  consecrated  to  him — one  at  the 
base  of  a  very  high  mountain  overhanging  the  sea  in  the 
eastern  parts,  which  was  called  Rath-murlbulg  (Eaw-murlow), 
now  Machaire-Ratha  (Maghera) ;  the  other  is  situated  on  the 
top  of  the  same  very  high  mountain,  far  away  from  every 
human  dwelling  ;  which,  nevertheless,  even  during  the  severe 
and  terrible  persecution  of  the  heretics,  used  to  be  frequented 
with  a  great  concourse  of  people,  and  frequent  pilgrimages  in 
honour  of  that  miracle-working  servant  of  God,  who  shone 
there  in  many  mii-acles."  Harris,  writing  in  1744,  thus 
describes  the  scene  of  this  pilgrimage — "  On  the  summit  of 
this  mountain  are  two  rude  edifices  (if  they  may  be  so 
termed),-^  one  being  aheap  of  stones  piled  up  in  a  pyramidical 

*  In  a  letter  dated  Castlewellan,  April  23rd,  1834,  Dr.  O'Donovan 
thus  describes  the  remains  of  the  hermitage  of  St.  Dor.ard  : — "There 
are  two  circular  cairns  upon  its  (Slieve  Donard's)  summit,  one  to  the 
N.E.,  the  other  to  the  S.W.  The  form  of  that  to  the  K.E.  is  now- 
much  destroyed,  and  the  well,  which  my  guide  informed  me  was 
springing  in  the  centre  of  it,  is  filled  with  stones.  This,  he  says, 
was  done  by  the  Sappers.     If  it  were  they  who  filled  this,  they 


PARISH   OF   MAGHEBA   OK   BRYANSFORD.  49 

figure,  in  wliich  are  several  cavities,  wherein  the  devotees 
shelter  themselves  in  bad  weather,  while  they  hear  Mass  : 
and  in  the  centre  of  this  heap  there  is  a  cave  formed  by 
broad,  flat  stones,  so  disposed  as  to  support  each  other  with- 
out the  help  of  cement.  The  other  edifice  is  composed  of 
rude  walls,  and  partitions,  called  chappels,  and  perhaps  was 
the  oratory  and  cell  erected  by  St.  Domangard,  before  hinted. 
Sir  William  Petty  mentions  in  his  maps  a  chappel  on  the 
N.E.  side  of  Slieve  Donard,  which  he  calls  Leniord's  Chappel; 
but  probabl}'^  for  want  of  due  information  he  has  corrupted 
the  name,  and  the  true  name  of  it  is  Donai-d's  Chappel." 
Dr.  O'Doran,  writing  on  the  2.3rd  September,  about  the  year 
1752,  to  his  agent  in  Rome,  says — "I  have  to  add  that  I 
would  be  glad  if  I  could  get  those  indulgences  of  Crumdugh 
extended  to  Struel,  for  on  that  Fryday  the  Christians  visit 
sd  Struel  as  well  as  Mount  Donart,  which  is  ten  miles  dis- 
tant from  sd  Struel."  This  holy  retreat  of  St.  Donard 
perched  on  the  high  mountain  which  still  perpetuates  his 
name,  and  towers  over  the  range  of  lofty  mountains  which 
stretch  away  from  its  sides,  involuntarily  forces  on  the 
imagination  a  feeling  of  total  severance  from  mankind,  and 

seemed  to  have  had  very  little  to  do,  but  my  opinion  is  it  was  done 
by  some  devout  visitor,  who  tliouglit  that  it  was  his  duty  to  destroy 
every  vestige  of  superstition.  The  cairn  to  the  S.  W.  is  much  more 
perfect,  but  it  is  destroyed  in  a  great  measure  to  erect  the  Trigono- 
metrical Station,  which,  in  the  course  of  ages,  may  puzzle  antiquarians 
to  discover  its  scientific  use.  The  well  in  this  earn  is  now  dried  iip, 
and  I  can  scarcely  believe  that  it  ever  contained  spring  water.  To 
the  E.  of  the  well  is  a  stone  which,  to  me,  appears  to  have  been  used 
by  the  saint  as  an  altar  ;  and  it  would  also  appear  probable  that  he 
had  roofed  this  cairn  and  used  it  as  a  little  chapel.  This  conjecture 
is  corroborated  by  the  fact  that  Sir  William  Petty  called  it  a  chapel 
and  Colgan  a  church.  I  am  also  of  opinion  that  this  cairn  had  been 
used  as  a  Druidical  place  of  worship,  and  that  the  hermit  took  ad- 
vantage of  the  pile  (as  the  Sappers  have  of  the  chapel)  to  form  a  little 
house  and  a  place  of  worship  for  himself  and  his  visitors." 

D 


60  DOWN   ANB   CONNOR. 

recalls  to  our  miuds  liow  the  saints  valued  Heaven,  and  wliat 
price  they  were  prepared  to  pay  for  it.  Father  MacCana,  in 
his  "  Irish  Itinerary,"  says  : — T  cannot  forbear  to  observe 
how  our  saints,  scorning  the  earth  about  which  the  miserable 
race  of  man  so  vehemently  contends  sought  a  loftier  range  ; 
for  it  is  a  fact  for  which  I  can  vouch  that,  on  the  summit  of 
that  lofty  pile,  and  in  a  different  region  of  the  world,  as  it 
were,  they  sought  an  abode  of  holy  retirement,  of  which 
heavenly  seclusion  the  traces  still  remain  ;  for  in  that  elevated 
region  of  the  sky  there  still  exists  a  hermitage  sacred  to  St. 
Domanghart.  From  the  foot  of  the  mountain  on  the  east 
there  stretches  an  agreeable  plain,  where  thei'e  is  a  fortress 
of  the  Magenis  family  called  New  Castle*  which  was  burned 
by  the  hostile  Scots  in  1643.  In  this  plain,  not  far  from  the 
aforesaid  castle,  is  situate  the  parish  church  of  Maghare-rath 

*  "The  ancient  name  of  Newcastle  was  Ballaghbeg,  Bealachber/, — 
'  the  little  road  or  highway' — which  is  still  the  name  of  thetownland 
wherein  it  is  situated.  It  is  said  to  derive  its  present  name  from  the 
castle  erected  by  Felix  Magenis,  in  1588;  but  this  is  not  reconcilable 
with  history,  for  we  find  mention  made  of  it  by  the  name  Newcastle 
(Fearsat  an  chaislein  nui — 'the  ford  or  pass  of  the  New  Castle,') 
in  the  Annals  of  the  Four  Masters,  at  the  year  1433 — a  century  and 
a  half  before  the  erection  of  the  Castle  by  Felix  Magenis  ;  but  the 
probability  is  that  the  Castle  existed  here  before  that  time,  and  in 
all  likelihood'  on  the  site  of  the  latter,  which  guarded  the  pass. 
The  Castle  here  spoken  of  was,  some  few  years  ago,  in  excellent 
preservation,  and  rented  by  the  Board  of  Customs  for  the  accom- 
modation of  officers  of  the  revenue.  It  was  situated,  as  Harris 
observes,  close  to  the  sea,  but  it  has  been  pulled  down  and  on  its 
site  the  hotel  has  been  erected." — Account  of  Newcastle  by  J.  A. 
Pilson.  "  Prior  to  1641  the  Town  and  Castle  belonged  to  Sir  Con 
Magenis,  but  after  the  )'ebellion  of  that  year  the  property  was 
confiscated  and  granted  to  Robert  Hawkins,  great  grandfather  to 
Robert  Hawkins  who  assumed  the  surname  of  Magill.  The  date 
1588  was  inscribed  on  a  stone  placed  over  the  frgnt  entrance  of  the 
Castle,  built  by  Felix  Magenis." — Rev.  O.  Hill's  edition  of  the 
Montgomery  Manuscripts.  Newcastle  passed  from  the  Magills  to 
the  Mathews,  and  subsequently  to  the  Annesley  familj'.'j 


PARISH    OF    MAGHERA    OR    BRYANSFORD.  51 

(Maghera) ;  the  name  of  the  saint  to  whom  it  is  sacred  my 
memory  vdoes  not  this  moment  supply.  One  thing  I  can 
state,  that  it,  as  well  as  many  other  sacred  places,  was  en- 
dowed with  no  inconsiderable  estates  by  the  chiefs  of  the 
MacArtan  family,  who  formerly  enjoyed  an  extensive  ruleiu 
these  parts,  and  I  may  add  that  I  know  not  of  any  other 
nobles  who  were  more  generous  to  the  Church  of  God  than 
the  lords  of  that  most  ancient  family,  for  it  is  an  acknow- 
ledged fact  that  they  both  built  all  the  churches  in  the 
territories  of  Ivechia  (Iveagh)  and  Kinnalfagartay  (Kina 
larty)  and  endowed  them  with  the  choicest  lands."  Father 
MacCana  ascribes  too  much  to  the  MacCartans,  for  many 
of  those  churches  were  endowed  by  the  Magenises  and  other 
co-relatives  of  the  MacCartans.  The  ruins  of  the  ancient 
church  of  Maghera,  of  which  the  western  gable  and  the 
south  wall  remain,  measure  forty-five  feet  nine  inches  in 
length  and  twenty-one  feet  six  inches  in  breadth.  The 
windows  in  the  south  wall  are  narrow  and  of  elegant 
design.  The  church  is  surrounded  by  a  ratli.  A  little 
to  the  N.  W.  is  ,  the  stump  of  a  Round  Tower.  Only 
about  twenty  feet  of  it  now  remains.  Its  doorway  is 
towards  the  East,  and  about  seven  feet  above  the  ground. 
Harris,  speaking  of  the  graveyard,  says  : — "  Near  it 
formerly  stood  an  high  towei-,  which,  about  thirty  years 
ago,  was  overturned  by  a  violent  storm,  and  lay  at  length 
and  entire  on  the  ground,  like  a  huge  gun,  without  break- 
ing to  pieces,  so  wondei-fully  hard  and  binding  was  the 
cement  in  this  work."  The  Round  Tower  was,  therefore, 
thrown  down  about  the  year  1710  or  1712.  The  founder 
and  patron  saint  of  Maghera  was  St.  Donard,  whose  festival 
occurs  on  the  24th  of  March.  Colgan,  writing  in  1645  on 
St.  Donard,  states  that  in  the  church  of  Maghera  "  there  are 
preserved  in  great  veneration  a  bell  called  The  Glnnan  which 


52  DOWN   AND   CONNOR. 

formerly  belonged  to  this  saint,  and  one  of  his  shoes  enshrined 
in  a  precious  covering  of  silver  and  gold."  These  sacred 
articles  are  now  unknown  in  the  locality,  nor  is  there  the 
slightest  tradition  respecting  them.  In  the  Irish  "  Tripartite 
Life  of  St.  Patrick,"*  which  is  now  pi-eserved  in  the  Bodleian 
Collection,  there  occui's  the  following  curious  legend  : — 
"  There  are  moreover  keepers  of  Patrick's  people  in  Erinu 
still.  .  .  .  There  is  another  man  from  him  in  Sliabh- 
Slainge — that  is  Domangart,  son  of  Eochaidh.  It  is  he  that 
will  raise  Patrick's  relics  a  little  before  the  j  udgment.  His 
cell  is  in  Rath-murbhuilg,  at  the  side  of  Sliabh-Slainge.  And 
there  is  always  a  leg  (of  mutton),  with  its  accessories,  and  a 
vessel  of  ale  before  him  every  Easter,  which  is  given  to  Mass 
people  on  Easter  Monday  always. "t  The  story  of  the  leg  of 
mutton  and  its  accessories  may  have  had  its  origin  in  the 
belief  that  plenty  would  attend  during  the  year  the  person 
who  heard  Mass  on  Easter  Monday  in  Maghera  Church, 
while  the  legend  that  St.  Donard  is  j^reserved  alive  to  raise 
the  relics  of  St.  Patrick  before  the  general  judgment  seems 
to  indicate  that  he  was  preseiit  in  Downpatrick  at  the  trans- 
lation   of   that    saint's  relics  referred  to   in  the  "  Book  of 

*  See  Life  of  St.  Patrick,  by  Sister  M.  F.  Cusack. 

+  This  legend  is  still  preserved  among  the  people.  Dr.  O'Donovau 
writing  from  Downpatrick,  April  24th,  1834,  says  (see  Letters  in  the 
Eoyal  Irish  Academy)  : — "  You  ma)'  remember  that  nearly  two  years 
ago  we  asked  several  questions  of  the  ofScer  who  surveyed  the  dis- 
trict, respecting  Slieve  Donard.  He  said  that  there  was  no  tradition 
respecting  St.  Donard  in  the  district ;  the  fact  is  otherwise,  for  St. 
Donnaght  says  Mass  every  Sunday  on  his  altar,  in  the  N.  W.  Cairn 
on  the  mountain.  There  is  a  cave  running  from  the  sea  shore,  on 
the  South  of  Newcastle,  to  the  summit  of  the  mountain,  if  report  be 
true.  Some  men  entered  this  cave,  but  after  they  had  gone  some 
distance,  St.  Donnaght,  in  his  robes,  met  them,  and  admonished  them 
of  their  folly.  He  also  told  them  that  it  was  his  own  peculiar 
residence  to  the  day  of  judgment."  The  cave  to  which  the  legend 
collected  by  Dr.  O'Donovau  alludes  is  named  "  Donagh's  Cave." 


PARISH    OF    MAGHERA    OR    BRYANSPORD.  53 

Armagh" — "  When  the  chui'ch  was  being  built  over  the 
body,  the  men  who  were  digging  the  ground  saw  fire  burst- 
ing forth  out  of  the  sepulchre,  and  flying  back,  they  were 
afraid  of  the  toi-ching  fire  of  flame."  A  statement  in  Harris's 
"  History  of  the  County  Down"  is  confirmatory  of  this 
opinion.  He  says  : — "  A  tradition  in  this  neighbourhood 
highly  celebrates  the  virtues,  devotion,  and  miracles  of  St. 
Donard,  now  called  Donogh,  or  Donat,  and  that  by  his  applica- 
tion much  money  was  collected  for  building  the  Cathedral  of 
Down." 

We  have  seen  that  St.  Donard  was  a  bishop,  and  it  may 
have  been  because  Maghera  was  a  see  that  it  enjoyed  the 
privilege  of  having  a  round  tower,  for  when  the  whole  question 
of  the  ttound  Towers  is  investigated  it  will  be  found  that  they 
were  the- insignia  of  cathedral  churches.  Wc  have  documen- 
tary evidence  to  prove  that  there  once  was  a  bishojj  in  every 
church  in  Down  and  Connor  which  has  a  Round  Tower.  There 
is  not  preserved  the  name  of  any  of  St.  Donard's  successors 
in  the  see,  and  it  would  seem  that  at  an  early  date  it,  like  many 
other  minor  sees,  became  incorporated  in  the  diocese  of  Down, 
the  bishop  of  which  enjoyed  the  ancient  see  lands  of  Maghera. 
In  a  list  of  the  possessions  of  the  see  of  Down  at  the  end  of  the 
twelfth  century,  which  are  recited  in  a  patent  roll  of  the  Tower 
of  London,  as  quoted  by  Di'.  Keeves,  there  is  the  entry  ''Rath" 
murvul  along  with  Rathsillan."  The  former  is  Maghera,  but 
there  is  a  difficulty  in  identifying  Rathscillan,  as  there  is  no 
place  in  that  neighbourhood  known  by  the  name  ;  and  yet, 
as  is  evident  by  the  grouping  of  the  names,  it  must  have  been 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Maghera,  and,  like  Maghera,  it  must 
have  been  in  early  times  the  scene  of  the  piety  and  labours 
of  some  eminent  ecclesiastic.  Rathscillan  signifies  "  the 
Rath  of  Cilian."  St.  Donard  had  a  brother  named  Cillen, 
whose  church  was  somewhere  in  the  neighbourhood,     ^ngus 


54  DOWN   AND   CONNOR. 

the  Culdee,  in  his  tract  on  the  "  Mothers  of  the  Saints  of 
Ireland,"  refers  to  Cillen  (Killen)  in  a  passage  which  is 
here  translated  from  Colgan's  Latin  translation  of  the 
original  Irish: — "Derinilla,  called  Cethuir-Chicheach  (i.e., 
of  the  four  provinces),  was  the  mother  of  SS.  Domangart 
(Donax-d),  son  of  Eachach,  and  Aillean,  and  Aidan,  and 
Mura  of  Fathen  (Fahan  in  Enishowen),  and  Mochumma 
of  Drumbo,  and  Cillen  of  Achadhcail,  in  the  territory 
of  Lecale,  at  the  hank  of  estuary  of  Dundrum."  In  a 
field  in  Wateresk  belonging  to  Mr.  Savage,  and  immediately- 
adjoining  his  house,  are  the  remains  of  an  ancient  cemetery 
which  once  was  enclosed  in  a  rath.  The  bodies  were 
interred  in  graves  lined  with  flag-stones,  and  a  large 
granite  stone  stood  in  the  cemetery,  but  it  has  been  rolled 
into  a  stream  which  bounds  the  field ;  on  this  stone  is 
inscribed  a  simple  cross  formed  by  the  intersection  of  two 
pair  of  parallel  lines.  This  site  exactly  corresponds  with 
that  of  the  church  of  St.  Cillen,  as  described  by  ^Engus, 
the  Culdee.  It  is  in  the  territory  of  Lecale,  and  it  is 
close  to  the  estuary  of  Dundrum,  while  it  adjoins  the 
lands  attached  to  the  Church  of  Maghera,  which  would 
account  for  the  expression  in  the  "Patent  Roll,"  "Eath- 
murval  (Maghera)  along  with  Eathscillan."  By  the 
privileges  recited  in  this  "  Patent  Poll"  the  bishop  was 
empowered  to  create  boroughs  where  he  might  think  it 
would  be  advantageous,  as  afc  Kirleth  (Kilclief),  Path- 
murvul  (Maghera),  to  be  ruled  by  such  laws  and  customs 
as  he  might  select.  In  the  "  Terrier  of  such  lands  as 
appertaine  and  belonge  to  the  Bishoprick  of  Down  and 
Connor,"  a  document  of  the  date  of  1615,  is  an  entry — 
"at  Pathra,  alias  Matherath,  four  townelands,  spiritualities, 
and  tem])oralities."  At  the  margin  of  this  entry  the  name 
of  "  Jn.  O'Laithlan"  is  entered  as  tenant.     This  name  is  now 


PARISH    OF    MAGHERA    OR    BRYANSFORD.  55 

changed  into  O'Loughlin,*  and  one  of  the  townlands  of 
Maghera  is  named  Bally loughlin.  In  1622  the  Magenises 
had  laid  claim  to  the  ancient  see  lands  of  Maghera ;  and  the 
Protestant  bishop  complains — "  Item  the  foure  Townes  of 
Magherera  being  ancyently  known  by  the  Bps.  landes  were 
lately  found  by  an  Inquisition  to  Sir  Arthur  Magnely 
(Magenis),  and  to  some  of  his  freeholders  of  the  which  In- 
quisition a  great  part  of  the  Jurors  were  of  the  name  of 
Magyness."  In  the  report  of  the  Protestant  bishop  in  1622, 
it  is  described  "  Magherah,  a  chappel  ruynous  consisting  of 
four  or  five  townes  very  small. — The  Bps.  Mensall — the  two 
partes  of  all  the  Tithes  belong  to  ye  Bp."    This  was  obviously 

*  Dr.  O'Donovan,  in  a  letter  dated  Castlewellan,  April  20th,  1834, 
says  : — "There  is  a  great  number  of  O'Loughlins  here.  They  have  a 
tradition  among  them  that  seven  townlands  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Dundrum  had  anciently  belonged  to  the  family,  but  they  are  puzzled 
to  ascertain  what  brought  O'Loughlins  to  this  county,  or  at  what 
period  they  settled  in  it.  They  have  traditions  of  the  family  as 
figuring  in  this  country  at  an  early  period,  even  as  far  back  as  the 
times  of  John  De  Courcey.  It  is  my  own  opinion  that  they  have  no 
connexion  with  the  Munster  family,  but  that  they  are  descended 
from  Mauritius  MacLoughlin,  alias  O'Loughlin,  who  erected  and 
endowed  the  monastery  of  Newry.  They  are  very  respectable  and 
numerous  in  this  neighbourhood,  as  appears  manifest  from  the 
number  of  priests  they  have  supplied — all  clever  and  talented.  The 
priest  of  Hilltown  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  men  I  have  met 
with."  It  is  probable  that  the  O'Loughlins  of  Maghera  are  the 
O'Lachtnains,  formerly  chiefs  of  Little  Modharn  (Mourne),  a  district 
occupied  by  the  Oirghialla,  in  the  northern  portion  of  Meath,  where 
it  adjoins  the  County  Monaghan  ;  we  have  seen  that  many  of  the 
Oirghialla  emigrated  to  Mourne,  in  the  County  of  Down.  The  follow- 
ing notice  of  the  family  occurs  in  O'Dugan's  Topographical  Poem — 
"  O'Lachtnain  over  Little  Modharn 
His  superiors  are  not  found.'' 
In  confirmation  of  this  surmise  the  reader  will  observe  that  Donat 
O^Laghnan  was  appointed  to  the  parish  of  Maghera  in  1488.  In 
Meath  the  O'Laghnans  have  changed  their  name  into  O'Loughlin, 
some  even  translate  it  into  Green.  The  O'Loughlins  still  retain 
graves  in  the  cemetery  of  Maghera. 


56  DOWN   AND    CONNOR. 

the  old  Catholic  arrangement.  In  the  Pope  Nicholas  tax- 
ation the  parish  of  Maghera  was  valued  at  twenty  shillings. 
In  the  "  Terrier"  of  1615,  the  entry  is  "  Matherira,*  it  is  a 
mensal,  and  hath  four  townlands  ;  it  pays  in  proxies,  4s  ;  in 
refections,  4s ;  in  synodals,  2s." 

Immediately  outside  the  Parish,  at  Slidderyford,  there  is 
a  perfect  Cromlech.  Its  table-stone,  "  which  is  of  granite, 
measures  7  feet  6  inches  by  7  feet  6  inches,  and  in  girth 
19  feet  six  inches.  It  rests  on  three  other  stones,  one  of 
granite  and  two  of  Slate-rock.  The  group  of  stones  stands 
8  feet  high." — Guide  to  Belfast,  ^-c,  bi/  Naturalists'  Field 
Club.  To  the  west  of  it,  on  the  eastern  border  of  the  parish, 
there  is  a  remarkable  pillar  stone,  which  stands  13  feet  high. 
It  marks  almost  the  point  where  the  territories  of  Iveagh 
and  Locale  meet.  It  is  in  the  townland  of  Ballyloughlin. 
Near  the  Cromlech  there  were  a  number  of  huge  stepping 
stones  which  crossed  the  Sliddery-Ford.  These  may  have 
been  the  Droichead-na-Feirsi  (the  bridge  over  the  pool  of 
water  remaining  on  the  strand  at  low  tide),  mentioned  in 
Duald  MacFirbis'  genealogical  work.  He  says,  speaking  of 
Fiacha,  son  of  Aodh  Poin,  King  of  Ulidia,  who  died  a.d.  785, 
''  It  was  he  that  made  Droichead-na-Feirsi  and  Droichead- 
Mona-Daimh  (bridge  of  Moin  Daimh)  et  alios;  he  got  the 
name  of  Fiachna  of  the  black  bridges.  It  was  he  that  got 
the  whale  with  the  three  golden  teeth ;  and  he  gave  a 
tooth  of  them  to  the  mason,  i.e.,  the  mason  that  built  the 
bridge ;  and  he  gave  the  other  two  to  ornament  the  re- 
liquaries of  the  province.     It  was  he  that  made  a  pilgi-image 

*  According  to  a  Parliamentaiy  Report  published  in  1533,  the  See 
lands  of  Maghera,  consisting  of  Ball3douglin,  Drumree,  Ballyginuy, 
the  half  town  of  Carnacavil,  the  Carrigs,  and  the  Church  Quarter  were 
let  to  the  Rev.  W.  Annesley  for  £53  6s.  2d.,  and  a  renewal  fine  of 
£175  5s.  4W. ;  and  according  to  the  Parliamentary  Report  of  1857,  the 
rectorial  tithes  which  belonged  to  the  See  were  compounded  for  £190. 


PARISH   OF   MAGHERA   OR   BRYANSFORD.  57 

to  Beannchoir   (Bangor)  because  one  cow  had  been  stolen  in 
his  province." 

PARISH   PRIESTS    OF   MAGHERA. 

The  priests  who  had  the  spiritual  charge  of  Maghera  before 
the  Reformation  were  only  vicars,  for  the  bishops  were  the 
rectors  of  the  parish.  a.d.  1438  Donat  O'Laghnan  was 
appointed  to  "  the  pai-ish  church  of  St.  Donard  (Dongardus) 
of  Rath,  in  the  diocese  of  Down,"  vacant  by  the  resignation 
of  Henry  M'Cressulane  ("Registry  of  Primate  Swayne"). 
Owing,  unfoi-tunately,  to  the  loss  of  our  ancient  documents, 
■we  have  no  account  of  their  predecessors  or  of  their  successors 
up  till  the  year  1704,  when  Patrick  Hagan  was  returned  in 
the  list  of  Popish  priests  as  parish  priest  of  Maghera  and 
Kilcoo.  He  was  then  aged  49  years,  and  was  residing 
in  Dromee.  He  was  ordained  in  1683  by  "Thady  Keough," 
Bishop  of  Clonfert.  At  the  same  date  Neile  M'llboy  is 
returned  as  parish  priest  of  Kilcoo  and  Kilmegan.  He 
resided  at  Tullyree,  was  fifty-six  years  of  age,  and  had  been 
ordained  in  1670,  at  Ballyvark,  by  Dr.  Oliver  Plunket, 
Archbishop  of  Armagh.  It  is  probable  that  the  parish  of 
Patrick  Hagan  was  conterminous  with  the  present  parish  of 
Maghera  or  Bryansford,  which  contains  the  civil  parish  of 
Maghera  and  seven  townlands  belonging  to  the  civil  parish 
of  Kilcoo.  However,  it  seems  that,  after  the  death  of  either 
Patrick  Hagan  or  Neile  M'llboy,  the  survivor  became  parish 
priest  of  both  parishes,  which  remained  thus  united  till  the 
death  of  the  Rev.  Daniel  O'Doran,  June  17,  1785,  when  the 
Rev.  John  Pitzsimons,  P.P.  of  Portaferry  or  Bally philip, 
was  appointed  to  the  parish  of  Kilcoo,  and  the  Rev.  Daniel 
M'Alea  was  appointed  to  Maghera,  which  he  held  till  1793, 
when  he  was  removed  by  Dr.  MacMullan.  [For  the  priests 
of  the  united  pai-ishes  see  Kilcoo.] 


58  DOWN   AND    CONNOR. 

Rev.  William  MacMullan  was  appointed  administrator  on 
the  29th  of  January,  1793,  but  he  did  not  become  parish 
priest  till  February,  1796.  Mr.  MacMullan  was  not  a 
relative  of  the  Bishops  MacMullan.  He  was  a  nativq  of 
Carnamalagh,  in  the  parish  of  Tyrella,  after  having  been 
ordained  in  1789  by  Dr.  Hugh  MacMullan,  he  studied  in 
the  college  of  the  Lombards,  from  which  he  returned  in  the 
end  of  1792.  A  letter  written  to  Dr.  Patrick  MacMullan, 
by  his  agent  in  Rome,  Father  Luke  Concanen,  dated  Rome, 
Minerva,  28th  May,  1796,  says: — "I  have  the  pleasure  of 
sending  the  Papal  grant  of  the  parish  of  Kilmegan  without 
the  expenses  of  the  Bull,  and  in  the  very  form  and  manner 
you  directed  in  a  former  letter ;  however,  I  fancy  Mr. 
William  M'^Mullan,  to  whom  my  compts.,  will  not  delay 
giving  the  usual  compt.  of  two  guineas,  which  you'l  please 
hand  to  Dr.  Reilly  or  Dr.  Troy  to  be  forwarded  to  me.  The 
collation  of  Kilmegan  could  not  be  deferred  longer  without 
breach  of  the  sacred  canons.  You're  at  liberty  to  confer  to 
whom  you  think  prudent  and  proper  the  parishes  of  Bryans- 
ford  and  Maghera.  The  words  cum  decreto  Vacationis  alterius 
jyarochialis,  (tc,  don't  imply  that  it  vacates  in  curia." 
Though  Father  William  MacMullan  was  thereby,  in  May, 
1796,  appointed  parish  priest  of  Kilmegan,  which  was  vacant 
by  the  elevation  of  its  pastor.  Dr.  Patrick  MacMullan,  to  the 
See  of  Down  and  Connor  on  the  death  of  his  predecessor, 
Dr.  Hugh  MacMullan,  to  whom  he  had  been  coadjutor, 
nevertheless,  the  bishop  and  Father  MacMullan  made  some 
arrangement  by  which  the  latter  retained  Maghera  and  the 
bishop  remained  in  Kilmegan  till  the  year  1802,  when  Dr. 
MacMullan  went  to  Dowupatrick,  and  Father  William  went 
to  his  parish  of  Kilmegan. 

Rev.  John  Maglenon  succeeded  Father  MacMullan.  Mr. 
Maglenon  was  born  in  the  townland  of  Carrowvanny,  in  the 


PARISH    OF   MAGHERA   OR   BRYANSPORD.  59 

parish  of  Saul,  about  the  year  1759.  He  was  ordained  some- 
what before  1790,  and  then  proceeded  to  France  to  study. 
On  his  return  he  was  appointed  curate,  and  afterwards 
administrator,  in  the  jiarish  of  Down.  When  Dr.  Patrick 
MacMullan  removed  to  that  parish  in  1802,  Father  Maglenon 
was  appointed  to  Maghera.  He  died  suddenly,  and  was 
interred  in  the  ancient  churchyard  of  Saul,  where  his  liead- 
stone  bears  the  following  inscription  : — 

Here  lieth  the  body  of 
The  Rev.  John  Maglenon,  Pa- 
rish priest  ol  Briansford,  who  . 
departed  this  life  the  4th  of 
June,  1808,  aged  47  yrs. 
After  the  death  of  Father  Maglenon,  the  parish  was  placed 
under  the  administration  of  the   Rev.   Hugh  Smith,   P.P., 
Kilcoo,  who  had  the  assistance  of  the  Rev.  Bernard  Murray. 
I  hsive  not  been  able  to  ascertain  the  exact  date  when  Mr. 
Murray  became  independent  of  Father  Smith.     Mr.  Murray 
was  a  native  of  Kilclief.     He  studied  in  Maynooth  College, 
which  he  entered  in  1800.     He    was,    however,    ordained 
previous  to  that  date.     Mr.  Murray  was  for  many  years  very 
infirm,    and    was   assisted    by   several   curates,    who    were 
appointed    administratoi's.       Father   George    Dempsey   was 
appointed  curate  and  administrator  in    1824,      These   pre- 
cautions   became    necessary    in    consequence    of    fanatical 
attempts  leaving  been  made  to  buy  over  to  Protestantism 
some  of  the  poorer  and  more  ignorant  of  the  parishioners  by 
bribing  them  with  money  and  clothes.       Father  Murray's 
infirmities  rendered   him   quite  incompetent  to   guard   his 
flock  from  such  enemies.     The  Farnham,  or  the  "  Bread  and 
Butter   Reformation,"    had    just    then    commenced.       Dr. 
Murray,  of  Maynooth  College,  thus  describes  it — "  It  was,  if 
I   recollect    rightly,    called   the    '  New    Reformation.'     An 


60  DOWN   AND   CONNOR. 

English  Protestant  bishop  denounced,  in  the  House  of  Lords, 
a  solemn  woe  against  all  who  should  oppose  it.  Bacon  and 
Bibles  were  then  the  great  anti-Catholic  arguments,  the  great 
instruments  of  Protestant  persuasion.  Pork  and  calico  rose 
in  the  market;  and  with  gridirons  and  needles  and  bodkins 
were  the  battlements  of  Rome  assailed."  Dr.  Crolly,  shortly- 
after  his  consecration,  feeling  himself  called  on  to  inquire 
into  the  state  of  affairs  in  Maghera,  visited  Father  Murray, 
when  a  very  laughable  scene  occurred.  The  bishop,  having 
put  a  number  of  questions  to  him  regarding  the  state  of 
religion,  was  surprised  when  the  old  priest  asked  him,  by 
way  of  reply,  "  Could  you  spell  oghT'  Dr.  Crolly,  perceiv- 
ing that  Mr.  Murray  did  not  know  him,  introduced  himself, 
when  the  good  old  clergyman  cried  out,  "  Oh,  Bishop  dear  ! 
sure  I  thought  you  were  a  souper."  Father  Murray  resigned 
in  1827,  and  received  a  pension  of  £20  per  annum.  He 
died  in  1833,  and  was  buried  in  Kilclief  churchyard. 

The  Rev.  Luke  Walsh  succeeded  Father  Murray.  Mr. 
Walsh  was  a  native  of  Kilwarlin,  in  the  parish  of  Lisburn. 
He  was  ordained  in  Downpatrick,  in  Advent,  1813,  by  Dr. 
Patrick  MacMuUan ;  he  received  his  education  in  the 
College  of  Kilkenny  ;  he  was  curate  in  Bailee  when  he  was 
directed  by  Dr.  Crolly  to  take  charge  of  the  parish  of 
Maghera,  to  which  he  removed  on  the  20th  May,  1827. 
Mr.  Walsh  was  peculiai'ly  suited  for  such  a  mission.  The 
great  organizers  of  the  "Bread  and  Butter  Reformation"  in 
the  pai'ish  of  Maghera  were  Lord  Roden,  the  Rev.  A.  W. 
M'Creight,  his  mother,  Mrs.  M'Creight,  of  Newcastle,  his 
sister,  Mrs.  Keown,  of  Tullymore,  with  a  number  of  "  con- 
verted Papists"  engaged  from  distant  portions  of  the  king- 
dom at  a  salary  of  £20  per  annum — such  as  Hart,  who 
"recanted"  in  Cavan,  his  brother-in-law,  Connelan,  whose 
knowledge  of  Irish  it  was  thought  would  have  illumined  the 


PARISH    OF    MAGHERA    OR    BRYANSFORD.  61 

benighted  Papists  of  FofFany,  and  a  scripture-reader  named 
Ervin.  Those  missionaries  succeeded  in  winning  over  a 
blacksmith  named  M'Nally  and  his  wife,  and  a  beggarwoman 
named  Judith  M'Kernan  and  her  daughter,  but  their  success 
itself  ruined  their  cause.  The  affidavit  of  William  M'Nally 
exhibits  the  effective  arguments  which  were  used — 
"  County  of  Down,  to  Wit. 
'^  The  Deposition  of  William  M'Nally,  who,  being 
sworn  on  the  Holy  Evangelists,  deposes  that  he  was  born 
near  the  town  of  Briansford,  where  he  has  since  resided, 
and  is  by  trade  a  Blacksmith.  Deponent  saith  that  he  is  now 
and  always  has  been  a  Roman  Catholic  ;  having  been  brought 
up  in  the  profession  of  that  faith.  Deponent  sweai-s  that 
he  was  desired  to  go  to  TuUymore,  that  he  might  speak  to 
Mrs.  Keown,  that  he  accordingly  went  to  her  house,  and 
that  not  finding  her  at  home,  he  went  to  Mrs.  M'Creight's 
house,  in  New-Castle,  to  endeavour  to  see  the  said  Mrs. 
Keown,  and  Deponent  saith  that  he  was  disappointed  in 
doing  so ;  but  that  he  was  directed  to  go  into  a  room,  where 
he  found  the  Rev.  A.  M'Creight,  who  introduced  the 
subject  of  Religion  to  Deponent,  and  recommended  to  him 
that  he  should  join  the  Church  of  England,  and  become  a 
Protestant,  saying  that  he  would  send  some  person  to  speak 
to  Deponent,  Shortly  after  this,  a  man  of  the  name  of  Hart, 
who  keeps  a  school  at  Briansford,  came  to  Deponent,  and 
spoke  to  him  at  different  times  relative  to  his,  Deponent's, 
change  of  Religion ;  and  that  the  said  Hart  stated  he 
became  a  Protestant,  having  been  a  Roman  Catholic,  and 
that  he  was  much  benefitted  by  doing  so,  having  received 
several  sums  of  money  upon  that  account,  and  a  great  deal  of 
friendship — and  the  Deponent  saith  that  he,  the  said  Hart, 
declared  that  he,  the  Deponent,  might  depend  upon  getting 
good  friends,  and  pointed  out  the  advantages  which  had 
arisen  to  himself,  adding  particularly  that  Deponent  should 
get  a  better  hoitse  than  he  had,  with  Lord  Roden's  Work  and 


62  DOWN   AND    CONNOR. 

Forge,  if  he  conformed  to  the  Protestant  Religion.  Deponent 
further  saith,  that  shortly  after  the  above  occurrences  his 
wife  and  he  went  to  Tullymore  to  Mrs.  Keown,  being 
desired  to  do  so ;  this  event  occun*ed  upon  an  evening  in 
last  week — Deponent  saith  that  they  there  met  the  Rev.  A. 
M'Cbeight,  who  asked  him,  Deponent,  if  he  had  made  up 
his  mind  to  go  to  Chui-ch,  and  Deponent  said  he  thought  he 
partly  had  ;  and  after  some  hesitation  on  the  part  of  himself 
and  his  wife,  they  consented  to  go  to  Church  on  the  following 
Sunday,  whereupon  the  Rev.  A.  JWCreiyht  desired  Mrs. 
Keoivn,  wlto  was  jyvesent,  to  go  for  the  clothes,  which  she  had 
inirchased  for  Deponent's  ivife — and  that  Mr.  M^Creight 
strictly  charged  Deponent  and  his  wife  to  keep  secret  the  cir- 
cumstances of  getting  the  clothes — and  that  it  could  never  be 
known,  as  they  might  go  as  far  as  Clough,  and  jjretend  tliat 
they  had  gone  to  Doionpatrick  to  purchase  them.  Deponent 
further  saith,  that  the  said  Rev.  A.  M'Creight  had  offered 
on  some  occasion  to  procure  for  him  the  work  of  Messrs. 
Keown,  Gibbons,  and,  indeed,  of  all  the  respectable  Protest- 
ants of  the  neighbourhood  ;  and  made  him  several  promises 
of  protection  on  condition  of  his  reading  his  Recantation. 
Deponent  likewise  saith,  that  after  his  wife  had  received  the 
clothes,  he  was  desired  to  go  to  work  in  the  garden  of  Mrs- 
M'Creight,  of  New-Castle,  in  order  that  he  might  be  out  of 
the  way  of  the  Priest,  or  others,  who  might  alter  his  deter- 
mination of  going  to  Church. — Sworn  before  me  this  30th 
^^^3^1827.  "E.  S.  RUTHVEN. 

"  His 

"William  'A  M'Nally, 
Mark." 

A  similar  affidavit  made  by  M'Nally's  wife,  and  a  public 
declaration  before  the  congregation  in  Bryansford  Chapel  by 
the  beggarwoman  M'Kernan  and  her  daughter,  completely 
exploded  the  New  Reformation.  The  bonnets,  gowns, 
handkerchiefs,  and  stockings  were  exhibited  in  Downpatrick, 


PARISH    OF   MAGHERA   OR   BRYANSFORD.  63 

and  its  very  authors  were  ashamed  of  the  undertaking. 
Father  Walsh,  having  extinguished  the  Bread  and  Butter 
Reformation  in  Maghera,  was  appointed  in  1829  to  Culfeigh- 
trin,  where  similar  work  awaited  him. 

Rev,  John  O'Heggarty  succeeded  Mr.  Walsh.  Mr. 
O'Heggarty  was  a  native  of  the  neighbourhood  of  Kilrea, 
in  the  county  of  Derry.  After  having  been  curate  in 
Ahoghill  and  Dunsford  he  was  promoted  to  the  parish  of 
Maghera  in  1829.  He  did  not  find  his  new  parish  a  bed  of 
roses ;  he  was  necessitated  to  rebuild  the  chapel  of  Ballyhafry 
or  Bryansford,  and  at  the  same  time  the  feelings  of  the 
people  were  fearfully  excited  by  the  late  attempts  of  the  New 
Reformation,  by  the  doings  of  the  Orangemen,  and  principally 
on  account  of  the  death  of  John  Gribben,  who,  it  was  alleged, 
was  shot  in  Nov.,  1831,  by  Mark  Annesley.  Mr.  O'Heggarty 
succeeded  in  quieting  his  people,  but  he  made  himself  person- 
ally offensive  to  Lord  Roden,who,in  consequence,  served  notice 
on  him  to  give  up  possession  of  the  chapel  of  Bryansford. 
The  trial  was  to  have  come  on  in  July,  1839,  but  Lord  Roden, 
who,  as  a  landlord,  was  kind  towards  his  Catholic  tenants, 
shrunk  from  the  public  odium  of  such  a  proceeding.*  Mr, 
O'Heggarty  accepted  of  the  parish  of  Armoy,  in  1843,  and 

*  William  Hamilton,  of  Erynagli,  married  Ellen,  daughter  of  Brian 
M'Hugli  Magenis,  and  her  only  brother,  Bryan,  or  Bernard,  Magenis, 
dying  without  issue,  devised  the  Tullymore  estate  to  his  sister's  son, 
James  Hamilton,  hence  surnaiued  of  "Tullymore."  His  son,  James, 
Earl  of  Clanbrassil,  had  a  daughter.  Lady  Anne  Hamilton,  who  event- 
ually became  heir  of  her  brother,  James,  the  last  earl  ;  and  having 
married,  December  11,  1752,  Robert  Viscount  Jocelyn,  who  was  after- 
wards, in  1771,  created  Earl  of  Roden,  she  transmitted  to  her  descendant, 
the  present  earl,  the  estate  of  Bryan  JI'Hugh  ilagenis,  which,  by  an 
inquisition  held  at  Newry,  June  2,  1640,  was  found  to  consist  of 
"Tullemore,"  containing  one  half  townland,  "  Aghacullyn,  TuUy- 
brenagan,  Burriu,  and  Foffenny." — (See  Mr.  Hanna's  Account  of  tlu; 
Parish  of  Bright  in  the  Downpatrick  Recorder.  From  Bryan  M'Hugh 
Magenis  Bryansford  is  named. 


64  DOWN   AND   CONNOR. 

the  Rev.  Peter  M'Sorley,  a  native  of  Brantry,  between  Ben- 
burb  and  Caledon,  in  the  County  Tyrone,  administered  the 
parish  until  the  appointment  of  a  parish  priest  in  1845,  when 
he  retui'ned  to  his  native  diocese. 

Rev.  Hugh  Hanna,  the  present  parish  pi'iest,  succeeded. 
Mr,  Hanna,  is  a  native  of  Crossmore,  in  the  jiarish  of  Duns- 
ford.  He  entered  the  Logic  Class  in  Maynooth  College  on 
the  26fch  of  August,  1833,  and  was  ordained  in  Belfast  by 
Dr.  Denvir,  August  10,  1836.  After  having  been  curate  in 
Belfast  from  the  time  of  his  ordination,  he  was  appointed 
curate  and  administrator  of  Rasharkin  on  the  20th  of  March, 
1839,  where  he  remained  till  his  appointment  to  Maghera, 
on  the  14th  February,  1845. 

CHURCHES. 

Bryansford  or  Ballyhafry  old  chapel  was  erected  about 
1760.  There  is  still  preserved  in  the  Birmingham  Tower  a 
return  from  the  hearth-money  collectors,  endorsed  "  County 
Down,  Loughbrickland,  1765,"  reporting  on  the  state  of 
religion  in  the  parish  of  Kilcoo,  which  says  : — ' '  Church,  1 
(in  good  order) ;  meeting-house,  0 ;  convents  and  Popish 
chapels,  1  (in  good  order) ;  Protestants,  345  ;  Papists,  1,510." 
The  Popish  chapel  referred  to  was  that  of  Bryansford,  erected 
by  the  Rev.  Robert  Taylor,  It  was  rebuilt  in  1830  by  the 
Rev.  John  O'Heggarty. 

Newcastle  Church  was  erected  by  the  Rev.  Hugh  Hanna 
in  1845.  Previous  to  its  erection  Mass  was  for  some  time 
celebrated  in  a  temporary  station  in  King  Street,  in  New- 
castle. 

Before  the  erection  of  Bryansford  Chapel,  about  1760, 
Mass  was  celebrated  in  a  "bohog"  at  Cross,  in  the  townland 
of  Tullyree,  which  is  in  the  parish  of  Kilcoo,  and  at 
Burren-Rock. 


PARISH   OF  KILMEGAN. 


HE  parisli  of  .Kilmegan  is  coterminous  with  the  ci^dl 
parish  of  Kilmegan  ;  it  is  situated  partly  in  the  barony 
of  Kinelarty,  partly  in  Lecale,  but  chiefly  in  Upper 
Iveagh,  and  contains  the  towns  of  Castlewellan  and  Dundrum. 
In  1871  the  population  was  5,833,  of  whom  3,123  were 
Catholics.  A  return  made  by  the  Gangers  of  Loughbrickland 
in  1765,  reports  "  Parish  of  Kilmegan,  church,  0  ;  meeting- 
house, 0  ;  convents  and  Popish  chapels,  0;  Protestants,  180; 
Papists,  490  ;  one  Popish  fraternity  in  Kilcoo,  near  Castle- 
wellan, as  is  said."  In  1766  the  Protestant  minister  of 
Kilhiegan  made  a  report  to  the  House  of  Lords  of  the  names 
of  all  the  householders  in  the  parish,  and  the  number  of  sons, 
and  daughters,  and  servants  in  each  family,  distinguishing 
the  religion  of  each.  According  to  that  interesting  document 
there  were  in  the  parish  at  that  time  2,007  Pa[)ists,  divided 
into  414  families,  and  1,275  Protestants,  divided  into  266 
families.  Previous  to  the  "  Reformation "  Kilmegan  was 
tmder  the  spii-itual  jimsdiction  of  the  "Plebanus"  of  Kilkeel. 
There  are  through  the  parish  several  sites  of  ancient  chiirches, 
but  of  none  of  them  is  there  almost  anything  known.  There 
is  an  ancient,  grave-yard  in  Carrowbane,  a  sub-denomination 
of  Ballywillwill,  one  in  the  townland  of  Ballylough,  at 
Di'umsillagh  Hill,  called  Shankhill,  and  one  in  Drumbuck- 
wood,   about  forty   perches   to  the    north    of    Castlewellan. 


bb  DOWN   AND   CONNOR. 

The  Protestant  cliurch  of  Kilmegan,  in  tlie  towland  of 
Moneylane,  occupies  the  site  of  an  ancient  Catholic  church. 
There  is  an  ancient  cemetery  in  the  townland  of  Money- 
carragh,  at  a  place  called  Church  Hill,  in  the  farm  belong- 
ing to  Widow  King,  but  there  are  no  remains  of  any 
building,  and  there  is  another  in  the  townland  of  Wateresk 
in  a  field  belonging  to  Mr.  Savage,  which  has  been  in- 
dentified  (see  Maghera)  as  the  site  of  the  church  of  St. 
Cillen,  the  brother  of  St.  Donard.  The  name  Cillen  assumes 
among  our  Irish  saints  the  forms  of  Kelan  and  Caolan,  the 
latter  of  which,  derived  from  Caol,  "  narrow,"  is  stated  by 
Colgan  to  have  been  a  common  appellation  denoting  "  slen- 
derness  of  figure  ;"  and  no-  doubt  the  diminutive  form  Caolan 
was  used  to  express  afiection  towards  the  saint.  This  change 
of  the  name  accounts  for  the  api)ellation  given  to  the  site  of  St. 
Cillen's  Church,  by  ^ngus  the  Culdee,  who  calls  him  "Cillen 
of  Achadhail  (the  field  of  the  slender  man — pronounced 
Aghakeel). 

Watertiry  is  laid  down  on  Mercator's  Map  of  "  Ultonia 
Orientalis "  as  the  territory  adjoining  the  inner  Bay  of 
Dundrum,  containing  the  Castle  of  "  Don-ch'om,"  and  extend- 
ing from  Magheracat  (Clough)  southwards  to  below  Maghere- 
raye  (Maghera).  It  is  now  chiefly  represented  by  those 
nine  townlands  of  Kilmegan  parish  which  are  included  in 
the  barony  of  Lecale  (See  Reeves's  Eccl.  Antiq.)  The  Irish 
name  for  the  district  was  Uachtarthii-e.  In  the  "  Annals  of 
the  Foiu'  Masters"  we  ai*e  informed  that,  a.d.  1406,  Muir- 
eadach,  son  of  Flaithbeartach  Ua  Neill,  Royal  heir  of 
Oileach,  and  Aiteidh  Ua-h-Aiteidh,  lord  of  Ui-Eathach- 
XJladh  (Iveagh),  were  bui-ned  in  a  house  set  on  fire  by 
Cu-Uladh,  son  of  Conghalach,  lord  of  Uachtar-Thire  (the 
farther  or   upper  part  of  the  territory). 

Dundi-um  was  included  in  Lecale  from  a  very  early  date. 


PARISH    OF    KILMEGAX.  67 

"The  Annals  of  the  Four  Masters"  relate  that  in  the  year  1147 
the  Cinel  Eoghain — that  is,  the  people  of  the  counties  of  Deny 
and  Tyi'one — pursued  the  Ulidians  "  till  they  reached  the 
shore  of  Dun-dj-onia,  in  Leath-Chathail  (Lecale).  The  Ulidians 
gave  them  battle  there  on  the  day  of  the  Festival  of  Paul 
and  Peter  (the  29th  day  of  Jime) ;  but  they  were  defeated, 
and  a  great  number  of  them  slain,  together  with  Archu  Ua 
Flathrai,  lord  of  Leath-Chathail.  After  this  the  forces 
plundered  and  bimied  all  Leath-Chathail,  and  canied  off 
hostages  from  the  Ulidians."  This  Dundroma — the  Fort  of 
the  Long  Hill — is  now  Dundi-um,  where  the  ruins  of  the 
castle  occupy  the  site  of  the  origuial  dun  or  primitive  earthen 
fort.  Li  a  poem  composed  by  Gilbride  MacNamee  to  lament 
the  death  of  Bryan  O'Neill,  and  the  defeat  of  the  Irish  at  the 
battle  of  Downpatrick,  fought  a.d.  1260,  Dundi-um  is  named 
Bun-droma  Dairinne,  "the  Fort  of  Dairiime's  Ridge."  In 
that  poem  the  bard  of  Ciael  Eoghain  boasts  of  the  many 
victories,  one  of  which  was  that  of  Dun-di'oma  Dairinne, 
gained  over  theu^  enemies  by  that  sept ;  but  by  the  battle 
of  Downpatrick  he  exclaims,  "  Alas  !  we  have  paid 
for  it.^^  The  victoiy  gained  at  Dundrum  by  the  Kinel 
Eoghain  probably  was  that  ah-eady  mentioned,  which  was 
gained  over  the  Ulidians  on  the  29th  of  Jime,  1147. 
The  castle  is  usually  supposed  to  have  been  erected  for 
Knights  Templars  by  Sir  John  de  Coiu'cey,  and  that  order  is 
said  to  have  held  it  till  they  were  suppressed  in  the  year 
1313.*     It  was  afterwards  gi-anted  to  the  prior  of  Down, 

*  Some  years  ago  a  bronze  enameled  plaque,  which  is  at  present 
in  the  possession  of  Mr.  W.  J.  Piggot,  of  Dundrum,  was  found  in 
the  graveyard  of  Maghera.  Mr.  William  H.  Patterson,  M.K.I.  A., 
Belfast,  writing  in  the  Journal  of  the  Royal  Historical  and 
Archoiological  Association  of  Ireland,  says  of  it,  "It  is  evidently  a 
badge  ;  the  material  is  bronze  ;  the  size  5|  inches  long  by  5  inches 
broad  ;  the  subject  is  the  crucifixion.     At  both  top  and  bottom  are 


68  DOWN    AND    CONNOR. 

who  held  it  till  the  suppression  of  religious  houses  ;  and  the 
reversion  of  the  castle  and  manor,  with  the  yearly  rent  of  £6 
13s  4d  reserved  out  of  it,  was  granted  to  Gerald,  Earl  of 
Kildare.  The  old  Castle  of  Dundrum  took  a  part  in  most  of 
the  bloody  scenes  of  those  troublesome  times.  In  1517, 
Gerald,  the  ninth  Earl  of  Kildare,  then  Lord  Deputy,  marched 
into  Lecale  and  took  by  stomi  Dundnim,  which  was  then  in 
the  hands  of  the  Irish,  who  had  some  time  before  seized  it 
from  the  English.  It  again  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Ma- 
geniseS,  and  was  retaken  by  the  Lord  Deputy  Gray,  with 
seven  other  castles  in  Lecale,  in  the  year  1538.  It  was  for- 
tified by  the  celebrated  Shane  O'Neill  in  1566.  At  the  end 
of  that  centiuy  it  was-  in  the  hands  of  Phelim  M'Evir 
Magenis,  who  was  obliged  to  yield  it  to  Lord  Moimtjoy  in 
the  year  1601.t  Phelomy  M'Ai-tan  in  1605  made  over  to 
Loi'd  Cromwell  "  the  castle  of  Dondrome"  with  "  the  third 
pai"te  of  all  that  his  countrie  called  Killinai-te  (Kinelarty),  oi- 
in  Watertirrye  or  elsewhere  in  Co.  Doune."     Thomas  Crom- 

loops,  which  appear  to  have  been  for  -the  purpose  of  attaching  the 
badge  to  the  di'ess  of  the  wearer.  The  background  is  comijosed  of 
diamond-shaped  sunk  spaces  lilled  in  with  wliite  and  blue  enamel 
alternately.  It  will  be  observed  that  a  group  of  Avomen  and  soldiers 
surrounds  the  cross.  One  of  the  soldiers  is  shown  in  the  act  of 
piercing  the  Saviour's  side  with  a  spear,  and  the  blood  issuing  from 
the  wound  is  represented  by  red  enamel,  and  fills  three  of  the 
diamond-shaped  spaces. "  This  plaque  is  supposed  to  have  been  a 
decoration  of  one  of  the  Knights  Templars  of  Dundrnni. 

t  According  to  a  document  in  the  Record  Office,  Dublin,  the 
Castle  then  had  an  outer  court  surrounded  with  a  ruined  wall,  within 
which  were  eleven  "  Irish  houses."  The  king  also  became  possessed 
of  twelve  cottages  and  half  a  carncate  of  land  in  the  town  of  Dondrom 
of  a  certain  water  called  "  Owynaghdeirghe  (the  Rtd  River,  perhaps 
the  Money-carragh)  and  a  little  area  of  sea  at  the  mouth  of  it  called 
Loughyoyn."  This  seems  to  be  the  inlet  of  the  sea  between  the 
promontory  of  2^Iurlough  and  the  mainland  near  Dundrum.  Beauti- 
ful cinerary  urns  found  at  this  promontory  in  1858  are  figured  in  the 
Ulster  Journal  of  Arclucoloijij.     Vol.  VI. 


PARISH    OF    KILMEGAN.  69 

well,  Lord  Lecale  and  first  Eai'l  of  Ardglass,  the  gi'andson  of 
Lord  Cromwell,  sold  it  to  Sir  Francis  Blundell  in  1636,  from 
whom  it  descended  to  the  Marquis  of  Downshire,  its  present 
proprietor.  The  castle  was  finally  dismantled  about  the  year 
1652.  The  ruins  consist  of  a  gi-eat  ch-cular  keep  or  tower, 
siuTounded  by  towers  and  outworks.  Outside  the  castle  are 
the  ruins  of  an  ancient  dwelling  house  formerly  occupied  by 
the  BlundeU  family,  and  last  occupied  by  one  of  their  agents, 
a  Mr.  Gwynn.  Father  Edmund  M'Cana,  in  his  "  Lish 
Itineraiy,"  says  that  the  castle  is  built  upon  the  top  of  a  very 
pleasant  hill,  "  at  the  base  of  which  the  sea  forms  a  bay, 
where  the  tide  on  going  out  leaves  a  remarkable  strand  called 
Traig-na-trenfhior — that  is,  '  the  shore  of  the  champions,'  for 
here  it  was  that  the  youth  of  the  ancient  Ultonians  used  to 
exercise  themselves  in  the  race  and  wi'estling." 

The  inner  Bay  of  Duncbum  was  named  Loch  Rudlu-uiclhe 
(Lough  Ruray),  from  Rudliruidhe,  son  of  Parthalon,  who  was 
there  drowned  in  the  year  of  the  world  2545  ;  liis  brother 
Slainge  had  been  twelve  years  before  that  interred  under  the 
great  earn  on  the  summit  of  Slieve  Donard.  Inlets  of  the 
sea  are  frequently  named  Loughs  both  in  Ireland  and  Scot- 
land. If  our  amials  could  be  relied  on  in  a  matter  of  such 
antiquity,  it  appears  from  them  that  the  inner  Bay  was  formed 
by  the  sea  bursting  over  its  boundaiies ;  the  entry  in  the 
Four  Masters  is  "The  age  of  the  world  2545.     Rudhruidhe,* 

*  Dundrum  Castle,  according  to  the  late  Professor  O'Curry, 
(Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Ancient  Irish.  Vol.  III.j  occupies 
the  site  of  Uun  Rudhraidhe  (Ruray's  Fort)  celebrated  as  the 
scene  of  the  Feast  of  Bricrind  (the  account  of  which  is  pre- 
served in  the  Leabhar  na  h-Uidhre,  the  oldest  manuscript  in 
the  Royal  Irish  Academy).  This  was  Bricrind  Nemhthenga  or 
Bricrind  of  the  Poisoned  Tongue  (from  whom  Loch-Bricrind  now 
called  Loughbrickland  derives  its  name).  He  was  a  contemporary 
of  Connor  MacNessa  and  the  Knights  of  the  Red  Branch,  each  of 
whom  often  felt  and  always  feared  his  bitter  tongue.      A  great 


70  DOWN   AND    CONNOR. 

son  of  Pai-tlialon,  was  di-owned  in  Loch  Rudhi-uidhe,  the 
lake  having  flowed  over  him  ;  and  from  him  the  lake  is 
called."  In  the  following  year  the  annals  record,  "  The  age 
of  the  world  2546.     An  inimdation  of  the  sea  over  the  land 

banquet  was  prepared  for  the  King  and  the  Knights,  and  every  hero 
was  admitted  except  alone  Bricrind  of  the  Poisoned  Tongue. 
According  to  the  Greek  myths  all  the  gods  were  invited  to  the 
marriage  feast  of  Pelens  and  Thetis  in  Thessaly,  except  Discord, 
and  she  to  be  revenged  flung  among  them  the  golden  apple  on  which 
was  inscribed  "The  Apple  for  the  Fair,"  (Te  Kale  To  melon). 
Bricrind  too  resolved  to  have  his  revenge.  He  built  a  magnificent 
house  at  Dun  Ruray  where  now  stands  the  Castle  of  Dundrum. 
"His  house,"  says  the  tale,  "  excelled  in  material  and  art,  in  beauty 
and  gracefulness,  in  pillars  and  facings,  in  embelishments  and 
brilliancy,   in  extent  and   variety,   in  porticoes  and  doors,   all   the 

houses  of  it's  time There  was  a  kingly  couch  built  for 

Connor  (the  king)  in  the  front  part  of  that  kingly  house  above  all  the 
couches  of  the  house,  .  .  .  and  the  twelve  couches  of  the  twelve 
heroes  of  Ulster  were  built  around  it.  .  .  .  Six  horses  were 
employed  to  draw  home  from  the  wood  every  post,  and  it  required 
seven  of  the  strong  men  of  Ulster  to  entwine  every  rod,  and  thirty 
of  the  chief  builders  of  Erinn  were  engaged  in  the  building  and 
ordering  of  it.  Now  when  Bricrind  had  finished  his  great  house, 
,  .  .  he  went  forth  until  he  arrived  at  Emain  Macha  (The  Navan 
Ring,  near  Armagh)  to  invite  Connor  and  the  Nobles  of  the  men  of 
Ulster."  It  was  not  from  motives  of  hospitality  that  he  invited 
them,  but  to  work  up  a  serious  quarrel  by  exciting  such  a  spirit  of 
envy  and  jealousy  among  the  ladies  as  would  draw  their  husbands 
into  war  with  one  another.  The  story  goes  on  to  describe  how  he 
continued  to  sow  jealousies  among  the  three  principal  ladies,  ' '  Fedelm 
the  Ever  Blooming,"  "  Lendabair  the  Favourite,"  and  "  Emer  of  the 
Beautiful  Hair,"  by  flattering  each  separately  at  the  expense  of  the 
others,  "  till  each  woman  put  herself  under  the  protection  of  her 
husband,  and  it  was  then  they  delivered  those  speeches  which  are 
called  by  poets  the  Briatharchath  Ban  Uladh — the  battle  speeches 
of  the  women  of  Ulster. "  The  stories  of  the  Dundrum  and  Thessalian 
banquets  and  of  their  tragic  consequences  were  probably  household 
tales  of  the  Aryan  or  Japhetic  race,  told  by  their  firesides  in  the 
infancy  of  the  human  family  and  afterwards  moulded  into  various 
forms  by  the  poets  of  the  different  nations  into  which  that  primitive 
stock  in  the  course  of  ages  became  divided. 


PARISH    OF    KILMEGAN.  71 

at  Brena  in  this  year,  which  was  the  seventh  lake  irruption 
that  occxxrred  in  the  time  of  Parthalon ;  and  this  is  named 
LochCnan"  (Strangford  Lough).  The  name  LochRudhiiiicllie 
was  applied  also  to  the  outer  Bay  of  Dimdrixm,  as  is  e\T.dent 
from  the  prophecy  of  St.  Riaghail  (see  Drnmcaw,  Ballykinlar, 
and  Tyi'ella),  which  mentions  a  ship  that  was  to  be  seen 
"  on  Loch  Riidhrviidhe  from  the  door  of  the  refectory"  (of 
Tyrella)  from  which  the  inner  Bay  is  not  visible.  The  Bay 
of  Dundrum  was  at  all  times  the  terror  of  mariners. 
The  "  Aimals  of  the  Foui*  Masters"  record,  under  the  year 
A.D.  922,  "  Twelve  hundred  of  the  foreigners  (Danes)  were 
drowned  in  Loch  Rudliruidlie."  The  "  Tonn  Rudhi'aighe" — 
the  wave  of  Dundi'iim  Bay — which  stUl  gives  forth  so 
loud  a  roar,  was  supposed  by  the  ancients  to  be  one  of 
"  the  three  magic  waves  of  L-eland."  In  the  ancient  poem, 
"  The  Dialogue  of  Oisiii  and  Patiick,"  the  aged  bard  says 
that  it  was  one  of  the  pleasures  of  Fionn  MacCumhaUI 
to  listen  to  the  sound  of  "  the  wave  of  Rudhruidhe  lashing 
the  shore."* 

Shortly  after  the  restoration  of  King  Charles  II.  the 
Dominican  Order  resolved  to  establish  their  Villa  Nova  or 
N'ewto^\Tiards  convent  in  some  part  of  the  diocese  of  Dowai ; 
they  selected  as  a  site  for  their  temporary  monastery  a  spot 
to  the  left  of  the  present  road  leading  from  Newcastle  to 
Castlewellan.  Its  situation  in  the  corner  of  a  field  over- 
hanging the  Bun'en  River,  presented  a  pleasing  view  of 
Miu'lough  Strand  and  Slieve  Donard  Mountain.  Until  a 
few  years  ago  there  remained  to  mark  the  spot  a  mass  of 

*  The  line  in  the  original  poetry,  like  the  well-known  "  Poluflois- 
boio  Thalasses  "  of  Homer,  seems  to  have  been  intended  to  imitate 
the  loud  surge  of  the  sea.  "Tonn  Paidhruidhe  ag  buan  re  traighe," 
which  may  be  pronounced  "  Tunn  Roorey  ag  booan  re  trah,"  sounds 
which  convey  to  the  ear  a  good  imitation  of  the  loud  surge  in 
Dundrum  Bay. 


72  DOWN   AKD   CONNOR. 

undistiiigiiisliable  ruins  and  some  medicinal  herbs  which  the 
Dominicans  had  once  cultivated.  We  are  not  to  understand 
that  any  stately  monastery  was  there  erected,  but  some 
cabins  which  the  poor  Fathers  called  their  Locus  Refugii. 
There  the  legitimate  successors  of  the  Dominicans  of  New- 
townards  kept  up  the  holy  traditions  of  Villa  Nova, 
(Newtownards)  when  that  house  had  been  profaned  to  other 
purposes.  At  tii-st  the  Dominicans  encountered  a  severe 
opposition  from  some  of  the  clei-g}'  and  laity,  who  thought 
the  time  inopportune  for  the  return  of  the  Dominicans, 
and  "  the  humble  remonstrance  and  petition  of  the  gentry 
and  inhabitants  of  the  County  of  Down  to  the  most  reverend 
convocation  of  Catholique  clergy,  now  assembled  in  Dublin," 
I'epresented  that  "in  the  time  of  their  prosperity  and  enjoy- 
ment of  theii-  estates  before  the  war,  there  was  in  the  county 
the  order  of  St.  Francis,  which  had  continued  always,  even 
during  the  hardship  of  the  late  gi-eatest  troubles  and  perse- 
cutions to  serve  God  and  the  people  therein;"  that  "petitioners 
as  they  have  endeavoured  to  maintain,  will  still  endeavour 
to  maintain  the  order  of  St.  Francis,  but  that  they  are  not, 
in  their  extreme  poverty  and  adversity,  able  to  maintain  any 
more  of  the  same,  or  much  less  of  any  other  oixler ;"  that, 
"  nevertheless,  the  fathers  of  St.  Dominick's  order  pressed 
hard  upon  petitioners  to  be  of  late  admitted,  upon  pretence 
of  a  monasteiy  which  the  order  is  said  to  have  had  in  the 
comity,  before  the  change  of  religion,  in  the  days  of  Queen 
Elizabeth  and  King  James."  They  pray  "the  Most  Reverend 
Prelates,  and  the  rest  of  the  convocation,  to  give  a  final 
sentence  herein,  to  the  relief,  ease,  and  education  of  your 
petitioners."  The  first  names  attached  to  this  petition,  are 
those  of  Phelini  Magenisse,  Robei-t  Magenisse,  Nicholas 
Fitzsimons,  Robert  Savage,  Matthew  Savage,  Bryan 
Magenisse,  &c.     This  matter  w^as  finally  settled  by  the  pri- 


PARISH    OF    KILMEGAN.  73 

mate,  Dr.  Plimket,  who,  taking  coimsel  with  the  bishop  of 
Meath,  and  the  vicars-general  of  Meath  and  Kihnore,  pro- 
nounced his  decree,  11th  October,  1671.  "Whereas,  it 
appears  to  ns,  that  the  Dominicans  had  formerly  the  convent 
Gnala,  in  Clogher,  of  Newtown,  in  Down,  and  of  Carlingford, 
in  Armagh,  we  ordain  and  decree,  that  they  may  beg  and 
quest  like  the  other  regulars,  through  these  thi'ee  dioceses." 
(De  Burgo  Hibern.  Dominicana.)  In  a  letter  wiitten  by 
Dr.  Plunket,  to  Mon-signor  Baldeschi,  secretary  of  the 
Propaganda,  which  is  dated  November  1,  1670,  he  says  : — 
"  In  the  diocese  of  Down  there  is  a  convent  of  Dominicans, 
but  the  friars  live  at  lodgings.  There  are  five  Dominicans, 
but  only  one  is  of  gi-eat  fame — viz.,  Clement  O'Biyne 
(Bm-ns),  who  is  a  good  preacher,  and  produces  much  fruit," 
Dr.  Plunket,  in  his  letter  of  25th  of  September,  1671, 
addressed  to  the  Internunzio  in  Brussels,  says: — "Near 
Down,  at  Villa  Nova,  the  Dominicans  have  a  convent  of 
five  friars,  and  the  prior,  Pather  Clement  Byrne,  is  a 
learned  preacher." — (Life  of  Dr.  Plunhet,  hy  Br.  Moran.) 
In  the  years  1730  and  1731,  returns  were  made  to  Parlia- 
ment by  the  Protestant  Archbishop  of  Armagh,  and  the 
Protestant  Bishops  of  Meath,  Clogher,  Raphoe,  Deny, 
Dromore,  Do^vn  and  Comior,  Ardagh,  tfec.  On  the  returns 
a  report  was  drawn  up,  entitled,  "  A  report  made  by  his 
Grace  the  Lord  Primate,  from  the  Lords'  Committee,  ap- 
pointed to  inquire  into  the  present  state  of  Popery  in  the 
Kingdom  of  Ireland,  and  to  propose  such  heads  of  a  BiH  as 
they  shall  think  most  proper  for  explaining  and  amending 
the  Acts  to  prevent  the  growth  of  Popery,  and  to  seciu-e  the 
kingdom  from  any  danger  from  the  great  number  of  Papists 
in  the  nation.  To  Avhich  are  added  an  appendix,  containing 
original  papers.  Dublin  :  printed  in  1731  ;  and  re-printed 
in  London  by  J.  Oliver  in   1747."     In  the  preface  of  this 


74  DOWN   AND    CONNOK. 

production  it  is  said — "  Perseverance  in  promoting  and 
increasing  Protestant  seminaries,  and  due  execution  of  the 
laws  against  the  Popish  clergy,  will,  it  is  hoped,  in  the  next 
age  root  out  that  pestilent,  restless,  and  idolatrous  religion." 
A  great  number  of  the  documents  from  which  the  Pi'imate's 
report  was  made,  are  still  preserved  in  the  Record  Office, 
Dublin.     One  is 

"  A  RETURN  TO  THE  LORDS'  COMMITTEE  FROM  THE 
DIOCESE  OF  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

"  My  Lords, — I  have  received  retimis  from  56  parishes, 

and  have   account  of   45  priests,   one  monastery  with  two 

friars  in  it,  in  the  parish  of   Kilmogan,  near  the   Mourne 

Moiintains.      There    are   bvit   four    schools    and   five    Mass 

houses,  but  they  say  Mass  upon  moimtains  and  in  private 

houses.     One  Armstrong  takes  upon  him  to  be  bishop,  and 

holds  visitations,  at  which  there  appear  great  numbers,  the 

itinerant  preachers,  I  suppose,  making  pai-t  of  them.     There 

are  several  of  those  that  have   great  concourse  about  them. 

I  am  told  that  they  teach   Boldly  that  there  is  no  salvation 

but  in  their  communion. 

"  Fr.  Down  &  Connor."* 

About  the  year  1750,  the  Dominicans  removed  to  Money- 
scalp  in  the  parish  of  Kilcoo  (see  page  39). 

In  the  townland  of  Drumnaquoil,  in  a  field  belonging  to 
James  Laverty,  which  adjoins  the  road  that  there  forms  the 
boundary  between  the  townlands  of  Drumnaquoil  and  Dun- 
tiu-k,  is  the  site  of  the  friary  of  Drumnaquoil  which  was  the 
"  locus  refugii"  of  the  Franciscans  of  Down,  the  site  of 
whose  monastery  is  now  occupied  by  the  Protestant 
parish  chiu'ch  of  Downpatrick.  I  have  been  unable  to 
find  out  the  date  at  wluch  the  Franciscans  located  them- 

*  "  Fr.  Down  &  Connor  ''  is  Francis  Hutchinson,  an  Englishman, 
who  in   1720  became  Protestant  Bishop  of  Down  and  Connor. 


PARISH    OF    KILMEGAN.  75 

selves  there  ;  but  a  legend  told  by  the  people  accounts  for 
the  selection  of  that  secluded  spot.  They  say  that  when 
the  friars  were  at  prayer  in  Rome,  a  vision  of  a  lady  in  white 
warned  them  to  build  a  friary  where  they  would  hear  the 
sound  of  thi'ee  bells  ringing.  The  friars,  wearied  and  foot- 
sore, sat  down  one  day  before  the  gate  of  Savage's  Castle,  in 
Drumaroad,  to  rest  themselves,  for  they  had  searched  all 
Ireland  thi-ough  for  the  promised  sign,  when  at  last  their 
heai-ts  were  gladdened  by  the  long  expected  chimes  surging 
across  the  valley  from  the  lonely  hill-side  of  Drumnaquoil. 
Some  would  say,  perhaps,  that  it  was  less  owing  to  the 
influence  of  the  vision  than  to  the  hope  of  escaping  the 
priest-hunters  that  the  friars  came  to  that  mountain  solitude, 
but  the  eyes  of  the  Government  were  upon  them  even  there, 
as  the  following  document,  preserved  in  the  Public  Record 
Office,  Dublin,  shows  : — 

"  To  the  Right  Honom-able  the  Lords'  Conxmittee  appointed 

to  inquire  into  the  present  state  of  Popery  in  the  Kingdom 

of  Ireland. 

"  In  obedience  to  your  lordships'  order,  bearing  date  the 
6th  day  of  the  instant  November,  to  me  directed,  as  sheriff 
of  the  County  of  Down,  requiring  me  to  return  unto  your 
lordships  an  account  of  what  reputed  nmineries  or  fryaries, 
and  what  number  of  fryaries,  are  within  the  said  County  of 
Down,  and  what  number  of  fryars  or  nuns  are  reputed  to  be 
in  the  same  resj)ectively. 

"  I  do  therefore  humbly  certify  unto  your  lordships  that, 
after  the  strictest  inquiiies,  I  can  find  there  is  but  one  re- 
puted fryary  in  the  said  County  of  Down,  kept  at  a  place 
called  Drumnacoyle,  in  the  said  county,  within  eight  miles 
of  Rathfriland,  in  which  there  is  commonly  reputed  to  be 
nine  fryars.  And  that  there  is  not  in  the  said  County  of 
Down  any  reputed  nunnery,  nor  any  nuns. 


76  DOWN   AND   CONNOR, 

"  Dated  at  Kii-kistoAvne,  the  nineteenth  day  of  November, 
one  thousand  seven  hinidred  and  thii-ty-one. 

"Wm.  Savage." 

It  is  probably  to  the  Fryary  of  Drumnaquoil  that  Primate 
Oliver  Plmiket  refei's  in  his  report  to  the  Propaganda,  in 
1670,  on  the  state  of  the  diocese  of  Down  and  Connor,  in 
which  he  says  : — "  There  is  also  a  convent  of  Franciscans, 
who  are  twelve  in  number,  and  amongst  them  Paul  O'Byrn 
(probably  Bvu'ns),  Paul  O'Neill,  James  O'Hiney  are  the  most 
distinguished  in  point  of  preaching  and  prodiicing  fruit." 
The  friars  left  Drumnaquoil  about  the  year  1760,  for  I  find 
that  John  MacMuUan,  of  Druniaroad,who  died  in  1839,  aged 
nearly  ninety  years,  was  one  of  the  last  of  the  pupils  who 
attended  their  school.  There  were  then  only  three  fiiars  in 
the  establishment — Friar  Burke,  Friar  O'Neill,  and  another 
whose  name  I  could  not  discover.  From  the  records  of  the 
Franciscans  it  appears  that  Father  Anthony  O'Neill  was 
appointed  guardian  of  the  convent  of  Down  on  the  26th  of 
August,  1751,  and  again  on  the  26th  of  February,  1753.  It 
also  appears  by  tradition  that  the  friars  were  withdi-awn  from 
Drumnaquoil  by  the  superiors  of  their  order.  The  imroofed 
walls  of  their  chapel  were  taken  down  in  the  year  1800. 
Old  people  remember  its  altar,  which  was  built  of  stone  and 
lime,  and  covered  with  a  lai'ge  black  slate  stone,  A  school- 
master of  Drumaroad  removed  a  portion  of  the  altar-stone  to 
the  graveyard  of  Drumaroad,  and  inscribed  on  it  in  Irish  the 
date  of  the  consecration  of  that  gi'aveyard,  and  it  now  serves 
for  his  own  headstone.  A  reliquary  which  hung  above  the 
altar  of  the  old  chapel  of  Drumai'oad  belonged  once  to  the 
friary.  It  is  described  as  gilded,  and  closed  with  a  double 
door.  It  was  removed  at  the  rebuilding  of  the  chapel,  and 
seems  to  be  lost. 


PARISH    OF    KILMEGAN.  77 

PARISH    PRIESTS. 

In  the  yeai-  1704,  Owen  O'Mullen  is  returned  as  parish 
priest  of  Ealmegan ;  he  was  then  64  years  of  age,  and  re- 
siding in  Slievaniskey.  Father  O'Mullen  was  ordained  in 
the  year  1666  by  Dr.  Patrick  Phmket,  Bishop  of  Ardagh. 
He  is  returned  by  Primate  Oliver  Plunket  as  one  of  the 
priests  of  Down  and  Connor  in  1670.  Slievaniskey  was 
obviously  very  inconvenient  for  the  residence  of  the  parish 
priest  of  Kibnegan,  but  it  is  probable  that  the  present  bound- 
aries of  the  parish  were  not  strictly  adhered  to ;  for,  in  the 
year  1704,  Neile  M'llboy  is  registered  as  parish  priest  of 
Kilcoo  and  Kilmegan.  He  was  somewhat  younger  than 
Father  O'Mullen — being  56  years  of  age.  He  was  ordained 
by  Primate  Oliver  Plunket  in  Ballyvark,  in  the  County  of 
Louth,  in  the  year  1670.  Father  M'llboy,  or  M'Avoy,  was 
residing  at  the  time  he  was  registered  in  the  townland  of 
TuUyree. 

The  succeeding  parish  priest  was  Father  Toner,  who  is 
said  by  tradition  to  have  been  a  native  of  the  parish.  I  find 
by  the  list  of  the  "Popish"  inhabitants  of  Kilmegan  returned 
to  the  House  of  Lords  in  1766  that  thei-e  were  three  families 
of  that  name  in  the  townlands  of  Wateresk  and  Dundrinne. 
Mr.  Toner  died  in  the  year  175-3. 

Daniel  Megarry,  commonly  named  "  Donal  Mor,"  suc- 
ceeded Father  Toner.  Mr.  Magarry  was  born,  in  the  year 
1702,  in  the  townland  of  Crossmoi-e,  in  the  parish  of  Duns- 
ford.  He  was  a  nephew  of  Dean  William  Magarry,  P.P., 
Dunsford,  and  of  the  Rev.  Eugene  Magarry,  P.P.,  Saul. 
He  was  appointed  parish  piiest  of  the  Ards  in  1732,  from 
which  he  was  promoted  to  Kilmegan  m.  1753  or  1754.  The 
Rev.  John  Lpich  has  a  chalice  which  belonged  to  his  prede- 
cessor, in  Ballymena,  the  late  Rev.  Daniel  Magarry,  but  origin- 
ally it  belonged  to  his  namesake  and  relative  of  Kilmegan. 


78  DOWN    AND   CONNOR. 

On  it  is  inscribed,  "  Ora  pro  D.  M'G.  1754."  Mr.  Magarry 
resided  in  the  townland  of  Aghlishnafin,  where,  according  to 
the  report  to  the  House  of  Lords  in  1766,  his  household 
consisted  of  "  Daniel  MagaiTy,  priest  of  the  parish  ;  3  men- 
servants,  5  maidservants — 9  Papists."  He  died  January 
15,  1784,  aged  eighty-two  years,  and  was  buried  in  the 
church-yard  of  Dunsford.     (See  Dunsford.) 

The  Rev.  Patrick  MacMullan  (afterwards  Bishop  of  Down 
and  Connor)  was  appointed  to  the  parish  on  the  death  of 
Father  Magany  in  1784.  [For  notice  of  Dr.  MacMullan, 
see  "  The  Bishops  of  Down  and  Connor."]  Dr.  MacMullan, 
having  become  the  bishop  of  the  diocese,  recommended  the 
Pev.  William  MacMullan,  P.P.,  Maghera  [see  Maghera],  to 
the  Holy  See  for  the  parish  of  Kilmegan,  which  had  become 
vacant  by  his  own  promotion.  Father  William  MacMullan 
was  appointed  in  May,  1796,  but  he  remained  in  the  parish 
of  Maghera  till  the  bishop  removed  to  DoAvnpatrick  in  1802. 
Dr.  MacMullan  at  first  resided  in  a  cottage,  the  site  of  which 
is  within  the  present  demesne  of  BaUywillwill.  He  after- 
wards occupied  Clanvaraghan  House.  Father  William 
MacMullan  continued  in  charge  of  the  parish  till  his  death 
in  1824.  He  was  interred  in  the  graveyard  of  Aglilishnafin, 
to  the  west  of  the  old  chapel,  but  his  gi-ave  is  now  enclosed 
by  the  new  church. 

The  Pv,ev.  John  Smith,  w^ho  had  been  cm-ate  to  Father 
MacMullan,  succeeded  him  in  the  parish.  Mr.  Smith  was 
a  native  of  Diiimee,  in  the  parish  of  Maghera.  He  wi'ote 
several  hymns,  some  of  which  are  still  remembered  thi'oixgh 
Kilmegan  and  the  adjoining  parishes.  He  died  in  July, 
1829,  and  was  interred  in  Aghlishnafin,  near  the  body  of 
his  predecessor.  On  his  death,  the  Rev.  James  MacMullan, 
P.P.,  Glenavy,  was  appointed  to  Kilmegan,  but  he  resigned 
in   a  few  days,  in    consequence    of   which  the  paiish   was 


PARISH    OF    KILMEGAN.  79 

admiiiistered  about  a  year  by  the  curate,  the  Eev.  Nicholas 
Crickard,  now  parish  priest  of  Saul. 

The  Rev.  John  O'lSTeill  was  appointed  in  1831.  Mr. 
O'Neill  was  a  native  of  the  parish  of  Upper  Mourne.  He 
was  ordained  by  Dr.  MacMxiUan,  in  Downpatrick,  in 
1812,  In  1825  he  was  appointed  parish  priest  of  Glen- 
arm,  from  which  he  was  appointed  to  Kilmegan.  He 
resigned  KUmegan  in  1843,  and  was  appointed  parish  priest 
of  Glenravel. 

The  Rev.  James  M'Aleenan,  the  present  pastor,  succeeded 
Mr.  O'Neill.  Mr.  M'Aleenan  was  born  in  the  townland  of 
Ballymaginaghy,  in  the  parish  of  Drvimgooland  and  diocese 
of  Dromore.  He  was  ordained  in  advent,  1812,  by  Dr. 
Patrick  MacMuUan,  in  Downpatrick,  and  studied  in  the 
College  of  Kilkenny.  He  was  appointed  to  the  curacy  of 
Downpatrick  on  the  14th  of  March,  1819,  and  from  that  he 
was  appointed  parish  priest  of  Ballyphilip  or  Poi-taferry. 
It  was  while  he  had  charge  of  Portaferry  that  he  procured 
from  Miss  M' Henry,  of  Kerrstown,  in  the  Axds,  the  silver 
shrine  of  the  hand  of  St.  Patrick.  From  Portaferry  Mr. 
M'Aleenan  was  appointed  to  Kilmegan,  on  the  10th  of 
March,  1843,  and  on  the  25th  of  the  same  month  he  was 
appointed  parish  priest  of  Glenavy,  which  he  declined.  The 
venerable  pastor  of  Kilmegan  is  at  present,  and  has  long 
been,  the  senior  priest  of  Down  and  Connor. 

CHAPELS. 

Clanvaraghan  old  chapel  was  erected  in  the  year  1785,  at 
a  place  where  Mass  had  been  celebrated  diu-ing  the  times  of 
persecution.     It  was  replaced  by  one  erected  in  1825. 

Castlewellan  chapel  was  commenced  in  1825,  and  was 
consecrated  in  1827. 

Aghlishnafin  was  erected  towards   the    end   of   the  last 


80  DOWN    AND    CONNOR. 

century  It  was  rebuilt  in  1810  by  Father  William 
MacMullan,  and  it  was  again  replaced  by  the  present  beauti- 
ful chiirch  erected  by  Father  M'Aleenan  from  designs  by 
Father  Jeremiah  M'Auley.  The  remains  of  the  Rev.  James 
Francis  Mooney  are  interred  in  the  graveyard  attached  to 
to  this  church.  Father  Mooney  was  born  in  Castlewellan 
in  the  year  1830.  He  had  been  intended  by  his  relatives 
for  mercantile  pursuits,  but,  feeling  called  to  a  higher  state, 
he  entered  the  Diocesan  College  of  Belfast,  fi*om  which  he 
went  to  the  College  of  the  Noble  Irish  in  the  Univei'sity  of 
Salamanca,  where  he  was  selected  by  the  late  Dr.  Gartland 
to  discharge  the  duties  of  vice-rector  of  that  college,  and  was 
ordained  on  Rosary  Sunday  (the  first  Sunday  of  October), 
1858,  by  the  Bishop  of  Salamanca.  He  was  appointed  to 
the  curacy  of  Lisbvmi  on  the  1st  of  June,  1860,  the  duties 
of  which  he  discharged  till  a  short  time  before  his  death, 
which  occu.rred  on  the  19th  Februaiy,  1865,  at  the  residence 
of  his  brothers  in  Castlewellan.  Father  Mooney  bequeathed 
his  valuable  library,  which  he  had  purchased  in  Spain,  to 
the  Diocesan  College  of  Belfast,  where  it  supplies  a  want 
long  felt  in  the  diocese,  and  is  the  commencement  of  what 
must  in  no  distant  day  become  a  vast  collection  of  books  of 
reference.     On  his  tomb  is  iuscribed — 

Of  your  chaiity, 
Pray  for  the  soid  of  the 
Rev.  James  Francis  Mooney, 
Catholic  Curate,  Lisburn, 
who  died  19th  February,  1865. 

In  times  of  persecution  Mass  was  celebrated  on  the  sites 
of  the  chapels  of  Clanvaraghan  and  Aghlishnafin,  at  Bally- 
wilhvill  demesne,  and  in  the  fiiary  of  Di'umnaquoil. 


THE  TERRITORY  OF  KINELARTY. 


<^i^INELARTY  or,  as  it  was  anciently  written,  Genel- 
Jffij  Fugliartaigli — (the  race  of  Faghertaigh) — derives  its 
^  '  name  from  Faghartaigh,  from  whose  grandson  Ai-tan, 
are  descended  the  MacArtans  who  supplied  chiefs  to  the 
territories  of  Kinelarty  and  Diifferin  ;  both  these  temtorie.s 
at  the  period  at  which  the  Book  of  Rights  was  written,  seem 
to  have  been  included  under  the  name  Dufferin — Duihhtrian 
— which  only  is  mentioned  in  that  ancient  Tract.  Tlie 
Anglo  Norman  Settlers  expelled  the  MacArtans  shortly  after 
the  English  Invasion  from  nearly  the  whole  of  that  which  is 
now  called  Dufferin.  The  MacArtans  are  of  the  same  race 
as  the  Magenisses,  both  families  being  descended  from  Cael- 
bhadh,  who  was  slain  in  the  year  357,  after  having  been  King 
of  Ulidia  for  fifteen  years,  and  of  Ireland  for  one.  A  pedigi-ee 
of  Thomas  Oge  MacArtan,  preserved  by  Dudley  M'Firbis, 
gives  "  Artan  (a  quo  MacArtan),  son  of  Craindeach,  son  of 
Faghartaigh,  son  of  Mongan,  son  of  Saran,  son  of  Caelbhadh." 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  several  links  are  wanting  in  the 
pedigi-ee,  and  that  the  Artan  who  gives  name  to  the  family 
lived  not  before  the  year  500,  which  would  be  the  case  if  he 
were  the  fifth  from  Caelbhadh  ;  but  that  he  is  Artan,  "  a 
royal  heir  of  Ui  Eathach,"  that  is  a  person  qualified  to  be 
elected  prince  of  Iveagh,  who,  as  is  related  by  our  annals, 
was  slain  by  Flagherty  O'Neill  in  battle  at  Loughbrickland, 
A.D.    1004.      Tliis  surmise  is  borne  out  by  the  fact  that  the 


82  DOWN  AND  CONNOK. 

sumames  of  Irish  families  are  generally  formed  by  prefixing 
0  or  Mac  to  the  name  of  one  of  their  ancestors  who  lived  in 
the  tenth  century.  The  MacArtans,  being  of  the  same  race 
as  the  people  of  Iveagh,  at  times  aspired  to  the  chieftancy  of 
that  territory.  The  following  notices  of  chiefs  of  that  name 
occur  in  our  annals  and  State  Papers  :— 

A.D.  1011.  Muircheartach  MacArtan,  King  presumptive 
of  Iveagh,  was  slain  at  the  battle  of  the  Mullachs.  He  Avas 
the  first  who  was  named  MacArtan,  being  the  son  (Mac)  of 
Artan,  who  was  slain  in  the  year  1004. 

A.D.  1130.  Dubhrailbhe  MacArtan,  and  many  others  of 
the  Ulidians,  were  slain  in  an  engagement  with  the  Kinel 
Eoghain,  who  were  led  by  Connor  O'Loughlin  or  MacLoughlin. 
This  was  one  of  the  many  wars  waged  by  the  Kinel  Eoghain 
against  the  Ulidians,  to  punish  them  for  assisting  the  enemies 
of  the  Kinel  Eoghain. 

A.D.  1152.  Dermot  MacAi-tan,  chief  of  Kinelfagherty, 
was  one  of  the  subscribing  witnesses  to  the  charter  gi-anted 
to  the  monastery  of  Newry  by  Muirchei'tach  MacLoughlin, 
King  of  Ireland. 

A.D.  1177.  "Cinaet  MacAi-tan,  of  Cinel  Foghartaigh," 
according  to  some  notes  and  memoranda  on  the  fly  leaves  of 
the  Martyi'ology  of  Donegal,  which  is  now  preserved  in 
Brussels,  was  one  of  the  Irish  who  perished  in  their  unsuc- 
cessful attempt  in  1 1 77  to  drive  De  Courcy  from  Downpatrick. 

A.D.  1242.  "  Domlmall  MacAirten  died  in  hoc  anno" 
(Annals  of  Loch  Ce). 

A.D.  1244.  MacAi-tan  was  one  of  the  Irish  chiefs  who 
was  summoned  to  attend  Henry  III.  in  his  expedition  against 
Scotland. 

A.D.  1269.     Echmily  MacArtan  was  slain  by  O'Hanlon. 

A.D.  1275.  MacArtan,  MacGilmore,  and  Hugh  Byset, 
assisted  William  Fitzwarin?,  seneschal  of  Ulster,  in  defeating 


TERRITORY  OF  KINELARTY.  83 

the  Mandevilles,  who,  assisted  by  O'Neill  of  Kinel-Owen, 
laid  waste  the  seneschal's  lands. 

A.D.  1316.  When  Edward  Bruce,  after  ravaging  the 
North  of  Ireland  so  much  that  he  could  no  longer  maintain 
his  army  in  it,  was  hastening  towai'ds  the  unplundered  Pale, 
two  chiefs  impeded  his  march  by  attacking  him  in  a  forest 
pass  near  Newry,  one  of  whom,  according  to  Barbour,  was 
MaKartane. 

A.D.  1 335.  Edward  III.  ordered  £10  to  be  paid  to  Henry 
de  Mandeville  for  losses  sustained  in  repelling  MacArtan 
from  plundering  the  Manor  of  Roger  Outlawe,  Prior  of 
Kilmamham.  The  Manor,  which  MacAi-tan  intended  to 
plunder,  was  probably  Ballyministra  in  the  Parish  of  Kil- 
mood,  or  perhaps  the  Prior's  lands  at  St.  John's  Point. 

A.D.  1343.  MacArtan  attacked  at  the  same  pass,  in  the 
vicinity  of  Newry,  Su-  Ralph  Ufford,  justiciary  of  Ireland, 
and  took  from  him  his  clothes,  money,  vessels  of  silver,  and 
some  of  his  horses;  but  our  annals  relate  that,  A.D.  1347, 
"  Thomas  MacArtan,  lord  of  Iveagh,  was  hanged  by  the 
English." 

Jolm  O'Dugan,  chief  poet  of  O'Kelly  of  Hy  Many,  who 
died  A.D.  1372,  thus  speaks  of  the  MacAitans.  in  his 
Topographical  Poem  : — 

MacArtan  has  by  Charter 
The  steady  stout  Cinel-Faghartaigh 
Who  never  refuse  gifts  to  the  poets 
They  are  the  treasury  of  hospitality. 

Very  different  was  the  poetic  effusion  of  Aenghus  O'Daly, 
a  bard,  who  lived  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  and  is  said  to 
have  been  employed  by  the  agents  of  the  Government  to 
lampoon  the  Irish. 

The  Cinel-Faghartaigh  are  the  men  ! 
Remnants  of  curses  and  lies, 
large,  soft,  dastardly  men, 
blind  crooked  shin-burnt. 


84  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

A.D.  1375.  "  MacAi-tan,  chieftain  of  Kiiiel-Faghai-taigh, 
was  slain  treacherously  by  his  own  kinsman,  the  son  of 
Gilla  Temoinn  MacAi*tan." 

A.D.  1387.  John  Soiirby,  Abbot  of  Incli,  John  Bisho}> 
of  Sodor,  and  several  others  obtained  pai-don  for  conniving 
at  the  escape  of  John  McGylchallym  McCartan,  who  was 
detained  as  a  hostage  of  the  King  in  Carrickfergus. 

A.D.  1453.  The  English  of  Dublin  having  piirsued  a 
fleet  of  Welsh  ships  as  far  as  Ardglass,  landed  there,  and 
with  the  assistance  of  the  Savages  slew  five  hundred  and 
twenty  of  the  Irish,  among  whom  was  MacArtan. 

A.D.  1486.  "  Donnel  Oge  MacAitan,  a  hospitable  gentle- 
man died." 

A.D.  1493.  "MacArtan,  i.e.,  Patrick  the  son  of  Hugh 
Roe  died." 

A.D.  1530.  "  MacArtain,  dux  of  Cenel-Foghartaigh 
mortuus  est."     (Annals  of  Lough  Co.) 

A.D.  1583.  MacArtan  waited  on  the  Lord  Deputy,  8ir 
John  Perrot,  swore  fealty  and  gave  hostages. 

A.D.  1585.  MacArtan  leagued  with  the  Scotts  to  attack 
Lower  Claneboy. 

Sir  Henry  Sydney,  in  1575,  .says  "  From  thence  I  came  to 
Kimialiartie  or  MacCartains  Countrie,  which  I  found  all 
desolate  and  waste,  full  of  Thieves,  Outlawes,  and  all  unre- 
claymed  People  ;  none  of  the  old  0\vniers  dare  occupie  the 
Land,  because  it  pleased  her  Majestic  to  bestow  the  Countrie 
upon  Capten  Nicolas  Malbye  "  (Sidney  Letters  and  Memo- 
rials). Marshal  Bagenal's  account  of  this  Territoiy  in  1 586 
is — "  Kinalewrtie,  othei'wise  called  McCartan's  countrey  is 
likewise  woodland  and  boggy  ;  it  liethe  betweene  Kilwaren 
and  Lecahull.  In  tymes  })ast  some  interest  thei-ein  was 
geven  to  Sii'  N.  Malbie,  but  never  by  him  quietlie  enjoyed  : 
nowe  the  Capten  thereof  is  Acholic  McCartan  and  doth  veld 


TERRITORY  OF  KINELARTY.  85 

onlie  to  the  Qxiene.  He  is  able  to  make  aboute  60  footemen 
and  no  liorsmen."  Another  account  of  this  territory  written 
ill  the  year  1596  or  1598,  is  given  in  a  Mss.  in  the  Lambeth 
Library  which  has  been  printed  in  Duboiirdien's  County  of 
Antrim.  It  says — "  The  Capten  hereof  is  called  Acholy 
MacCartan,  and  did  yeald  to  the  Qneene  but  now  adhereth 
to  the  Earl  of  Tyrone,  as  one  of  O'Neal's  Vassals.  He  is 
able  to  make  two  himdi-ed  and  sixty  footmen,  but  few  or  no 
horsemen  by  reason  that  the  country  is  so  full  of  woods  and 
boggs."  This  Acholy  MacAi-tan,  or  as  he  should  be  properly 
called  Echmilidli  (Horse-warrior),  was  a  staunch  adherent  of 
Hugh^  O'Neill,  Earl  of  Tyrone,  for  which  he  forfeited  a  great 
portion  of  his  lands  in  Dufferin,  his  sons  Phelomy  and 
Donell  Oge  MacArtan  entered  into  an  agreement  on  the 
12th  of  September,  1605,  Avith  Edward  Lord  Cromwell,  the 
governor  of  Lecale,  who  was  at  that  time  the  owner  of  the 
church  lands,  which  had  been  formed  into  the  Downpatrick 
estates,  whei-eby  MacArtan  gi-anted  to  Cromwell  the  third 
part  of  all  his  countiy  called  Killhiartie,  (Kinelarty)  or  in 
Watertirrye  (see  Kilmegan)  or  elsewhere,  the  chief  seat  of 
MacArtan  excepted,  to  hold  for  ever,  in  consideration  of  a 
certain  sum  of  money,  and  that  Lord  Cromwell  should 
educate  in  a  gentlemanlike  manner  his  son,  Patrick,  who 
was  then  about  foiu-teen  years  of  age.*     Thomas  Ci'omwell, 

*  Sir  Arthur  Chichester  wrote,  January,  20th,  1608,  to  the  Earl 
of  Salisbury  "  requesting  him  to  bestow  the  wardship  of  her  son  on 
Lady  Cromwell,  (his  father  died  in  September,  1607,)  that  his  Lord- 
ship had  charitably  procured  10s.  by  the  day  for  the  young  Lord,  and 
the  continuance  of  30  foot  and  officer  in  pay  on  the  establishment, 
and  without  this  they  had  not  long  been  able  to  subsist  among  such 
dangerous  neighbours  as  they  have.  So  much  of  McCartan's  land 
as  his  father  held  in  capitie,  yields  them  very  small  benefit  as  yet,  the 
Country  being  desolate  of  inhabitants,  and  McCartan  being  a  fellow 
that  will  be  proxlmus  sibi,  neighbour  to  himself."  Calendar  of  Statr 
Papers,  1608.     A  State  Paper  of  the  same  year,  containing  the  names 


86  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

the  fourth  baron  Cromwell,  sold  Dundrum  estate  to  Sir 
William  Blundell,  from  whom  the  Downshire  family  inherit 
it ;  and  in  the  year  1636,  he  sold  his  entire  interest  in  the 
Kinelarty  lands  to  Mathew  Forde,  Esq.,  of  Coolegreany,  Co. 
Wexford,  for  £8,000.  The  Cloiigh  estate  was  gi-anted  by 
James  I.  in  1612  to  Thomas  Fitzmaurice,  but  it  came  by 
purchase  some  time  previous  to  1618  to  Sir-  Francis  Annesley. 
Retui'ning  to  the  MacArtans,  Patrick,  who  was  to  have 
been  educated  by  Lord  Cromwell,  seems  to  have  died  before 
1641  ;  at  least  his  son,  Patrick,  headed  his  clan  in  the  gi-eat 
war  which  broke  out  in  that  year,  and  assisted  in  taking 
Newi-y.  Wlien,  however,  the  Scott's  army  and  the  English 
had  retaken  Newiy  in  May,  1642,  "They  marched  home 
through  Magineses'  and  M'Carton's  country,  and  marched  in 
three  divisions,  burning  all  the  houses  and  corn  before  them, 
and  brought  away  the  spoyle  of  the  country  before  them,  and 
cattle  in  gi-eat  abundance  ;  there  was  much  goods  left  behind 
and  provisions,  which  they  coidd  neither  destroy  nor  carry 
away,  being  hid  underground  in  the  backside  of  every  house ; 
the  division  that  Collonell  Chichester  commanded,  burnt 
il/' Carbon's  and  Ever  Maginnesse's  house,  ....  there 
were  at  least  800  baggage  horses  (as  they  call  them)  loaded 
with  the  spoile  of  the  countrey,  and  I  think  I  speake  within 
compasse  if  I  say  3,000  cowes.*    ....     On  Wednesday, 

of  those  suspected  of  being  accomplices  of  Sir  Cahir  0' Dougherty, 
says  : — "  Macartyne  keeps  near  Lecale  ;  has  60  men  or  more  at  his 
command,  and  is  not  out  himself  in  arms,  nor  comes  to  the  officers 
thereabouts,  but  his  men  are  no  doubt  sometimes  with  them  that 
are  worst." 

*  The  English  soldiers  complained  bitterly  {hat  they  did  not  get  a 
fair  share  of  the  cows.  "The  next  day,"  says  Pike,  "when  the 
cowes  were  to  be  divided,  many  of  them  were  stolen  away  into  the 
Ardes  and  Clandeboys  the  last  night ;  and  the  goods  so  sueakt  away 
by  the  Scots  that  the  English  troopes  got  just  nothing,  and  the 
English  foote  very  little."     Munro  throws  the  blame  of  this  on  "an 


TERRITORY  OF  KINELARTY.  87 

the  army  marched  through  the  rest  of  M'Carton's  woods, 
spreading  the  foot  broad  iii  the  woods  to  burn  the 
cabbins  that  were  built  there." — (Letter  of  Roger  Fike.)  In 
1645,  Patrick  MacArtan  served  under  Owen  Roe  O'Neill  at 
the  battle  of  Benburb.  In  1647,  Hugh  MacArtan  was  a 
member  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Kilkenny.  When  the 
Irish  Avere  completely  subjugated,  the  estates  of  the 
MacArtans  were  confiscated  by  the  Cromwellians.  Howevei-, 
John,  son  of  the  Patrick  MacAi-tan,  who  fought  during  the 
1641  war,  Avas  appointed  by  the  pai'liament  of  James  II.  a 
Commissioner  for  the  County  of  Down,  to  raise  money  for 
the  purpose  of  opposing  the  adlierents  of  William  III.  ;  but 
in  1691,  he  and  many  others  of  his  name  were  attainted  in 
Banbridge  or  in  Downpatrick.  He  died  26th  of  Septembei', 
1736,  aged  96  years,  and  was  interred  in  MacArtan's  Chapel 
in  Loughinisland.  In  the  same  tomb  were  interred  the 
remains  of  his  son  Phelomy,  who  died  the  27th  of  June, 
1751,  aged  82  years;  and  of  his  gi-andson,  Dominick  of 
Clanvaraghan,  who  died  March,  1772,  at  the  age  of  78 
years.*      "The   principal    seat   of  the   MacCartanes,"   says 

infinite  number  of  poor  contemptible  countrymen  which  could  not  be 
reduced  to  order. "  These  were  generally  native  Irish  camp  followers, 
men  capable  of  any  excess,  who  plundered  friends  or  foes.  'L'hey 
settled  among  their  new  friends,  and  from  them  are  descended  most 
of  the  Presbyterians  who  have  old  Irish  names  in  the  Ards.  Castle- 
reagh,  and  Dufferin. 

*  See  Mr.  Hanna's  Paper  on  C'lougJi  in  the  Downpatrick  Recorder. 
Mr.  Hanna,  in  his  very  learned  Paper,  says,  "Dominick  married  Anne 
O'Neill,  of  the  family  of  Ballymoney,  and  had  two  sous,  of  whom 
nothing  is  known  ;  and  a  daughter  Mary,  who  married  a  Hugh 
MacArtan,  and  died  in  1S33,  leaving  a  son  John,  now  resident  in 
Castlewellan,  the  last  of  the  direct  line  ;  but  according  to  the  genea- 
logical tables  of  the  late  Sir  William  Betham,  a  highly  respectable 
branch  still  resides  at  Montpellier  in  France."  A  Return  of  all  the 
Popish  inhabitants  of  Kilmegan,  made  to  the  House  of  Lords  in  1766, 
by  the  Protestant  minister,  which  is  now  preserved  in  the  llecord 


88  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

Harris,  "  was  at  a  place  called  Aimadom,  on  an  eminence, 
near  which,  now  called  Castleliill,  it  stood,  and  is  at  present 
inhabited  by  Mr.  Anthony  Cosslett"  (an  ancestor  of  the  late 
Rev.  Anthony  Cosslett,  P.P.,  Holy  wood  and  Ballymac- 
carrett.)  The  last  vestige  of  the  castle  has  long  since 
disappeared.  Near  it  was  a  cairn  60  yards  in  circuit,  "wdthin 
which  a  regular  Cronileach  was  found,  under  which  were 
calcined  bones  and  ashes.  The  ancient  Cromleach  of  Anna- 
dom  was  a  few  years  ago  wantonly  destroyed.  The  cap-stone,  • 
which  is  nine  feet  in  length,  eight  feet  in  breadth,  and  two 
and  a  half  feet  in  thickness,  still  lies  on  its  three  upturned 
supporters. 

Office,  Dublin,  gives  under  the  townland  of  Clanvaraghan,  "Dominick 
and  Ann  M 'Garten,  2  sons.  3  daughters,  2  grandchiklren,  7  servants." 
According  to  the  late  Sir  W.  Betham,  the  lineal  representative  of  the 
chiefs  of  the  family  is  Felix  MacCartan,  of  Lisle,  in  Flanders,  son  of 
Dr.  Andronicus  MacCartan.  Inquiries  of  this  nature  may  have  an 
interest  for  English  heralds,  but  they  are  comparatively  uninteresting 
from  an  Irish  Celtic  point  of  view,  according  to  which,  every  Mac- 
Artan  was  equally  noble,  and  from  the  name  an  individual  was  elected 
to  be  chief  for  life,  but  at  his  death  his  children  had  no  more  privil- 
eges than  any  others  of  his  name.  The  lineal  representative  therefore 
of  the  last  chief,  he  who  betrayed  the  trust  reposed  in  him  by  the 
clan,  when  he  accepted  from  the  crown  in  perpetuity  as  landlord, 
what  the  clan  had  conferred  on  him  only  for  life  as  chief,  has,  in  an 
Irish  Celtic  point  of  view,  no  reason  to  boast  of  the  honour  of  his 
ancestor. 


THE  PARISH  OF  LOUGHINISLAND. 


fOUGHINISLAND  comprises  the  entii-e  civil  parish 
of  Loughiiiisland,  except  the  to-wnlaiids  of  Ardilea, 
Claragh,  Clough,  Drumanaghan,  Drumaroad,  Drum- 
caw,  which  formed  the  ancient  parish  of  Drunicaw,  which 
was  added  by  Act  of  Council  in  the  year  1718  to  the  civil 
parish  of  Loughinisland  ;  and  it  includes  the  townlands  of 
Magheralone,  Murvaclougher,  or  Broaghelough,  Rosconnor, 
and  Teconnaught,  which,  since  the  year  1718,  have  been 
annexed  to  the  civil  parish  of  Killmore.  According  to  the 
Census  of  1861  there  were  about  2,700  Catholics  in  the  parish. 
The  first  site  of  an  ancient  church  which  we  meet  in  the 
parish  of  Loughinisland,  on  entering  it  by  the  bridge  of 
Magheralaggan,  is  in  a  field,  on  the  eastern  slope  of  a  re- 
markable rath  in  the  townland  of  Farranfad,  called  the 
Piper's  Forth.  In  that  field  there  was  a  gi-aveyard,  every 
trace  of  which  has  disappeared,  and  the  last  headstone  was 
removed  about  60  years  ago  to  form  the  foundation  for  a 
house.  The  place  was  locally  knoAvri  by  the  name  of  the 
Nunner-y.  Two  pathways  formerly  led  to  it,  one  from  the 
bridge  of  Magheralaggan,  and  the  other  from  Nutgrove, 
which  crossed  the  bog  on  causeways  formed  by  large  stones, 
bound  by  blocks  of  black  oak.  There  is  no  account  of  any 
nunnery  having  been  in  Loughinisland  ;  and  the  name  may 
have  arisen  from  a  popular  error.  This  seems  to  have  been 
"  the  Chapel  of  Kenles,"  which  was   valued  in  the  taxation 


90  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

of  Pope  Nicholas  at  1  mark.  The  rectoiy  of  "  Kenlys,  in 
M'Carthan's  country  "  of  the  annual  value  of  £8,  was  appro- 
priate to  the  priory  of  Regular  Canons  of  Down.  The 
"  Terrier,"  however,  says,  "  Capella  de  Kenlis,  is  the  prior  of 
St.  John,  in  Down.  The  curate  pays  proxies.  Is;  refections. 
Is  ;  synodals,  2s."  By  an  inquisition  taken  on  the  24th  of 
March,  1646,  it  was  found  that  Thomas  Lord  Cromwell 
granted,  on  the  28th  of  January,  1617,  to  Adam  Abercromby, 
alias  Cromwell,  of  Kilmurty,  in  the  County  of  Down,  Ballin- 
fan'enfadd,  and  a  parcel  of  the  same  called  "  the  Hill  of 
Kennedies,"  containing  120  acres.  Kandus  has  been  used 
as  another  form  for  Kells,  or  Kenlis,  in  the  County  Meath, 
and  it  is  very  probable  that  the  Hill  of  Kennedies,  or  Kenlis, 
was  an  older  designation  for  the  Piper's  Forth.* 

There  was  another  cemetery  and  a  church  in  the  townland 
of  Farranfad,  the  site  is  now  occupied  by  the  house  of  Mr. 
David  Moffatt,  and  a  little  west  of  it  there  is,  under  a  high 
bank,  an  ancient  well,  which  is  called  Tubberdoney.  The 
site  of  the  cemetery  and  church  was  locally  called  Killyclough. 
In  one  of  the  patents  of  the  Forde  Estates  the  townland  of 
Drumguolan  (Drumgoolan)  is  followed  by  one  called  Clough- 
vallie,  which  corresponds  with  the  geographical  position  of 
Killyclough.  The  latter  portion  of  the  name  Cloghvallie 
lias,  doubtlessly  given  origin  to  the  Latin  forms,  Yilla- 
Bolloes  and  YOla-Billesa,  under  which  a  townland  of 
Lough inisland  parish,  in  which  there  was  a  chapel,  occurs 
in  several  documents  belonging  to  the  end  of  the  16th  and 
beginning  of  the  17th  century.  In  the  taxation  of  Pope 
Nicholas,  the  church  of  Kilbulk  is  mentioned  between  that 
of  Lismochan  and  the  chapel  of  Kenles.     It  was  valued  at 

*  The  Piper's  Forth  received  its  name  from  one  M'Glennon,  a  piper, 
who  every  Sunday  evening  in  the  early  part  of  last  century  used  to 
play  his  pipes  on  the  old  rath,  for  the  amusement  of  the  people  of 
the  neighbourhood. 


PARISH  OF  LOUGIIINISLAND.  91 

2 1  marks,  and  its  vicarage  at  16s.  On  account  of  the  position 
which  it  occupied  in  the  Taxation  Roll,  Dr.  Beeves  supposed 
that  it  was  in  or  near  the  modem  parish  of  Loughinisland. 
"  A.D.  1334.  It  was  found  that  Milo  Swerd  (Crolly  1)  held 
six  carncates  of  land  in  '  Kilbulk'  imder  the  Earl  of  Ulster 
— Inquis.  P.M.  The  rectory  of  '  Kilbulke,'  an.  val.  53s.  4d, 
was  appropriate  to  the  priory  of  Regular  Canons  of  Down. — 
Inq.  3,  Ed.  VI.  The  rectory  of  '  Killbulke'  paid  six  shillings 
proxies  to  the  bishop. — Ul.  Vis." 

The  Protestant  Church  of  Seaforde,  which  was  erected 
aljout  the  year  1720  in  the  townland  of  ISTaghan,  or  as 
it  is  also  called  in  some  of  the  patents  Maghrenesbegg  (the 
plain  of  the  bishop),  seems  to  occupy  the  site  of  an  old 
Catholic  Church  ;  hence  its  cemetery  is  still  used  by  several 
of  the  Catholic  families  of  the  vicinity.  There  is  a  cave  in 
the  field  which  is  contiguous  to  the  churchyard  on  the  north 
side.  That  is  perhaps  the  cave  which  Dubourdieu,  in  his 
"  Statistical  Survey  of  the  County  Do-wai,"  published  in  1802, 
says  has  been  found  under  a  rath  near  Seaforde  Church.  He 
describes  the  cave  as  about  thirty  yards  long,  with  a  circular 
apai"tment  on  one  side  towards  the  extremity,  and  a  square 
apartment  on  the  other  a  little  nearer  the  entrance,  both 
covered  with  roofs  of  stone.  At  the  farther  end  was  fomid 
a  stone  2|-  feet  long  by  1|-  feet  broad.  This  slab,  previous 
to  the  time  Mr.  Dubourdieu  saw  it,  had  unfortunately  been 
used  as  a  trough  for  pounding  furze,  whereby  an  inscription 
that  was  on  it  was  partially  defaced.  At  that  period  every- 
thing ancient  found  in  Ireland  was  thought  to  be  Danish, 
and  Mr.  Dubourdieu  consulted  a  Danish  scholar ;  but  the 
Dane  could  not  read  it.  Fortunately  he  has  published  in 
his  "  Survey,"  page  278,  a  fac-simile  of  the  inscription,  and 
any  tyro  in  Irish  inscriptions  at  once  recognises  the  usual 
Oroif  do  (a  prayer  for).     The  latter  portion  of  the  inscription. 


92  DOAVN  AND  CONNOR, 

having  partially  peeled  off,  is  imperfect.  Tlie  late  Dr. 
O'Donovan  conjectured  it  to  be  Maolpatrick.  We  find  in 
the  "  Annals  of  the  Four  Masters,"  at  the  year  1026,  that 
Maolpatrick  O'Ailecain,  lecturer  of  Dunlethglas  (Down- 
patrick),  went  over  the  seas  on  a  pilgrimage ;  and  that 
Maolpatrick  (son  of  Celan),  priest  and  vice-abbot  of  Bangor, 
died  in  the  year  927.  It  is,  however,  unfortunately  im- 
possible to  identify  the  person  commemorated  on  the  old 
stone.  It  appears  from  "The  Sculptiu'ed  Stones  of  Scotland," 
Vol.  ii.,  printed  for  the  Spalding  Club,  that  caves  similar  to 
the  Seaforde  Cave,  were  frequently  occupied  in  Scotland  by 
ancliorites. 

In  the  townland  of  Tannagluuore,  on  the  right  side  of  the 
road  leading  from  the  back  gate  of  Seafoi-de  demense,  towards 
the  Bochill  Bregagli,  or  as  it  is  sometimes  called  by  old  j^eople 
the  Cahir-vor.  is  a  field  belonging  to  John  Eoney,  where 
formerly  stood  a  church  called  Shankill  (the  old  church)  ; 
the  field  has  been  cultivated,  but  human  bones  are  found  in 
it  in  such  quantities  as  to  indicate  a  cemetery.  In  a  field 
on  the  left  side  of  the  road,  and  nearly  opposite  Shankill, 
there  is  an  old  well  called  Tubbei'doney,  over-shadowed  by 
two  large  thorns,  at  which  stations  were  made  on  Midsummer 
Eve  until  after  the  commencement  of  this  century.  (For  the 
meaning  of  the  word  Tubbei-doney  see  under  the  parish  of 
Saul.) 

There  was  another  church,  called  Shankill,  in  a  field  be- 
longing to  James  M'Gauran,  in  the  townland  of  Magheralone, 
to  it  was  attached  a  cemetery,  all  traces  of  which  have 
disappeared.  It  was  sometimes  called  Killylone,  and  it 
probably  gives  name  to  Bally killgerifie  (the  town  of  the 
rough  church) ;  one  of  the  townlands  in  that  district  men- 
tioned in  an  inquisition  relating  to  the  estate  of  Thomas, 
Lord  Cromwell. 


PARISH  OF  LOUGHINI>SLAND.  93 

The  great  difficulty  in  ti'eating  of  the  ancient  churches  of 
Loughinisland  parish  arises  from  the  changes  which  their 
names  vmderwent.  Thus,  there  was  a  chapel  in  a  place  called 
in  ancient  documents  "  Villa  Bolloes  "  and  "  Villa  Bilesa," 
which  seems  to  have  been  at  Cloghvallie,  oi-  Killyclough  ; 
another  chapel  in  a  place  called  "  Villa  Branye,"  which  is 
called  in  other  documents  "  Broston,"  was  probably  one  of 
the  two  churches  called  "  Shankill  ;"  and  another  chui'ch  is 
named  Lerkes,  Lyrge,  and  Ballyraga — the  last  name  should 
perhaps  have  been  -wi-itteii  Ballylirga,  which  seems  to  be 
the  modern  Loughinisland.  The  Iiish  woi'd  Learga,  which 
signifies  "slopes  of  hills,"  assumes  the  modern  form  of  Largy, 
and  is  applied  to  land  sloping  down  to  water.  This  name 
was  appai-ently  intended  to  be  desci'iptive  of  Tivendan-agh, 
in  which  the  ruins  of  the  ancient  churches  are  situated. 
Tlie  modern  parish  is  named  from  the  island,  which 
is  connected  with  the  mainland  by  a  causeway,  and  which 
contains  the  ruins  of  three  churches.  The  Irish  were  fond 
of  grouping  togetlier  several  chiu'ches.  There  are  two  in 
Deny  in  the  Ards,  three  at  Loughinisland,  but  seven  was 
theii-  favourite  number,  perhaps  on  account  of  the  Seven 
Churches  of  Asia.  The  continental,  like  the  modem  custom 
with  us,  was  to  erect  one  clnu'ch  in  which  there  would  be 
several  chapels.  The  Irish  did  not  build  large  churches 
containing  many  chapels,  but  expressed  their  devotional 
feelings  by  gi'ouping  several  little  churches  within  one 
enclosure.  This  was  only  imitating  the  custom  of  the 
country  in  dome.stic  arrangements,  for  the  prince,  instead  of 
a  large  palace  fit  to  accommodate  himself  and  his  retainers, 
erected  ^vithin  the  circle  of  his  rath  several  small  houses  to 
effect  the  same  purpose.  Of  the  churches  in  Loughinisland, 
the  largest,  and  seemingly  tlie  most  modern,  measures  67 
feet  in  length  and  30  feet  4  inches  in  breadth.     The  middle 


94  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

church,  which  is  very  ancient,  measures  40  feet  by  23  feet 
10  inches.  The  third,  which  is  called  M'Cai-tan's  Chapel, 
measures  22|  feet  by  14^  feet.  "  Over  the  door,"  says  Dr. 
Reeves,  "  are  the  letters  P.  M.  C.  {Phelim  M'Cartan)  and 
the  date  1639;"  but  Hai-ris  says,  "The  inscriptions  thus 
P.M.  M.C.  A°.  1636,"     Phelim  M'Cartan  died  on  the 

10th  of  June,  1631,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Patrick, 
who  was  then  forty  years  old  and  married.  It  is  probable 
that  the  insci'iption  commemorates  Patrick,  who  seems  to 
have  died  previous  to  the  year  1641,  for  his  son  Patrick, 
jun.,  took  an  active  part  at  the  head  of  his  clan  in  the  wars 
of  that  period,  and  was  proclaimed  a  rebel  in  February, 
1642,  by  the  Lords  Justices,  and  a  large  rewai-d  offered  for 
his  head.  "  The  Chapel  of  the  Lerkes"  was  valued  in  the 
Pope  Nicholas  taxation  at  20s.  Thomas  le  Taillour  held, 
A.D.  1334,  under  William  de  Burgo,  one  carncate  of  land 
"in  le  Lerkes,"  in  the  County  of  Do-wn.  And  other  post 
mortem  inqviisition  held  A.D.  1343,  found  that  Matilda, 
Countess  of  Ulster,  received  sixty  shillings  per  an.  from  one 
carncate  of  land  in  "  Lerckes."  By  an  extent  in  the  Sur- 
veyor-General's office,  it  appears  that  the  rectory  of  "  Lyrge," 
containing  the  tow^nland  of  Lyrge — the  quarter  land  of 
Bolloes,  alias  Crevysse — and  Branye  in  Patria  de  M'Cartan, 
was  appropriate  to  the  abbey  of  St.  Patrick  of  Down. — 
Temp.  Ed.  VI.  Among  the  rectories  leased  in  1583  to  the 
Earl  of  Kildare  was  "  Leirge  comenlie,  called  Kynaleorty,  in 
the  country  of  M'Caitan."  See  Reeves's  Eccl.  Antiq.  Tlie 
church  of  Loughinisland,  under  the  name  of  "  Ecclesia  de 
Lothenewdn,"  according  to  the  "  Terrier,"  which  says  it  was 
appropriate  to  St.  John's  of  Down,  paid  proxies,  3s ;  refec- 
tions, 3s ;  synodals,  2s.  It  would  seem  than  the  churches  of 
KenUs  (Piper's  Forth)  and  Loughinisland  became  appro- 
priate to  the  Abbey  of  Do\^^l,  when  Tiberius.    Bishop  of 


PARISH  OF  LOUGHINISLAND.  .  95 

Down  and  Connor,  annexed  the  Pi'iory  of  St.  John,  in  the 
year  1512,  to  that  abbey. 

The  diocese  of  Dromore  has  encroached  considerably  on  the 
north-west  boundaries  of  the  parish  of  Loughinisland  during 
the  last  centmy,  and  at  present  all  the  distiict  once  attached 
to  the  ancient  chapel  of  Magheratimpany  is  incoi-porated  in 
the  pai'ish  of  Magheradrool  or  Ballynahinch,  and  forms  a 
portion  of  the  diocese  of  Dromore.  That  Magheratimpany 
belonged  to  the  diocese  of  Down  at  the  period  of  the  so-called 
Reformation  appears  from  the  fact  that  James  I.  attached  it 
by  the  charter  of  1609,  ivnder  the  name  of  Ballintampany, 
with  the  other  chapels  in  Loughinisland  parish  to  the  Pre- 
centorship  of  Down  Cathedral,  and  in  the  report  on  the  state 
of  Down  and  Connor  made  by  the  Protestant  Bishop  (Echlin) 
in  1622,  it  is  returned  among  the  other  chapels  of  the  diocese. 
It  is  now,  however,  in  the  Protestant  as  well  as  the  Catholic 
arrangements  annexed  to  the  paiish  of  Magherach-ool.  In 
the  list  of  "  Popish  priests,"  registered  in  1704,  John  O'Bern, 
who  was  then  thirty-nine  years  of  age,  and  who  resided  in 
Ci'eevyargon,  in  the  parish  of  Kilmore,  registered  himself  as 
"  Popish  priest"  of  "  Kilmore,  Tavnaneeve  (Saintfield),  and 
Magheradroll."  No  doubt  Father  O'Bern  registered  himself 
as  priest  of  the  last  parish  on  account  of  the  townlands 
belonging  to  the  ancient  chapel  of  Magheratimpany,  which 
had  at  that  time  been  absorbed  into  the  civil  parish  of 
IMagheradrool,  in  the  same  way  that  Father  William  Laverty, 
parish  priest  of  Saul,  registered  himself  as  "  Popish  priest" 
of  Saul  and  Bailee,  on  account  of  four  townlands  of  the  parish 
of  Saul,  which  are  still  in  the  civil  parish  of  Bailee.  This 
was  a  necessary  precaution,  for  according  to  the  law  a  priest 
was  liable  to  transportation  if  found  outside  the  parish  for 
which  he  was  registered.  The  tradition  that  these  townlands 
at  one  time  belonged  to  the  diocese  of  Down  and  Connor  is 


96  DOWN  AND  CONNOB. 

still  presemed  among  the  people.  The  author  was  told  by 
Daniel  Burns  of  Drumsnade,  that  he  had  frequently  heard 
his  father,  who  was  bom  about  100  yeai'S  ago,  saying  that 
the  towulands  of  Drumsnade  and  Magheratimpany  were 
taken  from  the  priest  of  Loughinisland  and  given  to  the 
pi'iest  of  INIugheradrool.  The  site  of  the  ancient  chapel  of 
Magheratimpany  was  in  a  field  l)elonging  to  Bernai'd  Smith, 
which  is  on  the  south  side  of  his  house.  It  is  only  a  few 
perches  distant  from  the  neares-t  portions  of  the  townilands  of 
Drumsnade  and  Dinimaness,  and  it  is  probable  that  those 
townlands,  together  with  Cumljer  and  Ballymacarn,  all  which 
were  included  in  the  district  sold  by  MacArtan  to  Lord 
Cromwell,  were  once  attached  to  the  chapel  of  Magheratim- 
pany, and  were  in  the  diocese  of  Down.  Not  a  tiuce  of  the 
chapel  remauis,  and  the  site  of  the  cemetery  is  known  only 
by  a  tradition  preserved  by  a  woman  who  died  about  fifty 
years  ago  at  the  age  of  ninety,  who  used  to  say  that  when 
she  was  young  it  was  called  "  the  gi*aveyard."  It  was  sxu- 
rounded  by  a  circular  rampart  and  fosse,  outside  which, 
on  the  sovith-east  side,  was  an  ancient  well ;  but  rampart, 
fosse,  and  well  have  been  obliterated  by  tillage. 

PARISH     PRIESTS. 

In  the  year  1603-4  a  general  pardon  was  granted  to  the 
principal  inhabitants  of  Kinelarty,  and,  among  others,  to  a 
priest  named  Moriertagh  O'Bime,  whose  name  would  now 
be   Murtough    Burns.*      H(^  seems  to  have  been  a  man  of 

*  The  persons  to  whom  a  general  pardon  was  granted  were,  in 
addition  to  Moriertagh  O'Birne,  Pbelim  M'Cartan,  chief  of  his  name, 
his  sou  Patrick,  Owen,  Donald  oge,  Owen  Modder  Aughly  oge, 
Katlielin  oge,  Evehne,  Margaret,  and  several  other  M  'Cartans  ;  also 
to  .several  persons  of  the  names  of  O'Birne,  O'Rogan,  O'Hirill, 
M'Eorie,  O'Konye,  O'Kerene,  M'Aniry,  M'Linian,  &c.  This  enables 
us  to  form  some  idea  of  the  families  that  were  formerly  located  in 
Kinelarty. 


PARISH  OF  LOUGHINISLAND.  97 

considerable  forethought,  for,  in  addition  to  taking  out  a 
pardon,  he  erected  a  tomb  for  himself.  The  tomb  has  dis- 
appeared, but  a  slab  is  lying  in  the  old  graveyard,  on  which 
is  inscribed — 

"  Mauritius  lapidum  Birne  hoc  coopertus  acervo 
Quern  struxit  vivus  sumptibus  ipse  suis. 

A.D.  1617." 
Moriertagh  Birne  is  covered  by  this  pile  of  stones, 
Which  in  his  lifetime  at  his  own  expense  he  erected. 
A.D.   1617. 
In   Primate  Oliver  Plunket's  list  of  the  priests  of  the 
Diocese  of  Down  in  1670,  one  Thadeus  Byrn  is  mentioned, 
and  it   is   not  unlikely  that  he  was    the  parish  priest  of 
Loughinisland. 

Patrick  Burne  is  returned   in  the  list  of  1704  as  "Popish 
priest"  of  Loughinisland.     He  was  at  that  date  51  years  of 
age,  and  was  residing  in  the  townland  of  Tievenadarragh. 
He  had  been  ordained  in   1677    by. Dr.    Patrick    Tirrell, 
Bishop  of  Clougher.     This  clergyman  died  in  the  year  1737. 
Towards  the   end  of  his  life  he    was  assisted   by    Father 
Murtough   Burns,  who  also  resided  in  Tievenadarragh,  and 
perhaps   in  the  same  hovise  that  was   occupied  by  tlie  Rev. 
Patrick   Burne.     It  was  near  the  house  in  which   Bishop 
MacArtan    afterwards   resided.     Father   Murtough    was    a 
Dominican  Friar.    His  remains  rest  to  the  east  of  MacArtan's 
Chapel,  under  a  flat  slate  stone,  which  is  now  broken,  and 
will  soon  disappear.     It  bears  the  following  inscription  : — 
Here  lyeth  the  body 
of  the  Revd.  Father 
Mtirtough  Bums  w 
ho  departed  this 
life  26tli  day  of  December 
in  the  year  1757 
aged  55  years. 


98  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

The  Rev,  Theophilus  MacArtan,  LL.D.,  on  his  return 
from  the  TJniversity  of  the  Sorbonne,  succeeded  to  the  parish 
of  Lougliinisland,  1737,  on  the  death  of  the  Rev.  Patrick 
Burne,  or  Burns.  Dr.  MacArtan  became  Bishop  of  Down 
and  Connor  in  1760,  but  he  retained  the  parish  of  Loughin- 
island  till  his  death,  which  occurred  on  the  16th  December, 
1778.  His  remains  were  interred  in  MacArtan's  Chapel. 
Under  a  recumbent  tombstone,  the  inscription  at  one  end 
of  which  commemorates  John,  Phelomey,  and  Dominick 
MacArtan,  the  last  representatives  of  the  old  chiefs  of 
Kinelarty,  whose  bodies  are  there  interred,  while  that  at 
the  other  end  is  as  follows  : — 

This  stone  recoi'ds  tlie  death  of 
the  Rev.  Theophilus  Macarten, 
The  R.  C.  Bishop  of  Down  and  Connor, 
and  late  P.  P.  of  Loughinisland, 
■who  departed  this  life  on  the     .      ,     . 
Dec,  1778,  aged  78  years. 
(For  a  more  extended   notice  of  him  see  "  The  Bishops  of 
Down  and  Connor.") 

The  Rev.  Patrick  MacArtan  was  appointed  to  the  parish 
of  Loughinisland  after  the  death  of  Di'.  MacArtan.  Father 
MacArtan  was  a  native  of  the  parish ;  he  had  been  parish 
priest  of  Kilclief  for  three  years  pi-evious  to  his  promotion 
to  Loughinisland.  He  erected  the  present  chapel,  and  seems 
to  have  been  a  very  energetic  man.  Although  he  possessed 
a  considerable  influence  with  the  landed  gentry,  yet  it  did 
not  save  him  from  the  brutal  insolence  of  the  Yeomanry. 
On  one  occasion  a  rufiian,  named  Bob   Brown,*  a  sort  of 

*  Bob  Brown  was  an  important  personage  in  those  troubled  times. 
He  was  Secretary  of  the  County  Down  Orange  Association,  and  as 
such  wrote  a  letter  in  January,  1S04,  to  Lord  Lecale,  informing  him 
that  his  lordship  had  been  elected  County  Grand  Master,  in  reply  to 
which  he  received  a  very  gracious  letter  from  Lord  Lecale  (the 
brother  of  Lord  Edward  Fitzgerald  !)  who  declared  himself  very 
grateful  for  the  honour. — News-Letter. 


PARISH  OF  LOUGHINISLAND.  99 

under-agent,  who  resided  in  Clough,  marched  with  a  few  of 
his  drunkeji  companions  to  the  priest's  house,  and  nearly 
killed  him  with  the  butt-ends  of  their  guns,  and  at  every 
blow  Brown  cried  out,  "  Pray  to  your  Virgin/'  Mr. 
MacArtan  was  compelled  to  give  evidence  on  the  trial  of 
Thomas  Russell,  who  was  executed  in  Downpatrick  for  par- 
ticipation in  the  abortive  rebellion  of  1803.  The  following 
is  his  evidence  as  reported  in  the  Belfast  News-Letter^  of 
October  25th,  1803  :— 

"  The  Rev.  Patrick  MacArtan  sworn — Q.  Are  you  not 
the  parish  priest  of  Loughinisland,  in  this  county  ?  A.  I 
am.  Q.  Had  you  not  a  particular  parish  duty  to  perform 
on  the  22nd  and  23rd  of  July  ]  A.  Yes ;  on  Friday,  the 
22nd,  I  was  there,  and  my  curate  (the  Rev.  Neal  Cannovan) 
officiated  on  the  23rd.  Q.  The  chapel  is  near  James  Fitz- 
patrick's  house  %  A.  Yes.  Q.  Look  at  the  prisoner  at  the 
.  bar,  and  see  if  you  recollect  seeing  him  on  the  22iad  of  July? 
A.  If  he  be  the  person,  I  saw  him  on  the  22nd  of  July, 
between  three  and  four  in  the  afternoon.  I  cannot  say  I 
have  physical  knowledge  of  him,  but,  coupled  with  the  cir- 
cumstances, I  think  he  is  the  man  I  saw  that  day  at  Lough- 
inisland. I  was  playing  quoits,  and  I  believe  tbe  prisoner 
at  the  bar  walked  to  the  place  where  I  and  my  curate  were 
playing.  Q.  By  virtue  of  your  oath,  was  the  prisoner  at 
the  bar  the  person  you  saw  on  the  22nd  of  July  or  not*?  A, 
I  cannot  say  positively,  but,  coupled  with  the  circumstances, 
I  have  no  reason  to  doubt  that  he  is  the  same  person.  He 
came  up  to  me  as  I  was  playing  quoits,  and  said  that  was  a 
long  throw — he  was  twenty  yards  distant  from  me — at  that 
time  I  heard  there  were  some  Frenchmen  on  the  coasts.  I 
did  hear  rumours  of  a  landing.  On  the  next  day  I  was  put 
in  complete  possession  of  the  plan  that  there  was  to  be  an 
insurrection  in  Ireland,  and  that  the  prisoner  was  at  Fitz- 


100  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

pati'iok's  and  had  a  green  coat  with  him.  I  went  to 
Fitzpatrick's  house,  and  was  informed  that  he  had  left  that 
morning  before  daylight,  and  went  the  road  to  Belfast.  I 
saw  the  prisoner  at  the  bar,  if  he  be  the  same  person,  coming 
oat  of  Fitzpatrick's  house  on  Friday.  I  was  told  that  he 
went  by  the  name  of  Captain  Shield's."* 

*  The  following  Address  was  puWished  in  the  Neivs-Letler : — 
TO  MATHEW  FORCE,  ESQ. 

WE,  the  Roman  Catholic  Inhabitants  of  the  Parish  of  Loughin- 
island,  beg  leave  thus  publicly  to  declare  to  you  our  firm 
and  unalterable  attachment  to  our  present  Constitution  ;  our  abhor- 
rence of  every  attempt  towards  Rebellion  or  Anarchy  ;  and  our 
fixed  determination  to  support,  by  every  means  in  our  power,  the 
present  order  of  things,  as  by  Law  established. 

We  feel  ourselves  peculiarly  called  on,  at  this  alarming  crisis,  to 
declare  our  Sentiments,  when  our  Loyalty  has  been  a  second  time 
put  to  the  test.  In  Politics,  as  well  as  in  Morality,  to  be  tempted 
is  no  crime — to  resist  the  temptation  is  certainly  a  merit.  We  have 
given  this  second  proof  of  our  Loyalty  ;  and  the  only  reward  we 
demand  is,  the  protection  of  the  Laws,  and  the  confidence  of  our 
Protestant  brethren,  with  whom  we  are  ready  to  co-operate  against 
all  Foreign  or  Domestic  Enemies. 

In  the  late  rebellion  we  stood  in  the  gap  and  stopped  its  further 
progress — not  an  individual  of  your  Tenantry  appeared  in  their 
ranks — We  then  received  your  warmest  Thanks  — we  publicly  re- 
ceived the  Thanks  of  Government — and  we  challenge  the  world  to 
point  out  a  single  instance  in  which  we  deviated  from  our  Allegiance 
since  that  period. 

With  regard  to  the  present  attempt  made  by  French  Emissaries  to 
cause  anarchy  and  disorder  here,  we  solemnly  make  the  following 
Declaration,  before  God  and  the  World,  and  aver  it  to  be  the 
Truth  :— 

We  declare  we  were  not  tampered  with  by  any  French  Incendiary, 
or  by  any  person  whatever,  except  by  a  man  who  called  himself 
RUSSELL,  nor  had  we  any  previous  notice  or  suspicion  that  any 
such  attempt  was  intended,  before  Friday,  the  22nd  of  July,  being 
the  day  prior  to  the  general  alarm  ;  and  even  then  the  mad  scheme 
was  communicated  only  to  a  few  individuals,  who  rejected  it  with 
scorn  and  indignation. 

That  we  now  see  their  plan  was  to  take  us   by  surprize  ;  first  by 


PARISH  OF  LOUGHINISLAND.  101 

Mr.  MacArian,  as  he  was  riding  from  Castlewellan,  fell 
from  his  horse  in  a  fit  of  apoplexy  and  immediately  expired, 
on  the  17th  of  June,  1805,  in  the  55th  year  of  his  age. 
The  Commercial  Chronicle  of  the  24th  of  the  same  month, 
writing  of  his  lamented  death,  says  : — "  The  history  of  the 
good  man's  life  exhibited  an  unvaried  example  of  virtue  and 

propagating  the  system  of  terror,  on  French  principles,  and,  whilst 
our  fears  were  afloat,  to  hurry  us  as  passive  Automatons,  to  be  sub- 
servient to  their  diabolical  designs,  before  reason  had  time  to  resume 
her  seat. 

That  we  are  convinced  the  only  inducement  or  hope  of  success 
here  was  from  an  unfortunate  misunderstanding  which  lately  mani- 
fested itself  in  this  neighbourhood  between  the  lower  order  of  the 
People  on  party  Business  ;  they  therefore  thought  us  fit  subjects  to 
play  on  our  feelings  while  our  passions  were  awake. 

In  our  justification  we  answer  by  facts — they  did  not  succeed — we 
were  not  seduced. 

Moreover,  we  are  decidedly  of  opinion,  that  any  Person  who 
would  attempt  to  divide  the  People,  by  holding  up  Party  at  this 
critical  moment,  when  the  united  efforts  of  the  whole  Kingdom  is 
necessary  to  repel  an  invading  Foe,  must  be  an  Enemy  to  his 
Country. 

We  therefore  humbly  offer  our  service  to  Government,  through 
you,  as  Yeomen,  or  as  Volunteers,  to  do  Duty  within  our  District, 
under  such  officers  as  Government  may  appoint,  and  shall  be  amen- 
able t9  such  Laws  and  Regulations  as  the  other  Corps  of  our  Descrip- 
tion are  subject  to  throughout  the  Kingdom. 

And  we  further  declare  that  if  any  Incendiary  should  venture 
amongst  us  hereafter  to  disturb  the  public  Tranquillity,  we  will  seize 
him  and  deliver  him,  in  safe  custody,  to  the  next  Magistrate,  that 
he  may  be  dealt  with  as  the  Law  directs. 

Signed  by  PAT.  MACCARTAN,  P.P. 

Dated  Loughinisland,  )  And  for  1320  Inhabitants  of  the 

August   9.  \  Parish  of  Loughinisland. 


Sir,  Seaforde,  August  10. 

I  HAVE  just  now  received  your  Letter,  inclosing  the  Address  of 
the  Catholics  of  the  Parish  of  Loughinisland.  I  am  very  happy 
indeed  that  they  have  a  second  time  resisted  the  threats  and  per- 
suasions that  have  been  made  use  of  to  excite  them  to  Rebellion, 
and  eventually  to  their  own  destruction  ;  and  I  am  fully  persuaded 


102  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

piet.j.  He  lived  beloved,  and  he  died  lamented."  He  was 
interred  in  Loughinisland,  but  there  does  not  seem  to  have 
been  a  grave-stone  erected  over  his  remains. 

The  Rev.  William  MaoMullan  succeeded  Mr.  MacArtan. 
Father  MaoMullan  was  born  in  Clanvaraghan  House,  but 
his  family  removed,  when  he  was  very  young,  to  Seavaghan, 
in  Loughinisland.  After  having  received  a  classical  educa- 
tion in  Downpatrick,  he  entered  tl)e  College  of  jMaynooth  in 
August,  1797.  He  was  the  second  student  who  entered 
that  college  to  study  for  the  diocese  of  Down  and  Connor. 
Towards  the  end  of  the  presidency  of  Dr.  Flood,  the  students, 
believing  that  they  were  deprived  of  necessary  comforts, 
while  the  funds  of  the  college  were  hoarded  up  in  order  to 
extend  the  buildings,  instituted  a  general  resistance  to  the 
authority  of  the  superiors.  The  Board  of  the  Trustees  of 
the  College,  after  devoting  nearly  four  days  to  an  investiga- 
tion into  the  case,  pronounced  sentence  of  expulsion  from 
the  college  against  five,  who  were  convicted  of  formal 
disobedience,  two  from  the  diocese  of  Cloyne,  two  from 
Limerick,  and  the  fifth  was  Mr.  MacMullan.  This  sentence 
the  Board  had  executed  in   their  own  presence,  and  in  the 

you  will  continue  the  same  conduct,  should  you  be  a  third  time  put 
to  trial. — I  have  only  to  lament  that  you  did  not  seize  the  ruffian 
who  presumed  to  single  out  our  Parish  from  the  rest  of  the  County 
to  make  his  diabolical  purpose  known  in  ;  and  I  trust,  if  in  future 
any  incendiary  comes  among  them,  they  will  not  let  him  escape.  It 
gives  me  very  great  pleasure  to  know  that  he  met  with  encourage- 
ment but  from  a  very  few,  and  these  few  will  be  made  accountable 
to  the  Law  for  their  conduct.  I  cannot  let  this  opportunity  pass 
without  returning  you  my  thanks  for  your  conduct  on  this  and  everj 
other  occasion  for  these  twenty  years  past,  whenever  the  peace  and 
Tranquillity  of  this  Parish  has  been  endangered. 
1  am.  Sir, 

With  much  regard, 

Your  humble  servant, 
'  MATHEW  FOEDE. 


PARISH  OF  LOUGHINISLAND.  103 

presence  of  all  the  professors  and  students,  assembled  for  the 
purpose  in  the  college  chapel,  on  Thursday,  the  8th  of  March, 
1803.  It  is  remarkable  that  each  of  those  young  men. 
attained  afterwards  eminent  positions  in  their  respective 
dioceses,  and  now,  after  the  lapse  of  more  than  seventy  yeai-s, 
the  friendly  and  familiar  letters  that  passed  between  them 
and  some  of  the  leading  professors,  testify  to  the  generous 
natures  of  the  young  men  ;  and,  while  they  palliate,  if  they 
do  not  justify,  their  offence,  seem  to  indicate  that  the  Board 
might  have  discovered  on  the  professional  chairs  of  the 
college  the  real  authors  of  the  resistance  to  the  superiors. 
Mr,  MacMullan  was  at  that  time  a  deacon,  and  he  naturally 
feared  the  displeasure  of  his  uncle,  the  Most  Kev,  Dr. 
Patrick  MacMullan,  but  the  Primate,  Dr.  Richard  O'Reilly, 
who  admired  his  candour,  became  his  apologist,  and  he  was 
ordained  a  priest  by  his  uncle  on  the  9th  of  July,  1803.  He 
removed  to  Newry  in  March,  1804,  where  he  conducted  for 
some  time  the  Diocesan  Seminary,  under  the  immediate 
superintendence  of  the  Most  Rev.  Edmund  Derry,  Bishop 
of  Dromore,  by  whom  he  was  offered  the  parish  of 
Clonduff.  He  was  collated  in  November,  1805,  to  Loughin- 
island,  which  he  held  for  upwards  of  forty-one  years.  Mr. 
MacMullan  favoured  the  public  with  letters  in  the  Ulster 
Recorder  and  the  Irishman,  under  the  signature  of 
"  Ultonius,"  on  the  important  questions  of  the  day,  and 
in  1834  he  published  "A  Reply  to  the  Rev.  J.  M'Ghee, 
in  Defence  of  Catholic  Tenets."  There  is  extant  a  letter 
written  by  Father  Peter  Cassidy,  dated  Belfast,  June  10th, 
1808,  in  which  he  solicited  Father  MacMullan  to  become  his 
fellow-curate  in  Belfast,  under  an  arrangement  by  which  the 
revenues  in  that  parish,  which  then  amounted  to  £240  per 
annum,  were  to  be  divided  between  them,  after  paj'ing  to 
the  aged  parish  priest.   Father  O'Donnell,  a  fixed  pension  of 


104  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

£70.  Mr.  MacMuUau,  however,  declined  the  ofier.  It  was 
in  Mr.  MacMullan's  house,  in  Seavaghan,  that  his  uncle  the 
bishop  died  on  the  25th  of  October,  1824.  A  large  number 
of  the  clergy  wished  to  postulate  the  Holy  See  for  the  promo- 
tion of  Mr,  MacMullan  to  the  See  of  Down  and  Connor,  but 
the  choice  of  the  diocese  fell  on  Dr.  Crolly.  During  the 
interegnura  Mr.  MacMullan  solicited  the  Primate,  Dr.  Curtis, 
to  procure  for  him  from  Rome  the  Deanery  of  Down,  which 
had  been  vacant  since  the  death  of  the  Veiy  Rev.  Dean 
Macartan,  P.P.,  Saul,  and  the  annexation  to  the  parish  of 
Loughiuisland  of  the  townlands  of  Magheralagan  and  Wood- 
grange,  belonging  to  the  parish  of  Down,  which  were 
arrangements  that  the  late  bishop  had  in  contemplation.  Th« 
Primate  refused  both  applications,  on  the  grounds  that  he 
did  not  wish  to  injure  the  interests  of  the  future  bishop. 
Father  MacMullan  died  on  the  19th  of  February,  1847,  in 
the  G9th  year  of  his  age,  and  was  interred  in  the  same  tomb 
ia  Loughiuisland  graveyard  with  his  uncle  the  bishop  ;  but 
there  is  no  inscription  on  the  tomb  to  record  his  interment. 

After  the  death  of  Mr.  MacMullan,  Loughiuisland  was 
administered  by  his  curate,  the  Rev.  Patrick  Bradley.  This 
clergyman,  who  was  a  native  of  the  diocese  of  Derry,  was 
ordained  by  Dr.  MacMullan,  on  the  11th  of  March,  1811. 
He  officiated  as  curate  in  many  parishes  of  the  diocese,  in 
Ballymoney,  Bright,  and  Glenavy,  from  which  he  had  to 
fly,  in  1829,  to  Loughiuisland,  where  he  officiated  about 
twenty  years,  until  he  retired  from  the  mission  to  his 
native  place.  Father  Bradley  had  to  fly  from  Glenavy  on 
account  of  a  prosecution  instituted  against  him  by  the  Rev. 
James  Stannus,  for  having  married  Josej)h  Kelly,  a  Catholic, 
to  Jane  Pelan,  a  I*rotestant.  The  parties  appeared  on  sum- 
monses before  the  sitting  magistrates  at  the  Petty  Sessions 
of  Llsburn,   on  the   17th    of  March,    1829.     The  case  was 


PARISH  OF  LOUGHINISLAND.  105 

duly  proved,  and  a  warrant  was  issued  to  the  [iolice,  who 
scoured  the  country  during  the  whole  of  the  night  in  pursuit 
of  the  priest,  but  without  effect. 

The  Rev.  Patrick  Dorrian  succeeded  Father  MacMuUan. 
Dr.  Dorrian  having  completed  his  preparatory  studies  in 
Downpatrick,  entered  the  Logic  Class  in  the  College  of 
Maynooth  on  the  26th  of  August,  1832.  He  was  ordained 
in  Dublin  by  Dr.  Murray  on  the  23rd  of  September,  1837, 
and  was  shortly  afterwards  appointed  to  the  curacy  of 
Belfast,  from  which  he  was  promoted  to  Loughinisland, 
July  29th,  1847.  Dr.  Dorrian  was  consecrated  Bishop  of 
Gabala  and  coadjutor  Bishop  of  Down  and  Connor  on  the 
19th  of  August,  1860,  and  succeeded  to  the  See  of  Down 
and  Connor  on  the  resignation  of  Dr.  Denvir  in  May,  1866. 
After  his  consecration,  Dr.  Dorrian  removed  to  Belfast ;  but 
he  retained,  until  after  the  death  of  Dr.  Denvir,  the  parish 
of  Loughinisland,  which  was  administered  by  the  Rev. 
James  Cannovan,  who  was  afterwards  curate  of  St.  Peter's, 
Belfast. 

The  appointment  to  Loughinisland,  as  having  been  vacated 
by  the  promotion  of  its  parish  priest  to  the  bishoprick,  was, 
by  canon  law,  vested  in  the  Holy  See.  The  Most  Rev.  Dr. 
Dorrian  obtained  from  Rome  the  necessary  faculties,  and 
appointed  the  Rev.  James  Crickard  as  his  successor  in 
Loughinisland.  By  referring  to  the  parish  of  Lower  Mourne, 
the  reader  will  see  that  Father  Crickard  was,  on  the  1st  of 
May,  1852,  appointed  fi'om  that  parish  to  Ardkeen  or  the 
Lower  Ards,  from  which  he  was  appointed  to  Loughinisland, 
October  16th,  1866. 

THE     CHURCH. 

Previoiis  to  the  year  1720  Mass  was  celebrated  regularly 
in  the  large  church   in  the  island.     According  to  tradition, 


106  DOWN  AND  CONNOR, 

the  Church  of  England  Sei'vice  was  conducted  every  Sunday 
in  the  church  after  Mass  was  over.  It  happened,  however, 
on  one  wet  Sunday,  about  the  year  referred  to,  that  the 
Catholic  congregation  remained  for  shelter  in  the  church  after 
Mass  was  over,  and  the  Protestants  were  thereby  kept  outside 
in  the  rain.  This  displeased  the  Forde  family  so  much  that 
they  dismantled  the  church,  and  built  the  pi-esent  Protestant 
Church  of  Seaforde,  which  was  roofed  with  the  timber  of  the 
ancient  church.  The  Catholics  after  that  were  necessitated 
to  hear  Mass  in  Bohojs.  One  of  these  was  in  the  townland 
of  Seavaghan,  in  a  Held  which  is  still  called  Parca-na-haltra 
(the  Altar  Park).  Another  was  near  the  top  of  the  "  Bishop's 
Mountain,"  in  Tievenadarragh,  where  the  august  Sacrifice 
of  the  New  Law  was  offered  up  on  a  broad  rock,  which  formed 
a  natural  altar.  A  third  spot  consecrated  by  the  celebration, 
of  Mass  in  the  days  of  persecution  was  a  large  rock  in  the 
Cloughely  rocks,  in  Tievendarragh.  It  is  in  a  field  belonging 
to  John  M'Comb,  which  is  nearly  opposite  to  tiie  road  that 
leads  up  to  the  main  road  from  the  entrance  to  the  graveyard. 
About  the  year  1740  Dr.  MacArtan  built  a  sma.l  chapel  at 
the  corner  of  the  three  roads  near  the  present  chapel.  A 
part  of  it  is  now  occujiied  as  a  dwelling  house.  In  1785  the 
Rev.  Patrick  MacArtan  commenced  the  present  chaj)el,  which 
was  finished  in  1787.  On  a  slab  over  one  of  the  doors  is 
inscribed — 

Hoc  Templum  Domino  Sacrum  Cui  OmniaServant  (Serviunt?) 

Fidelium  Donis  et  Nostro  Munere  Structum 

R  D.  Patt.  Mac  Car  tan, 

AD.  1787. 

In  the  ancient  graveyard  in  the  island,  two  bishops  and 
many  priests  are  interred.  The  inscription  on  the  tomb  of 
Dr.  MacMuUan  is  as  follows  : — 


PARISH  OF  LOUGHINISLAND.  107 

Here  lie 
The  remains  of  the  Rt.  Rev.  Dr.  MacMuUan, 
R.  C.  Bishop  of  Down  and  Connor,  born  17th  of  March, 
1752,  consecrated  Bishop  21st  September,  1793, 
Departed  this  life  on  the  25th  of  October,  1824. 

Reguiescat  in  pace.     In  fide  et  lenitate 
ipsius  sanctum  fecit  ilium  et 
elegit  eum  exomni  came. 

Ecclesiastici  45  c,  v.  4. 

In    the    same    tomb   are    interred    the   remains   of   Dr. 
MacMullan's  nephew,  the  Rev.  William  MacMullan,  P.P., 
Loughinisland,  and  of  his  grand-nephew,  the  Rev.  William 
MacMullan,  P.P.,  Ardglass.     At  a  little  distance  from  this 
tomb  there  is  a  gravestone,  on  which  is  inscribed  : — 
Erected  to  tlie  memory  of 
the  Rev.  Hugh  Megreevey 
Parish  Priest  of  Glenarm, 
Who  departed  this  life 
Nov.  24,  1798. 
aged  42  years. 
Jasti  antem  in  perpetuum 
vivent  et  apnd  Dominum 
est  merces  eorum.     Sap.  Cap  5.  v.  16, 
Near  Mr.  Megreevey's  grave  is  interred  the  body  of  the 
Rev.  Bernard  Fitzpatrick,  who  was  born  in  the  townland  of 
Tievenadarragh,   on   the   6th   of  September,    1826.      After 
studying  in  the  Diocesan  Seminary,  he  entered,  on  the  8th. 
of  October,  1845,  the  logic  class  in  the  College  of  Maynooth, 
where  he  was  ordained  at  Penticost,  1850.     He  was  shortly 
afterwards    appointed  to  the  curacy  of  Downpatrick.     He 
was  drowned  in  the  Quoile  when  bathing,  on   the  11th  of 
June,  1852. 


108  DOWN  aj:d  connok. 

Over  the  grave  of  tlae  Rev.  Bernard  Clarke,  who  was  also 
a  native  of  Loughinisland,  and  who  had  been  successively 
curate  in  the  parishes  of  Belfiist,  Loughguile,  Bright,  and 
Upper  Mourne,  has  been  lately  erected  a  beautiful  cross,  on 
which  is  the  following  inscription  :  — 

Reverendus 
Bernardus  Clarke 
Cujus  animae  misereatur  Deus 
multis  carus,  llebilis  amicis 

obiit 
die  XIV.  Aug.  Sacerdotii  XIII. 
Aliqui  ex  ejus  moerentibus  amicis 
in  clericatu  ad  concervandam 
illius  memoriam  banc  lapidem  posuerunt. 

"  QiUB  est  enim  vita  vestra 
Vapor  est  ad  modicum  parens  et 
deinceps  exterminabitur."     Jac.  iy.  15. 
R.IP. 

Col,  W.  B.  Forde  lias  very  generously  granted  a  lease  in 
perpetuity  of  the  parochial  farm  at  a  moderate  rent. 


LEGALE 


HE  ancient  territory  of  Lecale  derives  its  name  from 
two  Irish  words  Leatli-Cathail — the  portion  of 
Cathal — and  has  been  so  named  from  one  of  its 
early  princes  Cathal  (pronounced  nearly  Kahal),  who  seems 
to  have  lived  about  the  year  700.  Dr.  Reeves  has  given  his 
pedigree  from  the  Book  of  Lecan,  "  Cathal  (from  whom 
Leath-Cathail)  son  of  Muireadhach,  son  of  Aengus,  son  of 
Maelcobha,"  itc.  The  "Annals  of  the  Four  Masters"  record, 
A.D.  646.  "  Maelcobha,  son  of  Fiachna,  son  of  Deman, 
King  of  Uladh  was  slain  by  Congal  Cennfoda."  Which 
shows  that  Cathal  must  have  lived  about  the  year  700.  He 
belonged  to  the  Dal  Fiatach  family,  descendants  of  Heremon, 
son  of  Milesius,  and  was  therefore  of  a  different  race  from 
the  Magenises  and  MacArtans,  who  were  descendants  of  Ir, 
son  of  Milesius.  The  Irrians  supplied,  with  a  few  exceptions, 
Kings  to  the  throne  of  Ulster,  up  to  the  year  332,  when 
they  were  driven  by  the  descendants  of  Heremon  into  the 
territory  forming  the  present  dioceses  of  Dromore  and  Down 
and  Connor.  Fiatach  Fin  was  one  of  those  exceptions,  he 
was  of  the  race  of  Heremon,  yet  about  the  year  of  our  Lord, 
108,  he  mounted  the  throne  of  Ulster,  and  his  descendants, 
called  the  Dal-Fiatch,  ever  afterwards  became  commingled 
■with  the  race  of  Ir,  generally  called  the  Clanna  Rury,  from 
one  of  their  princes  Rury  Mor.  The  Dal  Fiatach  were 
involved  in  the  ruin  that  befel  the  Irrians  in  332  :  biit  even 


no  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

in  the  cix'cumscribed  kingdom  within  the  Counties  of  Down 
and  Antrim,  to  which  they  were  limited,  and  to  which  they 
still  proudly  gave  the  name  Uladh,  which  once  denoted  the 
entire  province,  the  Dal-Fiatach  possessed  the  greater 
portion  of  both  territory  and  influence.  The  territory  of  the 
Clanna  Rury,  even  in  the  time  of  St.  Patrick,  extended 
only  from  the  Black  Stafi"  to  Drumbo,  and  from  Cumber  to 
the  Causeway  River.  The  remainder  of  the  country  was  in 
the  possession  of  the  Dal-Fiatach  or  other  tribes.  Yet  the 
Clanna  Rury — the  MacArtans  and  the  Magenisses — con- 
tinued to  hold  undisputed  sway  over  their  own  little  territory 
to  the  close  of  Elizabeth's  reign,  long  after  the  other  tribes 
had  succumbed  to  fresh  invaders.  Lecale  in  the  time  of  St. 
Patrick  was  possessed  by  the  Dal-Fiatach.  It  was  at  that 
time  named  Magh-Inis — the  insular  plain,  and  to  this  day, 
the  country  people  call  it  Isle-Lecale,  because  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  parish  of  Inch  and  the  townland  of  Dundrum, 
with  eight  other  townlands  of  the  parish  of  Kilmegan,  Lecale 
is  a  peninsula  almost  surrounded  by  the  sea.  Dundnim  was 
considered  a  portion  of  Lecale  in  the  year  1 147,  as  the  "Four 
Masters"  at  that  year  record  that  the  Cinel-Eoghain  defeated 
and  pursued  the  Ulidians  "  till  they  reached  the  shore  of 
Dundroma  in  Leath-Caithail."  The  "Four  Masters"  employ 
the  name  Magli  Inis  for  this  territory  up  to  the  year  823, 
but  Lecale  from  850  forward.  Colgan  states  that  Lecale 
was  called  Trmcha  died  na  soillse — the  territory  of  light.  It 
obtained  this  name  from  the  legend  concerning  St.  Patrick's 
death,  as  related  in  the  ' ■  Tripartite  Life."  "And  for  the  space 
of  twelve  nights,  i.e.,  whilst  the  divines  were  waking  him 
with  hymns,  and  psalms,  and  canticles,  thei-e  was  no  night 
in  Magh-inis,  but  angelic  light  there ;  and  some  say  there 
was  light  in  Magh-inis  for  the  space  of  a  year  after  Patrick's 
death  "   (Mr.  Hennesy's  Translation  of  the  Irish  Tripartite 


LEGALE.  Ill 

Life).     The  Book  of  E-iglits  informs  us  that  the  King  of 
Ulster  was  entitled  to 

Three  hundred  hogs  from  the  territories  of  Cathal, 

Not  severe, 
Three  hundred  goodly  cloaks  of  good  colors 

He  is  entitled  to  in  the  north. 

And  according  to  the  same  authority  from  the  King  of  Ireland 

Entitled  is  the  King  of  Leath-Cathail 

To  eight  bondmen  (tillers)  of  each  great  field, 

Eight  steeds,  bay  steeds  at  (his)  fort, 

Eight  curved  drinking  horns  for  interchanging. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  princij^al  e stents  in  the 
history  of  Lecale  : — 

A.M.  3520.  The  death  of  Irial  Faidh,  son  of  Heremon, 
in  whose  reign  Magh-inis  was  cleared  of  wood,  and  Eath- 
Croich  erected  in  it. 

A.M.  3656.  "The  battle  of  Cul-ard  in  Magh-inis," 
which  was  one  of  the  battles  Tighernmas,  King  of  Ireland, 
fought  against  the  race  of  Heber  and  others  of  the  Irish  and 
foreigners. 

A.M  3942.  "This  was  the  twentieth  year  of  the  reign 
of  Finnachta  over  Ireland.  He  afterwards  died  of  the 
plague  in  Magh-inis,  in  Uladh." 

A.D.  432.  "  Patrick  came  to  Ireland  this  year,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  baptize  and  bless  the  Irish  ;  men,  women,  sons  and 
daughters." 

A.D.  493.  "When  the  time  of  St.  Patrick's  death  ap- 
proached, he  received  the  Body  of  Christ  from  the  hands  of 
the  holy  Bishop  Tassach  (of  Eaholp),  in  the  122nd  (year) 
of  his  age,  and  resigned  his  spirit  to  heaven."  Lecale  is 
several  times  mentioned  in  our  annals  ;  however  the  entries 
generally  record  the  deaths  of  its  princes,  or  invasions  by  the 
Kinnel  Eoghain.    Up  to  the  English  invasion,  the  territory 


112  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

was  invariably  ruled  by  princes  belonging  to  the  Dal-Fiatagh 
families. 

A.D.  1177.  "An  army  was  led  by  John  De  Courcy  and 
the  knights  into  Dalaradia  and  to  Dun-da-leathghlas  (Down- 
patrick).  They  slew  Donnell,  the  grandson  of  Cathasach, 
Lord  of  Dalai'adia.  Dun-da-leathghlas  was  plundered  and 
destroyed  by  John  and  the  knights  who  came  in  his  army. 
A  castle  was  erected  for  them  there,  out  of  which  they  de- 
feated the  Ulidians  twice,  and  the  Kinel-Owen  and  O'Niels 
once  ;  slew  Connor  O'Carrellan,  chief  of  Clandermot  (Clon- 
dermot,  County  Derry),  and  Gilla-Macliag  O'Donghaile 
(O' Donnelly),  chief  Feavdi'oma  (the  district  ai-ound  Castle- 
Caulfield,  County  Tyrone)  ;  and  Donnell  O'Flaithbheartaigh 
(O'Laverty)  was  so  wounded  by  arrows  on  the  occasion  that 
he  died  of  his  wounds  in  the  Church  of  St.  Paul,  in  Armagh, 
after  having  received  the  Body  and  the  Blood  of  Christ,  and 
after  extreme  unction  and  penance.  Many  other  chieftains 
were  also  slain  by  them  besides  these."  Along  with,  or 
shortly  after,  De  Courcy,  there  came  as  colonists  the  Man- 
devilles,  Audleys,  Copelands,  Russells,  "Whites,  Savages, 
Swoordes  or  Crollys,  Fitzsimons  and  others,  who  studded 
Lecalo  and  the  adjacent  portions  of  the  county  with  castles, 
in  order  to  protect  themselves  against  the  natives.  Never- 
theless, the  moment  that  internal  dissensions  among  the 
Anglo-Normans  weakened  their  power,  the  native  race 
exhibited  its  readiness  to  reoccupy  the  rich  lands  of  Lecale. 
The  Kinel-Owen,  under  Bryan  O'Neill,  attempted,  in  1260, 
to  seize  on  Downpatrick,  but  in  this  they  failed,  though 
about  the  same  time  they  succeeded  in  seizing  on  and  colon- 
ising the  most  of  the  counties  of  Down  and  Antrim.  These 
colonists  were  called  the  Claanaboy  (Clann-Aodha-Bhuidhe) 
from  their  leader  Aedh  boy  O'Neill.  From  them  a  large 
]wrtion  of  the  Catholics  of  the  two  counties  are  descended. 


LEGALE.  113 

About  the  same  time,  and  probably  in  consequence  of  that 
invasion,  some  of  the  native  Irish  were  able  to  effect 
settlements  in  Lecale,  so  that  our  annalists  style  some  of 
them    "  Lords  of  Lecale ;"  thus  : 

A.D.  1276.  "  Dermot  MacGillamurry,  Lord  of  Lecale, 
died"  (Four  Masters)  ;  but  the  same  entry  in  the  Annals  of 
Lough  Ce,  is  "Diarmuid,  MacGillamuire  (servant  of  Mary) 
O'Morna  (O'Murney),  King  of  Fladh,  died." 

A.D.  1391.  "  MacGill-Muire,  i.e.,  Cii-Uladh  O'Morna, 
chief  of  Hy-Nercha-Chein  and  Lecale,  was  slain  by  his  own 
kinsmen."  Hy-Nercha-Ghein  appears  to  be  the  district 
about  Castle-Espie.* 

Lord  Leonard  Grey,  the  Lord  Deputy,  marched  into 
Lecale  in  the  year  1539,  when  it  is  said  he  profaned  the 
relics  of  St.  Patrick,  St.  Bridget,  and  St.  Columbkille.  He 
gives  the  following  account  of  his  expedition  : — "  For  as 
much  as  Mr.  Treasurer  was  farmer  of  the  King's  country  of 
Lecayll,  and  that  Savage,  chjeff  capitain  of  his  nation, 
would  not  pay  his  farm  into  the  Treasurer ;  and  besides, 
that  the  said  Savage  had  brought  into  the  said  country  divers 
Scottys,  which  had  much  of  the  said  country  in  their  sub- 
jection, it  was  concluded  betwixt  the  said  Mr.  Treasurer  and 
me  that  we  should  have  gone  towards  the  said  Lecayll. 
And  so  with  the  host  we  set  forward,  and  entered  into  the 
said  country,  and  took  the  castells  there,  and  delyvei'ed  them 
to  Mr.  Treasurer,  who  hath  warded  the  same.  I  took  an- 
other castell,  being  in  M'Guons'  country,  called  Dundrome, 

•  The  O'Gilmores  and  O'Murneys  did  not  belong  to  the  Dal  Fiatach 
race  which  anciently  occupied  Lecale.  According  to  a  pedigree 
of  Cionaeth  O'Morna  (Kenny  O'Murney)  of  this  race,  chief  of  Lecale, 
given  by  MacFirbisigh  in  his  genealogical  work,  the  Earcha  Chein 
are  a  Connaught  tribe,  descended  from  Duach  Galach,  King  of  Con- 
naught,  in  the  fifth  century,  but  no  account  has  been  discovered  of 
how  or  when  they  settled  in  the  county  of  Down. 


114  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

which,  I  assure  your  lordship,  as  it  standeth,  is  one  of  the 
strongest  holds  that  ever  I  saw  in  Ireland,  and  most  com- 
modious for  defence  of  the  whole  countrey  of  Lecayll,  both 
by  sea  and  land ;  for  the  said  Lecayll  is  invironed  round 
about  with  the  sea,  and  no  way  to  go  by  land  into  the  said 
country,  but  only  by  the  said  Castell  of  Dundrome.  I 
assure  your  lordship  I  have  been  in  many  places  and 
countries  in  my  days,  and  yet  did  I  never  see  for  so  much  a 
pleasanter  plott  of  ground  than  the  said  Lecayll  for  the 
commoditie  of  the  land,  and  divers  islands  in  the  same, 
invironed  with  the  sea,  which  were  soon  reclaimed  and 
inhabited,  the  king's  pleasure  known." — State  Pai^ers,  Vol. 
III.  Sir  Thomas  Cusake,  Lord  Chancellor  of  Ireland, 
writing  to  the  Duke  of  Northumberland,  8th  of  May,  1552, 
says  : — "  The  next  country  to  the  same  eastward  is  Lecaill, 
where  Mr.  M'Brerton  is  farmer  and  captain,  which  is  a 
handsome  plain,  and  champion  country  of  10  miles  long  and 
5  miles  breadth,  without  any  wood  growing  thereon.  The 
sea  doth  ebb  and  flow  round  about  that  country,  so  as  in  full 
waters  no  man  may  enter  therein  upon  dry  land  but  in  the 
one  way,  which  is  less  than  two  miles  in  length.  The  same 
country,  for  English  freeholders  and  good  inheritance  is  as 
civill  as  few  places  in  the  English  Pale." — Calendar  of  the 
Carew  Manuscripts.  Mai'shal  Bagenel's  Description  of 
Ulster,  written  in  1586,  says  : — "  Lecahahull  is  the  inheri- 
tance of  the  Earl  of  Kildare,  given  to  his  father  and  his 
mother  by  Quene  Marie ;  it  is  almost  an  island  and  without 
wood.  In  hit  is  the  Bushop's  Sea  called  Downe,  first  built 
and  enhabited  by  one  Sir  John  Coursie,  who  brought  thither 
with  him  sondrie  English  gentlemen  and  planted  them  in 
this  countrey,  where  some  of  them  yet  remayne,  thoughe 
somewhat  degenerate  and  in  poore  estate  ;  yet  they  holde 
stil   their  freeholdes.     Their   names   are  Savages,  Russels, 


LEGALE,  115 

Fitzimons,  Audleis,  Jordans,  and  Bensons."  The  lands  of 
Lecale  were  held  previous  to  the  "  Reformation,"  either  by 
the  great  religions  corporations  in  Downpatrick  or  by  the 
descendants  of  the  early  English  colonists.  The  Church 
lands,  having  become  vested  in  the  Crown,  were  leased  to 
the  Earl  of  Kildai*e,  and  after  the  expiration  of  that  lease, 
came  into  the  possession  of  the  Cromwell  family.  They  still 
form  the  Downpatrick  estate,  except  large  portions  of  them 
that  have  been  sold  or  leased  off  by  the  Cromwells  or  their 
descendants.  The  estates  held  by  the  descendants  of  the 
early  English  colonists  were  almost  all  confiscated  under  the 
Act  of  Settlement,  after  the  termination  of  the  civil  wars  of 
1641.  Of  those  that  escaped  on  that  occasion  nearly  all  were 
confiscated  after  the  war  of  the  Revolution.  The  Earls  of 
Kildare  are,  however,  still  represented  by  their  descendant, 
Lord  de  Roos,  of  Strangford ;  and  John  Russell,  Esq., 
Count  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire,  as  descendant  of 
George  Russell,  the  ninth  baron  of  that  name,  still  pos- 
sesses two  townlands,  which  his  family,  though  Catholics, 
always  retained.  When  the  Catholics  were  driven  oft" 
the  territories  granted  to  the  Hamiltons  and  Montgomerys, 
to  make  room  for  Scotch  settlers,  they  found  a  place  of 
refuge  in  Lecale,  where  the  descendants  of  the  earh  English 
colonists  were  Catholics,  and  were  then  in  possession  of  their 
estates ;  even  the  Cromwell  family  treated  them  with  kind- 
ness. Hence,  though  the  soil  of  Lecale  is  superior  to  that  of 
the  other  pai-ts  of  the  county,  and  the  defeated  party  is 
generally  driven  to  the  worst  lands,  there  were  on  the  2nd 
of  April,  1871,  in  Lecale,  exclusive  of  the  nine  townlands 
of  Kilmegan,  for  which  no  special  return  is  made,  12194 
Catholics,  out  of  a  population  of  19611. 


THE    UNITED    PARISH 

OP 

DRUMCAW,   BALLYKINLAR,   TYRELLA 
AND   RATHMULLAN, 

COMMONLY    CALLED 

THE  PARISH  OF  BALLYKINLAR. 


THIS  PARISH  comprises  the  entire  mdl  parislies 
of  Ballykinlar  and  Tyrella,  tlie  townlands  of  Upper 
and  Lower  RathmuUan  and  Ballyplunt,  wliicli  be- 
long to  tlie  civil  parish  of  RathmuUan,  and  the  ancient 
parish  of  Drumcaw,  containing  the  townlands  of  Ardilea, 
Claragh,  Clough,  Drumanaghan  or  Drumiilcaw,  Drumaroad, 
Drumcaw,  Dunturk,  Knocksticken,  and  Scrib,  which,  a.d. 
1718,  was  made  by  Act  of  Council  part  and  parcel  of  the 
civil  parish  of  Loughanisland.  The  united  parish  has  an 
area  of  10,302a.  3r.  23p.;  it  contained  in  1871,  2,874  persons, 
of  whom,  aboiit  1,500  were  Catholics,  The  ruins  of  the 
ancient  church  of  Drumcaw  (Druimcatha — the  battle-ridge) 
stand  in  the  townland  of  the  same  name.  The  narth  and 
east  walls  are  yet  standing,  the  former  about  ten  feet,  and 
the  latter  about  twenty-four  feet  high.  The  chm-ch  was 
forty-five  feet  in  length,  and  twenty-fom-  feet  in  breadth. 
In  the  Taxation  of  Pope  Nicholas,  A.D.  1291,  "the  chvirch 
of  Drumcath,  with  the  chapel  of  Rathcath,"  was  valued  at 


PARISH  OF  BALLYKINLAR.  117 

twenty  shillings.  The  chapel  of  Rathcath,  of  which  no  traces 
now  i-emain,  is  supposed  to  have  stood  near  the  rath  of 
Clough,  which,  in  the  legal  documents  of  the  1 7th  century, 
appears  under  the  name  of  Clough-magh-rechat  and  Clough- 
maricatt,  which  are  only  coiTupt  foi'ms  of  Clough  mayh-rath- 
catha  (the  large  stone  of  the  plain  of  the  battle-rath).  The 
"TeiTier,"  or  ledger  book  of  Down  and  Connor,  returned  the 
chxlrch  of  Drumcha  as  having  been  appropriate  to  St.  John's, 
of  Down,  the  vicar  paid  to  the  bishop  in  proxies  18d,  in 
refections  18d,  and  in  synodals  2s.  The  same  document 
returned  the  chapel  of  "  Recat  "  as  having  belonged  to  the 
monastery  of  the  Irish  in  Downpatrick,  and  as  being  bound 
to  pay  3s  in  proxies,  3s  in  refections,  and  2s  in  synodals. 
But  by  an  Inquisition  of  3  Ed.  VI.  it  appears  the  rectory  of 
"  Dromcath,  with  the  chapel  of  Rathcath,  of  the  annual 
value  of  £6,  was  appropriate  to  the  Abbey  of  St.  Patrick'^ 
of  Down."  It  became  appropriate  to  the  Abbey  of  St. 
Patrick's  of  Down  when  Tiberius,  Bishop  of  Down  and 
Connor  aiuiexed  the  monastery  of  the  Irish  to  that  Abbey. 
A.D.  1583,  the  tithes  of  "  Drumcath  "  and  "  Rathchatt,'.' 
in  '*  M'Cai-tan's  coimtrie,"  were  leased  by  the  Crown  to  Ger- 
ald, Earl  of  Kildai-e.  In  1622  the  Protestant  bishop  returned 
both  churches  as  being  in  ruins.  The  grave-yard  of  Drum- 
caw  is  now  under  tillage.  A  little  to  the  west  of  the  ruin, 
at  the  ditch  which  bounds  the  field  in  which  it  stands,  is  the 
ancient  well,  but  it  is  now  held  in  i*espect  only  because  of 
the  excellent  water  which  it  supplies. 

The  civil  parish  of  Ballykinlar  which  forms  a  portion  of 
the  union  contains  the  sites  of  several  ecclesiastical  edifices.* 

*  Mori/son's  History  of  Ireland  gives  an  account  of  an  expedition 
which  Charles  Blount,  Lord  Mountjoy,  the  lord-deputy,  made  to 
Lecale  in  June,  1601,  in  order  to  crush  the  adherents  of  Hugh  O'Neill. 
"The  late  Rebels  near  Dundalk  being  all  submitted,  his  Lordship 
had  drawn  Sir  Richard  Moryson  with  his  Regiment  from  that  Govern- 


118  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

It  derives  its  name  from  Bailecaindlera,  "  the  town  of  the 
candlestick,"  being  "  appropriated,"  as  Harris  says,  "  to 
Christ  Church,  Dublin,  for  wax-lights."  Dr.  Reeves  has 
published  from  the  "  Black  Book  "  the  original  grant  of  the 

ment,  proposing  to  place  him  in  Lecaile,  nearer  to  the  Enemy.  And 
intending  to  march  thither  with  the  Army  the  next  Day,  lest  the 
Rebels  should  have  leisure  to  burn  the  Country,  and  carry  away  the 
Prey,  his  Lordship  sent  Sir  Richard  Moryson  this  Evening  (Sunday, 
June  14th,  1601),  with  six  Companies  of  Foot  and  one  of  Horse,  to 
march  all  Night  into  Lecaile,  who,  coming  suddenlj'  on  the  Rebels, 
took  all  the  Prey  ;  and  in  taking  of  Downpatrick,  the  Bishop's  Seat, 
one  of  the  Bradies  was  taken,  and  his  Head  cut  off,  the  rest  yielding 
to  Mercy  there,  and  in  all  adjoining  Places.  Here  his  Lordship  w.as 
advertised  from  the  Secretary  of  Ireland,|that  the  News  of  the  Spanish 
Invasion  this  Summer  was  seconded  from  divers  coming  from  Cales. 
The  16th  Day  his  Lordship  marched  with  the  Army  (through  high 
Mountains  and  Woods,  and  some  dangerous  Places)  7  miles  to  the 
Blackstuff  river,  near  a  strong  castle  called  Dundrom,  lying  on  the 
north  side  of  the  Paces,  where  the  plain  Country  opens  into  Lecaile, 
being  an  Island  compassed  on  the  west  side  with  this  Paver,  and  on 
three  other  sides  with  the  Sea,  and  two  small  Arms  thereof.  This 
Night  his  Lordship,  with  some  Horse,  passed  the  Blackstaif  Bridge, 
and  rode  three  miles  into  Lecaile  to  view  the  Country.  In  the  way 
Phelim  MacEvir  (Magennis)  submitted  himself,  and  yielded  to  the 
Queen  his  castle  of  Dundrom;  also  MacCarty  (MacArtan)  submitted 
himself,  and  drew  his  Creaghts  (or  cattle  servants  and  goods)  into 
Lecaile.  His  Lordship  returned  to  the  Camp,  and  the  next  Day  rode 
to  Downpatrick,  and  thence  by  St.  Patrick's  Well  to  Ardglass,  being 
six  Miles,  in  which  town  two  Castles  yielded  to  the  Queen,  and  the 
Warders,  upon  their  lives  saved,  gave  up  their  arms.  A  third  Castle 
there  had  been  held  for  the  Queen  all  the  time  of  the  llebellion,  by 
one  Jordane,  never  coming  out  of  the  same  for  three  Years  past,  till 
now,  by  his  Lordship's  coming,  he  was  freed  ;  and  to  him  was  given 
a  Reward  from  the  Queen  by  Concordatum,  besides  his  Lordship's 
Bounty  of  his  private  Purse.  After  Dinner,  his  Lordship  rode  two 
miles  to  Russell's  Town  (Killough  ?),  and  four  miles  to  the  Camp  at 
Blackstafif."  Next  day  he  gave  £30  to  "  Phelimy  Ever  MacGennis, 
for  some  special  services."  Mountjoy  purchased  from  Sir  John  King 
his  reversionary  interest  in  the  monastic  lands  of  Downpatrick  and 
its  neighbourhood,  after  the  fall  of  the  lease  of  them  which  had  been 
granted  to  the  Earl  of  Kildare.     Either  Mountjoy  or  his  son  sold 


PARISH  OF  BALLYKINLAR.  119 

lands  of  this  parish  to   Christ  Church  made  by  John   De 
Courcey  about  the  year  1200.     The  charter  is  in  Latin  :— 

"  John  Courcy. 
Let  all  men,  present  and  future,  to  whom  this  charter  shall 
come,  know  that  I,  John  de  Curci,  have  given  and  gi-anted, 
and  by  this  my  present  charter  have  confii-med  to  the  Church 
of  the  Holy  Trinity  of  Dublin,  and  to  the  Holy  Cross  there 
preserved  with  veneration,  and  to  the  Canons  serving  Grod 
in  the  same  place,  the  lands  in  this  charter  named  : — to  wit, 

that  interest  to  Lord  Cromwell,  or,  as  some  say,  exchanged  them  for 
others  in  Devonshire.  Hence  the  origin  of  the  great  Downpatrick 
estate.  The  BlackstafF  and  the  shores  of  the  inner  Bay  of  Dundrum 
were  the  scene  of  a  skirmish  between  the  Irish  and  Sir  James 
Montgomery  in  1642,  which  is  magnified  into  great  importance  in  the 
Montgomery  Manuscripts.  "This  Dundrum  is  an  old  castle  five 
miles  from  Downpatrick,  and  belongs  to  the  Blondeils,  a  family  of 
knightly  degree.  Sir  James  (Montgomery)  had  placed  a  strong 
garrison  there,  and  from  thence  had  sent  divers  parties,  which  drove 
preys  from  the  Irish,  beyond  this  place,  which  galled  them  to  the 
heart,  and  they  watched  all  opportunities  for  revenge  ;  but  was  not 
thereby  deterred  from  laying  siege  to  Newcastle,  where  the  Irish  had 
a  garrison,  it  being  a  pass  to  secure  the  sea  coasts  towards  Carlingford, 
which  was  fully  in  their  possession  ;  also  it  was  an  inlet  for  all  the 
Irish  in  that  tract  to  come  into  Lecahill,  and  to  settle  themselves  in 
the  castles  of  the  Russels  and  of  others,  whom  Sir  James  had  expelled 
out  of  the  barrony.  As  Sir  James  lay  before  Newcastle  aforesaid, 
with  a  brass  field  piece  and  some  falconets  of  his  own,  the  likewhereof 
the  enemy  had  not,  he  so  warmly  plyed  it,  that  the  besieged  con- 
ditioned to  give  it  up  if  not  relieved  by  their  friends  in  three  days, 
for  which  time  a  cessation  of  arms  was  agreed  on,  but  no  permission 
granted  to  revictual  that  place.  Then  Sir  James,  leaving  a  sufficient 
blockade,  withdrew  thence  (not  two  miles)  to  his  head  quarters  at 
Dundrum  Castle,  which  stands  on  a  high  hill,  and  hath  plain  prospect 
of  Newcastle  and  the  country  round  about  it.  On  the  third  day,  bis 
Scouts  on  all  hands  brought  him  certain  word  of  the  enemy's  approach 
from  all  quarters  in  great  numbers.  He  rode  out  with  his  troope  to  stop 
passes,  and  to  view  their  several  partys  with  his  perspective  glass, 
and  finding  that  any  one  of  them  was  his  overmatch  ;  he  therefore 
raised  the  siege,  and  brought  the  men  to  join  the  rest  at  Dundrum, 
himself  and  the  horse  and  some  firelocks  (whom  he  placed  in  the 


120  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

Inislochaculin,  Lessciimmalscig,  Ganimor,  and  the  half  part 
of  Ballimeicdunen,  to  be  held  and  kept,  in  pure  and  perpet- 
ual alms,  freely,  quietly,  honourably,  both  of  roe  and  of  my 
heirs,  in  pastures,  in  meadows,  in  fisheries,  and  in  all  its 
rights.  Wherefore,  I  wish  and  firmly  command  that  all  the 
aforesaid  lands  be  free  from  every  exaction  of  seculars,  as  I 
have  above  detennined  and  decreed.  These  witnesses  being 
present—John,  Ai'chbishop  of  Dublin,  &c."  Dr.  Reeves 
thus  ti'aces  the  transmission  of  the  lands  acquired  under 
that  charter  : — "The  manor  of  Inislochcullen,  containing  the 

ditches)  staying  on  the  roads  to  retard  the  enemy's  march  ;  and  so 
they  disputed  the  highway,  killing  many  of  the  Irish,  beating  them 
back  very  often,  till  Sir  James  (his  ammunition  being  near  spent, 
his  firemen  weary,  and  his  troops  almost  jaded)  seeing  another  great 
party  of  the  enemy  marching  towards  the  castle,  and  like  to  intercept 
his  late  besiegers  and  himself,  he  therefore  in  time  sent  to  Dundrum 
his  commands  for  fresh  men  and  ammunition,  and  with  them  he  staid 
and  made  good  his  retreat  to  the  bridge  at  Black  staff,  at  the  head  of 
the  Strand,  with  all  his  small  party  (being  not  half  of  his  regiment) 
deserting  the  garrison  as  untenable  against  such  a  force.  He  halted 
at  the  said  bridge  and  reinforced  his  men,  which  lay  at  the  pass  next 
Newcastle.  The  tide  coming  in  made  the  Irish  draw  up  on  Dundrum 
shore.  Sir  James  (on  the  first  full  discovery  of  the  powers  of  the 
Irish)  had  sent  for  the  rest  of  his  regiment  and  the  militia  country- 
men, who  with  baggages,  boyes,  horses  and  provisions,  repaired  to 
him  with  all  expedition.  .  .  He  was  now  well  posted  at  the  bridge 
at  the  entry  of  the  barrony  where  it  was  a  sort  of  peninsula.  .  . 
The  Irish  army  of  about  3,000  were  drawn  up  on  the  shoar  and  the 
fiekis  above  it ;  and  the  tide  was  going  fast  out,  and  they  seeing  all 
Sir  James's  foot,  being  about  eight  hundred  (yet  with  ten  colours), 
and  his  small  brass  guns  before  them  flanked  with  the  troops  and 
militia  men  (about  300)  in  the  reare,  with  baggage  men  and  boys  on 
horse  behind  them.  All  those  (except  the  reserves)  drawn  at  three 
men  deep,  and  making  a  long  front,  the  enemy  guessed  aright  that  it 
was  Sir  James's  design  to  march  over  the  Strand,  and  charge  them 
in  that  order.  So  they  took  the  wisest  and  the  safest  course  to 
march  off  before  the  tide  was  third  part  ebbed  ;  and  when  they  were 
at  the  back  of  the  next  hills  they  dispersed  to  their  several  passes 
and  quarters." 


PARISH  OF  BALLYKINLAR.  121 

lands  of  Ballekenloure,  Lismoghan,  and  Ganymore,  was  let  in 
fee  farm  in  1585  by  the  Dean  and  Chapter  of  the  Church 
of  the  Holy  Trinity  to  Richard  Sealing ;  at  whose  death  in 
1600  it  was  inherited  by  his  son,  Sir  Henry  Sealing;  by  whom 
it  was  assigned  to  George  Russell,  jun.,  of  Rathmollen  ;  and 
by  him  to  Con  M'Genis,  of  Ballykenlour ;  and  by  him  to 
John  Gibbons,  merchant,  of  Dublin,  siibject  to  the  rent  of 
£3,  payable  to  Chiist  Church.  In  the  family  of  the  last  the 
lands  partly  continued  till  about  fifty  years  ago  ("vvTitten  in 
1847).  They  now  foi-m  three  distinct  estates."  Until  lately 
the  "  Inislochaculin  "  of  De  Covu-cey's  charter  was  preserved 
tinder  the  foi-m  of  Inidocligidlion  as  a  name  for  a  portion  of 
the  parish.  It  was  so  called  Inis-locha-cuillin,  "  island  of 
the  lake  of  the  holly,"  from  an  island  situated  on  the  east 
side  of  the  lake.  This  lake  was  drained  in  1814.  The  old 
chapel  of  Ballykinlar  was  situated  on  the  island.  Besides 
that  island  there  were  two  artificial  islands  or  cranogs  on 
which  were  found  during  the  drainage  bronze  spears,  axes, 
and  the  other  antiquities  which  are  generally  found  in  Irish 
cranogs. 

The  townland  of  Lower  Ballykinlar  is  locally  called  Lis- 
moghan, which  doubtlessly  is  the  Lesscummalscig  of  the 
grant.  About  100  yards  south-west  of  the  ''  Lis"  or  fort, 
formerly  stood  a  little  chapel,  called  by  the  people,  Killy- 
woolpa  ;  it  had  a  cemetery  attached  to  it,  speaking  of  which, 
the  late  Father  John  Green  says — "  I  have  conversed 
with  persons  who  were  at  funerals  here ;"  but  the  site  of 
both  church  and  cemetery  have  been  under  tillage  for  the 
last  sixty  years.  In  the  Taxation  of  Pope  Nicholas  the 
church  of  "  Lismochan  "  is  valued  at  four  marks.  Thomas 
Ketel,  who  became  Bishop  of  Down  in  1305,  had  previously 
been  parson  of  "  Lesmoghan."  A.D.  1427,  it  is  found 
by  an  inquisition  that  Janico  Dartas  had  been  seized  of 


122  DOWX  AND  CONNOR. 

two-and-a-half  carucates  of  land  in  "  Lysmoghan,"  Avith  the 
advowson  of  the  church.  The  name  "  Lismoghan,"  which  in 
some  maps  is  written  "  Lismahon,"  is  supposed  by  some  to 
signify  "  the  fort  of  Mahon,"  and  to  have  derived  its  origin 
from  the  O'Mahonys,  a  family  once  of  considerable  import- 
ance in  the  county  of  Down.  It  may,  however,  with  more 
probability  signify  "  the  fort  of  Mochumma."  ^ngus  the 
Culdee,  in  his  tract  on  the  "Mothers  of  the  Saints  of  Ireland," 
says  that  "  Mochumma  of  Druimbo "  was  a  brother  of  St. 
Donard  of  Maghera,  and  of  "  Cillen  of  Acliadhcail,  in  the 
region  of  Lecale,  at  the  bank  of  the  estuaiy  of  Dundrum," 
whicli,  it  is  surmised,  is  the  ancient  chui'ch  in  the  townland 
of  Wateresk.  It  would  be  important  for  the  early  hagiology 
of  Ii'eland  to  determine  the  site  of  the  church  of  St.  Moc- 
humma. It  is  probable  that  it  was  situated  at  no  great 
distance  from  the  churches  of  his  brothers ;  and  the  author 
is  inclined  to  believe  that  it  is  Lismoghan.  We  learn  from 
-.Engus  the  Culdee  that  Mochumnia's  church  was  at  a  place 
called  Druimbo  (the  hill  of  the  cow),  which  is  evidently 
the  i:)lace  named  "  Colum-bovis  "  in  the  Latin  "  Lives  of  St. 
Patrick."  Now,  "  Colum-bovis  "  must  have  been  close  to  a 
branch  of  the  sea,  and  on  the  road  from  Saul  to  Armagh. 
Druimbo  is  mentioned  in  the  "  Tripartite  Life  "  and  in  that 
by  Jocelin,  in  both  of  which  the  following^story  is  told,  which 
is  here  given  from  Jocelin  : — "  And  on  a  certain  time,  St. 
Patrick  on  the  Lord's  Day  entered  a  harbour  on  the  northern 
coast  of  Hybernia,  opposite  the  town  of  Druimbo;  yet  would 
he  not  go  forth  of  the  ship,  but  remaining  therein  he  solem- 
nised the  day  with  his  wonted  devotion.  And  now  was  the 
mid-hour  of  the  day  passed,  when  he  heard  no  little  noise ; 
whereby  he  undex'stood  that  the  heathens  were  violating  the 
Sabbath  with  their  profane  labours  (the  which  was  right 
contrary  to  his  custom  and  command),  and  they  were  then 


PARISH  OF  BALLVKINLAR.  123 

employed  in  a  certain  work  which  is  called  Rayth  (A  E-ath), 
that  is  a  ivall  (Murus).  And  thereat  being  somewhat  moved, 
he  ordered  that  they  should  be  bidden  before  him,  and  im- 
peratively commanded  them  on  that  day  to  surcease  from 
their  labovxr.  But  this  profane  and  foolish  generation  received 
the  prohibition  of  the  Saint  not  only  with  contempt,  but  with 
scorn  and  laughter.  Then  did  he,  understanding  the  per- 
verseness  of  those  scorners,  repeat  his  prohibition,  and  thus 
did  he  say  unto  them — '  Though  mightly  shall  ye  labour  unto 
your  purpose,  never  shall  it  come  to  any  effect,  nor  ever  sliall 
ye  derive  any  profit  therefrom.'  And  how  true  were  his 
words  the  event  showed  :  for  on  the  next  night  was  the  sea 
wondi'ously  raised  with  a  tempest.  And  spreading  thereover 
scattered  all  the  work  of  the  heathens;  and,  lest  ever  it 
should  be  collected  or  rebuilded,  dispersed  it  with  irreparable 
dispersion."*  The  "  Drumbo  "  of  this  story,  as  told  by 
Jocelin,  is  called  "  Collum  Bovis  "  in  the  life  of  St.  Patrick 
in  the  "  Book  of  Armagh,"  when  it  relates  the  same  story. 
This  place  is  the  scene  of  a  contention  for  the  honour  of  the 
sepulture  of  St.  Patrick.  The  event  is  thus  related  by  Pro- 
bus — "  At  the  time  of  the  death  of  our  most  holy  father, 
Patrick,  there  arose  at  a  certain  place  which  is  named  Collum 
Bovis  a  certain  dreadful  warlike  contention  between  the 
people  of  Oirthii-  (the  inhabitants  of  the  counties  of  Ai-magh 
and  Louth)  on  one  part,  and  the  Ulidians  on  the  other."  We 
are  then  told  that  the  sea  miraculously  rose  above  its  wonted 
bounds  and  separated  the  combatants.  "  Then,  the  swelling 
waves  of  the  sea  (says  Jocelin)  being  reduced  and  returned 
unto  themselves,  two  oxen  appear  seeming  to  draw  toward 
Down  a  wain  laden  with  a  noble  biu-then — the  holy  body, 

*  There  is  a  tradition  that  the  rath  of  Lismoghan  was  never  com- 
pleted, and  on  that  account  is  was  called  by  an  Irish  vord  which 
signified  a  Footless  Stocking. 


124  DOWN  AND  CONNOR, 

the  which  the  people  and  clergy  of  Ultonia  followed  with 
exceeding  devotion.  .  .  .  Nevertheless,  the  Divine 
Providence  took  heed  that  occasion  of  contest  should  not  any- 
more be  ministered  ;  for  another  wain  appearing,  drawn  by 
two  oxen,  went  before  the  Ai'dmachians,  even  like  the  former 
wain,  which  had  borne  the  sacred  body  unto  Down ;  and  they 
staid  not  to  follow  its  tract,  believing  that  it  carried  the 
precious  burthen  until  it  came  within  the  borders  of  Ard- 
machia."  That  some  serious  dispute  between  the  inhabitants 
of  Armagh  and  those  of  DoAvn  in  reference  to  the  sepulture 
of  St.  Patrick  did  take  place  is  very  likely,  and  that  the 
inhabitants  of  Armagh  had  canied  the  body  some  distance 
towards  their  o\vn  city  appears  both  from  this  legend  and 
from  the  tradition  that  it  was  waked  one  night  in  Kilcoo 
(the  church  of  mourning),  which,  according  to  the  same 
tradition,  is  so  named  from  the  circumstance.  Dr.  Reeves 
says — "  Probably  the  inner  bay  of  Dundrum  is  intended  by 
these  passages ;"  but  Mr.  J.  "W.  Hanna,  whose  opinion  on 
such  matters  is  deserving  of  the  gi-eatest  consideration,  is 
convinced  that  Di'uimbo  is  situated  on  the  Quoile  River. 
(See  Parish  of  Saul.)  Nevertheless  it  seems  far  more  pro- 
bable that  Drumbo  was  on  the  inner  bay  of  Dimdrum,  near 
Lismoghan.  In  the  "  Calendar  of  the  O'Clerys  "  there  are 
two  saints  of  Diniimbo  mentioned — 

July  24,  Lughaidli,  of  Drumbo, 

August  10,  Cumin,  Abbot  of  Drumbo,  in  Ulidia.  Cumin 
is  but  another  name  for  Mocumma,  formed  by  prefixing  to  his 
name  Mo  (my  or  my  own),  a  tenn  of  endearment  commonly 
prefixed  to  the  names  of  their  saints  by  the  Irish  to  express 
respect  for  them,  while  at  the  same  time  they  frequently 
softened  the  termination  of  the  name  to  express  more  strongly 
that  veneration  which  they  entertained  for  them.  By  this 
process  Cumin  and  Mocumma  become  interchangeable  names. 


PARISH  OF  BALLYKINLAR.  125 

It  may  be,  however,  that  one  or  both  these  saints  belong  to 
Drumbo,  near  Belfast. 

iGranimor  (Ganimh-mor,  "the  great  sand,")  is  the  third 
district  mentioned  in  De  Courcey's  grant.  It  included  those 
sand-hills  which  form  the  Rabbit  Warren.  In  Patty's  map  it 
is  marked  Balligannimor.  Dr.  Reeves  tells  us  that  about  fifty 
years  ago  a  high  peak  of  sand  was  locally  called  Gannymor. 
In  Mr.  Roney's  farm  in  Upper  Ballykinlar,  in  a  field  called 
Parakineety,  is  an  ancient  cemetery  containing  the  founda- 
tions of  a  church,  called  Killyglinnie,  measui'ing  twenty-six 
by  fifteen  feet ;  and  a  few  yards  to  the  east  of  it  is  a  holy 
well,  called  St.  Patrick's  Well.  There  is  a  tradition  that  St. 
Patrick  landed  at  the  shore  of  the  inner  bay  of  Dundrum, 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  this  church.  This  may, 
however,  refer  to  his  visit  to  that  portion  of  the  coast  when 
he  had  the  interview  with  the  Pagan  rath-builders  of 
Druimbo.  Dr.  Reeves  says — "  A  short  distance  east  of 
Killyglinnie,  is  a  little  hill  called  Lisnashimmer,  or  *  the 
shamrock  fort,'  the  top  of  which  was  formerly  surrounded 
by  a  trench.  Within  the  enclosed  space  a  discovery  was 
made  some  years  ago  of  several  small  graves,  about  three 
feet  in  length  and  ten  inches  in  width  and  depth.  The 
cavities  were  lined  and  covered  with  thin  stones,  and  con- 
tained human  remains,  which  from  the  charcoal  found  with 
them  appeared  to  have  undergone  partial  incineration.  Molar 
teeth  and  fragments  of  full-grown  bones  which  were  inter- 
spersed proved  that  these  graves  were  not,  as  might  at  first 
appear,  intended  for  unbaptized  infants.  They  may  reason- 
ably be  supposed  to  date  their  formation  from  a  period 
anterior  to  the  introduction  of  Christianity  into  Ireland." 

Ballimeicdunem,  the  fourth  property  mentioned  in  De 
Courcey's  grant,  is  supposed  by  Dr.  Reeves  to  be  identical 
with  Ballymacguertie,  which,  in  the  "  Ulster  Inquisitions," 


126  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

is  described  as  "  a  parcel  of  land  called  the  Earles-parke  ;  a 
coniger,  called  the  Yellow  Coniger,  near  Ballymacgiertie, 
extending  to  the  l)lack  ditch."  The  Earl's-park  is  in  Upper 
Ballykinlar,  and  is  named  from  the  Earl  of  Kildare,  whose 
house  there  is  still  in  good  preservation,  and  is  at  present  the 
residence  of  Mr.  Magorrian.  Ballymacgierty  is  obviously 
a  name  for  the  lands  attached  to  some  extensive  building 
which  was  called  MacGourtrey's  Castle.  The  foundations 
of  this  castle  stood  some  time  ago  on  a  hill  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Killyglinnie.  The  Black  Ditch,  now  nearly  filled 
up,  was  a  rampart  somewhat  like  the  Dane's  Cast,  which 
stretched  along  the  shore  and  extended  as  far  as  Annadoru, 
and  was  intended  to  secure  Locale  against  the  incursion  of 
invaders  from  the  direction  of  Iveagh  or  Mourne. 

Tyi-ella  (Tigh-Riaghla,  "  the  house  of  Riaghail,")  derives 
its  name  from  Riaghail  (pronounced  Ryal),  a  saint  whose 
festival  was  observed  on  the  17th  of  September.  Of  St. 
Byal  we  unfortunately  know  very  little.  There  is,  however, 
preserved  iii  the  "  Felire  "  of  ^ngus  the  Culdee,  who  died 
not  later  than  A.D.  830,  a  note  on  the  Festival  of  the 
Beheading  of  John  the  Baptist,  which  enumerates  three 
different  prophecies  relating  to  some  terrible  visitation  of 
Divine  Pro^ddence  which  was  to  afflict  this  country  in  punish- 
ment for  its  sins.  This  scourge,  beginning  at  Fanait,  in  the 
coTinty  of  Donegal,  was  to  come  on  Ireland  in  revenge  for  the 
decapitation  of  John  the  Baptist,  and  it  was  to  decimate  the 
inhabitants,  or,  as  Colum  Cille  said — "Like  unto  the  gi-azing 
of  a  pair  of  horses  in  a  yoke,  so  shall  be  the  closeness  with 
which  it  will  cleanse  Erinn."  In  reference  to  this  calamity, 
^ngus  says  : — "  Thus  says  Raighail — '  Three  days  and 
three  nights  over  a  year  shall  this  plague  remain  in  Erinn. 
When  a  ship  can  be  seen  on  Loch  Rudhraidhe  from  the  door 
of  the  refectory  it  is  then  the  Broom  out  of  Fanait  shall  come. 


PARISH  OF  BALLYKINLAE.  127 

A  Tuesday,  too,  after  Easter,  in  Spring,  will  be  the  day  npon 
which  the  Broom  shall  issue  from  Fanait  to  avenge  the  death 
of  John  the  Baptist.'"  It  is  called  the  "Broom"  V)ecause 
it  is  to  sweep  Ireland.*  This  passage  serves  to  identify  Loch 
Rudhraighe  (Lough  Rorey)  as  Dundrum  Bay.f 

*  As  a  curious  instance  of  how  long  tradition  may  survive  in 
Ireland,  it  may  be  here  mentioned  that  the  author  remembers  people 
in  Locale  being  afraid  about  forty  years  ago  that  "the  wars  of 
Ireland"  were  about  to  commence,  for  a  ship  had  beeii  driven  Into 
Tyrdla  with  snow  on  her  rigging,  and  according  to  a  tradition  pre- 
served by  one  John  Trainer,  that  was  to  be  the  prelude  to  "the  wars 
of  Ireland."  This  is  obviously  another  version  of  the  prophecy  of  St. 
Ryal.  ^ngus  the  Culdee  gave  one  version  of  it,  and  a  BaUykinlar 
tradition,  ten  hundred  years  afterwards,  gives  another. 

t  In  the  "  Senchus  Mor,"  one  of  the  most  ancient  of  our  law  books, 
a  curious  tale  is  told  as  illustrating  one  of  the  peculiarities  of  the 
Brehon  law.  A  portion  of  this  story  will  serve  to  exhibit  the  anti- 
quity of  our  fairy  mythology,  and  will  relieve  the  dryness  of  this 
topographical  sketch.  It  refers  to  the  days  of  Comi  of  the  Hundred 
Battles,  and  it  is  here  presented  to  the  reader  from  the  translation  by 
the  Brehon  Law  Commissioners  : — 

"One  time  after  this  Fergus  (King  of  Ulster)  and  his  charioteer, 
Muena  by  name,  set  out  for  the  sea  ;  they  reached  it,  and  slept  on 
the  sea  shore.  Now,  fairies  came  to  the  King,  and  took  him  out  of 
his  chariot,  having  first  taken  away  his  sword  from  him.  They 
afterwards  carried  him  as  far  as  the  sea,  and  Fergus  felt  them  when 
his  feet  touched  the  sea.  Whereupon  he  awoke,  and  caught  three 
of  them — viz.,  one  on  either  hand,  and  one  on  his  breast.  '  Life  for 
life'  {i.e.,  quarter),  said  they.  'Give  me  my  three  wishes,'  said 
Fergus.  '  They  shall  be  granted, '  said  the  fairy,  '  provided  they  be 
not  such  as  are  beyond  our  power.'  Fergus  requested  of  him  a 
knowledge  of  the  mode  of  passing  under  lochs  and  pools  and  seas. 
'  Thou  shalt  have  it, '  said  the  fairy,  '  except  as  regards  one  which  1 
prohibit  thee  to  enter.  Thou  shalt  not  go  under  Loch  Eudhraidhe, 
which  is  in  thine  own  country.'  After  this  the  fairies  put  herbs  in 
his  ears,  and  he  went  with  them  under  the  seas.  Others  say  that 
the  fairy  gave  him  his  hood,  and  that  Fergus  used  to  put  it  upon  his 
head,  and  thus  pass  under  the  seas.  One  day  after  this  Fergus  took 
it  into  his  head  to  enter  Loch  Eudhraidhe,  and  he  left  his  charioteer 
and  chariot  on  the  margin  of  the  lough  ;  and,  as  he  went  into  the 
lough,   he  saw  in  it  the  Muirdris,  a  frightful  sea  monster.      One 


128  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

It  appears  by  an  instrument  dated  16th  Edward  III, 
(1342),  confirming  the  grants  made  about  the  end  of  the 
twelfth  century  by  Sir  John  de  Courcey  to  the  see  of  Down, 
that  Sir  John  had  granted  to  the  bishop  Tyrella,  which  the 
charter  called  Stegi-iel,  with  all  its  appurtenances.     In  Pope 

moment  it  used  to  contract,  and  then  dilate  like  a  smith's  bellows. 
On  his  beholding  it,  his  mouth  became  permanently  distended  to  both 
his  ears,  and  he  fled  out  of  the  lough  into  the  country  from  fear,  and 
he  said  to  his  charioteer,  *  How  do  I  appear  ?'  and  the  charioteer 
replied  to  him  :  '  Thy  aspect  is  not  good,'  said  he,  '  but  it  shall  not 
be  so  long,  sleep  shall  restore  thee  ;  it  would  be  well  that  thou  should 
take  a  sleep.  Upon  which,  therefore,  Fergus  went  into  his  chariot 
and  slept.  Now,  while  he  slept,  the  charioteer  went  to  the  wise 
men  of  Ulster  at  Eamhain-Macha  (the  Navan  Eing,  near  Armagh), 
and  told  them  the  adventures  of  the  King,  and  what  was  the  matter 
with  him  ;  and  he  asked  them  what  King  they  would  take  after  him, 
for  it  was  not  easy  to  keep  a  King  with  a  blemish  at  Emhain.  The 
advice  of  the  wise  men  of  Ulster  then  was  that  the  King  should 
return  to  his  house,  which  should  be  cleared  before  him  of  rabble, 
that  there  might  be  no  fools  or  idiots  in  it,  or  persons  who  would 
reproach  the  King  with  the  blemish  on  his  face,  and  that  a  muddy 
bath  should  be  always  prepared  for  him,  that  he  might  not  see  his 
shadow  in  the  water.  They  afterwards  kept  the  King  in  this  manner, 
for  three  years,  ignorant  of  his  own  blemish.  One  day  afterwards 
he  bade  his  bondsmaid  to  make  a  bath  for  him.  He  thought  that 
the  woman  was  making  the  bath  too  slowly,  and  he  gave  her  a  stroke 
of  his  horsewhip.  She  became  vexed,  and  reproached  the  King  with 
his  blemish  ;  whereupon  he  gave  her  a  blow  with  his  sword,  and 
divided  her  in  twain.  He  then  went  off  and  plunged  into  Loch 
Rudhraidhe,  where  he  remained  a  day  and  a  night.  The  lough 
bubbled  up  from  the  contest  between  him  and  the  sea  monster,  so 
that  the  noise  thereof  reached  far  into  the  land.  He  afterwards  came 
up  and  appeared  upon  the  surface  of  the  lough,  having  the  head  of 
the  monster  in  his  hand,  so  that  all  the  Uistermen  saw  him,  and  he 
said  to  them,  '  I  am  the  survivor,  O  Ultonians.'  He  then  sank  into 
the  lough  and  died  ;  and  the  lough  was  red  from  then  for  a  month 
afterwards,  concerning  which  was  snng,"  &c.  After  this  wild  legend, 
the  kniitty  points  of  the  law  begin  for  the  relatives  of  the  bondmaid, 
who  had  only  spoken  the  truth,  and  who  was  therefore  unjustly 
killed,  demanded  "eric-fine"  for  their  relative,  and  the  Sencfius  Mor 
treats  the  question  with  all  the  strange  terms  of  Brehon  law. 


PARISH  OF  BALLYKINLAR.  129 

Nicholas'  Taxation  it  is  valued  under  the  name  Staghreela  at 
seven  marks.  It  does  not  seem  to  have  been  then  see  pro- 
perty, nor  is  it  returned  as  see  property  on  the  4th  of  March, 
1305,  in  the  account  then  rendered  into  the  Irish  Exchequer 
by  Walter  de  la  Hay,  Escheator  of  Ulster,  in  which  he  accounts 
for  the  rents  received  by  him  duiing  the  vacancy  of  the  see. 
It  is,  therefore,  highly  probable  that  in  the  interim  between  De 
Courcey's  gi'ant  and  the  year  1304,  the  bishop  may  have 
gi-anted  it  to  the  Abbey  of  St.  Patrick's  of  Down,  of  which  he 
was  ex-oficio  abbot,  as  we  find  by  an  inquisition  taken  during 
the  reign  of  Edward  VI.,  10th  of  August,  1550,  to  inquire  into 
the  possessions  of  that  abbey,  the  last  piior  was  seized  of  the 
rectory  of  Thoghrja-olly,  valued  at  106s.  8d.  per  amium.  In 
the  "Ten-iei""  of  1615  Tyi-ella  is  entered  "  Ecclesia  de  Tech- 
riela.  It  is  prior's  of  Downe.  The  vicar  pays  in  proxies, 
2s. ;  in  refections,  2s.  ;  in  synodals,  2s."  From  which  it  is 
evident  that  previous  to  the  ''  Reformation,"  the  prior  of 
Down  was  rector  of  Tyrella.  About  the  year  1800  the 
greater  portion  of  the  walls  of  the  ancient  church  was 
removed  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hamilton  as  materials  for  building 
additions  to  Tyrella  House  and  erecting  a  garden  wall.  In 
1839,  on  the  occasion  of  the  erection  of  the  Protestant  church, 
what  remained  of  the  ancient  walls  was  removed.  There 
were  then  remaining  portions  of  the  west  and  noi-th  walls, 
which  Avere  three  feet  in  breadth,  and  built  of  undressed 
stone  cemented  with  lime  mortal-.  At  the  west  end  were 
found  lying  among  the  debris  two  holy  water  stoups  of  free- 
stone. The  cemetery  must  have  been  at  one  period  very 
extensive,  as  it  stretched  from  the  south  of  where  the  Pro- 
testant church  stands  across  the  road  into  an  adjoining  field 
in  the  toAvnland  of  Clanmaghery,  In  that  townland  great 
quantities  of  human  bones  have  been  found.  The  cemetery 
ceased  to  be  used  about  one  hundred  years  ago.     [See  paper 


130  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

by  J.  "VV.  Hanna,  Esq.,  in  the  Dovmpatrick  Recorder.]  In 
the  demesne  of  Tyrella  House,  and  near  the  site  of  the  church, 
a  cave  was  discovered  in  18.32.  It  was  artificially  constructed 
of  uncemented  stones,  and  covered  with  flag-stones,  over 
which  the  earth  was  heaped.  It  is  43  yards  in  length,  2J 
feet  wide,  and  aboi^t  5  feet  high,  and  is  di^vided  into  three 
chambers,  60,  45,  and  24  feet  in  length  respectively,  the 
last  is  six  feet  in  width. 

The  rectory  of  Rathmulhm  Church  at  an  early  period 
passed  into  the  possession  of  the  Hospitallers.  In  the  year 
1213  Pope  Innocent  III.  confiiTQed  to  them  their  possessions 
in  "  Rathmulin."  In  the  Pope  Nicholas  IV.  Taxation  the 
rectory,  as  belonging  to  the  Hospitallers,  was  exempt  from 
taxation  according  to  the  terms  of  the  Pope's  Bull,  which 
exempted  the  Templars  and  Hospitallers  from  that  tax  on 
account  of  their  sei'^-ices  and  losses  in  Palestine.  The  -v-icar's 
portion,  however,  was  valued  at  40s.  At  the  suppression  of 
monasteries,  John  Rawson,  prior  of  the  Order  of  St.  John 
of  Jerusalem  in  Ireland — or,  as  they  were  more  commonly 
named,  the  Hospitallers — was  seized  of  the  rectory  of  "  Path- 
mulin  in  Lecaile,"  being  parcel  of  the  possessions  of  the 
Preceptory  of  St.  John,  in  the  Ards.  The  "  Temer,"  a 
document  of  1615,  mentions  the  church  of  Eosmullen  as 
belonging  to  the  Order  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  and  records 
the  -v-icar  as  bound  to  pay  to  the  bishop  18d.  in  proxies, 
1 8d.  in  I'efections,  and  2s.  in  synodals.  In  the  report  of  the 
Protestant  bishop  in  1622  the  church  is  retimied  as  in  ruins. 
The  remains  of  the  ancient  church  were  removed  aboi;t  the 
year  1703,  when  the  Protestant  church  which  occupies 
the  site  was  erected.  Aboiit  1820  a  silver  chalice  and 
and  patina,  which  are  at  present  in  the  possession  of  Dr. 
Russell,  of  Mapiooth,  were  found  in  this  church  by  some 
workmen.    On  the  foot  of  the  chalice  is  inscribed—'"'  Presented 


PARISH  OF  BALLYKINLAR.  131 

by  George  Russell  and  his  wife,  Mary  Taffe,  to  the  churfch  of 
Ramolin,  June,  1640."  This  George  Russell,  who  was 
married  to  Mary  Taafe  of  Smarmor  Castle,  County  Louth, 
was  a  member  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Confederate 
Catholics  held  at  Kilkenny  during  the  civil  wars,  from  1641 
to  1650,  in  which  latter  year  he  was  slain  at  Skirfolas. 
Russell's  Castle  stood  near  the  great  rath  which  gives  name 
to  the  parish.  The  remains  of  it  were  standiug  about  one 
hundred  years  ago.  On  a  hill  to  the  west  of  the  church  is  a 
cave  34  yards  in  length,  divided  into  four  chambers,  of  which 
the  farthest  is  circular  and  larger  than  the  others. 
•       PARISH    PRIESTS. 

Edmund  Magraddy  is  returned  in  1704  as  parish  priest 
of  Drumcaw.  He  resided  in  "  Drumnagh,"  which  is  pro- 
bably intended  for  Drumanaghan.  He  was  then  forty-eight 
years  of  age.  He  was  ordained  in  1698  by  Dr.  Thady 
Keough,  Bishop  of  Clonfert.  According  to  tradition,  he 
went  to  the  parish  of  Kilmore  in  1714. 

Roger  Tranlavery,  otherwise  Armstrong,  became  parish 
priest  in  1714.  Mi\  Armstrong  was  a  native  of  Aughagallon. 
He  studied  in  Paris,  and  was,  according  to  tradition,  an 
honorary  chaplain  to  the  Old  Chevalier.  After  his  return 
he  was  appointed  to  Ballykinlar.  Either  while  in  Paris  or 
after  his  return  he  changed  his  old  Celtic  name  Roger  Tran- 
lavery into  what  he  considered  the  more  respectable  form  of 
Robert  Armstrong.-'  On  the  7th  of  April,  1727,  he  became 
Bishop  of  Down  and  Connor,  but  he  still  retained  the 
parish  of  Ballykinlar.  Dr.  Armstrong  lodged  in  the  house 
of  a  respectable  farmer  named  Patrick  Mor  0'Dogherty,t  in 

*  Some  of  his  relatives  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Li.sburn  and 
Aughagallon,  call  themselves  to  this  day  Armstrong,  instead  of  the 
ancient  Celtic  name. 

+  The  following  story  is  told  of  Patrick  Mor  O'Dogherty's  grand- 
mother or  gi-eat-grandmother.     The  Scotch,  during  the  wars  of  1641, 


'132  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

the  Upper  Town  of  Bally kinlar,  where  he  died  in  1739. 
[See  sketch  of  his  life  among  the  Bishops  of  Down  and 
Connor.] 

Dr.  Bannon,  Dean  of  Down,  was  the  next  pastor  of  Bally- 
kinfar.  He  had  assisted  for  a  long  time  Dr.  Armstrong  in 
the  duties  of  his  extensive  parishes,  for  in  addition  to  his 
parish  of  Ballykinlar  the  Bishop  held  the  parish  of  Down, 
which  had  fallen  into  his  possession  by  the  death  of  Dr. 
Crolly,  P.P.,  Down,  in  1728  or  1729.  Dr.  Bannon  died 
in  1742. 

The  Rev.  Charles  Christian  succeeded  Dr.  Bannon  in 
1742.  Mr.  Chx-istian  was  a  native  of  Ballyplunt,  one  of  the 
townlands  of  the  parish.  Owing  to  advanced  age  and  partial 
dotage,  he  was  superannuated  about  1762  or  1763,  and  the 
parish  was  administered  by  several  clergymen  till  Mr. 
Christian's  deaths 

The  Rev.  Laurence  Keenan  was  promoted  to  the  parish 
of  Ballykinlar  from  the  curacy  of  Saul.  Mr.  Keenan  was  a 
native  of  Drumaroad,  but  during  his  incumbency  he  resided 
in  Island-a-muck,  where  he  died  in  1776.  He  was  interred 
in  Loughinisland.  The  people  still  tell  anecdotes  about 
Father  Keenan  and  his  old  horse  "  Soarey."  They  also  say 
that  he  foretold  that  a  chapel  would  be  built  on  the  island, 
in  Ballykinlar  Lough,  where  it  Avas  afterwards  built.  After 
Mr.  Keenan's  death  the  parish  was  administered  for  some 
time  by  the  curate,  the  Rev.  Neal  Cannovan,  who  removed 

being  out  on  a  plundering  expedition,  visited  Ballykinlar,  and  one  of 
them,  thinking  to  plunder  for  himself,  loitered  behind  the  others, 
and  entered  this  old  lady's  house,  where  he  demanded  her  life  or  her 
purse.  She  prayed  for  mercj%  and,  not  finding  it,  showed  the 
Scotchman  where  the  money  was  concealed,  in  the  bottom  of  a  huge 
meal-ark.  He  eagerly  mounted  a  stool  to  reach  the  coveted  treasure, 
but  she  threw  him  in,  and  letting  fall  the  huge  oak  door,  sent  to 
Ballykinlar  House  for  her  husband  and  the  Irish,  who  soon  disposed 
of  the  trapped  Scotchman. 


PARISH  OF  BALLYKINLAR.  133 

to  the  curacy  of  Bright  when  the  Rev.  Eichard  Curoe,  who 
had  been  officiating  for  a  few  weeks  as  curate  in  that  parish 
was  promoted  to  the  parish  of  Ballykinlar. 

Mr.  Curoe  was  born  a.d.  1742  in  the  towuland  of  Bally- 
nagari'ick,  in  the  parish  of  Kilclief.  After  having  been 
ordained  by  Dr.  MacArtan,  March  14,  1773,  he  went  to 
Parisj  where  he  studied  in  the'College  of  the  Lombards,  On 
his  return  he  officiated  a  short  time  as  curate  to  Father 
Grant  in  Bright,  and  was  promoted  to  the  parish  of  Bally- 
kinlar  on  the  17th  of  March,  1778,  Some  time  after  the 
appointment  of  Dr.  Hugh  MacMullan  to  the  bishopric,  his 
lordship,  being  desii-ous  of  removing  the  ancient  parish  of 
Drumcaw  from  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  parish  priest  of 
Ballykinlai',  and  of  annexing  it  to  the  parish  of  Loughin- 
^  island,  inhibited  Mr.  Curoe  from  officiating  in  Drumaroad. 
He,  however,  appealed  through  the  Primate,  Dr.  Anthony 
Blake,  to  the  Pope,  who  decided  that  Drumcaw  was  part  of 
the  parish  to  which  Mr.  Curoe  had  been  canonically  inducted, 
and  prohibited  the  bishop  from  disturbing  him  in  the  enjoy-, 
ment  of  his  lawful  rights.  Dr.  MacMullan  publicly  read 
the  Papal  rescript  before  the  conference  of  the  clergy,  and 
Mr.  Curoe  having  vindicated  his  pastoral  rights,  in  order  to 
enable  the  bishop  to  make  such  changes  in  Ballykinlar  as  he 
might  think  necessary,  solicited  the  parish  of  Kilmore,  then 
vacant,  to  which  he  was  appointed  on  the  12th  of  January, 
1780.  The  bishop  made  no  change  in  regard  to  Drumcaw, 
which  still  remains  annexed  to  Ballykinlar.  [See  Kilmore.] 
The  Rev.  John  Macartan  succeeded  Mr.  Curoe.  Mr. 
Macartan  was  a  native  of  the  townland  of  Ballymaginaghy, 
in  the  parish  of  Drumgooland,  diocese  of  Dromore.  Having 
been  ordained  in  Seaforde,  by  Dr.  MacAi'tan,  on  the  14th  of 
March,  1773,  along  with  the  Rev.  Richard  Curoe,  they  both 
pi'oceeded    to  the    College   of   the    "Lombards,   and   on  Mr. 


134  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

Macartau's  retuiD,  in  1777,  he  \vas  upjiointed  parish  priest 
of  Saintfield,  from  which  he  was  promoted,  in  June,  1780, 
to  the  parish  of  Bally kinlar.  He  erected  the  chapel  of 
Ballykiniar  in  1783  or  1784.  Mr.  Macartan  died  on  the 
21st  of  February,  1814,  and  was  interred  in  Maghera,  but 
unfortunately  there  is  no  monument  to  mark  his  grave. 

The  Kev.  Hugh  Macartan  succeeded  his  brother.  Father 
Hugh  like  his  brother,  studied  in  the  College  of  the  Lom- 
bards, Paris,  from  which  he  had  to  fly  during  the  revolutionary 
frenzy  in  1793.  Before  proceeding  to  college  he  was  ordained 
by  Dr.  M'Devitt,  Bishop  of  Derry.  His  studies  having 
been  interrupted  by  the  Revolution,  he  was  sent,  on  his 
return  in  17^4,  to  complete  his  theological  studies  under  tlie 
guidance  of  his  brother,  and  to  be  at  the  same  time  his  curate. 
Father  Hugh,  though  several  times  offered  promotion,  con- 
tinued to  be  the  curate  of  Ballykiniar  upwards  of  twenty 
years,  after  which  he  became  its  parish  priest.  He  died  in  the 
sixty-sixth  year  of  his  age,  on  the  26th  day  of  July,  1832, 
and  was  interred  in  the  graveyard  of  Ballykiniar.  The 
following  epitaph  on  his  grave-stone  was  written  by  Dr. 
Denvir  : — 

llic  jacet 
In  spem  beataj  resurrectionis  Kevdus  Hugo  M'Cartan,  qui 
Muuere  Yicarii  iu  hacce  Paranoia  annos  viginti,  Parochi  vera 
Decern  et  octo  functus  est.     Morum  urbaiiitate,  zelo  pro 
Animarum  salute  et  charitatis  erga  proxiinum  ardore 
Vere  iusignis  auimos  omuium,  quibus  uotus  fuit,  sibi 
Conciliavit.     Hue  elatum  et  luultum  detietum  ^epeUere 
Sorores  suae  mojreiites,  Hosa  &  Catherina,  luagua  populi 
Comitante  frequentia.     Diem  obiit  supremuin  Yllmo.  Kal. 

Augti. 
j^itatis  8U£e  anno  LXVIto.     Salutis  autem  reparatse  1832  do. 
Requiescat  in  pace. 
Scimus  enim,  quoniani  si  terrestris  domus  nostra  hujus  habitationis 
diflsolvatur,  quod  aediticationem  ex  Deo  habemus,  domum  non 
manufactum,  ieternam  in  Coelis.     Oor.  Ep.  2da.  V.  I. 


PARISH  OF  BALLYKINLAR.  135 

The  Rev.  Michael  O'Hagan,  P.P.,  Kilcoo  (see  Kilcoo)  was 
appointed  in  October,  1832,  Mr.  O'Hagan  died  February  9, 
1831,  and  was  interred  alongside  the  remains  of  his  uncle, 
Father  Cormac  O'Hagan,  in  front  of  the  altar  of  Kilcoo  Chapel. 

The  Eev.  Patrick  Curoe,  was  appointed  from  the  parish  of 
St,  Mary's  or  Lower  Moiirne  [see  Lower  Mourne]  in  July, 
1834.  Mr.  Curoe  was  appointed  Professor  of  Classics  in 
the  Diocesan  Seminary  on  the  17th  of  April,  1839.  During 
Mr.  Curoes  residence  in  Belfast  his  parish  was  attended  by 
the  curate  the  Rev.  Fi-ancis  M'Kinney,  afterwards  parish 
priest  of  Rathlin.  On  the  15th  of  August,  1839,  the  Rev. 
James  Mulholland,  who  had  been  some  time  curate  in  the 
parish  of  Downpatrick,  was  sent  as  administrator,  but  having 
been  attacked  by  phthisis,  vinder  which  he  eventually  sank, 
he  was  obliged  to  leave  in  May,  181:2  [see  Lisburn],  and  was 
succeeded  in  the  administration  of  Ballykinlar  by  the  Rev. 
Richard  Killen,  at  present  parish  priest  of  Bright,  Both 
administrators  were  assisted  by  Father  M'Kinney,  until  he 
was  sent  to  the  curacy  of  Culfeightrin  towards  the  end  of 
1843.  Father  Curoe  resigned  the  professorship  at  the  Mid- 
summer vacation  of  1845,  and  returned  to  his  parish.  He 
died  October  4th,  1873,  and  was  interred  at  the  altar  of  the 
Blessed  Viigiu  Mary  in  Ballykinlar  Church. 

The  Rev.  Felix  M'Keating  succeeded  Father  Curoe. 
Father  M'Keating  is  a  native  of  the  parish  of  Kilclief ;  after 
studying  in  the  Diocesan  College,  Belfast,  and  in  St.  Patrick's 
College,  Maynooth,  he  was  ordained  November  7th,  1855, 
in  the  Chapel  of  the  Convent  of  Charity,  Stephen's  Green, 
Dublin,  by  the  Most  Rev.  Dr.  Whelan,  Bishop  of  Bombay. 
Father  M'Keating  after  officiating  as  curate  in  various 
parishes  of  the  diocese,  was  appointed  Administrator  of 
Ballymacarrett,  19th  of  October,  1869,  from  whish  he  was 
promoted  to  the  parish  of  Ballykinlar,  January  1st.,  1874. 


136  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

CHURCHES. 

The  old  chapel  of  Drumaroad,  in  the  civil  parish  of 
Drumcaw,  is  supposed  to  have  been  one  of  ' '  the  five  Mass- 
houses"  in  the  county  of  Down  mentioned  in  the  Protestant 
bishop's  report,  in  1731,  to  the  House  of  Lords,  which  were 
built  befoi-e  the  i-eign  of  Queen  Anne.  According  to  tra- 
dition, it  owes  its  origin  to  Edmund  Savage,  Esq.,  of 
Drumaroad,  who  represented  a  branch  of  the  Portaferry 
family,  which  was  located  in  that  townland.  In  1838  a  new 
chapel  was  commenced,  but  it  was  blown  down  before  its 
completion  in  the  great  storm  of  the  6th  of  January,  1839. 
The  present  chapel  was  commenced  and  finished  in  1841. 

The  old  chapel  of  Ballykinlar  was  commenced  in  1782  by 
the  Rev.  John  Macartan  in  one  of  the  three  islands  in  Inish- 
lochaculin,  commonly  called  Ballykinlar  Lough,  which  had" 
been  presented  to  the  Catholics  by  Samuel  Gibbons,  Esq., 
the  then  owner  of  Ballykinlar  Estate.  The  building  was 
completed  in  1784  or  1785.  It  was,  however,  altered  and 
enlarged  from  time  to  time,  and  in  1855  it  was  necessary  to 
replace  it  by  a  new  church,  and  the  foundation  stone  was 
laid  by  the  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Denvir  on  the  site  of  the  old 
chapel,  July  17,  1855.  It  was,  however,  soon  discovered 
that  the  original  site  would  not  bear  the  weight  of  the 
intended  church,  and  the  Marquis  of  Downshire  granted  a 
new  site  on  an  adjoining  hill,  on  wliich  the  present  church 
has  been  erected.  On  the  17th  of  June,  1860,  it  was  .solemnly 
dedicated  to  God,  under  the  invocation  of  St.  Patrick,  by 
Dr.  Denvir.  The  sermon  on  the  occasion  was  preached  by 
Dr.  Dorrian,  who  was  then  parish  priest  of  Loughinisland. 
The  church  cost  upwards  of  £1,600,  of  which  £400  had  been 
given  by  the  late  Nicholas  Magraw,  Esq.,  of  Liverpool,  who 
was  a  native  of  North  Tyrella.  The  extreme  length  of 
the  church,  including  nave  and  chancel,  is  about  110  feet; 


PAKISH  OF  BALLYKINLAR.  137 

the  nave  is  32  and  the  chancel  22  feet  wide.  The  wes- 
tern gable  is  surmounted  by  a  single  arched  belfry  filled  with 
a  fine-toned  bell  cast  by  Murphy,  of  Dublin.  The  walls 
are  of  ashler  work,  with  granite  quoins.''^  The  church  is 
erected  in  the  Lancet-Gothic  style,  from  plans  by  the  Rev. ' 
Jeremiah  M'Auley. 

The  cemetery  attached  to  the  old  chapel  of  Ballykinlar 
was  consecrated  by  Dr.  MacMuUan  in  the  Autumn  of  1820,t 
but  the  first  interment — that  of  Edward  O'Hanlon — occurred 
on  the  24th  of  June,  1819.  In  this  graveyard  are  interred 
the  Rev.  John  Macartan,  already  mentioned ;  the  Rev. 
Bernard  Magee,  RP.,  NewtDwmards ;  the  Rev.  John  Green, 
P.P.,  Coleraine,  whose  epitaphs  will  be  given  ixnder  their 
respective  parishes ;  and  the  Rev.  John  M'Kenna,  P.P., 
Lisburn,  over  whose  remains  no  monument  has  been  erected, 
but  it  is  to  be  hoped  the  attention  of  the  Catholics  of  Lisburn, 
and  of  their  parish  priest,  has  only  to  be  directed  to  this 
oversight.  Here  are  also  interred  the  remains  of  the  Rev. 
Francis  Digney.  Mr.  Digney  was  born  in  the  parish  of 
Tyrella  about  the  commencement  of  the  year  1830.  After 
having  finished  his  coui-se  of  classics  in  the  Diocesan  Semin- 
ary, Belfast,  he  was  sent  to  the  Irish  College  in  Paris,  in 
September,  1854,  from  which  he  returned  in  the  summer  of 
1857,  and  was  ordained  in  the  College  of  All-Hallows, 
Drumcondra,  on  the  4th  of  August,  1858;  after  which  he 
remained  in  Belfast,  preparing  himself  for  missionary  duties, 

*  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  in  order  to  procure  stones  for  this 
church,  the  Catholics  blasted  with  powder  and  cai-ted  off  a  stone 
circle — one  of  our  ancient  pagan  ni'3galithic  monuments  which  had 
stood  for  three  thousand  years  or  more  in  the  towuland  of  Tubber- 
corran,  on  the  road  from  Corbally  to  Ballykinlar. 

+  Mr.  Lavery,  of  Queen  Street,  Manchester,  a  native  of  the  parish 
of  Ballykinlar,  erected  the  cross  in  the  cemetery,  and  founded  in  the 
early  part  of  this  century  a  school  in  his  native  parish. 


138  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

till  he  was  Aj)[)ointed  to  the  curacy  of  Castlewellan  in  Decern 
ber,  1859,  from  which  he  was  sent  to  the  curacy  of  Duneane 
in  November,  1865,  where  he  died  on  the  3 1st  of  January, 
1867.     On  the  tablet  over  his  grave  is  inscribed  : — 

Sa.cred 
To  tlie  Memory  of 
Tha  Pk,ev.  Francis  Digney, 
late  C.C,  Duneane,  Co.  Antrim, 
who  de])arted  tliis  life 
31st  January,  1867, 
Aged  36  years. 
Requiescat  in  Pace. 

Previous  to  the  erection  of  the  old  chapel  of  Ballykiuiar, 
Mass  was  celebrated  every  alternate  Sunday  at  the  four 
roads  of  Tyrella  and  at  the  four  roads  of  Carrickanab.  There 
is  preserved  in  the  neighbourhood  a  pleasing  tradition  that 
when  the  priest  would  be  celebrating  Mass,  Mr.  Craig,  a 
Protestant  farmer  in  the  neighbourhood,  an  ancestor  of 
Kowley  Craig,  Esq.,  Clerk  of  the  Peace  for  the  County  Down, 
used  to  keep  watch  on  a  hill  in  his  farm  in  order  to  give 
timely  notice  of  the  approach  of  the  priest-hunters.  The 
people  remarked  that  good  fortune  ever  afterwards  attended 
Mr.  Craig  and  his  family. 

The  endowed  school  of  Ballykinlar — a  very  beautiful 
edifice  in  the  Gothic  style,  surmounted  by  an  open  bell-turrret, 
crowns  the  top  of  one  of  the  hills  in  the  vicinity  of  the  church. 
It  Avas  erected  at  the  expense  of  Mr.  Magraw,  of  Liverpool. 
The  amount  expended  on  it  by  Mr.  Magraw,  with  the  sum 
contributed  towards  the  erection  of  the  new  church,  amounted 
to  about  £2,500. 


THE  PARISH  OF  BRIGHT. 


fHE  parish  of  Bright  contains  the  entire  ciA-il  parish  of 
Bright,  and  the  townhxnds  of  Ballylucas,  Ballynewportj 
'  Ballyvaston,  Islandban,  Killough,  and  St.  John's  Point 
belonging  to  the  civil  parish  of  Rathmullan,  the  towiilands  of 
Carrowdressex,  Commonreagh,  and  Rossglass  belonging  to  the 
civil  parish  of  Kilclief,  and  the  townland  of  Kildare's  Crew 
belonging  to  the  civil  parish  of  Ardglass.  In  1871  there  were 
1820  Catholics  in.  the  parish  of  Bright.  The  first  place  once 
sacred  to  religion  which  presents  itself  in  this  parish  is  in 
the  townland  of  Erenagh.  Here,  in  a  field  called  "The 
Church  Park,"  belonging  to  Mr.  Thomas  Patterson,  about 
200  yards  to  the  right  of  the  road  from  Corbally  to  Grangi- 
cam,  were  the  ruins  of  a  church  measuring  forty  by  fifteen 
feet.  Though  these  ruins  are  remembered  by  old  persons, 
and  the  west  wall  was  standing  nine  feet  high  within  the 
last  fifty  years,  and  interments  even  took  place  in  the  ancient 
cemetery  in  1825,  yet  in  about  ten  or  twelve  years  after  that 
date  the  walls  were  cleared  away  and  the  cemetery  ploughed 
up.  The  history  of  the  foundation  of  this  church  is  given  in 
the  "  Monasticon  Anglicanum,"  from  the  registry  of  Fumess 
Abbey,  in  Lancashire.  It  informs  us  that  "  a  certain  King 
of  Ulster,  named  Magnellus  Makenlef,  first  founded  it  on 
the  8th  of  September  (the  Nativity  of  the  Blessed  Virgin), 
1127,  near  the  well  of  St.  Finian,  in  the  land  that  is  called 


140  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

Erynach,  and  named  it  the  Abbey  of  Carrick."  It  afterwards 
informs  us  that  "  its  first  abbot,  the  holy  Evodius,  on  the 
day  of  his  death,  commanded  the  brothers  to  bury  his  body 
in  the  Island  of  the  Inch  (Ynes),  and  he  assigned  the  reason, 
saying,  '  This  house,  brethren,  shall  be  destroyed  to  the 
foundation,  and  here  in  future  will  be  the  dwelling  of  wild 
beasts  and  robbers.  But  in  that  place  will  be  a  college  of 
just  men  and  the  ascension  of  holy  souls.  Here  briars  and 
thorns  shall  cover  the  barren  soil.'  "  We  are  then  told  that 
after  the  death  of  its  first  abbot  it  was  ruled  successively  by 
three  abbots,  Odo,  Devincius,  and  John,  and  that  it  was 
demolished  by  John  de  Courcey  in  consequence  of  it  having 
been  fortified  against  him,  and  that  he  afterwards  built  the 
abbey  of  Inch,  and  endowed  it  with  the  lands  which  had 
been  bestowed  on  the  abbey  of  Carrick  by  Magnellus.  This 
"  Magnellus  Makenlef"  is  Niall  MacDonlevy  (O'Eochaidh), 
a  Prince  of  Ulidia,  who  was  slain  in  the  year  1127.     The 

monastery  was  named  that  of  Carrick "the  rock"— from  a  rock 

beside  which  it  had  been  built.  At  the  base  of  this  rock  is  the 
ancient  well  of  St.  Finian.  On  a  white  portion  of  the  rock, 
above  the  well,  is  still  to  be  seen,  what  is  said  to  be,  the  print 
of  the  saint's  knees  and  feet.  This  church  was  called  by  the 
people  "  Templenageerah"  (TeampuU-na-g-caerac),  "church  of 
the  sheep."  Though  the  monastery  was  destroyed  by  De 
Courcey,  the  chapel  remained.  In  the  Taxation  of  Pope 
Nicholas  it  is  valued  at  six  marks,  under  the  name  of  "  the 
chapel  of  Grencastell,"  called  so  because  it  was  attached  to 
the  castle  of  Castlescreen,  which  was  one  of  those  castles 
which  the  Anglo-Normans  erected  to  guard  theii-  conquests 
in  Lecale,  and,  like  several  of  the  other  castles  in  that  barony, 
it  was  built  within  an  Irish  rath.  Its  name,  Greencastle, 
became  in  process  of  time  changed  into  its  present  form, 
Castlescreen.     The  ancient  church  stood  in  the  townland  of 


PARISH  OF  BRIGHT.  141 

Erenagh,  but  near  the  rivulet  which  di^ides  it  from  the 
townland  of  Castlescreen.  It  is  mentioned  in  "  Piimate 
Fleming's  Registry,"  in  a  document  relating  to  the  year 
1408,  as  "the  chapel  of  St.  Finian  de  Viridi  Castro  (Green- 
castle),  and  in  a  Chanceiy  Roll  of  1427  it  is  stated  that 
lands  in  "  Greencastel  in  Comitatu  de  Lecale,"  to  distinguish 
it  from  Greencastle  in  Mourne,  had  been  held  of  Richard, 
Duke  of  York,  by  Janico  Dai-tas,  from  whom  descended  the 
Fitzgerald  family,  who  still  possess  that  townland.  At  the 
dissolution  it  was  appropriate  to  the  Abbey  of  Saul  under 
the  name  of  "  Castlecryn,"  as  appears  by  an  inquisition  taken 
in  the  thii-d  yeai-  of  Edward  VI.,  which  returned  its  valuation 
at  106s  8d. 

Near  the  site  of  the  chui'ch  of  Erenagh,  there  is  a  veiy 
perfect  pagan  monument,  situated  in  the  townland  of  Bally- 
noe.  It  consists  of  an  outer  and  iiuier  circle  of  gieat  stones ; 
the  inner  circle  is  about  19  yards  in  diameter,  and  is  com- 
posed of  20  stones,  and  the  outer  circle  is  35  yards  in  diameter 
and  lias  49  stones.  In  addition  to  the  stones  forming  the 
circles  there  are  other  great  stones  placed  in  different  directions 
around  the  monument  (see  Guide  to  Belfast,  by  the  Belfast 
Naturalists'  Field  Club).  Within  the  inner  circle  human 
bones  and  an  immense  quantity  of  limpet  shells  have  been 
discovered. 

The  garden  of  Mrs.  P.  Connor  in  Ballynoe  is  the  site 
of  a  church,  called  in  the  Taxation  of  Pope  Nicholas,  the 
church  of  Kilschaelyn,  which  in  that  document  was  taxed  at 
two  Marks.  Not  a  trace  of  the  church  remains,  but  human 
bones  have  frequently  been  turned  up  in  Mrs.  Connor's 
garden.  Some  years  ago  a  part  of  a  cuneiform  headstone, 
ornamented  with  a  cross  of  elegant  and  elaborate  design, 
was  found  on  this  site.  The  sculpture  exhibits  the  hilt 
of  the   straight    Norman   sword   to  the  left  of   the  cross. 


142  DOWN  AND  OONNOK. 

That  stone  was  a  portion  of  the  monument  of  some  knight 
of  about  the  period  when  the  Taxation  of  Pope  Nicholas  was 
imposed.  In  1427  Janico  Dartas  or  D'Artois  ls  found  seized 
of  four  messuages  and  three  carucates  in  Kilsaghlj-n,  and  by 
the  inquisition  of  the  third  of  Edward  VI.,  the  "  Capella  de 
Kylsaghlyn"  is  found  appropriate  to  the  Abbey  of  St.  Patrick 
of  Down.  A.D.  1622  the  Protestant  bisliop  retiims  Kilsea- 
clon  as  a  ruin.  Although  its  ancient  name  has  entirely 
disappeared  we  are  enabled  to  identify  the  church  of  Bally- 
noe  as  that  imder  consideration  by  a  deed  of  the  date  of 
1729,  relating  to  the  Manor  of  Down,  in  which  mention  is 
made  of  "  Ballynoe,  alias  Kiltoughers,"  while  the  neighbour- 
ing townland  of  Legamaddy  is  called  in  the  same  document 
CaiTOwmalt.  In  an  inquisition  of  1G18  the  names  of  the 
townlands  of  the  parish  of  Bright  are  given,  but  Ballynoe  is 
not  returned.  There  is,  however,  a  townland  named  "  Kill- 
skeaghly."  These  are  the  different  forms  under  which  the 
ancient  Irish  name  appears  previous  to  its  complete  dis- 
appearance under  the  modern  name  of  Balh-noe — "new  town." 
The  property  attached  to  the  church  of  Ballynoe  is  that 
which  forms  the  subject  of  the  following  charter  to  the 
Monastery  of  Mahee  Island  in  Lough  Strangford  (See  Parish 
of  Saintfield)  :— 

THE  CHARTER  OF  BRIEN  DE  ESCHALERS. 

"  Know  all  who  shall  see  or  hear  these  letters,  that  I, 
Brien  de  Eschallers,  have  given  and  granted,  and  by  this  my 
present  charter  have  confirmed  to  God,  and  to  the  Blessed 
Mary  of  York,  and  to  St.  Bega,  and  to  the  monks  of 
Neddrum  in  that  place  serving  God,  one  cai'ucate  in 
Balichatlan  :  to  wit,  that  which  is  nearer  to  Balidergan,  in 
all  the  easements  belonging  to  the  same  land,  free  and  quiet 
from  all  earthly  service,  in  pure  and  perpetual  alms,  for  the 
salvation  of  the  soul  of  my  lord,  John  De  Courcy,  and  for 


PARISH  OF  BRIGHT.  143 

the  salvation  of  my  own  soul,  and  of  those  of  my  wife,  of 
my  heii-s,  and  of  my  parents.  This  land  I  and  my  heii's  will 
warrant  against  all  men.  These  being  witnesses — My  lord, 
John  De  Coiircy,  Richard,  son  of  Robert  CFitz-Robert  1), 
the  butler,  Elias  the  Prior,  William  my  son,  and  many 
others." 

It  is  remarkable  the  site  of  the  church  was  in  the  portion 
of  the  townland  of  Ballynoe  that  is  nearest  to  Bally dargan. 
Most  of  the  donations  made  to  Mahee  by  the  various 
charters  are  merely  restitutions  of  monastic  lands  which  had 
belonged  to  it  from  ancient  times,  and  which  the  Anglo- 
Norman  barons  having  taken  possession  of,  as  part  of  their 
conquest,  restored  by  these  charters  according  to  the 
I'ecognized  legal  form.  It  may  seem  strange  that  the 
Monastery  of  Mahee  should  hold  property  in  Ballynoe,  but 
the  history  of  its  founder,  St.  Mochay,  supplies  an  answer. 
The  circumstance  of  his  conversion  is  related  in  the  ancient 
biographies  of  St.  Patrick,  as  follows: — As  the  saint  journied 
from  Saul  to  Bright,  to  convert  an  important  personage 
named  Ros,  who  resided  in  the  latter  place,  he  saw  a  youth 
herding  swine,  and  he  preached  to  him.  The  boy  at  once 
obeyed  the  divine  call  and  was  baptised.  The  name  of  the 
youth  was  Caolan,  but  in  after  times  when  he  had  became 
an  illustrious  bishop  and  saint,  the  Irish  people  called  him, 
through  affection,  Mochay  (My  dear  Caolan).  From  him. 
Ballynoe  is  named,  in  the  Pope  Nicholas  Taxation  roll, 
KilschaGhjn  (Caolan's  Church),  and  in  the  Charter  of  Mahee 
Balichatlan  (The  town  of  Caolan).  The  church  we  may 
suppose  stood  near  the  spot  where  St.  Caolan  or  Mochay  was 
converted.  * 

*  Many  of  our  modern  roads  exactly  represent  tlie  ancient  roads  ; 
and  the  route  pursued  by  St.  Patrick  would  almost  prove  the  anti- 
quity of  the  road  leading   from   Downpatrick   to    Bright,    through 


144  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

Another  chuich  stood  near  Coniamstown  House,  in  a  S])ot 
where  some  years  ago  an  immense  quantity  of  human  bones 
were  discovered.  In  the  Taxation  roll  of  Pope  Nicholas  it 
was  valued  at  16s  under  the  name  of  "  The  Chapel  of  Balli" 
conyngham."  In  the  margin  is  written,  "  Hospital  of  the 
Infirm,"  and  that  thei-e  was  an  hospital  there  is  confirmed  by 
the  fact  that  even  yet  a  place  in  the  toAvnland  is  called 
"  Straney's  Spital,"  from  the  name  of  the  fanner  who 
formerly  owned  the  field  in  which  it  had  been.     Si)ital  is  a 

Ballynoe  and  Legamaddy.  It  might  be  asked  why  St.  Patrick 
could  not  find  a  more  direct  route  from  Saul  to  Bright,  but  the 
low  lying  valley  extending  from  Clouglier  and  the  Flying  Horse 
to  Killougb  was  probably  at  that  period  a  lake.  There  is  in  the 
adjoining  townland  the  site  of  a  Church,  even  longer  disused  than 
that  of  Ballynoe  ;  it  is  situated  in  the  townland  of  Legamaddy,  in  a 
field  belonging  to  Mr.  Hutton,  and  about  a  furlong  from  the  site  of 
Ballynoe  Church.  The  ancient  cemetery  is  very  close  to  the  boundary 
of  the  townland  of  Ballydargan  ;  the  graves  are  lined  with  thin  flag- 
stones, and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  it  is  at  least  contemporary 
with  the  introduction  of  Christianity.  A  holy  water  stoup  was 
found  at  this  cemetery  ;  the  author  would  be  inclined  to  believe  that 
this  Church  became  disused  when  Ballynoe  (the  new  town)  was 
erected.  If  Brian  de  Eschalers,  who  granted  by  charter  Balichatlan 
to  Mahee,  founded  the  nearest  Anglo-Norman  castle,  that  of  Rath- 
muUan,  his  name  seems  to  be  preserved  in  the  modern  HcoUlckstovm, 
an  appellation  given  to  a  portion  of  Rathmullan.  It  is  true  such 
derivations  are  at  best  very  hazardous ;  for  instance,  Dr.  Villanueva, 
a  member  of  the  Royal  Spanish  Academy,  and  one  of  the  principal 
compilers  of  the  celebrated  dictionary  published  by  that  learned  body, 
published  in  1831,  a  work  in  Latin,  entitled,  "Ibernia  Phcenicea," 
in  which  he  attempted  to  prove,  from  the  names  of  our  townlands, 
that  the  Phwoicians  had  colonised  Ireland.  In  it,  he  says,  "Bally- 
dargan, a  place  on  the  road  from  the  port  of  Killough  to  Downpatrick, 
in  the  County  of  Down,  from  the  Phoenician  words  Baali  darghin — 
the  temple  of  Baal  having  steps,  or  to  whose  throne  there  is  an 
ascent  by  means  of  steps  or  a  ladder  (see  III.  Kings  x.  19).  Or, 
perhaps,  Dargan  is  a  corrupt  name  for  Dagon,  an  idol  made  in  human 
form,  in  which  the  Phcenicians  adored  Jupiter  or  Saturn  with  the 
crooked  knife,  as  the  God  of  Corn  (I.  Kings,  v.  1-2)."  To  such  a 
foolish  extent  may  derivations  be  carried. 


PARISH    OF    BRIGHT.  145 

corruption  of  Spideal,  the  Irish  word  for  hospital.  John  of 
Baliconingham,  who  was  elected  to  the  see  of  Down  in  1328, 
but  was  not  confirmed  by  the  Pope,  who  had  appointed  Ralf 
of  Kilmessan  to  that  dignity,  seems  to  have  been  named  from 
this  church.  By  an  inquisition  taken  in  the  third  year  of 
Edward  YI.  it  is  found  that  the  tithes  of  "  Ballyquoniam" 
of  the  annual  value  of  £8  were  appropriate  to  the  priory 
of  regular  canons  of  Down.  The  lands  of  this  townland  at 
an  early  period  passed  into  the  possession  of  a  branch  of  the 
Russells.*  An  inqiiisition  taken  at  Downpatrick  on  the  4th 
of  October,  1636,  finds  that  "  James  Bussell,  late  of 
Quonyainstowne,  in  County  Downe,  in  his  life  was  seized  of 
the  said  town  and  land  of  Quonyainstowne,  containing  100 
'acres,  and  of  the  town  and  land  of  Ballyneshrilie  (Ballystrew), 
■  containing  60  acres.  Thus  being  seized,  he  died  about  thirty- 
five  years  ago.  George  Bussell,  his  son  and  heir,  was  then 
of  fuU  age  and  not  married.  Foresaid  are  held  of  the  king 
in  chief  by  knights  service."  This  family  still  retain  theii" 
ancient  possessions  and  their  ancient  faith. 

*  According  to  Burke,   the  ancestor  of  the  Russells,  Barons   of 
-  Killough,  was  a  cadet  of  the  house  of  Kingston  Russell  in  Dorsetshire, 
who  accompanied  De  Courcey.     At  an  early  period  the  Russells  had 
branched  into  several  families. 

1.  The  Pbussells  of  Killough,  the  chief  of  whom  was  one  of  the 
Palatine  Barons  of  Ulster.  Nicholas,  the  eleventh  Baron,  sold  in 
May,  1606,  the  townland  of  Ross  to  William  Merryman,  of  Bishop's 
Court.  His  brother  John  was  the  twelfth,  and,  strictly  speaking, 
the  last  baron,  as  after  the  civil  wars  of  1641,  Killough  was  confiscated. 

2.  The  Russells  of  Coniamstown  are  descended  from  a  younger  son 
of  George,  the  ninth  Baron  of  Killough,  who  conferred  on  him  Bally- 
strew and  Coniamstown.  After  the  civil  wars  of  1641,  Ballystrew 
was  allotted  to  William  Brett,  of  Saul,  and  afterwards  of  Ballynewport, 
and  Coniamstown  to  the  Duke  of  York  ;  but  Charles  II. ,  at  the 
solicitation  of  the  widow  of  the  last  proprietor,  had  those  grants 
abrogated,  and  restored  the  lands  to  her  son,  Patrick  Russell.  His 
son  Valentine  was  outlawed  by  the  Williamites  in  Banbridge,  on  the 
20th  of  October,  1696.     The  estate  was  sold  in  1703  by  the  Trustees 

K 


146  DOWN  AXD  CONNOR. 

In  the  townland  of  Grangewalls  tlie  remains  of  an  ancient 
cemetery  were  (liscovered.  The  gi-aves  were  about  three  feet 
under  the  surface,  and  were  formed  })y  jjhicing  flagstones 
edgewise  along  the  sides  and  at  the  end  of  the  gi-aves.  The 
tops  of  the  gi-aves  were  covered  with  similar  flat  flagstones. 
The  name  of  the  to^vnland  indicates  tliat  it  had  been  con- 
nected witli  some  ancient  ecclesiastical  structure.  The  to^v^l- 
land  of  Grangewalls,  -with  those  of  Ballygallum  and 
Grangeban,  as  part  of  the  possessions  of  one  of  the  mona- 

of  Forfeited  Estates,  but  it  was  purchased  iu  trust  by  Lieu  tenant- 
General  Echlin  for  Patrick,  son  of  Valentine  Russell,  at  the  sum  of 
£500,  and  thus  it  was  preserved  for  the  family. 

3.  The  Russells  of  Bright  and  Ballj'vaston  were  also  branches  of 
the  Killough  family,  they  held  Bright  as  tenants  of  the  Earls  of 
Kildare,  who  were  themselves  tenants  of  the  See  of  Down.  The  site 
of  their  manorial  residence  in  Ballyvaston  is  occupied  by  cabins,  a 
little  to  the  left  of  the  avenue  leading  to  Mr.  Martin's  house.  They 
possessed  Ballynagalliagh  (perhaps  only  a  part  of  it  now  incorporated 
in  Ballyvaston),  which  they  held  under  the  crown.  They  also  held, 
under  the  Earls  of  Kildare,  Ballyvaston,  Ballynewport,  and 
M'CrowIlis  Quarter,  alias  Mullaghaire  ^Crolly's  Quarter).  The  last 
of  this  family  was  ilary,  daughter  of  Richard  Russell,  who  married 
Phelim  Magenis  of  Tullymore,  whose  estates  are  inherited  by  his 
descendant,  Lord  Roden,  who  is  therefore  the  representative  of  this 
family  of  the  Russells. 

4.  The  Ru.ssells  of  Rathmullan  are  an  early  offshoot  from  the 
Killough  family.  The  manor,  consisting  of  the  entire  parish  of 
Tyrella  (except  Oarrickinab),  Rathmullan,  Ballj-plunt,  and  Islandban, 
became  forfeited  by  the  attainder  of  George  Russell,  who  was  slain 
at  the  battle  of  iSkirfolas,  June  21st,  1650.  His  estate  was  granted 
to  one  Hutchinson,  who  sold  it  to  James  Hamilton  of  Erenagh  House, 
ancestor  of  Lord  Roden,  and  to  Andrew  Graham,  whose  descendants 
sold  their  part  to  various  parties,  principally  members  of  the  Hamilton 
family.  William  Hamilton,  in  1676,  obtained  a  patent  whereby  his 
lands  were  erected  into  the  Manor  of  Hamilton's  Hill  (Ballydargan). 
The  townland  of  Ballydargan,  previous  to  the  wars  of  1641,  was  held 
in  fee  under  the  Earls  of  Kildare  by  a  family  named  Dowdal,  the  site 
of  whose  residence  is  inside  Oakley  Park,  and  along  the  stream  that 
bounds  the  townland.  Hee  Pajiers  on  Killough  in  the  Deicnpatrick 
Recorder,  by  Mr.  J.  W.  Hanna. 


PARISH  OF  BRIGHT.  147 

steries  in  Downpatrick,  passed  into  the  possession  of  the 
Cromwell  family.  In  ploughing  up  the  gi-ovind  near  the 
ancient  cemetery  there  was  found,  about  thirty  years  ago,  a 
beautiful  enamelled  vessel  of  copper,  measuring  five  and  a- 
half  inches  in  height,  and  resembling  a  modem  altar  cruet. 
The  Rev.  Charles  Ai-chbold,  rector  of  RathmuUan,  who 
obtained  possession  of  it,  sent  a  di-awing  of  it  to  the  celebrated 
antiquarian,  Albert  "Way,  Esq.,  F.S.A.,  London,  who  pro- 
nounced it  to  be  one  of  a  pair  of  cruets  used  for  holding  wine 
and  water  at  the  altar.  He  says  : — "  It  is  of  the  work  of 
Limoges  of  the  kind  of  enamel  technically  termed  champ  leve, 
from  the  copper  being  chiselled  out,  forming  cavities  in  the 
field  to  receive  the  vitrified  colour.  A.pMala  of  the  same  period 
and  beautiful  workmanship,  similar  in  form,  and  difiering 
only  slightly  in  size,  is  in  the  Cabinet  of  Antiquities  in  the 
Imperial  Library  at  Paris.  .  .  .  The  foliated  ornaments 
and  general  character  of  the  woi'k  are  the  same,  and  the  date 
of  both  is  about  A.  D.  1200.  .  .  I  do  not  remember  to  have 
seen  any  other  examples  of  Limoges  enamel  work  discovered 
in  Ireland."  This  beautiful  cmet  had  a  handle,  which  was 
attached  like  that  of  a  jug,  a  lid,  and  a  spout;  but  these  have 
been  broken  ofi".  A  beautiful  print  of  this  ancient  altar 
vessel  is  given  in  the  Ulster  Journal  of  Archceology,  Vol.  II. 
The  site  of  the  ancient  church  of  Bright  is  occupied  by 
the  Protestant  church.  We  are  told  in  the  "Tripartite  Life 
of  St,  Patrick"  that  the  saint,  after  his  unsuccessftd  mission 
to  his  old  master,  Milcho,  at  Slemish,  returned  to  Saul, 
whence  he  set  out  Southwards,  to  convert  a  prince  named 
Ros,  who  was  the  brother  of  Dichu,  his  first  convert  at  Saul. 
The  account  of  this  mission,  as  given  in  the  "Irish  Trip- 
artite," translated  by  "W.  M.  Hennesy,  Esq.,  M.R.I. A,  for 
Sister  M.  Cusack's  "  Life  of  St.  Patrick,"  is  as  follows : — 
"  Patrick  went  subsequently  from  Sabhall  southwards  that 


148  DOWN  AND  CONNOR, 

he  miglit  preach  to  Ros,  son  of  Trichim.  He  it  was  that 
resided  in  Derhis,  to  the  soiith  of  Dun-leth-glaise  {Down- 
patrick).  There  is  a  small  city  (Cathair,  i.e.,  civitas,  but 
also  meaning  a  bishop's  see)  there  this  day,  i.e.,  Brettain, 
where  is  Bishop  Loarn,  who  dared  to  chide  Patrick  for  hold- 
ing the  hand  of  the  boy  who  was  playing  near  his  church. 
As  Patrick  was  then  on  his  way  he  saw  a  tender  youth 
herding  pigs — Mochae  his  name.  Patrick  preached  to  him 
and  baptised.him,  and  cut  his  hair  (tonsui-ed  him),  and  give 
him  a  copy  of  the  Gosjjels  and  a  reliquary.  And  he  gave  him 
also  another  time  a  bachall  (a  crozier)  which  had  been  given 
them  from  God — viz.,  its  head  into  Patrick's  bosom,  and  this 
is  the  Detech-Mochae  of  Noendruim  (Mahee  Island,  in 
Strangford  Lough),  and  Mocha  promised  Patrick  a  shorn  pig 
every  year,  and  this,  indeed,  is  still  given."  The  fort "  Derlus," 
which  in  some  of  the  lives  is  also  named  Inreathan,  was  an 
earthen  rath  which  stood  probably  where  now  is  the  Castle 
of  Bright,  for  the  Anglo-Normans  in  Lecale  generally  selected 
raths  as  sites  for  their  castles.  The  word  "  Durlas "  is 
translated  by  O'Donovan  "a  strong  fort."  He  says  that  it 
is  Anglicised  into  Thurles.  Ros,  son  of  Trichim,  the  prince 
of  Bright,  was  a  very  important  personage.  He  was  a  doctor 
of  the  Berla  Feini,  or  the  most  ancient  form  of  the  Irish 
language,  and  he  was  one  of  the  nine  commissioners  appointed 
to  draw  up  the  Senchus  Mor,  one  of  the  ancient  laws  which 
was  so  much  revered  that  the  Irish  Judges,  called  Brehons, 
were  not  authorised  to  abrogate  any  thing  contained  in  it. 
The  original  has  been  lately  published  by  the  Brehon  Law 
Commissioners.  The  festival  of  Ros  was  held  on  the  7th  of 
April.  The  townland  in  which  the  church  of  Bright  is  situated 
is  named  Ballintubber — the  iovra.  of  the  well — from  a 
remarkable  well  about  a  quai'ter  of  a  mile  to  the  north  of 
the  church,  which  no  doubt  is  the  ancient  holv  well  where 


PARISH  OF  BRIGHT.  149 

was  baptised  Ros-Mac-Trichim.  St.  Loarn,  wlio  was  Bishop 
of  Bright,  was  honoured  in  the  ancient  Irish  Church  with  a 
festival  on  the  1 1th  of  September.  We  do  not  know  anything 
more  than  is  related  in  the  "  Irish  Tripartite  Life"  regarding 
St.  Loarn  chiding  St.  Patrick,  nor  have  we  any  account  of 
St.  Loarn's  successors  in  the  See  of  Bright,  but  it  would 
seem  that  at  whatever  time  it  merged  into  the  See  of  Down 
the  lands  attached  to  it  passed  into  the  possession  of  the 
Bishops  of  Down.  John  Dongan,  who  became  Bishop  of 
Down  in  1395,  with  the  assent  of  his  chapter  and  clergy, 
assigned  eight  messuages  and  four  carucates  of  land  in  Bright 
and  Rasteglas  (Bossglass)  to  Janico  D'Artois,  a  Gascon 
geptleman,  who  had  attended  Bichard  II.  in  his  Irish  wars. 
The  assignment  appears  by  an  inquisition  held  in  1427  to 
inquire  what  lands  Sir  Janico  had  died  seized  of.  It  would 
seem  that  these  lands  passed  into  the  possession  of  the 
Kildare  family  through  Alison  Eustace,  the  grand-daughter 
of  Sir  Janico,  who  married  Gerald,  the  8th  Earl  of  Kildare. 
In  1622  the  Protestant  bishop  reports  among  the  possessions 
of  the  see  : — "  In  Boseglass  the  temporalities  of  a  town  and 
a-half.  In  Bright  three  plowlands,  and  the  Earl  of  Kildare 
oweth  for  rent  out  of  the  said  three  towns  £5  10s  8d  per 
amium."  In  the  margin  he  places  the  name  of  John  RusseU, 
of  Killough,  as  tenant  in  occupation  of  Rossglass,  and  that 
of  Christopher  Bussell  as  tenant  in  occupation  of  Bright. 
In  1639  a  lawsuit  was  instituted  by  the  Protestant  bishop 
for  the  recovery  of  these  lands,  but  the  civil  wars  inteiTupted 
it,  and  the  Fitzgerald  family  held  these  lands  until  1808, 
when  the  Bight  Hon.  Charles  James  Fitzgerald,  Baron 
Lecale,  sold  them  to  his  step-father,  William  Ogilvie,  Esq., 
whose  gi-eat-grandson  now  possesses  them.  About  the  year 
1178  John  De  Courcey  granted  the  church  of  Bright  to 
Malachy,  Bishop  of  Down.     This  was,  however,  a  mere  con- 


150  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

firmation  on  the  part  of  the  conqueror  of  what  had  from  the 
earliest  times  belonged  to  the  see.  Shortly  afterwards 
Malachy  annexed  it  under  the  name  of  "  Brichten"  to  the 
Abbey  of  St.  Patrick,  of  which  the  bishop  was  ex-officio  abbot. 
In  the  account  rendered  on  the  4th  of  March,  1-305,  into 
the  Irish  Exchequer,  by  Walter  de  la  Hay,  Escheator  of 
Ulster,  in  which  he  accounts  for  the  rents  received  by  him 
during  the  vacancy  of  the  see,  he  returns  £3  I63  6d  out  of 
"Eossglasse,"  but  he  received  nothing  out  of  the  lands  of  Bright, 
or  of  "  Byscopille."  In  the  Taxation  of  Pope  Nicholas  the 
church  of  "  Brich"  is  valued  at  eight  marks  ;  but  in  1316  it 
was  destroyed  by  the  Scots,  under  Edward  Bruce.  Grace, 
ill  his  "  Annals,"  under  that  year,  records  : — "  The  church 
of  Bright,  in  Ulster,  full  of  persons  of  both  sexes  is  burned." 
At  the  dissolution,  the  church  of  "  Britt,"  at  the  annual 
talue  of  £6  13s  4d,  was  appropriate  to  the  Abbey  of  St. 
Patrick.  The*  Protestant  bishop  returns  it  in  1622  as  then 
in  ruins.  These  ruins  were  removed  when  the  Protestant 
church  was  erected  in  1745.  In  the  adjoining  fields  stone 
lined  graves  are  frequently  found. 

Byscopille,  of  De  la  Hay's  return,  is  Tullinespick*— TV^ac/i 
an  easpoig,  the  bishop's  hill — a  small  townland  which  was 
held  under  the  Protestant  bishop  till  the  Disestablishment. 
The  remains  of  a  cemetery  containing  graves  like  those  in 
Grangewalls  may  be  seen  in  it,  they  are  surrounded  by  a 
rath  which  is  now  nearly  obliterated.  "  Tolynesbege  nigh 
unto  the  Castle  Bright  in  Lecale"  was  returned  in  1622  as 
land  belonging  to  the  see,  and  the  name  of  Charles  Bussell 
is  placed  in  the  margin  as  that  of  the  tenant  in  occupation. 

*  According  to  the  Parliamentary  Report  on  See  Lands,  published 
in  1833,  Robert  Magennis  then  held  TuUinespick  by  a  21  year  per- 
petually-renewable lease  at  the  annual  rent  of  £3  Is,  and  a  Renewal 
Fine  of  £9  9s. 


PARISH  OF  BRIGHT.  151 

.  Bj  the  inquisition  held  in  1427,  to  inquire  what  lands  Sir 
Janico  D'Artois  died  possessed  of,  it  was  found  that  he  was 
seized  of  "  half  a  carucate  in  Gilberton  by  the  gift  of  the 
abbot  and  convent  of  the  Blessed  Mary  of  Ines  (Inch),  and 
of  2  messuages  and  1  carucate  in  Nunto'svn  by  the  gift  of  the 
prioress  and  convent  of  the  Blessed  Mary  of  Down  ... 
4  messuages  and  3  carucates  in  Kylsaghlyn  (Ballynoe),  1|- 
carucates  in  Whetbyton  (Whigamstown)."  From  this  doc- 
tunent  it  appears  that  GrUberton — Ballygilbert — belonged 
originally  to  the  abbey  of  Inch ;  and  when  a  religious  house 
held  a  distant  townland  there  was  generally  a  chapel  in  it 
for  the  convenience  of  the  tenants.  No  traces  of  one'  Ijave, 
however,  been  yet  discovered  in  Ballygilbert  or  the  adjoining 
townland  of  Ballyviggis,  part  of  which  also  belonged  to  the 
abbey  of  Inch,  the  remainder  of  it  belonged  to  the  bishop. 

Nuntown  is  Ballynagalliagh — the  toivn  of  the  nuns — in 
that  townland  a  few  stone  Hned  graves  were  found  many 
years  ago  a  little  to  the  north  of  the  country  road,  and  near 
the  ridge  of  the  hill.  It  is  remarkable  that  all  these  town- 
lands,  except  Ballynoe,  still  belong  to  the  Ardglass  estate, 
which,  until  1808,  was  the  property  of  the  Fitzgeralds,  the 
descendants  of  D'Artois. 

The  Taxation  of  Pope  Nicholas  returns  "  the  church  of 
Eossglassce" — Ros-glas,  "  the  green  point " — as  valued  at . 
two  marks.  This  church  stood  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
south-east  of  the  present  chapel  of  Rossglass.  In  very  ancient 
times  this  church,  with  the  lands  attached  to  it,  passed  into 
the  possession  of  the  Bishop  of  Down.  A  document,  which 
professes  to  have  been  drawn  up  in  the  year  1210,  but  which 
Dr.  Beeves  supposes  was  compiled  in  the  fifteenth  century, 
partly  from  previous  documents  and  partly  from  conjecture, 
ascribes  the  gift  to  the  bishop  of  a  carucate  and  a-half  of  land 
in  Rossglass  to  one  Flathri  M'Cumasaig,  a  King  of  Lecale. 


152  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1305,  the  King's  Escheator,  Walter  de 
la  Hay,  returned  into  the  Irish  Exchequer  an  account  of 
rents  received  by  him  dming  the  vacancy  of  the  see,  of  a 
part  of  which  the  following  is  a  translation  : — "  And  £4:  53 
Id  of  the  rents  of  the  farms  of  the  hill  of  Byscopille,  of  the 
land  of  BaUybeghys  (Ballyviggis),  of  a  house  of  Richard,  son 
of  Allan ;  of  the  prizes,  of  the  services,  and  perquisites  of 
the  coui-t  there."  Of  the  service  of  the  tenants  of  "  Britte"  he 
makes  no  retui'n,  because  all  is  paid  in  Autumn.  "  Of  ^3 
16s  6d  of  the  rents  of  farms,  of  a  mill,  of  prizes,  services, 
fisheries,  and  of  the  perquisites  of  the  court  of  Rosglasse  for 
the  foresaid  term."  We  have  seen  that  the  lands  of  Bossglass 
passed  into  the  possession  of  the  Earls  of  Kildare.  The 
church  of  Rossglass  was  reported,  in  1622,  by  the  Protestant 
bishop  as  a  I'uin.  In  1834  what  remained  of  the  walls  was 
removed,  and  its  old  and  long  disused  cemetery  was  subjected 
to  tillage.  Near  it  is  a  little  creek  commonly  called  Bridget's 
Port,  which  in  1829  was  proposed,  under  the  name  of  "St. 
Bridget's  Cove,"  by  the  Fishery  Board,  to  be  made  the  site 
of  a  fishery  harbour,  but  why  it  was  so  named  is  not  known. 
Rossglass,  Commonreagh,  and  Carrowdressex  belonged  in 
ancient  times  to  the  parish  of  Kilclief. 

St.  John's  Chapel  was  valued  at  three  marks  in  the 
Taxation  of  Pope  Nicholas,  under  the  name  of  "  the  chapel 
of  Styoun,"  which  name  seems  to  have  Lieen  formed  from  the 
Irish  words  Tigh-Eoin,  "  John's  house."  In  the  calendar  of 
the  O'Clerys,  the  festival  of  its  patron  is  mentioned  on  the 
17th  of  August,  "Eoin  MacCarlain,  of  Teac  Eoin."  Im- 
mediately after  the  coming  of  the  English,  Malachi,  Bishop 
of  Down,  granted  the  church  of  "  Stechian"  to  the  Abbey  of 
Down,  At  the  Dissolution  the  tithes  of  this  chapel,  under 
the  name  of  St.  Johnstown,  were  appropriate  to  the  Precep- 
tory  of  St.  John  in  the  Ards.  The  church,  which  was  of  a  very 


PARISH  OF  BRIGHT.  153; 

ancient  style  of  architecture,  measured  twenty  by  thirteen 
feet  in  the  clear.  Harris  describes  the  walls  in  his  time  as 
"yet  intire,"  but  the  east  wall  is  now  demolished  to  the 
foundation.  Dr.  Reeves  says — "  The  east  window,  which  is 
remembered  by  many,  is  described  as  having  been  small  and 
narrow,  terminating  above  in  an  acute  angle,  formed  by  the 
inclination  of  two  flags,  like  those  represented  in  '  Petrie's 
Round  Towers,'  p.  180.  In  the  west  wall  is  a  doorway  5 
feet  6  inches  high,  2  feet  1  inch  wide  at  the  top,  and  gradually 
dilating  to  the  threshold,  where  it  is  3  feet  in  breadth.  In 
the  south  wall,  near  the  southeast  angle,  is  a  window  2  feet 
5|  inches  high,  1  foot  4  inches  wide  at  top,  and  1  foot  9 
inches  at  bottom.  In  both  instances  the  aperture  is  sur- 
mounted ty  a  single  flag  instead  of  an  arch."  Lewis,  in  his 
Topographical  Dictionary,  says  that  near  the  church  "several 
stone  cofiins  of  singular  shape  were  dug  up  recently,  together 
with  massive  gold  ornaments  and  curious  coins."  The  stone 
coffins  were  the  stone  lined  graves  which  occur  in  all  the 
ancient  cemeteries  of  this  pai-t  of  Down  and  Connor.  Mr. 
Wakeman's  Hand  Book  of  Irish  Antiquities,  makes  the  follow- 
ing remark  on  the  interments  at  this  church : — "The  direction 
of  the  grave  is  generally  from  east  to  west,  but  in  the  cemetery 
adjoining  the  very  early  church  at  Saint  John's  Point  ia  the 
County  of  Down  and  elsewhere  the  cists  are  arranged  in  the 
form  of  a  circle,  to  the  centre  of  which  the  feet  converge."  It 
is  remarkable  that  during  the  recent  explorations  atEphesus, 
the  graves  in  the  Christian  cemetery  were  found  radiating 
from  a  central  point,  which  was  supposed  to  have  been  the 
tomb  of  St,  John  the  Evangelist.  It  cannot  be  doubted  that 
St.  Patrick's  ecclesiastical  training  in  the  south  of  France 
caused  many  of  the  ceremonies  of  Ephesus  to  be  carried  to 
Ireland,  for  the  great  commerce  between  Marseilles  and  the 
ports  of  Asia  Minor  brought  the  South  of  France  into  im- 


154  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

mediate  connection  with  Epliesus.  Stone-lined  graves  have 
been  found  at  nearly  all  the  ancient  churches  of  the  diocese  of 
Down  ;  in  some  cases  flat  stones  are  placed  under  the  body, 
and  in  other  cases  that  arrangement  is  omitted.  The  writer 
of  the  Sculptured  Stones  ofScotland,Yo\.  ii.,  page  Ix.,  properly 
remarks,  "  that  the  occurrence  of  long  stone  cists  is  not  to  be 
regarded  as  a  mark  of  age  by  itself  will  also  appear  from  the 
following  facts,  for  which  I  am  indebted  to  Captain  Thomas.  • 
At  Ness,  in  the  Island  of  Lewis,  till  quite  recently,  no  one 
was  buried  in  a  wooden  coffin.  There  was  only  one  big  coffin 
in  connexion  with  every  church-yard,  which  the  people  called 
'  the  chest  of  the  dead.'  When  the  body  was  brought  to  the 
church-yard  in  this  coffin,  a  coffin  of  stone  was  made  in  which 
the  corpse  was  placed.  This  manner  of  burying  lasted  till 
comparatively  recent  times,  for  the  name  of  the  man  who  was 
buried  in  the  chest  of  the  dead  is  quite  remembered  even  yet." 
We,  in  the  pride  of  what  we  call  our  civilization,  may  pronounce 
interment  in  a  rude  stone  coffin  formed  of  separate  flag  stones 
as  barbarous,  yet  such  coffins  have  for  many  centuries  faith- 
fully fulfilled  their  trust  in  guarding  the  frail  remnants  of 
humanity,  while  the  modern  oaken  coffin  passes  into  dust 
and  ashes  in  a  few  years  ;  perhaps  the  true  source  of  our 
preference  is  that  we  cannot  aSbrd  a  grave  to  each  corpse, 
and  the  olden  dead,  no  matter  how  i-ich  they  were  in  life, 
must  as  soon  as  possible  make  room  for  fresh  tenants  of  the 
grave.  Groups  of  graves  resembling  those  just  described 
have  been  found  in  various  portions  of  England  and  Scotland ; 
by  the  English  antiquarians  they  have  been  ascribed  to  the 
Anglo-Saxon  period,  and  said  to  date  from  the  sixth  to  the 
end  of  the  tenth  century.  Cists  formed  of  rough  stones,  set 
on  edge  and  covered  with  flags,  have  been  found  at  the  west 
end  of  the  Church  of  Cupar- Angus,  in  a  portion  of  the  old 
cemetery  at  Durham  Cathedral,  to  the  eastward  of  the  Priory 


PARISH  OF  BRIGHT,  155 

of  North  Berwick,  at  tlie  Church  of  Kelso,  and  all  round  the 
ruined  Church  of  Kirkheugh.  This  mode  of  interment 
throughout  Scotland  and  portions  of  England,  is  no  doubt 
owing  to  the  Irish  customs  disseminated  through  the  influence 
of  lona,  yet  from  the  words  of  Adamnan  it  would  appear 
that  the  body  of  St.  Columba  was  roiled  in  clean  sheets  and 
placed  in  a  coffin,  "  venerabile  corpus,  mundis  involutum 
sindonibus,  et  prseparata  positum  in  i-atabusta,  debita  humatur 
cum  veneratione." 

The  holy-water  font  of  the  church  at  St.  John's  Point  was 
removed  to  the  present  chapel  of  Rossglass.  The  old  holy  well 
is  situated  along  the  roadside,  at  a  short  distance  from  the 
church.  The  townland  of  St.  John's  Point  is  in  the  civil  parish 
of  RathmuUan,  though  it  is  detached  from  the  main  body  of 
that  parish.  This  union  arises  from  the  fact  that  in  early 
times  both  the  church  of  RathmuUan  and  the  chapel  of  St. 
John  were  appropriate  to  the  order  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem. 

Kilbride  {Cill  Briglide,  "■  Bridget's  Church,")  was  situated 
in  the  townland  of  Kilbride.  In  the  Taxation  of  Pope 
Nicholas  it  was  valued  at  17s  4d.  At  the  Dissolution  of 
Monasteries  it  had  three  townlands  attached  to  it,  and  was 
of  the  annual  value  of  53s  4d.  At  that  time  it  was  appropriate 
to  the  Priory  of  Regular  Canons  of  Down.  In  1622  it  was 
a  ruin.  The  field  in  which  it  stood  is  called  "  The  Church 
Park,"  but  the  ruins  were  removed  in  1830  ;  until  lately  an 
ancient  tombstone  having  a  cross  inscribed  on  it  was  built 
into  a  stile,  and  remained  the  sole  surviving  relic  of  the  old 
church,  but  even  it  has  been  carried  ojBT  by  some  ignorant 
tourist.  This  stone  is  enumerated  by  a  writer  in  "Willis's 
Current  Notes,"  among  the  cuneiform  monumental  stones  of 
Ireland.  Stone  lined  graves  are  found  around  the  site  of 
this  church,  its  cemetery  was  very  extensive,  but  it  is  now 
all  under  cultivation. 


156  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

A  few  perches  to  the  west  of  the  mill  of  Killough,  a  little 
knoll,  on  which  a  few  stones  are  marked  with  crosses,  arrests  , 
the  eye  of  the  curious,  and  points  out  the  old  cemetery  of 
Knockavalley  (the  hill  of  the  road) ;  but  about  the  church 
that  once  stood  there  nothing  is  known,  though  it  gave  name, 
to  the  town  of  Killough — "  the  church  of  the  lough" — which 
gi;ew  up  beside  it.* 

*  Robert  Hammon,  to  whom  with  the  Duke  of  York,  Killough 
was  granted  on  the  attainder  of  John  Russell,  twelfth  Baron,  acquired 
at  the  same  time  (1667)  63  acres,  part  of  Ballynarry,  forfeited  by 
William  Fitzsimons  ;  63  acres,  part  of  Rathmullan,  forfeited  by 
George  Eussell ;  58  acres,  1  rood,  21  perches,  part  of  Carrowbaghran, 
forfeited  by  Nicholas  Merryman  ;  22  acres  in  Coney  Island,  forfeited 
by  Robert  Savage  ;  151  acres,  part  of  Kilbride,  forfeited  by  Richard 
Fitzgerald,  otherwise  Eochford  ;  159  acres  in  R,oss,  forfeited  by 
WiUiam  Merryman  ;  3  acres,  2  roods,  in  the  fields  of  Ardglass  for- 
feited  by  the  said  Robert  Savage.  Hammon  sold  these  lands  to  Sir 
Robert  Ward,  Bart.,  who  also  purchased  from  Lord  Cromwell, 
Viscount  Lecale,  the  following  lands  that  formerly  belonged  to  various 
monasteries  : — the  lands  of  St.  Johnston,  Ballyurgan,  the  two  Bally- 
woodans,  Ballycam,  Ballyligg  and  Carrickanabb  ;  also  from  Thomas 
Lindsey,  Clogher,  forfeited  by  Owen  M'Rorey;  Dromena,  from 
Rodger  Jones,  forfeited  by  Sir  Con.  Magenis.  Sir  Robert,  in  1671, 
obtained  letters  patent  of  all  these  lands,  as  well  as  of  Corbally, 
Tullycarnan,  and  Edengilnahirk,  excepting  thereout  97  acres  in 
R,athmullan,  42  in  Killough,  52  in  Kilbride,  10  in  Coney  Island,  and 
114  in  Ballynarry,  which  had  been  granted  to  the  Duke  of  York,  and 
had  them  erected  into  the  Manor  of  Killough.  The  excepted  lands 
were  parts  of  the  properties  which,  after  having  been  lost  by  Catholics 
in  fighting  for  Charles  I.,  and  his  equally  worthless  son,  Charles  II., 
were  granted  by  the  Act  of  Settlement  to  the  ungrateful  Duke  of 
York,  afterwards  James  II. ,  and  were  retained  by  him  till  his  merited 
expulsion  from  the  throne,  when  these  lands  were  sold  by  the  govern- 
ment, and  passed  into  the  possession  of  the  W^ard  family,  who,  if  they 
had  not  a  better  title  than  the  Duke,  could  at  least  retain  them, 
without  adding  ingratitude  to  injustice.  This  family  is  descended 
from  Bernard  Ward  of  Cheshire,  who  having  been  appointed  about 
1570  Surveyor-General  in  Ireland,  settled  at  Carrick-na-Shannagh 
(the  Fox's  rock),  now  Castleward.  In  1733,  the  Incorporated  Society 
for  promoting  English  Protestant  Schools  in  Ireland  was  established, 


PARISH  OP  BRIGHT. 


mr 


In  the  "Terrier,"  a  document  of  the  date  of  1G15,  there  is 
an  account  of  the  dues  to  be  paid  to  the  bishop  by  some  of 
the  churches  and  chapels  in  the  parish  of  Bright  about  the 
period  of  the  "  Reformation :" — 

"  Capella  de  Balethonian.  It  is  the  abbey  of  Monaster- 
gellagh.  The  curate  pays  in  proxies,  Is  ;  in  refections.  Is  ; 
in  synodals,  2s."  (The  chapel  of  Coniamstown,  which  was 
appropriate  to  the  monastery  of  the  Irish,  a  priory  of  Regular 
Canons,  situated  to  the  north  of  the  cathedral  in  Downpatrick.) 

"  Ecclesia  de  Briht  (church  of  Bright).  It  is  the  priors  of 
Down.  The  curate  pays  in  proxies,  18d;  in  refections,  18d; 
in  synodals,  2s." 

''  Ecclesia  de  Killbreid  (church  of  Kilbride)  of  the  abbey 
of  Gallagh,  or  Monasterium  Hibernorum  (Priory  of  Regular 
Canons),  pays  in  proxies,  Is  ;  in  refections,  Is  ^  in  synodals, 
2s." 

"  Capella  de  Rosglass  is  the  archdeacon's  of  Downe's.  The 
curate  pays  in  proxies,  6d ;  in  refections,  6d  ;  in  synodals, 
2s-" 

"  Capella  de  St.  John  Jerusalamitano  exempta."  From 
this  document  we  learn  that  the  chapel  of  St.  John's  Point 
was  exempt  from  the  payment  of  the  ordinary  dues  to  the 
bishop,  and  that  the  other  churches  and  chapels  had  become 
appropriate  to  great  monasteries,  which  provided  curates  who 
discharged  the  ordinary  parochial  duties. 

and  shortly  afterwards  one  of  their  Charter  Schools  was  erected  in 
Killough  by  the  owner  of  the  estate,  Judge  Ward,  for  the  reception 
of  twenty  poor  Catholic  children,  who  were  brought  up  Protestants. 
The  Charter  School  has  long  been  a  ruin,  unable  even  to  afford  shelter 
to  the  cows  that  are  housed  in  it.  It  is,  however,  a  glorious  monu- 
ment of  the  tenacity  with  which  the  people  clung  to  their  faith. 
See  Paper  on  Killough,  by  Mr.  J.  W.  H.  Hanna,  in  the  Downpatrick 
Recorder. 


158  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 


PARISH     PRIESTS. 


The  eai'liest  record  of  a  parish  priest  of  Bright  since  the 
"  Reformation"  occurs  in  the  Franciscan  MSS.  lately  brought 
to  Dublin  from  St.  Isidore's,  where  one  of  the  petitions, 
regarding  the  Dominicans,  dated  about  1663,  is  signed, 
"  Seneca  Smith,  Parochus  de  Bright,  et  Vicem  tenens,  Dni 
O'Mulderig,  Vic.  Generalis  in  Diocesi  Dunensi."  In  Nov., 
1670,  Primate  Oliver  Plunket  made  a  return  to  Rome  of  the 
names  of  all  the  priests  of  Down  and  Connor,  and  Seneca 
Smith,  the  parish  priest  of  Bright,  and  vicegerent  of  Dr. 
O'Mulderig,  Vicar  General  of  Down,  appears  under  the  name 
of  "  Sinica  O'Gavin;"*  the  date  of  his  death  is  not 
known. 

In  the  list  of  "  Popish  Priests"  in  1704,  there  is  no  parish 
priest  returned  for  Bright.  About  the  year  1728  the  Rev. 
John  Fitzsimons  was  appointed.  He  was  born  in  Ballylig, 
where  his  father,  still  remembered  under  the  name  Pete-ban, 
or  Peter-ban  Fitzsimons,  resided  near  where  Mr.  Carson  at 
present  resides.  He  was  ordained  in  his  father's  house  by 
Dr.  Armstrong.  After  his  appointment  to  the  parish  of 
Bright  he  received  a  collation  of  four  townlands  belonging 
to  the  mensal  parish,  and  the  bishop.  Dr.  O'Doran,  in  con- 
sulting his  agent  in  Rome,  Father  Braulughan,  as  to  the 
means  of  recovering  them,  thus  states  his  case  : — "  I  per- 
mitted sd  Fitzsimons  to  have  the  four  towns  in  question  for 
a  twelvemonth,  which  will  be  expired  next  May.  The 
names  of  those  towns  are  Erenaugh  and  Castlescreen,  Bally- 

*  O'Gavin  is  commonly  translated  Smith  (Gabh — a  smith).  The 
Smiths  were  once  numerous  at  St.  John's  Point,  but  one  of  them 
having  turned  Protestant  became  proprietor  of  the  land  and  dispos- 
sessed many  of  his  namesakes  and  other  neighbours  named  Straneys 
and  Starkeys,  who  migrated  to  Loughinisland,  whence  they  afterwards 
removed  to  Coniamstown. — Tradition  preserved  by  the  late  Mr.  Charle* 
Starhey,  Coniamsto'wn. 


PARISH  OF  BRIGHT.  159 

Nuport  and  Ballylucas.  Those  towns  are  added  to  Down 
these  sixty  years  past.  First  one  Mr.  Hanat  had  them  with 
the  parish  of  Down  ;  Dr.  Terence  Donnell  had  them  after  sd 
Hanat ;  Dr.  Crowley  had  them^  and  Dr.  Armstrong  whilst 
he  was  able  to  serve  in  them,  and  when  he  was  not  he  gave 
them  to  this  Fitzsimons.  Here  you  are  to  understand  that 
the  aforesaid  two  former  towns  do  belong  to  a  parish  called 
Brattain  (Bright),  of  which  sd  Armstrong  gave  sd  Fitzsimons 
a  collation  about  twenty-five  years  ago,  with  a  perpetual 
donation  of  the  aforementioned  latter  villages  belonging  to 
another  parish  "  (EathmuUan).  In  the  postscript  he  says  : — 
"  I  have  to  add  that  Dr.  Stuart  had  forty  shillings  yearly 
for  the  aforsd  villages,  and  that  what  I  write  you  about  'em 
I  have  it  proved  and  attested  by  people  of  credit.  I  finally 
got  myself  forty  shillings  for  the  first  year,  all  which  gives 
Down  a  right  to  have  'em  by  prescription,"  Father  Fitz- 
simons retained  the  four  townlands,  and  to  this  day  they  are 
annexed  to  the  parish  of  Bright.  Though  Dr.  Hugh 
M'Mullan,  who,  during  his  episcopate,  resided  in  one  of 
them — Erenagh — strove  to  recover  them  for  the  mensal 
parish  from  Father  Grant,  and  failed,  yet  he  is  remembered 
by  tradition  as  marking  out  the  best  stooks  of  grain  on 
his  farm  for  the  customary  dues  of  the  parish  priest  of 
Bright.  There  is  no  record  to  show  when  Father  Fitzsimons 
died. 

After  the  death  of  the  Bev.  John  Fitzsimons,  a  Father 
Megivern  was  appointed;  he  resided  in  Crolly's  Quarter. 
This  Mr.  Megivern  is  not  to  be  confounded  with  another 
clergyman  of  the  same  name,  who  officiated  in  Downpatrick 
in  1763,  and  whom  another  tradition  represents  as  living  so 
late  as  1770. 

Father  Megivern  was  succeeded  by  his  nephew,  who 
had   been  his   curate,  the   Rev.  William  M'Garry,   D.D., 


160  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

who  died  on  the  13th  of  September,  1764,  and  was  buried 
in  Bright.  Over  his  grave  was  placed  a  stone,  on  which 
was  inscribed  : — 

Ser.  13,  1764. 
Et.  Dr. 
Wm.  Mry. 
'     Ed.  52  ys. 

Father  Megivern  and  Father  M'Garry  were  assisted  in  the 
duties  of  the  parish  by  a  Friar  Burns,  who  died  before  1756, 
and  afterwards  by  Friar  James  Hillan,  who  is  mentioned  in 
De  Burgo's  "  Hibernia  Dominicana." 

Father  M'Garry  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Hugh  MacMul- 
lan.  who  afterwards  became  Bishop  of  Down  and  Connor 
[see  Bishops  of  Down  and  Connor].  While  he  was  pmsh 
priest  of  Bright  he  resided  at  the  White  Bog,  near  St.  John's 
Point.  In  1768  Dr.  MacMullan  was  appointed  parish  priest 
of  Down  and  dean  of  the  diocese.  He  still,  however,  con- 
tinued to  reside,  even  during  his  episcopacy,  within  the 
parish  of  Bright,  in  the  Stone  Park,  a  portion  of  the  townland 
of  Erenagh,  which  projects  into  the  parish  of  Down. 

On  the  promotion  of  Dr.  MacMullan  to  the  parish  of 
Down,  the  Rev.  Magnus  Grant  was  appointed  to  Bright. 
He  was  a  native  of  Letalien,  in  the  parish  of  Kilcoo.  He 
was  ordained  in  Seaforde  by  Dr.  MacArtan  in  1762.  After 
having  been  a  curate  for  some  time  in  Ahoghill  to  Father 
Stephen  Grant,  he  was  appointed  in  1765  parish  priest  of 
the  Ards,  which  then  included  the  entire  barony,  and  as  far 
towards  Belfast  as  his  missionary  zeal  might  prompt  him  to 
extend  his  pastoral  care.  In  1768  he  was  promoted  to 
Bright.  He  resided  at  first  in  Coniamstown,  and  afterwards 
at  the  Quarter  Hill,  where  he  died  on  the  28th  of  May, 
1819,  aged  eighty -two  years.  He  was  interred  in  Bright 
churchyard,  where  the  following  epitaph,  written  by  the  late 


PARISH    OF    BRIGHT.  161 

"William  MacMullan,  P.P.,   Loughinisland,  is  insci'ibed  on 
his  tombstone  : — 

En  Cineres  Grant  Presbyteri 
Qui  tempore  vitse  monstravit 
E  terris  Coelis  scandere 
Plebi.  Migravit  Maii  28, 
Anno  Salutis,  1819. 

Requiescat  in  pace. 

The  Rev.  Richard  MacMixllan  succeeded  Father  Grant. 
Mr.  MacMullan,  who  was  grand-nephew  of  Bishop  Hugh 
MacMullan,  was  born  in  the  townland  of  Ballydugan,  in  the 
parish  of  Down,  in  the  year  1789.  He  entered  the  Class  of 
Humanity  in  the  College  of  Maynooth  on  the  10th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1810,  and  in  1817  he  obtained  a  place  on  the 
Dunboyne  Establishment.  After  having  left  college,  he  was 
appointed  curate  to  Pather  Grant,  and,  on  the  death  of  that 
gentleman,  the  bishop,  having  acceded  to  a  petition  of  the 
parishioners,  appointed  him  parish  priest  of  Bright  in  1819. 
He  resided  in  the  townland  of  Lissoid,  where  he  died  of 
fever  on  the  24th  of  April,  1837,  in  the  forty-eighth  year  of 
his  age,  though  the  inscription  on  his  tomb  in  Rossglass 
chapelyard  states  that  he  was  forty-nine  years  of  age. 
In  Perpetuam  Rei  Memoriam. 

In  spem  beatse  resurrectionis  hie  jacet 

Revdus.  Ricardus  McMullan  Parochus  de  Bright 

obiit  die  24ta  Aprilis,  A.D.,  1837mo.  vero  suae  49no. 

"  Et  audivi  vocem  de  coelo,  dicentem  mihi :  scribe, 
Beati  mortui  qui  in  Domino  moriuntur.     Amodo  jam 
dicit  Spiritus,  ut  requiescant  a  laboribus  suis  :  opera 
enim  illorum  sequuntur  illos." — Apoc.  xiv.,  13. 

After  the  death  of  Father  MacMullan,   the  parish  was 


162  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

administered  by  the  curate,  the  Rev.  Arthur  M'Glew,  till 
the  appointmect  of  the  Rev.  John  M'Kenna.  Father 
M'Kenna,  or  M'Kinney,  as  his  name  was  written  in  1825, 
was  born  in  Cooeystown,  in  Ballykinlar,  in  the  year  1807. 
He  entered  the  Logic  Class  in  Mayuooth  College  in  August, 
1825,  and  was  ordained  by  Dr.  CroUy,  in  Belfast,  in  Sept., 
1830.  After  having  been  curate  in  Rasharkin  a  few  months, 
he  was  appointed  to  the  curacy  of  Belfast  in  May,  1831. 
He  was  promoted  to  the  parish  of  Cushendall  on  the  16th  of 
April,  1834,  which  he  held  till  his  appointment  to  Bright, 
on  the  21st  of  September,  1837.  Mr.  M'Kenna  took  a  very- 
active  part  in  promoting  the  total  abstinence  movement,  and 
in  furthering  the  various  political  measures  recommended  by 
O'Connell.  He  translated  some  hymns  into  English  verse, 
of  which  the  following  two  ver.ses,  from  the  "  Stabat  Mater," 
may  be  taken  as  a  fair  specimen  : — 

*'  While  Jesus  hung  upon  the  rood. 
His  Virgin  Mother  weeping  stood, 
And  saw  His  dear  blood  spilling. 

"  Her  troubled  soul  at  length  did  feel 
That  sword  more  keen  than  any  steel, 
Simeon's  words  fulfilling." 

Mr.   M'Kenna  was  appointed  to  the  parish  of  Lisburn   on 
the  30th  January,  1848. 

The  Rev.  Peter  Denvir  succeeded  Father  M'Kenna.  Mr. 
Denvir  was  born  in  the  townland  of  Loughkeelan,  in  the 
parish  of  Balee,  in  December,  1783,  He  entered  Maynooth 
College  on  the  16th  of  October,  1806,  on  a  free  place  vacated 
by  the  Rev.  Robert  Denvix',  who  had  been  recalled  to  the 
mission.  He  was  ordained  by  Dr.  Murray  in  December, 
1809,  in  Maynooth  College.  After  having  been  curate  in 
Bright,  and  afterwards  in  Ahoghill,  he  was  appointed  parish 
priest  of  Bally philip,   or  Portaferry,  in  November,   1815. 


PARISH  OF  BRIGHT.  163 

He  left  Portafeiry  in  March,  1825,  in  order  to  undertake  the 
administration  of  Lisbnrn  under  the  aged  Father  Dempsey. 
Having  refused  to  accept  that  parish  after  Father  Dempsey's 
death,  he  was  appointed  in  February,  1832,  parish  priest  of 
Dunsford,  which  parish  he  retained  till  his  appointment  to 
Bright  on  the  30th  of  January,  1848.  Mr.  Denvir  resided 
near  the  Bridge  of  Killough.  He  died  suddenly  at  the 
Course  Hill,  on  the  8th  of  November,  1855,  as  he  was  going 
to  a  conference  in  Downpatrick.  His  remains  were  interred 
in  Dunsford  chapelyard,  and  on  his  headstone  is  inscribed  : — 

Hie  jacet, 
In  spem  resurrectionis  beatje, 
Revdus  Petrus  Denver, 
Qui  in  hac  parcecia  de  Dunsford, 
Ab  anno  MDCCCXXXII  usque  ad  MDCCCXLVIIL 
Parochi  munere  functus  est 
Deinceps  usque  ad  obi  turn, 
Parcecia  de  Bright  prsefuit. 
Morum  urbanitate  insigiiis, 
Animarum  saluti  maxime  studiosus 
Caritate  Catholica  ardens. 
Animos  omnium  sibi  concilavit. 
Diem  obiit  supremum  VI  Idus  Novembris, 
^Etatis  suae  anno  LXXIII., 
Salutis  autem  reparatse  MDCCCLV. 
Requiescat  in  pace. 

Father  Denvir  had  not  attained  the  age  of  seventy-two, 
though  the  epitaph  states  that  he  died  in  his  seventy-third 
year. 

The  Rev.  Richard  Killen,  the  present  parish  priest,  suc- 
ceeded Father  Denvir.  Mr.  Killen  is  a  native  of  Tollum- 
grange,  in  the  parish  of  Dunsford.     He  entered  the  Rhetoric 


164  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

•Class  in  the  College  of  Maynooth  on  the  26th  of  August, 
1833,  and  was  ordained  in  college  by  Dr.  Healy,  Bishop  of 
Kildare,  on  the  3rd  of  February,  1839.  Shortly  after 
ordination  he  was  appointed  curate  to  his  brother.  Father 
James  Killen,  at  that  time  parish  priest  of  Balee.  He  was 
appointed  on  the  23rd  of  May,  1842,  administrator  of  Bally- 
kinlar  during  a  portion  of  the  time  when  Father  Curoe  was 
professing  classics  in  the  Diocesan  Seminary.  He  was 
appointed  on  the  12th  of  April,  1847,  administrator  of 
Lisburn,  which  was  at  that  time  vacant  by  the  death  of  the 
Rev.  Bernard  Dorrian.  He  was  promoted  on  the  20th  of 
April,  1848,  to  the  parish  of  Coleraine,  which  he  retained 
till  his  appointment  to  Bright  on  the  14th  of  October,  1856. 

CHURCHES. 

The  old  chapel  of  Coniamstown  was  built  before  1745. 
It  was  replaced  by  a  better  house  in  1759,  which  was  re- 
roofed  and  slated  in  1796.  This  chapel  has  been  replaced  by 
the  beautiful  church  erected  by  Father  Killen  in  the  adjoining 
townland  of  Legamaddy.  The  foundation  stone  was  laid 
on  the  27th  of  August,  1862,  and  on  the  22nd  of  October, 
1865,  Dr.  Denvir  consecrated  the  church  under  the  invocation 
of  St.  Patrick.  The  sermon  on  the  occasion  was  preached 
by  Dr.  Dorrian.  The  church  consists  of  a  nave,  chancel, 
sacristy,  south  porch,  and  tower,  erected  in  the  style  of  the 
early  Gothic  period,  from  designs  by  Mr.  John  O'Neill, 
architect,  Belfast.  The  walls  are  of  rubble  masonry  with 
cut  stone  dressings.  The  nave  is  83  feet  long,  30  feet  wide, 
and  48  feet  high.  It  is  lighted  by  9  two-light  windows,  and 
externally  the  bays  are  divided  by  buttresses.  An  arch 
springing  from  cut  stone  responds,  with  moulded  caps  and 
bases,  divides  the  nave  from  the  chancel — over  the  latter  is 
an  arched  panelled  ceiling.  All  the  other  roofs  are  open. 
At  the  western  end  the  tower,  which  is  not  yet  completed, 


PARISH  OF  BRIGHT.  165 

will  rise  to  a  height  of  eighty  feet,  and  will  be  finished 
with  an  embattled  parapet.  A  stone  cross  of  the  ancient 
Irish  pattern  has  been  erected  in  front  of  the  church  to 
commemorate  the  Mission  given  in  the  parish  by  the 
Passionate  Fathers. 

The  chapel  of  Rossglass  was  built  previous  to  1745.  The 
present  house  was  erected  about  1780  ;  the  site  of  the  chapel 
was  conferred  on  the  parish  by  the  Kildare  family,  at  that 
time  the  owners  of  the  estate.  An  addition  was  made  to  the 
gi-aveyard  during  the  incumbency  of  Father  MacMullan. 

Killough  Church  was  erected  by  Father  MacMullan  ;  it 
was  consecrated  by  Dr.  Crolly  in  August,  1828. 

Previous  to  the  erection  of  these  chapels  Mass  was  cele- 
brated at  the  Mass  Rock,  a  little  to  the  west  of  Coniamstown 
chapel.  At  that  place  are  still  to  be  seen  an  altar  and  rere- 
dos,  cut  oat  of  the  solid  rock.  There  are  also  cut  into  the 
rock  two  little  triangular  recesses  for  holding  the  cruets  and 
other  requisites  Mass  was  also  celebrated  in  the  Quarry  at 
the  Green  Road.  During  the  celebration  of  Mass  at  these 
places  guards  were  stationed  at  the  Twelve  Aci-e  Hill,  at 
Ballydargan  Mill,  and  at  Carraban  Mountain,  to  give  notice 
of  the  approach  of  priest-hunters.  Mass  was  celebrated  at 
the  Quarter  Hill ;  and  two  large  stones  in  the  ditch  of  a 
field  belonging  to  Mrs.  Vonney,  in  Lissoid,  indicate  the 
entrance  to  another  holiog  where  Mass  was  celebrated.  A 
person  named  Clarke,  who  died  in  1839,  88  yeai's  of  age,  was 
present  there  at  Mass,  when  Lord  Annesley,  passing  on  his 
way  to  Killough,  ordered  the  people  to  disperse,  and  the 
priest  had  to  take  off  his  vestments  in  order  to  escape  the 
consequences  of  an  infringement  of  the  penal  laws.  From 
this  tradition  it  would  seem  that  these  hohogs  continued  to 
be  used  eveu  after  the  erection  of  the  ch  jtpels. 


DUNSFORD  AND  ARDGLASS. 


jl^HE  imited  parish  of  Dunsford  and  Aidglass  includes 
j]^  the  entire  civil  parishes  of  Dmisford  and  Ardglass, 
except  the  townland  of  Kildare's  Crew,*  it  also  includes 
Killtu-d  which  belongs  to  the  civil  parish  of  Kilclief.  In 
1871  thei-e  were  1540  Catholics  in  this  parish.  Though  the 
history  of  Ardglass  is  comparatively  obscure,  yet  the  pro- 
fusion of  fortified  and  castellated  edifices  testify  to  its 
foi-mer  importance.  The  place  derives  its  name — Ardglass, 
"  the  High  Green" — from  a  lofty  green  hill  of  conical  form, 
called  the  Ward,  which  is  situated  to  the  west  of  the  town. 
The  largest  castle,  commonly  called  the  King's  Castle,  was  a 
fortress  of  great  strength.  It  fell  about  fifty  years  ago, 
having  been  undermined  when  undergoing  extensive  altera- 
tions, and  on  its  site  was  erected  the  castellated  mansion, 
which  has  lately  been  completed  by  Charles  Russell,  Esq., 
J.  P.  Horn  Castle  was  so  called,  either  from  a  great 
quantity  of  horns  found  about  the  site,  or,  according  to 
others,  from  a  pillar  which  stood  upon  its  summit 
befoi-e  it  was  roofed.  Near  it  was  another  called  Cowd 
Castle,  a  name  which  the  people  even  a  century  ago  could 
not  explain.  Margaret's  Castle  stands  in  the  vicinity  of 
Cowd  Castle,  and,  like  it,  is  a  square  structure,  having  the 
lower  storey  arched  with    stone.      Cowd  Castle  and  Horn 

*  A  fine  example. OjCthe  Pillar-Stoae  is  to  Ije  seen  in  the  townland 
of  Jordan's  Cre\y,  in  tlie  farm  of  Stone  Island. 


PARISH  OF  DUNSFORD  AND  ARDGLASS.  167 

Oastle  seem  to  have  been  intended  as  flanking  towers  or 
bastions  to  some  castellated  buildings  called  the  New  Works, 
the  use  and  origin  of  wliich  have  been  lost  to  antiquity.  The 
building  was  originally  divided  into  thirty-six  apartments, 
viz., — eighteen  on  the  ground  floor,  and  the  same  number  on 
the  story  above.  Each  of  the  lower  apartments  had  a  small 
arched  door  and  a  large  square  window,  whence  it  was 
conjectured  that  it  was  intended  for  shops  for  a  commercial 
company  from  London  that  was  settled  in  Ardglass  in  the 
reign  of  Henry  IV.  In  the  wall  of  the  Castle  of  Ardglass 
is  inserted  a  freestone  slab,  on  which  is  carved  a  cross  which 
some  suppose  is  the  arms  of  London  before  the  addition  of 
the  dagger  in  the  dexter  chief,  which  change  in  the  city  arms 
occurred  in  the  reign  of  Richard  II.  The  greater  portion  of 
the  New  Works  wei-e,  in  1790,  converted  by  Lord  Lecale 
into  what  is  now  Ardglass  Castle.  Jordan's  Castle  is  con- 
structed with  greater  elegance  than  any  of  the  other  castles 
in  the  town.  The  walls,  which  are  70  feet  high,  ai-e  siu"- 
mounted  by  four  tun-ets,  and  it  is  supplied  with  a  well  of 
excellent  water,  so  necessary  in  times  of  siege.  Jordan  de 
Saukvill,  a  military  adventurer,  in  the  time  of  John  de 
Courcey  settled  here,  and  was,  in  the  year  1217,  confirmed 
"by  Henry  III.  in  his  possessions  "  De  Ardglass."  This 
■castle  is  memorable  for  the  defence  made  by  its  owner, 
Simon  Jordan,  who  held  it  against  the  adherents  of  Hugh 
O'Neill  for  three  years  till  it  was  relieved  by  Lord  Deputy 
Mountjoy  on  the  17th  of  June,  1601.  Jordan  was  rewai-ded 
for  this  service  both  by  a  concordatum  from  the  Queen  and 
by  the  private  bounty  of  the  Lord  Deputy.     (See  Lecale.) 

"It  is  imcertain,"  says  Harris,  "  by  whom  these  castles 
were  built,  yet  it  is  most  probable  that  Jordan's  Castle  wag 
■erected  by  one  of  that  family,  whose  arms  (a  cross  and  three 
horse-shoes)  ai-e  fixed  in  a  stone  near  the  top.     One  may 


168  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

judge,  likewise,  that  othex's  of  them  were  built  by  the  Savages, 
to  whom  a  great  part  of  Lecale,  as  well  as  the  Ai'des,  anciently 
belonged,  as  appears  by  an  indenture  in  the  '  Publick  Records,' 
dated  the  31st  of  May,  28  Hen.  VIII.,  made  between  Leonard 
Grey,  Lord  Deputy,  and  Raymund  Savage,  chieftain  of  his 
clan,  whereia  is  covenanted — '  That  Raymund  should  have 
the  chieftainship  and  superiority  of  his  sept  in  the  territory 
of  the  Savages,  otherwise  called  Lecale,  as  principal  chieftain 
thereof,  and  that  Raymund  should  give  to  the  Deputy  for 
acquiring  his  favour  and  friendship  100  fat,  able  cows,  and  a 
horse  or  15  marks  Irish  money  in  lieu  thereof,  at  the  pleasure 
of  the  Deputy,'  "  Harris  then  records  an  old  tradition  that 
the  Savages  having  formed  a  strong  body  of  men  to  oppress 
the  Magenises  and  other  Irish  families  in  Lecale,  the  latter 
were  obliged  to  call  for  the  assistance  of  the  Earl  of  Koldare. 
When  the  earl  had  marched  as  far  as  the  "  Earl's  Park,"  in 
Ballykinlar,  the  Savages  submitted,  and  the  Earl  of  Kildare 
was  rewarded  with  the  valuable  estates  which  are  yet  held 
by  his  descendants  or  representatives.  Perhaps,  however, 
the  true  origin  of  the  connexion  of  the  Kildare  family  with 
those  estates  may  be  discovered  in  a  post-mortem  inquisition, 
held  in  1427,  to  inquire  into  what  lands  Sir  Janico  Dartas 
had  died  seized  of,  by  which  it  is  found  that  he  was  seized 
of  the  manors  of  Ardglass,  Ardtole,  and  Ross,  along  with 
the  advowsons  of  the  churches,  by  sundry  gifts  of  Sampson 
Dartas,  Thomas  Hunt,  chaplain,  Robert  Mole,  and  William 
Robert ;  that  he  held  a  messuage  called  "  Newerk  (the  New 
Works)  in  Ardeglas"  by  a  service  of  2s  per  annum,  that  he 
held  Grenecastell  (Castlescreen)  in  Lecale,  lands  in  Lys- 
moghan,  in  Bright,  Rossglass,  and  through  other  portions  of 
coiinty  of  Down.  A  large  portion  of  the  propei-ty  of  Dartas,. 
or  D'Artois,  passed  into  the  possession  of  the  Kildare  family 
by  the  marriage,  it  is   thought,  of  Gerald,  eighth   Earl  of 


PARISH  OF  DUNSFORD  AND  ARDGLASS.  169 

Kildare,  with  Alison,  daughter  of  Sir  Rowland  Eustace,  by- 
Maud,  the  daughter  of  D'Artois.  In  1433  Ardglass  waa 
bui-ned  in  a  war  between  the  O'Neills  and  the  Savages.  The 
"  Annals  of  the  Four  Masters"  record  that  in  the  year  1453 
a  fleet  of  the  English  of  Dublin  put  in  at  Ardglass  on  their 
return  from  pursuing  Welsh  pirates  who  had  carried  off  the 
Archbishop  of  Dublin.  They  assisted  the  Savages  in  a  battle 
fought  against  the  son  of  O'Neill  of  Clannaboy,  and  the  Irish 
in  that  battle  lost  520  men.  In  the  reign  of  Henry  VI. 
Ardglass  was  a  corporation,  as  appears  by  a  deed  or  charter 
made  in  that  reign  by  William  Hart,  then  Portreve,  and  the 
corporation  of  Ardglass  to  one  Russell,  which  Hams,  writing 
in  1744,  says  was  "  not  long  since  in  the  hands  of  Captain 
Patrick  Russell  of  Walsh' s-town."  The  town  then  returned 
members  to  Parliament.  All  the  grand  and  petty  customs 
of  Ardglass  and  Strangford  were  granted  by  Henry  YIII. 
to  Gerald,  Earl  of  Kildare,  and  except  during  the  period 
of  the  family's  attainder  tliey  were  held  by  his  descendants 
till  1637,  when  they  were  sold  to  Charles  I.,  to  whom  they 
were  said  to  be  worth  £5,000  per  annum.  Ardglass  took 
part  in  all  the  wars  of  the  period  of  Elizabeth,  and  in  the 
memorable  wars  of  1641  it  was  for  some  time  in  the  hands 
of  the  Irish.  When,  however,  the  regiment  of  Sir  James 
Montgomery  took  possession  of  Lecale,  Ardglass  became  the 
scene  of  many  a  deed  of  blood,  as  the  depositions  in  the 
library  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  too  clearly  prove.  (See 
Hill's  Montgomery  MSS.) 

"  The  examination  of  Thomas  Dixon  of  lecale,  aged  abt 
fourty  years,  taken  the  7th  May,  1653,  who  sayeth  that  the 
second  yeare  of  the  Rebellion  he  dwelt  in  Byshop's  court. 
And  that  in  the  first  yeere  of  the  Rebellion  one  Cormach 
Macgueere  went  out  (went  into  rebellion)  the  first  moneth, 
and  within  fyve  or  six  dayes  after  came  in,  and  was  three 


170  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

nigMs  in  Dounepatrick  with  Sir  James  Montgomery,  whose 
Regiment  then  lay  in  lecale ;  and  then  the  sayd  Cormick 
M'gueer  went  out  agayne.  This  examinat  fui-ther  sayeth, 
that  in  the  second  yeere  of  the  Kebellion  Capt.  George  Mont- 
gomerie's  troope  being  brought  into  lecale,  and  going  abroad 
to  meet  with  such  of  the  Irish  as  used  to  come  into  the 
Hand  and  fall  upon  such  off  the  Inhabitants  as  they  could 
meet  wdth  going  betwixt  garrison  and  garrison.  It  happened, 
that  one  tyme,  that  Cornet  Johnstone,  then  quarter  master, 
And  Ralph  Read,  and  another  whose  name  this  examinat 
sayeth  he  knoweth  not,  and  also  this  examinat  were  together 
att  Ardglasse,  where  this  examinat  had  a  brother,  Robert 
Dickson.  That  while  they  were  together,  some  of  Ardglasse 
gave  Intelligence  to  quarter  Mr.  Jonstone,  that  some  of  the 
Rebells  were  in  the  rocks  ;  as  they  used  often  to  be,  as  this 
examiaat  sayeth,  and  from  thence  did  sculke  out  to  kill  such 
as  they  found  opportunity  against.  This  examinat  sayeth  that 
Quarter  Mr.  Jonstone  and  the  others  went  out  and  found 
Cormick  M'gui^er  in  the  Rocks,  the  noyse  whereof  coming  to 
the  toune,  he  this  examinat  went  out,  and  found  the  foresayd 
quarter  Mr  with  others  chasing  the  sayd  M'gueer,  and  that, 
at  last,  they  invu-ened  him,  and  did  kill  him.  He  further 
sayeth,  yt  he  can  not  particularly  tell  whether  quarter  Mr 
Jonstone  first,  or  any  other,  or  all  of  them  together,  fell  upon 
the  sayd  M'gueer,  But  that  he  was  killed  by  the  forenamed 
persons.  And  that  he,  this  examinat,  knoweth  not  whether 
he  himself  gave  him  any  wound  or  not,  nor  whether  ever  he 
touch'd  him  or  not.  This  examinat  further  sayeth,  that  his 
brother,  Robert  Dixon,  told  him,  this  examinat,  that  the 
sayd  M'gueer,  with  two  more,  one  day  pursued  the  sayd 
Robert  Dixon,  betwix  his  barn  and  his  house,  and  not  being 
able  to  overtak  him,  becaiise   the  sayd  Dixon  was  on  horse- 


PARISH  OF  DUNSFORD  AND  ARDGLASS.         171 

back,  that  the   sayd  M'gueer   retui-ned  to  the  barne  and 
hanged  the  sayd  Dixons  barne  man. 

"  Taken  before  us,  Dixon. 

"  G  Blundell,  "  Thomas  T.  O.  his 

"  Ja.  Traill."  marke. 

"  The  examination  of  John  Mackdonnell  of  Ijecale,  being 
aged  about  thirty-foure  years,  taken  the  7th  May,  1653, 
who,  being  sworne,  sayeth  that  on  the  second  yeare  of  the 
Rebellion  he  was  in  Ardglasse,  and  on  a  Sabbath  day  in  the 
morning,  being  lying  in  his  bed,  the  Drumer  of  that  Com- 
pany of  Sr  Jas.  Montgomery's  Regmt,  whereof  Capt.  Wode 
was  their  lieutenant,  came  into  his  the  examinat's  house,  and 
asked  a  loane  of  his  foulling  peece.  This  examinat  desyred 
to  know  what  he  would  doe  with  itt.  The  saydj  Drumer 
(whose  name  is  Dunbar)  reply ed  that  he  had  some  use  for 
itt,  but  knowing,  by  this  examinats  further  answer,  that  it 
was  roosty  and  not  fixed,  he  went  out  agayne  without  it. 
This  Examinat  further  sayeth,  that  about  half  an  hour  after 
the  sayd  Drumer  went  out,  he,  this  Examinat,  heard  a  cry 
in  the  street,  and  as  he  was  rysing  to  putt  on  his  cloathes, 
Thomas  Riske  [wovild  now  probably  be  called  M'Criskan], 
one  of  the  four  men  whom  this  Examinat  after  heard  was 
killed,  then  came  into  this  Examinat's  house,  haveing  a 
wovmd  in  his  neck,  from  which  the  blood  did  spring  againe. 
That  the  sayd  E,iske  sayd  to  this  Examinat,  that  the  soldrs 
were  about  to  kill  him,  and  desyi'ed,  therefore,  this  Ex- 
aminat to  goe  to  Leut.  Wode  be  caused  hinder  the  soldi-s  in 
that  action  ;  that  this  Examinat  sayd  he  knew  not  what 
good  his  speaking  could  doe,  yet  by  and  by  he  put  on  his 
cloake,  and  being  come  abroad,  he  found  that  four  men  were 
killed,  whose  names,  as  this  Examinant  remembers,  were 
Thomas  Riske,  Petr  M'Canon,  Richard  M'Lyon,  and  Patr. 
M'Elay.     But  by  whom  they  were  killed,  he,  this  Examinat, 


172  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

knoweth  not.  But  he  sayeth,  that  the  report  was  that  Ed- 
ward Jackson  and  "Will  Hamilton  were  the  killers  of  them, 
and  lyke  wyse  that  the  report  wa's  among  the  soldrs  that 
Leut.  Wode  gave  orders  for  the  killing  of  the  foresayd  f oiire 
men. 

"  Jurat.  McDoNELL. 

"  G.  Blundell  ;  "  John    X    X    his 

"  Ja.  Traill."  marke. 

Ai'dglass  rapidly  declined  after  the  close  of  the  war  of 
1641.  The  Protestant  church  occupies  the  original  site  of 
the  ancient  church,  which  in  the  Taxation  of  Pope  Nicholas 
was  valued  at  four  marks.  In  the  registry  of  Primate  Mey 
the  church  is  styled  "  The  Chapel  of  the  Blessed  Mary  of 
Ardglass."  The  registry  of  Primate  Octavian  de  Palatio 
records,  that  in  the  year  1431  Marcus  Omulynga  (O'Mullen) 
i-esigned  the  rectory  and  Henery  McKathmayll  (Campbell) 
was  appointed  to  it.  A.D.  1440  Edward  White  was  rector 
of  Ardglass.  Tiberius,  Bishop  of  Down  and  Connor,  by  a 
document  dated  Carrickfergus,  Feb.  20,  1512,  annexed  the 
rectory  of  the  parish  chxirch  of  Ardglass  and  the  prebendary 
of  Ross,  with  the  rectories  of  several  other  churches,  to  the 
cathedral,  in  order  that  their  endowTnents  might  assist  in 
repairing  the  cathedral,  which,  according  to  the  document, 
was  in  a  ruinous  state,  both  in  walls  and  roof.  In  1622  the 
Protestant  bishop  reports  the  chiu-ch  of  Ai-dglass  as  in  ruins. 
These  ruins  were  removed  in  1813  to  make  room  for  a  Pro- 
testant church  when  there  were  found  a  hand-bell,  having 
an  ivory  handle,  and  an  altar  stone.  The  ancient  holy  water 
stoup  made  of  freestone  is  lying  in  a  corner  of  the  graveyard. 
There  was  also  found  near  the  place  of  the  ancient  altar  an 
oblong  stone,  broader  at  the  top  than  at  the  bottom,  which 
is  now  inserted  into  the  wall  of  the  porch  of  the  Protestant 
church.     It  has  at  the  top  a  dove  sculptured  in  relief ;  in 


PARISH  OF  DUNSFORD  AND  ARDGLASS.         173 

the  centre  the  crucifixion,  and  on  each  side  a  shield  of  arms. 
Underneath  are  some  lines  in  curiously  raised  letters  of  the 
old  English  character,  which  are  very  difficult  to  read  on 
account  of  the  intricate  combination  of  the  letters  : — 


Live  to  die, 

And  fer  the  Lord 

Amend  yr  life, 

And  sine  (sin)  no  mor 

For  dethe  is 

Yr  rewarde. 


Be  pasient 
In  weil  &  wo. 
When  is  the  end 

And  fast  &  pre, 

And  wache,  th(erefore). 


Mari  Janes,  Mother  to 

Thomas  Janes,  Gentleman. 

A.D.  1585. 

About  half  a  mUe  to  the  north-east  of  the  town,  on  a  hill 
in  the  townland  of  Ardtole,  are  the  ruias  of  the  ancient 
parish  church  of  Ardtole,  dedicated  to  St.  Nicholas.  In  the 
Taxation  of  Pope  Nicholas  it  is  valued,  under  the  name 
of  "The  Church  of  Droneyll,"  at  21  marks.  In  1413, 
according  to  "  The  Registry  of  Primate  Fleming,"  Richard 
Canlan,  from  the  diocese  of  Meath,  was  presented  to  the 
rectory  "  of  St.  Nicholas,  of  Ardtnele,  in  the  diocese  of 
Down,"  vacant  by  the  death  of  Thomas,  the  last  incumbent. 
In  "  Primate  Mey's  Registry"  mention  is  made  of  "  William 
Kettyl,  of  Ardglas,  alias  Ardtwele,"  who  was  I'ector  in  1441. 
In  the  next  year,  A.D.  1442,  Thomas  Ferneys,  D.D.,  Vicar 
of  Mora,  in  Meath,  was  presented  to  the  rectory  of  Ardtwele, 
<xlias  Axdglass.  It  seems  to  have  been  the  parish  church  of 
Ardglass,  and  the  "  Terrier,"  a  document  of  the  date  of  1615, 
has  preserved  a  tradition — "  Ecclesia  de  Ardglass,  alias 
Artnell.  It  was  changed,  for  that  woodkern  of  M'Cartene's 
country  upon  a  time  when  the  inhabitants  were  at  Mass 
killed  them  all ;  thereupon  it  was  brought  within  the  town," 
This  story  is  supplemented  by  an  oral  tradition  that  the 
MacArtans  perpetrated  this  massacre  to  avenge  an  insult 


174  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

offered  to  their  chief  by  the  burgesses  of  Ardglass,  who,  when 
he  was  sleeping  on  the  grass  after  a  drunken  debauch,  fastened 
to  briars  the  long  hair  which  he  wore  according  to  the  Irish 
custom  of  that  time.  The  ruins  measure  63  by  21  feet  in  the 
clear.  The  easterA  gable,  with  a  large  arched  opening,  and 
the  two  side  walls,  more  than  two  feet  three  inches  in  thick- 
ness, are  remaining,  and  are  of  very  strong  but  of  very  rude 
masonry.  This  church,  surmounting  an  eminence  looking 
down  on  the  harbour,  was  very  appropriately  dedicated  to  St. 
Nicholas,  the  patron  of  sailors.  A  slab  of  whinstone,  measur- 
ing eighteen  by  thirteen  inches,  on  which  is  inscribed  a 
beautiful  cross  of  interlaced  pattern,  was  removed  from  this 
rain  in  1791,  by  the  Rev.  Eugene  Mulholland,  who  placed  it 
in  the  Chapel  of  Dunsford,  which  he  was  then  erecting, 
where  it  is  still  preserved.  A  drawing  of  this  cross  is  printed 
in  the  "  Proceedings,"  2nd  series,  Vol.  I.,  of  the  Royal  Irish 
Academy,  accompanying  a  Paper  on  "  Ancient  Sepulchral 
Slabs  :"  by  W.  H.  Patterson,  Esq.,  M.R.I.A.,  Belfast.  Near 
the  road  leading  from  Ai-dglass  to  Dunsford  is  a  moimd  on 
which  five  large  stones  are  arranged  in  the  form  of  a  cross. 
It  is  called  the  Cross  of  Ardtole. 

Adjoining  the  townland  of  Ardtole  on  the  North- West  is 
the  townland  of  Ross  (Ross,  a  wood),  in  which  was  situated 
the  chapel  of  Ross.  In  the  Taxation  of  Pope  Nicholas, 
"Capella  de  Ros"  was  valued  at  17s  4d,  and  in  that  document 
there  is  a  marginal  note  appended  to  the  churches  of  Ardglass 
and  Ardtole,  and  the  chapel  of  Ross,  "  they  are  vacant  during 
either  year,"  from  which  it  would  seem  that  the  taxation  was 
made  on  a  grant  of  the  Papal  Tenths  for  a  tei-m  of  two  years. 
It  would  also  seem  that  the  chapel  of  Ross  and  the  two 
churches  were  united  in  some  way  at  the  period  of  the  tax- 
ation, which  was  about  the  year  1300.  We  have  seen  that 
the  three  names  appear  frequently  associated,  even  in  civil 


PARISH  OF  DUNSFORD  AND  ARDGLASS.         175 

documents.  From  the  calendar  of  Chancery  Rolls  m  Ireland, 
it  appears  that  in  the  year  1386,  John  Stiward,  vicar  of 
Ardee,  exchanged  his  benefice  with  John  Scrope,  parson  of 
the  "  free  chapel  of  Eosse,  in  the  diocese  of  Down."  In 
1512,  Tiberius,  Bishop  of  Down  and  Connor,  annexed  "the 
prebend  of  Ross"  to  the  cathedral.  The  "  Terrier,"  of  1615, 
says — "  chapel  of  Rose,  it  hath  only  three-quarters  of  ar 
towne."  In  1622  Ross  is  returned  by  the  Protestant  bishop 
as  a  ruin.  The  site  of  it  is  in  the  farm  of  Mr.  Hugh  Connor, 
but  it  is  now  under  tillage. 

The  Protestant  church  of  Dunsford  occupies  the  site  of 
the  ancient  Catholic  church.  In  the  year  1194  one  of  the 
English  adventurers,  named  Rogerus  de  Dunesford,  endowed 
the  priory  of  Neddruni,  or  Mahee  Island,  in  Lough  Strang- 
ford,  with  the  profits  of  all  the  churches  on  his  estates 
except  the  church  of  "Dunseford."  In  the  Taxation  of  Pope 
Nicholas  the  church  of  "  Dunesford"  was  valued  at  four  marks. 
By  an  inquisition  taken  in  the  reign  of  Edward  VI.  it  appears 
that  the  rectory  of  Dunsford,  of  the  annual  value  of  £4,  was 
appropriate  to  the  Abbey  of  St.  Patrick.  In  1622  the 
church  is  returned  as  a  ruin.  Some  fragments  of  mullions 
and  other  decorations  of  freestone  which  are  scattered  through 
the  cemetery  afix)rd  indications  that  the  ancient  church  was 
more  highly  decorated  than  most  of  the  churches  in  Lecale. 
According  to  tradition,  it  was  dedicated  under  the  invocation 
of  the  Blessed  Virgin.  A  headless  statue  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin  and  Child  formerly  stood  at  the  western  gable  of 
Dunsford  church,  whence  it  was  removed  by  the  Rev. 
"William  M'Garry  to  his  residence  in  Bally edock,  and  long 
after  his  death  it  was  carried  to  Ardglass  Casfcle,  where  it  is 
still  preserved  in  the  pleasure  grounds.  The  head  of  this 
statue  was  found  in  some  portion  of  the  grave-yard,  and 
▼as  inserted  bv  the  Rev.  Edward  Mulholland  into  the  gable 


176  DOWK  AND  CONNOR. 

of  Dunsford  Catholic  Church,  where  it  may  still  be  seen.  A 
portion  of  fo  very  fine  specimen  of  a  cuneiform  monumental 
slab,  on  which  is  inscribed  a  highly-ornamented  cross,  is  lying 
against  the  gable  of  the  Protestant  Church.  "What  remains 
of  the  slab  exhibits  a  portion  of  the  hilt  of  a  sword  sculptured 
along  the  stem  of  the  cross,  which  shows  that  it  was  intended 
to  mark  the  resting-place  of  some  Anglo-Irish  knight.  A 
stone,  2  feet  9  inches  square  and  9  inches  in  thickness,  lies  in 
the  cemetery  of  Dunsford  Catholic  Church.  It  was  removed 
from  the  site  of  the  ancient  church,  and  seems  to  have  been 
the  baptismal  font.  A  basin,  capable  of  holding  sufficient 
water  for  the  baptisms  of  a  small  parish,  is  sunk  in  its  centre, 
and  the  bottom  is  bored  through  in  order  to  allow  the  water 
to  pass  off  to  the  sacrarium.  In  Crossmore,  which  is  a  sub- 
denomination  of  Dunsford,  there  were  formerly  two  crosses. 
One,  which  was  the  larger,  was  in  a  field  belonging  to  Mr. 
John  Fitzsimons,  and  the  smaller  was  in  a  field  belonging  to 
Mr.  John  Hanna.  Each  of  these  crosses  was  formed  by  five 
blocks  of  grit-stone  sunk  in  the  ground  at  a  little  distance 
from  each  other,  and  so  arranged  that  they  formed  a  cross — 
one  being  in  the  centre,  and  one  placed  to  represent  the 
extremity  of  each  of  the  four  limbs  of  the  cross.  Stations 
■were  performed  at  this  place  till  about  a  century  ago.  The 
station  commenced  at  the  smaller  cross,  then  moved  round 
by  an  old  road  which  is  now  obliterated,  and  through  a  field 
which  is  at  the  west  of  the  church  to  the  larger  cross,  and 
terminated  at  an  ancient  holy  well  which  was  in  Mr.  John 
Fitzsimons's  stack-yai'd,  but  has  long  since  been  filled  up. 

In  the  townland  of  Tollumgrange  there  was  a  church 
which  in  ancient  times  was  appropriate  to  Grey  Abbey,  the 
boundary  between  the  farms  of  Mr.  Killen  and  Mr.  Napier 
passes  through  the  site  of  the  church.  The  rectory  of  Tol- 
lumgrange extended  over  the  townlands  of  Tollumgrange, 


PARISH  OF  DUNSFORD  AND  ARDGLASS.  177 

Ballyedock,  Ballybeg,  Corbally,  and  Sheepland-beg.  In  the 
year  1380  Walter  Barnwood  held  two  carucates  of  land  in 
Holmgrange  (Tollumgrange),  from  the  Abbot  of  Grey  Abbey 
for  ten  years  at  an  annual  rent  of  five  marks.  In  14-27  it 
was  found  by  inquisition  that  Janico  D' Artois  died,  seized  of 
"  3  messuages  and  4  carucates  in  Ballybrettnagh  (Ballybran- 
nagh),  and  Newtown  (part  of  Sheepland),  by  the  gift  of  the 
Prior  and  Convent  of  St.  Patrick's  of  Down,  and  1  messuage 
and  1  carucate  in  Holmegrung,  by  the  gift  of  the  Abbot 
and  Convent  of  the  Blessed  Mary  de  Jugo  Dei "  (Grey 
Abbey).  At  the  dissolution,  John  Casselles,  the  abbot  of 
Grey  Abbey  was  seized  in  right  of  his  abbey  of  Tollumgrange, 
Ballyedock,  and  Corbally,  together  with  the  tithes  of  those 
townlands  ;  it  appears,  however,  by  the  various  inquisitions 
regarding  the  property  of  the  Montgomeries,  to  whom  the 
abbey  lands  were  granted,  that  the  abbot's  rights  extended 
also  over  Ballybeg  and  Sheepland-beg,  which  in  those  docu- 
ments is  always  written  Chapplenheg*  (the  Little  Chapel.) 

In  the  Taxation  of  Pope  Nicholas  the  chapel  of  Lismolyn 
was  valued  at  5  marks.  Lismolyn  (Lios-Maolain,  "Moelan's 
Fort  ")  is  now  called  Bishop's  Court.  The  bishop  in  ancient 
times  had  a  residence  in  that  townland,  and  it  is  still  held 
under  the  Church  Temporalities  Commissioners.  There  was 
formerly  preserved  among  the  muniments  of  the  see  of  Down  a 
document  which  professed  to  have  been  drawn  up  in  1210  from 
earlier  documents,  which  enumerated  among  other  see  proper- 
ties : — "  Item,  in  Lismollin  three  carucates  in  temporalities, 
and  a  chapel  in  spiritualities  given  by  the  same  Flathri." 
The  three  carucates  x-eferred  to  are  now  called  Bishop's  Court, 

*  Mr.  Smith  of  Lismore  has  a  large  slab  of  flag  stone  which  was 
found  many  years  ago  on  his  farm.  It  is  curiously  carved  with 
spirals  and  volutes,  and  much  resembles  in  ornamentation  the  slab 
at  the  entrance  to  New  Grange.  (See  Sir  W.  Wilde's  Boyne  and 
Blackwater,     Second  Ed.  p.  192.) 


178  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

Ballymeniigh,  and  Tullynaskeagh,  wliich  were  held  under 
the  Protestant  bishop  till  the  Disestablishment.  In  the 
Parliamentary  Report  in  1833,  these  lands,  consisting  of 
**  the  castle  and  three  townlands  of  Bishop's  Court,  known 
by  the  names  of  Bishop's  Court,  Ballymenagh,  and  Tally- 
nespick,"  ai^e  returned  as  held  under  the  see  by  the  Right 
Hon.  Robert  Ward  by  a  21  year  renewable  lease,  at  a  yeai'ly 
rent  of  .£36  16s  T^d,  and  a  renewal  fine  of  £116  6s  l|d. 
This  property  belongs  at  present  to  Mr.  "Ward  of  Bangor. 
In  1305  the  King's  escheator,  Walter  de  la  Hay,  returned 
into  the  Exchequer  on  account  of  rents  received  by  him 
during  the  vacancy  of  the  see — "  30s  6d  of  the  rents,  past' 
ures,  cottages,  mills  of  the  Manor  of  Lysmolyn  for  the  same 
term."  Of  the  rents,  meadows,  turbaries,  and  the  services 
of  the  cottiers  there  he  makes  no  return  because  "  a  certain 
part  of  the  lands  were  seeded  before  the  death  of  the  above^ 
mentioned  bishop,  and  the  remainder  lies  waste  through 
the  want  of  tenants  ;  and  the  service  of  the  cottiers  are  all 
in  Autumn,  and  of  the  tributes  nothing  was  received."  A.D. 
1410,  Radulf  Fourneys  was  "  rector  of  the  free  chapel  of 
Lasmolyn,  in  the  diocese  of  Down;"  and  in  "  Primate  Mey's 
Register"  it  is  mentioned  that  in  the  year  1440  "Edward 
White  was  prebendary  of  Lesmolyn."  In  "  Primate  Prene's 
Register"  it  is  stated  that  William  Ketyl  was  ordained  prie§t 
in  the  year  1441,  by  John,  Bishop  of  Down,  in  the  chapel 
"  Suae  curiae  episcopalis  de  Lesmolyn."  This  John,  who  wag 
the  bishop  under  whom  the  sees  of  Down  and  Connor  were 
united,  had  for  several  years  to  sustain  a  contest  for  the  see 
of  Down  against  Thomas  Pollard ;  but  Pollard  lost  his  suit 
in  1449.  There  is  preserved  in  "  Primate  Mey's  Register" 
the  substance  of  a  complaint  laid  before  Sir  WUliam  Coldhall, 
the  Seneschal  of  Ulster,  by  "John,  as  by  virtewe  of  unyoune 
of  our  holy  fader  the  Pope  Bysshope  of  Down  and  Connorease," 


PARISH  OF  DUNSFORD  AND  ARDGLASS.        179 

that  "  Master,  Thomas  Pollard  pretending  him  through  the 
Appostell  provisyon  for  Bysshop  of  Down,  undewly  and  with 
vyolence  through  help  and  power  of  his  adherents  in  thalj 
parte,  entred  hys  plaais  (palace)  of  Lesmolyn,  and  noght  only 
his  godes  there  but  of  his  rentes  and  divers  others  his  per- 
tynaments  had  spoyled  and  withholds."  A.D.  1456,  James 
Lech  is  mentioned  in  '*  Primate  Mey's  Eegister"  as  *'  Pre- 
bendary of  Lismolyn."  About  the  same  date  Henry  Fox, 
Archdeacon  of  Down,  procured  the  annexation  of  "  prsebenda 
sive  libera  capella  Sancti  Malachise  de  Lismolyn"  to  the 
Church  of  "  Kylcleth."  This  chapel,  which  was  under  the 
invocation  of  St.  Malachy,  is  thought  to  have  stood  near  the 
^'  Bawn,"  a  sort  of  fortification,  said  to  have  been  erected  in 
1601,  by  orders  of  the  Lord  Deputy  Mountjoy. 

The  townland  of  Sheepland-mor  was  held  under  the  Pro- 
testant bishop  of  Down  and  Connor  till  the  Disestablishment, 
In  it  are  two  sub-denominations  called  Newtown  and  Cruck- 
glass,  or  Crumglass ;  at  the  latter  is  a  hill  called  MuUaghban 
("  the  white  hill"),  which  is  said  to  have  been  so  named  froni 
white  friars,  who  had  at  that  place  a  monastery.  There  have 
been  found  in  the  vicinity  of  MuUaghban  graves  lined  with 
stones,  and  cairns  of  stones.  The  list  of  lands  belonging  to 
the  se6,  which  purports  to  have  been  drawn  up  in  1210,  but 
is  certainly  somewhat  later,  returns  among  the  possessions  of 
the  bishop,  "  Item,  in  Villa  Nova  (Newtown)  three  quarters, 
■with  the  temporalities,  given  by  the  same  Flathri,"  and  in 
1305  the  king's  escheator,  Walter  de  la  Hay,  returned  into 
the  Exchequer,  on  account  of  rents  received  by  him  during 
the  vacancy  of  the  see,  "  £6  2s  3d  of  the  return  of  rents, 
prises,  services,  perquisites  of  the  coui't  of  Newtown  (Nova? 
Yillse)."  In  1622,  the  Protestant  bishop,  making  a  return 
of  lands  belonging  to  the  bishop,  says — "  He  hath  Lismoline, 
alias  Bishop's  Court,  3  Plowlands,  both  Spiritual  and  Tem- 


180  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

porall.  In  Sheepland  (in  Lecale)  2  Plowlands,  Spiritualities 
and  Temporalities.  In  the  Newton  of  Lecale,  1  Plowland, 
Spiritual  and  Temporall."  In  that  document  Thomas  Barn- 
well is  returned  as  tenant  of  Bishop's  Court  and  Sheepland, 
and  John  Russell,  of  Killough,  as  tenant  of  Newtown.  Ac- 
cording to  the  Parliamentary  Report  of  1833,  Richard 
Magennis  was  tenant  of  Sheepland,  Mor,  and  Newtown, 
tinder  the  see,  which  he  held  by  a  21  year  renewable  lease 
at  £24  4s  7|d  rent,  and  £67  16s  lid  renewal  fine.  There 
is  in  Sheepland  a  holy  well  called  St.  Patriclc^s  Well,  to  which 
pilgrimages  are  still  made.  The  banks  of  the  little  stream 
which  flows  from  it  are  covered  with  bits  of  cloth  which, 
according  to  the  ancient  Celtic  custom,  have  been  cast  into 
its  waters  or  laid  on  its  banks  by  the  pilgrims.  At  the  distance 
of  a  few  perches  from  the  holy  well,  a  rock  overhanging  the 
sea  assumes  a  strange  formation  which  is  called  St.  Patrick's 
Road,  where  the  people  say  St.  Patrick  landed  when  coming 
from  the  Isle  of  Man.  There  is  also  a  foolish  legend  that  the 
saint  would  have  continued  that  road  on  to  the  Isle  of  Man 
had  not  a  red-haired  woman  walked  over  his  work  without 
blessing  it,  which  he  understood  was  a  bad  omen.  These 
legends  at  least  show  that  the  locality  was  a  favourite  resort 
of  our  saint.  A  small  portion  of  the  rock  is  covered  with  a 
white  lichen  which  is  said  to  mark  the  place  where  the  saint 
hung  his  shirt  after  he  came  from  the  Isle  of  Man.  Although 
this  story  may  seem  ludicrous,  a  version  of  it  is  contained  in 
Colgan's  Latin  "Tripartite  Life  of  St.  Patrick,"  chap.  22 — 
"  But  when  the  holy  Patrick  was  about  to  pass  from  Britain, 
turning  himself  on  the  sea-shore  to  the  right  hand,  he  laid 
aside  his  casula  and  threw  it  on  a  rock.  And  afterwards 
thinking  no  more  of  it,  he  crossed  over  into  Ireland ;  but 
when  he  touched  the  shore  he  found  lying  before  him  in 
Ireland  the  casula  which  he  left  in  Britain." 


PARISH  OF  DUNSFORD  AND  ARDGLASS.  181 

In  a  field  belonging  to  Miss  Breen,  in  the  townland  of 
Killard,*  there  is  a  place  called  Cargy,  which  is  the  site  of  a 
church  valued  in  the  Taxation  of  Pope  Nicholas,  under  the 
name  of  "  the  church  of  Renles"  (intended  for  Kenles),  at 
four  marks.  In  the  inquisition  of  the  third  of  Edward  VI.  it 
was  found,  under  the  name  Kenlys,  to  be  a  chapel  of  Bally- 
culter  and  appropriate  to  the  Abbey  of  Saul.  It  is  called 
Killernard  in  the  "Terrier."  That  document,  though  com- 
piled in  the  year  1615,  preserves  to  us  an  account  of  the 
various  sums  paid  in  ancient  times  by  the  respective  churches 
to  the  bishop.  The  following  extracts  regard  the  different 
churches  in  the  parish  of  Dunsford  and  Ardglass  : — 

"  Capella  de  KOlernard,  in  Lekale,  near  the  sea.  In 
proxies,  Isj  in  refections,  Is;  synodals,  2s.    It  is  St.  John's." 

"  Capella  de  Lismullan.  The  bishop's  mensal.  The  curate 
pays  in  proxies,  Is  ;  refections,  Is ;  synodals,  2s." 

"  Capella  de  Gronell  (Ardtole).  The  prior  of  Downe's. 
Proxies,  8d ;  refections,  8d  ;  synodals,  2s." 

"  Ecclesia  de  Dunsfort.  It  is  the  Priory  of  St.  John's, 
Downe.  The  vicar  pays — proxies,  ISd;  refections,  18dj 
synodals,  2  s." 

"  Capella  de  Tollingrangoth  (chapel  of  Tollumgrange). 
It  is  of  ye  Gray  Abbeys,  both  in  spirituals  and  temporals. 
Proxies,  20d ;  refections,  20d ;  synodals,  2s." 

*'  Chappel  Rose  (Ross).  It  hath  only  three  quarters  of  a 
towne,  and  pays — in  proxies,  Is;  refections.  Is;  synodals,  2s." 

"Ecclesia  de  Ardglass,  alias  Artnell  (Ardtole).  It  was 
changed  for  that  the  woodkern  of  M'Cartene's  country,  upon 
a  tyme  when  the  inhabitants  of  Ardglass  were  at  Mass,  killed 
them  all ;  thereupon  it  was  brought  within  the  towne.  It 
pays — proxies,  4s ;  refections,  4s ;  synodals,  2s." 

*  One  of  the  battles  gained  over  the  race  of  Emhear  and  others  of 
the  Irish  and  foreigners  by  Tigheammas,  King  of  Ireland,  in  the  year 
of  the  World,  3656,  was  "the  battle  of  Cul-ard  in  Magh-inis"  (Lecale). 


182  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

PARISH     PRIESTS. 

In  the  list  of  Popish  priests  registered  in  1704,  Daniel  Lea, 
■whose  name  would  now  be  wi-itten  M'Alea,  is  registered  as 
Popish  priest  of  the  parish  of  Dunsford.  He  resided  at  that 
time  in  Ballynarry,  which  is  outside  the  parish^  but  it  is 
probable  he  was  compelled  to  reside  with  his  relatives  in 
order  that  he  might  the  more  easily  escape  the  priest-hunters. 
Father  Lea,  or  M'Alea,  was  then  54  years  of  age.  He  was 
ordained  in  1670  by  Primate  Oliver  Plunket. 
•  James  MacGee  is  returned  in  the  same  list  as  "  Popish 
priest "  of  Ardglass.  He  resided  then  in  Ballyorgan,  which 
is  outside  the  parish,  but  no  doubt  necessity  compelled  him 
to  seek  a  hiding  place  among  his  relatives.  Father  MacGee 
was  37  years  of  age  in  the  year  1704,  and  had  been  ordained 
by  Dr.  William  Dutton,  or  Dalton,  Bishop  of  Ossory,  in 
1697.  Whether  Dunsford  and  Ardglass  were  separate 
parishes  at  the  date  of  the  registration,  or  whether  Father 
MacGee  was  curate  to  Father  Lea,  cannot  now  be  determined, 
nor  does  tradition  record  the  date  of  the  death  of  either  of 
them ;  but  there  is  a  tradition  that  a  Father  Hanna,  who 
seems  to  have  been  the  immediate  successor  of  the  survivor  of 
them,  was  parish  priest  of  Dunsford  and  Ardglass  early  in 
the  last  century. 

On  the  death  of  Father  Hanna,  which  occured  before  the 
year  1742,  Dr.  William  Magarry.  who  was  a  native  of  Cross- 
more,  was  appointed.  He  died  in  1763,  and  was  interred  in 
Dunsford  churchyard.  On  his  tombstone,  which  is  now 
broken  into  three  parts,  and  will  soon  disappear  unless  some 
care  is  taken  of  it,  is  inscribed : — 

This  stone  erected  in  memory 
of  the  Eev.  Daniel  Magarry, 
Pastor  of  Kilmegan,  who  departed 
15th  Jan.,  1784,  aged  82  years. 


PAKISH  OF  DUNSFORD  AXD  ARDGLASS.  183 

Also  in  memory  of  his  two  uncles, 
ye  Revtl.  Eugene  &  Revd.  Wra. 
Magarry,  Pastors  of  Saul  &  Dunsford. 
Wm.  being  Dean  of  Down,  Bachelor 
of  Arts  &  Doctor  of  Sorbon. 

After  the  death  of  Dean  Magarry  the  parish  was  administered 
by  his  curate,  the  Rev.  Daniel  O'Doran;  but  in  the  beginning 
of  1776,  Father  O'Doran  was  appointed  to  the  parish  of  the 
Ards — [see  Kilcoo] — and  Dunsford  and  Ardglass  were  com- 
mitted to  the  care  of  the  Rev.  William  M'Alea,  P.P.,  Bailee, 
who  had  at  the  same  time  the  adminstration  of  the  parish 
of  Kilclief ;  in  these  duties,  however,  he  had  the  assistance 
of  a  curate.  Tliere  is  preserved  in  the  Record  Office,  Dublin^ 
a  return  to  tbe  House  of  Lords  from  the  Protestant  minister 
which  is  confirmatory  of  these  traditions. 

"  Killough,  April  12,  1766. 

"  Sir, — In  the  parish  of  Dunsport  three  score  and  fourteen 
Protestant  families,  and  six  score  and  sixteen  Papists ;  and  in 
the  adjoining  parish  of  Ardglass  there  are  twenty-nine  Pro- 
testant families  and  sixty-two  Papists.  There  is  no  Popish 
priest  or  friar  residing  in  either  parish,  but  they  are  served 
in  the  meanwhile  by  two  neighbouring  priests  till  a  supply 
be  for  it.  I  would  have  sent  this  account  before,  but  have 
been  so  unwell  that  I  was  unable. — I  am,  sir,  your  most 
obedient  and  very  humble  servant,         "  Wynne  Stewart. 

"To  Robert  Sterne,  Esq.,  Clerk  to  the  Honourable 
House  of  Lords." 

About  this  period  the  House  of  Lords  seemed  much 
alarmed  at  the  increase  of  "  Popery,"  and  both  ministers  and 
gangers  were  ordered  to  send  in  reports  on  this  subject. 

"Wm.  Hillas,  gagr.,  of  Killough,"  on  June  10,  1764, 
reports  that  in  the  parish  of  Ardglass  there  are — Churches, 
1 ;    meeting-hoiises,  0 ;    Mass-houses,  0,      Members  of  the 


184  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

Established  Church,  60  ;  Presbyterians,  35  ;  Papists,  106. 
"  This  church  only  old  walls." 

Parish  of  Rathmullan — Churches,  2  ;  meeting-houses,  0 ; 
Mass-houses,  2.  Members  of  the  Established  Church,  240  j 
Presbyterians,  80;  Papists,  524.  "These  two  churches  and 
Mass-houses  in  good  order." 

Parish  of  Bright — Churches,  1 ;  meeting-houses,  0  ;  Mass- 
houses,  1.  Members  of  the  Established  Church,  100;  Pres- 
byterians, 124;  Papists,  404.  "Church  and  Mass-house  in 
good  order." 

Parish  of  Dunsford — Churches,  1  ;  meeting-houses,  0 ; 
Mass-houses,  1 .  Members  of  the  Established  Church,  80  ; 
Presbyterians,  96 ;  Papists,  388.  "  This  church  in  good 
order." 

Parish  of  Bailee — Churches,  1  ;  meeting-houses,  1 ;  Mass- 
houses,  1.  Members  of  the  Established  Church,  84;  Pres- 
byterians, 256 ;  Papists,  272.  "  These  three  places  of 
worship  in  good  order." 

In  the  year  1774,  Father  M'Alea  having  resigned  the 
administration  of  the  parishes  of  Dunsford  and  Ardglass  and 
Kilclief,  the  Rev.  Daniel  Clinton  was  appointed  to  Dunsford 
and  Ardglass.  Father  Clinton  was  a  native  of  Sheepland. 
He  died  October  8,  1788,  and  was  interred  in  Dunsford 
churchyard.     On  the  tomb  is  inscribed  : — 

Here  lieth  the  re- 
mains of  the  Revd. 
Daniel  Clinton, 
Pastor  of  Dunsford,  who 
dep.  this  life  Oct.  8th, 
1788,  aged  77  years.     Lord 
have  mercy ^on 
him. 

The  Rev.  Edward  Mullholland  was  appointed  on  the  9th 
of  February,  1789,     Father  Mullholland  was  a  native  of  the 


PARISH  OP  DUNSFORD  AND  ARDGLASS.        185 

townland  of  Drumgooland,  in  the  parish  of  Loughinisland, 
He  is  still  remembered  in  tradition  as  a  distinguished 
scholar  and  preacher.  He  erected,  in  the  j^ear  1791, 
Dunsford  chapel.  He  died  of  a  decline,  July  25th,  1805. 
An  obituary  notice  of  him,  which  appeared  in  the  Belfast 
Commercial  Chronicle,  says,  "  He  was  a  learned  and  zealous 
pastor,  an  ornament  of  the  order  he  belonged  to,  and  an  in- 
valuable acquisition  of  the  parish  over  which  he  ruled  17 
years."     He  was  interred  in  the  chapelyard  of  Dunsford. 

The  Rev.  Eugene  MuUholland  succeeded  his  brother  in 
1805.  During  early  life.  Father  MuUholland  was  engaged 
in  secular  pursuits,  but,  feeling  himself  called  to  enter  the 
priesthood^  he  was  ordained,  after  he  had  obtained  a  know- 
ledge of  classics,  and  he  entered  the  College  of  Maynooth  in 
1798.  Having  completed  his  studies,  he  officiated  for  some 
time  as  curate  in  upper  Mourne,  from  which  he  was  promoted 
to  Dunsford  and  Ardglass.  He  died  at  his  residence  in 
ToUumgrange,  on  the  9th  of  February,  1832,  in  the  68th 
year  of  his  age.  An  obituary  notice  in  the  Neiory  Telegraph 
says  of  him,  "  For  nearly  27  years  he  discharged  with  zeal 
and  indefatigable  assiduity  the  duties  of  a  faithful  and 
religious  pastor."  He  was  interred  in  the  same  vault  with 
his  brother,  in  Dunsford  chapelyard.     On  it  is  inscribed — 


Here  lieth  the  remains  of  the 
Rev.  Edwd.  MuUholland, 
P.P.  of  Dunsford  &  Ardglass. 
He  was  born  in  the  parish 
of  Loughinisland  1759, 
Appointed  P.P.,  Dunsford, 
1789.     Died  25  July,  1805. 


Here    also    lieth    the    remaina 

of  his  brother,  the 

Rev.  Eugene  MuUholland, 

Born  1764. 

Succeeded  his  brother 

as  P.P.  of  Dunsford,  and  died 

9  Feb.,  1832. 


Requiescat  in  pace. 
Father  Eugene  MuUholland  was  succeeded  by  the  Eev.  Peter 
Denvir.     An  account  of  Father  Denvir   has  been  already 
given  [see  Bright].     He  was  appointed  to   the  parish   of 
Bright,  January  30,  1848. 


186  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

The  Eev.  "William  MacMulIan  succeeded  Father  Denvir. 
Father  MacMullan  was  a  native  of  Clanvaraghan,  in  the 
parish  of  Kilmegan,  and  a  nephew  of  the  late  Father 
MacMullan,  P.P.,  Lough inisland.  After  completing  his 
preliminary  education  at  the  Diocesan  Seminary,  Belfast,  he 
entered  on  the  27th  of  August,  1835,  the  Logic  Class  in  the 
College  of  Maynooth,  when,  on  the  completion  of  his  course, 
he  obtained  a  place  on  the  Dunboyne  Establishment,  and  was 
ordained  by  Dr.  Murray,  at  Penticost,  in  1842.  He  was 
about  two  years  curate  in  Lisburn,  when  he  was  appointed 
on  the  4th  of  April,  1845,  P.P.  of  Hannahstown,  from  which 
he  was  appointed  to  Dunsford  and  Ardglass  on  the  12th  of 
Feb.,  1848.  He  died  March  16th,  1876,  and  was  interred 
in  Loughinisland,  in  the  tomb  which  was  erected  over  the 
remains  of  the  Most  Rev.  P.  MacMullan,  Bishop  of  Down 
and  Connor. 

The  Rev.  Richard  Marner,  D.D.,  was  appointed  parish 
priest  on  the  26th  March,  1876,  but  did  not  take  possession 
of  the  parish  until  April  30th  of  that  year.  Dr.  Marner  is  a 
native  of  the  parish  of  Kilmore ;  after  having  completed 
his  preparatory  studies  in  the  Diocesan  College,  Belfast,  he 
entered  the  Rhetoric  Class  in  the  College  of  Maynooth,  Feb. 
10th,  1850.  He  was  promoted  to  the  Dunboyne  Establish- 
ment at  the  end  of  his  ordinary  theological  course.  He  was 
ordained  in  Clarendon  Street  Church,  Dublin,  by  the  Most 
Rev.  Dr.  VVhelan,  Bishop  of  Bombay,  April  4th,  1857. 
Shortly  after  the  promotion  of  the  Rev.  Edward  Kelly  to  the 
parish  of  Lisburn,  Dr.  Marner  was  appointed  to  succeed  him 
in  the  professorship  of  Classics  and  Mathematics  in  the 
Diocesan  College,  Belfast,  and  in  November,  1866,  when  the 
Rev.  James  O'Laverty  was  appointed  parish  priest  of  Holy- 
wood,  Dr.  Marner  became  President  of  the  College.  He 
considerably  extended  the  curriculum  of  the  College,  and  by 


PARISH  OF  DUXSFORD  AND  ARDGLASS.  187 

professing  Logic  and  Natural  Philosophy,  he  prepared  th« 
ecclesiastical  students  to  commence  their  theological  studies 
immediately  on  entering  the  College  of  Maynooth.  His 
health  having  become  impaired  he  obtained  a  long  leave  of 
absence,  which  he  devoted  to  an  extensive  tour  through  Italy, 
Greece,  Egypt,  Palestine,  and  other  Countries  of  Europe 
and  Asia. 

CHCJRCHES. 

Dunsford  Church  was  built  by  the  Rev.  Edward  Mull- 
tolland,  A.D.  1791,  in  the  townland  of  Ballyedock.  There  is 
Inserted  into  the  wall  near  one  of  the  windows  a  stone  on 
■which  the  Rev.  Edward  Mullholland  inscribed  with  his 
own  hand — 

A.D.  1791. 

This  chapel 

was  built 

Kev.  Edwd.  Mullholland 

being  Pastor. 

Lord  have  mercy  » 

on  him 

In  the  graveyard  attached  to  this  chapel  sleeps  Father  Thomas 
Clinton,  but  no  stone  marks  his  grave.  Father  Clinton 
was  nephew  to  the  Rev.  Daniel  Clinton.  He  never  had  been 
in  college,  and  on  that  accoiint  never  was  promoted  to  a 
parish,  but  his  name  is  still  familiarly  and  affectionately 
mentioned  in  the  various  parishes  of  Lecale  in  which  he 
officiated  as  curate,  and  several  amusing  anecdotes  are  told  of 
him  in  the  "  Life  of  the  Most  Rev.  Dr.  Crolly,"  by  the  Rev. 
George  Crolly.  In  the  same  graveyard  also  rest  the  remains 
of  William  Sawey,  by  those  bequest  the  "  Sawey  Foundation" 
•was  created  in  Maynooth  College  for  the  benefit  of  Students 
of  the  diocese.  In  1853,  according  to  the  "  Maynooth  Com- 
mission Report,",  the  foundation  amounted  to  ^854  19s  8d, 


188  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

which  produced  an  annual  interest  of  £26  133  3d.  On  his 
tomb  is  inscribed  : — 

Hie  ponitur  Corpus  Gulielmi  nomine  Sawey, 
Pauperibus  donat  moriens,  quas  condidit  opea 
Hunc  lapidem  posuit  Catharina  carissima  conjux. 

Obiit  17  Januarii, 

1799,  ^tatis  81mo. 

Ardglass  Church, — A  correspondent,  wiiting  to  the  Newry 
Telegraph,  says :—"  Ardglass,  May  29,  1828.  The  first 
stone  of  the  new  Catholic  chapel  of  Ardglass  was  laid  on 
Monday  last  on  a  plot  of  ground  granted  for  ever,  free  of 

rent,  by  William  Ogilvie,  Esq., 

Nothing  could  exceed  the  cordial  feeling  evinced  by  every 
class  of  the  community.  Captain  Saunders  having  with  the 
usual  ceremony  laid  the  first  stone,  upon  which  he  deposited 
a  very  large  donation,  the  vast  multitude  with  one  simult- 
aneous impulse  continued  to  rend  the  air  with  loud  and 
repeated  huzzas."  The  erection  of  this  church  was  princi- 
pally due  to  the  exertions  of  the  Rev.  John  Hagarty,  C.C., 
who  afterwards  was  parish  priest  of  Ballymoney,  in  the 
county  of  Antrim. 

Before  the  erection  of  Dunsford  church,  Mass  was  celebra- 
ted along  various  hedges  in  the  vicinity  of  the  site  of  the 
present  church.  The  selection  of  the  precise  spot  for  each 
occasion  depended  on  the  direction  in  which  the  wind  was 
blowing.  Another  station  was  in  Mr.  Breen's  farm  in 
Killard,  or  in  a  barn  belonging  to  Mr.  Torney.  There  was 
also  a  favourite  station  on  a  farm  now  belonging  to  Mr. 
James  Murray  in  Corbally. 


PARISH  OF  BALLEE. 


"^HE  parish  of  Bailee  contains  all  the  civil  parish  of  Bailee 
except  the  townlands  of  Ballyalton,  Carrownacaw, 
Loughmoney,  and  Slievenagriddle,  which  belong  to 
the  parish  of  Saul.  It  also  includes  the  townlands  of  Bally- 
culter,  Ballylenagh,  Cargagh,  Loughkeelan,  and  part  of 
Castlemahan,  which  are  portions  of  the  civil  parish  of  Bally- 
culter.  In  1871,  the  pait  of  the  parish  which  belongs  to  the 
civil  parish  of  Bailee  contained  1034  inhabitants,  of  whom 
about  630  were  Catholics,  and  the  part  which  belongs  to  the 
civil  parish  of  Bally culter  contained  334  inhabitants,  of  whom 
about  200  were  Catholics. 

Bailee  (Baile-atha,  "  the  town  of  the  ford,")  obtains  its 
name  from  a  ford  over  the  river  which  separates  Church- 
Bailee  from  Ballybrannagh.  At  the  period  of  the  Taxation 
of  Pope  Nicholas  Bailee  was  only  a  chapelry  dependant  on 
the  Abbey  of  St.  Patrick  in  Down,  and  was  valued  at  20 
marks,  which  shows  that  it  miist  have  been  richly  endowed, 
for  its  valuation  is  fully  equal  to  that  of  six  or  seven  of  the 
other  churches  in  Lecale.  At  a  very  early  period  nearly  all 
the  lands  in  the  parish  of  Bailee  passed  into  the  possession 
of  the  Bishop  of  Down.  Sir  John  de  Courcey  itiduced,  or 
rather  compelled,  Bishop  Malachy  III.  in  1183  to  endow 
with  these  lands  the  cathedral  of  Down,  the  constitution  of 
which  he  had  changed  by  introducing  Benedictines  from 
Chester  to  replace  the  Irish  Secular  Canons.     The  lands  of 


190  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

Bailee  continued  in  the  possession  of  the  Benedictines  of 
Down  cathedral  till  the  suppression  of  religious  houses  in  the 
reign  of  Henry  VIII.  The  prior  of  the  monasteiy  held  the 
rectory,  while  a  vicar  or  cm-ate  attended  to  the  spii'itual 
wants  of  the  parish.  The  entry  in  the  "  Terrier"  shows  that 
the  arrangement  was  such,  and  informs  us  what  dues  the 
vicar  paid  to  the  bishop — "  Ecclesia  Parochialis  of  Bailee. 
The  Prior  of  Down  had  it  always,  and  he  was  deacon  (dean), 
as  the  bishop  was  abbot.  The  vicar  owes  in  proxies,  6s  8d ; 
refections,  6s  8d ;  synodals,  2s."  At  the  Dissolution  the 
rectory  of  "  Bealgach,  alias  Bealy,"  of  the  annual  value  of 
.£26  13s  4d,  was  appropriate  to  the  Abbey  of  St.  Patrick  of 
Down.  An  Inquisition  was  taken  at  Down  on  the  13th  of 
August,  in  the  first  year  of  King  Edward  the  Sixtli,  to  inquire 
into  the  spiritual  and  temporal  possessions  in  the  county  of 
Down  which  had  belonged  to  the  late  Abbey  of  St.  Patrick's 
of  Down.  The  commissioners  appointed  to  hold  the  inquiiy 
were  Sii-  Thomas  Cusack,  Knight,  Master  of  the  Rolls ; 
Patrick  Barnwell,  Sergeant-at-Law  of  the  King ;  and  Heniy 
Draycott,  Chief  Remembrancer,  who  took  their  findings  upon 
the  oaths  of  Robert  Walshe,  of  Walshtown ;  John  Audeley, 
of  Axideleystown ;  Edward  Dowdall,  of  Ballydergan ;  Thomas 
Benson,  of  Kylcliff ;  Brian  O'Gone  (Smith),  of  the  same ; 
Killedoe  M'Cartan,  of  Ballydonyll  ;  Patrick  M'Roe,  of 
Strangford ;  Christopher  Russell,  of  Rathmolyn  ;  Peter 
Balding,  of  KObi'ide ;  Richard  Russell,  of  Rathmolyn ; 
John  Jordan,  of  the  same;  Walter  Oge  Fitzsimon,  of  Killard; 
William  Dufi",  of  Sheeplandbeg  ;  John  Savage,  of  Saul ;  and 
Evir  Mageimis,  of  Loghconill,  who  found  among  other  things 
that  the  rectory  or  chui'ch  of  Bealgagh,  alias  Bealy  (Bailee), 
belonged  to  the  abbey,  that  the  i*ectoiy  extended  into  the 
following  towns  : — The  town  of  Bealgagh,  the  tithes  of  whict 
were  of  the  annual  value  of  £1  6s  8d;    Huseston,  alias 


PARISH  OF  BALLEE,  19]. 

Ballyhussey  {Bailey liossett),  the  tithes  of  which  were  valued 
at  £1  6s  Sd.  "  when  the  land  is  cultivated,  but  now  it  lies 
■uncultivated ;"  the  town  of  "  Bally clinder,"  the  tithes  of 
vhich  are  valued  at  <£1  6s  8d,  "  in  addition  to  the  tithes  of 
one  of  them  which  now  lies  uncultivated,  but  when  it  was 
cultivated  it  was  of  the  annual  value  of  ^1  6s  8d."  The  two 
towns  of  "  Ballybrenahe,"  the  tithes  of  which  were  valued 
at  £2  13s  4d.  The  town  of  Ballycroter  ("  Ballycruttle"), 
the  tithes  of.  which  were  valued  at  £1  6s  8d  "  when  it  is 
cultivated,  but  now  it  lies  uncultivated."  The  townland  of 
Bally elliny  (Bally lenagh),  the  tithes  of  which  also  were 
valued  at  £1  6s  8d  "  when  cultivated,  but  it  was  then  waste," 
The  two  townlands  of  Ballycrosse  (Ballynagross),  the  tithes 
of  which  were  valued  at  £2  1 3s  4d,  but  they  were  then 
waste.  The  townland  of  Ballynosberry  (now  known  by  some 
other  name),  the  tithes  of  which  were  valued  at  £1  6s  8d, 
but  they  were  then  waste.  The  townlands  of  Ballytrustan 
and  Ballyawlton  (Ballyalton),  the  tithes  of  each  of  which 
were  valued  at  .£1  6s  8d.  Ballybaltir  (Ballywalter),  the 
tithes  of  which  were  valued  at  £1  6s  8d,  but  it  was  then 
waste.  Ballyregna,  alias  Ballyrenna  (Ballyrenan)  and  Ballir 
sallagh,  the  tithes  of  which  were  valued  at  .£1  6s  8d.  Crowe 
(Crew)  and  Ballyfroske  (now  known  by  some  other  name), 
the  tithes  of  each  of  which  were  valued  at  £1  6s  8d  when 
they  were  cultivated.  The  two  towns  of  Loghmonon  (Lough- 
money),  the  tithes  of  which  were  valued  at  £2  13s  4d.  This 
finding  is  interesting,  as  it  shows  that  owing  to  the  disturbed 
state  of  the  coimtry,  and  perhaps  to  the  paucity  of  inhabitants, 
some  of  the  most  fertile  poi'tions  of  Lecale  were  then  lying 
waste.  The  present  Protestant  church  of  Bailee  occupies  the 
site  of  the  ancient  church.  "  Lewis'  Topographical  Diction- 
ary" says — "  A  splendid  golden  torque,  richly  ornamented 
and  set  with  gems,  was  found  near  the  glebe  in  1834." 


192  DOWN  AND  CONNOR, 

There  is  a  field  in  Mr.  William  Denvir's  farm,  in  the 
townland  of  Ballylenagh,  called  "  the  old  walls  field,"  in 
which  was  a  cii'cular  entrenchment,  in  which  were  found 
graves,  and  two  grave-stones  on  each  of  which  was  inscribed 
a  plain  cross. 

There  was  a  grave-yard  in  the  townland  of  Ballynagross 
(the  town  of  the  cross),  in  a  field  which  belongs  to  Mr. 
James  M'Cann,  and  is  immediately  behind  his  house ;  not 
long  ago  old  men  were  living  who  remembered  the  grave-stones 
standing  in  that  field.  Stone-lined  graves  in  such  numbers 
as  to  indicate  an  extensive  cemetery,  were  foiind  in  the 
townland  of  Lougkeeland,  ia  a  field  belonging  to  'Mr.  Patrick 
Hamill,  which  is  near  the  public  road. 

In  the  Taxation  of  Pope  Nicholas  the  chapel  of  Ballyculter 
is  united  to  the  church  of  Saul,  and  both  are  valued  at 
twenty-five  marks.  By  an  Inquisition  of  the  third  of 
Edward  VI.  it  appears  that  the  rectory  of  Ballyculter,  with 
the  chapel  of  Kenlys  (Killard),  of  the  annual  value  of  ,£29 
13s,  4d.,  was  appropriate  to  the  Abbey  of  Saul,  In  1622 
the  "  Capella  de  Bally chxirter  "  is  returned  as  a  ruin.  This 
ancient  chapel  stood  in  a  field  behind  the  present  chiu'ch 
schoolhouse.  It  was  dedicated  to  St,  Malachy,  and  it  is  still 
called  "  Kilmalock,"  Dr,  Beeves  supposes  that  Ballyculter 
may  possibly  derive  its  name  from  the  famOy  of  the  O'Col- 
tarans,  one  of  the  ancient  tribes  of  Ulidia,  of  whom  the 
topographical  poem  of  John  O'Dugan  says  : — 

O'Coltaran,  from  the  border  of  Baile, 
In  Dal  Cuirb  had  residence. 

PARISH    PRIESTS, 

In  1704  the  Rev,  William  Laverty  returned  himself  as 
parish  priest  of  Saul  and  Bailee,  Mr,  Laverty  was,  however, 
parish  priest  only  of  the  Catholic  parish  of   Saul,  which 


PARISH    OF   BALLEE.  193 

includes  the  townlands  of  Ballyalton,  Upper  Ballynagross, 
Lower  Ballynagross,  Ballystokes,  Loughmoney,  Slieveria- 
griddle,  and  Carrownacaw,  belonging  to  the  civil  parish 
of  Bailee,  and  he  himself  resided  in  Carrownacaw,  hence 
he  was  registered  as  parish  priest  of  Bailee.  The  parish 
of  Saul  retained  those  seven  townlands  up  to  Sept.  2nd, 
1870,  when  Upper  Ballynagross  and  Lower  Ballynagross 
were  re-annexed  to  Bailee,  and  the  townlands  of  Lower 
Strangford,  Upper  Strangford,  Legnagoppoge,  and  Ferry 
Quarter  were  taken  from  Bailee  and  given  to  Kilclief,  and 
the  townland  of  Ballintlieve  was  transferred  to  Said,  The 
Rev.  Peter  Smith,  residing  in  the  townland  of  Ballintlieve, 
registered  himself,  in  1704,  as  parish  priest  of  Bailee.  He 
was  then  32  years  of  age,  and  he  had  been  ordained  in  1696 
by  Dr.  William  Button,  bishop  of  Ossory. 

The  Rev.  Denis  Smith,  who  also  resided  in  Ballintlieve, 
registered  himself  in  1704  as  parish  priest  of  "  Ballynilter" 
(Bally culter).  He  was  then  54  years  of  age,  and  he  had 
been  ordained  in  1671  by  Primate  Oliver  Plunket.  It  is 
probable  that  Father  Denis  was  the  real  parish  prieaifc,  and 
that  Father  Peter  was  his  nephew  and  curate,  but  as  the 
law  did  not  make  any  provision  for  the  I  registration  of 
curates,  each  of  them  seems  to  have  registered  himself  as  the 
parish  priest  of  one  of  the  two  civil  parishes,  the  gi'eater  part 
of  which  was  included  in  the  parish  of  Bailee. 

The  next  parish  priest,  according  to  tradition,  was  Father 
Kelly,  who  resided  at  Castlemoghan.  This  clergyman  be- 
came insane  in  consequence  of  a  blow  of  a  bar  of  iron  with 
which  he  was  struck  on  the  head  by  some  bigoted  Protestant, 

The  Rev.  John  Teggart  became  parish  priest  in  1741, 
Father  Teggart  was  a  native  of  the  townland  of  Ballywalter, 
where  he  resided  after  he  was  appointed  to  the  parish  of 
Bailee.     He  held  in  addition  to  Bailee  the  parishes  of  Duns- 

N 


194  DOWK   AND   CONNOR. 

ford  and  Kilclief.  He  died  in  March,  1760,  and  was  interred 
in  the  churchyard  of  Kilclief.  Father  John  Teggart  was 
assisted  by  the  E.ev.  William  Teggart.  This  clergyman 
broke  his  leg  one  night  at  a  bridge,  which  was  afterwards 
called  "  the  Priest's  Bridge,"  as  he  was  returning  from  a  sick 
call.  Though  the  people  in  the  neighbourhood  heard  his 
cries  for  help,  they  did  not  render  him  any  assistance, 
for  they  thought  it  was  noise  made  by  a  class  of  night 
marauders  who  were  then  disturbing  the  country,  and  were 
known  in  that  locality  under  the  name  of  "  Tories."  He 
was  therefore  necessitated  to  drag  himself  along  to  a  house 
at  a  gi-eat  distance  from  the  place  where  the  accident  had 
occurred.  In  consequence  of  the  injuries  he  received  the  leg 
had  to  be  amputated,  and  to  this  day  the  wooden  leg  which 
he  afterwards  used  is  preserved  in  Ballywalter.  For  his 
convenience  the  people  constructed  a  causeway  across  a  bog 
from  Ballyorgan  to  Ballywalter.  Father  William  continued 
to  officiate  as  curate  under  the  successor  of  Father  John 
Teggart. 

The  Rev.  Daniel  M'Alea  succeeded  Father  John  Teggart 
in  1760.  Mr.  M'Alea  was  a  native  of  Ballynarry,  in  the 
parish  of  Kilclief.  In  the  year  1783  he  built  Bally cruttle 
Chapel,  in  the  lease  of  which  he  is  called  "  Daniel  Lea." 
Father  M'Alea  was  superannuated  in  1789,  and  he  died  at 
a  very  advanced  age  in  1809,  in  the  townland  of  Ballynarry. 
He  was  inteiTcd  in  Kilclief  churchyard.  The  Bev.  P. 
Curoe,  P.P.,  Ballykiulai',  had  a  number  of  theological  manu- 
scripts in  the  handwi'iting  of  Father  M'Alea. 

The  Bev.  Roger  Magee,  who  had  long  been  curate  to  his 
predecessor,  succeeded  after  the  superamiuation  or  resignation 
of  Father  M'Alea  in  1789.  Father  Magee  was  a  native  of 
the  townland  of  Ballyorgan.  On  the  last  Tuesday  of 
November,  1799,  Mr.  Magee,  after  having  attended  a  con- 


PARISH  OF  BALLEE.  195 

ference  of  the  clergy,  baptized  two  children  at  their  fathers' 
houses,  and  was  returning  late  at  night,  when  he  either  fell 
dead  or  was  killefl,  at  a  bridge  in  the  townland  of  Tullynas- 
keagh,  near  Ballybeg.  The  people  are  to  this  day  convinced 
that  he  was  murdered  out  of  revenge  because  he  had  assisted 
at  a  mixed  marriage,  which  was  displeasing  to  the  relatives 
of  one  of  the  parties  married.  They  said  that  a  person,  who 
was  afterwards  hanged  in  Scotland,  attributed  his  misf ortimes 
to  the  guilty  part  wliich  he  took  in  the  murder  of  Father 
Magee,  while  various  other  misfortunes  befell  each  of  the 
accomplices.  The  remains  of  Father  Magee  were  interred 
in  Kilclief  churchyard.  After  his  death  the  Orange  yoe- 
manry,  instigated,  it  is  said,  by  the  nephew  of  Father 
M'Alea,  assembled  at  the  chapel  to  reinstate  the  superan- 
nuated parish  priest,  who  was  then  in  a  state  of  dotage,  but 
the  good  sense  of  the  people  and  the  firmness  of  the  ecclesias- 
tical authorities  overcame  that  difficulty,  and  the  Rev.  John 
Magee  was  appointed  to  the  vacant  parish.  Father  Magee 
was  a  native  of  Corbally,  in  the  parish  of  Dunsford.  After 
being  ordained  in  DoAvnpatrick,  by  Dr.  Patrick  MacMuUan, 
he  was  appointed  to  the  curacy  of  Lisburn,  which  was  then 
a  very  arduous  mission,  on  account  of  the  camp  which  had 
been  formed  at  Blaris.  He  and  Father  Peter  Cassidy,  on 
the  16th  of  May,  1797,  accompanied  from  Belfast  to  the 
place  of  execution  at  Blaris  camp  the  four  privates  of  the 
Monaghan  Militia  who  had  been  condemned  by  court-martial. 
Father  John  Magee  always  wore  a  three-cocked  hat,  and  to 
this  day  he  is  distinguished  from  his  predecessor  and  name- 
sake by  the  soubriquet  of  '•  Tliree-cocked  Hat."  He  died 
in  1808,  and  was  iaten-ed  in  Kilclief  churchyard. 

The  Rev.  Edward  MacMullan  succeeded  Father  Magee. 
He  was  a  native  of  the  townland  of  Drumgooland,  in  the 
parish  of  Loughinisland.     After  having  been  ordained  by 


196  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

Dr.  Hugh  MacMullan  lie  studied  in  Spain,  and  on  lais  return 
was   appointed  curate  in  Downpatrick,  from  "which  he  was 
sent  to  the  island  of  Rathlin  in  1793.  ,The  "Annals  of 
.County  Antrim  "   state  that  in  the  Summer  of   1797  every 
male  adult  on  the  island,  except  the  parish  priest  and  an- 
other gentleman,  took  the  test  of  the   United  Irishmen  in 
Bruce's  Cave.     Nevertheless,  the  Rev.  Mr.  MacMullan  was 
arrested  by  Captain  Boyd,  of  Ballycastle,  and  cari'ied  to  the 
mainland,  where  he  would  have  been  flogged,  and  perhaps 
worse  treated,  but  he  was  released  through  the  influence  of 
Edmund  M'lldowney,  Esq.,  who  undertook  that  he  would 
leave  the  island.     A  letter  written  on  that  event  by  one  of 
his  successors  in  Bathlin,  Father  Francis  M'Kinney  remarks 
that  the  terms  which  required  him  to  leave  the  island  were 
not  painful.     He  was  appointed  on  the  7th  of  June,  1798, 
to  the  curacy  of  Lower  Ai'ds,  from  which  he  was  promoted 
to  Bailee  in   1808.     He  died  November  lH,  1837,  and  was 
interred  in  BaUycruttle  chapelyard,  where  his  grave-stone 
bears  the  following  inscription  : — 
Erected 
To  the  memory  of 
the  late  Rev.  Edward  M'Mullan, 
who  was  for  the  period  of  29  yeai-s.  Parish 
Priest  of  Bailee  and  Ballyculter,  and  who 
departed  this  life  on  the  12th  day  of  November, 
1837,  aged  84  years. 

Eequiescat  in  pace. 
The  Rev.  James  Killen  succeeded  Mr,  MacMullan. 
Father  Eallen  is  a  native  of  Tollumgi-ange  in  the  parish  of 
Dimsford.  He  entered  the  Logic  Class  in  the  College  of 
Maynooth  on  the  4th  of  September,  1828,  and  he  was 
ordained  by  Dr.  Murray  in  1832.  Mr.  Killen  was  appointed 
to  the  ciu-acy  of  Randalstown,  from  wliich  he  was  sent  as 


PARISH    OF    BALLEE.  197 

administrator  to  Alioghill,  wliere  he  remained  from  August 
1833,  till  Marcli,  1835,  while  the  parish  priest,  the  E,ev. 
John  Lynch,  was  pi'ofessing  classics  in  the  Diocesan  Semin- 
ary, Belfast.  From  Ahoghill  he  was  sent  to  administer  the 
parish  of  Lisburn,  under  the  aged  Father  Smith,  from  which 
he  was  appointed  to  Bailee  in  1837.  Mr.  Killen  obtained 
in  September,  1839,  an  enlargement  of  the  grounds  around 
Bally cruttle  Chapel,  and  had  the  graveyard  consecrated. 
[See  Vindicator,  May  27,  1840.]  He  was  appointed  to  the 
parish  of  Ballyphilip,  or  Portaferry,  in  March,  1843. 

The  E-ev.  Patrick  Starkey  succeeded  Father  Killen.  Mr. 
Starkey  was  born  in  the  townland  of  Coniamstown,  in  the 
parish  of  Bright,  in  1804.  He  entered  the  Logic  Class  in 
Maynooth  College,  on  the  25th  of  August,  1830,  and  was 
ordained  at  Pentecost,  1834,  in  Maynooth,  by  Dr.  Murray. 
He  was  appointed  to  the  curacy  of  Culfeightrin,  where  he 
assisted  Father  Luke  Walsh  in  successfully  opposing  the 
proselytisers.  [See  "  Home  Mission  Unmasked."]  From 
Culfeightrin  he  was  appointed  to  Bailee  on  the  26th  of 
August,  1843.  Father  Starkey  died  on  the  8th  of  July, 
1870,  and  was  interred  in  Ballycruttle  chapelyard.  The 
monument  erected  over  his  grave  bears  the  following  inscrip- 
tion : — 

Of  your  charity 

Pray 

For  the  repose  of  the  soul 

of  the 

Rev.  Patrick  Starkey,  P.P., 

Bailee, 

who  died  8th  July,  1870, 

aged  66  years. 

Erected 

by  the  Parishioners 


138  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

in  gi-atefiil  remembrance  of  his  zealous 

labours  for  27  years  in  this  parish 

where 

his  memory  is  still  fondly  cherished. 

Requiescat  in  pace. 

After  his  death  the  parish  was  administered  by  the  Rev, 
Joseph  Connor,  at  present  curate  of  St.  Peter's,  Belfast, 
xintil  the  Rev.  John  M'Coiry  took  charge  of  it. 

Father  M'Corry,  the  present  parish  priest,  is  a  native  of 
the  parish  of  Aghagallon.  He  entered  the  Rhetoric  Class 
in  the  College  of  Maynooth  on  the  27th  of  August,  1851, 
and  was  ordained  in  Dublin  by  the  Bishop  of  Bombay  on 
the  4th  of  April,  1857.  He  officiated  as  curate  in  the 
parishes  of  Kilkeel,  Bright,  and  Newtownards,  and  was  ap- 
pointed administrator  of  the  parish  of  Carrickfei'gus  in 
November,  1869,  from  which  he  was  promoted  to  Bailee  on 
the  2nd  of  September,  1870. 

CHURCHES. 

Cargagh  Church  was  one  of  the  five  "  Old  Mass  Houses" 
reported  to  the  House  of  Lords  in  1731  by  the  Protestant 
bishop  as  being  in  Down  and  Connor.  It  was  originally 
built  of  mud,  which  was  replaced  with  stone  in  1 754.  Father 
Starkey  rebuilt  it. 

Ballycruttle  Church  was  erected  by  the  Rev.  Daniel 
M'Alea,  in  1783,  on  a  site  obtained  from  John  Spear,  sen., 
and  John  Spear,  jun.,  of  Downpatrick,  who  gave  for  that 
purpose  a  rood  of  land  then  belonging  to  a  farm  which  was 
in  the  possession  of  James  Magee.  In  the  graveyard  attached 
to  this  church  the  remains  of  the  most  Rev.  Dr.  Denvir,  the 
Rev.  Edward  MacMullan,  the  Rev.  P.  Starkey,  and  the  Rev. 
John  M'Greevey  are  interred. 

Before  the  erection  of  Ballycruttle  church  Mass  was  cele- 


PARISH    OF   BALLEE.  199 

brated  along  tlie  ditches  near  the  site  of  the  present  church, 
and  it  is  said  that  one  of  the  Spears  having  ordered  the  priest 
and  congregation  to  leave  some  place  where  they  were  as- 
sembled for  Mass,  the  family  gi'anted  the  site  to  make  amends 
for  the  insult.  Mass  was  celebrated  in  a  sand-pit  in  Bally- 
murray,  along  the  road  leading  to  the  present  church. 
Another  "  Bohog"  *  was  in  the  townland  of  Bally brannagh. 
Mass  was  celebrated  at  the  east  end  of  Hugh  Teggart's  house 
in  Loughkeelan,  and  at  a  place  called  Craigawoorish,  where 
the  altar  was  sheltered  by  a  large  thorn.  There  was  an  older 
"  Bohog,"  and  one  frequented  perhaps  in  more  dangerous 
times,  in  the  townland  of  Carntaggart  (in  the  ecclesiastical 
parish  of  Saul),  called  Lugganiffrin  or  "  the  Mass-hollow." 


was  the  name  among  the  old  people  in  this  diocese  for  the 
shed  under  which  the  priest  said  mass  during  times  of  persecution. 
The  word  is  derived  from  Both  or  Bothan  (pronounced  Bohan), 
a  cabin,  and  is  akin  to  the  Scotch  Bothy,  the  English  Booth,  and 
Words  of  similar  meaning  in  almost  every  language  in  Europe. 


THE  PARISH  OF  KILCLIEF. 


ijHE  parish  of  Kilclief  extends  over  the  entire  civil 
^H'-f  parish  of  Kilclief  as  at  present  constituted,  except 
Upper  Killard  and  Lower  Killard.  It  also  includes  Bally- 
organ,  which  belongs  to  the  civil  parish  of  Rathmullan,  and 
the  townlands  of  Balljaiarry,  Bally nagarrick,  and  Whitehills, 
which  belong  to  the  civil  parish  of  Ballyculter.  And  on 
September  2,  1870,  the  townlands  of  Lower  Strangford, 
Upper  Strangford,  Ferry  Quarter,  and  Lagnagoppoge, 
belonging  to  the  civil  parish  of  Ballyculter,  were  severed  from 
the  parish  of  Bailee  and  united  to  Kilclief.*     The  Catholic 

*  The  following  extracts  from  the  Inqulsitlones  Ultonia  give  the 
names  of  proprietors  in  Lecale  during  portions  of  the  17th  century. 
An  Inquisition  taken  at  Downpatrick,  August  9th,  1625,  found  that 
Nicholas  Fitzsimous  was  seized  in  fee  of  "  Kilcleefe,"  Grannagh, 
Ballynarry,  "  Sleuboyane,"  and  Carrowcarlan,  that  he  died  March 
18th,  1618,  and  that  Nicholas  Fitzsimons,  his  great  grandson,  who 
was  6  years  of  age  in  1618,  is  his  heir,  viz.  :— sou  of  Nicholas,  son  of 
Patrick,  son  of  Nicholas,  sen. ;  Grannagh  is  held  of  the  King  in  chief, 
and  "Kilcleefe"  of  the  Bishop  of  Down  and  Connor.  An  Inquisition 
of  same  date  and  place  found  that  Robert  Swoordes,  otherwise  Croly, 
was  seized  in  fee  of  "Tobbercorrau,"  two  "Ballrolies,"  "Lisomayle," 
"  TuUinemurry, "  "Corbally,"  Ballynegalbegge  (Ballykillbeg),  Bally- 
donell,  one  half  of  Earls-parke,  and  of  6/4  annual  rent  out  of  Ferry- 
quarter  in  Strangford,  and  that  he  demised  them,  August  10th,  1586, 
in  trust  to  John  Audely  of  Andelestowne,  and  James  Starkey  of 
Ardglass,  &c.,  &c.  ;  foresaid  lands  are  held  of  the  Earl  of  Kildare  by 
Knights  Service.  "Robert  Merryman  of  Sheepland,"  was  ap- 
pointed, June  10th,  1622,  by  Arthur  Magennis,  Viscount  Iveagh,  a 
trustee  for  his  estate.     An  Inquisition  taken  at  Downpatrick> 


PAKISH  OF  KILCLIEF.  201 

population  of  the  parish,  as  at  present  constituted,  would  be, 
according  to  the  census  of  1871,  about  1,000.  The  entire 
population  amounted,  at  the  date  of  the  census,  to  1,449. 

In  the  townland  of  Bally  organ  stands  the  west  gable  of 
a  chm-ch  called  by  the  people  "  Cappel-na-coole,"  which  they 
translate  "  The  chapel  at  the  back  of  the  hill."  The  portion 
of  the  gable  remaining  is  from  3  to  8  feet  high,  25  feet  wide, 
and  3  feet  thick.  In  the  Taxation  of  Pope  Nicholas  the 
chapel  of  "  Baliiu-gan  "  was  valued  at  2  marks.  An  inquisi- 
tion, taken  3  Ed.  YL, finds  that  the  tithes  of  " Ballyurcegan," 
of  the  annual  value  of  53s  4d,  were  appropriate  to  the  abbey 
of  Bangor,  and  another  inqiiisition,  taken  at  Downpatrick,  in 

12tli  September,  1632,  records  that  Simon  Jordon,  late  of  Duusford, 
deceased,  was  seized  of  the  town  and  land  of  Dunsford,  of  Crow 
(Jordan's  Crew),  "one  stone  house,"  (Jordon's  Castle),  7  little  mess- 
uages, and  three  acres  of  land  in  town  and  plain  of  Ardglass;  he  died 
May  20th,  1620  ;  his  son  Simon,  jun.,  was  then  30  years  of  age,  and 

married.     Nicholas  Merryman  of  Sheepland  was  appointed  by 

George  Russell  of  EathmuUan  trustee  for  his  estate  (No  Date).     

An  Inquisition  taken  at  Downpatrick,  September  5th,  1633,  records 
that  Bernard  Ward  was  seized  of  the  town  of  Carrickshanuagh,  other- 
wise Castleward,  and  that  he  died  on  the  12th  of  September,  1584  ; 
said  townland  is  held  of  the  Earl  of  Kildare  as  a  part  of  his  manor  of 

Ardglass.     Richard  Fitz-Richard  of  Kilbride  (near  Kiilough), 

being  seized  of  that  townland,  died  Feb.  6th,  1629  ;  his  son  and  heir, 

Richard,  was  then  30  years  of  age,  and  married.     Downpatrick, 

27th  August,  1635,  AVilliam  Fitz  Symons  of  Ballynarry  was  seized  of 
a  moiety  of  the  townland  of  Ballynarry,  containing  120  acres,  and  by 
his  deed  two  years  ago,  alienated  the  same  to  William  Bridges  of 
Downe  for  £300, with  a  covenant  for  redemption.  William  Fitzsimons 
afterwards,   on  the  1st  of  May  last,   redeemed  same  by  paying  the 

£300.     John  Gibbons,  of  the  City  of  Dublin,  Alderman,  on  the 

24th  of  May,  1633,  being  seized  of  "  Bailekinlore,"  "  Magertie's 
land,"  Ballykeel,  and  "  Tobbercornan,"  appointed  as  trustees  of  his 
estate  among  others  Bernard  White  (Ward?)  of  Castleward,  Patrick 
Russell    of    Ballyhornan,    Robert    Crowly,    otherwise    Swords,    of 

*' Bally  donel."     "James  Awdly,  late  of  Awdlistowue,"  was 

seized  of  Awdlistovvne  and  islands  called  "  Ilanditample"  (Chapel 
Island),  and  "  llandgaoge,"  belonging  to  same  townland,  a  parcel  of 


202  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

1603,  found  that  the  impropriate  rectory  of  "  Ballelughan," 
alias  "  Balleurcegan,"  extended  to  the  townlands  of  "  Balle- 
iircegan'-  and  "  Corbally."  Bally  organ,  which  remained  even 
to  the  "  Reformation  "  an  impropriation  of  Bangor,  was  the 
ancient  Tealach-na-lurgan,  "The  Hill  of  the  Shin."  The  origin 
of  this  name  is  thus  accounted  for  in  Duald  MacMrbis'  genea- 
logical work,  which  says,  speaking  of  Aodh,  son  of  Eochagan, 
King  of  Ulidia,  who  was  slain  at  Kilmashoge,  near  Rath- 
farnham,  in  the  county  of  Dublin,  in  the  year  917,  while 
fighting  against  the  Danes  under  NiaU  Glundubh,  "  It  was 
that  Aodh,  son  of  Eochagan,  that  gave  his  dues  and  services 
to  Comgall  (the  patron  saint  and  founder  of  Bangor)  on 
breaking  his  shin  at  Tealach-na-lurgan,  while  committing 
sacrilegious  violence  on  Comgall's  congi-egation."  There  is 
not  any  other  of  the  religious  establishments  connected  with 
Bangor  which  approaches  so  near  in  name  to  Tealach-na- 
lurgan  as  Ballylurgan,  and  the  change  from  Ballylurgan  to 

lands  in  the  plains  of  Downpatrick  called  Awdly's  Acre,  and  another 
acre,  in  the  same  plains,  in  the  possession  of  Catherine  Starkey, 
widow,  and  the  townland  of  "  Ballynerrew"  (Ballynarry).  He  died 
Feb.  25th,  1620 ;    his  son  Robert  was  then  of  full  age  and  married. 

George  Russell  being  seized  of  Killough  and  Ross  on  the  20th  of 

May,  1606,  granted  Ross  to  William  "Marryman"  of  Bishop's  Court. 

Symeon  Jordan  of  Dunsford,  December  1st,  1625,  granted  the 

townland  of  Bally  waiter  to  Richard  West  of  "  Ballydowgan. "     

James  Audley  was  seized  of  the  castle,  town  and  land  of  Audelystown, 
and  of  the  town  and  land  of  Ballynarew  (Ballynarry),  he  died  May 
1st,  1634.  His  son  Robert  was  then  of  full  age  and  married,  he  died 
Sept.  1st,  1643.  His  son,  James  Audley,  jun.,  being  in  possession  of 
said  lands,  alienated  Feb.  23, 1646,  to  one  Bernard  Warde,  Ballynarew, 
in  consideration  of  £431  paid  to  his  grandfather  and  to  his  father. 

Symon  Jordan  was  seized  of  Dunsford,  Lysmore,  Crowe,  the 

quarter  of  TuUyrussally  containing  30  acres ;  a  close  near  Downpatrick 
containing  3  acres ;  a  castle  and  7  tenements  with  gardens,  2h  acres ; 
part  of  Ardglass,  and  2i  acres,  part  of  Binfadd  (Ringfad) ;  he  died 
May  15th,  1658.  But  before  his  death,  viz.,  Dec.  29th,  1655,  he 
granted  foresaid  to  Nicholas  Fitzsimons,  who  entered  into  possession 
of  them.     Foresaid  are  held  of  the  King  at  an  annual  rent  of  24/-. 


PARISH  OF  KILCLIEF.  203 

Ballyurgan  is  very  slight.  In  a  list  of  "  Crown  Lands  and 
tithes  now  (a.d.  1606)  in  lease  from  tlie  King  in  Ireland," 
tlie  rectory  of  "  Ballilurgcm"  is  enumerated  as  leased  to  the 
executors  of  Richard  Ap  Hugh  (Calendar  of  State  Papers, 
1606-8.)  The  Protestant  bishop  reports,  in  1622,  "  Capella 
de.  Ballyverdgan  ruin,"  and  says,  "  The  great  tithes  are 
thought  to  belong  to  the  Abbey  of  Bangor."  Mr.  James 
Magee,  in  whose  field  the  ruin  stands,  has  had  it  neatly 
enclosed  to  protect  it  from  further  injury.  Portions  of  a 
large  cross  and  some  stones  marked  with  crosses  still  attest 
the  ancient  faith  of  that  remote  offshoot  of  ancient  Bangor. 

In  the  Taxation  of  Pope  Nicholas  "  Capella  de  Balibodan 
et  Abbot-Grange"  are  valued  at  16s.  The  site  of  the  chapel 
of  Ballywooden  was  in  a  field,  now  called  Killyargin,  which 
is  near  the  Downpatrick  road  at  the  "  Three  Lone-ends." 
The  foundations  have  been  cleared  away  and  the  site  ploughed 
up,  but  traces  of  iiaterments  are  still  observable.  In  the 
account  of  the  receipts  from  the  lands  belonging  to  the  See 
of  Down  during  the  interval  between  March  4th,  1305,  and 
July  1st,  of  the  same  year,  rendered  into  the  Exchequer  by 
the  escheator,  "Walter  de  la  Hay,  he  returns  "  18s  4d  of  the 
rents  of  the  free  tenants  ('  libere  tenantium,'  perhaps,  should 
be  translated  '  tenants  at  will ')  at  Ballybodan  and  Grenocke 
for  the  same  term;"  of  the  payment  of  hens,  and  of  the  work 
of  the  tenants  in  that  place  he  makes  no  return,  because 
"  the  work  is  in  Autumn,  and  the  hens  are  paid  at  Circum- 
cision." From  an  Inquis.  3  Ed.  VI.  it  appeal's  that  the 
rectory  of  "  Ballyoudan,"  of  the  annual  value  of  £4  Os  6d, 
and  two  balliboes  in  the  townland  of  "  Wodanyston,"  alias 
"  Ballywoodan,"  of  the  annual  value  of  £2  1 3s  4d,  belonged 
to  the  priory  of  Cross-bearers  of  St.  John  of  Down.  "Abbot- 
Grange,"  mentioned  in  the  Taxation,  may  have  been  one  of 
the  baliboes  included  in  the  townland  of  Ballywooden. 


204  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

The  chapel  of  Biu'cestona  is  vahied  in  the  Taxation  of  Pope 
Nicholas  at  17s  -id.  Dr.  Reeves  identifies  Burcestona  as 
Ballynany,  from  an  inquisition  taken  3  Edward  VI.,  which 
found  "  Barreston,"  alias  "  BallinaiTy,"  of  the  annual  value 
of  £1  6s  8d,  to  have  been  appropriate  to  the  Abbey  of  St. 
Patrick.  The  "  Tei-rier"  says  : — "  Cappella  de  Ballenerrie, 
it  is  to  the  Priors  of  Down,"  All  traces  of  the  church  have 
disappeared,  but  human  bones  are  turned  up  in  two  adjoining 
fields  belonging  respectively  to  Messi's.  James  and  Pat 
M' Keating. 

Kilclief  (Oill-Cleithe,  "  the  hurdle  church")  seems  to  have 
been  so  named  from  the  materials  of  which  it  was  constructed, 
or  it  may  have  received  its  name  from  some  peculiarity  in  its 
chancel-screen,  which,  according  to  "  Cormack's  Glossary," 
was  named  "  Cliath" — "  Crand-Caingel"  (the  beam  of  the 
chancel,  or  the  rood-loft).  Says  the  "  Glossary,"  "  a  beam 
hurdlet  here,  i.e.,  a  hurdle  in  the  beam  between  laymen  and 
clerics,  after  the  likeness  of  the  veil  of  the  Temple,  for  Cliath 
is  its  name."  Kilclief  is  one  of  the  churches  the  erection  of 
which  is  attributed  to  St.  Patrick  and  two  of  his  disciples. 
Eugenius  and  Niellus,  who  wei'e  brothers,  were  placed  over 
it.  If  the  original  structure  were  built  of  wattles  and  boards, 
it  seems  to  have  given  place  at  an  early  date  to  a  stone 
church.  Tlie  "  Four  Masters"  record  that  in  the  year  935 
"  Cill-Cleithe  was  plundei-ed  by  the  son  of  Barith,  and  the 
stone  church  (Doimhliacc)  was  burned,  and  a  great  prey  was 
carried  out  of  it."  This  Doimhliacc,  which  was  burned  by 
the  Danes,  was  evidently  a  building  of  stone,  or  as  the  word 
signifies,  "  a  hoiise  of  stones."  Kilclief,  situated  so  near  the 
sea,  must  have  been  much  exposed  to  predatory  visits  from 
the  Danes.  The  "  Annals  of  the  Foiu*  Masters"  i-ecord  that, 
in  1001,  "  Sitric,  son  of  Amhlaeibh,  set  out  on  a  predatory 
excursion  into  Ulidia,  in  his  ships ;  and  he  plimdered  Kil- 


PARISH  OF  KILCLIEF.  205 

cliethe  and  Inis-Cumliscraigh  (Incli),  and  carried  off  many 
prisoners  from  both,"  The  lands  of  Kilclief,  like  those  of 
the  other  ancient  churches  which  once  had  their  own  bishops, 
but  were  afterwards  absorbed  in  the  see  of  Do-v\ai,  became 
the  property  of  the  see,  and  about  the  year  1178  John  de 
Courcy  confirmed  the  possession  of  Kircleth  to  the  bishop, 
and  conferred  on  him  the  power  of  erecting  it  into  a  borough. 
"Walter  de  la  Hay  returns  the  rents  of  the  see  lands  in. 
.Kilclief  which  had  been  received  by  him  during  four  months 
in  the  year  1305  as  amounting  to  £15  10s,  though  he  makes 
no  return  of  the  reaping  which  would  be  performed  in 
Autumn  by  the  tenants,  and  which  was  valued  at  3s  4d  per 
annum.  The  church  of  Kilclief  was  valued  in  the  Pope 
Nicholas  Taxation  at  the  large  sum  of  twelve  marks,  which 
was  equal  to  the  valuation  of  five  or  six  of  the  ordinary 
churches  of  the  diocese.  This  church  was  dedicated  to  St. 
Caylan,  who  probably  was  the  Caylan  who  founded  Neddrum- 
or  Mahee.  The  "  Terrier,"  a  document  written  in  1615,  in 
ennumerating  the  see  lands,  says — "  In  Kilclief  5  plowlands, 
and  the  Archdeacons  of  Downes  part  of  tlie  1st  5  plowlands, 
this  is  the  gift  of  the  Bishop.  The  Earl  of  Kildare  hath 
part  of  the  said  lands  (as  he  alledgeth)  thro'  gift  of  the 
Bishop  and  the  other  part  he  detains  (viz.)  the  towne  of 
Lisbane,  between  Kilcliefe  and  Strangford.*     Certain  other 

*  Strangford  Lough  is  called  in  Irish  Loch  Cuan,  the  Annals  of  the 
Four  Masters  record  under  the  year  of  the  World  2546.  "An 
inundation  of  the  sea  over  the  land  at  Brena  in  this  year,  which  was 
the  seventh  lake-eruption  that  occurred  in  the  time  of  Parthalon  ; 
and  this  is  named  Loch  Cuan."  The  Lives  of  St.  Patrick  speak  of 
Fretumi  Brennese  which  was  evidently  the  ancient  name  of  the  mouth 
of  Strangford  Lough.  The  same  Annals  record  that  Lough  Eury, — 
the  inner  bay  of  Dundrum — was  formed  by  an  irruption  of  the  sea 
which  occurred  on  the  previous  year,  but  Keating  and  other  author- 
ities state  that  both  loughs  were  formed  in  the  same  year.  The 
modern  name  was  given  to  it  by  the  Danes.     Strang  Fiord — the  strong 


206  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

farmers  here  have  parte  of  this  lands  aforesaid  for  annual 
Rent  of  which  Nicholas  Fitzsimons  is  one."  The  tenants' 
names  given  in  the  margin  are  "  Nicholas  Fitzsimons,  James 
Dowdall,  and  Roger  McNigh  his  tenant." 

The  Parliamentaiy  Return  of  1833  states  thi^t  Charles 
A.  Leslie  is  tenant,  under  the  see  of  Down,  of  the  townland 
of  Kilclief,  which  he  holds  by  a  twenty-one  year  lease  per- 
petually renewable  at  the  yearly  rent  of  £38  15s  4id  and  a 
renewal  fine  of  £141  10s  2d.  According  to  the  same 
return  Mr.  A.  E.  Ward  was  tenant,  iinder  a  similar  lease,  of 
the  half  townland  of  TuUyfoylane  (Tullyfoyle)  at  yearly  rent 
of  £4-  16s  lid  and  a  renewal  fine  of  £7  15s  Id.  This 
valuable  lease  has  passed  by  purchase  to  Mr.  Hutton. 

fritli — those  invaders  found  the  lough  very  convenient  for  their 
shipping.  The  English  Chronicles  speak  of  a  chieftain  named  Half- 
dane  who  became  King  of  Deira,  and  is  said  to  be  a  son  of  the  cele- 
brated Regnar  Lodbrok.  He  sailed  to  Ireland  and  was  slain  in 
battle  at  Loch  Cuan,  A.D.  877  [Chronkum  Scot.)  by  a  hostile  force 
of  Danes  called  "the  White  Gentiles."  Halfdane  is  called  by  the 
Irish  Annals  "  Albann,  chief  of  the  Black  Gentiles."  A.D.  922. 
The  Danes  of  Loch  Cuan  slew  Aedh,  a  Ulidian  prince,  A.D.  925,  they 
plundered  the  fortress  of  Dunseverick,  and  A.D.  931,  they  plundered 
Armagh  and  the  entire  country  as  far  as  Mucknoe,  near  Castleblaney, 
but  they  were  defeated  bj'  Muircheartach,  prince  of  the  Kinnel 
Owen,  and  "  they  left  with  him  two  hundred  heads  (cut  off)  besides 
prisoners  and  spoils. "  There  have,  however,  floated  down  the  stream 
of  liistory  traditions  that  speak  of  more  enjoyable  times  around  shores 
of  Stranford  Lough.  In  a  legendary  life  of  prince  Cano,  who  was 
slain  A.  D.  687,  which  was  written  not  later  than  the  eleventh  cen- 
tury, the  bard  sings — 

Ale  is  drunk  around  Loch  Cuan, 
It  is  drunk  out  of  deep  horns 

In  Magh  Inis  by  the  Ultonians, 

Whence  laughter  rises  to  loud  exhultation. 

By  the  gentle  Dalriad  it  is  drunk 

In  half  measures  by  (the  light)  of  bright  candles, 

(While)  with  easy  handled  battle  spears 
Chosen  good  warriors  practise  feats. — SaUivan's  Introd. 
to  O'Vumfs  Lectures. 


PARISH  OF  KILCLIEF.  207 

In  1622  the  churcli  is  returned  as  a  ruin,  though  in  159S, 
in  order  to  determine  a  Chancery  suit  pending  between  the 
Archdeacon  of  Down  and  one  Fitzsimons,  respecting  the 
glebe  lands  of  Kilclief,  an  arbitration  arranged  that  the 
archdeacon  should  hold  the  lands,  not  as  a  parcel  of  his 
archdeaconry,  but  as  procurator  of  the  church  of  Kilclief, 
and  that  the  profits  should  be  applied  to  the  repairs  of  the 
church.  The  Protestant  church  occupies  the  site  of  the 
ancient  church,  but  there  are  no  ancient  remains  except  por- 
tions of  four  or  five  cuneiform  gravestones^  a  very  perfect 
one  of  which  is  preserved  in  the  vestry-room.  On  it  is 
inscribed  an  ornamental  cross,  along  the  stem  of  which  are 
sculptured  on  one  side  the  knight's  sword,  and  on  the  other 
his  banner. 

Near  the  church  is  a  fine  old  castle  in  an  excellent  state  of 
preservation  and  well  roofed.  It  is  of  considerable  size  and 
height,  and  is  in  form  nearly  a  square,  with  the  addition  of 
two  towers  in  front,  in  one  of  which  is  a  spiral  stair,  and  in 
the  other  a  stack  of  closets.  It  is  a  building  of  the  fourteenth 
century,    and  was  the  ancient  seehouse  and  manor  of  the 

Loch  Cuan  was  infested  by  fleets  and  other  enemies  as  well  as  Danes. 
A.D.  1140,  a  party  of  the  Cinel  Eoghain  under  Nial  O'Loughlin 
plundered  the  islands  of  the  lough  and  the  cliui'ches  around  it,  and 
A.D.  1534  a  party  of  Scots  slew  Owen  O'Neill  on  Loch  Cuan. 
"A.D.  1567.  The  Lord  Treasurer  of  England  writing  to  the  Lord 
Deputy,  Sidney  recommends  him  to  send  two  barks  with  ordinance 
to  take  Strangford  Haven  from  Shane  O'Neill,  and  to  remove  the 
troops  hither  from  Derry."  And  in  1601,  Sir  Ralph  Lane  writes  to 
Cecil  that  "the  ports  of  Olderfleet,  Carlinford,  and  Lough  Coan  are 
assured  to  the  Spaniards,  by  Tyrone  and  O'Donnell."  Valentine 
Payne,  who  was  agent  to  the  sixteenth  Earl  of  Kildare  and  resident 
in  Strangford,  wrote  in  1629  to  the  Earl  "  I  have  builded  a  chapell 
for  your  Lop.  I  have  likewise  builded  a  key  where  there  was  none 
before,  that  the  biggest  shippe  the  kinge  hatlie  may  lay  her  side  by 
it.  Besides  I  have  builded  a  custom  house,  and  have  bestowed  in 
other  buddings  alone,  above  £300,  and  have  resolved  to  dye  your 
servant." 


.208  DOWN  JlSD  CONNOR. 

bishops  of  Down.  The  report  made  by  the  Protestant  bishop 
in  1622,  says — "Item,  the  bishop  findeth  in  his  old  recordes 
that  the  castle  and  lands  of  Kilcleefe  belongeth  to  the  Bishop 
of  Downe  ;  but  the  possessor,  Nicholas  Fitzsimonds,  denieth 
that  the  bishop  hath  any  propriety  but  only  10s  Irish  as  a 
chiefe  rent  yearley,  wch  he  hath  tendered,  biit  the  bishop 
refuseth  to  receive  it.  It  appeai'eth  clearly,  out  of  the  arch- 
bishop's book  of  Armagh,  that  this  was  an  ancient  dwelling- 
house  and  manner  of  the  Bishop  of  Downe,  for  the  archbishop 
sent  process  for  the  Bishop  of  Downe  for  some  offence  he  had 
done  in  his  castle  and  dwelling  of  Kilcleefe  ;  and  to  this  day 
there  is  a  chamber  in  that  castle  called  the  haulkes  chamber, 
and  the  reason  given  by  the  old  natives  and  neighbours, 
because  the  bishop's  faulconer  and  hawkes  were  kept  there." 
Harris  has  enlarged  the  story  of  the  hawks  chamber  by 
telling  that  there  is  "the  figure  of  a  fowl  resembling  a  hawk 
carved  on  a  stone  chimney-piece  in  a  room  on  the  second 
floor."  Now,  the  truth  is,  there  is  no  stone  chimney-piece  in 
the  second  floor,  and  the  whole  story  arose  from  a  mistake 
made  by  the  old  natives  and  neighbours,  who  thought  they 
perceived  the  outlines  of  a  bird  in  the  cross  patee  on  a  cunei- 
form gravestone  which  has  been  built  into  the  wall  of  the  old 
castle.  It  is  in  general  ornamentation  precisely  similar  to 
the  gravestone  preserved  in  the  vestiy-room  of  the  Protestant 
church  ;  and  the  fact  of  the  gravestone  having  continued 
beyond  the  remembrance  of  him  to  whose  memory  it  had 
bfeen  erected,  before  it  was  used  as  building  material  in  the 
fourteenth  century,  testifies  to  the  great  age  of  the  cuneiform 
gravestones  which  occur  in  our  cemeteries. 

As  the  parish  of  Kilclief  belonged  in  ancient  times  to  the 
Archdeacons  of  Down,  it  may  not  be  uninteresting  to  give  a 
list  of  those  dignitaries.  About  1183  Bernardus  was  arch- 
deacon.    A.D.   1257  Pteginald  was  archdeacon;  he  became 


PARISH  OF  KILCLIEF.  209 

Bisliop  of  Down  in  1258.  About  1300  the  name  of  Galfridus. 
Archdeacon  of  Down,  is  attached  as  a  witness  to  a  charter. 
A.D.  1340  Robertus  de  Pyncebek  was  Archdeacon  of  Ultonia 
(Down).  A.D.  1365  William,  who  had  been  archdeacon, 
became  Bishop  of  Down.  He  seems  to  have  been  succeeded 
in  the  archdeaconry  by  John  Logan,  who  is  mentioned  as 
being  archdeacon  iu  1367  and  in  1369.  John  Dungan,  who 
became  Bishop  of  Sodor  and  Man  in  1374,  had  been  pre- 
viously Archdeacon  of  Down.  In  the  primatial  registries 
the  name  of  Henry  Logan  appears  as  archdeacon  in  the  years 
1425  and  1434  ;  in  the  latter  year  he  had  a  commission  from 
the  primate  to  visit  the  diocese.  Simon  Somerset  was  arch- 
deacon in  1438  ;  and  resigned  his  office  on  account  of  age  and 
infirmity  A.D.  1 455.  He  was  succeeded  by  Philip  de  Erdeslye, 
The  next  archdeacon  seems  to  have  been  Henry  Fox. 
Eugene  Magennis  was  archdeacon  ;  he  became  afterwai-ds 
Bishop  of  Down  and  Connor  in  1541.  It  would  seem  that, 
at  whatever  time  Kilclief  became  the  parish  of  the  Arch- 
deacons of  Down,  the  bishop  conferred  on  him  a  portion  of  the 
men  sal  lands,  because  a  considerable  portion  of  the  visitorial 
duties  of  the  bishop  devolved  on  him,  and  to  the  Disestablish- 
ment the  Protestant  archdeacon  possessed  a  tract  of  400  acres. 
The  "Terrier"  distinctly  states  "this  is  the  gift  of  the  bishop." 
The  Ordnance  Survey  includes  all  the  lands  of  the  archdeacon 
in  one  townland  which  it  calls  the  Glebe,  though  they  consist 
of  three  denominations — Drumroe,  CarrifFor  Carraf  reagh,  and 
Carrowvannish — which  were  called,  in  a  document  connected 
with  the  Chancery  suit  of  1592,  Spittle  Quarter,  Carrowreagh, 
and  Permeannes.  In  Drumroe  there  is  a  field  called  the 
Spidal  or  Spittle,  in  the  farm  belonging  to  Mr.  James  Blaney, 
where  some  years  ago  there  were  the  remains  of  an  ancient 
building,  which  have  now  been  removed;  but  large  quantities 
of  human  bones  are  still  frequently  turned  up.     That  was 


210  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

the  site  of  St,  Peter's  Hospital  for  Lepers.  From  the 
Chancery  Rolls  of  Ireland  it  appears  that  a.d.  1387  Robert 
de  Yere,  Marquis  of  Dublin,  committed  to  Nicholas  Lepyng, 
clerk,  the  custody  of  the  Leper's  House  near  Kylcleth  in 
Ultonia,  to  hold  during  pleasure  rent  free.*  In  1415,  the 
King  committed  to  John  FitzRichard,  chaplain,  John  Molyn, 
and  Walter  Sely  the  custody  of  the  hospitals  or  leper  houses 
of  St.  Nicholas  of  Down  and  St.  Peter's  of  Kilcleth,  with 
their  lands  and  appurtenances,  to  be  held  while  in  the  King's 
hands,  rent  free.  Since  therefore  the  patronage  of  those 
hospitals  was  vested  in  the  representatives  of  the  Earls  of 
Ulster,  it  is  probable  that  those  establishments  for  the  treat- 
ment of  a  disease  then  so  common,  owed  their  origin  to  the 
princely  liberality  of  the  De  Laceys  or  De  Burgos. 

In  the  "  Terrier  "  we  have  an  account  of  the  payments 
which  in  Catholic  times  were  paid  by  some  of  the  churches 
in  the  parish  of  Kilclief  to  the  bishop  : — 

"  Capella  de  Ballinerrie  (Ballynarry),  is  the  Priors  of 
Downe — Proxies,  18d;  Refections,  18d  ;  Synodals,  2s." 

"  Capella  de  Balliverigan  (Ballyorgan),  belongs  to  Bangor. 
The  curate  pays — Proxies,  Is;  RefectionSj  Is;  Synodals, 
2s." 

There  is  no  account  of  the  chapel  of  Ballywooden  nor  of 
Abbot-Grange.  It  is  probable  that  they  had  completely  dis- 
appeared before  the  compilation  of  the  "  Terrier  "  in  1615. 
The  church  of  Kilclief  is  not  mentioned,  seemingly  because 
it  belonged  to  the  archdeacon,  who  was  himself  entitled  to 
make  visitations,  and  to  exact,  some  at  least,  of  these 
perquisites. 

*  In  the  same  rolls  we  find  a  record  also  dated  1387,  that  "Jane, 
who  had  been  the  wife  of  John  Wykes  of  Kylcloth  (Kilclief,)  in 
Ultonia,  being  about  to  set  out  for  England  has,  by  orders  of  the 
Marquis,  letters  of  protection. " 


PARISH  OF  KILCLIEF.  211 

PARISH  PRIESTS. 
In  1704  the  Rev.  James  Hanna  was  registered  in  Down- 
patrick  as  Popish  priest  of  Kilclosh,  which  is  evidently 
intended  for  Kilclief.  He  was  ordained  in  Flanders  in  1685 
by  James,  Archbishop  of  Cambray.  At  the  date  of  the 
registration  he  was  48  years  of  age,  though  the  list  does  not 
inform  us  where  be  resided,  for  it  returns  "  Lerale"  (Lecale) 
as  the  place  of  his  abode ;  yet  there  is  a  tradition  that  he 
formed  for  himself  in  Ballynarry  a  place  of  concealment  from 
the  persecutors.  It  is  said  that  he  was  saved  on  one  occas- 
sion  by  a  Protestant  family  named  Stockdale,  then  residing  at 
Kilclief,  who  concealed  him  in  a  meal  ark.  He  died  on  the 
20th  of  December,  1723,  and  was  buried  in  Down  Cathedral- 
yard  ;  and  alongside  of  his  grave  is  that  of  the  Rev.  Rowland 
Haunet,  or  Hauna,  P.P.,  Saul.  Over  his  remains  a  stone 
which  is  now  broken  was  erected,  on  which  was  the  following 
inscription : — 

Erected  by  George  Hannet. 

In  hoc  tumulo  se 

pelitur  corpus  R 

everendi  Jacobi  Hann  .  . 

qui  ex  hoc  mundo. 

ravit  die  vigesimo  D.  .  ,  . 

mbras  anno  suae  Eetat  .   .  . 

Septuagesimo,  primo  et  Sal.  .  . 

Cbristianse,  1723. 
There  is  a  tradition  in  Kilclief  that  the  Re\'.  T.  Clinton 
was  parish  priest  in  1705,  and  that  tradition  is  borne  out  by 
another  in  the  parish  of  Bright  that  the  Rev.  James  Hanna 
was  parish  priest  of  that  parish,  where  he  resided  in  the 
townland  of  Castlescreen,  at  tbe  Black-bush  Well,  and  was 
very  popular  with  the  gentry,  or  as  the  story  was  told  nearly 
forty  years  ago,  "he  used  to  treat  the  Down  Hunt,"  which 
in  the  beginning  of  last  century  was  an  excellent  plan  for  a 


212  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

parish  priest  "  to  make  friends  of  the  Mammon  of  iniquity." 
It  does  not  appear  that  there  was  any  priest  in  Bright  in 
1704,  and  it  is  probable  that  Father  Hanna  was  promoted 
to  tliat  parish,  and  that  he  was  succeeded  in  Kilclief  by 
Father  Clinton  who  died  about  the  year  1741. 

The  Rev.  John  Teggart,  the  parish  priest  of  Bailee,  ob- 
tained the  parish  after  the  death  of  Father  Clinton.  It 
would  seem  that  the  archdeaconry  of  Down  was  at  that 
period  united  with  the  parish  of  Kilclief.  There  is  preserved 
in  the  Roman  Archives  an  application  for  the  dignity  of 
Archdeacon  of  "Killyth"  or  "Kilklith"  (spelled  both  ways) 
on  behalf  of  Theophilus  Macartan,  "  Magister  in  utroque 
juro,"  and  Vicarius  in  Spiritualibus  Generalis."  He  was 
also  pastor  of  "  Loghenilly  "  (Loughinisland).  Dr.  Macartan 
failed  in  his  application,  and  Father  Teggart  retained  the 
parish  of  Kilclief,  along  with  his  former  parish  of  Bailee, 
till  his  death,  which  occurred,  according  to  tradition,  "  the 
Patrickmas  before  Thurot  landed  at  Carrickfergus"  (17G0). 

Father  Teggart  was  succeeded  in  both  parishes  by  the 
Rev.  Daniel  M  Alea,  or  Lee,  as  he  seems  to  have  written  his 
name.  This  Father  M'Alea  was  to  a  large  extent  a  "  Plur- 
alist." He  held  Bailee  and  Kilclief,  and  obtained  Dunsford 
after  the  death  of  the  Rev.  W.  Megarry  in  1763.  He  re- 
signed Kilclief  and  Dunsford  in  1774,  and  the  Rev.  Daniel 
Clinton  was  appointed  parish  priest  of  Dunsford  and  Ard- 
glass  and  administrator  of  Kilclief. 

In  177G  the  Rev,  Patrick  Macartan  was  appointed  parish 
priest.     He  was  promoted  to  Loughinisland  in  1779.* 

Father  Macartan  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  John  Fitz- 
simons,  who  was  a  native  of  Tullyfoyle,  in  the  parish  of 
Kilclief.     He  erected,  in  1785,  the  parish  chapel  which  is  in 

*  Some  traditions  represent  Father  P.  Macartan  as  curate  in  charge 
of  Kilchef  unler  the  administration  of  Father  D.  Clinton,  PP., 
Dunsford. 


PARISH  OF  KILCLIEF.  213 

the  towrsland  of  Ballywooden.  Father  Fitzsimons  died  on 
the  9th  of  April,  1807,  and  was  interred  iu  the  Protestant 
churchyard  of  Kilclief,  but  four  years  afterwards  the  parish- 
ioners removed  his  remains  to  the  chapelyard,  where  his 
gravestone  bears  the  following  inscription  : — 

,  Here 
Lieth  the  body  of  the  Eevd. 
John  Fitzsimons,  of  Tollyfollen, 
late  Parish  Priest,  who  depart- 
ed this  life  on  the  9th  of  April,  1807, 
aged  58  years, 

The  Rev.  Robert  Denvir  was  appointed  parish  priest  in 
1807.  Father  Denvir  was  a  native  of  Erenagh  in  tlie  parish 
of  Bright.  Having  been  ordained  befoi'e  going  to  any  col- 
lege, he  officiated  iu  the  parish  of  Down  for  some  time,  and 
his  name  appears  as  the  Rev.  Robert  Denvir,  Ballykilbeg, 
among  the  subscribers,  in  1799,  to  Friar  M'Carry's  prayer- 
book.  He  was  one  of  the  three  priests  of  Down  aud  Connor 
who,  in  1800,  entered  Maynooth  College  to  study  theology. 
Father  Denvir  died  at  his  residence,  in  Ballynarry,  on  the 
18th  of  May,  1818,  and  was  interred  in  the  Catholic  church- 
yard of  Kilclief,  where  his  gravestone  records  : — 

Her-e  lieth  the  body 

of  the  Reverend 

Robert  Denvir, 

parish  priest  of  Kilclief, 

who  departed  this 

life  t'e  18  th  of  May, 

1818,  aged  46  years. 

His  mild  manners,  humane 

and  charitable  disposition, 

will  cause  his  memory 

to  be  loag  revered  by  all 

who  know  him. 


214  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

The  Rev.  Richard  Teggart  succeeded  Father  Denvir.  Mr. 
Teggart  was  ordained  in  1805,  being  then  about  thirty  years 
of  age.  He  was  curate  in  Downpatrick  when  he  was  pro- 
moted in  1818  to  Kilclief.  Mr.  Teggart  resigned  the  parish 
in  1830. 

Dr.  Crolly,  having  accepted  Mr.  Teggart's  resignation, 
appointed  the  Rev.  Hugh  Macartan.  Father  Macartan,  a 
native  of  Drumena,  in  the  parish  of  Kilcoo,  entered  the 
class  of  Humanity  in  the  college  of  Maynooth,  on  the  18th 
of  January,  1818,  and  was  ordained  by  Dr.  Murray,  in  1823. 
He  officiated  as  curate  of  Ballycastle,  at  that  time  a  jDortion 
of  the  united  parish  of  Armoy,  Ballintoy,  and  Ballycastle. 
In  1827  he  was  appointed  parish  priest  of  Derriaghey,  from 
which  he  was  appointed  to  Kilclief  in  1830.  Father  Mac- 
artan died  on  the  2(Jth  of  October,  184:2,  and  was  intei-red  in 
Kilclief  Catholic  churchyard  (see  obituary  notice  in  the 
Vindicator  of  November  2,   1842).      On  his  tombstone  is 

inscribed  : — 

Erected 

To  the  Memory  of  the  Reverend 

Hugh  M'Cartau,  RP. 

of  KUclief,  who  departed 

this  life  October  20th,  1842, 

Aged  42  years. 

Requiescat  in  pace. — Auien. 
The  Rev.  Patrick  Maginn  succeeded  Father  Macartau. 
Father  Maginn  is  a  native  of  the  parish  of  Kilcoo.  He 
studied  in  the  Irish  College  in  Paris,  and  was  ordained  in 
1834  by  the  Archbishop  of  Paris.  On  his  return  to  Ireland 
he  was  appointed  to  the  curacy  of  the  united  parish  of  Larne 
and  Carrickfei-gus,  from  which  he  was  sent  to  the  curacy  of 
Bright  in  the  end  of  Lent,  1841  ;  and  on  the  17th  of  Sep- 
tember, in  the  same  year,  he  was  appointed  Administrator 
of  Glenravel  while  the  parish  priest,  Father  Nicholas  Crick- 


PARISH    OF    KILCLIEF.  215 

ard,  was  in  charge  of  the  Diocesan  Seminary.  Father 
Maginn  was  recalled  to  Belfast  on  the  20th  of  May,  1842, 
to  assist  during  the  Jubilee,  and  on  the  10th  of  October  he 
was  sent  to  officiate  in  Kilclief  during  the  sickness  of  Father 
Macartan,  and  after  his  death  he  was  appointed  parish  priest. 

CHURCHES. 

The  parish  church  of  Kilclief  was  built  in  the  townland  of 
Ballywooden  in  the  year  1785.  A  slab  insei"ted  in  the  side 
wall  bears  the  following  inscription  : — 

This  chapel  was  bu-  interred  in  the  rear 

ilt  A.D.  1785  by  the  th-  of  this  house. 

en  presiding  priest,  God  have  mercy 

Revd.  John  Fitzsimons,  on  his  soul, 

whose  remains  are 
The  graveyard  was  not  consecrated  until  after   the   Rev. 
Robert  Denvir  became  parish  priest.     The  oldest  tombstone 
in  it  is  that  erected  over  the  gi-ave  of  Neal  M'Garry,   of 
Ballywooden,  interred  August  7th,  1808.     A  headstone  in 
this  gi-aveyard  bears  the  following  inscription  ; — 
Erected 
by  Robert  Hanna,  of  Ballywooden, 
»  in  memory  of  his  son, 

The  Rev.  Richard  Hanna, 
who  departed  this  life  on  the  18th  of 
June,  1842,  aged  29  years. 
Requiescat  in  'pace. 
This  yoiuig  clergyman  entered  the  Logic  Class  in  Maynooth 
College  on  the  28th  of   August,  1833,   and   having   been 
ordained  by  Dr.  Murray  in   1838,  he  was  sent  as  curate  to 
the  Rev.  James  M'Mullan,  P.P.,  Glenavy.     After  the  death 
of  Father  M'Mullan,  on  the  21st  of  Feb.,  1841,  he  adminis- 
tered the  parish  till  the  15th  of  September  of  that  year,  when 
he  was  forced  through  sickness  to  retii'e  from  the  mission,  and 
he  died  at  the  residence  of  his  father  nine  months  afterwards. 


216  DOWN    AND    CONNOR. 

Strangford  churcli  was  erected  in  1820  on  a  site  given  by 
Loi'd  Henry  Fitzgerald,  son  of  James,  first  Diike  of  Leinster, 
and  gi-andfather  of  the  present  Lord  l)e  Ros.  The  church 
was  built  almost  at  the  sole  expense  of  his  lordship,  who 
gave  an  annxxal  donation  of  .£10  in  consideration  of  being 
allowed  two  seats  for  the  use  of  Ms  visitors  and  servants. 
In  1824  Lord  Heirry  erected  the  crosses  with  which  it  is 
ornamented.  Before  the  erection  of  Strangford  church. 
Father  Denvir,  of  Kilclief,  celebrated  Mass  in  a  store  belong- 
ing to  Samuel  Norris,  Esq. 

Before  the  erection  of  Kilclief  church  Mass  was  celebrated 
at  the  end  of  the  late  Mr.  Hugh  Teggart's  house  in  the  im- 
mediate vicinity  of  the  chiirch.  There  is  still  there  a  huge 
block  of  whinstone  which  served  as  a  support  for  the  altar  ; 
and  old  Mr.  Teggart,  who  died  only  a  few  years  ago,  served 
Mass  for  many  a  year  at  that  rude  altar.  .  Mass  was  generally 
celebrated  at  that  jDlace  after  the  house  had  been  built  beside 
it,  which  was  about  thirty  years  before  the  erection  of  the 
church.  Before  that  period  Mass  was  celebrated  in  a  barn 
wliich  belonged  to  Bryan-og  Magee,  in  what  is  called  "  Big 
Bally  wooden."  Until  about  the  middle  of  the  last  century 
the  favourite  station  was  Craigrory,  in  the  townland  of 
Ballynagarrick,  in  a  field  now  belonging  to  Mr.  John  Fitz- 
simons.  This  is  a  large  rock  facing  the  South-East,  and 
beautifully  sheltered  from  the  North  wind  by  a  high  bank. 
Old  people  tell  that  Father  Daniel  Clinton  was  in  the  habit 
of  assembling  the  people  of  Kilclief  and  Cargagh  at  a  place 
called  Paracanary,  which  is  situated  among  the  rocks  of 
Ballynariy.  Stations  were  also  held  in  a  field  now  belonging 
to  Mr.  Thomas  Waterson  in  Drumroe,  and  to  this  day  the 
road  leading  to  it  is  called  "  The  Mass-house  Loney." 


THE  PARISH  OF  SAUL. 


^^HE  parish  of  Saul  includes  the  entire  civil  parish  of 
Saul  as  at  present  arranged,  it  has  also  the  townlands 
of  Ballyalton,  Carronacaw,  Loughmoney,  and  Slieve- 
nagriddle,  which  belong  to  the  civil  parish  of  Bailee.  Saul 
has  also  the  townlands  of  Audleystown,  Carrinteggart, 
Castleward,  Eaholp,  Tullyratty,  some  islands  in  the  lough, 
and  part  of  Castlemahon,  which  are  portions  of  the  civil 
parish  of  Bally culter.  The  population  of  the  civil  parish  of 
Saul,  according  to  the  census  of  1871,  amounted  to  1,231,  of 
whom  876  were  Catholics,  and  the  population  of  the  town- 
lands  belonging  to  the  civil  parishes  of  Bailee  and  Ballyculter, 
was  636,  of  whom  about  424  were  Catholics,  so  that  the 
Catholic  population  was  about  1,300.  The  parish  of  Saul, 
the  scene  of  the  early  labours  of  our  great  apostle,  is  every- 
where studded  with  the  ruins  of  ancient  churches.  In  a 
sub-denomination  of  the  townland  of  Audleystown,  called 
Tubberdoney,  there  are  the  remains  of  a  chapel  measuring 
internally  30  feet  in  length  and  18|  in  breadth,  the  walls  of 
which  are  2  feet  9  inches  in  thickness  ;  a  small  enclosure 
around  the  ruins  marks  the  boundaries  of  an  ancient  cemetery, 
which  was  used  for  burials  up  to  the  commencemsent  of  this 
century.  The  church  is  called  Templecormac  (Cormac's 
church),  but  unfortunately  its  history  is  lost.  The  well  that 
gives  name  to  Tubberdoney  is  called  by  the  people  Sunday- 
well,  which  seems  to  be  an  accurate  translation  of  its  Irish 
name.  It  is  situated  a  few  perches  from  the  shore  of  Lough 
Strangford,  and  is  almost  concealed  in  a  thicket  of  thorns 


218  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

and  briars.  It  is  remarkable  that,  according  to  all  the 
ancient  lives  of  St.  Patrick,  the  churches  that  bear  the  name 
Domhnach  (Sunday)  were  originally  founded  by  St.  Patrick, 
and  he  laid  their  foundations  on  Sunday.  Thus  we  are  told 
in  the  "  Tripartite  Life  "  that  our  saint,  "  having  remained 
for  seven  Sundays  in  Cianachta,  laid  the  foundations  of 
seven  sacred  houses  of  the  Lord,  each  of  which  he  therefore 
called  Dominica,"  which  in  Irish  is  Domhnach,  or  as  it  is 
softened  by  modern  pronunciation  into  the  forms  of  Doney 
and  Donagh.  This  single  name  therefore  reveals  a  hidden 
chapter  in  the  life  of  St.  Patrick,  and  recalls  to  our  imagina- 
tion a  Sunday  in  the  infancy  of  the  faith  in  Ireland,  when  our 
saint,  after  a  walk  of  some  three  or  four  miles  from  his 
favourite  abode  at  Saul,  blessed  this  well  and  preached  to 
our  forefathers  assembled  among  those  brakes  and  bushes 
that  here  still  sentinel  the  verge  of  the  lough.  Nor  is  it 
difficult  to  suppose  that  on  that  occasion  he  traced  out  the 
foundations  of  Templecormac,  or  those  of  the  little  church,  the 
ruins  of  which  still  cast  a  melancholy  interest  around  Chapel 
Island,*  which  at  a  little  distance  from  the  shore  gems  the 
bosom  of  the  lough.  The  ruins  of  this  insular  chapel  measure 
45  feet  by  24,  and  the  door  seems  to  have  been  in  the  north- 
side  wall.  There  were  once  a  cemetery  and  a  holy  well 
attached  to  this  chapel,  but  unfortunately  the  history  of  the 
chapel  is  entirely  lost.  About  thirty  years  ago  a  beautiful 
bronze  fibula  was  found  beside  the  ruin.  Harris  mentions 
an  artificial  cave  at  Tubberdoney,  close  to  the  wall  of  Judge 
Ward's  Improvements.t 

*  Called  iu  the  Inquisitions  Ilanditamiyle  and  Ilandgaoge. 

-V  Audleystown  is  named  from  the  Audleys,  an  Anglo-Norman  family, 
who  once  possessed  it  under  the  Earls  of  Kildare— for  some  transfers 
of  their  property  see  Parish  of  Kildief—Ca,stlewa,rdL,  the  seat  of  Lord 
Bangor,  was  anciently  named  Garrick-na-Sheannagh,  "  foxes'  rock  ;" 
it  was  purchased  from  the  Earl  of  KUdare  by  Robert  Ward,   an 


PARISH  OF  SAUL.  219 

There  formerly  stood  a  chapel,  traditionally  called  St. 
Mary's,  near  the  old  castle  of  Walshestown,*  "Its  cemetery," 

ancestor  of  Lord  Bangor,  who  had  been  appomted  Surveyor-General 
of  Ireland  in  1570.  His  descendants  acquired  their  great  estates  in 
Lecale  by  purchases  from  the  descendants  of  Anglo-Norman  settlers, 
by  leases  of  church  lands,  and  by  purchases  of  the  lands  forfeited  by 
the  war  of  1641,  and  that  of  the  Hevolution — see  Parish  of  Bright. 
What  remained  of  the  estates  of  the  Earls  of  Kildare  in  Lecale  was 
inherited  by  two  sons  of  James,  the  twentieth  Earl  of  Kildare,  and 
the  first  Duke  of  Leinster  ;  these  were  the  Right  Hon.  Charles  Fitz- 
gerald, created  Baron  Lecale,  and  Henry,  Lord  Fitzgerald,  who,  in 
1791,  married  the  Baroness  de  Ros.  Lord  Lecale  sold  his  part,  the 
Ardglass  estate,  in  1808,  to  his  step-father,  William  Ogilvie,  Esq., 
and  Lord  Henry's  part,  the  Strangford  estate,  is  at  present  possessed 
by  his  grandson,  Dudley  Charles  Fitzgera,ld,  Baron  de  Ros.  — Harris 
is  very  diffuse  on  "Judge  Ward's  Improvements."  If,  however,  a 
political  economist  happen  to  look  over  the  wall  of  Castleward 
demesne,  near  Tubberdoney,  he  will  see  the  weird  remains  of  the 
trees  planted  a  century  and  a  half  ago  by  the  judge,  and  he  will  also 
see  remnants  of  the  homesteads  of  many  industrious  farmers  who 
were  removed  to  make  room  for  those  trees.  It  may  be  that  he  wUl 
be  induced  to  calculate  how  much  has  the  nation  gained  by  those 
trees,  and  how  much  has  it  lost  by  the  removal  of  the  farmers. 
They  or  their  sous,  or  grandsons,  were  many  a  time  during  this  cen- 
tury and  a  half  sadly  missed  in  England's  battles,  while  the  old  fir 
trees  were  uselessly  nodding  their  heads  to  the  breezes  of  Lough 
Strangford.  At  all  events,  if  gentlemen  must  have  plantations  of 
trees  let  the  nation  insist  that  they  be  taxed  so  as  to  compensate  the 
state  for  the  loss  of  the  revenue  which  would  have  arisen  had  men, 
not  trees,  occupied  the  ground. 

*  Walshestown  Castle  was  the  seat  of  a  family  named  Walsh, 
one  of  them  served  on  the  jury  of  the  County  of  Down,  27th 
February,  1613.  The  following  were  the  jurors  : — "  Christopher 
Russell,  of  Bright,  Esq.  ;  Edward  Johnson,  of  Boyle,  Esq.  ;  Robert 
Yonge,  of  Newery,  gent. ;  James  Audley,  of  Audlyston,  gent. ;  James 
Russell,  of  Magherytenpany,  gent. ;  Brian  boy  O'Gilmer,  of  Gregvade 
(Craigavad),  gent. ;  Christopher  Walsh,  of  Walsheston,  gent. ;  John 
Savage,  of  Rathalpe,  gent.  ;  Robert  Swordes,  of  Balledonell,  gent.  ; 
William  Morris,  of  Foynebrege,  gent.  ;  John  Russell,  of  Killogh, 
gent.  ;  John  Barr,  of  Balledog,  gent.  ;  Donell  oge  M'Duiggin,  of 
Magheretuek  ;  Walter  oge  Olune,  of  Ballygygon  ;  Phelyme  M  'Doal- 
tagh  Offegan,  of  Edenmore. " 


220  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

says  Dr.  Reeves,  "  was  plouglied  up  several  years  ago,  ancT 
the  only  trace  now  remaining  to  mark  its  site  is  a  small 
portion  of  one  of  the  walls  standing  in  a  ditch  and  covered 
with  thorns."  In  the  Taxation  of  Pope  Nicholas  it  is  called 
the  church  of  Cnockengarre  (Cnockan-gearr,  "  the  short 
hillock,")  and  valued  at  3|  marks.  By  an  Inquisition,  3  Ed. 
VJ.,  the  rectory  of  "Knockazar,  alias  Ballywalsh,"  extending 
to  three  townlands  bearing  the  same  name,  of  the  annual 
value  of  £4,  was  found  to  be  appropriate  to  the  abbey  of  St. 
Patrick.  The  "  Terrier"  says  of  it — "  Capella  de  Knockgar, 
it  is  the  Prior  of  Down's." 

In  a  sub-denomination  of  the  townland  of  Raholp  called 
Banaghan  or  Banagh  are  the  ruins  of  the  ancient  church  of 
Raholp,  locally  called  Churcli-Moyley.  The  church  was  33 
feet  4  inches  in  length  and  21  feet  4  inches  in  width.  Dr. 
Reeves  says — "  The  south  wall  is  overturned  ;  the  east  and 
west  walls  are  about  1 2  feet  high  ;  the  east  window  is  4  feet 
6  inches  high,  and  10  inches  wide,  splayed  inside  to  the 
width  of  3  feet  2  inches,  and  ends  not  in  an  arch  but  in  a 
large  flag.  In  building  the  walls  yellow  clay  has  been  used 
instead  of  mortar.  The  plot  of  ground  which  the  ruins  and 
cemetery  occupy  is  about  half  a  rood  in  extent,  and  seems 
from  its  elevation  above  the  surrounding  field  to  have  been 
a  rath."  In  the  field  to  the  northeast  of  the  ruin  there  was 
formerly  a  well,  which  was  probably  the  holy  well.  This 
was  the  ancient  church  of  Rath-Colpa,  over  which  presided 
St.  Tassach,  the  bishop  who  administered  Communion  to  St, 
Patrick  when  the  saint  was  dying  at  the  neighbouring  church 
of  Saul.  The  ancient  hymn  written  by  St.  Fiech,  Bishop 
of  Sletty,  a  disciple  of  St.  Patrick,  says  : — 

Tassach  remained  after  him. . 

When  he  administered  the  Communion  to  him, 

He  said  that  he  would  give  Communion  to  Patrick, 

Nor  was  the  prophecy  of  Tassach  false. 


PARISH    OF    SAUL.  221 

The  great  hagiologist,  St.  Aengus,  treating  of  the  14th  of 
April,  the  festival  of  St.  Tassach,  thus  commemorates  this 
honour : — 

The  Royal  Bishop  Tassach, 

Who  gave,  on  his  arrival, 

The  body  of  Christ,  the  King  truly  powerful, 

As  Communion  to  Patrick. 
Upon  which  an  interlinear  gloss  observes  his  church  was  at 
Raholp,  saying,  "i.e.,  at  Eathcolp  in  Locale  of  Ulidia:  i.e., 
an  artificer  and  bishop  to  Patrick  was  Tassach  and  this  is  the 
festival  of  his  death."  St.  Tassach  is  enumerated  in  a  very 
ancient  poem,  as  one  of  "  the  three  artificers  of  great 
endowment,'"  who  were  attached  to  "  the  family  of  Patrich  of 
jprayersr  The  glorious  privilege  of  having  given  the  Viaticum 
to  our  national  apostle  forms  the  distinguishing  trait  in  the 
notice  of  St.  Tassach  in  the  "  Martyrology  of  Donegal," 
■which  at  the  14th  of  April  says — "Tassach,  Bishop  of 
Raholp,  in  Ulidia,  i.e.,  Lecale.  This  is  the  Tassach  who  gave 
the  body  of  Christ  to  St.  Patrick  before  his  death,  in  the 
Monastery  of  Saul."  St.  Tassach  seems  to  have  been  the 
only  Bishop  of  the  Church  of  Eaholp,  at  least  our  early 
annals  do  not  record  any  succession,  but  the  lands  of  the 
ancient  church  merged  into  the  see  lands  of  the  diocese,  and 
in  the  time  of  John  de  Courcy  Bishop  Malachy  gave,  among 
other  properties,  "  Bathoop"  (Raholp)  to  the  church  of  St. 
Patrick  in  Down.  Shortly  afterwards  Hugh  de  Lacy  con- 
firmed those  possesions,  including  "Rathcolp,"  to  the  bishop  as 
Abbot  of  St.  Patrick's.  An  ancient  document  which  pretends 
to  have  been  drawn  up  in  1210,  and  which  professes  to  give 
an  account  of  the  possessions  of  the  See  of  Down,  says,  "Item 
in  Rathcalpa — three  carucates  in  temporalities  and  a  chapel 
in  spiritualities,  which  were  given  by  the  same  Flathri."  In 
the  Taxation  of  Pope  Nicholas  the  church  of  Rathcolpe  was 
valued  at  4  marks.     The  account  of  the  receipts  of  the  see 


222  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

lands  during  the  interval  between  March  4th,  1305,  and 
July  1st  of  the  same  year,  retui^ned  into  the  Exchequer  by 
Walter  de  la  Hay,  says,  "  And  of  4  pounds  and  20  pence  of 
the  propei^tyof  the  lordships,  of  the  prises,  services,  perquisites 
of  the  coux't  of  Rathcolppe,  for  the  said  term  during  the  same 
period."  Of  the  profits  of  the  mills  and  of  the  labour  of 
the  tenants  in  that  place  he  makes  no  return,  "  because  all 
the  labour  is  done  in  Autumn,  and  the  rent  of  the  mill 
for  the  first  term  is  paid  at  the  Purification  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin,  and  for  the  second  term  at  the  festival  of  St. 
Peter  ad  Vincula.''  The  water  mill  of  Raholp  occupies 
the  site,  no  doubt,  of  the  bishop's  mill.  The  "  Terrier  " 
returns,  in  1615,  "The  mensal  of  Rathalpe — the  curate 
pays  proxies  Is.,  refections  Is.,  synodals  2s."  The  same 
document  returned  "  In  Ratal p,  2  plpwlands,  spiritualities, 
and  temporalities"  as  the  property  of  the  bishop.  These 
two  townlands  of  Raholp  continued  to  be  the  property  of 
the  Protestant  bishop  till  the  Disestablishment.  The 
Parliamentary  Return  of  1833  stated  that  these  townlands 
were  held  under  the  see  by  Edward,  Lord  Bangor,  by  a  21 
year  perpetually  renewable  lease,  at  an  annual  rent  of 
£76  13s.  4d.,  and  a  renewal  fine  of  £29  Is.  G-i-d.  In  1622 
"Capella  de  Rachalpe"  is  returned  by  the  Protestant  bishop 
as  "  Ruynous."  "The  great  tithes  possessed  by  Tiio. 
Barnwell,  and  the  small,  esteemed  to  be  worth  the  third 
part  thereof,  some  20s.  per  ann.  Noe  curate,  nor  able  to 
maynteyne  any,  fit  to  be  united  to  the  next,  which  is  Soule.." 
The  glories  of  Raholp  had  passed  away  ! 

There  is  a  Cromlech  in  excellent  preservation  a  little  to 
the  left  of  the  road  leading  from  Raholp  to  the  Downpatrick 
and  Ballyculter  road,  in  a  field  belonging  to  Mr.  Neal 
Maglennon,  and,  what  is  very  rare,  the  huge  cap-stone  rests 
only  on  two  stones.     The  cap-stone  is  9  feet  6  inches  by  5 


PARISH  OF  SAUL.  223 

feet  3  inches,  and  the  two  supporters  are  each  7  feet  long  and 
3  feet  above  the  ground.  Near  the  junction  of  these  roads, 
in  a  sub-denomination  of  the  townland  of  Loughmoney,  called 
Church  Walls,  there  is  the  site  of  an  ancient  cemetery,  which 
extended  into  two  fields — one  belonging  to  Pat  M'^Cavara, 
and  the  other  belonging  to  —  M'Donnell.  All  traces  of  the 
church  have  disappeared,  nor  is  there  any  record  even  of  its 
name  preserved.  It  maybe  the  "  Capella  de  Ballychoman," 
■which,  in  the  Protestant  bishop's  report  of  1622,  occurs 
immediately  before  the  "  Capella  de  Ballentagher  "  (Ballin- 
togher).  This  conjecture  is  borne  out  by  the  fact  that  a 
large  stone,  along  the  Ballyculter  road,  which  may  have 
marked  the  boundary  of  the  churchlands  of  Ballychoman* 
(probably  a  corruption  of  Bally chonan),  is  still  called  Cros- 
hihonan  (Adamnan's  Cross).  In  1622  the  chapel  of  Bally- 
choman was  a  "  ruin  ;  the  great  tithes,"  says  the  report, 
"  belong  to  the  prior  of  Down,  but  possessed  by  ye  Countess 
of  Kildare."  All  the  lands  belonging  to  the  prior  of  Down 
were   afterwards  included   in  the   Down  estate,   of   which 

*  The  people  say  that  Croshihonan  possesses  the  mysterious  virtue 
that,  no  matter  how  wearied  a  traveller  may  be,  if  he  only  rests  a 
little  on  Croshihonan  he  rises  completely  refreshed.  Adamhnan 
in  compound  words  easily  assumes  the  form  of  honan,  thus  Tuber- 
awnan  and  Drehid-awnan  (the  well  and  the  bridge  of  St.  Adhamhnan) 
in  the  county  of  Sligo.  This  saint  was  a  relative  of  St.  ColumbciUe, 
wrote  his  Life,  and  was  one  of  his  successors  in  lona,  his  name 
became  associated  with  many  of  Colum-cille's  churches.  There  is  a 
curious  tradition  that  when  St.  Colum-cille  sang  mass  and  preached 
at  Croshihonan,  his  voice  could  be  heard  a  mile  around.  Similar 
anecdotes  illustrative  of  the  power  of  Columbcille's  voice  are  told  iu 
the  Leabhar  Breac  and  other  ancient  MSS.     (See  Reeves's  Adamnan.) 

*'  The  sound  of  the  voice  of  Colum-cille, 
Great  its  sweetness  above  all  clerics, 
To  the  end  of  fifteen  hundred  paces, 
Though  great  the  distance,  it  was  distinctly  heard." 


224  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

Church   Walls   formerly   formed   a    part — a    circumstance 
which  tends  to  confirm  the  identification. 

In  the  townland  of  Ballintogher  (the  town  of  the  cause- 
way), which  receives  its  name  from  a  causeway  which  con- 
nected an  insular  portion  of  it  with  the  mainland,  there  is 
the  site  of  an  ancient  church  at  a  place  called  "  Church- 
Hill."  There  was  situated  the  church  of  "  Balibren,"  which, 
in  the  Taxation  of  Pope  Nicholas,  was  valued  at  two  and 
a-half  marks.  An  inquisition  3  Ed.  VI.,  found  that  the 
rectory  of  Bally brene,  alias  Ballintogher,  of  the  annual  value 
of  £9  7s.  2d.,  was  appropriate  to  the  Cistercian  Nunnery  of 
Down,  and  the  "Terrier"  of  1615  reports  "  Ecclesia  de 
Balleinto-ther,  the  lands  of  the  nuns  of  Downe,  nine  townes, 
as  bound  to  pay  in  proxies,  3s. ;  in  refections,  3s. ;  in  synodals, 
2s.  The  Protestant  bishop's  report  of  1622  says  : — "  Capella 
de  Balentagher  ruynous — The  great  tithes  is  possessed  by  ye 
Earl  of  Kildare,  esteemed  to  be  worth  the  third  part  thereof 
— some  30s.  per  ann.  Noe  curate,  being  not  able  to  mayn- 
tayne  any,  but  fit  to  be  united  to  the  next  church,  which  is 
Soule  as  it  hath  alwayes  beene.  The  Deane  hath  the  small 
tithes  as  parcell  of  his  Deanery."  The  lands  of  this  church 
became  included  in  the  great  Downe  estate,  from  which  they 
were  severed  by  the  sale  in  the  early  portion  of  last  century, 
and  at  a  sale  in  the  Landed  Estates  Court,  held  on  the  2nd 
of  Maich,  1869,  they  were  parcelled  among  several  pur- 
chasers. There  is  not  at  present  a  vestige  of  the  church 
remaining,  but  the  memory  of  the  site  is  still  preserevd  in 
the  name  "  Church  Hill."  We  have  seen  that  the  church  of 
Ballintogher  is  called  "  Bally bi-ene  "  in  the  Taxation  of  Pope 
Nicholas,  and  again  in  the  Inquisition  of  3  Ed.  VI.  The 
preservation  of  this  ancient  name  has  been  one  of  the  means 
which  enabled  Mr.  J.  W.  Hanna  to  identify  the  estuary  of 
the  small  river  which  divides  the  townlands  of  Ballintogher 


PARISH  OF  SAUL.  225 

and  Eingban  as  the  spot  where  St.  Patrick  made  his  success- 
ful landing  when  he  came  to  convert  the  nation.  As  Mr. 
Hanna's  identification  has  been  received,  both  by  Dr.  Todd 
and  Miss  Cusack,  in  theirjespective  lives  of  St.  Patrick,  it  is 
necessary  to  place  before  the  reader  a  summary  of  his  argu- 
ments, as  put  forth  in  a  little  pamphlet  published  in  Down- 
patrick  in  June,  1858.  According  to  Probus,  the  author  of 
the  fii'st  of  the  seven  lives  of  St.  Patrick,  published  by 
Colgan,  our  saint,  having  been  repulsed  on  his  landing  in 
Leinster,  sailed  northwards  towards  Ulster  with  the  intention 
of  converting  Milclio,  the  master  wl\pm  he  had  served  as  a 
swineherd,  at  Slemish  in  the  County  Antrim.  The  author 
of  the  second  life,  who  is  believed  to  have  been  St.  Patrick, 
junior,  the  nephew  of  our  national  apostle,  describing  the 
incidents  of  his  landing  says  : — "  He  at  length  penetrated 
into  a  cei"tain  frith,  which  is  Brennesse,  and  he  lauded  at 
Ostium  Slain  (the  mouth  of  the  Slain,  called  in  Irish  works 
Inbher  Slainge).  There,  indeed,  they  concealed  the  bark, 
and  they  came  a  little  distance  into  the  country,  that  they 
might  rest  there  and  lie  down ;  and  there  came  upon  them 
the  swineherd  of  a  certain  man  of  a  good-natured  disposition, 
though  a  heathen,  whose  name  was  Dichu,  and  who  dwelt 
where  now  stands  what  is  called  Patrick's  Barn  (Saul).^' 
Almost  the  same  words  are  used  in  the  life  of  the  Saint, 
preserved  in  the  "  Book  of  Armagh,"  compiled  a.d.  807, 
from  early  materials.  The  narrative  as  related  in  the 
"  Tripartite  Life  of  St.  Patrick,"  which  was  translated  from 
the  original  Irish  by  W.  M.  Hennessy^  Esq.,  M.R.I.A.,  for 
Miss  Cusack's  "  Life  of  St.  Patrick,  is  the  same  in  substance 
with  that  given  in  the  "  Third  Life,"  published  by  Colgan, 
and  is  as  follows  : — Patrick  went  afterwards  from  Inis- 
Patrick,  past  Connaille  (County  Louth),  and  past  the  coast 
of  Ulster,  until  he  stopped  at  Inbher-Brena.    He  went  after- 


226  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

wards  to  Inbher-Slani,  where  the  clerics  hid  their  ships; 
and  they  went  ashore  to  put  off  their  fatigue,  and  to  rest ; 
so  that  there  it  was  the  swineherd  of  Dichu,  son  of  Trichim, 
found  them,  where  Sabhall-Patrick  is  to-day.  When  he 
saw  the  divines  and  the  clerics,  he  thought  they  were  robbers 
or  thieves ;  and  he  went  to  tell  his  lord  ;  whereupon  Dichu 
came,  and  set  his  dog  at  the  clerics.  Then  it  was  that 
Patrick  uttered  the  prophetic  verse,  Ne  tradas  hestis  Sfc,  et 
canis  obmiituit.  When  Dichu  saw  Patrick  he  became 
gentle,  and  he  believed,  and  Patrick  baptized  him ;  so 
that  he  was  the  first  in  Ulster  who  received  faith  and 
baptism  from  Patrick.  Then  it  was  that  Dichu  presented 
the  Sabhall  (Saul)  to  Patrick.     Patrick  said — 

The  blessing  of  God  on  Dicliu, 
Who  gave  me  the  Sabhall ; 
May  he  be  hereafter, 
Heavenly,  joyous,  glorious. 

The  blessing  of  God  on  Dichu, 
Dichu  with  full  folds  (flocks) ; 
No  one  of  his  sept  or  kindred 
Shall  die,  except  after  a  long  Ufe. 

It  is  obvious  from  these  passages  that  the  place  where  St. 
Patrick  landed  must  have  been  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Saul,  and  it  only  remains  to  identify  "  the  frith  which  is 
Brennesse,"  or  "  Inbher-Brena  "  (the  mouth  of  the  Bren), 
and  the  "  Ostium  Slain"  or  "  Inbher  Slani  "  (the  mouth  of 
the  Slain).  The  Four  Masters,  at  the  year  a.m.  2546,  record 
"  An  inundation  of  the  sea  over  the  land  of  Brena,  in  this 
year,  which  was  the  seventh  lake  irruption  that  occurred  in 
the  time  of  Partholan  ;  and  this  is  named  Loch  Cuan." 
Dr.  O'Donovan,  in  a  note  to  this  passage,  observes,  "  This 
is  called  Fretum  Brennesse  in  the  second  and  fourth  lives  of 
St.  Patrick  published  by  Colgan.  It  was  evidently  the 
ancient  name   of  the  mouth  of  Strangford   Lough,  in  the 


PARISH  OP  SAUL,  227 

County  of  Down,  as  the  lake  formed  by  the  imandation  was 
Loch  Cuan,  which  is  still  the  Irish  name  for  Strangford 
Lough."  Add  to  this  that  the  word  "Bren"  has  been 
preserved  to  comparatively  modern  times  in  "  Ballybren," 
as  an  alias  for  Ballintogher.  Mr.  Hanna,  in  a  conversation, 
which  he  held  with  an  old  woman  respecting  the  pursuit 
after  one  of  the  United  Irishmen,  named  Coulter,  accidentally 
discovered  that  the  Slaney  was  the  name  of  the  river  which 
rises  in  Loughmoney,  and  after  flowing  through  Raholp  falls 
into  Lough  Strangford  at  Ringban.  Speaking  of  Coulter — 
"  He  forded,"  said  she,  "  the  Slaney  at  Ringban."  Thus  the 
topographical  difficulty  was  cleared  up.  There,  near  the 
termination  of  the  Strangford  River  (Inbher  Bren),  was  the 
estuary  of  the  Slaney  (Inbher  Slain),  where  St.  Pati'ick  and 
his  companions  landed  within  two  miles  of  Saul.  The  in- 
habitants told  Mr.  Hanna  that  the  name  had  nearly  passed 
out  of  use  since  a  battery  had  been  erected  for  the  purpose  of 
keeping  out  the  tide  and  reclaiming  a  quantity  of  land,  but 
some  rocks  at  a  short  distance  outside  the  river  are  still 
called  the  Slaney  Rocks.  This  river  was  formerly  tidal 
nearly  up  to  Raholp,  and  was  of  considerable  commercial 
importance,  being  a  Government  port,  as  in  several  patents, 
abstracted  in  the  Liber  Munerum,  appointing  collectors  and 
comptrollers  of  Customs  for  the  port  of  Ardglass,  in  the 
reigns  of  Elizabeth  and  James  I.  Ballintogher  is  included 
in  the  Ardglass  collection. 

It  should  be  remarked,  however,  that  writers  on  Irish 
history  previous  to  the  publication  of  Mr.  Hanna's  pamphlet, 
following  an  ancient  tradition  preserved  in  the  parish  of 
Ballykinlar,  ascribe  the  honour  of  St.  Patrick's  landing  to 
the  shores  of  the  inner  Bay  of  Dundrum  ;  and  the  inhabitants 
of  that  locality  point  out  a  place  as  the  scene  of  his  landing, 
near  the  site  of  the  little  church  of  Killyglinnie.     Moreover, 


228  DOWN   AND   CONNOR. 

Dundrum  Bay  is  designated  "  Holy  Bay  "  in  a  very  ancient, 
unpublished  map  in  the  library  of  Trinity  College,  thus 
apparently  showing  that  some  peculiar  sanctity  was  attached 
to  the  place.  But  we  must  remember  that  it  is  fully  eight 
miles  distant  from  Saul,  and  that  St.  Patrick  and  his  com- 
panions in  passing  through  the  fertile — and,  therefore,  we 
must  suppose,  populous — districts  that  intervene,  would,  as 
strangers,  have  attracted  the  public  notice,  and  have  had 
some  encounter  with  the  inhabitants,  which  his  biographers 
would  not  fail  to  hand  down  to  us.  The  traditions  preserved 
in  Ballykinlar  may  i-efer  to  some  of  the  many  missionary 
voyages  which  he  made  along  the  coast,  to  one  of  which 
reference  has  already  been  made  when  treating  of  the  parish 
of  Ballykinlar.  ••• 

*  Mr.  Hanna,  who  dissents  from  the  author  regarding  identification 
of  Dramho,  the  scene  of  the  contention  of  the  Uhdians  and  the  Hy- 
Nialls  for  the  honour  of  the  sepulture  of  St.  Patrick  (see  Lismoghan, 
Parish  of  Ballykuilar),  has  favoured  him  with  the  following.  The 
"  Book  of  Armagh"  states  : — "But  when  the  angel  came  to  him  (St. 
Patrick)  he  gave  him  advice  as  to  his  burial — '  Let  the  untamed  oxen 
be  allowed  to  proceed  wherever  they  wish,  and  where  they  shall  rest 
let  a  church  be  founded  there  in  honour  of  your  body.'  And  as  the 
angel  said  the  unsteady  steers  were  chosen,  and  a  cart  of  steady 
weight  was  placed  upon  their  shoulders,  on  which  they  carried  the 
sacred  body,  and  in  the  place  which  is  called  Clogher,  at  the  east  of 
Fhiduhrec,  they  selected  the  oxen  from  among  the  cattle  of  Conail, 
and  they  departed,  the  Son  of  God  guiding  them  to  Dun-leth-glaisse, 
where  Patrick  Avas  buried.  And  he  (the  angel)  said  to  him,  'Let 
not  the  remains  of  your  body  be  brought  back  out  of  the  earth,  and 
let  a  cubit  of  earth  be  placed  above  your  body ;'  which  was  done 
according  to  the  command  of  God,  and  was  manifested  in  after  times, 
for  when  the  church  was  building  over  his  body,  the  men  who  were 
digging  the  foundation  perceived  tire  to  break  out  from  the  grave  and 
retiring,  they  fled  with  fear  from  the  flame.  On  account  of  the 
remains  of  St.  Patrick,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  a  dire  contention 
and  war  arose  between  the  descendants  of  Niell  (the  Ui-Niell) 
and  those  of  the  eastern  parts,  the  people  of  Orior  on  one  side, 
those  who   formerly  were  friends   and    neighbours,    soon    became 


PARISH    OF   SAUL.  229 

The  foundation  of  the  Church  of  Saul  is  assigned  to  the 
year  432,  by  Usshev,  who  cites  an  ancient  life  of  St.  Patrick, 
which  ascribes  the  name  of  Saul  to  the  following  instance  : — 
"  There  was  a  barn  in  the  place,  which  the  hero  Dichu  gave 
to  the  holy  Patrick,  and  he  desired  that  the  house  of  God 
should  be  built  towards  the  sun,  after  the  form  of  his  barn, 
and  this  he  obtained  from  the  Man  of  Grod.  Then  the  holy 
bishop  laid  in  that  very  place  the  foundation  of  the  church 
mentioned,  which  is  placed  transversely  from  the  north 
to   the  south,  according   to  the   position  of  the  afore-named 

the  direst  enemies — even  to  the  strait  which  is  called  Collum  Bovis, 
blood  was  shed  on  account  of  St.  Patrick,  and  the  mercy  of  God 
interposed,  the  sea  shaking  and  swelling  with  waves,  and  the  hollow 
summits  of  the  billows  broke  sometimes  against  the  coast  and  pro- 
montaries,  and  sometimes,  with  curled  surge,  rushed  through  the 
yellow  valleys  to  the  place  of  contest,  as  if  to  restrain  the  fury  of  the 
enraged  natives  ;  and  thus  the  fierceness  of  the  sea  arose  and  pre- 
vented the  battle  of  the  combatants.  But  afterwards,  Patrick  being 
buried,  and  the  tumult  of  the  sea  abated,  those  from  the  eastern  parts, 
and  against  them  Ulta,  and  the  descendants  of  Neill,  fiercely  rush  to 
the  combat,  and  emulously  prepared  and  armed  themselves  for  war,- 
at  the  place  of  the  holy  body,  and  broke  forth  as  if  impelled  headlong 
by  a  happy  deception,  thinking  that  they  should  find  the  two  oxen 
and  the  cart,  and  also  recover  the  body  of  the  saint.  In  a  body 
they  proceeded,  and  with  great  preparation  and  array,  even  to  the 
river  Cab-cenna  ;  and  the  body  appeared  not  unto  them,  for  it  was 
not  possible  that  their  peace  should  be  made  by  such  and  so  holy  a 
body,  unless  it  had  been  so  ordained  by  the  will  of  God.  These  signs 
of  the  times  were  shown,  that  an  innumerable  host  of  souls  should  be 
turned  from  destruction  and  death  unto  salvation,  by  a  happy  decep- 
tion, as  the  blinded  Assyrians  of  old  would  have  perished  but  for  the 
holy  prophet  Elisha,  by  whom,  under  Divine  Providence,  they  were 
led  into  Samaria  ;  and  this  deception  was  also  made  the  means  of 
producing  concord  among  the  people."  The  third  life  of  St.  Patrick 
published  by  Colgan  states  that  the  Ulidians  followed  their  waggon 
to  Down,  and  the  Oriors  followed  theirs  to  Armagh,  both  believing 
themselves  to  be  in  possession  of  the  body  of  the  saint.  The  fourth 
life  by  Colgan  says  that  the  waggon  of  the  Oriors  disaiipeared,  but 
that  the  Ultonians  had  the  real  waggon,  and  buried  the  remains  at 


230  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

barn.  That  place,  from  the  name  of  the  church,  is  called  in 
Irish,  to  this  day,  '  Sabhull  Padhrig  ;'  but  in  Latin,  '  Zab- 
ulum  Patricii  ' — the  barn  of  Patrick."  Dr.  Lanigan,  in  his 
Ecclesiastical  History,  thinks  that  the  church  was  nothing 
less  than  a  real  bai-n,  belonging  to  Dichu  ;  but  Dr.  Reeves 
supposes  that  the  word  Sabhull,  or  Barn,  was  a  technical 
term  for  a  church  possessing  some  peculiarity,  such  as  a 
deviation  from  the  ordinary  rule  of  position.  There  was  a 
celebrated  chui-ch  of  that  name  at  Armagh,  which  is  fre- 
quently mentioned  in  our  annals.  The  custom  of  building 
churches  east  and  west  prevailed  in  Ireland  fi'om  the  time  of 
St.  Patrick,  and  is  obviously  alluded  to  in  the  prophecy  pre- 

Down.  Probus  agrees  with  the  "  Book  of  Armagh,"  and  writes  that 
the  waggon  of  the  Oriors  vanished  at  the  River  Caubene,  called,  as 
before  mentioned,  Cab-cenna  in  the  ' '  Book  of  Armagh. "  All  the 
writers  who  mention  the  river  place  it  near  the  city  of  Armagh.  It 
is  most  likely  the  stream  or  river  which  flows  by  Cavanacaw,  about 
two  miles  south  of  that  city.  The  strait  CoUum-Bovis,  in  Irish 
Drumboe,  signifying  the  cow's  ridge,  was  the  name  of  a  hill  near 
Downpatrick,  as  is  evident  from  two  other  incidents  narrated  in  the 
"  Book  of  Armagh  :" — "  On  another  occasion  Saint  Patrick,  resting 
on  the  Sabbath,  by  the  sea,  near  a  salt  pit  which  is  toward  the 
northern  side  of  the  country,  no  great  distance  from  the  hill  Bovis 
(the  Irish  Drumbo),  heard  an  intemperate  sound  of  the  Gentiles 
labouring  on  the  Lord's  day,  making  a  rath,  and  having  called  them, 
Patrick  forbid  them  to  labour  on  the  Lord's  Day  ;  but  they  did  not 
attend  to  the  words  of  the  saint,  nay  more,  laughing,  they  mocked 
him  ;  and  Saint  Patrick  said  '  Modebroth '  (God  is  my  judge). 
*  Although  you  have  laboured,  what  you  have  completed  shall  not 
profit  you.'  On  the  following  night  a  great  wind  arising,  disturbed 
the  sea,  and  the  tempest  destroyed  all  the  labours  of  the  Gentiles, 
according  to  the  words  of  the  saint."  The  second  incident  is  as 
follows: — "There  was  a  certain  man,  very  severe  and  covetous,  living 
m  the  plain  of  Inis  (Lecale.)  Those  acquainted  with  the  matter  say 
that  he  incurred  the  scandal  of  folly  and  avarice  by  one  day  taking 
away  two  of  Patrick's  draft  oxen,  after  his  holy  labour  in  the  culti- 
vation of  his  own  field  ;  while  the  oxen  were  resting  and  feeding 
themselves,  he,  with  force  and  violence,  and  in  the  very  presence  of 
Patrick,  took  them.     Angry  with  him,  Saint  Patrick  said  with  a 


PARISH    OF    SAUL.  231 

served  in  our  most  ancient  manusci'ipts,  which  is  ascribed  to 
Lochra,  and  Luchat  Mael,  two  druids,  who,  in  the  year  429, 
three  years  before  the  arrival  of  the  Saint,  foretold — 

A  Tailcenn  (a  tonsured  priest)  will  come  over  the  raging  sea, 
With  his  perforated  garment  (chasuble),  his  crook-headed  staff, 
With  his  table  at  the  east  end  of  his  house, 
And  all  his  people  will  answer — Amen,  Amen. 

Joceline  says  of  Saul,  "  In  process  of  time  he  builded  there  a 
fair  monastry  into  which  he  introduced  monks  who  had  passed 
their  noviciate  ;  and  for  their  use  he  not  long  afterwards, 
by  his  prayers  produced  a  fountain  out  of  the  earth.  Of  this 
monastery  did  he  appoint  his  disciple,  Saint  Dunnius,  to  be 

curse — '  Modebrod,  you  have  acted  ill,  never  shall  your  field  profit 
you,  nor  shall  it  nurture  your  field  for  ever — it  shall  now  become 
useless.'  And  it  so  came  to  pass,  for  an  inundation  of  the  sea,  very 
violent,  coming  on  the  same  day,  inundated  and  covered  the  entire 
field,  and  the  before  fruitful  ground,  according  to  the  words  of  his 
prophecy,  was  converted  into  a  salt  marsh,  from  the  malice  of  the 
inhabitants,  and  it  has  remained  in  that  sandy  and  unfruitful  state 
from  the  day  on  which  Saint  Patrick  cursed  it,  even  to  the  present 
day."  From  these  notices,  as  well  as  those  in  the  other  lives,  it  is 
quite  plain  that  Drumboe,  or  Collum  Bovis,  adjoined  the  sea,  not  far 
from  Saul,  lay  in  the  north  of  Lecale,  and  could  not  by  any  possibility 
be  the  Drumbo  near  Lisburn,  which  is  completely  inland.  Nor  could 
Dr.  Reeves's  suggestion  of  the  Inner  Bay  of  Dundrum  by  any  means 
answer  it,  being  in  the  south-west  of  Lecale,  and  far  distant  from 
Saul.  Dr.  Todd,  in  a  note  to  his  Memoir  (p.  492)  writes,  this  was 
' '  probably  a  ford  on  the  narrow  inlet  of  Strangford  Lough,  called 
Quoile,  which  separates  Inch  parish  from  Saul,"  and  this  unquestion- 
ably was  the  place,  where  the  present  Quoile  bridge  stands,  as  it 
answers  all  the  requirements  of  the  biographers,  and  led  directly  to 
County  Armagh.  On  Quoile  hill,  above  the  old  castle,  which  margins 
the  river,  were  some  time  past  the  remains  of  a  small  ecclesiastical 
edifice,  near  a  spot  called  Ballyhassan,  probably  deriving  its  name 
from  one  of  the  many  saints  Oissen,  and  overlooking  the  river,  and 
also  the  adjoining  townland  of  Lisbane  to  the  north.  In  Lisbane, 
where  it  abuts  on  Quoile,  is  a  portion  of  low  lying  land,  called  the 
Salt  Lough,  immediately  adjoining  the  present  Steamboat  Quay,  and 
over  which  the  tide  would  flow  were  it  not  for  an  artificial  rampart 


232  DOWN   AND   CONNOB. 

the  Abbot,  wherein,  when  he  had  returned  from  liis  mission 
he  abided  with  him  not  a  few  days.  And  in  that  church, 
the  holy  prelate  stood  before  the  altar  on  a  certain  day  cele- 
brating the  Divine  Mysteries,  when  an  evil-doer,  a  bondsman 
of  Satan,  thrusting  with  accursed  boldness  a  rod  through  the 
window,  overturned  the  chalice,  and  sacreligiously  poured 
out  on  the  altar  the  Holy  Sacrifice.  But  the  Lord  instantly 
and  terribly  avenged  this  fearful  wickedness,  and  in  a  new 
and  unheard-of  manner  destroyed  the  impious  man.  For 
suddenly  the  earth  opened  her  mouth  (as  formerly  on 
Dathan  and  Abirim)  swallowed  up  this  magician,  and  he 
descended  alive  into  hell.  And  the  earth,  thus  disjoined  and 
rent  asunder,  closed  on  him  again  ;  but  to  this  day  a  ditch 
yet  remaining  declareth  the  judgment  of  the  Divine  wrath." 
The  fountain  referred  to  in  this  passage  is  probably  the  cele- 
brated "  Meran  Well "  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the 
ancient  chui-ch,  to  the  waters  of  which  a  miraculous  efficacy 
is  attributed.  Thei'e  is  a  well  called  Tobber-na-suil  (the  eye 
well)  in  a  field  belonging   to   Mr.   Daniel   Connor,  in    the 

raised  for  the  express  purpose  of  restraining  the  sea  ;  and  this,  there 
can  be  no  doubt,  is  the  Salt  Marsh  aUuded  to  in  the  lives  of  the  saint. 
In  the  same  townland  a  little  further  north  is  a  half-finished/ori!7t  or 
rath,  which  may  be  seen  marked  on  the  Ordnance  sheet  No.  3S  of 
County  Down.  The  name  Drumboe  has  now  become  obsolete,  but 
it  is  very  possible  that  the  name  Quoile  or  Coyle,  although  signifying 
in  Irish  "a  wood,"  may  preserve  in  some  corrupted  fashion  the  Latin 
form  "collis,"  a  hill — the  suffix  "bo,"  a  cow,  being  dropped.  The 
place  where  the  oxen  were  caught  which  conveyed  his  body  to  Down, 
called  in  the  "  Book  of  Armagh, "  as  before  mentioned,  Clogher,  to 
the  east  of  Findubrec,  is  obviously  the  present  Finabrogue  in  the 
parish  of  Inch,  on  the  west  margin  of  the  Eiver  Quoile  or  Coyle,  in 
the  eastern  part  of  which  lies  Cloghagh  Wood,  exactly  corresponding 
with  the  narrative  in  the  "Book  of  Armagh,"  and  so  marked  on  the 
Ordnance  sheet  of  County  Down  No.  37,  lying  not  more  than  a  mile 
distant  from  Saul,  the  place  of  the  saint's  death.  The  Conal,  whose 
property  the  oxen  were,  was  the  Conal,  son  of  Coelbadh,  King  of 
Ulidia,  ancestor  of  the  family  of  Magenis. 


PARISH  OF  SAUL.  233 

townland  of  Ballysugagh.  Saul,  as  the  earliest  church 
founded  by  St.  Patrick,  continued  ever  afterwards  a  favourite 
with  him,  and  in  it,  when  fatigued  with  missionary  labours, 
he  sought  a  resting-place  and  a  home,  or  as  the  bardic  com- 
position called  the  "  Testamentutn  Patricii,"  makes  liim  say 

Thirty  years  was  I  myself 
At  Saul  with  purity. 

And  when  the  days  of  his  pilgrimage  were  drawing  to  a 
close,  warned,  it  is  said,  by  an  angel,  he  sought  its  peaceful 
retreat,  and  thence,  after  having  received  the  Blessed 
Euchfirist  from  the  hands  of  St.  Tassach,  Bishop  of  Raholp, 
his  holy  soul  passed  into  eternal  glory.  "  The  fragrant 
odours  of  the  Divine  grace,  which  issued  from  the  holy 
body,"  says  the  "Irish  Tripartite  Life,"  "and  the  music  of 
the  angels  gave  tranquillity  and  joy  to  the  chief  clerics  of  the 
men  of  Erin  who  were  watching  the  body  on  the  nights 
following,  so  that  the  blessing  of  Jacob  to  his  sons  was  ful- 
filled regarding  him — ecce  odor  Jilii  mei  sicut  odor  agripleni." 
The  Monastery  of  Saul,  which  in  process  of  time  passed 
under  the  rule  of  the  Regular  Canons  of  St.  Augustine,  was 
placed  by  its  founder,  St,  Patrick,  under  the  care  of  his 
disciple  St.  Dunnius  or  Moduin,  whose  festival  was  held  on 
the  27th  of  May.  The  festival  of  his  contemporary,  St. 
Dichu,  who  bestowed  the  site  of  the  monastery  to  St.  Patrick, 
was  observed  in  the  Church  of  Saul  on  the  29th  of  April. 
Saul  seems  to  have  suffered  much  during  the  wars  of  the 
Danes,  for  it  became  so  far  decayed  that  no  notice  of  it  occurs 
in  our  annals,  if  we  except  a  solitary  notice  at  A.D.  1011, 
when  we  are  told  that  "  Ceannfaeladh  of  Sabhall,  bishop- 
anchorite  and  pilgrim,"  died  of  "  a  great  malady,  namely, 
lumps  and  griping,"  that  was  then  prevalent  at  Armagh, 
and  the  Saul  to  which  the  bishop  belonged  seems  to  have 
been  that  near  Armagh.     It  was  reserved  to  St.  Malachy  to 

Q 


234  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

restore  it  to  its  ancient  state.  His  contemporary  and  bio- 
grapher, St,  Bernard,  tells  that  before  St.  Malachy  rebuilt 
Saul  he  was  favoured  with  a  vision,  in  which  he  foresaw 
"not  only  the  oratory  but  even  the  whole  monastery."  "The 
Four  Masters  "  record  that  in  the  year  1149,  Nial  O'Lough- 
lin,  prince  of  the  Kinel  Eoghain,  in  order  to  compell  O'  Dun- 
levey  and  the  people  of  Ulidia,  to  acknowledge  his  superiority, 
plundered  [nch,  Movilla,  Bangor,  "  and  all  the  other  churches 
of  the  country,  except  Dun  (Downpatrick)  and  Sabhall." 

A.D.  1156,  "  Maelraaedhog,  i.e.,  Aedh  MacDubhradain, 
Abbot  of  the  Canons  of  Sabhall  died.'' 

At  the  year  1170,  "The  Four  Masters"  say,  "An  un- 
known, atrocious  deed  was  committed  by  Maghnus  Q'Eoch- 
aidha,  King  of  Ulidia,  and  the  Monk  Amhlaeibh,  son  of 
the  successor  of  Finnen,  and  by  the  Ulidians  in  general, 
except  Maelis,  bishop  (of  Down)  and  Gilladomhangairt,  son 
of  Cormac,  successor  of  Combghall  (abbot  of  Bangor),  and 
Maelmartain,  successsor  of  Finnen  (abbot  of  Movilla), 
with  their  people — i.e.,  a  convent  of  religious  monks,  with 
their  abbot,  whom  Maelmaedhog  O'Morgair  (St.  Malachy), 
legate  of  the  successor  of  Peter,  had  appointed  at  Sabhall 
Phadraig,  were  expelled  from  their  Monastery,  which  they 
themselves  had  founded  and  erected ;  and  they  were  all 
plundered,  both  of  their  books,  ecclesiastical  furniture,  cows, 
horses,  and  sheep,  and  of  everything  which  they  had  collected 
from  the  time  of  the  legate  aforesaid  (St.  Malachy)  until  then. 
Wo  to  the  lord  and  chieftains  who  perpetrated  this  deed,  at 
the  instigation  of  one  whom  the  monks  of  Drogheda  had 
expelled  from  the  abbacy  for  his  own  crime.  Wo  to  the 
country  in  which  it  was  perpetrated ;  and  it  did  not  pass 
without  vengeance  from  the  Lord,  for  the  chieftains  who  had 
done  this  deed  were  slain  together  by  a  few  enemies,  and  the 
King  was  prematurely  w  ounded  and  slainshortly  after,  at  the 


PARISH  OP  SAUL.  235 

town  where  the  unjust  resolution  had  been  adopted — namely, 
at  Dun  (Downpatrick).  On  Tuesday  the  convent  were 
expelled.  On  Tuesday,  also,  at  the  end  of  a  year,  the  chief- 
tains of  Ulidia  were  slain,  and  the  King  was  wounded.  On 
Tuesday,  shortly  after,  he  was  killed  by  his  brother  at  Dun." 
Among  the  books  carried  off  by  Awley  and  his  wicked 
companions  we  may  presume  was  the  celebrated  "  Book  of 
Sabhall  Phatraic,"  which  is  now  unfortvinately  to  be  num- 
bered among  "the  Lost  Books  of  Erinn."  It  seems  to  have 
been  a  miscellany.  The  Book  of  MacMrbis  has  a  short 
metrical  and  prose  extract  from  it,  treating  of  the  Ulidians, 
a  poem  of  320  verses  on  the  Irian  Kings  of  Ulster,  and  some 
genealogies  taken  from  the  lost  "  Book  of  Saul." 

P ,  Abbot  of  Saul,  was  subscribing  witness  to  one  of 

John  de  Com-cey's  Charters  to  the  Abbey  of  St.  Patrick,  in 
Downpatrick . 

A.D.  1273 — Molys,  Prior  of  Bangor,  was  elected  abbot; 
but  becaiise  he  did  not  obtain  the  royal  licence,  G-alfrid  de 
Stocks,  Canon  of  Carleon,  was  appointed  abbot  by  the  Bishop 
of  Down,  with  the  consent  of  the  Crown.  This  Galfrid  de 
Stocks,  who  seems  to  have  been  appointed  a.d.  1276,  belonged 
probably  to  the  Anglo-Norman  family,  which  gave  name  to 
Ballystokes. 

The  "Four  Masters,"  under  the  year  1293,  record  that 
*'  It  was  revealed  to  Nicholas  MaclVLaelisa  coarb  (successor) 
of  Patrick,  that  the  relics  of  Patrick  Columbkille,  and 
.  Bridget  were  at  Sabhall  ;  they  were  taken  up  after  him, 
and  great  virtues  and  miracles  were  afterwards  wrought  by 
means  of  them  ;  and  after  having  been  honourably  covered, 
they  were  deposited  in  a  shrine."  This  entry  must  refer  to 
some  portion  of  the  relics  of  the  national  patrons  which  had 
been  removed  to  either  Saul,  in  the  County  of  Down,  or  to 
Saul,   at  Armagh — more  likely  to   the  latter — and   which. 


236  DOWN  AND  CONNOK. 

during  some  time  of  danger,  had  been  concealed  under  the 
ground. 

In  the  year  1296,  the  Abbot  and  Convent  of  Saul,  having 
represented  to  the  King  that  the  abbey  had  become  greatly 
impoverished,  through  alienations  of  lands  and  rents  by 
successive  abbots,  obtained  a  licence  to  repurchase  them, 
notwithstanding  the  statute  of  Mortmain.  So  far  had  the 
conventual  property  of  Saul  been  at  this  jjeriod  diminished 
that  the  "  Pope  Nicholas  Taxation  "  returns  "  the  church  of 
Saule,  with  the  chapel  of  Balicultre  "  as  valued  only  at  25 
marks. 

A.D.  1316 — The  abbey  was  plundered  by  Edward  Bruce. 

A.D.  1380 — It  was  enacted  that  no  mere  Irishman  should 
become  a  religious  in  the  Abbey  of  Saul. 

The  seal  of  the  Abbot  of  Saul  is  still  attached  to  the 
petition  preserved  in  the  Chapter  House,  "Westminster, 
which  the  English  of  Ulster  forwarded  about  1410  to  Henry 
IV.,  praying  him  to  send  over  more  English  colonists  to 
defend  the  ''  gi'ound  "  against  the  Irish.  On  the  seal  is  in- 
scribed "  S.  commune  capituli  sancti  Patricii  de  Saballo  " — 
The  Common  Seal  of  the  Chapter  of  St.  Pati-ick's  of  Saul. — 
The  abbot,  vested  as  a  priest,  sits  on  a  rich  chair  holding  a 
cross  in  his  left  hand,  and  raising  his  right  hand  as  in  the  act 
of  benediction.  The  lower  compartment  of  the  seal  exhibits  a 
bishop — probably  St.  Patrick — holding  a  crozier.  A  brass 
seal,  which  was  found  in  the  yard  of  the  Cathedral  of  Down- 
patrick,  is  preserved  in  the  Belfast  Museum.  The  inscription 
on  it  is  "  S.  Fratris  Johanis,  Abbatis  de  Saballo  " — the  seal 
of  Brother  John,  Abbot  of  Saul. — The  abbot  is  I'epresented, 
fully  vested  as  a  priest — in  his  left  hand  he  holds  a  book  and 
in  his  right  a  crozier.  The  seal  seems  to  belong  to  the 
fifteenth  century. 

A.D.  1526 — "  Glasny,  the  son  of  Hugh  Magennis,  Abbot 


PARISH    OF    SAUL.  237 

of  the  Monks  of  Newry,  and  Prior  of  Down  and  Saul,  was 
slain  by  the  sons  of  Donnell  Magennis — namely,  by  Donnell 
Oge  and  liis  kinsmen." 

The  "  Terrier  "  i-eturns  "  The  Abbey  of  Saule  "  as  bound 
to  pay  "  in  Proxies,  3  marks  ;  in  Refections,  3  marks ;  and 
in  Synodals,  2s."  By  an  inquisition  taken  in  Downpatrick, 
on  the  9th  of  April,  1662,  it  appears  that  Thomas  Cromwell, 
Earl  of  Ardglass,  was  seized  of  the  site  and  precincts  of  the 
late  monastery  of  Saul,  and  of  two  ruined  castles  and  a 
garden  within  the  said  site,  and  of  two  castles  and  three 
towns  called  "  Merrytowne*  and  Ballysugagh,"  Ballymote, 
Carrowvanny,  "Pallintlieve,  Killyneeny,  and  20s.  per  annum 
of  head-rent  out  of  Castlemoghan,  Ballylenagh,  and  Carrin- 
taggart. 

*  "  Merry  to  wne"  is  an  attempted  translation  of  Ballysugagh,  from 
Sugach — merry.  Harris,  writing  of  the  castles  of  Saul,  says — "At 
some  distance  from  the  church,  to  the  S.W.  side,  stands  a  battle- 
mented  castle  and  two  small  towers,  but  no  stone  stairs  in  the  castle 
leading  to  the  top  of  it,  as  is  usual  in  Irish  fabrics.  It  is  probable 
there  were  stairs  of  timber  in  the  body  of  the  building  by  which 
people  might  ascend  from  storey  to  storey ;  in  the  west  angle  of  each 
of  which  storeys  are  neat  finished  arches  within  the  wall,  rising  in 
various  sections  to  the  top  where  they  terminate  in  a  circle."  A 
large  portion  of  the  old  castle  was  taken  down  for  the  material  at  the 
erection  of  the  Protestant  church,  about  1770,  and  nearly  all  the 
remains  of  the  old  church  were  removed  at  the  same  time.  The 
towers  stood  on  each  side  of  the  present  avenue  leading  to  the  church- 
yard, and  a  subterraneous  passage  under  the  avenue  still  remains 
though  closed  up.  In  the  graveyard  are  still  preserved  two  ancient 
buildings,  which  are  precisely  in  the  same  state  as  Harris  described 
them  more  than  130  years  ago — "  There  are  here  two  small  vaulted 
rooms  of  stone  yet  entire,  about  seven  feet  high,  six  feet  long,  and  two 
feet  and  a  half  broad,  with  a  small  window  placed  in  one  side.  Perhaps 
these  small  chambers  were  confessionals,  or  places  of  private  devotion. 
One  of  them  is  now  closed  up  and  used  by  some  families  for  a  tomb, 
the  churchyard  being  a  great  burial  place  of  the  natives."  These 
structures  seem  similar  to  and  were  probably  erected  for  the  same 
purpose  as  the  tombs  of  St.  Muriedhach  O'Heney  at  Banagher,  St. 


238  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

A  few  years  ago  a  cemetery,  which  evidently  was  a  portion 
of  the  ancient  cemetery,  was  discovered  under  the  avenue, 
immediately  outside  the  churchyard.  The  graves  were  built 
and  covered  with  thin  flagstones  (see  Parish  of  Bright),  and 
each  grave  contained  a  number  of  small  sea  pebbles — 3,  7,  or 
lO — round  and  white — which  may  have  been  used  for  beads. 
Alban  Butler  says — "  As  for  the  use  of  beads,  the  ancient 
anchorets  and  others  frequently  counted  the  number  of  prayers 
by  little  stones,  grains,  or  other  such  marks,  as  is  clear  from 
Palladius's  Lausiac  History,  from  Sozomen,<&c. — (see  Benedict 
XIV.  De  Canoniz.,  Par.  2,  c.  10.)"  There  are  two  ancient 
gravestones  with  incised  crosses  in  the  cemetery,  and  at  the 
entrance  to  the  avenue  leading  to  the  cemetery  there  are  two 
sculptured  stones,  one  of  which  is  ornamented  with  a  key  in 

Ringan  at  Bovevagh  and  St.  Cadan  at  Tamlaghtard,  all  in  the  county 
of  Derry,  though  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago  they  were  believed 
to  have  been  oratories  :  thus  Father  MacCana  says  there  is  beside 
the  monastery  of  Saul  "a  diminutive  little  chapel,  in  which  St, 
Patrick  is  reported  to  have  passed  the  night  in  watching  and  prayer" 
(Ulster  Journal  Arduvology.)  Richard  Dobbs,  Esq.,  writing  in 
1683,  (See  H'llVs  Macdonnells  of  Antrim)  says,  "  There  was  when 
I  was  a  boy  at  Saul,  within  a  mile  of  Downpatrick,  near  the  east 
end  of  the  abbej'  a  small  spring  well,  which  I  have  seen,  and  the 
inhabitants  told  me  it  would  run  dry  or  vanish  if  foul  hands  or 
linen  were  washed  in  it.  In  this  abbey  yard  (I  have  seen,  and 
perhaps  there  is  yet)  a  little  lodge  built,  walled  and  roofed  with 
lime  and  stone,  fit  to  contain  one  person  only,  wherein  tradition 
says  St.  Patrick  lodged,  this  being  the  first  place  he  settled  in  when 
he  came  to  Ireland,  and  I  have  heard  old  people  say  they  had  seen  a 
stone  there  (a  hard  pillow)  wherein  appeared  a  hollow,  where  the 
saint  used  to  lay  his  head.  There  is  here  a  castle,  and  another  castle 
in  the  Coile,  within  an  English  mile  of  it,  and  about  midway  a  lough 
near  a  mile  about,  and  above  this  lough  a  good  height  there  is  a  stone 
with  two  round  holes  in  it,  of  a  fit  bigness,  where  I  have  been  told 
by  old  Irish  people  that  St.  Patrick  said  his  prayers  when  he  first 
came  to  land  in  Ireland  ;  it  is  not  far  from  the  water  that  flows  by  it 
from  Strangford  to  Downpatrick,  which  I  have  seen  flow  often  into 
this  lough." 


PARISH  OP  SAUL.  239 

raised  work.  It  is  said  to  have  been  a  cuneiform  gravestone. 
Harris  describes  two  stones  wliicli  in  his  time  were  built 
into  the  side  wall  of  a  stable,  on  one  of  which  were  "  two 
flower  de  lys's  and  two  trees,"  and  on  the  other  was  the  letter 
F  and  the  figure  of  a  rose.  In  the  graveyard  headstones 
commemorate  the  very  Rev.  Dean  M'Cartan,  P.P.,  Saul;  the 
Rev.  John  Maglennon,  P.P.,  Maghera;  the  Rev.  William 
Teggart,  P.P.,  Sainttield  j  the  Rev.  James  Smith,  and  the 
Rev.  Hugh  Magrath.  The  inscriptions  on  the  three  former 
are  given  under  the  respective  parishes  in  which  the  clergy- 
men officiated.  On  the  headstone  over  the  grave  of  Father 
Smith  is  inscribed — 

Sacred  to  the  memory  of 

the  Rev.  James  Smith,  P.P., 

late  of  Saint  Peter's  Church, 
City  of  New  York, 

who  departed  this  life 

the  22  of  November,  1831, 

On  his  passage  from  America 

to  his  native  home  Cluntagh, 
County  of  Down, 
Aged  38  years . 

The  headstone  at  the  grave  of  Father  Magrath  bears  the 
following  inscription : — 

' '  This  stone  is  erected  by  Patrick  ]\Iagrath, 

of  BaUylenah,  in  Memory  of  his  Brother, 

the  Rev.   Hugh   Magrath,  who   departed 

this   life  on  the   21st   of  October,   1833, 

aged  79  years." 

Mr.  Magrath,  after  having  been  ordained  in  the  year  1778, 
went  to  the  Irish  college  of  Douay,  where  he  studied  along 
with  the  Rev.  Patrick  Magreevey,  who  was  afterwards  parish 
priest  of  Ballyphilip,  and  died  in  1812,  and  the  Rev.  William 
Crangle,  who  was  afterwards  parish  priest  of  Glenavy,  and 
died  in  1813.  They  obtained  Bachelorship  of  Philosophy  in 
the  University  of  Douay,  after  a  theses  in  the  college  of  St, 


240  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

Vadastus  on  the  28th  of  June,  1780.  Mr.  Magrath  officiated 
as  curate  in  the  parish  of  Saul  and  in  some  of  the  neighbour- 
ing parishes. 

In  the  townland  of  Bally sugagli,  a  short  distance  to  N.E. 
of  the  site  of  the  abbey,  is  a  spot  called  Savalbregach,  or  false- 
Saul,  where  there  are  traces  of  an  ancient  cemetery,  in  which 
stone  lined  graves  have  beeen  discovered.  Adjoining  the 
cemetery  there  were  formerly  the  foundations  of  some  build- 
ings, and  there  yet  remains  what  a2:)pears  to  have  been  a 
draw-well.  The  people  who  reside  near  it  say  that  it  was 
the  Saul  mentioned  in  the  biographies  of  St.  Patrick.* 

*  The  vicinity  of  Saul  is  replete  with  memorials  that  testify  to  its 
importance  not  only  in  the  early  Christian  times  but  even  in  ages 
long  antecedent.  On  the  summit  of  Sleeve-na-griddle  is  a  Cromlech, 
the  cap-stone  of  which,  shaped  like  a  griddle,  has  given  the  name  to 
the  mountain.  It  is  noticed  as  follows  by  Harris  : — "It  is  composed 
of  a  huge,  Hat,  unhewn  rock  of  the  Lapis  Molarls,  or  girt  kind,  in- 
terspersed with  a  mixture  of  red  and  white  flint,  in  shape  something 
Uke  a  lozenge  in  heraldry,  or  a  diamond  on  the  cards,  1 1  feet  2  inches 
long  from  point  to  point,  8  4  feet  broad  in  the  greatest  dimension,  and 
14  foot  thick  in  most  places,  though  in  some  not  more  than  a  foot. 
It  is  raised  on  two  rude  supporters  of  the  same  kind  of  stone  placed 
edgeways,  one  of  which  is  S  feet  long,  3  feet  broad,  and  1  foot  thick ; 
the  other  is  not  above  3  feet  long,  and  ssems  to  be  a  natural  rock 
standing  in  its  original  position.  The  cavity  underneath  is  such  that 
a  middle  sized  man  by  stooping  a  little  can  pass  through  it,  and  the 
stratum  upon  which  the  supporting  stone  stands  is  a  solid  rock. " 
The  cap-stone  has  been  unfortunately  thrown  off  its  supporters,  it  is 
said,  by  the  Sappers  and  Miners.  To  the  south  of  the  mountain,  but 
in  the  townland  of  Ballyalton,  stands  one  of  the  stone  circles  com- 
monly caUed  "  Druidical  Rings."  Mr.  J.  W.  Hanna,  writing  about 
it  in  the  Doivnpatrick  Recorder,  says  : — "  It  was  formerly  circular  in 
form,  with  an  avenue  of  stones  leading  to  the  interior,  a  plan  rarely 
found  in  Ireland,  though  frequent  in  England,  Brittany,  and  the 
Channel  Islands.  Wakeman,  in  his  '  Archceologica  Hibernica, '  refers 
to  it  as  the  only  instance  he  knew  of  such  a  passage,  but  improperly 
places  it  in  Slievnagriddle,  and  writes  that  '  the  stones  of  which  it  is 
formed  are  smaller  than  those  of  the  circle  from  which  it  extends,  in 
a  north-easterly  direction,  to  a  distance  of  about  thirty-five  feet.' 


PARISH    OF    SAUL.  241 

PARISH    PRIESTS. 

Rev.  William  Laverty  is  the  earliest  parisli  priest  of  Saul, 
in  modern  times,  of  whom  we  have  any  account.  He  was 
born  in  1642,  or  in  the  following  year,  and  was  ordained  by 
Dr.  Patrick  Plunket,  Bishop  of  Ardagh,  in  1666.  Primate 
Oliver  Plunket,  in  the  report  which  he  made  to  Rome  in 
1670,  on  the  Diocese  of  Down  and  Connor,  says  : — "  There 
are  many  boys  well  suited  for  study,  but  there  is  a  great 
want  of  Catholic  schools,  as  the  Protestants  do  not  allow 
Catholic  teachers.  There  is,  nevertheless,  a  certain  William 
Flaherty  (Laverty),  a  piiest,  a  good  rhetorican.  who  keeps  a 
school  in  Down."* 

Within  our  own  memory  the  circle  was  complete,  and  the  avenue 
extended  upwards  of  twenty  yards,  while  at  present,  of  the  great  ring 
there  are  only  seven  stones  standing  ;  six  of  these  forming  a  kind  of 
semicircle,  the  highest  six  feet,  and  the  others  varying  from  that  to 
three  feet  ten  inches. "  Formerly  antiquarians  supposed  that  such 
megalithic  monuments  were  the  temples  or  the  altars  of  some  for- 
gotten creed,  but  now  nearly  all  agree  that  they  were  erected  for 
monumental  or  sepulchral  purposes.  Mr.  Lukis,  one  of  the  principal 
explorers  of  those  relics  of  the  past,  says — "Thus  almost  unwillingly 
impressed,  it  is  not  without  au  oft-accusing  sense  of  sacrilege  that  we 
thrust  the  first  spade  beneath  our  often  visited  'inclined  stone,'  and 
during  the  steady  progress  of  investigation  we  were  often  compelled 
to  acknowledge  that  our  day  dreams  of  barbarous  sacrifices,  and 
writhing  victims,  and  yelling  multitudes  were  now  for  ever  to  be 
dispelled.  No  place  of  religious  human  sacrifice  was  here ;  it  was 
evident  we  stood  where  mourners  once  had  wept — where  the  last 
offerings  and  ofiices  of  affection  had  been  bestowed  on  departed 
relatives  and  friends — where  the  survivors  had  bewailed  the  common 
lot  of  all  humanity — where  they  saw  deposited  in  peace  the  mortal 
remains  we  now  so  ruthlessly  disturbed." 

*  The  name  is  wi-itten  in  Irish  Ua-Flaithbheartaigh,  or  O'Flaith- 
bheartaigh,  with  the  same  letters  as  the  Connaught  name,  but  it 
belongs  to  the  Kinel-Owen.  By  an  asperation  of  the  initial  F,  that 
letter  becomes  silent  in  accordance  with  the  rules  of  the  Ulster 
dialect,  and  the  name  assumes  the  form  O'Laverty.  In  the  old  trans- 
lation of  the  annals  of  Ulster  preserved  in  the  British  Museum  the 
name  is  angliciesed  O'Lathvertray,  which  is  close  enough  to  the  form 


242  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

Mr.  Laverty  is  returned  as  "  William  O'Lavery  (O'Laverty), 
clerk  of  Saul,"  in  the  list  of  persons  attainted  at  Banbridge, 
on  tlie  lOtli  of  July,  1G91,  for  being  active  supporters  of 
King  James  II.  It  is  probable  that  he  was  placed  in  that 
dangerous  position  by  his  neighbour,  William  Brett,  of  Saul 
and  of  Ballynewport,  who  had  been  attainted  by  the  adher- 
ents of  King  James.  In  the  list  of  Popish  px-iests  registered 
at  Downpatrick,  on  the  11th  of  July,  1704,  Mr.  Laverty  is 
registered  as  parish  priest  of  Saul  and  Bailee.  He  seems  to 
have  styled  himself  parish  priest  of  Bailee  on  account  of  some 
townlands  belonging  to  that  parish  which  to  the  present  are 
annexed  to  the  parish  of  Saul.     He  was  then  60  years  of 

it  has  assumed  in  modem  times.  The  name  is  still  common  in 
Donegal,  Tyrone,  and  Derry,  whence  it  came  with  the  Clannaboy 
invasion  to  Antrim  and  Down.  On  the  assumption  of  surnames  in 
the  10th  century,  the  first  of  that  name  was  Murchadh  Ua  Flaith- 
bheartaigh,  King  of  Aileach,  a  cyclopian  fortress  now  called  Greenan 
— Ely  outside  Derry,  where  the  Kings  of  the  Kinel-Owen  (the 
descendants  of  Owen,  son  of  Niall  of  the  Nine  Hostages)  resided. 
When  Donnell  O'Neill,  who  was  the  first  who  was  called  O'Neill, 
became  King  of  Ireland,  Murchadh  O'Laverty  succeeded  him  in  the 
chieftainship  of  the  Kinel-Owen.  A.D.  968, — he  burned  several 
places  in  the  county  of  Louth,  where  the  Danes  had  fortified  them- 
selves. A.D.  971, — he  fought  the  battle  of  Keshcorran,  Co.  Sligo, 
and  "  wholly  plundered  Connaught  afterwards."  A.D.  972, —"he 
died  at  Dunglady  {near  Maghera,  Co.  Derry)  after  communion  and 
penance."  The  princes  of  the  Kinel-Owen  (the  modern  counties  of 
Derry  and  Tyrone)  were  selected  from  the  O'Lavertys,  MacLoughlins, 
or  O'Neills,  from  the  10th  till  the  13th  century  ;  when  the  O'Neills 
became  sufficiently  powerful  to  exclude  their  co-relatives.  (The 
first  were  descended,  according  to  MacFirbis,  from  Aedh  Allan,  and 
the  other  two  from  his  brother  Niall  Frosach.)  A.D.  1186, — 
"  Donnell,  son  of  Hugh  O'LoughUn  (or  MacLou^hlin),  was  deposed 
from  the  sovereignty^  and  flory  O'Laverty  was  elected  by  some  of 
the  Kinel-Owen  of  Tullaghoge."  This  was  the  last  O'Laverty  who 
obtained  that  dignity ;  and  the  last  MacLoughlin  was  DonneU 
who  was  deposed  in  the  year  1241  ;  after  which  the  chiefs  of  the 
Kinel-Owen  were  invariably  selected  from  the  O'Neills  till  the  Flight 
of  the  Earls. 


PARISH  OF  SAUL.  243 

age,  and  was  residing  in  the  townland  of  Carnacaw.     We 
have  no  record  of  the  date  of  his  death. 

The  Rev.  Rowland  Hannet  (now  written  Hanna),  seems 
to  have  succeeded  Mr.  Laverty.  He  resided  at  Loughmoney, 
An  entry  in  the  old  vestry-book  of  Down  Parish  Church, 
states  that  he  was  interred  on  the  5th  of  September,  1741. 
On  his  grave-stone  in  the  cathedral  yard,  Downpatrick, 
is  the  following  inscription  : — 

Here  Lyeth  ye  Body 

Of  ye  Revrend  Rowlan 

Hanet  who  Departed 

This  Life  ye  3d  of  Septem 

1741.     Aged  47  years 

The  Rev.  Eugene  Magarry  succeeded  Mr.  Hannet.  He 
was  a  native  of  Crossmore,  in  the  parish  of  Dunsford,  and 
was  a  brother  of  the  Yery  Rev.  Dr.  William  Magarry,  Dean, 
of  Down,  and  P.P.,  Dunsford.  He  died  in  1764,  and  was 
interred  in  the  Protestant  churchyard  of  Dunsford.  (For 
inscription  on  his  torubstone  see  parish  of  Dunsford.) 

The  Rev.  Mr,  0'JS"eill  seems  to  have  been  the  immediate 
successor  of  Mr.  Magarry.  He  was  a  native  of  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Hilltown,  When  in  the  parish  of  Saul,  he 
resided  in  Ballystokes,  and  afterwards  in  Walshestown,  in 
the  same  place,  where  in  more  recent  times  Dean  M'Cartan 
resided.  Mr.  O'Neill  intended  to  have  erected  a  chapel  at 
Carrowcarlin ;  and  having  gone  to  Hilltown  to  collect  funds 
for  that  purpose,  he  died  there  in  the  year  1771. 

On  the  death  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  O'Neill,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Mor- 
gan, P.P.,  Kilcoo,  was  appointed  to  Saul.  He  erected 
Carrowcarlin  chapel,  which  his  predecessor  had  commenced, 
Mr.  Morgan  resided  in  Ballystokes.     He  died  in  1775. 

The  Very  Rev.  Paul  M'Cartan  was  promoted  to  Saul  in 
1775  from  Duneane,  to  which  he  had  been  appointed  in  1768, 
Mr,  M'Cartan  was  the  last   Dean  of  Down.     Dr.   Patrick 


244  DOWN   AND   CONNOR. 

MacMullan  liad  promised  to  use  liis  influence  to  obtain  that 
dignity  for  the  Rev.  William  MacMullan,  P.P.,  Loughin- 
island,  but  his  lordship's  death  prevented  that  promise  from 
being  carried  into  effect.  Dean  M'Cartan  died  on  the  20th 
of  October^  1821,  and  was  interred  in  the  ancient  cemetery 
attached  to  the  Protestant  church  of  Saul.  On  his  grave- 
stone is  inscribed — 

Erected 

By 

The  Rev.  James  Hanua 

P.P.  of  Saul 

In  Memory  of 

The  Very  Rev.  Dean  M'Cartau 

his  predecessor  in  this  parish 

for  46  years 

Who  died  October  20th  1821 

Aged  82  years 

Bequicscat  inimce. 

Dean  M'Cartan  was  succeeded  by  his  curate,  the  Rev. 

James  Hanna. 

Mr.  Hanna  was  born  in  the  townland  of  Loughmoney,  in 

the  parish  of  Saul,  in  the  year  1788.     Before  commencing 

his  studies  in  the  college  of  Kilkenny,  he  was  ordained  by  Dr. 

Patrick  M'Mullan  in  Do\vni)atrick,  at  the  Advent  Quatuor 

Tense  of  1812.     On  his  return  from  college  he  was  appointed 

on   Palm  Sunday,  of  1816,  to  the  curacy  of  Saul,  where  he 

officiated  as  curate,  and  afterwards  as  parish  priest,  till  his 

death,  which  occurred  on  the  14th  of  December,  1842,     Mr. 

Hanna  died  in   the  54th   year  of  his  age,  and  was  interred 

in  front  of  the  altar  in  the  old  chapel  of  Saul.     His  tomb 

bears  the  following  inscription  : — 

Erected 

To  the  Memory  of  the 

Rev.  James  Hanna 

P.P.  of  Saul 

Who  departed  this  life  11th  Dec.  1842 

In  the  30th  year  of  his  ministry 

And  the  54  of  his  age. 

Bequiescat  in  pace. 


PARISH    OF   SAUL.  245 

After  tlie  death  of  Father  Hanna,  the  parish  was  ad- 
ministered by  his  curate,  the  Rev.  Patrick  Starkey,  the 
present  parish  priest  of  Cushendall,  until  the  appointment  of 
the  Rev.  Nicholas  Crickard  as  pastor.  Father  Crickard  is  a 
native  of  the  parish  of  Ballykinlar.  He  entered  the  Rhetoric 
Class  in  the  College  of  Maynooth,  on  the  23rd  of  August, 
1821,  and  was  ordained  by  Dr.  Murray  on  the  20th  of  May, 
1826.  After  having  officiated  as  curate  in  Ballymena  and 
in  Kilmegan,  he  was  appointed  parish  priest  of  Glenravel  on 
the  12th  of  June,  1832.  During  his  incumbency  in  that 
parish  he  was  appointed  Dean  of  the  Diocesan  Seminary, 
and  chaplain  of  the  Belfast  Workhouse.  He  was  promoted 
to  Saul  on  the  20th  August,  1843.* 

CHURCHES. 

At  the  time  of  the  suppression  of  the  Augustinian 
monastery,  the  spoliators  were  content  with  its  territorial 
possessions,  extending,  as  we  have  seen,  into  about  thirteen 
townlands,  with  the  advowson  of  Ballyculter  parish,  and  left 
the  buildings  to  crumble  into  ruins,  where,  admidst  the 
desolation  around,  Mass  was  often  celebrated  by  the  perse- 
cuted priests.  Mass  was  frequently  celebrated  near  Saul 
Dam,  in  Hugh  Crickai-d's  garden.  On  the  left  hand  side  of 
the  road  leading  from  Saul  to  Raholp,  in  the  sub-denomination 
of  Ballintogher,  called  Tullynear,  tliere  is  a  natural  ledge  of 

*  The  blessing  invoked  by  St.  Patrick  on  Dichu,  who  gave  to  him 
Saul — 

"  The  blessing  of  God  on  Dichu, 
Dichu  with  full  folds. 
No  one  of  his  sept  or  kindred 
Shall  die  except  after  a  long  life  " — 
seems  to  have  fallen  on  the  pastors  of  Saul.     Eight  of  them  have 
ruled  the  parish  for  upwards  of  200  years,  and  the  present  worthy 
pastor  and  his  two  predecessors  have  held  it  for  102  j^ears. 


246  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

rock  popularly  known  by  the  name  of  the  Lord's  Table, 
which,  in  days  of  jjersecution,  served  as  an  unhewn  altar. 
On  it  there  yet  remains  some  illegible  inscription.  The 
eastern  slope  of  Carrowvanny  mountain  and  a  field  in  the 
adjoining  townland  of  Loughmoney,  called  the  Bavin,  or 
Bawn  Park,  so  named  from  an  old  castle,  which  seems  to  have 
replaced  one  of  the  Celtic  Crannoges  in  the  adjoining  lough, 
were  favourite  places  of  worship  with  our  persecuted  fore- 
fathers, while  Luganiflrin  (the  Mass  hollow),  in  a  field  be 
longing  to  Mr.  Napier  in  Carnacaw,  and  a  bohog  at  Port- 
loughan,*  afibrded  similar  conveniences  to  the  more  eastern 
districts  of  the  parish.  When  at  length  the  penal  laws  had 
somewhat  relaxed,  the  E,ev.  Mr.  O'Neill,  about  1770,  com- 
menced Carrowcarlin  chapel,  which  his  successor,  Father 
Morgan,  completed  two  or  three  years  afterwards.  It  was 
somewhat  changed  by  Mr.  Hanna. 

Saul  chapel  was  erected  by  Dean  M'Cartan,  who  com- 
menced it  in  1778,  and  finished  it  in  1782.  It  was  replaced 
by  the  new  church  erected  by  Father  Crickard,  which  was 
consecrated  by  the  Most  Rev.  Dr.  Dorrian  on  the  16th  of 
September,  1866.  It  consists  of  a  nave,  chancel,  and  tower 
on  the  south  side,  and  was  erected  from  designs  by  Father 
Jeremiah  E,,  M'Auley,  which,  however,  were  not  fully 
carried  out.  The  altar  stone  of  this  church  is  said  to  have 
been  the  original  altar  on  which  St.  Patrick  celebrated  Mass. 

*  A  story  is  told  of  a  priest  who  was  secreted  from  the  priest- 
hunters  in  an  outhouse  at  Portlouglian  by  a  Catholic  servant,  at  the 
direction  of  the  owner,  and  ever  afterwards  that  house  was  thought 
to  be  so  "  lucky  "  that  the  late  owner  of  it,  when  rebuilding  it,  pre- 
aerved  a  portion  of  it,  in  order  to  perpetuate  the  priest's  blessing. 

A  somewhat  similar  story  is  told  of  Father  James  Hannet,  P.P., 
Kilclief,  who  was  saved  ia  Ballynarry  by  a  person  named  Stockdale, 
who  concealed  him  in  a  meal-ark  ;  the  people  say  that  the  greatest 
storm  never  removes  any  of  the  thatch  from  the  barn  in  which  he 
was  concealed. 


PARISH   OF    SAUL.  247 

It  is  ten  feet  in  length,  5  inches  in  thickness,  and  4  feet  3 
inches  in  breadth,  but  unfortunately  it  is  broken;  the  fracture 
extending  from  end  to  end  divides  it  into  two  fragments,  one 
being  1  foot  9  inches,  and  the  other  2  feet  3  inches  in  breadth. 
It  was  the  high  altar  of  the  ancient  monastery,  but  after  that 
had  become  a  ruin,  a  person  named  Caddell,  probably  Richard 
Caddell,  who  was  churchwarden  of  Down  in  1757,  being 
engaged  in  erecting  the  corner  house  at  the  junction  of  Saul 
and  Scotch  Streets  in  Downpatrick,  was  desirous  of  making 
the  old  altar  stone  a  door  step  for  his  new  house,  and  sent  a 
waggon  drawn  by  oxen  to  convey  it  from  Saul  to  Down- 
patrick,  but  the  oxen  becoming  restive,  stricken,  it  is  said, 
with  mania,  overturned  the  waggon  on  Saul  Hill  and  broke 
the  altar  stone,  Caddell,  feeling  that  he  was  engaged  in  a 
sacrilegious  act,  gave  up  the  undertaking ;  but  when  his 
property  wasted  away  and  the  family  died  out  the  people 
attributed  his  misfortune  to  the  vengeance  of  God.  The 
altar  stone  was  carried  from  the  hUl  on  which  it  lay  to  Saul 
chapel,  after  its  erection  in  1782,  from  which  it  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  new  church. 


The  townland  of  Walshstown  includes  the  old  denomina- 
tions of  Slievebuyon,  Farrenbolt  {alias  Myra)  and  Ballyregan; 
and  Loughmoney  includes  Church- Walls  and  Carrickclery. 


THE  PARISH  OF  DOWN. 


^HE  parish  of  Down  contains  the  entire  civil  parish 
of  Down,  as  given  in  the  last  census.  In  1871 
the  parish  of  Down,  including  the  public  institu- 
tions, contained  6,743  persons,  of  whom  3,049  were  Catholics. 
On  entering  the  parish  from  the  east  the  first  of  the  ancient 
chapels  which  presents  itself  is  Struell.  In  the  Taxation  of 
Pope  Nicholas  "  the  chapel  of  Strohull"  was  valued  at  two 
marks.  The  ruins  of  this  chapel  were  repaii-ed  in  1750  by 
the  Catholics,  who  intended  to  restore  them  to  their  original 
use.  They  were,  however,  dispossessed  of  them  before  the 
restoration  was  completed.  The  lands  of  Struell,  under  the 
name  "Tirestruther"  (the  land  of  the  stream),  were  conferred 
in  1178  by  Bishop  Malachi  on  the  Abbey  of  Down,  and  at 
its  suppression  they  are  found  among  its  possessions  under 
the  name  of  "  Bally shrewles."  Concei'ning  the  celebrated 
wells  of  St.  Patrick,  at  Struell,  in  1744,  Harris  thus  writes: — 
"  Hither  vast  throngs  of  rich  and  poor  resort  at  Midsummer 
Eve,  and  the  Friday  before  Lammas,  some  in  hopes  of  ob- 
taining health  and  others  to  perform  penances  enjoined  them 
by  the  Popish  priests,  from  the  water  blessed  by  St.  Patrick. 
They  are  four  in  number,  each  covei-ed  by  a  vault  of  stone, 
and  the  water  is  conveyed  by  subterranean  aqueducts  from 
one  to  the  other ;  but  the  largest  of  these  vaults  is  the  most 
celebrated,  being  in  dimensions  sixteen  feet  and  a  half  by 
eleven,  and  is  more  particularly  said  to  have  received  St. 
Patrick's  benediction.     In  this  they  bathe  the  whole  body, 


PARISH    OF    DOWN.  249 

there  being  a  commodious  chamber  fitted  up  for  dressing  and 
undressing ;  and  the  water  of  this  well  may  be  raised  to  what 
height  you  please  by  means  of  a  sluice.  The  other  wells  are 
applied  for  washing  particular  parts  of  the  body — as  the  eyes, 
head,  limbs,  &c.  All  these  vaults  seem  to  be  very  ancient, 
and  near  one  of  them  are  the  ruins  of  a  small  chapel  dedicated 
to  St.  Patrick."  Struell  seems  to  be  the  fountain  mentioned 
by  the  Scholiast  on  the  verse  of  St.  Fiech's  hymn  on  St. 
Patrick — 
In  the  fountain   Slan,   in  the  north,    near  Benna   Bairche  (which 

is  an  unfailing  fountain) 
He  was  wont  to  sing  a  hundred  psalms  to  the  angels'  King  worthy 

of  service. 

Upon  which  the  commentator  says — "  Slan,  the  name  of  a 
fountain.  Slan  (healthful)  it  is  named  because  healthful  is 
every  one  on  whom  it  falls,  and  at  Saul  it  is.  The  Uledians 
filled  it  up  on  account  of  the  annoyance  of  the  crowds  who 
came  to  it."  Father  Edmund  MacCana,  who  wrote  about 
the  year  1643,  says — "At  a  mile's  distance  from  this  city 
(Downpatrick)  there  presents  itself  that  remarkable  and 
unfailing  stream  which  is  called  Sruthshil,  brought  into 
existence  by  the  prayers  of  our  holy  Apostle.  This  spring 
the  piety  of  our  forefathers  enclosed  by  a  building,  upon  the 
floor  of  which  the  sanative  water,  the  remedy  for  various 
maladies  of  the  human  frame,  descends  in  a  rapid  and  un- 
ceasing stream.  Here  are  to  be  seen  also  the  ruins  of  another 
chapel,  between  which  and  this  overflowing  stream  is  another 
fountain  of  the  sweetest  water  artificially  enclosed  with  stone, 
which  is  commonly  called  the  Tub,  on  account  of  the  resem- 
blance of  its  shape.  In  this  tub  the  holy  man,  our  Patrick, 
as  an  untiring  athlete,  used  to  spend  a  great  part  of  the 
night,  stark  naked,  singing  psalms  and  spiritual  songs.  Near 
at  hand,  within  view,  is  the  Bed  of  St.  Patrick"  (now  called 
St.   Patrick's    Chair),    "  on    the   hill   opposite   the   above- 

R 


250  DOWN   AND   CONNOR. 

mentioned  stream,  consisting  of  two  lai'ge  rocks,  as  it  were 
the  sides  of  tlae  couch,  and  another  large  rock  for  the  bolster. 
Upon  this  that  most  holy  man  used,  towards  the  close  of  the 
night,  in  the  open  air,  and  under  the  cold  sky,  to  seek  a  little 
rest  for  his  wearied  body."  Dr.  O'Doran,  Bishop  of  Down 
and  Connor,  was  anxious  to  have  an  indulgence  conceded 
to  the  Stations  at  Struell,  writing  in  the  year  1753  to  Father 
Braulaghan,  his  agent  in  Rome,  he  says — "  I  have  it  to  add 
that  I  would  be  glad  if  I  could  get  those  indulgences  of  Crum- 
dugh  extended  to  Struel,  for  on  that  Fryday  the  Christians 
visit  sd.  Struel  as  well  as  Mount  Donert."  Struell  flourished 
for  ages  as  a  resort  of  piety  till  abuses  crept  in,  and  the 
ecclesiastical  authorities  were  necessitated  to  interdict  devo- 
tional exercises  at  it,  after  it  had  become  more  than  once  the 
scene  of  bloodshed.  The  following  extracts  from  old  news- 
papers prove  how  wisely  the  bishops  acted  : — {Neivs-Lette.r, 
August  9th,  1803) — "John  Murland,  James  Brown,  Richard 
Harper,  Alexander  Shanks,  Samuel  Ross,  and  William  Craig, 
tried  and  acquitted  for  the  murder  of  two  persons  at  Struell 
Well,  June,  1802."  {Commercial  Chronicle,  February  25th, 
1805) — "Assizes,  Downpatrick — Wm.  Ferguson,  for  murder 
of  two  men  at  Struell  Well,  near  Downpatrick,  in  June, 
1802,  acquitted."  The  two  men  who  were  the  unfortunate 
victims  of  the  Orangemen  of  Dillin,  were  William  Killen 
and  Patrick  Roney. 

The  appearance  of  Struell  Green,  such  as  it  had  continued 
xip  to  the  commencement  of  the  present  century,  has  been 
considerably  changed  by  the  erection  of  the  walls  enclosing 
the  fields  in  which  the  wells  are  situated.  The  narrow  road 
which  leads  from  the  public  road  to  the  Green,  on  entering 
it,  turns  suddenly  towards  the  east,  and  passes  between  the 
Drinking  Well,  or  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  the  Mother 
Well,  and  the  south  side-wall  of  the  ruined  chapel.     There 


PARISH    OF    DOWN.  251 

■was  formerly  a  cairn  of  stones  on  the  Green,  opposite  the 
road  where  it  turns  to  the  east,  and  two  other  similar  cairns 
were  arranged  along  the  south  side  of  the  road  between  the 
first  and  the  Drinking  Well.  A  fourth  cairn  stood  half-way 
between  the  Drinking  Well  and  the  Eye  Well.  A  fifth 
cairn  was  a  few  yards  to  the  south-east  of  the  Eye  Well.  A 
sixth  cairn  was  nearly  half-way  between  that  well  and  the 
Womens'  Bathing  Well ;  and  a  seventh  cairn  stood  a  little 
to  the  north  of  the  Mens'  Bathing  Well.  The  stone  chair 
or  Bed  of  St,  Patiick  is  situated  on  the  brow  of  the  moun- 
tain, or  hill,  which,  on  the  western  side  overhangs  the  field 
of  the  well?,  but  some  malicious  pex'son  has  disarranged  the 
large  rock  which  Father  MacCana  called  "  The  Bolster." 
Around  the  stone  chair  there  is  a  somewhat  circular  path  of 
a  few  perches  diameter  over  sharp  stones  or  rocks  called 
the  Penitential  Circle  or  King.  The  penitents,  all  the  while 
repeating  their  prayers,  either  walked  or  moved  on  their 
knees,  as  the  devotional  feelings  of  each  might  suggest,  seven 
times  around  each  of  the  cairns  and  wells  in  the  following 
order: — Around  Cairn  No.  1,  No.  2,  No.  3,  the  Drinking 
Well,  Cairn  No.  4,  the  Eye  Well,  Cairn  No.  5,  No.  6  and 
No.  7,  then  around  the  two  Bathing  Wells  in  one  circuit, 
which,  in  all,  made  seventy  circuits,  after  which  they  made 
seven  circuits  ai'ound  the  entire  space  occupied  by  the  wells 
and  cairns.  Having  now  made  seventy-seven  circuits,  they 
next  proceeded  to  the  Penitential  Ring  on  the  mountain, 
and  around  it  they  moved  on  their  knees  seven  times, 
and  sometimes  individual  penitents  increased  their  penances 
by  carrying  a  large  stone.  After  the  last  of  these  circuits, 
each  penitent  seated  himself  facing  the  east,  in  the  chair  or 
Bed  of  St.  Patrick,  in  which  he  turned  himself  three  times, 
being  careful  to  turn  from  left  to  right.  The  penitent  then 
descended  the  mountain,  and  prayed  some  time  at  an  altar 


252  DOWN   AND    CONNOR. 

which  was  arranged  on  the  outside  of  the  south  sidewall 
of  the  ancient  chapel.  The  penitent  concluded  the  pilgrim- 
age by  bathing  in  one  of  the  bathing  wells,  in  imitation  of 
St.  Patrick,  who  is  said  to  have  remained  whole  nights 
immersed  in  its  penitential  waters."^ 

On  entering  the  town  by  the  ancient  road^  which   leads 
from  the  old   race-course  past   the  ruined   Cromlech,  called 

*  To  say  a  word  in  praise  of  the  old  penitential  practices  of  our  fore- 
fatliers,  which  drew  down  on  them  many  a  blessing,  which,  it  is  to  be 
hoped,  we  inherit  from  them,  to  some  might  appear  dissonant  with  the 
civilization  of  an  age  that  abhors  the  advice  of  St.  Paul,  "Mortify  your 
members  which  are  upon  earth,"  and  that  condemns  pilgrimages  as  an 
emanation  from  what  it  terms  the  darkness  of  the  middle  ages.  Our 
forefathers  regarded  this  painful  penance  of  Struell  as  a  means  of  ob- 
taining a  remission  of  the  temporal  punishment  which  the  Catholic 
Church  believes  may  remain  due  in  the  other  life,  to  venial  sin,  or  to 
mortal  sin  after  the  mortal  guilt  has  been  remitted  by  the  sacraments. 
The  BoUandists  (March  12,  page  150)  give  much  interesting  information 
regarding  analogous  institutions — viz.,  the  stations  established  by  St. 
Gregory  in  the  basilicas  and  cemeteries  of  Rome.  And  if  we  compare 
the  austerities  of  the  Struell  station,  with  those  enjoined  by  the  peni- 
tential canons  of  the  primitive  church,  or  even  by  the  ancient  Irish 
Penitentials  we  shall  discover  that  in  this  respect  our  more  recent 
ancestors  imitated  but  faintly  the  saintly  practices  of  their  forefathers. 
Its  association  with  the  holy  actions  of  St.  Patrick  made  Struell  a 
favourite  pilgrimage  with  the  Irish.  We  know  that  from  the  beginning 
of  the  Church,  the  places  in  which  were  accomplished  the  mysteries  of 
our  redemption,  or  which  were  connected  with  the  lives,  or  the  suffer- 
ings of  saints,  have  ever  attracted  crowds  of  the  pious  faithful.  Julian, 
the  Apostate,  admitted  that  the  tombs  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  were 
visited  by  throngs  of  Christians,  even  before  the  death  of  St.  John  the 
Evangelist.  The  desire  to  visit  places,  which  were  the  memorials  of  our 
Savioui'  or  the  saints,  sprung,  not  from  what  is  called  the  darkness  of 
the  middle  ages,  but  was  in  full  vigour  in  the  apostolic  age.  Nay;  the 
more  we  become  instructed,  the  more  we  feel  that  piety  stands  in  need 
of  being  assisted  by  the  senses.  "That  man  is  little  to  be  envied, 
whose  patriotism  "T'ould  not  gain  force  upon  the  plain  of  Marathon,  or 
whose  piety  would  not  g^-ow  warmer  among  the  ruins  of  lona."  In  "A 
Treatise  which  clearly  sheweth  the  only  Religion  that  is  traly  conform- 
able to  the  express  "Word  of  God,"  written  by   Dr.  Shi  el,   afterwards 


PARISH    OF    DOWN.  253; 

Samson's  Stone,  there  is  on  the  left  hand  an  ancient  well 
called  St.  Dillon's  Well,  which  perhaps  should  he  called  St. 
Aingeal's  (holy  angels)  Well.  It  is  close  to  the  wall  which 
surrounds  the  hospital.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  road 
there  is  a  triangular  field,  bounded  on  one  side  by  a  bog  and 
on  the  other  two  sides  by  the  road  mentioned  and  by  another 
road  which  leads  to  the  townland  of  Killyvees.  In  this 
field  human  bones  have  been  found  in  great  quantities  by 
Mr.    Ferguson,    the    present   proprietor.      Here    stood    the 

Bishop  of  Down  and  Connor  (1717-1725),  the  bishop  says  :  —  "Why  do 
you  deny  that  God  does  now  grace  the  waters  of  some  wells,  that  people, 
by  washing  themselves  in  them,  might  be  healed  from  certain  infirmities? 
Wlaereas,  you  see  by  daily  experience,  many  people  to  be  cured  from 
several  iniirmities  at  such  wells  :  as,  for  example,  at  St.  Patrick's,  at 
St.  John's,  and  at  Our  Lady's  Well,  &c.,  in  Ireland.  Do  not  you  see 
by  Scripture  that  ISTaaman  of  Syria  was  cleansed  from  his  leprosie  by 
washing  himself  seven  times  in  the  Kiver  Jordan,  and  that  after  his 
cure  he  had  prayed  Elizeus  to  permit  him  that  he  would  carry  with  him 
two  m  ules'  burden  of  earth  from  the  Holy  Land,  that  hereafter,  he 
might  offer  sacrifice  to  God  upon  that  earth  in  his  own  country?  .  .  . 
And  you  see  likewise  in  Scripture  that  memorable  passage  of  St.  John, 
which  says  thus :— '  There  is  in  Jerusalem,  by  the  Sheep  market,  a  pool 
having  five  porches,  and  in  these  were  a  great  multitude  of  persons — 
blind,  lame,  withered — expecting  the  stirring  of  the  water  ;  and  an 
angel  of  our  Lord  descended  at  a  certain  time  into  the  pond,  and  the 
water  was  stirred  ;  and  he  that  had  gone  down  first  into  the  pond,  after 
the  stirring  of  the  water,  was  made  whole  of  what  infirmity  soever.' 
Pray,  how  came  tliis  water  to  have  such  a  virtue,  and  an  angel  of  God 
deputed  to  look  after  it  ?  Truly  you  can  give  no  reason  why  should  it 
have  that  virtue  more  than  any  other  water,  but  that  God  was  pleased 
to  have  it  so  because  the  carcases  of  those  sheep  which  were  sacrificed 
in  the  Temple  were  washed  in  this  pond,  or  else  because  the  blood  of 
those  sheep  did  run  into  it ;  yet  I  see  that  you  will  not  grant  that  God 
now  sanctifies  any  place  wherein  the  blood  of  martyrs  hath  been  spilt  ; 
neither  will  you  give  credit  to  any  of  those  miracles  which  are  wrought 
at  such  places,  or  at  the  bodies  of  saints,  or  at  certain  wells,  but  you 
must  ask,  forsooth,  now,  where  are  such  miracles  writ  in  the  Word  of 
God — as  if  there  had  been  ever  since  the  apostles'  time  Scripture  writers 
who  might  record  and  testify  all  those  things  which  have  since  happened." 


254  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

Priory  of  St.  Thomas  the  martyr,  otherwise  called  the  Priory 
of  Toberglorie  (the  Spring  of  glory),  so  named  from  the 
adjacent  well,  at  which  St.  Patrick  is  said  to  have  had  a 
vision  of  angels.  The  priory  was  founded  by  John  de 
Courcy  for  the  order  of  Regular  Canons,  and  made  a  cell  of 
St.  Mary's,  of  Carlisle.  The  charter  given  by  the  founder 
is  preserved  in  a  Patent  Roll  (12  Ed.  II.),  and  is  printed  in 
the  Monasticum  Anglicanum.  In  it  the  site  of  the  priory  is 
described  as  "  near  the  spring,  which  is  called  Toberglorie, 
in  a  suburb  of  Down,  between  two  roads,  one  of  which  leads 
to  Crems,  the  other  to  the  Grange  of  Saul."  Crems  is 
intended  for  Killyvees,  and  the  "  Grange  of  Saul"  is  Saul 
Quarter,  near  the  old  race-course.  This  priory  having  fallen 
into  decay,  its  endowments  were,  in  the  year  1512,  along 
with  those  of  the  Monastery  of  the  Irish  and  the  Priory 
of  the  English,  and  of  several  other  religious  houses,  united 
to  the  cathedx'al  by  Tiberius,  Bishop  of  Down. 

The  site  of  the  Priory  of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  or,  as  it 
was  also  called,  the  Pi'iory  of  the  English,  which  belonged  to 
the  Crouched  Friars,  or  Cross-bearers,  is  now  occupied  by 
the  Ebeneezer  Chapel,  and  its  grounds  extended  along  John's 
Street,  which  derives  its  name  from  the  priory.  It  is  marked 
on  a  map  of  Down,  1729,  by  a  mound  in  the  shape  of  a 
horse-shoe,  which  is  referred  to  by  Harris  in  his  history  of 
Down,  who  also  says — "  About  sixteen  years  ago  (written 
in  1744)  Mr.  Trotter,  as  he  was  making  a  new  garden  on 
Chappel  Hill,  found  another  Agnus  Dei,  which,  being  also  of 
freestone,  an  ignorant  servant-maid  brayed  it  to  powder  for 
domestic  uses.  He  found  vast  quantities  of  human  bones  in 
the  same  place,  which  he  deposited  in  one  large  grave."  On 
the  old  map,  a  place,  a  little  to  the  south  east  of  the  mound, 
is  marked  "  St,  John's  Close."  Father  Edmund  MacCana, 
writing  some  time  after  16  i3,  says  that  in  his  time   the 


PARISH    OF    DOWN.  255 

Monastery  of  St.  John  "  was  called  by  the  inhabitants  '  Killin 
Seon,'  that  is  the  Church  of  St.  John.  This  celebrated 
monastery  enjoyed  a  large  extent  of  lands  not  second  in 
fertility  to  those  of  any  country."  A  Confirmation  Charter 
of  Edward  III.  is  preserved  in  the  tower  on  a  Patent  Roll. 
In  it  the  house  is  designated  as  the  "  Hospital  of  John  the 
Baptist,"  and  "  The  Hospital  of  St.  John  of  the  English  out- 
side the  city  of  Down."  It  recites  a  series  of  charters, 
followed  by  a  confirmation,  viz.,  that  of  John  de  Courcy, 
granting  certain  customs ;  which  runs  thus — "  To  God, 
to  St.  Mary,  and  St.  John,  and  St.  Nicholas  and  to  St. 
•Clement,  and  to  the  friars  that  dwell  in  the  hospital 
outside  the  City  of  Down"  ;  that  of  Richard  de  Burgo, 
granting  six  marks  annually  out  of  Ballydonuell  in  Locale 
(Balydovenald  in  Leth-Kathel),  and  two  Carucates  held  by 
William  de  Maunde  ;  that  of  Stephen  de  Petraponte,  grant- 
ing the  town  of  Clochorton  in  the  Ards,  and  four  marks  per 
annum ;  that  of  Nicholas  de  Trym  to  John  Walle,  prior, 
granting  one  mark  from  "  Villa  Jordani,"  in  the  Ards.  An- 
other charter  is  from  William  Fitz  Alan,  granting  four  marks 
from  Cubynillis  (Kircubbin)  in  Ynchemkargy  (Inishargy) 
and  the  last  charter  recited,  is  that  of  William  de  Maunde- 
ville  granting  an  acre  in  the  Garthe  along  the  highway  from 
Yilla  Haye  to  Cumber,  and  the  advowson  of  the  Church  of  St. 
Mary  of  Haytown  (now/Ballyhayin  the  parish  of  Donaghadee). 
At  the  dissolution,  the  monastery  of  St.  John  was  found  to 
be  seized  of  the  site,  church,  and  an  acre  of  land  within  the 
precincts  :  of  a  ballyboe  in  Ballynagarrick,  one  in  the  two 
towns  of  Ballywoodan  :  one  in  "  Carrickyna,"  together  with 
the  rectories  of  Ballywoodan,  Kircubbin,  Killard,  and  Bally- 
rickard  (in  the  parish  of  Cumber).  See  Ulster  Journal 
Archceology,  Vol.  II.  William  Prior,  of  St.  John  the 
Baptist's,  was  a  subscribing  witness  to  De  Courcy's  Charter 


356 


DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 


to  the  Black  Abbey.  The  custody  of  the  hospital,  or  leper- 
house  of  St.  Nicholas,  seems  to  have  been  committed  to  the 
friars  of  St.  John's.  A  Patent  Roll  (10  Rich.  II.)  of  the 
date  of  1387  records  a  grant  from  the  Crown  of  the  custody 
of  the  hospital  to  Brother  Thomas  Cuthbert.  This  "  Brother 
Thomas  Cuthbert,  master  of  the  house  of  St.  John  of  the 
English  of  Down/'  was  appointed  in  1390  deputy  to  Thomas 
de  Clifford  in  all  his  offices,  and  became  Chancellor  and 
Treasurer  of  the  Liberties  of  Ulster.  A  Patent  Roll  (3  Hen. 
TV.)  recites  a  petition  of  "Thomas  Prior,  of  the  house  of 
St.  John  of  the  English,  near  the  city  of  Down,  in  Ulster," 
in  which  he  states  that  he  and  his  predecessors  since  the 
conquest  of  Ireland  had  been  seized  in  right  of  their  monas- 
tery by  the  gift  of  John  De  Courcy  of  a  certain  custom 
called  "  les  sise  bolles" — namely,  of  two  measures  (lagense)  of 
ale  from  every  brewing  (pandoxicatio)  of  ale  in  the  City  of 
Down  ;  and  that  by  a  gift  of  Walter  de  Burgo,  late  Earl  of 
Ulster,  they  had  been  seized  of  a  church  in  a  certain  island 
called  the  Island  of  St.  John  of  Down,  but  that  the  custom 
and  the  church  had  passed  into  the  possession  of  the  late  Earl 
of  Ulster,  while  the  prior,  both  on  account  of  his  own  poverty 
and  of  the  suddenness  of  the  dea  th  of  the  earl,  had  been 
unable  to  recover  them.  The  prior  succeeded  in  establishing 
his  claim  to  both  the  custom  and  the  church.  This  insular 
church  seems  to  have  been  the  Chapel  of  St.  Mary  Magdalen, 
which  stood  in  the  townland  of  Ringreagh,  where  traces  of  a 
burial  ground  have  been  observed  at  a  spot  about  one  hundred 
yards  distant  from  the  new  road  between  Downpatrick  and 
Ballydugan,  on  a  hill  which  had  formerly  been  an  island. 
The  Chapel  of  St,  Mary  Magdalen  was  valued  in  the  Taxation 
of  Pope  Nicholas  at  20s.  "The  free  chapel  of  the  Blessed 
Mary  Magdalene,"  vacant  by  the  death  of  Stephen  Trystry, 
was  conferred,  A.D.    1449,  upon  Wm.    M'Connocha,    Reg. 


PARISH  OF  DOWN".  257 

MeAj.  It  was  conferred  in  1487  upon  Robert  Ball,  Reg. 
Octavian  ;  and  in  1512  it  was  one  of  the  churches  annexed 
to  the  cathedral  by  Tiberius,  Bishop  of  Down  and  Connor. 
We  learn  from  an  Inquisition  (3  Ed.  VI.)  held  A.D.  1550, 
that  the  Prior  of  St.  Patrick's  was  seized  of  '.^  a  void  piece  of 
land  and  the  walls  of  an  ancient  Chapel  of  St.  Mary  Magda- 
len, of  no  value."  The  "  Terrier,"  a  document  of  the  year 
1615,  says — "Capella  Sanctse  Marise  Magdalen  de  Rinriath, 
it  is  the  Archdeacon's  of  Down,  and  he  pays  in  proxies,  Is.; 
in  refections.  Is. ;  in  synodals,  2s."  It  seems  strange  that 
the  townland  of  Pingreagh  [Rinn  riach,  the  grey  point), 
though  situated  in  the  heart  of  the  parish  of  Down,  was  till 
lately  in  the  civil  parish  of  Kilclief  This,  however,  can  be 
accounted  for  by  supposing  that  its  chapel,  dedicated  to  St. 
Mary  Magdalen,  was  attached  to  the  hospital  or  leper-house 
of  St.  Nicholas  of  Down,  the  custody  of  which,  along  with 
the  hospital  or  leper-house  of  St.  Peter  at  Kilclief,  was  en- 
trusted, A.D,  1415,  to  John  Fitz-Richard,  chaplain,  John 
Molyn,  and  Walter  Sely,  and  the  lands  attached  to  it  would- 
easily  pass  under  the  j  urisdiction  of  the  Protestant  archdeacon 
when  that  dignitary  became  possessed  of  the  parish  of  Kil- 
clief. The  insular  position  of  Ringreagh  renders  it  probable 
that  it  is  the  church  in  the  Island  of  St.  John  of  Down  which 
was  the  subject  of  the  petition  of  Prior  Thomas,  to  which 
reference  has  already  been  made,  and  the  same  insular  position 
would  have  recommended  its  suitability  for  a  leper-house. 
A.D.  1393,  Prior  William  Rufus  of  St.  John  the  Baptist's 
being  deposed  a  licence  was  granted  to  proceed  to  elect  in  his 
room.  In  the  Rental  Book  of  Gerald,  9th  Earl  of  Kildare, 
there  appears  the  name  of  John  Cross,  Prior  of  St.  John  of 
Down.  31st  of  May — 2  3  Henry  VIII.  Gelacius  Magennis 
was  prior  of  St.  John's  as  v/ell  as  of  St.  Patrick's,  and  the 
other  churches  united  by  Tibei'ius.     The  "Terrier"  of  1615 


258  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

sets  down  "  tlie  Priory  of  St.  John's,  of  Downe  ;"  as  bound 
to  pay  the  bishop — "  in  jn-oxies,  three  marks;  in  refections, 
three  marks  ;  in  synodals,  2s. — six  marks,  2s."  The  Priory 
of  St.  Thomas  is  not  mentioned  in  the  "  Tei-rier,"  which 
seems  to  show  that  it  had  been  completely  efiaced  long  before 
the  date  of  that  document.  It  would  seem  that  its  endow- 
ments were  merged  in  those  of  the  Priory  of  St.  John,  for  an 
Inquisition,  held  in  Downpatrick  in  16G2,  found  that  the 
Earl  of  Ardglass  had  been  seized  of  the  site  of  the  dissolved 
Priory  of  St.  John  and  St.  Thomas,  and  of  an  acre  of  land 
and  a  close  (Clausiilum — probably  "  St.  John's  Close")  ad- 
joining the  priory,  Grangecam,  Kingreagh,  Master's  Island, 
otherwise  called  Horse  Island,  and  a  head  rent  of  5s.  per 
annum  from  the  two  townlands  of  Ballydugan,  "  esteemed 
parcels  of  the  possessions  of  the  said  monastery  of  Saints 
John  and  Thomas." 

St.  Malachy  founded,  in  the  year  1158,  a  Priory  of 
Kegular  Canons,  which,  in  after  times,  was  called  the  Mon- 
astery of  the  Irish,  or  Monaster  Gallagh.  The  "  Terrier" 
says  of  it : — "  Monasterium  Hibernorum,  hard  by  the  cath 
edral,  is  the  church  of  the  channons  ;"  and  then  informs  us 
that  it  paid  to  the  bishop — "  in  proxies,  two  marks ;  in 
refections,  two  marks ;  in  synodals,  2s. — four  marks,  2s." 
Human  remains  have  been  found  on  the  site  occupied  by  the 
old  jail,  and  the  position  of  that  place  would  correspond  very 
well  with  the  description  given  in  the  "Terrier."  A  town- 
land  called  Carrickmallett  is  mentioned  as  a  jiortiou  of  the 
possessions  of  this  monastery,  It  was  also  possessed  of  the 
Chapels  of  Quoniamstown,  Kilbride,  St.  Knoth,  and  several 
other  chapels  and  churches.  The  Chapel  of  St.  Malachy, 
which  was  valued  in  the  Taxation  of  Pope  Nicholas  at  8s., 
seems  to  have  been  the  Chapel  of  the  Monastery  of  the  Irish. 

The   Nunnery   of  the   Blessed   Mary,    belonging    to    the 


PARISH  OP  DOWN.  259 

Cistercian  Order,  seems  to  have  stood  to  the  north  of  what  is 
at  present  the  Protestant  parish  church.  In  the  map  of 
1729  the  junction  of  Bridge  Street  and  Church  Street  is 
marked  "  Nun's  Gate."  The  "  Terrier"  informs  us  that  the 
'•'Domus  Monialis  of  the  nuns  of  Downe"  paid — "in  proxies, 
five  marks  ;  in  refections,  five  marks  ;  in  synodals,  2s. — ten 
marks,  2s."  The  possessions  of  the  house  were  very  exten- 
sive ;  they  included  Ballintogher,  "  Mill-to wne,  otherwise 
called  Ballymullin."  Tullyneere  (now  included  in  the  town- 
land  of  Balliatogher),  Ballysherrin,  otherwise  called  Lisboy, 
and  "  Ballygallneheagh,  otherwise  Bally gallsheagh."  About 
the  year  1395  Janico  d'Artois  obtained  "two  messuages  and 
one  carucate  in  Nuntown,  by  the  gift  of  the  Prioress  and 
Convent  of  the  Blessed  Mary  of  Down."  Nuntown  is  the 
present  townland  of  Ballynagallagh — the  town  of  the  nuns — 
in  the  parish  of  Bright,  which  still  forms  a  portion  of  the 
estate  which,  at  the  commencement  of  this  century,  belonged 
to  the  Kildare  family,  the  lineal  rejn-esentatives  of  Sir  Janico. 
It  is  probable  that  the  Cistercian  Convent  occupied  the  site 
of  the  Church  of  St.  Brigid  mentioned  in  the  following  entry 
in  the  Annals  of  Ulster  at  1006 : — "  Matadan,  son  of  Donel, 
King  of  Ulster,  was  killed  by  Turk  in  the  Church  of  Brigid, 
in  the  middle  of  Dundalethglas  (Downpatrick)."  In  1512 
Tiberius,  Bishop  of  Down,  gave  to  the  cathedral  "  the  mon- 
astery which  in  ancient  times  was  ruled  by  nuns,  but  which 
is  now  in  a  state  of  ruin  (devastatum)." 

The  Franciscan  Friary  occupied  the  site  of  the  Protestant 
parish  church.     Father  Edmund  MacCana,*  in  his  "  Irish 

*  Father  MacCana  was  a  native  of  some  part  of  the  County  of 
Down,  perhaps  of  the  neighbourhood  of  Downpatrick  —he  tells  that 
his  grandfather  was  an  eye-witness  of  the  burning  of  the  abbey  of 
Down.  Tlie  name  is  still  numerous  in  the  vicinity  under  the  modern- 
ised form  of  M'Cann.  They  are  descended  from  Colla-Da-Crioch,  and 
are,  therefore,  of  the  Oriellian  race,  but  before  the  tweKth  century 


260  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

Itinery,"  written  shortly  after  1643,  says: — "In  the  valley 
beneath,  on  the  south-east  (of  the  Mound),  is  a  monastery 
of  the  Order  of  St.  Francis,  badly  and  inconveniently  sit- 
uated, for  the  ground  is  overgrown  with  rushes  and  swampy." 
From  proximity  to  the  friary  Bridge  Street  was  formei-ly 
called  Fryar's  Lane,  and  Church  Street  and  the  gardens 
adjoining  it  on  the  eastern  side  occupy  what  is  marked 
Fryar's  Bog  in  the  map  of  1729.  A  MS.  written  by  "  Fr. 
Franciscus  Wardens,"  who  is  supposed  with  good  reason  to 
be  Father  Hugh  Ward,  the  originator  of  the  "  Annals  of  the 
Four  Masters,"  was  lately  transferred  to  the  Franciscan 
Convent,  Dublin,  from  the  archives  of  the  College  of 
the  Irish  Franciscans  in  Rome.  It  was  written  about  the 
year  1630  in  Louvain,  and  transferred  thence  to  Rome. 
That  document  says  : — "  The  Convent  of  Down  was  built  in 
the  episcopal  and  maratime  City  of  Down,  in  Ulster,  and  was 
placed  in  the  Custody  (a  portion  of  a  province)  of  Drogheda, 
by  the  General  Chapter  of  Narbonne,  in  the  year  1260. 
From  its  first  foundation,  it  was  always  a  nursery  of  piety. 
It  was  here  that  John  Duns  Scotus,  the  subtle  doctor,  as- 
sumed the  habit  of  the  Franciscan  Order,  and  he  was  called 
Duns  from  the  name  of  his  native  city,  Down,  which  was 
thus  abbreviated.  The  friars  were  first  expelled  from  this 
convent  by  John  Brittan,  an  English  Protestant,  who,  with 
a  number  of  wicked  followers,  invaded  the  place  in  the  year 
1569.  The  friars  were  apprised  of  his  approach,  and  saved 
themselves  by  flight,  but  returned  again  ;  and  in  the  follow- 
ing year,  1570,  he  made  an  attack  on  the  convent,  hanged 

they  became  incorporated  into  the  Kinel-Owen.  The  first  of  the 
name  mentioned  in  our  annals  is  "  Amhlaeibh  MacCana  (A.D.  1155), 
lord  of  Cinel  Aenghusa,  pillar  of  the  chivalry  and  vigour  of  all  Cinel- 
Eoghain,  died  and  was  interred  in  Ard-Macha."  The  M'Canns  were 
seated  in  Clanbrasil  in  the  County  of  Armagh  —along  the  Bann  before 
it  falls  into  Lough  Neagh. 


PARISH    OF    DOWN.  261 

all  the  friars  he  caught,  and  almost  totally  destroyed  the 
establishment,  with  the  exception  of  the  church  which  was 
kept  as  a  court  house  for  the  English  j  udges  of  Assize.  It 
remained  desolate  from  the  time  of  its  suppression  till  1627, 
when  Father  John  Matthew  (Matheics,  perhaps  M'Mahon), 
being  provincial,  a  residence  was  erected  in  the  vicinity. 
Father  Henry  Melan,  a  theologian  and  excellent  preacher, 
was  appointed  superior  of  the  new  establishment ;  he  having 
discharged  the  offices  of  vicar,  provincial,  diffinitor,  and 
custos,  continues  to  labour  strenuously  in  the  salvation  of 
souls.  The  foundation  of  this  convent  is  attributed  by  some 
to  Africa,  the  daughter  of  the  King  of  Man  (Godred),  and 
•widow  of  John  de  Courcy,  Earl  of  Ulster;  but  I  rather 
think  that  the  founder  was  Magennis,  whose  posterity  now 
inherit  the  lordship  of  Iveagh,  and  are  branched  out  into 
several  noble  families.  Magennis  erected  a  family  sepulchre 
in  this  monastery.  I  find  that  a  chapter  was  held  here  in 
the  year  1313."  The  name  of  the  assailant  of  the  poor  friars 
was  John  Brereton  (not  Brittan).  His  thirst  for  religious 
spoils  impelled  him  to  the  convent,  but  the  sacred  vessels 
were  concealed,  and  three  friars — John  Loughran,  Edmund 
Simmons  and  Donat  O'Rorke — were  his  only  prey.  These 
the  villans  subjected  to  a  variety  of  tortures,  and  then  stan- 
gled  them  from  the  branches  of  a  large  oak  which  grew  near 
the  Sjiring  of  Glory,  now  called  St.  Dillan's  Well.  This 
friary  was  founded,  according  to  Ware,  about  the  year  1240, 
by  Hugh  de  Lacy,  Earl  of  Ulster.  The  great  glory  of  the 
Franciscan  convent  of  Down  was  its  real  or  supposed  alum- 
nus, John  Duns  Scotus,  the  great  philosopher  and  founder 
of  the  school  of  theologians,  called  from  him  Scotists.  The 
birth-place  of  Duns  Scotus  has  been  disputed  against  us  by 
the  Scotch  and  English.  Nearly  all  his  biographers  say  that 
he  was  born  in  Lecale  in  the  year  1274.     Fray.  Samiengo 


ab2  DOWN  AND  CONNOR, 

even  defines  the  precise  spot  as  being  at  "■  the  extremity  of 
a  promontory,"  which  would  seem  to  indicate  St.  John's 
Point.  From  his  works  we  learn  that  St.  Patrick  and  St. 
Francis  were  his  patron  saints,  a  choice  most  natural  for  a 
Franciscan  born  in  Lecale,  A  Provincial  Chapter  of  the 
order  was  held  in  this  convent,  a.d.  1313.  An  Inquisition, 
held  in  Downpatrick  on  the  9th  of  April,  1662,  found  that 
the  Cromwell  family  were  possessed  of  the  site  of  the  Fran- 
ciscan friary,  with  its  cemetery,  gardens,  and  orchards, 
together  with  the  townland  of  Magheralagan  and  "  Connegar 
his  acre,"  which  had  been  portions  of  the  endowments  of 
that  friary.  It  was  also  possessed  of  the  lands  of  ''  Bally- 
large  "  and  "  Ballentlewe."  The  friary  of  Down  eventually 
adher-ed  to  the  branch  of  the  Franciscans  called  Observan- 
tines,  when  Thomas  M'Cominde  was  Guardian,  and  Patrick 
Keavinyn  was  Provincial.  St.  Francis  of  Assissi,  conceived 
the  design  of  founding  an  order  of  men  whose  duty  it  would 
be  to  preach  the  doctrine  of  Christ  by  word  and  example, 
and  exhibit  in  their  own  persons  the  poverty  and  humility 
of  the  Gospel.  His  rule  was  confirmed  by  Pope  Honorius 
III.  1223.  Like  all  human  institutions,  however,  the  order 
lost  its  first  splendour,  and  a  spirit  of  secular  aggrandisement 
obscured  the  humility  of  the  poor  Friar  Minors.  The  most 
zealous  and  numerous  portion  of  the  order  selected  convents 
which  had  renounced  their  property,  and  where  the  strict- 
ness of  their  foiinder's  rule  was  adhered  to.  Such  con- 
vents were  called  "  Stridioris  Observantio^,"  and  were  said  to 
be  reformed.  The  Irish  Franciscans  finally  adopted  this 
reformation.  They  were  commonly  called  in  Ireland  Grey 
Friars,  from  the  colour  of  their  habits.  It  would  be  now 
impossible  to  find  out  the  place  where  Father  Henry  Melan 
re-established  his  order  in  the  vicinity  of  their  ruined  friary, 
but  there  were,  in  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  traditions 


PARISH  OP  DOWN. 


263 


among  the  people  of  Downpatrick  that  a  numerous  ordei'  of 
friars  was  established  in  that  town  about  the  year  1644. 
The  Franciscans  eventually  established  their  locus  refugii  in 
the  townland  of  Drumnaquoile  (see  under  parish  of  Kil- 
megan)  and  the  order,  though  exiled  from  its  ancient  mon- 
astery, and  stripped  of  its  rich  possessions,  still  continued  to 
appoint  in  its  chapters  titular  guardians  for  the  Monastery 
of  Down.* 

*  The  following  list  of  guardians  of  Down  and  the  date  of  the  chapter 
at  which  they  were  appointed,  as  extracted  from  the  chapter  acts  of  the 
order,  may  be  interesting  : — 


Guardians  of  the  Convenl 

Appointed  in  a  Chapter 

of  Down. 

held. 
Mouth.        Year. 

(a)                    V.A.P.Fi 

.  Anthony  Dungan, 

..       15  Aug.,     1629. 

Patrick  JSTeny, 

8  Feb.,     1645. 

James  Hirill,    ... 

5  Sept.,    1647. 

James  Hirill,    ... 

4  Feb.,     1648. 

Dyonysius    *    *    * 

...       17  Aug.,    1650. 

Paul  Briiin, 

9  Oct.,     1658. 

Dyonysius  Magee, 

...      26  Feb.,    1659. 

Continued          , 

Dyonisius  Magee, 

8  Sept.,    1661. 

(h) 

James  Herill,    ... 

...       18  Oct.,     1669. 

(c) 

Paul  O'Neill,     ... 

...       21  Nor.,   1672. 

Daniel  Cormack, 

..       23  Aug.,    1675. 

James  Conegan, 

...       23  Jan.,    1676. 

Dyonysius  Magee, 

...       24  Aug.,  1678. 

Dyonysius  Magee, 

...       28  April,  1680. 

Paul  O'Neill,  sen.. 

...       14  Mar.,  1681. 

Paul  O'Neill,  sen., 

...       13  June,  1683. 

Anthony  Magennis, 

...       23  Jan.,   1684. 

Anthony  Magennis, 

...       27  Jan.,   1685. 

fa)  Father  Anthony  Dungan  was  prohably  a  relation  of  Dr.  Edmund  O'Dungan, 
Bishop  of  Down  and  Connor,  who  died  a  prisoner  in  Dublin  Castle,  24th  November, 


(b)  I  suspect  that  James  Herill  is  the  James  O'Hiney  mentioned  in  Primate  Oliver 
Plunkett's  report  on  the  state  of  Down  and  Connor,  dated  Nov.  1st,  1670  ;— "  There 
is  also  a  convent  of  Franciscans,  who  are  twelve  in  number,  and  amongst  them  Paul 
O'Byrn,  Paul  O'Neill,  James  O'Hiney,  are  the  most  distinguished  in  point  of  preach- 
ing and  producing  fruit."    Dr.  Plunket  frequently  misspells  surnames  in  his  letters. 

fc}  Probably  the  Paul  O'Neill  of  the  Primate's  report. 


264 


DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 


The  Mound  or  Ratli  of  Downpatrick,  lying  to  the  north  of 
the  Cathedral,  "comprehends,"  says  Harris,  "at  least  three- 
quarters  of  an  English  mile  within  the  circuit  of  all  the 
works.  The  circumference  of  it  is  2,100  feet ;  the  conical 
height,  60  feet ;  the  diameter  at  the  top  bearing  a  proportion 
to  the  other  parts.  Three  great  artificial  rampai'ts  svirround 
it,  the  most  considerable  of  which  is  thirty  feet  broad."    This 


Guardians  of  the  Convent 
of  Down. 


V.A.P.Fr.  Anthony  Magennis, 
Dyonisius  Magee, 
Bernard  M'Laghlin 
John  Doran, 
Dyonisius  Magee, 
Bernard  Gernon, 
John  Doran, 
John  Doran, 
James  Shiel, 
James  Shiel, 
James  Shiel, 
James  Shiel, 
John  Doran, 
Paul  Bume, 
James  Shiel, 
James  Kenedy,    ... 
James  Shiel,  S.T., 


Lector, 


Appointed  in  a  Chapter 
held. 
Month.     Year. 

15  Aug.,  1687. 
5  May,   1689. 

..  24  Aug.,  1690. 
...  18  Feb.,  1693. 
...  22  July,  1697. 
...  26  July,  1699. 
...   19  Oct.,  1700. 

9  June,  1702. 
..   19  Nov.,  1703. 

9  June,  1705. 
,..   13  Nov.,  1706. 

8  May, 
...   12  Oct., 

7  June,  1711. 
...  13  Oct.,  1714. 
...       10  May,  1716. 

16  Oct.,  1717. 


1708. 
1709. 


It  is  curious  that  from  the  extracts  which  Father  Carey,  of  the  Fran- 
ciscan  Convent,  Merchants'  Quay,  Dublin,  kindly  made  for  me  from  the 
vellum  manuscript  book  of  the  Chapter  Acts,  which  was  carried  off  from 
Louvain  at  the  time  of  the  French  Revolution,  there  appears  to  be  a 
blank  in  the  MS.  from  1717  to  1739.  This  blank  was  caused,  without 
doubt,  by  the  documents  having  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  Govern- 
ment officials,  which  prevented  them  from  reaching  the  Franciscans  in 
Louvain.  Among  the  papers  formerly  preserved  in  the  Bermingham 
Tower,  in  DubUn  Castle,  I  found  copies  of  the  Acts  of  the  Chapters  of 
the  Franciscans,  held  in  Dublin  in  the  years  1717,  1720,  1724,  k  1729, 
which  enable  me  to  continue  the  Guardians  of  Down  during  those 
years  ;  and  it  is  also  curious  that  the  Castle  paper  differs  from  the 
Louvain  MS. ,  by  substituting  Bernard  Cassidy  instead  of  James  Shiel 
as  appointed  Guardian  of  Down  in  1717. 


PARISH  OF  DOWN.  265 

great  rath  appears  to  have  been  the  royal  residence  and 
principal  fortress  of  the  princes  who  governed  the  surrounding 
territory,  and  it  was  probably  on  that  account  that  the  church 
in  its  vicinity  was  selected  as  the  place  of  St.  Patrick's 
sepulture,  and  as  the  cathedral  of  the  diocese.  On  this 
mound  was  the  residence  of  Celtchar  of  the  battles,  who 
flourished  about  the  commencement  of  the  Christian  era,  and 

FROM   THE    RECORDS    PRESERVED    IN    THE 
BERMINGHAM   TOWER. 


V.A.P.  Bernard  Cassidy, 
,,  Dionysras  Fegan, 
,,  Anthony  Conmy, 
,,  Dionysius  Fegan, 
,,  Dionysius  Fegan, 
LIST    OF    GUARDIANS    CONT 


1717. 
1720. 
1724. 
1727. 
1729. 
NUED,    FROM   THE 


LOU  VAIN    MANUSCRIPT. 

V.A.P.  Dionysius  Fegan,     24  July,    1739. 

Joseph  Kelly,  25  Maj-,    1741. 

„       Peter  Shiel,  16  Aug.,  1742. 

Peter  Shiel,  16  April,  1744. 

,,       Pvichard  Breen,        12  Aug.,  1745. 

Francis  M'Cann,     12  Feb.,  1747. 

Peter  Shiel,  22  Aug.,  1748. 

(e)  ,,       JohnM'Mullan,  ExDiff,  ...  16  Feb.,  1751. 

(/)  ,,       Anthony  O'Neill,  S.T.  Lect,  26  Aug.,  1751. 

Anthony  O'Neill,  S.T.  L.,  26  Feb.,  1753. 

,,       Arthur  Clinton,      26  Aug.,  1754. 

,,       Francis  M'Cann, 24  Sept.,  1755. 

(dj  James  Shiel  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Do^vn  and  Connor,  Nov.  24th,  1717,  and 
died  ia  1725. 

fej  On  the  2nd  of  Jfay,  1740,  Dr.  Stuart,  Bishop  of  Down  and  Connor,  applied  to 
the  Holy  See  that  Fr.  .John  >[  'Jlnllan,  a  Franciscan,  might  be  appointed  his  coadjutor, 
with  right  of  succession,  and  stated  that  this  postulation  was  according  to  his  con- 
science and  the  wishes  of  the  clergy  and  people  of  Down  and  Connor.  The  postulation 
was  not,  however,  successful.  One  Fr.  Michael  M'Mullan,  a  relation  of  Dr.  Stuart, 
and  probably  of  Fr.  John  MMullan,  obtained  on  the  21st  of  February,  1749,  from 
the  Provincial  of  the  Franciscans,  Fr.  Francis  French,  a  dispensation  to  hold  the 
parish  of  Culfeightrin,  to  which  he  was  collated,  and  of  which  he  was  a  native. 

(fj  Fr.  Anthony  O'Neill  is  still  remembered  by  tradition  in  DrumnaquoUe.  Ha 
and  two  other  friars,  one  of  whom  was  named  Bxurke,  resided  there  till  about  the  year 
1760,  when  the  Franciscans  abandoned  that  fiiary. 


2G6 


DOWN    AND    CONNOR. 


was  one  of  tlie  heroes  of  tlie  Red  Branch,  and  one  of  the 
twelve  chiefs  of  Ulster.  From  him  the  fortress  was  called 
Aras  Cealtair,  "the  habitation  of  Celtchar,"  Rath  Chealtair, 
"  the  fort  of  Celtchar,"  and  Dun  Celtchair,  "  the  fortress  of 


.A. P.  Bernard  LappaB,  S.T.L.,  Ex 

Diff.,       

29  Aug.,  1757. 

.      

19  Feb.,  1759. 

„       John  Reilly,  S.T.L., 

18  Aug.,  1760. 

,,       George  Gernon, 

19  Oct.,    1761. 

,,       Francis  M'Kiernan, 

22  Aug.,  1763. 

,,       Philip  HiiUoghan, 

17  April,  1765. 

,,       Bernard  Lappan,     

18  Aug.,  1766. 

,,       Anthony  Dogherty, 

12  Nov.,  1767. 

,,       Anthony  Dogherty, 

28  Aug.,  1769. 

,,       Eugene  Reilly 

8  Oct.,    1770. 

,,       Thomas  Reilly,        

21  Aug.,  1772, 

„       Francis  M'Kiernan, 

11  Nov.,  1773. 

,,       John  Hanlon,          

IJuly,   1776. 

,,       John  Hanlon,          

30  April,  1778. 

,,       Peter  Magloghlin, 

19  July,   1779. 

,,       Thomas  Maguire, 

29  May,    1781. 

Michael  Gallagher, 

22  July,   1782. 

,,       Michael  Gallagher, 

12  May,    1784. 

,,       Francis  Coyle,         

25  May,    1785. 

„       Patrick  Thally,  Ex  Cus,    ... 

9  May,   1787. 

,,       Francis  Coyle,         

14  July,   1788. 

,,       Francis  Coyle,         

18  May,   1790. 

,,       Francis  Coyle,         

11  July,   1791. 

,,       Francis  Coyle,         

23  July,   1793. 

,,       Peter  Cassidy,         

14  July,   1794. 

The  list  terminates  at  the  year  1794,  when  it  is  probable  the  Fran- 
ciscans were  scattered  by  the  French  Revolution.  From  the  same 
collection  we  extract  the  following  : — 


Guardians  of  the  Convent 
of  Down. 
V. A.  P.— Patrick  Duffy, . . . 
,,        John  Francis  M'Cabe 


Appointed  in  ; 
held. 


Cliapter 


12th  July,  1815. 

15th  July,  1822. 

From  this  it  appears  that  the  Friar  Minors  have  continued  to  our 
own  days  the  traditions  of  the  old  convent  built  for  them  by  Africa,  the 
daughter  of  John  de  Courcy,  or  by  some  of  her  contemporaries,  native 
or  Norman. 


PARISH    OF    DOWN.  267 

Celtcliar."*  Downpatrick  in  more  modern  times  was  known 
by  the  names  of  Dun-leth  glas,  or  Druim-leth-glas,  and  event- 
ually the  name  assumed  the  form  of  Dun-da-leth-glas,  which^ 
Colgan  translates  "  The  fort  of  the  two  halves  of  the  chain ;" 
and  this  name  is  accounted  for  by  a  legend  related  by  Jocelin, 
that  King  Laoghaii-e,  being  enraged  against  Dichu  for  be- 
coming a  Christian,  had  ordered  that  the  sons  of  Dichu  who 

*  Celtcliair  Mac  Uitliidir  was  a  famous  Ulster  champion,  and  one  of 
the  most  distingaished  knights  of  the  Red  or  Royal  Branch,  yet  he  does 
not  seem  to  have  been  a  man  of  a  very  enviable  style  of  beauty.  In  the 
historical  romance  called  the  Tain  Bo  Chualaigne — The  cattle-spoil  of 
Cooley — he  is  described  as  "an  angry,  terrific,  hideous  man,  long-nosed, 
large-eared,  apple-eyed  ;  with  coarse  dark-gray  hair.  He  wore  a  striped 
cloak  and  instead  of  a  brooch,  he  had  a  stake  (Cuaille)  of  iron  in  that 
cloak  over  his  breast.  He  wore  a  coarse  streaked  shirt  next  his  skin. " 
His  wife  was  Brig,  one  of  the  ten  women  who  accompanied  Queen 
Mugan  to  the  famous  feast  which  Bricrind  of  the  Poisoned  Tongue  gave 
at  Dun-Roorey  (see  Dundrum,  Parish  of  Kilmegan),  where  she  joined  in 
the  battle  speedus  of  the  women  of  Ulster.  This  Brig  Ambui  was  a 
successful  advocate  of  the  rights  of  women ;  and  in  our  oldest  Brehon 
laws  the  right  of  daughters  to  inherit  lands  is  said  to  have  been  es- 
tablished by  a  legal  decision  made  in  the  case  of  Brig  Ambui,  who 
pleaded  the  cause  of  woman's  rights.  Celtchar  was  possessed  of  a 
celebrated  shield  called  the  Comla  Catha,  or  "gate  of  battle,"  and  a 
spear  still  more  famous  called  the  Luin  Celtchair  and  the  Venomed 
Spear.  It  was  carried  oif  from  the  court  of  the  King  of  Persia  by  the 
sons  of  Tuirend,  whose  exploits  in  winning  the  different  objects  that 
formed  the  Eric  imposed  upon  them  by  the  King  of  the  Tuath  De 
Danan  represent  the  labours  of  Hercules  in  Irish  mythology,  and  the 
tragical  fate  of  the  young  warriors  forms  one  of  the  "Three  Sorrows  of 
Story-telling."  This  spear  had  a  magic  propensity  to  shed  blood,  and 
could  only  be  restrained  by  being  dipped  in  a  boiler  filled  with  a  black 
poisonous  liquid.  In  Irish  legendary  history  it  is  represented  as  having 
passed  through  many  hands,  and  having  done  many  deeds  of  violence. 
In  the  hands  of  a  Connaught  Champion  it  slew  a.d.  33,  Cumhscraidh 
Menn,  from  whom  the  Inch  was  named  Inis  Cumhscraidh  ;  and  about 
the  year  260,  when  it  was  known  under  the  name  Crimmall,  that  is  the 
Blood-spotted,  it  blinded  King  Cormac  Mac  Art,  who  having  thereby 
contracted  a  personal  blemish,  which,  according  to  the  national  law,  was 
held  to  be  inconsistent  with  possession  of  the  sovereignty,  resigned  the 
throne  of  Erinn. — See  O'Curry's  Lectures. 


268  DOWN   AND    CONNOR. 

were  hostages  witli  him  should  be  allowed  to  perish  of  thirst, 
but  an  angel  freed  them  from  their  prison  house,  and,  in  the 
words  of  Jocelin,  "  he  left  one  of  them  in  a  place  in  Down, 
where  is  now  erected  the  Church  of  St.  Patrick,  and  the 
other  on  a  neighbouring  hill  (the  Mound),  surrounded  by  a 
marsh  of  the  sea ;  and  he  broke  asunder  the  chains  wherewith 
they  were  bound ;  and  each  place  is,  even  to  this  day,  from 
the  broken  chains,  called  Dun-da-leath-glas."  It  would  seem, 
however,  to  have  borne  that  name  four  hundred  years  before 
the  time  of  St.  Patrick  ;  for,  in  an  old  story  preserved  in  the 
Book  of  Leinster,  Celtchar  is  said  to  be  "  of  Leith-glais."  In 
process  of  time  the  name  was  abbreviated  to  Dun,  from  which 
the  Latin  name,  Dunum,  and  the  modern  one,  Down,  or,  with 
the  addition  of  the  name  of  the  patron  saint,  Downpatrick, 
have  been  formed. 

We  may  presume  that  the  conversion  of  the  princes  who 
ruled  Ulidia  induced  St.  Patrick  at  an  early  period  of  his 
mission  to  erect  a  church  in  the  vicinity  of  their  chief  fort- 
ress, and  we  find  that  the  ancient  lives  of  the  saint  represent 
Rus,  son  of  Trichem,  and  brother  of  Dichu,  as  presiding  over 
the  Church  of  Dundalethglas.  Rus,  or  Ros,  resided  at  Der- 
lus,  which  seems  to  have  been  an  earthen  fort,  which  stood 
on  the  site  now  occupied  by  the  ruined  castle  of  Bright, 
where  he  was  visited  and  converted  by  St.  Patrick.  He  was 
a  poet  and  a  doctor  of  the  Berla  Feini,  the  most  ancient  form 
of  the  Irish  language,  and  he  was  one  of  the  nine  persons 
appointed  to  draw  up  the  Senchus  Mor,  the  great  law  which 
regulated  the  whole  civil  polity  of  the  Irish.  His  festival 
occurs  on  the  7th  of  April.  The  first  church  built  in  Down- 
patrick was  probably  of  the  same  perishable  material  as  that 
used  in  the  construction  of  the  dwellings  which  stood  within 
the  circumvallations  of  the  neighbouring  fortress.  We  should, 
however,  remember  that  all  the  primitive  Irish    churches 


PARISH    OF    DOWN.  269 

were  not  constructed  of  mud-wall  or  plained  timber,  several 
of  tliem  were  built  of  stone  and  lime  ;  and  we  even  find  in 
the  ancient  Lives  of  St.  Patrick  that  he  prescribed  the 
dimensions  of  some  of  the  most  important  of  them,  and 
directed  that  they  should  be  constructed  sixty  feet  in  length. 
The  great  glory  of  the  Church  of  Down  was  the  possession 
of  the  relics  of  St.  Patrick,  St.  Brigid,  and  St.  Columba. 
Jocelin,  who  collected  nearly  all  that  the  previous  biographers 
had  written  regai-ding  the  interment  of  St,  Patrick,  relates 
that  "  the  people  of  Ultonia,  having  entered  Down,  cele- 
brated the  solemnities  of  the  Mass,  and  in  the  place  foreshown 
by  the  heavenly  light  buiied  the  venerable  body  with  all 
due  veneration  ;  and  this  desireable  treasure — this  precious 
jewel — they  deposited  beneath  a  stone  five  cubits  deep  in 
the  earth, lest,  haply  by  stealth,  it  might  be  conveyed  thence." 
When  treating  of  the  parish  of  Maghera,  we  have  shown 
that  it  is  very  probable  that  St.  Donard  ornamented  the 
tomb  and  enlarged  or  beautified  the  church,  and  that  may 
have  been  the  occasion  when  the  circumstance  related  in 
the  "Book  of  Armagh,"  is  said  to  have  occurred.  "When 
the  church  was  being  built  over  the  body,  the  men  who  were 
digging  the  ground  saw  fire  bursting  forth  out  of  the  sep- 
ulchre, and,  flying  back,  they  were  afraid  of  the  torching 
flame  of  the  tire."  "  The  Annals  of  Ulster  "  copy  the  follow- 
ing entry  from  a  chronicle  called  the  "  Book  of  Cuana": — 
"A.C.  552.  The  relics  of  Patrick  were  enshrined  sixty 
years  after  his  death  by  Columcille,  Three  precious  re- 
liquaries were  found  in  the  tomb,  viz.,  the  Cup,  the  Angels' 
Gospel,  and  the  Bell  of  the  Will.  The  angel  directed 
Columcille  to  divide  the  three  reliquaries  thus  :  the  Cup  to 
Down,  the  Bell  of  the  Will*  to  Armagh,  the  Gospel  of  the 

*  The  Bell,  which  had  formerly  been  in  the  possession  of  the  late 
Mr.  Adam  M 'Clean,  of  Belfast,  is  at  present  in  the  Royal  Irish 
Academy. 


270  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

Angel  to  Columcille  himself.  And  it  is  called  the  Gospel  of 
the  Angel  because  Columcille  received  it  at  the  Angel's  hand." 
Dr.  Eeeves  adduces  an  objection,  taken  from  a  passage  in 
the  notes  on  the  "  Life  of  St.  Patrick,"  by  Tirechan,  which 
are  in  the  Book  of  Armagh,  where  one  of  the  similitudes 
introduced  by  that  writer  between  St.  Patrick  and  Moses  is 
"  where  his  bones  are  no  one  knows,"  but  a  note  by  Dr. 
Reeves,  in  which  he  proves  that  Tirechan's  part  of  the  "Book 
of  Armagh"  could  not  have  been  written  before  the  close  of 
the  Ninth  Century,  supplies  an  answer  to  the  objection,  for 
long  before  that  period  the  sacred  relics  had  been  concealed 
lest  they  might  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Danes.  There  is 
no  doubt  that  a  portion  of  the  relics  were  removed  to  Ar- 
magh, which  accounts  for  the  shrine  containing  the  relics  of 
St.  Patrick  mentioned  by  the  "  Annals  of  Ulster,"  at  the 
year  830,  as  carried  by  Forinnan,  Abbot  of  Armagh,  into 
Munster,  and  explains  why  St.  Bernard  describes  Armagh 
as  the  place  "  in  which,  when  living,  he  (St.  Patrick)  ruled, 
and  when  dead  he  rests."' 

The  true  reason  for  the  selection  of  Down  as  a  resting 
place  for  the  relics  of  Brigid  and  ColumbkillO;  was  the  belief 
universally  received  by  the  Irish  people  that  St.  Patrick's 
relics  were  in  that  church,  as  was  recorded  in  his  biographies 
and  in  his  testimentum,  a  document  which  TJssher  describes 
as  written  in  the  most  ancient  Irish  verses,  where  he  is  made 
to  prophesy — 

"  Down  where  will  be  my  resurrection  on  the  hill  of  Celtar,  son  of 
Duach." 

Immunity  from  incursions  of  the  Danes  could  not  have 
suggested  the  removal  of  a  sacred  treasure  so  highly  valued, 
for  our  annals  record  that  the  town  or  church  was  several 
times  plundered  by  them.  The  exposed  position  of  Down- 
patrick,  built  on  a  branch  of  Lough  Strangford,  rendered  it 


PARISH    OF    DOWN.  271 

at  any  time  an  easy  prey  to  those  pirates.  It  was  then  alone 
the  possession  of  the  relics  of  St.  Patrick  which  obtained  for 
Down  the  honour  of  being  the  depository  of  the  remains  of 
>St.  Brigid  and  St.  Columba,  which  had  been  for  several 
centuries  deposited  in  the  respective  churches  where  they 
died.  The  "Life  of  St.  Brigid,"  by  Cogitosus,  who,  as  Dr. 
Petrie  has  shown,  wrote  between  the  years  799  and  835, 
describes  the  Church  of  Kildare  as  then  containing  the  relics 
of  St.  Brigid  and  of  St.  Conleath^  lirst  Bishop  of  Kildare, 
who  died  in  519,  foiir  years  before  the  decease  of  St.  Brigid. 
"In  it  the  glorious  bodies  of  both,  that  of  Bishop  Conleath, 
and  of  this  holy  virgin,  Brigid,  repose  on  the  right  and  left 
of  the  high  (ornati)  altar,  placed  on  monuments  ornamented 
with  interlaced  work  (vario  cultu)  in  gold  and  silver,  and 
gems  and  precious  stones,  over  which  are  suspended  crowns 
of  gold  and  silver."  Adamnan,  in  his  "Life  of  St.  Columba," 
describes  the  interment  of  that  saint  in  lona,  which  occurred 
in  the  year  594.  In  825,  the  Abbot  of  lona,  "  Blathmac 
son  of  Flann,  received  the  crown  of  martyrdom,  for  he  was 
killed  by  the  foreigners  (the  Danes)  at  I-Colum-Cille,"  be- 
cause he  would  not  inform  them  where  he  had  concealed  the 
costly  shrine  which  contained  the  relics  of  St,  Colu  mba.  In 
the  year  830  the  relics  of  St.  Columba  were  brought  to 
Ireland,  but  they  seem  to  have  been  carried  back  to  lona, 
for  in  the  year  848  the  Abbot  of  lona  brought  them  to 
Ireland.  Again  they  wex'e  returned  to  lona,  for  in  878  they 
were  ti-ansferred  to  Ireland  to  save  them  fi-om  the  Danes. 
It  is  probable  that  the  relics  of  St.  Brigid  and  St.  Columba 
became  finally  located  in  Down  about  that  period,  and  that 
for  greater  security  against  the  hostile  incursions  of  the 
Pagan  Northmen,  the  relics  of  the  three  patrons  were  com- 
mitted to  the  earth  in  one  common  tomb,  as  expressed  in  the 


272  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

ancient  verse  cited  by  Keating  as  the  pro])liecy  of  St.  Col- 

umba. 

•'  My  prosperity  in  guileless  Hy  (loua) 
And  my  soul  in  Derry 
And  my  body  under  the  flag 
Beneath  which  are  Patrick  and  Brigid. " 

*  From  time  to  time  various  churches  became  possessed 

*  O'Donnell's  "  Life  of  St.  Columba  "  has  preserved  the  following 
legendary  story  of  the  removal  of  St.  Columba's  remains  to  Down- 
patrick : —  "It  is  sufficient  to  relate  the  manner  and  the  circumstances 
of  the  translation,  which  the  holy  Brechan  relates  to  have  occurred 
in  this  manner,  Mander,  a  son  of  the  King  of  Denmark,  and  a  com- 
mander of  a  piratical  fleet  of  Northmen,  devastating  with  fire  and 
sword  the  northern  parts  of  Brittain,  came  to  lona  .  .  searching 
for  treasures.  They  dig  up  the  sarcophagus,  or  chest,  in  which  was 
the  body  of  the  holy  Columba,  a  true  treasure,  but  not  such  as 
they  coveted.  They  carry  to  the  ship  the  chest,  which  they  after- 
vrards  opened  as  they  were  on  their  course  to  Ireland,  and  then 
finding  nothing  within  it  but  human  bones  and  dust,  having  shut  it 
tip,  they  cast  it  into  the  sea.  After  having  been  tossed  ou  the 
billows  of  the  ocean,  and  driven  through  the  waves,  it  is  found 
floating  on  the  waters  in  a  bay  of  th'S  sea  near  to  the  City  of  Down. 
Being  thus  found  and  recognised  by  a  Divine  revelation,  the  Abbot 
of  the  Monastery  of  Down,  having  opened  it,  placed  the  holy  treasure 
which  he  took  out  of  the  chest  in  the  same  shrine  with  the  sacred 
relics  of  the  holy  Patrick  and  Brigid."  This  story  is  surpassed  by  a 
traditional  legend  told  by  the  people  around  Dowupatrick,  which 
relates  that  the  chest  was  of  stone,  and  that  it  floated  on  until  it  was 
cast  up  on  Horse  Island  by  a  high  tide,  which  covered  it  with  sand^ 
It  happened  that  there  were  at  that  time  many  cows  grazing  on  Horse 
Island,  and  it  was  remarked  that  one  of  them,  which  belonged  to  a 
poor  widow,  continued  for  days  licking  the  sand  at  a  certain  spot, 
and  was  never  seen  eating  grass,  yet  she  gave  more  milk  than  any 
other  cow  in  the  herd.  This  matter  having  attracted  the  attention 
of  some  curious  persons,  they  removed  a  portion  of  the  sand,  and 
found  St.  Columkill's  coffin  !  These  old  legends  are  evidently  of  a 
bardic  origin  and  were  very  ancient,  when  they  were  first  told  of 
St.  Columba.  This,  and  many  other  of  our  bardic  stories,  correspond 
with  stories  in  Eastern  history.  See  Universal  History  (Dublin 
Edition)  Vol.  I.  page  519.  Also,  Remarkable  Correspondence  of  Irish, 
Greek,  and  Oriental  Legends,  by  the  Author.  Ulster  Journal  of 
Arclioiology.     Vol.  VII. 


PARISH  OF  DOWX.  273 

of  portions  of  the  relics  of  these  Saiuts,  hence  arose  tlie 
seeming  contradiction  which  we  frequently  meet  in  our 
ancient  records  when  Ave  find  it  stated  that  these  relics  were 
in  Saul,  in  Down,  in  A.rmagh,  in  Kildare,  in  lona,  or  in 
Dunkeld. 

A.D.  775 — "  Macniadh,  sou  of  Ceallach,  Abbot  of  Dun- 
Leatliglas,  (died.)" 

A.D.  785 — "  Dongal,  son  of  Laeghaire,  Abbot  of  Dun- 
Leathglas,  (died.)" 

A.D.  795 — "  Loingseagh,  son  of  Fiachra,  Abbot  of  Dun- 
Leathglas  (died.)" 

A,D.  823 — "  Dun  da-I^eathghlas  was  plundered  by  the 
foreigners,"  but  swift  vengeance  soon  overtook  the  pagan 
Danes,  for,  in  the  same  year,  "A  battle  was  gained  in  Magh- 
inis  (Lecale)  by  the  Ulidiaus  over  the  foreigners,  in  which 
many  were  slain."  "  Suibhne,  son  of  Fearghus,  Abbot  of 
Dunleathglas,  anchorite  and  bishop,  (died.)" 

A.D.  879 — "  Scannlau,  Abbot  of  Dun-Leathglas,  died. 
'  The  Annals  of  Ulster '  add  that  he  was  strangled  by  the 
Ulidians." 

A.D.  939 — "Oenacan,  priest  of  Dun-Leathglas,  (died.)" 

A.D.  940 — "  Dun-Leathglas  was  plundered  by  the  son 
of  .Raghnall  and  his  foreigners.  God  and  Patrick  quickly 
took  vengeance  of  him  for  this  deed,  for  foreigners  came 
across  the  sea  and  attacked  them  upon  their  island,  so  that 
the  son  of  Raghnall,  their  chief,  escaped  to  the  mainland. 
He  was  killed  by  Madudhan,  King  of  Ulidia,  in  i-evenge  of 
Patrick  before  the  end  of  a  week  after  the  plundering." 
The  island  in  which  the  Danes  were  attacked  by  a  hostile 
band  of  their  own  countrymen,  was  probably  one  of  those 
artificial  islands  called  crannogs,  which  the  Irish  then  used 
as  fortified  habitations,  to  which  they  retreated  in  time  of 
danger.     The  "Terrier"  informs  us  that  the  bishop  possessed, 


274  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

near  Downpatrick,  certain  lands  called  the  "  Bishop's  island 
and  both  the  crannochs,  one  plowland." 

A.D.  951 — "  Maelmartin,  son  of  Maenach,  priest  of  Dun- 
Leathglas  (died.)" 

A.D,  954 — "  Gaeithine,  learned  Bishop  of  Dun-Leathglas 
(died.)" 

A.D.  962 — "  Finghin,  distinguished  Bishop  of  Dun-Leath- 
glas (died.)" 

A.D.  970 — "  Cathasac,  son  of  Fergus,  Comharba,  of  Dun 
(died.)"  The  term  "  Comharba  "  is  used  by  the  Irish  writers 
in  the  sense  of  heir  or  successor  to  the  spiritual  dignity  as 
well  as  the  tempoi"al  rights  of  the  founder  of  a  church. 

A.D.  988 — "  Dun-Leathglas  was  plundered  and  burned 
by  the  foreigners,"  and  "  Maelmoghna  O'Carroll,  Airchin- 
each  of  Down,  died."  The  Irish  ecclesiastical  title  Airchineach, 
which  is  anglicised  Herenach  and  Erenach,  the  latter  of 
which  forms  gives  name  to  the  townland  of  Erenagh,  in  the 
parish  of  Bright,  is  explained  by  Dr.  Reeves  as  "  hereditary 
warden  of  a  chui'ch,"  and  by  Dr.  O'Donovan  as  "  lay  super- 
intendent of  Church  lands."  Anciently  the  office  was  pro- 
bably held  by  an  ecclesiastic,  but  in  more  recent  times  it 
would  seem  to  have  been  exercised  by  a  layman.*     In  some 

*  Sir  John  Davis  in  his  letter  to  the  Earl  of  Salisbury,  says  : — 
"  There  are  few  parishes  of  any  compass  or  extent  where  there  is  not 
an  Erenach,  which,  being  an  oifice  of  the  church,  took  beginning  in 
this  manner  :  when  any  lord  or  gentleman  had  a  direction  to  build  a 
church,  he  did  first  dedicate  some  good  portion  of  land  to  some  Saint 
or  other,  whom  he  chose  to  be  his  patron  ;  then  lie  founded  the 
church,  and  called  it  by  the  name  of  that  Saint,  and  then  gave  the 
land  to  some  clerke,  not  being  in  orders,  and  to  his  heirs  for  ever ; 
with  this  intent,  that  he  should  keep  the  church  clean  and  well 
repaired,  keep  hospitality,  and  give  almes  to  the  poore  for  the  soul's 
health  of  the  founder.  This  man  and  his  heires  had  the  name  of 
Erenach.  The  Erenach  was  also  to  make  a  weekly  commemoration 
of  the  founder  in  the  church  ;  he  had  always  primam  tonsuravi  but 
took  no  other  orders.     He  had  a  voice  in  the  chapter,  when  they 


PARISH  OF  DOWN.  275 

instances,  on  the  death  of  an  Erenach,  the  bishop  appointed 
to  the  office  some  member  of  the  family  in  which  the  eren- 
achship  was  hereditary,  and  he  observed  the  same  rules  that 
regulated  the  selection  of  tanists  for  the  clans.  At  times  the 
temporal  princes  were  selected  by  alternate  succession  from 
two  or  more  families,  and  such  would  seem  to  be  the  case  in 
the  office  of  Erenach  of  Down,  which  appears  to  have  been 
hereditary  in  the  families  of  O'Cathusaich  (which  might  be 
modernised  into  O'Casey)  and  O'Cairill  (which  would  now 
be  O'Carill,  or  perhaps  O'Carvill).  Some  of  the  erenachs 
of  Down  are  not  called  by  those  surnames,  though  it  is 
probable  that  they  belonged  to  those  privileged  families. 
The  Genealogical  Work  of  Duakl  MacFirbis  gives  the  origin 
of  the  O'Cairills  "  Aodh  Roin  (King  of  Ulidia  slain  A.D. 
732),  had  five  sons — viz.,  Fiacha,  a  quo  Clann  Fiachaidh  at 
Dun-da-leathglas.  .  .  .  This  Fiachna  (King  of  Ulidia, 
died  A.D.  785)  had  six  sons — viz.,  Cairoll  son  of  Fiachna 
(King  of  Ulidia,  slain  A.D.  815),  from  whom  are  the 
O'Cairill  in  Dun-da-leathglas."  The  same  work  in  another 
place,  says  that  a  descendant  of  Fiachna  "  was  killed  by  the 
O'Creichim  in  Dundaleathglas,  by  which  the  quarter  of  Dun 
was  forfeited  by  them  for  ever  to  the  Clann  Fiachaidh." 

A.D.  992 — "  Macleighin,  son  of  Dunghalau,  Airchinneach 
of  Dun-Leathglas  and  "  Dunchadh  Lector  of  Dun  "  died. 
Dunchadh  seems  to  have  been  a  professor  in  the  University 
or  College  of  Down.  Keating  speaking  of  the  incursion  of 
the   Danes  in  the  year  837,  says  : — "  There  were,  moreover, 

consulted  about  their  revenues  and  paid  a  certain  yearly  rent  to  the 
Bishop,  besides  a  fine  on  the  marriage  of  every  one  of  his  daughters, 
which  they  call  a  Loughinipy  ;  he  gave  a  subsidy  to  the  Bishop  at 
his  first  entrance  into  the  bishoprick,  the  certainty  of  all  which 
duties  appears  in  the  Bishop's  Register  ;  and  these  duties  grew  unto 
the  Bishop,  first  because  the  Erenach  could  not  be  created,  nor  the 
church  dedicated  without  the  consent  of  the  Bishop." 


276  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

till  this  time  iouv  ^yrincipaJ  schools  in  Ireland — viz.,  a  scbool 
at  Armagh,  a  school  at  Cashe],  a  school  at  Dundaleathglas, 
and  a  school  at  Lismore." 

A.D.  1005 — "  Madadhau,  son  of  Domhnall,  King  of 
TJlidia,  was  killed  by  the  Tore,  i.e.,  Dubhtuine,  in  the  mid- 
dle of  Dun-Leathglas,  in  violation  of  the  Saints  of  Ireland, 
Dubhtume,  i.e.,  the  Tore,  King  of  Ulidia,  was  slain,  through 
miracles  of  God  and  Patrick,  by  Muireadhac,  son  of  Madad- 
han,  in  revenge  for  his  father."  "The  Annals  of  Ulster" 
add  that  Madadhan  was  slain  "  in  the  church  of  Brigid,  in 
the  middle  of  Down."  The  murderer  is  called  the  "  Tore  " 
(the  boar) — from  him  is  named  probably  the  towland  of 
Dunturk,  in  the  civil  parish  of  Loughinisland.  We  cannot 
doubt  that  he  received  this  epithet  from  his  cruelty  and 
ferocity,  which  his  son  seems  to  have  inherited  from  him, 
as  the  following  entry  shows  : — 

A.D.  1009 — "Scannlan  (J'Duughalain,  Abbot  of  Dun- 
Leathglas  was  blinded."  '•  I'he  Annals  of  Ulster  "  add  that 
he  was  "  forced  from  his  fortress,  and  carried  away,  and  his 
eyes  put  out  at  Finavar  by  Kiall,  son  of  Dubhtuine."  The 
place  where  the  oxen  were  caught,  which  conveyed  the  body 
of  St.  Patrick  to  Downpatrick,  is  called  by  Colgan  ''  Fin- 
nauar,"  but  in  the  "  Book  of  Armagh  "  it  is  named  "  Fiudu- 
brec."  It  is  obviously  Fiuabrogue,  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Downpatrick.  Nial  sutfered  a  just  punishment  for  his 
crime  ;  he  was  deposed  in  the  year  1011,  and  killed  in  battle 
in  the  year  1015. 

A.D.  1015 — "Cernach,  son  of  Cathusagh,  Erenach  of 
Dunlethglas  (died.)"  "  Dun-da-leathglas  was  totally  burned 
with  its  Daimhliag*  and  Cloictheach." 

*  The  "Daimhliag,"  which  is  the  Irish  word  for  a  stone  church, 
was  the  Cathedral,  and  it  was  probably  the  same  building  at  the 
erection  of  which  flames  are  said  to  have  burst  forth  out  of  the 
foundations,  as  is  told  in  the  legend  preserved  in  the  "Book  of 


PARISH    OF    DOWN.  'J77 

A.D.  1026 — "  Maolpati'ick  O'Alecain,  Lector  of  Dun- 
lethglas,  (died.)" 

A.D.  1043— "  Flaithbhertach,  Bishop  of  Dunletbglas, 
(died.)" 

AD.  1048—"  Gillacoluim  O'Heiglmigh,  lord  of  Airgliialla, 
died,  and  was  interred  at  Dun-da-Leathglas." 

A.D,  1057 — "  Ecmarcacli,  son  of  Cernach,  Erenacli  of 
Dunletbglas,  went  on  a  pilgrimage." 

A.D.  1067 — "  Scolaige,  son  of  Indrecbtacb,  Erenach  of 
Mucknoe  (Co.  Monagban),  and  the  Erenacb  of  Dunletbglas, 
(died.)" 

Armagh."  The  "  Cloictheach  "  was  the  steeple  or  Round  Tower, 
which  stood  near  the  south-west  angle  of  the  Cathedral,  on  a  portion 
of  what  is  now  the  gravelled  area.  It  is  thus  described  in  A  Tour 
through  Ireland  In  1779: — "No  ancient  monument  remains  in  the 
old  abbey,  but  here  is  a  round  tower,  which  stands  about  forty  feet 
from  the  old  Cathedral,  is  sixty-six  feet  high,  the  thickness  of  the  walls 
three  feet,  and  the  diameter  on  the  inside  eight  feet.  On  the  west 
side  of  it  is  an  irregular  gap,  about  ten  feet  from  the  top,  near  a  third 
of  the  whole  circumference  being  broken  off  by  the  injury  of  time  ; 
the  entrance  into  it  is  two  feet  and  a  half  wide,  and  placed  on  a  level 
with  the  surface  of  the  ground."  The  ground  around  the  round 
tower  must  have  been  raised  by  the  accumulation  of  rubbish,  for  the 
doors  of  such  towers  are  placed  a  considerable  height — that  of  the 
tower  of  Kilmacduagh  is  placed  at  an  elevation  of  twenty-six  feet 
from  the  ground.  The  destruction  of  this  venerable  monument  of 
antiquity  was  determined  on  in  consequence  of  the  rivalry  between 
Lord  Downshire  and  Lord  de  Clifford.  The  latter,  who  was 
proprietor  of  the  town,  opposed  this  piece  of  vandalism ;  but  Lord 
Downshire,  taking  advantage  of  his  rival's  absence,  caused  it  to  be 
pulled  down,  under  pretence  that  its  fall  might  endanger  the  Cath- 
edrab  This  occurred  in  the  Autumn  of  1789.  When  the  tower  was 
thrown  down  a  wall  was  discovered  running  directly  across  its  site, 
which  was  supposed  to  have  been  the  foundation  of  an  earlier  church. 
The  Cathedral,  like  many  of  the  other  ancient  churches  in  the  diocese, 
was  originally  surrounded  by  a  circular  entrenchment,  portions  of 
which  may  even  yet  be  seen  in  the  field  towards  the  west  and  in  that 
towards  the  north  ;  the  radius  of  this  circular  earthwork  is  400  feet, 
and  its  centre  is  a  little  north  of  the  site  of  the  round  tower. 


278  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

A.D.  1068—''  Domhnall,  O'Cathusaicli,  Erenacli  of  Dun, 
(died.)" 

A.D.  1069 — "  Dun-da-leatliglas  was  burned." 

A.D.  1078 — "  Senoir,  son  of  Mal-Molua,  Chief  Anchorite 
of  [reland,  ended  his  days  in  peace  at  Dundalethglas." 

A.D.  1083 — "  Muircertach  O'Cairill,  Erenach  of  Dun,  the 
most  learned  judge  and  historian  of  Irehxnd,  died." 

A.D.  1086 — "  Maolkevin,  venerable  Bishop  of  Ulidia 
(Down),  died." 

A.D.  1089 — "  O'Cernach,  Comarba  of  Dundalethglas, 
rested  in  Christ." 

A.D.  1099 — "  Diarmaid  O'Maolathgen,  Erenach  of  Dun, 
died  on  Easter  night." 

A.D.  1102— "Cooey  O'Cairill,  Erenach  of  Dun,  died." 

A.D.  1111 — "  Dun-da-leathglas  was  burned,  both  fort  and 
trian,  by  lightning." — Trian  signiQes  the  third  part,  or  a 
division  of  a  town,  but  it  seems  frequently  to  signify  the 
part  occupied  by  the  inhabitants  as  distinguished  from  the 
military  or  the  clergy. 

A.D.  1117 — "  Maolmuire,  Bishop  of  Dunda-lethglas 
(died)." 

A.D.  1136— "Maolmaedog  (St.  Malachy)  O'Morgair,  re- 
tired from  the  Cowarbate  of  Patrick  (Primacy)  to  serve 
God."  It  was  to  Down  that  St.  Malachy  retired,  where  he 
established  a  house  of  Regular  Canons  which  is  supposed  to 
have  been  on  the  site  now  occupied  by  the  old  jail. 

A.D.  1157 — "  Cuuladh  O'Duinsleibbe  O'Eochadha,  King 
of  Ulidia,  died  after  penance,  at  Dun-da-leathghlas,  and  was 
interred  at  Dun  itself." 

A.D.  1158 — "  Gilla  Odar  O'Cathusaich,  Erenach  of  Dun- 
daleathghlas,"  was  a  subscribing  witness  to  the  charter 
granted  by  Muircheartach  MacLoughlin  to  the  Abbey  of 
Newry,  about  the  year  1158. 


PARISH  OF  DOWN.  279 

A.D.  1177 — "Cardinal  Vivian  arrived  in  Ireland."  He 
■was  sent  by  Pope  Alexander  III.,  as  Apostolic  Legate. 
After  having  remained  during  Christmas  with  Gothred, 
King  of  the  Isle  of  Man,  he  arrived  at  Downpatrick  after 
Epiphany.  "  An  array  was  led  by  John  De  Courcy  and  the 
knights  into  Dalaradia  and  to  Dun-da-leathglas  ;  they  slew 
Donnell,  the  grandson  of  Cathasach,  Lord  of  Dalaradia. 
Dun-da-leathglas  was  plundered  and  destroyed  by  John  and 
the  knights  who  came  in  his  army.  A  castle  was  erected  by 
him  there  out  of  which  they  defeated  the  Ulidians  twice,  and 
the  Kinel-Owen  and  Oriels,  once,  slew  Conor  O'Carellan, 
chief  of  Clandermot,  and  Gilla-macliag  O'Donnelly,  chief  of 
Feardroma^*  and  Donnell  O'Laverty  was  so  wounded  by 
arrows  on  this  occasion  that  he  died  of  his  wounds  in  the 
Church  of  St.  Paul,  at  Armagh,  after  having  received  the 
Pody  and  the  Blood  of  Christ,  and  after  Extreme-unction  and 

*  Ua  Caireallain,  now  anglicised  into  Carlan,  Carleton,  and  in  one 
instance,  at  least,  into  Carlisle,  was  chief  of  the  Clann-Diarmada,  a 
sept  of  the  Kinel-Owen,  once,  seated  in  Moy  Ith — the  barony  of  Rap- 
hoe -from  wliich  they  were  driven  by  the  O'Donnells,  they  then 
settled  along  the  Foyle  ;  and,  the  parish  of  Clondermot  is  named 
from  them. — Ua  Donngaile,  now  O'Donnelly,  was  a  sept  of  the  Kinel- 
Owen  that  was  also  seated  in  the  barony  of  Raphoe,  from  which  they 
were  driven  by  the  chiefs  of  Tyi-connell,  they  then  located  themselves 
at  Bally donnelly,  which  is  now  called  Castlecaulfield.  The  O'Don- 
nellys  are  descended  from  Domhnall,  King  of  Aileach,  who  was  a 
brother  of  Niall  Glunduv  from  whom  the  O'Neill's  take  their  name. 
The  fourth  in  descent  from  Domhnall  was  Donnghal,  whose  grandson, 
Ceallachan  (he  lived  about  the  year  1050),  was  the  first  who  was 
named  O'Donnelly,  ^■.e.,  the  grandson  of  Donnghal.  "All  the  men 
of  this  family  that  the  Editor  ever  saw,  {says  Dr.  O'Donovan.  Ap- 
pendix 4  M)  are  remarkable  for  their  manly  form  and  symmetry  of 
person  ;  and  even  the  peasants  who  bear  the  name  exhibit  frequently 
a  stature  and  an  expression  of  countenance  which  indicate  high 
descent."— For  O'Laverty  see  Parish  of  Saul.  These  Kinel-Owen 
names  became  afterwards  somewhat  numerous  in  Down  and  Connor 
owing  to  the  Clannaboy  invasion. 


280  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

Penance.  Many  otbei*  chieftains  were  also  slain  by  them 
besides  these.''  John  de  Courcy,  a  warlike  but  cruel  man, 
set  out  fi-om  Dublin  with  less  than  four  hundred  men,  in 
the  month  of  January,  A.D.  1177,  and  in  four  days  arrived 
in  Downpatrick  without  meeting  an  enemy  to  oppose  him. 
The  town,  which  was  taken  by  surprise,  was  given  up  to 
plunder,  and  the  streets  were  wet  with  the  blood  of  the 
citizens.  The  Pojjes  legate  having  in  vain  endeavoured  to 
prevail  on  De  Courcy  to  withdraw  his  soldiers,  on  condition 
that  Hory  MacDunlevey  King  of  Ulidia,  should  pay  tribute 
to  the  King  of  England,  urged  the  native  Prince  to  defend 
his  territories  against  the  aggressors.  In  the  meantime, 
according  to  the  Dublin  copy  of  the  "  Annals  of  Innisfallen," 
De  Courcy  erected  a  strong  fort  of  stones  and  clay  at  Down, 
and  drew  a  ditch  or  wall  from  sea  to  sea,  in  other  words,  he 
cut  a  deep  trench  in  front  of  the  site  of  the  pi'esent  Market 
House,  which  completely  insulated  that  portion  of  the  town, 
which  was  afterwards  called  "the  English  Quarter,"  and 
which,  probably,  at  that  period  constituted  the  entire  town. 
In  order  to  defend  the  drawbridge  which  connected  the 
insulated  town  with  the  mainland,  he  erected  a  castle  which 
stood  at  the  junction  of  English  Street  and  Church  Street. 
In  the  beginning  of  February,  MacDunlevey  collected  in  a 
week,  according  to  Giraldus,  ten  thousand  warriors  to  attack 
the  English,  v/ho  marched  out  of  the  town  to  meet  them. 
Giraldus  says  the  Ulidians,  who,  like  the  northern  inhabit- 
ants of  every  country,  were  the  bravest  of  its  i>eople,  fought 
manfully  with  spears  and  battle  axes,  but  were  defeated  by 
the  foreigners,  who  mustered  less  than  four  hundred,  a  cir- 
cumstance which,  though  it  does  not  enhance  their  bravery 
or  their  discipline,  tends  to  lessen  the  credibility  of  Giraldus, 
who,  however,  ascribes  the  victory  of  his  countrymen  to  the 
direct  interference  of  God.     The  princes  of  the  Kiue!-Owen 


PARISH    OF    DOWN.  281 

and  Oriel,  finding  that  the  common  enemy  was  approaching 
too  near  their  own  confines,  so  far  forgot  their  old  enmity 
to  the  Ulidians  as  to  muster  all  their  available  forces 
against  the  Normans.  The  united  forces,  amounting  to 
fifteen  thousand  men,  sustained  on  the  24th  of  June,  1177, 
the  crashing  defeat  mentioned  in  the  extract  already  given 
from  the  Annals  of  the  Four  Masters.  They  seem  to 
have  been  a  multitude  without  arms  or  discipline,  opposed  to 
the  mail-clad  Norman  warriors.  In  this  battle,  according 
to  the  Annals  of  luisfallen,  "  the  Archbishop  of  Armagh, 
the  Bishop  of  Down,  and  all  the  clergy  were  taken  prisoners, 
and  the  English  got  possession  of  the  croziers  of  St.  Comgall 
(founder  of  Bangor)  and  St.  Dachiarog  (the  founder  of  Erri- 
galkeeroge  in  the  county  of  Tyrone),  and  the  Canoin  Phatruic 
(the  Book  of  Armagh)  besides  a  bell  called  the  Ceolcm  an 
TigJiearva.  They  afterwards,  however,  set  the  bishops  at 
liberty,  and  restored  the  Canoin  Phatruic  and  the  bell, 
but  they  killed  all  the  inferior  clergy,  and  kept  the  other 
noble  relics,  which  are  still  in  the  hands  of  the  English." 
De  Courcy  was  extremely  superstitious,  and  thought  that  he 
was  designated  in  a  prophecy,  said  to  have  been  delivered 
by  Ambrosius  Mei'liu,  of  Caermarthen,  who  lived  in  the 
fifth  century,  which  declai'ed  that  "  a  white  knight,  sitting  on 
a  white  horse,  and  bearing  birds  on  his  shield,  would  be 
the  first  that  with  force  of  arms,  would  enter  and  invade 
Ulster."  He  likewise  held,  it  is  said,  the  prophecies  attri- 
buted to  St.  Columbkille  in  such  veneration  that  he  slept 
with  the  book  concealed  under  his  pillow,  because  there  was 
one  of  those  prophecies  which  foretold  that  a  certain  pauper 
and  Vieggar  and  fugitive  from  another  country  would  come  to 
Down  with  a  small  army  and  obtain  possession  of  the  town, 
and  that  such  would  be  the  slaughter  of  the  citizens  that 
the  enemy  would  wade  up  to  the  knees  in  their  blood. 

2  8 


282  DOWN    AND    CONNOR. 

John  de  Couicy  fouud  the    Cathedral,    which   was    then 
called  the  Church  of  the  Most  Blessed  Trinity,  possessed  by 
a  prior  and  convent  of  Secular  Canons,  who  were  the  chapter 
of  the  diocese.    He  caused  the  church  to  be  called  the  Church 
of  St.  Patrick,  and  he  determined  to  substitute  Benedictines 
instead  of  the  Secular  Canons.     For  this  purpose  he  obtained 
from  the  Benedictine  Abby  of  St.  Werburgh,  at  Chester,  a 
prior  and  a  bcjdy  of  monks,  for  which  he  made  to  that  abbey 
a  grant  of  lauds,  the  record  of  which  in  the  Registry  of  St. 
Werburgh's  ran  thus — "  John  de  Curcy  gave  to  the  Church 
of  St.  Werburga  at  Chester,  Hurmach  along  with  ten  caru- 
cates  of  land  beneath   TJiewet  of  Ckenelternan  in  jjerpetual 
alms     ...     in  order  that  the  abbot  of  Chester  may  select 
from  his  house  a  prior  and  community,  to  erect  an  abbacy  of 
his  Order  in  the  Church  of  St.  Patrick  of  Di  wn  ;  so  that  the 
aforesaid  Church  of  Down  may  remain  free  from  every  sub- 
jection   to  the  Church  of  Chester,  in  consideration   of  the 
same  forementioned  ten  carucates.    Witness,  Malachy,  Bishop 
of  Down,  kc."     In  consequence  of  this,  as  we  are  informed 
by  an  annalist  of  Chester,   whose  entry  has  been  preserved 
by  Ussher — "  In  the   year    il83,  a  certain    monk,  named 
William  de  Etleshale,  went  from    Chester  into    Huhester 
(Ulster)  to  Down,  and  he  received  the  jjriory  of  the  Church 
of  St,   Patrick,  from  Malachy,  Bishop  of  Down,  and  Lord 
John  de  Curci."     Shortly  after  this,  De  Courcy  induced,  or 
compelled  the  bishop  to  make  the  following  grant,  which  is 
preserved  in  the  Patent  Roll,  41  Edward  III  : — '*  Know  all 
men  present  and  to  come,  that  T,  Malachy,  Bishop  of  Down, 
have  granted,  for  the  honour  of  God  and  of  holy  religion, 
the  Church  of  St.  Patrick  of  Down,  with  all  its  appurtenances 
for  the  use  of  the  Prior  and  tlie  Black  Monks;  of  whom  I, 
the  Bishop,  shall,  be  the  guardian  and  Abbot,  as  is  the  case 
in  the  Church  of  Winchester.     Wherefore,  I  have  granted 


PARISH    OP    DOWN.  'ZHd 

and  confirmed  to  them,  and  to  tlieir  successors,  the  towns 
belonging  to  their  Church,  viz. : — Lochmonne  (Loughmoney), 
Messesarech,  Ferrochen  (Balljfrooke  in  Bailee),  Ballinscanlan 
(Ballynoe?),  Arthgothin,  Balinrothan,  Telagnocrossi  (Bally- 
nagross,  or  perhaps  TuUynacross  in  the  Inch),  Balienbreth- 
naghe  (Ballybrannagh),  Belgach  (Bailee),  Delen  (Dillin), 
Tipermeni  (Tobermoney),  Balimechethe,  Drumouere,  Balienle- 
mach  (Ballylenagh),  Balienlirnoni,  Telaghmethan,  Balin- 
bothan  (Ballywoodan  ?),  Molrath  with  its  appurtenances, 
Knochengar  (Walshestown),  Balioconewi,  Cremse  (Killy- 
vees  1),  Croch  (Crew),  Balindethdume  with  its  appurtenances, 
Balima-Celendre  (Ballyclander),  Balmangatha,  Balinculter 
(Ballyculter),  Balimackelli,  Kloker  (Clocher),  Balienstvuthi 
(Ballystrew),  Balinrimurgan  (Bally organ?),  Kelleioghan  (St. 
John's  Point),  Baliowosan  (Ballyvaston),  Lesconan,  Kortef, 
Cronoch,  Lanne,  Karenlatheri,  Feod  with  its  appurtenances, 
Balimagereg  (Ballynagarrick  ?  Cargagh  1),  Karennesche  (Car- 
rownacaw),  Chellmiuien  (Killyveees  ?),  Eathoop  (Raholp), 
and  the  churches  of  Killecleth  (Kilclief),  Brichten  (Bright), 
and  Stechian  (St.  John's  at  the  Point)  with  their  appurten- 
ances. In  Dalebinu  (Dalboyne),  Latrach,  Donenach, 
Kellaghinere.  Moreover,  for  the  honour  and  reverence  of 
my  episcopal  dignity,  I  have  retained  in  my  hands,  the 
one-half  of  the  oblations  on  these  five  festivals  of  the  yeax", 
and  no  others,  namely,  on  the  Nativity  of  the  Lord,  on  the 
Purification  of  the  Holy  Mary,  on  the  festival  of  St.  Patrick, 
at  Easter  and  Penticost.  Of  this  grant  these  are  the  witnesses, 
L.  Archbishop  of  Dublin,  T.  Armagh,  and  many  others." 
The  same  Patent  Boll  (41  Ed.  TIL)  recites  a  charter  of  John 
de  Courcy  in  which  he  grants  "to  God  and  St.  Patrick  and 
to  his  church  of  Down,  and  to  D.  the  prior  and  to  the  monks 
of  the  same  church  and  to  their  successors"  power  to  hold  a 
court  and  to  determine  all  cases  among  their  tenants  of  mur- 


284  DOWN   AND    CONNOR. 

der,  rapine,  rape,  fire,  blood,  &c.,  and  all  cases  that  are  wont 
or  can  arise,  without  referring  to  his  power,  and  only 
requiring  that  his  servant  be  present  "  to  see  and  hear  only.''* 
The  same  Patent  E.0II  recites  another  charter  of  John  de 
Courcy  in  which  he  granted  to  this  abbey  the  ferry  of  the 
Longh  of  Strangford  towards  the  Dufferin  ;  the  ferry  of 
Carlingford,  that  of  Carrickfergus,  that  of  the  Bann,  and 
all  the  ferries  in  his  several  conquests,  except  that  between 
Lecale  and  Ards.  This  grant  he  made  for  the  good  of  the 
souls  of  his  father,  mother,  ancestors,  and  niece,  Beatrice  de 
Villiers  ;  for  that  of  his  own,  of  Africa,  his  wife,  and  of  all 
who  died  in  his  service,  or  who  should  die  in  it.  The 
witnesses  to  this  charter  were  M.,  Bishop  of  Down  ;  R., 
Bishop  of  Connor  ;  E.,  Abbot  of  Ynes  (Inch)  ;  G.,  Abbot  of 
Holm  ;  P.,  Abbot  of  Saul ;  G.,  Prior  of  St.  Thomas ;  P., 
Prior  of  Muckamor  ;  W.,  Prior  of  Cai'rickfergus. 

The  fourth  charter  of  De  Courcy  contained  in  the  same  roll 
gives  to  the  abbey  the  right  of  fishing  in  the  river  Bann 
with  a  boat  and  net.  Among  the  witnesses  to  this  charter, 
is  T.  Bishop  of  Down.  In  the  fifth  charter  he  gives  to 
the  abbey  the  tithe  of  his  hunting.  In  the  sixth  charter 
he  confirmed  the  donation  made  by  Amauricus  de  Hanehhe 
(probably  now  modernised  into  Hanna  or  Hannet),  of  the 
land  of  Balicrou  (Crew])  Witness,  Malachy,  Bishop  of  Down. 
The  seventh  charter  in  the  roll  say.s,  "  Know  all  men 
present  and  to  come  that  I,  John  de  Courcy,  on  the  part  of 
my  lord  the  King  of  England,  have  given  and  by  this  my 
charter  have  granted  to  the  church  of  the  Holy  Trinity  of 
Down  the  land  to  the  right  of  those  entering  St.   George's 

*  Among  the  witnesses  to  this  Charter  are  William  and  Henry 
Copland,  ancestors  of  the  Coplands  who  have  given  name  to  Copelaud 
Island,  Ballycopeland,  &c.,  William  Savage,  ancestor  of  the  Savages, 
and  Walter  de  Loga,  ancestor  of  the  Logans,  once  very  powerful  in 
the  County  of  Down. 


PARISH    OF   DOWN.  285 

Wall  as  far  as  the  curia,  of  St,  Columba  j  and  from  tlie  curia 
of  St.  Columba  through  the  street  near  the  cross  of  St. 
Monina,  as  far  as  the  wall  and  Mungona,  with  all  its  appur- 
tenances, better  and  more  freely  than  the  Irish  held  and 
possessed  it.  These  being  witnesses,  The  Lord  Bishop  R., 
of  Connor,  &c."  In  the  last  charter  recited  in  the  roll  De 
Courcy  grants  to  the  Church  of  St.  Patrick  of  Down,  to 
Andrew  the  Prior,  and  to  the  monks,  the  tithe  of  all  his 
cattle  "  from  the  water  of  Lenard  towards  the  south,  except 
those  of  Art  (Ards)."  He  made  this  grant  for  the  spiritual 
advantage  of  those  who  had  given  him  counsel  or  assistance 
towards  the  conquest  of  Ulster. 

In  the  year  1185  the  relics  of  St.  Patrick,^^  St.  Brigid,  and 

*  ST.  PATRICK'S  GRAVE. 
Near  tlie  centre  of  the  ancient  cemetery  attached  to  the  Cathedral, 
or,  as  it  is  called  by  aged  jjeople,  the  abbey,  is  a  grave,  called  "  St. 
Patrick's  grave,"  which  is  in  no  other  way  distinguished  from  the 
surrounding  graves,  except  that  a  great  portion  of  the  clay  has  been 
removed  from  it  by  pious  Catholics,  who,  when  about  to  emigrate, 
carry  with  them  to  the  most  distant  parts  of  the  eai'th  some  portion 
of  "  the  mould  from  St.  Patrick's  grave."  There  formerly  stood  over 
this  grave  an  ancient  granite  cross,  which  some  wicked  bigots,  on  the 
night  of  the  19th  of  April,  1S42,  carried  off,  and,  with  the  intention 
of  breaking  it,  rolled  it  over  a  precipice.  "  On  the  next  day,"  says  a 
correspondent  of  the  Vindicator,  ' '  hundreds  of  persons  were  visiting 
this  grave,  as  if  some  great  affliction  had  befallen  them,  while  the 
Orangemen  were  furiously  vociferating  'No  St.  Patrick,' and  other 
such  cries."  The  ancient  cross  was  carried  back,  but  having  again 
been  carried  off  and  broken,  it  was  for  many  years  locked  up  in  a 
portion  of  the  Cathedral.  The  three  largest  fragments  of  it  are  now, 
however,  placed  with  some  other  monumental  stones,  among  which 
is  the  tombstone  of  Dr.  O'Doran,  Bishop  of  Down  and  Connor,  at  the 
east  end  of  the  Cathedral.  The  Catholics  of  Downpatrick  remark 
that  some  terrible  misfortune  befel  each  of  the  iconoclasts.  This  does 
not  seem  to  be  the  grave  in  which  St.  Patrick  was  first  interred,  for 
there  is  no  record  of  a  church  ever  having  stood  at  that  part  of  the 
cemetery  ;  and  we  know,  from  the  passage  already  given  from  the 
Book  of  Armagh,  that  a  church  was  afterwards  erected  over  the 
grave  of  St.  Patrick.     The  place  in  which  the  relics  of  St.  Patrick, 


286  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

St.  Columbkille  were  discovered  in  the  Cathedral,  in  a  spot 
where  they  had  been  concealed,  lest  they  might  fall  into  the 
hands  of  the  Danes.  The  following  account  is  given  of  this 
discovery  : — It  being  well  known  that  the  three  bodies  were 
in  Down,  the  bishop,  Malachy  III.,  used  to  pray  fervently 
to  God  that  he  would  vouchsafe  to  point  out  to  him  the 
particular  place  in  which  they  were  concealed.  On  a  certain 
night,  when  praying  in  the  Cathedral  Church,  he  saw  a  light 
like  a  sunbeam  traversing  the  church,  which  stopped  at  a 
certain  spot.     Immediately  procuring   the  necessary  imple- 

St.  Brigid,  and  St.  Columba  were  concealed,  until  discovered  in  the 
year  1185,  seems,  from  the  account  already  given,  to  have  been 
inside  the  Cathedral.  A  correspondent  of  the  Ulster  Examiner,  in 
a  letter  dated  Downpatrick,  Feb.  9,  1870,  says: — "About  thirty 
years  ago  I  had  a  conversation  on  the  subject  of  St.  Patrick's  grave 
with  a  very  old  man  named  John  Millar,  then  over  ninety  years  of 
age,  who  well  remembered  the  making  of  this  grave.  It  was  on  the 
occasion  of  the  renovation  of  the  Cathedral,  then  many  years  in  ruins, 
that,  on  excavating  under  the  high  altar,  or  communion  table,  as  Mr. 
Millar  termed  it,  three  stone  coffins  were  discovered,  which  were 
firmly  believed  to  contain  the  sacred  remains  of  our  three  patron 
saints.  The  matter  created  a  sensation  in  the  town  and  the  surround- 
ing country.  Mr.  Millar  remembered  the  grave  being  made,  and  the 
three  coffins,  with  their  contents,  reverently  removed  and  covered  up 
ther«,  and  the  ancient  market  cross  brought  to  the  place  and  placed 
at  the  head  of  the  grave  to  mark  the  spot  where  rested  the  sacred 
remains. "  In  all  the  drawings,  *  however,  of  the  abbey,  when  in  ruins, 
a  cross  is  represented  as  standing  at  that  portion  of  the  cemetery, 
which  seems  to  contradict  John  Millar's  account  in  a  very  vital  point. 
A  portion  of  another  ancient  cross  is  in  the  grounds  of  the 
new  Catholic  Church,  and  the  remainder  of  it  is  in  the  possession 
of  the  representatives  of  the  late  James  Cleland,  Esq.  That  is 
the  cross  which  Harris  described — "  Near  the  Court  House,  in 
the  street,  lie  several  portions  of  an  old  stone  cross,  on  the  shaft 
of  which  is  carved  a  crucifix,  or  the  image  of  Jcs^is.  It  is  generally 
called  the  Market  Cross,  yet  probably  it  stood  in  one  of  the  church 
yards,  and  was  erected  for  superstitious  purposes.      The  pedestal 

*  The  original  drawing,  made  some  time  before  1790,  wliich  lias  been  engraved  in 
the  "  Irish  Penny  Journal"  (No.  43),  is  in  the  possession  of  the  Marquis  of  Dowushii-e. 


PARISH    OF    DOWN,  287 

ments  be  dug  in  that  spot,  and  found  the  three  bodies,  which 
he  then  put  into  three  boxes,  and  placed  them  again  under 
ground.  Having  communicated  this  discovery  to  John  de 
Courcy,  then  lord  of  Down,  they  sent  messengers  to  Pope 
Urban  III.,  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  the  solemn  trans- 
lation of  these  relics  to  a  more  dignified  part  of  the  church. 
The  Pope,  having  agreed  to  their  requ.est,  sent  as  his  legate  on 
the  following  year  Cardinal  Vivian,  who  had  been  in  Down- 
j)atrick  nine  years  before.  On  his  arrival  the  relics  were 
solemnly  translated  to  a  more  respectable  part  of  the  church, 

is  one  sohd  stone,  in  form  of  a  cube,  about  tbree  feet  high,  all  of 
a  stone  called  Lapis  Molaris,  or  grit."  In  a  grant  of  certain 
lands  in  Downpatrick  to  the  abbey,  made  by  John  de  Courcy,  one  of 
the  boundaries  mentioned  is  "  the  cross  of  St.  Monina,"  which  may 
probably  be  the  cross  in  question.  There  are  several  saints  of  the 
name  of  Monina,  bat  none  of  them  in  any  way  connected  with 
Downpatrick.  The  Martyrology  of  Donegal  gives,  at  the  16th  of 
January,  the  festival  of  "St.  Monoa,  Virgin,  of  Magh  Niadh,  in 
Tuaith-ratha, "  or,  as  it  is  anglicised,  Toorah,  a  small  territory  in  the 
north-west  of  County  Fermanagh,  where  there  is,  however,  no  such 
place  as  Magh  Niadh,  which,  probably,  should  have  been  Mucnamha, 
now  Muckuo,  in  the  County  of  Monaghan,  which  was  once  so 
intimately  connected  with  Downpatrick  as  to  be  under  the  same 
erenagh. 

SHRINE  OF  ST.  PATRICK'S  HAND. 
Father  M'Aleenan,  when  parish  priest  of  Portaferry,  having  under- 
stood that  some  Protestant  gentlemen  were  desirous  of  purchasing 
for  the  Museum  of  the  Ptoj^al  Irish  Academy  the  Shrine  of  St. 
Patrick's  hand,  which  was  at  that  time  in  the  possession  of  Miss 
M 'Henry,  of  Carrstown,  directed  the  attention  of  the  bishop  and 
clergy  to  the  matter,  and  obtained  from  them  a  commission  to  pur- 
chase it  for  the  diocese.  Father  M'Aleenan  succeeded  in  purchasing 
it  for  the  sum  of  £10.  The  following  is  the  substance  of  the  interest- 
ing account  of  that  reliquary  in  Miss  Cusack's  "Life  of  St.  Patrick," 
which  is  principally  supplied  by  Mr.  J.  W.  Hanna  : — It  is  probable 
that  the  hand  and  arm  were  placed  in  the  present  shrine  by  Cardinal 
Vivian  in  1186,  when  he  translated  the  relics.  Nothing  further  is 
known  of  it  until  it  came  into  the  possession  of  Magennis,  of  Castle- 
wellan,  possibly  from  some  of  the  Magennises,  who  were  at  various 


288  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

on  the  9tli  of  June,  tlie  festival  of  St.  Colmnha.  They  were 
deposited  in  one  monument,  according  to  the  well  known 
distich  given  in  the  Office  of  the  Translation — 

"  Nunc  tres  in  Duno  turnulo  tuinulautur  in  uno 
Brigida  Patricias  atque  Cohmiba  plus." 

"  In  Down  three  saints  one  grave  do  fill 
Patrick,  Brigid,  and  Colum  kille." 

Besides  the  Cardinal  Legate,  there  were  present  at  this 
translation  fifteen  bishops,  together  with  abbots,  deans,  arch- 
times  abbots  of  Down.  In  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
George  Pussell,  of  RathmuUan,  mai'ried  one  of  the  Magennises,  and 
the  relic  passed  into  the  possession  of  their  only  child,  Bose,  who 
married  Rowland  Savage.  Upon  the  failure  of  male  issue,  the  Porta- 
ferry  estate,  and  mth  it  the  relic,  passed  to  another  branch  of  the 
Savages,  one  of  whom,  on  becoming  a  Protestant,  gave  it  into  the 
custody  of  the  Rev.  James  Teggart,  then  parish  priest  of  the  Ards. 
After  Father  Teggart's  death,  about  1765,  Mr.  Savage,  of  Portaferry, 
handed  it  over  to  the  guardianship  of  Mr.  M 'Henry,  of  Carrstown,  in 
the  custody  of  whose  family  it  remained  until  it  passed  into  that  of 
the  Bishops  of  Down  and  Connor.  The  tradition  of  its  transmission, 
as  told  to  Father  M  'Aleenan  by  Mrs.  Orangle,  of  Carrstown,  is  as 
follows  : — "When  Down  Cathedral  was  plundered,  Jlagenuis  saved  the 
reliquary,  which  passed  on  the  marriage  of  his  daughter  to  Carr,  of 
Carrstown,  or  Ballyedock.  After  the  death  of  Mageunis'  daughter, 
Carr  married  one  of  the  Savages,  who,  surviving  him,  bequeathed  the 
reliquary  to  her  own  relations,  the  Savages,  and  they  retained  it 
until  i\Ir.  Savage,  the  father  of  the  late  Colonel  Nugent,  on  becoming 
a  Protestant,  gave  it  to  Father  Teggart.  It  passed  on  his  death  into 
the  possession  of  his  niece,  who  was  his  housekeeper  ;  she,  however, 
knowing  that  Mr.  M 'Henry,  of  Carrstown,  was  maternally  descended 
from  the  Carrs,  and  consequently  a  relative  of  the  Carr  who  once 
possessed  it,  gave  it  to  him,  and  thus  it  passed  into  the  custody 
of  the  M  'Henrys. 

The  shrine  is  silver,  and  of  antique  workmanship  ;  it  represents 
the  hand  and  arm  of  an  ecclesiastic  of  rank  covered  with  an  embroid- 
ered sleeve,  and  wearing  a  jewelled  glove.  It  stands  1  foot  34  inches 
high,  but  there  is  no  inscription  except  I.H.S.,  so  that  it  is  dilficult 
to  estimate  its  probable  age.  The  reliquary  was  opened  in  1856  by 
Dr.  Deuvir.  It  contained  a  piece  of  wood  of  the  yew  tree,  about  nine 
inches  long,  which  was  bored  lengthwise  with  a  hole  sufficiently  large 


PARISH  OF  DOWN.  289 

deacons,  priors,  aud  an  innumerable  concourse  of  the  inferior 
clergy  and  laity.  It  may  seem  strange  that  the  Annals  of 
the  Four  Masters  record,  at  the  year  1293,  "It  was  re- 
vealed to  Nicholas  MacMaelisa,  Coarb  of  Patrick  (Primate), 
that  the  relics  of  Patrick,  Columbkille,  and  Brigid,  were  at 
Saul.  They  were  taken  up  by  him,  and  great  virtues  and 
miracles  were  wrought  by  means  of  them ;  and  after  having 
been  honourably  covered,  they  were  deposited  in  a  shrine." 
It  seems  probable  that  the  Saul  referred  to  in  this  entry  is 
the  Church  called  Saul,  at  Armagh.     It  obviously  refers  to 

to  receive  the  wrist-bone  of  a  humaa  arm.  The  wood  was  smeared 
over  at  both  ends  with  wax,  obviously  the  remains  of  the  seals  which 
had  authenticated  the  relic.  The  wood  appears  to  have  been  intended 
as  a  receptacle  for  the  bone,  for  the  purpose  of  preserving  it  in  its 
place,  ard  preventing  it  from  rubbing  against  the  outer  case.  When 
it  was  examined  by  Dr.  Denvir  no  portion  of  the  bone  remained. 
It  had  probably  been  dissolved  by  the  water,  which  persons 
where  in  the  habit  of  pouring  through  the  shrine,  in  order 
that  they  might  wash  sores  with  it  in  hopes  of  obtaining  thereby 
a  miraculous  cure.  About  the  commencement  of  this  century  the 
shrine  was  despoiled  of  some  of  the  Irish  diamonds  with  which  it 
was  studded  by  one  of  the  M'Henrys,  in  order  to  bring  them  with 
her,  as  a  protection  against  any  misfortune,  when  she  was  removing 
to  Ballymena  with  her  husband,  a  carpenter,  named  Ilichard  Colly, 
or  Collins.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  they  are  stiU  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Ballymena.  The  late  Dr.  Denvir  had  the  lost  Irish  diamonds  replaced 
with  new  stones  and  the  shrine  completely  repaired  by  the  late  Mr. 
Donegan,  of  Dublin,  who,  out  of  devotion  to  the  Apostle  of  Ireland, 
refused  to  charge  for  his  work.  Dr.  Denvir  intended  to  have  inserted 
under  a  large  crystal,  which  ornaments  the  back  of  the  hand,  a 
portion  of  the  relics  of  St.  Patrick,  which  he  obtained  from  the 
Cardinal  of  St.  Mark's  Church,  in  Rome,  where  a  portion  of  the 
relics,  which  were  carried  to  Rome  by  Cardmal  Vivian,  are  preserved. 
The  shrine  of  St.  Patrick's  Hand  is  now  deposited  among  the  archives 
of  Down  and  Connor,  which  are  under  the  special  custody  of  the 
bishop. 

SHRINE  OF  ST.  PATRICK'S  JAW-BONE. 
The  Most  Rev.  Dr.  Dorrian  has  also  a  silver  reliqiiary,  which  he 
purch3,sed  from  a  family  named  CuUen,  who  resided  in  the  parish  of 


290  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

a  portion  of  the  relics  which  had  been  given  to  some  church, 
and  most  likely  that  portion,  which  we  know  the  Church  of 
Armagh  was  long  possessed  of. 

Malachy,  the  third  bishop  of  that  name  who  presided  over 
the  See  of  Down^  after  witnessing  the  ruin  of  his  country 
and  the  spoliation  of  the  native  clergy  of  his  diocese  to  en- 
rich English  ecclesiastics  who  had  come  in  the  train  of  the 
invaders,  died  in  the  year  1204.  The  Annals  of  Lough  Ce 
at  that  year  record  his  death  under  his  Irish  name,  "  Echm- 
hilidh,  son  of  the  Comarb  of  Finnen,  bishop  of  Uladh 
(Down),  died."  The  Annals  of  the  Four  Masters,  at  the 
same  year,  record,  evidently  with  satisfaction,  that  "John 
de  Courcy,  the  plunderer  of  churches  and  territories,  was 
driven  by  the  son  of  Hugh  de  Lacy  into  Tyrone  to  seek 
the  protection  of  the  Kinel-Owen.  He  arrived  at  Carrick- 
fergus,  and  the  English  of  Ulidia  slew  great  numbers  of  his 
people."* 

Derriaghy,  Co.  Antrim,  at  the  base  of  Collin  mountain.  It  consists 
of  a  silver  box,  or  shrine,  inclosing  a  human  jaw-bone,  in  a  perfect 
state,  but  now  only  retaining  one  double  tooth.  It  had  formerly  live, 
three  of  which  were  given  to  members  of  the  family  when  emigrating 
to  America,  and  the  fourth  was  deposited  under  the  altar  of  Derry- 
aghy  Chapel  by  the  parish  priest,  when  the  chapel  was  rebuilt  in 
1797.  The  outer  case  is  of  antique  appearance,  fitted  with  a  lid,  and 
has  a  hall  mark  of  some  early  date  impressed  upon  it.  The  bone  is 
that  of  a  male  of  rather  a  large  size.  The  family  believed  that  it  was 
the  jaw-bone  of  St.  Patrick,  and  a  tradition  to  that  effect  has  been 
handed  down  for  generations.  The  great  grandmother  of  the  old 
men,  the  Cullens,  who  sold  it  to  the  bishop,  brought  it  from  her  re- 
lations, the  Savages  of  Dunturk,  in  the  County  of  Down.  "Formerly 
water,  in  which  the  bone  was  immersed,  was  administered  to  persona 
afflicted  with  epilepsy.  See  Ulster  Journal  of  Ardueology,  Vol.  II. 
which  contains  drawings  of  both  the  shrines. 

*  It  appears  that  De  Courcy  had  incurred  the  displeasure  of  King 
John  by  speaking  too  freely  of  the  murder  of  Prince  Arthur,  and 
Hugh  de  Lacy,  the  justiciary,  was  ordered  to  arrest  him.  The 
popular  tradition  of  Downpatrick,  and  a  romantic  story  told  in  the 


PARISH  OP  DOAVN.  291 

Downpatrick  was  visited  by  King  John  in  the  year  1210, 
who,  on  his  way  to  Carrickfergiis,  encamped  on  the  16th  of 
July  "  at  the  meadows  of  Down,"  at  a  place  called  Kingsfield, 
and  again  on  his  return  he  spent  the  2nd  and  3rd  of  August 
at  "  Dun." 

There  is  preserved  among  the  papers  formerly  belonging 
to  Sir  James  Ware,  a  copy  of  an  ancient  roll  of  the  four- 
teenth or  fifteenth  century,  which  was  lent  to  him  from  the 
muniments  of  the  See  of  Down  ;  it  purports  to  be  an  extract 
from  ancient  documents  read  by  the  Bishop  of  Down  in  the 
year  1210  before  King  John,  and  confirmed  by  that  king. 
This  document  states  "that  the  Bishop  of  Down  is  Abbot  of 
the  Convent  of  the  Monks  of  the  Church  of  Down,  and  has 
the  same  pre-eminence  over  the  Prior  and  the  Convent  of  St. 
Patrick  as  any  other  abbot  has  over  his  own  convent.  And 
in  the  same  Church  of  Down  the  same  bishop  has  the  half  of 
all  the  oblations  of  that  church  and  chapels  on  the  festivals 
of  Easter,  the  Assumption  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary  and 
the  Nativity  of  the  same,  and  on  the  festival  of  St.  Patrick 
and  of  the  Nativity  of  our  Lord.  Item.  He  has  in  the 
same  church   on  the  north   side  a  hall  and  kitchen,  with 

"Book  of  Howth,"  now  preserved  in  the  Lambeth  Library,  relate 
that  De  Lacy  proclaimed  Be  Courcy  a  rebel,  and  bribed  his  servants 
to  betray  him.  These  traitors  informed  De  Lacy  that  their  master 
was  a  man  of  such  gigantic  strength,  and  always  well  armed,  that  no 
one  durst  lay  hands  upon  him  ;  however,  that  upon  Good  Friday  of 
each  year  he  wore  no  arms,  but  remained  alone  doing  penance  in  the 
graveyard  of  Down,  when  he  could  be  seized.  This  suggestion  was 
followed,  and  De  Courcy  was  attacked  unarmed.  Seeing  no  other 
weapon  at  hand,  he  ran  to  a  wooden  cross  that  stood  in  the  church- 
yard, and,  tearing  its  shaft  from  the  socket,  he  killed  thirteen  of  his 
assailants  upon  the  spot.  He  was  however,  finally  overpowered, 
and  delivered  into  the  hands  of  De  Lacy,  who  conveyed  him  a 
prisoner  to  the  tower  of  London.  De  Lacy  inherited  his  possessions, 
with  the  title  of  Earl  of  Ulster,  as  a  mark  of  Royal  approbation, 
but,  instead  of  rewarding  his  betrayers,  he  caused  them  to  be  hanged. 


292  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

chambers  above  aud  beneath,  and  before  the  gate  of  the 
cloister  a  little  passage,  which  leads  to  the  lower  chambers, 
and  behind  the  said  hall  chambers  on  the  north  side,  towards 
the  parish  church  of  said  city."^-' 

The  Englisli  suffered  repeated  disasters  in  skirmishes  with 
the  Irish,  and  the   Benedictine  Abbey  of  Down   shared  in 
their  fortunes,  as  the  following  letter  written  to  Henry  III., 
in  the  year  1220,  sufficiently  testifies  : — 
"To  their  Venerable  Lox-d,  Henry,  by  the  Grace  of  God, 

King  of  England,  Lord  of  Ireland,  Duke  of  Normandy, 

Count  of  Anjou  and  Aquitane. 

The  Prior  and  Convent  of  the  Church  of  St.  Patrick  of 
Down,  health  and  prayers  in  Christ. — We  transmit  to  your 
Excellency  our  monk  with  the  shrine  of  the  patrons  of  Ire- 
land, Patrick,  Columba,  and  Brigid,  and  their  relics.  Inas- 
much as,  that  for  the  reverence  to  them^  and  for  the  promise 
that  our  lord,  your  father,  promised,  forsooth,  that  he  would 
be  a  benefactor  of  our  church,  and  for  yourself,  who  are  the 
lord  of  all  the  land,  and  the  patron  of  the  patrons  of  Ireland, 
you  would  give  to  us  and  to  charity  some  small  dwelling  in 
England,  in  which,  when  need  be,  we  may  lodge.  For  the 
Monastery  of  St.  Patrick  has  frequently  been,  during  the 
war,  destroyed  and  burned,  along  with  the  church,  which  has 
commenced  to  be  entirely  rebuilt,  hence  we  very  much  stand 
in  need  of  your  assistance." 

On  account  of  the  peculiar  relations  that  existed  between 

*  It  would  seem  from  this  document  that  the  cloisters  and  cells 
were  to  the  North  of  the  Cathedral,  which  corresponds  with  what 
Harris  says  : — "  Large  pieces  of  stained  glass  and  window  lead  have 
been  lately  turned  out  ef  the  ruins  of  the  building ;  the  glass  but 
rudely  painted  and  scarce  transparent,  probably  done  in  the  infancy 
of  the  invention  ;  but  the  lead  was  like  pewter,  and  far  beyond  any 
used  in  the  present  times.  Several  cells  have  been  discovered  beh'nid 
the  abbey,  one  whereof  was  floored  with  small  painted  tiles,  something 
like  mosaic  work,  but  the  figures  small  and  ill  done." 


PARISH    OF    DOWN.  293 

the  Bishop  and  the  Prior  and  Convent  the  election  to  the 
see  on  each  occasion  rested  with  the  Prior  and  Convent, 
subject  to  the  approbation  of  the  Pope  and  the  King,  The 
"  Terrier  "  says  : — "  The  Prior  of  the  said  Abbey  and  Con- 
vent is  Dean,  and  the  monks  of  the  said  Abbey  or  Cathedral 
Church  are  Cannons  Cathedrall,  and,  as  it  were,  a  Chapter." 
It  was  on  this  account  that  we  do  not  meet  in  ancient 
documents  reference  to  any  of  the  officers,  except  the  Arch- 
deacon, usually  connected  with  other  dioceses.  It  appears, 
however,  that  in  the  thirteenth  century  an  attempt  was 
made  by  the  Abbey  of  Bangor  to  set  up  a  claim  to  the  privi- 
lege of  electing  the  bishop;  and  there  is  given  in  Theinei-'s 
"  Vetra  Monumenta  "  a  bull  of  Pope  Innocent  IV.,  dated 
March  5th,  1254,  in  which  the  Pope  confirms  a  decision 
made  by  the  Primate,  that  the  Abbey  Church  of  Bangor 
was  not  the  Cathedral  of  Down,  but  that  the  Church  of 
Down,  of  the  order  of  St.  Benedict,  was  the  Cathedral,  and 
that  to  it  alone  belonged  the  light  of  electing  the  bishop. 

The  vacillating  and  unsettled  system  of  government  pur- 
sued during  the  reign  of  Henry  III.,  and  the  constant 
domestic  and  foreign  wars  in  which  the  King  was  engaged, 
weakened  the  English  power  in  Ireland,  and  induced  the 
Northern  Irish  to  hope  that  a  favourable  opportunity  had  at 
length  come  to  drive  them  out  of  Ulster.  Bi-yan  O'Neill, 
King  of  the  Kinel-Owen,  assisted  by  the  Irish  of  Connaught, 
attacked  the  town  of  Down  which  was  defended  by  the 
Lord  Justice,  Stephen  de  long  Espee.  The  battle  was  fought 
on  Sunday  within  the  Octave  of  the  Ascension,  in  the  year 
1260,  at  a  place  called  "  Drum  Derg  (the  red-ridge),  near 
Dunda-leathglas,"  but  according  to  others,  "  in  the  streets 
of  Down."  It  is  not  unlikely  that  it  was  fought  on  the  hill 
between  Scotch  Street  and  Irish  Street,  In  the  angle 
formed  by  these  streets,  about  seven  perches  to  the  rere  of 


294  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

the  former  and  sixteen  to  the  right  of  the  latter,  human 
bones  were  found  in  such  quantities  as  to  indicate  a  cemetery. 
The  Four  Masters  say  "  In  this  battle  many  of  the 
Irish  chieftains  were  slain,  viz.,  Brian  O'  Neill,  the  chief  of 
Ireland,  Donnell  O'Cairre,  Dermot  MacLoughlin,  Manus 
O'Kane,  Kian  O'Henery,  Dunslevey  MacCann,  Connor 
O'Duvdirma,  and  his  son  Hugh,  Hugh  O'Kane,  Murtough 
O'Kane,  Auliffe  O'Gormly,  Cu-Uladh  O'Hanlon,  and  Niall 
O'Hanlon.  In  a  word,  fifteen  of  the  chiefs  of  the  family  of 
O'Kane  were  slain  on  the  field."  In  addition  to  these  the 
Annals  record  the  names  of  the  Connaught  chiefs  who  fell 
in  this  battle.  There  are  extant  two  poems  on  this  battle, 
qpe  by  Gillabride  MacNamee,  and  another  by  Fearghal  Og 
Mac  an  Bhaird,  which  mention  the  names  of  several  other 
chiefs  who  perished  in  the  battle  of  Down, — Jeffry  O'Devlin, 
O'Devanny,  Cearbhall  Mac-an-Bliaird,  and  Ardghal  O'Lav- 
erty.*     It  is  remarkable  that  not  a  single  individual  of  the 

*  As  all  these  Kinel-Owen  names,  owing  to  the  Clannaboy  invasion 
in  the  14th  century,  have  been  spread  through  Down  and  Connor,  a 
few  remarks  on  each  will  be  interesting. 

Ua  Cairre  and  O'Carra,  now  Corr,  a  name  still  common  in  the 
parish  of  Lissan,  Co.  Derry,  and  in  many  districts  of  Down  and 
Connor.  A.D.  1095,  "  Muircheartach  O'Cairre,  steward  of  Cenel- 
Aenghnsa,  and  royal  heir  of  Aileach,  died  (Annals  of  Lough  Ce). 
Kinel-Aenghnsa  was  the  tribe  name  of  the  ilacCauns,  but  there 
were  several  other  tribes  of  this  name  in  Ulster. 

MacLoughlin — Lochlainn,  from  whom  the  name  is  taken,  was  the 
grandson  of  Donnel  O'Neill,  who  died  A.D.  980,  and  was  the  first 
person  named  O'Neill.  Lochlainn's  grandson,  Donnel  MacLoughlin, 
was  monarch  of  Ireland,  as  was  also  that  Donnel's  grandson,  Muir- 
cheartach MacLoughlin,  who  gave  the  charter  to  the  abbey  of  Newry, 
he  was  slain  A.D.  1169.  Many  of  the  family  were  princes  of  Aileach 
— that  is  to  say  supreme  chiefs  of  the  Kinel-Owen.  The  last  Mac- 
Loughlin, who  attained  that  dignitj%  was  Donnel,  who  was  slain 
A.D.  1241  by  Brian  O'Neill,  the  prince  who  perished  in  the  battle  of 
Down.  After  that  date  till  the  Flight  of  the  Earls,  the  O'Neill 
branch  of  the  family  alone  supplied  the  chiefs  of  the  Kinel-Owen. 


PARISH    OF    DOWN.  21)5 

native  Irish  of  the  Counties  of  Down  or  Antrim  joined  their 
countrymen  in  this  attack — such  was  the  hereditary  hatred 
entertained  by  them  against  the  Kinel-Owen.  The  poet 
MacNamee  points  out  the  true  sources  of  their  defeat. 

Unequal  they  engaged  in  the  battle 
The  foreigners  and  the  Gaeidhil  of  Tara 
Fine  linen  shirts  on  the  race  of  Con 
And  the  foreigners  in  one  mass  of  iron. 

Bryan  O'Neill  and  three  hundred  and  hfty-two  of  the 
Irish,  among  whom  were  hfteen  chief  men  of  the  O'Kanes, 
perished  on  that  disastrous  field.  O'lSTeill's  head  was  cut 
off    and  sent  to  liOndon  as  a  trophy,  which  is  lamented  by 

O'Oathain  or  O'Kane.  They  are  descendants  of  Ooncobhar, 
brother  of  Niall  Frassach,  King  of  Ireland  A.D.  759,  from  whom  the 
O'Neills  are  descended.  The  O'Kanes  were  chiefs  of  Cianachta  and 
Fir-na-Craeibhe,  now  the  baronies  of  Keenaght  and  Coleraine  in  the 
County  of  Derry  ;  and  a  bx-anch  of  them  called  the  Claim  Maghnun 
iia  Buaiae,  settled  about  the  end  of  the  thirteenth  century  along  the 
river  Bush,  and  had  their  chief  fortress  at  Dunseverick,  in  the  County 
of  Antrim.  Before  the  O'Kanes  had  risen  to  power  Keeuaght  was 
possessed  by  the  tribe  of  the  Cianachta,  the  decendants  of  Cian,  son 
of  OilioU  Olum,  King  of  Munster  in  the  third  century.  The  Kinel- 
Owen  gave  that  territory  to  the  tribe  for  assistance,  which  they  hatl 
rendered  them  in  w^ar.  After  the  assumption  of  surnames,  the  prin- 
cipal family  of  the  Cianachta  took  the  surname  of  O'Conchobhair 
(O'Connor),  and  though  subdued  by  the  O'Kanes  in  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury, they  are  still  numerous  in  Keeuaght,  where  till  lately  they 
anglicised  the  name  into  Knocher,  the  descendants  of  those  of  them, 
who  came  to  Down  and  Connor  in  the  Clannaboy  invasion  anglicised 
the  name  into  Connocher,  which  is  much  nearer  the  original  than 
Conuor.  A  branch  of  the  O'Kanes  took  the  surname  MacCloskey 
(MacBloscah),  from  Bloscadh  O'Kane  who  lived  in  the  thirteenth 
century.  Cardinal  MacCloskey  belongs  to  this  family.  Manus 
O'Kane,  who  was  slain  in  the  battle  of  Down,  was  the  father  of  Cooey 
na  Gail  O'Kane,  whose  tomb  is  in  the  old  church  of  Dungiven. 
English  heralds  have  given  to  the  O'Kanes,  as  armorial  bearings,  the 
salmon  and  grey-hound,  descriptive  of  the  fish  and  game  so  abundant 
in  their  Territory,  and  have  added  the  cat,  which  is  merely  a  pun  on 
the  first  three  letters  of  the  name  O'Catlcain. 


296  DOWN    AND    CONNOR. 

MacNamee,  the  clan  bard  of  the  Kinel-Owen,  in  words 
which  show  how  Down  was  regarded  as  a  favourite  placft  of 
interment  by  the  Irish  of  that  period  : — 

Alas  that  his  noble  head  was  removed  from  Down, 

From  the  place  wherein  is  the  grave  of  Patrick, 

It  is  grievous  to  us  that  the  King  of  Caiseal 

Is  not  (interred)  near  the  relics  of  the  Tailginn  (St.  Patrick). 

A  similar  testimony  is  borne  by  the  bard  O'Dnijan  in  tlie 
year  1372  :— 

From  Dun-da-lethglas  of  the  Cassocks 

Which  is  the  royal  cemetery  of  Erin. 

Without  any  heed  or  gain  there  ; 

A  town  wherein  the  clay  of  Columb  was  covered. 

In  the  same  grave  was  buried 

Brigid,  the  victory  of  females, 

And,  as  we  leave  them  every  victorj*. 

Patrick  of  Macha  (Ardmagh)  is  in  the  great  grave. 

In  the  Pope  Nicholas  Valuation  the  Church  of  St.  Patrick 
in  Down  was  valued  at  five  marks,  and  the  Temporalities  of 
the  Abbot  were  valued  at  £41  5s.  4d. 

O'Henery  -O'h  Inneirghe. — They  were  of  the  race  of  Brian,  son  of 
Eoghan,  the  ancestor  of  the  Kinel-Owen,  and  were  chiefs  of  Glencon- 
keine,  comprising  the  parishes  of  Ballynascreen,  Kilcronaghan,  and 
Desertmartin,  in  the  County  of  Derry.  The  chief  burial  place  of  this 
family  was  in  Ballynascreen.  The  O'Henerys — but  always  written 
Henry — are  numerous  through  Antrim  and  Down,  owing  to  the 
successful  invasions  by  the  Kinel-Owen  race. 

O'Duibhdhiarma. — This  name  is  still  numerous  in  Inishowen,  and 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Derry,  where  it  is  anglicised  into  Dooyearma, 
and  changed  into  MacDermot.  Their  country  was  called  Breadach 
and  comprised  the  eastern  half  of  Inishowen. 

O'Gormley— O'Gairmleadhaigh.— This  family,  which  has  remained 
in  obscurity  since  the  Plantation  of  Ulster  in  1609,  was  originally 
seated  in  the  present  barony  of  Raphoe,  but,  being  driven  at  an  early 
period  to  the  east  side  of  the  river  Foyle,  by  the  O'Donnells,  they 
there  acquired  a  territory,  which  on  an  old  map  of  Ulster,  preserved 
in  the  State  Paper  Office,  London,  is  shown  as  extending  from  near 
Derry  to  Strabane.     The  O'Gormley's,  because  the  Irish  word,  fjorm 


PARISH  OF  DOWN,  297 

The  brilliant  and  decisive  victory  achieved  by  the  Scots 
over  the  English  at  Bannockbnrn  in  1314  having  awakened 
among  the  Northern  Irish  hopes  of  similar  success,  they 
offered  the  crown  of  Ireland  to  Edward  Bruce,  the  brother 
of  King  Robert  of  Scotland.  Edward  accepted  the  offer, 
and  the  country  was  deluged  with  blood  during  three  years 
while  the  war  lasted.  Grace's  Annals  at  the  year  1316 
say — "  The    Monasteries  of   St.   Patrick  of  Down   and   of 

Saul,   with  many  others,   are  plundered The 

Church  of  Bright,  in  Ulster,  full  of  persons  of  both  sexes  ia 
burned." 

The  Annals  of  the  Four  Masters  record  at  the  year 
1375 — "A  great  victory  was  gained  by  Niall  O'Neill  over 
the  English  at  Downpatrick,  when  Sir  James  (Talbot),  of 

eignifies  dark  blue  or  grim,  translate  their  name,  one  of  the  most 
distinguished  of  the  Kinel-Owen,  into  Graham  or  Grimes. 

The  O'Hanlons  were  descended  from  Colla-da-Crich,  and  were 
chiefs  of  Hy-Meith-Tire,  now  the  barony  of  Orior  in  Armagh,  they 
held  the  office  of  hereditary  regal  standard  bearers  of  Ulster. 

Mac  Namee — Mac  Conmidhe  (son  of  Cu  Midhe,  i.e.,  the  hound  of 
Meath).  The  MadSTamees  were  originally  chiefs  of  the  Sil-Ronan,  a 
tribe  situated  along  Lough  Eee,  in  West  Meath,  hence  they  derived 
their  name  from  some  of  their  ancestors  called  Cu  Midhe — the  hound 
of  Meath.  The  Irish,  who  had  not  lions  in  their  country,  compared 
their  chiefs  to  the  hound,  the  animal  which  they  held  in  highest  esteem; 
hence  among  the  Magnires  we  find  the  name  Cuconnacht — the  hound 
of  Connaught — now  generally  changed  into  Constantine,  and  among 
the  Ulidians  the  name  Cu  Uladh— the  hound  of  Ulster — is  very 
frequent ;  even  the  name  Cuduiligh — greedy  hound — is  of  very  frequent 
occurrence  ;  and  an  ancient  crozier,  formerly  in  the  possession  of 
Cardinal  Wiseman,  has  an  inscription  in  Irish,  "  A  prayer  for  Cud- 
uiligh and  Maelfinneu."  A  branch  of  the  MacNamees  became 
hereditary  poets  to  the  Kinel-Owen.  Dr.  O'Donovan  states  that  the 
late  Mr.  Loughlin  MacNamee,  of  Ballynascreen,  County  Derry,  was 
the  lineal  representative  of  Solamh  MacNamee,  chief  poet  of  O'Neill, 
who  died  in  1507.  The  name  MacConmhidhe  assumes  the  modern 
forms  of  Conway,  MacConvey,  and  MacNamee,  and  is  of  frequent 
occurrence  in  Down  and  Connor. 

T 


2^8  DOWN    AND    CONNOB. 

Baile-atha-thid  (Malahide),  the  King  of  England's  Deputy, 
•Burke  of  Camline,  and  many  others  not  enumerated,  were 
slain  in  the  conflict."  This  defeat  of  the  English  is  not 
noticed  by  any  of  the  English  historians,  and  consequently 
it  cannot  have  been  so  important  as  the  Irish  writers  pretend ; 
nevertheless,  the  English  are  foi'ced  to  draw  a  very  gloomy 
picture  of  the  state  of  their  colony  in  Ireland  about  this 
epoch.  There  is  preserved  in  the  Chapter  House,  Westmin- 
ster, a  memorial  forwarded  to  Henry  IV. ,  about  the  year 
1410,  from  the  clergy  and  nobles  of  Down,  in  which  they 
depict  the  terrible  state  to  which  they  were  reduced.  To 
this  document  are  annexed,  amongst  others,  the  signatures 

O'Devlin — O'Dobhailen — was  chief  of  Muintir — Dobhailen  (the 
people  of  the  O'Devlins)  now  Munterevlin,  a  district  on  the  west  side 
of  Lough  Neagh.  Another  tribe  of  the  O'Devlins  was  located  in 
County  Sligo,  but  they  were  of  a  dififerent  race  from  the  O'Devlins  of 
Tyrone. 

O'Devany — O'Duibheamhna.  They  were  located  in  the  barony  of 
Raphoe,  till  along  with  the  other  Kinel-Owen  families  they  were 
driven  over  the  river  Foyle  by  the  Kinel-Connell  ;  a  branch  of  them, 
however,  continued  as  Erenachs  of  a  portion  of  the  Church  land  of 
Raphoe,  and  a  jury  found  in  1609  "that  the  half  quarter  of  ToUohe- 
deveny  was  ancientlie  in  the  sept  of  the  Veneis." 

Mac-an-Bhaird,  now  Ward,  the  name  signifies— the  son  of  the 
bard— and  is  derived  from  their  profession,  they  were  hereditary- 
poets  to  the  O'Donnells,  O'Kanes  and  many  other  chiefs,  hence  the 
name  is  to  be  found  in  many  parts  of  the  north  and  west  of  Ireland, 
and  some  of  our  sweetest  Irish  poems  owe  their  origin  to  the  poetic 
talent  of  this  gifted  race.  Owen  Roe  Mac  Ward  who  accompanied 
the  earls  of  Tyrone  and  Tyrconnell  in  their  exile  to  Rome,  wrote  the 
beautiful  elegiac  poem  "  0  woman  of  the  piercing  wail." 

Notwithstanding  the  defeat  of  the  Irish,  they  were  able  it  would 
seem,  to  carry  off  some  of  their  wounded.  MacNamee  says  Ardghal 
O'Laverty  was  interred  at  Derry. 

Ardghal  of  Oileach  under  the  sacred  mould. 

In  the  Diseart  of  Doire-Chalgaigh, 

Near  the  fair  miraculous  hill. 

Well  do  we  remember  0' Laithbheartaigh  (O'Laverty). 


PARISH    OF    DOWK.  299 

and  seals  of  the  Bishop  of  Down,  of  the  Prior  of  Down,  and 
of  the  Archdeacon  of  Down.  The  seal  of  the  town  of  Down 
is  broken  off. 

Tiberius,  Bishop  of  Down  and  Connor,  repaired  and  orna- 
mented the  Cathedral,  or  Abbey  Church,  and  the  following 
document,  preserved  in  an  archiepiscopal  registry  of  Armagh, 
tells  the  means  which  he  adopted  for  that  end : — 

"  Tiberius,  by  the  grace  of  God,  Bishop  of  Down  and 
Connor,  &c. — Know  that  we.  with  the  consent  of  the  Prior 
of  Down  and  of  the  convent  of  the  same,  have  made  certain 
xmions  for  the  repairs  of  the  Cathedral  Church,  of  Down, 
■which  is  gone  to  rain  in  walls  and  roof,  and  for  the  augmen- 
tation of  Di\ine  worship  in  the  aforesaid  church,  as  also  on 
account  of  the  venerable  relics  of  the  holy  persons,  St.  Patrick, 
St.  Columba,  and  St.  Brigid,  lying  in  one  tomb  in  that  place ; 
the  monastery  which  formerly,  from  ancient  times,  was 
governed  by  nuns,  which  same  monastery  is  now  destroyed, 
and  the  Monastery  of  John  the  Baptist,  and  the  Monastery 
of  St.  Thomas,  proto-martyr,  and  the  Monastery  of  the  Irish, 
and  the  Rectory  of  the  Parish  Church  of  Ardglass,  and  the 
Prebend  of  Ros,  and  the  Prebend  of  Ballengallbee  (Ballykil- 
beg),  and  the  Chapel  of  St.  Mary  Magdalene.  At  the  just 
and  laudable  petition  of  Lord  Gelasius  Magennis,  Commen- 
datory of  Down,  we  have  united,  annexed,  and  incorporated 
all  and  each  of  the  aforesaid  on  account  of  the  foresaid  causes, 
that  it  is  better  to  endow  the  Cathedral  Church  than  that 
each  should  go  to  ruin.  Given  at  Carrickfergus,  the  20th. 
day  of  February,  A.D.  1512," 

The  Gelasius  Magennis  (spoken  of  in  the  bishop's  letter) 
is  called  in  Irish  documents  Glasny ;  he  was  Prior  of  St. 
John's  in  Down,  of  Saul,  of  St.  Patrick's  in  Down,  and 
Abbot  of  Newry.  The  Annals  of  the  Four  Masters  record 
his  death  in  the  year  1526.     "  Glasny,  the  son  of  Hugh 


300  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

Magennis,  Abbot  of  Newry  and  Prior  of  Down  and  Saul, 
was  slain  by  the  sons  of  Donnell  Magennis — namely,  by 
Donnell  Oge  and  his  kinsmen."  The  union  of  the  endow- 
ments of  the  smaller  houses  to  the  cathedral  was  confirmed 
by  the  Primate,  October  12,  1541,  and  the  instrument  was 
dii-ected  to  '*  Conosius  (Con)  Magennis,  Commendatory  of 
Down  Sede  Vacante." 

A.D.  1538 — The  abbey  was  burned,  and  the  shrine  con- 
taining the  relics  of  St.  Patrick,  St.  Brigid,  and  St.  Colum- 
kille  was  destroyed  by  Lord  Leonax'd  de  Grey,  which  is  said 
to  have  been  one  of  the  counts  in  the  indictmeut  on  which 
he  was  afterwards  condemned  and  beheaded. 

A.D.  1539 — The  prior  of  this  abbey  resigned  it  to  the 
King  upon  being  allowed  a  pension  during  his  life.  Thus 
perished  that  great  abbey,  the  priors  of  which  were  peers  of 
Ireland,  and  possessed  of  a  third  of  the  lands  of  Lecale.  Its 
venerable  ruins  were  repaired,  and  formed  into  the  present 
Protestant  Cathedral  in  the  year  1790.  Harris  thus 
describes  its  ruins  in  1740: — "The  roof  was  supported  by 
five  handsome  arches,  and  compose  a  central  aisle  of  twenty- 
six  feet  broad,  and  two  lateral  aisles  of  thirteen  feet  wide 
each,  and  the  whole  structure  is  one  hundred  feet  long.  The 
heads  of  the  pillars  and  arches,  the  tops  of  the  windows,  and 
many  niches  in  the  walls  were  adorned  with  a  variety  of 
sculpture  in  stone,  some  parts  of  which  yet  remain.  Over 
the  east  window,  which  is  very  lofty  and  august,  are  three 
handsome  ancient  niches,  in  which  the  pedestals  still  continue, 
whereon  it  is  supposed  the  statues  of  St.  Patrick,  St.  Brigid, 
and  St.  Columba  formerly  stood,"  Harris  gives  a  copy  of 
an  illegible  inscription  which  was  on  a  stone  over  the  east 
window  on  the  inside.  He  also  says  that  there  was  found  in 
the  ruins  *'  an  Agmis  Dei,  or  figure  of  a  lamb,  cut  in  freestone 
as  big  as  life,  in  sculpture  not  very  bad."     There  is  built 


PARISH  OF  DOWN.  301 

into  the  western  gable  on  the  inside  a  stone  on  which  is 
carved  the  figure  of  a  bishop  holding  in  his  hand  one  of  the 
short  Irish  croziers.  Occasionally  stone-lined  graves  are 
found,  such  as  we  have  remarked  at  Saul,  St.  John's  Point, 
and  other  ancient  churches  throughout  that  portion  of  the 
diocese. 

Father  Edmund  MacCanna  attributes  the  destruction  of 
the  abbey  to  one  Cromwell,  and  says : — "  I  have  been  told 
by  my  grandfather  that  he  was  an  eye-witness  of  that  sac- 
rilegious incendiarism  ;  and,  further,  that  all  the  churches 
previous  to  that  consumption  were  lightly  roofed,  and  highly 
adorned  with  statutes  and  images.  Our  natives  give  him  the 
name  of  Maol-na-teampull,  from  his  impiety.  I  have  heard 
many  old  men  say  they  were  born  in  that  year ;  for  so 
notorious  was  the  sacrilege  of  that  impious  man,  that  numbers 
of  old  men  reckoned  their  age  from  it,  as  from  a  national 
visitation."  What  Father  MacCana  here  says  of  Lord 
Cromwell  was  previously  laid  to  the  charge  of  Lord  Leonard 
Grey,  Lord  Deputy  in  1538.  Tt  is  probable  that  as  the 
Cromwell  family  was  in  his  time  possessed  of  the  lands,  he 
supposed  that  the  sacrilege  had  been  committed  by  their 
ancestor.  Lord  Leonard  Grey  seems  to  have  obtained  the 
name  of  Maol-na-teampull — the  Maol,  or  bald  man  of  the 
churches — from  a  prophecy  attxibuted  to  St.  Columkille, 
which  foretells  many  evils  that  were  to  be  perpetrated  by 
"  Maol,  the  son  of  Donn  (the  brown-haired  man),  who  shall 
prove  injurious  to  Leath  Cuinn  (the  North  of  Ireland),  the 
seat  of  literature." 

Dr.  Reeves  has  collected  from  various  sources  a  list  of  the 
priors  of  Down. 

A.D.  1183 — William  de  Etleshale.  (He  is  a  subscribing 
witness  to  J.  de  Courcy's  charter  to  St.  Andrew's  and  Jordan 
de  Courcy's  to  Neddrum.) 


302  DOWN   AND   CONNOR. 

A.D.  1200 — Circ.  Andrew.  (He  is  named  in  two  of  J.  de 
Courcy's  grants  to  Down.) 

A.D.  1215— Circ.     W     .     .     .  .  was  prior. 

A.D.  1237— 1251— Robert. 

A.D.  1271 — 1276 — Nicholas,  who  was  also  Treasurer  of 
Ulster. 

A.D.  1276— John,  Abbot  of  Deulacresse. 

A.D.  1301— Roger. 

A.D.  1313 — Thomas  of  Bright,  who  became  Bishop  of 
Down  in  1314. 

A.D.  1317— John. 

A.D.  1352 — Richard  Calf,  who  became  Bishop  of  Down 
in  1353. 

A.D.  1361— 1365— Nicholas. 

A.D.  1367 — Richard  Calf,  who  became  Bishop  of  Down 
in  1368. 

A.D.  1381 — 1387 — John  Ross,  who  became  Bishop  of 
Down  in  1387. 

A.D.  1412 — John  Cely  (or  Sely),  who  became  Bishop  of 
Down  in  1413. 

A.D.  1434— 1448— William  Stanley. 

A.D.  1470— Thomas  Barkley. 

A.D.  1512 — 1526 — Gelacius  Magennis,  Commendatory  of 
Down,  Prior  of  Saul,  &c. 

A.D.  1526— John  Swerdes. 

A.D.  1541 — Con  Magennis. 

In  addition  to  the  churches  already  mentioned,  there  was 
in  Downpatrick  a  parish  church,  which  is  described  in  a 
document  ah-eady  given  as  situated  somewhere  to  the  north 
of  the  chambers  belonging  to  the  bishop  in  the  abbey  or 
cathedral.  Human  bones  and  several  early  English  coins 
have  been  dug  up  on  what  was  formerly  called  the  Windmill 
Hill,  where  the  present  county  jail  stands,  which  is  north- 
east of  the  cathedral. 


PARISH    OF    DOWN.  3Q3 

The  sites  and  landed  possessions  of  the  abbey  and  all  the 
other  Monastic  Houses  in  Down,  Saul,  and  Inch,  were  de- 
mised by  Edward  VI.  to  William  St.  Leger  and  John  Parker. 
They  were  afterwards  granted  by  Queen  Mary  in  1558  to 
Gerald,  Earl  of  Kildare^  and  Mabel  his  wife,  and  the  heirs 
male,  of  Earl  Gerald  ;  but  all  the  rectories  and  impropriate 
tithes  belonging  to  those  monastic  houses  had  been  already 
assigned  to  Cardinal  Pole.  Earl  Gerald  died  in  1585, 
and  the  last  of  his  sons,  Earl  William,  was  drowned  at  sea  in 
1599,  whereby  the  male  issue  of  Earl  Gerald  became  extinct, 
and  the  reversion  of  the  monastic  lands  at  the  death  of  the 
Countess  Mabel  became  vested  in  the  Crown.  The  old 
Countess,  however,  to  the  great  inconvenience  of  expectants, 
survived  till  August  25th,  1610.  In  the  meantime,  James 
I.  granted  the  reversion  to  Sir  John  Graeme,  one  of  his  needy 
followers,  who  sold  it  to  John  Kinge,  ancestor  of  the  Earl  of 
Kingston,  who  had  already  enriched  himself  with  the  exten- 
sive monastic  lands  of  the  abbey  of  Boyle.  Kinge  soon  re-sold 
the  reversion  to  Charles  Blount,  Lord  Mountjoy,  afterwards 
Earl  of  Devonshire,  who  had  brought  the  wars  of  Hugh 
O'Neill  to  a  successful  close.  Blount,  bi'oken-hearted  on 
account  of  his  unfortunate  marriage,  became  careless  of  his 
valuable  reversionary  interests  in  Lecale,  and  parted  with 
them  on  easy  terms  to  Edward,  Lord  Cromwell  of  Okeham, 
great  grandson  of  Thomas  Cromwell,  the  celebrated  minister 
of  Henry  VIII.  The  representatives  of  the  Protestant 
Church  in  vain  protested,  in  the  Terrier,  that  the  abbey  lands 
belonged  to  the  bishop  as  abbot,  "  Because  this  abbey  was  an 
abbey  of  old,  in  the  time  of  the  annexation  of  the  abbey  lands 
to  the  Crowne,  it  was  also  reputed  to  be  annexed  to  the 
Crowne,  and  so  by  that  means  was  lately  passed  to  my  Lord 
of  Devonshire,  who  purchased  the  same  being  confirmed  and 
never  parted  it  by  way  of  Excamhium  to  my  Lord  Cromwell 


304  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

— All  this  estate  is  void,  because  the  said  abbey  could  never 
be  annexed  to  the  Crowne,  being  one  part  of  the  bishoprick 
and  united  by  law."  Nevertheless  Thomas  Cromwell,  the 
son  and  heir  of  Lord  Edward,  obtained,  8th  of  March,  1617, 
letters  patent  of  all  the  monastic  lands,  together  with  the 
lordship  of  Dundrum  and  the  moiety  of  Kinelarty  (see  Kil- 
megan  and  Kinelarty).  He  was  created  Viscount  Lecale 
and  Earl  Ardglasse.  The  Downpatrick  estate  eventually 
passed  to  his  great  grand  daughter,  Lady  Elizabeth  Cromwell, 
who  married  the  Right  Hon.  Edward  Southwell,  Principal 
Secretary  of  State  for  Ireland.  He  obtained  an  Act  of 
Parliament  vesting  these  estates  in  trustees  for  the  purpose 
of  selling  a  portion  to  pay  off  certain  encumberances.  "What 
remained  after  the  sale  by  the  trustees  in  1710  descended  to 
his  grandson,  Edward  Southwell,  who  in  1776  was  created 
Baron  de  Clifford.  Lord  de  Clifford  was  succeeded  by  his 
son  Edward,  who  died  in  1832  without  issue,  when  the 
estate  ga  veiled  between  his  three  sisters.  It  was  till 
lately  the  property  of  David  S.  Ker,  Esq.,  whose  father  pur- 
chased it  for  £200,000  from  the  co-heirs  of  the  late  Lord  de 
Clifford.  "Within  the  last  few  years  D.  S.  Ker,  Esq.,  sold 
it  to  John  Mullholland,  Esq.,  M.P.,  the  present  proprietor. 

There  was  a  chapel  in  Quarter-Cormack,  but  as  no  record 
of  it  can  be  found,  it  may  have  been  disused  previous  to  the 
English  invasion ;  the  graveyard,  which  occupied  the  site  of 
Mr.  M'Clurg's  farm-house,  was  used  about  one  hundred  years 
ago.  Quarter-Cormack  is  called  in  various  inquisitions 
regarding  the  Cromwell  property  "  Kearowcleelmuck,"  and 
*'  Carrowcoolmuck,  alias  the  quarter  of  Colmuck."  Carrow- 
coolmuck  is  the  Irish  word  for  the  quarter-land  of  St. 
Colman,  whose  name  in  Irish  is  v,'ritten  Colmog  or  Mochol- 
mog.  The  form,  in  which  the  name  is  preserved  in  the 
inquisitions,  informs  us  that  the  chapel  of  Quarter-Cormack 


PARISH    OF    DOWN.  305 

was  dedicated  to  St.  Colman,  and  enables  us  to  presume  that 
Temple  Cormack  (see  Saul)  was  dedicated  to  a  saint  of  the 
same  name. 

"  The  Chapel  of  Balidugan"  is  valued  in  the  roll  cf  the 
Taxation  of  Pope  Nicholas  at  ''  1  Mark."  It  stood  in  the 
garden  of  Ballydugan  House.  The  Priory  of  Regular  Canons 
of  Down  was  possessed  of  a  carucate  of  land  in  "  Ballydogan,'' 
and  the  prior  of  St.  Patrick's  had  a  head  rent  of  5s,  per 
annum  from  the  two  townlands  of  Ballydugan.  In  1333 
certain  lands,  with  a  mill  in  Ballydougan,  were  held  under 
William  de  Burgo.  The  townland  has  obtained  its  name 
probably  from  the  family  of  O'Dubhagain  (O'Dugan),  which 
was  sprung  from  Fiacha  Araidh,  King  of  Ulster,  about  the 
year  240. 

At  the  south  side  of  an  earthen  fort  in  a  field  a  little 
north  of  Ballykilbeg  Chapel,  belonging  to  Mrs.  Collins,  traces 
of  a  burial  ground  have  been  observed.  There  stood  the 
ancient  Chapel  of  Ballykilbeg,  which,  under  the  name  of 
«'  the  Chapel  of  Wytiketona,"  was  valued  at  20s.  in  the  roll 
of  the  Taxation  of  Pope  Nicholas.  In  the  Primatial  registers, 
in  a  document  of  the  date  of  1512,  it  is  called  "  Prebenda  de 
Ballengallbee,"  and  in  another  document  preserved  in  the 
same  registers,  it  is  styled  *'  Prebenda  de  Whytynton,  alias 
Ballenagallinbeg  of  the  diocese  of  Down.''* 

*  There  is  one  of  the  ancient  crannoges  or  artificial  islands  near  the 
«ite  of  the  ancient  chapel  of  Ballykilbeg  ;  it  is  in  Mr.  Fitzpatrick's  farm 
in  Loughfaughan.  In  it  large  quantities  of  antiquities  have  been 
found,  including  a  silver  fibula  and  stone  querns  at  present  in  my 
collection,  and  an  earthenware  pitcher  which  is  in  the  museum  of  the 
Royal  Irish  Academy.  A  drawing  of  the  pitcher  is  given  at  page  158 
of  Sir  William  Wilde's  catalogue.  Another  crannoge,  which  hag  not 
jet  been  investigated,  is  situated  in  a  bog  in  Mr.  Newell's  farm  in  Bally- 
roV-y,  a  little  to  the  east  of  tlie  ancient  chapel  of  Ballyrolly.  These 
crannoges,  found  frequently  in  the  vicinity  of  ancient  chapels,  lead  us 
to  suppose  that  the  chapels  once  were  centres  of  populations,  which  had 


306  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

The  remains  of  "  the  chapel  of  Villa  E,ili,"  valued  in  the 
roll  of  the  Taxation  of  Pope  Nicholas  at  20s.,  are  surrounded 

these  artificial  islands  for  places  of  retreat  in  time  of  danger.  Many  of 
our  churches  seem  to  have  been  built  in  ancient  villages  which  had 
been  the  centres  of  population  from  the  most  remote  ages,  hence  what 
are  termed  by  antiquarians  Kitchen-middens  are  to  be  found  in  the 
vicinity  of  Rathmullan,  Bright,  and  other  churches  of  Lecale.  The 
crannoge  of  Ballyrolly  is  mentioned  in  an  inquisition  (Inq.  Ult  Car.  1) 
regarding  the  property  of  Arthur  Bagnall,  who  claimed  to  be  entitled 
to  the  reversion  of  the  Crolly  estates,  a  portion  of  which  was  "  Bally- 
colly  {recte  Ballyrolly)  with  the  Hand  and  weare  of  BallycoUy  called 
Mountulgin."  There  is  no  record  to  show  when  the  family  of  Crolly 
became  possessed  of  the  extensive  estates  which  they  once  held  in 
Lecale  under  the  Earls  of  Xildare.  The  Crollys  were  Barons  of  Ulster. 
On  the  4th  of  May,  1638,  Robert  Swords,  alias  Crawly,  of  the  County  of 
Dublin,  and  Henry  Swords,  alias  Crawly,  of  the  County  of  Down,  con- 
veyed Ballydonui-l  ly,  Corbally,  Tullymurray,  Ballyrolly,  andLisnamally, 
to  Theophilus  Buckworth,  Protestant  Bishop  of  Dromore.  And  about 
the  same  time  they  conveyed  Ballykilbeg  in  trust  to  Sarah  Trever,  to 
whom  it  was  confirmed  by  the  Act  of  Settlement.  It  was,  however, 
again  in  the  possession  of  John  Crolly,  who  died  at  an  advanced  age,  12th 
October,  1733,  leaving  George,  his  son  and  heir,  who  married  Mary, 
daughter  of  Henry  O'Neill  of  Brecart,  and  died  December,  1780,  leaving 
issue,  three  daughters.  He  was  the  last  Baron  Crolly.  Ballykilbeg 
was  sold  under  a  decree  in  chancery  in  January,  1784,  for  £4,140  to 
Mr.  William  Johnson. 

When  treating  of  the  parish  of  Ballykinlar  it  sliould  have  been  stated 
that  there  seems  to  have  been  a  chapel  in  Carrickanab — the  abbot's 
rock — an  ancient  tomb  built  of  flag  stones  cemented  with  lime-mortar, 
and  floored  with  brick,  was  found  in  a  field  near  Mr.  Hogg's  house.  In 
ancient  times  the  tithes  of  Carrickanab  belonged  to  the  Prior  of  Down, 
but  the  lands  passed  into  the  possession  of  Russell  of  Rathmullan. 

The  extent  of  the  church  lands  granted  to  the  Cromwell  family  may 
be  understood  both  from  the  present  extent  of  the  Downpatrick  estate 
and  from  the  following  notes  on  townlands  detached  from  that  estate, 
which  have  been  collected  from  Papers  written  by  Mr.  Hanna  from 
time  to  time  in  the  Downpatrick  Recorder : — 

DrumcuUens  (HoUymount),  Lisdalgan,  and  Woodgranges,  leased  for 
ever,  in  1695,  by  Lady  Elizabeth  Cromwell,  to  her  half  brother 
Nicholas  Price,  at  £30  per  annum.  The  Inch  estate  demised  to  the 
Maxwell  family  by  the  Cromwells.  Ballyalton  demised  by  the  Earl  of 
Ardglass  before  1662  to  the  Ward  family.  Castlemoghan,  Ballylenagh, 
Carrowteggart,  demised  in  1658  to  the  Wards  and  to  Patrick  Fitzsimons, 


PARISH    OF    DOWN.  307 

by  an  old  and  disused  graveyard,  situated  in  a  field  be- 
longing to  Mr.  Newell,  in  the  townland  of  Ballyrolly.     The 

Ballyculter  acquired  by  the  Wards  before  1612,  and  Ballyrennan  about 
1660.  St.  John's  Point,  Ballycam,  Ballyhg,  the  two  Ballywoodens, 
Corbally,  and  Ballyorgan,  acquired  about  1670  by  Sir  Robert  Ward. 
Ballyorgau  (see  Kilclief)  was  sold  by  Judge  Ward  to  James  Cummine. 
In  ]710  Mr.  Southwell,  and  the  trustees  in  whom  the  Downpatrick 
estate  was  vested  by  Act  of  Parliament,  in  consideration  of  £180,  de- 
mised Ballycruttle  to  Thomas  Cammine  for  ever,  at  £14  per  annum. 
It  was  afterwards  sold  by  him  to  Alexander  Hamilton,  in  whose  family 
it  still  remains.  Ballymurray  sold  in  1710  to  Thomas  Lyle  for  £280, 
subject  to  a  rent  of  £2.  About  the  middle  of  last  century  it  was  sold 
by  the  representatives  of  T.  Lyle  to  one  Mussenden  of  Larchfield,  near 
Hillsborough.  Upper  Ballymote  sold  in  1710  to  Bryce  Smith,  who 
afterwards  sold  it  to  the  Rev.  Thomas  Nevin,  Minister  of  the  Meeting 
House  which  stood  at  the  Flying  Horse ;  he  erected  Marlborough  House. 
Grangecara  sold  in  1710  to  James  Cummine,  for  £320,  subject  to  a  rent 
of  £20.  Ballybrannagh  sold  in  1710  to  Hugh  Hamilton  of  Erenagh, 
for  £200,  subject  to  £66  rent  ;  of  this  rent  charge  £44  per  annum  was 
afterwards  sold  to  the  trustees  of  the  Ministers'  Widows  Fund.  Bally- 
brannagh, together  with  the  half  townland  of  Dunsford,  was  sold  in 
1768  by  the  trustees  of  Alexander  Hamilton  to  General  Maxwell  Browne, 
from  whom  they  passed  to  the  present  owner.  Lower,  or  Irish  Bally- 
nagross  (see  Bailee),  and  Ballytrustan,  were  sold  in  1710  to  Adam 
M'Cutcheon  for  £1,104,  subject  to  a  rent  of  £4.  His  executors  sold 
them  to  the  Rev.  A.  Walsh  in  1718  for  £1,800,  whose  widow  sold  them 
to  Hugh  Henry  ;  from  Arthur  Henry  they  passed  in  1813  to  Joshua 
M'Geough,  Esq.,  of  Drumsill  House,  near  Armagh.  Upper,  or  English 
Ballynagross,  Spittle- Bailee,  including  Spittle  Quarter,  Dillen  (Little) 
and  Slievenagriddle  were  sold  in  1710  to  Mr.  Maguire,  a  sub-agent  of 
the  Downpatrick  estate,  for  £990 ;  after  the  purchase  Maguire  settled  on 
them  a  rent  charge  of  £50  payable  to  Mr.  Southwell.  Maguire's  widow 
sold  them  in  1726  to  the  Rev.  Thomas  Nevin  for  £2,640,  he  afterwards 
purchased  mortgages  on  them  for  £1,300.  Mr.  Nevin  leased  for  ever 
Spittle-Bailee  to  Mr.  Johnston,  son-in-law  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Smith,  at 
£50  per  annum.  Mrs.  Nevin  and  her  son  sold  them  in  1752  for  £8,691 
to  Provost  Baldwin,  who  bequeathed  the  three  townlands  and  the 
rent  charge  of  £50  on  Spittle- Bailee  to  Trinity  College,  Dublin. 

Ballysallagh  was  sold  in  1710  to  William  Irwin  of  Downpatrick  for 
£300,  subject  to  £1  rent.  It  was  purchased  afterwards  by  Provost 
Baldwin,  who  leased  it  off  in  1752  to  the  tenants.  Eastern  Bally- 
sallagh was  leased  for  ever  to  John  M'Meehan,  who  assigned  it  in  1772 


308  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

chapel  -was  forty-one  feet  in  length,  and  sixteen  feet  in 
breadth.     Only  the  foundations  and  a  little  of  the  walls  now 

to  James  Lang ;  by  the  Langs  it  was  assigned  to  Mr.  Auchinleck, 
■whose  son  sold  it  in  1832  to  the  Messrs.  Thomson,  and  their  interest 
in  it  afterwards  passed  to  their  niece,  Miss  Seeds.  West  Ballysallagh 
was  leased  for  ever  in  1752  by  Provost  Baldwin  to  John  Speers  of 
Spittle-Bailee,  who  in  1772  sold  it  to  James  Crawford  of  Downpatrick, 
by  whose  family  it  was  sold  in  1836  to  John  Craig,  whose  son,  through 
his  wife,  inherits  parts  of  English  Ballynagross  and  Slievenagriddle, 
which  Provost  Baldwin  had  leased  off  to  John  Chambers  of  Bailee. 
Church  Bailee  was  purchased  by  the  Rev.  William  Smith  of  Bailee  for 
£315,  but  subject  to  a  reserved  rent  of  £7  ;  from  him  it  was  inherited 
by  his  son-in-law,  Rev.  Mr.  Johnston,  whose  descendants  still 
possess  it.  Archibald  M'Neill  purchased  in  1710  a  part  of  Loughmoney 
for  £260,  subject  to  a  rent  of  £5,  and  Shipland — now  Sheepland  Beg 
(see  Dunsford)  for  £236,  subject  to  a  rent  of  £25.  Both  these  denom- 
inations are  now  the  property  of  W.  N.  Wallace,  Esq.,  having  been 
purchased  from  Michael  Cahill,  the  representative  of  the  MacNeill 
family.  Carrickclery  is  also  the  property  of  Mr.  Wallace.  Another 
portion  of  Loughmoney  was  leased  to  Donoughy  Smith  ;  it  is  now  the 
property  of  Lord  Bangor,  while  Clmrch  Walls  (see  Saul),  another  portion 
of  Loughmoney  which  was  granted  in  lease  to  Hugh  O'Neill,  was  sold 
by  him  to  Robert  H.  Smith,  who  sold  it  to  Mr.  Lambert  of  Dunlady, 
whose  daughter  was  the  grandmother  of  the  present  Earl  of  Annesley, 
who  inherits  from  her  Church  Walls,  Dunlady,  TuUykevin,  and  other 
lands  in  this  county. 

In  1710,  the  estate  called  "  The  Ten  Towns  of  Lecale,"  was  purchased 
by  the  trustees  i;nder  the  will  of  Hugh  Rainey  of  Magherafelt,  for 
£6,545,  subject  to  a  reserved  rent  of  £5  ;  the  rent  of  these  townlands 
at  that  time  was  £333,  although  they  contain  2,529  acres  of  the  richest 
land  in  Lecale.  "  The  Ten  Towns"  are  Bally  warren,  Tobermoney, 
Mill  Quarter  of  Do.,  Upper  Ballyclander,  Lower  Ballyclander,  Grange 
Walls,  Grange  Ban,  Corn-Mill  of  Do.,  Ballyhossett,  Milltown  of  Do., 
Ballygallum  and  Lower  Ballymote.  The  rents,  after  paying  certain 
debts,  were  to  be  paid  by  the  trustees,  one  half  to  Mr.  Rainey's  grand- 
son, John  Ash,  or  John  Ash  Rainey,  and  the  other  half  to  Magherafelt 
School.  In  1737  William  Ash  Rainey,  to  whom  the  property  of  his 
brother  John  had  passed,  obtained  an  Act  of  Parliament  empowering 
him  to  sell  or  grant  leases  for  ever  of  the  estate  subject  to  a  rent  of 
£175  to  be  paid  to  the  Protestant  Primate  for  the  benefit  of  Maglierafelt 
School.  Nearly  all  the  tenants  availed  themselves  of  the  powers  of  the 
Act  and  became  purchasers  of  the  fee  of  their  lands.     From  the  reserved 


PARISH  OF  DOWK.  309 

remain.     The  ancient  well  is  a  few  perches  to  the  north  of 
the  ruin, 

PARISH    PRIESTS. 

In  a  letter  of  Dr.  0'  Doran,  to  his  agent  at  Rome,  which 
was  written  about  the  year  1752,  and  which  has  already  been 
placed  before  the  reader  (see  Parish  of  Bright),  one  Mr. 
Hanat  is  mentioned  as  having  been  parish  priest  of  Down 
about  sixty  years  before  that  date.  He  seems,  from  the 
lettei',  to  be  the  immediate  predecessor  of  Dr.  Terence 
O'Donnelly,  who  was  appointed  Vicar  Apostolic  over  the 
diocese  in  the  year  1711.  In  the  list  of  "  Popish  Priests," 
who  were  registered  in  1704,  James  Hanna  is  the  only  priest 
of  that  name  mentioned ;  he  was  residing  in  Locale,  and  was 
registered  as  parish  priest  of  Kilclosh  (Kilclief).  He  was 
then  forty-eight  years  of  age,  and  had  been  ordained  in 
Flanders  in  the  year  1685,  by  James,  Archbishop  of  Cam- 
bray.  In  the  list  of  "  Popish  priests,"  who  were  registered 
in  1704,  James  Lea  is  registered  "Popish  priest"  of  the 
parish  of  Down.     He  is  described  as  residing  at  Ballygalbeg 

rents  £175  per  annum  was  paid  to  the  school,  and  the  remainder, 
amounting  to  £600  per  anmim,  was  paid  to  Mr.  Ash  Kainey,  but  he  con- 
tinued to  sell  from  time  to  time  these  rents  to  different  parties,  amongst 
others,  to  Judge  Ward,  who  also  purchased  the  interest  of  several 
tenants  in  Ballyhossett  and  the  Grange,  which  are  now  vested  in  his 
descendants,  Lord  Bangor,  and  Mr.  Ward  of  Bangor  Castle.  When  at 
at  last  Mr.  Eainey  became  reduced  in  circumstances,  his  former  tenants 
voluntarily  purchased  for  him  an  annuity  of  £50.  The  permanency  of 
tenure  enjoyed  by  the  farmers  in  these  townlands  has  produced  that 
independence,  self  reliance,  and  prosperity  for  which  the  occupiers  of 
those  lands  are  characterized,  thereby  giving  a  convincing  proof  that 
what  is  wanted  to  produce  prosperity  among  the  farmers  of  Ireland  is 
permanency  of  tenure.  Of  course  Catholics  who  at  that  time  could 
not  hold  such  leases  were  deprived  of  the  advantages  of  the  Ash  Rainey 
leases,  and  of  the  opportunities  of  purchase  which  the  sale  of  the 
Downpatrick  estate  in  1710  afforded. 


310  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

(Ballykilbeg;),  and  as  being  forty-five  years  of  age.  He  was 
ordained  in  the  year  1684,  by  Henry,  Bishop  of  Angiers,  in 
France.  Lea  is  another  form  of  the  name  M'Alea.  In  the 
lease  of  Ballycruttle  Chapel  the  Rev.  Daniel  M'Alea  wrote 
his  name  "  Daniel  Lea."  Mr.  Lea  seems  to  have  been  curate 
of  Down,  otherwise  it  seems  strange  that  Dr.  O'Doran  would 
have  omitted  his  name.* 

*  DOWNPATRICK  IN  1708  (From  The  Downpatrick  Recorder). 

Downpatrick  in  1708  contained  136  dwelling-houses,  25  of  which 
were  stone  and  the  remainder  mud-wall,  four  were  slated  and  one  tiled. 
The  earthen  ramparts  were  levelled  and  the  gateways  of  stone  had  dis- 
appeared ;  one  of  these  near  Mr.  Pilson's  in  Bridge  Street  was  called, 
up  to  1790,  "the  old  gate,"  the  stonewall  gateway  of  which  remained 
up  till  about  1746,  when  at  the  suggestion  of  the  judges  of  Assize  it 
was  removed  lest  it  might  fall.  It  would  appear  that  the  town  re- 
mained in  a  dilapidated  condition  from  1554,  when  Shane  O'Neill 
demolished  its  gates  and  walls,  until  about  1720  when  the  town  began 
to  improve  owing  to  leases  granted  by  Mr.  Southwell.  On  a  map  of 
Downpatrick  made  in  1729  the  old  gate  is  called  "  Nuns  Gate."  Mr. 
Pilson's  house  and  grounds  occupy  the  site  of  a  Cistercian  nunnery. 
This  gate  crossed  Bridge  Street  exactly  opposite  Pillar  Well  Lane.  In 
1708  a  large  portion  of  the  town  was  surrounded  by  Water  ;  the  land 
around  was  divided  into  parks  of  from  12  to  20  acres.  The  town  was 
then  divided  into  11  wards  or  quarters.  1st — Irish  Quarter,  included 
Irish  Street  and  Stream  Street  on  the  west  side.  2nd — English 
Quarter,  included  English  Street  on  the  south  side.  3rd — Wind- Mill 
Quarter,  (called  from  the  wind-mill  that  stood  where  the  gaol  is,)  in- 
cluded English  Street  on  the  north  side,  and  Friars  Lane,  now  Bridge 
Street  on  the  west  side.  4th — Castle  Quarter,  (called  from  De  Courcy's 
Castle  at  the  old  Clock  or  Stocks,)  included  Friars  Lane  on  the  east 
side,  English  Street  on  the  north  side,  and  Scotch  Street  on  the  north 
side.  ?>i\\— Scotch  Quarter,  included  Scotch  Street  on  the  south  and 
east  sides.  Barrack  Street,  (now  the  hill  part  of  Scotch  Street)  on  the 
north  side.  6th — Market  Quarter  (called  from  the  Market  House 
built  by  Lord  Ardglass,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  and  manor), 
included  Barrack  Street  (called  from  the  Horse  Barrack),  part  of  Scotch 
Street  on  the  south,  Irish  Street  on  the  east  side,  and  Barrack  Lane 
(now  Infirmary  Lane)  on  the  west  side.  7th — Chapel  Hill,  included 
part  of  Irish  Street  on  the  east.  8th — Barrack  Quarter,  included  Bar- 
rack Lane  (Infirmary  Lane)  on  the  east.     9th — MouM  Park,  included 


PARISH  OF  DOWN.  311 

Dr.  Terence  Donnelly,  or  O'Donnelly,  -who  was  appointed 
Vicar  Apostolic  in  the  year  1711,  held  the  parish  of  Down. 
He  was  a  native  of  the  County  of  Tyrone,  and  a  brother  of 
Dr.  Patrick  O'Donnelly,  Bishop  of  Dromore,  and  he  himself 
became  in  the  year  1717  Bishop  of  Derry.  He  was  succeeded 
in  the  parish  of  Down  by  a  Mr.  Crowley — perhaps  Crolly — 
of  whom  nothing  is  known.  His  name  is  preserved  in  Dr. 
O'Doran's  letter. 

Dr.  Armstrong,  who  became  Bishop  of  Down  and  Connor 
in  1727,  took  the  parish  after  the  death  of  the  Eev,  Mr. 
Crowley,  or  Crolly,  and  he  also  retained  his  original  parish 
of  Ballykinlar.  However,  when  he  became  infirm,  he  sev- 
ered from  the  parish  of  Down  the  townlands  of  Erenagh  and 
Castlescreen,  and  from  the  parish  of  Ballykinlar  the  townlands 
of  Bally lucas  and  Ballynewport,  which  he  conferred  on  the 
Rev.  John  Fitzsimons,  the  parish  priest  of  Bright.  He  died 
in  1739.    There  is  no  evidence  that  Dr.  Stuart,  his  successor 

Back  Lane  (now  John's  Street)  on  tlie  the  west,  and  part  of  Irish  Street 
on  the  east.  10th — Stream  Mill  Holding,  included  part  of  Pound  Lane 
or  Mill  Street.  11th — Old  Kennel,  included  the  lower  part  of  Stream 
Street  on  the  west  called  on  the  survey  "  Washing  Stream," — kennel 
is  the  watercourse  of  a  street. — There  were  7  public  buildings — Thi 
Parish  Church  (Protestant)  on  the  site  of  the  present,  Sessions  House 
on  the  site  of  the  present,  Co.  Gaol,  which  on  tlie  survey  is  described 
as  "  the  old  castle  "  being  a  portion  of  De  Courcy's  Castle,  The  House 
of  Correction  where  now  are  the  County  Eooms,  about  1746  it  was 
converted  into  the  County  Gaol,  the  Market  House  same  as  at  present, 
and  the  Horse  Barrack,  which  was  subsequently  the  County  Infirmary, 
in  the  times  of  the  Hearts  of  Steel  the  Drogheda  Horse  were  quartered 
there.  The  place  of  public  execution  stood  near  the  southern  extremity 
of  Barrack  Lane,  on  an  elevated  position,  and  was  afterwards  removed 
to  another  position  on  the  Struel  Road,  at  the  extremity  of  Scotch 
Street.  In  1708  there  was  no  house  of  public  worship  but  the  Parish 
Church,  the  Presbyterian  Meeting  House  was  at  the  Flying  Horse. 
There  was  then  neither  Bridge  Street  nor  Saul  Street,  the  exits  from 
town  in  those  directions  were  Bridge  Road  and  Saul  Road  ;  the  wind- 
mill stood  where  the  gaol  now  is,  the  road  to  Killough  entered  the  town 


312  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

in  the  see,  held  the  parish,  and  it  is  thought  that  he  conferred 
it  on  Dr.  O'Doran,  who  was  certainly  officiating  in  the  parish 
in  the  year  1742.  Dr.  O'Doran  was  consecrated  to  the  see 
of  Down  in  1751.  A  portion  of  the  house  in  which  he 
resided  still  remains  near  Yianstown  House,  in  the  townland 
of  Ballyvange,  He  died  on  the  18th  June,  1760,  and  was 
interred  inside  the  ruins  of  the  Cathedral.  A  portion  of  his 
tombstone  is  lying  near  St.  Patrick's  Cross,  at  the  end  of 
the  Cathedral, 

Dr.  Macartan  succeeded  Dr.  O'Doran.  He  was  appointed 
on  the  10th  of  September,  1760.  During  his  episcopacy  he 
generally  resided  in  his  parish  of  Loughinisland,  and  dele- 
gated the  administration  of  the  parish  to  curates,  among 
whom  were  the  Rev.  Mr.  M'Givern,  who  was  officiating  in 
Down  in  1763,  and  the  Eev.  Father  James  Hillan.  A 
report  to  the  House  of  Lords,  made  in  1766,  by  a  Mr. 
Hamilton,  the  Protestant  Curate  of  Down,  returns,  "  Theo. 

by  the  Shambles,  through  John  Street,  past  the  Dam  and  Old  Course 
and  joined  the  present  road  at  Ballymote.  A  narrow  road  led  from 
Kilmore,  keeping  to  the  west  of  Finnabroge  House,  and  west  of  Port- 
Leah  wood,  it  crossed  the  river  by  a  wooden  bridge  and  entered  the 
town  by  Gaol  Lane,  opposite  where  was  the  Custom  House.  The 
wooden  bridge  was  swept  off  by  a  flood  which  caused  the  present  bridge 
to  be  built.  About  1745  the  Flood  Gates  were  erected  at  the  "  Loop" 
under  the  direction  of  an  Englishman  named  Goulbourn,  soon  afterwards 
extensive  fever  and  ague  set  in  caused  by  the  evaporations  from  the  slob 
lands.  In  1767  County  Down  lufirmary  was  established  in  a  house  oc- 
cupied by  a  Mrs.  M 'Night,  which  had  formerly  been  the  residence  of 
Dean  Delaney.  In  1774  the  Infirmary  was  removed  to  the  Horse 
Barrack's  which  was  purchased  from  the  Barrack  Board  for  £150. 
1778  Mai7  Street  opened  ;  the  north  side  of  it  was  built  by  Mrs.  Mary 
Trotter  and  called  from  her.  1789,  The  Round  Tower  taken  down,  the 
Cathedral  and  Gaol  built  by  Mr.  Charles  Lilly  of  Dublin,  who  also 
built  Ardglass  Castle  for  Lord  Charles  Fitzgerald,  afterwards  Lord 
Lecale,  and  Oakley  House  for  Dean  Annesley.  The  contract  for  the 
stones  and  sand  for  the  public  buildings  was  by  the  load  of  6  cwt.  on 
account  of  the  badness  of  roads  and  carts. 


PARISH    OF    DOWN,  313 

Macartan,  titular  bishop,  and  James  Hillan,  friar,"*  as  re- 
siding in  the  parish.  Father  Hillan  belonged  to  the  Do- 
minican Order.  He  is  mentioned  by  De  Burgo  in  his 
"  Hibernia  Dominicana." 

Dr.  Macartan  resigned  the  parish  of  Down  in  the  year 
1 768,  and  appointed  the  Rev.  Hugh  MacMullant  to  the  parish. 

*  Most  of  the  Protestant  gentry  in  the  worst  of  times  connived  at 
the  existence  of  priests,  and  even  favoured  their  escape  when  they 
had  the  misfortune  to  fall  into  the  toils  of  the  law.  One  of  the  fire- 
side stories  of  Lecale  relates, — that  a  priest  was  brought  a  prisoner 
late  at  night  in  the  year  1690  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Jocelyn  Hamilton  ; 
the  prisoner  was  locked  up  in  a  room  till  the  next  morning,  when  he 
was  to  be  conveyed  to  Downpatrick.  Mr.  Hamilton  however,  in  the 
meantime,  secretly  directed  a  trusty  Catholic  servant  to  saddle  his 
best  horse  and  assist  the  priest  to  escape  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Savage 
of  Drumaroad.  Soon  afteiwards  Jocelyn  Hamilton  met  in  Down- 
patrick his  cousin,  Bernard  Ward,  the  Sheriff,  who  accused  him  of 
conniving  at  the  escape  of  a  priest.  A  hasty  duel  beside  the  old 
abbey  was  the  consequence,  and  the  two  cousins  perished  by  each 
others  hands. 

Add.  MS.  18,022,  British  Museum,  contains  a  return  from  each  of 
the  Excise  districts  of  the  number  of  Popish  Clergy  in  Ireland  in 
1697.  From  this  MS.  it  appears  there  were  in  that  year,  at  least 
known  to  the  government,  in  Ireland  838  Seculars,  and  389  Regulars 
— total  1,227  Clergymen.  There  were  in  Coleraine  district  14.  Sec- 
ulars, 2  Regulars  ;  Lisburn  15 — "  no  distinction  whether  Seculars  or 
Regulars;"  Strangford,  27  Seculars,  6  Regulars,  "One  Dean;" 
Donaghadee,  ' '  No  Poll. "  The  returns  from  the  other  Excise  districts 
in  Ulster  are  Armagh,  30  Seculars,  5  Regulars,  "1  Dean  Bar.  Cre- 
morne,  14  or  15  Fryars  ;"  Cavan,  30  Seculars,  8  Regulars,  "Whereof 
1  Dean  and  Vicar  General  ;"  Drogheda,  4  Seculars,  6  Regulars, 
"  One  Lord  Abbot ;"  Dundalk,  11  Seculars,  6  Regulars;  Killibegs, 
14  Seculars,  12  Regulars,  "  One  Abbot,  a  great  and  dangerous  Em- 
missary  ;"  Londonderry,  1  Secular  ;  Strabane,  17  Seculars,  1  Regular. 

t  Dr.  MacMullan  was  descended  from  a  branch  of  the  MacMullan 
family,  traditionally  reported  to  have  settled  in  County  Down  from 
the  County  Monaghan  shortly  after  the  Restoration,  and  which  sub- 
sequently gave  two  bishops  in  succession  to  Down  and  Connor.  Their 
common  ancestor  was  named  Shane  Mor  MacMullan,  whose  descen- 
dants were  located  in  Clondnff,  Drumgooland,  and  Kinalarty.     There 

U 


314  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

Mi:  MacMullau  was  then  parish  priest  of  Bright.  About 
the  same  time  he  was~appointecl  Dean  of  the  diocese,*  and  in 
the  year  1779  he  succeeded  Di-.  Macartan  in  the  see  of  Down. 
He  died  in  the  year  1794,  at  his  residence  at  the  Stone  Park, 
in  the  townland  of  Erenagh,  where  he  had  resided  since  liis 
appointment  to  tlie  parish  of  Down,  though  it  was  outside 
his  parish,  being  in  the  adjoining  parish  of  Bright. 

Dr.  Hugh  MacMullau  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  Patrick 
MacMullan,  who  was  then  parish  priest  of  Kilmegan.  The 
new  bishop  continued  to  reside  in  Kilmegan  till  the  year 
1802,  when  he  i-enioved  to  his  parish,  where  he  fixed  his 
residence  in  the  townland  of  Ballyvange.  While  Dr.  Mac- 
Mullan resided  in  Kilmegan,  the  parish  of  Down  w^as  ad- 
ministered by  the  Rev,  John  MGlennon,  afterwards  parish 

was  a  priest  named  James  MacMullan,  of  Kilpea,  in  the  County  of 
Down,  attainted  on  the  10th  of  July,  1G91,  at  Banbridge,  by  the 
officials  of  King  William.  Mr.  Dalton  in  the  first  volume  of  "King 
James's  Army  List,"  describes  him  as  of  Killyleagh  ;  but  the  manus- 
cript plainly  reads  Kilpea,  which  is  no  doubt  Kilpike  in  the  parish  of 
Seapatrick.  There  were  a  Captain  MacMullan  and  a  Lieutenant 
MacMullan  in  General  Maxwell's  dragoons,  which  was  raised  for  the 
service  of  James  IL  in  1689  in  County  Down,  by  its  Lieutenant- 
Colonel,  Daniel  Magenis.  It  comprised  22  officers,  5  named  Magenis, 
6  named  Savage,  4  named  MacArtan,  3  named  O'Lavery,  1  named 
Duncan,  1  named  Burn,  besides  the  two  MacMuUans. 

*  From  time  to  time  Deans  were  appointed,  but  we  have  not  a  list 
of  them,  nor  was  the  succession  regularly  -kept  up.  The  following 
were  Deans  : — Very  Eev.  Henry  M'Corry,  P.P.,  Duneane  ;  he  died 
March  15th,  1757.  Very  Rev.  William  ISIagarry,  P.P.,  Dunsford  ; 
he  died  a.d.  1763.  Very  Rev.  Hugh  M'Mullan,  P.P.,  Down;  he 
became  bishop  a.d.  1779.  Very  Rev.  Paul  M'Cartan,  P.P.,  Saul  ; 
he  died  October  20th,  1821.  He  was'the  ^last  Dean,  though  Dr. 
Patrick  M'Mullan  promised  to  solicit  that  dignity  for  Rev.  William 
M'Mullan,  P.P.,  Loughinisland  ;  it  never,  however,  was  obtained. 
The  only  Arch-deacon  of  Down  and  Connor  we  hear  of  was  Dr. 
M'Cartan,  P.P.,  Loughinisland,  who  was  afterwards  Bishop;  he  is 
mentioned  as  Arch-deacon  in  a  Roman  document. 


PARISH  OF  DOWX.  315 

}»viest  of  Maghera,  who  was  assisted  by  the  Rev.  John 
MacMullau,  afterwards  parish  priest  of  Duueaue.  Dr.  Mac- 
Mullan  died  March  25th,  1824. 

Dr.  Crolly,  who  succeeded  Dr.  MacMullau,  obtaiued  per- 
mission from  the  Holy  See  to  retain  the  parish  of  Belfast, 
and  the  Rev.  Cornelius  Denvir,-'^  Professor  of  Natural  Phil- 
osophy in  the  College  of  Maynooth,  was  appointed,  in  1825, 
parish  priest  of  Down  by  a  Papal  rescript,  which  was  necessary 
for  the  validity  of  the  collation,  because  Down  had  been  for 
some  time  the  Bishop's  parish.  On  the  opening  of  the 
Diocesan  Seminary  in  Belfast,  iu  November,  1833,  Dr. 
Deuvir  was  appointed  Professor  of  Classics  and  Mathematics, 
which  necessarily  removed  him  to  a  great  extent  from  the 
immediate  care  of  the  parish,  which  devolved  on  his  curate, 
the  Rev.  William  M'Artan,  afterwards  parish  priest  of 
Rasharkin.  Dr,  Denvir  succeeded  Dr.  Crolly  in  the  see  of 
Down  and  Connor,  and  was  consecrated  November  22,  1835. 
The  reader  is  referred  to  the  part  which  treats  of  the  Bishops 
of  Down  and  Connor  for  a  more  extended  notice  of  the 
pastors  of  the  parish  of  Down,  who  were  also  Bishops  of 
Down  and  Connor. 

The  Rev.  Bernard  M'Auley  became  parish  priest  of  Down 
January  6th,  1836.  Mr.  M'Auley  was  born  in  the  parish  of 
Glenarm  in  the  year  1771.  He  entered  the  Second  Class  of 
Humanity,  in  the  College  of  Maynooth,  on  the  4th  of 
August,  1807,  and  he  was  ordained  by  Dr.  Murray  in  the 
chapel  of  the  college  on  the  19th  of  January,  1812.  In  the 
same  year  he  became  curate  to  Dr.  Crolly,  in  Belfast,  from 
which  he  was  promoted  to  the  pastoral  chai'ge  of  Drumaul, 
in  Februaay,  1819,  and  to  that  of  Ballymena,  iu  September, 

*  The  Denvirs  are  an  Anglo-Norman  race,  brought  to  Lecale  by 
De  Courcy.  They  are  still  numerous  in  Essex  in  England,  and  the 
late  Bishop  observed  the  name  in  several  of  the  towns  in  Normandy. 


316  DOWN  AND  CONNOK. 

1825,  from  which  he  was  appointed  to  Down.  Mr.  M'Auley 
sustained  a  polemical  discussion  with  the  Eev,  Robert 
Stewart,  Presbyterian  Minister  of  Broughshane,.  on  the  24th, 
25th,  and  26th  of  July,  1827,  at  Ballymena;  and  he  again, 
in  conjunction  with  Dr.  Denvir,  then  parish  priest  of  Down- 
patrick,  and  the  Eev,  Daniel  Curoe,  sustained  a  polemical 
discussion  with  three  Protestant  ministers  at  Downpatrick, 
which  commenced  on  the  22nd  of  April,  1828,  and  was  con- 
tinued during  six  days.  In  addition  to  building  the  chapel 
of  Antrim,  and  rebuilding  those  of  Randalstown  and  Bally- 
kilbeg,  he  built  a  parochial  house  in  Ballymena  and  one  in 
Downpatrick  ;  but  he  felt  and  said  that  I'is  old  age  was 
blessed  when  St.  Patrick's  Convent  of  Our  Lady  of  Mercy 
was  established  in  Downpatrick.  The  remains  of  the  ven- 
erated clergyman  were  interred  in  the  graveyard  attached  to 
his  parish  church  of  Downpatrick,  and  on  his  monument  is 
inscribed — 

In  your  charity 

Pray  for  the  soul 

of 

the  Very  Eev.  B.  M'Auley  P.P.  V.G. 

Downpatrick 

who  departed  this  life  11th  Nov. 

1863  aged  92. 

Near  his  tomb  rest  the  remains  of  Mr.  John  M'llheron,  of 
Downpatrick,  who  bequeathed  £4,000  for  the  erection  of  a 
convent,  and  £300  for  schools  in  Downpatrick, 

The  Very  Rev.  Bernard  M'Auley  was  succeeded  by  his 
curate,  the  Rev.  Patrick  O'Kane.  Father  O'Kane,  afte)-  re- 
ceiving a  preparatory  education  in  the  Diocesan  Seminary, 
Belfast,  entered  the  College  of  Maynooth  on  the  8th  of 
October,  1845,  He  was  ordained  in  Clarendon  Street  Chapel 
by  Dr.  Whelan,  Bishop  of  Bombay,  on  the  3rd  of  May,  1851, 
and   was  shortly  afterwards  sent  to  officiate  as   curate    in 


PARISH    OF   DOWN.  317 

Downpatick,  to  wliicli  parish  he  was  promoted,  as  ah-eady 
stated,  after  the  death  of  Father  M'Auley. 

CHURCHES. 

During  the  worst  period  of  the  penal  laws,  Mass  was 
celebrated  on  Strucll  Green,  or  in  its  vicinity.  At  length 
the  Catholics  ventured  to  assemble  in  a  barn  in  Saul  Street. 
Afterwards,  calculating  too  much  on  the  forbearance  of  their 
enemies,  they  rebuilt  the  walls  of  an  ancient  chapel  at  Struell, 
and  were  proceeding  to  place  a  roof  on  it,  when  the  Rev. 
Thomas  Brereton,  Protestant  Curate  of  Down,  with  the 
sanction  of  Mr.  Southwell,  went  out  to  Struell,  accompanied 
by  a  mob,  which  was  headed  by  one  M'Comb,  and  pulled 
down  the  chapel.  This  must  have  occurred  about  the  year 
1750,  for  Brereton  was  curate  in  Downpatrick  from  1749  to 
1752.  Old  people  used  to  tell  that  M'Comb  afterwards 
went  mad,  and  in  the  paroxysms  of  his  disease  devoured  his 
own  flesh.  This  and  other  misfortunes  popular  belief  as- 
cribed to  the  act  of  sacrilege  which  he  committed.  Some 
time  afterwards  the  Catholics  contrived  to  secure  the  use  of 
a  cabin  at  the  Flying  Horse,  on  the  left  side  of  the  I'oad 
leading  to  the  race-course.  A  portion  of  the  walls  of  the 
cabin  are  still  standing.  It  was  in  the  townland  of  Bally- 
mote,  and  being  separated  by  the  road  from  the  Liberties  of 
Down,  it  was  less  oftensive  to  the  eyes  of  the  loyal  inhabitants 
of  the  ancient  borough.  A  somewhat  similar  desire  of  seek- 
ing safety  in  obscurity  located  also  the  meeting-house  of  the 
Presbyterians  at  the  Flying  Horse,  where  it  stood  at  the 
angle  formed  by  the  road  leading  to  Struell,  and  that  leading 
to  Killough.  When  at  last  persecution  had  wearied  itself, 
the  Catholics,  foremost  among  whom  were  Edward  O'Donnell, 
William  Sawey,  and  John  Dogherty,  succeeded  in  obtaining 
from  a  liberal  gentleman,  Wm.  Trotter,  Esq.,  a  lease  of  his 


318  DOWN  AXl;  CO>N01{. 

hay-yard  (a  part  of  which  was  called  Lynch's  Tenement)  ; 
this  lease  was  afterwards  perfected  by  Lord  de  Clifford, 
and  on  that  site  the  chapel  was  erected.  On  the  date-stone 
was — 

This  Ohapel  dedicated 

To 

St.  Patrick 

was  erected  1787 

7.  T. 

The  letters  F.  T.  represent  the  name  of  Mrs.  Frances  Trotter, 
the  wife  of  the  kind-hearted  gentleman  Avho  gave  the  site  ; 
and  Mrs.  Trotter  laid  the  foundation  stone. 

Father  O'Kane,  the  present  j)arish  priest,  considering  that 
it  was  a  disgrace  to  the  nation,  as  well  as  to  the  locality, 
that  no  memorial  was  erected  in  Dowupatrick  to  the  Apostle 
of  Ireland,  determined  to  erect  on  the  site  of  the  old  chapel 
which  had  become  unsuitable,  the  ^Memorial  Chui'ch  of  St. 
Patrick,  and  on  the  17th  of  March,  1868,  the  Most  Rev.  Dr. 
Dorrian  laid  the  foundation  stone,  The  church,  a  very 
graceful  and  handsome  structure,  designed  by  John  O'Neill, 
Esq.,  A.rchitect,  Belfast,  was  solemnly  dedicated  June  30th, 
1872. 

Ballykilbeg  Church  was  erected  previous  to  the  year  1745, 
and  a  new  one  was  built  on  the  same  site  in  177.5,  when 
George  Crolly,  Esq.,  of  Ballykilbeg,  commonly  called  Bai'on 
Crolly,  leased  to  "  Hugh  M'Mullan,  Dean  and  Pastor  of 
Downe,  Henry  Crolly  and  William  Gibbons,"  as  trustees, 
"  that  house  in  Ballygalbeg,  commonly  called  the  Chapel  of 
Ballygalbeg,"  at  the  yearly  rent  of  Is,,  for  3i  years,  the 
longest  term  then  allowed  l>y  the  law  to  Catholics.  The 
chapel  then  built  was  replaced  by  the  present  church  in  1837. 
It  was  consecrated  by  Dr.  Denvir,  and  the  sermon  on  the 
occasion  was  preached  by  the  Primate  Dr.  Crolly.  It  has 
been  lately  very  much  improved  by  Father  O'Kane. 


PARISH  OF  DOW\.  319 

St.  Patrick's  Convent  of  Mercy  founded  as  a  branch  house 
of  St.  Paul's  Convent,  Belfast,  on  the  2ist  of  June,  1855, 
and  constituted  a  separate  house  on  the  14th  of  February, 
1860,  occupied  what  had  formerly  been  a  private  residence 
in  Irish  Street.  The  new  Convent,  erected  from  designs  by 
Mortimer  Thomson,  Esq  ,  Architect,  Belfast,  was  commenced 
March  17th,  1872.  It  cost  somewhat  over  .£6,000,  a 
portion  of  which  was  a  legacy  bequeathed  by  the  late  Mr. 
John  M'llheron,  of  Downpatrick,  and  the  remainder  was  ob- 
tained by  contributions.  The  Church,  Convent,  and  Convent 
Schools  form  a  very  imposing  and  picturesque  group  of 
ecclesiastical  buildings. 


The  following  extract  from  St.  Piece's  Poem  on  the  Life 
of  St.  Patrick,  as  translated  by  some  of  the  most  eminent 
Celtic  scholars  in  Ireland,  and  published  in  the  Irish 
Ecclesiastical  Piecord,  March,  1868,  was  omitted  when 
treating  of  Struell  : — 

The  cold  of  the  weather  deterred  him  not  from  passing  the  nights  in 

ponds  : 
By  Heaven  his  kingdom  was  protected  :  he  preached  by  day  on  the 

hills. 

In  Slan  in  the  territory  of  Benna-Bairche,  hunger  and  thirst  possessed 

him  not, 
Each  night  he  sang  a  hundred  psalms  to  adore  the  King  of  Angels. 

He  slept  on  a  bare  stone  then,  and  a  wet  sackcloth  around  him  : 

A  bare  rock  was  his  pillow  ;  he  allowed  not  his  body  to  be  in  warmth. 

St.  Piece's  poem  dates  back  to  the  beginning  of  the  sixth 
century,  and  is  contained  in  a  manuscript  the  Liber  Hymn- 
oruni  which  Dr.  Todd  says  "  cannot  be  assigned  to  a  later 
date  than  the  ninth  or  tenth  century,  and  may  be  safely 
pronounced  one  of  the  mostvenerable  monuments  of  Christian 
antiquity  remaining  in  Europe."     The  scholiast  on  the  hymn 


320  DOWN  AND  CONNOR, 

adds  "  Slann  i.e.  the  name  of  a  fountain — by  Beanna-Bairche 
(Mourne  Mountains)  on  the  North,"  and  a  gloss  is  added  in 
the  manuscript  "  Slan  (healthful)  i.e.  because  the  leper  upon 
whom  its  (water)  was  put  was  cured  of  it,  and  at  Sabull 
(Saul)  it  is  .  .  .  the  TJlidians  filled  it  up  on  account  of 
the  annoyance  of  the  crowds  going  to  it.'  This  curious 
poem  consists  of  34  stanzas  and  closes  thus — 

"  Patrick  without  arrogance  or  pride  :  great  was  the  good  which  he 
proposed  to  himself, 
To  be  in  the  service  of  Mary's  Son  :    happy  the  hour  in  which 
Patrick  was  born."' 

Richard  Dobbs  writing  in  1683  (see  Saul)  says  "that  there 
is  about  midway  (between  Saul  and  the  Quoile  Castle)  a 
lough;  near  a  mile  about  and  above  this  lough  a  good  height, 
there  is  a  stone  with  two  round  holes  in  it  of  a  fit  bigness, 
where  I  have  been  told  by  old  Irish  people  that  St.  Patrick 
said  his  prayers  when  he  fii'st  came  to  Ireland."  The  Rev. 
James  M'llvenuy,  CO..  Saul,  informs  me  that  the  stone  is 
in  the  farm  of  Mr.  John  Murphy,  Upper  Ballintogher,  at 
the  head  of  a  small  lake,  it  is  3  feet  in  height,  of  a  flattened 
globular  shape,  its  greatest  breadth  being  2  feet  11  inches,  and 
its  least  2  feet  7  inches.  All  the  traditions  regarding  it  are 
lost  except  that  formerly  persons  having  warts  on  their  hands 
used  to  wash  them  in  the  holes  in  order  to  be  cured  of  those 
excrescences.  Near  the  Mearn  Well  there  is  a  stone  having 
one  hole,  which  the  people  say  was  caused  by  St.  Patrick's 
knee.  Such  marks  were  formei'ly  called  Ghm  Fhadndg — 
Patrick's  knee-marks.  The  followers  of  the  ancient  saints 
in  Ireland  frequently  carved  those  mementos — see  Kilmaloge 
in  Lower  Mourne,  Erenagh  in  Bright,  Templecowey  in 
Portaferry. 


THE  UNITED  PARISH  OF 

INCH,  KILMORE,  &  KILLYLEAGH. 


HE  united  parish  of  Inch,  Kilmore,  and  Killyleagli, 
contains  the  civil  parishes  of  Inch,  Killyleagh, 
and  Kilmore  (except  the  townlands  of  Maghera- 
lone,  Murvaclogher,  or  Broaghclough,  Rossconor,  and 
Teconnaught,  which  have  been  added  to  the  civil  parish  of 
Kilmore  only  since  the  year  1718).  According  to  the  census 
of  1871,  there  were  about  2,700  Catholics  in  this  parish. 

Nearly  opposite  to  Downpatrick  is  the  island  of  Inch, 
which  has  been  rendered  a  peninsula  by  means  of  an  em- 
bankment, which  stops  the  tide  water  of  Strangford  Lough. 
This  island  in  ancient  times  was  called  Iniscouscry  (the 
island  of  Couscry — Inis  Cumhscraidh) — so  named,  seemingly, 
from  Cumhscraidh  (pronounced  Cooscray)*  one  of  the  sons 

*  In  a  poem  written  by  Cinnaeth  O'Hartigain,  who  died  a.d.  975, 
it  is  stated  that  Cumhscraidh  Menn  (Stammering),  was  killed  with 
the  Luin  Gheltchair — themagicspear  of  Cheltchair  (see Down), by  Ceat 
Mac  Magach,  a  famous  Connaught  champion.  Cumhscraidh  is  thus 
described  in  the  Tain-Bo-Chuailigne, — "  He  had  fair  yellow  hair  upon 
him.  He  had  a  glossy  curling  beard.  He  wore  a  green  cloak  wrapp- 
ing him  about ;  and  there  was  a  bright  silver  brooch  (cassan)  in  that 
cloak  at  his  breast.  He  had  a  brown-red  shirt,  interwoven  with 
thread  of  red  gold,  next  his  skin  and  descending  to  his  knees." 
Another  description  of  this  celebrated  chief  is  given  in  the  tale  of  the 
Plunder  of  the  Court  of  Daderg  : — "He  had  black  hair,  and  stammers 
in  his  speech.  All  in  the  court  listen  to  his  counsel.  The  most 
beautiful  of  men  is  he.  H  e  wore  a  shirt  and  a  white  and  red  cloak, 
and  a  silver  brooch  in  his  cloak."  Cumhscraidh  was  possessed  of  a 
famed  shield — the  Coscrach  (victorious).     See  O'Curry's  Lectures. 

V 


322  DOWN    AND    CONNOR. 

of  Connor  MacNessa,  King  of  Ulster,  who  succeeded  his 
father  on  the  throne  of  Ulster,  and  was  slain  after  a  three 
years'  reign,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  33.  Harris  and  Arch- 
dall  supposed  that  the  Cistercian  Abbey,  founded  by  De 
Courcy,  was  the  earliest  ecclesiastical  edifice  erected  on  the 
island,  and  that  the  island  was  named  Inis-couscry  from  the 
Norman  conqueror.  It  was  reserved  to  the  late  illustrious 
antiquarian,  Dr.  O'Donovan,  to  correct  those  mistakes  from 
our  ancient  records.  In  the  calendar  of  the  Saints  of 
Ireland,  at  the  22nd  of  July,  is  given  the  festival  of  "  Biteus, 
i.  e.,  Mobiu,  abbot  of  Inis  Cumscraigh.  He  was  of  the  rac« 
of  Eochaidh,  son  of  Muireadhac,  who  was  of  the  seed  of 
Heremon."  This  Saint's  festival  is  given  again  at  the  29th 
of  August.  It  is  somewhat  surprising  that  there  could  have 
been  any  mistake  about  the  ancient  name  of  Inch,  for  the 
O'Clerys  in  the  table  or  index  of  the  *'  Martyrology,"  after 
giving  David  as  another  form  of  the  name  Mobiu,  say  "  St. 
David  of  Iniscuscraidh;  and  this  island  is  situate  beside  Dun- 
da-lethglas."  There  are  several  saints  named  Mobiu;  he  seems, 
however,  to  have  been  the  companion  and  disciple  of  St.  Fin- 
iun  of  Movilla.  The  "Annals,"  written  W  Tighernach,  Abbot 
of  Clonmacnoise,  who  died  in  the  year  1088,  nearly  ninety 
years  before  De  Courcy's  invasion,  record  at  the  year  1002, 
"  Sitric,  king  of  the  Danes,  arrived  with  a  fleet  in  Uladh 
(Down),  and  plundered  Kilclief  and  Iniscuscraidh."  The 
Four  Masters  add,  that  he  "  carried  off  many  prisoners  from 
both.  The  same  annals  record  at  the  year  1161  the  death 
of  "  Ogan  O'Cormacain,  Erenach  of  Iniscuscraidh,"  and  at 
the  year  1149  they  inform  us  that  a  party,  belonging  to  an 
array  led  by  Niall  O'Loughlin,  "  went  upon  the  islands  of 
Lough  Cuan  (Strangford  Lough),  and  they  plndered  Inis- 
cums-craidh"  and  several  other  churches.  The  cliarter  of 
INIaurice  MacLouglin  to  the  abbey  of  Newry  about  the  year 


PARISH    OF    INCH,    KILMORE,    AND    KILLYLEAGH.         323 

1153,  is  witnessed,  among  others,  by  "  Aedha  Maglanba 
Erenanus  de  Insecumscray  (Hugh  Maglanba,  Erenach  of 
Inch)." 

The  move  ancient  church  was  situated  in  the  middle  of  the 
cemetary  and  was  nearer  to  the  causeway,  which  connected 
the  island  with  the  mainland  of  the  parish  of  Inch,  than  the 
Cistercian  Abbey  Church.*  The  simplicity  of  its  form  and 
architectural  features,  which  mucli  resembled  the  Chui'ch  at 
St.  John's  Point,  indicated  a  very  early  antiquity.  Over 
the  south  door  was  a  piece  of  ancient  sculpture  representing 
the  Saviour  on  the  Cross,  and  a  person  on  his  knees  with  his 
bands  elevated  praying  to  Him.  The  old  abbey  church 
seems  to  have  been  eclipsed,  and  to  have  become  a  chapel  to 
the  Anglo-Noiman  Abbey.  It  is  valued  in  the  Taxation  of 
Pope  Nicholast  under  the  name  of  "  The  Chapel  of  Ines"  at 

*  The  account  of  the  Abbey  of  Inch,  and  those  of  many  of  the 
other  Co.  Down  Monasteries,  given  in  these  pages,  have  already 
appeared  in  the  late  edition  of  the  "  Monastican  Hibernicum,"  to 
which  they  were  supplied  by  the  author. 

t  Several  taxes  were  imposed  on  the  clergy  of  England  and  Ire- 
land for  the  relief  of  the  Holy  Land.  Pope  Nicholas  IV. ,  in  1 288, 
granted  to  Edward  I. ,  who  promised  to  undertake  an  expedition  to 
the  Holy  Land,  not  only  six  years  Tenths  of  the  moveables  and 
annual  income  arising  from  all  ecclesiastical  property  or  benefices  in 
England,  Ireland,  Scotland,  and  Wales,  which  had  already  been 
collected,  but  also  those  that  were  to  accrue  in  the  same  countries 
during  the  six  succeeding  years.  For  the  purpose  of  deriving  as 
much  advantage  as  possible  from  this  grant,  the  King  caused  a  new 
valuation  to  be  made,  and  this  valuation  became  the  standard  by 
which  all  clerical  taxes  paid  to  the  Pope  or  the  King  were  assessed  for 
several  centuries.  In  1306,  the  King  again  obtained  from  Clement 
V. ,  a  grant  for  two  years  of  the  Ecclesiastical  Tenths.  The  rolls  on 
which  was  entered  the  valuation  prepared  for  this  taxation  were 
discovered  in  1807,  in  the  office  of  His  Majesty's  Exchequer,  at  West- 
minster, whither  they  had  been  removed  in  the  year  1323.  When  dis- 
covered, they  were  deposited  in  a  leathern  pouch  marked  "  Hibemia. " 
The  late  Dr.  CroUy  had  an  authenticated  copy  of  the  portion  relating 


324  DOWTf  AKD  CONKOR, 

1  mark.  This  venerable  edifice  which  Dane  and  Norman 
spared  has  been  swept  away  to  make  room  for  a  tomb.  In 
any  other  country  such  a  monument  of  antiquity  would  have 
been  under  the  immediate  protection  of  its  Government. 

We  have  already  given  the  history  of  the  foundation  of 
the  Cistercian  Abbey  of  Inch  when  treating  of  the  church  of 
Erenagh,  in  the  parish  of  Bright,  and  we  need  here  only 
repeat  that  Sir  John  de  Courcy  founded  the  abbey  as  an 
amends  for  demolishing  the  Benedectine  Abbey  of  Erenagh, 
which  is  said  to  have  been  converted  by  the  native  princes 
into  a  strong  military  post.  The  registry  of  Furness  Abbey, 
from  which  its  monks  were  brought,  assigns  the  30th  May, 
in  the  year  1180,  as  the  date  of  its  foundation. 

Anno  mileno  centeno  bis  quadrageno 
Curcy  fundavit  Ynes,  hostes  hinc  superavit. 

Grace  and  Pembiidge,  however,  state  that  it  was  built  in  the 
year  1187.  The  new  abbey,  as  might  be  expected,  was  thor- 
oughly anti-Irish;  so  much  so,  that  it  was  one  of  the  two  mon- 
asteries which  were  complained  of  in  the  Querimonia,  which 
Donald  O'Neill  and  the  other  Irish  chiefs  addressed  to  the 
Pope  in  the  year  1318. 

Jocelin,  the  biographer  of  St.  Patrick,  was  a  monk  of 
Furness,  and  it  is  probable  that  he  was  one  of  the  monks 
brought  over  in  1180,  to  Inch  where  he  could  easily  obtain 
the  information  necessary  for  his  literary  undertaking,  which 
was  completed  about  the  year  1183. 

to  Down  and  Connor  prepared  for  the  ecclesiastical  suit  between  his 
lordship  and  the  bishop  of  Derry,  regarding  the  parish  of  Coleraine. 
That  copy,  authenticated  by  the  chaplain  of  the  Sardinian  embassy,  isin 
the  Diocesan  Library.  Dr.  Reeves  published  in  1847,  the  taxation 
of  Down,  Connor,  and  Dromore  with  valuable  notes  and  illustriations, 
i  n  which  he  did  so  much  for  the  ecclesiastical  antiquities  of  those 
dioceses. 


PARISH  OF  INCH,  KILMORE,  AND  KILLYLEAGH.  325 

The  Abbot  E was  a  subscfibing  witnfss  to  Sir  John 

de  Ootircy's  grant  to  the  church  of  St.  Pati-ick  at  Down. 

1237.  —  G ,  the  abbot  of  Inch,  was  a  subsci  ibing  witness 

to  Hugh  de  Lacy's  charter  to  Newry. 

In  the  Taxation  of  Pope  Nichohis  the  tem|)Oialities  of 
the  Abbot  of  Inch  were  valued  at  <£10  19s.  4d. 

A.  D.  1380. — It  was  enacted  by  Parliament  that  no  mere 
Irishman  should  be  permitted  to  make  his  profes.sion  in  the 
Abbey  of  Inch. 

The  Terrier  has  the  following  entry  : — "  The  Abbey  of 
Inch  is  exempted,  for  that  is  the  Cistercians,  and  the  ]>arish 
church  of  the  Abbey  owes  Proxies,  10s;  Kefections,  lOs; 
Synodals,  2s." 

The  Abbey  was  pos.ses.sed  at  the  period  of  the  dissolution 
of  the  rectories  of  Ballyoran,  Witter,  Lignalitter  ajid  Port- 
mu'k,  together  with  Narrow  Water,  the  Island  of  Inch  and 
the  townlauils  of  Ballyrenan,  Ballygally,  Finnahrogue, 
Turmennan,  TuUynecrosse  (Parish  of  Inch),  the  two  Wood- 
granges  (Parish  of  Down),  Erenagh,  Ballycam,  St.  John's 
Point,  Ballyviggis  and  Ballygilbert  (Parish  of  Bright),  and 
the  tithes  of  the  townlands  of  Ravarra  and  Bally cloghan 
near  Saintfield. 

Mr.  James  J.  Phillips,  Belfast,  assisted  by  workmen,  placed 
at  bis  disposal  by  the  proprietor,  R.  P.  Maxwell,  E.'^q.,  has 
lately  made  an  examination  of  the  abbey  grounds,  which, 
though  as  yet  only  partial,  has  enabled  him  to  discover  among 
the  dilapidated  ruins  interesting  proofs  of  the  former  impor- 
tance and  architectural  beauty  of  the  abbey.  On  the  north 
side  of  the  Cloister  garth,  or  quadrangle,  stood  the  abbey 
church,  which  was  built  in  the  form  of  a  cross,  and  had  a 
low  bell-tower  rising  at  the  inter-section  of  the  naveand  chancel 
with  the  transepts,  but  this  is  entirely  destroyed.  The  entire 
length  of  the  chui-ch  was  ITOfeet,  while  the  breadth  respectively 


326  DOWN  AND  CONNOK. 

of  the  nave  and  the  chancel  was  27  feet.  A  cross  wall  pierced 
in  the  middle  with  a  doorway  was  drawn  across  the  nave  at 
the  distance  of  80  feet  from  the  western  gable ;  it  separated 
a  space  for  choir  purposes,  extending  83  feet  from  itself  to 
the  eastern  gable  of  the  chancel.  Similar  cross  walls  occur 
in  Holycross  Abbey,  Hore  Abbey,  Mouasternenagh,  and 
several  other  abbeys.  Mr,  Phillips  discovered  the  foundations 
of  the  aisles  on  each  side  of  the  nave  ;  the  aisles  were  com- 
paratively narrow,  being  only  about  13  feet  wide.  From 
architectural  remains  he  was  led  to  believe  that  the  Clere- 
story, or  triforium,  whichever  it  may  have  been,  was  borne 
by  massive  main  arches,  that  sprung  from  piers.  The 
Chancel,  which  was  42  feet  by  27  feet,  was  square  ended  and 
lighted  ill  the  gable  by  three  noble  lancet  windows  and  a 
similar  but  smaller  window  over  the  centre.  There  are  also 
in  each  of  the  side  walls  of  the  Chancel  two  windows  in  form 
similar  to  those  in  the  gable,  but  less  in  height.  On  tlie 
south  side  of  the  altai-  are  still  remains  of  the  arch,  under 
which  were  the  Sedllia,  but  the  ornamental  stone  dressings 
have  been  removed.  The  north  and  south  transepts  were 
each  27  feet  square,  and  the  east  side  of  each  terminated  in 
two  chapels  18  feet  deep.  The  scanty  remains  of  the  groined 
vaulting  of  those  chapels,  the  corner  corbels,  the  caps  from 
which  the  ribs  sprang,  and  the  base  of  the  pillar  between  the 
chapels  of  the  north  transept,  together  with  the  responds  of 
the  mouldings,  serve  to  indicate  the  architectural  magnificence 
of  the  abbey.  The  north  transept  had  at  its  north-west 
corner  a  circular  winding  stair,  which  afforded  access  probably 
to  the  central  tower ;  the  well  of  this  stair  was  5  feet  in 
diameter,  but  all  the  steps  are  torn  away.  The  garth,  or 
quadrangle,  was  bounded  on  the  east  side  by  the  South 
Transept,  the  Sacristy,  the  Chapter  House,  and  Fratry,  or 
Monks'  day -room.     The  Sacristy  was    13    by  26  feet,  the 


PARISH  OF  INCH,  KILMORE,  AND  KILLYLEAGH.     327 

Chapter  House  26feet  square, the  Fratry,or  Monks'  day-room, 
was  26  feet  wide,  but  its  length  has  not  yet  been  ascertained. 
In  accordance  with  the  general  plan  of  Cistercian  Monasteries, 
the  dormitories  extended  over  the  Fratry,  the  Cha])ter  House, 
and  the  Sacristy,  and  communicated,  it  is  probable,  with 
the  South  Transept,  as  was  the  case  in  Grey  Abbey,  by  a 
stone  winding  stair,  down  which  the  monks  passed  from 
their  dormitories  for  the  mid-night  office.  A  structure 
locally  denominated  "the  murder  hole,"  which  resembles  a 
chimney  shaft,  is  built  up  against  the  Sacristy  wall,  it  served 
as  a  Latrine  for  the  dormiiories.  The  garth,  or  quadrangle, 
is  bounded  along  its  south  side  by  the  kitchen,  part  of 
which  still  remains ;  also  perhaps  by  the  refectory,  the 
buttery,  and  the  Domus  Conversorum,  or  Lay  Brothers'  day- 
room  ;  but  all  these  have  been  swept  away,  and  not  a  trace 
of  them,  at  least  above  ground,  left.  Mr.  Phillips  ascer- 
tained that  the  garth  was  bounded  on  the  west  by  a  curtain 
wall  having  several  offsets  and  indications  of  a  guard  house 
or  gate  room.  The  great  sewer  which  served  to  carry  off  the 
sewage  of  the  kitchen  and  Monastery  is  considered  by  the 
country  people  to  be  a  passage  leading  to  the  abbey  of  Down. 
Mr.  Phillips  found  inside  the  Chancel  a  considerable  quantity 
of  stained  glass,  exhibiting  foliage  and  animals,  which  proves 
that  the  Cistercians  had  departed  from  their  original  rules, 
which  prohibited  the  use  of  stained  glass.  Like  all  the 
Cistercian  abbeys,  Inch  was  built  not  on  the  crest  but  at 
the  base  of  the  hill. 

Until  very  recently  the  foundations  of  an  ancient  church, 
surrounded  by  a  circular  graveyard,  were  to  be  seen  in  a 
field  called  the  Church  Park,  in  Mr.  Flynn's  farm,  in  the 
townland  of  Ballynacraig.  A  considerable  number  of  small 
white  sea  pebbles  is  found  in  the  clay  of  the  graveyard, 
similar  to  those  found  in  the  cemetery  of  Saul ;  they  were 


328  DOWN  AND  CONNOR, 

probably  used  as  beads  (See  Saul).  A  block  of  red  stone,  in 
which  a  squnre  mortice  was  cut,  which  seems  to  have  been 
the  j)edestal  of  a  ci'oss,  formerly  stood  near  the  graveyard, 
but  it  has  been  removed  by  a  person  named  Jennings,  to 
mark  a  grave  belonging  to  him  in  Saul.  A  little  to  the 
south  of  the  church  is  one  of  those  little  wells  which  are  in- 
variably found  in  close  proximity  to  our  ancient  chuiclies. 

The  ancient  graveyard  of  Kilmore,  or  as  it  was  formerly 
called  Kilmore  Moran,  is  situated  in  the  townland  of  Carna- 
cally,  but  no  foundations  of  the  church  now  exist.  Kilmore 
was  an  ancient  niensal  parish  of  the  Bishop  of  Down,  which 
he  enjoyed  perhaps  because  he  re|)resented  the  ancient 
Bishops  of  Nendrura,  whose  see  was  united  at  an  early  date 
to  that  of  Down.  One  of  the  Bishops  of  Nendrum,  now 
called  Mahee  Island,  was  named  Moranii  ;  he  died  in  the 
year  800.  He  was  probably  the  founder  of  this  church,  and 
from  him  it  seems  to  have  been  named  Kilmore  Moran. 
We  liave  very  fdw  notices  of  this  ancient  church.  Jt  is 
omitted  for  some  rensons  now  unknown  from  the  Taxation 
of  Pope  Nicholas.  The  following  entry  is,  however,  in  the 
Tei-rier  "  Ecclesia  de  Kilmore  Meroue  is  the  Bishop's  Men- 
sal.  The  Vicar  pays  in  Proxies  6s.  8d.,  in  Ptefections  6s. 
8d.,  in  Synodals,  2s."  To  this  entry  is  appended  a  note. 
"Kilmore  Marone,  5  quarier  lands  having  7  chappelLs." 
Where  these  chapels  wei-e  situated  can  not  now  be  ascertained 
with  accuracy;  we  may,  however,  suppose  tliat  the  various 
chapels  within  tlie  civil  parish  of  Kilmore  were  included 
among  them.  Walter  de  la  Hay  rendered  into  the  Exchequer 
an  account  of  the  receipts  from  the  see  lands  during  the 
interval  bet%veen  March  4th  and  July  1st,  o"  the  year  1305, 
and  one  of  the  items  in  his  return  is  "  16s.  8d.  of  the  rent  of 
the  free  tenants  (libere  tenentium)  of  Ball}caryne,  for  the 
same  term."     Ballycaryne   has  not   been  identified,  but  it 


PARISH  OF  INCH,  KILMORE,  AND  KILLYLEAGH.  329 

seems  to  be  Kilmore,  which  is  in  thetownhmd  of  Ciirnacally, 
The  Parliamentary  Report  of  1833  states  that  "  Kilmore- 
moran  and  the  lands  belonging  thereto  except  the  gleVjelands 
in  the  possession  of  Leslie  Creery,  Clk.,  containing  12  acres, 
2  roods,  and  7  perches  "  were  let  to  Thomas  Pottiiiger,  Esq., 
under  a  lease  ot  21  years,  perpetually  renewable,  at  a  rent  of 
£22  13s.  4d.,  and  a  renewal  tine  of  £96  18s.  Sd.  The  late  Dr. 
Denvir  purchased,  in  1853,  with  trust-money,  the  townlands 
of  Kilmore  and  Carnacally,  together  with  the  rectorial 
rent  charge  of  the  parish  of  Kilmore.  The  pro[)erty  cost 
£4,000,  and  produces  for  the  charities  about  £209  per 
annum.  Dr.  Dorrian,  after  the  disestablishment  of  the  Pro- 
testant Chai-ch,  purchased  from  the  Church  Temporalities 
Commissioners  the  head  rents  and  the  manorial  rights,  so 
that  he  now  possesses  the  church  lands  of  Kilmore  as  fully  as 
did  ever  any  of  his  predecessors. 

North-west  of  Kilmore  is  Rademman,  which  is  mentioned 
in  the  Life  of  St  Pulcherius,  or  Mochomog,  as  being  a  certain 
fort  in  which  then  resided  the  King  of  Ulidia — it  signifies 
"  The  rath  of  Deman,"  a  King  of  Ulidia,  who  was  slain, 
A.D.  565. 

In  the  townland  of  Listooder  is  a  small  and  long  disused 
graveyard  called  Killygartan,  where  a  head.stone  marked 
with  a  cross  is  said  to  indicate  a  priest's  grave,  but  the 
name  of  the  alleged  occupant  is  not  remembered.  There 
is  a  similar  graveyard  in  the  townland  of  Creevyargon. 

In  the  townland  of  Barnamaghery,  on  the  side  of  a  high 
hill,  is  a  graveyard  called  Killyman,  in  which  there  are  no 
remains  of  a  chui'ch,  but  a  great  quantify  of  stones  were 
removed  from  it  in  constructing  the  bridge  over  the  Glass- 
water.  The  Annals  of  the  Four  Masters  record,  under  the 
year  583,  "  Saint  Fearghus,  Bishop  of  Druim-Leathglaise 
(Down),  died  on  the  30th  of  March  ;  and  this  waS  the  Fear 


330  DOWN    AND    CONNOR, 

ghns  who  founded  Cill-niBian."  This  bishop  would  appear- 
to  have  been  a  distinguished  person,  for  his  death,  and  the 
fact  of  his  liaving  founded  Cill-niBian  are  mentioned  in  the 
annals  of  Tigernach,  and  in  those  of  Ulster,  and  of  Boyle. 
It  might  be  expected  that  Cill-mBian,  as  being  founded  by 
one  of  the  bishops  of  Down,  would  remain  closely  connected 
with  the  see,  and  as  Killyman  was  a  chapel  in  the  mensal 
parish  of  Kilmore,  and  probably  one  of  the  seven  belong- 
ing to  it,  it  may  reasonably  be  supposed  to  be  tne  ancient 
Cill-mBian. 

Another  of  the  seven  chajjels  might  be  looked  for  in  the 
adjoining  townland  of  Clontaghnaglar ;  perhaps  in  that 
townland  along  the  Glass-water,  might  be  found  the  lost 
church  of  Kill-Glais,  which,  as  we  are  told  in  the  "  Tripartite 
Life  of  St.  Patrick,"  that  saint  commenced  to  erect,  but  he 
was  driven  out  of  the  neighbourhood  by  the  inhabitants. 
He,  however,  returned,  and  having  completed  it,  placed  over 
it  two  of  his  disciples,  Glasicus,  and  Liberius,  a  priest. 
Another  of  the  seven  chapels  may  have  been  in  the  grounds 
of  Ci'ossgar  House,  where  there  is  an  ancient  well  called 
Tubbermure. 

In  Killiuchy-in-the-Woods,  which  is  not  in  the  parish  of 
Kilmore,  but  adjoins  it,  and  is  the  only  townland  which  the 
parish  of  Killyleagh  has  outside  the  Barony  of  Dufferin, 
there  was  an  ancient  church  which  pi-obably  was  one  of  the 
seven  chapels  of  Kilmore.  The  following  entry  occurs  in 
the  "Terrier"  regarding  it: — "  Killinsee-in-the-Kalbe  (in- 
tended for  Coin  :  a  wood),  one  mensal  and  pays  nothing  (no 
proxies,  &c.,)  and  hath  one  towne  spiritualities  and  tempor- 
alities." The  school-house  of  Killinchy-in-the- Woods  is  built 
on  the  site  of  the  church,  and  its  cemetery  has  been  com- 
pletely obliterated.  In  it  was  found  a  shell,  such  as  was 
formerly  used  at  the  altar  for  holding  water,  and  a  little  altar 


PARISH  OF  INCH,  KILMORE,  AND  KILLYLEAGH,  331 

bell;  the  lattei-  was  given  to  the  Rev.  Daniel  MacMullan, 
who  was  at  that  time  curate  of  Kilmore.  There  was  an 
ancient  well  a  little  to  the  north  of  the  site  of  the  church. 

In  the  townland  of  Ciuntagh  there  was  formerly  a  church. 
At  the  Dissolution  the  rectory  of  "CIuntagh-in-the-Dutferan" 
was  a{)j)ro[>riate  to  the  abbey  of  Saul.  On  this  account 
the  inquisition  of  1023  states  "  Wee  further  find  that  the 
Lord  Cromwell  claimeth  the  town  and  land  of  Balle-Clon- 
togh,  as  supposed  to  be  passed  uuto  him  from  his  Majesty, 
and  that  his  right  if  any  he  hath  may  be  saved  unto  him  : 
And  we  further  fiud  that  the  said  Fiancess,  Countesse  of 
Kildare,  claimeth  the  rectory  and  tithes  of  Clontogh  in  the 
DufFrin.  lu  the  charter  of  James  I.  appointing  the  various 
dignitaries  of  Down  Cathedral,  it  is  called  Clontaghleirg. 
The  field  in  which  it  stood  is  called  Killconan  ;  but  its  site 
and  its  graveyard  have  been  long  subjected  to  tillage,  and  the 
ancient  well,  that  was  near  it,  has  been  filled  up. 

Near  the  Castle  of  Kiilyleagh  stood  an  ancient  church, 
called  Killoweu,  of  which  the  east  gable  is  all  that  remains. 
It  is  not  unlikely  that  the  church  has  been  called  Killowen 
(the  river  churclj)  from  its  proximity  to  a  liver  that  flows 
along  the  western  side  of  the  cemetery,  but  there  certainly 
was  a  church  somewhere  along  the  shores  of  Strangfurd 
Lough  calledCill- Aedhaiu  ([)ronounced  Killeean) — the  church 
of  Aedhan,  a  saint  whose  festival  was  kept  on  the  1st  of 
ApriL  The  Four  Masters  at  the  year  1149,  speaking  of 
the  army  led  by  Niall  O'Loughlin,  say  : — "  A  part  of  them 
went  upon  the  islands  of  Lough  Cuan  (Strangford  Lough), 
and  they  plundered  Inis-Cumscraidh  (Inch),  Leathglaise 
(Downpatrick),  Cill-Aedhain,M'igh-bila  (Moville),  Beannchor 
(Bangor),  and  all  the  other  churches  of  the  country  except 
Dun  (Dowu)iatick),  and  Sabhall  (Saul)."  "  Cill-Aedhain," 
pronounced    Kill-een,  presents  in  sound  a  great  similarity 


332  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

to   Killowen,  the  position  of  which   would  correspond   with 
the  account  in  the  "  Annals." 

All  ancient  burial-ground  in  the  townland  of  Toy  and 
Kirk  land  contains  the  ruins  of  a  church  which  measures  5G| 
by  17|  feet.  "The  masonry,"  says  Dr.  Reeve's,  "  is  of  a 
very  ancient  character,  and  the  walls  are  in  some  places  5| 
feet  thick.  Tlie  spot  is  locally  called  Killrasy  or  Killy 
andrews."  The  "  Terrier"  thus  notices  this  church  and  that 
of  Killyleagh  : — "  Ecclesia  de  Killandrus,  a  union,  ])ays  in 
proxies,  lOs. ;  in  refections,  10s.  ;  in  synodals,  2s.  Ecclesia 
de  Killeleagh,  a  union,  pays  in  proxies,  5s.  ;  in  refections, 
5s.  ;  in  synodals,  2s." 

PARISH     PRIESTS. 

According  to  popular  tradition  there  was  a  Father  Diom- 
gool,  who  during  the  wars  of  the  Revolution  had  the  spiritual 
charge  of  all  the  district,  extending  from  the  Quoile  Bridge 
to  tlie  Long  Bridge  of  Belfast. 

In  the  year  1704,  the  Rev.  Patrick  Moylin  registered 
himself  as  "  Popish  Priest"  of  Kilandreas  (Killrasy  in  the 
civil  [larish  of  KillyleMgh)  and  Inch.  He  was  then  lifty-four 
years  of  age.  and  was  residing  in  the  townland  of  Bidlygally. 
The  List  states  that  he  was  ordained  at  Slieveaniskey,  in  the 
year  166G,  by  Dr.  M.tckey,  Bishop  of  Down  and  Connor; 
there  is  evidently  a  mistake  for  Dr,  Mackey  was  only  con- 
secrated in  1671  and  died  in  1673  in  which  year  he  ordained 
Father  Moylin  who  was  then  23  years  of  age. 

The  Rev.  John  O'Bern  (which  would  now  be  written 
Burns),  resided  in  the  townland  of  Creevyargon.  he  was  39 
years  of  a^e,  and  wms  registered  in  1704  as  priest  of  Kilmore. 
Tawnaglineeve  (Saintfield),  and  M;<gheradrool.  He  had  been 
ordained  in  1688  by  Dr.  James  Phelan,  Bishop  of  Ossory. 
It  is  probable  that  he  registered  himself  as  priest  of  Magher- 


PARISH   OF    INCH,    KILMORE,   AND    KILLYLEAGH.  333 

adrool  in  order  to  officiate  in  the  district  which  was  attached 
to  the  ancient  chapel  of  Magheratimpany,  which,  even  at 
that  time,  was  incorporated  in  the  civil  parish  of  Magher- 
adrool. 

Popular  tradition  has  preserved  the  memory/  of  the  suffer- 
ings and  persecutions  sustained  by  the  Rev.  Edmund 
M'Graddy,  who  is  said  to  have  leaped  the  Glass  water  when 
hotly  pursued  by  some  local  semi-military  force,  which  was 
commanded  by  a  person  named  Hut  ton.  This  man  being  a 
secret  friend  of  the  priest,  ordered  his  followers  to  stop  the 
pursuit  when  the  priest  had  crossed  the  river.  One  man, 
however,  whose  name  is  still  preserved,  disobeyed  his  officer, 
and  continued  alone  to  pursue  the  piiest ;  but  Father 
M'Graddy,  turning  on  him,  belaboured  hioi  so  well  that  he 
returned  to  his  companions  bruised  and  bleeding,  and  for 
several  generations  some  personal  blemishes  on  the  features 
of  his  descendants  were  attributed  to  the  effiicts  of  the  priest's 
stick  on  the  countenanee  of  their  ancestor.  All  the  local 
traditions  represent  the  Huttoas  as  the  friends  of  the  perse- 
cuted priests,  saving  them  from  the  terrible  effects  of  the 
persecuting  laws,  while  the  grateful  Catholics  thought  that 
they  perceived  in  the  prosperity  of  the  family  the  reward  of 
God.  There  is  also  a  tradition  of  a  priest  having  taken 
refuge  in  the  house  of  Hugh  Roe  Cleeland.  Mrs.  Cleeland 
directed  him  to  go  to  bed  and  told  the  priest-hunters  that  it 
was  her  husband  who  was  in  the  bed,  and  that  he  had  fever. 

There  is  the  head-stone  of  a  priest  in  the  graveyard  of  Kil- 
more,  on  which  is  inscribed — 

Edmond  Grady, 
De  :  4  :  1713. 

Though  the  people  say  that  the  priest  commemorated  by 
that  inscription  was  parish  priest  of  Kilmore,  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  he  was  the  Rev.  Edmund  M'Graddy,  who,  in 


334  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

1704,  was  parish  priest  of  Druiucaw,  and  was  therx  forty- 
eight  years  of  age.  He  had  been  ordained  in  1698  by  Dr. 
Keough  Bishop  of  Clonfert.  As  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev. 
Roger  Armstrong,  or  Trenhivery,  who  was  afterwards  Bishop 
of  Down  and  Connor,  and  wlio  was  appointed  to  the  united 
parish  of  Drumcaw,  Ballykinlar,  and  Tyrella  in  1714,  it  is 
evident  that  he  continued,  to  his  death  on  the  4th  of 
Deceaiber  1713,  parish  priest  of  Drumcaw,  Ballykinlar,  and 
Tyrella.  It  is  very  probable  that  he  was  a  relative,  perhaps 
an  uncle  of  the  Father  Edmund  M'Graddy  who  succeeded 
to  the  parish  of  Kilmore  on  the  death  or  removal  of  Father 
Moylin  and  Father  O'Bern.  Father  M'Graddy,  of  Kilmore, 
died  between  the  years  1 740  and  1744,  and  no  doubt  was 
interred  in  the  same  grave  with  Father  M'Graddy,  of  Drum- 
caw. They  are  to  be  distinguished  from  a  priest  of  the  same 
name,  who  resided  at  Raftery,  and  was  parish  priest  of 
Saintfield  at  a  later  date. 

Rev.  Cormac  Shell,  said  to  have  been  a  brother  of  Dr. 
James  Shell,  Bishop  of  Down  and  Connor,  was  officiating 
either  as  parish  priest  or  curate  in  Kilmore,  after  the  death 
of  Father  M'Graddy.     He  i-emoved  to  Aughagallon,  when  the 

Rev. M'Givern  became  parish  priest.     Father  M'Givern 

was  succeeded  by  the  Rev. Devlin,  and  he  was  succeeded, 

in  the  year  1768,  by  the  Rev.  James  Killen,  who  was  a 
native  of  Ballykinlar,  and  is  not  to  be  confounded  with  an 
earlier  Father  Killen,  a  native  of  Clontaghnaglar,  who 
officiated  in  the  parish,  but  whether  as  parish  priest  or  curate 
cannot  now  be  easily  ascertained.  Father  Killen  removed 
to  the  parish  of  Ards  in  the  year  1780. 

The  Rev.  Richard  Curoe,  P.P.,  Ballykinlar  (see  Ballykinlar) 
was  appointed  on  the  12th  of  January,  1780.  After  minis- 
tering to  his  flock  for  upwards  of  64  years.  Father  Curoe, 
died   at  his  residence,  in  Lisnamore,    on  the   31st  of  July, 


PARISH    OF    INCH,    KILMORE,    A>fD    KILLYLEAGH.  335 

1844,  and  was  interred  in  the  chapel  yard  of  Kilclief. 
"  The  old  priest,"  as  he  was  familiarly  called,  had  arrived  at 
the  patriarchal  age  of  102.  He  was  the  last  priest  in  Down 
and  Connor  of  those  who  had  to  worship  God  with  the  canopy 
of  heaven  for  a  covering,  and  a  rude  stone  in  an  open  field 
for  an  alter  whereon  to  celebrate  the  tremendous  mysteries. 
Father  Curoe  was  succeeded  by  the  Eev.  George  Maguire, 
his  curate  and  grand  nephew.  Father  Maguire  is  a  native 
of  Downpatrick.  Having  received  a  preliminary  education, 
he  entered  the  Khetoric  Class,  in  the  College  of  Maynooth,  on 
the  4th  of  September,  1828.  He  was  ordained  in  Belfast  at 
the  Advent  Quatuor  Tense,  1834,  after  which  he  was  sent  as 
curate  to  Randalstown  ;  but  on  the  5th  of  February,  1835, 
he  was  appointed  curate  of  Kilmore ;  and  at  the  "  Month's 
Mind"  of  Father  Curoe,  he  was  promoted  to  the  vacant  parish, 
which  he  held  till  his  appointment  to  the  parish  of  Upper 
Mourne,  on  the  14th  of  October,  1856. 

The  Rev.  Edward  Connor  succeeded  Father  Maguire.  Father 
Connor  is  a  native  of  Ballynoe,  in  the  parish  of  Bright,  and 
a  brother  of  the  Rev.  Hugli  Connor,  P.P.,  Kilcoo.  After 
having  completed  his  studies  in  the  College  of  Paris,  he  was 
ordained  in  Belfast  by  Dr.  Denvir,  on  the  5th  of  May,  1842. 
There  were  ordained  at  the  same  time  the  Rev.  John 
M/Grane,  at  present  P.P.,  Randalstown  ;  the  Rev.  Cornelius 
Magee,  late  parish  priest  of  Loughguile  ;  the  Rev.  John 
Cunningham,  late  parish  priest  of  Duneane  ;  and  the  Rev. 
F.  Connolly,  of  Aghaloo,  in  the  diocese  of  Armagh.  Father 
Connor  was  appointed  curate  of  Lower  Ards,  May  23rd, 
1842,  from  which  he  was  ])romoted  to  the  parish  of  Glenravel, 
on  the  1st  of  October,  1848,  where  he  purchased,  for  £300, 
in  November,  1853,  from  William  Wiley,  Esq.,  of  Trinity 
College,  Dublin,  a  plot  of  grounJ,  containing  3a.  2r.  Op., 
Irish  plantation    measure,  on  which  a  new    mill  had  been 


336  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

erected.  Father  Connor  converted  the  mill  into  the  beautiful 
church  of  the  Braid,  at  a  cost  of  £1,000.  He  was  appointed 
to  Kilniore  on  the  14th  of  October,  1856. 

CHUECHES. 

The  chapel,  commonly  called  the  Rocks  Chapel,  is  situated 
in  the  townland  of  Magheracranmoney,  and  is  surrounded  by 
barren  rocks  and  an  extensive  forest  of  furze  bushes.  It  is 
the  only  thatched  chapel  in  the  diocese  ;  and,  standing  beside 
the  Mass  Rock  of  the  hunted  priest,  for  which  it  has  been 
substituted,  it  possesses  a  power  of  evoking  religious  feelings, 
even  in  the  most  hardened  mind,  that  a  more  gorgeous  fabric 
could  not  lay  claim  to.  It  was  erected  by  the  Rev.  James 
Killen  and  was  completed  on  Halloweve  night,  in  the  year 
1769. 

The  old  chapel  of  Kilmore  was  erected  by  the  Rev. 
Richard  Curoe  in  1785.  It  was  replaced  by  the  present 
chapel,  erected  by  the  Rev.  George  Maguire,  which  was 
consecrated  January  10th,  1847. 

The  old  chapel  of  Crossgar  was  erected  by  Father  Curoe  in 
the  year  1800.  It  has  been  replaced  by  the  beautiful  chui'ch 
of  the  Immaculate  Conception  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary 
and  St.  Joseph,  which  has  been  erected  by  Father  Connor  ; 
the  foundation  stone  of  it  was  laid  February  21st,  1867. 
This  church  consists  of  nave,  75  feet  by  31  feet,  chancel  20 
feet  by  18  feet,  vestry,  and  entrance  tower  at  the  south 
west  angle  11  feet  square.  The  tower  and  spire  form  a 
prominent  and  beautiful  feature  of  the  building,  and  rise  to 
a  height  of  about  90  feet,  the  spire  springs  trom  eight  gablets 
which  are  pierced  with  wheel  windows.  In  the  west  gable 
are  two  double  light  early  traceried  windows  and  wheel  win- 
dow over ;  and  the  eastern  gable  has  a  handsome  triplet 
window.     The  nave  is  lighted  on  the  sides  by  lancet  lights. 


PARISH  OP  INCH,  KILMORE,  AND  KILLYLEAGH.  337 

which,  together  with  all  the  other  openings,  have  richly 
moulded  arches,  shafted  jambs,  and  carved  capitals.  The 
dressings  are  all  of  white  Glasgow  stone,  and  the  walls  are 
built  of  local  blue  stone  in  rubble  masonry,  neatly  jointed 
with  black  mastic.  The  nave  is  covered  by  an  open  timber 
roof,  stained  and  varnished,  the  principals  of  which  spring 
from  moulded  stone  corbals.  A  similar  roof,  but  of  a  more 
decorative  description,  covers  the  chancel.  The  floor  of  the 
chancel  is  laid  with  encaustic  tiles  ;  and  the  altar  is  of  hand- 
some design  and  is  erected  in  Caen  stone,  with  polished  Irish 
marble  shafts  and  carved  foliated  capitals  ;  the  panels  being 
beautifully  carved  with  figure  subjects.  The  altar  rail  and 
pulpit  are  of  polished  pitch  pine,  with  shafts  and  capping  of 
polished  walnut.  In  the  nave  are  commodious  seats  of 
good  design,  in  pitch  pine  varnished.  The  building  and 
fittings  have  been  carried  out  from  the  designs,  and  under  the 
superintendence  of  Mortimer  H.  Thomson,  Esq.,  Architect, 
Belfast.  The  church  was  consecrated  on  September  10th, 
1876,  by  the  Most  Kev.  Dr.  Dorrian.  A  marble  tablet, 
inserted  in  the  side-wall  of  the  church,  commemorates  the 
Rev.  Charles  Mageean,  whose  remains  are  interred  in  front 
of  the  altar.     The  tablet  bears  the  following  inscription  : — 

To  the  Memory  of 

The  Revd.  Charles  Mageean,  C.  C. ,  Dunean, 

Who  departed  this  life  llth  June  1870 

At  the  early  age  of  24  years 

After  having  been  eleven  months 

In  the  sacred  ministry 

Bequiescat  in  Pace. 

Erected  by  his  father, 

Daniel  Mageean,  Leggygowan. 

*Killyleagh   old  chapel  was  erected  by  Father   Curoe,  as- 

*  Killyleagh  Castle  was  built  by  the  Mandevilles,  or  some  of  the 
early  English  settlers.  A  print  of  it  copied  from  an  old  map  dated 
1625  is  given  in  the  Ulster  Journal  of  Archceology,  Vol.   III.     At 

w 


338  DOWN  AND  CONNOK. 

sisted  by  his  curate,  the  Rev.  James  Denvir,  in  1832  ;  but 
Father  Connor  has  replaced  it  by  the  present  church,  erected 
from  designs  by  Mr.  Thomson,  It  was  commenced  in  1859, 
and  was  opened  on  the  22nd  of  October,  1861. 

Previous  to  the  erection  of  these  chapels,  Mass  was  cele- 
brated in  several  secluded  places  ;  one  of  which  was  a  few 
yards  distant  from  the  Kocks  Chapel,  where  the  rock  altar 
still  remains;  and  the  high  cliff,  where  the  watchman  stood 
to  sound  the  alarm  on  the  approach  of  the  priest  hunters,  is 
still  pointed  out.  Another  Mass  Rock  was  in  a  field  belong- 
ing to  John  Rurns,  in  Castle  Quarter,  in  the  townland  of 
Annacloy :  The  rock,  however,  was  quarried  away  for  stones 
for  the  erection  of  the  county  jail.  Another  station  was  in 
a  field  called  the  Altar  Park,  in  Pat,  Smyth's  farm  in  the 
townland  of  Cluntagh.     Mass  was  also  celebrated  during  the 

that  period  it  had  only  one  round  tower,  and  the  place  of  the  second 
tower,  which  was  afterwards  added,  was  occupied  by  a  circular  turret 
rising  from  the  angle.  The  castle  was  taken  by  the  Cromwellians  in 
December,  1649  ;  it  was  enlarged  by  Henry,  Earl  of  Clanbrazil,  in 
1666,  when  the  second  tower  was  erected.  In  1850,  it  was,  with  the 
exception  of  the  two  round  towers,  completely  re-built  by  its  then 
proprietor,  the  late  Archibald  Rowan  Hamilton,  Esq.  The  castell- 
ated Gate-House  was  built  by  Lord  Dufferin  and  presented  to  his 
brother-in-law,  Mr.  Gawen  Hamilton,  on  the  23rd  of  October,  1862, 
the  day  on  which  Ijord  Dufferin  was  married  to  Miss  Hamilton.  The 
Charter  of  the  borough  of  Killyleagh  was  granted  March  10th,  1612. 
The  title  of  the  Corporation  was  "  The  Provost,  Free  Burgesses,  and 
Commonality  of  the  Borough  of  KiUileagh."  According  to  the  report 
of  Irish  Corporation  Commissioners  "  No  Roman  Catholics  have  been 
admitted  since  1793,  when  they  were  rendered  eligible.  One  Pro- 
testant dissenter  has  been  elected  a  free  burgess. "  Killyleagh  sent 
two  members  to  the  Irish  Parliament  and  Lord  Dufferin  received 
£15,000,  as  compensation  for  the  extinction  of  the  elective  franchise 
at  the  time  of  the  Union.  The  borough  was  represented  in  1692  by 
James  Sloan,  whose  son,  Sir  Hans  Sloan,  the  founder  of  the  British 
Museum,  was  born  in  Killyleagh  in  1660,  and  by  Sir  Patrick  Dunii 
in  1695,  a  Scotchman,  who  was  a  proteg^  of  the  Hamiltons,  and  was 
afterwards  the  founder  of  Sir  Patiick  Dunn's  Hospital  in  Dublin. 


PARISH  OP  INCH,  KILMORE,  AND  KILLYLEAGH.  339 

times  of  persecution  ou  a  rock  in  John  Quin's  glen,  in  the 
townland  of  Clontaghnaglar,  and  in  the  same  townhmd  the 
altar  of  sods  on  which  the  great  sacrifice  of  the  New  Law 
was  offered  up,  is  still  religiously  preserved  in  James  Killen's 
farm. 


The  remains  of  the  Irish  Elk  are  frequently  found  in  liecale.  In 
1825  an  Elk's  head,  measuring  five  feet  eleven  inches  between  the 
extreme  point  of  the  horns,  was  found  in  a  marl-pit  near  the  town  of 
Downpatrick.  This  animal  seems  to  have  lived  in  these  countries  even 
in  historic  times,  though  our  literature  supplies  no  reterence  to  it. 
There  can  be  little  doubt  that  it  is  the  A  lk6  described  by  Pausanias  as 
"between  a  stag  and  a  camel ;"  he  says  it  is  found  in  the  country  of 
the  Celts,  but  of  rare  occurrence,  and  only  casually  taken  when  hunting 
other  wild  animals. — Paiisan  Bceotic.  Pliny  describes  it  as  having  "a 
huge  upper  lip" — labrum  superius  prceyrande — v^hich  might  remind  a 
casual  observer  of  the  head  of  the  camel.  It  is  generally  held  by 
zoologists  that  the  American  Elk  and  Irish  Elk  are  specifically  the 
same.  The  American  Elk  is  quite  a  solitary  animal  ;  while  it  runs,  it 
holds  the  nose  up  so  as  to  lay  the  horns  horizontally  back  ;  it  browses 
on  the  tops  of  willows,  on  which  account  it  is  never  found,  especially 
during  winter,  but  in  such  places  as  can  afford  it  a  plentiful  supplj^  of 
its  favourite  food.  It  is  also  fond  of  swimming  in  water.  Hence  its 
remains  are  so  frequently  found  in  the  marl  bogs  of  Lecale, 


THE  BARONY  OF  DUFFERIN. 


fHE  small  barony  of  Dufferin  has  an  area  of  17,208  acres 
and  contains  part  of  the  civil  parishes  of  Killyleagh  and 
Killinchy.  "  The  eastern  edge,"  says  the  Parliamen- 
tary Gazetteer,  "  possesses  the  intricacy  of  land  and  water, 
the  profusion  of  islets  and  little  peninsulas,  common  to  a 
large  portion  of  the  shores  of  Lough  Strangford  :  the  southern 
border  is  washed  by  the  Ballynahinch  river  ;  and  the  interior 
is  diversified  by  the  large  lake,  called  Lough  Clay,  and  by 
several  smaller  lakes  and  loughlets."  The  surface  was 
formerly  covered  with  irregular  woods  and  almost  impervious 
coppices,  and  was  named  by  the  Irish  Duihhthrian — the  black 
third,  or  district.     According  to  the  Book  of  Rights 

"  The  stipend  of  the  King  of  the  fine  Duibhthrian  is 
Two  rings,  ten  steeds,  ten  shields. 

Ten  sciugs  (^horse  trappings)  which  fatigue  not  on  an  expedition. 
And  ten  ships  on  Lough  Cuan  (Strangford  Lough)." 

This  stipend  was  due  to  him  from  his  superioi',  the  King  of 
Uladh,  while  on  the  other  hand 

*'  Three  hundred  oxen  from  Duibhthrian  are  due. 
And.  three  hundred  cows  with  their  distended  udders  to  the  king  " 

of  TJladh  as  a  tribute.  Dufferin  is  said  to  have  belonged  to 
the  MacAi-tans,  but  it  was  seized  on  by  De  Courcy  and  his  fol- 
lowers as  a  part  of  their  conquest,  and  became  the  patrimony 
of  the  Mandevilles,  it  subsequently  passed  into  the  possession 
of  the  MacQuillins.  This  race  proved  themselves  stout  op- 
ponents to  the  Clannaboy  O'Neills,  who  in  the  14th  century 


BARONY  OF  DUFFERIN.  341 

led  a  band  of  the  Kinel-Owen  to  conquer  and  colonize  the 
most  fertile  districts  of  Down  and  Antrim.  The  Four  Masters 
record  A.D.  1433  "A  great  war  between  the  Kinel-Owen 
and  the  Kinel-Connell  ;  and  O'Donnell  marched  with  his 
forces  into  Duibthrian  to  assist  MacQuillin.  O'Neill,  i.e. 
Owen  set  out  with  a  great  army  in  pursuit  of  O'Donnell 
and  MacQuillin ;  and  MacDonnell  of  Scotland  arrived 
at  the  same  time  with  a  large  fleet,  and  went  to  where 
O'Neill  was  to  aid  him.  The  Scots  proceeded  to  attack  the 
creaghts  (cattle  and  moveable  property)  of  MacQuillin 
and  Robert  Savadge,  worsted  them,  and  caused  great  slaugh- 
ter and  loss  of  men  upon  MacQuillin  and  Robert;  and  those 
that  made  their  escape  from  Duibthrian  were  almost  all 
cut  off  at  the  Pass  of  Newcastle."  After  this  O'Neill 
and  MacDonnell  proceeded  to  Ardglass,  which  they  burned. 
In  the  year  1444  Hugh  Boy  O'Neill,  the  chieftain  of  the 
Clannaboy,  "  who  had  planted  more  of  the  lands  of  the  Eng- 
lish, in  despite  of  them,  than  any  other  man  of  his  day  " 
died  "  having  vanquished  the  world  and  the  devil,"  and  his 
relatives,  the  O'Neills  of  Tyrone,  who  seem  to  have  been 
jealous  of  the  Clannaboy  colony,  after  his  death  "  marched 
with  a  numerous  army  to  plunder  and  destroy  the  Clann- 
Hugh-Boy ;  Murtough  Roe  O'Neill,  Henry  O'Neill,  Mac- 
Quillin, and  all  their  auxiliaries  assembled  to  oppose  this 
army  in  the  territory  of  Duibhthrian.  They  cut  a  passage 
through  the  wood,  in  the  direction  they  conceived  they  (the 
enemy)  would  approach  them.  O'Neill  with  his  forces  ad- 
vanced to  this  naiTow  passage,  when  the  others  charged 
them  and  slew  MacDonnell  Galloglagh,  who  was  in  the  rear 
of  the  army  amongst  the  baggage.  The  army  became  much 
discouraged  at  this,  so  that  they  delivered  up  to  the  sons  of 
Mac-I-Neill-Boy  (the  chief  of  Clannaboy)  all  such  hostages 
as  they  chose  to  select     ....     on   condition  of  being 


342  DOWK    AND    CONNOR. 

permitted  to  return  home  through  the  passage  already  men- 
tioned," A.D.  1470  "  A  great  army  was  led  by  O'Neill  (of 
Tyrone)  into  Clannaboy  to  assist  MacQuillin  of  Duibhthrian; 
and  Mac-I-Neill-Boy  (tlie  chief  of  the  Clannaboy)  set  out  to 
take  a  prey  from  MacQuillin,  On  this  occasion  MacQuillin, 
aided  by  the  powerful  alliance  of  O'Neill  of  Tyrone  proved 
too  powerful  for  the  Clannaboy  ;  and  O'Neill  of  Tyrone 
"took  the  castle  of  Sgath-deirge  (now  Sketrick  Island), 
which  he  delivered  up  into  the  keeping  of  MacQuillin."  The 
Four  Masters  record,  A.D.  1503,  Randall  More  MacDoniiell 
"  Constable  of  the  Scotchmen  of  Ireland  died  in  Duiblithrian 
—  Uladh  (of  Ulidia)."  Histoiy  does  not  inform  us  how  the 
MacQuillins  obtained  Dutferin  from  the  MandevilJes 
or  liow  it  afterwards  passed  into  the  possession  of  the 
Whites.  Sir  Thomas  Cusack  in  a  letter  to  the  Duke 
of  Northumberland,  dated  8th  May,  1552,  says  "The 
next  to  that  country  is  the  Doufrey,  whereof  one  John  Whit 
was  landlord,  who  was  deceitfully  murdere<l  by  M'Ranyll'* 
boy  his  sonne,  a  Scot ;  since  whereof  he  is  able  to  disturb 
the  countries  next  adjoining,  on  every  side,  which  shortly 
by  God's  grace  shall  be  redressed.  The  same  country  is  no 
great  circuit,  but  small,  full  of  woods,  water,  and  good  land, 
meet  for  Englishmen  to  inhabit."  Brewer's  Calend.  Carrero 
MSS.  Marshal  Bagenal  in  his  Description  of  Ulster,  A.D. 
1586,  says  "  Diffrin,  sometymes  th'  enheritance  of  the 
Mandevilles,  and  nowe  apperteyninge  to  one  White,  who  is 
not  of  power  sufficient  to  defend  and  manure  the  same, 
therefore  it  is  usurped  and  inhabited  for  the  most  parte,  by 
a  bastard  sort  of  Scottes,  wlio  yield   to  the  said  White  some 

*  The  leader  of  the  Scots  settled  in  Dufferin  and  Lecale  was 
Alexander  Macranald  Boy  MacDonnell,  so  called  from  the  descent  of 
himself  and  his  clan  from  Randal  Ban,  second  son  of  John  Mor 
MacDonnell  and  Margery  Byset.     .See  HilVs  MacDonnells. 


BARONY  OF  DUFFERIN.  343 

small  rent  at  their   pleasure.     The  countx-ey  is  for  the  most 
parte   wooday  and  lieth  tippon  the  Loghe,  which  goeth   out 
at  the  haven  of  Sti-angford,     There  are  of  these  bastarde 
Scottes  dwelling  here  some   sixty  bowmen  and  twenty  shot, 
which  ]yve  most  upon  the  praie  and  spoile  of  their  neigbours." 
Ulster  Journ.  ArcJueoL     An  Inquisition,  taken  at  Ardquiu, 
July  Ith,  1605,  finds  that  Patrick  White  of  Flemington,  in 
]Meath  was  seized  of  the  lands  and  castles,  and  the  advowsou 
of  tlie  churches  in  Dufferin.     The  castles  were   Bally caslan- 
williara,  Kilaleigh,  Rindoffrin  alias  Meylerton,  Eathgorman, 
Casclanegays.     Tn   July   1610,  John  White,   the  then  pro- 
prietor, and  his  son  Nicholas  assigned  these  lands,  castles  and 
advowsons  to  Sir  James  Hamilton,  subject  to  the  rent  of 
£40  and  the  Crown  rent  of  6s.  8d.,  except  the  townland  of 
Maymore  previously  assigned  to  Patrick  M'Nabb  and  Patrick 
M'Cresscan,  whose  interest  Sir  James  also  purchased.     Half 
a  century  after  that,  a  circumstance,  fortunate  for  the  Hamil- 
tons,   fi-eed   them  from   the  chief  rent,  as  appears  from  the 
following  inquisition.     "  Downpatrick,   9th   April,   1662 — 
Christopher   Whyte,  of  Kariugston,  in  County  Louth,  was 
seized  as  of  fee  of  a  certain  chief  rent  of  £40  from  the   ter- 
ritory of  the   Dufferin,  in   County  Down ;  also  of  a  certain 
debt  of  £40  sterling,  which  both  were  due  to  the  aforesaid 
Christopher  Whyte  by  the  late  Viscount  Claneboy,  for  which 
the  aforesaid  Christopher  was   to  receive  £60  yearly  for  his 
interest :  And  being  so  seized  the  aforesaid  Christoper  Whyte 
30     .     .     .      1642,   at  Killileagh,  in  the   County  aforesaid, 
and  at   divei-s  other   places   in  the  aforesaid  County,  was  in 
actual  rebellion,  and  continued  in  the  same  rebellion,  till  the 
10th    September,    1648,   and    afterwards    died:    by   reason 
Avhereof  the  premises  have  devolved  upon  King  Charles,  that 
now  is.     The  aforesaid  King  by  his  letters  patent  under  the 
Great  Seal  of  Ireland,  granted   all  the  premises  to   Henry  ' 


344  DOWN   AND   CONNOE. 

(Hamilton),  now  Earl  of  Clanbrazil,  and  his  heirs."  Ham- 
ilton MSS.  The  DufFerin  property,  except  portions  leased 
or  sold,  still  remains  in  the  representatives  of  the  Hamiltons, 
Lord  Dufferin  and  Captain  Hamilton  of  Killyleagh  Castle. 


The  remains  of  many  of  the  residences  and  forts  known  as  Rath, 
Dun,  Lis,  and  Cathair  (pronounced  Cahir),  still  exist  throughout 
Ireland,  some  of  which  helong  to  the  most  remote  antiquity.  The 
Rath  was  a  simple  circular  wall  or  enclosure  of  raised  earth,  enclosing 
a  space  of  more  or  less  extent,  in  which  stood  the  residence  of  the  chief, 
and  sometimes  the  dwellings  of  one  or  more  of  the  officers  or  chief  men 
of  the  tribe  or  court.  Sometimes  also  the  Rath  consisted  of  two  or 
three  concentric  walls  or  circumvallations  ;  but  it  does  not  appear  that 
the  erection  so  called  was  ever  intended  to  be  surrounded  with  water. 
The  Dun  was  of  the  same  form  as  the  Rath,  but  consisting  of  at  least 
two  concentric  circular  mounds  or  walls,  with  a  deep  trench  full  of 
water  between  them.  These  were  often  encircled  by  a  third,  or  even  a 
greater  number  of  walls,  at  increasing  distances  ;  but  this  circumstance 
made  no  alteration  in  the  form,  or  in  the  signification  of  the  name. 
Dun  is  defined  in  a  vellum  MS.  on  Gaedhlic  law  thus  :  "Dun,  i.e., 
two  walls  with  water."  This  definition  would  apply  to  any  mearing 
formed  of  a  wet  trench  between  two  raised  banks  of  earth.  The  Dun 
and  Rath  had  small  chambers  excavated  under  the  ground  within  the 
enclosing  rampart.  These  chambers  vary  in  size,  but  are  usually  nine 
or  ten  feet  long,  three  or  four  broad,  and  three  or  four  feet  high.  The 
entrance  is  very  narrow,  and  similar  narrow  passages  connect  the 
several  chambers  with  each  other.  These  chambers  correspond  with 
the  earth-houses  of  the  Norse,  and  were  intended  as  places  to  hide 
valuables,  and  perhaps  as  places  of  refuge.     See  O'Curry's  Lectures. 


PARISH  OF  SAINTFIELD. 


(liJjfpj^HE  Parish  of  Saiiitfiekl  includes  tlie  civil  parishes  of 
pilf  Killinchy,  Tullynakill,  Kilmood,  Saintfield,  Killaney, 
a  part  of  Comber,  and  a  nnniber  of  islands  in  Lough  Strang- 
ford,  which  belong  to  the  civil  parish  of  Ardkeen.  It  had 
in  1871  a  population  of  1,270  Catholics. 

In  the  townland  of  Rathgorman,  in  the  civil  parish  of 
Killinchy,  formerly  stood  a  chapel,  of  which  a  portion  of  the 
wall,  about  eight  feet  high,  remains.  It  is  not  improbable 
that  it  was  the  church  of  Kilscalan  (church  of  St.  Caelan  or 
Mochay);  fi'om  an  entry  in  the  "Regal  Visitation  Book"  for 
1633,  it  appears  that  John  Bole  was  rector  of  "  Kilscalan  et 
Ringhady."  The  burial  ground,  which  was  attached  to  the 
chapel  of  Rathgorman,  was  under  cultivation  when  Dr. 
Reeves  was  compiling  his  "  Ecclesiastical  Antiquities."  Close 
to  the  chapel,  on  a  small  earthern  mound,  stood  the  Castle 
of  Rathgorman,  which  formerly  belonged  to  the  family  of 
White,  who  were  possessed  of  the  advowson  of  the  churches 
of  Killinchy,  Ringhaddy,  Killandreas,  and  Killyleagh. 

On  the  peninsula  of  Ringhaddy  (Rinn-fhada — the  long 
point),  near  the  Anglo-Norman  castle,  are  the  remains  of  a 
church,  measuring  45  by  24  feet.  In  the  Taxation  of  Pope 
Nicholas  "  the  church  of  Rencady"  was  valued  at  40s.  The 
Terrier  says  "  Ecclesia  de  Rinchadie  pays  in  Proxies  5s., 
Refections  5s.,  Synodals  2s." 

Dunsy  Island,  containing  thirty-three  acres,  lies   outside 


346  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

Ringhaddy,  in  Strangfoi'd  Lougli.  "  The  island,"  says  Dr. 
Reeves,  derives  its  name  from  an  Irish  saint,  who  is  thus 
commemorated  in  the  calendar  of  the  O'Clery's,  at  the  5th 
of  August. 

Dunsheath,  a  virgin,  at  Loch  Cuan,  in  Ultonia. 

Primate  Swayne's  Registry,  A.D.  1427,  makes  mention  of  a 
Gilbert  M'Gean,  as  rector  of  Kilduncy,  in  the  diocese  of 
Down.  There  is  no  ecclesiastical  buUdiag  upon  the  island, 
nor  the  tradition  that  such  ever  existed  there,  but  there  can 
be  little  doubt  that  the  spot  Avas  held  sacred,  as  large  num- 
bers of  human  bones,  indicative  of  a  cemetery,  were  dis- 
covered within  the  memory  of  those  alive,  on  and  around  the 
site  occupied  by  a  farm  house. 

Sketerick  Island,  which  is  now  joined  to  the  mainland  by 
a  causeway,  seems  at  one  time  to  have  had  a  church,  for 
human  bones  have  been  found  in  a  field  adjoining  the  castle 
in  such  quantities  as  to  indicate  a  cemetery.  In  the  same 
held  is  an  ancient  well,  shaded  by  a  large  thorn.  The  Four 
Masters,  at  the  year  1470  record  that  a  gi-eat  army  was  led 
by  the  O'Neill  into  Clannaboy  to  assist  MacQuilliu.  "O'Neill, 
on  this  occasion  made  a  prisoner  of  Art,  the  son  of  Donnell 
Gael  O'Neill,  and  took  the  Castle  of  Sgath-Deirge  (Sketrick), 
which  he  delivei-ed  up  into  the  keeping  of  MacQuillin." 
(See  Barony  of  Dufferiti.)  The  ruins  of  this  castle  stand 
on  the  western  side  of  the  island,  and  are  in  height  57  feet ; 
length,  51  feet;  breadth,  27  feet ;  and  in  thickness  of  walls, 
4|-  feet.  The  Terrier  has  the  following  entry  : — "  To  the 
bishop,  a  chief  rent  on  the  Castle  of  Scatrick  of  14d."  In 
the  Return  of  the  See  Lands  ordered  by  Parliament  in  1833, 
Francis  Savage  is  returned  as  lessee  of  the  "  tithes  gi-eat  and 
small  of  the  thirteen  islands  of  Scatrick,  situate  in  the  lough 
between  Strangford  and  Newtown"   at  the  rent  of   19s.  4t^d. 


PARISH  OF  SAINTFIELD.  347 

— "  no  lease."  This  island  lias  passed  by  purchase  into  the 
possession  of  the  Harrison  family,  and  is  at  present  the  pro- 
perty of  Richard  Harrison,  Esq.,  of  Holywood  House,  as  a 
portion  of  the  Ardkeen  Estate. 

Killinchy  (the  Church  of  the  island)  seems  to  have  received 
its  name  at  a  period  when  the  surrounding  lands  were 
covered  with  water.  The  site  of  the  ancient  church  is  oc- 
cupied by  the  modern  Protestant  church.  The  festival  of 
St.  Ailltin,  bishop  and  virgin  of  Kill-innsi ;  and  of  St. 
Caomh,  virgin  of  Kill-innsi,  was  celebrated  on  the  1st  of 
November.  In  the  Taxation  of  Pope  Nicholas  "  the  church 
of  Kilwyinclii"  was  valued  at  20s.,  and  the  Terrier  reports 
of  it  "  Ecclesia  de  Killinshy  in  machern — the  parson  pays  in 
Proxies  16s.,  in  Refections  16s.,  in  Synodals,  2s.  It  was 
called  "  Killinchenemaghery"  (cill  inse  an  mhachaire — island 
church  of  the  plain)  to  distinguish  it  from  "  Killinchy  in 
the  woods."  The  lands  of  Killinchy  belonged  formerly  to 
the  See  of  Down.  In  1622  the  Protestant  bishop  complained 
"  Item  Killinsey  and  some  other  landes  in  the  Duffren  are 
possessed  by  Sii'  James  Hamylton,  Knight,  albeit  they  be 
contayned  in  the  Bps  old  recordes." 

The  townland  of  Drumreagh  (the  grey  ridge)  in  the  west 
of  the  civil  parish  of  Killinchy  "  contains"  says  Dr.  Reeves, 
"an  ancient  burial  place  called  '  Killkeeran,'  almost  exclusively 
used  by  Roman  Catholics  of  the  district,  and  principally  by 
the  Murrys,  an  ancient  family,  whose  habitant  is  the  ad- 
jacent townlands  of  Carrickmannon,  Magherascouse,  Money- 
greer,  and  Ravarra."  This  church,  under  the  name  of  "the 
Church  of  Drumcro,"  was  valued  in  the  Pope  Nicholas  Tax- 
ation at  4  marks.  All  traces  of  it  have  disappeared,  and  it 
seems  to  have  been  disused  even  before  the  so-called  Reform- 
ation, for  it  is  not  mentioned  in  the  Terrier.     In  the  gi-ave- 


348  DOWN  AND  CONNOR, 

yard  stands   a  large  flag-stone,  about  whicli  several  mythic 
stories  are  told.* 

*  As  it  is  important  to   preserve  every  remnant  of  folk-lore  the 

following  is  one  of  the  legends  regarding  the  stone  : — In  times  long 

ago,  there  lived  a  great  cat  at  Clough.     The  old  name  of  Clough  was 

Cloghmaghrecat  which  antiquarians  (see  parish  of  Bally kinlar,  &c.,) 

say  is  tlie  stone  at  the  fort  of  the  battle,  but  the  people  persist  in 

translating  it  the  stone  of  the  field  of  the  cat.     This  cat  devastated  the 

country  killing  men  and  cattle,  and  there  was  no  one  sufficiently 

courageous  to  encounter  the  monster  until  a  chief  named  O'Roney 

determined  to  kill  the  cat,  or  perish  in  the  attempt.     Mounted  on  a 

war-house,  he  roused  it  from  its  lair  in  Cloghmaghrecat,  it  fled  before 

him  and  he  only  overtook  it  at  Drumreagh,  where  the  track  of  the 

hoof  of  his  war-horse  is  yet  impressed  on  the  large  stone.     He  cut  off 

the  cat's  head  at  Ballykin— the  town  of  the  head — dragged  its  body 

through    the    ford    of    Annaghcat — the    marsh   of    the    cat — and 

disembowelled  it  at  Drumbulg — the  h  ill  of  the  belli/.     This  seems  the 

remnant  of  the  old  legend  told  in  the  Ossianic  ballad  7Vie  Hunt  of 

Sliabh   Truim.     The  renowned  Fionn  MacCumhaill  led  his  Fenian 

host  from  Sliabh  Truim — the  mountain  now  called  "Bessy  Bell" — 

to  Lough  Cuan  or  Strangford  Lough  to  do  battle  with  a  monster 

(p'last)  that  dwelt  there,  "  larger  than  any  tree  in  the  forest  were  its 

teeth,"  "  wider  than  the  gates  of  a  city  were  the  ears  of  the  monster" 

and  "  taller  than  the  tallest  eight  men  was  its  tail  erect  above  its 

back."     Before  attacking  it  Fionn,   having  in  true  Homeric  style 

asked  its  name  and  race,  received  an  answer  in  equally  courteous 

Irish  that  it  was  the  son  of  Crom  of  the  rock  and  its  name  was  Ard- 

na-g-cat — the  king  of  the  cats — .     The  battle  then  commenced,  and 

the  monster  swallowed  "heroes  clad  in  armour,  it  swallowed  Fionn 

in  the  midst  of  them."     Fionn,  however,  sword  in  hand,  cut  a  passage 

out  for  himself  and  his  Fenians  and  killed  the  king  of  the  cats.  Ossianic 

Soc.  Vol.   VI.     Mr.    O'Kearney  in  Vol.  II.  of  the  same  publication, 

gave  a  County  Louth  version  of  the  story.     According  to  it  there 

was  at  Clogh-magh-righ-cat  a  stone,  which  had  the  power  of  giving 

oracular  responses,  but  every  one  consulting  it  was  warned  to  adhere 

strictly  to  the  truth.     At  length  there  came  a  Louth  farmer,  named 

O'Callan,  seeking  information  about  a  mare  he  had  lost,  which  he 

described  as  being  in  foal,  and  instantly  had  the  following  angry  and 

insulting  response  in  Irish  poetry  : — 

Thou  of  the  bare  and  toothless  gums. 
Thou  of  the  peevish  drizzly  nose  : 
Pursue  down  to  Triuch 
Thy  hoofy  mare  whii;h  is  without  a  foal. 


PARISH  OF  SAINTFIELD.  349 

Mahee  Island,  an  insulated  portion  of  the  civil  parish  of 
Tiillynakill,  lies  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  mainland. 
The  island  contains  176a.  3r.  38p.,  and  is  almost  divided 
into  two  parts,  which  are  connected  by  an  isthmus  ;  the 
larger  part  is  a  long  narrow  strip,  and  the  smaller  is  some- 
what oval  in  figure,  and  corresponds  with  the  ancient  des- 
cription "  Oendruim,  that  is,  one  hill  is  the  entire  island." 
The  island  has  been  called  "  n-Oendi'uim"  by  our  ancient 
annalists,  Nendi'um  by  Colgan,  and  Neddrum  in  the  early 
English  Charters.  The  Irish  Itinerary  of  Father  Edmund 
MacCana,  written  about  the  year  1645,  says — "  Lough  Cuan 
itself,  or  the  narrow  strait  at  its  mouth,  separates  Lesser 
Ards,  from  the  territory  of  Locale.  In  this  very  delightful 
lake,  there  are  most  lovely  islands  scattered  over  its  sui'face, 
among  which  is  one  sacred  to  St.  Mochay.  By  the  way,  I 
should  mention  that  there  is  an  island  in  this  lake  which 

No  sooner  had  the  response  been  given  than  the  oracular  stone  split  in 
twain,  with  a  tremendous  crash,  and  a  large  cat  walked  out.  O'Callan, 
provoked  by  the  bitter  invective,  drew  his  sword  and  killed  the  royal 
cat.  A  century  ago  the  legend  was  so  popular  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  dough — where  the  honour  of  killing  the  cat  was  invariably 
ascribed  to  O'Roney — that  Mount  Panther  was  named  from  the 
monster.  This  species  of  cat  lore  is  probably  connected  with  some 
pagan  superstitions,  which  our  forefathers  held  in  common  with 
the  Egyptians  and  other  nations.  O'Callan  is  associated  with  the 
legend  only  on  account  of  his  name,  which  in  Irish  is  O'Cathlain, 
and  O'Roney,  because  of  the  assumed  similarity  of  his  name  with  that 
of  Caoilte  MacRonan,  the  companion  of  Fionn.  The  O'Eoneys  gave 
name  to  the  parish  of  Drum-ballyroney — the  ridge  of  0' Honey's  town. 
They  supplied  one  bishop  to  Dromore  and  many  priests  to  Dromore 
and  to  Down.  The  Four  Masters  at  the  year  1376  record  the  death  of 
Eoin  Ua  Ruanadha  (pronounced  O'Rooany)  chief  poet  to  Magennis  : 
and  A.D.  1079  "  Ceallach  Ua  Ruanaidh,  chief  poet  in  Ireland  in  his 
time  died."  An  Inquisition  taken  at  Downpatrick  found  that  "Hugh 
O'Rony  "  held  certain  lands  under  Hugh  Magennis  Viscount 
Iveagh. 


350  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

rises  like  a  mound,  called  Dun-na-n-giull,*  that  is,  the  Fort 
of  the  Hostages  ;  there,  as  tradition  says,  were  kept,  the 
Hostages  which  Niall  the  great  exacted  of  foreign  nations." 
Mahee,  though  so  intimately  associated  with  our  ancient 
hagiology,  has  since  the  days  of  Father  MacCana,  been  com- 
pletely lost  sight  of  by  writers  on  our  ecclesiastical  antiquities. 
Archdall  sxipposing  that  Noendrum  was  a  different  place  from 
Neddrum,  conjectured  that  the  latter  is  the  Copeland  Island, 
while  he  declared  his  inability  to  identify  the  former,  but 
Dr.  Lannigan  supposed  Noendrum  to  be  an  ancient  name  for 
Antrim.  Both  Neddrum  and  Noendi'um  are,  how  ever,  only 
different  forms  intended  to  represent  the  n-Aondrum  of  the 
Irish.  The  Taxation  of  Pope  Nicholas  IV.  enabled  Dr.  Reeves 
to  set  conjecture  aside,  for  that  ancient  document  places 
"  Ecclesia  de  Nedrum"  between  Kilwyinchi  (Killinchy)  and 
Kilmode  (Kilmood).  That  learned  antiquarian,  in  company 
with  the  late  Guy  Stone,  Esq.,  of  Comber,  from  whom  he 
had  received  the  earliest  information  concerning  the  ecclesias- 
tical remains  on  Mahee,  visited  the  island  in  the  Autumn  of 
1844.  He  gives  in  his  Ecclesiastical  Antiquities,  page  196, 
the  following  interesting  description  of  the  place  : — "  The 
-western  extremity  of  the  island,  Avhich  is  somewhat  of  the 
shape  of  a  mallet  head,  rises  from  the  water  edge,  by  a  gentle 
slope,  to  the  elevation  of  sixty-six  feet.  The  ascent  is  inter- 
rupted by  three  oval  enclosures,  which,  somewhat  like  tei-- 

*  It  is  now  called  Dunnyneill,  and  is  included  in  the  civil  parish 
of  Killyleagh.  Harris  describes  it  as  "a  round  island  like  a  Danish 
fort."  The  name  which  signifies  "  Fort  of  the  Hostages,"  renders  it 
extremely  probable  that  it  had  been  used  as  a  place  of  confinement 
in  early  times,  and  the  tradition  preserved  by  J^'ather  MacCana,  that 
in  it  were  confined  the  hostages  which  Niall  of  the  Nine  Hostages  ex- 
acted from  nine  conquered  nations,  is  very  interesting,  but  it  is 
not  at  all  likely  that  Niall  would  have  confined  his  hostages  in  the 
territory  of  the  Ultagh  so  hostile  to  his  family.  One  of  the  raths  at 
Tara  is  called  Dumha-na-n-giall  {the  Mound  of  the  Hostages.) 


PARISH  OF  SAIXTFIELD.  351 

races,  gii'd,  in  succession  the  crown  of  the  hill.  The  outer- 
most and  lowest  is  in  part  defaced  by  cultivation,  but  enough 
remains  to  ascertain  that  it  was  of  an  oval  shape  with  the 
long  diameter  lying  north  and  south.  The  second  ring, 
which  is  nearly  concentric,  about  thirty  yards  higher  up,  is 
better  marked.  The  tliii-d,  wliich  encompasses  a  level  space 
about  seventy  yards  in  diameter,  approaches  nearer  to  the 
figure  of  a  ciixle,  and  is  placed  in  the  upper  part  of  the  large 
oval  formed  by  the  outer  rings.  Near  the  centre  of  this 
platform  stood  the  church,  of  which  nothing  but  the  founda- 
tions remains.  On  clearing  away  the  rubbish,  it  was  found 
that  they  measured  58  feet  4  inches  in  length,  and  22  feet 
4  inches  in  breadth.  The  gable  walls  were  3  feet  thick, 
and  the  side  walls  3  feet  4  inches.  The  building  stood 
E.N.E.*  At  the  west  end  were  two  shallow  buttresses, 
formed  by  the  continuation  of  the  side  walls  beyond  the  west 
angles.  Several  skeletons  were  fomid  during  the  examin- 
ation in  or  about  the  site  of  the  chui-ch.  At  the  distance 
of  forty-tkree  feet  to  the  N".  W.  stand  the  remains  of  a  Round 
Tower,  about  nine  feet  high.  The  diameter  inside  is  6  feet 
6  inches  ;  outside,  at  the  base,  about  1 4  feet.  It  is  built  of 
undressed  stones,  very  firmly  cemented  together  by  grouting. 
Judging  from  its  diameter,  it  is  probable  that  the  height  of 
this  tower  was  below  the  middle  standard  ;  but  even  with  a 
modei'ate  addition  to  the  elevation  of  the  site,  its  upjjer  story 
would  command  a  view  of  nearly  the  whole  length  of  Strang- 
ford  Lough.  Within  the  inmost  enclosures  are  several 
traces  of  foundations  of  buildings,  but  so  indistinct  that  no 
satisfactory  opinion  could  be  foi'med  of  their  original  design. 

*  Such  a  defection  from  the  exact  east  is  not  uncommon  in  ancient 
churches,  and  is  supposed  to  some  to  have  been  regulated  so  as  to 
correspond  with  the  point  of  the  sun's  rising  on  the  morn  of  the  day 
which  was  commemorative  of  the  patron  saint. 


352  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

Outside  the  enclosux'es,  on  the  east,  is  a  well  artificially  closed 
in.  At  the  foot  of  the  eminence  on  which  the  church  stands, 
to  the  east,  is  a  ci'eek,  which  appears  to  have  been  the  usual 
landing  place.  Here  are  the  remains  of  rude  stone  works  ; 
and  this  is  probably  the  "  portus  insulae  coram  monasterio," 
in  which,  according  to  the  biogi-apher  of  St.  Finian  above 
quoted,  certain  ships,  which  had  come  from  Britain,  arrived. 
It  is  to  be  observed  that  the  rings,  which  compass  this  ven- 
erable spot  belong  to  that  species  of  enclosure  which  is 
technically  called  a  cashel.  Such  a  fence  may  be  infei-red  from 
Adamnan's  expression,  "  Vallum  monasterii"  to  have  girt 
the  establishment  at  Hy,  and  such  is  expressly  stated  by 
Bede  to  have  surrounded  the  church  and  monastery  of  the 
island  of  Lindisfarne,  which  were  erected  by  an  Irishman 
from  Hy,  and  most  likely  after  the  model  of  the  parent  in- 
stitution. The  historian,  in  his  life  of  St.  Cudbert,  states 
that  the  building  was  "  Situ  pene  rotundum,  a  mm-o  usque 
ad  murum  mensura  quatuor  ferme  sive  quinque  perticarum 
distentum"  and  that  it  was  constructed  "  impolitis  prorsus 
lapidibus  et  cespite."  In  this  manner  it  was  that  the  Cashel 
suiTounding  the  church  of  Dundesert  was  formed  with  stones 
— "  e  quibus  quidam  tantae  erant  granditatis,  ut  vix  a  qua- 
tuor viris  viderentur  potuisse  levari" — regularly  set  in  the 
earthen  bank.  In  the  present  case  the  substance  of  the 
vallum  was  earth,  which  was  in  part  at  least  faced  with 
stones.  The  object,  however,  of  the  three  concentric  rings 
could  not  have  been  what  Bede  states  the  circumvallation 
of  Lindisfarne  was  designed  to  accomplish:  "  to  restrain  the 
eye  and  the  thought  from  wandering,  when  nothing  could  be 
seen  by  the  pious  inmate  except  the  heavens  above  him  ; 
but  was  either  intended  for  increased  security,  or  as  a  com- 
pliance with  an  established  style  of  enclosure  which  was 
peculiar  to  the  country." 


PARISH  OF  SAINTFIELD.  353 

Mahee  Island,  or  Inis-Mochaoi,  is  so-called  from  its  patron" 
saint,  Mochay,  who  was  at  first  called  Caolan.  This  Mochay 
is  described  in  the  ancient  biographies  of  St.  Patrick  as  a 
favourite  disciple  of  that  great  missionary.  Aengus's  tract 
"  de  Matrihus  Sanctorum  Hibernise"  says,  "  Bronach, 
daughter  of  Milcon,  with  whom  Patrick  was  in  captivity, 
was  the  mother  of  Mochay  of  Aendrum."  The  circumstance 
of  his  conversion  is  related  as  follows : — As  the  saint 
journeyed  from  Saul  to  Bright  to  convert  an  important  per- 
sonage, named  Bos,  who  resided  in  the  latter  place,  he  saw 
a  youth  herding  swine  and  preached  to  him.  The  boy  at 
once  obeyed  the  divine  call  and  was  baptised,  and  having 
learned  all  that  was  necessary  with  a  rapidity  which  could 
only  be  attributed  to  a  supernatural  gift,  was  ordained  a 
priest,  or,  as  the  Irish  Tripartite  Life  tells  it;  "  As  Patrick 
was  then  on  his  way,  he  saw  a  tender  youth  herding  swine, 
Mochae  his  name.  Patrick  preached  to  him  and  baptised 
him,  and  gave  liim  a  copy  of  the  Gospels  and  a  reliquary." 
The  conversion  of  Mochay  or  Caolan  occured  before  St. 
Patrick  went  to  Tara,  and  we  cannot  assign  to  it  a  later  date 
than  433.  Mochay  was  then  a  "  tender  youth,"  that  is,  we 
may  suppose,  about  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  of  age ;  he  must 
therefore,  have  been  born  about  the  year  420,  and  as  the 
Annals  of  Ulster  have  recorded  his  death  at  the  year  496, 
though  the  true  date  is  497  as  given  in  the  Annals  of 
Tighernach,  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  assign  the  year  450  as 
the  foundation  of  the  church  of  Mahee.  That  little  island 
soon  became  not  only  the  seat  of  piety,  but  also  of  education. 
Colman,  the  founder  of  Di'omore,  and  Finian,  the  founder  of 
Moville,  studied  under  Mochay.  The  ancient  biographer  of 
St.  Colman  tells  the  follo^ving  story  regarding  his  school-days 
in  Mahee  : — "  After  this  he  was  handed  over  by  his  parents 
to  the  holy  Caylan,  the  Abbot  of  Nendrum,  to  learn  letters 

X 


354  DOWN    AND    CONNOH. 

under  him ;  he  diligently  taught  him  and  impressed  good 
morals  on  him.  And  as  he  was  progressing  in  age  and  good 
morals  on  a  certain  day  when  he  had  committed  his  task  to 
memory,  he  asked  the  Father  Abbot  what  he  ought  to  do 
besides.  The  spiritual  father  replied — Break  into  little 
pieces  that  rock,  over  which  the  brothers  stumble  when  they 
are  going  to  Matins.  This  he  preformed  by  making  in  the 
first  place  the  sign  of  the  cross  upon  it.  A  second  time  he 
inquired  what  more  he  should  do.  The  Abbot  asked 
him — have  you  done  what  was  told  to  you  1  He,  who  pro- 
fessed true  humility,  answered — God  indeed  has  done  it. 
Caylan  said — Throw  the  fragments  of  the  stone  into  the  sea 
close  by.  This  he  did,  with  angels  assisting  him.  From 
this  circumstance,  those  fragments  reunited  together  by 
Divine  power  are  called,  Colman's  Rock."  No  doubt,  some 
rock  along  the  coast  of  the  island  is  the  subject  of  this  curious 
legend,  but  as  the  descendants  of  the  ancient  Irish  have  been 
long  since  banished  from  that  locality  all  the  ancient  tradi- 
tions have  perished.  St.  Mochay,  as  a  schoolmaster,  seems 
to  have  followed  the  advice  of  King  Solomon,  "  He  that 
spareth  the  rod  hateth  his  son."  So  at  least  it  would  seem 
St.  Colman,  his  pupil,  thought,  as  the  following  incident 
related  of  St.  Finian  in  the  old  life  published  by  CapgraA^e 
in  the  Legenda  Anglije,  sufficiently  indicates.  "  After  this, 
on  the  arrival  of  Colman,  the  docile  boy  is  given  to  him  to 
be  taught.  He  instructed  him  for  years  in  all  obedience  and 
humility.  It  happened  once  whilst  the  blessed  bishop  raised 
his  hand  to  strike  on  some  account  with  the  rod  the  holy  boy, 
who  was  engaged  reading,  an  angel  of  the  Lord  caught  the 
hand  and  held  it  i-aised  up  in  the  air.  At  this  event,  Finian 
prostrating  himself  on  the  gi-ound  said — My  father  why  do 
you  not  strike  me'?  and  he  answered —  Child  I  wish  to  do  that 
but  I  am  prevented  by  a  Divine  influence,  if  you  then  desire 


PARISH  OF  SAINTFIELD.  355 

to  be  beaten  (flagellar!)  you  must  go  to  another  master,  for 
from  this  hour  I  never  will  correct  you.  And  he  sent  him 
to  Caelan,  the  abbot  of  Noendrum,  and  he  carefully  com- 
mended him,  that  he  should  have  a  care  for  his  body  and 
his  soul.  But  he,  looking  on  the  countenance  of  the  youth 
said — This  boy  never  shall  be  my  disciple,  for  truly  in 
heaven  and  on  earth  he  far  surpasses  me  in  honour  and  in 
merit,  for  he  will  be  a  bishop  renowned  for  wisdom  and 
conspicuous  for  religion  and  holiness.  On  hearing  this, 
Finian,  moved  with  a  prophetic  spirit  said — without  delay 
you  shall  see  one  come  hither,  whom  I  will  follow,  and  under 
whom  I  will  learn,  who  will  assist  me  in  all  my  difficulties. 
And  lo  !  the  ships  in  which  was  the  very  holy  bishop,  by 
name  Nennio,  with  his  people  coming  out  of  Britain,  entered 
the  harboiir  in  front  of  the  monastery.  After  these  were 
received  with  joy  and  honour,  the  above  mentioned  fathers 
(Colman  and  Mochay)  with  all  diligence  commend  the  youth 
to  the  venerable  bishop.  He  sailed  with  him,  on  his  return 
to  his  own  coimtry,  and  in  his  place,  which  is  called  the 
Great  Monastery,  the  good  monk  learned,  diu'ing  some  years, 
the  rules  and  institutions  of  the  monastic  life,  and  he  applied 
himself,  with  no  little  success,  to  the  pages  of  the  sacred 
Scriptures,  and  through  the  invocation  of  the  name  of  Christ, 
he  performed  many  mh-acles."  See  Book  of  Hymns.  The 
holy  bishop  who  took  charge  of  the  young  Finian  was  one 
of  the  successors  of  St.  Ninian  in  the  celebrated  monastery 
of  Candida  Casa  or  Whiterne  in  Galloway,  and  the  harho\ir 
at  Mahee,  where  he  landed  and  whence  they  sailed,  is 
probably  in  the  state  in  which  it  was  fourteen  hundred  years 
ago. 

St.  Mochay  was  both  an  abbot  and  a  bishop;  the  old  Lives 
of  St.  Patrick  relate  that  the  national  apostle  raised  him  to 
the  episcopal  dignity  and  bestowed  on  him  a  crozier,  which 


356  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

was  in  after  times  called  "the  flying  crozier,"— JJ^eac 
Mocluti — whicli  was  long  preserved  in  Mahee  and  be- 
lieved to  have  been  sent  from  Heaven  to  him  on  a  certain 
day,  as  he  was  receiving  instructions  from  St.  Patrick. 
The  circiunstance  is  thus  related  in  the  Irish  Tripartite, 
"And  he  gave  him  also  another  time  a  hacliall,  which 
had  been  given  them  from  God — viz.,  its  head  into 
Patrick's  bosom,  and  its  end  into  Mochay's  bosom,  and 
this  is  the  Detach-Mochae  (the  flying  crozier  of  Mochay) 
of  Noendrum."  Jocelin  relates  that,  "he  profited  much  the 
Ohm-ch  of  God  by  his  conversation  and  by  his  example ;  and 
being  renowned  in  virtues  and  in  miracles,  was  called  to 
Heaven  and  he  was  buried  in  that  church  wherein  he  had 
worthly  sei'ved  the  Lord."  The  Annals  of  Tighernach  record 
his  death  at  the  year  493,  though  under  the  year  496,  the 
Annals  of  the  Four  Masters  enter  "  Mochay  Abbot  of  Nen- 
(Iram,  died  on  the  twenty-third  day  of  the  month  of  June." 
His  name  is  thus  commemorated  in  the  Martyi'ology  of 
Aengus  on  the   23rd   of   June,   the    day   of   his    festival.* 

*  The  Calendar  of  Aengus,  and  that  of  the  O'Clery's  gave  a  legend 
concerning  the  longevity  of  St.  Mochay,  the  founder  of  Nendnim, 
that  he  was  charmed  by  the  singing  of  a  bird  for  150  years. 

"  Mochaoi  Abbot  of  n-Aondruim,  in  Uladh,  Caolan  was  his  first 
name,  Bronach  daughter  of  Miliuc,  son  of  Buan,  with  whom  Patrick 
was  in  captivity,  was  his  mother.  He  went  with  seven  score  young 
men  to  cut  wattles  to  make  a  church.  He  himself  was  engaged  at 
the  work,  and  cutting  timber  like  the  rest.  He  had  his  load  ready 
before  the  others,  and  he  kept  it  by  his  side.  As  he  was  so,  he  heard 
a  bright  bird  singing  on  the  blackthorn  (droighen)  near  him.  He 
was  more  beautiful  than  the  birds  of  the  world.  And  the  bird  said, 
"  This  is  diligent  work,  0  cleric,"  said  he.  "  This  is  required  of  us 
in  building  a  church  of  God,"  said  Mochaoi.  "Who  is  addressing 
me"  said  Mochaoi,  "  A  man  of  the  people  of  my  Lord  is  here,"  said 
he,  i.e.,  "an  angel  of  God  from  Heaven;"  "Hail  to  thee,"  said 
Mochaoi,  "And  wherefore  hast  thou  come  hither?"  "  To  address 
thee  from  the  Lord,  and  to  amuse  thee  for  a  while.  "  "  T  like  this,  " 
said  Mochaoi.     He  afterwards  fixed  his  beak  in  the  feathers  of  his 


PARISH  OF  SAINTFIELD.  357 

"  The  renowned  and  prosperous  champion  of  Noendrum, 
I  celebrate"  on  which  there  is  the  following  gloss  : — "  i.e. — 
Mochoe  of  Oendi'iiim  in  Delvin,  or  nine  hills  that  are  in  the 
place  wherein  is  his  church.     Or  Oendruim,  i.e.  one  hill,  is 

wing.  Three  hundred  years  did  Mochaoi  remain  listening  to  him, 
.having  his  bundle  of  sticks  by  his  side,  in  the  middle  of  the  wood, 
and  the  wood  was  not  the  more  withered,  and  the  time  did  not  seem 
to  him  longer  than  one  hour  of  the  day.  The  augel  afterwards  bade  him 
farewell.  He  went  then  to  the  church,  having  his  wattles  with  him, 
and  he  saw  an  oratory  in  the  church,  which  had  been  erected  for  his 
soul  by  his  people.  He  wondered  at  the  church  which  he  saw.  He 
went  then  to  the  residence,  and  none  of  them  knew  each  other,  until 
he  himself  told  his  stories  to  them,  and  how  he  was  treated  by  the 
bird.  When  they  heard  this,  they  all  knelt  to  him ;  and  they  made  a 
shrine  of  the  wood,  and  they  afterwards  built  the  church  at  that  place ; 
i.e.,  the  place  where  he  was  listening  to  the  bird  ;  of  this  the  follow- 
ing was  said  :  — 

"  A  sleep  without  decay  of  the  body, 

Mochaoi  of  Aendi'ium  slept : 

Of  the  people  of  the  congregation  where  the  gage  n  a» 

He  did  not  find  but  the  descendants. 

Three  melodies  of  delightful  music 

The  angel,  in  the  shape  of  a  bird,  sang, 

In  the  middle  of  the  wood,  at  the  foot  of  the  tree. 

Fifty  years  each  melody  lasted.  " 
The  curious  legend  is  common,  under  various  forms,  to  every 
branch  of  the  Indo-European  family  of  nations  ;  Mr.  Kennedy  has 
given  one  version  of  it,  "  The  Music  of  Heaven,  "  in  the  "Fireside 
Stories  of  Ireland  ; "  a  somewhat  similar  story  is  given  by  Mr.  Camp- 
bell as  told  in  the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  while  most  of  our  readers 
are  acquainted  with  it  in  Washington  Irvine's  beautiful  legend  of 
Sleepy  Hollow.  The  present  is  perhaps  the  oldest  written  version  of 
the  legend.  The  origin  of  the  present  legend  seems  to  be  that 
St.  Mocua,  who  died  A.D.  644,  was  mistaken  for  St.  Mochay,  who 
died  A.D.  496.  According  to  the  story,  the  bird  sang  on  the 
blackthorn  tree,  Draighean,  and  there  was  afterwards  a  church  built 
on  the  spot.  It  is  remarkable  that  one  of  the  townlands  in  the  imme- 
diate vicinity  of  Mahee  is  called  Ballydrain  (Bailedreahin — the  town 
of  the  blackthorn  tree).  It  is  probable  that  there  was  once  a  church 
in  it,  the  origin  of  which  being  forgotten  when  the  legend  was  first 
told,  was  thus  accounted  for  by  the  story-teller.  I  have  not,  how- 
ever, as  yet  been  able  to  discover  any  trace  of  a  church  in  Ballydrain. 


358  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

the  entire  island,  and  in  Loch  Cuan  (Strangford  Lough)  it 
is."  TJssher  states  on  the  authority  of  the  writer  of  his  Acts 
that  St.  Mochay  was  promoted  from  the  Abbey  of  Nendrum 
to  the  See  of  Down,  and  hence  "Ware  makes  him  the  first 
bishop  of  that  See.  The  Acts,  or  Life,  to  which  Ussher 
refers,  are  unfortunately  no  longer  accessible,  and  it  is 
therefore  impossible  to  say  whether  this  was  stated  by  that 
author  as  a  fact,  and  not  rather  as  a  probable  conjecture. 
However,  be  this  as  it  may,  St.  Mochay  was  succeeded  by  a 
long  line  of  successors,  who,  combining  the  abbatical  with 
the  episcopal  dignity,  ruled  for  many  centuries  the  see  of 
Nendrum,  until  it  finally  merged  into  that  of  Down.  But 
it  would  seem  that  the  See  of  Down  at  all  times  exercised 
some  superiority  over  that  of  Nendrum,  or  at  least  exacted 
a  tribute  from  it.  Jocelin  states,  "And  as  Patrick  had  ad- 
vanced this  man  (St.  Mochay)  from  the  care  of  swine,  into 
the  episcopate,  a  swine  is  yearly  taken  from  that  territory, 
and  paid  into  the  Church  of  Down."  The  same  circumstance 
is  related  in  the  ancient  Irish  Tripartite  "  And  Mochay 
promised  Patrick  a  shorn  pig  every  year.  And  this,  indeed, 
is  still  given." 

One  of  the  contemporaries  in  Mahee  of  St.  Mochay  was 
"  St.  Duirthect,  of  Aendrium,"  whose  festival  was  observed 
in  Mahee,  on  the  16th  May.  He  was  a  brother  of  Ros  of 
Bright  and  of  Dichu  of  Saul. 

A.D.  638,  "  St.  Critan,  of  Aendrium,  died  on  the  seven- 
teenth of  May"  (Four  Masters).  The  Martyi'ology  of  Donegal 
calls  him  "  bishop." 

A.D.  642,  "St.  Cronan  Beg,  Bishop  of  Aendrium,  died  on 
the  7th  of  January"  (Four  Masters).  St.  Cronan  is  one  of 
"the  most  learned  and  most  holy"  ecclesiastics  to  whom  the 
clei'gy  of  Rome  addressed  a  letter  on  the  Paschal  controversy, 
which  is  preserved  by  Bede,  in  his  "Hist.  Eccl.  Lib.,"  2.  c,  19. 


PARISH  OF  SAINTFIELD.  359 

A.D.  644,  Mocliua  of  Nendrum  rested  in  Christ"  (Tiger- 
nach).  The  festival  of  St.  Mochumma  was  held  in  the 
Church  of  Mahee  on  the  31st  of  January. 

A.D.  658,  "  Cummine,  Bishop  of  Aendruim  died"  (Four 
Masters).  His  festival  was  held  in  the  ancient  church  of 
Mahee  on  the  1st  of  July. 

A.D.  673,  "The  rest  of  Moraind,  Bishop  of  JS'endrum." 
It  is  probable  that  this  Bishop  Moran  gave  name  to  the 
church  of  Kilmore  in  the  diocese  of  Down,  which  was 
formerly  called  "  Kilmore  Moran,"  and  was  a  mensal  of  the 
bishops.  A  townland  of  Killinchy,  a  parish  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Mahee,  is  called  Ballymorran.* 

A.D.  682,  "  Maine  Abbot  of  Aendruim,  died"  (Four 
Masters). 

A.D.  730,  "  St.  Oegheatchair,  Bishop  of  Aendruim,  died" 
(Fo;ir  Masters). 

A.D.  750,  "  Sneithcheist,  Abbot  of  Aendruim,  died"  (Four 
Masters). 

A.D.  871,  "  Colman,  bishop,  scribe,  and  abbot  of  Aen- 
druim, died"  (Four  Masters).  This  is  the  last  entry  in 
which  our  Annals  call  the  successor  of  Mochay  "  bishop," 
:but  as  the  superiors  of  Mahee  combined  the  offices  of  bishop 
and  abbot,  the  annalists  may  have  styled  them  by  the  latter 
designation. 

A.D.  917,  "  Maelcoe,  Abbot  of  Aendruim,  died"  (Four 
Masters). 

A.D.  974,  "  Sedna  Ua  Demain,  Abbot  of  Aendi-uim  was 
burned  in  his  own  house"  (Four  Masters).  This  is  the  last 
entry  regarding  the  Church  of  Mahee  in  our  native  annals. 
Dr.  Reeves  thinks  that  it  is  probable  that  it  was  pillaged 
and  demolished  soon  after  by  the  Danes,  whose  ships  were 

*  King  John  on  las  march  from  Holywood  to  Downpatrick  encamped 
at  "  Balimoran"  on  the  31st  of  July,  and  the  1st  of  August,  1210. 


360  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

continually  floating  in  Strangford  Lough.  Sir  John  de 
Courcy  having  acquired  his  Earldom  of  Ulster  by  bloodshed 
and  rapacity,  distinguished  himself  by  munificence  to  re- 
ligious institutions  in  England,  which  were  willing  to  lend 
their  assistance  in  j^erpetuating  his  conquests,  liy  sending 
portions  of  their  communities  to  take  possession  of  ancient 
Irish  foimdations.  De  Courcy's  knights  imitated  then-  lord 
in  bestowing  on  English  ecclesiastics  a  portion  of  their  un- 
justly acquii'ed  possessions,  and  they  found  in  the  Bishop  of 
Down,  Malachy  III.,  a  weakness  of  character  which  enabled 
them  to  make  him  a  pliant  instrument.  An  ancient  roll 
preserved  among  the  Cotton  Charters  in  the  British  Museum 
says — *'In  the  year  1179  Lord  John  de  Curcy  gave  the 
land  of  Neddrum  to  the  monastery  and  the  monks  of  St. 
Bega  of  Coupland."  This  is  now  called  St.  Bees,  on  the  coast 
of  Cumberland,  where  an  Irish  virgin  and  saint  founded  a 
monastery  about  the  year  650.  The  name  of  this  sainted 
Irish  woman  was  Begogh,  which  has  been  perpetuated  under 
the  form  of  St.  Bees.  In  the  reign  of  Henry  I,  William  de 
Meschiens,  Lord  of  Copeland,  endowed  a  priory  at  St.  Bees, 
from  which  a  colony  of  monks  were  sent  to  Mahee.  Dr. 
Reeves  has  given,  Eccl.  Antiq.,  p.  190,  Charters  in  their 
original  Latin  from  a  roll  of  the  1 3th  century,  now  presei'ved 
in  the  British  Museum.  Some  of  them  were  published  in 
the  Monasticon  Anglicanum. 

THE  CHARTER  OF  JOHN  DE  COURCY. 

"  Be  it  known  to  all  men,  as  well  present  as  to  come,  that  I,  John 
De  Courcy,  have  granted  and  given  and  by  this  my  charter  have  con- 
firmed to  God  and  to  St.  ]\Iary  of  York,  and  to  St.  Bega  of  Coupland, 
and  to  the  monks  there  serving  God,  in  free,  and  pure,  and  perpetual 
alms,  two  parts  of  a  certain  island,  which  is  called  Neddrum,  and  two 
parts  of  the  town  of  the  same  island,  and  two  parts  of  all  the  benefices 
which  are  founded  in  the  same  island,  and  the  entire  church  itself  to 
praise  God  in  it.  And  two  parts  of  all  the  lands  belonging  to  the 
same  church,  as  well  in  towns  as  in  country,  and  in  other  easements. 


PARISH    OF  SAINTFIELD.  361 

But  the  third  part  as  well  of  the  benefices  of  the  said  church,  as 
tof  the  forementioned  island  and  of  foresaid  lands,  Malachy,  Bishop 
of  Down,  shall  keep.  Moreover,  I  grant  and  give  to  said  monks  in 
Duffien  the  whole  of  that  land  which  was  that  of  the  Gillanhar 
(probably  Ballyglighorn,  in  the  parish  of  Tullynakil),  with  its 
appurtenances  in  wood  and  plain,  in  meadows  and  pastures,  in 
churches  and  in  mills,  in  pools  and  in  banks,  in  ways  and  in  paths, 
in  waters  sweet  and  salt,  in  islands  and  ports,  in  fisheries  and 
fishings,  in  salt  works  and  in  wrecks  of  the  sea,  wheresoever  they  be 
found  in  the  forenamed  land. 

Also,  I  have  granted  to  the  same  monks,  sok*  and  sac,  tack,  and  iol 
and  them,  and  Infangtlief ;  and  all  the  liberties  which  monks  have  in 
England  over  their  lands  and  men.  This  alms  truly  I  have  given, 
for  the  honour  of  God,  to  the  forementioned  monks,  for  the  salvation 
of  my  own  soul,  and  for  the  salvation  of  the  souls  of  my  father  and 
mother  and  of  all  my  ancestors,  free  and  quiet  from  every  secular  ex- 
action, that  I  and  my  heirs  be  partakers  of  all  the  alms  and  prayers  and 
all  the  good  .  .  .  done  in  the  Abbey  of  St.  Mary  of  York,  and  in  the 
house  of  St.  Bega  Virgin  .  .  .  Moreover,  be  it  known  that  fore- 
said monks  shall  have  from  this  forward  in  my  woods  .... 
shall  be  necessary  for  building,  and  for  burning,  and  for  ^Dasture  for 
their  cattle  and  horses  ....  in  like  manner  without  fee  and 
without  any  annoyance  and  hindrance  from  my  foresters.  More- 
over, I  have  confirmed  by  this  my  charter  to  the  foresaid  monks  all 
their  lands  and  possessions,  which  I  and  my  men  in  alms  have  given 
or  shall  give  for  ever,  &c.  These  being  witnesses  (Regi)  naldus 
Bishop  of  Dalnard  (Connor),  Maurice,  Abbot  of  Bangor,  Patrick 
Richard,  son  of  Robert,  Roger  de  Cestria,  Adam,  the 
chamberlain  (Camerario),  &c." 

THE  CHARTER  OF  OURDaN  DE  <JDRCI  FOR  FIFTEEN  CARUCaTES. 

"  Be  it  known,  &c.,  that  I  have  given  to  St.  [Mary  of  York,  and 
to  St.  Bega,  and  to  the  Monks  there]  serving  God,  [the  tythes  of  all 
the  lands]  belonging  to  me  and  15  carucates of  land — viz.,  in  .  .  . 
and  a  carucate  in  Lechayel,  these  being  witnesses     ...     of  Down, 

"  Sok  is  a  word  signifying  liberty  of  jurisdiction,  hence  Soca  is  a  seigniory  having 
liberty  to  try  the  Sockmen,  the  tenants  whose  tenure  was  termed  Socage — Sac  is  the 
Saxon  word  for  cause,  hence  the  English  word  Sake— as  for  whose  sr;ke.  The  law 
term  was  used  to  express  the  power  of  hearing  cases.  Tacfc  is  not  explained  in  the 
law-dictionaries  ;  it  seems  to  have  been  the  power  of  imposing  a  tax.  I'ol,  now  Toll, 
payment  in  markets  for  liberty  to  sell  goods  in  them.  Them. — A  duty  or  acknow- 
ledgment paid  by  inferior  tenants  in  respect  of  their  Theame,  or  power  of  adjudging 
them,  their  children,  bondmen,  and  neifs  (bondwomen).  Infangthef  is  compounded 
of  three  Saxon  words  ;  the  preposition  in,  fang  or  fong,  to  catch,  and  the/e,  a  lobber  : 
it  signifies  a  privilege  of  judging  any  thief  taken  within  their  fee. 


362  DOWN  AND  CONNOK. 

Adam,  Abbot  of  Ynes ;  William,  Prior  of  St.  Patricks  ;  John  Cap 
.     .     .     [Adam]  the  Chamberlain  ;    William,  the  Clerk  :  Henry 
Clemens  Malaehy  of     .      .      .      Eoger  of  Dunseforthe  ;    John  the 
clerk,  the  writer  of  this  charter." 

THE  CHARTER  OF  ROGER  OF  DUNESFORD. 
"Be  it  known  to  those  present  and  to  come  that  I,  Roger  of 
Duneseforthe,  with  the  counsel  and  consent  of  my  wife,  and  of 
Thomas,  my  heir,  have  granted  and  given,  and  by  this  my  present 
charter  have  confirmed  to  God,  and  to  Holy  Mary  of  York,  and  to 
the  monks  of  Neddrum  there  serving  God,  the  Church  of  Anelor,* 
with  all  its  appurtenances,  and  with  a  carucate  of  land  that  lies 
between  the  grove  and  the  town,  and  all  the  other  churches  and 
donations  of  churches  of  all  my  land — to  wit,  of  the  fee  of  ten  soldiers, 
except  the  Church  of  Dunseford,  freely  and  quietly  of  me,  and  of  my 
heirs,  in  pure  and  perpetual  alms,  for  the  salvation  of  my  lord,  John 
de  Courcey,  who  conferred  on  me  this  land  and  liberty,  for  my  own 
salvation  and  that  of  my  wife,  and  my  heirs,  and  of  all  my  ancestors 
and  successors.  And  that  this  my  donation  may  obtain  the  strength 
of  perpetuity,  I  have  corroborated  it  with  the  impression  of  my  seal. 
Now  I  have  granted  this  charter  to  God,  and  to  the  Church  of  St. 
Mary,  of  York,  and  to  the  monks  of  Neddrum,  in  the  year  of  the 
Incarnation  of  the  Lord,  1194,  in  the  chapter  of  York,  when  I  entered 
the  brotherhood  and  society.  These  being  witnesses  -Thomas,  my 
heir ;  Walter  de  Bovinton,  Turgis,  son  of  Turgis,  (Fitzturgis  ?)  ; 
Richard,  son  of  Eustace,  (FitzEustace  ?)  ;  Robert  Bachiler,  Osbert 
Portarius  (the  porter?)  ;  John  Albus,  John,  the  cook;  Pagan,  the 
butler;  Radulf  de  Longavilla,  and  many  others." 

CHARTER  OF  BRIEN  DE  ESCHALERS. 
"  Know  all  who  shall  see  or  hear  these  letters,  that  I,  Brien  de 
IJschallers,  have  given  and  granted,  and  by  this  my  present  charter 
have  confirmed  to  God,  and  to  the  Blessed  Mary  of  York,  and  to  St. 
Bega,  and  to  the  monks  of  Neddrum  in  that  place  serving  God,  one 
carucate  in  Balichatlan  :  to  wit,  that  which  is  nearer  to  Balidergan,+ 
ill  all  the  easements  belonging  to  the  same  land,  free  and  quiet  from 
all  earthly  service,  in  pure  and  perpetual  alms,  for  the  salvation  of 
the  soul  of  my  lord,  John  De  Courcy,  and  for  the  salvation  oimy  own 
soul,  and  those  of  my  wife,  and  of  my  heirs,  and  of  my  parents. 
This  land  I  and  my  heirs  will  warrant  against  all  men.     These  being 

*  Dr.  Reeves  thinks  that  Anelor  may  be  Killaney,  which  in  some  documents  ii 
called  Anaghlone.     It  might,  however,  be  looked  for  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Duni- 
fort,  in  some  swampy  place  ; — eanach,  pronounced  annagh,  a  swamp, 
t  See  Parish  of  Bright. 


PARISH    OF    SAINTFIELD.  363 

witnesses — My  lord,  John  De  Courcy,  Richard,  son  of  Robert  (Fitz- 
Robert  ?),  the  butler,  Elias  the  Prior,  William  my  son,  and  many 
others." 

THE  CHARTER  OF  MALACHY  BISHOP  OF  DOWN. 
"  Be  it  known  to  all  men,  &c.,  that  I,  Malachy,  by  the  grace  of 
God,  Bishop  of  Down,  not  being  compelled  by  any  one,  but  through 
devotion  to  the  Lord,  by  spontaneous  will  have  given,  &c  ,  to  the 
monks  of  St.  Bega  the  Church  of  Neddrum,  together  with  two  parts 
of  all  the  possessions  and  benefices  of  the  same  Church,  &c.,  but  the 
third  part  I  retain  in  my  own  hand,  not  exacting  at  any  time  any- 
thing from  the  forementiotied  monks  out  of  the  other  two  parts. 
This  grant  I  have  mide  in  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Trinity  of  Down, 
in  presence  of  Lord  John  de  Courcy,  in  presence  of  Reginald,  Bishop 
of  Dalnard  (Connor  j,  in  presence  of  Uroneca  Bishop  of  Uvehe  (O'Roney 
Bishop  of  Dromore)  and  in  presence  of  Patrick,  Abbot  of  Saul,  and  in 
Ijresence  of  the  Prior  of  St  John's  of  Down,  and  of  William,  Prior  of 
St.  Patrick's,  and  of  John,  the  Bishop's  chaplain,  of  Herward,  the 
chaplain,  of  Jurdan  de  Courcey,  of  Joceline  de  Angulo  (Nangle  ?),  of 
Roger  de  Costa,  of  Richard  son  of  Robert,  (FitzRobert  ?)  Roger  Hert, 
Adam  Camerarius,  Richard  the  clerk,  Roger  de  Dunseford,  and 
Adam  Portarius." 

THE   CONFIRMATION    OF   THE   ARCHBISHOP. 

"To  all,  &c.,  Eugene,  by  the  Grace  of  God,  Archbishop  of  Armagh 
and  Primate  of  All  Ireland,  health  in  the  Lord.  Let  the  world  know 
that  we  have  confirmed,  &c.,  to  our  beloved  son  Walran,  the  monk, 
Prior  of  Neddrum,  and  to  his  successors,  an  agreement  made  between 
him  and  Lord  Malachy,  Bishop  of  Down,  concerning  the  town  of 
Neddrum,  as  well  as  concerning  the  church  of  the  same  town,  &c., 
these  being  witnesses,  the  Lord  John  de  Curci,  the  Lord  R. 
Bishop  of  Down,  W.  Prior  of  St.  Patrick's.  E.  Prior  of  St.  Andrew's, 
in  the  Ards,  and  many  others." 

This  confirmation  seems  to  have  been  made  about  the  year  1213, 
when  Eugene  MacGillivider  was  Primate,  and  Ralf  was  Bishop  of 
Down.  There  is  also  preserved  among  the  charters  a  similar  con- 
firmation made  by  Thomas  or  Tomultach  0 'Conor,  who  was  Primate 
from  1185  till  1201. 

THE  CONFIRMATION  OF  THE  CARDINAL  LEGATE. 

John,  by  the  Divine  commiseration.  Cardinal  priest  of  the  title 

St.  Stephen  in  Coelio-monte,  Legate  of  the  Apostolic  See,  to  our  dear 

son  Walran,  Prior  of  Neddrum,  and  to  his  successors,  health  and 

benediction.     It  is  right  and  agreeable  to  reason,  that  with  more 


364  DOWN    AND    CONNOR. 

ample  care  and  solicitude  we  should  cherish  religious  men,  whom  we 
know  to  be  daily  engaged  in  the  Divine  Offices,  and  that  we  ought 
to  promote  their  petitions  as  much  as,  through  the  assistance  of  God 
we  are  able ;  wherefore,  beloved  son  in  the  Lord,  we  clemently  assent 
to  your  just  postulations,  and  we  receive  your  person  and  your  suc- 
cessors under  the  protection  of  the  Blessed  Peter,  and  of  our  Lord 
the  i'ope,  and  our  own,  and  in  this  matter  we  fortify  you  by  the 
protection  of  this  writ.  Decreeing  that  the  possessions,  lands,  towns, 
&c.,  and  the  goods  which  from  the  concession  of  the  noble  man  John 
de  Courcy,  or  other  good  men  you  justly  and  peaceably  possess,  or 
in  future,  the  Lord  giving,  you  be  able  to  obtain  by  just  means,  may 
remain  to  you  and  to  your  successors  firm  and  untouched.  In  these 
letters,  we  have  thought  that  these  things  should  be  expressed  by 
their  proper  names — the  place,  to  wit,  in  which  your  house  is  situated. 
Of  the  gift  of  said  John  de  Courcy,  a  church  built  in  an  island  which 
is  called  Neddrum,  with  two  parts  of  the  same  island,  and  with  two 
parts  of  the  whole  land,  which  belongs  to  the  same  church,  and  the 
whole  of  that  land  which  was  Ciillanharna  (now  Ballyglighorn)  in 
Duffran,  and  three  islands  in  Lochwene  (Lough-Cuau),  the  names  of 
which  are,  Scatra,  llaynche,  and  Crafne  (Sketrick,  K,anish,  and 
Trasuagh).  Of  the  gift  of  Jurdan  de  Courcy  xv.  Carucates  of  land, 
with  the  tithes  of  his  house.  Of  the  presentation  of  Helias  de 
Cestria,  the  Church  of  Ballmer — in  which  is  built  his  castle,  with 
all  the  ecclesiastical  benelices  belonging  to  the  same  Church,  and 
one  carucate  of  land  in  the  same  town  of  the  gift  of  Baldwin.  Of 
the  presentation  of  Richard  "  Masculus"  all  the  churches  and  chapels 
of  his  land,  which  he  has  iu  Ultonia,  from  the  gift  of  his  lord,  John 
de  Courcy,  and  of  other  persons,  as  well  in  CleneUdretJi  (perhaps 
Kinelarty),  as  in  Lesmochan  (the  name  of  a  portion  of  Bally kinlar). 
and  in  other  places,  with  all  the  ecclesiastical  benefices  belonging  to 
the  same  churches  aud  chapels.  And  one  carucate  of  land  in  Thwetk 
which  is  called  Clenesperth,  of  the  gift  of  Stephen  Locard.  Of  the 
gift  of  Eoger  de  Croft,*  and  of  Gilbert,  his  brother,  two  carucates  of 
land.  We  decree,  moreover,  that  it  be  not  lawful  for  anyone  to 
molest  your  persons,  to  diminish,  subtract,  or  in  anything  to  disturb 
your  rents,  possessions  and  goods,  but  that  they  all  remain  entire  and 
untouched,  to  be  for  the  uses,  iu  every  way,  of  those  for  whose  care 
and  sustentation  they  were  collated.  We  grant  also  to  you,  that  in 
ail  the  lands,  iu  which  by  the  concession  of  the  bishops,  you  canon- 
ically  possess   ecclesiastical   benefices,    it  may  be   lawful   for  you, 

*  Tbe  Registry  of  Muckamore  recites  a  grant  of  one  carucate  of  land  in  "Dalii.^ch" 
(somewhere  near  Templepa trick,  Co,  Antrim),  which  wa«  called  Karnrey,  made  to 
the  abbey  by  Galfridus  de  Croft. 


PARISH    OF    SAINTFIELD.  365 

in  all  things  freely  to  possess  them,  reserving  in  every  respect  the 
authority  of  the  apostolic  see  and  the  canonical  rights  of  the  bishop 
of  the  diocese.  To  no  man  at  all,  therefore,  is  it  lawful  to  infringe 
this  deed  of  our  protection  and  confirmation,  or  by  vain  daring  to 
oppose  it.  If,  however,  any  person  shall  presume  to  attempt  this, 
let  him  know  that  he  shall  incur  the  indignation  of  the  Almighty 
God,  and  of  His  Apostles,  the  Blessed  Peter  and  Paul,  of  the  Lord 
Pope,  and  ours.  In  the  year  of  the  Lord,  MCII.  (should  be  MCCIL), 
and  in  the  fifth  year  of  the  pontificate  of  the  Lord  Pope  Innocent  III., 
in  the  present  9th  day  of  the  month  of  June.  Given  at  Down. 
"FROM  THE  BULL  OF  POPE  HONORIUS. 
' '  Honorius,  Bishop,  servant  of  servants,  to  our  dear  children,  the 
Abbot  and  Convent  of  St.  Mary  of  York,  health,  &c.  We,  by 
apostolic  authority,  specially  confirm  to  your  monastery  the  cell  of 
Neddrura,  with  the  chapel  of  the  town  of  Hugh  de  Logan,*  and  the 
land  of  Baligauan.  Given  at  Alatri,  the  Ides  of  June,  in  the  6th 
year  of  our  pontificate,  and  in  the  6th  year  of  the  reign  of  King 
Henry  in." 

Not-withstanding  these  charters  and  privileges  the  priory- 
seems  to  have  had  but  a  short  period  of  prosperity.  The 
wars  carried  on  in  the  reign  of  Henry  III.  between  the  King 
and  his  barons,  so  weakened  the  power  of  England,  that  the 
colony  in  Ireland  being  to  a  great  extent  left  to  its  o-wn 
resources,  soon  felt  itself  unable  to  resist  the  natives.  It 
was  then,  no  doubt,  that  the  English  monks  established  at 
Mahee,  finding  that  they  were  considered  by  the  natives  as 
a  portion  of  the  foreign  colony,  and  being  placed  at  an 
unprotected  outpost,  gladly  relinquished  their  monastery 
and  its  rich  possessions.  The  island  and  the  lands  adjacent 
to  it  reverted  to  the  bishop,  while  the  more  distant  posses- 
sions passed  into  various  hands.  At  the  period  of  the  Taxation 
of  Pope  Nicholas,  "  the  Church  of  Nedrum"  -was  valued  at 
'^  seven  marks,"  and  seems  then  to  have  been  only  a  parish 

*  In  the  Taxation  of  Pope  Nicholas  III.  "  the  Church  of  Hugh  de  Logan"  seems 
to  occupy  the  place  of  Temple  Patrick  ;  in  tlie  parish  of  Temple  Patrick,  is  a  town- 
land  called  Kilmakee,  which  Dr.  Reeves  says  is  explained  "the  Church  of  the  son 
of  Hugh."  It  is  more  probable  that  it  is  "the  Church  of  Mochay,"  and  that  it  ia 
the  chapel  mentioned  in  the  Bull.  BaUiigauan  seems  to  be  Ballygowan,  in  the  oiril 
parish  of  Comber. 


366  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

church.  In  the  account  of  the  receipts  from  the  See  lands 
of  Down  during  the  interval  between  March  4,  1305,  and 
July  1st  of  the  same  year,  rendered  into  the  Exchequer  by 
the  Escheator,  Walter  de  la  Hay,  he  returns  "  ^11  2s.  2d. 
of  the  rent  of  the  lordship  of  Edroum  (Neddrum  or  Mahee) 
of  the  farms,  prizes,  services,  and  of  the  Thorn  Castle  (de 
Casti'o  Spinarum)  and  of  the  town  of  the  Irish  for  the  same 
term,  and  29s.  of  the  i-ent  of  the  free  tenants  there  for  the 
same  tei*m."  Jhorn  Caafle  seems  to  have  been  intended  as 
a  translation  of  Bally  drain  (Baile-draighin — the  town  of  the 
blackthorn),  the  townland  from  which  the  manor,  which 
extends  over  the  parish  of  Tullynakil,  is  called  in  the 
Ulster  Inquisitions  "  Ballydreene,  alias  Island-Maghie." 
The  Town  of  the  Irish  seems  to  be  a  translation  of  Baile- 
na-n  Gaedhal  (pronounced  Ballynaneal) ;  there  is  not  now 
any  townland  in  the  parish  of  that  name,  but  there  is  one 
named  Pdngneal — (the  point  of  the  Irish).  From  Primate 
Sweteman's  Register  it  appears  that  the  primate  as  guardian 
of  the  See  of  Down  vacante  sede  collated  on  the  21st  of 
February,  A.D.  1365,  John  Haket  to  the  parish  church  of 
Nedrum  and  in  Primate  Mey's  Register  Patrick  "  McNycoll" 
is  mentioned  as  "Rector  de  Nedrym"  in  the  year  1450. 
The  Terrier  describing  the  state  of  the  parish  at  the  period 
of  the  "  Reformation,"  says — "  Ballidrene — one  mensal. 
The  curate  pays  in  proxies,  5s.  ;  refections,  5s.  ;  synodals, 
2s."  Tlie  same  document  states  that  the  bishop  was  seized 
of  "  Island  Magee  (Mahee),  with  tlu-ee  other  islands  on  the 
sea  lying  about  them — in  the  mane  land  Ballyadrean,  with 
fourteen  other  towns  temporals  and  spirituals."  Though  the 
Protestant  Bishop  had,  according  to  law,  become  possessed 
of  the  manor  as  having  belonged  to  the  ancient  bishops,  yet 
the  natives  were  not  deteiTed  by  any  fear  of  sacrilege  from 
appropriating  his  lordship's  rights.     An  Inquisition   taken 


PARISH    OF    SAINTFIELD.  367 

at  Tullynakill  on  the  13th  of  October  in  the  15th  of  James 
I.  found  that  "  Menyman  was  seized  of  the  said  manor  of 
Ballydreene,  in  right  of  his  said  bishoprick,  and  was  also 
seized,  as  of  fee,  of  the  to■w^lland  of  Ballymartyn  as  part  of 
the  said  Manor,  The  sept  or  family  called  Slut  M'Henry 
Keyes  did  lately  expulse  and  disseize  the  said  bishop  out  of 
the  whole  Manor  aforesaid  in  tyme  of  warre  and  rebellion. 
There  are  no  rents,  duties,  customes,  or  services 
due  to  the  king  out  of  the  said  Manor  of  Ballindreene,  oi- 
out  of  any  land  thereto  belonging."  This  Slut  M'Henry 
Keyes  seems  to  have  l)een  Sliocht  Enri  Caoich — tribe  of 
Henry  the  Blind,  a  branch  of  the  Clannaboy  O'Neills,  who 
had  several  centuries  earlier  driven  from  Di-umbo  into  the 
same  district  the  Slut  Kellies,  a  tribe  of  the  Dal-Fiatach. 
The  Kellys  are  still  somewhat  numei'ous  in  this  district,  but 
haAdng  been  surrounded  by  Presbyterians,  and  not  having 
had  priests  among  them,  they,  together  with  the  Loughlins 
and  O'Prays  have  abandoned  the  ancient  creed  of  their 
race. 

Near  the  old  castle,*  a  number  of  earthren  sepulchral  urns 
were  found,  and  a  circular  cemetery  was  discovei-ed  at  the 
distance  of  a  few  perches  from  Mr.  Johnston's  house,  close 
to  the  avenue  leading  up  to  it.  Mr.  Johnston  found  the 
fragment  of  a  gravestone,  on  which  is  inscribed  a  cross  of 
the  date  of  the  seventh  or  eighth  century;  he  has  also  found  - 
ancient  glass  beads  and  some  coins  of  the  Edwards. 

*  There  is  preserved  in  the  State  Paper  OfBee,  Whitehall,  London,  a 
petition  of  "  Captayne  Browne  to  the  Right  Honorable  Lord  of 
Burley.  Right  Honorable, — I  doo  humbly  crave  your  honors  favour, 
and  do  beseech  the  same  to  have  consideration  of  my  case,  in  this 
respect  that  I  was  the  first  of  our  nacyon  that  did,  in  a  dangerous  and 
rebellyous  time,  Turlough  Lenoghe  then  invading  that  country,  sett 
downe  in  the  wast  place  of  Clandeboye,  in  the  North  of  Irelande 
uppon  the  lande  of  the  Bisshopp  of  Downe,  called  Ilande  Machye, 
with  his  appurtenance,  being  VIII.  townes,  as  by  their  names  may 


368  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

The  Tripartite  Life,  in  relating  the  labours  of  St.  Patrick, 
in  Dalaradia,  says  that  he  founded  a  church  in  "  Hua- 
Dercachein,  which  is  called  Rath-Easpuic  lunic  from  Bishoi> 
Vinoc  whom  he  placed  over  it."  Sister  Cusack,  in  her  Life 
of  St.  Patrick,  has  appended  to  that  passage  the  following 
note  : — "  Bishop  Indich,  Innoc,  or  Winnoc,  from  whom  this 
church  derives  its  name,  was  a  disciple  of  St.  Patrick,  but 
very  little  is  known  of  his  history.     The  district  of  Ui-Erca- 

appere,  then  having  a  lease  of  the  late  Bisshopp  John  (Merriman)  of 
the  same  lands  for  his  lieff,  at  XXs  Irish  a  towue,  as  well  for  the 
spiritualities  as  for  the  temporalities  of  the  same  (a  towne  is  a  plowe 
lande,)  and  also  havinge  a  bond  of  the  said  Bisshope  of  II  c  Li  (£200) 
to  make  to  me  astate  of  the  same  in  fee-farme,  upon  which  lands 
your  petyoioner  did  builde  a  castle  that  cost  him  fovvre  hundreth 
marks  and  upwards,  as  my  late  Lorde  Deputye  can  report.  And 
since  that  your  honour's  peticyoner  hath  been  a  suiter  a  long  time 
at  the  Court,  the  said  Bisshopp  is  deade,  and  hath  not  made  to  him 
astate  in  fee-farme  of  the  premises,  so  that  nowe  your  honor's 
peticyoner  hath  no  right  of  title  to  the  saide  house  and  lands  ;  I  doo 
beseeche  and  crave  your  honor's  favor  to  be  my  good  Lord  to  this 
effect,  that  the  next  Bisshopp  of  Downe  that  her  AIat(>,  shall  make, 
may  be  enjoyned  (upon  the  consideracions  aforesaide)  to  make  to  me 
an  estate  of  the  same  in  fee-farme,  that  another  doo  not  reape  the 
fruite  of  my  labour  and  expences.  And  wheare  I  understande  that 
Sir  Bryan  Machfelim  keepeth  a  warde  in  my  house,  I  doo  beseech 
yonr  honor  that  I  may  have  your  honor's  and  my  lords  of  the  coun- 
sels letters  to  my  L.  Deputy  to  give  me  possession  of  my  house 
againe."  The  castle,  which  cost  Captain  Browne  "  fowre  hundreth 
marks  and  upwards,"  is  now  a  roofless  ruin  at  the  northern  extremity 
*of  the  island.  It  does  not  appear  that  Browne  was  successful  in  his 
suit ,  the  manor  was  let  by  the  Protestant  bishops  from  time  to  time 
to  sundry  tenants.  Bishop  Humston  let  it  for  three  years  to  Rowland 
Savage,  of  Ballygalget,  at  a  yearly  rent  of  £4,  and  a  horse  valued  at 
£20  as  a  fine.  The  same  bishop  afterwards  let  it  to  Henry  Piers  and 
Sir  Francis  Annesley,  at  a  yearly  rent  of  £6  13s  4d.  The  manor, 
which  is  at  present  called  from  a  village  in  it,  "  the  manor  of 
Ardmillan,"  and  contains  3,472a.  3r.  2Sp.,  was  purchased  some  years 
ago  by  Mr.  Murland,  of  Castlewellan,  who  held  it  under  the  See  of 
Down,  at  the  An.  Rent  of  £135  13s  lOd,  and  Renewal  Fines, 
£682  lOs. 


PARISH  OF  SAINTPIELD.  369 

Chein,  called  variously  in  English  records  Andei'ken  and 
Sluthenderkeys,  lay  in  the  present  barony  of  Castlereagh, 
County  Down,  adjoining  Strangford  Lough.  It  is  supposed 
to  be  the  present  Castle  Espie,  the  ruins  of  which — lying  in 
a  large  rath  on  the  western  shore  of  Strangford  Lough — are 
in  a  townland  of  the  same  name,  which  has  always  been 
ecclesiastical  property." 

Close  to  the  present  Protestant  Church  of  Tullynakill  is 
the  churchyard,  containing  the  ruins  of  an  older  Protestant 
church,  which  probably  occupies  the  site  of  an  ancient 
Catholic  church,  which  gave  name  to  Tullynakill. 

In  the  townland  of  Bally ministra  (the  town  of  the  monas- 
tery), formerly  stood  a  church.  Its  ruins  have  disappeared, 
and  the  graveyard  has  been  removed,  in  order  to  work  a 
qiiarry  which  has  been  opened  on  its  site.  The  country 
peoi)le  called  this  ruin  Jerusalem.  They  have  a  tradition 
that  its  prior,  whom  they  call  John  of  Jerusalem,  went  on 
one  of  the  Crusades,  and  having  agreed  that  no  tithe  should 
be  paid  until  his  return,  his  death,  which  occurred  in  the 
Holy  Land,  has  ever  since  exempted  the  greater  part  of  the 
townland  from  this  charge. — (Reeves'  Eccl.  Antiq.)  From 
an  Inquisition,  held  at  Downpatrick,  October  4th,  1636,  it 
appears  that  "  the  impropriate  Rectory  of  Ballymonestragh, 
consisting  of  the  greater  and  less  tithes  of  the  two  townlands 
of  Ballymonestragh  and  Bally obunden,''  now  Ballybunden, 
was  granted  to  Sir  Hugh  Montgomery  as  a  part  of  the 
possessions  of  Grey  Abbey.  There  seems,  however,  to  be 
some  mistake  in  the  finding  of  that  Inquisition,  for  an 
Inquisition  taken  at  Ardmillan,  4th  July,  1605,  found  that 
Sir  John  Rawson,  Knight,  was  as  prior  of  St.  John  of 
Jerusalem,  in  the  Little  Ardes,  seized  of  the  Rectory  of 
Ballymonestragh,  in  Upper  Claneboy.  He  is  probably  the 
person  whose   memory  is  preserved  in  the  local  tradition 

Y 


370  DOWN   AND   CONNOR. 

under  the  name  of  John  of  Jerusalem.  The  Terrier  says — 
"Capella  de  Ballemonasteragh,  of  Grey-abbey ;  the  curate 
pays  in  proxies,  Is  ;  refections,  do.;  synodals,  2s." 

"  The  Church  of  Kilmode"  was  valued  at  20s  in  the 
Taxation  of  Pope  Nicholas.  An  inquisition  taken  July  4 
1603,  found  that  John  O'Mullegan,  Abbot  of  Comber,  was 
seized  in  right  of  his  Abbey  "  of  the  impropriate  church  or 
rectory  of  Kilmoodmanagh  (Kilmood  of  the  Monks,)  with  its 
appurtenances  in  Sleught  Henrickies,  which  extends  into  the 
towns  or  villages  (then  follow  the  ancient  names  of  the  town- 
lands  of  the  parish,)  and  the  advowson  and  presentation  of 
the  vicar  in  the  same  church,  and  the  vicar  there  annually 
receives  all  the  altar  fees  and  the^third  part  of  the  tithes  of 
grain  and  grass."  The  Terrier  has  the  following  entry — 
"  Ecclesia  de  Kilmudd,  Abbot  of  Comber,  is  rector.  The 
vicar  pays  in  Proxies  8  groats;  in  Refections  do.;  in  Synodals, 
2s;  total  7s  4d."  The  church  is  reported  as  in  ruins  in  1622. 
The  site  is  at  present  occupied  by  the  Protestant  Church  of 
Kilmood. 

The  tithes  of  the  townlands  of  Ravarra  and  Bally cloghan 
belonged  to  the  Abbey  of  Inch,  and  it  is  probable  that  there 
was  in  them  a  little  chapel. 

In  the  farm  of  Mr.  John  Boomer  in  the  townland  of 
Maghei-ascouse  there  is  a  field  called  Chcqoel  Field,  where 
human  remains  and  pieces  of  coffins  ai-e  turned  up. 

Tawnaghneeve  (Tamhnach  naomh)  has  been  Anglicised 
by    translation    into    the    modern    form    Saintfield.*      It 

*  Saintfield  was  formerly  called  Tonaghneeve,  the  phonetic  repre- 
sentative, as  ^Ir.  Joyce  in  his  admirable  work,  Irish  Names  of 
Places,  remarks,  for  Tamhnach-naemh — the  field  of  the  saints.  There 
is  a  townland  near  the  town  which  still  retains  the  name  of  Tonagh- 
more — the  great  field — originally  called  so  to  distinguish  it  from 
Tonaghneeve.  We  have  no  record  to  tell  us  what  was  the  original 
name  before  it  was  called  Tonaghneeve,  or  to  what  saint  it  owes  its 


PARISH  OF  SAINTFIELD.  371 

is  said  that  the  name  was  translated  by  General  Price. 
Harris,  apparently  without  any  authority,  supposes  that  the 
original  name  was  Tullach-na-neve,  which  he  translates 
*'  Saint-hill."  The  ancient  church  which  occupied  the  site  of 
the  Protestant  Rector's  house  and  garden,  where  there  seems 
to  have  been  an  extensive  cemetery,  is  not  mentioned  in  the 
roll  of  the  Taxation  of  Pope  Nicholas.  The  rectory  was  ap- 
propriate to  the  abbey  of  Comber.  The  inquisition  already 
referred  to,  which  was  taken  on  the  4th  of  July,  1605,  found 
that  "John  O'Mullegan,  Abbot  of  the  late  Abbey  of  Camber, 
in  the  Upper  Clandeboy,  at  the  time  of  the  dissolution  of 
said  abbey,  was  seized  in  fee  in  right  of  foresaid  Abbey  . 
of  the  Church,  Chapel,  or  Rectory  of  Tawnaghnym,  with  its 
appurtenances,  in  which  church  he  was  bound  to  keep  and 
maintain  a  competent  curate,  and  there  belongs  to  said  church, 
chapel,  or  rectory  all  the  lands  in  the  town  of  Tawnaghnym, 

origin,  consequently  though  it  may  be  frequently  referred  to  in  our 
annals,  we  cannot  recognise  it.  General  Nicholas  Price  first  trans- 
lated the  ancient  name  into  Saiutfield,  and  to  him  the  town  owes 
its  origin.  He  had  in  the  beginning  of  last  century  the  roads 
opened  up  which  lead  to  Belfast  and  Downpatrick ;  he  induced 
manufacturers  of  linen  and  other  artisans  to  settle  in  the  place, 
and  made  various  improvements,  including  the  erection  of  a  barrack 
for  a  troop  of  horse.  General  N.  Price  was  the  son  of  General 
Piichard  Price,  and  Catherine,  only  sister  of  James  Hamilton  of 
Bangor.  He  was  born  in  Erenagh  House,  and  was  half-brother  of 
Lady  Elizabeth  Cromwell,  who  leased  to  him  Hollymount.  His 
uncle,  James  Hamilton,  of  Bangor,  had  two  daughters  and  no  surviv- 
ing  son.  One  of  these  daughters  married  Bernard  Ward,  and  from 
her  Lord  Bangor  and  the  other  Wards  inherit  the  half  of  James 
Hamilton's  property  ;  the  other  daughter  married  Thomas  Butler, 
6th  Viscount  Ikerrin,  who  sold  t®  General  Price  the  most  of  the  lands 
in  Saintfield  parish,  which  his  wife  inherited  through  her  father  from 
the  first  James  Hamilton,  who  made  the  fortunate  bargain  with  Con 
O'Neill.  General  Price  was  great-grandfather  to  the  late  Nicholas 
Price,  whose  only  daughter  married  llr.  James  Blackwood,  of 
Strangford.  Mr.  Blackwood  assumed  the  name  of  Price,  and  trans- 
mitted the  property  to  his  son,  the  present  owner.     The  Blackwoods 


372  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

with  their  appurtenances  and  the  tithes  of  the  same." 
An  Inquisition,  held  Oct.  13,  1623,  after  finding  that  the 
tithes  of  the  various  townlands,  in  the  parish  were  payable 
to  the  abbey,  and  that  the  townland  of  Tonaghwyn  belonged 
to  the  abbey,  says,  "  And  the  possessions  of  Tonaghwyn  we 
find  in  the  bishop  these  thirtie  years."  The  Terrier  has  the 
following  entry,  "  Capella  de  Tavenaghnewin,  but  that  was 
never  builded,  the  place  pays  in  Synodals  2s. 

Capella  de  Tullidonne  also  hath  no  building,  nor  never 
had ;  it  is  called  Chapel  Vicar  ;  pays  in  synodals  2s."  The 
Chapel  of  "Tullidonne"  may  have  been  situated  in  the 
townland  of  Tonaghmore,  where,  according  to  Mr.  Hanna, 
the  foundations  of  a  church  were  to  be  seen  on  the  side  of  a 
rocky  hill  so  late  as  1863.  The  church  was  locally  called 
Killnagarrick,  (the  church  of  the  rocks).  Interments  were 
occasionally  made  in  it  up  to  1820,  but  now  all  traces  even 
of  the  cemetery  have  disappeared. 

The  ancient  graveyard  of  KUlaney  is  enclosed  in  a  ring 

have  inherited  large  portions  of  the  Hamilton  property.  The  present 
Lord  Dufferin,  whose  name  is  Blackwood,  is  the  great  grandson  of 
Dorcas  Stephenson,  the  grand-daughter  of  James  Hamilton  of 
Neilsbrook,  Randalstown,  from  whom  Lord  Dufferin  inherits. 

In  the  bed  of  the  river  near  the  town,  there  is  a  small  island 
called  York  Island,  in  which  a  number  of  the  York  Fencibles  killed 
in  an  action  with  the  insurgents  in  1798  were  buried.  On  the  Sth  of 
June  a  number  of  insurgents  assembled  near  Saintfield  under  a  leader 
named  Jackson,  and  set  fire  to  the  house  of  one  Mackee,  an  informer, 
where  eleven  persons  are  said  to  have  perished  in  the  flames.  This 
was  the  only  act  of  atrocity,  except  in  battle,  committed  by  the 
armed  malecontents  in  Ulster.  Electing  for  their  general  Henry 
Munroe,  a  shop-keeper  of  Lisburn,  they  placed  themselves  on  the 
9th  in  ambuscade,  awaiting  the  approach  of  Colonel  Stapleton,  with 
a  body  of  York  fencibles  and  yeomen  cavalry.  Stapleton  remained 
master  of  the  ground  and  then  retreated  to  Belfast,  but  lost  about 
sixty  men,  including  three  officers  and  JNIr.  Mortimer,  Vicar  of  Porta- 
ferry,  who  had  volunteered  on  this  occasion.  See  Gordon's  Account 
of  the  Irish  Rebellion. 


PARISH  OF  SAINTFIELD.  373 

fence,  but  there  is  no  trace  of  the  church.  Killaney  is  called 
in  the  Inquisition  Killeny,  Anaghalone,  and  Anaghdoloun 
— all  corrupted  forms  of  Cill-eanich-cluain — the  church  of 
the  meadow  surrounded  by  a  marsh. — The  site  of  the  church 
occupies  the  crest  of  a  hemi-spherical  hill  peninsulated  by  a 
number  of  loughs — the  continuation  of  the  Ravernet  River, 
or  as  inquisitions  name  it  the  Garriclough  River,  which 
here  divides  the  diocese  of  Down  from  that  of  Dromore. 
The  largest  of  the  loughs  is  called  Lough  Henney  (EanacJi, 
a  marsh),  in  it  there  is  an  island,  "  in  which"  says  the 
inquisition  taken  at  Ardquin,  July  4th,  1605,  "Toole 
McPhelim  Mclvor  dwells."  In  this  island  some  military 
antiquities  have  been  found,  including  a  helmet  made  of 
plate  iron,  which  formed  a  part  of  a  collection  of  antiquities 
presented  to  the  Belfast  Museum,  by  James  Gibson,  Esq., 
Q.C.,  a  drawing  of  the  helmet  is  given  in  the  Ulster 
Journal  of  Archaeology,  Vol.  III.  There  were  also  found  a 
bronze  caldron,  which  was  given  to  Lord  Downshire,  and  the 
wooden  beams  of  a  Crannoge.  Similar  Crannoges  occur  in 
the  loughs  of  Ballygeeley,  Carrickmannan,  and  Creevey — 
Loughgare  ;  in  the  last  a  canoe  hollowed  out  of  an  oak  tree 
was  found.  The  Inquisition  taken  July  4th,  1605,  found 
that  "  James  M'Guilmere,  Abbot  of  the  late  Abbey  of  St. 
Augustine  of  Movilla  was  seized  .  .  of  the  chapel,  grange, 
or  rectory  of  Anaghdoloun,  with  its  appurtenances,  which 
extends  into  seven  townlands  in  the  foresaid  county,  and  of 
the  advowson  and  nomination  of  the  vicar  in  the  same 
church,  and  the  vicar  receives  each  year  all  the  altar  fees  and 
the  third  part  of  all  the  tithes  of  grain  and  grass  belonging 
to  the  foresaid  rectory  or  grange." 

The  lands  of  Killaney  belong  to  Lord  Downshire,  being  a 
part  of  the  territory  which  the  unfortunate  Con  O'Neill 
obtained  at  the  division   with  Hamilton  and   Montgomery, 


374  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

but  whicli  he  afterwards  parted  with  to  Sir  Moyses  Hill, 
the  ancestor  of  Lord  Downshire.  In  the  reign  of  James  I. 
these  lands  were  covered  with  valuable  timber  which  has 
long  since  disappeared,* 

*  An  inquisition  held  in  the  reign  of  Charles  I.  found  that  there 
were  then  standing  trees  "  of  six  inches  square  at  the  butt,  at  lenst, 
.  upon  the  lands  of  Lisdalgan  342,  Carricknesassanagh  534, 
Tawnaghmore  290,  Lisdromlaghan  (now  Lisban)  475,  Killany  1G2, 
Tullywastekenna  56,  Creevylouggare  221.  .  .  .  John  King  did 
cutt  upon  Lisdalgan  and  other  inland  timber  townes,  with  sundry 
workmen  with  him,  for  a  year  and  a-half  great  store  of  timber  trees, 
converting  the  same  to  pipe-staves,  hogshead-staves,  barrell-staves, 
keeve-staves,  and  spoakes  for  carts,  of  which  wares  there  was  trans- 
ported 5  barque  loads  from  owen  O'MuUyn  (the  mill-river — it  is  near 
Island  Mahee);  3  of  the  said  barques  bearing  the  burden  of  30  tunne 
a  peece,  and  the  other  two  16  tunne  a  piece  ;  and  altho'  a  tree  will 
make  a  tunne  or  two  of  timber,  yet  there  are  such  wastes  in  making 
those  wares  that  they  took  upp  at  least  200  trees.  One  John 
Makinlas,  with  others  in  his  company,  were  sett  on  worke  in  the  said 
woods  of  Lisdalgan,  and  the  rest  of  the  townes  adjoining,  by  the 
Lord  of  Ardes  (Montgomery,  who  had  obtained  a  lease  of  the  woods 
and  under  woods  on  those  townlands  which  were  then  in  the  possess- 
ion of  Con  O'Neill),  where  he  made  roofes  for  the  church  of  Gray 
Abbey  and  old  Cumber,  and  some  other  store  of  tymber  for  his  hard- 
ship's buildings  at  Newtowne  and  Donaghdee,  converting  some  six 
trees  to  his  own  use,  by  his  lordship's  allowance,  for  which  he  had 
about  30s.  all  which  could  be  no  less  than  100  trees.  .  .  .  One 
Gilbert  Kennedy  did  cutt  by  the  lord  of  Ardes  warrant,  some  trees 
upon  the  lands  of  Lisdalgan  and  the  adjoining  townes,  estimated 
at  20  trees."  About  a  mile  from  the  rath  of  Lisdalgan,  which 
was  a  funereal  mound,  there  is  a  fine  pillar-stone  ;  it  is  in  the 
to^^^lland  of  Craignasasonagh,  and  in  the  farm  of  Mr.  Dodds.  This 
pillar-stone  has  fallen  within  the  last  few  years  and  lias  split 
in  the  fall  ;  it  occupies  the  crest  of  a  high  hill  on  the  confines  of  the 
townland  of  Oghley.  One  of  the  uses  to  which  pillar  stones  were 
devoted  was  to  mark  the  grave  of  some  illustrious  person,  and 
frequently  in  honour  of  such  a  person  funereal  games  were  celebrated 
at  regular  intervals  and  at  fixed  periods  of  the  year.  This  was  the 
origin  of  the  Aenech  or  Fair,  such  as  the  great  Fairs  of  Tailte  and 
of  Carman  (now  Wexford),  and  such  too  was  the  origin  of  the 
Olympic,   Isthmian,   Pythian,  and  other  public  games  among  the 


PARISH   OF    SAINTFIELD.  375 

PARISH    PRIESTS. 

John  O'Bern  was  registered  in  1704  as  parish  priest  of 
Kilmore,  Tawnaghneeve  (Saintfield)  and  Magheradrool.  He 
was  then  thirty-nine  years  of  age,  and  was  residing  in 
Creevyargon,  which  is  near  the  borders  of  the  present  parish 
of  Saintfield.  He  had  been  ordained  in  1688  by  the  Most 
Rev.  James  Phelan,  Bishop  of  Ossory.  Tradition  is  silent 
as  to  the  date  of  the  death  of  Father  O'Bern  and  as  to  the 
time  when  Saintfield  was  separated  from  Kilmore,  About 
the  year  1750  one  Mr.  M'G-raddy  was  appointed  parish 
priest  of  Saintfield.  He  resided  in  the  townland  of  Raffrey. 
Mr.  M'Graddy  was  suspended  about  1770^  and  the  parish 
was  conferred  on  the  Rev  Mr.  M'Garry  who  remained  in  it 
but  a  short  time. 

Greeks.  In  our  oldest  Manuscripts  these  Aenechs  or  Aonachs  were 
termed  Guhlia  (pronounced  Goowa — lamentation — of  same  root  as  the 
English  wail  and  the  Greek  Goao—to  lament)  such  as  the  Goowa  of 
Tailte  or  the  Goowa  of  Carman.  The  reader  will  remember  that 
there  is  at  Kilcoo  (see  Parish  of  Kilcoo)  a  townland  named  Drumena — 
the  ridge  of  the  Aenech — also  that  the  people  translate  Kilcoo — the 
church  of  lamentation — and  say  that  it  was  so  named  from  the 
lamentation  for  the  death  of  St.  Patrick,  but  it  is  far  more  likely 
that  it  received  its  name  from  the  funereal  games  of  some  prince 
in  the  Pagan  times.  In  the  1623  Inquisition,  Oghley  is  called 
"Balleoghly  alias  Fairetoune  alias  Bally lenny."  The  following 
extract  from  the  Yellow  Book  of  Slane  given  in  the  Leabhar 
na-h-Uidhre,  the  oldest  MS  in  the  Pioyal  Irish  Academy,  will  explain 
what  a  fair  was — "A  fair  was  usually  held  by  the  Ulstermen  every 
year,  namely  the  three  days  before  Samain  (Nov.  1st)  and  the  three 
days  after  it  and  the  day  of  Samain  itself.  That  was  the  extent  pf 
time,  which  the  Ulstermen  devoted  to  holding  the  Fair  of  Samain 
in  the  Plain  of  Murthemne  (in  the  Co.  Louth)  in  every  year  ;  and 
nothing  was  carried  on  by  them  during  that  period  but  games  and 
races,  sports  and  amusements,  eating  and  f eastings."  An  ancient 
account  of  the  Fair  of  Carman  given  in  O'Cwry^s  Lectures,  Vol.  III. 
says,  "Three  markets  there,  viz.,  a  market  of  food  and  clothes,  a 
market  of  live  stock  cows  and  horses,  &c. ;  a  market  of  foreigners  and 
exiles  selling  gold  and  silver,  &c.     The  professors  of  every  art,  both 


376  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

The  Rev.  John  Macartan  was  the  next  parish  priest.  Mr. 
Macartan  was  a  native  of  the  townland  of  Ballymaginaghy, 
in  the  parish  of  Drumgooland,  diocese  of  Dromore.  He  was 
ordained  in  Seaforde,  on  the  14th  of  March,  1773,  by  Dr. 
Macartan.  At  the  same  time  the  Rev.  Richard  Curoe  was 
also  ordained.  They  both  proceeded  immediately  afterwards 
to  the  College  of  the  Lombards;  and  on  Mr.  Macartan's 
return,  he  was  appointed  to  Saintfield,  which  he  held  till 
June,  1780,  when  he  was  promoted  to  Ballykinlar. 

Mr.  Macartan  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev,  Daniel  M'Donnell, 
who  was  a  native  of  the  Glens  of  Antrim,  and  who  studied 
on  the  Continent.  Mr.  M'Donnell,  when  in  Saintfield,  was 
greatly  beloved  by  all  the  inhabitants.  He  is  celebrated  as 
a  horseman,  and  hunted  with  Mr.  Price's  hounds.  In  the 
year  1787  he  became  Admistrator  of  Cushendall,  under  the 
aged  pastor,  the  Rev.  Hugh  Mullholland,  and  some  temporary 
arrangement  was  made  to  supply  a  clergyman  in  Saintfield. 

The  Rev.  William  Teggart,  who  was  a  native  of  Gore's 
Island,  in  the  parish  of  Saul,  was  appointed  to  Saintfield  in 

the  noble  arts  and  the  base  arts,  and  non-profepsionals  were  there 
selling  and  exhibiting  their  compositions  and  their  professional  works 
to  kings,  and  rewards  were  given  for  every  work  of  art  that  was  just 
or  lawful  to  be  sold,  or  exhibited  or  listened  to."  And  the  Poem  on 
the  same  fair  relates  some  of  the  amusements, — "  Pipes,  fiddles, 
chainmen,  bonemen,  and  tube-players,  a  crowd  of  babbling  painted 
masks,  roarers  and  loud  bellowers, — they  all  exert  their  utmost 
powers  for  the  magnanimous  king  of  the  Barrow  ;  until  the  noble 
king  in  proper  measure  bestows  upon  each  art  its  rightful  meed — 
(stories  of)  elopements,  slaughters,  musical  choruses,  the  accurate 
synchronisms  of  noble  races,  the  succession  of  the  sovereign  kings  of 
Bregia,  their  battles,  and  their  stern  valour  :  such  is  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  fair. "  These  fairs  commenced  in  the  remotest  antiquity 
were  continued  to  the  10th  or  12th  century,  but  the  confusion  arising 
from  the  complete  overthrow  of  the  Ulidians  in  the  fourth  century, 
has  deprived  us  of  any  written  account  of  their  ancient  fairs.  Bally- 
oghley — Baile-og-laoch — the  town  of  the  young  warriors,  is  so  named 
from  the  champions  who  contended  at  its  games. 


PARISH  OF  SAINTFIELD.  377 

179C.  He  was  ordained  at  the  first  ordination  held  by  Dr. 
Hugh  MacMullan,  and,  after  officiating  for  a  short  time  as 
curate  to  the  Rev.  John  Magee,  in  Lisburn,  he  was  appointed 
parish  priest  of  Glenarm  in  1784,  from  which  he  was  pro- 
moted to  Saintfield-  He  is  interred  in  the  ancient  cemetery 
of  Saul,  and  there  is  inscribed  on  his  headstone — 

Here  lieth  the  body 
Of  the  Rev.  William 
Teggart,  parish  priest 
Of  Saintfield,  who  departed 
This  life  Dec.  the  7th,  1799, 
Aged  43  years. 

The  Rev.  Edward  Dempsey  officiated  during  the  sickness 
of  Father  Teggart,  and  remained  some  time  in  the  parish 
after  his  death ;  according  to  popular  tradition,  he  was 
apjiointed  parish  priest.  He  was  born  in  the  parish  of 
Bryansford  in  the  year  1750.  He  studied  in  France  after 
his  ordination,  and,  on  his  return,  he  was  appointed  to  the 
curacy  of  Lisburn,  from  which  he  was  sent  to  Saintfield,  He 
was  appointed  parish  priest  of  Lisburn  in  1801. 

The  succeeding  parish  priest  was  the  Rev,  Hugh  Green, 
who  was  a  native  of  the  townland  of  Drumnaconagher,  in 
the  parish  of  Kilmore.  He  was  ordained  by  Dr.  Hugh 
M'Mullau,  at  Erenagh,  in  1789,  after  which  he  went  to  the 
College  of  the  Lombards  in  Paris ;  at  the  same  time  also 
went  the  Rev,  W.  M'Mullan,  afterwards  of  Kilmegan,  and 
the  Rev,  Hugh  Macartan,  afterwards  of  Ballykiular.  Mr. 
Green,  being  compelled  to  fly  from  Paris  in  1793,  on  account 
of  the  Revolution,  was  appointed  curate  to  the  Most  Rev. 
Dr.  Patrick  MacMullan,  in  Kilmegan  ;  he  was  afterwards 
appointed  to  the  curacy  of  Rasharkin,  from  which  he  was 
promoted  in  1801  to  Saintfield,  He  erected  the  chapel  of 
Saintfield,  in  1806,  and  that  of  Carrickmannon  in  1807. 
Father  Green  was  waylaid  by  Orangemen  some  years  befoi-e 


378  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

his  death,  and  received  a  severe  beating,  from  the  eiFects  of 
which  he  never  thoroughly  recovered.  The  parishioners 
would  have  inflicted  summary  vengeance  on  the  ruffians, 
Avho  were  tolerably  well  known,  but  Dr.  Crolly  calmed  down 
the  excited  passions  of  the  people  by  a  sermon  which  he 
delivered  in  Sainttield  Chapel  on  the  following  Sunday,  from 
the  text,  "  Father  forgive  them,  for  they  know  not  what  they 
do."  Some  terrible  misfortune  is  said  to  have  befallen 
each  of  the  unfortunate  wretches.  Mr.  Green  died  Dec. 
5th,  1834,  and  was  buried  in  Magheradrool  graveyard,  but 
there  is  no  inscription  on  his  grave  stone,  During  the 
latter  years  of  liis  life  Father  Green  was  assisted  by  Rev. 
Mr.  Tall}',  and  afterwards  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Mullan. 

Father  Green  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  John  Fitzsimons. 
Mr.  Fitzsimons  was  born  in  the  town  of  Lisburn^  where  he 
commenced  his  classics,  which  he  afterwards  completed  at 
the  Belfast  Academical  institution,  for  at  that  period  the 
Catholics  of  Down  and  Connor,  previous  to  the  Opening  of 
the  Diocesan  Seminary,  were  obliged  to  resort  to  Protestant 
educational  institutions.  He  entered  the  Logic  Class  in  the 
College  of  Maynooth  on  the  25th  of  August,  1826,  and  was 
ordained  at  Belfast  in  September,  1830,  by  Dr.  Crolly. 
Mr.  Fitzsimons  officiated  as  curate  in  Belfast  from  his 
ordination  till  he  was  appointed  to  Saintfield  in  January, 
1835.  He  was  transferred  to  the  parish  of  Cushendall  on 
the  20th  of  September,  1837. 

The  succeeding  paxish  priest  was  the  Rev.  Richard 
M'Glogan,  a  native  of  Ballinderry.  Mr.  M'Glogan  entered 
the  Logic .  Class  in  the  College  of  Maynooth  August  25, 
1830,  and  was  ordained  by  Dr.  Murray  in  the  College  in 
June,  1833.  After  having  been  curate  in  Downpatrick 
and  Randalstown,  he  was  appointed  to  the  parish  of  Saint- 
field,  Septembei',  1837.     He  died  from  theefiects  of  a  severe 


PARISH  OF  SAINTFIELD.  379 

wetting  wliicli  he  received  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty.  He 
WHS  interred  in  the  ancient  cemetery  of  Laloo.  On  his 
tombstone  is  inscribed — 

Erected  to  tlie  memory  of 

The  Rev.  Richard  M 'Logan, 

(Late  Parish  Priest  of  Saintfield)  > 

Who  departed  this  Life  8th  of  August  1845 

Aged  43  years. 

The  tombstone  was  injured  by  some  Orangemen,  who  fired 
guns  at  it. 

Father  M'Logan  was  succeeded  by  the  E,ev.  Roland  M'Gill. 
Father  M'Gill  was  born  in  Ballintogher,  in  the  parish  of 
Saul,  in  the  year  1814.  He  entered  the  class  of  Humanity 
in  the  College  of  Maynooth  on  the  26th  of  August,  1834, 
and  he  was  ordained  by  Dr.  Healy  on  the  3rd  of  February, 
1838.  After  having  officiated  as  curate  successively  in  the 
parishes  of  Duneane,  Maghera,  and  Culfeightrin,  he  was 
promoted  to  the  parish  of  Saintfield  in  October,  1845. 
Father  M'Gill  died  of  fever  on  the  22nd  of  December,  1870, 
at  the  residence  of  his  brother  in  Lisban,  whither  he  had 
gone  for  change  of  air ;  he  was  interred  in  the  cemetery 
attached  to  the  new  church  of  Saul.  His  will,  according  to 
the  statutory  notice  published  in  the  newspapers  contained 
the  following  bequests — "I  leave  =£10U  for  Masses,  to  be 
said  immediately  after  my  death,  and  for  my  intention.  X 
leave  .£10  to  the  poor  of  Saintfield,  and  the  same  sum  to 
those  of  Killinchy,  I  leave  £10  to  the  nuns  of  Downpatrick 
Convent,  and  the  same  sum  to  those  of  Belfast,  that  they 
may  remember  me  in  their  prayers.  I  leave  £50  for  a 
school-house  in  the  parish. "  On  his  grave-stone  is  inscribed — 
Placens  Deo  factus  est  dilectus — 
Erected 
by 
J.  &  H.  M'Gill, 


380  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

in  memory  of  their  beloved  brother, 

Eevd.  Roland  M'GiU,  P.P.,  Saintfield, 

who  died  Dec.  23rd,  1870, 

in  the  57th  year  of  his  age, 

and  32nd  of  his  ministry. 

Of  your  charity  pray  for  his  soul . 
Requiescat  in  pace. 
Ihe  present  parish  priest,  the  Rev.  Patrick  Phelan, 
succeeded  Father  Magill.  Father  Phelan,  is  a  native  of  the 
diocese  of  Ossorj,  from  which  he  affiliated  to  Down  and 
Connor.  Having  completed  in  the  College  of  Kilkenny  his 
studies  in  classics  and  philosophy,  he  entered  the  class  of 
First  Year's  Theology  in  the  College  of  Maynooth  on  the 
16th  of  January,  1853.  He  was  ordained  in  November, 
1854,  in  Dublin,  by  Dr.  Whelan,  Bishop  of  Bombay. 
Immediately  after  ordination,  he  was  appointed  to  the  curacy 
of  Glenavy  ;  in  the  following  April  he  was  sent  to  the  curacy 
of  Lisburn,  and  in  Jvxne,  1860,  to  that  of  Ahoghill,  from 
which  he  was  promoted,  September  2nd,  1862,  to  Cushendun, 
at  first  as  Administrator,  and  eventually  as  parish  priest 
He  was  appointed  pai-ish  priest  of  Saintfield  Feb.  20,  1871. 

CHURCHES. 

Saintfield  Church  was  erected  A.D.  1806  by  the  Rev. 
Hugh  Green.  In  has  been  enlarged,  at  a  cost  of  £300,  by 
the  Rev.  Roland  Magill.  The  parochial  house  attached  to 
Saintfield  Church  was  erected  by  Father  M'Logan. 

Carrickmannan  Church  was  erected  A,D.  1807,  by  the 
Rev.  Hugh  Green.  It  was  much  injured  by  the  great  storm 
which  occurred  on  the  night  of  the  6th  of  January,  1839, 
after  which  it  was  almost  entirely  re-built  by  the  Rev. 
Richai-d  M'Glogan,  and  re-consecrated  by  Dr.  Denvir, 
December  15th,  1839.  Father  Magill  expended  about  £300 
in  enlarging  and  improving  it. 


PARISH    OP    SAINTFIELD.  381 

In  the  days  of  persecution,  the  Catholics  heard  Mass  at 
the  Mass  Rocks,  on  tlie  farm  at  present  belonging  to  James 
M'Key,  in  the  townland  of  Aughnadarragh,  about  two  miles 
due  east  of  Saintfield,  and  near  the  Priest's  Bridge.  The 
Altar  was  a  large  rock,  and  around  it  was  an  open  space  for 
the  congregation ;  even  to  this  day  the  spot  has  been  kept 
sacred  from  touch  of  either  spade  or  plough.  Mass  was  also 
celebrated  in  a  sequestered  spot  on  the  farm  of  Felix  Murray, 
in  the  townland  of  Drumaconnell.  The  Altar  at  that  place 
was  a  large  stone,  which  has  since  been  removed,  but  from 
tradition  it  appears  that  an  altar  was  arranged  under  which- 
ever of  the  thorns  in  the  vicinity  that  afforded  the  gi-eatest 
shelter. 


Lis  which  frequently  enters  into  the  formation  of  the  names  of 
townlands  was  precisely  the  same  as  Rath.  The  name  was  applied 
to  a  place  surrounded  by  an  enclosing  mound  or  rampart.  It 
frequently  was  applied  to  a  fortified  enclosure  for  cattle.  The 
Caiseal  was  nothing  more  than  a  Stone  Rath,  or  enclosure,  within 
which  the  dwelling-house,  and  in  after  times,  churches  stood ;  and 
the  Cathair  (pronounced  Cahir)  was  in  like  manner  nothing  more 
than  a  Stone  Dun.  From  each  of  these  words  many  townlands  are 
named. 


THE  TERRITORY  OF  THE  ARDS. 


^■^HE  modern  barony  of  Ards,  which  comprises  the 
whole  of  the  peninsuhx  between  Lough  Cuan,  or 
Strangford,  and  the  Irish  Sea,  and  extends  to  a  line 
drawn  from  near  Newtownards  to  Carnalea  on  the  shores 
of  Belfast  Lough,  represents  the  ancient  territory  of  Ard- 
Uladh.  This  ancient  designation  has  been  translated  tJie 
high  land  of  Ulidia,  thus  in  the  life  of  St.  Comgall  of  Bangor, 
quoted  by  TJssher,  the  saint  is  said  to  have  built  "the 
monastery  which  is  called  Bangor  in  the  region  named 
AUitudo  Ultorimi."  This  record  is  interesting  as  it  proves 
that  the  territory  even  at  that  early  period  included  Bangor. 
The  Ards  formed  a  little  kingdom  yielding  allegiance  to  the 
larger  kingdom  of  Ulidia.  A  poem  in  the  historical  tale 
descriptive  of  the  Battle  of  Magh  Rath,  fought  A.D.  642, 
says 

' '  The  standard  of  Feardomhan  of  banquets 
The  red-weaponed  king  of  the  Ard-Uladh 
White  satin  (srol)  to  the  sun  and  the  wind  di,spla3'ed 
Over  that  mighty  man  without  blemish." 

This  Fei'domun,  son  of  Imoman,  king  of  Ard-Uladh,  is  not 
mentioned  in  the  Irish  Annals,  nor  is  his  name  found  in  the 
ancient  genealogies,  but  the  historical  tale  represents  him  as 
a  renowned  hero  of  the  Ultonians,  who  conducted  from  the 
field  of  slaughter  six  hundred  warriors,  the  surviving  remnant 
of  their  forces.     An  ancient  document  relating  to  the  See  of 


TERRITORY  OF  THE  ARDS.  383 

Down  states  that  in  the  year  1034  "  There  reigned  in  Ards 
(in  Ardo)  Cathalan  M^Muriedaig,  who  gave  to  the  bisliop 
and  the  chvirch  of  Down  eighteen  carucates  in  Ardgune 
(Ardquin)  along  with  a  chapel  in  spiritualities."  According 
to  the  Book  of  Rights  the  king  of   Uladh  was  bound  to  pay 

"  The  stipend  of  the  king  of  Arda 
Eight  foreigners,  eight  fierce  horses, 
Eight  drinking-horns,  eight  cloaks  with  ring-clasps 
And  eight  exquisitely  beauteous  ships." 

The  inhabitants  of  the  Ards  were  not  of  the  Ulidian,  or 
Irian  i-ace,  but  belonged  to  the  Dal  Fiatach,  the  descendants 
of  Fiatach  Fin,  a  Heremonian  prince,  whose  descendants 
were  driven  along  with  the  Irians  into  the  territory  which 
constitutes  the  counties  of  Down  and  Antrim  ;  the  Dal 
Fiatach.  however  possessed  themselves  of  all  the  County  of 
Down  except  Iveagh,  Kiuelarty,  and  Dufferin.  Ard-TJladh 
is  only  twice  mentioned  previous  to  the  English  Invasion,  by 
the  annals  that  have  come  down  to  us  ;  and  both  entries  refer 
to  hostile  incursions  of  the  Kinel-0  wen.  A.D.  1011  "An 
army  was  afterwards  led  by  Flaithbheartach  (king  of  Aileach 
or  of  the  Kinel  Owen),  till  he  arrived  at  Ard-Uladh,  so  that 
the  whole  of  the  Ards  was  plundered  by  him  ;  and  he  bore 
off  from  thence  spoils  the  most  numerous  that  a  king  had 
ever  borne,  both  prisoners  and  cattle  without  number." 
The  Kinel  Owen  again  in  the  year  1130  led  by  Connor 
O'Loughlin,  invaded  Ulidia  "  and  they  plundered  the  country 
as  far  as  the  east  of  Ard,  both  lay  and  ecclesiastical  property, 
iind  they  carried  off  one  thousand  prisoners,  and  many 
thousand  cows  and  horses."  A  tract  upon  the  princes  and 
families  of  the  Dal  Fiatach  taken  from  Dual  MacFirbis' 
Geanealogical  Work,  given  by  Dr.  Eeeves,  Ecclesiastical 
Antiquities,  p.  358,  states  that  Donnsleibhe,  Dal  Fiatach 
prince,  fought  the  battle  of  Derry-Ceite  about  the  year  1172 


384  DOWN   AND   CONNOR. 

against  Cooley  O'Flathri,  king  of  Ulidia,  and  sustained  a 
terrible  defeat,  in  which  were  slaughtered  many  of  the  people 
of  the  Ards  and  of  the  Hy-Blathmac.  The  latter  people 
received  their  name  from  Blathmac,  whose  father  Aodh- 
E-oin,  king  of  Ulidia,  was  beheaded  A.D.  732,  on  the  laige 
stone  which  is  at  the  door  of  the  church  of  Faughard,  County 
Louth,  by  Aedh  Allan,  monarch  of  Ireland.  Their  territory 
extended  from  the  vicinity  of  Bangor  to  that  of  Carrickman- 
non,  and  included  the  modern  civil  parishes  of  Holywood, 
Dundonald,  Comber,  Killinchy,  Kilmood, -Tullynakill,  witli 
parts  of  Bangor,  Newtownards,  and  Knock-breda.  The 
stipend  which  the  king  of  Uladh  paid  to  the  king  of  that 
territory  is  thus  recorded  in  the  Book  of  Rights — 

"  The  stipend  of  the  king  of  Ui-Blathniaic  is 
Eight  handsome  extensive  bondmen  ; 
Eight  steeds  not  driven  from  the  mountains, 
With  bridles  of  old  silver." 

Sir  John  de  Courcy  subdued  the  Ards  and  Hy-Blathmac ; 
and  the  English  formed  those  two  districts  into  a  county, 
the  chief  town  of  which  was  Newtownards,  which  -was  called 
"  Nove  Ville  de  Blathwyc,"  and  the  county  was  styled 
"  Comitatus  de  Arde "  and  sometimes  "  Comitatus  Novse 
Villae."  In  the  county  there  were  two  baronies,  or  Bailiwicks, 
the  Balliva  de  Blatheioick  and  the  Balliva  del  Art.  A.D- 
1345,  Edwai'd  HI.  appointed  "  Robertus  de  Halywode"  to 
be  sheriff  of  the  "  Comitatus  Nove  Ville  de  Blawico,"  and  com- 
manded Robert  Yafford,  the  former  sheriff,  to  deliver  to  him 
the  public  documents.  Henry  IV.  in  the  first  year  of  his 
reign,  appointed  Robert,  son  of  Jordan  Savage,  to  be  sheriff 
*'  de  Arte  in  Ultonia."  De  Courcy,  the  De  Lacys,  the  De 
Burgos,  successively  earls  of  Ulster,  parcelled  out  the  Ards 
among  the  monasteries  and  their  own  retainers.  The  princi- 
pal  retainers    were  the   Savages   of  the   Little  Ards,  the 


TERRITORY  OF  THE  ARDS,  385 

Mandevilles,  who  were  possessed  of  lands  around  Kircubbin  ; 
the  Talbots,  landed  proprietors  around  Ballyhalbert;  Nicholas 
Galgyl,  who  held  the  lands  around  Ballygalget ;  and  Fitz 
Nicholas,  who  had  property  at  Slanes.  So  late,  however,  as 
1397  the  Earl  of  Ulster  held  in  his  immediate  possession 
lands  in  the  px-esent  civil  parishes  of  Ballywalter,  Ballytrus- 
tan,  Ballyphilip  j  and  in  1425  when  the  earldom  of  Ulster 
was  possessed  by  the  Duke  of  York,  then  a  minor,  Henry 
VI.  committed  to  Galfridius  Sloghtre,  the  care  of  the  lands 
of  Ardkeen,  which  were  then,  though  greatly  wasted  by  the 
Irish,  held  directly  by  the  Duke,  as  Earl  of  Ulster.  The 
gi'eater  part  of  the  Ards  and  all  the  adjoining  territories 
except  Lecale  and  Dufferin,  had  already  fallen  into  the  pos- 
session of  the  Clannaboy  O'Neills.  Some  of  the  native  Irish 
of  the  Ards  and  the  neighbouring  districts,  who  had  exper- 
ienced the  tyranny  of  the  Anglo-Normans,  hailed  these 
invaders  and  their  clansmen  from  Tyrone  and  Deny  as 
deliverers,  while  others  were  forced  to  accept  such  exchange 
of  territory  as  suited  the  convenience  of  the  new  conquerors. 
The  O'Gilmores  were  confirmed  in  their  ancient  territory 
throughout  the  parishes  of  Holywood  and  Bangor;  the 
O'Mulcreevys  were  pushed  from  the  banks  of  the  Lagan  and 
the  neighbourhood  of  Castlereagh,  to  the  district  around 
Groomsport.  The  O'Flinns  were  carried  with  the  Kinel- 
Owen  conquerors  from  the  shores  of  Lough  Neagh  and  the 
Bann  to  the  lands  of  Inishargy.  The  "  M 'Kearny es"  (the 
name  is  now  Kearney)  were  a  powerful  sept  in  the  Ards, — 
probably  of  Kinel-Owen  origin,  for  Kearney  is  still  a  name  of 
frequent  occurrence  in  Derry  and  Tyrone  ;  at  all  events  they 
were  not  much  loved  by  the  English.  The  M'Gees  were  located 
at  Portavogie,  while  the  descendants  of  the  Anglo-Normans 
were  cooped  up  in  the  Little  Ards,  which  from  this  period 
became  the  acknowledged  possession  of  the  family  of  Savage, 


386  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

around  whom  all  the  English  interest  centred.  No  serious 
attempt  was  made  by  the  English  to  repossess  themselves  of 
the  Greater  Ards  until  the  year  1572,  when  Queen  Elizabeth 
granted  to  Sir  Thomas  Smith  extensive  portions  of  Antrim 
and  Down,  including  the  Ards.  Sir  Thomas  appointed  his 
natural  son,  Thomas  Smith,  as  the  leader  of  the  colony, 
which  he  designed  to  plant  in  the  Ards ;  and  to  obtain  for 
him  a  kindly  reception,  Sir  Thomas  wrote  a  wily  letter  to 
Domino  Barnaheo  filio  Phil/'ppi — in  plainer  language,  to  the 
renowned  chief.  Sir  Brian  Mac  Felim  O'Neill,  the  lord  of 
Clannaboy,  who  was  incessantly  engaged  by  warfare  and 
negociation  in  resisting  every  attempt  to  seize  his  lands  by 
English  arms  or  plantation.  The  10th  of  August,  1572, 
young  Smith  landed  at  Strangford,  and  proceeded  to  build  a 
castle  upon  the  Ards  ;  but  he  soon  foimd  that  Sir  Brian  Mac 
Felim  was  not  an  agreeable  neighbour,  and  in  September  he 
wrote  to  Burghley  complaining,  that  Sir  Brian  would  not 
part  with  a  foot  of  the  land.  In  the  meantime  Sir  Brian, 
fearing  that  the  colonists  would  convert  the  old  monasteries 
into  garrisons,  burned  the  monasteries  of  Newtown,  Bangor, 
Movilla,  and  Holywood.  Smith  felt  it  necessary  to  withdraw 
his  men  from  Newton  in  the  Ai'des  to  Renoughaddy  (Ring- 
haddy)  in  the  DufFerin.  At  this  time  Walter,  Earl  of  Essex, 
was  also  engaged  in  a  similar  scheme  of  colonizing,  and  had 
received  from  the  Queen  a  grant  of  Claneboy,  the  Route,  and 
other  lands  in  Down  and  Antrim.  He  placed  a  garrison  at 
Belfast,  and  another  at  Holywood,  under  a  Lieutenant  Moore. 
The  fate  of  Smith  is  thus  told  in  a  letter  written  by  Essex 
from  Carrickfergus,  the  20th  of  October,  1573: — "The  same 
day  at  my  coming  home  I  received  letters  from  Mr.  Moore, 
the  pensioner,  and  from  a  brother  of  Mr.  Secretary's,  that  his 
son,  Thomas  Smith,  had  been  slain  in  the  Ardes  that  after- 
noon with  a  shot,  and  was  stricken  in  the  head.     His  men 


TERRITORY  OF  THE  ARDS.  387 

finding  his  house  scant  guardable  have  sent  unto  me  for  a 
band  of  horsemen  to  convey  them  to  Mr.  Moore's  at  Holly- 
wood, which  this  day  I  have  sent  unto  them."  Smith's  men 
were  relieved  by  Ferdorough  Savage,  who  brought  them  into 
the  Little  Ards.  The  death  of  young  Smith  extinguished 
that  enterprise,  which  cost  Sir  Thomas  £10,000  ;  but  the 
Smith  family  continued  even  till  about  the  year  1700,  to 
petition  the  Crown  to  restore  to  them  the  benefit  of  their  patent. 
Marshal  Bagenal's  Description  of  Ulster  in  1586  contains 
the  following  notice  of  this  territory  : — "  Little  Ardes  lieth 
on  the  North  side  of  the  River  of  Strangford,  a  fertile 
champion  countrey.  It  is  th'  inheritance  of  the  Lord  Savage, 
who  hath  now  for  certain  yeares  farmed  the  same  to  Capten 
Peers.  There  are  besides  dwellinge  here  certeine  anncient 
freeholders  of  the  Savages  and  Smithes,  able  to  make  amongst 
them  all,  some  30  horsmen  and  60  footemen.  They  are 
often  harrowed  and  spoyled  by  them  of  Clandeboye,  with 
whom  the  borders  of  their  lands  do  joine.  Great  Ardes 
is  that  countrey  which  was  undertaken  by  Mr.  Smithe  ;  it  is 
almost  an  Island,  a  champion  and  fertile  land,  and  now 
possessed  by  Sir  Con  M'Neill  oig  Onele,  who  hath  planted 
there  Neil  M' Brian  Ferto,  with  sondrey  of  his  ownesirname. 
But  the  anncient  dwellers  there  are  the  Ogilmers  a  rich  and 
stronge  sept  of  people  alwaies  followers  of  the  Neils  of 
Clandeboye.  The  force  of  th'  enhabitantes  nowe  dwellinge 
here  is  60  horsmen  and  300  footemen."  Con  O'Neill,  the 
sixth  in  descent  from  Aodh  Buidhe  II.  slain  in  1444  (see 
Dufierin),  who  jiossessed  those  lands,  which  the  swords  of 
his  ancestors  won,  having  been  imprisoned  as  a  rebel,  because 
he  ordei*ed  his  servants  to  recover  his  wine,  which  some 
drunken  soldiers  of  the  garrison  of  Belfast  had  seized  for 
their  own  use,  as  it  was  being  carted  from  Carrickfergus  to 
Castlereagh,  agreed  to  divide  his  lands  with  James  Hamilton 


388  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

and  Hugh  Montgomery  on  condition  that  they  would  obtain 
his  pardon  and  a  grant  from  the  Crown  for  the  remainder. 
The  lands  were  accordingly  divided,  Con  retained  the  Castle- 
reagh  district,  Hamilton  succeeded  in  procuring  for  his 
share  of  the  spoil  the  entire  civil  parishes  of  Bangor  and 
Ballyhalbert,  while  the  remainder  of  the  Greater  Ards  fell 
to  the  lot  of  Montgomery,  yet  such  was  the  mutual  hatred 
engendered  between  the  two  Scotchmen  in  the  division  of 
the  booty  that  Hamilton  in  his  will  directed  that  none  of  his 
sons  or  daughters  should  marry  any  of  the  postei-ity  of 
Montgomery.  Hamilton's  property  descended  to  Henry 
Hamilton,  Earl  of  Clanbrassil,  who  made  a  will  leaving  the 
estates  absolutely  to  his  Countess,  and  afterwards  died  sud- 
denly on  the  12th  of  January,  1675.  The  various  members 
of  the  Hamilton  family  contested  this  will  and  eventually 
purchased  out  the  interests  of  the  representatives  of  the 
Coimtess.  The  estate  consequently  became  broken  up,  and 
much  of  it  passed  into  other  hands,  in  order  to  procure 
money  for  the  payment  of  the  purchase  and  the  lawsuits.  A 
similar  fate  befel  Montgomery's  share ;  the  family  sold  to 
Sir  Robert  Colvill  the  Manor  of  Newtownards  in  1675,  and 
that  of  Comber  except  Mount  Alexander  in  1679,  while 
Mount  Alexander  and  the  remnant  of  the  vast  estates 
belonging  to  the  Montgomeries  were  bequeathed  by  Henry 
Montgomery  last  Earl  of  Mount  Alexander,  who  died  in 
1757,  to  his  Countess,  and  by  her  to  her  nephews,  Samuel 
Delacherois  and  Nicholas  Cromelin.  The  inhuman  butcheries 
perpetrated  against  the  natives  by  the  military  men  employed 
during  the  wars  of  Elizabeth  made  the  Greater  Ards  a  desert, 
and  most  of  the  natives  when  the  Scotch  colonists  arrived 
sought  an  asylum  in  the  Little  Ards  among  their  fellow 
Catholics,  the  descendants  of  the  early  English  settlers.  The 
following  description  of  the  desolation  existing  in  the  parishes 


TERRITORY  OF  THE  ARDS.  389 

of  Comber,  Donaghadee,  and  Newtownards,  given  by  the 
author  of  the  Montgomery  Manuscripts,  may  be  taken  as  a 
picture  of  the  state  of  the  entire  district.  "  In  the  spring 
time,  Ao.  1606,  those  parishes  were  now  more  wasted  than 
America  when  the  Spaniards  landed  there,  but  were  not  at 
all  incumbered  with  great  woods  to  be  filled  and  grubbed,  to 
the  discouragement  or  hinderance  of  the  inhabitants,  for  in 
all  those  three  parishes  aforesaid,  30  cabins  could  not  be 
found,  nor  any  stone  walls,  but  ruined  roofless  churches, 
and  a  few  vaults  at  Gray  Abbey,  and  a  stump  of  an  old 
Castle  at  Newton,  in  each  of  which  some  gentlemen  sheltered 
themselves  at  their  first  coming  over."*  Yet  it  seems  some 
few  of  the  natives  still  lingered  in  the  neighbourhood  of  their 
birth,  for  when  Sir  Hugh  Montgomery  was  roofing  the 
chancel  of  a  ruined  church,  the  manuscript  says,  "  he  needed 
not  withdraw  his  own  planters  from  working  for  themselves, 
because  there  were  Irish  Gibeonets  and  Garrons  enough  in 
his  woods  to  hew  and  draw  timber  for  the  sanctuary." 

*  This  affords  a  strong  argumenlt  in  favour  of  Tenant-right.  It  was 
not  for  the  landlord  but  for  themselves  that  the  Scotch  Colonist  and 
his  descendants  built  the  farmsteads  and  reclaimed  the  lands  ;  and 
the  proprietors  inheriting  from  the  purchasers  from  Con  O'Neill 
should  bear  in  mind  that  Con  only  held,  or  represented  chiefs,  who 
only  held  by  Tanlstry,  or  in  other  words  as  the  stewards  of  the 
lands,  which  were  for  the  use  of  the  people.  The  hardy  warriors 
from  Tyrone  and  Derry  did  not  spill  their  blood  to  make  the  Clanna- 
boy  Chiefs  proprietors  of  the  conquered  territory,  and  if  the  chiefs 
usurped  such  poMers,  the  usurpation  arose  from  the  confusion  of 
troubled  times.  The  settlement  of  the  Tenant  question  is  only  a 
review  in  calmer  moments  of  unjust  powers  conferred  by  the  Crown 
too  hastily ;  while  the  political  cry  of  the  Sacred  rights  of  property  is 
too  frequently  a  successful  argument  for  the  perpetuation  of  injustice. 


PARISH  OF  PORTAFERRY. 


)HE  parish  of  Portaferry  contains  all  the  civil  parish 
^gjll^^  of  Bally philip  except  a  portion  of  the  townland  of 
Tullymally  ;  all  the  civil  parish  of  Ballytrustan  except  the 
townlands  of  Ballybranigan  and  Ballymacnamee ;  all  the 
civil  parish  of  Witter  except  three  townlands,  which,  though 
annexed  in  the  civil  arrangement,  form  a  detached  district, 
the  nearest  point  of  which  is  about  a  mile  distant  from  the 
exti-emity  of  the  main  body  ;  and  the  civil  parish  of  Ardquin, 
except  the  townlands  of  Ballyriddley,  Bally waddon,  and 
Ballywallon.  This  parish,  in  1871,  had  2,300  Catholic 
inhabitants. 

The  ancient  parish  church  of  Witter,  or  as  it  was  named, 
Grange-Oughter — the  upper  or  farther  Grange — is  called 
Temj)le  Cowey.  It  is  built  at  the  foot  of  a  gentle  slope 
descending  to  Tara  Bay  at  the  junction  of  the  townlands  of 
Tieveshilly  and  Tullycarnon.  Only  the  foundations  of  the 
church  now  remain,  which  are  fifty-four  feet  long  and  eighteen 
feet  wide.  Along  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  little  disused 
cemetery  are  three  holy  wells  ;  that  to  the  north-east  is  called 
the  Drinking  Well,  that  to  the  south-east  is  called  the 
Washing  Well,  and  the  middle  is  called  the  Eye  Well.  At 
the  distance  of  about  twenty  perches  from  the  church  there 
is  shown  on  the  margin  of  the  bay  a  flat  rock  in  which  a 
number  of  white  pebbles  are  embedded.     Prostrated  on  this 


PARISH  OF  PORTAFERRY.  391 

rock,  St.  Cowey  performed,  it  is  said,  Ms  penitential  exercises; 
the  pebbles  and  some  indentations  in  the  rock,  according  to 
popular  belief,  mark  where  he  placed  his  hands,  his  knees, 
his  feet,  while  certain  other  indentations  mark  the  spot  where 
fell  the  tears  which  he  shed.  The  traditions  of  the  Lower 
Ards  have  preserved  the  memory  of  this  holy  man,  about 
whom  our  ancient  manuscripts  have  not  recorded  anything. 
The  name  Cowey,  which  in  Irish  is  written  Cumhaighe, 
meaning  Greyhound  of  the  plain,  or,  metaphorically,  Hero  of 
the  plain,  is  modernised  in  every  part  of  Ireland  into  Quintin, 
and  according  to  local  traditions  Temple  Cowey  Cruachan- 
Cowey,  the  name  of  an  ancient  earthwork  about  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  to  the  west  of  the  ancient  church,  Quintin's  Bay, 
Ballyquintin,  and  Lough  Cowey,  near  Ardquin,  are  all  com- 
memorative of  St.  Cowey  or  Cooway,  and  perhaps  Ardquin 
might  even  be  added  to  the  list  of  places  named  from  him. 
In  the  Taxation  of  Pope  Nicholas,  Witter,  under  the  name 
of  "  the  Chapel  of  Tener,"  was  valued  at  20s.  At  the  dis- 
solution the  rectory  was  appropriated  to  the  abbey  of  Inch, 
it  was  afterwards  leased  to  the  Earl  of  Kildare  under  the 
name  of  Temple  Kenny.  An  inquisition  taken  at  Ardquin 
on  the  4th  of  July,  1605,  found  that  "  The  Prior  of  the  late 
monastery  of  Inche  in  Lecaile  was  seized  ...  of  tlie 
rectory  or  church  of  Grangeoughter  in  the  Ardes,  which 
extends  into  seven  towns  in  the  same  county,  and  of  the 
vicarage  of  foresaid  church  of  Grangeoughter  ;  and  the  vicar 
there  in  right  of  his  vicarage  receives  each  year  the  alterage 
and  the  third  part  of  the  tithes  of  grain  and  grass."  The 
Terrier  says  "Capellade  Vochter  (Witter).  Inch  is  the  parson. 
Curate  pays  Proxies  7s. ;  Refections  do.;  Synodals  2s."*     It  is 

*  The  large  amount  jiaid  by  the  Curate  in  Proxies  and  Refections, 
almost  proves  that  Temple  Cowey  Parish  had  been  a  mensal  of  the 
bishop. 


392  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

curious  to  obsei've  that  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Temple  Cowey 
there  were  the  remainsof  a  circularearth  work  called  Cruachan 
Cowey,  bearing  the  same  name  as  Croghan,  the  royal  palace 
of  the  kings  of  Oonnaught,  while  the  great  rath  of  Tara,  from 
its  imposing  position,  would  almost  lead  us  to  suppose  that 
it  was  intended,  like  its  namesake  in  Meath,  for  the  habitation 
of  a  king.  Though  the  people  generally  regard  the  remains  of 
antiquity  with  veneration,  yet  Cruachan  has  been  subjected 
to  the  plough,  and  modern  improvements  have  made  free  with 
many  of  the  great  stones  in  the  stone  cii'cle  of  Keentagh. 

Quintin  Bay  Castle,  which  seems  to  have  been  ei'ected  by 
the  early  English  invaders  to  guard  their  conquests,  was  held 
under  the  Savages  by  a  family  named  Smith.  The  author 
of  the  Montgomery  Manuscripts  in  the  Description  of  the 
Ards  says,  "There  is  likewise  on  the  eastern  shore,  one  league 
from  ye  said  Barr,  Cottins  Bay,  also  Quintin  Bay  Castle, 
which  commands  ye  Bay,  that  is  capable  to  receive  a  bark  of 
forty  tunns  burthen.  Sir  James  Montgomery  of  Rosemount 
p  urchased  the  same,  and  lands  adjoining  thereunto,  from 
Dualtagh  Smith,  a  depender  on  ye  Savages  of  Portneferry,  in 
whose  mannor  it  is ;  and  ye  said  Sir  James  roofed  and  floored 
ye  castle,  and  made  freestone  window  cases,  &c.,  therein  : 
and  built  ye  baron,  and  flankers,  and  kitchen  walls  contig- 
uous;  all  which,  W.  Montgomery,  Esq.,  and  his  son  (joining 
in  ye  sale)  sold  unto  Mr.  George  Boss,  who  lives  in  Carney, 
part  of  ye  premises."  *     This  old  castle  was  some  years  ago 

*  The  Montgomerys  took  the  precaution,  in  order  to  legalise  the  sale, 
to  have  the  Smiths  declared  Innocent  Papists.  The  extract  already 
given  is  followed  by  the  following,  which  will  have  a  local  interest  : — 
"  Near  it  is  a  ruined  pile  formerly  belonging  unto  (Dualtagh  Smith) 
another  dependant  of  Portneferry,  which  with  diverse  townlands  ad- 
joining now  doth  belong  to  James  Hamilton,  of  Bangor,  Esq."  New- 
castle, otherwise  Clough  M'Gorteen,  Derry,  and  Carrowboy,  now 
Eallymarter,  were  sold  by  deeds  of  2d  and  3d  November,  171G,  to 
Robert  Ross  of  Rostrevor,  for  the  sum  of  £1,440  under  an  Act  of  Par- 


PARISH  OF  PORTAFERRY.  393 

renovated  by  the  late  Mr.  Calvert,   into  whose  possession 
it  had  passed. 

lu  the  townland  of  Knockinelder,  (Cnock-an-iolair — the 
hill  of  the  eagle),  there  is  an  ancient  cemetery  in  the  farm 
of  Mr.  James  Curran.  The  graves  are  covered  and  lined 
with  flagstones,  and  as  each  grave  was  used  only  for  the 
interment  of  one  corpse,  the  cemetery  was  necessarily  very 
large ;  it  extended  over  several  acres.  There  have  not  been 
observed  any  foundations  of  a  church,  but  a  ring  of  greener 
vegetation  in  the  centre  of  the  most  crowded  portion  of 
the  cemetery  seems  to  indicate  the  site  of  the  ancient 
circular  fosse  which  surrounded  the  church  ;  and  similar 
green  circles  are  observed  in  the  adjoining  field.  Im- 
mediately outside  the  cemetery  there  is  a  beautiful  little 
well,  so  close  to  the  sea,  that  high  tides  wash  over  it ;  but 
the  little  stream  which  it  sends  forth  soon  carries  ofi"  the 
impurities  left  by  the  sea,  while  all  around  it  flourishes  a 
dense  vegetation  of  sea-kale,  which  may  have  served  the 
ancient  monks  for  a  portion  of  the  vegetable  diet  on  which 
they  principally  subsisted.  There  is  not  a  single  document 
to  shed  a  gleam  of  historical  light  on  the  old  Church  of 
Knockinelder.  Some  chieftain  must  have  usurped  its  rights 
long  before  the  Anglo-Norman  set  foot  on  Ireland,  and  its 

liament  (2  George  I),  which  enabled  trustees  to  sell  portions  of  the 
estate  of  James  Hamilton,  for  the  purpose  of  raising  money  to  pay  the 
portions  of  his  daughters.  Dr.  O'Donovan  writing  of  the  O'Gowans  or 
Smiths  says,  "  It  is  however  certain  that  there  was  a  family  of  Smith 
of  the  same  race  as  the  Maghennises  at  Ijuintin  Bay,  that  the  family 
of  the  late  Dr.  Smith,  of  Downpatrick,  and  several  others  in  the 
County  of  Down,  is  of  this  race,  the  Doctor  had  no  doubt  himself, 
though  he  had  no  written  pedigree  or  other  evidence  except  oral 
tradition  to  prove  it."  Note  to  4  M.  A.D.  1492.  Wonderful  stories 
are  told  of  the  treasures  of  Dualtagh  Smith  and  how  he  concealed  them. 
Poor  Smith  had  few  treasures.  Dualtagh  among  the  Smiths  is  now 
changed  into  Denis. 


394  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

cemeteiy  seems  to  have  been  disused  before  their  advent,  for 
the  modern  form  of  interment  never  disturbed  the  little 
tenement  of  stone,  which  the  affection  of  their  living  re- 
lations built  for  the  dead  twelve  or  thirteen  centuries  ago. 
The  ancient  cemetery  of  Knockinelder  is  situated  within 
a  very  short  distance  from  the  boundary  of  the  adjoining 
townland  of  Ballymarter,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  Knock- 
inelder is  a  sub-denomination  of  Ballymai-ter,  and  both  are 
called  in  several  ancient  documents  half  townlands,  for 
instance,  it  is  foimd  by  an  Inquisition  taken  at  Downpatrick 
on  the  12th  of  September,  1632,  that  "  Dionysius  Smith  late 
of  Quintonbay,  in  the  County  of  Down,  was  seized  in  his 
lifetime  of  the  half  townland  of  Quintonbay,  otherwise 
Ballymartyre,  containg  60  acres  of  land,  the  half  townland 
of  Cnockmeller  (should  be  Cnockineller),  containing  60  acres 
and  the  half  townland  of  Carny,  containing  60  acres — Being 
thence  so  seized,  by  his  deed  bearing  date  the  16th  of  August, 
1628,  he,  along  with  his  son  Dwaltagh  Smith,  demised  to 
Daniel  Smith  and  his  assigns  the  one-fourth  of  the  townland 
of  Quintonbay,  for  the  term  of  96  years,  as  appears  by  said 
deed,  the  tenor  of  which  follows  in  the  original — afterwards, 
viz.,  on  the  20th  of  September,  1632,  foresaid  Dionysius 
Smith  died — forsaid  Dwaltagh  was  then  of  full  age  and 
married.  The  premises  are  held  of  the  King  by  knights' 
service."  From  this  it  is  at  least  very  probable  that  the 
ancient  cemetery  formerly  was  a  portion  of  Ballymarter. 
Dr.  Reeves,  in  notes  to  "  Adamnan's  Life  of  St.  Columba," 
explains  that  Martra  was  the  technical  term  among  the  Irish 
for  a  saint's  relics,  hence  the  enskrining  of  the  relics  of  St. 
Petei',  Paul,  and  Patrick  is  entered  in  the  Annals  of 
Tighernach  at  the  year  734.  "  Communatio  Martirum 
Petair,  et  Poil,  et  Padraic,"  the  same  term  is  used  by 
Tighernach  at  the  year  743,  and  by  the  Annals  of  Ulster, 


PAKISH  OF  PORTAFERRY.  395 

at  the  year  775,  to  express  the  enshriiimg  of  relics ;  and 
Adamnan  says  that  a  church  at  Jerusalem  which  was  built 
by  Constantine,  was  called  Martyrlum.  Since  Quinton  Bay 
is  given  as  another  name  for  Ballymarter,  it  is  not  impro- 
bable that  St.  Cowey,  or  Quinton,  established  first  his 
church  where  now  is  the  old  cemeteiy  of  Knockinelder,  and 
when  the  fame  of  his  sanctity  had  attracted  too  large  a 
crowd  of  disciples,  he  sought  a  more  retii-ed  spot  for  his 
devotions  at  Temple  Cowey. 

In  the  townland  of  Ballytrustan  are  the  ruins  of  the 
ancient  church  of  Ballytrustan,  which  is  supposed  to  have 
received  its  name  from  the  Irish  word  Trustan,  a  stafi"; 
it  was  so  named  from  the  staff"  used  by  pilgrims  journeying 
to  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  for  the  rectory  of  the  church  belonged 
to  the  military  order  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  whose  duty 
it  was  to  protect  pilgrims  on  theii*  way  to  the  Holy  Land. 
In  the  "  Taxation  of  Pope  Nicholas"  the  following  entry 
occurs  :— "  The  Church  of  Thurstaynistione,  Hospitallers," 
and  "  The  Vicarage  of  the  same,"  was  valued  at  40s.  It  is 
to  be  observed  that  the  rectory  is  neither  valued  nor.  taxed, 
because  it  belonged  to  the  Hosj)itallers,  who  were  intended 
to  defend  the  Christians  in  Palestine,  for  the  protection 
of  which  the  taxation  had  been  imposed.  It  would  seem 
that  the  lands  of  Ballytrustan  did  not  belong  to  the 
"  Preceptory  of  the  Ards,"  as  the  monastery  of  the  Hospi- 
tallers at  Castleboy  was  called,  though  it  was  possessed  of 
the  tithes,  for  it  was  found  by  a  Post  Mortem  Inquisition 
in  1343,  that  Matilda,  Countess  of  Ulster,  held  certain  lands 
in  the  County  of  Newtown,  called  Thurstanton ;  and  the 
King,  in  1397~,  committed  to  Richard  Pussell  the  custody  of 
the  lands  of  Thurstayntone,  Corrok,  and  Bally algell  (Corrog 
and  Ballygalget),  and  other  townlands  in  the  County  of 
Newtown.     The  forms  of  the  name  are  produced  simply  by 


396  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

the  translation  of  the  first  syllable  Bally  into  its  equivalent 
town,  written  '  ton'  or  '  tone,'  and  afiixing  to  it  the  Irish 
word  Trostan.  By  an  Inquisition  taken  at  Ardquin  on  the 
4:th  of  July,  1605,  it  was  found  that  John  Rawson,  knight, 
prior  of  the  late  priory  or  Hospital  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem, 
in  Ireland,  was  seized  in  fee,  in  right  of  his  priory,  of  the 
rectory  of  Bally trustan,  and  a  list  of  the  townlands  is  given, 
which  includes  all  those  contained  in  the  modern  civil  parish 
of  Ballytrustan,  except  Ballymacnamee,  Bally wierd,  and 
Parsonhall,  and  all  the  townlands  in  the  civil  parish  of 
Castleboy,  except  Broomquarter,  Tullycross,  and  TuUytram- 
mon,  it  also  included  Granagh  and  Tullyboard,  which  are 
now  in  the  civil  parish  of  Ballyphilip.  The  Inquisition  found 
that  there  belonged  to  the  rectory  certain  lands  and  tene- 
ments and  a  glebe  in  the  townland  of  Ballytrustan,  "  and 
the  presentation  to  the  vicarage  in  same  church,  and  the 
vicar  there,  in  right  of  his  vicarage,  receives  each  year  the 
altar  fees  of  said  rectory  and  the  third  part  of  the  tithes  of 
grain  and  grass."  The  Terrier  has  the  following  entry : — 
"Ecclesia  de  Trustan  (Ballytrustan) — Prior  of  St.  John 
parson,  one  towne  gleabe.  Vicar  pays  in  Proxies,  3s., 
Refections,  3s.,  Synodals,  2s. 

The  ancient  church  of  Ballyphilip  stood  within  the  glebe 
and  was  surrounded  by  an  extensive  graveyard,  which  has 
been  long  since  cultivated.  The  ancient  well  is  situated 
along  the  stream  which  forms  the  western  boundary  of  the 
glebe  groimds.  Dr.  Reeves  says  there  were  persons  living 
in  1844  who  remembered  the  old  church,  which  was 
described  by  Harris  in  1744  as  "  a  coarse  building  of  an  odd 
contrivance,  being  a  room  37  feet  in  length,  16  feet  broad, 
and  20  feet  high,  covered  with  a  coved  arch  of  stone,  so 
close  and  firmly  cemented  that  it  does  not  appear  to  admit 
any  water ;    to  which  cause  it  probably  owes   its  security 


PARISH  OF  PORTAFERRY.  397 

hitherto  from  ruin.  On  the  south  side  of  the  wall  are  three 
niches  covered,  like  the  heads  of  so  many  stalls  in  some 
ancient  choirs.  Close  adjoining  to  it  is  another  building 
likewise  covered  with  a  coved  arch  of  stone,  and  consisting 
of  two  apartments ;  appearing  to  have  been  lofted,  and 
from  whence  is  a  passage  by  a  door  into  the  chiirch."  Such 
was  the  ancient  church  of  Ballyphilip,  with  its  adjoining 
presbytery,  and  its  "  three  niches"  in  the  south  sidewall,  in 
which  were  the  sedilia  or  seats  used  at  High  Mass  by  the 
priest,  deacon,  and  sub-deacon.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  all 
have  long  since  disappeared.  The  remains  of  this  ancient 
chiirch  wei'e  blown  up  in  a  boyish  frolic  by  Robert,  second 
Marquis  of  Londonderry,  and  his  schoolfellow,  who  were  at 
that  time  under  the  tuition  of  the  rector.  In  the  Taxation 
of  Pope  Nicholas  "  the  church  of  Feliptone"  was  valued  at 
six  marks.  The  church,  as  was  the  case  in  most  seaports, 
was  dedicated  to  St.  Nicholas,  the  patron  of  sailoi's.  In  the 
primatial  registries  of  Armagh  there  are  two  entries  relating 
to  the  rectors  of  the  parish  of  Ballyphilip.  A.D.  1430 
William  Somerwell  was  presented  by  the  primate  to  the 
rectory  of  "Sti.  Nicholai  de  Phelpeston  in  le  Ai'de,"  and  A.D. 
1482  Walter  Raynoke,  alias  Dany,  was  rector  of  the  church 
of  "  S.  Nichol  de  Philipton."  The  following  entry  occiu's 
in  the  Terrier  "  Ecclesia  de  Philipstowne,  one  quarter  of 
gleabe.  Ecclesia  stat  upon  St.  John's  Carrowe  Nepaltone 
{PhiUptown  ?)  and  had  Noantil  (1)  of  rent  upon  it  at 
Christmas  : — In  Proxies  7s.,  refections  do.  ;  synodals  2s." 
From  which  it  would  seem  that  the  townland  of  Bally- 
philip was,  in  ancient  times,  di-ST.ded  into  quarters  (Carroioes) 
upon  one  of  which  St.  Johns  Carrowe,  or  quarter,  the  chiu'ch 
was  built,  and  another  quarter  was  the  glebe,  which  probably 
was  what  is  now  called  Parsonhall,  an  adjoining  townland  con- 
taining thirty-seven  acres,  which  is  ia  the  present  civil  parish 


598  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

of  Ballytrustan.  If  Parsonliall  were  tlie  glebe  of  Ballyphilip, 
it  has,  for  several  centuries,  been  alienated  from  the  church, 
for  by  an  Inquisition  held  at  Newtownards,  January  25th, 
1620,  "three  quarters  of  Parsonhall"  are  found  to  have 
been  among  the  possessions  of  "  Patrick  Savadge,  late  Lord 
Savadge  of  the  Little  Ai'des."  so  early  as  JSTovember  5th, 
1590,  when  he  transferred  them  to  trustees.  Parsonhall, 
was  afterwards  among  the  possessions  of  his  son,  Rowland 
Savage,  and  in  1622  the  Protestant  bishop,  in  his  return  of 
"the  state  of  bishopricks  of  Downe  and  Connor,"  seems  to 
refer  to  Parsonhall  when  he  says — "To  the  church  of  Philip- 
stowne  there  are  three-quarters  of  land  knowne  to  be 
auncyent  gleabe  of  this  church,  this  gleabe  was  possessed  by 
Rowland  Savage,  of  Portfeare,  Esq.,  deceased,  by  virtue  of 
a  lease  from  William  Worst  (Worsley),  then  incumbent.  At 
the  expiration  of  the  lease,  the  incumbent  re-entered  to 
the  possession  of  the  tithes,  but  the  lessee  keepeth  possession 
of  the  gleabe  and  keepeth  the  incumbent  out  of  possession  ; 
upon  the  death  of  the  said  Rowland  Savadge,  Inquisition 
was  taken  by  the  escheator  what  landes  he  died  inf eofed  and 
seized  in,  and  ye  jury  found  that  this  parcel  of  land  was  not 
any  part  of  his  inheritance  nor  included  in  his  patent,  but 
the  ancient  gleabe  of  that  chui'ch,  notwithstanding  this  part 
of  the  Inquisition  (it)  hath  been  supprest  and  kept  up  to  the 
great  prejudice  of  the  church."  The  civil  commotions,  which 
shortly  afterwards  ensued,  prevented  tlie  Protestant  bishop 
from  recovering  the  ancient  glebe  which,  to  this  day,  forms 
a  part  of  the  Portaferry  estate. 

The  ruins  of  an  ancient  church,  called  Temple  Craney, 
stand  within  the  graveyard  of  Portaferry  ;  it  was  for  two 
centuries  used  as  the  Protestant  parish  church,  its  Irish 
name,  and  an  ancient  well  near  it  called  Temple  Crauey 
well,  supply  the  only  reasons  for  supposing  it  to  have  been 


PARISH  OF  PORTAFERRY.  399 

antecedent  to  Pi'Otestantism.  Near  Temple  Craney  are  the 
remains  of  Portaferry  castle,  the  ancient  seat  of  the  Savages, 
whose  descendents  have  assumed  the  name  of  Nugent.  This 
ancient  English  family  frequently  enjoyed  the  office  of  Senes- 
chal of  the  liberties  of  Ulster,  and  when,  like  the  other  early 
English  colonists,  they  began  to  assume  Irish  names,  they 
called  themselves  MacSeneschal*  The  Four  Masters  some- 
times use  the  name  Mac-an-TsahJiaoisigh  (pronounced 
Mac-a-Tavishy)  which  forms  the  modern  name  Macatavish. 
Patrick  Savage,  commonly  called  Lord  Savage  of  the  Little 
Ardes,  died  in  1603,  and  his  son  Rowland  died  in  1619, 
both  of  whom  have  been  already  mentioned  in  reference 
to  the  glebe  of  Ballyphilip.  The  estate  then  passed  to 
Patrick,  who  is  said  to  have  been  the  17th  son  of  Patrick, 
the  Lord  Savage  of  the  Little  Ardes.  He  married  in 
1623  Jane,  daughter  of  Hugh  Viscount  Montgomery,  and 
as  the  author  of  the  "  Montgomery  Manuscripts"  remarks 
"He  was  the  1st  Protestant  of  his  family,  through  the 
said  viscount's  care  to  instruct  him."  On  the  death  of 
his  son  Hugh,  who  died  unmarried  in  1666,  the  estate 
passed  to  his  cousin,  Patrick  Savage,  of  the  townland  of 
Deny,    who  lived  in  the  year   1724,  and   whose  collateral 

*  Aenghus  O'Daly  who  was  employed  by  the  government  about  tlif 
end  of  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth  to  satinze  the  Irish  says — 

"  Ard-Uladh  destitute,  starving, 
A  district  without  delight — witliout  Mass — 
Where  Mac-an-t-Sabhaoisigh,  the  English  hangman, 
Slaughters  barnacles  with  a  mallet." 
So  scanty  was  food  in  Ards,  according  to  the  Satirist,  that  Savage,  the 
landlord  of  the  district  had  to  support  himself  by  kiUing  barnacles. 
James  C.  Mangan  has  versified  the  stanza  thus — 

"  Ard-Uladh,  vile  sink,  has  been  time  out  of  mind, 
But  a  region  of  famine  ;  on  its  coasts  you  will  find, 
Slaying  barnacle  snails  with  a  mallet,  that  savage 
Old  hang-dog-faced  haugabone  hangman  MacSavadge  !  " 


400  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

relatives  still  possess  it.  Many  social  changes,  among  which 
may  be  enumerated  the  introduction  of  the  ancestors  of 
the  present  Protestant  inhabitants  of  the  parish  of  Porta- 
ferry,  arose  from  the  marriage  of  Patrick  Savage  to  Jane 
Montgomeiy  ;  her  bx'other,  Sir  James  Montgomery,  under- 
took the  management  of  the  estate,  and  the  following 
extract  from  the  ''  Montgomery  Manuscripts"  informs  us 
what  he  effected : — "  The  said  Sir  James,  his  sister  Jane  being 
married  to  Patrick  Savage  aforesaid,  he  found  his  estate 
much  in  debt,  and  not  one  walled  house  in  Portafery,  till 
that  match  (as  was  credibly  informed  me)  only  some  fisher- 
men's cabins,  and  the  old  castle  near  it  out  of  repair,  nor  any 
such  mills  as  now  are,  and  very  little  grain  to  employ  one, 
that  country  being  much  wasted,  'till  the  viscount's  planta- 
tions, which  was  not  suffered  to  spread  into  the  little  Ards 
'till  their  own  greater  (Ards)  were  furnished  with  inhabitants, 
and  no  trade  by  sea,  nor  no  convenience  for  it,  before  the 
said  year  1623.  .  .  .  Tn  the  meantime,  the  said  Sir 
James  was  setting  and  letting  the  lands,  and  laying  out 
tenements  to  the  best  advantage,  but  the  freeholders  and 
followers*  (who  were  mostly  degenerate  old  English  or  Irish) 
were  obstinate  and  would  not  renew  their  deeds  nor  alter 
their  holdings  from  their  old  way.  And,  besides  these 
misbehaviours,  they  cosheered  much  upon  Mr.  Savage,  who 
bore  with  them  in  those  customs  in  which  he  was  fostered ; 
so  that  his  debts  increased,  and  he  was  persuaded  to  go  with 

*  The  following  names  of  proprietors  or  occupants  on  the  lands 
held  by  the  Portaferry  branch  of  the  Savages,  and  taken  from  some 
of  the  Inquisitions  relating  to  that  property,  show  what  were  the 
prevailing  names  in  that  part  of  the  Ards  more  than  two  centuries 
ago  : — Savage,  Bryan  O'Corau  of  Carrowdreynan,  M'Ley  of  Keen- 
tagh,  Smith  of  Ballymarten,  O'Domegan  of  Tara,  O'Conan,  Houston, 
Magrae  of  Ardgeehan,  Fitzsimons  of  Tiveshilly  and  Keentagh, 
O'Dogherty  of  Tara,  M'Lerenan  of  Ballyrussly,  Carr  of  Ballyedock, 
M'Kyrie  of  Tara,  &c. 


PARISH  OB^  PORTAFERRY. 


401 


his  family  to  the  Isle  of  Man  to  live  privately,  but 
plentifully,  yet  much  cheaper  than  at  home ;  and  so  to 
be  rid  of  cosheerers,  and  to  stay  two  years  in  Peel- 
town,  'till  Sir  James  should  improve  his  estates  in  rent 
and  build  for  him  a  house  befitting  his  quality,  and  shall 
bring  his  freeholders  to  submit  to  him.  During  this 
recess.  Sir  James  put  the  most  stubborn  and  refractory 
to  the  law  to  make  them  examples,  for  there  were  flaws 
in  their  deeds,  and  their  titles  were  defective,  sealing 
leases  of  ejectment  against  them,  whereby  they  were 
overcome,  and  submitted,  some  paying  fines,  and  increas- 
ing rents  to  be  paid  in  money,  besides  the  usual  duties 
and  services  ;  and  obliging  them  to  the  usual  way  of 
living,  habit,  and  building ;  others  of  them  he  brought 
to  stoop  to  his  lure,  partly  by  threats  to  take  the  severity 
of  the  law  against  them,  partly  by  conferences  and 
gentle  speeches,  showing  also  kindness  to  those  he  found 
willing  to  support  their  landlords.  But  the  most  effectual 
course  he  took  was  to  get  wastes  filled  with  British 
planters  on  the  lands,  and  builders  of  stone-houses  in 
the  town  (whose  examples  taught  the  natives  husbandry 
and  industry),  and  to  build  mills  on  the  loughs,  tying  the 
tenents  to  gi'ind,  and  pay  the  16  grain  as  toll,  or  thertage 
(commonly  called  moultre),  and  other  helps  for  reparations. 
Sir  James  (during  Mr.  Savage's  stay  in  the  island) 
repaired  the  old  castle  by  roofing  and  flooring  it,  and  by 
striking  out  longer  lights,  with  freestone  window  cases  ; 
also  building  (and  joining  to  it)  a  fair  slated  stone  house, 
as  may  be  seen  with  the  Savages'  and  Montgomerys'  arms 
above  the  door  thereof.  It  is  now  of  late  years  much 
bettered  (by  this  Mr.  Savage)  in  the  contrivance 
within,  which  had  not  been  so  necessary  as  now,  had 
not   the    old    castle    been    almost    ruined    by   an    officer's 

2  A 


402  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

family,  which  quartered  therein  the  first  three  years  after 
the  Irish  Rebellion."* 

The  ancient  church  of  Ardquin  occupied  the  site  of  the 
Protestant  church  of  Ardquin.  In  the  Taxation  of  Pope 
Nicholas,  it  was  valued  under  the  name  of  "  The  cluuch  of 
Ardquienne"  at  six  marks.  It  was  a  mensal  parish,  having 
been  transmitted  to  the  bishops  probably  from  their  prede- 
cessor St.  Cowey,  from  whom  the  place  seems  to  have  been 
named  Ardquin — the  heiglit  of  Cu  (mhaighe) — and  until 
the  Disestablishment  the  greater  part  of  the  jmrish  was  held 
under  the  Protestant  bishop,  who  was  also  rector.  The 
Terrier  has  the  following  entry  — "  Ecclesia  de  Arechewen, 
one  mensal,  pays  in  proxies  5s."  There  is  preserved  in  a 
patent  roll  16,  Edward  III.,  an  inspeximus  of  a  charter  of 
Hugh  de  Lacy,  in  which  that  earl  of  Ulster  says — "  Know 
that  we  have  given  and  granted,  and  by  this  our  charter 
have  confirmed  to  our  venerable  father  in  Christ,  Thomas, 
Bishop  of  Down,  and  to  his  successors,  in  pure  and  per- 
petual alms  for  the  salvation  of  our  soul  and  those  of  our 
ancestors,  four  carucates  of  land  of  our  domain  in  Arte 
(the  Ards),  lying  on  one  part  between  the  land  of  Arwhum 
(Ardquin)  belonging  to  the  foresaid  bishop,  and  the  land 
belonging  to  the  Hospitallers  (the  manor  of  Castleboy)  on 
the  other ;  and  on  another  part  between  the  land,  which 
formerly  belonged  to  Randulf,  son  of  William  de  Lunwahr, 
and  our  land  of  Arhen  (Ardkeen)t  We  have  granted  also  to 
the  same  bishop  and  his  successors,  in  pure  and  perpetual 

*  Colonel  Andrew  Savage,  who  assumes  the  additional  name  of 
Nugent,  the  present  representative  of  the  Portaferry  branch  of  the 
family,  is  the  seventh  proprietor  in  succession  from  the  Patrick  Savage 
referred  to,  and  is  the  great-great  grandson  of  Patrick's  brother. 

+  This  description  seems  to  indicate  the  townlands  of  Ballyward 
and  Dunevly,  which  lie  between  the  parishes  of  Ardquin  and  Castle- 
boy.    They  are  not  at  present  See  property. 


PARISH  OF  PORTAFERRY.  403 

alms,  the  land  which  was  held  by  John  de  Lennes  in  the 
Arte,  with  the  homage  and  service  of  his  heirs.  And  a 
carncate  of  land,  which  Robert,  son  of  Serlo^  held  of  iis  in 
Ai'te,  near  Stranford,  along  with  the  homage  and  service  of 
his  heirs."  De  Lacy  also  confirmed  sundry  grants  made  by 
De  Courcy  to  the  bishops  of  Down,  among  which  was — "Ih 
Ard,  Arecum,  (Ardquin),  with  all  its  appurtenances,  and 
Kiel  Bodan  (Ballywaddan)."  It  is  very  probable  that  most 
of  those  lands  had  belonged  to  the  bishops  of  Down  long 
before  the  conquest,  and  were  only  restored  to  them  according 
to  formalities  of  Anglo-Norman  law.  A  Close  Roll  9, 
Henry  III.,  A.D.  1225,  says,  "  Our  lord  the  king  gave  to 
Thomas,  Bishop  of  Down,  for  the  losses  which  he  sustained 
for  the  service  of  our  lord,  the  king,  in  the  war  of  Hugh  de 
Lascy,  two  carucates  of  land  of  the  domain  of  the  king  in  the 
Ards,  for  his  sustentation,  as  long  as  it  shall  please  our  lord, 
the  king ;  which  carucates  adjoin  the  same  bishop's  manor  of 
Archiwhyn  (A.rdquin)  around  the  lake  of  same  town."  The 
lake  here  alluded  to  is  Lough  Cowey.  Walter  de  la  Hay,  the 
escheator,  rendered  into  the  exchequer  an  account  of  the  re- 
ceipts from  the  See  lands  of  Down  during  the  interval  between 
March  4th,  1305,  and  July  1st  of  that  year,  a  part  of  which  is 
as  follows — "  And,  of  18s.  4d.,  of  the  rents  of  the  free  tenants 
of  Ballybodan*  and  Grenocket  for  the  same  term.  Of  the 
rent  of  hens  and  the  work  of  the  tenants  there  he  makes 
no  I'eturn,  because  the  work  is  paid  in  Autumn,  and  the 
hens  at  the  Circumcision.  And  of  24s.  2d.  of  the  rent  of 
forty-eighty  acres  of  land  belonging  to  a  demesne;}:  of  three 
score  and  sixteen  acres  of  land  immediately  behind  Ardwyn 
(Ardquin)  for  the  same  term.     Of  the  rent  of  eighteen  acres 

*  Ballybodan,  now  Ballywaddan. 

t  Grenocke,  now  Granagli. 

X  Demesne  represented  at  present  by  the  townland  of  Demesne, 
which  contains  211a.  2r.  32p. 


404  DOWX  AND  CONNOR. 

of  demesne,  of  gardens,  of  a  meadow,  and  of  a  mill,  he  makes 
no  return  for  the  same  term,  because  the  demesne  was 
seeded  before  the  death  of  the  said  bishop  ;  of  the  gardens 
and  the  meadov/  nothing  was  received.  And  of  £15  7s.  8d. 
of  the  rents  of  the  farms  of  Ardwyn  for  the  same  year.  And 
of  16s.  8d.  of  the  rents  of  the  free  tenants  of  Ballycaiyne  for 
the  same  term."  This  was  a  very  large  rental,  considering 
the  value  of  money  in  1305.  Ballycaryne  was  probably 
Tullycarnan,  a  townland  at  the  extremity  of  which  was 
Temple  Cowey.  It  has  been  for  ages  incorporated  in  Porta- 
ferry  estate,  but  this  record  indicates  that  it  once  belonged 
to  the  Bishops  of  Down  who  possessed  it,  and  the  other  See 
lands  which  had  belonged  to  the  little  See  once  ruled  by  St. 
Cowey,  who  has  left  his  name  so  indelibly  fixed  on  the 
topography  of  the  little  Ards. 

In  the  townland  of  Derry  are  the  ruins  of  two  chapels, 
distant  from  each  other  only  22^  feet ;  the  walls  are 
constructed  with  an  adhesive  kind  of  clay,  instead  of 
mortar;  the  chapel  on  the  north  side  is  26  feet  long 
and  I65  feet  broad,  while  that  to  the  south  is  of  the  same 
breadth,  but  only  24  feet  long.  It  is  curious  that  these 
chapels,  though  standing  side  by  side,  are  not  parallel, 
which  proves  that  the  ancient  Irish  did  not  always  build 
their  churches  pointing  from  the  west  towards  the  east,  and 
it  has  been  reasonably  supposed  that  they  built  them  so  that 
the  altar  would  be  towards  that  portion  of  the  heavens  in 
which  the  sun  would  rise  on  the  morning  of  the  festival  of 
the  patron  saint.  The  festival  of  St.  Cumain  was  anciently 
observed  in  this  church  on  the  29th  of  May,  at  which  day 
the  Felire  of  Aeugus  has  the  following  entry  : — 

"  A  great  host  flocked. 
Who  served  starry  heaven, 
To  C'Uniain  of  the  fair  town, 
Pear  daughter  of  Allen. 


PARISH  OF  PORTAFEREY.  405 

i.e.  a  woman,  i.e.  a  virgin  in  Dal-Buinne  is  the  cell  of  the 
daughter  of  Allen  ;  in  Idrone  also  ;  an  other  woman,  of  Daire 
Ingen  Aillen  in  Ard-Ukdh."  From  this  note  it  appears 
that  there  were  three  virgins  named  Cumain,  daughter  of 
Allen,  or  three  churches  dedicated  under  the  invocation  of  a 
holy  virgin  of  that  name,  one  of  which  was  that  of  Derry  in 
the  Ards.  If,  as  Colgan  conjectured,  the  note  attached  to 
the  martyrology  were  written  by  Aengus,  the  church  of  Derry 
must  ha\e  existed  before  the  year  800.  In  the  Taxation  of 
Pope  Nicholas,  "  the  church  of  Dere"  was  valued  at  two 
marks.  The  Terrier  enters  it  thus — "  Capella  de  Derrie, 
Movilla,  Curate  pays  Proxies  Is.,  Refections  Is.,  Synodals 
Is."  This  entry  shows  that  the  church  of  Derry  was  ap- 
])ropriate  to  Movilla,  and  an  Inquisition  taken  at  Ardquin, 
July  4th,  1605,  found  that  at  the  suppression  of  monasteries 
"James  M'Guilmero,  abbot  of  the  late  abbey  of  St.  Augustine 
of  Movilla,  in  or  near  the  great  Ards"  was  seized  inter  alia 
"of  all  the  tithes  annually  increasing  of  and  from  1  and  1| 
towns  in  the  Ardes  called  the  Derry,  lately  in  the  tenure  of 
Kowland  Savage  and  Cormack  Magee."  The  rectory  of 
Derry  extended  over  the  townlands  of  Derry,  Ballycam,  and 
Ballycranmore,*  the  last  is  in  the  civil  pai-ish  of  Ardkeen, 
and  is  far  separated  from  the  other  townlands.  Father 
M'Aleenan  removed  the  old  holy  water  font  fi'om  Derry  to 
the  church  of  Portaferry,  where  it  is  still  used.  When  I  was 
searching  among  the  ruins  I  found  a  portion  of  vitrified 
ridge  cresting. 

I  heard  that  human  bones  were  found  at  Mountross  in 
such  quantities  as  to  indicate  a  cemetery,  but  there  is  no 
record  that  there  ever  was  any  church  there. 

*  It  is  not  unlikely  that  the  remains  of  a  little  chapel  might  be 
found  in  the  detached  townland  of  Ballycranmore,  if  some  person  in 
the  locality  would  take  the  trouble  of  looking  for  it. 


406  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 


PARISH     PRIESTS. 


In  the  list  of  "Popish  Priests"  who  were  registered  iii 
Downpatrick  in  1704  "  Patrick  Pray"  is  returned  as  parish 
priest  of  Ballyi^hilip.  He  received  Holy  Orders  from 
Primate  Oliver  Plunket,  in  1671.  He  seems  to  have  taken 
an  active  part  during  the  Revolution,  for  he  is  returned  as 
"  Patrick  O'Pray,  Clerk,  of  the  Little  Ai'ds,"  in  the  list  of 
the  adherents  of  King  James,  who  were  attainted  at  Ban- 
bridge,  on  the  10th  of  July,  1691.  In  1704  Father  O'Pray 
was  residing  in  the  townland  of  Ballyphilip  ;  thd  house  in 
which  he  resided  was  standing  a  few  years  ago.  He  was  at 
that  time  fifty-seven  years  of  age  ;  we  have  no  record  of  the 
date  of  his  death,  but  after  that  event  the  parish  was  united 
to  Ai-dkeen,  and  that  imion  continued  till  1780.  (The  names 
of  the  parish  priests  who  had  charge  of  the  united  parish 
will  be  given  under  Ardkeen.) 

When  the  Rev.  Daniel  O'Doran  was  aj^pointed,  in  1780, 
to  Kilcoo,  the  union  of  Ardkeen  and  Portaferry  was  severed, 
and  the  latter  parish  was  conferred  on  his  curate,  the  Rev. 
John  Fitzsimons,  who  retained  it  till  his  promotion  to  the 
parish  of  Kilcoo,  after  the  death  of  Father  O'Doran,  in  1785. 
(See  Kilcoo). 

The  Rev.  Patrick  Magi-evey  (so  he  spelled  his  name)  was 
appointed  in  1786.  Father  Magi-evey  was  born  in  the 
townland  of  Ballybranagh,  parish  of  Bailee,  in  the  year 
1750.  He  was  ordained  in  the  Summer  of  1778,  and  shortly 
afterwards  went  to  the  Irish  College  of  Douay.  When 
a  student  of  that  college  he  studied  philosophy  and  theology 
in  the  college  of  the  Benedictine  Abbey  of  St.  Vadastus, 
and  obtained  Bachelorship  of  Philosophy  in  the  imiversity 
after  a  theses  held  on  the  10th  of  June,  1780.  The  Rev. 
Hugh  Magrath  and  the  Rev.  William  Crangle  were  his  class- 


PARISH  OF  PORTAFERRV.  407 

fellows.  Mr.  Magi-evey  seems  to  have  been  indefatigable  in 
writing  the  lectures  delivered  by  the  professors  imder  whom 
he  studied.  I  have  seventeen  octavo  volumes,  each  of  which 
contains  about  600  closely  written  jiages,  the  product  of  his 
pen  in  the  halls  of  the  Irish  College  of  Douay.  Having 
completed  his  studies  he  returned,  in  1784,  to  his  native 
diocese,  but  I  have  been  unable  to  ascertain  where  he  laboured 
until  his  ajipointment  to  Portaferry.  After  zealously  dis- 
charging the  pastoral  duties  of  that  parish  for  twenty-six 
years,  he  passed  to  his  reward  October  23rd,  1812.  He  was 
intended  in  the  ancient  cemetery  of  Kilclief,  where  his  tomb- 
stone bears  a  long  inscription  in  Latin,  of  which  the  following 
is  a  portion  : — 

' '  B.eYdus  P.  M  'Greevy  fato  functus 
est  die  23.  Octobris  1812.  Annos 
Natus  62.  Paroeciae  de  Portaferry 
Prepositus  annos  26. " 

The  Rev.  Edward  M'Quoid,  who  was  also  a  native  of  Bally- 
branagh,  succeeded  Father  Magrevey  ;  he  died  suddenly  in 
October,  1815,  and  was  interred  in  Dunsford.  Father  Peter 
Denvir  was  appointed  in  November,  181.5,  from  the  curacy 
of  Ahoghill.  Father  Denvir  left  Portaferry  in  March,  1825, 
in  order  to  undertake  the  administration  of  Lisburn,  under 
the  aged  Father  Edward  Dempsey.     (See  Bright). 

Father  Denvir  was  succeeded  by  Father  James  M'AIeenan, 
who  was  appointed  from  the  curacy  of  Down.  He  built  the 
chapel  of  Portaferry,  and  was  instrumental  in  obtaining  for 
the  diocese  the  Shrine  of  St.  Patrick's  Hand.  He  was 
appointed  to  the  parish  of  Kilmegan,  March  10th,  1843. 
(See  Kilmegan.) 

Father  M'AIeenan  was  succeeded  by  the  present  pastor, 
the  Rev.  James  Killen,  V.F.,  who  was  promoted  from  the 
pai'ish  of  Bailee.     (See  Bailee). 


408  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

CHURCH. 

Mass  was  celebrated  at  times  on  a  rock  called  Carrigiia- 
halter  (altar  rock),  in  the  farm  belonging  to  Mr.  Murphy,  in 
Carrstown.  The  present  church  of  Portaferiy,  which  is  in 
the  townland  of  Tullyboard,  occupies  the  site  of  a  chapel 
which  stood  there  in  the  worst  times  of  persecution.  It  was 
probably  one  of  the  five  "  Old  Mass  Houses"  which  the 
Protestant  bishop  mentioned  in  Ms  report  to  the  House  of 
Lords  in  1731  as  having  been  in  his  diocese  from  a  period 
antecedent  to  the  accession  of  George  I.  Harris,  Aviiting  in 
1744,  says — "The  Presbyterians  have  a  meeting-house  at 
Poi-taferry,  and  the  Papists  a  Mass-house  near  the  town,  and 
(which  is  singular)  it  is  the  only  place  in  the  Ardes  where 
there  is  any  Mass-house."  The  old  Mass-house  was  replaced 
by  a  more  respectable  structure,  erected  in  1762  by  the  Rev, 
James  Taggart,  parish  priest  of  all  the  Ai-ds.  The  datestone, 
which  is  built  into  tlie  wall  of  the  present  cliurch,  has  the 
following  inscription  : — 

All  ye  good  Christ 
ians  pray  for  ye  bene 
factors  of  this  chapel 
Avhich  was  built  by  the 
Masons  Dorians  and  Mr. 
Henry  Murland 

Carpenter,  1762. 

The  history  of  this  church  is  continued  by  another  stone, 
on  which  is  inscribed — 

Rebuilt  A.  D,  1S31 

Revd.  James  M'Aleenan,  P.P. 

It  was  enlarged  and  new  galleries  erected  in  it,  in  1845, 
by  Father  Killen,  by  whom  an  acre  of  land  was  obtained 
from  Colonel  Andrew  Nugent  to  enlarge  the  yard.  An  altar 
has  lately  been  erected  in  honour  of  St.  Patrick  on  the 
Gospel  side  of  the  high  altar,  and  on  the  corresponding  space 


PARISH  OF  PORTA FERHY.  409 

on  the  Epistle  side  a  stone  altar  of  elaborate  design  lias  been 
erected,  at  the  cost  of  about  £500,  in  honour  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin  Mary,  from  drawings  by  T.  Hevey,  Esq.,  Archt. 
The  parochial  schools,  which  stand  in  immediate  pi'oxiaiity 
to  the  church,  were  erected  by  Father  Killen,  from  designs 
supplied  by  John  O'Neill,  Esq.,  Archt.  A  Celtic  cross  in 
the  graveyard  marks  the  grave  of  Father  Curran,  who  was  a 
native  of  Dooey,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Portaferry.  He 
was  oi'dained  in  Belfast  by  Dr.  Dorrian,  on  the  3rd  of 
February,  1871.     On  the  base  of  the  cross  is  inscribed — 

Sacred 

To  the  memory  of  the 

Rev.  William  Cmrau, 

Who  died  13th  June  1874, 

I  Aged  27  years. 

Reqiuescat  in  puo'.     Amen. 


The  following  returns  preserved  in  the  Record  Office,  Dublin,  were 
made  by  the  Protestant  Ministers  : — 

"Saintfield,  April  14th,  1766. 
Sir, — There  are  420  Protestant  families  in  ye  parish  of  Saintfield, 
in  the  County  of  Down,  and  65  Popish  families  ;  in  all  485. 

James  Ham.  Clewlow. 
Henry  Eaker  Sterne,  Esc[.,  Clerk  to  the  House  of  Lords." 
Saintfield  Parish  in  1871— Catholics,  554  ;  all  others,  4,167. 

"  Killinchey,  April  15,  1766. 
Sir, — In  pursuance  of  an  order  received  from  the  Bishop  of  Down 
and  Connor  L  have  herein  sent  you  the  number  of  Protestant  and 
Popish  families  within  my  parish,  which  are  551  Protestant  and  91 
Roman  Catholic  families.  I  had  the  number  collected  with  the  greatest 
care.  There  is  not  a  Popish  priest  residing  in  this  parish."  (There  is 
no  signature  to  this  letter. ) 

Killinchey  Parish  in  1871— Catholics,  831  ;  all  others,  4,020. 

A  return  written  on  the  back  of  the  circular  is  as  follows  : — "  Ivilly- 
leigh  Parish — 451  Protestants,  67  Papists.  No  Popish  Priest.  No 
Friar. — Rowley  Hall,  Rector." 

Killyleagh  Parish  in  1871— Catholics,  1,089  ,  all  others,  4,821. 


PARISH  OF  BALLYGALGET. 


fHE  parish  of  Ballygalget  contains  tlie  three  townlands 
of  the  civil  parish  of  Ardqiiin,  the  part  of  the  town- 
land  of  Tullymally,  the  two  toAvnlands  of  the  ci^n.! 
parish  of  Ballytrustan,  and  the  three  townlands  of  the  civil 
parish  of  Witter,  which  have  been  already  mentioned  as  not 
being  included  in  the  Catholic  parish  of  Portaferry.  Bally- 
galget also  includes  the  civil  parishes  of  Castleboy  and  Slanes, 
and  the  townlands  of  Ballyward,  Ballygelagh,  and  Dunevly, 
which  belong  to  the  civil  parish  of  Arclkeen,  while  its  boun- 
dary towards  Kii-kistoAvn  is  not  as  yet  definitely  an-anged. 
In  1871  the  parishes  of  Ballygalget  and  Ardkeen  contained 
3,059  Catholics  ;  there  is,  however,  no  data  to  enable  us  to 
ascertain  the  number  of  Catholics  in  each  parish. 

"  In  the  townland  of  Ballygalget,"  says  Dr.  Reeves,  "  on 
a  high  ground  at  Knockdoo,  otherwise  Rocksavage,  and 
a!;)Out  a  furlong  north  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Chapel,  is  a 
spot  called  '  Shankill'  (old  church),  where  traces  of  a  building 
measuring  36ft.  by  16ft.,  exist  iii  a  long  disused  burying 
gi-ound,  which  was  once  enclosed  by  a  circular  cashel,  of 
about  40  yards  diameter."  This  was  the  ancient  church 
valued  in  the  Taxation  of  Pope  Nicholas,  under  the  name  of 
"  The  Church  of  Sithe"  at  40s.  The  name  "  Sithe,"  which 
is  pronounced  Shee,  signifies  a  fairy  hill,  or,  as  the  name  was 
translated  by  Colgan,    "  a  pleasant  hill."     An  inquisition. 


PAKISH    OF    BALLYGALGET.  411 

taken  in  the  year  1334,  found  that  certain  knds  "  in  le 
Syth,"  in  the  County  of  Newtown  of  Blsethwic,  were  held 
under  William  de  Burgo,  by  "  Nicholas  Galgyl,"  and  in 
1390,  the  custody  of  these  lands  called  from  him  "  Ballygal- 
gell,"  which,  in  the  course  of  time,  has  assumed  the  foim 
"  Ballygalget,"  and,  of  some  other  lands  in  that  locality, 
was  given  to  Richard  Russell  during  the  minority  of  Roger, 
Earl  of  March  and  Ulstei-.  The  three  townlands,  Ballygalget, 
Ballyfinragh,  and  Ballywhollart,  constituted  the  rectory  of 
Ballygalget,  or,  as  in  some  documents,  it  was  called  "  Bally- 
funeragh,"  which,  at  the  "  Reformation,"  was  appropriated 
to  the  Abbey  of  St.  Patrick,  in  Down.  The  Terrier  says 
"  Capella  de  Ballygalged,  is  the  prior's  of  Downe,  Curate  pays 
Proxies,  Is. ;  Refections,  Is.  ;  Synodals,  2s."  This  rectory 
of  Ballygalget  was  afterwards  granted  to  Sir  James  Mont- 
gomery. 

Near  the  site  of  Shankill,  or  Ballygalget  Church,  once 
stood  the  Castle  of  Ballygalget,  called  also  Rocksavage,  which 
was  built  in  the  reign  of  James  I.,  by  Rowland  Savage  of 
Ardkeen,  who  served  against  the  Irish  in  the  wars  of  Queen 
Elizabeth.  The  castles  of  Ballygalget  and  Kirkstown  are 
described  by  the  writer  of  the  INIontgomery  MSS.  as  "  high 
square  piles." 

"  The  lands  of  Castleboy,  otherwise  Johnstown,  which 
formerly  belonged  to  the  Hospitallers  (Reeves'  Eccl.  Antiq.), 
consist  of  nine  townlands,  containing  1,358  acres.  In  the 
townland  of  Castleboy  there  remains  a  small  poi-tion  of  the 
castle  standing,  and  a  few  perches  to  the  N.W.  the  ruins  of 
the  chapel,  measuring  sixty-three  by  twenty-one  feet.  The 
east  window  was  a  triplet  of  lancet  compartments.  On  the 
north  and  south  sides  were  lancet  windows,  about  six  feet 
removed  from  the  west  angles.  There  were  entrances  on  the 
north  and  south  sides,  about  twenty-six  feet  from  the  west 


412  DOWX    AND    CONNOR. 

end.  A  small  lancet  window  was  in  the  west  wall,  about 
six  feet  from  the  floor.  A  cemetery  surrounded  the  building, 
but  the  gi-ound  is  now  cultivated  up  to  the  veiy  walls."  This 
was  the  Commandeiy  or  Preceptory  of  the  Ards  belonging 
to  the  Knights  of  tlie  militaiy  order  of  St.  J  ohn  of  Jerusalem 
(now  called  Knights  of  Malta),  an  order  which  professed  the 
Rule  of  St.  Augustine,  and  was  instituted  to  protect  the 
(Jhristians  of  the  Holy  Land  and  pilgrims  going  to  Jerusalem, 
Tlie  order  had  in  Ireland  two  Grand  Priories,  Wexford  and 
Kilmainham  ;  the  latter  was  the  more  important ;  its  ruins 
were  employed  to  build  the  Royal  Military  Hospital  of 
Kilmainham,  which  stands  on  the  site  of  the  Grand  Prioiy. 
The  only  Commandeiy  or  Preceptory,  which  the  order  pos- 
sessed in  the  diocese  of  Down  and  Connor  was  that  of 
Castleboy,  or  St.  John's  of  the  Ards,  but  it  had  the  rectories 
of  Ballytrustan,  Rathmullan,  with  the  chapelry  of  St.  John's 
Point,  Ballyministra,  Carncastle,  St.  John's  of  Carrickfergus, 
Ballywalter,  near  Doagh,  and  Ballyrashane,  and  extensive 
landed  possessions.  The  Inquisition  taken  at  Downpatrick, 
Oct.  13tli,  1623,  found  as  follows, — "One  quarter  of  land  in 
Canvie,  lying  in  the  Great  Ardes  aforesaid,  as  well  in  spirit- 
ualities as  temporalities,  one  other  quarter  of  land  called  Car- 
rowneclogher,  lying  in  the  parish  of  Whitecliurch,  in  the  ter- 
ritorie  of  the  Great  Ardes  aforesaid,  as  well  in  spii-itualities  as 
temporalities,  and  two  townelands  called  Ballyhayes,  lying 
in  the  parish  of  Donoghdie,  in  the  Great  Ardes  in  the  county 
aforesaid,  as  well  in  spiiitualities  as  temporalities,  one  Carrow 
of  land,  called  Carrownemoan,  cdias  Carrovioienoan,  lying  in 
the  parish  of  Talbotstown,  as  well  in  spiiitualities  as  in 
temporalities.  One  other  quarter  of  land  called  Carrow- 
John-Boyestie  (Quarter  of  John,  the  Bajitist),  lying  in  tlie 
toAvn  of  Drunioan,  alias  Drumfin  (it  is  now  incorporated  in 
Ballyobekin),  as  well  in  spiritualities  as  in  temporalities,  one 


PARISH    OV    BALLYGALGET.  413 

other  quarter  of  land  called  St.  John's  Quarter,  lying  in 
FuUokeis  (perhaps  Tullykevin  in  the  parish  of  Grey  Abbey?), 
another  quarter  of  land  ■  called  St.  John's  Quarter,  alias 
CaiTOwnechegle  (Church  Quarter),  in  Kilnolgan  (perhaps 
Killyvolgan  in  Gi"ey  Abbey  parish'?)  in  the  Great  Ardes 
aforesaid,  as  well  in  spiritualities  as  temporalities,  and  one 
quarter  of  land  called  Carrownemurchie,  lying  near  the  island 
Slesne,  in  Loghcoyne,  in  the  Upper  Clandeboye,  another 
quarter  of  land  called  Carrownemuck,  lying  near  Knockcol- 
lumkill,  in  the  upper  Clandeboye  aforesaid,  as  well  in  spirit- 
ualities as  in  temporalities.  All  which  last  recyted  premises 
are  parcell  of  the  late  dissolved  Priory  or  Religious  House  of 
St,  John's  of  Jerusalem."  These  wex'e  gi-ants  which  the 
several  Anglo-Norman  lords  had  conferred  on  the  Hospitallers. 

The  Commandery  of  Castleboy  was  founded  in  the  twelfth 
century,  by  Hugh  de  Lacy,  Earl  of  Ulster. 

A.D,  1327.  The  Prior  of  Kilmainham  granted  to  Friar 
Thomas  de  Vallet  during  life,  his  diet  at  the  brethrens'  table 
in  this  house,  with  clothes  of  the  value  of  20s.  sterling,  and 
a-half  mark  yearly  for  shoes  ;  and  also  entertainment  for  his 
horse  and  servant  in  the  same  manner  as  the  Preceptor's 
horse  and  servant  were  treated. 

A.D.  1333.  The  same  prior  granted  to  Robert,  the  son 
of  Thomas,  the  reeve  or  balifF,  his  entertainment,  with  clothes 
yearly,  with  the  other  free  servants,  or  10s.  in  lieu  thereof, 
and  he  bound  himself  to  undertake  the  duties  of  farmer  to 
the  Commandery. 

A.D.  1335.  The  same  prior  granted  to  Friar  William, 
the  son  of  Thomas,  a  grant  similar  to  that  which  he  made  to 
Friar  Thomas  de  Yallet,  and  if  he  should  happen  to  be  con- 
lined  to  his  chamber,  his  allowance  should  be  daily  two  white 
loaves,  and  two  loaves  of  a  coarser  kind,  two  flagons  of  ale, 
and  two  dishes  of  meat  from  the  kitchen  ;  and  that  he  should 


414  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

have  free  liberty  to  bring  into  the  house  or  to  remove  from 
it  all  his  goods  and  chattels,  and,  at  his  death,  to  dispose  of 
them  at  pleasure,  reserving  the  sum  of  13s.  4d.  to  the  Piior 
of  Kilmainham,  as  his  mortuary;  and,  moreover,  that  he 
should  have  a  proper  place  within  the  house  to  build  a 
chamber  for  himself  at  his  cost  and  charges. 

A.D.  1337.  Friar  Nicholas  de  Compton  was  Preceptor 
of  St.  John  of  the  Ards  ;  he  is  again  mentioned  as  holding 
the  same  office  in  the  year  1339. 

A.D.  1349.     The  Prior  of  Kilmainliam  gi-anted  to  Henry, 

son  of  E- ,  during  life  the  employment  of  butler  in  this 

house,  with  a  mark  sterling  annually  for  clothes  and  other 
necessaries,  to  be  paid  by  the  Preceptor  or  Commander,  to 
have  his  diet  at  the  esquii-es'  table,  but  to  have  the  same  in 
his  chamber  if  confined  to  it,  and  to  have  the  power  of  dis- 
posing of  his  goods  and  chattels  at  his  death,  reserving  a 
mark  to  the  Prior  of  Kilmainham  as  a  mortuary.  Tlie  same 
year  the  Prior  granted  to  Poljert  de  Hagard  the  employment 
of  farmer  in  the  Preceptoiy  of  the  Ards,  Avith  his  diet,  ifec, 
and  a  salary  of  10s.  per  annum.  He  also  was  entitled  to 
have  his  food  in  his  chamber  if  confined  to  it,  and  he  was  to 
have  power  to  dispose  of  Ms  goods  at  death,  reserving  a  mark 
to  the  prior  as  a  mortuary.  The  same  year  the  prior  gi-anted 
to  Friar  Stephen  Kermardyn,  chaplain,  his  corody*  in  this 
house,  and  that  at  his  death  he  might  dispose  of  his  goods, 
reserving  40s.  as  a  mortuary,  f  He  also  granted  to  him  a 
piece  of  ground  within  the  commandery,  whereon  to  erect, 
at  his  own  exj^ense,  a  chamber. 

*  Corody  (Corodium)  signifies  in  common  law,  a  sum  of  money,  or 
allowance  of  meat,  drink,  and  clothing  due  to  the  king  from  an  abbey 
or  other  house  of  religion,  of  which  he  is  founder,  towards  the  susten- 
ance of  any  one  of  his  servants  on  whom  he  may  bestow  it.  Corody 
may  also  be  due  to  bishops  or  to  private  persons. 

+  Mortuary  (Mortuarium,   Mortarium)  is  a  gift  left  by  a  man  at 


PARISH  OF  BAI.LYGALGET.  415 

A.D.  1397.     Thomas  Morcameston  was  Preceptor.     (See 
Archdalls  Monasticon  Hibernicum.) 

The  Church  of  Castleboy  or  Johnstown  was  not  valued  in 

his  deatli  to  his  parish  church,  for  the  recompense  of  his  personal 
tithes  and  offerings  not  duly  paid  in  his  lifetime.  A  mortuary  was 
not  properly  due  to  an  ecclesiastic  from  any  but  those  only  of  his 
own  parish,  from  whom  he  has  a  right  to  exact  ecclesiastical  dues  ; 
but,  by  ancient  custom  in  some  parts  of  these  kingdoms,  a  mortuary 
was  paid  to  the  parsons  of  sucli  parishes  as  the  corpse  jjassed  through. 
Before  the  statute  21,  H.  8,  cap.  6,  mortuaries  were  payable  in  beasts. 
A  mortuary  was  anciently  called  Saulesceat,  which  signified  money 
for  the  sepulchre  pecunia  sepulcrialis.  In  the  Irish  Canons  it  is 
called  the  price  of  the  sepulchre  ' '  Omne  corpus  sepultum  liabet  in 
jure  suo  vaccam  et  equum  et  vestimentum  et  ornamenta  lecti  sui" 
Canon.  Hiberu.  Lib.  19,  cap.  6,  (Every  corpse  interred  has,  in  its 
own  right,  a  cow,  and  a  horse,  and  clothes,  and  the  ornaments  of 
its  bed.)  The  statute  13,  Ed.  I.,  st.  4  enacts  that  a  prohibition  shall 
not  lie  against  mortuaries  in  places  where  mortuaries  used  to  be  paid. 
A  statute  21,  Hen.  8,  cap.  6,  sect.  6  enacts  that  mortuaries  shall  not 
be  paid  in  Wales  except  in  such  places  as  they  have  been  customary. 
But  it  would  seem  that  the  ancient  custom  still  subsists  in  Wales. 
A  recent  tourist  in  the  Principality  tells  that  he  was  present  at  the 
funeral  of  a  poor  woman,  when  the  wife  of  the  squire,  after  the 
service  had  been  performed,  placed  a  silver  coin  on  the  coffin,  and 
every  person  present  imitated  her  example.  In  Ireland  the  Provin- 
cial Council  of  Armagh,  A.D.  1670,  decreed  that  the  fourth  part  of 
the  funeral  offering  should  be  given  to  the  ordinary,  as  had  been 
decreed  in  the  Synod,  held  by  the  Primate  Edmund  O'Keilly.  The 
same  decree  was  enacted  by  the  Statutes  of  the  Province  of  Tuam, 
A.D.  1631,  which,  moreover,  enacted  that  £4  should  be  paid  to  the 
ordinary  from  the  goods  of  a  deceased  priest ;  together  with  his 
vestments  and  pixis,  and  the  offering  which  was  made  by  the  faithful 
on  the  occasion  of  his  funeral.  I  remember  hearing  an  old  man 
named  Frank  Fitzsimons,  of  the  parish  of  Bright,  telling  from  tradition 
that  in  former  times  the  Bishop  of  Down  and  Connor  was  entitled  to 
the  best  suit  of  clothes,  together  with  the  horse  and  saddle,  of  a 
deceased  priest  of  his  diocese.  Offerings  at  funerals,  which  are  so 
customary  in  this  diocese,  have  the  prestige  of  Catholic  antiquity, 
and  are  not  to  be  given  up  because  they  happen  to  be  scoffed  at 
by  some  Protestants,  or  by  Catholics  ignorant  of  the  history  and 
customs  of  their  Church  and  of  their  country. 


416  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

the  Taxation  of  Pope  Nicholas,  becaiise  the  possessions  of 
the  Knights  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem  were  exempted  from 
that  tax.  It  even  appears  that  the  church  was  exempt  from 
contributions  to  the  bishop  or  archdeacon.  The  entry  in  the 
"  Terrier"  is  simply,  "  Castleboy  is  exempt."  An  Inquisition 
held  at  Ardquin,  Jvxly  4,  1605,  found  that  at  the  suppression 
of  monasteries,*  "  John  Rawson,  Knight,  Prior  of  the  late 
Priory  or  hospital  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem  in  Ireland,  was 
seized  in  fee  in  right  of  said  priory,  of  the  preceptory  and 
manor  of  St.  John  of  the  Ards  in  Little  Ardes  in  the  fore- 
said county,  of  an  old  castle  in  the  village  of  St.  Johnston, 
otherwise  Castleboy,  the  Townland  of  St.  Johnston,  otherwise 
Castleboy  aforesaid,  Drumardan,  Balliadams,  otherwise 
Adamstown,  and  Ballinucholl  in  Little  Ardes,  being  members 
of  the  foresaid  manor  and  preceptory."  Then  follow  a  list 
of  rectories  and  advowsons  belonging  to  the  preceptory, 
which,  -with  all  its  possessions,  was  afterwards  granted  by 
the  Crown  to  Sir  James  Montgomery.  The  site  and  manor 
passed  afterwards  into  the  possession  of  the  Ecliliu  family. 

A  little  south-west  of  Castleboy  is  a  bridge  called  Nun's 
Bi'idge,  but  I  have  not  been  able  to  find  out  wliy  it  has  been 
so  named. 

The  ancient  burial-ground  of  Slanes,  with  the  vestiges  of 
its  old  chiTrch,  crowning  a  hill,  contributes  a  charming 
featui-e  to  the  general  landscape.  This  church  seems  to  have 
been  known  by  the  name  of  "  Ardmacaisse."     The  church  of 

*  The  people  of  Castleboy  have  a  tradition  that  an  ecclesiastic,  whom 
they  call  "  John  of  Jerusalem,"  when  going  to  the  Holy  Land,  directed 
their  forefathers  not  to  pay  tithes  until  he  should  return,  and  they 
ascribed  the  exemption  of  the  parish  from  tithes  to  the  circumstance 
that  he  never  did  return.  This  is  a  curious  mixture  of  fact  and  fable  ; 
the  legend  seems  to  refer  to  John  Eawson,  Knight,  the  last  Prior  of 
the  Order  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem  in  Ireland,  while  the  exemption 
seems  to  arise  from  the  circumstance  that  both  lands  and  titlies  having 
been  granted  to  the  Montgomeries  the  tithes  merged  into  rent. 


PARISH    OF    BALLYGALGET.  4 1  7 

Slanes  is  not  mentioned  in  the  Taxation  of  Pope  Nicholas, 
bxit  in  the  portion  of  that  document  where  it  should  occur, 
"  the  church  of  Ardmacosse"  is  valued  at  40s.  Dr.  Reeves, 
in  the  Eccl.  Antiq.,  has  the  following  note  :— "  A.D.  1320, 
two  carucates  of  land  in  '  Ardmacaisse,'  which  had  been 
forfeited  by  John  FitzNicholas,  of  Slane,  on  account  of  his 
having  joined  Edwai-d  Bruce,  were  granted  by  the  king  to 
the  Prior  of  St.  John's  of  Jerusalem — Cal.  Cane.  Hib.,  vol.  1, 
p.  28.  It  is  probable  that  at  that  period,  '  Ardmacaisse' 
was  the  name  of  the  parish,  while  '  Slane'  was  the  name  of 
some  sub-denomination  in  it.  The  latter  is  now  applied  to 
the  townland,  wherein  is  the  churchyard,  with  the  remains 
of  the  fincient  church.  A.D.,  1386,  John  Hore  was  pre- 
sented by  the  Crown  to  the  church  of  Ard  mcKasee  in  the 
diocese  of  Down — Cal.  Cane,  Hib.,  Vol.  1,  p,  124.  Same 
year,  William  Nangle  was  parson  of  the  church  of  Ardma- 
casse — Cal.  Can.,  Hib.,  vol.  1,  p.  126.  Robert  Notyngham, 
rector  of  the  parish  church  of  Ardmacasch,  in  the  diocese  of 
Down,  was  '  Cruciferarius'  of  the  Primate.  (Visitation  of 
Derry,  1397 ;  in  Regist.  Armac.)  A.D.,. 1594,  John  M'Gyan 
was  rector  of  the  church  of  Ardmacasse — Reg.  Cromer,  p. 
452."  In  the  TeiTier  the  following  entry  occurs, — "  Ecclesia 
de  Slane — Rectoria, — Proxies  4s. ,  Refections  do. ,  Synodals  2s. " 
The  name  "  Slane"  is  derived  from  the  Irish  word  Slan — 
healthful,  or  heaUh-gwing,  a  name  frequently  given  to  holy 
wells.  Thus  the  ancient  Scoliast  explaining  the  word  Slan 
in  the  hymn  of  St.  Fiech,  says,  "  It  was  called  Slan  because 
all  returned  healthfid  from  it."  The  virtues  of  the  ancient 
well  of  Ardmacaisse  or  Slane  are  now  forgotten,  and  its  site 
unknown.  In  a  field  close  to  the  churchyard  is  an  artificial 
cave,  which  Harris  describes  as  "  formed  after  the  fashion  of 
a  spiral  walk,  about  fifty  yards  in  length.  The  entrance  is 
about  three  feet  wide,  but  so  low  (occasioned  by  stones  and 


418  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

earth  tumbled  in)  that  it  must  be  crept  into  on  the  belly, 
and  when  you  are  in,  you  must  stoop  to  pass  through  it. 
With  the  entrance  it  consists  of  five  descents,  at  each  of 
which  there  is  a  step  of  two  feet  deep,  where  probably  flag- 
stones were  placed  to  stop  the  passage  of  pursuers.  It  is 
terminated  by  an  oval  chamber  twelve  feet  long,  eight  broad, 
and  five  high,  and  the  whole  spiral  walk,  together  with  the 
chamber  at  the  end,  is  formed  of  large  flat  stones,  built  like 
a  diy  wall  without  cement,  and  roofed  with  long  flagstones, 
placed  horizontally,  which  are  supported  with  other  stones 
projecting  about  six  inches  from  the  sidewall."  Caves 
occurring  frequently  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  maijy  of 
the  most  ancient  churches  of  Down  and  Connor  incline  us  to 
suspect  that  they  may  have  been  used  as  places  of  retreat  or 
abode  by  early  ascetics.  The  caves  of  Knockmore,  County 
Fermanagh,  and  that  at  Lough  Nacloyduffe  in  the  same 
county,  exhibiting  early  Christian  symbols  (see  Proceedings 
of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  1869),  the  Christian  inscription 
found  in  a  cave  at  Seaforde,  and  the  sculptured  caves  of 
Scotland  (see  Sculptured  Stones  of  Scotland),  strongly  favour 
that  opinion. 

PARISH     PRIESTS. 

The  parish  of  Ballygalget  was  a  portion  of  the  united 
parish  called  "  Ardkeen  and  Slanes,  or  the  Lower  Ards," 
\mtil  October,  1866,  when  the  last  parish  priest  of  the 
imited  parish,  the  Rev.  James  Crickard,  was  appointed  to 
Loughinisland,  and  the  union  was  dissolved.  The  Rev. 
John  Macaulay  was  appointed  to  the  northern  portion,  which 
is  that  called  in  the  Ecclesiastical  Directory  the  parish  of 
"  Ardkeen  and  Slanes,"  though  there  is  no  portion  of  the 
ancient  parish  of  Slanes  in  his  paiish ;  and  the  Rev.  John 
M'Court  was  appointed  to  the  parish  of  Ballygalget,  which 


PARISH    OF    BALLYGALGET.  419 

formed  the  northern  portion  of  the  union.  The  names  of 
the  parish  priests  of  the  united  parish  will  be  given  under 
the  parish  of  Ardkeen. 

The  Rev.  John  M'Court  is  a  native  of  Killyfast,  in  the 
parish  of  Duneane.  He  entered  the  Class  of  Humanity  in 
the  College  of  Maynooth,  September  31st,  1830,  and  was  or- 
dained in  Belfast  by  Dr.  Crolly,  July  30th,  1833.  He  was 
shortly  afterwards  appointed  curate  of  Randalstown,  from 
which  he  was  sent  to  the  curacy  of  Rasharkin  in  December, 
1835,  thence  to  the  curacy  of  Lisburn,  November  28th, 
1839.  He  was  appointed  parish  priest  of  Glenarm,  Novem- 
ber 3rd,  1840,  from  which  he  was  appointed  to  the  parish  of 
Ahoghill,  July,  1847,  and  from  that  to  the  parish  of  Bally- 
galget  in  Octobei-,  1866.  Father  M'Court  was  appointed 
April  5th,  1877,  to  the  newly  constituted  parish  of  Clanvar- 
aghan  and  Drumaroad,  when  he  was  succeeded  in  Ballygalget 
by  the  present  parish  priest,  the  Rev.  Patrick  M'Cartan. 

Father  M'Cartan  is  a  native  of  the  parish  of  Kilcoo ;  he 
entered  the  Rhetoric  Class  in  the  College  of  Maynooth, 
October  1st,  1841,  and  was  ordained  in  Enniscorthy,  by  the 
Most  Rev.  Dr.  Keating,  Bishop  of  Ferns,  February  6th, 
1848.  He  was  appointed,  April  5th,  1877,  parish  priest  of 
Ballygalget  from  Portglenone,  which  he  administered  since 
the  death  of  his  brother,  Father  Michael  M'Cartan,  parish 
priest  of  that  parish. 

CHURCH. 

Previous  to  the  erection  of  Ballygalget  Church,  Mass  used 
to  be  celebrated  at  the  hill  of  Knockdoo,  and  at  a  thorn  still 
called  the  Holy  Thorn,  in  a  field  belonging  to  Mr.  Pat 
Cvirran.  Mass  was  also  celebrated  in  a  field  at  Ardkeen 
belonging  to  Mr.  Neal  M'Keating.  The  Catholics,  through 
the  connivance  of  the  Savages,  of  Rock  Savage,  erected,  on 


420  DOWN  AND  CONNOK. 

the  spot  now  occupied  by  the  Parochial  House,  a  thatched 
cabin,  somewhat  early  in  the  last  century,  for  it  was  con- 
sidered old  in  1760.  The  cabin  served  during  six  days  of 
the  week  for  a  school-house,  in  which  one  Beatie,  who  had 
been  a  long  time  on  board  a  man-of-war,  taught  the 
children  of  the  neighbourhood,  and  on  Sunday  it  was  used 
as  a  chapel.  In  1784  the  present  chui'ch  was  erected  by  the 
Rev.  B.  Magarry,  P.P.     On  its  date-stone  is  inscribed  : — 

This  chapel  dedicated 
to  St.  Patrick 
•  Superintended  by  the 

Genty  (gentry  ?)  of  Rock  Savage, 
(Present  Incumbent 
Rev.  B.  Magarry,^ 
was  built  A.  D.  1784. 
Pray  for  its  benefactors. 
On  another  stone  inserted  in  the  wall  is  inscribed — 

This  Aisle  erected 

A.U.  1835. 

Rev.  .John  Maguire  P.P. 

In  the  gi'aveyard  are  interred  the  remains  of  the  Rev. 
William  Killen,  P.P.,  Lower  Ards.  and  of  the  Very  Rev. 
James  Killen,  of  Ballymacarrett.  On  the  gravestone  of  the 
latter  is  inscribed — 

Of  your  charitj- 

Pray  for  the  repose    . 

of  the  soul  of 

The  Very  Rev. 

James  Killen  P.  P.  V.G. 

Ballymacarrett 

who  departed 

this  life  on  Tuesday 

the  23rrf  .Ailif,  1866. 

Reqniescat  in  pace.     Amen. 

The    Parochial    House    was    erected    by    the    Rev.    John 
M'Court,  A.D.  1870. 


THE  PARISH  OF  ARDKEEN. 


HE  parish  of  Ardkeen,  sometimes  called  that  of 
Kirkcubbin,  extends  over  the  civil  parish  of  Ard- 
keen, except  the  townlands  of  Bally  ward,  Bally- 
gelagh,  and  Dunevly;  but  the  boundary  towards  Kirkistown, 
as  already  stated,  is  not  yet  accurately  defined.  It  also 
includes  the  civil  parishes  of  Inishargy,  St.  Andrews,  alicLs 
Ballyhalbert,  and  Greyabbey. 

Ardkeen,  which  seems  to  have  been  so  named  from  Ard 
Qaoin  (the  pleasant  height),  is  a  lofty  eminence,  which  over- 
hangs Strangford  Lough,  and  is  crowned  by  an  ancient 
Celtic  fort,  which  looks  boldly  down  upon  the  lake.  Within 
the  ramparts  of  this  ancient  fort  the  Anglo  Normans  erected 
a  castle,  which  has  been  almost  entirely  obliterated,  while 
the  Celtic  earth-works  remain  nearly  as  perfect  as  when  they 
were  first  erected.  The  ruins  of  a  Protestant  church,  which 
replaced  the  ancient  Catholic  structure,  called  the  Church  of 
St.  Mary,  of  Ardkeen,  stand  within  the  old  cemetery  on 
the  shore  of  a  little  creek  called  the  Dorn  (the  haft  of  the 
sword).  The  martyrology  of  Donegal  places  at  September 
8th  the  festival  of  St.  Fionntain  of  Ard  Caoin.  In  John  de 
Courcy's  charter  to  Blackabbey  he  excepts  from  his  grant 
the  tithes  belonging  to  his  castle  of  Archen.  In  the  Taxation 
of  Pope  Nicholas  "  the  church  of  Ardkene,  with  the  chapel 
of  Moyndele,  was  valued  at  ten  marks."  The  advowson  of 
Ardkeen  passed  with  the  earldom  of  Ulster  from  De  Courcy 


422  DOWN    AND    CONNOE. 

to  the  family  of  De  Lacy,  and  through  them  to  the  De 
Burgos.  In  the  Inquisition  taken  after  the  death  of  Wm- 
de  Burgo,  the  church  of  Arwoghin  ( Ardkeen)  was  valued  at 
100s.,  though  by  au  old  extent  it  had  been  valued  at  .£20 
}>er  annum.  The  depreciation  of  the  income  of  the  church 
is  attributed  to  the  wars  of  the  Logans.  During  the  min- 
ority of  the  daughter  of  William  de  Burgo,  the  advowson  of 
Ardkeen,  like  his  other  possessions,  was  vested  in  the 
Crown,  which  in  1347  presented  Thomas  de  Bredon  to  that 
church.  On  the  l5t]i  of  October,  1385,  Thomas  Cuthbert 
obtained  letters  of  presentation  to  the  church  of  Ardkeen  in 
the  diocese  of  Down.  This  Thomas  Cuthl>ert  was  a  brother 
of  the  House  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem  of  Down,  otherwise 
called  the  Monastery  of  St.  John  of  the  English  of  Down, 
and  on  the  1st  of  July,  1386,  he  obtained  the  custody  of  the 
House  of  Lepers  of  St.  Nicholas  of  Down.  He  was  after 
wards  appointed,  November  5fch,  1389,  Chancellor  of  the 
Liberties  of  Ulster.  When  Cuthbert  obtained  the  custody 
of  the  Hospital  of  St.  Nicholas,  Bobert  de  Vere,  Marquis  of 
Dublin  and  Earl  of  Oxford,  "  having  compassion  on  the  old 
age  of  William  de  Eldon,  chaplain,  parson  of  the  church  of 
St.  Mary  of  Ardkeen,  in  the  diocese  of  Down,  likewise  on  the 
poverty  of  said  church,  which  is  insufficient  in  these  days  for 
his  respectable  support,  acce])ts  and  ratifies  his  status  and 
possession  in  it."  This  ratitication  is  dated  October  24th, 
1386.  The  Terrier  has  the  following  entry  : — "  Ecclesia  de 
A  rchin,  the  church  hath  a  quarter  in  St.  John ;  pays  iu 
I)roxies,  5s. ;  refections,  5s, ;  synodals,  2s."  Ardkeen  is 
returned  under  the  narue  of  "  Earchin"  as  a  ruin  in  1621. 

The  old  castle,  which  had  been  erected  by  De  Courcy, 
being  inconvenient  on  account  of  its  great  exposure  to 
storms,  was  demolished  about  the  commencement  of  the 
last  century  by  Hugh  Savage,  who  erected  in  its   stead  a 


PARISH    OF    ARDKEEN.'  423 

house,  the  I'uins  of  which  are  now  to  be  seen  near  the  shore 
of  the  Dorn.  The  Ardkeen  branch  of  the  Savages  were  also 
possessed  of  the  Castle  of  Sketrick,  and  one  Rowland  Savage, 
a  member  of  the  Ardkeen  family,  who  fought  for  Queen 
Elizabeth  against  the  Irish,  erected  the  two  castles  of  Bally- 
galget  and  Kirkistown,  which,  with  the  surrounding  lands, 
he  conferred  upon  two  of  his  sons.*  The  Ardkeen  branch 
of  the  Savages  retained  the  ancient  faith  longer  than  their 
relatives  of  Portaferry,  but  they  were  evidently  ashamed  of 
it,  and  very  much  afraid  lest  their  Protestant  neighbours 
would  think  that  they  were  superstitious.  The  author  of 
the  Montgomery  Manuscripts  thus  writes  of  Henry  Savage, 
of  Ardkeen,  who  died  in  1655 — "This  gentleman  was  loya* 
and  moderate  in  his  Komish  religion,  and  read  the  Holy 
.  Scriptures,  and  in  his  death-bed  (whereon  he  lay  long) 
assured  me  that  he  trusted  for  salvation  only  to  the  merits 
and  mediation  of  Jesus  Christ.  He  kept  no  images  in  his 
house,  nor  used  beads  at  his  prayers  (that  ever  I  could 
see  or  hear  of)"  This  Henry  married  a  Protestant,  a 
daughter  of  Thomas  Nevin,  laird  of  Monkroddin,  and  a  niece 

*  There  is  no  record  to  show  when  Ardkeen  passed  into  the  pos- 
session of  the  Savages.  It  was  in  the  possession  of  Richard,  Duke 
of  York,  as  Earl  of  Ulster  in  1425  when  the  lands  of  "  Arghene  in 
the  County  of  Ards  in  Uitonia"  were  entrusted  to  Galfridius  Sloghtre 
during  the  minority  of  the  young  duke.  Among  the  names  of  those 
"who  conformed  to  the  Church  of  Ireland  from  the  Popish  religion 
and  enrolled  their  certificates"  is  that  of  Rowland  Savage,  14th  May, 
1725,  but  it  is  not  said  that  he  belonged  to  Ardkeen.  (See  Pamphlet 
printed  Dublin,  1732).  Mary  Ann  Savage  of  Hollymount,  who  died 
in  1826,  was  the  last  of  that  name  who  possessed  Ardkeen.  She 
was  the  only  chdd  of  Francis  Savage,  Ardkeen,  who  inherited  HoUy- 
mount  from  his  uncle,  Cromwell  Price ;  she  married  Colonel  Forde, 
who,  after  her  death,  married  her  step-mother.  Lady  Harriet,  at 
whose  death  the  representatives  of  the  family  sold,  about  1840, 
Ardkeen  to  John  Harrison,  Esq.,  grandfather  of  the  present 
proprietor,  Richard  D.  Harrison,  Esq.,  Holy  wood  House. 


424  DOWN  AND  CONNOB. 

of  the  first  Viscountess  Montgomery.  The  author  ah-eady 
quoted  says  that  though  "  Henry  did  not  put  himself  out  of 
the  Roman  Communion,"  he  read  the  Protestant  Bibles,  and 
was  "  not  hindering  any  of  his  offspring  to  be  Protestants," 
The  unprincipled  conduct  of  Savage  was  of  some  service 
to  the  poor  Catholics  of  the  Ards  during  the  civil  wars  in 
the  reign  of  Charles  I.  "  In  all  the  fermentation  raised  by 
the  Gooenant-teachers"  say  the  Montgomery  Manuscripts, 
"  against  the  peaceable  Irish  Papists  in  Lower  Ardes,  yet  Sir 
James  (Montgomery)  procured  the  Lord  Conway's  order, 
dated  December,  1642,  that  only  bonds  should  be  taken  of 
Henry  Savage,  of  Ardkeen,  Esq.,  for  delivery  of  his  arms  in 
his  house  at  any  time  when  called  for,  and  the  rest  of  the 
Papists  to  be  disarmed — which  privilege  Sir  James  got 
confirmed  and  enlarged  on  another  occasion  ;  and  there  was 
need  and  reason  for  granting  that  safeguai'd,  because  of  the 
unruly  Scottish  mobb  and  common  soldiers  who  would  make 
the  pretence  of  searching  for  arms  and  ammuuinition  an 
opportunity  to  quarrell  and  plunder.'"  The  last  possesor  of 
Kirkistown  Castle  of  the  race  of  the  Savages  was  William 
Savage,  who,  when  Sheriff  of  the  County  of  Down  in  1731, 
distinguished  himself  in  discovering  and  reporting  to  the 
Castle  the  number  of  fria,rs  in  the  friary  of  Drumnacoyle. 

In  the  townland  of  Lisban  there  are  the  remains  of  an 
extensive  early  Chxistian  cemetery  ;  its  site  is  now  in  part 
occupied  by  the  house  and  farmyard  of  Mr.  Patrick  M'Grath, 
into  the  wall  of  whose  stable  is  built  a  stone,  on  which  is 
inscribed  a  cross.  The  graves  in  that  cemetery  were  lined 
and  covered  with  flag-stones,  and  in  many  of  them  were 
found  remains  of  the  ferns,  on  which  were  cushioned  the 
heads  of  the  dead.  This  was  pi-obably  the  site  of  "the  chapel 
of  Moyndele,"  which,  with  the  church  of  Ardkeen,  was 
valued  in    the  Taxation  of    Pope  Nicholas  at  ten  marks. 


PARISH    OF    ARDKEEN.  425 

There  was  in  the  Ards  a  church  called  Kil-droichid  (the 
Church  of  the  Bridge),  in  which  the  festival  of  St.  lonicliaidh 
was  celebrated  on  the  25th  of  September — "  lomchaidh  of 
Cill-droichit  in  ArdUladh."  There  is  no  river  in  the  Ards 
which  in  ancient  times  would  have  been  spanned  by  a  bridge 
except,  perhaps  the  Blackstafi',  but  it  is  probable  that  a 
bridge  may  have  been  built  over  an  inlet  of  Lough  Strang- 
ford,  immediately  below  the  site  of  this  ancient  church,  in 
the  townland  of  Lisban,  which  therefore  may,  with  proba- 
bility, lay  claim  to  be  the  Kill-droichid  of  St.  lomchaidh. 

In  the  townland  of  Grausha  (Grainseach — a  grange)  was 
an  ancient  church,  which,  as  it  stood  not  far  from  the 
BlackstafF  River,  may  have  been  the  Kill  droichid  already 
referred  to.  In  the  Taxation  of  Pope  Nicholas  "  the  Chapel 
of  Grangia"  was  valued  at  two  marks.  The  Terrier  has 
the  following  entry  : — •'  Capell;*,  de  ToUemgrange,  Saule  is 
parson;  curate  pays  proxies  18d. ;  refections  18d. ;  synodals 
2s.  It  hath  two  towns  and  St.  John's  quarter."  from  which 
it  appears  that  it  wa^  impropriate  to  the  Abbey  of  Saul. 
The  tithes  of  this  church,  vxnder  the  name  of  "  Coolegrange, 
alias  Grange,  in  le  Great  Ardes  prope  Blackstaffe,"  after- 
wards passed  into  the  possession  of  the  Hamilton  family. 
Not  a  vestige  of  it  now  remains,  though  within  the  memory 
of  people  still  living  human  bones  were  turned  up  in  a  spot 
in  the  townland. 

In  the  field  in  which  stands  the  pigeon-house,  nearly  op- 
posite the  entrance  to  Echlinville  demesne,  were  formerly  the 
remains  of  an  extensive  cemetery,  which  has  been  entirely 
subjected  to  tillage.  Among  the  graves  was  found  a  stone 
which  is  atpi'esent  in  Holy  wood  Church.  On  it  is  inscribed 
a  cross  formed  by  the  intersection  of  two  pair  of  parallel 
lines,  and  along  the  stem  of  the  cross  is  inscribed  in  Irish 
letters  Deanlam,   the  remainder  of  the  inscription  is  gone. 


426  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

The  old  name  for  Echlinville,  which  was  so  named  from  the 
proprietors,*  was  Eowbane,  as  that  of  the  adjoining  townland 
was  Rowreagh.  This  is  the  church  where  was  celebrated, 
according  to  the  "  Martyrology  of  Donegal,"  on  the  24th  of 
June,  the  festival  of  St.  "  Tiu  of  Rubha,  i.e.,  Rubha  is  the 
name  of  the  place,  and  in  Ard-Uladh  it  is  situated.  She  is 
of  the  posterity  of  Eochaidh,  son  of  Muiredh,  who  is  of  the 
race  of  Heremon."  It  was  found  by  inquisition  that  James 
M'Gilmore,  abbot  of  the  late  Abbey  of  St.  Augustine,  of 
Movilla,  was  seized  in  right  of  his  abbey  "  of  the  church  or 
impropriate  rectory  of  Grangerow,  with  its  appurtenances  in 
the  Great  Ards,  which  extends  into  the  townlands  of 
Grangerow  (Rowbane)  and  Ballyrowghroogh  (Rowreagh), 
with  their  appurtenances,  in  which  church  the  said  late 
abbot  was  bound  to  keep  and  maintain  a  competent  curate." 
In  the  Terrier  the  enti-y  "  Ballygraffan,  Rowbane,  and  Row- 
reagh" occurs  between  the  entry  referring  to  Ballyhalbert 
and  that  referring  to  Ardkeen.  There  is  no  sum  placed 
opposite  the  entry  of  these  townlands  for  synodals,  refections, 
or  proxies,  as  if  the  churches  which  once  had  been  in  those 
townlands  had  long  disappeared,  and  the  traditions  of  them 
had  almost  died  out  before  the  Terrier  was  drawn  up  ;  never- 
theless, there  is  a  vivid  tradition  of  there  having  been  a 
cemetery  in  the  townland  of  Rowreagh,  which  was  situated 
in  a  field  belonging  to  William  Mitchell,  on  a  high  hill 
alongside  a  by-road,  and  old  persons  used  to  say  that  they 
remembered  a  headstone  in  it  on  which  was  inscribed  the 
name  of  Francis  Rea. 

*  The  Echlins  obtained  Ardquin  and  other  church  lands  through 
their  ancestor,  Dr.  Eobert  Echliue,  appointed  in  1613  by  the  king, 
Protestant  Bishop  of  Down  and  Connor,  .lohn  Echlin  in  1833  paid  to 
the  See  for  the  manor  of  Ardquin, — Rent  £85  7s.  S^dj  with  an  annual 
Renewal  Fine  of  £290  J5s.  4d.  ;  and  Anthony  Trail,  Clk.,  paid  for 
Marlfield,— Rent  £48  9s.  3d.,with  an  annual  Renewal  Fine  of  £29  is.  64d. 


PARISH    OF    ARDKEEN.  427 

The  ruins  of  the  ancient  parochial  church  of  Ballyhalbert 
measured  83|  feet  by  22|  feet.  The  ancient  Irish  name  of 
this  place  is  lost,  and  the  present  name  seems  to  be  a  cor- 
rupted form  of  Ballyhalbot  ( Bally -Thalbot), — Talbot's-town, 
a  name  derived  from  the  family  of  Talbot,  which  occujned 
lands  here  soon  after  the  conquest.  In  the  inquisition  held 
in  1334  mention  is  made  of  the  lands  held  under  William 
de  Burgo  by  "  Johannes  Talbot,  in  Talbotyston."  In  the 
Taxation  Roll  of  Pope  Nicholas  "  the  Church  of  Talbetona" 
is  valued  at  8  marks,  and  "  the  vicarage  of  the  same"  at  40s. 
The  entry  regarding  it  in  the  Terrier,  is — "  Ecclebia  de 
Talbertstone,  Blackabbey  is  parson.  One  town  glebe,  vicar 
pays  proxies  2s.,  refections  2s.,  and  synodals  2s."  From  this 
entry  it  appears  that  the  rectory  was  appropriate  to  Black- 
abbey.  The  Church  of  "  Tapelson"  is  returned  in  the  Ulster 
Visitation  Book  of  1622  as  "  repayered."  An  inquisition 
taken  in  1605  found  that  the  abbot  of  Blackabbey  had  been 
possessed  of  **  the  church  or  rectory  of  Ballytalbott,  other- 
wise Talbotston,  in  the  great  Ardes^  of  the  advowson  and 
presentation  of  the  vicar  in  the  same  church  ;  and  the  vicar 
there  receives  all  the  altar-fees  and  the  one-third  of  the 
tithes."  The  rectorial  tithes  were  gi'anted  to  Sir  James 
Hamilton. 

"  The  Church  of  St.  Medumy"  is  entered  in  the  Taxation 
Roll  of  Pope  Nicholas  immediately  after  that  of  "  Inyscai'gi" 
(Inishargy).  It  seems  intended  for  an  ancient  church  which 
stood  in  a  place  called  the  "  Chapel -field,"  a  little  to  the  east 
of  Kirkcubbin.  Both  church  and  cemetery  have  disappeared, 
but  a  little  well  still  remains,  which,  no  doubt,  was  once  a 
"  holy  well."  About  the  year  1300,  William  de  Maundeville 
granted  to  the  prior  of  the  Hospital  of  St.  John  the  Baptist, 
in  Down,  "  Cubynhillis  in  tenemento  de  Ynchemkargy,"  by 
which  were  designated  this  church  and  the  lands  of  Kirk- 


428  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

cubbin  and  Ballymullin.  The  Terrier  says  "  Capella  de 
Kilcubin.  It  is  St.  John's  of  Down,  the  Nuns  Quarter  pays 
in  proxies  2s.,  i-efections  2s.,  synodals  2s."  It  is  probable 
that  there  was  a  chapel  in  the  Nuns  Quarter.  Human  bones 
have  been  discovered  in  a  held  adjoining  the*  shore  of  the 
lough,  near  the  present  Catholic  church. 

"  The  Church  of  Inyscargi"  is  valued  in  the  Taxation  of 
Pope  Nicholas  at  eight  marks,  and  the  vicarage  of  the  same 
at  40s.  Inishargy  seems  to  be  a  fair  attempt  at  the  pro- 
nounciation  of  the  Irish  name  Inis-Cairraige,  "  the  island  of 
the  rock."*  Though  the  ruins  of  the  ancient  church  are  no 
longer  surrounded  by  water,  yet  several  fresh  water  lakes, 
and  the  site  of  others  lying  around  the  hill  on  which  stood 
the  ancient  church,  serve  to  remind  us  how  much  human 
industry  has  changed  the  general  appearance  of  the  place. 
The  foundations  of  the  church,  surrounded  by  a  disused 
cemetery,  are  still  traceable,  and  two  ancient  cuneiform 
grave-stones  lie  within  the  site  of  the  church,  but  the  walls 
were  used  by  a  family  named  Bailey,  to  erect  their  mansion, 
which  is  now  a  farm-house,  and  stands  in  the  immediate 
vicinity.  The  rectory  was  appronriate  to  Blackabbey.  The 
Terrier  says,  "  Inishargie,  the  Blackabbey,  is  parson,  vicar 
pays  in  proxies,  5s.  ;  refections,  5s.  ;  .synodals,  2s.  It  hath 
half  town  in  glebe."  An  Inquisition  held  at  Ardquin,  July 
4th,  1605,t  found  that  the  Abbot  of  Blackabbey  had  been 

*  Nekillen  is  given  in  the  Inquisitions  as  another  name  for 
Inishargy. 

t  The  Inquisition  taken  at  Ardquin  on  the  4th  of  July,  1605, 
mentions  among  the  ancient  Irish  famiUes  the  "Turtars  of  Iniscargie;" 
but  a  grant  of  church  lands  given  in  the  Calendar  of  Patent  Rolls  of 
James  I.,  pp.  38-39,  mentions  "  Inischargie"  as  " parcel  of  the  estate  of 
Brian  Oge  O'Flynne,  attainted,"  which  at  once  tells  us  who  were  the 
"Turtars  of  Iniscargie" — at  one  time  the  terror  of  the  stranger  in 
those  parts.     The  Hy-Tuirtre,  so  named  from  their  ancestor,  Fiaehra 


PARISH    OF    ARDKEEN.  4^9 

possessed  of  the  rectory  of  "Iniscargie"  and  of  "the  advowson 
of  the  vicar  in  the  same  church,  and  the  vicar  there  receives 
all  the  altar  fees  and  one-third  part  of  the  tithes  ;  and  there 
belong  to  the  said  vicar  the  lands  in  the  townland  of  Iniscai'gie. 
called  the  church  quarter."  The  rectory  was  granted  to  Sir 
Jas,  Hamilton,  who  is  reported  in  the  Ulster  Visitation 
Book  of  1622  as  taking  up  "  great  tithe  and  small  ;"  and  the 
church  was  then  a  ruin. 

"  The  Church  of  Rone"  is  valued  in  the  Taxation  Roll  of 
Pope  Nicholas  at  two  marks,  and  "  the  vicarage  of  the 
same"  is  also  valued  at  two  marks.  Dr.  Reeves  gives  the 
following  note  : — "  Rone — probably  ruadhan,  '  redness' — in 
reference  to  the  soil.  In  later  documents  the  word  Drom 
(a  ridge)  is  prefixed  to  the  name.  In  1605  it  was  found 
that  the  impropriate  rectory  of  '  Drumrowan,  alias  Drorafyn,' 
extending  over  the  townlands  Drumroan  and  Ballihiggin, 
belonged  to  the  abbot  of  Movilla,  who  was  bound  to  maintain 
thereon  a  competent  curate. — Ul.  Inq.,  No.  2,  Jac.  1.  The 
name  Dromrone  is  now  forgotten,  as  is  also  Dromfyn  ;   but 

Tort,  a  prince  who  tiourished  in  the  fourth  century,  were  located  in 
the  time  of  St.  Patrick  on  the  borders  of  the  modern  Counties  of 
Deny  and  Tyrone  ;  but,  some  time  before  the  English  conquest,  they 
had  crossed  the  Bann  and  were  located  in  the  district  extending 
from  Toome  to  Antrim.  Their  prince  O'Flinn,  defeated  and  wounded 
Sir  John  de  Oourcy.  They  were  dispersed  from  their  settlement  in 
the  barony  of  Lower  Antrim  by  the  Clannaboy  invasion,  which 
probably  compelled  a  portion,  at  least,  of  them  to  locate  themselves 
in  Inishargy.  Those  of  the  Hj'-Tuirtre  who  remained  in  the  County 
of  Antrim  generally  call  themselves  Lynns,  while  their  relatives  in 
the  Ards  call  themselves  Fliuns,  or  O'Flinns.  The  Linneys — -a  name 
also  found  in  the  Ards — seem  to  be  of  the  same  stock.  From  this 
people  is  named  the  old  Church  of  Desertlynn,  in  the  County  of 
Derry,  as  is  also  the  barony  of  Loughinsholiu,  in  which  it  is  situate. 
Of  all  their  princely  possessions,  nothing  now  remains  except  their 
ancient  faith.  The  O'Flinns,  the  descendants  of  the  "  Turtara  of 
Tniscargie,"  are  still  numerous  through  Loughinialand  and  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Castlewellan. 


430  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

'  Ball3'obekin,'  which  is  found  by  another  inquisition  to  be 
an  '  alias'  for  them,  is  still  in  use  ;  and  the  townland  so 
called,  together  with  the  adjoining  one,  '  Balliggan,'  lies  at 
the  N.E.  extremity  of  Inishargy  parish. — Ord.  Survey,  s.s. 
12-18.  The  modern  Church  of  Inishargy  stands  in  the 
townland  of  Balliggan,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  which, 
towards  the  S.E.,  is  a  spot  called  '  the  chapel  field,'  whence 
the  present  occupant  cleai-ed  away,  some  years  ago,  the 
foundations  and  other  remains  of  a  small  church." 

"  White  Church"  is  valued  in  the  Taxation  Roll  of  Pope 
Nicholas  at  10  marks,  and  the  vicarage  of  the  same  at  4 
marks.  This  church  was  called  by  the  Irish  Templefinn, 
"  White  Church."  It  was  the  parish  church  of  the  parish 
now  called  Ballywalter,  and  its  ruins,  measuring  90  feet  long 
and  19  feet  broad,  with  the  remains  of  a  transept  on  the 
north  side,  measuring  17  by  20  feet,  yet  remain  in  the  town- 
land  of  Whitechurch,  a  short  distance  to  the  north-west  of 
Ballywalter.  The  primatial  registers  mention  John  Oheran 
as  perpetual  vicar  of  White-kirk,  A.D.  1437,  and  James 
O'Biedran  as  filling  the  same  office  in  the  year  1442.  The 
rectory  was  appropriate  to  the  Blackabbey,  which  appointed 
the  perpetual  vicar,  who  enjoyed  in  right  of  his  vicarage 
one-third  of  the  tithes  and  all  the  altar  fees.  The  Terrier 
has  the  following  entry  : — "  Templefin — Blackabbey  is  ye 
parson  and  hath  two  towns,  Vicar  pays  proxies  twenty 
groats,  refections  do.,  synodals  2s."* 

Black  Abbey  was  anciently  styled  "  The  Priory  of  St. 
Andrew  of  the  Ardes."  In  the  Taxation  Roll  of  Pope 
Nicholas  '•'  the  church  of  St.  Andrew"  is  valued  at  four 
marks.      The  following  interesting   account   of   the    Black 

•  Ballywalter  Park  was  called  Springvale,  when  in  the  possession 
of  the  Mathews  family,  from  whom  it  was  purchased  by  the  father 
of  the  present  proprietor,  John  MulhoUand,  Esq.,  M.P. 


PARISH    OF   ARDKEEN.  431 

Abbey  is  given  by  Dr.  Reeves : — "  The  Priory  of  St. 
Andrew,  or,  as  it  is  sometimes  styled,  the  Black  Priory,  in 
the  Ards,  vas  founded  by  John  de  Courcy  about  the  year 
1180,  at  which  date  he  granted  ten  carucates  of  land  called 
Macolloqua,  in  the  Ards,  with  certain  tithes,  to  the  Priory 
of  St.  Andrew  de  Stokes,  or  Stoke  Courcy,  which  he  founded 
in  Somersetshire.  By  some  arrangement,  which  is  not  re- 
corded, this  grant  was  transferred  to  the  Priory  of  St.  Mary 
of  Lonley,  in  Normandy  ;  and  the  Priory  of  St.  Andrews, 
in  the  Ards,  about  1218,  was  constituted  a  cell  of  that 
house.— (Harris  Ware's  Works,  vol,  ii.,  p.  273.)  In  1342 
during  the  war  between  France  and  England,  the  tempor- 
alities of  this  house  were  seized,  as  belonging  to  an  alien 
Priory,  into  the  Kiug's  hands,  but  were  in  the  following 
October  delivered  to  William  de  Hodierne,  a  monk  of  Lonley. 
— (King's  Collection.)  Not  long  afterwards,  Richard  Fitz- 
Ralph,  Archbishop  of  Armagh,  entered  into  an  agreement 
with  the  Prior  and  Convent  of  Lonley  for  the  purchase  of 
the  lands,  tithes,  and  privileges  of  the  Priory  of  St.  Andrew's. 
This  took  place  in  the  year  1356  ;  and  the  deed  of  assignment, 
which  has  been  preserved,  is  printed  in  the  "  Monasticon 
Anglicanum" — (Vol.  ii.,  p.  1,019.)  At  the  same  time  the 
Primate  bound  himself  to  the  abbot  and  Convent  of  Lonley 
in  the  sum  of  £200,  to  be  paid  to  them  or  their  attorney  on 
or  before  the  Feast  of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  in  the  year  1360, 
provided  that  this  transfer  of  the  cell  of  St.  Andrew  in  the 
Ard,  in  the  County  of  Ultonia,  should  be  confirmed  by  the 
Pope,  the  King,  and  others  the  lords  and  founders  of  said 
house,  to  him,  his  successors,  and  the  Church  of  Armagh. 
That  if  such  licence  should  not  be  obtained,  the  premises 
were  to  be  delivered  back  in  due  form.  (Dated  20th  March, 
1356.)  A  copy  of  this  bond  is  entered  in  the  register  of 
Archbishop   Sweteman,    who   succeeded   FitzRalph   in   the 


432  DOWN    AND    CONNOR. 

Primacy,  and  is,  perhaps,  the  oldest  record  on  paper  now- 
existing  in  Ireland  (Fol.  166).  An  inspeximus  of  the  same 
document  is  preserved  among  the  rolls  of  Chancery  in  Ireland 
(Calend.,  p.  140,  No.  123).  Richard  FitzRalph  died  on  the 
16th  of  November,  1360,  and  after  his  death  the  Priory  of 
St.  Andrew  was  seized  into  the  King's  hands.  In  1382  it 
was  under  the  government  of  a  prior  ;  and  in  1389  the  office 
was  held  by  one  Thomas  (Cal.  Cane,  p.  140  b.).  In  1390, 
Primate  Colton  presented  a  petition  to  the  King  setting  forth 
that  licence  had  been  granted  by  Edward  III.  to  Richard, 
Archbishop  of  Armagh,  and  his  successors,  to  purchase  such 
alien  priories  and  cells  of  the  French,  in  Ireland,  as  did  not 
exceed  100  marks  a  year,  and  that  said  Richard  had  made 
the  above  purchase  from  the  Abbey  of  Lonley,  but  that  after 
his  death  it  had  been  seized  to  the  Crown,  and  praying  for 
its  restoration.  Upon  this,  Richard  White,  prior  of  the 
Hospital  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  Richard  Russel,  and 
William  Merser,  were  appointed  to  examine  into  the  merits 
of  the  claim  (Cal.  Cane.,  p.  142).  In  1395  the  custody  of 
the  })riory  was  granted  by  the  King  to  the  same  Primate, 
subject  to  len  marks  per  annum.  Still,  however,  it  seems  to 
have  been  regarded  as  having  a  foreign  relation ;  for  in  1411 
the  King  granted  to  John  Chenele  the  alien  Priory  of  Eynes 
in  Ai-de,  within  the  lordship  of  Ulster,  which  had  been  seized 
into  his  hands  by  reason  of  the  war  between  him  and  France. 
During  the  wars  of  the  O'Neills  these  lauds  were  taken 
possession  of  by  them,  and  by  their  rebellion  were  supposed 
to  be  vested  in  the  Crown.  Hence  it  was  that  James 
Hamilton,  Viscount  Clandeboy,  succeeded  in  obtaining  a 
grant  of  them,  and  the  appendant  rectories  and  advowsons. 
The  lands  he  assigned  to  Sir  Hugh  Montgomery  of  the 
Ards.  The  See  of  Armagh  did  not  abandon  its  claim  to 
them  or  its  appurtenances  ;  for  in  1622,  Primate  Hampton 


PARISH    OF    ARDKEEN.  433 

made  the  following  return : — "  Withheld  by  Sir  Hugh 
Montgomery,  Knt.,  and  Sir  James  Hamilton,  Knt.,  ye  Black 
Priory  of  St.  Andrew's,  in  the  Ardes,  sometimes  ye  lands  of 
Priors  Alien,  and  bought  by  one  of  my  })redecessors,  for 
mayntenance  of  his  successors  table,  from  the  Abbot  and 
Convent  of  Clonley,  in  Normandy,  by  licence  of  King 
Edward  the  Third,  with  allowance  of  the  Poope,  for  the  sum 
of  X200  sterling,  paid  by  my  predecessor,  in  Panic's  Church 
in  London ;  which  priory  doth  consist  of  three  townlands  and 
five  impropriations."  (Ulster  Visitation.)  According  to 
Harris,  the  priory  was  awarded  to  the  See  of  Armagh  in 
1639."  By  an  inquisition  taken  on  the  5th  of  November, 
in  the  first  year  of  James  I.,  it  was  found  that  the  last 
abbot  [priori]  of  the  Abbey  or  Monastery  of  the  Benedictine 
Order,  called  Black  Abbey,  on  the  1st  of  August,  in  the 
35th  year  of  Henry  YIIL,  was  seized  of  the  site  of  the 
abbey  and  the  three  circumjacent  townlands  of  Black  Abbey, 
Killyvolgan,  Ballinemanagh,  together  with  the  impropriate 
rectories  of  Donaghadee,  Whitechurch  or  Bally  waiter, 
Talbotstown  or  Ballyhalbert,  Inishargy,  and  Derryaghy. 
The  Terrier  returns — "  Black  Abbey-^prior  of  it  owes  in 
proxies,  3  marks ;  refections,  3  marks ;  and  synodals,  2s.'^ 
Every  vestige  of  the  priory  has  been  cleared  away,  and  of 
its  cemetery  there  only  remains  a  little  green  spot,  which 
would  likewise  have  been  subjected  to  tillage  had  not  the 
death  of  his  cattle  warned  the  occupant  to  desist  from  his 
sacrilegious  improvements.  An  ancient  cuneiform  tombstone 
was  removed  for  preservation  from  this  cemetery  to  Grey 
Abbey,  where  it  is  still  to  be  seen. 

Grey  Abbey  was  founded  in  the  year  1193  by  Africa, 
daughter  of  Godred,  King  of  Man,  and  wife  of  John  de 
Courcy,  She  supplied  it  with  Cistercian  monks  from  the 
Abbey  of    Holmcultram,    in    Cumberland.      The    Cronicov 

2  c 


434  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

Mannice  informs  lis  that  it  was  styled  the  Abbey  of  "  Holy 
Mary  of  the  Yoke  of  God"  (Sanctfe  Marise  de  Jugo  Dei), 
and  that  the  foundress  was  buried  in  it.  Her  effigy,  of  grey 
freestone,  Avas  up  till  lately  in  a  recumbent  posture,  in  a 
niche  of  the  chancel  wall  on  the  gospel  side  of  the  altar  ; 
and,  tliough  removed  from  its  original  position,  it  is  still 
within  the  chancel,  but  much  defaced.  The  abbey  was  called 
in  Irish  Monaster-liath  (pronounced  Monasterlea) — the  Grey 
Monastery  ;  and  in  English.  Hore  Abbey ;  but  its  conventual 
title  was  De  Jugo  Dei.  It  seems  by  the  follo\?ing  extracts 
from  the  chronicle  of  Mailros  that  Grey  Abbey  long  kept  up 
a  close  connexion  with  the  parent  Abbey  of  Holmcultram  : — 
*'  1222 — Adam,  Lord  Abbot  of  Holmcultram,  resigned  his 
office,  and  Radulf,  Loi-d  Abbot  de  Jugo  Dei,  succeeded  him. 
In  Ireland,  Lord  John,  the  Cellarer  of  Glenlus,  was  elevated 
to  the  position  vacated  by  the  latter."  "  1237 — Gillebert, 
Lord  Abbot  of  Holmculti-am,  died  at  Canterbury  when  he 
was  returning  from  a  general  chapter  ;  John,  Lord  Abbot 
De  Jugo  Dei,  succeeded  him,  and  Nicholas,  the  prior  of  that 
house,  undertook  the  pastoral  care  of  De  Jugo  Dei."  In 
1237  that  Abbot,  John,  was  one  of  the  subscribing  witnesses 
of  De  Lacy's  charter  to  the  Abbey  of  Newry.  In  the  year 
1380,  Walter  Barnwood  held  two  carucates  of  land  in 
Holmgrange  (ToUumgrange  in  Lecale  X)  from  the  Abbot  of 
Grey  Abbev  for  ten  years,  at  an  annual  rent  of  five  marks. 
In  the  Taxation  of  Pope  Nicholas  "  the  temporalities  of 
the  Abbot  de  Jugo  Dei"  were  valued  at  £35  6s.  8d. 
In  the  Terrier,  Grey  Abbey  is  not  taxed  with  Proxies, 
Refections,  or  Synodals,  because  the  churches  of  the  Cister- 
cian Order  were  exempt  from  these  taxations.  At  the 
Dissolvition,  the  Abbot,  John  Casselles,  was  seized,  in  right 
of  his  abbey,  of  an  estate,  extending  over  the  town- 
lands   of  Crossnemuckley  and    Ballyblack,   and   the  entii-e 


PARISH    OF    ARDKEEN.  435 

modex'ii  civil  parish  of  Greyabbey,  except  the  townLinds  of 
Blackabbey  and  Killyvolgan.  He  had  also  the  rectories  of 
Monkstown  near  Carnmoney,  to  which  belonged  three 
townlands  both  in  spiritualities  and  temporalities,  and 
Tollumgrange  in  Lecale,  (see  Ardglass  and  Dunsford.)  These 
vast  possessions  w^ere  granted  by  the  Crown  to  Sir  Hugh 
Montgomery.  Sir  Hugh  fitted  up  the  nave  of  the  abbey 
church  for  a  parish  church  for  the  Protestants,  and  had  its 
roof  timbered  with  oak  which  gi-ew  in  the  woods  of  Lisdalgan, 
near  Saintfield.  Mr.  James  J.  Phillips,  Belfast,  published 
in  1874  drawings  and  details  of  Grey  Abbey,*  accompanied 
by  historical  and  descriptive  letterpress,  the  valuable  pages 
of  which  we  take  the  liberty  of  summarizing.  As  usual  with 
monasteries  of  the  Cistercians,  Grey  Abbey  was  erected  in  a 
secluded  spot,  sheltered  by  hills  well  wooded,  watered  by  a 
clear  stream  and  never  failing  springs.  This  practice  of 
building  in  such  localities  was  enjoined  by  their  rule.  The 
Cloister  Garth  or  quadrangle  was  oblong,  though  the  Cister- 
cians usually  constructed  it  a  perfect  square.  The  north 
side  of  this  quadrangle  was  occupied  by  the  church  which 
consisted  of  a  nave  without  aisles  69  feet  long  and  24 
feet  6  inches  broad,  two  transepts  each  of  which  was  24  feet 

*  Grey  Abbey,  its  lands  and  tithes  were  granted  by  the  Crown 
from  time  to  time  to  several  persons.  Eventually,  they  were  granted 
to  Sir  Hugh  Montgomery  after  the  tripartite  arrangement  between 
himself,  Con  O'Neill  and  Sir  James  Hamilton.  In  1629  he  settled  it 
upon  his  second  son.  Sir  James  Montgomery,  who  was  ousted  out  of 
it  as  a  forfeited  estate  by  the  Cromwellians,  who  granted  it  in  1652 
to  the  commander  of  their  Northern  Ulster  forces,  Colonel  Robert 
Barrow.  After  the  Restoration,  however,  the  Moutgomeries  again 
recovered  possession,  but  in  1717  James  Montgomery,  the  last 
descendant  of  Sir  Hugh  who  possessed  the  estate,  sold  it  to  William 
Montgomery,  who  was  a  descendant  of  John  Montgomery  of  Gran- 
sheough,  a  cousin  to  Sir  Hugh.  And  the  present  proprietor  is  a 
descendant  of  that  John  of  Gransheough. 


436  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

6  inches  square,  and  eacli  terminated  on  the  east  side  in  two 
chapels  11  feet  6  inches  broad  and  16  feet  deep;  these 
chapels  were  separated  from  each  other  by  a  wall,  from  which 
sprang  in  the  centre  the  stone  arched  vaulting,  and  each 
pair  of  chapels  had  an  external  roofing  over  this  vaulting  ; 
as  is  evidenced  by  a  stone  string  course,  which  marked  the 
line  of  roof  on  the  north  elevation.  The  Chancel  vvhich  was 
24  feet  6  inches  broad,  and  30  feet  long,  had  its  eastern  end 
square.  The  Chancel  has  a  double  tier  of  triplet  windows  of 
"  early  pointed"  form,  with  smaller  windows  at  the  top. 
The  north  and  south  windows  lighting  this  eastern  arm  of 
the  church  were  originally  of  similar  character  and  form,  but 
at  some  subsequent  date  they  have  had  decorated  stone 
tracery  inserted  on  the  outside.  The  Chancel  arch  and  the 
south  transept  arch  have  fallen,  but  the  choir  arch  and  the 
north  transept  arch  still  remain.  The  walls  above  these 
arches  give  evidence  of  having  been  carried  at  least  for  one 
storey  above  the  roof  of  the  four  arms  of  the  crux.  Probably 
there  was  a  low  lantern  tower  hei-e  which  was  finished  with 
a  parapet.  The  west  door-way  is  a  good  specimen  of  early 
English  work  ;  it  has  no  portico  or  narthex.  This  door-way 
which  had  considerably  gone  to  ruin,  was  repaired  in  1842 
by  Mr.  Montgomery,  who  had  the  fragments  collected 
and  rebuilt  as  far  as  possible  in  their  original  position, 
though  the  centre  is  now  somewhat  distorted.  The  small 
window  over  this  door- way  is  an  insertion  of  much  later 
date ;  and  any  observer  will  perceive  that  the  Bell-cote  on 
the  gable  is  in  no  way  connected  Avith  the  original  design. 
Formerly  a  wall,  or  perhaps  a  wooden  partition,  was  drawn 
across  the  nave,  about  half  ways  up,  from  one  sidewall  to  the 
other  ;  this  served  as  a  screen  and  was  probably  pierced  in 
the  middle  by  a  doorway,  on  each  side  of  wliich,  in  the  part 
cut  off  towards  the  west,  was  an  altar.     The  piscina  for  the 


PARISH    OF    ARDKEf:X.  437 

altar  on  the  south  side  of  tlie  door  is  still  to  be  seen  in  the 
south  side-wall  of  the  nave.  The  choir  arch,  or  that  at  the 
junction  of  the  nave  and  transepts,  is  perfect,  because  the  arch 
had  been  walled  up  in  1626,  when  the  nave  was  formed  into 
a  Protestant  Church,  and  the  walling  was  only  removed  in 
1842.  All  trace  of  the  high  altar  is  gone,  but  on  the  south 
side  there  are  fragmentary  remains  of  the  sedilia  and  piscina, 
and  on  the  north  or  Gospel  side  are  the  remains  of  an  arch  in 
the  position  usually  found  over  the  wall  tomb  of  the  founder 
of  the  abbey;  this  was  the  spot,  it  is  said,  which  the  I'ecumbent 
figure  of  Lady  de  Courcy  originally  occu})ied.  The  cloister 
door  in  the  south  transept  is  of  early  English  character 
externally,  but  internally  it  is  covered  by  a  low  arch.  In 
the  middle  of  the  south  wall  of  this  transept  are  the  remains 
of  the  stone  newel  winding  stair  by  which  the  monks 
descended  for  their  mid-night  office  from  the  dormitories. 
The  eastern  side  of  the  quadrangle  was  bounded  by  the 
south  transept,  next  by  the  Sacristy  adjoining  it  on  the  south 
side,  only  the  lower  portion  of  the  walls  of  this  compartment 
remain;  it  was  a  chamber  of  24  feet  by  12  feet.  The 
Chapter  House  occurs  next  in  order.  It  is  38  feet  long  and 
28  feet  broad  ;  its  axis  lies  east  and  west  and  it  was  divided 
into  three  alleys  by  two  ranges  of  columns,  as  a  few  of  the 
bases  still  remaining  show.  Scattered  about  are  various 
sections  of  clustered  and  circular  columns  and  one  chastely 
moulded  capital — the  best  preserved  fragment  of  the  abbey — 
testifying  to  the  superior  decoration  of  the  Chapter  House, 
which  is  also  indicated  by  the  superior  ornamentation  dis- 
played on  the  bases  of  the  columns  and  jambs  of  the  opening 
that  gave  access  to  the  building  from  the  cloister.  It  seems 
to  have  been  lighted  with  three  windows  on  the  east  side 
and  one  on  the  north.  The  Slype,  or  Passage,  occurs  next  in 
order.     It  was  open  at  both  ends  and  had  a  doorway  leading 


438  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

into  the  adjoining  Monks'  Day-Room.  lb  was  10  feet  wide 
and  22  feet  long,  and  served  as  a  passage  to  the  grave-yard 
and  perhaps  to  the  Abbot's  House,  which  was  generally  to 
the  east  of  this  opening.  Continuing  on  along  tlie  eastern 
boundary  of  the  quadrangle,  the  next  apartment,  which  was 
46  feet  long  and  21  feet  wide,  was  the  Calefactory,  Frater- 
Room,  or  Monks^  Day-Room.  It  had,  as  was  usual,  a  single 
row  of  columns  with  octagonal  bases,  hue  nothing  remains 
by  which  we  can  judge  of  its  former  appearance.  South  of 
this  was  the  Gong,  a  narrow  passage,  close  to  which  ran 
the  flushing  sewer  emerging  from  a  well  constructed  arched 
tunnel,  that  extends  underneath  the  adjoining  hill ;  this 
tunnel,  which  was  connected  with  some  well  sujiplied 
reservoir,  is  by  vulgar  error  supposed  to  communicate  with 
Black  Abbey.  The  Dormitory  extended  ov(;r  the  Calefactory 
and  usually  over  the  entire  range  of  vaulted  buildings  as  far 
as  the  south  transept  of  the  church,  where  there  was,  as  we 
mentioned  already,  a  stairway  leading  from  the  dormitories. 
At  the  south-east  corner  of  the  Cloister  Garth  are  still  to  be 
seen  a  few  steps  of  the  stair,  which  led  externally  to  tlie 
Dormitories  and  to  the  Sc7-iptoriuni,  where  the  monks  wrote 
their  beautiful  manuscripts;  it  was  generally  over  the  Chapter 
Rouse,  but  the  walls  of  the  first  story  only  remain  a  few 
feet  high,  and  consequently  Scriptorium,  Dormitory,  and 
Infirmary,  have  all  disappeai-ed.  The  soiithern  side  of  the 
Garth,  or  quadrangle,  was  bounded  by  a  passage  to  some 
external  yard,  by  the  kitchen,  in  which  yet  remains  the 
fire  place,  and  by  the  Refectory,  a  stately  hall  71  feet  long 
and  28  feet  broad.  In  the  west  wall  are  the  stone  steps 
which  led  to  the  pulpit,  from  which  a  monk  read  whilst  his 
brethren  were  at  their  meals.  A  triplet  of  early  pointed 
windows,  tlie  central  one  of  which  is  higher  than  the  others, 
gives  a  charming  effect  to  the  south  gable  of  the  refectory. 


PARISH    OF   ARDKEEN.  439 

The  Butttry  to  the  west  of  the  Refectory  occurs  next  and 
last  in  order  The  jamb  of  a  doorway  from  the  cloister  to 
this  office  and  the  trace  of  its  roof  on  the  west  wall  of  the 
Refectory  are  all  the  evidence  of  its  existence.  In  describing 
the  various  remains  of  G-rey  Abbey  we  have  followed  the 
description  given  by  Mr.  Phillips,  who  has  devoted  much 
study  to  the  architectural  arrangement  of  the  Cistercians. 
By  excavations  made  along  the  west  of  the  garth,  the 
i-emains  of  the  Domus  Co7iversorum  or  the  Apartment  for 
the  Lay  Brothers  and  the  Gate  House  were  lately  dis- 
covered. Around  the  entire  quadrangle  there  may  have 
been  a  covered  walk,  there  seems  to  haye  been  such  at  both 
sides  of  the  nave  for  the  doors  by  which  they  communicated 
with  the  nave  still  remain.  During  the  clearing  out  of  the 
grounds  among  the  ruins  in  1842  the  episcopal  seal  of 
Ralph  Irton,  Bishop  of  Carlisle,  was  found.  The  seal  is  of 
lead  and  thin  but  well  preserved,  it  beai's  the  inscription — 
Radulphus  Dei  Gracia  Karleolensis  Epischop. — (Radulph, 
by  the  grace  of  God,  Bishop  of  Carlisle)  :  he  was  appointed 
to  the  see  of  Carlisle  in  1280.  The  existence  of  the  seal  so 
far  from  Carlisle  is  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  Grey- 
Abbey  was  supplied  at  its  foundation  with  monks  from 
Holm  Cultram  in  the  diocese  of  Carlisle  and  may  have  kept 
up  an  intimate  connection  with  the  present  house.  There 
is  lying  in  the  chancel  the  fragment  of  a  cross-legged  effigy 
of  some  knight,  but  the  device  on  the  shield  is  so  much 
mutilated  that  it  is  impossible  to  tell  whom  it  was  intended 
to  represent.  Within  the  abbey  grounds  are  one  perfect 
cuneiform  gi-ave-stone  and  the  fragments  of  two  others. 
These  slabs,  shaped  like  coffin  lids,  were  laid  flat  on  the 
ground  over  the  graves  of  the  persons  they  were  intended 
to  commemorate.  They  belong  to  a  class  of  monuments 
usually  assigned  to  the  13th  or  14th  century.     The  perfect 


440  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

slab  which  was  removed  from  Blackabbey  is  7  feet  long, 
2 1  inches  broad  at  the  top,  and  1 6  inches  at  the  foot ;  the 
other  two  slabs  are  only  fragments.  The  three  are  orna- 
mented with  crosses  of  beautiful  design,  carved  in  relief. 
There  is  in  the  Belfast  Museum  a  fragment  of  a  cuneiform 
grave-stone,  which  was  removed  from  Grey  Abbey.  It 
bears  a  Norman  sword  and  shield  sharply  incised.  Notices 
and  lithographs  of  all  these  slabs  have  been  published  by 
W.  H.  Patterson,  Esq.,  M.R.I.A.,  Belfast.  Near  the  ruins 
of  the  abbey  is  a  well,  covered  by  a  vault,  which  Harris  says 
."  seems  to  be  the  same  piece  of  architecture  that  stood  here 
when  the  abbey  subsisted."* 

In  the  Taxation  of  Pope  Nicholas,  "  the  Church  of 
Korcany"  is  valued  at  two  marks ;  it  is  placed  in  the  I'oU 
between  the  Churches  of  St.  Andrew,  or  Black  Abbey,  and 
Inishargy.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  this  is  Temple  Crone, 
the  ruins  of  which,  measuring  fifty-one  by  twenty -four  and 
a-half  feet  are  at  the  eastern  edge  of  Mount  Stewart  demesne. 
In  the  Ulster  Inquisitions  (75  Car.  1.)  it  is  called  "  Bally- 
templechronan" — the  town  of  Cronan's  Church.  At  the  7th 
of  January  the  martyrologies  record  the  festival  of  St. 
Cronan  Beg,  Bishop  of  Neudrum,  or  j\Iahee  Island,  who  died 

*  Among  the  State  Papers  preserved  in  the  Record  Office,  Dublin, 
are  Returns  made  by  tlie  gaugers.  "  A  return  of  the  number  of  in- 
habitants in  the  several  parishes  of  this  walk,  their  religion,  churches, 
chapels,  and  other  places  of  worship,"  marked  "  Donaghadee,"  and 
endorsed  "  Returned  Sept.  4th,  1764,  by  T.  Hunter,"  gives  the  follow- 
ing information  : — "  Ballywalter  Parish — Church,  1  ;  Meeting  House, 
1  ;  Places  of  Popish  Worship,  0.  Number  of  Protestants  of  the 
Established  Church,  50;  Dissenters,  1,475;  Papists,  0.  Total  of 
inhabitants,  1,525.  Parish  of  Greyabbey — Parish  Church,  1 ;  Meeting 
House,  1  ;  Places  of  Popish  Worship,  0.  Number  of  Protestants  of 
the  Established  Church,  50  ;  Dissenters,  1,500  ;  Papists,  0.  Total  of 
inhabitants,  1,550."  Census  of  1871  :— Parish  of  Ballywalter-- 
Oatholics,  30;  all  others,  1,401.  Parish  of  Grey  Abbey— Catholics, 
126  ;  all  others,  2,676. 


PARISH    OF    ARDKEEN.  441 

January  7tli,  G42  ;  he  was  one  of  the  ecclesiastics  to  whom 
was  addressed  the  letter  written  from  Rome,  a.d.  640,  on  the 
subject  of  the  paschal  controversy.  In  the  Martyrology  of 
Donegal,  at  the  7th  of  January,  immediately  after  the  name 
of  St.  Cronan  Beg,  occurs  "  Corcan  Bishop,"  and  on  the  same 
day  is  inserted  the  entry  "  Another  Corcan."  It  is  obviousf 
that  Corcan  is  only  another  form  of  Cronan,  and  that  the 
church  of  "  Korcany"  is  Tem[)le  Crone,  which  was  formerly 
called  Temple  Cronan — Cronan's  Church,  so  named  from 
St.  Cronan  Beg,  Bishop  of  Mahee.-"' 

There  is  an  island  of  tweuty-five  acres  in  Strangford 
Lough  called  "  Chapel  Island ;"  it  is  nearly  opposite  to 
Temple  Crone,  and  is  accessible  on  foot  at  low  tide.  Near 
the  southern  extremity  of  it  are  the  ruins  of  a  church  which 
measure  29|  feet  by  14|  feet.  This  church  was  surrounded 
by  a  circular  cmhel  180  feet  in  diameter,  and  from  this  cir- 
cumvallation  another  casljel  extended  westward,  so  as  to 
close  in  the  entire  southern  extremity  of  the  island.  (See 
Killmologe,  Parish  of  Lower  Mourne,  and  Mahee  Island — 
Parish  of  Sainttield.)  Along  the  shore,  southward  of  the 
church,  are  four  cairns  and  a  w^ll.  It  is  said  that  graves 
have  been  discovered  to  the  east  of  the  church.  Its  ancient 
name  is  long  lost,  as  the  place  is  marked  "  Church  Island" 
in  Potty's  Map,  but  there  is  little  doubt  it  was  an  appendage 
to  Mahee  Island. 

PARISH    P  R  I  E  S  1^  S . 

In  the  list  of  the  "  Popish  Priests,"  of  1704,  Richard 
M'Teggart,   who  resided    in    Lisban,  registered    himself  as 

*  About  the  year  1786,  a  cairn  which  stood  near  Temple  Crone  was 
opened,  and  in  it  were  found  a  number  of  urns  which  passed  into  the 
possession  of  Dr.  Stevenson,  Presbyterian  Minister  of  Grey  Abbey  (See 
Ulster  Journal  of  ArehfBol.,  Vol.  9).  Four  of  them  are  at  present  iu 
the  possession  of  his  descendant,  Capt.  M'Cance,  Cliftden,  Holy  wood. 


442  DOWN    ANI>    COMNOK. 

paiisli  priest  of  the  parish  of  Ardkeen.  He  was  then  44 
years  of  age,  and  had  been  ordained  in  1673  by  Dr.  Daniel 
Mackey,  Bishop  of  Down  and  Connor.  In  the  same  list 
Patrick  Pray,  who  was  then  57  years  of  age,  and  residing  in 
Ballyphilip,  was  registered  as  parish  priest  of  Ballyphilip. 
After  the  death  of  the  survivor  of  these  clergymen,  one 
Father  Burns  succeeded  to  the  pastoral  charge  of  the  entire 
Ards.  He  was  officiating  in  tlie  parish  in  1732,  but  the 
dates  of  his  appointment  and  of  his  death  cannot  now  be 
ascertained,  though  a  lew  years  ago  several  anecdotes  of 
himself  and  his  old  horse  Cupid  were  told  among  the 
traditional  stories  of  the  parish.  Associated  with  Father 
Burns  in  the  labours  of  the  misision  was  one  Father  Savage, 
of  whom  only  his  name  is  knowu.  The  Rev.  Daniel  M'Garry 
officiated  as  curate  to  Father  Jiurns,  and  after  his  death, 
about  the  year  1732,  was  appointed  his  successor.  Father 
M'Gai-ry  was  born  in  the  townland  of  Crossmore,  in  the 
parish  of  Dunsford,  A.D.  1702.  He  continued  in  the 
pastoral  charge  of  the  Ards  until  the  year  1754,  when  he  was 
appointed  to  the  parish  of  Kilmegan,     (See  Kilmegan.) 

On  the  removal  of  Father  M'Garry,  the  Re\^.  James 
M'Teggart  was  appointed  parish  priest  of  the  Ards.  Accord- 
ing to  one  tradition,  he  was  a  native  of  Drumroe,  in  the 
parish  of  Kilclief,  and  according  to  another,  he  was  a  native 
of  Carx'owvanny,  in  the  parish  of  Saul.  It  was  in  the  year 
1735  that  he  first  officiated  in  the  Ards  as  curate,  where  he 
spent  the  remainder  of  his  life.  Father  M'Teggart  offiired 
to  march  at  the  head  of  his  people  to  fight  the  French  troops 
which  landed  in  Carrickfergus  in  1760;  fortunately,  however, 
for  the  British  Empire,  the  valour  of  the  loyal  and  warlike 
pastor  of  the  Ards  was  not  required.  Father  M'Teggart 
resided  in  Ballyminish,  where  he  died  in  1765.  He  was 
interred  in  the  ancient  cemetery  of  Saul. 


PARISH    OF    AKDKEEX.  443 

The  Rev.  Magnus  Grant  was  appointed  to  the  parish  of 
Ards  from  the  curacy  of  Aboghill.  Fatlier  Grant  was  pro- 
moted to  the  parish  of  Bright  in  the  year  1768  (see  Bright), 
and  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Daniel  O'Doran,  who  had 
been  curate  of  Ardglass.  I  find  from  the  tradition  of  an 
aged  relative  of  Father  O'Doran,  tliat  lie  was  not  a  native  of 
Ardtole,  near  Ardglass,  but  of  Killeevey,  County  Armagh; 
au<i  the  same  person  informs  me  that  his  mother  was  named 
Todd,  the  daughter  of  a  minister  of  Caj^pagh.  Father  O'Doran 
accepted  the  parish  of  Kilcoo  (see  Kilcoo)  in  the  year  1780  ; 
and  the  parish  of  Ards  was  divided  into  those  of  Portaferry, 
or  Ballyphilip,  and  that  usually  called  the  Lower  Ai'ds,  or 
Ardkeen.  To  the  former,  the  Rev.  John  Fitzsimons  (after- 
wards of  Kilcoo)  was  appointed ;  and  Ardkeen,  or  the  Lower 
Ards,  was  conferred  on  the  Rev.  James  Killen,  who  was 
transferred  from  the  parish  of  Kilmore,  Father  Killen 
resigned  the  parish  in  1783,  He  died  in  1799,  and  was 
interred  in  Bright. 

The  Rev.  Bernard  M'Garry  was  appointed  in  1783.  He 
rebuilt  Bally galget  Chapel  in  1784.  His  death  occured  in 
1799,  and,  like  his  predecessor,  he  was  interred  in  Bright. 

The  Rev.  John  Maguii-e  was  appointed  to  the  parish  iai 
17-99,  but  did  not  receive  till  the  20th  of  August,  1802,  a 
canonical  collation  to  it,  when  the  Rev.  Patrick  M'Greevy, 
P.P.,  Portaferry,  was  dii-ected  to  induct  him.  Father 
INlaguii'e  was  born  in  the  parish  of  Loughinisland  in  the  year 
1715.  He  was  ordained  about  the  year  1776,  and  officiated 
in  various  parishes  until  the  opening  of  the  College  of 
Maynooth,  to  which  he  was  sent  in  1796.  He  was  the  first 
student  of  Down  and  Connor  who  entered  that  College. 
After  his  studies  were  completed  he  was  aj)pointed  to  succeed 
Father  M'Garry,  and  during  twenty-six  years  he  bore  the 
weight  of  the  pastoral  duties  of  that  extensive  parish.     He 


444  DOWN    AXU    CONNOR, 

was  assisted  in  tlie  discliarge  of  liis  duties  by  a  nephew — tlie 
Rev.  Alexander  Maguire — and  afterwards  by  anotber 
nephew — the  Rev.  John  Maguire,  who  eventually  succeeded 
him.  Father  Maguire's  cliaracter  is  thus  given  in  an  obituary 
notice  which  appeared  in  the  Irishman  newspaper  (Belfast, 
May  27th,  1825)  :— "  At  Castleboy,  on  the  21st  instant,  the 
Rev.  John  Maguire,  P.P.,  of  the  Lower  Ards,  aged  64.  He 
was  endowed  with  a  virtue  truly  worthy  of  imitation.  He 
preached  to  the  world  by  regular  example  as  well  as  by 
doctrine,  and  during  a  pei-iod  of  25  years,  as  pastor  of  his 
people,  he  was  beloved  by  all  denominations,  as  his  funeral 
procession  fully  evinced."  His  remains  were  interred  in  the 
ancient  gi-aveyard  of  IMagheradrool,  and  on  his  gi-avestone 
is  inscribed — 

Erected 

To  the  memory  of  the 

Rev.  John  ^Maguire,  who 

departed  this  life  21st  May 

1825  aged  64  and  ^yho 

presided  2(3  years  P.P.  of  the 

Lower  Ards. 

Father  Maguire  was  succeeded  by  his  nephew,  the  Rev.  John 
Maguire.  Father  Maguire  was  born  iii  the  parish  of  Lough- 
inisland,  on  the  6tli  of  June,  1793.  He  entered  the  Logic 
Class  in  the  College  of  Maynooth  on  the  5th  of  September, 
1813,  and  was  ordained  by  Dr.  MacMullan,  in  Downpatrick, 
at  Pentecost,  1817.  He  was  said  to  have  been  the  last 
person  ordained  by  Dr.  Patrick  M'Mullan.  Lnmediately 
after  ordination  he  was  sent  to  assist  his  uncle  in  the  Lower 
Ards,  where  he  laboured  as  curate  and  parish  priest  until  his 
death  in  1839.  His  remains  were  interred  ovitside,  and  close 
to,  the  sidewall  of  the  chapel  of  Lisban,  where  a  tombstone 
commemorates  him  and  a  young  clergyman  who  many  years 
afterwards  ministered  in  the  same  parish.  , 


PARISH    OF    ARDKEEN.  445 

Erected 

In  memory  of  the 

Eev.  John  Maguire,  P.P. 

of  the  Lower  Ards  who 

departed 

2nd  May,  1839  aged 

45  years. 

^  The  Eev.  William  Kehoe  of 

Aughfad, 

Parish  of  Coolstuffe,  County  Wexford, 

and  curate  to  the  Piev.  W.  Killen 

for  six  months  died  the  12th  May 

1849  aged  31  years. 

Father  Maguire  was  succeded  by  the  Rev.  Bernard  Dorrian, 
an  elder  brother  of  the  Most  E.ev,  Dr.  Doi-rian.  Father 
Dorrian  entered  the  logic  class  in  the  College  of  Maynooth 
September  4th,  1828.  He  was  ordained  in  Belfast  by  Dr. 
CroUy,  in  October,  1832.  After  having  officiated  for  a  short 
time  as  curate  in  the  parishes  of  Down  and  Kilmore,  he  was 
appointed  Professor  of  Classics  in  the  Diocesan  Seminary, 
Belfast,  in  the  year  1835.  Father  Dorrian,  after  his 
appointment  to  the  parish  of  Lower  Ards,  continued  to 
dischai'ge  his  duties  as  professor  in  the  seminary,  and  only 
resided  in  his  parish  during  the  vacations,  and  visited  it  on 
Sundays,  but,  in  the  meantime,  the  parish  was  attended  by 
his  curate,  the  Rev.  William  M'Lea.  Father  Dorrian  was 
appointed  parish  priest  of  Lisburn  in  September,  1840;  and, 
on  the  3rd  of  the  following  November,  the  Rev.  James 
Denvir,  P.P.  Aghagallon,  was  appointed  to  the  parish  of 
Lower  Ards,  which  he  held  till  the  9th  of  Feb.,  1843,  when 
he  was  appointed  to  the  parish  of  Glenavy. 

The  Rev.  William  Killen,  P.P.,  Armoy,  was  the  succeed- 
ing pastor.  Father  Killen  was  a  native  of  Clontaghnaglar, 
in  the  parish  of  Kilmore.  He  was  ordained  in  Downpatiick 
in  May,  1815,  by  Dr.  Patrick  M'Mullan,  and  in  1817  he 
entered  the  College  of  Prepuce,  whence  after  completing  his 
philosophical  and  theological  studies,  he  returned  in  1822, 
and  was  appointed  curate  under  Father  Daniel  M'Donnell, 


446  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

P.P. ,  Cushendall.  Father  Killen  was  appointed  parish  priestof 
Armey  in  1828,  from  which  he  was  appointed  to  the  Lower 
Ards  in  1843.  He  is  still  spoken  of  by  the  senior  priests 
as  a  man  of  most  gentle  manners,  and  extremely  charitable 
in  his  conversation,  while  his  great  size  obtained  for  hiui 
among  the  laity  the  name  of  "  the  big  priest."  His  remains 
rest  in  the  cemetery  of  Ballygalget,  and  on  his  tombstone  is 

inscribed — 

Erected 
by  .James  Killen  of  Bally ridley 
to  the  memory  of  his  brother,  the  Eev.  William 
Killen  P.  P.  Lower  Ards,  who  departed  this 
Life  the  20th  Nov.,  1851  aged  59. 

Beqniescctt  in  pace.     Amen. 

After  the  death  of  Father  Killen,  the  parish  was  admin- 
istered by  his  curate,  the  Rev.  John  Fitzpatrick,  until  the 
appointment  of  his  successor,  the  Rev.  James  Crickard,  P.P., 
Lower  Mourne,  who  was  appointed  to  the  Lower  Ards  on 
the  12th  of  May,  1852.  Father  Crickard  was  appointed  to 
the  pai'ish  of  Loughinisland,  October  16th,  1866  (see  Lough- 
inisland),  after  which  the  parish  of  Lower  Ards  was  divided 
into  the  parishes  of  Ballygalget  (wliicli  see)  and  Ardkeen,  or 
Kirkcubbii>.  The  Eev.  John  M'Auley  was  appointed  to  the 
parish  of  Ardkeen. 

Father  M'Auley  is  a  native  of  Ranaghan,  in  the  parish 
of  Duneane;  after  studying  in  the  Diocesan  Seminary,  Belfast, 
he  entered  the  logic  class  in  the  College  of  Maynooth  on  the 
26th  of  August,  1849.  He  was  ordained  in  Dublin, 
November,  13th,  1853,  by  Dr.  "VVhelan,  and,  after  officiating 
as  curate  in  Belfast  and  Glena^'y,  he  was  appointed  to  Ard- 
keen, or  Lisban,  in  October,  1866. 

CHURCHES. 

During  the  persecution.  Mass  was  celebrated  on  a  large 
ptone,  which  is  yet  to  be  seen  on  the  farm  of  Mr.   William 


PAUISH    OF    ARDKEEN.  447 

M'Master,  in  the  townland  of  Bally crambeg.     Another  altar 

was  in  a  field  at  Ardkeen,  which  now  belongs  to  Mr.  Patrick 

IST'Keating,   but  in  more  recent  times  the  spot  generally 

selected  for  the  celebration  of  the  sacred  mysteries  was  near 

the  chapel  of  Lisban,  where  some  remains  of  the  old  house, 

which  the   Catholics  ventured   to  use,  still  exist.     Though 

the  tradition  of  the  sufferings  which  the  Catholics  endured 

has  nearly  died  out,  still  old  people  tell  with  gi-atitude  that 

one  of  the  persecuted  priests  was  saved  by  a  farmer  named 

Maxwell,  who  resided  in  Granshaw,  on  a  farm  still  occupied 

by  his  descendants.     Another  priest  is   said  to  have  been 

saved    by   the  M'Cleereys,   of  Portaferry.      The  chapel  of 

Lisban  v/as  erected  by  Father  O'Doran,  as  is  testified  by 

a  stone  inserted  in  the   wall,  on  which  is  inscribed,  "  This 

house  was  ei-ected,  A.D.  1777,  Daniel  O'Doran,  P.P."     In 

the  graveyard  attached  to  it  are  interred  the  bodies  of  the 

Rev,   John  Maguire ;    the  Pev.    William  Kehoe,  and  the 

Rev.  James  Linney.     The  tombstone  of  Father  Linney  bears 

the  folloAving  inscription  : — 

Beneath  this  stone  are  interred  the 
remains  of  the  Eev.  .Tames  Linney 
P.P.  of  Loughguile  Co  Antrim 
who  departed  from  this  life  on 
the  8th  April  Anno  Sal.  Eep.  1834 
in  the  46th  year  of  his  age. 

The  old  chapel  of  Lisban,  which  has  been  fitted  up  in  LS77 

as  a  Mortiiary  Chapel,  is  replaced  by  a   beautiful    church 

designed  by  Messrs.  O'Neill  &  Byi-ne,  Ai-chitects,  Belfast.    It 

is  erected  on  a  parochial  farm  of  3a.  3r.  2  Op.  in  the  townland 

of  Ballycranbeg,  a  lease  of  which  for  999  years  was  obtained 

from  the  late  Henry  Harrison,  Esq.,  on  the  16th  of  October, 

1872,  at  the  yearly  rent  of  £7   15s.,  which  has  since  been 

extinguished  by  investing  £230  in  Government  Stock.     The 

church  was  dedicated,  under  the  invocation  of  St.  Joseph,  on 

the  8th  of  October,  1876,  by  the  Most  Rev.  Dr.  Dorriau, 


■448  DOWN  AND  CONNOR. 

Father  M'Auley  has  given  the  name  Mount  St.  Joseph  to 
the  high  hill,  on  which  stands  the  imposing  gi-oup  of  ecclesi- 
astical birildings,  consisting  of  the  Church,  Schools,  Teachers' 
Residence,  and  on  which  he  intends  to  erect  a  Parochial 
House. 

The  gi-eat  distance  from  the  remote  districts  Avithin  the 
civil  parish  of  Greyabbey  to  the  chapel  of  Lisban,  rendered  it 
necessary  to  open  a  temporary  chapel  in  Kirkcubbin,  and 
for  that  purpose  the  use  of  a  store  was  obtained.  In  1840, 
James  Allen,  Esq.,  of  Nuns  Quarter,  with  that  liberality 
which  always  characterised  him,  generously  bestowed  to  the 
Rev.  B.  Dorrian,  P.P.,  a  site  in  the  townland  of  Nuns 
Quarter,  for  the  church  of  "  St.  Mary,  Star  of  the  Sea." 
The  erection  of  the  church  was  commenced  many  years 
afterwards  by  Father  Crickard  ;  it  was  consecrated  January 
6th,  1865,  by  Dr.  Denvir,  and  the  sermon  on  the  occasion 
was  preached  by  Dr.  Dorrian,  who  was  then  parish  priest  of 
Loughinisland.  Persons  still  living  remember  when  not 
more  than  nine  or  ten  persons  \ised  to  cross  the  bridge  of 
Kirkcubbin  on  their  way  to  INIass  at  the  chapel  of  Lisban, 
while  at  present  the  beautiful  clnu-ch  at  Nuns  Quarter  has 
a  large  congregation,  and  its  schools  are  in  a  flouri&hing 
condition,  from  which  we  may  reasonably  conclude  that  the 
church  has  suffered,  in  this  as  well  as  in  other  localities  of 
Down  and  Connor,  more  from  the  paucity  of  priests  and  the 
deficiency  of  church  and  school  accommodation  than  from 
all  the  other  effects  of  the  penal  laws. 


END    OF    VOL.    I.