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Br 30-3
Harbarb College libiars
t
MRS. ANNE E. P. SEVER
OF BOSTON
Widow of Col. Jauis Wauxh Sev«
(CUh of I Si 7)
JOURNAL
OF THE
Cork Historical & Arch>eological
Society.
VOLUME XI. SECOND SERIES.
1905.
Br 90©
OCT 21.1019
CORK:
PHINTED AND PUBLISHED BY GUY AND Co. LTD., 70 PATRICK StRKET.
1905.
CONTENTS VOL. XI.
[second series.]
Contributed Papers.
PAGE.
Kinsale. (Illustrated.) By Florence O'Sullivan, Solicitor -. i
Castlehaven and its Neighbourhood. (Illustrated,) By James M.
Burke, b.a., b.l. - - - ii
The Mammoth Caves of Castlepook, near Doneraile. {Illustrated )
By Robert W. Evans, ll,b., b.l. - 19
Souvenir of the " Mary Russell " Tragedy. {Illustrated,) By J.C. 23
List of Books, etc., Printed at Cork in the 17th and i8tb Centuries.
Part X. By E. R. McC. Dix - - - 24
Cork Cuverian and Archaeological Society. {Continued from Vol X.,
page J go,) By R.D. ...... 27
The Parish of Kilshannig and Manor of Newberry, Co. Cork. By
Henry F. Berry, i.s.o., m.r.i.a. - - - ' 3i» 53
Biographical Records of the County Cork. By Michael Pyne. R.D. - 39
Dr. Caulfield's Antiquarian and Historical Notes. J.C. - 40, 93
Sherkin Island. {Illustrated.) By James M. Burke, b.a., b t.. 64
Shawn Ru, the Rapparee : A Tradition of Macroom. (Illustrated.)
By An Old Inhabitant - - - 67
The Cork Library in 1801 and 1820. By James Coleman, Hon. Sec. 82
Some Account of the Family of O'Hurly. {Illustrated.) - - 105,177
Vi. CONTENTS.
pagb.
Medals and Memoiials of the Irish Volunteers of 1780 and 1797.
{Illustrated,) By Robert Day, f.s.a. - - - 124
PAGE, PAGE.
Cork Artillery, 1779 - • 124 Kerry Volunteers, 1783 - 129
Great Island Cavalry, 1782 - 125 The KilfinnanVoIunteers, 1776 130
Imokilly Artillery, 1779 - '26 Barry more Cavalry, 1797 - 131
Muskerry Blue Light Dragoons, Cork County Volunteeis, 1 803 1 32
1779- - 127 Cork Cavalry - • 132
The Kerrech Company, 1780 • 128 The Kil worth Cavalry, 1796 133
The Youghal Union, 1780 - 128 Dublin Volunteers, 178 1 - 134
The Round Tower of Kinneigh, Co. Cork. (Illustrated.) By
J, Buckley - - - - - i35
Dr. Caulfield's Notes on Cork Events in the years 1769 and 1781.
ByJ.C. 138
History of the "Sirius," the First Steamer to cross the Atlantic.
{Illustrated,) By William J. Barry, Council Member - 157
An Episode in the History of Mitchelstown, Co. Cork, {Illustrated,)
By J.B. ----- . - - 184
Spear Head and Socketed Looped Celt from Schull {Illustrated,)
By R.D, ........ 187
Discovery of a Sepulchral Urn at Castle Hyde. {Illustrated.) By
Robert Day, f.s.a. - - - - - 187
Lady Fanshawe's Escape from Cork in 1649. {Illustrated,) By
Courtenay Moore, Canon, m.a., Council Member - - 190
193
Distinguished Corkmen. By J.
C.
-
-
PAGB.
FAGB.
General Stephen Moylan
- 193
Dr. P. Sharkey
- 195
Daniel Callaghan, m.p.
- 194
Luke H. Bolster
- 195
Samuel SkiUen, Artist -
- 194
William West
- 195
John Augustus Shea •
- 194
Historical and Topographical Notes, etc, on Buttevant, Doneraile,
Mallow, and Places in their Vicinity. (Illustrated.) Collected
by James Grove White, j.p. Separate pagination 1-64
CONTENTS,
••
Vll.
Notes and Queries.
A Curious Incident in the Tithe War
Andrew Hennessy's Life Boat
A Rare Cork Imprint
Barrys of Annagh ....
Belzoni the Egyptian Explorer in Cork
Corca Bascoin and Inisdamhiy
Cork and Bristol ....
Curious Incidents connected with a Co.
Cork Baronetcy
Dr. O'Brien ....
Dr. Warbucton, Bishop of Cloyne
Feargus O'Connor
Fermoy Printers - - - -
Fineen O'Mahony and Donald Fihelly
Freke Pedigree ....
James Freney, the Highwayman •
Limerick's Claim to Municipal Precedence
of Cork disposed of •
Loss of the Cork Steamer ** Killarney " in
1838 .....
Notes on Parish of Kilshannig in April to
June Number
Pedigree of the Poet Spencer's Family
Pedigree, Richard Heacock
Sleughleigh ....
St. Nicholas Parish Church, Cork
The Cost of Living in Mitchelstown seventy
years ago ....
The O'Flynns of Ardagh -
The"Sirius" . . - .
Travers Family ... -
AUTHOK.
PAGE.
J.C. -
-
- lOI
J.C. -
• »
45
R.D. •
-
- i5»
J. Grene Barry
- 197
J.C. •
-
- toi
J.M.B.
-
44
R.D. -
-
■ 151
JC. -
.
- 48
J. M.B.
-
43
J.C. -
.
46
J.C. -
-
- '52
E. R. McC.
Dix
- 98
J.M.B.
-
43
Dorothea Townshend
- 98
Robert Day
-
- 198
J.C. . . - .
J.C. - - - .
Edmund Lombard Hunt
facingpage
Capt. Jackson Pigott
Dorothea Townshend
J.C. . - . .
J. Buckley
James M. Burke
R.D. - . - .
45
30 1
151
196
47
98
200
196
99
152
197
Vm. CONTENTS.
Miscellaneous.
PAGF..
Reviews and Notes of Books, etc. ... 4$^ 103, 154, 302
The Antiquary, 1905. C.O.M. - - - - - 48
A History of the County Dublin. J.B. - 48
C-Aicfeim Con^Ait ClAi^institj. J.B. - 49
Association for the Preservation of the Memorials of the Dead,
Ireland. J.B. ...... 49
Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society. J.B. 50, 156
The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. J. B. 50
The Scottish Historical Review. J.B. - • 50
Castles of Ireland. Some Fortress Histories and Legends. J . P. D. 51
Louth Archaeological Journal. {Illustrated.) J.B.' 156
Une Loi Historique ...... 103
Irish Exiles in France. W. Butler • - - 104
Blake Family Records, 1600 to 1700. J.B. • 154
Sir Walter Scott's Tour in Ireland in 1825. J.B. - 155
List of Books, Pamphlets, etc., printed wholly, or partially in
Irish from the earliest period to 1820. J.B. - 202
Society for the Preservation of the Irish Language. Report for
1904. J.B. 203
English Goldsmiths and their Marks. R.D. • - 203
Proceedings of the Society - - - 79
Ancient Monuments of County Cork ----- 147
i
Second Series— Vol, XI. No. 65.J [January— March. 1905.
Journal of the
Cork Historical and Archaeological Society.
KINSALE.
By FLORENCE O'SULLIVAN, Solicitok
IHE quaint and picturesque town of Kinsale affords a
striking exception to the fortunate fate of most English
colonies, of which it was originally one. From the
earliest records we find that this town was fated to
struggle with difficulties and despair, and save for brief
periods of prosperity its hard luck has continued to the
present day. And yet it is a beautiful place, and from its situation
ought to be thriving and prosperous, being as it is, to use the words of
an ancient description, " in the road of the commerce of the world."
But commerce passes it by and Kinsale sleeps on, its repose lulled
by soporific breezes. Harsh winds are alien to it ; its zone of encircling
hills forbid their entrance. Soft grey mists creep in from the sea in the
autumn and cover its slumbers as with a mantle. Frost and snow are
almost unknown. The air is laden with warm moisture. It is a region
of placidity ; the land of Nirvana. All movement here is languid, and
bustle is incongruous to it
Dr. Caulfield, whose labours have afforded to antiquarians so con-
venient a field of inquiry, gives some deeply entertaining information in
the ^ Annals of Kinsale," published by him in 1879. As early as 1482
the Kinsale colonists were in trouble. A patent of Edward V. thus
recites their condition : *• Know ye, that we considering the town of
Kinsale is wholly surrounded with Irish enemies and English rebels, yet
our beloved bui^esses obeyed the commands of us in repelling said
rebels, who from time to time made divers assaults upon the town both
by land and by sea, the Sovereign and the Burgesses are vested (inUr
alia) with Admiralty Jurisdiction from the Rock of Bullman to the
Durzies, above 20 leagues." Those were the troubled days of the
Regency of Gloucester, afterwards Richard III., and from the reference
to English rebels it is clear that the English in Ireland in those days
took sides in the quarrels of their princes.
i COUK HISTORICAL AND ARCHitOLOGICAL SOClETV.
Kinsale does not seem to have made progress in prosperity during
the time of Henry VI I L, which prince was graciously pleased to send by
the hands of Sir George Carew (one of his Admirals) into the town in
addition to their ancient regalia, in testimony of their adherence and
support of the English interest, and its importance by sea and land, a
fair large damask standard, having the arms of England emblazoned
thereon. This sort of gift to a distressful community was typical of the '.
" Merry Monarch," who made the Church a present of a treatise and '
despoiled it of its temporal possessions.
In the following reign (Edward VI., year 1548) the township seems
to have fallen into very sore straits indeed. We read in a letter written
by the then Sovereign to Sir Edward Bellingham : " We received your
letter of 13th July, all our men died of the pestilence, and we have a
wide empty town and few men, and naughty and unsteady neighbours,
we rest not night or day but watch our town for fear of the Irishmen
about us by land and by sea. Also the country about us is so vast, and
all the succour that we were wont to have is by our haven, and now all is
stopped from us by endless pyratures which would not suffer victuals
nor succour coming to us, but taketh it within our haven ; and now of
late cometh one Richard Colle with a pinnace and 18 or 20 men, and
married with Barry Oge's aunt, and dwelleth in his castle, within our
haven and our liberty, and there he remaineth and would suffer none to
come to the town but taketh them and spoileth them." The Barry Oge
mentioned in the foregoing letter was Philip Barry, feudal lord of
Kinalea, to whom Queen Mary granted the fisheries, customs, and
harbour of Oysterhaven. He was descended from Philip Barry of Rin-
curran near Kinsale, who was summoned to Parliament as Baron in
1302. His grandson Philip married Ellinor, daughter of McCarthy
Reagh of Kilbrittain, and sister of Ellen, wife of Lord dc Courcy, twenty-
first lord of Kinsale.
It is evident that stout Richard Colle and his merry men by his
alliance with Barry Oge's aunt became, to use the phrase of those days,
" Hibernis hiberniores," while Barry Oge's aunt bears her own share of
responsibility for those troublous times.
From the reference to the '^ Irishmen about us by land and sea " as i
to a foreign enemy, it is to be inferred that the burgesses of the township \
at that time comprised none of that nationality with whom so dire a
warfare was then and subsequently waged.
Coming down to 1587 we find, by reference to a despatch from Queen
Elizabeth to the Lord Deputy and the Lord Chancellor, the two dis-
tinguishing characteristics of Kinsale, namely its poverty and its loyalty,
still strongly in evidence ; — " Whereas," it states, " the town of Kinsale,
KINSALE. ^
amongst other petitioners sent here unto us . . . have very humbly
desired, in respect of their gr6at poverty and ruined walls of the town, to
have for their better abilitie to repair the same the coquet of hides trans-
ported out of that town to foreign parts ... in regard of the poverty
of this town, and that the inhabitants have continued very loyal and
dutiful in the late rebellion, whereby they allege themselves to have
been much impoverished, we are pleased to grant to the' town as well
the said coquet-money of hides transported as also the rent of
£i 6s. 8d. out of the Gourdes country for 31 years, on condition that
they account yearly to the Exchequer for the profits of the coquet, to
the end that you the chief Governors may from time to time know what
the same amounts to, and likewise see the same bestowed upon repairing
and strengthening the town, as they hereby may understand the goodness
of our gift." This despatch is dated 13th January, 1587. It would
strike the impartial student of history that the donation wrapped in such
an amplitude of high flown verbiage is like the reasoning of Gratiano, '^ two
grains of wheat hidden in two bushels of chaff; you will seek all day ere
you find them, and when you have them they are not worth the search."
So, at all events, it seems to have proved to the much tried burgesses of
Kinsale, for barely seven months later, 18th August, 1587, we find them
petitioning Lord Burghley in the following piteous terms : — " No
Corporation of this realm but have tasted by your Honour's means of
Her Majesty's most bounteous liberality upon their humble suit made to
Her Highness, yet we, the poor inhabitants of Her Majesty's town of
Kinsale, while any ability was in us to maintain this poor seat we hold
of Her Majesty, would not (considering Her Highness exhausting her
princely treasure for our defence and preservation in the late rebellion
of Munster, by which we are brought to utter decay), make our misery
and depopulation known until now forced to do the same lest in duty
we may not be able to answer for our silence in the like cause if we
would negligently hide it any longer. Wherefore, we have sent the
bearer hereof (our Sovereigjn) unto Her Highness with certain poor
petitions on our behalf to be to Her Majesty presented, wherein our
present decayed estate is briefly touched, all which we most humbly
recommend to the favour and furtherance of your honourable Lordship."
Eleven years later (1598) matters do not seem to have much im-
proved. Under date 21st October, 1598, Ormond, writing to Cecil from
Youghal, thus describes Kinsale : — " For thattheir walls are so spatious
and decayed, and their houses for the most part built of clay and stones,
that without a strong garrison they could not well be defended."
There is no record of any material improvement in the condition of
the town or in its defences between the date last mentioned and that of
4 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
Don Juan D'Aquila's landing on the 23rd September, 1601, with three
thousand five hundred Spanish infantry. The arrival of the Spanish
forces in Kinsale is thus related in the " Annals of the Four Masters": —
"The place at which they put in was the harbour of Kinsale, at the
mouth of the Green River (Glass linn), of Bandon, on the confines of
Courcies country. On their arrival at Kinsale they took to themselves
the fortification, shelter, defence and maintenance of the town from the
inhabitants who occupied them till then. They quartered their gentlemen
captains and auxiliaries throughout the habitations of wood and stone
which were in the town. They conveyed from their ships into the town
their stores of viands and drink, powder, lead, &c., then sent their ships
back to their own country ; they planted great guns on every point on
which they thought the enemy would approach them ; they appointed
guards who should be relieved at regular hours, for they were very sure
that the Lord Justice would come to attack them with his army."
The Spanish occupation of Kinsale lasted from 23rd of September,
1601, to 2nd January, 1602, a period of over three months, during which
time they were besieged by a force of at least 15,000 men, besides the
Queen's fleet which occupied the harbour.
When the miserable nature of the town's defences, of which as we
have seen the burgesses so often made moan to the Government, is con-
sidered, the fact that such defences were dominated by high hills on
every side, and that from the water the Queen's ships were in a position
to bombard the place night and day, the evidence appears very strongly
in favour of the correctness of Mr. Standish O'Grady's opinion of Don
Juan's defence as being " the most brilliant example of combined pluck,
skill, and endurance in Irish history."
Anyone acquainted with the present day aspect of the town during
the winter months can readily picture the gloom and horror of the
position of its defenders fresh from the sunny land of Spain. The
almost incessant rain and fog of these months, the narrow ill-paved
streets, dark as Erebus, the few hours of daylight, the deep depression
of the position dominated by dark frowning cliffs, add to all this the
tension of fighting day and night with an enemy in overwhelming force,
all combined to render the task of the Spaniards a heroic one, and right
gallantly they appear to have performed it. They had placed a garrison
in Rincurran Castle, which was situated where Charles Fort now stands
on the eastern side of the outer harbour, about two miles from the town
by land and about one mile by water. This was at once cut off from all
communication by land or water with the main force of the defenders
within the town, and though vigorously besieged held out for over six
weeks.
KiNSALE Town Harbc
Charles Fort, Kinsale.
Castle Park Fort, Kixsf
KINSALE. 5
Another garrison was placed by the Spaniards in Castle Park, which
is situate on the southern side of the inner harbour now known as the
Old Fort This force was also at once besieged from land and sea but
held out gallantly until the 20th of November (two months). The main
force prolonged their defence to 2nd January following, a notable feature
of the siege being the numerous vigorous sorties made by the besieged.
I find in Dr. Caulfield's Annals a curious record of an attack by
the besiegers on the Spaniards in Castle-ni-Park which vividly recalls
the romantic ardour of the Elizabethan days. " 1601. Some of the
Queen's ships began to play upon Castle-ny-Park, but the weather being
stormy the ordnance could not be landed, but the 17th being Her
Majesty's coronation, being intended to be solemnised with some extra-
ordinary adventure if the weather suffered, the Sergeant-Major and
Captain Bodley with some 400 foot were sent at night when the storm
abated to see if it could be carried with the pick axe, but the engine not
being strong, and they within the Castle having store of very great
stones on the top, tumbled it down and brake it so they returned
with loss."
The strangest part of the siege of Kinsale is that most of the
fighting against the Spanish was done by Irishmen in the Queen's forces.
The veteran army of Connaught, all Irishmen, under the Earl of Clan-
ricarde, composed the flower of England's forces. The clan system, in
which communal interests were often preferred to the national welfare,
is responsible for this. Mr. Standish O'Grady says that " Mountjoy got
no fighting out of his English soldiers." " They were (he says) wretched
material to begin with, pressed men and beggars and gaol-birds, and
when they arrived at Kinsale either fell sick and died or ran away."
The positions occupied by the English forces are easily located at the
present day. Their encampment at the beginning of the siege was at
foot of the hill of Knockrobbin, a little over a mile distant from the
town, now the country seat of Mrs. Colonel Daly. After a month of the
siege the English forces drew nearer and encamped on a hill on the
north side before Kinsale called the Spittle, " about a musquet shot
from the town," This hill has been ever since, and is at the present day
known as "Camp Hill;" and is situate about a stone's throw north of the
present railway terminus.
There is a very interesting connection between the Battle of Kinsale
and the foundation of the Trinity College library. ** We find it recorded
that Her Majesty's army to commemorate their victory subscribed the
sum of jf 1,800 from the arrears of their pay to buy books to furnish the
library of Trinity College, Dublin, and committed the sum of jf 1,800 to
Dr. Luke Chalonerand Mr. James Usher to buy books, for which purpose
6 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
they went to London. And it was somewhat remarkable, says Dr.
Parr, that at this time, 1603, when the said persons were in London
about the laying out of this money in books they there met Sir Thomas
Bodley buying books for his newly-erected library in Oxford, so that
there began a correspondence between them on this occasion helping
each other to procure the choicest and best books on several subjects
that could be gotten, so that the famous Bodleyan library at Oxford and
that of Dublin began together."
The visitors to Trinity College library will observe this fact com-
memorated by a large painting representing the Battle of Kinsale over
the stairs leading to the library, with foot note setting forth the above-
mentioned history of its institution. ^'^
The great fort at Castle Park, near the town of Kinsale, was begun
15th February, 1601, and so continued until 12th October, 1604. This
fort is now in ruins, but is one of the most interesting and picturesque
objects in the county. It is in a delightful situation, facing the town on
the little promontary dividing the inner from the outer harbour. All
that remains of it now is the citadel in the centre of the fort, which is
daily crumbling to pieces, assisted by the careless hands of vandals,
and a high earthen rampart surrounding the fort, about a quarter of mile
in circumference.
Among the many vicissitudes of this township was the fact that during
the struggle of Charles I. with the Parliament, Prince Rupert put into
Kinsale in 1648 with 16 frigates, where he was blockaded by the fleet of
the Parliament,
In 1670 the foundation of Charles Fort was laid by the Earl of
Orrery, and the work undertaken with all possible diligence and despatch.
The fort was capable of receiving 200 guns, and its erection cost
;£'8o,ooo. It is at the present day obsolete as a fort for artillery, and is
now occupied by the militia staff and by a detachment from the Kinsale
garrison. It is delightfully situated on the eastern side of the outer
harbour, about two miles from the town,
James II. landed at Kinsale on the 12th March, 1689, with Count
Luzon and the Marquis de Levy and a number of French troops, and
was received with every demonstration of joy.
The Kinsale colonists do not seem to have been at the time infected
with the anti-Catholic virus which then prevailed in England, and proved
(0 An illustratioQ is taken from an engraving of this picture through the very kind
offices of Mr. Dix, of Dublin, one of our members. The two small illustrations are
are from photos by Mr. Wm. Neville. To the kind courtesy of the Rev. Editor of the
*' Mungret Annual/' are due the other three illustrations, the blocks of which having
been lent by him.
KINSALE. 7
true to their traditional policy of unswerving loyalty to the reigning
monarch. A presentment in the Council book of the Corporation of
this date sets forth : — " We present that ;f 420 be raised to be paid to
George Crofts, Esq., who is forthwith to furnish the French fleet with 50
fat oxen and 400 fat wethers as a small acknowledgment of the universal
thanks due to them from this kingdom in general for transporting His
Majesty thither, but from us more particularly, we having the first
blessing of His Majesty's presence in this country, for which we and our
posterity will ever praise God."
It was rather unwise for the Kinsale Corporation to speak for pos-
terity, as events proved. As Kinsale had the "first blessing of His
Majesty's presence," so also had they the last blessing of that same
presence, for after the defeat at the Boyne James embarked from Kinsale
on a French frigate on July 9th, 1690,
In September, 1690, the last of the great Williamite battles in Ireland
was fought at Kinsale, and the adherents of James opposed a desperate
resistance to the Williamite army under that grim commander " Malbrouk"
(Marlborough). The scene of this engagement was Ringrone Castle (of
which one wall only now remains), on the southern side of the Bandon
river and the fort at Castle Park, or, as it has since been sometimes
called, " James Fort." As the Kinsale Corporators were fervently loyal
to James, so on William's victorious succession they proved equally loyal
to William and the policy of which William was the head ; for we find
under date 3rd October, 1692, "by a presentment previously made that
no Papist be made free nor keep open shop within this Corporation, we
present Mr. James Young and Mr. Edward Roche for same, that they
shall not keep open shop or retail goods until they shall have taken the
oaths, and that no Protestant shall deal with any Papists on penalty of
being disfranchised." Also under date of 26th September, 1690, the
following : — " Whereas, by the great mercy of Almighty God and His
Majesty's victorious arms, the Protestants of this Corporation were
delivered out of the hands and power of their implacable enemies of the
Roman Catholic persuasion on the 29th September, 1690, we, in com-
memoration of the said mercy and deliverance, do present that said 29th
September for the future may be observed yearly in this Corporation as
a day of public rejoicings by making bon-fires, illuminations and other
marks and demonstrations of joy as are usual on such occasions, and
that a rate for the purpose may be entered on the records of this Cor-
poration for a perpetual remembrance of the same."
The published extracts from the court books of " Ye town of Kinsale"
from the year 1653 show the pcevelance of English names and the
almost total absence of Irish cognomens. For example : — Richard
i CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCUiEOLOGlCAt SOCIEfV.
Casseti, Jim Ligfhtford, Robert Best, A. Allen, Wm. Harine, Peter Har-
foord, George Yard, John Snary, Matt Band, Wm. Ballard, Geo. Battes,
Wm. Slyman, Richard Sawell, John Suxbury, Walter Compton, Wm.
Usher, Richard Rawlins, Goody Cooke, Amos Breacher, Richard Snow,
Ralph Blightman, Nicholas Blenkinsopp, John Lush, Humphry Wool-
cock, Richard Reeves, Thos. Hodskisse. The following entry empha-
sises the fact of the almost exclusively English character of this southern
Irish town — " 22nd April, 1661. Agreed that ;f40 shall be issued out
of the town stock for the supply of the agents in their expenses and
journey to Dublin in obtaining a confirmation of the contract for the
escheated houses and lands and opposing the Irish in their claims, the
agents rendering an account how the money was disbursed."
In the next entry quoted we have a striking example of justice's
justice of that period. " 8th October, 1666. Morgan Swinny having
lain long in the Marshalsea for filching money scil 2/6 from his master,
John Lockwell, is on this day by order of the Sovereign adjudged to be
whipped on Saturday next quite through the town, he having confessed
the fact."
The following presentment, under date 3rd October, 1726, deserves
the attention of the present dispensers of summary jurisdiction.
'' We present that an Exalting Chair be made and set up in the
market place for the punishment of shrews, scolding women, and other
disorderly persons."
The following is " an account of moneys disbursed for the Cor-
poration's use upon the day of proclaiming His Majesty Charles II.
King of England, etc., and other necessary moneys expended in order
thereunto."
Imprimis — Paid to footmen for going to Cork and to
several high constables in the adjacent baronies ... j^o 3 6
Item — To the ringers of the bells ... ... 046
Item — For i doz. great earthen pots ... ... 020
Item — For i doz. of cans, 2 ditto of horns, porterages of
the wines tapps and kennels... ... ... o 10 2
Item — ^J. Martin for 2 barrels of beer ... ... 160
Item — A. Stawell for 2 hogsheads of wine ... 8 10 o
Item — ^J. Stepney, to trumpeters and gifts to gunners ... i 26
Item — Paid David Rewe for altering the armes in the
maces ... ... ... ... 090
Item — Due to Mr. Calfe for canvass for making the
King's arms ... ... ... ... 084
Item — Paid Mr. G. Nicholson due for sarcenet for the
trumpet banners, and to Poynes for his works therein i 10 o
RiNGRONE Castle, French Prison, Kinsale.
Siege of Kinsale, 1601-2.
kiNSALE. ^
Item— J. Winter due for ii gals, of sack ... ... i i8 6
Item — Due to Capt. Marten for 2% barrels of coals,
boatage and portage of muskets, powder, bullets, and
match ... ... ... _. o 10 6
;£i6 12 o
That the Corporation were rather fond of dining themselves well I
find in a presentment of 6th October, 1729 : " That the Sovereign have
£60 for his salary this year, and £$ in consideration of his giving an
entertainment at Dunderrow Green, all Sovereigns hereafter to give
their dinners at said Green, according to ancient custom." This function
seems to have been akin to the Cork Corporation's triennial function of
Throwing the Dart, which Mr. Bushe, K.C., on one occasion so wittily
described as " The Corkonian Bridal of the Sea."
It is interesting to learn that about the close of the 17th Century a
number of trade guilds existed in the town, and included barber-chyrur-
gions, butchers, weavers and collerers, taylors, brogue-makers, shoe-
makers and curriers, stonelayers, bricklayers, blacksmiths, goldsmiths,
silversmiths, cutlers, glaziers, braziers, bakers.
There was besides an important navy-yard established during the
Williamite wars, at which were employed a commissioner at a salary of
j£'500, 1st clerk at a salary of ^£'50, 2nd clerk at a salary of £^0^ clerk of
the cheque £100^ master builder ;^ioo, clerk £10^ clerk of survey £60^
storekeeper £60^ boatswain ;^5o. In the victualling ofRce — agent ;£^ioo,
clerk £10. In the sick and wounded office — agent j^50, marshal £$0^
surgeon ;£'200, turnkey £10, (Mem. — The prisoners spent several
hundred pounds per annum). Ordnance office — ^storekeeper ;^6o, prize
office agent ^£"50. The yard employed about 60 carpenters, joiners and
labourers constantly at work, besides ropemakers, blacksmiths, block-
makers. The victualling office employed brewers, bakers, butchers
maltsters, coopers, lightermen, and a great many labourers, and also
several blacksmiths, coopers and carpenters.
It is evident that Kinsale at this period enjoyed a large measure of
prosperity. It was, however, a prosperity which had a very sandy founda-
tion, in the fact that its continuance mainly depended upon the existence
of war, as was subsequently only too well proved ; the brief prosperity of
the town, dependent so much on naval and military activity, dwindled
away with the establishment of peace.
It enjoyed another brief period of prosperity about 40 or 50 years
ago when it had a virtual monopoly of the great spring mackerel fishery,
lO CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHiEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
when English, French, and Manx boats resorted to the harbour in vast
numbers, and enormous takes of mackerel were matters of daily occur-
rence. Of late years the fishing has extended right round the entire
western coast, and the share of Kinsale in the trade is only that of one
among a large number of stations.
It ought to be the duty of the Board of Works to put in force in
Kinsale the provisions of the Ancient Monuments' Protection Act, and
to safeguard the many historic monuments existing in its immediate
neighbourhood, but which are gradually disappearing. An ancient
building in Cork Street, which was at one time known as ^' the French
Prison," <»> possessing the most beautifully cut doorways and windows, is
at the present moment being used as a stable and cowshed.
The quaint distinctive characteristics of Kinsale as a non-Irish colony
are gradually disappearing. There still, however, remain, particularly
among the fishing folk, traces of English and foreign descent in their
names, idioms and appearance. There are yet among them such names as
Arnopp, Fives, Gimlett, Goldspring, Alcock, Newman, Steadwell, Con-
Joyce, Veakins, Farley, Stapleton, Whitlaw, Masterton, Gorry, Allen,
Greenway, Dent, Nugent, some of which appear to denote a Huguenot
origin.
(a) Lecky's '' England in the Eighteenth Century," vol. 2, page 358, furnishes the
following reference to the French Prison at Kinsale, an illustration of which is given
herewith : — " At Kinsale there was a great establishment for French prisoners of war,
which appears to have exhibited every kind of shameful irregularity. In 1710 one of
its directors complained that the prison was so bad and that the sentinels were so cor-
rupt that {en, twenty, even thirty men sometimes escaped in a month or six weeks.
On the other hand Lord Inchiquin, having a few months later investigated the condition
of the prison, reported to the Lord Lieutenant that the conduct of the officers in charge
of it was such ' that several hundreds of the poor wretches perished in prison for want
of those necessaries that the Queen's allowance was very sufficient to have supplied
them with, that the bread given them a hungry boy could not eat, that their meat was
little better, in great scarcity, and not half boiled,' * that no proper necessaries were
allowed for the sick,' and that < sick and well lay promiscuously together crowded in
dirty cellars which were hardly ever cleaned out.' In 1747 a fearful catastrophe took
place at Kinsale, when the prison having accidentally caught fire no less than fifty-four
unhappy Frenchmen perished in the flames." •
CASTLEHAVEN AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD. II
CASTLEHAVEN AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD.
By JAMES M. BURKE. B.A.. B.L.
HE Parish of Castlehaven in the Diocese of Ross and
Barony E.D.W. Carbery, was formerly called Glen-
barrahane, i.e., 5le4i)n Be4|td4|i) (the glen of St.
Barrahane). In a Papal document of 1199 it is
written Glenberchin ; in the Royal Visitation Book
of 161 5 it is called Glenbarrahane. Bearchan, the^
patron saint of the parish, is usually identified with the great prophet
Bearchan Mac De. The name is found in three other townlands of the
County Cork, viz. : — Curryvarrahane, parish of Ballymodan ; Lickbar-
rahane, parish of Kilnamanagh, and Kilbarrahane, parish of Rooskeen.
Bearchan is seemingly a Lugadian name. In the Genealogy of
Corca Laidhe we find together the pedigrees of Conall. Bearchan and
Ceallach, which come immediately after the pedigree of Saint Fachtna
(v, " Celtic Miscellany," pp. 46-49). Conall is probably the St. Conall
who is said to have succeeded St. Fachtna as Bishop of Ross. From
the context it is to be assumed that Bearchan Wcis also an ecclesiastic.
The pedigree states that he was great grandson of Conall Claen. In
another part of the Genealogy we read that this Conall Claen had five
sons to the west of Dor (or Glandore). Castlehaven is just to the west
of Glandore, so it may be infened the Bearchan mentioned in the
Genealogy is the patron of Castlehaven.
Ancient Proprietors. — In the Genealogy of Corca Laidhe we read
that " The Country of O'Gillamichil extends from Feith-na-h-imghona
to Ceann-mara; and from Beann-Sidhain to Beal-atha-Seamann. These
are its hereditary leaders, viz, : — <Du)b4ftx}4 (Doorty) ; O 4)ttr)l47r)5
(Dowling, DoolanJ; O l)-034in (Hogan) ; <Dub454jD (Duggan);
U4 ^e)ce)X)j5 ; U4 C)4b4|T) (Keevan) ; U4 Ce4Ti'C4)5 ; U4 804-6415 ;
U4 WoD54ii) (Mangan, Mongan); U4 <t)o)]ic (Durk); U4 ^otU (Mohilly);
U4 ?04ile4'D4)|i ; U4 2lt)4iri); U4 B4)|i|i (Barr), and U4 Kofr)4. Of this
territory was the man who for his means was the most hospitable and
bountiful that ever came to our knowledge of this tribe, namely, the
representative of Bearchan, the Great Vicar O'Gillamichil, who was
usually called * Open Purse.' "
The country of the O'Gillamichel included the present parish of
Castlehaven. I am unable to identify T^)t i)4 b-)n)SoT)4 (boggy trench
of the murder), but the Genealogy states that it was west of ri|i4)3 0n)i)4
a CORK HISTORICAL AI^D ARCiLAOLOGICAL SOdreTY.
(i.e.y Strand of the oak), now called Tragumina Bay, the western limit of
Castlehaven parish. Dr. John O'Donovan says, Ceutjn ^4fui (head of
the sea) is the village of Leap which lies at the head of Glandore
Harbour. I think it is the pretty inlet at the head of Castlehaven
Harbour, now called P^icji) i)4i ^^fui (little point of the sea), which
forms the eastern limit of Castlehaven parish. In fact there can be no
doubt that this is so, for the Genealogy describes Ce4t)t) ^4ifui as the
western limit of Myross. Now, Peakeen na Mara is exactly the western
boundary of Myross, and Leap is not in Myross at all, but to the north-
east of it
Be4ii)i) S)T^4in (peak of fairy mound) is Beenteeane (Be4t)t) V'S)'6Ain)
in Farrenconner, parish of Castlehaven. The northern limit B64I AtA
f e4n)4t)t) I cannot identify. The Rev. Mr. Quarry conjectures that it is
a ford on the river Sawenose which is in the parish of Caheragh. I
venture to think it was much further north, and for this reason that two
of the families settled in the district were the tU Bu4'64Y5 and the
VLa ^t)ot)54it). Ballyvoige (BaiVu) ^iwoa)^), parish of Desertserges,
commemorates the former, while Cloonties, parish of Fanlobbus, formerly
called Cltt4|t)t;e u) ^oi)$4?t) (O'Mangan's meadows) commemorates the
latter.
Proprietors in Queen Elizabeth's Time. — Moneyvollihane, Downeen,
Raheen, and Killaderry were attached to MacCarthy Reagh's castle at
Gortnaclohy (parish of Creagh) ; while Farrenagilla, Bloed, Glannageel,
Rea, BawnacoUapy belonged to the Clan Teige Eillen McCarthys ; and
Adrigole, Aghills, Smorane and Lettertinlis belonged to the Clann
Dermot McCarthys.
The O'Donovans seem to have held Gortbrack and Ballycahane.
The rest belonged to a branch of the O'DriscoUs.
Castles. — Castlehaven Castle which belonged to the O'DriscoUs
stands on the edge of Castlehaven beach. Baltimore, Castlehaven,
and Berehaven were regarded as the most important harbours in the
west of the County Cork in Queen Elizabeth's time. In 1601 this
castle was held by Donogh O'DriscoU and his brothers. Donogh was
the grandson of Finghin O'DriscoU, who was uncle of Sir Fineen
O'DriscoU, the then Lord of Collymore. Shortly after the arrival of
the Spanish commander Don Juan D'Aquila at Kinsale, Zubiaur, his
naval colleague, put in at Castlehaven with seven ships. The O'Dris-
coUs forthwith delivered this castle to the Spaniards, who proceeded
to munition and fortify it "For the guard of these places Don
Juan assigned that 100 of the late supplies should remain at Castle-
Haven with a magazine of victualls and munition, and eight pieces of
Ordnance" (v. "Pac. Hib." book ii. c 18).
Castlehaven.
■■ Castletown SHE ND,
CASTLEHAVEN AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD. 1 3
Shortly afterwards Sir Richard Levison, who commanded the
Queen's fleet at Kinsale, proceeded to Castlehaven with six warships,
A hot encounter took place, and according to the " Pacata Hibernia "
book ii. c. 19), the Spaniards were utterly defeated, one of their ships
was sunk and three others driven on the rocks. After obtaining this
signal victory the Admiral was anxious to return to Kinsale, but con-
trary winds kept him in the harbour for twenty-four hours, during which
the Spaniards kept up a continuous fire which caused " great danger and
little loss." On the night of the 8th Dec. (old style) Levison left Castle-
haven Harbour.
Philip O'Sullivan Beare gives a different account of this engagement
He says that his uncle, O'Sullivan Beare, who was then in Bantry, came
to Zubiaur's aid with 500 men ; O'DriscoU More, O'Donovan, and the
McCarthys also joined him. The Spaniards vehemently attacked the
English fleet Sixty Englishmen who attempted to spoil the corn-fields
were cut to pieces. At the first favourable wind Levison quitted the
harbour having lost 575 men. On the Irish side one (a relative of
Zubiaur) was killed and two (one Irish and one Spaniard) were wounded
(" Catholic History," tom. iii., lib. vi.).
After the battle of Kinsale Red Hugh O'Donnell proceeded to Spain
to seek further aid from the Spanish king. The Four Masters thus
chronicle his departure. " A.D. 1602. On the 6th of January O'Donnell
with his heroes took shipping at Cuan-an-ChaisIein." Cu4T) 4t) ddif leii)
(now Cii4t) 4t) ^4if le4)t)), which the Spaniards called Porto Castello and
O'Sullivan Beare latinizes into Portu Castellum, is of course Castle-
haven. It was in Zubiaur's ships that Red Hugh O'Donnell sailed thence
for Spain. " The 8th and 20th of December [old style] information
was brought that Pedro Zubiaur, who was, as it is said, a great com-
mander of the Spanish fleet that came to Kinsale, was lately landed at
Castlehaven, and hearing of Tyrone's overthrow made no stay but set
sail for Spain, carrying with him O'Donnell, Redmond Burke, and Hugh
Mostian." — ** Pacata Hibernia."
Father Mooney in his account of the Francisc: n Monasteries,
gives a very interesting character sketch of Red H i^h. In Father
Meehan's "Irish Franciscan Monasteries," Father Mooney is represented
as saying, " I was the last to kiss Red Hugh's hand on the beach of
Castlehaven."
One of the articles of Don Juan's surrender was that the Spaniards
should give up Castlehaven to Carew, and Captain Harvey was dis-
patched to get possession of the castle. Before Harvey's arrival Donogh
O'DriscoU had however contrived to take possession of it " by a sleight"
The Spaniards were preparing to undermine the castle with a view to
14 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
rc-capturing it, when Harvey arrived, "whereupon O'DriscoU surrendered
it uppon a composition to depart in safetie " (" Pac. Hib.").
At the Myross side of Castlehaven Harbour, near Reen or Galleon
Point, are several remains of the entrenchments thrown up by the
Spaniards, from which they bombarded a ship of Admiral Levison's
that went aground there, from which circumstance the place was called
Galleon Point. Near by are also mounds of earth beneath which were
buried the Spaniards who were killed. Here also are remains still called
Spanish Ovens, which they used for culinary purposes, consisting of a
deep pit surrounded by a circular wall.
After the conclusion of the war, Castlehaven was granted to George
Touchet, Lord Audley, who was created Earl of Castlehaven in 1616.
Found guilty of abominable crimes, he was executed in England in 163 1.
The report of his trial will be found in the third volume of Cobbett's
State Trials.
A Dowager Countess of Castlehaven was living in this castle in
Bishop Dive Downes' time. The Audley Estates were sold in the
Incumbered Estates' Court in 1851.
Lettertinlis Castle. Smith says that this castle belonged to the
McCarthys. It was probably held by the Clan Dermot branch of that
sept. Returning from the siege of Dunboy, Carew, on June 28th, 1602,
captured Lettertinlis Castle, which was then held by Conor, son of Sir
Fineen O'Driscoll. " After the souldiers had made pillage of the goods,
wee burned and destroyed the castle and stone hall, and rode thence to
Tymolagg" (" Pac. Hib.," p. 580). Only the mere site of the castle now
remains, about two miles distance from Castlehaven Castle.
In the winter of 1855 a large "school" of whales invaded Castle-
haven Harbour, several of which were killed by the natives.
Castle Tawnskend, According to Smith this village was anciently
called Sleughleigh. It takes its present name from Colonel Richard
Townshend, an officer of the Long Parliament, who rendered great
service to Cromwell. Within the demesne are the ruins of the castle
which he is said to have built.
Smith relates that in 1690, during the Jacobite War, "five hundred
of the rebels under young Colonel O'Driscoli, attempted to bum the
mansion house of Castletownshend in West Carbery ; but they missed
of their aim, and were so well received by the garrison, consisting of
about 35 men, that 12 of them dropped upon the first volley, and under
a second attack, O'Driscoll, Captain Teige Donovan, Captain Croneen,
and about 30 others were slain, and so many more were wounded that
they were forced to retire with loss and shame."
"In this attack,'' says Story, "one Captain Mac Ronaine, with drawn
CASTLEHAVEN AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD. 1^
sword endeavoured to hinder his men's retreat, but he being killed they
got away. Several of them had bundles of straw on their breasts to
resist the shot, but notwithstanding they were killed on the spot" The
mansion house was afterwards captured by Mac Fineen O'DriscolI, and
subsequently re-captured by Colonel Culliford.
A short distance from the castle is situated the parish graveyard in
a secluded glen. In the graveyard are the remains of a chapel, which is
said to have been St. Barrahane's, and near by is his holy well.
The castle opposite Castlehaven, viz. : — Fdjtjt) (Raheen), is in the
parish of Myross. It belonged to the Clancahill O'Donovans, whose
district was divided into (i) the Manor of Castle Donovan, (2) the
Manor of Rahyne. The nuncupative will of O'Donovan of Rahine,
1629, is still extant He bequeaths his body to be buried in Timo-
league Abbey.
Local Nanus and Antiquities. Ardgeehane, ^fi'o 540T;4|t), hill of the
breeze; Adrigole, e4'D4Y|i -64 54B4)l, between two (river) forks; Burryroe,
Bott|i4|'6e ]tu4'6, red ridges ; Bawnishal, B4i) If e4l, low-lying field ;
Ballycahane, B41I' uj C4t;4)t|, O'Kane's land ; Cullinagh, Cu|lloYt)t)e4d,
holly-wood ; Drishane, 4>|iYf e4>), bramble place.
Farranagilla. In the McCarthy Reagh Inquisition of 1636, this is
written Farran-mac-gully-michil, while in the Copinger grants it is
Farrangilleevihil, i.e., lFe4tt4i)i) u) 3ioll4ii)icil, O'Gillamichaers land.
Farranconner, TFc4|i4i)i) Coi)dob4im Conogher's land ; Farrandaw,
Te4Yi4t)n 4>49b)^, David's land ; Fahoura, y^ytte jubfud, exercise green
of the yew tree ; Forenaught, V<5lino<it3, cold bare land ; Glasheenaulin,
5l4)f jt) 4ltt|i)i), beautiful streamlet ; Yokane, 3eoc4t), a neck of land ;
Reendacussane, Fii)i) '04 cu4f4t), headland of two covelets ; Gorteena-
lomane, 5oi|it;1i) t)4 lofn4i), little field of the stripped trees (or of the
ensigns) ; Crosslea, Ciiof l)4t; (grey cross) or Ciiof f I15C, a by-road ;
Gortbrack, 3o|i^ btte4c, speckled field ; Gortacrossig, 3o|i^ 4' dfior4i5-
I am informed by Canon Lyons that Citof4d was applied to a buffoon
who went around on feast days wearing a cross and publishing mock
sentences of excommunication.
Lettertinlis, Lettertanlis or Letter, is probably leiviii 4' T;-f C4t) (or
T>rit)i)) lif , marshy slope of the old lios.
Knockdnima, Cijoc 'Dttofn4, hill of the ridge. Here are the splendid
remains of an extensive CAytsxi or C4|f e4t The circumvallating wall is
nearly 320 feet in circumference, 10 feet thick, and eight feet broad.
On the eastern side of the enclosure is a pillar-stone with a cross
engraved on it. Near the south-western angle are three semi-subterr-
anean chambers, hewn out of the solid rock, and communicating with
each other by means of narrow circular apertures. In the centre are
1 6 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHiEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
the remains of what appears to have been a clod4t) (bee-hived shape
stone house).
This cahir must have been the residence of some Lugadian chieftain.
Miss Stokes describes these huge stone fortresses in her ''Early Christian
Art," part ii. pp. 33-38. "They may have been in existence two
centuries before the introduction of Christianity into Ireland ; but at all
events, they appear to have continued in use after the introduction of
Christianity, and many instances are recorded in the 'Lives of the
Saints ' of a king or chieftain on his conversion to Christianity offering
to God his vun or fortress, so that the missionary and his followers
might erect their little cells and oratory within the area of the amphi-
theatre " (p. 37).
The pillar-stone with the cross engraved on it leads to the belief that
a monastic cell was also erected at Knockdroma. It perhaps marks the
grave or bed of some missionary.
Over the roof of one of the semi-subterannean chambers is a venti-
lating hole. This leads one to infer that these chambers were probably
used as winter retreats. There is also a rude kind of ventilating shaft
at the western end.
The remains of the clochan to which I have referred are quite close
to the entrance to these chambers, and everything indicates that they
were used in connection with each other. These chambers may have
also been used as granaries and kitchens.
Brade. We often find the word B|i4ix> in connection with hills, as
Bri4i'D ttlb4t) in Scotland. The Four Masters (anno 1586) mention a
mountain called B[i4i'o fl|4b (now Brawleeve, BfUY'6 flH^)- [In
O'Donovan's grants Brade is written Bra.] It is perhaps the same
word as B|i454x> (neck, breast, gorge).
In this townland is a ruined little church called "white church," and
a pretty little graveyard, where the Jervoises and Powells are buried.
There are several lakes in this district, such as Loch Banousal
(Be4t) U4f4l, a lady) ; Doolough, (4>ub lod, black lake), and Aghills.
The latter is said to be so-called from 4idil, which is stated to be the
Irish for a species of fresh- water eel found in this lake. Shell-fish and
wrinkles are also mentioned as having been found there. There is a
local saying :
"4>4 lot x>eus ^A l)-4i<5illi5
?l5ttf 'DUb led 41) t;-S[l40|TJlc4|T)."
*' The twelve lakes of Aghills,
And the black lake of Shreelane."
Dr. Joyce refers Aghills to eddojll (a yew wood). Canon Lyons
Suggests it is cognate with the Lat. collis. If so, it is same root as
English hill and German huegeL
CASTLEHAVEN AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD. 1 7
lo Lettertinlis is Lough na Luracann (lod t)4 Iu4dtt4t))4t)). The
luricawn, leprechaun, cluricawn or Loghrey-man is well-known to folk-
lorists. His red cap and Liliputian pipe are familiar to old peasants.
I was gravely informed a few weeks ago that the luricawns and the
fi)t)4 f jt)e had now all left Ireland.
In Castletownshend are, what is called Nelson's monument, a pile of
stones which was erected to commemorate the battle of Trafalgar by
some mariners belonging to a war sloop which was stationed in Castle-
townshend at the time of Nelson's victory, and Swift's tower, where the
Dean is said to have written his " Carberiae Rupes."
In Gortbrack a great murder was committed during the Cromwellian
wars, the details of which are to be found in McCarthy's " History of the
McCarthys of Gleannachroim."
The Ordnance Map marks the disused graveyard of Kilcloonagh in
Bawnishal. Now, a Papal document of 1199 mentions a parish of
Cluainechi (Clu47t) e)6) between Glenbarrahane and Aughadown. This
may be the place. A holy well is marked in Crosslea. This probably
explains the name.
In Scobawn (Scdt b4i), white flower) are Portaduna (Pojit; 4 '6tti)4)'6,
landing-place of the Dun), and Lisnacaheraghmore (l)Of t)4 C4t4|t4d
fi)di|i, the lis of the big cahir). It was doubtless the cattle garth of the
Caher of Knockdroma,
Near Toe Head (Toe, t^u4t, tribal land) are Duneendermotmore ;
Tranadough (T!j\iiii t)4 'Duri)4C, strand of the sand heaps), and St.
Bartholomew's well. At Toe Head a great tithe riot took place in
1823, and several lives were lost
Among the inlets of the sea are : Coosnagoloor (Cu4f t)4 5-colu|t,
Pigeon Cove) ; Coosnagroghoge (Ctt4f i)4 3-c|iot(53, Pollock Cove) ;
Coosnamarc (Cu4f t)4 rt) b4|ic, Boat Cove).
Smorane, this word is said to be derived from Sn)(5|t4T) (burnt land).
Others refer it to Sn)U|i4i) (which correctly represents the word as pro-
nounced by the people), the name applied to water impregnated with
oxide of iron.
There are several place-names here which I cannot explain, such as
Lisarankin (also called Lisarohane), Bluid, Killahangal, Farrandeligeen,
Moneyvollihane, etc.
Bluid. The Four Masters (anno 1598) mentions u) th-BIoit), which
was held by some Dalcassian septs, and is still the name of a deanery in
East Clare. Dr. O'Brien says it was the old name of the Barony of Lower
Ormond in Tipperary. It looks the same word as Bluid.
Farrandeligeen may be TFc4[i4i)t) 'oeilsjij, land of little thorns, and
Moneyvollihane, Wum' 4' if)old4|t), owl's thicket.
1 8 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHiCOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
Horse Island seems to have been formerly used as a cemetery. The
practice of burying the dead in islands near the coast seems to have
largely prevailed formerly. The Skeams Islands and Low Island (oflf
Myross) were similarly used.
About 150 years ago there was a linen manufactory at Killahangal.
Dr. John O'Donovan writes this name as 3lolU l)-4it)5il. 5loll4 (which
originally means a servant) enters into many Irish surnames, such as
Gillmichael (servant of St Michael), Gillmurry (servant of Mary), Gill-
christ (servant of Christ), Mac Gilla Patrick (Fitzpatrick) (servant of St.
Patrick), etc., etc.
In Lettertinlis, the O.S. marks Lisfahy (probably Fahy's garth).
y^tAt) was a common name of the O'Driscolls, an offshoot of whom
were called the CUnti iP4t;4i'6. From the McCarthy Reagh Inquisition
we learn that part of Collybeg (conterminous with the present parish of
Aughadown, and held by a younger branch of the O'Driscolls), was
called Slught-Fahy (i.e. Sliodt; ipAt^it), race of Fathadh).
When Mathew OTinn was Bishop of Ross (1309-1331) he recovered
some of the diocesan property, which was wrongfully withheld by Barrett
and Carew. From the latter he recovered 150 acres of wood and 150
acres of pasturage in Fornath, Corkbeg, Tyrofynachta and Knockhanly.
The first two seem to be identical with Forenaught and Currabeg,
neighbouring townlands in the parish of Castlehaven.
Rea is Heix>, a mountain flat, and Bawnnagollupy is B4'6ut) n^
3 colbdAd, the enclosure of the three year old heifers.
NOTES.
Maay, in fact most, of the tribe-names mentioned in the Genealogy of Corca
Laidhe as occupiers of O'Gillamichaers land have become extinct. tUl WeicerD)^
is probably still preserved in Mac Eady or Eady, a surname that still survives in Wes^
Cork. U4 Bu4'6475 survives as a nick-name of some families of the 0*Sttllivans.
tU Ce4Yl74l$ (O'Carty) which is entirely distinct from W4C C4|tt4)$ (Mac-
Carthy) is also obsolete. It is probably preserved in Carty's Island in Roaring
Water Bay, also in Cloontycarty (Cluaftyc' u) CeA\iV4lt, O'Carty's meadows) near
Macroom.
The name Dorc was preserved in Twovintirrydurk (Le., tribal land of the O'Dorc
people), a disttict mentioned in the McCarthy Reagh Inquisition.
In Carew's account of his march to Dunboy we read : — *' The 26th (April 1602) we
departed Rosse over the Leape to Glanbrean (Glenbarrahane) where we encamped, and
I went to Castlehaven to vewe the castle and harbor, not removing Captain Gawen
Harvey's company (which had the guard hereof), and the same night the Lord Barry
and the White Knight sent out a part of men to the Downynge (The Downiugs, par.
of Ross), which was possessed by the rebles, who preded the town and kylled one of
the ward."
" Great O'Donyvane, as the Irish call him, whose father was a notorious reble,
doth much spoyle about the Leape, Castlehaven, Bantry, etc."— (Letter of Rev. Urban
Vigors, dated July, 1642. " Cork H. & A. Jour.," July, 1896.)
THE MAMMOTH CAVES OF CASTLEPOOK. 1 9
THE MAMMOTH CAVES OF CASTLEPOOK,
Near Doneraile.
By ROBERT W. EVANS, LL.B., B.L.
|S considerable public attention has been drawn to the
Castlepook Caves (which are situated on the estate of
Miss Neligan, about two miles north of Doneraile),
owing to the discovery of the remains of Mammoth
Hyena and other extinct mammalia on a recent
occasion, perhaps a description and plan (as the caves
are exceedingly labyrinthine) of these subterranean corridors might be
interesting to the readers of the Journal.
About twenty years ago, when a small boy, I first visited these caves,
and since that period I have thoroughly explored every portion of them.
During our earlier visits my brother and I always carried a line, because
a person losing his way amid the intricate network of chambers
would have but a small chance of finding it for several hours, during
which period his supply of candles would probably run out However,
after the first six or seven visits I found the precaution of using a
guiding line unnecessary. While a student at Queen's College, Cork, my
friend, Mr. James Porter, 6.E., of Bandon, lent me ^* Dawkins on Cave
Hunting/' and I came to the conclusion that Castlepook Caves would
be ideal bone caverns ; especially as I had found several bones in the
cave, which, however, as they were lying on the surface I was unable to
determine whether they were ancient or modern remains brought in by
the foxes which frequent the caverns. I may mention here, for the en-
lightment of those who are unacquainted with bone caves, that the bones
which are lying on the surface are as a general rule modern bones ; while
the prehistoric bones lie under the stalagmite floor, or are embedded in the
breccia (which is the name given to rubble cemented into a solid mass).
The pickaxe which I carried into the caves was not sufficiently powerful
to break through the heavy coating of stalagmite where I commenced
operations, and I did not endeavour to excavate where the floor was
thinner, as I thought that I might be unable to distinguish the pre-
historic bones from the remains of the foxes' numerous feasts. This was
in 1895, and as I was busy at collegiate studies at the time, I resolved to
leave off excavations till I had made a thorough exploration of the cave
superficially. However, in the meantime, a greater authority in the
person of Mr. R. Ussher, of ornithological fame, came along, and made
the discoveries which have rendered the caves famous. From the
20 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHiBOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
aesthetic point of view Mr. Ussher's visit had unfortunate consequences ;
because — as reptiles spawn when the sun shines — so the labours of Mr.
Ussher attracted numerous undesirable visitors to the cave, some of whom
imagining that the eminent naturalist was searching for minerals came
in thinking to get rich, and seeing the glittering carbonate of lime
imagined that the stalactites must be precious, and broke them off by the
hundreds. '
The most beautiful portion of the cave, Fairyland, when I first
visited it several years ago, absolutely surpassed anything I ever saw in
its fantastic stalactital grandeur. Now it resembles a journalist's de-
scription of Port Arthur after the late memorable siege. The beautiful
festoons of pendants, the fantastic stone draperies, no longer exist. The
giant stalactite, which I imagined was destined to hang in solitary
grandeur for ages, and even the fine stalagmital pillar which, standing in
the gloom, reminded one of Lot's wife changed into a column of salt, were
broken off and sold by the ignorant barbarians who followed in the wake
of Mr. Ussher, who himself deeply deplored the ruin of which he was
the unwitting cause.
I shall now proceed to give a short description of the geography of
the cave, which will be easily understood by reference to the accompany-
ing plan.
The first few chambers are not very interesting, but mention may be
made of the fact that the first remains of hyena which were discovered
in Ireland have been unearthed by Mr. Ussher in the Hyena Hall,
also down in the Cathedral is a curious little well, representing a baptis-
mal font, and is the only spot in the caves which permanently holds
water, though in wet weather a pool some feet deep makes its appearance
in the Abyss, Let us now go on to the Reception Room, renamed the
Elephant Hall, after Mr. Ussher had found the scapula of a baby mam-
moth protruding from the earth under the stalagmite floor. From this
Hall one can go into several interesting chambers ; turning to the
right after some awkward tortuous movements, not good for the stiff-
backed, the explorer finds himself in the beautiful Fairy Hall, which is
the widest chamber in the cave, though not really so high as the corridor-
shaped portions of the cavern. From the roof hang countless stalac-
tites, which, with the beautiful blue limestone roof, are now, alas ! soiled
with the smoky autographs of intrusive and mischievous camp fol-
lowers. Beyond the Fairy Hall the cave is uninteresting, except as a
training ground for football players. One can travel on all fours,
sustaining many bruises en route^ to the Earthquake Chamber and
Hall of Agonies — the latter inferno, so-called by Mr. Ussher on account
gf the excruciating torture which he underwent in endeavouring to con-
tHfe MAMMOTH CAVES OF CASTLEPOOfc. H
duct excavations there. In the Earthquake Chamber is a rocking stone,
which must weigh considerably over a ton. Retracing our steps to the
Elephant Hall we now start off through the beautiful Bride's Gallery
which is the longest, and, with the exception of the sombre Abyss, the
highest chamber in the cave. It is over 1 20 feet long, and is over 20
feet high in the deepest portion, which is near the middle of the gallery.
There are two fashions in which one can travel through the gallery, either
along the ledges, which remain of the upper floor, or along the lower
on terra firma, which is, perhaps, safer. Now let us again to the Elephant
Hall and start for Fairyland, which, alas ! scarcely deserves the name
since the vandals committed the acts to which I have referred. There are
(or at least were) three methods of reaching Fairyland. At one time it was
extremely diflicult to get there, but now comparatively easy. Number
one is through a little passage at the left hand comer of the Elephant
Hall, and down through the Valley of Death ; however, as Mr. Ussher's
men in the course of their excavations have dug up the valley, the drop
is now too deep to be accomplished with safety, so we will go to the
second, and now practically the only way — down through the cellar
under the floor of the Bride's Gallery. When Mr. Ussher visited this
spot, after seeing it marked in the accompanying plan, he said that he did
not conceive how any mortal being could have got down through this
tunnel, notwithstanding the fact that my wife, sister, and Miss Thomp-
son, of Harcourt Street, Dublin, accompanied me through the passage^
Virgil says, " Facilis decensus averni." But here the descent is purga-
torial in the extreme. It was by enlarging this tunnel that Mr. Ussher
unwittingly gave the vandals an opportunity of entering Fairyland. The
third entrance is by way of the awful sombre Abyss, which I shall now
describe. This is the deepest, most remote, and most awe-striking
chamber in the cave. The way in from the Valley of Death is now
blocked up by the earth thrown up during the recent excavations. There
is a kind of passage through an upper tunnel which is scarcely access-
ible ; but I think the only practicable way is now through the Bride's
Gallery, and on in the manner of the serpent through a narrow tunnel,
where one can hear one's heart beating like the thumping of a piston.
When last year I conveyed Mr. Ussher into the Abyss, we were accom-
panied by Mr. Thompson, of Howth, and a small dog, and the four of us
made a queer jumble in the narrow passage leading thereto. After we had
made the descent of about 20 feet into the deep gallery we intended to
travel along through to the Valley of Death, a journey in which I was
accompanied on a former occasion by the above-mentioned ladies. After
one gets out of the Abyss (and before he reaches the Valley of Death) he
has to go through movements that would do justice to a contortionist, and
22 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
which a person has to accomplish before he could believe them possible.
Well, when we were approaching near the Valley of Death on the occa-
sion of this visit of Mr. Ussher, I perceived that the way was blocked
by the earth thrown up from the other side. We were all three lying
on our stomachs, and we had to retreat backward in this fashion until
we reached the Abyss. When we got to the ascent at the other end we
had to climb up into the upper tunnel, but Mr. Ussher, who is a much
older man than Mr. Thompson or mysejf, found the utmost difficulty in
climbing up, and indeed, no wonder, after the positions he had previously
to assume, which were most miraculous for a man of his years. He
said that he found it impossible to resist the laws of gravitation by
climbing up the face of a rock with no support except the pressure of
his dorsal muscles against the opposite wall. At length, by the united
exertions of the three of us, Mr. Ussher, sans shoes or stockings, was
got safely to the top. Only that Mr. Ussher is not addicted to strong
language, I think he should have called the Abyss by a still more
dreaded appellation. I found a small bone oddly adhering to the side
of the wall in this chamber, it must have stuck there for ages. Apropos
of the Abyss, the following story of a coincidence might be of interest.
When going down through the Valley of Death one day, I carved on
the wall an arrow pointing down towards the forbidding-looking passage
leading to the Abyss, which passage is now blocked up. In front of the
arrow I wrote, " To the Abyss." Well, some time afterwards, Mr.
Ussher came into the Valley of Death, and being unacquainted with
the more sombre gallery further on immediately named the valley " the
Abyss." Next day he was surprised and almost horrified to see the
mysterious " writing on the wall,'' as he had not told anyone that he
had called any chamber in the cave *' the Abyss." When he saw my
** plan " it of course explained the mystery.
Fairyland consists of several narrow deep corridors, some of them
containing the remains of three different floors. These corridors are
of the utmost beauty, but were fearfully difficult to get into until Mr.
Ussher widened the approaches. It was here that the great tibia of a
mammoth, gnawed at both ends (presumably by bears) was discovered
by frightened John Hannon, who while endeavouring to find his way
out when lost in the gallery, fell through the second floor right on to
the ground floor, almost on the top of the bone. This enormous shin
bone is practically two feet long and weighs two stone. I imagine it
must be larger than the tibia of the mammoth in the South Kensington
Natural History Museum. Several more bones have since been dis-
covered in the same corridor during the explorations of Mr, Ussher.
In a passage leading from Fairyland to the Valley of Death, I discovered
■■ Principal Chambers in Castlepook Caves.
SOUVENIR OF THE " MARY RUSSELL TRAGEDY. ^^
one day a blackened bone lying on the stalagmite floor. As the bone
was lying on the surface and in a small tunnel, I was not sure (being
unacquainted with osteology) whether it was prehistoric or not ; how-
ever, I placed it aside for some years, until Mr. Ussher's visit, when he
showed it to Dr. Scharff, who pronounced it to be one of the finest
humerus of a bear which he had ever seen.
One remarkable feature of the cave is the series of parallel corridors
or galleries which widen gradually as they recede from Fairyland on
towards the Fairy Hall. The Fairy Hall is the only large chamber in
the cave which is of circular (or rather elliptical) form.
In conclusion, I may state that a door has been put in the cave to
prevent further vandalism, Lord Castletown undertaking the expense.
The key is of course in the possession of Michael Connell, the intelligent
tenant of the lands on which the caves are situated. If at Doneraile, I
should be very happy to conduct any visitor over Castlepook caverns.
Souvenir of the " Mary Russell " Tragedy.
One of the most curious, unique, and interesting objects to be seen in the Cork Exhi-
bition of 1903 was the full-rigged ship, made entirely of meat bones, the handiwork of
Captain Stewart, the unhappy author of one of the saddest and most painful incidents
in the annals of Cork Harbour — the remembrance of which has not yet wholly
died out amongst the nautical portion of the population who live along its
beautiful shores. This little ship, the length of whose hull from bow to stem
along the deck line is 21 inches, and the height from the keel to the mainmast
head 25 J^ inches, belongs to Dr. Cecil A. P. Osburne, of Lindville, Cork, and
The Grove, Old Calton, Norwich, gji^ndson of the Dr. Osbume named below ; and
it is to the kind courtesy of this gentleman and Mrs. Osbume the readers of the
"Journal'* are indebted for the illustration of the Stewart ship and the descrip-
tive particulars here given — a copy of that paper which was attached to the
little vessel when it formed such a marked centre of attraction at the Cork
Exhibition. (0
''In the year 1828 a schooner (called the 'Mary Russell') arrived in Cork
Harbour, then known as 'The Cove of Cork.' When the authorities boarded
her they found on the vessel only two living souls, the master, Captain Stewart,
and the cabin boy. On enquiry it was found that the remainder of the crew
had been murdered by the captain a few days previously.
"Captain Stewart was arrested and brought to trial; but on the ground that
he was insane at the time he committed the crime he was sent to the Asylum for
Criminal Lunatics at Dundrum (Co. Dublin). At the request of Dr. Thomas
Carey Osburne, who was at that time medical attendant of the Cork District
Asylum (the present South Infirmary), and who gave evidence at the trial as
to Captain Stewart's mental condition, the patient was transferred to the Cork
(Olts other dimensions are — ^from point of jibboom to boom-end, 36 inches;
depth of hull, 5^ inches ; and length of keel^ 145^ inches.
54 CORK HISTORICAL AtlD ARCHAEOLOGICAL S0CI£TV.
District Asylum. During his stay at this asylum Captain Stewart had several
attacks of homicidal mania; but during the intervals between these outbreaks
he was perfectly natural, and a very agreeable companion.
''In these lucid intervals he collected the beef and mutton bones left after
the patients' meals, and with these built the ship. As he was not allowed to
use a knife he had recourse to a very hard bone, with which he carved the decora-
tions of the vessel. When finished, he presented it to his medical attendant,
Dr. Osburne.
"Captain Stewart remained at the Cork District Asylum until Dr. Osbume's
death, when he was transferred to Dundrum Asylum for Criminal Lunatics,
where he remained until his death, which occurred on the 21st of August, 1873,
caused by senile decay."
Captain Stewart's son was also a sea captain, and was master of the "Welling-
ton,** one of the largest of the considerable fleet of sailing ships owned some
forty or fifty years ago by Messrs. James Scott and Co., of Queenstown. This
second Captain Stewart ultimately settled at Liverpool, where his sons, of
whom one was also a merchant captain, now reside.
In the "Old Church" graveyard on top of the hill over Passage West is
still (1905) to be seen a headstone bearing the following inscription: "Timothy
Connell, who was murdered on board the ' Mary Russell,' 22nd June, 1828. *'
'* You, gentle reader, that pass this way,
Attend awhile, adhere to what I say :
By murder vile I was bereft of life.
And parted from two lovely babes and wife ;
By Captain Stewart I met an early doom,
On board the ' Mary Russell ' the 22nd of June.
Forced from this world to meet my God on high,
With whom I hope to reign eternally. Amen."
J. v^.
List of Books, etc.» Printed at Cork in the 17th and 18th
Centuries.
By E. R. McC. DIX.
Part X.
Since the publication of this List was closed by the appearance of Article IX.
in this "Journal/' I have met with a good many additional items of Cork
printing, which I think might now find a place in this ** Journal," as the
more complete the List can be made the more useful and interesting it will
become. I accordingly contribute these further items of Cork printing,
in chronological order. I would be glad to hear of other items from any
of the readers of this "Journal."
In the Cashel Diocesan Library is the unique Cork Edition of "Inquisitio
in Fidem Christianorum/'&c, by Dean Boyle (1664). It measures 5 J by 3J,
and contains 2 leaves and 66 pages.
In the Article on Bishop Wetenhall in the "Dictionary of National
Biography" there are given as printed in Cork in 1698 two works by him
entitled "The Testimony of the Bishop of Cork as to a Paper entituled
Gospel Truths, &c.," 8vo., and "A brief Reply to Mr. Penn's Defence,"
1699, 8vo. — but I have never met a copy of either work.
BOOKS, ETC., PRINTED At COkK, lyrtt AND i8tH CENTURIES. 2$
1731. ** Flora: a Ballad Opera." [Authority, Mr. W. J. Lawrence.]
[1747?] *'A Candid & Impartial Account of the Behaviour of Simon
Lord Lovat, from the Time of his Death Wiarrant was delivered, &c., &c.'*
(Thomas Gumming). i2mo. Title leaf + 24 pp. [National Library
(Joly). In bound Pamphlets.]
1747. **The Thistle; A Dispassionate Examine of the Prejudice of
Englishmen in general to the Scotch Nation, &c., &c. The Rose, being
a Detection of the pernicious Tendency* of Two Libels, &c., &c.'* (Thomas
Gumming). i2mo. 56 pp. * Trice stitched in blue paper 4d.** [National
Library (Joly). In bound Pamphlets; E. R. McG. Dix.]
[1748?] "The Nature, Folly, Sin and Danger of being Righteous
over-much; With a particular View to the Doctrines and Practices of
certain Modern Enthusiasts being the Substance of Four Discourses lately
Preached in the Parish Ghurches of Ghrist-Ghurch, and St. Lawrence
Jewry, London, &c.'* The Rev. Joseph Trapp, D.D. (M. Pilkington,
in Gastle St.) i2mo. 64 pp. [E. R. McC. Dix.]
1748. '*A Serious Answer to Dr. Trapp's four Sermons on The Sin,
Folly and Danger of Being Righteous over-much * Extracted from Mr.
Law.'** John Westley, M.A., Fellow of Lincoln GoUege, Oxford. (George
Harrison). i2mo. 60 pp. +2 leaves (Hymn). [E. R. McG. Dix.]
1754. **The Proceedings of the Honourable House of Gommons of
Ireland In Rejecting the Altered Money-Bill, on December 17, 1753, vindi-
cated by Authorities, &c., &c." (G. Harrison). i2mo. 92 pp. [E. R.
McC. Dix.]
1754. **Ghinese Tales; or. Stories told in Ghina, &c., &c." Written
in French by M. Guelette, and rendered into English, &c. 3rd Edition in
English. **Gorke; Printed for J. Robertson, at the Sign of the Naked-man
with a Bunch of Keys in his Pocket, near the Bridge." 24mo. 212 pp.
[E. R. McG. Dix.]
1758. ** Observations on the Internal use of the Solanum; or Night-
shade." Thos. Gataker, Surgeon to Westminster Hospital. 3rd Edition.
(Eugene Swiney, near the Exchange). i2mo. 84 pp. [T. P. G. Kirk-
patrick, Dublin.]
1761. *'Goriolanus, A Tragedy, &c." Jas. Thomson^ (Eugene
Swiney, near the Exchange). i2mo. 60 pp. GoUation — Pp. i and 2,
half title and blank verso; pp. 3 and 4, Title page and blank verso; p. 5,
Epilogue; p. 6, **The Persons Represented"; pp. 7 — 57, Play; pp. 58 and
59, Epilogue; and p. 60, A Gatalogue of Books To be had of Eugene
Swiney, &c. [Revd. R. S. Maflfett, Sandymount, Go. Dublin.]
[1765? n. d.] **The Revenge. A Tragedy, &c." E. Young, LL.B.
''Printed for the Booksellers." i2mo. 72 pp. [Revd. R. S. Maffett.]
1765. **The Padk)ck. A Gomic Opera." [N. Massey, Gatalogue
No. 6.]
[1765?] **The Ghost, a Gomedy." '* Printed for the Proprietors."
i2mo. 24 pp. [National Library Qoly), Plays.]
1765. **The Intriguing Ghambermaid. A Farce." Henry Fielding.
**Gork; Printed, and to be had of Thomas Wilkinson in Winetavem St."
i2mo. 24 pp. [National Library (Joly), Plays.]
[1766?] "Instructions for Ghildren." sth Edition. (Phineas and
George Bagnell, Gastle St.) i2mo. 36 pp. [E. R. McG. Dix.]
26 CORK HISTOklCAL AND AkCHiEOLOGICAL SOCIETY,
1769. "A Select Century of Cordelius's Colloquies; with English
Notes. Wm. Willymot, LL.D. i2^th Edition. To which is added a
Parsing Index, &c., by S. P.'' (Eugene Swiney, near the Exchange).
i2mo. 352 pp. + I leaf (Catalogue of Books). [E. R. McC. Dix.]
1771. **The Hibernian Chronicle." Vol. III., No. 51. Thursday,
27th June. (William Flyn). Folio, ni by 9}. 8 pages of 3 columns
each. [The Revd. Thomas Gogarty, C.C., Termonfeckin, Co. Louth.]
1774. **A new Roman History by Question and Answer, &c., &c.'*
With a complete Index. By the Author of the 'History of England by
Question and Answer.* 4th Edition. ** Printed for Thomas White, Book-
seller." i2mo. IV. and 342 pp. and 7 leaves. [E. R. McC. Dix.]
[1780?] "Cato," a Tragedy. **Cork; Printed and Sold by Thomas
Wilkinson in Winetavem Street, Dublin. i2mo. 72 pp. [National
Library (Joly), Plays.]
1782. '*The Gentleman's and Citizen's Cork Almanac For the year of
Our Lord, 1782, &c." By Timothy Delany, Teacher of Mathematics.
(J. Sullivan, opposite the Exchange). i2mo. 56 pp. [E. R. McC. Dix.]
1783. "Complete Spelling Book." West. (T. White). i2mo.
312 pp. [N. Massey.]
1792. "Elements of Grammar, &c., &c." G. Neville Ussher. 3rd
Edition. (Anthony Edwards, 6 Castle St.) 8vo. XII. + 94 pp. [N. Massey.]
1794. "Address to the Ladies and Gentlemen of Cork." Thos.
Ferdinand O'Rourke. (Haly). 8vo. (Imperfect). [E. R. McC. Dix.]
1795. ** Reflections on the Seven Days of the Week." Mrs. Talbot.
9th Edition. (A. Edwards, Castle St.) 24mo. 64 pp. [N. Massey.]
1797. "The Complete Measurer; or, the Whole Art of Measuring.
In Two Parts, &c." Wm. Hawney. 13th Edition. (Jno. Haly, King's
Arms, Exchange). i2mo. XII. + 332 pp. Folds in sixes. [Revd.
R. S. Maffett (Imperfect at end and cut down.)]
1798. "The Last Speech and Dying words of Martin McLoughlin, &c. "
(A. Edwards, Castle St.) i6mo. 16 pp. [National Library (Joly),
Bound Pamphlets.]
N. D. Same. Another Edition. 8vo. 16 pp. Cork, printed and
Sold in Dublin by R. Cole. [National Library (Joly), Bound Pamphlets.]
1798. "Letter to Joshua Spencer, Esq., occasioned by his Thoughts
on an Union." (J. Haly, M. Harris, and J. Connor). 8vo. 18 pp.
[Chief Secretary's Library, Dublin Castle (Pam. Vol. 55).]
N.B. — ^The writer was Wm. Johnston (?)
1798. "Arguments for and against an Union, &c., Considered." The
Second Edition. [Chief Secretary's Library, Dublin Castle.]
1798. "An Exposition of the Doctrine of the Catholic Church, &c."
The Rt. Revd. James B. Bossuet. Translated from the French by Rt.
Rev. Wm. Coppinger. 2nd Edition. (J. Cronin). 24mo. 144 pp. With
"Principles of Roman Catholics*" 18 pp. and Index 4 pp. [N. Massey].
1800. "Songs, Duets and Chorusses in the Pantomimical Drama of
Obi; or. Three-fingered Jack." Mr. Fawcett. (G. Cherry, Patrick St.)
i2mo. 24 pp. [E. R. McC. Dix.]
1800. "Report of the Proceedings of the Committee of the Cork
Society for bettering the Condition, etc., of the Poor." (J. Connor,
Chatterton's Buildings). 8vo. 28 pp. [E. R. McC. Dix.]
CORK CUVERIAN AND ARCHiEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. i^
Cork Cuverian and Archaeological Society.
Session 1867.8.
(Continued from Vol, X.^ftige 190.)
Professor Harkness, F.R.S., President, in the chair.
OCTOR RICHARD CAULFIELD said— I have great
pleasure in laying before you my second contribution from
the unpublished public records towards the illustration of
the history of this county at the dose of the reign of
Elizabeth. The document for consideration is a ** Report
by Henry Smith of the State of Munster, 30th of October,
'59^-*' ^^ State paper embraces a wide field, and treats
of the revolutionary condition of the counties of Kerry, Limerick, Cork,
and Waterford. From the record it appears that the English settlers
were at this time generally established through Munster; not only were
they in possession of the walled towns, but they also occupied the out-
lying castles, which were also to some extent fortified with ammunition
and men. Whilst the English thus enjoyed temporary security within
the fortified towns and fortresses, the native Irishman naturally regarded
such intrusion of the stranger within his gates and occupying his green
pastures as unwarrantable and unjust, and seeing his ancestral inheri-
tance so unrighteously transferred to others, watched every opportunity
from his secret dwelling, as he lurked in the concealment of the wood,
of dispossessing and dispersing the new occupants. No sooner, then,
had the trumpet note of rebellion sounded — ^and at this time every valley
echoed with it, for it was music to the native's ear — ^than the clans de-
scended from the hills, and rallying at the shout of the battle, set the
Queen's authority at defiance. That the English who occupied these
towns, which were distant at considerable intervals, should feel alarmed,
is not much to be wondered at, seeing themselves surrounded by relentless
foes ; indeed the severe rebuke^ or rather the charge of cowardice implied
in this report, seems uncalled for.
A universal panic seems to have simultaneously taken possession of
the entire body of settlers in Munster, and we know from these records
that many of them adopted their new abode, some with reluctance and
others hastily, without any enquiry as to what was the character of this
strange people amongst whom they were about to sojourn; and it is
probable that not a few of them only wished for some plausible excuse
to return once more to their own land ; and the following reasons are
assigned by some for deserting the charge entrusted to them. In an
account of the The Proceedings of the Undertakers of Munster at this
time we read : *'Mr. Denfill Rogers hath a s^niorie allotted to him called
Tarbert, and hath been here two several years, but now deserted, not
liking his rent." **Knocktemple, in the County of Cork, is esteemed to
be about 6,000 acres, but no Undertaker will have it by reason of the
barren soil." ''Sir William Courtenay hath a segnoirie allotted to bim^
2 8 CORK Historical and ARCHiEOLOcicAL society'.
but never proceeded in the enterprise, the cause we know not." By her
Majesty's articles the reat to be paid for every acre in the counties of
Waterford and Cork is a penny and three parts of a penny ; in the County
Limerick twopence farthing; and for each acre in the County Desmond
and Kerry fourpence; and yet, notwithstanding these low figures for wide
tracts of the fruitful plains of our Island, it is not surprising that the
purchasers were few, seeing the social condition of the English who
hazarded a residence in Ireland such as is here described. There is one
point of interest in this report, and that is, that it has preserved the names
of the families who then occupied, the descendants of some of whom are
still in possession at this day. **In the beginning of October the un-
fortunate news of rebellion in Munster and the general combination of the
Irish throughout the land against the Englishmen came to Dublin, when
the most Hon. Earl of Ormonde, Lord Lieutenant, understanding thereof,
according to her Majesty's direction preparing for the service in Leinster
for the winter following, and having appointed sufficient garrisons for
the northern frontiers, directed his course through Leinster for Munster
to subject the rebels. He took from Dublin, October 4th, these companies :
Sir Harrie Power, knt. , captain of 200 foot ; Captain Harrie Shefield, ser-
geant-major-leader of 100 foot; Capt. Laurence Esmonde, 100 foot; Capt.
Thomas Lane, 100 foot ; Captain John Parker, 100 foot ; Captain Richard
Greame, 100 foot; Captain Henry Foliott, 100 foot; Captain William
Warren, Captain Wm. Eustace, 100 foot; Captain Edmund Tobyn, and
Lieut. Eustace of Earl of Kildare's foot. The horsemen^ at his appoint-
ment met him, viz. : Sir Walter Butler, knt., 50 horse; William Taflfe,
Lieut. Sir Henry Nonce, 50 horse; Capt. John Butler, 20 horse. When
he came to Kilkenny, where he staid only one night, with his sweet lady
the Countess, his wife, he sent for the noblemen and gentlemen of the
county to accompany him, and there came Lord Power, the Lord of
Dunboyne, with others, the Lord Lieutenant understanding that Pierce
Lacy, a gentleman sometime of good sort in the County Limerick, but
then in open action against her Highness, had drawn unto him the traitors
of Leinster — Captain Tyrrell, Rory McRory, and others, and were ready
to lay siege to Kilmallock, with all the forces they could make. Ninth
of October the Lord Lieutenant came to Kilmallock unlooked for, the
rebels had determined to assault the town, but had warning, and finding
themselves weak, faint hearts and white livers had they, yea, and a
number of false hearts, determined to yield up the town for the safeguard
of their lives, but when the Lord Lieutenant's trumpet sounded, and they
understood it was the most noble Earl of Ormonde, they opened their
gates and received him, and for joy they threw up their caps, signifying
their life and goods were safe.
The Lord President of Munster being sent for durst not, no, not in
the Province committed to his care (as he said) travel without a strong
guard from the Lord Lieutenant (such was the weak sight of that Govern-
ment), who satisfied his request. The 4th, the Lord President came to
him to Kilmallock, and the cry of the Englishmen followed him, saying
his cowardly disposition was the cause of all their overthrow, the which,
gentle reader, shall afterwards more at large appear. Then came also to
Kylmallock noblemen and gentlemen of Munster, as followeth — ^The Lord
Roche, and Lord Barry and others. At Kylmallock news came to the
Lord Lieutenant that Ormonde Ossorie and all his counties were burning
CORK CUVERIAN AND ARCHiEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 2g
and destroyed by the rebels Donnell Spaniagh, William McHubbert,
Phelim Fynine, and that the traitors in Munster determined to burn
Moyallo, whither the Lord President dwelled. The Lord Lieutenant's
answer was that he would be avenged of them that spoiled his country
upon his return, but he would have special care of the service in Munster,
so he left a strong garrison in Kylmallock and marched towards Moyallo,
the traitors' camp being but three miles from there. Afore he came thither
the rebels had burned Buttevant, a town of the Lord Barries, and were
within a mile of him [he leaving the foot companies behind] for all the
swiftness of his horsemen could not overtake them. They took the wood
and bog and ran away. At Moyallo he ordered that the thatch of the houses
should be pulled down and burned, to save the rebels a labour, for the
whole town being English came away to their shame. Donel called there.
McCarthy Reagh, Lord of Carbery, met him with three score foot and
twenty horse all furnished. 17th October, he came to Cork, mustered
the town, viewed their strength. The townsmen fearing a further burden
and charge to be imposed upon them, undertook to defend the town. The
Lord Lieutenant dealt with the best of the inhabitants of Kinsale, and
being a like sort, undertook their defence. He came to Youghal the 20th,
mustered the town, found them weak^ but great store of beef to be salted,
which he commanded to be saved for the. army, and left there for their
defence Capt. Forde, Major Kingsmill, and Capt. George Flower, with
the company. The Lord Lieutenant found generally that cities and
corporate towns, few excepted, were very badly or not at all furnished
with weapons and munition. Neither did they fortify themselves [such
was their n^ligence]. The miserie of the Englishmen was great, the
wealthier sort leaving their castles and dwellinghouses, their victuals and
furniture, made haste into the walled towns, where there was no money
within ten miles. The meaner sort [the rebels having overtaken them]
were slain, men, women and child, and such as escaped came all naked
to the towns, their moan was great, the sight lamentable. The Lord
Lieutenant was therewith much moved, and specially seeing how shame-
fully the Undertakers in general, very few [not past three or fourj ex-
cepted, did forsake their castles and strong houses before any enemy
entered the County Limerick, which so animated the traitors in pride to
go forward, no resistance being offered, or one shot discharged out of any
castle, so that the very Irish churls, their tenants, and country people,
took the spere of their landlords and ran to the enemy, furnished with the
arms and munitions which the undertakers had in their castles, to her
Highnesses great dishonour and their own deserved shame and dishonour
for ever. In the County Limerick these castles were meanly forsaken,
Pallioe, Ballinoylly, of Sir Henry Oughtread, Knight, who, together with
his lady, fled to Limerick, leaving sixteen men in his house, which in two
days came away. Edward Fitton, sheriff of the county, fled to England,
leaving Glanlougher House and lands to the rebels. Bourchier, having
Richard Rowler for his tenant, in Loughgurre, put in Sir George Browne,
who by treachery gave all to the rebels. Ulick, Newcastle, Clancluyn,
Portnead of Sir Wm. Courteney, knt., who n^lecting his segniory, put
servajnts in trust that were careless ofi the defence. Conrag, Foyne,
Shanith of Mr. Trenchard, his executors after his decease left all open
to the enemy. Terbert and Bellanecarey, of Justice Gould, forsaken. Mr.
30 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHiEOLOGICAL SOCIETV.
Aylraer left KilBnin without money and victual. Capt. Collvin left his
house and fled to Asbelyor. The Abbey of Adair, of Mr. Geoi^e Thornton,
where he had thirty men, shot, munition and victual, yet was forsaken,
for they all came away, ^id the Bruff , which he had in lease from Pierce
Lacy, wherein the President had put eighteen men in ward, upon their
running away was given up to Pierce Lacy. Fannington, of Mr. Main-
waring, I marvel at him more than all the rest, considering his old occupa-
tion in Ireland, acquainted with all robbers and thieves in the land, that
the rebels in Ireland, brought up in the same school, would not favour
him, or at least that he had none of his schoolpoints to defend himself.
In the County Kerry and County of Desmond the Island of Kerry, the
segniory of Sir William Harbert, after his death, 'was forsaken by one
Mr. Williams. Fiorryes, of Nicholas Browne, his segniory. Traillie, a
town of Sir Edwd. Dennyes' segniory. Generally all the English ran
away when there was no rebel within forty miles of them. Castlemain was
long defended by the ward, without any means but their own shift, which
cost John Midleton, a fine clerk, his life, not having his natural diet.
They sware to James Desmond, the traitor, in parlie, that they have
victuals for half a year, whereupon they yielded the cattle and saved their
lives, whereas they had not one jot of any food.
In the County Cork Moyallo and the town being Sir Thomas Norries,
he and the President of the province came away first together with his
Lordship into Cork and discouraged all the English about him. Mr.
Wayman left Doneraile and fled away, he was a great sheep master, and
in that trouble you might buy an English mutton for i2d. Carrigrohan,where
both the Clavells, English gentlemen, lived, was forsaken. McCuffe made
haste to Kilmallock and left his castle of Nyeckill (?) to a young Irishman
of his bringers, who sent his master eleven wayneload of stuff, afterwards
shut the castle and kept all to himself; Carrigaline, of Henry Ditton ;
Tracton Abbey, the segniory of Sir Warham St. Leger, where Mr. Daunt
and Mr. Sampson dwelled ; Ballingarry, of Mr. Walter St. Leger ; Castle-
mahon, of Mr. Beecher; Derrywilliam and Carriganeedy, of Mr. Hyde,
he being in England, and his wife fled to Cork ; Patrick Condon was then
his own carver.
Tallow, a great town, all Englishmen, women and children, where
there was about three score householders, thirty good shot, and in all
about six score able men came away every one ; the enemy after burnt all
to the ground. Ballybegg, a town hard by Moyallo, of some twenty
families, did the like. All the English of the segniory of Sir Walter
Raleigh, viz., John Hartys, William Andrew, with others, came away.
The inhabitants of the lands of Cosbryde, of the segniory of Sir Warham
St. Leger, took their flight. Arundel Castle was forsaken by Walter
Grant. Bestock, lieutenant of Sir Thomas Norries' horsemen, forsook
his castle before the enemy came. William Lyon, Bishop of Cork, was
left to be a martyr, first he forsook a strong house, all of stone, which
he had at Ross, in Karberry, and afterwards left a fine and strong house
he had without the walls of Cork and fled into the city. William Saxey,
Chief Justice of Munster, urchin-wise, like Harry Pyne of Moyallo, afore
presaging the mischief to come, which he had no doubt learned and con-
cealed, made haste for England, cum pannis as commonly we term it,with
bags and baggage embarqued, together with his wife and family, and all
« ft
PARISH OF KILSHANNIG AND MANOR OF NEWBERRY, 3 1
that he had, and kft the charge committed unto him from her Majesty at
six and seven. In the County Waterford, Mr. Dalton, an English gentle-
man, and a widow, forsook the castle of Knockmone. Mr. Hayes forsook
his castle at Capperquin and fledl away. Captain Fitton played the
coward, hearing of the rebel coming to the country, he forsook his castle
of Kylmahanyn, in the County Tipperary, and ran away.
R. D.
The Parish of Kilshannig and Manor of Newberry,
Co. Cork.
By Henry F. Berry, I.S.O., M.R.I. A.
HIS parish, which is also called Glantdne, is situated in the
barony of Duhallow, east riding of Cork, and is bounded
on the north by the river Blackwater, east by the river
Clyda, south-west by the Boghra moors, parish of
Donoughmore, and west by the parish of Clonmeen. The
name is derived from CilUSeannaighy .the church of
Seanach, a saint who appears to have also been com-
memorated in Kilshannig, near Rathcormack, and Kilshanny, near
Mitchelstown, both in the county Cork. The name signifies wise or
prudent, and Dr. Joyce says that it was formerly very common as a man's
name. The late Rev. Dr. Olden, a great authority on such subjects,
wrote that in the Book of Leinster is to be found a summary of the nine
most famous saints of the race of Conaire the Great, King of Ireland in
the first century b.c. This tribe had been expelled from Ulster, and
settled in Munster^ where it long continued distinct and at war with the
original inhabitants. In Christian times the race produced many saints.
The nine above referred to are divided into three groups, the three senior
of whom are Seanach, son of Coirell, Eolan, and Odhran. St. Seanach's
period is unknown, but as his fellows in the list belong to the sixth and
seventh centuries, he is probably referable to the same.
In the Book of Survey and Distribution, connected with the Down
Survey Maps, circa 1657, made after the rebellion of 1641, the following
are named as the townlands of which the parish then consisted — Currigo-
lane, Kilballida, Drumore Castle, Drumahane, Killcolemane, Oulert,
Drumaneene, Mahareene, and Scarragh, all of which are returned as
,j t having been, prior to 1641, the property of Donogh O'Callaghan. Lord
Kingston and Sif Richard Kyrle were granted a large portion of thede
lands under the Act of Settlement in the reign of King Charles II., and
Kyrle's estate was afterwards purchased by Richard Newman, in whose
favour a patent from the Crown was passed in the reign of James II.
Kilpadder, the property of Cahir O'Callaghan, Gortmollirogh and
Gortroe, the property of Dermod 0*Callaghan, were also granted to Sir
Richard Kyrle, and became the possession of Richard Newman. The
lands of Brittas, Glantaine, and Lackendarragh, which were owned in
1641 by John O'Mullane, William Lambert, and Dermod O'Callaghan
respectively, were g^ranted to William Lombard under a Decree of Inno-
32 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
cence. Portion of GortmolHrogh was afterwards named Lombardstown,
and now forms a distinct townland of 358 acres.
In addition, there were within the parish nearly 10,000 acres of the
great bog called Bogrti, and unprofitable mountain. Large tracts of
this were from time to time reclaimed, and the fifteen denominations
named above, tc^ether with a great portion of Bogra, are now represented
by sixty-three townlands, several of which have subdenominations.
The Field Books compiled and annotated by John O' Donovan and his
colleagues during the taking of the Ordnance Survey (cir. 1830-5), now in
the Ordnance Survey Department, Phoenix Park, Dublin, were copied
on my behalf, and appended is a list of the townlands in the parish of
Kilshannig, contained in them, with any information of interest noted.
Various forms of anjcient names are supplied!, and O'Doncvan gives
what he considered the proper form, together with its meaning in English.
Aldworth. Found in the Down Survey Map as Owlert (an orchard).
In 1786, Aldworth House was the residence of Mr. Edward Foott.
Ballyhoght, poor town. The rivers Lyre and Shanavoher run through
it.
Ballybonaftley see Nursetownmore.
Ballyboneill. In the Field Book, explained as Bonville's town, which
seems an unlikely derivation. Boneil would appear to be bun ael, foot
of the lime; in this instance probably a limestone cliff. Dr. Joyce cites
Bawnaneel, in the parish of Kilmeen), near Kanturk^ which represents
B^n-an-aeil, the lea-field of the lime.
BaUynoe, Newtown.
Ballysimon, Simon's town. This was probably portion of the ancient
denomination of Kilcolman, the property of the O'Callaghans, and which
descended to the late Lord Lismore. *
Beenalaght, the pinnacle or pointed hill of the monument; beann
being cognate to the Scottish ben. This townland has a subdenomination
called Rean Thesure, the division of the sesure or six standing stones,
which lies on the west side. The largest of these stones is about 9 feet
^^^t si ^^^^ broad, and 2 feet thick, while the smallest is 5^ feet high,
2 feet broad, and ij feet thick. Mr. Windele (MSS. R.I.A.) says that
during his visit to the place, he saw from Knocknamaddra hill the stones
on Beenalaght.
Beenamweel, East and West, the ben or pinnacle of the hornless cows.
This townland is mountainous^ wet ground, and but shortly before
O 'Donovan's time, it is said to have been all mountain land.
Boola, mountain dairy. In the west of this townland is a bog known
as Portadav, the bog (portac) of the ox, from the circumstance of a bull
having sunk in it.
Brittas, spotted or speckled land. This is an ancient denomination,
(found in the Down Survey Map), of which John O'Mullane was owner in
1 64 1. There are five so-called Danish forts in the townland, one of which
is designated Brittas fort; it stands in an elevated position and has two
rings round it.
Caheraveelane, Mael&n (mweelaun), diminutive of mael — the stone
fort of the bare round hill. The ruins of the fort from which it takes its
name are in the west of the townland.
Carrigcleenabeg and Carrigcleenamore , Cleena's little and big rock.
PARISH OF KILSHANNIG AND MANOR OF NEWBERRY, 33
The first-named townland is the property of the Chinnery family, the
second of the Newmans. They take their name from Cliodhna, queen of
the fairies of South Munster, as to whom the peasantry tell numberless
tales. **Cleena had her palace," says Dr Joyce, **in the heart of a great
rock, situated about five miles from Mallow; it is still well known by
the name of Carrigcleena, and it has given name to two townlands."
In a wild and romantic spot is a rude elevation, surrounded by a rampart
of huge rocks, towering over the country round, and enclosing about
two acres of very green ground. A narrow entrance leads into this, and
there are many caves about — altogether an awe-inspiring spot. The
small area is the fairies' playground, and there are those who assert they
have seen them by moonlight, Cleena leading the dance. For the legend
of Cleena 's love for the chieftain O'Keeffe, her treachery to her sister, to
whom he was betrothed, &c., see **Cliodhna, Queen of the Fairies of South
Munster," by D. Franklin {Journal Cork H. and A. Society , 1897, p. 81).
Mr. Windele visited the place in 1836, and has left an account of it
among his MSS. (Royal Irish Academy), No. 14, p. 43. The substance
of it is as follows : — A kind of area nearly circular in form is partly fenced
in with piles of rock, rising twenty feet over the level of the neighbouring
fields, offering perpendicular faces to the area, while they slope on the
outside. The rocks form separate and distinct groups, divided by con-
siderable open intervals, and stand one at the east, one at the north-east,
north-west, south-west and south-east. In this last is what is called the
door, a square stone standing upright, and bearing some resemblance to
an enormous door. The area is nearly equally divided by a rude range
or line of large stones, rtinning south to north, standing on end, some-
times together, and others with considerable gaps ; some are prostrate.
In walking beside the range, Mr. Windele found that 130 paces was the
measure of the diameter. No inscription appeared on either rock or
stone, but stone-crop grew abundantly on all the rocks, while some were
covered with ivy. Mr. O'Callaghan, of Mallow, the owner, had just
planted the ground with oak, ash and larch.
The country people say that a passage leads from this place to a
lisheen, or small round lios, in a field adjoining on the north-west. About
twenty years before, an attempt was made to plant potatoes in the ground,
but Cleena was heard so piteously bewailing the desecration^ that the
farmer desisted. A man was said to have seen the whole place brilliantly
illuminated one night, the door open, and a fair lady standing near it.
When fairs were held in the neighbourhood, Cleena was said to have
occasionally carried off from them any good-looking youths that caught
her fancy.
At pp. 48, 960, and 1022 Mr. Windele gives sketches of Carrigcleena.
The southern part of the townland is named Carrigtooma, the rock
of the grave, from some of the rocks being placed like tombs, under
which giants were said to have been buried. The most western portion
is known as Carrigawhring — Carrigaffring, the rock of the "Mass.
Aiffrionn (Lat. offcrenda), the Mass, enters into a number of Irish names,
and Dr. Joyce says that Irish practice of celebrating Mass in the open air
was very ancient. O'Donovan enumerates four forts in the townland
of Carrigcleenamore, viz., Lisheenacarriga, little fort of the rock, which
has a cave said to contain three large apartments; Lisheenbeg, small
little fort; Lisheentoortagh, dirty little fort, and Sweeny's fort. In the
34 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHiBOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
townland of Carrigcleenab^, Windele notices but one, named Golding's
fort. Carrigcleenamore has a subdenomination called Carrigbeg. Tlie
townland is bounded on the north by a stream called Aughaunbwee,
yellow little ford, from the circumstance that its waters are frequently tawny.
The northern boundary of the townland of Carrigcleenabeg is a small
stream named Shinagh, fairy stream, whose waters are singularly clear.
Clyda. This townland takes its name from the river Clyda, which
bounds it on the east, and it originally formed part of the ancient de-
nomination of Kilvealaton. The name is derived from clcuLhdachy and
when applied to a river signifies one with muddy banks, but Dr. Joyce
says that the word sometimes carries with it the meaning of a river with
a stony water margin. In OT)onovan's time^ Clyda House was the resi-
dence of Rev. M. H. Becher.
Clydaville. This also formed part of Kilvealaton. Clyda and it are
small townlands, being practically demesnes surrounding two residences,
and as the one was named Clyda, the other became known as Clyda ville.
Creggane, rocky land. There is a large fort on the northern boundary.
Curraghbowetj deaf marsh or moor, from hodhar^ deaf. Dr. Joyce
has a most interesting disquisition on the use of this term in local names
in Ireland (Irish Names of Places, ii., p. 48). Glenbower, deaf glen, is
of frequent occurrence, and he is of opinion that an explanation may be
found in such places possessing echoes; ' 'you ^ speak loudly to them, and
you get a loud-voiced reply, exactly as when you speak to a deaf person."
Some such quality may have given this townland its name. It appears
to have been portion of the old denomination of Gortroe. Near the eastern
extremity is Lackabehunach, or the thief's flag. In the north-east is a
dallaun about 6 feet high, 15 inches thick, and 16 feet in girth. Close by
is a fort.
Derrygowruiy oakwood of the calf. This formed part of Rathcomane.
Dromahane , ridge of the oak slits or laths*. (O 'Donovan explains
these as used by sieve makers.) This is one of the ancient denominations,
which appears in the Down' Survey Map. In it is a fine old residence
named Betsborough, where from 1733 to 1750 dwelt the family of Cor-
nelius Townsend, Esq. In O'Donovan's time, the name had been changed
to Fernhill by some member of that family, which continued to reside
there up to a recent date. In the east of the townland is a fort planted
with fir trees. Smith, in speaking of Kilshannig in his History of Cork,
published in 1750, notices that some of the Danish entrenchments in the
neighbourhood of Dromahane were planted with fir in clumps, which
considerably adorned the country. Betsborough is considered a subde-
nomination of Dromahane.
Dromaneen, little ridge. The principal object of interest in this town-
land is the ruined castle, which occupies a striking position on a high
rock over the river Blackwater. This castle, which suffered much at the
period of the rebellion of 1641, was erected by the chief of the O'Callaghans
in the late Tudor period on the site of a much older castle. The building,
says Mr. Windele, is a specimen of the last phase of castellation in the
descent from the lofty moated keep to the simple manor house. It had
high gables, massive chimneys, and projecting parapets. The execution
of the carved doorways, muUions, dripstones and mantel-pieces is ex-
cellent, and the style would refer us for the date of the building to the
close of Elizabeth's reign.
PARISH OF KILSHANNIG AND MANOR OF NEWBERRY. 35
Mr. Windele compares Dromaneen with Mallow Castle, which he
considers earlier, but that each marks the transition style of houses of
the semi-military class of this period. The main building is surrounded
by an extensive bawn, which was enclosed by a wall, flanked by round
towers. Cahir O'Callaghan, in the eighth year of King James I.,
surrendered his estates, which were regranted to him by patent, portion
being created the manor of Dromaneen. His descendant, Donough
O'Callaghan, taking part in the rebellion of 1641, was deprived of his
patrimcmy, and his lands, including Dromanteen, were granted to Sir
Richard Kyrle, knt. , by patent. The Kyrles sold the property to Richard
Newman, of Cork, who strengthened his title by obtaining, in 1686, a
patent from the Crown. The castle was restored by his grandson, Dillon
Newman, who succeeded to the property in 1694. Dillonl Newman died
in 1739, and soon after, when the country was in a disturbed state, his
widow went to reside in Cork*, and soldiers were quartered in the place.
The castle subequently became so much out of repair, that it was allowed
to go to ruin, and a pretty gabled house — the manor house of Newberry —
became the family seat.
A beautiful avenue, known as the green road, leads from Newberry
church to Dromaneen Castle; it is completely grass-grown, and very fine
trees line the road ort either side. Mr. Windele speaks enthusiastically
of the beauty of this ''broad, green avenue, shaded with antique oaks and
elms, which seems of interminable length, and as lone and buried in
solitude as though it led to some haunted castle — a dream-inspiring scene."
Dromaneen has four subdenominations — Diarting hill; Parkatour
(field of the bleach green) ; Keal (narrow stream) ; and Bettyville.
Dromore North, great ridge. This townland is also known as Upper
Dromore, and contains two residences — Upper or Old Dromore House,
the residence of the Williamson family, and Dromore Lodge, that of the
Purcell family. The former is situated in a beautifully diversified demesne,
with ornamental timber, bounded on the north-east by the river Ciyda,
and on the south by the river Lyre. The latter place is surrounded by
Dromore wood. Near Old Dromore House stand the ruins of a mansion
built about 130 years ago by Sir Robert Tilson Deane, created Lord
Muskerry in 1781. The mansion is said to have cost ;^33,ooo, and the
family are traditionally reported to have occupied it but for a single night.
The cost of erection was so out of proportion to the means of the noble
founder that portion of it had to be defrayed out of the material. Such is
the story related in the Ordnance Survey Field Book.
The first of the Deane family in Ireland was Matthew Deane, bom
1626, who eventually settled at Dromore^ and was created a baronet in
1709. He died in 1710, and there is a monument to the memory of him-
self and his wife in St. Peter's Church, Cork. He was succeeded by his
son, Sir Robert, whose son. Sir Matthew, represented Cork in Parlia-
ment, and dying 1746, lies buried in Mourne Abbey church. Sir Robert's
second son, Sir Robert, who carried on the representation of the family,
married Charlotte, daughter of Thomas Tilson, and died 1770, leaving a
son, Sir Robert Tilson Deane, b. 1747, M.P. for Cork, who was created
Lord Muskerry in 1781, as above-mentioned. In 1775 Sir Robert married
Anne, daughter of John Fitzmaurice, who eventually became heiress of her
grandfather, John FitzMaurice, of Springfield Castle, Co. Limerick. On
36 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHiEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
inheriting this property the Lords Muskerry adopted Springfield as their
family seat.
Dr. Pococke, Bishop of Ossory, whose Tour in Ireland in 1752 was
edited by the late Rev. Professor Stokes, visited Mallow in September of
that year, and relates that in going to Cork he met Lady Deane and Mrs.
Oliver, with both of whom he was acquainted, in their chariot and six.
Between 1790 and 1800 some members of the Campion family —
Jeremiah and Richard Gifford Campion — resided at Old Dromore. In
the beginning of the nineteenth century Usher Williamson, Esq., settled
there, and his descendants still occupy the place.
In his History of Cork, Smith describes the situation as beside a
sweet romantic glen, whose sides were embroidered with delightful
groves and evergreens. On the west side of the river ran a high terraced
walk, and the grounds enshrined a Roman temple and a cascade.
In the centre of the townland is a good spring, known as St. Patrick *s
well, to which persons used formerly to resort for cure of diseases. Near
the well is an old burial ground, called Rellig Phadraig (Patrick's burial
ground). For at least 150 years, only unbaptized infants have been laid
here.
Dromore South, The ancient name of this townland was Lisnagulky,
the fort of the broom. O* Donovan states that in the north and west the
word giolc or giolcach is applied to a reed, but in the counties of Kil-
kenny, Waterford, and Cork it denotes broom. The lios or fort is in the
south-western part of the townland.
Dromore Demesne. In this spacious and beautifully-planted demesne
stands Dromore House (recently re-named Newberry Manor), the splendid
seat of the Newman family. The mansion stands on high ground, afford-
ing a fine prospect up and down the Blackwater. Adam Newman, son
of Richard Newman, who first became possessed of Newberry, purchased
Dromore, and dying without issue, bequeathed it to his great-nephew,
Adam, second son of his nephew, Dillon Newman. Adam Newman
the younger, on his brother Richard's death without male issue, also
succeeded to the Newberry estates. This Richard Newman was High
Sheriff of Cork in 1737. During his year of office, a murderer is said
to have taken refuge in a dark corner of the old church at Mallow, and
some soldiers were afraid to enter and arrest him. Thereupon the High
Sheriff, at whom the murderer fired without effect, rushed in and cap-
tured him.
The present Dromore House was built in 1784. In the grounds is
what the Field Book calls Aunia's well, formerly resorted to for cures.
It is probably Tohar-na-faithnidhe (fauny), the well of the warts. Tober-
navaunia, in Kilcummin, Galway, is well known, and Dr. Joyce says that if
one suffers from warts in' this country, one has not far to go to find a well
in which to wash, so numerous are they. (See under Kilpadder, in which
townland is a wart well. O 'Donovan does not give the ancient name,
but doubtless it would have been as above).
Drompeeshy ridge of the peas, which formed part of the ancient
Gortroe. In this townland is a well, known' as Tobernafea^ the well of
the deer.
Esk (water) North and South. These townlands are boggy and
mountainous.
Garrane, shrubbery. This townland consists of mountainous, wet
PARISH OF klLSHANNlG AND MANOR OF NEWBERRY. jJT
ground. There are several forts here, two of which have caves. The
highest part of Garrane mountain is known as Knockeencragh (hillock
of the plunders), and here are two large dallauns or standing stones.
That on the west is about 9 feet high, and 8 feet in girth. That on the
east 7J feet high and 8 feet in girth. In the south-east of the townland are
three large standing stones. The north stone stands 13 feet high and 9J
feet in girth; the centre stone 10 feet high and iij feet in girth; while
the stone on the south is iij feet high and loj feet in girth.
Glandine, deep glen. This townland has two subdenominations —
Elaun (island) and Berthhill or Berthill, so called from two stones called
Berth (or the pair) standing in it. Near Glannaharee bridge are six
stones, the largest 12 feet high, 3 feet wide, and i foot thick; the smallest
4J feet high, 3 feet wide, and i foot thick. Near Monkey's bridge, in
Berth, are four standing stones, which range from 11 to 6 feet in height.
Glanminnane, glen of the kid. Shanawally (old town) is a subde-
nomination of this townland. Here, south-west of the ford known as
Aghateeacournaun (ford of the house of Curnan), is an old burial ground
called Kile. In O 'Donovan's day, no one had been buried there within
living memory.
Glannaharee (East and West), glen of the grazing place; airge denotes
a place for summer grazing, generally on a mountain. A mountainous
and boggy townland. Bweengduff is a subdenomi nation of the eastern
division. The name Bweeng — huinne (flow of water) — denotes watery
soles or bottoms. At the junction of this townland with Glandine are
three small lakes or ponds called Loughkiskah (the lake of the kishes or
hurdles).
Glannoge, small glen. There are several standing stones in the south
side of this townland, and in the south-west is Carrigacannan, the speckled
rock.
GlantanCy a dell. This is an old denomination, mentioned in the
Down Survey, and the parish of Kilshannig is also known as that of
Glantane. Here is a small village. On a hilltop to the east is Lisanisky
(the fort of the water), which takes its name from a spring well near it.
South of this is Lisanarged (the fort of the silver or money), so named
from money having been found there.
Glashaboy (yellow streamlet) East and West. There is a fort in the
eastern division. Glashaboy West has three subdenominations, viz. :
Glashaboy Keeffe; Glashaboy, and Glounmacnow, the glen of the nuts.
The southern boundary of these townlands is Ahadallane (ford of the
standing stone) river, which rises in Glandine mountain, and flows in a
north-easterly direction for about seven miles, until it falls into the Black-
water. It is only called Ahadallane so far as it forms a boundary of the
townland of that name, after which it is known as the Clyda.
Glenaknockane, glen of the hillock. Mossybed is a subdenomination
of the southern end of this townland, which is principally mountainous,
boggy land. Commons is the name of another, being that portion west
of Buck's road. There are two standing stones on its western boundary,
one 7 feet high, 3 feet broad, and 2J feet thick ; the other, which has fallen,
is 5i feet high, 2 feet broad, and i foot thick. The northern boundary of
the townland is a small stream called Cummernafinaga (confluence of the
bright water).
Gneeves (a gneeve is ten acres, being one-twelfth of a plowland),
3^ CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCH^OLOGICAL SOCIETY^
Mountainous, rough land, rocky in places. Laharan mountain is in the
townland, which contains three large standing stones, 8, 5J and 4 5-6 feet
high respectively. Near the centre are some high rocks, known as
Bailocke (little mouth or opening). A small stream named Cummeen (little
hollow or a common) forms part of the eastern boundary of Gneeves.
Gortavoher, field of the road. The river Blackwater forms the northern
boundary of this townland, which would appear to have formed part of
the ancient denomination of Rathcomane. An extensive wood of oak
and fir extends over more than half the townland, in the southern boundary
of which is a large fort.
Gortmolire (Maolodhar's (or Malire's) field). This is an ancient de-
nomination, appearing in the Down Survey as Gortmelerogh. O' Donovan
gives a list of forms of the name, which appear to have been more varied
than those of any other townland in the parish. He enumerates Gort-
molirogh, Gortvoelyre, Gortvoliere, Gortbolare, Gortnyleareaghe, Gort-
molery, Gortvelaire, Grortmaleer, Gortbalyre, and Gortvellire. Three
fields near Glantane village are called Shaneteple or Shanspeal (old chapel),
but the exact place where the building stood is not known.
The original Depositions connected with the rebellion of 1641, in
Trinity College Library, which I consulted for the purposes of this paper,
disclose the fact that prior to that date, John Busted,<*> William Busted,^*)
and Richard Busted /3) yeomen, had farms in this district. They
were, doubtless, English settlers or the descendants of such. The
first-named estimated his losses, through being robbed and plundered by
the O'Callaghans and being driven from his farm, at ;£2i6 5s. od. ; the
next, who was owed sums of money by Dermod O'Callaghan and John
O'Mullane, at £^28 12s. od. ; and the last, who at the time of swearing
his Deposition resided at Rossagh, parish of Doneraile, claimed compensa-
tion for being dispossessed of his farms at Gortmoylery, Lackandary, and
Tullagh, Gortmolire appears to have been the ancient patrimony of the
O'Callaghans, but William Lombard of that place had a Decree for it
as an ** Innocent Papist," on the settlement of the Kingdom after the
rebellion. His son, James Lombard, of Gortvolire, made his will in
1685, and desired to be buried in Kilshannig. By his wife, Anstace, he
had two sons, William and Peter. He bequeathed ;^20 to the Friars.
It is an interesting fact that by his will Lombard confirmed a lease for
1,000 years which he had made to John 0*Mullane, of Brittas (the ad-
joining townland), and enjoined his heirs always to be kind and obliging
to that family. The O'Mullanes owned Brittas before the rebellion, but
as John O'Mullane engaged in it, he forfeited the property, which was
bestowed on the Lombards. Portion of Gortmolire became a separate
townland under the name of Lombardstown, and here is Lombardstown
House, the former seat of the Lombard family. James Lombard, of
Gortmulier, was High Sheriff of Cork in 1750, and as the residence was
called Lombardstown House in 1752, it would appear to have changed
its name about this time.
Gortfoe, red field. This is an old denomination, appearing in the
Down Survey as the inheritance of Dermod O'Callaghan prior to 1641.
It is now represented by the townlands of Gortroe, Curraghbower, Kil-
gobnet, and Drompeesh.
(j) Vol. I. p. 55, Co. Cork. (•) Vol. III. p. 22. (3) Vol. IV. p. 207.
(To ^i amtintted,)
tlOGRAl^HICAL RECORDS OF THE COUNTY CORK, ^9
Biographical Records of the County Cork.
By MICHAEL PYNE.
N octavo pamphlet of 83 pp. , some of which are imperfect,
^ without title, cover, or printer's name, is before me, it
has no date^ but there is internal evidence of its having
been written somewhere in the early part of the last century
by one Michael Pyne, a native of Macroom, who resided
f\ at Dripsey Cross. He appears to have lived a roving,
gossiping sort of life, travelling through the County Cork
selling topographical and legendary tracts and papers of
his own composition, in which all who purchased his publications were
praised and lauded, while, on the contrary, those who withheld their
patronage and support were treated with scant courtesy, or passed by in
silence. His account of the manner in» which the unfortunate Arthur
O'Leary's death occurred differs from that given by Windele {Guide to
Cork, &c*, 1844, p. 264), and is worth recording, as far as possible in
the writer's own words.
''Arthur O'Leary, Esq., lived at Raleigh, two miles west of Macroom,
where he married an aunt of Daniel O'Connel Esq. , M.P. , of Derrynane, Co.
Kerry. Having a dispute with Abraham Morris, Esq.,<»)of Dunkettle
[living at that time at Hanover Hall, a part of his estate, three miles
north of Macroom] too lengthy to be put on record, the said Morris spend-
ing some time at Drishane Castle, together with Dominick Harding, father
of Philip Harding, Esq., of Macroom. On these gentlemen travelling
home, O'Leary, having determined to meet Morris on the road and settle the
dispute, travelled through the village of Carriganimy, and pulled up at
the house of Mr. Daniel Reardon Barrett, where he called for a quart
of rum, partaking of two drams, and sharing the rest with the by-
standers. Reardon used all the influence he could to alter his plans and
turn him back, but to no effect. He proceeded until he reached Liscahane,
fronting Kilmeedy Castle, where he waited in ambush, armed with sword
and fire-arms; but the party from Drishane had been forewarned by an
express messenger of the impending danger, and they turned back to
Millstreet, where they procured a guard of soldiers to bear them company,
and so renewed their journey. Shortly after O'Leary made his appear-
ance, but out of musket range, and going in the same direction, till they
came to the village of Carriganimy, midway betweeni Macroom and Mill-
street. On its appearing to him that he was safe from danger he halted
(i) Windele states that Mr. 0'l-»eary was a gentleman of considerable property, and had
been an officer in the Hungarian service. On his return to Ireland his influence over the
peasantry excited the jealousy of Mr. Morris, which increased in consequence of one of his
horses having won a race against a horse of Mr. Morris's, which led to a quarrel.
At this time the Penal Laws against Roman Catholics were in full force, and embraced the
7th William III. (chap, v.) by which they were disabled from having or keeping any.horse ex-
ceeding £$ in value. Morris, availing of this legalised robbery publicly claimed from O'Leary
after the race, the very horse that had won it, tendering him £$ m payment. O'Leary refused,
saying he would surrender him only with his life, and a scuffle ensued out of which he escaped
by flight, and was then proclaimed an outlaw. Vide page 197-8 Smith's " History of Cork,"
^- Io93» for a Memoir of Arthur O'Leary.
40 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCH^OLOGICAL SOCIETY.
his horse, and rested on his thigh on the pommel of the saddle. When
the officer drew up his men alongside of a pound ditch, which may still be
seen at Mr. Shea's house, one of the men, resting his firelock on the ditch,
asked Morris if he should fire, and on being told to do so, shot O'Leary above
the ear, who fell bleeding to the ground. The horse set at liberty, galloped
home to Raleigh, four miles off, and Mrs. 0*Leary, full of gloomy fore-
bodings, rode back and found her husband bleeding and attended by a
few aged women, to the great grief of the surrounding country. He was
carried off, waked, and buried in the old graveyard of Teenadroman, and
in six months after was 1-emoved to Kilcrea Abbey, where the following
inscription marks his resting-place : —
**Lo! Arthur O'Leary,
Generous, handsome, brave.
Slain in his youth.
Lies in this humble grave.
Died May the 14th, 1773, aged 26 years.*'
Arthur O'Leary was educated in France. He was of fine physique, and
an athlete of whom it is told that he would stand in the middle hoop of a
hogshead rolling from the Mall of Macroom to the old bridge, a distance
of twenty-five perches, at an incline of one foot in eleven."
The writer of this account says, **I received the above information
from Jeffery O'Herlihey, in Macroom, and a respectable farmer, Daniel
Hugh Keller, who occupied the ground on which O'Leary was shot, and
was a marriageable man at the time, and was an eyc-ivitness to the scene.
Keller died in his 95th year. * *
R. D.
Dr, Caulfield*s Antiquarian and Historical Notes.
NOTES ON THE CHURCHWARDENS OF CORK DIOCESE AT THE CLOSE
OF THE 17TH CENTURY.
The office of churchwarden is an undoubtedly ancient one, and in former times
was invested with grave privileges and duties. Chaucer uses the word "church
reeve, " which is the same as churchwarden ; and Spenser in his work on Ireland
writes: "There should likewise churchwardens of the gravest men in the parish
be appointed, as they be here in England. "
But if the Irish churchwarden would approach the fountain whence he derives
his power, he must consult the "Constitutions and Canons Ecclesiastical Treated
Upon by the Archbishops and Bishops and the Rest of the Clergy of Ireland,
and Agreed upon with the King's Majesty's License in their Synod begun in
Dublin, Anno Dom. 1634. "
From Canon 65 he will learn that as he is likely to be maligned for pre-
senting evil-doers, all Judges, both Ecclesiastical and Temporal, are admonished
and exhorted, "as they regard and reverence the fearful judgment seat of the
Highest Judge, that they admit not in any of their courts any complaint, plea,
etc., against any such churchwarden."
DR. CAULFIELDS'S ANTIQUARIAN NOTES. 4^
Canon 90 will tell him that it is his duty to see ^'thatnone of those light-
wanderers in markets and pelting-sellers, which carry about, and sell Pins,
Points, and other small trifles, whom they call Pedlers, set out their wares for sale ;
and that no Beggars, or idle persons, abide either in the churchyard or near
the church all that time, but shall cause them either to come in (to church) or
to depart.**
Canon 91 is equally instructive as regards their duties within the church, viz. :
"They shall warn the people that they bring not with them to the church, Dogs,
Hawkes with Bels (bells), or children, which are not so nurtured as they can be
kept quiet in their seats, without running up and down. Neither shall they
suffer any person to disturb the service or sermon, either by untimely ringing of
Bels, or by walking, talking, laughing, or any other noise, etc.'*
Canon 92 cautions them, moreover, that they suffer *'no playes, feasts, ban-
quets, suppers, churchales, drinkings, etc. ; or any other profane usage to be
kept in the church, chappel, or churchyard, etc.**
These are a few of the many duties imposed on churchwardens by the Irish
Canons of 1634 ; but from whatever cause it may have arisen, ^ profound sleep
seems to have reigned over churchwarden dom in Cork diocese for many years
after these Canons were enacted. This state of repose was probably the means
of preventing much mischief; at all events it is to their credit that they used
the whitewash brush more sparingly than their brethren across St. George's
ChanneL
However, it came to pass that in the year 1678 Dr. Edward Wettenhall succeeded
to the Sees of Cork and Ross, and immediately commenced extensive reforms in
his cathedral at Cork, particularly in establishing the choral service ; for the
Vicars Choral of St. Fin Barre's, as we know from the Visitation Books, appear
to have been asleep for as many years as the rural churchwardens. But a note
from the episcopal trumpet, which rang through the diocese, quickly roused into
action all these delinquents ; the choral service was restored, and reports of the
state of the parishes flowed in from the churchwardens at every visitation.
The accounts were not very cheering ; but as the notes that we have made
from the originals shed some light on the manners and mode of life at the time,
the following abstracts may afford a little instruction as well as amusement : —
1682, Nov. I. The churchwardens of the parish of Fanlobbish present the fol-
lowing persons, etc: — ist. We present the church and churchyard to
be quite out of repair. Daniel McTeige Oge for profanation of the
Lord's Day by digging potatoes, being i6th October, 1681. Mr. Charles
Fenwick, John Hobbs, Donnogh Roe Carty, etc., for plowing on the 5th
of November. Fenn Carty, als. Gowne, for profanation of the Lord's
Day by receiving monies and giving up bills the 20 Nov., as is his
common practice. Cnowher Grome for changing horses on the Lord's
Day.
5 March. Cosneigh and Donnough Gankagh, pipers, for piping before
a corpse to church.
13 Aug. Donnough Driskell, smith, for shoeing a horse on the Lord's Day.
Randall Dirreine, brogue maker, for playing cards and dice on the
Lord's Day.
22 Oct. John Hull, Ann Fitzgerald, etc., for travelling on the Lord's Day
through the parish with eleven horses loaded with wheat and barley.
. Thomas Carter for plowing the 23rd of Oct. last. Randolf Hurley for pro-
faning ihe Lord's Day by keeping a common house for playing cards.
4i CORK HiStORICAL ANt) ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETV.
Daniel and John Roe, common gamesters ; and Teige Clay a common
drunkard."
It is to be presumed that all these persons were excommunicated for a season.
The Fanlobbish churchwardens, who seem to have taken a peculiar pleasure
in their office, were John Gibson and William Amop, jun. This William Arnop
was son of Lt. -Colonel William Arnop who passed patent, June 26, 1666, for
three plowlands of Dunmanway and two gneeves of Togher, containing 1460
acres profitable and 594 unprofitable. This land afterwards passed into the
hands of Sir Richard Cox.
1682, Nov. 5. John Daunt presents the churchyard of Nohoval (between Kinsalc
and Crosshaven), being open for pigs and all other cattle for want of a
fence; cost, twenty shillings.
1685, Mar. 19. Richard Harvey and Robert Smyth, churchwardens of Christ
Church, present the chancel as much out of repair and ought to be new
wrought ; also a new Bible, a Common Prayer Book, and a Registry Book.
1685, May 22. Richard Rogers and James Dossens, churchwardens of St.
Multose, Kinsale, present Theodorus Mason, William Worth, and Thomas
Banavane, for refusing to pay parish rate.
1686, April 7. John Hussey and Edward Brown, churchwardens of Templetrine,
present the churchyard out of repair. Want books and utensils for the
church and Communion table ; also a Registry Book.
1686, April 26. Michael Cox and Will Harris, churchwardens of Desertserges,
present that the chancel is out of repair, and that said ought to be re-
paired at the charge of the rectors of the parish.
1686, May 7. John Spread, churchwarden of Curricappane, presents William
Ellis as a very fit person to succeed him.
1686, May 3. John Wheeler and John Hawkes, churchwardens of Kilbrogan, do
present Timothy Sullivan and William Bandfield as their successors ;
and also Brian Callig, who holdeth lands ^ in the parish, for not paying
his church-rate. [Mr. Callig's religion, which is stated in rather broad
terms, was not in accordance with the spirit of the times in Bandon.]
1686^ May 7. Edward Palyne and Thomas Paysley, churchwardens of Kilna-
glory, present that the church is in good repair, the minister has been
absent for sixteen months, and no service celebrated there ; but of late
Dean Davis, who lives near the church, out of pity to the Protestant
inhabitants of the said parish, doth celebrate Divine Service and preach
in the said church once a fortnight ; and further, that books and other
utensils are wanting.
1686, May 7. John Sutton and Wm. Burton, churchwardens of Tracton Abbey,
present that there is no minister in the parish ; and they are discontented
at it. That the clerk. has no Common Prayer Book. That the gate of
the churchyard wants a lock ; and that James Daunt and William Kelly
be chosen churchwardens for the ensuing year,
1686, May 7. Henry Bennett, churchwarden of Carrigrohan ; no irregularity or
defect in the church or parish. [Matthias Earbery, whose tomb is ( ?) on
the south side of the chancel of this church, was a writer of some eminence.
He published in 1717, the year before his death, "The History of the
Clemency of our English Monarchs. *' "The Occasional (Historian*' was
not printed until 1730.]
1686, June 14. Alexander Barrington, churchwarden of Kineagh, presents
Thomas Tisdsdl and Judith, his wife, of Clongmarrow, for not frequenting
<JOtES Aiib QtJERlfe^. 43
the parish church ; also Frances Godfry, of Enniskeane, for a turbulent,
vexacious scould; likewise Judith Tisdall is like troublesome and very
veracious to most her neighbourhood, and a great scould.
1686, July I. William Hbdder and (Michael WoodJvvard, churchwardens of
Carrigaline, present Captain FoUiard of Bamahely, John O'Brin of
Curabiny, and Will OTling of Old Court, etc., for not paying the
church rates ; likewise Henry Moody, of Rochestown, for not coming
to church.
1686, Oct. 16. Robert Mead, churchwarden of Ballymartell, certifies that he
has punished prophaners of the Lord's Day, and others which he ought
to take notice of as churchwarden, by "stocking'* of them, and other fit
punishments. [Many persons will remember the decayed old stocks that
were formerly to be seen at the entrance to some of the Cork churches.]
1686, July 16. John Oilman, churchwarden of Moviddy, presents that the glass
windows of the church are out of repair ; and there is wanting a flagon
and Registry book.
All the above presentations are addressed to the Right Rev. Father in God,
Edward, Lord Bishop of Cork and Ross, his principal official or Vicar General.
About this time a gap occurs in all our records — the troubles had set in. Bishop
Wetenhall was confined a prisoner in the city during the siege of Cork in 1690,
but as Dean Davies records in his Diary, under Sep. 27: "In the morning our
heavy cannon were landed near the Red Cow by Red Abbey, and there a battery
was raised of thirty six-pounders, which playing against the city wall, soon
made it tumble, whereupon the enemy let the Bishop come out to us with all
the clergy and about 1,300 of the Protestants."
Here end Dr. Caulfield's Churchwarden Notes, which were written in 1873.
(To be continued,) J' ^•
Notes and Queries.
Dr. O'Brien.— Fineen O'Mahony and Donald Fihclly.— Corca Bascoin and Inisdamhly.—
Andrew Hennessy's Life Boat.— Limerick's Claim to Municipal Precedence of Cork Dis-
posed of.— Dr. Warburton, Bishop of Cloyne.— Heacock Pedigree.— Curious Incidents
connected with a Co. Cork Baronetcy.
Ihr. (VBrien.—An anonymous querist in the Cor}i Journal for April,
1895, inquired the meaning of TPUpAtif^Ud, which occurs in the epitaph
of Dr. John O'Brien, Bishop of Cloyne and Ross, who died in 1769.
The word should be written SUpAjifuUd (dirty skirt). One of the O'Briens,
King of Munster, was so-called, from having his royal robes covered
with mortar in building his castles and churches. This Conchobhar
O'Brien was also called 1)4 C4t;4Yt4<^, on account of the large number of
buildings erected by him. He also founded two monasteries at Ratisbon
for Irish Benedictines. ,
Fineen O'Mahony and Donald Fihelly.— In the first volume of the Cork
Journal is a note on an Irish MS. preserved in the Public Library ol
Rennes. This MS. , which was written by a monk of Kilcrea, on Maundy
Thursday, 1472, is a transcript of an Irish version of Maundeville's
Travels, by Fineen Q'Mahony, of Rosbrin.
44 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHiEOLOGICAL SOClEtV.
In another number of the Journal information is sought of Donald
Fihelly, who wrote a History of Ireland. The OTiheIly*s ( T1*<ier4lUi5)
were a branch of the Corca Laidhe. Their r^U4T/ extended from the Red
Strand to Inchidony Island, and from Dunowen to Drinagh. Their name
is also Anglicised Field and Feely ; and is Latinized Fildaeus. This dis-
trict includes the parish of Ardfield. In old taxations it is always written
Ard. In a grant of 1552 it is written Ardophiel, i.e., Fihelly 's (or Field's)
hill. Sir James Ware in his Scriptores Hibernici says: **At the close of
this (fifteenth) century died Donald OTihelly bom in the County of Cork,
and writ in Irish the Annals of Ireland to his own time, which he dedi-
cated to Florence O'Mahony. I saw them inl MS. in 1626 with Florence
Carty. *' Wood, in his Athenae Oxonienses, makes Donald a student of
Oxford. The Florence Carty is the celebrated Florence McCarthy Mor,
who wrote a history of the mythic era of Ireland. The Florence O'Mahony
is probably the translator of Maundeville's Travels y and is doubtless
identical with the 0*Mahony of Evahagh, whose death is recorded by the
Four Masters in 1496: **0*Mathghamhna of the Fonn lartharach, i.e.,
Finyhin, general supporter of humanity and generosity in the West of
Munster, and the most learned man of his time in Latin and English,
died."
Alban Patrick O' Fihelly, a distinguished scholar, was buried in Timo-
league Abbey in 1504 : Eugene Field was guardian of Timoleague in
1628: Maurice O'Fihely, a Minorite, was Bishop of Ross, 1554 — 1559.
The most celebrated man of the name was Maurice O'Fihely, Archbishop
of Tuam, Sir James Ware, Dr. John O'Donovan, Rev. M. O'Kelly (Ed.
Camhrensis Eversus)y the Abbe MacGeoghegan, and Father Meehan make
him a native of Baltimore. Born in 1463, he died in 151 3. Lynch 's MS.
says he was born in Clonfert. More likely he was born in Baltimore.
The O'DriscoU Inquisition of 1608 refers to the Muintir-y-Hilligh (i.e.,
Muintir TPjrjceAlUis) of Ballymacrown, which is near Baltimore. In the
Fiants of Queen Elizabeth we find mention of Owen Filde, alias O'Fihely,
of Bally mac Rowan, and Margaret Field, of Baltimore. This shews that
some of the family were settled near Baltimore.
Corca Bascoin and Znifldanihly.— Smith, under the year 830, writes
that in this year there was fierce lightning, and above one thousand were
killed at "between Corca Bascoin, a part of the county then so-called, and
the seaside." At the same time **the Island, then called Innisfadda, i.e.,
the Long Island, on the west coast of the county, was forced asunder
and divided into three parts. This island lies contiguous to two others,
viz.. Hare Island and Castle Island, which might have been very probably
rent asunder by the ocean*' (History of Corky book iii., c. i.). Dr.
Smith is evidently wrong here. Corca Bascoin was a district in the
County Clare, practically coterminous with the present baronies of Clon-
deralaw and Moyarta. The island that was rent asunder on the occasion
referred to was Inisfethi (now called Mutton Island), off the coast of Clare.
In the same chapter Smith identifies Inisdamhly with Cape Clear — ^in
which he is followed by Archdall and Dr. Dan Donovan. Archdall says :
**St. Congall, a disciple of St. Finbar, was Abbot of Inisdamhly. A St.
Cillian is also mentioned in connection with it. Cape Clear was pillaged
by the Danes 823, 825, 831. Dunalong mac Dunegan, Abbot of Cape
Clear^ died 953 a.d." Looking to the Four Masters I find the following
I
)
)
NOTES AND QUERIES. 4$
entries, viz., 775, the death of the Abbot of Inis-doimhle : the plunder of
Inisdoimhle 821, 823, 951 : the death of Dunalong Mac Donnogain, Abbot
of Inis-doimhle and Teach-Munna, 953 ; the Danes plunder Inisdoimhle
and Ui Liathain and robbed Lismore and Cork, 960."
This island was also called Inis-Temhni, e.g., the Wars of the Gaul
and Gaill, record 821 :**Corcach and Inis-Temhni plundered.'* There can,
I think, be no doubt that' Inis-doimhiy was not Cape Clear. The Martyr-
ology of Donegal (sub. July 4th, p. 187) describes Inis-Doimhle as situated
between Hy Cennseleigh (in Wexford) and the Deisi (in Co. Waterford).
Hence I think Dr. John O 'Donovan is right in identifying it with the
Little Island in the river Suir (see note. Annals Four Masters, anno 960).
J. M. B.
■' P IM—M.^ -■ -»■ ■ I . . ■ M, — — ■—■■■ -
Andrew Kennessy's Life Boat.— Andrew Hennessy, of Passage, figures in
our local annals as the builder of the first river steamer that ran on the Lee
from Cork to Cove ; but that he had other constructive abilities is evident from
what follows: — ^Andrew Hennessy, of Passage, Cork (records the "Gentleman's
Magazine" for November, 1825, page 454) has constructed a life or safety boat,
from models submitted to the Lords of the Admiralty and Trinity Board in
London. It is 36 feet keel, y% feet beam, and sj4 feet deep, capable of saving
50 or 60 persons from wreck in addition to her full crew. The timbers, which
are very slight, are of oak, tarred and parcelled with light strong canvas, over
which there is a casing of thin whalebone, then served like a rope with a marline.
The covering or skin of the boat, instead of a plank, is a particular kind of
canvas, of great strength and durability, and perfectly waterproof. The materials
of this canvas have been saturated with a chemical process in the loom which
preserves it from wet and the action of the atmosphere. It always preserves its
pliability, and will not heat, mildew or rot. The boat is decked or covered with
the same cloth. The deck is laced through the centre fore and aft from stem
to stem post, and covered with laps to prevent the water getting in. The oars-
men sit on their thwarts, which are of the canvas already described, through the
deck, from which coats are erected, fitted by plaits to their bodies, and buckling
below the breast. The use of planks for coating or for the deck is altogether
avoided. [This Passage lifeboat seems to have anticipated in a way the Berthon
boats, now in such general use, invented by the late Vicar of Romsey, near
Southampton.]
Limerick's Claim to Kimicipal Preeedenoe of Cork Disposed of.— In a
letter from the Tovm Clerk's office, 13 South Mall, Cork, April i8th, 1890,
addressed to the Mayor of that day, the late Mr. Alexander McCarthy, Town
Clerk, wrote as follows: — "The *Cork Examiner' in an article on the ridiculous
claim put forward by the Mayor of Limerick to precedence over the Mayor of
Cork, suggests, would it not be well if the Corporations of the two cities voted
a joint sum for the purpose of getting the very highest and most authentic
decision on this troubled question. 1 desire to state that, in 1872, that suggestion
was acted upon. I prepared a case to establish the claim of Cork. Limerick had
a similar case prepared. Both cases were simultaneously sent to Sir Bernard
Burke, Ulster King-of-Arms. I then made objections to the case for Limerick ;
and Limerick made objections to the Cork case. Limerick's claim depended
solely upon having, as alleged, an earlier English charter of incorporation.
46 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHiEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
(The Limerick title rested on an assertion that its charter was of the year 1199,
and Cork, they asserted, was not incorporated until 1242). I send you a copy of
the Cork case and objections. Sir Bernard Burke was paid a fee of fifty
guineas (half by each Corporation). He gave a long written opinion, winding
up with the following paragraph: — "Reviewing the claims of the two Corpora-
tionsj and giving full weight to the evidence in support of them, I have come to
the conclusion that nothing has been established by Cork or Limerick to entitle
either city fo claim precedence of the other." J. Bernard Burke, Ulster Office
of Arms, Dublin Castle, 28th of January, 1873. "You will thus see," concludes
Mr. McCarthy, "that the question of precedence has no existence in fact; and
as a matter of right no mayor, outside his own city, has any right of precedence.'*
Dr. Warbnrton, Bishop of Cloyno.— "Died August 9th, 1826, aged 71, the
Right Rev. Charles Mongan, D.D., Lord Bishop of Cloyne. Dr. Warburton's
paternal name was Mongan ; and he was, it is said, the son of a poor roadway
piper iti the North of Ireland. He was a Roman Catholic, and intended for that
Church. On the Continent, whither he had been sent to study in one of the
institutions endowed for the education of priests before the building of Maynooth
College, he was thrown by accident into the society of the Earl of Moira, and
having won his favour was induced by him to change his destination to the
Protestant Church. After taking orders,* he was appointed chaplain to a regi-
ment in America, and there he married his first wife, a lady said to have been
particularly recommended by Lord Moira. That lady dying soon after, he
married his second wife, now his widow. With her he changed his name to
Warburton ; with her he pursued the way to wealth and fortune, becoming Dean
of Ardagh, Bishop of Limerick in 1806, and Bishop of Cloyne in 182a
When at Limerick Dr. Warburton was much esteemed for his courteous
manners. His family led the van of society, and his translation to Cloyne,
though an increase of ;^,ooo to the Bishop, was much regretted by the inhabi-
tants. In the poor town of Cloyne he lived much retired ; and it is rumoured
that he amassed ;£i 20,000. He bore an excellent private character, was exem-
plary in the duties of a husband and father, and strict in his religious observ-
ances, but his Catholic neighbours discovered too close a hand, and were
offended at the rapid accumulation of his fortune. This is divided among his
four children, one son a colonel, one a major, and one in the Church, and his
daughter, married to Archdeabon Maunsell at Limerick. The Bishop's daughter.
Miss Selena Warburton, was one of the most charming and amiable young ladies
in the world, whose life was spent in acts of goodness and charity. Her father
allowed her the interest of £2^,000^ her promised fortune, and she expended
almost every shilling of it in relieving the wants of the distressed. She died
about a year since of a decline brought on, it was reported, by a misplaced
afiPection. Her remains were carried to the grave amidst the lamentations of
the many objects of her bounty. The who)^ parish mourned for her as a public
benefactress. Dr. Warburton was most fondly attached to her, and from the day of
her death he broke in health and spirits. His frequent practice was to visit the
grave where she rested, and his last instructions were that he should be laid
by her. About a week before his death he came into the church, and stood for
some moments in painful silence over the place, marked out the spot where
he was soon to lie, pointing to it with his finger, and said, "There, there."
That day his disorder increased ; he went to his bed of death ; and in one week
he was borne to his last home.** — "Gentleman's Magazine** for Oct., 1826, p. 370.
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48 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHifiOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
Cnrioiui Incidents eonneettd with a Co. Cork Baronetoj.— In the
Cork baronetcy which began with the famous Sir Richard Cox, of Dunmanway,
whose name and story have been so frequently mentioned in the pages of this
"Journal," it is a singular fact that it only twice descended to a son, and never
to the eldest son. "Dod's Peerage," etc., for 1900 states that it is believed
to have become extinct on the death of the 12th baronet in 1873. It was, however,
assumed by the uncle of the Rev. Sir George Cox, a Church of England clergy-
man, and a most voluminous writer, who was himself presented to his living
by the crown as a baronet. This Rev. Sir George Cox, who claimed to be the
fourteenth baronet, died some time ago ; but in his lifetime the title was also
assumed by Captain Sir Hawtrey Cox as eleventh baronet, by descent from the
issue of a first marriage of the Most Rev. Michael Cox, who would take priority
to the issue of a second marriage, through whom the above-named Sir George
traced his claim. j . J. C.
Reviews and Notes of Books, etc.
The Antiquary, 1905. With the January number our valued contem-
porary commenced its second quarter of a century of existence and useful-
ness. The event has been marked by a new and enlarged scries, a new
section called **At the Sign of the Owl,** and a new cover design. In
addition to these changes, the list of interesting papers promised for the
current year should ensure its success and widen the sphere of its influ-
ence. Amongst these latter we note an article on the ** Round Towers of
Ireland** by an occasional contributor to our own columns, the Rev. J. B.
McGovorn, which appeared in the January and March numbers. Anti-
quaries this side the mare Hihernicum must perforce welcome its appear-
ance, though they will possibly not all accept its conclusions. But the
suggested via media it contains bespeaks for itself an unbiassed considera-
tion which we feel confident it will obtain. Other Irish antiquarian topics
receive attention in the ** Antiquarian News** section, such as notices of
the proceedings of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland and reviews
of Irish works. Thus the January number contained appreciative notices
of Mr. J. R. Garstin*s paper on **Greek Inscriptions in Ireland,** read
on November 29th last, and Father Dincen's ** Irish-English Dictionary.**
The.se facts should commend the new venture to Irish readers, and we
heartily wish it ad multos armos, q^ O. M.
A History of the County Dublin : Part Third. Dublin : Alexander Thom
and Co., 1905. The author, a frequent contributor to the pages of this
Journal, exhibits in this work a very extensive knowledge of Irish social
life in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and repcoples the dis-
trict, comprising the Southern side of the County, about which he writes,
with many of its principal residents in those old days, few of whose names,
in all probability, are now locally remembered. The district under notice
is not a fertile one, and was too far removed from the metropolis in the
days of slow and inconvenient modes of travelling to have been sought
after as a residential locality, with the result that the families mentioned
in connection with it are not as numerous as they otherwise might be
f
RfeVIEWS OF BOOKS. 49
An amount of very curious information leading up to national history is
nevertheless disclosed in connection with the rise and distinction of many
a family, the population of the district at various times, and the condition
of the castles and old houses there in days remote and modern. There is,
too, a record of the pillar stones, cromlechs (of which there is an abund-
ance), Celtic and Norman churches and other antiquities existing in the
different parishes. The book is written in an agreeable style,and is very
tastefully illustrated.
C^ltft^lti) Coi)54|l CU||iii)5!)l3. — Martial Career of Conghal Clarmgh'
neagh, edited by Patrick M. MacSweeney, M.A. London : David Nutt,
1904. This is the fifth annual volume of the Irish Texts Society. The
tale now published belongs to the Red Branch cycle, and has been edited
from a manuscript in the Royal Irish Academy dating, approximately,
from the middle of the seventeenth century. It would appear to possess
some political significance, and probably owed its inception to the following
circumstances. We quote from the editor's lucid introductory study :
**The founding of Emania is to be taken as marking the rise of a tribal
community in Ulster into a position of political importance. With the
growth of tribal independence there also grew up a literary tradition
based upon tribal myths and customs. Such must have been the beginning
of the literature which set itself to glorify the Clann Rury and its heroes.
The rise of Emania, the development of Ultonian power brought the
northern clann into contact with the other tribal communities, and, above
all, into contact with that one which claimed and exercised a hegemony
over the rest, that of the Ardrigh at Tara. In this stress of competition
between the early tribes, which has its counterpart in the early history
of all races, as, for example, in the so-called Heptarchy in England, or,
better still, in the early struggle of the Latin tribes against their neigh-
bours, is to be found the political motive underlying the Early Irish
Romances and Sagas." Several personages and places are mentioned
in the tale, and the language of it is particularly forceful and descriptive ;
but it is only when much more of this old-world story, in whose publication
the Irish Texts Society is actively engaged, has been carefully and in-
telligently edited that the true worth of this class of literature and its
place in history can be, if at all, estimated. The editor, it may be
mentioned, comes from a long line of Irish scribes and scholars — ^the
O'Longans of County Cork — ^and it is interesting to know that this his
first literary undertaking deals with the Irish language with very promising
results.
Association for the Preservation, of the Memorials of the Dead, Ireland.
The Journal of this Association for the latter half of last year (vol vi.
No. I, part ii.) is well up to its wonted standard. It is well printed on
good paper and is extensively illustrated with photographs, rubbings
and drawings of ancient crosses, effigies, quaint inscriptions, remarkable
tombs, church plate and so forth. Considering the very excellent and
useful work that is being done by this Association, both in the preserva-
tion of decayed monuments and in the publication of vanishing inscrip-
tions and other perishable records, one r^rets that its efforts are not
more widely supported and appreciated. A new and welcome feature,
in the shape of a Notes and Queries department, has been introduced in
the part of the Journal under notice. The Secretary of the Association
$6 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY-
is Lord Walter FitzGerald, of Kilkea Castle, Co. Kildare, to whose enter-
prise and industry the upkeep of the Journal is mainly attributable^ and
the annual subscription for membership of the association is ten shillings.
Journal of the Galway ArchcBological and Historical Society. The
number published in December last denotes much originality and research.
The Editor, Mr. W. F. French, contributes a short paper on a Galway
playbill of the year 1783. An engraving of this early specimen of Galway
printing is produced. It displayed a bold initiative on the part of the
theatre manager to insert a request in his bill that no **hoops" be worn
at the theatre. Every age is the victim of some strange, and not always
blamless, fashion. The hoops, it may be inferred*, were as much a source
of annoyance to the theatre-goer of the past as the broad brimmed hat
with enormous feather is to his disciple of the present day. Among other
papers are *The O'Kellys of Gallagh," by R. J. Kelly, B.L. ;'*A Trans-
planter's Decree of Final Settlement," by Martin J. Blake; ** Diocese of
Annaghdown," by the Very Rev. J. Fahey, D.D., and an address on **Our
Irish Romanesque Architecture,*' by the Most Rev. Dr. Healy, Arch-
bishop of Tuam. The Journal is excellently illustrated and printed.
The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, The
quarterly part concluding the volume for the past year contains several
interesting papers, notably * * Enniscorthy in the Thirteenth Century — Who
built the Castle?*' by Mr. W. H. G. Flood; *'On the McCragh Tomb in
Lismore Cathedral," by Mr. J. R. Garstin; **On Irish Motes and Early
Irish Castles," by Mr. T. J. Westropp. The latter writer, in a note on
Kiltoola Church, Co. Clare, passes some severe and well deserved stric-
tures, in which we join, on a local public body at whose instance this
ancient edifice is being levelled to the ground. If some of our provincial
antiquaries would bestir themselves, and, when occasion arises, as it
frequently does, write to the local authorities informing them of the
manner in which the churchyards and their accessories in their respective
localities are being injured, neglected or uncared for, many representatives
on those boards, and readers of the deliberations thereat in the local
weekly newspapers, could be induced, if properly appealed to, to take a
more kindly and intelligent interest in our antiquarian remains. The
people in the main, we are still confident, only require to be educated a
little in these ways to convince them of the sacredness of old ruins and
the national importance of preserving them.
In The Scottish Historical Review (October, 1904) a distinguished
Corkman, the Right Rev. John Dowden, D.D., Bishop of Edinburgh,
concludes a most informing paper on **The Bishops of Dunkeld. Notes^
on their Succession from the time of Alexander I. to the Reformation."
The Scottish Peerage is the subject of a well-written and well-illustrated
paper by J. H. Stevenson. Mr. George Duncan in a paper entitled
"Some Sidelights on the History of Montrose's Campaigns," refers to
the Red Book of Clanranald, which has been largely drawn on by writers
on the subject of Montrose's campaigns, and to an obscure volume known
as the Black Book of Clanranald. The following particulars of these
books are worth quoting: **The history of the Red Book has, as is well
known, been matter of ancient controversy. The Black Book, on the
other hand, is quite a modern discovery, and has never been referred to
REVIEWS OF BOOK^. 5*
by the historians of Montrose's campaigns. It was picked up by Mr.
Skene about fifty years ago, among some old Irish MSS. at a bookstall
in Dublin, and was by him restored to the present-day representatives of
its old possessors, the Macdonalds of Clanranald. Both volumes are of
the nature of commonplace books, largely in Gaelic, but partly in English,
manuscripts of the MacVurichs, the hereditary bards and historians
of the family of Clanranald. Their contents are of the most varied
descriptions, including besides the historical portions such hetero-
geneous materials as Gaelic poems, a geography and chronology of the
world, elegies of the Clanranalds, clan genealc^ies, and a satire on Bishop
Burnet." There are several other papers, as well as reviews, queries
and replies, and much special information relating to Scottish subjects.
The review is a most creditable one.
J. B.
Castles of Ireland, Some Fortress Histories and Legends. By L. C.
Adams. Illustrated by Reiv. Canon Lucius O'Brien. London: Elliott
Stock. In the Preface to this handsome and well-illustrated volume we are
told, as we had often discovered, that any enquiry made by the usual
tourist in Ireland for information regarding the innumerable ruined struc-
tures which everywhere distinguish the landscape, is invariably met with
three items of intelligence — **that they were built by King John, occupied
by the Geraldines, and demolished by Cromwell in person."
It is partly to remove the ignorance of which these ** items" are a
facile cover, as well as to bring home more intimately to us the great
interest which must always attach to these picturesque and melancholy
witnesses of the strifes and controversies of byegone ages that this book
was compiled. And looking through its leaves, and pondering over its
records of woe and war, we are swayed by
the power
And magic of the ruined battlement.
To which the palace of the present hour
Must yield in pomp and wait till ages are its dower !
The volume, of course, does not pretend to be exhaustive, but, neverthe-
less, the matter is always attractive; and to those who may wish to
pursue further enquiries, the lists of the different authorities consulted,
and^ given at the end of each article, will be found very useful and con-
venient. Among the names quoted in this connection we are pleased to
notice that of our late Vice-President, Mr. Herbert Webb Gillman, by
whose death the Society suffered an irreparable loss.
The book is one of a kind of which there is much need, and which we
would like to see appreciated and multiplied in Ireland.
J. P. D.
Like our own county, the largest, Louth, the smallest county, yet one
of the most historic in Ireland, has now got its Archaeological Society, and
has already published the first number of its Journal. This is in every
respect a most interesting one, with quite a varied table of contents,
including an article on local bibliography by one of our members, Mr. Dix, of
Dublin. If future numbers keep up to the high level of the present one,
one may safely augur a long and prosperous career for the Society which
^i ^ CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIfitV.
produces the Louth Archceological Journal. ... By the death of the
late Sir John T. Gilbert, Ireland lost one of her best historical writers,
whose knowledge extended to every form add detail of our national
literature. This included Irish bibliography, a subject which his rather
premature demise precluded him from dealing with to its fullest extent.
He had, however, in the years 1896-97, read two papers before the Royal
Irish Academy, which form an important contribution on early Irish
bibliography ; and these two papers, carefully and comprehensively edited
by Mr. E. R. McC. Dix, with notes and facsimiles of the title pages of
some of the volumes, have now been very commendably brought out by
the Royal Irish Academy, whose other valuable historical publications
appear to be far less known to the Irish reading public than they, un-
doubtedly, deserve. . . . Considering how of all national saints St.
Patrick is the most popular it is somewhat strange that so little is really
known of his life ; and we therefore find all the three leading denominations
in Ireland claiming him as their own; whilst scarcely a year passes by
but somebody discovers a new birth-place for him. With a view to
present the leading known and undisputed facts of his life the Rev. Canon
Court enayf Moore, one of our Council Mebnbers, has brought out in
pamphlet form a brief notice of **St. Patrick, the Apostle of Ireland**
(Dublin : Ch. Ireland Publishing Co.), based on his admitted writings, viz.,
St. Patrick's Confession^ and his Epistle to Coroticus. Meagre as, in a
sense, these details are, Canon Moore has adequately set them forth in
an unbiassed form, and has treated the subject in a most impartial spirit,
enjoining his readers **to beware of the fallacy of arguing from St.
Patrick's silence that the matter concerning which he was silent was
unknown to or condemned by him; and the equal fallacy of wrenching
him out of his own historical setting or context." . . . Most of the
papers in Eriu, Part 11. , of the Journal of the School of Irish Learning,
28 Clare Street, Dublin, are too erudite for the average reader, and can
only be appreciated by advanced Irish students. But the translation of
an **01d Irish Metrical Rule'* is of great interest; while the **Rule of
Patrick** fornus a most important contribution as regards the belief and
practices of the early Irish Church. , . . An Leaharlann, the Journal
of the Irish Public Librarians, bespeaks an earnest desire and endeavour
on their part to bring profitable and elevating reading and books, and,
notably those that most concern our own country, before the rising genera-
tion more especially. Mr. Lyster*s ** Ireland and Public Libraries,** Mr.
Dix*s **Irish Librarians and Irish Bibliography,'* and Mr. Condon*s
"Irish History Bibliography,** are attractive and instructive papers tending
in this direction ; the Reviews and Notes, too, are excellent in their way.
J. C.
Errata.
The Rev. Canon Courtenay Moore, M.A., has kindly written to point
out that though the late Dr. Casey — of whom a sketch appeared in the last
issue of the Journal — ^was born in the parish of Kilbehenny (which is quite
close to Mitchelstown, where he received his early education, and near
relatives of his now reside), yet that this parish is not in the County
Cork, but in that of Limerick. Dr. Casey, therefore, cannot, strictly
speaking, be reckoned as a Cork scientist.
J.
I
SicoND Series — Vol, XI. No. 66. [April— Juwe, 1905.
Journal of the
Cork Historical and Archaeological Society.
The Parish of Kilshannig and Manor of Newberry,
Co. Cork.
Continued from page 38.
By Henry F. Berry, I.S.O., M.R.I. A.
Kilcolmanj Colman's church. Prior to the rebellion the property of
Donough O'Callaghan, who had a Decree for it as an ** Innocent Papist,"
and in O'Donovan's time, it belonged to the late Lord Lismore. At a
place called Kiel, burials were said to have taken place in ancient times.
St. Colman, of Cloyne, would, no doubt, be the saint to whom the
church was dedicated. Within the townland is a short road called Boher-
bradagh (thieves' road), which tradition says was formed by enchanted
cattle, that fed in the mountains, and passed along^ it daily to drink in
the Blackwater. Near the centre is a fort, in which were large sub-
terranean apartments, that, in G'Donovan's time, had been recently levelled
or filled with stones and earth.
Kilgohnety St. Gobnet's church. This townland formed part of the
ancient Gortroe. St. Gobnet, virgin, was born at Ball)rvourney (town
of the beloved) at the close of the fifth or beginning of the sixth century,
and she was abbess of a house founded by St. Abban at Ballyvourney,
which is in the barony of West Muskerry^ County Cork. Some say that
Abigail is the English form of the name Gobnet, in which O 'Donovan
does not agree. In the South of Ireland it is Anglicised Judith — a name
much in vogue among the female peasantry. In the north of the town-
land, under Curraghbower, is an old burial ground in which is a holy
well, known as Abigail's well, but more familiarly as Abbey's well. Over
it is erected a building, nearly rotund in form, and when Mr. Windele
visited the place there was a rude painting in a panel on the wall inside,
representing St. Abigail kneeling before an altar, expelling the plague.
Canon Wilson says that this panel, having become detached, was years
ago re-erected and set in the centre of the arch, showing outward, in front.
The design, cut in relief, no longer shows colouring. The patron day
is nth February, and on that day people used to resort to the well in
great numbers for the cure of disease, coming long distances to make
their rounds. In the Windele MSS. (R.I. A.), vol. 14, p. 537, is a sketch
of the building over Abigail's well.
There are two forts in this townland.
54 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHiEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
KUpadder (Peter's wood, or church) North and South. This townland
has two subdenominations— Glashakeag^h (blind streamlet), so called from
a stream that flows along its eastern boundary; and Danesfort, to which
a fort situated near the mansion gave name. In 1750, this house and M
demesne, then called Kilpadder, were occupied by Rev. James Hingston,
who in 1740 became curate of Kilshannig, being subsequently appointed
vicar of Roskeen and Clonmeen. In 1741, Hingston married a daughter
of Rev. Benezer Murdock, rector of Kilshannig. Dr. Brady (Records of
Cork, Cloyne and Ross, ii., 189) says that he translated some of the
Classics into English, composed an Abridgement of the Statutes, and left
several other MSS., including an account of the state of the Diocese of
Cloyne in 1762. The Rev. Edmund Lombard, rector of Kilshannig,
resided subsequently at Kilpadder. His daughter, Anne, married John
Hunt, Esq., grandfather of the present Mr. Hunt of Danesfort, through
which marriage the place passed into the Hunt family, and it became
known as Danesfort. In the south of the townland is a well known as
**wart well," the waters of which are much used for the cure of warts. (As
to the Irish name of this well, see remarks on Aunia's well under Dromore
Demesne).
KUvealaton. In the Field Book explained as Beledy's church. This is
one of the ancient denominations, occurring as Kilevyaladae in a Fiant
of 1594, as Killbelleday in the Down Survey Map, 1657, and as Killballida
in the Book of Survey and Distribution, In other instances, the name is
found as Kileveledy, Killebealady, Kilvalide, and Kilbolady. The town-
land, which had been the patrimony of the O'Callaghans, was granted
in 1686 to Richard Newman, by whose grandson, Dillon Newman, it
was leased to the Foott family. In a memorandum on the subject, the
late Mr. J. A. R. Newman says that the Footts assisted his ancestor in
bringing over yeomen and their families as settlers from Somersetshire,
on which account he believed leases for ever were given to the Footts at low
rents. The ancestor of this family was Geoig^e Foott, of Mallow, who
made his will there in 1677. He was a near relative of Matthew Foott,
who is found in the Hearth Money Roll, 1665, as resident in the parish
of Holy Trinity, Cork. George Foott married; in 1670, Alice Latchford
(formerly Blacknall), widow, and had an only son, George. His widow
was living in Mallow in 1704, a tenant of Mr. Jephson. George Foott,
of Kilvealaton, or Millford, made his will in 1758. He married Julian
0*Callaghan, and left two sons, George, who succeeded him in that
property, and Richard, ancestor of the Carrigacunna family. He had
also a daughter, Barbara, who married Quayle Welstead. In his will
Mr. Foott mentions George Purdon, of Woodfort, as being his tenant.
The mansion house here was long know as Millford, and in O 'Donovan's
time the house and offices had become ruinous.
The Depositions^*) as to the rebellion of 1641 in Trinity College show
that the Rev. Emanuel Phayer, who was vicar of Kilshannig from 1612,
and is described as of Kilvalide, held a farm here and another at Quarter-
town.
Knockansweeny , Sweeny's hillock. This townland appears to have
formed portion of the ancient denomination of Dromaneen. There is a
(4) Vol. iii. p. 60, Co. Cork.
PARISH OF KILSHANNIG AND MANOR OF NEWBERRY. 55
fir grove in it, with a fort, and two other forts are found in other parts
of the division.
Knockavaddra (or Knockavodthera), hill of the mastiff. This town-
I land is also known as Lackendarragh Upper.
I Knockdrislaghy hill of brambles. This was the property of the late
Lord Lismore. There is a small fort in the north side.
Knocknamona, hill of the bog. This seems to have been portion of
Dromaneen in old times. Four forts are to be found in this townland.
Marble Hill and Ringgrove, so called from a family of the name of Ring
who resided there, are subdenominations.
Lackaneen, little hill side. Cummeratooreen (confluence [of waters] of
the little bleach green) glen is on the west side, and Poulavadera (the
dog's or fox's hole), a spring, is on the north-west of the townland.
Lackendarragh f hill side of the oaks. This is an ancient denomination,
mentioned in the Down Survey. In the north part of the townland are
two standi^ng stones in a large fort, one 4 feet and the other 3 feet 4^ in.
high. In the south-west is Kilchilling (church of the holly), a small fort,
which is said to have been once a burying ground. In the west side a
large stone stands erect, about 4 feet high and 3 J feet in girth. Here
' there is also a cave. A stone known as Lackabehunach (the thief's flag)
stood in the west part of Lackendarragh, but it was broken up before
O 'Donovan's time. On this large flag were said to be imprinted the
shape of a man's bare feet, and the shape of a cow and calf's feet, that
were being stolen by him. St. Abigail happened to meet the thief here,
and fastened him and his booty to the flag until the owner arrived, when
the thief was taken.
Mr. Windele visited Lackendarragh hill, and describes a small round
fort, forty-two paces in diameter, on the hillside, sloping with the hill,
which had low furred ramparts. A little higher up the hill a similar fort,
forty-three paces in diameter, and four fields west of this another fort,
thirty-nine paces in diameter. The ramparts of none of them exceeded
five feet high on the outside and three feet on the inside. Windele also
describes and illustrates in his notebook (MSS. R.I. A.) the stone de-
scribed above as standing near Kilchilling, which he calls the Lacken-
darragh holed stone, though the Field Book takes no notice of the fact of its
being holed. He speaks of it as standing in the side of a long fence, part of
the enclosure of an old kile, which formed an oblong square, 16 to 20
paces broad, and somewhat longer, and says that a hole an inch in
diameter passed through the stone, near an angle. (For an account of
Holed Stones in Ireland, see Wakeman's Irish Antiquities^ ed. John
^ Cooke, 1903; and several papers in the Journal R.S.A.L).
I Laharan (half land). Leath-fhearann, a name applied to half a town-
land, which for some reason had been divided in two. This townland has
I seven subdenominations, namely — Shraanamuck^ the holm or river meadow
of the pigs ; Laharan mountain ; little Bweeng (watery bottom) ; Bweeng-
duff (black watery bottom); Groin Upper and Lower; and Parknareagh
(field of the greyish or streaked [cows]).
In the townland are two forts : one known as Lisaniska, the fort of
the water; and Lisaleen, fort of the flax. The former is surrounded by
three banks, planted with firs, and in the south side is an entrance to
several subterranean apartments. In Parknareagh is a precipice called
56 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHiEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
Cummemaslingah (confluence [of waters] of the slates), which yielded
slates. The spot where the river Gloungarriv (rough glen) crosses an
old road is called Aghateeacournaun (see under Glanminnane).
Lomhardstown, the northern portion of the ancient denomination of
Gortmolire (which see), named from the Lombard family.
Millford. Part of Kilvealaton was so called.
Mohereetiy little Moher. Dr. Joyce says that the ruin of a caher or
rath is often designated in Munster by the term mothar, and sometimes
the word is applied to the ruin of any building. This townland appears
in the Down Survey as Moutterenn, and before 1641 it was the property
of Donough O'Callaghan, in whose family it continued, descending to
the late Lord Lismore.
Monanveely bog of the bald man. The townland is mountainous and
boggy.
Mottfnt Hillary. On this mountain is a heap or cairn known as
Money's Castle, erected by an eccentric man named Daddy Money, which
forms a conspicuous object.
Newberry. This townland formed part of Dromaneen, and takes its
name from the manor of Newberry, which was created in favour of
Richard Newman, on his purchase of Sir Richard Kyrle's estates^ and
passing patent for same in 1686. Family tradition says that the manor
was so called from the first battle of Newberry, in which some of the
Newmans were killed fighting for the royal cause. Here is the manor
mill, and Newberry Manor house stands near. On the Newman family
ceasing to reside in Dromaneen Castle, this became their principal seat,
remaining such until 1784, when Dromore House, which for some time
had been the residence of another branch of the family, was rebuilt. In
1762 Abraham Devonsher, Esq., High Sheriff of Co. Cork, was resident
here. The house was the scene of the murder of Colonel Charles Newman,
8th Dragoons, in November, 18 16. On hearing of the murder the late
Mr. Adam Newpian went over from Dromore, and accidentally observed
blood on the shirt of one of the grooms. The man appeared frightened,
but said a horse had reared and caused his nose to bleed. This was true,
but the man became so confused that suspicion was aroused, and he and
two others were arrested. One of them turned King's evidence, and
related, that knowing the Colonel had money in his room, they entered it
for the purpose of robbery, but the victim awaking and recognising the
party, they murdered him. The Parish Register has the following notice
of the occurrence : — **20 Nov., 1816, Lieut. -Colonel Charles L. Newman
murdered by his servants, James Lucy and Daniel Clifford, on Sunday
night, the i6th of this month; and the same James Lucy and Daniel
Clifford were executed for the same crime on Monday, 14th April, 1817.**
The Protestant church and burial ground of the parish of Kilshannig
are in this townland. In the year 161 5 the old church and chancel were
in ruins, but they must have been repaired, as in 1641 the Irish ruined
the then existing building. In 1682 a presentment for repair was made
to the Grand Jury, but the work cannot have been carried out then, as
in 1694, Bishop Palliser states that the church was to be rebuilt that year.
Even then the project would not appear to have been carried out, for it
was not until 17 19 that a new church capable of accommodating 340
persons was erected. This was partially rebuilt in 1742, when the spire
PARISH OF KILSHANNIG AND MANOR OF NEWBERRY. 57
was raised 19 feet higher, and a direction was given that it should be
exactly like that of Mourne Abbey. A * 'dragon" was presented for the
crowning of it. In the churchyard is an ancient tombstone with a floriated
cross. The chalice in use was presented in 1709. (For further par-
ticulars as to the church and the succession of clergy in the parish, see
Dr. Brady's Records of Cork, Cloyne and Ross^ vol. ii., 286).
By a codicil to his will dated 23 March, 1693, Richard Newman left
;^io towards the repair of Kilshannig church, **for the use of the
Protestants thereabouts." By his original will, made in 1692, he had
bequeathed ;^20 to the poor of Cork city, Dromaneen, Kilshannig, and
Ballymagooly.
The Vestry Book of Kilshannig commences in 1730, and Canon
Wilson, rector, has kindly supplied the following list of churchwardens
from that date to 1820 : —
1 73 1-2. John Farmer, Peter Curtin.
1733-6. John Bond, Cornelius Townsend.
1737. George Foott, jun. ; Felix Nolan.
1738. Anthony Stratford, William Thomas.
1739. Robert Bailer, William Thomas.
1740. Adam Newman, John Callaghan.
1 741-2. Adam Newman, Cornelius Townsend.
1743-4. Jobn Bond, John Lombard.
1745-52. Richard Newman, Adam Newman.
1753-5. Richard Newman, George Foott.
1756-^. Richard Newman, George Purdon.
1758-60. Thomas Flyn, Edward Foott.
1 76 1-5. Richard Boulster, John Baker.
1766. James Berry, William Baker.
1767-9, Joseph Boulster, David Ludgate.
1770. Joseph Boulster, James Berry.
1771-2. William Wolseley, Michael Courtenay.
1773. William Wolseley, Edward Foott.
1774-86. Adam Newman, Edward Foott.
1787. Richard Foott, B. Kingston.
1788-1820. Richard Foott, John Newman.
Nursetownheg, In O 'Donovan's time this townland was the property
of Sir Broderick Chinnery. Remanagh (middle mountain plain) is a sub-
denomination of it, and the stream which forms its northern boundary
bears the same name.
Nursetownmote, The ancient name of this townland is Ballibonartle,
the town of the nurse, and the place is better known among the people
by this name, which O 'Donovan says was always made use of in legal
proceedings. In the east of the townland is a standing stone, 10 feet
^^€r^> 3i ^®ct broad, and 3 feet thick. There are marks on it, said to be
the impressions of the head and hands of the giant who erected the
stone here. In the north end is a spring well, called Tubbereentonean-
odrough, or Tubbereenboneanodrough, the meaning of which name
O 'Donovan considers very doubtful, so much so, that he does not even
hazard a guess at it. Nursetown was in possession of the Seward family
58 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHifiOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
for generations, and through them it descended to that of White of Kil-
byrne.
Shanavoher^ old road. Half of this townland is mountain. There is
a place called Aughnaminnia in the south side. The Shanavoher river
rises in the Knockavothera bog, and it is called Glashabwee river from
the time it leaves Shanavoher until it falls into the Clyda in the townland
of Glashabwee.
Skarraghy shallow ford. This is one of the ancient denominations.
There is a fort near the centre, a cave in the south end, and two forts
in the north-east of this townland. A place near Glantane village, where
three roads meet, is known as Thullery. Toberkeagh, or the well of
the blind, is one to which people resort for the cure of sore eyes : hence
the name. The manor court for Newberry for the recovery of small
debts, etc., used to be held at Skarragh.
Smithfield. This formed part of the old denomination of Skarragh.
There are four forts scattered through this townland, and a pool known
as Kealbawn (white stream) is in the south end.
Woodfort, This is treated as a separate townland by O 'Donovan,
but is not so accounted in the list published by the Ordnance Survey
Department. It is in reality a subdenomination of Kilvealaton. The
most striking feature in it is a beautiful conical hill, thickly wooded, on
the summit of which is a fort; in this fort is an old building or turret,
called the gazebo, the summit of which commands a fine view, including
the high mountains of Waterford, Limerick, and Kerry. On the north
side of the line of road from Mallow to Newberry, in a handsome demesne,
stands Woodfort House, the front of which was slated. In 1750 it was
the residence of Simeon Marshal, surveyor-general of Munster. In his
will made in 1758 Mr. George Foott, of Millford, speaks of George
Purdon, Esq., as his tenant at Woodfort. From about 1765 to 1770 it
was occupied by Moore Disney, Esq., and from 1771-6 by Captain (after-
wards the Rev.) William Wolseley, grandfather of the p»^sent Field
Marshal Viscount Wolseley. He had been captain in the Royal Dragoons,
and served with distinction in the seven years* war. Subsequently taking
holy orders, he obtained the living of TuUycorbet, diocese of Clogher,
of which See John Garnet, his mother's brother-in-law, was bishop.
Captain Wolseley married Jane, daughter of Samuel Hulbert, of Corsham,
Wilts, by whom he had fifteen children, and died 1800. Their fifth son.
Garnet Joseph, was Lord Wolseley's father. Three of the children
were baptized in Kilshannig church. Canon Wilson informs me that his
neatly written signature, as churchwarden or vestryman, occurs several
times in the Vestry Book, and there is a record of his having, as Rev.
William Wolseley, officiated in the church on Advent Sunday, 1773.
Lord Wolseley has an interesting account of his grandfather in his recent
work. The Story of a Soldier's Life,
The Ware family had settled at Woodfort before 1790, as children
of Thomas and Jane Ware were baptized in Kilshannig church from about
that date.
Of the townlands in the parish of Kilshannig at the date of the Down
Survey (1657) the names of Carrigolane (which appears as Curwillane in a
Plant of i594> and also as Corigolane and Currigolane) and Rathcomane
PARISH OF KILSHANNIG AND MANOR OF NEWBERRY. 59
have disappeared. The former is now represented by Dromore and
part of Dromore Demesne, and the latter by Creggane, Gortavoher, Bally-
boneill, and Derrygowna. The townland of Rathcomane was still so called
in 1742.
From the Depositions of 1641 in Trinity College, it appears that Thomas
Wright and William Rouse, of Mallow, both described as British Pro-
testants, had farms at Carrigolane, which they must have held under
Donough O'Callaghan, the owner. Samuel Willies, mason, of Rath-
comane, deposed that he was robbed during the rebellion by Cahir
O'Callaghan, of Dromaneen, to the amount of ;^22 15s. od. ; and Edward
Harris, of the same place, husbandman, was despoiled by the O'Callaghans
of Gortroe, Skarroo, and Clonmeene, to the extent of ;^2i.
A Chancery Fiant (No. 5903) dated 2 December, 1594, contains a
surrender by Kallaghan O'Kallaghan of Dromaneen, Co. Cork, gent, of
the castle and lands of Dromynyne, 2 carucates, viz. : Kiletany, Kile-
vellen, Kilenowe, Dowkile, Kiltylane, Itallord, Knocknymonye, Kilebeg,
and Kilecolman; the castle and lands of Dromore, Kilepatricke, Carryg-
klynye, Knockycarig, Knockaney, Narroure, Shanyvyaloid, Byalahabwy,
and Curwillane, 2 carucates; the lands of Kileoughteragh, Dromhane,
Coarryneyvesye, 3 carucates; Kilevyaladae, i carucate; 3 carucates in
Scarrough, with the appurtenances, viz.. Quarter of Scarrowe, Kilenocke
Igowny, Brittas, Cameraure, and Kileverehurte ; 3 carucates in Gortvelier,
Lisvogholy, Lackygarragh, Kilitraugh, Kiloutragh, and Cappengyrryn ;
I carucate Kilgobnet; Gartrowe, 3 carucates, viz., Dromfise, Kilegortroe,
Kilechobenet, Gortnygaddery, and Kuolerysye; Rathcomane, 3 carucates,
viz., Trelair, Tynytonyh, Gornynagh, Kileaskyth, and Kilecurenane ;
I carucate in Kilcolman ; i carucate in Kilepeadir. There are other lands
enumerated in the surrender, but the foregoing appear to be such as
are in the parish of Kilshannig, and they are important as giving early
forms of the names.
On 23rd March, 1610, there is enrolled in the Patent Rolls of Chancery
a surrender by Conner O'Callaghan, of Clonmyne, Esq., Cahir O'Callaghan,
of Drominine, gent, and Brian McOwen, of Cloghda, gent, of all their
estates in County Cork, so that same might be granted to them by letters
patent. Among the lands are Currigoolane, Gortwoliere, Rathcoman,
the castle and lands of Drominine, i quarter Dromore, half quarter Kilbia-
lady and Dromehane, 2 plowlands Skarragh, and a quarter of land in
Gortroe. On i8th May in the same year King James the First granted
to Cahir O'Callaghan the castle, town and lands of Dromenine^ the castle,
town and lands of Dromore, Kilvialady, Dromeaghan, and Kilpeader,
with other lands, which were erected into the manor of Dromenyne, with
600 acres in demesne, and liberty to impark 150 acres, to hold courts, etc.,
at a rent of ;^i3 4s. od. Irish, besides royal composition and other duties ;
to be held for ever, as of the castle of Dublin, in free and common socage.
The O'Callaghans forfeited this estate in the rebellion of 1641, and
on 4th June, 19 Charles II. (1667), Sir Richard Kyrle<s) (or Kirle) had a
patent under the Act of Settlement for the castle, town and lands of
Dromaneene, Knocknomanny, and Killroe, 866 acres; Killvaledy, 328
acres; Killpadder, 169a. 2r. i6p. ; Scarrough, 502 acres profitable and
(5) In 1654 a Richard Kirle is found resident in Cahirconlish, Co. Limerick (Chan.
Enrolled Decrees).
6o CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
421 acres unprofitable; Owlert, loi acres; Drumaghane, 194 acres;
Gortroe and Drumfeife, 98 acres unprofitable and 61 la. or. 5p. profitable,
in the barony of Duhallow, together with Carrigenshoneene, 96 acres, in
the barony of Fermoy, at a total rent of £42 ^^^' lojd.
In 1672, Sir R. Kyrle is described as of Rahan, when he and Richard
Newman, of Cork, jointly leased Ballygarrett to Rev. John Norcott.
Some time after i682<6> Sir Richard Kyrle was appointed Landgrave
and Governor of Carolina, when he and his family went to reside there.
He died in 1684, during his term of office, and his wife, Mary, a sister
of John Jephson, of Mallow, died in Carolina immediately after him.
They had two sons, Robert and William, and several daughters. Prob-
ably the sons found it more to their interest to settle in the colony, and
resolved to dispose of the Cork property, which was purchased by Richard
Newman, and all trace of the Kyrles disappears from Cork. The wills of
Sir Richard and Lady Kyrle were proved on the same day — ^25th March,
1685, at a consistorial court for the diocese of Cloyne held at Blarney
Castle, and the latter's will was exhibited by her brother, John Jephson.
By patent dated 28 August, 1686, in consideration of ;^6o paid to
the crown, the following lands were granted to Richard Newman in
socage for ever : — The castle, town and lands of Dromaneene, Knock-
namana, and Killnoe (which name has disappeared), a plowland and half,
866 acres plantation measure; Killvellade (now Kilvealaton), a plowland
328 acres; Carrigoolane (now Dromore Demesne), alias Dromore wood,
a plowland and half, 417a. 2r. i6p. profitable and 167 acres unprofitable;
Kilpedder, a plowland, 169a. 2r. i6p. profitable and 144 acres unprofit-
able; Scarrow, a plowland and half, 502 acres profitable and 421 acres
unprofitable; Owlert (now Aldworth), half a plowland, loi acres profit-
able and 98 acres unprofitable; Gortroe and Dromfisse (now Drompeesh),
three plowlands, with all mountain and appurtenances, 1083 acres profit-
able and 528 acres unprofitable, all in the barony of Duhallow, and County
of Cork. In addition, Newman was granted the lands of Ballygarrett, a
plowland, 294 acres, and BallyelUs, a plowland, 200 acres, in the barony
of Fermoy. Also one large house in Christ Church Lane^ Cork, with
four messuages extending from the street to the old building called the
College; (7) another house and garden, extending from the street to the
city wall, to the north of Christ Church Street ; one back house and
garden to the city wall. The rent for all was £s^ 3s. S^d. The lands
were erected into the manor of Newberry, with liberty to keep a prison,
and appoint a seneschal, together with jurisdiction in actions of debt, etc.,
to the amount of ;^5. Power to impark 500 acres and to keep deer
was also granted.
Richard Newman, senior, of the city of Cork, to whom the grant was
made, is found in the Hearth Money Roll for 1665 as resident in Carriga-
line, in the South Liberties, where he paid los. yearly for five hearths, and
he died about January, 1694. He must then have reached a good age,
and he had certainly amassed a large fortune. He may possibly have
himself come from England, but many circumstances render it probable
(6) He is described in a Chancery Bill of that date as of Clonmeen.
(7) A chantry for support of eight priests had been founded in Christ Church, and Philip
Golde built a college of stone for them. See « Winddc's Cork."
PARISH OF KILSHANNIG AND MANOR OF NEWBERRY, 6 1
that he was son or even grandson of the original settler in this country.
Some of the family were certainly i;i Mallow in 1611, as in that year a
Gregory Newman held 300 acres at Dromsligagh, close to Mallow, from
the Jephsons.<8> William Newman was part owner of the mill meadow
there in the same year. Among the Depositions made after the rebellion
of 1641, now in Trinity College, is that of Adam Newman, of Blarney
(vol. ii., 93), who estimated losses on his farm there at £1^*7 . The signa-
ture is that of an old man.
Richard Newman married Sara, daughter of Richard French, of St.
Finbar's, a wealthy merchant. It is interesting to know that in his will
dated 1651, French states accurately the spot in England from which he
or his forefathers came ; he bequeathed to his son his dwelling house with
garden and * 'masse house" thereto belonging in the town of Halton,
parish of Ronckhorne (Runcorn on the Mersey), in the County of Chester.
Richard French's Deposition as to his losses by the rebellion, which he
estimates at ;^2,468 4s. iid. (an immense sum in those days), is in Trinity
Collie (vol. iii., 164). He mentions goods in his premises at Clonakilty,
and enumerates a large number of farms and leases held by him. His
son, Edmond, had a chamber in the south part of the cathedral of St.
Finbar's granted to him as a burial place.
Immediately after Richard Newman was granted the manor of New-
berry, the Revolution took place, and the country was in so unsettled
a condition that there was not much opportunity of settling or improving
his newly acquired property. He had entailed his real estate, as men-
tioned in his will, which descended to his eldest son, Richard Newman,
junior, who enjoyed his patrimony but a short time, as he died on 12th
June, 1694, within a few months of his father. Richard Newman the
second is buried in the old church of Mallow, in the south wall of which
is a tablet to his memory. He married Elizabeth, daughter of J. Dillon,
by whom he had a son^ Dillon Newman, who succeeded to the estates,
and who leased large portions of the property to Protestant settlers and
their families. The tradition is that he brought over yeomen from
England, and as the Newman family themselves werQ said to have come
originally from Wincanton, in Somersetshire, they were supposed to
have drawn their colonists from the same quarter. The late Mr. J. A. R.
Newman, of Dromore, paid a special visit to Wincanton in 1881, of
which he left a very interesting account, that, through the courtesy of the
present Mr. Newman, of Newberry Manor, I have had the privilege of
seeing. The rector and parish clerk informed Mr. Newman that there
were then resident in the vicinity as farmers or tradespeople, families bearing
the same names as those to whom Dillon Newman made leases at the
end of the seventeenth and beginning of the eighteenth centuries. This
was a mere conversational statement, and so far as Wincanton is con-
cerned, Mr. George Sweetman, author of a History of Wincanton, who
himself copied large portions of the ancient Parish Registers, can only
give a qualified assent to it. Two of the names do occur, but only in
more recent years, not at the period we are interested in. Taking the
most remarkable name among the settlers in Kilshannig — ^that of Bolster,
— the family is found in Cork, in the vicinity of Kilshannig, as settled In
1 64 1 on lands which they, no doubt, had occupied long before. Matthew
(3) Chancery Inquisition.
62
CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHiBOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
Boulster was at Curraghcunna, near Mitchelstown, at the time of the
rebellion, and fled to Mitchelstown Castle for refuge (Depositions T.C.D.,
iv., z*/). William Boulster, of Castleishen, near Charleville, was tenant
to Morris Fitzgerald, of Castleishen, in 1641, whom he deposes to have
seen in command of an Irish company at the battle of LiscarroU. ^9)
Boulster *s Deposition was made in 1653, when he states himself to be
fifty years of age. In 171 5 Alexander Boulster, of Castletown, diocese
of Cloyne, married Susanna Allin, of Clonmeen, so that the name is
found in three different districts in the county. Charles Newman, of
Kilshannig, son of Richard Newman (the first), by his will dated 24th
February, 1729, left ;^io ^ch to the following : — Elizabeth Waglin,
widow of Richard Waglin, senior; Thomas Bolster, John Witty, Robert
Witty, John Farmar, William Farmar, John Bolster, George Bolster,
John Carleton, and Sarah Waglin. These names, as well as others that
occur in the early part of the Parish Register, which begins in 1731, are
all found in the city and county before the Newman family began to
plant their property. The Footts, to whom leases of Kilvealaton were
made, were in Cork city and in Mallow early in the reign of Charles I.,
and probably long before. After the Desmond forfeitures in Elizabeth's
reign, under the Undertakers* scheme, numbers of families came over
from England, and were extensively settled throughout Cork. When
Richard and Dillon Newman were anxious to find suitable Protestant
yeomen, to till their lands, my impression (founded on a very full con-
sideration of the question) is, that they had not far to seek for them,
and that many eligible families of English descent and bearing English
names, round and about, were found ready to take leases and settle in
Kilshannig. It seems highly probable that in many instances Sir Richard
Kyrle's tenantry may have been taken over by the Newmans, as on his
sale of the property their leases would be subsisting. I have not suc-
ceeded in tracing the names of any of his yeomen.
In 1766 a return to Parliament was made throughout Ireland, showing
the names and numbers of the Protestant and Roman Catholic families
in each parish. That for Kilshannig, dated 21 April, 1766, in the hand-
writing of Rev. James Kingston, will be found among Parliamentary
Returns in the Public Record Office (Parcel 80, No. 1123).
The list of Roman Catholic families, which number 409, would be too
long to reproduce here.
The list of Protestants is as follows : —
I. Sir Robert Deane,Bt. Dromore
2. Matthew Mears
3. Edward Burn
4. Matthew Ring
5. John Witty
6. Thomas Courtney
7. Jeremiah Baker
8. John Baker
9. William Baker
10. James Baker
11. Baron Bak^r
do.
do.
do,
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
12. Robert Dor man
13. Robert Quick
14. Thomas Phaire
15. Rev. Dr. John Palliser
16. James Berry
17. Jacob Quick
18. George Foott
Dromore
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
Millford
19. Moore Disney, Esq. Woodfort
20. Robert Farmer do.
21. Framcis Swyny do.
22. John Russell Bettsborough
(9) For an account of this battle see Cork '* Journal,'* 1898, p. 83.
PARISH OF KILSHANNIG AND MANOR OF NEWBERRY.
63
*
23-
Henry Heggert Bettsborough
43-
24.
Richd. Newman, Esq.
Newberry
44.
1
25-
Edward Jefferies
do.
45-
26.
William Thomas
do.
46.
*
• 27.
David Ring
Drumineen
47-
*
28.
Walter Rice
do.
48.
29.
Lawrence Berry
do.
49.
30-
John Linch
do.
50-
»
31-
Robert Witty
do.
51-
•
32.
William Boulster
do.
52.
33-
Christopher Burton
do.
53.
34.
John Quick
do.
54-
35-
Terence McMahon
do.
55-
36.
Rev. James Kingston Kilpadder
56.
<
37.
John Batterbury
do.
57.
38.
William Batterbury
do.
58.
39-
Thomas Fly mi
do.
40.
Michael Donoghue
do.
59-
A
41-
Nicholas W^ter,Ballinebaniclen
60.
%
42.
William Walter
do.
61.
John Walter
Edward Foot
Richard Boulster
Joseph Boulster
John Boulster
George Boulster
Thomas Boulster
John Leroy
John Corbet
Thomas Pearde
Matthew Ludgate
John Farmer
Richard Baston
Edmond Malone
Carrigclyna
Aldworth
Scarragh
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
Glauntane
do.
do.
Charles Crowley
Rev. Edmond Lombard,
Lombardstown
James Linch do.
John Blackwell Glaunminane
John Boulster Cregane
Rev. Canon A. B. Wilson, rector of Kilshannig, has most kindly
furnished many extracts from the Vestry Book, dealing with subjects of
great interest, among which are the following. The maintenance of the
high roads in the parish was provided for by the appointment of way
wardens, under whom were overseers of highways. These latter were
paid officials, receiving £1 per annum each, and the Vestry decided
what roads were to be put in repair. Thus, at one held on 3 October,
1752, it was agreed that Richard Newman and James Lombard, Esqrs.,
should be way wardens for the ensuing year. The road to be repaired by the
former was to be that leading from the Paddock wall at Newberry, west-
ward to the house of John Farmer the younger. That to be repaired by
the latter, the road leading from the brook of Gortroe to the western
bounds of the parish.
The work on the roads was supplied by the direct labour of the inhabi-
tants of the plowlands more immediately benefited. Thus, on 5th October,
^757> 't was agreed that the road to be repaired by George Purdon was
to be that leading from Woodfort to the parish church, and that the six
days statute labour of the inhabitants of the ten and half eastern plow-
lands subject thereto be applied to the repair of said road, as also to
the high road between Mr. George Foott's two dairy houses. Similar
statute labour for the ten and half western plowlands was to be applied
by Rev. James Hingston to the road leading to the western bounds of
the parish, through the north part of Gortroe wood.
In 1753 a rate was levied, among other purposes, for paying ten
shillings for three iron bars bought at the **cant" at Quartertown for
repairing the highways.
Pauperism was dealt with by licensing certain beggars,^'®) who wore a
special badge, and by appointing whip beggars to drive unlicensed ones
from the parish. 13 May, 1745, at a meeting of the inhabitants of the
(10) For extracts from the Vestry Book on this snbject see Cork *' Jonmal," 1898, p. 318.
64 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCH^OLOGICAL SOCIETY.
parish of Kilshannig certain persons, and none others, were allowed
to be the common beggars of this parish, and to each of them a brass
badge, marked "Parish of Kilshannlg," was given, to be publicly
worn by said beggars, to distinguish them from all foreign beggars ; each
and every of the said beggars being first sworn to wear said badge, and
not to lend or give it to any other beggar, and to deliver up said badge
next Harvest to the minister and churchwardens, or sooner if required.
In 1746 appears the item, "Paid Prosser for the Badges, i8s. 4d."
In common with other parishes, Kilshannig had its stocks and whip-
ping post, as on Easter Monday, 1760, £3 were ordered to be raised
for them and other things, and they were to be erected on one side of
the churchyard gate. The ironwork cost 4s. 4d.
In an extensive parish like Kilshannlg many of the farmers \rith,
probably, their wives behind them, were accustomed to ride to church,
and in 1753 provision was made by the Vestry for "repairing the horse
steps."
Kilshannlg bore its part in the great Volunteer movement, and among
the infantry for the County Cork figured the "Loyal Newberry Musque-
teers," enrolled in 1777. The regiment consisted of two companies —
one grenadier and one light, and its uniform was scarlet faced with
black. In 1782 the officers were — Colonel, Adam Newman ; Major, John
Newman; Captains, Richard and George Foott; Lieutenants, James and
Edmund Lombard; Chaplain, Rev. Henry Newman.
Sherkin Island.
By JAMES M. BURKE, B.A., B.L.
|NHE island of Sherkin or Inisherkin lies in Baltimore Bay,
1 about a mile from the little town of Baltimore. Dr. Smith
1 derives the name from St. Ciaran, but this cannot be
^ correct. The Four Masters write the name properly Jfllf
?[ 9|ic4|l)- ?lpc4D is a diminutive of Ajic or Ofic (Latin porcus),
^ which means a pig. Sherkin therefore signifies hog's
*■ island (cf. Mucinis : Ork-neys). Sl)ic4in is also a proper
name.
The island forms part of the ancient district of Collymore. The terri-
tories of the O'Driscolls were divided into (a) Collymore, (b) CoUybeg,
(c) Glenbarrahane. Colleymore, which belonged to the senior branch,
contained "three score and five ploughlands, that is to say, in the mayne
lande, thirtie nyne ploughlands and a half ; in the illande of Downygall,
fower ploughlands; in the illande of Innyshirckane, nyne ploughlands;
the illande of Cape Clyre, twelve ploughlands; the illande of Innyspeke,
half a ploughland. The whole iUandes of Innyshirckane and Clyre are
within the Lordship or Country of Collymore, and all Innyshirckane is
within the parish of Tullagh." {2) CoUybeg was practically coterminous
with the present parish of Aughadown ; and Glenbarrahane is Castlehaveo.
SHERKIN ISLAND. 65
Bishop O'Brien says Colly (Cotlttije) is a ''cwrupt contraction" of
Co]tC4 Uij'be. The name is, however, very old. The Annals of Innis fallen
record the death of Auliff 0*Driscoll, Prince of Cothluighe in 1154. a.d.
Again, it is chronicled im 12 15 that Sleibhne built the castle of Dun-na-
nGall in Cothluige. The Royal Visitation Book of 161 5 says Ross diocese
was divided into four rural deaneries, viz., Timoleague, Rosse, Collybeg
and Collymore, and Bere. Dr. Smith writes the word as Cothilia;
O 'Sullivan Bere writes it Cothlia. Sherkin is in the diocese of Ross.
From the O'Driscoll Inquisition of 1608 we learn that **the Lord Bysshopp
of Ros-Carrbry is to have out of Kilmune, Sleave-More, Fan Cronan,
Roscurryne, Ryndrolane, and Forryry, thirty-six shillinges sterling, yearly,
paiable by even portions, viz., Michaelmas and Easter."
The chief antiquities of Sherkin Island are — ^a ruined monastery, a
crumbling castle, some souterrains, and a cromleach.
The Friary of Inisherkin. The Annals of the Four Masters record,
1460, A.D., that **A monastery was founded for Franciscans in Inis-Arcain,
in Muinster^ in the diocese of Cork (sic). Inis-Arcain is in O'Driscoll 's
country." Ware writes: ** Friary of Inis-hircan, an island in the sea
in the bay of Baltimore, two miles distant from the shore ; Convent of the
Observantists, founded in 1460 by Florence O'Driscoll, or in 1470 by Dermot
O'Driscoll, as some say. The coast abounds in pilchards, which are from
thence in great numbers transferred to Spain. " Dr. Smith writes : ** About
a mile to the south (of the Fort) are the remains of an ancient abbey
founded anno 1460 by Florence O'Driscoll. The steeple is a low square
tower, from whence runs the nave of the church, wiUi an arcaded wing
to the south. Some parts of the building are roofed, having been made
use of for fish houses when the pilchards frequented the coast."
The death of the founder of Sherkin Abbey is thus recorded by the
Four Masters. **A.D. 1472. O' h-£idirsceoil Mor (Finghin, son of Mac
Con, son of Mac Con, son of Finghin, son of Donnachadh God) died in
his own house after having performed the pilgrimage of St. James." The
Four Masters likewise record the demise of his successor: **A.D. 1508.
O* h-£idirsceoil (Conchobhar, son of Finghip) died. He was a brave and
protecting man, the friend of the religious orders and the learned." On
the ground floor of the abbey, near the east end, is a corner-stone bearing
the figures of 1460, which evidently commemorates the year of its erection.
Very little is known of its history. Great rivalry prevailed i^ the sixteenth
century between the people of Baltimore and Waterford, with the result
that they frequently made raids on each other. On the 20th February
(old style), 1537, the O'Driscolls seized and plundered a Waterford ship
that had been driven into Baltimore by stress of weather. To avenge
this piracy, an expedition set out from Waterford. The Waterford raiders
landed in Sherkin, captured the castle of Dunnalong, and "kept it for five
days, during which they ravaged the island and destroyed all its villages
and all the Franciscan friary, which stood near the castle, and the mill
of the same."
Among the Fiants of Queen Elizabeth we find "No. 3203 (anno 1577),
Lease to James Heydon of the site of the house of the begging friars of
Baltymore, called the Monastery of Inishircan^ with two gardens and the
adjoining close for 21 years." No. 5539 (anno 1590), Reversionary lease
of same to John Bealing for 40 years."
66 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY,
The O'Driscolls, it is safe to assume, had their burial-places after
1460 in Sherkin Abbey. This assumption is confirmed by the following
passage In the poem of Donnchadh O Fuathail on the death of young Con
O'Driscoll (grandson of Sir Finghin),who was an ensign in the Spanish navy,
and was killed in 1619 in an engagement between the Turks and the
Spaniards : —
**Far away from the heroes,
Their friends of trust,
Far from the mould of Inis-Arcain,
Are young Conchobhar and his ifather. ' *
In the Will of Richard Fitz James Copinger, dated April i6th, 1651, we
read: **I doe bequeathe my soule to Almightie God and my bodie to be
buried in the Abbey of Inisherkine. ** This Richard Copinger was brother
of Sir Walter Copinger. He married a daughter of Fineen Carragh
O'Driscoll. We learn from an Inquisition taken at Bandon, nth October,
fifth Charles I., that this Fineem had possession of the castle of Duna-
long (see Celtic Miscellany^ pp. 111-112).
The abbey is still in a fairly good state of preservation. The ruins
consist of a nave, choir, tower, south transept, and remains of the domestic
buildings. On the top of the tower is a rude kind of stone seat, popu-
larly called **The Wishing Chair." The staircase is spiral, made of
freestone, and is well preserved, though a few odd steps are broken.
When you reach the top of the staircase you must walk round the roof-
less walls in order to reach the Wishing Chair; and when you get to it
you must give utterance to three wishes which, if popular tradition be
true, are sure to be fulfilled.
To the north of the abbey is the castle of Out) i)4 lotjs (i.e., fort of
the ships). It belonged to the O'DriscoUs. When last I visited the
island I found the castle. turned into a domicile for pigs. After the battle
of Kinsale Dunalong Castle was surrendered to Capt. Harvey by the
Spaniards, to whom Sir Finghin O'Driscoll had handed it over.
The Pacata Hibernia gives a detailed account of a politico-philosophical
conversation that took place in Sherkin between Capt. Harvey and the
Spanish Veador after the surrender.
Place Names in Sherkin Island.
Cloddagh, 014*046, the sea shore.
KUmoon. This has a rather interesting origin. The Genealogy of
Corca Laidhe says that **Flannan, son of Brandubh^ had three sons, viz.,
Conall, Uisne, and Cobchan. Mughain (daughter of Flannan) of Cjll-
Wu54ii)e was his daughter. Flannan (son of Cobchan) had two sons,
viz., Dubhduin and Folachtach. Folachtach had four sons, namely, Criche,
Conall, Dunghalach, and Aenghus.** Flaherty, in his Ogygia, says that
Dunghalach MacFolacthach was twenty-seventh Bishop of Ross. Now a
papal document of the year 1 199 mentions a parish Cell-mugana in the diocese
of Ross. It is so named between Glenbarrahane and Aughadown. The irre-
sistible inference therefore is that Kilmoon, C7ll-^C54|t)e, and Cell-mugana
are one and the same place. In this townland is a holy well called Cob4|i
1)4 54b4 (the smith's well). "
IKNISUERKIN ABBtV. SHERKIN ISLAND.
Il>i^„;„: jx
__^^^'r
"""V
^■lii^/.
SHAWN RU, THE RAPPAREE. 67
Barrack Point. Here the English garrison had their barracks in
Queen Anne's time. At that period Thomas Beecher was governor of
Sherkin, at a salary of ten shillings a day. Beecher for many years
represented Baltimore in Parliament. Beecher had been a strenuous
supporter of William of Orange, who rewarded his services at the Boyne
(where he acted as aide-de-camp) by the gift of a watch.
Wren Point. In an old Inquisition we find mention of Ryndrolane (in
Sherkin), i.e., Kmn A "oiieoU)!) (headland of the wren). This explains the
modern name. Wren Point.
Foilatrohane. TaHI a' v-fjiotAm, cliff of the streamlet.
Sleamore, i.e., Sl)4b ii)d]i, big hill. Here is a huge cromleach, the
covering stone of which has been dislodged.
Cooshrean. Cu4f is a cove or cave. Bfi64t) (af".) means rotten;
brean (noun) signifies a bream.
The Loo Rock. Here H.M.S. Loo was wrecked April 30th, 1697.
Illaunnamhaurnagh. 0|le4t) i)4 ii)b4)[iT)e4d (island of the limpets).
The Sherkin souterrains were discovered in 1869. They are ¥ully de-
scribed in Dr. O 'Donovan's Sketches in Carhery (pp. 37-39), and in the
Cork. Hist, and Arch. Journal, vol. ii., page 211 (by Canon Moore).
Shawn Rui the Rapparee : a Tradition of Macroom.
WENTY miles due west of Cork city, a stream called the
Sullane branches off from the river Lee, and two miles
further on another stream called the Toon branches off
from it also due west, through an extensive and apparently
impenetrable tract of morass, forest, and bog; whilst the
Lee itself stretches to the south and west through a narrow
but not deep valley, till some ten miles further on it merges
into Lough Allua, eight miles westward of which is Lake Gougaune Barra,
and beyond that the wild and romantic Pass of Keimaneigh.
The Sullane flows from north-west to its junction with the Lee, through
a low alluvial plain, which was in former times the bed of an ancient lake,
and about a mile or so from the Lee it stretches to the south-west in an
irregular line to a spot at whch the plain arrows to little more than the
breadth of the, stream, whence the latter spreads Jteouth-west and west through
a long, narrow valley, extending for miles towards the distant mountains,
and known as the Valley of the Sullane. For about a mile of the
western portion of the tract between its junction with the Lee and its
entrance into the valley of the Sullane, the latter river is bounded on
the south by a low narrow strip of land, which is bounded on the south
also by another strip of land, much higher, narrow at the east but com-
paratively wide at its western extremity. This latter strip is bounded
on the south by a steep and rather high ridge of land called Sleveen,
extending east and west, and for about two miles or so it separates the valley
of the Sullane from the valley of the Toon and the Lee to the south. Along
the southern base of this ridge, extending from the junction of the Lee
68 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCH^OLOGICAL SOCIETY.
and the Sullane, from twelve to fifteen miles parallel to the range, and
from four to five miles in breadth from north to south, lies a tract called
Gaeragh. This tract evidently formed the bed of a lake subsequently
silted up, but at the b^inning of the eighteenth century and for a long
time afterwards it was a wilder<ness of bog, alluvial islands^ deep pools,
tangled underwood, and large trees, and was one of the last refuges of
the wolf and the bittern in the South of Ireland. It was much subject
to floods, and for more than half the year was practically unpassable.
South of this Gaeragh morass lies the Kilmichael district, then a region
of wild, thinly-populated land, whose inhabitants had but little intercourse
with those to the north of the intervening niorass.
A few yards to the south of the point at which the northern plain
merges into the valley of the Sullane, and on the eastern side of the river,
upon the territory of the MacCarthys, was built in the early part of the
thirteenth century a castle, which from the magh or plain referred to,
and from the irr^ularity of the curve (croump) which it formed, was
called the castle of Magh Croump, nowadays Macroom. It was a strong
castle for its time, capable of protecting the country to the east from
the wild western tribes; and in the course of time a town bearing its
name arose under its protection, on the higher of the two plains to the
east of it. Macroom Castle was long one of the chief strongholds of the
MacCarthys, Lords of Muskerry, It was, according to Smith's Cork^
**bumed down in the wars of 1641, but Donogh MacCarthy, Earl of Clan-
carty, altered it into a more modern structure. It now (1750) consists
of two square towers, about sixty feet high, with a large modern building
between them.** It faces west, and commands a view of the wooded
park rising from the river to the left, the river itself, and the green
meadows and timbered lands on the right — r very pleasing though not
extensive view.
Amongst the English companies which supplied munitions of war
to William the Third during his campaign in Ireland was one called the
Hollow Blade or Hollow Sword Blade Company of London. This com-
pany had claims to a large amount on the Government, and when the
confiscated Irish lands were put up for sale at Chichester House, Dublin
(where now stands the Bank of Ireland), they purchased immense tracts,
**as a speculation for resale,*' and amongst them the castle and town of
Macroom and the lands adjoining, which had belonged to the MacCarthys
of Muskerry. The population of Ireland was scarcely more than a million
in 1707, and Macroom was then a small village of probably not more
than five or six hundred inhabitants, and consisted chiefly of a row of
thatched houses along the north side of the present Square, with a row
of inferior ones to the south of it. The eastern wall of the castle ex-
tended doubtless along the whole of the western side of the Square, and
in the middle of the Square there was a small thatched market-house.
There was little business then transacted in Macroom. It was completely
cut off on the south by the Gaeragh morass, and it was only from the
other sides that it had any trade with the country round.
While things were in this condition, an English settler named Hedges
purchased the castle and town of Macroom and a large tract of land
in the neighbourhood, and came to reside at the castle. Tradition speaks
of him as a man of large means and elevated social position, and though
The Sullang, near Mai
Macroou Castle.
SHAWN RU, THE RAPPAREE. 69
overbearing and intolerant of opposition, of high honour and a strong
sentiment of justice and humanity. He was not only owner of the castle
and estates, but he also held the office of Agent to the Hollow Sword Blade
Company, the undisposed portions of whose lands he had unrestricted
authority to sell, let or manage to the best of his ability, for their benefit.
When he came to Macroom, about 1704, other Protestant settlers had
no doubt preceded him in the locality, and acquired lands by purchase or
rental, whilst some of the former Catholic landowners had got back as
tenants of some of the lands that had been taken from them . . . Merci-
less though the Penal Laws were at this period, the executive was weak,
and they were not- always carried out with severity. They could only
be enforced by the military, and though there was occasionally a small
garrison at Macroom, they were unacquainted with the people and the
country, and consequently of little use. When an alleged criminal had
to be arrested the magistrates used to fall back on the yeomanry, formed
at Bandon in 1690, or on the military from the garrison at Cork. These
rarely succeeded in arresting the parties wanted ; but when on the search
for them they generally taught a lesson to evildoers by flogging suspected
criminals, burning their cabins, or otherwise maltreating them. Mr.
Hedges held the Commission of the Peace, and so did some of the other
settlers in the neighbourhood, but his was the ruling mind. He was
the law and the Government. He it seems strongly disliked persecution,
and no other magistrate, even if disposed to persecute^ would venture, to
do so in disregard of his views.
These new proprietors were regarded by the Irish as trespassers or
robbers; and they as a class hated and dreaded the native population.
With the old gentry the old harpers had virtually disappeared; but the
pipers then came to the front and began to fill a large space in the social
life of the people amongst whom they went much about and kept alive
the old airs of their predecessors. Another class that arose at this time
were the **Sthokas,*' men past middle life, who went about the country
gathering and retailing news. They gave intimation as to the wood or
glen where Mass was to be celebrated on Sunday. They negotiated
marriages. They told where farms were to be let or cattle sold, and were,
in fact, the chief if not the only means by which people in remote districts
could get any glimpse of what was going on in the world around them.
They were always welcome and freely accorded board and lodging, and some-
times payment for their services. But in time they deteriorated, and finally
disappeared as newspapers arose, and their dirge was sung in the lovely
air, **Sthok-an-Varagig," to which Moore has written the lines, "Thee
only Thee."
There also sprang up at this time the Shanahiagh, who was generally
an old man of comfortable position, but past his work, possessed of good
intellect, and able and willing to entertain the younger generation around
him with the knowledge of "things gone by.** Then there were also
the "Cosherers,** the sons of the dispossessed Irish Catholic landowners,
such as were unfit for military service abroad, and had to remain at
home and struggle for existence as best they could. These formed them-
selves into small batches of twos and threes, got packs of dogs and killed
game, and billeted themselves on the minor gentry or well-to-do farmers.
The Catholics were in sympathy with them and never refused to enter-
70 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCH^OLOGICAL SOCIETY.
tain them, and so long as they confined their visits to their co-religionists
there was little murmuring against them. But whonl they began to
extend their visits to the Protestants, who were politically hostile to them,
complaints against them were made to the Government, and an Act of
Parliament was put into force to suppress them.
Another institution of these times was the Rapparees, a name originally
given to the irregulars attached to King James the Second's army in
Ireland. The Rapparees of the early part of the eighteenth century
were an association founded ostensibly to prevent the unmerciful ad-
ministration of the penal laws; but though they often had no doubt con-
siderable influence in doing so, they were charged, probably not always
undeservedly, with acts of barbarous retaliation and grievous outrage, and
stringent Acts of Parliament were passed against them. It was supposed
that all the able-bodied peasants in the South of Ireland were enrolled in
this association, but as far as Muskerry was concerned there is no record
that they were any way troublesome.
Besides the above, there were numbers of men known as ** Hessians,"
who were foreigners, spoke no English or Irish, and were supposed to
be stragglers from the armies of Marlborough or Ginkel. The Hessians
used to stray about the southern parts of Munster during the first two
or three decades after the end of the Williamite war. They were sup-
posed to be in some way recognised by the garrisons within reach of
their excursions, and for some time were apparetnly allowed to go unmolested.
They were unarmed and inoffensive, and though unable to pay for what
they required, were accorded hospitality, were easily satisfied, and not
much complained of The population was still scanty, only the most fertile
lands were cultivated, food was plentiful, and hospitality inexpensive,
indiscriminate and universal. Cosherers and Hessians no doubt often
met at the same homestead, but there was room enough for all, and
though once enemies they were no longer hostile, but lived in peace and
in a like state of destitution.
In the early years of their wanderings the Hessians wore high military
boots which were much coveted by the peasantry, and led, it was said, to
their being in some instances robbed, ill-treated, and even murdered. It
seems that they were unable to make any troublesome resistance when
attacked, so that the slaying of a Hessian proved to be an easy achieve-
ment, so much so, that the story is told that when a native once went to
borrow a pair of Hessian boots from a neighbour, he was curtly told to
go and **kill a Hessian for himself." By the end of the second decade
of the eighteenth century the Hessians had become few and far between,
but there were two of them, popularly known as Tommy and Harry,
who used to wander about the country between Macroom and Bandon, in
which latter town they appear to have been well known. They were
advanced in life, very inoffensive, and when they called at the farmhouses
for refreshment it was never denied them.
Amongst the Protestant settlers at this period Mr. Hedges ruled abso-
lutely, and this of itself would be sufficient to keep the country free from
persecution, which he did not like, and besides the Rapparees were still
**in the air." There were but few men of his rank and influence in this
part of the country, and these lived far apart; but amongst them was
Mr. White, the owner of Bantry, and of large possessions in the surround-
SHAWN RU, THE RAPPAREE. J I
ing district, for whom he had great regard, and who visited him frequently
at Macroom.
There was also a Catholic gentleman named Edmond Barrett, residing
at Toames (Tomes), on the south side of Gaeragh, who held lands there
under the Hollow Sword Blade Company, with whom Mr. Hedges as
Agent was necessarily acquainted, and had no doubt as intimate relations
as a Protestant could have with a Catholic at that time. Edmond Barrett
held a large tract of land, had several sub-tenants under him, and occu-
pied as high a social position as the law then allowed a Catholic to enjoy.
He was one of the two sureties required by the Act of Parliament for
the good behaviour of the Parish Priest, and was doubtless the chief,
and as far as possible the protector, of the Catholic population around him.
In the year 1689 John Barrett, one of the M.P's for Mallow, son of
Sir William Barrett, owner of the Barony of Barretts and of Castle
Farrett, five miles or so south of that town, raised a regiment of 400
men for King James, and became its colonel, and he acted as Governor
of Waterford for him. In the record of Barrett's Regiment in King
James* Army List, there appears a John Barrett as Captain and Edmond
Barrett as Ensign, who most probably were the sons of Colonel Barrett,
who had also a daughter, Ellen, who had recently married into a high Pro-
testant family. Colonel Barrett fought at Cork and at Limerick, and on the
latter city's surrender in 1691 his estate — ^the above-named Barony —
was confiscated, and he went to France, where Louis XIV. appointed
him Colonel of the Roy Jacques Regiment, at the head of which regiment
he was killed at the battle of Landen, near Brussels, in July, 1693.
Whether his sons emigrated with him or not is unrecorded, but the probability
amounting almost to certainty is that Edmond Barrett, the Ensign, was
no other than the Edmond Barrett of Tomes above-mentioned.
When in 1678 Catholics were prohibited from residing in garrison
towns, Catholic tradesmen began to take small farms in the country dis-
tricts, and worked at their trades whilst cultivating their holdings. In
this way amongst the tenants of Edmond Barrett was a man named
Jeremiah Murphy, a shoemaker, who made a primitive kind of shoe called
a **lieb,'* from which circumstance he was known as Jerry Lieb. He is
said to have been an industrious, thriving man, and much respected in
the locality. Residing at the same time at a place called Terelton, about
four miles south of Tomes, in the Bandon direction, was a relative of
Jerry Lieb's, a man named John Murphy, a carpenter by trade, who from
his red hair was known as Shawn Ru, or John of the Red Head. For
some years in his early manhood Shawn Ru it appears was **away,"
probably in the Irish Brigade, but he returned to his native place some
six or eight years before the end of the first quarter of the eighteenth
century and got married to the handsomest girl in the neighbourhood.
He was clever at his trade, and as was then customary, worked a
good deal at the houses of the farmers and settlers near his residence.
He was reputed to be very deeply involved with the Rapparees, and in
spite of the law he kept a gun, a long, light, highly-finished foreign
piece. He was an unerring shot and said to be also an irrepressible
poacher. About forty years of age at this time, he was tall and slight,
and possessed of wonderful strength and agility. As a known or reputed
Rapparee he was an outlaw, and as a poacher hated by the sporting
72 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCELfiOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
members of the Protestant gentry. He was liable to be at any moment
brought in "dead or alive"; and in order to keep out of the meshes of the
law he made in the recesses of Gaeragh a retreat known only to himself
and his dog, and frequently took refuge these.
On these occasions when in want of food he sent his dog with a small
basket tied under his neck into Macroom, where certain shopkeepers who
knew what was wanted put into it the necessary supplies. The dog
would then trot away towards Gaeragh, and on some occasions when
followed by persons who seemed anxious to **bring in" Shawn Ru he led
his trackers into quagmires and other difficult places, and when he saw
them unable to pursue him any further gave them the slip and made his
way to his master. When the danger was past, Shawn Ru returned to
his cabin and worked at his trade.
Some time early in the century a Rapparee attack was made in the
south of the district between Macroom and Bandon; and Shawn Ru was
charged with having taken part in it. Mr. Hedges, it seems, was much
annoyed at its occurrence, and threatened that if he could find out the
parties who made it he would deal severely with them. The Bandon
yeomanry also took the matter up, and resolved to look after it. For a
year or so afterwards they no doubt made several expeditions to bring
in parties suspected of having been engaged in it, but it does not seem that
they succeeded in capturing any of them. In some way or other they
learned that Shawn Ru was at his cabin, and they decided on capturing
him. A detachment of them accordingly set out soon after midnight and
proceeded to his house. He was at home, and as they were arranging
themselves round his cabin his dog gave the alarm. Shawn Ru jumped
out of bed and saw that the place was surrounded. But he was equal
to the occasion. Quick as thought he stripped off his shirt, wrapped
it round a cart wheel that was at hand, and sent the wheel rolling down
the path which sloped northwards from the cabin. Thinking that the
fleeing object was the man they wanted, the yeomen discharged their fire-
arms at it, and gave chase, and before they found their mistake Shawn
Ru was away in safety. The yeomen returned to the cabin, and, as was
usual in such cases, "taught a lesson to Rapparees" by setting it on fire,
after which vindication of the law they faced about and marched home.
It so happened that whilst Shawn Ru was lying by watching the
movements of the yeomen. Tommy and Harry, the two Hessians above-
named, turned up at the house of his friend, Jerry Lieb. The family
were out, and the two visitors had the place to themselves. They took
as much food as they required, and for the first time in their history
did an act of unprovoked and inexcusable mischief. They poured a large
quantity of milk they found at hand into a bin of oatmeal which was in
the kitchen, and in this way rendered a quantity of milk and meal unfit
for use. Immediately afterwards they left the house and proceeded in the
direction of Bandon. Soon after the Hessians left Jerry Lieb and his
family returned, learned that they had been there, and were much irritated
at what they had done, and when later in the day Shawn Ru arrived
they, of course, told him of the event of the morning.
For some reason or other Shawn Ru had got it into his mind that
Mr. Hedges was in some way the cause of the yeomen's attempt to arrest
him, and he was in consequence in a high pitch of anger against him.
Lough Allua.
1
1
GouGAWHE Barra Lake and Island.
SHAWN RU, THE RAPPAREE. 73
Mr. Hedges kept a packof foxhounds, and at this time it was the custom for
the owners of such packs to send out the pups to be reared at the
houses of friendly well-to-do farmers on their estates. This was looked
upon as a sort of recognition by the landlord that the farmer had a
plentiful house and was willing to do him a favour, and the farmers,
almost without exception, willingly took charge of the pups and reared
them carefully. The cost of feeding one or two was unappreciable, and
the fact of having care of them always ensured from the landlord a
friendly salute, and many small favours, such as timber for door posts,
cart shafts, and the like, free of charge. The farmers often went to
see the hunt when it came off in their vicinity, watched with interest the
performances of the dogs that had been reared by them^ and felt proud
when they behaved creditably, so that the practice of rearing dogs in
this way tended towards establishing pleasant relations between landlord
and tenant throughout the country.
Mr. Hedges was well acquainted with Jerry Lieb, and had a high
opinion of him ; and he sent him two of the best bred and most promising
pups of the year to be reared at his place, where they were willingly
received and well taken care of. They were growing up splendidly, but
unfortunately whilst Shawn Ru was in the height of his anger they gam-
bolled into the kitchen, playing with one another. On seeing them he
exclaimed that "they would never hunt a fox for Hedges," and seizing
a hatchet that happened to be within reach he dashed their brains out.
Jerry Leib was much annoyed and embarrassed by this act of cruelty;
but he could not break off acquaintance with his relative, and he had only
to express his disapprobation of tlje act, and let the matter be forgotten
as best it might.
Tradition has it that immediately after killing the pups Shawn Ru
followed Tommy and Harry, the Hessians, and shot the two of them
dead. He may not have been really guilty in this case, as though Tommy
and Harry disappeared from the district on that day, there was no evidence
whatever that they had been killed.
Mr, Hedges had arrangements made by which he was sure to be
informed of every occurrence that took place within his district almost
as soon as it had happened, and he was apprised of the morning's pro-
ceedings at Shawn Ru's and Jerry Leib's without de'ay. He had had
nothing to do with the raid from Bandon, and was exceedingly irritated
at the killing of the pups, and probably threatened to pay off Shawn Ru
for his conduct. Shawn Ru, too, had his sources of information, and
as Mr. Hedges* anger was no trifle^ he thought no time should be lost in
trying to disarm him, and accordingly devised a plan for doing so.
Mr. White, it seems, was staying at the castle at this time, and as
they sat by an open window which looked out on the river, with Sandy
Hill on the right, and the Park on the left, and on the table between
them a tallow candle such as was then used, all of a sudden they saw a
flash, the report of a shot rang out from one of the clumps of trees in the
the parlc in front of them, and the candle sprang from its socket.
''Heavens!'* said Mr. White, "one of us has been fired at." "No,"
replied Mr. Hedges, "it was easier to hit a head than a candle, neither
of us was meant to be injured. It has come from that scoundrel, Shawn
Ru. He blames me for his being nearly arrested by the Bandon Yeomanry
74 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHiEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
this morning, and the ruffian, out of revenge, killed two of my best pups
to-day. He knows that I am aware of his doings, and now wants to
intimidate me from endeavouring to punish him. But it won't do. I
will have him brought in, or I will drive him out of the country before
the end of the week."
He then called for another candle,and turning again to Mr. White he said :
'*I am not to be intimidated by this fellow. I am too strong for him,
and will let him see that he cannot stay in this country if I resolve to
make it too hot for him." Then getting pen, ink and paper he wrote a
letter to the General Commanding the Forces at Cork, and sent it off
at once by a special messenger on horseback. **Now," said he to Mr.
White, **we shall have a strong force of military here to-morrow, and
will try to get the fellow *in* ; but even if we don't succeed, we shall give
him such a fright that he will either leave the country or else be afraid
for the rest of his life to do anything to annoy me."
The messenger had scarcely got halfway to Cork before Shawn Ru
was informed of his having been sent. He saw that his attempt at
intimidation had failed. He did not by any means underrate Mr. Hedges'
power and determination ; and he made up his mind to get out of danger
without any loss of time. The General at Cork got Mr. Hedges' letter
early next morning, and at once ordered a detachment of infantry — ^under
the command of an English lord, designated **the officer" in the local tra-
dition — to proceed at once to Macroom and make search for the outlaw,
and to continue under Mr. Hedges' directions as long as he considered
it advisable. This force set out at midday, and arrived at Macroom in
the evening. The soldiers were billeted about the town, and the officers
and some subalterns were entertained at the castle.
Shawn Ru made his arrangements on the same day, and whilst the
soldiers were marching from Cork he was leaving miles of morass, wood
and water between himself and his old hiding place. He struck out west
and went on to a Mrs. MacSweeney's house on the southern shore of
Lough Allua, near the north-eastern spur of Sheha mountain. Her
husband and sons were ''away," and she and her only daughter, a
charming girl, managed a large and wild piece of land here, and made
a comfortable living by it. They were well acquainted with Shawn Ru,
and when he came that way received him hospitably. The servants and
labourers in their employment were all warm friends of his, and one of
the men, anxious to make the evening pass pleasantly for Shawn Ru,
took him round the place and showed him everything he thought interest-
ing, and, amongst others, a fine young bull lately purchased from a
settler named Powel, who some few years before had come to reside at
the northern side of the lake nearly opposite, where he held a large tract
of land with some very superior cattle on it. He pointed to the purchase
with some pride, but said that he was a troublesome brute, that he had
swum across the lake two or three nights recently and gone back to the
other side, and that they had since to keep him housed at night with a
hurdle put up as a door to prevent his escaping again and putting them
to the trouble of bringing him back round the lake to his new home.
On the day after their arrival at Macroom the soldiers began their
search for Shawn Ru, but as the bird was flown their labour was in vain.
Shawn Ru was pretty well known, it seems, at Powel's place also; and
r
SHAWN RU, THE RAPPAREE. 75
whilst the soldiers were struggling after him in Gaeragh he took a
curragh (a boat made of canvas and wickerwork) and rowed across the
lake to Powers farm. The family consisted of Powel himself, a widower
about fifty, his mother, a hale and vigorous woman of seventy, and his son,
a young man about twe*ity-three years of age, and there were two
Englishmen whom Powel got over to assist him, with several Irishmen
and women for farm and house work. Mrs. Powel was a strong-minded
woman, an extreme Protestant^ and absolute ruler of the household of
her son, an industrious, intelligent man, who saw that by minding his
business and pulling with the people he could make a good thing of his
land. His son was a splendid young fellow, strong and agile, handsome,
generous and brave, and highly popular.
Fond of boating on the lake, he had landed on the southern shore
and made the acquaintance of Mrs. MacSweeney and her daughter, with
whom he fell in love. Whether the mother approved or not of his
advances to her daughter is not stated. The difference in their religion
was a terrible barrier. But however his suit was entertained at the south
side of the lake, it was vehemently condemned at the side opposite. Mrs.
Powel was furious at the idea, whilst the father knowing that a Protestant
who married a Roman Catholic would, according to the then existing law,
rank as a Papist, saw that such a marriage would be ruinous to his son's
prospects, and therefore set his face earnestly against it.
As the curragh approached the shore Shawn Ru was seen in it, and
it was immediately surmised that he was on his way to the house. Sus-
pecting that he had a message for her grandson from the girl at the
other side of the lake, Mrs. Powel got enraged against him. She knew
that he was an outlaw, and that there was a reward for his capture dead
or alive, and may possibly have heard that the soldiers were on his
track. She evidently wished him out of the way, and determined to
avail herself of the opportunity now offered. The house consisted of
three rooms on the ground floor, the centre one used as a kitchen and
the others as bedrooms. It faced southwards towards the lake, and
immediately in front of it was an open lawn about a hundred yards in
breadth, with an extensive tract of wood lying between it and the lake.
Powel and his son were absent; and when Mrs. Powel learned that
Shawn Ru was coming she called the two Englishmen, posted them at
the window of her son's bedroom to the right of the kitchen, supplied
them with loaded arms, and directed them to fire at Shawn Ru as soon
as he came within range.
They undertook to carry out their instructions. But Shawn Ru, instead
of coming up the lawn, came by a branch of the wood at its eastern edge,
and entered the house by the back door. Mrs. Powel and a servant girl
were the only persons in the kitchen when he came in ; and dissembling
her anger the former greeted him as usual, and asked him if he would
take any refreshment. He replied that he would feel obliged for a bowl
of milk, which she went and got for him. He then asked the servant to
warm it for him over the fire; but she gave him a significant look, and
said in Irish, *' Maw's mough lath veh boon, caugh foor augus theh."
This latter word **theh," has two meanings — hot when pronounced without
emphasis, and with emphasis run. In the first instance it would mean,
**If you wish to live long, drink cold and hot" ; in the second, **If you
76 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHiEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
wish to live long, drink cold and run." Theh was on this occasion pro-
nounced emphatically enough; and Shawn Ru took the hint it conveyed.
Seizing Mrs. Powel by the arms he put her on his back, bolted through
the front door, and ran down the lawn towards the wood. The English-
men were at their post, but seeing Mrs. Powel's position they refrained
from firing lest they should hit her, and when Shawn Ru got to the wood
he dropped his burden and got safely away. The old lady picked herself
up uninjured and made her way home incensed more than ever against
the Papist outlaw.
About this time it began to be whispered amongst the peasantry that
a frightful monster of old called Luiwee had come back once more, and
had been seen in the lake several nights recently. This Luiwee had in
times long past scourged all the surrounding country, but had, over a
thousand years ago, been driven away by the fair-haired St. Finbar.
The monster could live on land and water, and frequented both. In early
ages it inhabited the dark and gloomy valley called Coom Ru, west of
Gougaune, on which the sun shines only one day in the year, and having
possessed itself of the adjacent lake, it destroyed almost all the people in the
locality ; but when the young saint heard of it he determined to banish it. He
came and took up his residence on the island in the lake and soon sent
Luiwee away. But Luiwee did not go far. He found some short distance
to the east of him a beautiful lake, larger than Gougaune, and in it he
took up his abode. From this lake, since called Lough a Luiwee and
more recently Lough a Lua or AUua, he began anew to destroy the inhabi-
tants of the surrounding neighbourhood ; and again St. Finbar came to their
relief. On a certain Monday morning he arrived at the western end of the
lake. He soon found Luiwee, and hunted him backwards and forwards from
side to side of it, night and day all through the first five days and nights of
the week ; but on Saturday morning he had him in flight at the eastern end
of the lake, whence he drove him into the river which flows out of it at that
end, which still bears the monster's name. Along this river he chased
him till sunset, at which time he banished him over the tide-washed mud-
banks of Corrlagh, the deep salt sea, for ever more. And for fear he
might attempt to return to the lake the saint erected a beacon on the
limestone rock at the extreme end of the dry land that overlooks the
tide, and remained there himself to guard the valley till he was called to
his reward. Hard though it was to doubt the saint's power to keep
Luiwee in the depths of the ocean, it was now whispered in terror that
he had been seen several nights crossing the lake with flaming eyes and
lashing tail. The Powels, of course, heard of its reappearance, but
laughed at it as one of the natives' superstitions.
Whilst Shawn Ru was adventuring on the lake, the officers and
soldiers were searching Gaeragh unsuccessfully for him, and returned
wet and weary to Macroom. When at table with Mr. Hedges and Mr.
White the officer expressed great disappointment that a certain sergeant
in his force {popularly spoken of as '**the Hessian'*) did not even get a
glimpse at the outlaw even for a second, or catch sight of only a square
inch of him else he would to a certainty have put a bullet in him. Con-
tinuing to boast of this sergeant, he offered a wager that not one on the
Company's estates could compete successfully in shooting with him.
Mr. Hedges said there was, and narrating the particulars as to the recent
Pass of Keim-an-Eigh.
o
SHAWN RU, THE RAPPAREE. ^^
shot at the candle, and it was, strange to relate, arranged that a shooting
contest should take place on the Square of Macroom at one o'clock on
the following Saturday between the sergeant and Shawn Ru.
It was settled that the mark should be a crown (a five shilling) piece
set up close to the eastern wall of the castle yard, about midway between
the entrance to Castle Street and that of Sleveen Street, that the com-
petitors should fire from a spot in front of the market-house fifty paces
east of the mark, that a certain number of shots should be fired turn about
by each competitor, and that the one who hit the crown the greater
number of times should be declared the victor; but that in case of a tie
the sergeant should accept for one shot any further test of skill that
Shawn Ru might propose to him. The officer, it is said, offered to back
his man in thousands, but Mr. Hedges declined to go beyo^^d hundreds,
and the stakes were therefore kept within the bounds f moderation.
Mr. White was to act as judge, and everything promised o jo on satis-
factorily.
That Mr. Hedges after setting the law in motion against Shawn Ru
should now suspend it seems strange enough, but he could easily, doubt-
less, explain or justify his action, at least to his own satisfaction.
But whilst the shooting match at the castle was being arranged, a
very sad event was drawing nigh at Mr. PowePs place. It is hardly a
portion of Shawn Ru's history, but forms part of the tradition relating
to him. On the evening of the day of Shawn Ru's adventure with the
old dame young Powel seemed disappointed that he had not seen him.
He felt sure that he must have had some message to him from the other
side. He became restless, and resolved to row across the lake, which
he could do in about half an hour. He therefore left the house about
nine o'clock, and taking a curragh and pair of oars struck out from the
shore due south. About the time he left the young bull before referred
to became impatient of imprisonment, and driving his horns through
the hurdle that formed a restraining barrier lifted it on his head, went
off with it, plunged into the lake, and made straight for his old home.
Young Powel had his back to the curragh 's bow and not seeing the bull
they met half way. A violent collision took place, and Powel and the
bull, the supposed Luiwee, both sank and were drowned. Search was
made next day, the hurdle was seen projecting from the water, and this led
to the discovery of the melancholy occurrence, soon after which Mr. Powel
disposed of his land and stock, and with his mother left the place for good.
Though Mr. Hedges did not know wher^ Shawn Ru was at the time
he entered into arrangements for the shooting match, he was able to
send him intimation regarding it, and requesting him to be at the time
and place appointed, assuring him that if he should do so, and shoot for
him, he would not be in any way injured or molested, but would be allowed
to return to his home in safety. It speaks much for the reliance reposed
in Mr. Hedges' promises that Shawn Ru unhesitatingly consented to
comply with Mr. Hedges' request, and showed perfect confidence in what he
had undertaken. What Shawn Ru did during the two intervening days does
not transpire; but the report that there was to be a shooting match
between him and one of the Hessians (soldiers) spread far and wide, and
on the appointed day crowds of country people flocked into Macroom.
Mr. Hedges and his party and the gentry of the neighbourhood
jS CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHi€OLOGICAL SOCIETY.
assembled in front of the market-house, and the soldiers were drawn up
at the side opposite to that occupied by the peasantry. The mark was
set up, Shawn Ru and the Hessian were ready, and when the hour struck
the shooting began. The Hessian first fired and hit the target, Shawn
Ru fired next and hit also. How many shots they fired is not recorded ;
but it is certain that both did well, and that the contest resulted in **a
tie.'* It then devolved on Shawn Ru to propose a test of skill for the
deciding shot; and he suggested that a knife should be put up in place
of the previous mark, the back of the blade to be against the board
and the edge towards the competitors, and that whichever of then?
should split his bullet on it into two more nearly equal parts should be
held the victor. This test was agreed to, and the knife set up. The
Hessian fired first, but missed the edge of the blade. Shawn Ru
then took aim and fired. The knife was not stirred, but Mr. White
examined it, and found that the bullet had hit it on the edge and
had been divided into two equal part, which passed into the board,
one at each side of the blade. Shawn Ru had won.
Mr. Hedges looked round immediately after Mr. White's announce-
ment, but Shawn Ru was gone.
Mr. Hedges lived for several years after the great shooting match
at Macroom, and continued to rule Muskerry with prudence and justice.
He had a son, Robert, who married Miss Eyre, of Galway, and had one
son, Richard, and one daughter. Richard Hedges inherited the city of
Galway and large estates in Tipperary and Cork from his mother, and
took the name of Hedges-Eyre. He had one son, who died unmarried.
Mr. Robert Hedges' daughter married Mr. Simon White, of Bantry, the
lineal representative of his grandfather's friend, and their eldest son
became the first Earl of Bantry. His son, Richard, was the second Earl,
and was succeeded by his brother, William, the third Earl, who was
succeeded by his son, William, the fourth Earl, at whose death the title
became extinct, and the castle of Macroom passed to his sister, Lady
Olive, the wife of the Right Honourable Lord Ardilaun.
Edmond Barrett, of Toames, was succeeded by another Edmond
Barrett, called on account of his grey hair, Edmond Leigh, who married
Anne Power, by whom he had three sons, John, Edward, and Richard,
and a daughter, Anne. John, the eldest son, who was remarkable for
his great physical strength, left Toames, and about the year 1774 took a
large tract of land at Corrigbwee, now Carrigboy, in the parish of Kil-
michael, about five miles south of Toames, where he went to reside, and
purchased the fee simple of it early in the next century. He married
Honoria O'Callaghan, and had two sons, Edward and John, and four
daughters. Edward married Mary Anne, daughter of James Barry, of
Kilbarry, and John married Maria, daughter of Richard O 'Donovan, of
O 'Donovan's Cove. Edward had one son, John Edward, and one
daughter. John Edward Barrett married Catherine, daughter of William
O' Sullivan, of Carriganass, and was for thirty years a well-known magis-
trate and grand juror of the County Cork. He died in December, 1894,
sine prole, and was buried in St. Joseph's Cemetery, Cork. John, his
uncle, had three sons and one daughter, of whom two sons still survive
and are Justices of the Peace for the County.
Jeremiah Murphy Leib reared a large family, and had a long and happy
PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY. 79
life, but soon after his death his sons left Toames to seek their fortunes
elsewhere.
Whether Mr. Hedges made any specific arrangement with Shawn Ru
at the time of the shooting match is left to conjecture; but Shawn Ru
settled down at his house at Terelton shortly afterwards, and the yeomen
looked after him no more. He visited Macroom whenever he though
proper, and no one ever attempted to molest him. Though married, as
already stated, he had no children. He lived long beyond the span usually
allotted to man, and died calmly in his bed.
The peasantry at the south side of Gaeragh long treasured his memory.
A song in the Irish language, each stanza of which ended with ** Maw's
mough lath veh boon, caugh foor augus theh,*' was composed in his
honour; and down to the time of the famine in '46 could be met many
people who spoke of him as a hero, and related almost with the pride of
a personal achievement Shawn Ru's victory over the Hessian by the shot
that made his fame.
An Old Inhabitant.
Proceedings of the Society.
^T a Meeting of the Society, held at their new premises in
the Cork Library, Pembroke Street, on 12th May last, the
following two papers were read. The chair was taken by the
President, Mr. Robert Day, F.S.A., who said it gave him
pleasure to meet the members of the Society, with those
of kindred societies, at their first evening's meeting in
this room : a room suitable not only for its convenience
and comfort, but that appeals to them because of the historical memories
which for more than a century have been associated with it. Here succeed-
ing generations of Cork's cultured citizens have met, conversed, studied,
and drawn from the book-shelves the earlier literature of the last century,
and of those that immediately preceded it. One of the many advantages
of such a meeting place is the opportunity it affords the members of
laying on the table objects of interest connected with the past history
of the country. Frequently things of value are found which through
ignorance are lost and unrecorded, although one of the fundamental aims
of our Society was to carefully describe all such and the places where
they were found. We do not consider that the farmers and farm labourers
in the South are less intelligent than their fellow-coun*rymen in the
North, and yet we rarely find one of the former who if a stone axe is turned
up will distinguish it from a common field stone, or think it worth pres-
erving; on the other hand, an Ulster peasant will preserve and retain it.
We must, however, remember that stone antiquities of this kind are
far more commonly met with in Ulster than in Munster^ and its peasantry
are familiar with the various types of stone implements and flint arrow-
heads which are frequently found when breaking up new ground in
Antrim, Down, and Derry. I have this evening brought a few ancient
bronze swords for your inspection; the elegance of form and workman-
8o CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHifiOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
ship displayed in these weapons make them peculiarly attractive to the
antiquary. Those found in Ireland are distinguished by a certain amount
of sameness, they differ only in length, weight and outline^ and in the
number of bronze rivets by which they were secured to the outer handle.
These consisted of either t>one or horn, but never of bronze. Had they
been made of the more enduring metal, similar to those from continental
Europe, they would have survived to the present, but no example of a
bronze-hafted sword has so far been found in Ireland, from which we
may assume that bronze was not used on the hand-part of the sword
in this country, although two daggers with hafted bronze handles are
noted and illustrated by the late W. F. Wakeman in the Kilkenny Archs-
olc^ical Society. <') In the same paper he also describes a bronze rapier,
hafted with whalebone, which was found in 1864 at Trillick, County
Tyrone, and mentions this bone-hafted sword of mine, which you will
find illustrated in the same journal for 1868-69. It was found in the
summer of 1865 by Robert Powell in Lisletrim bog, parish of Muckuol,
townland of Tullycoora, and barony of Cremorne, County Monaghan,
and measures 24^ inches in length, and in width of blade i| inches. It
is in the most perfect state of preservation, resembles the Iris leaf in
outline, and t^s sharp and uninjured edges from hilt to point. To
ascertain the character of the bone handle covering, I sent a small portion
to the late Professor R. Owen, who kindly sent me the following reply :
"British Museum,
6tb October, 1866.
Dear Sir — ^After careful comparison of the fragmentary specimen
herewith returned, I am able to assure you that it is bone, not ivory,
but of what species I cannot determine; it is mammalian, probably
cetacean. — ^Yours, etc.,
Richard Owen/*
In writing on this sword the Rev. James Graves quoted from Sir
William Wilde's catalogue of the R.I.A., pp. 454-460, and also from
HorcB FeraleSf the posthumous work of J. M. Kemble, neither of whom
had been able to cite a solitary instance of a similarly hafted sword;
therefore, he says, it might be fairly assumed that the sword was at
present unique ! And so, after the lapse of forty years since its finding,
it continues to be.
During a recent visit to Switzerland I had the good luck to acquire
a fine example, which had been found on the site of Lacustrine dwellings
in Lake Geneva. It is 27 inches long, and resembles a sword from
Augsburg described in Hotcb Ferales (plate 8, No. 3). The handle,
which is of bronze, has three slightly raised circular bands, and is entirely
covered with an engraved decoration composed of flowing scroll patterns,
with circles of lines and dots. The termination of the hilt is crescentric,
and is secured to the blade by two rivets ; the top is disc-shaped, with a
raised centre boss. There is a peculiarity in the way the lines of the
blade increase suddenly in number at 6J inches from the point; this
also occurs on the Augsburg sword. Bronze swords are of rare occur-
rence in Switzerland, so much so that the curator of the Lausanne Museum
(1) •* Jouinal," Vol. II., 1872-3, p. 196.
Bronze Lcaf-skaped Swords with Original Bone Handle.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY. 8 1
assured me that not more than fifteen perfect specimens were known
to exist in all the public museums and private collections in the country.
To further illustrate these swords I have brought two that were dredged
from the bed of Lough Erne, when deepening the lake at Portora, near
Enniskillen. Several implements and weapons of bronze wer^ recovered
at this ancient fording place, some of which, through the kindness of
my old friend, Thomas Plunkeett, Esq., I was able to acquire. These
have been already described in the Proceeedings of the Society of Anti'
quaries, London, and the Ulster Journal of Archceology. The summer
of 1887 was remarkable for its great dryness, when the waters of Lough
Erne were lower than in any other registered or recorded season. During
the continuance of the drought no less than five ancient dug-out boats
were found in various parts of the lake ; and the bed of the channel under
the West Bridge of Enniskillen, when laid bare, was literally paved with
stone implements. There is a wonderful resemblance to the bronze
sword of 3,000 years ago with the native hand-wrought, leaf-shaped, iron
sword of Central Africa when placed together. One is identical with the
other ill every particular except material.
I append a list of the various objects from the Lough Erne dredgings
which I have brought with me, thinking they would i«nterest you, as they
illustrate the early civilisation of Ireland during its successive, stone,
copper, and bronze periods.
1. Bronze leaf-shaped sword, 24 inches long, 4 rivet holes, perfect.
2. Bronze sword, length 174 inches, with one rivet and five vacant
spaces.
3. Portion of a bronze sword, comprising the handle and part of
blade, 8 inches.
4. Halberd of copper, with one rivet remaining out of three. Length
9I inches, width at base 2^ inches.
5. Bronze socketted celt with loop. Trans. Soc, Antiq,, vol. xi., p. 157.
6. Bronze winged palstave with deep stop, 7J inches.
7. Small flat celt of apparently unalloyed copper,
8. Bronze dagger, loj inches long, with 2 rivet spaces.
9. Bronze rapier, 13 inches long by 2 inches wide at the base, with
holes for 2 rivets.
10. Bronze javelin head, 4 inches long, with plain socket.
11. Bronze dagger, 6f inches long, with two rivets.
12. Portion of a remarkable bronze spear head, with decorated lozenge-
shaped socket. Trans. Soc. Antiq.^ vol. xi., p. 156.
13. Leaf-shaped socketted spear head of bronze, length 16^ inches.
14. Leaf -shaped bronze sword, Switzerland.
15. Iron sword of similar outline, from the Zambesi, of native work.
02 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCH^OLOGICAL SOCIETY
The Cork Library in 1801 and 1820.
By JAMES COLEMAN, Hon. Secretary.
riNG its beginning so far back as the year 1792, the Cork
subscription Library is now probably the oldest and the
Mily institution of its kind in Ireland. Founded at a time
vhen books were scarce and dear, and not easily attain-
ible ; when periodical literature (some odd quarterlies ex-
:epted) had hardly an existence, and illustrated magazines
vere undreamt of; and when even newspapers were few
and very high-priced, the Cork Library, with its commodious reading-
rooms and conveniently placed premises, has catered successfully, through-
out this long period, for the reading wants of many generations of Cork
men and women, as it still does, with additional advantages, not sur-
passed, and perhaps not equalled by those offered by any similar library
in the three kingdoms at the present day.
There can be little doubt that all that was brightest and best in the
intellect of Cork has been closely associated with the Cork Library ever
since its inception; and even a cursory account of its leading members
in bygone days would furnish an interesting and informing chapter on
the genius, talent, and love of literature for which Cork has always been
so remarkable.
What are left of the Minute Books of the Library, however, deal
chiefly with such matters as receipts and disbursements, relating mainly
to the moderate subscriptions which have kept it alive so long, ajid to the
expenses incurred in the purchase of books, &c., and the maintenance of
the building ; and unfortunately throw but little light on its past history.
Even its earlier catalogues, curious to say, have not been preserved for
reference. So that an adequate history of the Cork Library Society
would now be scarcely possible to produce, from lack of the requisite
materials.
To the kindness of an eminent and well-known Cork citizen, Mr.
Robert Day, F.S.A., President of the Cork Historical and Archaeological
Society, the writer is indebted for the loan of what is probably one of
the earliest of the Cork Library's Catalogues now extant, and from this
we are able to glean some information as to its status in 1801, when the
Library was only in the ninth year of its existence.
This Catalogue forms a volume of 31 pages in small octavo, inter-
leaved, and has for title-page, "Catalc^ue of Books of the Cork Library
Society, to which is prefixed a List of Subscribers. Cork : Printed by
John Connor, Grand Parade. 1801." In this year (1801) the Subscri-
bers, according to the Catalogue, consisted of eight Life Members, viz.,
Sir R. Kellett, Baronet; Doctor J. Callanan and Messrs. S. McCall,
J. Anderson, N. Mahon, R. Pike, A. Lane, and W. Trant; and of 143
ordinary Members, viz. : The Right Rev. and Hon. the Lord Bishop of
Cork, the Hon. and Rev. Dean St. Lawrance, the Rev. Archdeacon
Thompson, the Rew. Wm. Lewis Beaufort, Francis Hewitt, Henry
THE CORK LIBRARY IN 180I AND 182O. 83
Campion, Edward Stopford, John Webb, John Fortescue, Boyle Davis,
Thomas Breviter, John O'Connor, M. J. Collins, Charles Beamish, T. D.
Hincks, and Dr. Sealy; Sir P. O'Connor, Sir F. Goold, Bart; Captains
Owen, C. Campbell, and H. Evans; Doctors Longfield, Daly, R. Walsh,
Bennett, Bell, Westrop, F. Walsh, Ronan, Hallaran, Johnson, Sharp,
Wood, Barry, Bullen, Sugrue, Haig, Besnard, Gibbings, Shea, Beamish,
and Meade; Robert Hartnett, Richard Fitton, William Lapp, John Therry,
Barristers-at-Law ; and Messrs. S. Wiley, J. Spearing, St. Leger Aldworth,
T. Rochfort, S. Richardson, Stackpole, Maxwell, H. Wallis, B. Bousfield, <*>
E. Penrose, R. Coppinger, A. Drinan, C. Carroll, M. Kelleher, M. Lynch,
H. Russell, R. Chinnery, J. Biggs, J. Ball, T. Woodward, Morris, W.
Gorman, W. Newenham, W. Lumley, J. McAuliflFe, McDonnell, R. Mac-
Carthy, F. Sullivan, J. Sugrue, P. E. Singer, J. Penrose, W. Crooke,
Leycester, J. Roche, J. Cotter, R. Burke, H. and J. Hewitt, W. Hart,
G. Byrne, Leslie, J. Callanan, H. Irwin, J. T. Bacon, Harding, J. Lecky,
W. Mahony, T. McCall, T. Harvey, R. Simmons, Mara, Scott, Farrell,
Briscoe, N. Cummings, Conron, J. Edgar, G. Goold, Clutterbuck, D.
Callaghan, Shannahan, sen. and E. Shannahan, jun. ; D. Waters, W.
Westrop, Cuthbert, sen. ; and J. T. and S. G. Cuthbert, J. D. Hill,
H. Gallway, C. Cole, J. King, H. St. Leger, E. Reeves, Pearse, T.
Jennings, W. Roche, R. Johnson, I. G, J. Church, A. Perrier, W. Wig-
more, P. Bury, Topp, Crawford, W. Thompson, E. Bullen, D. J. Moylan,
S. Barry, W. Harrington, H. Kellett, E. Allen, H. Hickman, and
M. Westrop. This gives a total of 151 members, of whom a considerable
number still figured as members in 1822, and whose families are still re-
presented in the city of Cork or in its neighbourhood.
The Committee for 1801 consisted of Dean St. Lawrance, President;
Dr. John Longfield, Vice-President; Doctors Charles Daly, Richard Walsh,
J. Bennett, T. Bell, and J. Callanan ; the Rev. Francis Hewitt, and W. L.
Beaufort; Sir R. Kellett; and Messrs. A. Lane, S. Wiley, J. Spearing,
St. Leger Aldworth, W. Trant, T. Rochfort, S. Richardson, P. Stacpole,
Maxwell, H. Wallis, B. Bousfield, N. Mahon, and E. Penrose. Dr. T.
Westrop was Treasurer, and the Secretaryship appears to have been
then vacant, if not filled also by Dr. Westrop.
The Library collection (as was to be expected) was not then very
extensive, the books as classified in the Catalogue, numbering as follows :
History, Antiquities, and Geography, 146; Biography, 38; Politicks and
Political Economy, 21; Morality, 13; Law, 4; Divinity, Sermons, &c., 7;
Sciences, Metaphysics, Arts, &c. , 62 ; Medicine, Surgery, Anatomy, and
Chemistry, 83 ; Natural History, Mineralogy, Botany, and Agriculture, 26 ;
Voyages and Travels, 84; Belles Lettres, Poetry, Criticism, and Miscel-
lany (sic), 108 ; Novels and Romances, 25 ; Dictionaries and Grammars, 10 ;
total items, 627.
Included in the above were the following Cork-printed works : Leland's
History of Ireland, 1775; Sir J. Temple's Civil Wars, 1766; O'Brien's
Sermons, 1798; Dean Mahomet's Travels in Bengal, 1794; Latocnaye's
(0 Benjamin Bousfield was a writer, and wrote a reply to Burke's Essay on the French
Revolution. Doubtless Lapp was of the family from which Lapp's Quay takes its name.
J. Church was the ancestor of Sir Richard and Dean Church, and W. Thompson was probably
the Communist,
$4 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHiEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
Rambles in Ireland, 1798; The Robbers, a Tragedy, 1797; The Children
of the Abbey, 1798; Derwent Priory, 1799; Gossip's Story, 1799; Julia
and Cecilia de Valmont, 1797; Midnight Bell, 1798.
Most of these Cork-printed it^ms were small i2mo. volumes. The
Dean Mahomet, named above, was a Hindoo who spent the latter part
of his life in Cork, where he died. Included in the Dictionaries was one
of the earliest Irish Dictionaries published, viz., McCurtin's, 1732, which
is still to be seen in the Library.
No periodicals or newspapers or other features whatever are specified
in the 1801 Catalogue of the Cork Library, which at that time was located
in Cook Street. It was only in 1819 or so that it first occupied its present
quarters.
Judging by the copy of the Cork Library Catalogue for 1820, kindly lent
the present writer by Mr. C. G. Doran, Queenstown, from his splendid
library, which is singularly rich in books and pamphlets relating to Cork,
the Cork Library had made very considerable progress in r^ard to
members and books since 1801.
This 1820 Catalc^fue, like its 1801 predecessor, not only enables us
to recall to recollection the members of that day, very many of whose
descendants happily are still living in Cork, and staunch supporters of
the Library ; and to see the number and nature of the books, &c. , it then
possessed; but, furthermore, to scrutinise the Rules then in force, which
while in some respects unaltered, have since been greatly modified, solely
with a view to popularise the institution and benefit the members, as
will readily be seen by comparing them with the Rules that now govern
the Library. The title-page of the Catalogue for 1820 runs thus : —
"Alphabetical Catak^^e of Books in the Cork Library, South Mall. To
which is prefixed the Rules of the Society. Coilc : Printed by John
Connor, Grand Parade, 1820."
It forms a large octavo volume of 114 pages, several of which are left
blank for the insertion of additional items; with 18 pages more of a
supplementary character, described further on in this paper. The Rules
of the Library occupy the first 8 pages, and are copied verbatim at the
close of this article. After the Rules come the names of the Members,
beginning with the Library Committee for 1820. These were the Rev.
Dr. Sealy Baldwin, President; Mr. Thomas Cuthbert, Vice-President;
Mr. George L. Maziere, Treasurer; Mr. T. W. Newsom, Secretary; the
Rew. W. J. Hort, Benjamin Swete, Joshua B. Ryder, T. R. England;
Doctors Woodroffe, Pitcaim, Baldwin, Tuckey, Banks, and Maginn, and
Messrs. W. Clear, Richard Lane, N. Mahon, John Russell, Henry Martin,
Michael Roberts, H. Bagnell, Joseph Webb, C. R. Dodd, Thomas Exham,
and F. McCarthy, Barrister, 25 in all. The following is a general list
of the Members, numbering 385 in all for the year 1820 : — Abraham Abell,
jun. ; John Abbott, Ephraim, Henry, and Roger Adams and Miss Adams,
Robert Aldridge, St. Leger Aid worth, James C. AUman, John Anderson,
William Ashe, J. D. Atkin, Geoige Atkins, Joseph and Lieutenant Austen,
Thomas Babington, John and Henry (jun.) Bagnell, Colonel Baker,
Herbert (M.D.) and Rev. Dr. Sealy Baldwin, and John Baldwin, jun. ;
John Ballard, jun. ; Samuel Banks, John Barrett, Garrett, M. J. and Dr.
John Milner Barry, Wm. Barter, Henry Bastable, George T., James,
Joshua, Joshua G., and Thomas Beale, William and William, jun.,
THE CORK LIBRARY IN 180I AND 182O. 85
Beamish, John and Joseph Bennett, and Robert Bennett, Barrister;
Julius C. Besnard, John Black, John A. Bolster, Denis Bresnan, Doctor
and Sir Thomas Brisbane, K.C.B. ; John Brumhall, Thomas Buckle, James
Bucknell, Joshua Bull, William (M.D.), Wm. jun., and John BuUen,
William Butler, and James Byrne, Patrick Thomas and W. K. Cahill,
Daniel Callaghan, jun. ; James and John Fennell, Eugene Finnerty, George
Fitt, John and Thomas Fitzgerald, Thomas Fitzgibbon, James and James
Boyce Foott, Rev. John Forsayeth, Rev. Thomas S. Forster, Rev. John-
Fortescue, and Denham Franklin; William Galway, Thomas and Colonel
Gibbings, Thomas Gill, Francis Goold, John Gould, John Gordon, Robert
and Samuel (Surgeon) Gosnell, J. S. Grant, Dr. W. S. Hallaran, Thomas
Halliday, Wm. Richard Hare, Joshua Hargrave, Simeon Hardy, William
Harris, Jones Harrison, Reuben, jun., and William W. Harvey, John and
Robert Hatton, John B. Haughton, Isaac Hawkes, David and Jonas
Haynes, William Hea, Henry J. Heard, LL D. ; Henry and Isaac Hewitt,
Wm. Hickie, James Higginson, Rev. Thomas Dix Hincks, Henry Hoare,
Wm. Hobbs, Patrick Hogan, Thomas Holt, Wm. Hopper, Rev. W.
Jillard Hort, Randal Howe, John and Stephen S. W. Howse, Russel P.
Hughes, Dr. Hume, John Humphreys, Emanuel and Samuel Hutchins,
and George Hynes, — Callanan, Dr. T. Cantellon, Thomas Cantrell, Col.
Cardew, James Carmichael, Robert and George Carr, James, Thomas and
John Carroll, John W. Casey, Sir William Chatterton, Bart. ; Wm.
Clear, Thomas Cocke, James C. Cogan, Dr. Boyle Coghlan, Edward and
William Colbum, Wm. Coldwell, Patrick and John Coleman, Sir N. C.
Colthurst, Bart., and J. B. Colthurst, Wm. Condon, Thomas and Anthony
Connell, Barrister ; Daniel Connellan, Wm, and Richard Coppinger, Hon.
and Right Rev. the Bishop of Cork and Ross, George and Richard Bailie,
John Cotter and John Cotter, jun. ; John Coyle, George William and
Wm., jun., Crawford, Edward James and W. Russell Creed, Surgeon
Cronin, Joseph L. Curtis, John and Thomas Cuthbert, Edward and Charles
Daly, M.D. ; Edmund Davey, Alexander and Jervis Deane, William
Deaves, James Denny, Charles R. Dodd, John Desmond, Rev. Morgan
Donovan, Richard Dowden, John and James Dowman, Nicholas Duns-
combe, and Henry Dwyer, John Edgar, Abraham Ellis, Edward and Rev.
Thomas R. England, Richard Evanson, Robert Evory, and Thomas
Exham, William Fagan, Henry K. Feath, Joshua Jackson, Jas. Jamieson,
Richard Jameson, Thomas Jennings, Retv. Henry Johnson, and John
Johnston, M.D. ; Rev. Wm. Keating, Rev. C. T. Keen, Sir Richard Kellett,
Bart.; Alderman Kellett, and Henry Kellett, Barrister; D. J. Kelly, John
Kemp, Joseph Kent, and Joseph King, Thomas Laffan, Abraham, Richard,
John, and Maurice Lane, John Lawson, Henry Leader, Daniel F. Leahy,
John Lecky, Rev. Richard J. Lee, John Leslie, William, Robert, and Wm.,
jun., Leycester, Wm. Litchfield, Joseph Love, Thomas Denis and Rev.
Denis Lyons, Mrs. McCall, Alexander, Charles, Michael, and Francis
McCarthy, Barristers; John, Eugene, and Jeremiah McCarthy, Eugene
and Joseph McSwiney, M.D. ; William Maginn, LL.D., and John Maginn,
George A., James H., and Nicholas Mahon, Martin Mahony, jun. ; Thomas
and Wm. Mannix, Jacob Mark, Joseph Marshall, Aylmer, Henry, Richard,
Robert, and Nicholas, jun., Martin, Wm. Martin (Paul Street), and Wm.
Martin (Glanmire), William Maxwell, Paul Maylor, Alderman George L.
Maziere, Rev. Robert Meara, John Mehegan, Lewis Minchin, Isaac
S6 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
Morgan, Capt. Morris, R.N. ; Robert Morrison, James and John Morton,
John C. Moylan, Daniel, Jeremiah, James Jeremiah Stack, Michael P.
and Nicholas Murphy, Right Rev. Dr. Murphy, and Wm. Murphy (Sur-
geon), Wm. and Hon. Lieut.-Col. Murray, Llewellyn Nash, Barrister;
Denis, Alderman John G. and Thomas Wilson Newsom, and George
Nicholson, James Henry and Lucius O'Brien, Cors. O'Callaghan, Barris-
ter; Cornelius O'Connor, Robert James O'Donoghue, John O'Driscoll,
Barrister; Keeffe O'Keeffe, Rev. T. R. O'Keeffe, Abraham E. M.D., and
Edward Orpen and John Orpin, Wm. Pennefather, William, Edward, and
Samuel N. Penrose, Thomas and Sir Anthony Perrier, Thomas Perrott,
Samuel R. Perry, Edward Phair, Joseph and Mrs. Pike, James Pitcaim,M.D. ;
and Charles and Wm. Porter, Dr. Joseph and John Read, James Rennie,
Rev. Walter Richards^ Samuel Richardson, Michael Roberts, Josiah
Robinett, Robert Robinson, James Roche, Banker; James Roche, Cook
Street, and Stephen Roche, Thomas Rochfort, sen. and jun. ; James
Rogers, John Russell, and Rev. Joshua Ryder, Patrick Scott, James
Sealy, M.D. ; George Seymour, M.D. ; and Thomas Sharp, M.D. ; Arch-
bald Shaw, Wm. J. Sheehy, Thomas Sheppard, Wright Sherlock, sen.
and jun.; Abraham Skeys, James W., William, and Godfrey Smith,
Andrew and Joseph Spearing, Thomas Steers, jun. ; James B. Stevens,
George and James Stevelly, Rev. James Stewart, Rev. Wm. and Joseph
Stopford, Albert Stubbeman, D. W. and Edmund Sullivan, and the Rev.
Benjamin Swete, Dr. Taylor, Captain and John Teulon, Dr. and James
Thompson, John Toleken, Hon. Charles Tonson, John and Richard Topp,
Horatio Townsend, Robert Traverse, Dr. Thomas and Thomas Tuckey,
jun. ; Henry Uppington, Bartholomew Verling, Nicholas Vincent, and
Miss Vowell, Rev. Thomas Waggett, Wm. Wakeham, Capt. William
Walker, John, George, and Henry Wallis,,'F.W., Rev. Maurice and Stephen R.
Walsh, Nathaniel Webb Ware, John Borlase Warren, Joseph and Wm. L.
Webb, Barrister; George Whately, Benjamin White, William and Miss
Whitney, John Woodroffe, M.D. ; George and James Young.
Out of the above list eight were Life Members, whose names appear
in Rule VHL ; and one was an Honorary Member, viz., James C. Cogan.
Whilst the number of lady members was at that time remarkably small,
it is no less curious to find such a large number of foreign surnames
amongst the members, such as Besnard, Perrier, Deaves, Perrott, Robinett,
Maziere, and Teulon, and also the prevalence of such Old Testament
names as Joshua, Reuben, Abraham, &c., amongst the leading citizens
of Cork at that time. That a goodly number of the above-named mem-
bers achieved more or less literary fame is evident when wq find amongst
them Dr. Maginn, James Roche, the Roscoe of Cork; the Rev. T. R.
England, the Rev. Dr. Hincks, John O'Driscoll, Joseph Spearing, William
Fagan, and Richard Dowden; Abraham Abell was a great archaeologist,
and Dr. Milner Barry was the founder of the Cork Fever Hospital, and
Gosnell, like Maginn, was a contributor to *' Blackwood's Magazine" and
other leading periodicals of that day.
The number of books in the Library in 1820 as enumerated alpha-
betically in the Catalogue was 2,013, including Histories, Bic^raphies,
Poetry, Travels, Scientific Works, &c., with but very few novels, a class
of literature by no means numerous in the early part of the last century.
Most of these books were printed in London, Dublin comes next,
THE CORK LIBRARY IN 180I AND 182O. 87
whilst some few items were printed at Edinburgh, Bath, Salisbury,
Glasgow, Oxford, Cambridge, Hull, York, Waterford, and Belfast. A
few of the foreign-printed works amongst them are of quite ancient date,
such as the following: Acastro de Morbis Mulierum, 4to., Hamburgh,
1628; Ammani praxis verenerum, 4to., Frankfort, 1690; Backstrom de
Scorbutom, 4to., Leyden, 1734; Barbetti Opera, Geneva, 1703; Backlivi
de Praxi Medica, Leyden, 1704; Bartholinus de insol partus humani,
Hague, 1740; Bauhini Theatrum Botanicum, 4to., Leyden, 1672; Bayle,
Dictionaire, folio, Rotterdam, 1697; Hasting's Insurrection of Benares,
Calcutta, 1782; Bibliotheque Raisonnee, i2mo., Amsterdam, 1733; His-
toria Plantarum, i2mo., Rome, 1727; Blanca de Anatomia, 8vo., Amster-
dam, 1687; Boerhaave, Praelectiones, 8vo., Gottingen, 1739; M. Burnet's
Voyage, i2mo., Rotterdam; 1688; Obras de Camoens, 8vo., Lisbon, 1779;
Castellis Lexicon Medicini, i2mo., Rotterdam, 165 1 ; Descartes* Principia
Philosophiae, i2mo., Amsterdam, 1672; Descartes* Philosophie, Rouen,
1698; Dictionnaire-Espagnole-Francoise-Italienne, 4to., Geneva, 1681 ;
Dioscorides Opera, folio, Cologne, 1529; Dremerbroecki Anatomia, 4to.,
Leyden, 1529; Feld de Peste, i2mo., Halle, 1681 ; Fabri Sapientia Univer-
salis, Frankfort, 1656; Galeni, Commen, i2mo., Leyden, 1671 ; Galeni de
Naturalibus Facultatibris, i2mo., Lyons, 1560; Gebri Opera, i2mo.,
Dantzig, 1562; Harderi Apiarum, 4to., Basil, 1687; Lexicon Graecum
Hebraicum, i2mo., Basil, 1535; Malpighi, Structure de Visceres, i2mo.,
Paris, 1683; Mauriceau Maladie des Femmes, 4to., Paris, 1683; Mingotii,
Opera, 4to., Paris, 1665; Muy's Chirurgie, i2mo., Leyden, 1683;
Needham, de Formato Faetu, i2mo., Amsterdam, 1668; and Plinii His-
toria Naturalis, folio, Basil, 1549. This last-named work, now probably
the oldest book to be found in the Library, is in the special charge of the
courteous and efficient Librarian, Miss Smith.
The list of Cork-printed books in the Cork Library in 1820 is not a
long one ; but will be read with considerable interest at the present time :
Bonaparte, a Poem, Cork, 1816; Considerations on the Utility of the
Casts in the Cork Society, 8vo., 1819; Cicely, or the Rose of Raby, i2mo.,
1805; Townsend's Statistical Survey of the County Cork, 8vo., 1814;
Edwards' Cork Remembrancer, 1792; Delacour's Poems, 1807; Dean
Mahomet's Travels in Bengal, 1794; Gossip's Story, 1799; Dr. Hallaran
on Insanity, 1810; Do., 2nd edition, 1818; Harmonica (Poems), 1818;
Leland's History of Ireland, 1775; Sir J. Temple's Civil Wars of 1641,
1766; Julia and Cecilia de Valmont, 1797; Latocnaye's Rambles, 1798;
Midnight Bell, a Romance, 1798; Munster Farmers' Magazine, N.D. ;
Murray's Power of Religion on the Mind, 1819; Parker on The Fisheries,
1816; Parker on the Improvement of the Poor in Ireland, 1816; O'Brien's
Sermons, 1798; Parker's Plea for the Poor, 1816; Peall's Veterinary
Observations, 1814; Plain Facts for Plain Men, 1816; R. T. Pope's Uni-
versity Prize Poem, 1817; Read on the Eye, 1813; Spearing's True State
of the Question, 1816; Proceedings of the Elections of Members for the
City of Cork, March, 1820 — 1820.
This last book, Latocnave's, and two other very rare Cork-printed
works, viz., **A Directory and Picture of Cork and its Environs, "by Will
West, Cork; Printed by and for the Editor, 1810, i2mo., 142 pp. ; and **The
Talents," a pamphlet to which an interesting little history is attached,
are in Miss Smith's special charge. It was presented to the Cork Library
88 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCH^OLOGICAL SOCIETY.
in 1876 by its author, the late Mr. Samuel Carter Hall, joint author with
his wife of **Ireland and its Scenery,'* and the founder of the ''Art
Journal." In this copy of "Tjhe Talents*' Mr. Hall ihas written as
follows: **I present this old and in one sense **rare" book to the Cork
Library. I wrote, printed, and published it fifty-six years ago, in 1820.
I wrote the whole of it, except the burlesque finale, which was written by
my friend, Edward Abbott, a young surgeon of great intellectual promise,
who died, I think, in 1822 or 1823. Of all the persons referred to in the
Poem, I believe, excepting myself, there is not one now living. Nay,
there are not many alive who can remember the Literary and Philosophical
Society, which held its meetings in Faulkner's Lane. The squib grew
out of the squabbles which arose between that Society and a rival Society
of a somewhat like kind. I was a member of the former, the more promi-^
nent of which were Dr. Porter and Richard Dowden, and some others
whose names I do not now recall. Foremost of the other Society were
Dr. Maginn, who lived wretchedly and died ignominiously at a village
near London (I sought in vain for his grave in the village churchyard,
and tried in vain to get up a subscription to mark it by a recording stone),
and Fagan, who afterwards represented the city in Parliament. I might
write a long story of the times and circumstances which gave rise to this
Poem; but although I intended to do so, I have not the heart to (do) it.
The book is a literary curiosity — that is the very best that can be said
about it. — S. C. Hall, F.S.A., Avenue Villa, Holland St., Kensington,
Nov. 9, 1876."
A printed reference in this little volume records that Mr. S. C. Hall,
then a white-headed man, visited Cork in 1876, and on Sunday, July 9th,
attended the Service in Christ Church, Cork, using the Prayer-Book he
had received as a prize, presented to him in this church in 181 2, by the
Association for Promoting the Knowledge and Practice of the Christian
Religion."
In his '^Retrospect of a Long Life," published in 1883, Mr. S. C. Hall
thus further refers to his authorship of **The Talents" : "I knew Maginn
in Cork, so far back as 1820. In that city at that time there were two
Societies each styling itself *literary and philosophic' The one in which
I was a raw recruit was assailed in 'Blackwood's Magazine' and in 'The
Gazette, ' surnamed the 'Literary,' then in the early years of its long life, by
Maginn and a clever surgeon named Gosnell. The attacked were ready
and willing to reply, and a paper war was the result. It did not convulse
Ireland; but I for one was not sorry to leave Cork, which I did in the
beginning of the year 182 1. I had made myself friends on the one hand
and enemies on the other by a jeu d 'esprit, a dramatic poem, entitled "The
Talents." It contained many hard hits in payment of hard hits, and
was very acceptable to the Society, which until then had the worst of it.
Of the thirty or forty persons named in that brochure, either to praise or
to blame, I am the only one now living. A few years ago I gave a copy
of this poetical folly, which bears the date 1820, to the Cork Library, and
with it some observations on its origin and some account of the persons
assailed or defended."
There are only about twenty names actually given in "The Talents."
These are Maginn, Gosnell, Porter, Bullen, Edgar, Martin, Fagan,
Kelleher, Dodd, Hort or Holt, Kellett, Herrick, M. J. Farrell, Curtis,
THE CORK LIBRARY IN 180I AND 182O. 89
McCarthy, Hewitt, Hayes, Dowden (?) and Hall himself, nearly all of
whom were, by the way, members of the Cork Library. Inserted in this
presentation copy are two poems by Mr. Hall, who also presented the
Library with another volume containing his photograph.
Following the List of Books, their titles, &c., in the 1820 Catalogue
is a list of '* Prohibited Books,'* by which is meant books not permitted
to be taken out of the Library, such as Dictionaries, Gazetteers, &c., of
the class now known as Books of Reference. These number 190 separate
works, and occupy six pages.
Next comes the Bequest of Dominick Lombard, Esq., of whom no
information is vouchsafed. The bequest comprised 127 works, mostly
Books of Travel, with some Novels and Magazines. These cover four
pages of the Catalogue. (A much later gift of this kind is the collection
of American-printed volumes, presented in 1877 by Judge Shea of New
York, which very properly occupies a case to itself in the Inner Room of
the Library). The Donations to the Library as specified in this 1820
Catalogfue do not impress one as over generous, considering it was then
twenty-eight years in existence, for they number only 46 items, which fill
less than two pages. The donors of these books were Sir Richard Kellett,
Mr. James Roche, Mr. J. Russell, Counsellor J. White, Rev. T. D.
Hincks, Doctor Coughlan, Mr. D. Galway, Mr. Swete, Mr. McNally,
Mr. Aikenhead, Dr. Longfield, Mr. J. Lauder, Dr. Meade, Mr. Thomas
Beale, Mr. W. F. Porter, Mr. J. H. O'Brien, Mr. T. White, Dr. McCarthy,
Dr. J. M. Barry, Rev. Thomas Thorp, Mr. J. Spearing, Major Torrens,
and Dr. Westrop, who presented the ancient volume of Pliny above-named.
Next follow two pages of an Addenda of 51 items, consisting of books
published in 1819 and 1820, and consequently then new works. The final
heading in the Cork Library Catalogue for 1820 is that of ** Missing
Books," numbering 129 items, extending over two pages, rather a large
number, remembering how stringent the Library rules were at that time.
At the end of this list it is stated that ** Several of the above Books are
missing many years, and others have been lent to members and not
returned or replaced when application has been made for them.'*
Rules of the Cork Library in 1820.
Rule I. Every idea of private emolument being excluded from the
design. We, the Members of the^Cork Library Society, do renounce and
disclaim all views to a personal property in it. But in order to secure
and protect the property of the Library, We do hereby vest it in the
President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Committee for the
time being in trust for the use and benefit of us, and our successors
Members of the Society, for the time being, and to no other use, intent,
or purpose whatsoever, which said Trustees for the time being, regularly
convened by public notification from the Secretary, and Thirteen at least
being present, are hereby empowered to act in all matters relative to the
security of the Library, and with the consent of the General Meeting of
the Members of the Society, increase or lower the Subscription and
Admission Money, or either, as circumstances may render advisable.
II. A General Meeting of the Members of the Society shall be held
annually on the first Monday in February for the purpose of electing a
go CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHiEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
President, Vice-President, Treasurer, and Secretary, for the ensuing year,
and seven new Members of the Committee in room of the seven Senior
Members, who go out by rotation, and who are ineligible as Committee-
Men for one year, and also to inspect the Treasurer's Accounts, and
receive a Rejxjrt of the state of the Library. Votes for the Election of
Officers and Committee are given by lists, countersigned by the Secretary.
The ballot is to commence at Twelve o'clock, and close at Two. Ladies
may vote by proxy at all general meetings, on signifying by letter to the
Secretary the names of the persons whom the^ wish to vote as proxies
for them.
II L A General Meeting of the Members of the Society shall be sum-
moned by the Secretary whenever deemed necessary by the Committee,
or whenever required, in writing, by twelve members; and all General
Meetings of the Society shall be summoned by advertisment in the Cork
newspapers.
IV. The ordinary business of the Society shall be conducted by a
President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Committee of Twenty-
one, who shall meet weekly, at Twelve o'clock, on Monday, and seven at
least being present shall ballot for Members, order Books, and transact
the business of the Society. Any Member of the Committee who does not
attend for six successive days of Meeting, unless in case of illness or
unavoidable absence from town, shall vacate his seat. On any vacancy
occurring in the Committee, by death or otherwise, the President, or in
his absence the Vice-President, shall on the day of Meeting subsequent to
such occurrence nominate two eligible Members of the Society, one of
whom shall be chosen by the majority of the Committee then present to
fill the vacancy. The Committee may alter the day and hour of Meeting,
but notice of a motion for such an alteration must be given in Committee a
week before it is discussed. Two Auditors, not Members of the Com-
mittee, shall be appointed annually by the Committee for the purpose of
auditing and examining the Treasurer's Accounts previous to the Annual
General Meeting.
V. In all cases of an equality of votes whether at the General Meet-
ings or in the Committee, the President, or in his absence the Member who
acts in the capacity of Chairman, shall have a casting vote; and during
the occasional absence of the Treasurer, the President is empowered to
issue orders for Books that have been approved by the Committee.
VI. The Treasurer is authorised to lodge the money as he receives
it from the Librarian in one of the Cork Banks at the risk of the Society,
and is empowered to allow a Commission for the Collection of the Annual
Subscriptions. No books shall be bought nor any money expended
without his intervention, but he shall give immediate orders for t>ooks,
directed to be purchased by the Committee, in the order they are given to
him, or acquaint them with the cause of delay.
VII. The Members of the Society are composed of Annual Subscribers
and Subscribers for Life, each enjoying the same privileges, with this
difference, that the former pay a subscription yearly, whereas the latter
pay a gross subscription at one time supposed to be equivalent thereto.
The present {1820) subscribers for life are John Anderson, Sir Richard
Kellett, Bart. ; Joseph Pike, Abraham Lane, Nicholas Mahon, Mary Pike,
Elizabeth McCall, and Samuel Randal Wiley.
THE CORK LIBRARY IN 180I AND 182O. 9 1
VIII. Each person wishing to become a Member of the Society must
be proposed by one Member and seconded by another, and after his and
their names have been exhibited for five days in a conspicuous part of
the Library, and the Subscription for the current year, together with the
Admission Money has been deposited with the Treasurer^ he shall be
balloted for in Committee, and if a majority of those then present appear
for him he shall be admitted, and on signing the Rules he shall be entitled
to all the privileges of a Member of the Society. The names of ladies,
however, are not to be posted up, but kept in a book provided for that
purpose.
IX. The Admission Money shall be Half a Guinea, and the Subscrip-
tion One Guinea Yearly, becoming due on the first day of January. But
persons admitted after the First Day of June shall only pay Half a Guinea
for Subscription for the remainder of that year, in addition to the
Admission Money.
X. No person shall take a Book from the Library or enjoy any other
privilege of a Member until the Subscription for the current year shall
have been paid. And every Annual Subscriber who shall not have paid
the Subscription within three months after it has become due shall cease
to be a Member of the Society, except he or she shall be absent from the
country at the time, in which case by paying up such person shall regain
all the priviTeges of a Member.
XI. Maps, Dictionaries, or such Books as are rather occasionally
consulted than read, shall not be taken from the Library, the Committee
specifying such Books. No Book shall be lent out of the Library during
Library hours, until a Month elapses after it has been received.
XII. The Library shall be open for Members of the Society to read
and send for Books from Eleven o'clock in the forenoon to Five o'clock
in the afternoon, from the First day of February to the First day of
November; and from Eleven o'clock in the forenoon to Four o'clock in
the afternoon from the First of November to the First day of February,
on every day, except Sundays, Christmas Day, and Good Friday.
XIII. Every Member of the Society is entitled to take out of the
Library any Book (permitted to circulate), for the time allowed by the
Committee, as specified in the Book itself, or on depositing the value of
said Book, or the set to which it belongs, or giving such other security as
the Trustees may think fit ; but the Librarian must on no account permit
any Member to take more than one Book from the Library, except in
some peculiar circumstances to be considered by the Committee, or in
consquence of an additional Subscription of Half a Guinea for an additional
book.
XIV. A book shall be kept to enter the names of Members applying
for any Book in circulation, which shall, on its return, be delivered to
them in the order of their applications. In case that no application be
made for the Book, the Member in whose possession it is may have it
re-entered in his name or her name ; but no Member must lend any Book
the property of the Library to any other person, under the penalty of
expulsion from the Society.
XV. A book shall be kept in which any Member may enter the title
of such books as he or she may wish to have purchased, which book shall
be regularly laid before the Committee.
92 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
XVI. Every Member of the Society is entitled to introduce any person
not a resident of the City or County of Cork into the Library, where he shall be
permitted to read for a period not exceeding One Week, the Member
introducing shall be accountable for the conduct of the Person introduced,
and a book shall be kept for the purpose of entering the names of both.
XVII. If any Book be lost or abused while lent to a Member of
the Society he or she shall replace the Book, or the set to which it
belongs, and if any Book be detained beyond the time allowed, the Member
detaining it shall be fined Ten Pence for every day such book is kept
over the time; if any Member appears to have taken out any Book of the
Library without the knowledge of the Librarian he shall be fined Five
Shillings. And if any Member refuse to pay a Fine imposed on him or
her or to make good any injury done to the Books through his or her negli-
gence, or break any Rule of the Society, he or she shall be expelled.
XVIII. The Librarian shall be chosen by the Members of the
Society at a General Meeting of them ; he must enter into securities, him-
self in ;^200 and Two Sureties of ;^5o each ; he is to act under the super-
intendence of the Committee, keep regular and exact accounts of the
issuing out and receiving in of the Books in the Account Books provided
for that purpose; he shall receive the subscriptions of such Members as
choose to pay at the Library, but shall hand over the Money immediately
to the Treasurer, and procure receipts from him for the money so paid,
and it shall be imperative on him to inform the Committee in writing of
any person offending against the Rules of the Society.
XIX. If any work shall have been submitted three times by three
different persons, and rejected, it shall be in the power of any Member
to submit such work to the next Annual General Meeting, and if two-
thirds of the Members present vote for the admission of the work it shall
be purchased.
XX. For the information and guidance of the Members of the Society
the Rules thereof shall be Printed and Published, Framed, and Glazed,
and conspicuously exhibited in the Library, and a correct copy thereof
signed by every Member shall, together with the passed accounts, be
deposited with the Treasurer for the time being, to be by him preserved
for reference to, or production of, in case of necessity, and a fair copy of
the Minutes of the proceedings of the General Meetings and of the Com-
mittees shall lie on the table of the Library.
XXI. Any change in the Rules of the Society or any new Rule can
be decided only at a General Meeting and such change or New Rule
must be proposed in writing at one General Meeting and be discussed
and decided on at a subsequent Meeting.
Additional Rules,
I. All Statistical Surveys are to be lent only on special application to
the Committee.
II. Plates detached from works and bound up separately are lent out
with the works on condition that each Subscriber getting them signs a
receipt for the same, promising to return them in the same order in which
he has received them.
It is hardly necessary to repeat that every condition of membership
of an overburdensome character contained in these 1820 Rules, together
DR. CAULFIELDS'S ANTIQUARIAN NOTES. 93
with the Entrance Fee, has long since been swept away ; but despite the
present-day facilities and the vast increase in the number of books in
the Library, which cannot number now less than 15,000, it is to be
regretted that the Members have not increased in like proportion.
This time-honoured Cork institution has recently (1905) passed through
a very perilous crisis owing to its having become necessary, at heavy
expense, to renew the roof and outer walls of the building. But thanks
to the zeal, liberality, and goodwill of the Members, especially in adopting
the scheme devised for its preservation by Mr. Guest Lane, the Library has
happily tided over this serious difficulty; and now bids fair to prolong its
honorable and meritorious career into the far future, for the use, pleasure,
and advantage of countless Cork citizens of literary, studious, or bopk-
loving tastes.
This year, too, its premises have? very appropriately become the
meeting-place of the Cork Field Club, the Cork Scientific Association, and
also of our own Society, the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society.
Dr. Caullielcl*s Antiquarian and Historical Notes.
NEWSPAPER LITERATURE OF CORK, AND THE MANNERS AND
CUSTOMS OF ITS INHABITANTS IN 1738.
Attired in the wig, powdered hair, three-cocked hat, huge waistcoat with lappets
and frills, long stockings, with silver or jewelled knee and shoe buckles of the
period, we may contemplate the respectable citizen of Corke sitting down to
read the ''editorial" in the "Medley," at home or in the coffee house in Castle
Street, at the sig^ of the "Grand Turk," about the year 1738.
The earliest Cork newspaper of which we have any satisfactory confirmation
was called "The Freeholder," a single quarto sheet, which circulated here in
17 16; while about the same time was another in small folio named the "Cork
Newsletter." The "Medley" appeared in 1738: "Corke, printed by George
Harrison at the corner of Meeting-house Lane, where Advertisements are taken
in for this paper, and all manner of printing work is carefully done. 1738."
It consisted of two sheets small folio ; and was published about every eight days.
On Friday, April 28th, i738,was given the London news of the i8th of that month.
At this time the citizens were kept in a constant state of alarm from press gangs
going about and seizing people indiscriminately ; but we are here assured that
there will be no further occasion for press warrants ; "for the English sailors are
so full of spirit and so eager to revenge the wrongs done their countrymen that
such numbers will enter voluntarily as will be sufficient to man a fleet to chastise
the haughty Spaniard for the utmost depredations on our merchants." Each
number of the "Medley" contained a leading article written in rather a satirical
strain, yet conceived in a philosophic spirit. These articles appear to be directed
at some shortcomings of the citizens — ^the exact import of which it is now
difficult to arrive at.
At this time Cork was only beginning to recover after the shock of the
siege and the consequent domestic troubles; many of the old inhabitants had
died and others never returned. Matters, however, were settling down. Dr.
Robert Clayton was then Protestant Bishop and Dr. Timothy MacCarthy
94 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
(Rabach) Roman Catholic Bishop of Cork ; both remarkable for Christian tolera-
tion. Everything seemed to promise a long reign of peace and prosperity.
The advertisements for the sale of lands seem to be so frequently inserted that
we may conjecture there was little demand at that time for property investments.
We have four or five hundred acres of land in the Little Island to be let on
an encouraging lease by Courthorpe Clayton, Esq., or Mrs. Penelope Purdon,
also a boat of 20 tons called the "Henry," a-nd some cows ; but there was no offer.
The editor was determined to keep the citizens in good humour to make
amends probably for his editorial castigations ; as in the number for April 24,
1738, appear the following advertisement: "Whereas, last Wednesday night a
square piece of paper filled with black specks was at an unlawful time for
reading cryed through this city, by certain unknown persons, who vehemently
bawled out, 'Arrah, who will buy, who will buy my serio-jocular Medley ho?'
Now this is to give notice to the Publick, that whoever will discover and bring
the Author, Inventor, Engineer, Forger, etc., of the above said mottled thing
to the undertakers of 'Harrison's * Medley,' shall be rewarded with this ' Medley*
once a week for seven years. In my next will be certainly published the Essay
on Kissing by Sally Sweetlips. "
This latter was duly fulfilled on April 28th. The Cork news of this date is
as follows : — ^Yesterday the Freemasons belonging to the Grantl Lodge of this
city went in solemn manner from Mr. Keeley's house to the Theatre, where
was acted, by desire of that Right Worshipful Society, Harry the 8th." "Last
week Captain Mercer seized a ship near Kinsale for carrying prohibited goods
to France."
On May 6th we have an editorial on ''Happiness, addressed to the Good
People of the City and Liberties of Corke." The Cork news items were: "On
Thursday last was se'nnight, a fire broke out in the night at Garryhadin, near
Blarney, which was occasioned by some Piggs rustling some firrs into the embers,
which set the thatch on fire ; three young women consumed." "Last Wednesday
and Thursday was fought the farmers' stag match between the county and city
gentlemen ; the latter lost ten battles out of twelve. "
On May 13th, we have an excellent article on Education. The writer of
this able and instructive article signed himself " Philanthropus. " Cork had
reason to be proud of so able a public instructor at so critical a time. May 19th.
A Mrs. May Drummond, of the Society of Friends, was at this time preaching
a series of sermons in their meeting-house at Cork. These discourses seem to
have excited the indignation of the writers of the "Medley" ; and a number of
articles appeared in it having a true theological ring. Wlioever was the writer,
he must have been a man of uncommon genius. These sermons were reviewed
until June loth. In the number for June 17th, appeared an apology, of which
the following is an extract : "In common justice to Mrs. May Drummond, I think
myself obliged to let the public know that the two last discourses published in
this paper, and called that lad3r*s sermons, were taken by a soldier, who for want
of sufficient skill in shorthand, has by a multitude of omissions, etc., splintered
her sermon into a huddle of such incoherent shreds, that it is transformed into
a thing no more like her genuine discourse than 'tis like a love-letter. Note. —
They were inserted at the instance of a rich, weak, wellmeaning old man."
Under the same date. May 19th, we find: "Archdeacon Russell offers a reward
of ^5 for the conviction of the thief who, while some stone-cutters were en-
graving an inscription on a tomb in St. Peter's Church, 12th inst., concealed
themselves, and stripped the gold lace from the velvet Communion cloth belong-
>
DR. CAULFIELDS ANTIQUARIAN NOTES. 95
ing to St. Peter's Church in Cork, and tore the gold tassels from the Common
Prayer Books, and feloniously carried them away." "Yesterday was se'nnight,
the postillion belonging to the Bishop of Corke was thrown off his horse as he
was hunting, and the horse kicked his brains out. **
Died yesterday Mr. Richard Pike, senior, in the 78th year of his age."
To be let the well accustomed inn called the Bleu (sic) Bell, in Cove Lane,
near South Gate. "
Bandon. *'Mr. Timothy McCartie has removed from the Rose and Crown to
the King's Head, near Saturday's Market House^ where he will supply his
customers with entertainment for man and horse as usual. "
June 3rd. "Sunday last, was drowned near the Red House (now the Dyke
House), a young man who went to wash himself."
June i6th. "We hear that a clergyman of this diocese, coming to attend
the visitation, was robbed on the highway of about fifty pounds by robbers, who
had more regard for his purse than reverence for his divinity."
Kinsale, June 4th. "Some time ago Captain John Maddox, commander of
the ' Charming Sally,' of Bristol, on his passage home from Guinea and Jamaica,
about 300 leagues westward of Ireland, unfortunately struck against a grampuss
of a prodejuous (sic) size, which was, as supposed, sleeping. The ship gave a
terrible bounce, surprised all hands, and overset chests, etc., in the cabin and
between decks. As it was by day, they plainly saw the fish, and believe the
ship's keel, when she run over it, cut it in a very terrible manner — ^the sea
being all stained with his blood. The ship immediately complained ; and upon
finding her to make water, to prevent her foundering, they stuffed in pieces of
beef and pork between the planks, and so by continual pumping kept her above
water for five days, when they happily esp/d a sail. The captain had just time
to bring off his gold and gold dust, and some provisions, till their arrival to
Cork." June 17th, we have a dissertation on poetry by Philomusus. June nth,
we have "A Receipt to Compose Friendship" ; and on July 8th a poem of 168
lines on "Sham Religion, or Vice in Disguise." The entire poem is anything
but complimentary to the devotional feelings of the citizens. Some ladies are
mentioned under the pseudonyms of Mrs. Ruby, Miss Hemp, Miss Shrimp, and
Miss Flaunt. The St. Peter's Church, the pavement of which these fair ladies
once trod, has long ceased to exist. On July 15th is an article on "The Modem
Transgressions of the Commandments," from which we learn that the use of
strong drink was anything but an uncommon failing in Cork at that time. In a
communication of this date, Lyddy Ficklethought g^ves us the following de-
scription of a young Cork gentleman of that period: "In the morning he lays
out a thousand schemes for the division of the day, which he a thousand times
varies, and at last pursues none. To dress is the business, and the only business,
of the morning. He puts on black stockings, looks at his legs, damns his
footman, and calls for white. The white are changed again for black. His
clothes — that's another difficult article — first, a frock ; then a coat will suit ; then
his velvet ; and at last determines on his Newmarket coat and oaken stick. His
servants are always new; his friends new; his taverns new. His mind is
perpetually changing. He resolves, alters, affirms, denies, consents, dissents,
loves, hates, is good-humoured, ill-humoured, gay, melancholy, everything and
nothing, all in ten minutes."
In these extracts we have a fair picture of the moral, religious, social, and
domestic habits of the citizens of Cork about the middle of the eighteenth
century. If their shortcomings were many and grievous, they certainly had an
able and faithful guide, philosopher and friend in the editor of "The Medley."
96 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
DESCRIPTION OF THE LIBRARY OF ST. FIN BARRE'S CATHEDRAL,
CORK.
[The present sketch, in which all Dr. Caulfield's erudite references to libraries
in general are omitted, may perhaps be considered a fitting sequel to his papers
on Early Cork Literature, which have previously appeared in this "Journal."]
A stranger after visiting the Cathedral, and had satisfied his taste and
curiosity with an artistic inspection of that magnificent edifice, internally and
externally, would scarcely think the dingy building of red sandstone which
occupies the south-east corner of the old cathedral precincts worth his notice,
should his eye by chance alight on it. Yet there is more in this antiquated
oblong-looking structure than its external appearance would lead one to suppose.
On entering the building you ascend a commodious old-fasHioned staircase —
pass through a door on your right-hand side ; and you are immediately in a
corridor, off which are three studies, whose woodwork somewhat resembles that
of the late cathedral. On both sides of these studies are carefully arranged,
according to a catalogue, as fine a collection of biblical, patristic, classical,
historical, philological, and theological books, as could be found in any other
cathedral library of the same dimensions. The editions are all the most costly
and best, whether we seek those of the ancient philosophers and poets, or those
which treat of the history of the early ages of the Christian Church. Here we
meet with the very best company that the world ever saw, men whose names
kings and emperors held in reverence, such as St. Cyprian, St. Chrysostom,
Eusebius, St. Augustine, St. Jerome, and a host of like worthies who are repres-
ented here by magnificent editions of their works — ^the pride of Christendom,
and the glory of London, Paris, Oxford, Eton, Amsterdam, Geneva, Leyden,
Lyons, Basle, and other capital cities where they were printed.
In many parts of Ireland schools, or, as they were called by the annalists,
universities, were established at a very early period. In our own county we
had eminent establishments of this nature at Ross, Inniscarra, and Cork. At
Ross a famous school flourished in the sixth century, where, the "Annals** tell us,
"A city grew up in which there always continued a great school for scholars called
Rossailithry** (the present Rosscarbery). St Senan flourished at Inniscarra
about the year 532, where he erected a church ; and we read of a company of
religious persons who arrived in Cork harbour from the Continent on their
way to this place to study the Scriptures under St. Senan. But the school at
Cork was pre-eminently distinguished both for the fame of its teachers and
the number of its disciples.
Making every allowance for the early chroniclers' exaggerations and the
errors likely to occur in documents of such high antiquity, it must be admitted
that a great school once flourished on the ground now occupied by the Cathedral
of St. Fin Barre and its immediate vicinity. Modem investigators have brought
to light many of the manuscripts executed by the transcribers in these Irish
schools for the use of their pupils ; they are generally portions of the Gospels,
and in their execution display all that peculiarity of design, both in writing
and ornamentation, peculiar to the Celtic race. Such works must have been
produced with an almost incredible amount of patience, considering the great
difficulties under which the transcribers laboured, the preparation of the raw
material into parchment, and all the necessary appliances, so that the bulk of
their labour seems almost miraculous.
DR. CAULFIELDS ANTIQUARIAN NOTES. 97
Of such was the first Cathedral Library at Cork ; nor is there any great
reason to doubt that the collection of books, greater or less, ever failed in the
"Scriptorium** of this ancient seat of learning from the earliest times down to
the present day. The nature of the books in mediaeval times in the library of
this Cathedral may be inferred from the usual character of those in similar
institutions elsewhere. There is no catalogue preserved of the early books or
manuscripts at Cork, as far as we are aware ; but there is one of the early
books in the Cathedral Church of St Mary, Limerick, taken in 1624, now in
the Bodleian Library, Oxford (Rawlinson, 486), the books or papers indicated in
which were very few, the major part probably manuscripts on vellum.
The earliest recorded notice we have of a Library at St. Fin Barre's occurs
in the Chapter Book under Nov. 4, 1637, when Richard Owen, Prebendary of
Kilnaglory, "Presented towards the erection of a Library in the Cathedral
Church ;£2o, said Richard to have the use of the Library during his life, and
at his death to remain for the use of the Prebendaries.'* It is impossible now
to ascertain if any of the books of this donation still remain. There are a few
old books scattered through the present library printed about 1500 or a little
before that^ which seem to belong to an old collection from their nature, the
broken covers of oak, and the fragments of old rubricated manuscripts used
for straps in the binding, still hanging to them.
The next benefactor was Archdeacon Pomeroy, who in 1725 left ;£6o worth
of his own books to found a parish library. This bequest is recorded in a
very neat white marble tablet, bearing a Latin inscription to that effect, which
is fixed in the wall of one of the studies. The books appear to have been
transferred at this time from the ancient cathedral to their present locality.
But the principal addition to the Library was the fine collection of Bishop
Crow, of Cloyne, which was purchased from his widow for the small sum of
;£ii5 by the Dean and Chapter in 1727. Bishop Crow was one of the ablest
scholars of his day ; and a great benefactor to his See. He was bom in the
Isle of Man, educated at St. Bees' School, and at Queen's College, Oxford,
and came to Ireland as amanuensis to Dr. Andrew Sail, a Jesuit, who embraced
the Reformed religion. Dr. Sail was one of the distinguished theologians of
the seventeenth century ; and a close examination of Bishop Crow's library has
led to the conclusion that many of the books, as well as from their controversial
nature as from the towns in which they were printed, had once been in Sail's
possession. From Chaplain to the Lord Lieutenant Bishop Crow was raised
to the See of Cloyne in 1702. He founded a grammar school at Cloyne, re-
covered ;£8,ooo to the See, left bequests to the widows and orphans of the
Clo3me clergy, and presented the cathedral with some massive silver plate.
Bishop Crow died June 26, 1726, and was buried in Cloyne Cathedral.
The last bequest to the Library was from Bishop Stopford, who by will left
it all his books, with orders that his manuscript sermons should be burnt.
Amongst the literary curiosities preserved in the Library we may mention a
vulgate edition of the Bible in six folio volumes, in black letter type: Basle,
1498 — a very fine specimen of early typography. Another notable work is a
copy in Latin of the Epistles of St. Jerome, Rotterdam, MDXXVL, edited by
Erasmus. This book formerly belonged to the Franciscan Library at Valladolid,
in Spain, and seems very likely to have been one of t)r. Sail's books, as it was
subsequently in Bishop Crow's possession. Occupying a quiet niche not far
from it is the " Index Librarum Prohibitorum et Expurgandorum," a large folio
98 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCH^OLOGICAL SOCIETY.
printed at Madrid in 1657. To attempt even an enumeration of the leading
works in this grand collection would far exceed due bounds.
Bishops Crow and Stopford's libraries contain a rich and extensive collection
of bound pamphlets, embracing a wide range of literature. Those of the former
relate chiefly to the seventeenth century, and abound in all kinds of subjects,
from speeches cried about the streets to essays on Arabic manuscripts ; those
of the latter (the Stopford collection) are mostly confined to Irish political and
domestic afifairs of the eighteenth century, with numerous others on a variety of
literary subjects, some printed at Cork.
J. C.
Notes and Queries.
Fermoy Printers.— Sleughleigh.—Frckc Pedigree.— The O'Flynn's of Ardagh.— Belzoni the
Egyptian Explorer in Cork. — A Curious Incident in the Tithe War.
Fermoy Printers. — Can any of your readers say when the **Lindsey"
family began printing in Fermoy? I have tviro undated pamphlets with **J.
Lindsey and Brothers' * as the printers. One is a Grammar, the other a report
of a **i798'' Trial. Judging from paper, type, etc., I would date them
in the first decade of last century, but provincial printing of like appear-
ance may be found of a later as well as earlier period than that decade.
17 Kildare Street, Dublin. E. R. McC. Dix.
Slenghleigh.— In Mr. J. M. Burke's interesting paper on Castlehaven in the
last number of the Journal he mentions the name Sleughleigh as given by
Smith. This name should, I believe, be Sleugh or Slught Teige, the family
or kindred of Teige O'Mahony, of Rosbrin, feudal Lord of West Carbery.
See Cork. Hist, and Arch. Journal^ 1897, p. 306. The Great Earl of
Cork had a good many lawsuits with the Slught Teige, as they refused to
surrender the lands forfeited by the head of the family for his part in
Desmond's rebellion. He, however, bought out their rights in three
ploughlands — Dromreagh, Dromalour, and Ardc^enan, and settled the
lands, in February, 1626, on his nephew, Edward Boyle, on his marriage
with Mary, daughter of Sir William Hall. See Lismore Papers.
[The castle of Rosbrin, it is to be regretted, fell down during the great
gale in the spring of this year, 1905.]
Freke Pedigree.— When editing the Council Book of Clonakilty for this
Journal in 1895, I was unable to identify Brigadier-General George Freke,
M.P. for Clonakilty and Bandon. Complete pedigrees of the Fre|^e
family have lately appeared in The Ancestor, vols, x., xi. from which I
extract the following, adding one or two notes from the Great Earl of
Cork's papers :
Robert Freke, of Shroton and Upway, had a son, Sir Thomas, of
Shroton, whose grandson was George Freke, of Upway. The family
fortunes seem to have decayed in his day, as he is said to have ** restored
ye antient mortgaged estate and grandly assisted to ye support of all his
brothers and sisters" with the wealth that he acquired during his long
military career. He appears to have left no sons by either of his wives.
Robert Freke, of Shroton, had many children, his eighth son, William,
NOTES AND QUERIES. 99
baptized 1577, married Anne, daughter of Arthur Swainson, of Sarcen,
Hants, liere his eldest son, Arthur, was baptized in 1604. William
Freke was an intimate friend of the Great Earl of Cork^ and no doubt
it was with that powerful man's encouragement that he came to Ireland
and settled at Rosscarbery. His son, Arthur, rented Rathbarry Castle
from Lord Cork's son-in-law, the Earl of Barrymore, and it appears
afterwards bought it. He married Lord Cork's grand-niece, Dorothy,
daughter of Sir Percy Smyth, and widow of the Rev. T. Burt. They had
one, son, Percy, and two daughters, Mary, married Fra. Bernard, and
Agnes, who married Pat Crosbie, of Kerry. Arthur Freke *s sister married
Lieut. James Finch.
117 Banbury Road, Oxford. Dorothea Townshend.
The O'Flynn's of Ardagh.-~The Genealogy of Corca Laidhe says :
**Macniadh, son of Mac Con, had good sons, viz., Aenghus Gaifuileach
(of the bloodstained spear), from whom descends Ua h-Eidirsceoil
(of the blood stained spear), from whom descends Ua h Eidirsceoil
(O'Driscoll); Duach, from whom Ua Cobhthaigh (O'Cowhig, O'Coffey),
and Fiachra, from whom Ua-Floinn-Arda. "
Dr. John O'Donovan writes : **0 Floinn Arda, i.e., O Flynn of Ardagh.
The chief of this family resided at Ardagh Castle, midway between Skib-
bereen and Baltimore, in the barony of West Carbery." Bishop O'Brien,
in his Irish Dictionary, writes : **0 Flain — I find four different chiefs of
this name descended from four different stocks ... A fourth O Floinn
of Arda, of a more ancient stock than any of those mentioned, being of
the old Lugadian race, and being called Arda from the place of his
residence, which was the castle of Arda, near Baltimore, Co. Cork. He
was lord of the district called Ibh Bathliamhna (sic), in whose centre is
situate that castle, whose ruins are still to be seen." The same learned
scholar writing on the word Cobhthach quotes the foUowijig verse :
**0 Co whig of the festive golden horn,
O Flynn Arda, and O Driscoll,
Clans whose ancestral tree ne'er fell,
Were clans not of the sons of Milesius. "
"But a melancholy remark," he adds, **that is to be made is that of the
two families first mentioned there is not to my knowledge one individual
now existing that may be held in the light of a gentleman, having been
dispossessed of long since of their very ancient and large properties"
Irish Dictionary: Paris, 1769). Lynch, in his Camhrensis EversuSy re-
ferring to Corca Laidhe, mentions O h-Eidirsceoil, chief of Corca Laighdhe,
whose dynasts were the O Cobhthaigh, O Duach, and O Floinn Arda
(pp. 268-269 of Dr. Kelly's edition). Subsequently he mentions
O Cobhthaigh, lord of Triuch-cheadmeodhanach, and O Floinn, lord of
Ui Baghamhna." O'Huidhrln (O'Heerin), who died in 1420, writes as
follows in his Topographical Poem :
"The O Floinns Arda of blooming woods,
A tribe of illustrious genealogy;
Every man of their tribe is the material of a chief ;
These are the Ui-Baghamhna,
lOO CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHi«OLOGICAL SOCIETY.
King of the vigorous Triocha meodhanach
Is O Cobhthaigh of the white stone harbour,
Land of Cliodhna, plain of O Cobhthaigh,
Foe in battle to foreigners."
Dr. John O'Donovan suggests that Ui Baghamhna is the modern
(barony of) Ibane. Smith, too, remarks that the OTlynns were settled
in Ibane. When we turn to the Genealogy of Corca Laidhe we find the
pedigrees very confused. At pages 36-37 we read **Now comes the Aes-
Coin-chinne. Aedh Finn had four sons, viz., Breasal, Tuathal, Tibraide,
and Murcadh. Conall had two sons, viz., Flann and Arda. Now the
Ui-Badhamhna, viz., Donnghus, son of Cuchoingeilt, son of Seanchlaiina,
son of Scannlan Dubh, and so on to Eochaidh Badhamhna. '* Elsewhere
we read that Coinchinne daughter of Cathbhadh, had a son, Conall Claen,**
**the prc^enitor of the Cineal-Coinchinne, seated in the district extending
from Feith-na-h-imghona to Droichead Locha na h-Imchadha" (p. 39);
and that Feith-na-h-lmghona was west of Traigh Omna (Tragumina, parish
of Castlehaven). This would lend colour to the belief that the OTlynns
were settled at Ardagh (parish of Tullagh), where there is a ruined castle.
In another part of the Genealogy we find the pedigrees of the Ua Baire
(after whom Meentervaura is called), and of Flann-Arda mixed up tc^ether
(pp. 42-45). Thus we read ^'Codfach, son of Dubhdalethe (Dowdall), son
of Maelcorma, son of Cuilleanain (Cullinane), son of Bruadar, son of
Dunlaing (Dowling, Doolan), son of Dunadhach (Dowpey), son of
Flaithimh (Lahiff, Leahy), son of Flaithbheartach (Flaherty), son of Flann
Arda, son of Mac Con, son of Condach, son of Fearghus, son of Conall,
son of Treana, son of Duach," etc. From the Four Masters we learn
that Cuchoingealta, lord of Corca Laidhe, died 770 a.d., and that Bruadar,
son of Dunlaing, lord of Corca Laidhe, died 860.
From the Genealogy we learn that Tuath-o-Dubhdaleithe (O 'Dowdall)
extended from Beal-atha-na-h-uidhre to Beal-atha-buidhe, and from Gort-
na-daibhche to Loch-an-tairbh. Its chieftains were — O Dowdall, Ua
Mailcheallaigh, Ua Duibhleanna, Ua Mailcorma, Ua Cuilleanain,
Bruadair, Ua Dunadhaigh, and Ua Lathimh (pp. 53-57). This tribal
district was clearly inland, beal-atha-buidhe being Ballyboy, which is north
of Dunmanway; Gort-na-daibche being Gortnadihy, parish of Kilmeen;
Lochantairb being Loughantarrif, parish of Drinagh, and Beal-atha-na-
huidhre being a ford over the river Arigideen.
The names of the families settled in this part are all derived from names
found in the pedigree of Flann-Arda. This would seem to indicate that
the Ui-Baghamhna were settled in this district. Dunald Mac Firbis, how-
ever, identifies Tuath-o-Dowdall with Triucha-meadhonach (the territory
of the O'Cowhigs). The Genealogy of Corca Laidhe, after describing the
Tuath-o-Dunghalaigh, which extended from the island of Inchidony to
Beal-atha-na-huidhre and Grillach (parish of Kilnagross) to Achadha (now
Agha, parish Lislee), inserts: **The meaning of the Middle Cantred, i.e.,
O'Cowhig's territory''; and then goes on to describe O'Dowdall's tuath.
1 cannot say whether the Genealogy refers O'Cowhig's territory to
O'Dunghalaigh's tuath or O'Dowdall's tuath. It is clear that the
O'Cowhig's territory was near the sea. The name is still preserved in
Dunnycowhig (parish of Lislee) ; and they are said to have erected seven
NOTES AND QUERIES, lOI
casdes (HI the Seven Heads. O'Heerin speaks of them in connection with
the •*harbour of white stone"; and Bishop O'Brien says they possessed
the baronies of East and West Barryroe. Hence I am inclined to think
that Tuath-o-Dunghalaigh represents the O'Cowhig territory, and that
Tuath-o-Dowdall represents the Ui Badhamhna territory.
A Taxation of the Diocese of Ross preserved in the Records of the
Irish Exchequer, and printed in the Calendar of State Papers, 1302, a.d.,
mentions three deaneries of Ross, viz., Obathumpna, Corkyg Teragh, and
Boerry. Canon O'Hanlon, in a note to his Life of St. Fachtna, mentions
three deaneries also, viz., Ardagh, Carberry, and Tirerril. Canon
O'Hanlon's Ardagh probably represents the Obathumpna of the State
Papers; and Obathumpna seems to be a corruption of Uj B4'64ti)T)4
(Badhamhna, ii4 btttJunjM, as some MSS. have it), the territory of the
O Floinn-Arda. This deanery consisted of the parishes of Thamalage
(Timoleague), Lislithig (Lislee), Crogharge, Kilmoludu (Kilmalooda),
Nathrugg, Disertrum (Desert), Dounaghmore (Donoughmore), and Kelly.
If my surmise be correct, it shews that the O Flynns were settled not near
Baltimore but in the baronies of Ibane and Barryroe. There is a town-
land named Ardagh in the parish of Ross. j^^^^ ^ ^^^^^
Belioni the Sgyptiaa Explorer in Cork.— Signor Belzoni was a native
of the Roman States, and possessing a wandering spirit he visited England,
Ireland, and Scotland about nine or ten years ago. He was tEen about 28
years of age, of very handsome and colossal appearance, his stature being upwards
of six feet six inches, and remarkably straight and well formed. His circum-
tances having become straitened, he went to Edinburgh, and commenced an
Exhibition of Hydraulics, in which he was a perfect adept From Scotland he
repaired to Ireland, and finding the resources of the mind insufficient to feed the
curiosity of his visitors, he determined to employ the prodigious strength of his
body, and between the acts of the hydraulic experiments^ Mr. Belzoni was
doomed to bear upon his colossal frame not fewer, if we mistake not, than 20
or 22 persons. Thus he has been seen at the Cork and Cove theatres lifting up
this human weight of individuals strapped around his hips, shoulders, and neck,
and moving across the stage as stately as the elephant with the Persian warriors.
Between 1815 and 1819 he made those researches in Egypt which immortalised
his name." — ^"Gentleman's Magazine,'* January, 1821.
ACiirioiuiXnoiAeBtint]ieTitheWar.~-frhe following account of a very
curious episode in the agitation against tithes, which were so long a source of
discontent, ill-will, and even bloodshed in Ireland, is copied from vol. ii. of
"Memoirs and Correspondence of Viscount Castlereagh, '* London, 1848. It
is published under the heading, "Memorial of the Rev. Dr. Coppinger, Roman
Catholic Bishop of Cork, respecting a Notice posted near the Chapel of Ballyn-
tantis, in the neighbourhood of Middleton, County Cork" ; but Dr. Coppinger
was Bishop not of Cork but of Cloyne at that time. Ballyntantis is now known
as Ballintoutis, and the old chapel in respect to which Bishop Coppinger adopted
such severe measures is now superseded by a modem chiu-ch. The second D
in Middleton has long been dropped from the spelling of that town's name,
probably to distinguish it from Middleton in England.]
8
I02 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
Middleton, Sep. 2, 1799.
" On Sunday, the eighteenth of August, a Notice against the paying of tithes
and assisting the clergyman to draw them was posted up close to the chapel of
Ballyntantis, near Middleton, which being observed by tEe parish priest, the
Rev. Michael Barry, as he was about to enter the chapel, he remonstrated forcibly
against it, and insisted that the people present should instantly take it down.
They did not do so ; he therefore took it down himself ; and refusing to say
Mass for them, came off at once to give an account of the transaction. I ex-
pressed, not only to himself, the satisfaction which his conduct gave me, but
went with him to his other chapel at Middleton, where in presence of a very
large congregation I repeated the encomium, and returned him public thanks.
I then laid an interdict upon the chapel of Ballyntantis, till the parishioners in a
body should declare their abhorrence of this Notice, and give me sufficient
reason to expect that they would never again be concerned in nor countenance
any similar outrage. The following day I engaged the parish priest to accom-
pany me to Cove, where we presented the Notice to Sir Charles Ross, to receive
his directions, and lay before him what we ourselves had done. He was pleased
to signify his approbation, but, at the same time, desired us to let the people
know from him, that if any disorderly conduct of that sort should appear there
again, he would send troops to live upon them for a month at free quarters.
The General's determination was to be announced to them in the chapel yard,
the next Sunday ; but they came to me before that day, accompanied by dieir
parish priest, for I refused to listen to them without him. They declared their
regret for not having taken down the Notice ; they endeavoured to exculpate
themselves on the score of being concerned in putting it there ; they ofPered
to make up, among them, a sum of thirty or forty pounds as a reward for
discovering the guilty person ; they promised to oppose unanimously any pro-
ceedings of this sort^ should such ever be attempted in their parish. The parish
priest bore testimony that these people were heretofore the best conducted and
the most exemplary under his care, yet I still refused to withdraw the interdict,
until after stating these particulars to the General, I should have his express
concurrence. I accordingly wrote to him by one of them, and received the
following answer : —
"Cove of Cork, August 24th, 1799.
Sir — I am happy to learn that the measures which you have adopted appear
likely to prevent a repetition of the very unjustifiable proceedings which lately
occurred in the parish under Mr. Barry's charge. Nothing can give me more
pain than being obliged to adopt severe and vigorous measures in order to
preserve the peace of the country; but should a similar circumstance occur, I
will feel it my duty to make the inhabitants of the neighbourhood of the place
where any unlawful proceeding takes place entirely responsible for the conse-
quences unless they produce the guilty persons. It is my anxious wish to preserve
the security and tranquillity of the country by the most moderate and lenient
measures ; but if obliged to adopt a different line of conduct, the people may
be assured that no indulgence shall be shown to offenders. If you think it
expedient to take off the interdict laid upon the chapel, I can have no objection
to your doing so. — I have the honotur to remain, etc.,
CBASLES KosSf Major-General.
The Rev. Dr. Coppingcr. "
REVIEWS OF BOOKS. IO3
There is not a sentence in the General's letter that was not literally com-
municated and strongly enforced at the chapel of Middleton by myself in English
and by the parish priest in Irish^ after which I gave him directions to go in
f person to the chapel of Ballyntantis, to speak to the people there ; and though
I withdrew the interdict, I ordered, at the same time, a sentence of excommunica-
* tion to be pronounced against any person or persons who should thenceforward
k be guilty of or in any way concerned in a like offence. This order, with a view
^ to greater formalit>', I committed to writing, and directed as a letter to the
parish priest, though I gave it after out of my own hand, desiring that he might
himself seal it, and never indeed suspecting that it could be made the subject
of a serious complaint against me, as I now perceive it has, by the following
conclusion of Lord Longueville's card to the parish priest of Middleton : "Sir
Charles Ross's letter to the titular Bishop was much stronger and more explicit
than it appeared to the Bishop to be designed for, by the communication he made
of it to Mr. Barry, which is gone to the Lord Lieutenant*' I cannot wish it
to come before a better tribunal; and the above particulars considered, I rest
with confidence in the result. — ^William Coppinger, D.D.
J. C.
Reviews and Notes of Books, etc.
Une Lot Histoiique, (vo\, ii. By Ernest Millard, Capitaine Com-
mandant du G^nie, Adjoint d'Etat-Major. In this, the second volume of
his work, the Belgian author endeavours to establish a **law" that the
great nations of the world go through certain phases of development,
each of which lasts on an average 250 years, and that five of these make
up what he calls a historical generation. Each generation contains the
successive phases of formation, activity, uneasiness, splendour, and de-
cline. And as the phase of decline of one generation coincides with the
phase of formation of the next, he arrives at the conclusion that each
race passes through a phase of splendour every thousand years. Thus,
taking Italy, he holds that that country has twice dominated the world,
once by pagan Rome, once by Christian Rome, and he finds that the
period of the greatest glory of the former is separated from the time
when Papal influence was at its greatest (twelfth and thirteenth centuries)
by precisely 1,000 years. And he foresees a third period of Italian great-
ness about the year 2100 a.d.
In the volume before us he works out his theory in the same way
for the Jews, to whom he assigns five generations previous to the de-
struction of Jerusalem by Titus. He sees in the present day the phase
of splendour of their seventh generation. In the same way the author
assigns five generations to the Greeks, the last of which is now in its
period of decay.
The author's views, if somewhat far-fetched, are at any rate ingeniously
worked out. He fortifies them with extracts from historians, which
show a wide and varied reading.
I04 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHiBOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
Irish ExUes in France. The following extracts from an article in
Revue des Deux Mondes of March ist, 1905, may be of interest for Irish
readers as throwing some light on the fortunes of those exiles who fol-
lowed King James II. to France, and as showing how the descendants
of these exiles mingled with and were absorbed into the population
amongst which they had made their homes. The writer, M. Alfred
M^zi^res, of the Academy, is giving, under the title **Au Temps Pass6,"
an account of the surroundings of his childhood. Describing the little
hamlet of Rehon, situated just inside the French boundary on the frontiers
of Belgium and Luxemburg, he says that, of about thirty families in
the hamlet, only two persons were in comparatively easy circumstances.
**One was altogether of the countryside, of local growth. The other,
that of my grandfather, born in 1765, sprang from quite another source.
He belonged to the Irish family of O'Brien' which had followed the
fortunes of the Stuarts to France. As long as these lived on the subsidies
and under the protection of Louis XIV., the O'Briens had remained in
France with them. But when the treaty of Utrecht forced Louis XIV.
to recognize the new dynasty which reigned in England, the Stuarts
sought refuge in the territories of the Duke of Lorraine^ who gave them
a residence at Commercy.<'> There the Pretender disbanded the Irish
regiments which he could no longer pay. An O'Brien married a girl of
the neighbourhood, and established himself at Rehon. It is from him
that my mother's family descends. But the name has been disfigured on
the way by the parish scribes, who were very slightly acquainted with
English spelling. During the early years of the ^ghteenth century it
was written O'Brion. This O which astonished everyone finally dis-
appeared. It was replaced by Au, all the more easily tliat there was in
the district a long-established family called Aubrion with which ours was
mixed up, although there was not the slightest relationship between us.
The Irish origin is attested by very old deeds, and also by a continuous
tradition. My mother, born in 1807, and her first cousin^ born in 1784,
preserved such a faithful memory of it that they never went to beid
without addressing a prayer to heaven for the souls of James IL and
James IIL"
M. M^zi^res gives some further interesting details about his grand-
father O'Brien, who lived to the great age of 89. He had a great natural
aptitude for engineering, and became contractor for the important fortifi-
cations which Napoleon constructed at Metz. He came into frequent
contact with Napoleon himself; and enjoyed the respect and confidence
of the generals who were placed over the fortifications. One of these
told M. M^ziires that one day at Mayence he had nearly been struck on
the head by a bag of gold which a dishonest sub-contractor had brought
as a bribe to M. Aubrion, and which the latter in his indignation had
thrown out of the window.
No doubt researches at the present day in all the Catholic countries
of Europe would throw similar light on the fortunes of the descendants
of many another of the "Wild Geese."
W. Butler.
(x) Lomiae, as is well known, was not annexed to Fnnce until 1776.
>H*
Second Series-^Vol, XI. No. 67. [July— September, 1905.
I
*
i
Journal of the
Cork Historical and Archaeological Society.
Some Account of the Family of 0*HurIy. i
N£ of the objects of the Cork Historical and Archaeological
Society is to give the history of Cork from its ancient
castles and other antiquities. The castle of Ballinacarriga,
built by Randal Hurly, which belonged to that family,
attracted the attention of the Society, and I was invited
to join the late Mr. Herbert Webb Gillman and others
to give a description of this castle, which was evidently of great
importance from its size and also from the curious stone carvings it
contains. In August, 1896, Mr. Gillman, with his daughter. Miss Frances
Gillman, now Mrs. levers, of Glenduif Castle, Co. Limerick, and I went
to the castle and took measurements of it^ and also took notes describing
it, which were to be published jointly by Mr. Gillman and the writer of
this article. Besides these notes, Mr. Gillman looked up the Fiants of
Elizabeth and Charles I., from which he compiled, as he describes, much
history. He finds that the O'Hurly family are originally from Limerick,
where they were in possession of their tribal lands. In this sense, Limerick
is the home or seat of the family, and to give a history of the castle,
Mr. Gillman justly writes, we must begin first with the history of the
family in the County Limerick. In my researches I discovered that Mr.
J. C. D. Hurly, of Fenit, Tralee, had valuable documents connected with
the history of the family. I put myself in communication with him, and
he kindly lent me the materials at his disposal. The family of the late
Mr. Gillman also gave me his notes, and in compiling this article it is
almost entirely due to the notes and documents I have got from these
two sources. The first portion of this article will deal with the County
Limerick (Knocklong) branch, head of the family of Hurly or Hurley, the
pedigree, distinguished members of the family, wills, confiscations, &c.,
relating to its history.
9
I06 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHiEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
One of the manuscript volumes now before me begins : ^
It is not pride that makes me take my pen,
But to revive a fallen house again;
For all the glories of Knocklong
Are like a morning vapour gone.
My chief and great object has been to rescue, even in some degree, a
once high and distinguish^ but fallen family from the state of degrada-
tion into which all the miseries of dvil war have plunged its descendants,
for I verily aod conscientiously believe that no house or family in Ireland
had suffered more severely, as lihe following pages will incontest^ly
prove, than mine. In the cause of the Royal Martyr, Charles I. , and of his
weak and unfortunate son, James II., to adopt the language of Mr.
O'Driscoll in his Views of Ireland^ they were faithful to the religion of
their ancestors, faithful to the house of Stuart, even in its despair. In
both these instances they have been sufferers, and even mined by their
fidelity. The heads of most Irish families of rank either perished in
the field, or found an honourable asylum in Spain and France and
Austria, and found fame and honour far from the land of their nationality.
Nothing remains in the land but a few ruined collateral branches of these
once high and distinguished families and the mere peasantry. It is
unhappily a matter of history that down to the close of the seventeenth
century changes of property were great, violent, and irretrievable {Phelan's
Remains, edited by Bishop Jebb). Some would say that the Hurley
family was of English or Norman descent, but from the following pedigree
made out and certified by O. Connellan, it is of Milesian origin. There are
a few places in England called Hurley, one near London, where there
was a Benedictine house, dependent on the Monastery of Westminster;
another near Manchester; also ^families of the name. They may have
come from Ireland and settled in England. It is indifferently written
Murrilly, Imurrilly, Hurlee, Hurly, O 'Hurley. I give here the pedigree
made out and authenticated by O. Connellan.
From several manuscripts in the collection of the Royal Irish Academy,
as well as elsewhere, it appears that the family of O'Hurly is of very
ancient and noble Milesian origin. The first MS. to which I shall refer
is the celebrated Book of Leacan^ so called from Leacan, the hereditary
residence of the antiquarians of' Sligo, whose castle was situated near
the river Moy, in the barony of Tireragh, County of Sligo. This MS. is
a compilation from many more ancient historical MSS., such\ as the
Psalters of Cashel and Tara, Book of Glendalough, &c., &c., and was
written about the close of the fourteenth century. (A copy of this MS. /
was made by the writer of this notice by order of his late Majesty for the
Royal Library, and which he had the honour to lay before his present /
Majesty in the year 1830 at James's Palace).
At folio 2x4, pafire b, of this MS. is the following account of the origin
SOME ACCOUNT OF THE FAMILY OF o'hURLY. I07
of the O'Hurly family as descended from the same stock with that of the
Thomond family, viz: "Ck>rmac Cas was son of Oilioll Olum, King of
Munster (liaeally descended from Milesius) about the year 330. This
Cormac Cas had one son named Fearcorb, who had two sons, viz. , Semne and
Aengus Tireach. Aengus Tireach had four sons, Eogan, Dubros, Leascad,
Luigdeach Meand, the last-named had two sons, viz«, Conall Eachluath
(i.e.,Conall of the swift steeds) and Lisceand. Ck>nall Eachluath had two
sons, namiely, Enna Airgtheach and X^sls^ surnamed Tal (i.e., Cas Mac Tail)
and hence the Dal Cassians of Munster). Cas had thirteen sons, of whom
Blpd was the eldest. This Blod had four sons^ viz., Cairthean Fionn (the
fair), the ancestor of the O'Brien fanuly, afterwards Earls of Thomond;
Cairthand Dub (the black), lEacho, and Brenann Ban (the fair), from
whom are descended the O'Hurlys.*' From this account we find that
the O'Briens and O'Hurlyjs concentrated in Blod, from whom the district
of Aiubh Bloid took its name, aocordii^ to O'Huidhrin, the Munster
topographer, who lived about the year 1400. Dr. O'Brien, in his Dic-
tionary, under the word Aoibh, says it is now the barony of Lower Ormond,
but from several passages in other MSS. it is (dain that it was situated
in Thomond, now County Clare.
The foregoing account of the origin of the O'Hurly family is fujly
borne out by another MS. called the Book of BaUymote, which has,
similarly with the Book of Leacan^ derived its name from the place where
it was compiled^ namely, Ballymote, the ancient residence of the Mac-
Donoughs, Princes of Caran, in the barony ot Leyney, County of Sligo.
This MS. was finished about the fourteenth century, and such was
the estimation in which it was held, that in the year 1522 it was sold for
140 milch oows. The aeoount of the O'Hurly family in this MS. is given
under the heading of \the ^ Dal Cas Race," at folio 102, page b. As it
would be only a repetition of the foregoing, although evidently taken origi-
nally from different sources, it will not be necessary to insert it here.
The account of the O'Hurly family in the two MSS. is supported by
several modern writers, as, for instance, O 'Flaherty in Us Ogygia, pub-
lished in 1685, chap. 82, p. 387, makes them a family of Thomond, as
does Dr. O'Brien in his English-Irish Dictionary under U; see also the ^
Abb^ MacG^ghegan's History of Ireland, vol. i., page 304, note, and
Gratianus^LuciuSf cap. 3.
It now remains for me to trace the family of O'Hurly from Blod, their,
common -ancestor with that of the Thomond family, down to about the
middle of the seventeenth century, which I shall extract from an Irish MS.
by Dudley McFirbis, the last lustoriographer of Leacan, who was murdered
in the year 1670. It was under his tuition that O 'Flaherty, the author
of Ogygia, studied ; and McFirbis himself studied under McEgan, the last
of the hereditary Brehons of Ireland, who, I believe, resided in the County
Tipperary,
N
I08 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHAOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
McFirbis was highly esteemed as an antiquary by Sir James Ware,
who employed him in all matters of doubt and difficulty; he was also
thought highly of by Charies O'Connor, who in his correspondence with
the Chevalier U 'Gorman states that McFirbis was a man of great research ^
and discernment, and that he considered him an unquestionable authority
on Irish History and Family Genealogies. This MS. is a thick quarto
volume of 800 pages, and is the property of the Earl of Bowden. It is
at present at the Royal Irish Academy for the purpose of having a copy
of it made for the library. It has been settled beyond contradiction that
the genealogies of no families were regularly kept, besides those of the
Kangs, Chiefs, and Princes, who were able to retain their bards for that
especial purpose, and there can be no better proof that the O'Hurlys were
chiefs than that their genenalogy was regularly kept to so late a period,
which I shall show by a comparison in parallel columns of the O'Brien
with that of the O'Hurly, which is the general criterion by which all the
Munster families are put to the test; just as the Ulster and Connaught
families are tested by that of the O'Neills, because those were the two
principal families in the kingdom, and their genealogies are unquestionable.
By various connecting circumstances it is established beyond dispute
that the genealogy which is given as underneath from McFirbis is that
of the O'Hurlys of the O'Brien branch, whose ancient possessions are
marked out by O'Connor on his admirable map of the districts possessed
by each chief. It is distinctly shown to be on the borders of Tipperary,
adjoining the Limerick district of the O'Briens. Its ancient name was
Druim Damaghaire, but it is now called Knocklong, and is situated in the
barony of Coshlea, the most south-east barony in the county.
Adjoining this place, on the hill of Knocklong, are the ruins of a castle,
formerly the residence of Sir Thomas Hurly, whose monument stands in
the church of Emly, sixteen miles south-west of Cashel. This Sir Thomas
is supposed to have been related to Thomas Hurly, Bishop of Emly, who
died at an advanced age, a.d. 1542. But it does not appear that Sir
Thomas was chief of his tribe; on the contrary, we have reason to think
he belonged to a minor branch of the family.
Original Stock of the Thomond and O'Hurly Families.
Oitiolt Ottini, OilioU Glum, King of Munster, A.D. 226, died a.d. 234.
CottiDAc CAf, Connac Cas, King of Munster. ^
mo^A Cofb, }/l4t^9. Corby King of Munster.
feAft Coftb, Fear Corb, reigned 1 1 years monarch of Ireland.
idofi^uf Cit^eA^, Aongus Tireacbi Prince of Munster,
tujAi'o trieAiix), Luighdeach Meand, Prince of Munster.
Con All e^^ltit, Conall of the swift steeds, King of Munster about the middle of
the 5th century.
Cdff Cas.
blov, Blod. ^
SOME ACCOUNT OF THE FAMILY OF O HURLY.
109
Branch of the Thomond Family. Branch of the O'Hurly Family.
!•
r
f
CA)ttAitix> irtnt), King of Monster when St.
Patrick came to Ireland, as we are informed
by tke Psalter of Cashel, as mentioned in
the Book of Leacan. His son was baptized
by St. Patrick, according to the Book of
Armagh, a MS. of the 7th century, now in
the possession of Trinity College, Dublin.
ConAtt ctAin.
^ei6.
niAt^AihAti.
AntuATi.
Citic
toticAn.
06in'oeiT>i5.
btfiAf) bottutfiA, Monarch of Ireland, slain in
the battle of Clontarf, a.d. 1014.
CA165.
'OiA)tmiiit>.
•OomiiAtl tt\o\\, King of Munster, A.D. 1175
Con^bAfi CAi^pte^d.
CA*5.
CAifiti^eAtbAd, a.d. 1367.
fYliti^£e4ticA£.
t>ttMn cAtA An A011A15.
UAift^^eAtbAd:, died A.D. 1528. His brother
Mortagh was first Earl of Thomond, and
ancestor of the Barons of Inchiquin.
Coii£itftA|i, died 1539.
t>t(eitiAii bAti, Brenann the Fair.
t)oii3Aite, Dangal.
eAddfx), Eohee.
Con^Aile, Congal.
lo^dtOfA^, lorclosagh.
ptAfin, Flann.
U|itDiVe, Hurly. The progenitor of the
O'Hurly fiimily from whom it took its name.
niAt^AihATi, Mahon. The son of Hurly. His
brother was Prior of Aghaboe, Queen's Co.,
which was founded by St. Canice, who after-
wards founded Kilkenny, that is, the Church
of Canice.
mui|(6eAYirA^, Murtagh, was the first who
assumed the O, which signifies grandson or
descendant.
mAOileActAtn, Malachy O' Hurly.
eojAn, Eugene 0*Hurly.
CA165, Teigc CHurly.
T)iAnmuit) tiA VAjidt, Dermot of 0*Hurly
of the Oaks.
T)on6A-6 At) CaIai-o, Donough of the Port.
'OomtiAtt 65, Donnell oge.
tnuttideAtird^ tt\6x\, Murtach Mor O'Hurly.
SeAdn mo|t, John the Great O 'Hurly.
CofidubAfi An to^, Conor CHurly of the
Lake.
ComAf, Thomas O'Hurly.
UAsnAtl, Ranall O'Hurly.
pilib, Philip O'Hurly.
trittitiiof, Maurice O'Hurly.
tliUiAm, William O'Huriy.
ebi|i, Eber (or Heber) O'Hurly.
Uf tAiUe, Hurly O'Hurly.
Ca*5, Teige O'Hurly.
t)onchA^ AmnefnniSfDonagh Teigue O'Hurly
of the dreaded swords.
Cot<mAc, Cormac O'Hurly.
CA*5, Teigc O'Hurly.
UittiAm 5eAiiAch, William O'Hurly the good
humoured.
CotmiAc, Cormac O'Hurly.
T)oihnAU, Donnell O'Hurly who liTed about
A.D. 1660 and 1670.
The foregoing statements of facts, as far as I have power to test
them by strict examination and research, appear to me to be correct in
every particular, and in proof of my opinion I affix my signature hereuLto.
Dated 7th March, 1836,
Royal Irish Academy.
OWEN CONNELLAN,
Irish Historiographer to His Majesty,
no CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
This Knocklong branch gave two Bishops to the church of Emly and
several denes. Thomas, Bishop from 1507 — 1542; Maurice, Bishop from
1620 — 1649. Thomas was a very eminent Canonist. In 1543 King
Henry VIII. presented Donogh Ryan chaplain to the Deanery of the
Cathedral of Emly, vacant, inasmuch as William McBryen and William
O'Hurley, the present incumbents, hold the same by the authority of the
Bishop of Rome. In 1609 King James presented Edmund Hurly, notwith-
standing his "minority and defect of clerical orders," to the Chancellor-
ship of that Cathedral, with a corps of vicarages united, and in the same
year, and under similar disqualifications, to the Chancellorship thereof. —
Patent Rolls, Jac. I.
Besides Knocklong, the chief residence of the Hurly sept, who also
founded a church here, in the parish of Kilruane, Lower Ormond, County
Tipperary, is the ruined castle of Rathurly; in the parish of Kilcullane,
Co. Limerick, where they erected the castle of Kilcullane in 1641 ; in the
parish of Killonahan, in the same county, where Dermod O 'Hurly built
a strong castle in the early part of the fifteenth century. Archbishop
Dermod O' Hurly was bom in the castle of Lycadoon, near Limerick.
Thomas Hurly, of Knocklong, attended Perrot's Parliament in Dublin.
His son, Maurice, obtained a patent for a weekly market on Tuesdays,
and two fairs to be held on the 28th of May and ist October. In 1632
he erected a fine marble monument to the memory of his two wives, whom
he survived. His son. Sir Thomas, Baronet, succeeded him, and was one
of the Confederate Catholics at Kilkenny in 1647. His estates were
forfeited in the counties of Limerick and Tipperary for his adherence to
Charles L , and given to Cromwell's adventurers, and he was transplanted to
Connaught, where he died in 1683, leaving a son, Sir William. He
attended King James's Parliament in 1689 as representative of the borough
of Kilmallock. He was actively engaged in scouring the country with
Lord Brittas, and at the engagement of Thomond Gate, siege of Limerick,
Colonel Hurly was with others taken prisoner. He died soon after of
his wounds. His infant son. Sir John Hurly, claimed his transplanted
Galway estate, which was forfeited to Bryan 0*Bryen, who had married
his mother, but the claim was dismissed, and the estate sold to Thomas
O'Connor, Sir Thomas Montgomery, and the Hollow Sword Blade Com-
pany. He tried to raise troops for the Pretender, and was arrested in
Dublin about the year 17 14, but escaped ; and likely, after many vicissitudes,
escaped to Rome, where he died.
As a further proof, if proof were necessary, of the correctness of the
genealogy, &c., with which I have already furnished you, I now take leave
to introduce the following additional particulars which my continued
research has eifebled me to produce : —
From a passage in the Wars of Turlough, a manuscript in the Royal
Irish Academy, it plainly appears that The O' Hurly was one of the Chiefs
«
SOME ACCOUNT OF THE FAMILY OF o'hURLY, 1 1 1
oi Thomond, a.d. 1309. Wheretn it is mentioned that the clans of
Ihh Blod, whose territories can be proved by four passages in the said MS.
to have been on the east side of the Shannon, marched to encounter the
clans of the MacMahons on the west side of the Shannon, and amongst
the former the clan of O'Hurly is mentioned as the clan of Brennan
Baron, of which O'Hurly was Chief.
My second proof is extracted from Mr. Hardiman's CoUeciion of Irish
Deeds, published in the Transactions of the Academy. These deeds
chiefly relate to Thomond, which, it may be proper to state from ancient
authorities, formerly extended from the Isles of Arran on the west to
Slieve Evlinn, near Cashel, in Tipperary, thence to Knockainy, in the
County of Limerick, and from Loop Head to Slighe Dala, in Ossory. The
most ancient of those deeds are without date or signatures, having been
entered into before it became customary in the islands to affix either.
They belong to the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth centuries.
The following deed is considered to be as early as the beginning of
the twelfth century, and is one of the most curious, viz., thus translated :
**TTiis is the mortgage due Conor Oge O'Hurly upon Carrowanchallagh,
viz., 40 cows, that is to say, 7 in-calf cows, and every cow thereof valued
at 3 shillings, and the rest of the cows barren. The said Conor Oge
came by the said lands thus for stealth [Note — Stealth, literally rapine],
and Conor paid 18 cows for the said land, id est, 16 cows to gallowglasses,
and half a mark, fees for Brehon's judgment, otherwise called Oilegheag,
which is derived from oUeagh, a judge, and toe, to pay, and said 18 cows
are without any use accruing to the Conor thereout upon the said land.
And the witnesses present to the said bargain are SlanyNy O'Brien, Fynnola
ny Ma Gorman, Conor O'Amey, and Scnawn O'Leadan. None shall
have power to redeem the same."
It is doubtful whether the land was acquired by force or forfeited as
an Eiric; but from the Brehon's judgment the latter might be inferred.
Fr<Mn the above it would appear that title to lands might have been
acquired by force or forfeited as an Eiric It appears that Conor O'Hurly
so acquired the land of Carrowanchallagh.
The above Conor O'Hurly must certainly have been a son of the
Chief, as among the names on the list we have one of them designated
Irish, that is ''Donough of the Port," which is certainly the same place
mentioned in the deed, namely, the quarter or cantred of the Calaidh, or
Challagh.
This is corroborative evidence of the genuineness of the list of the
chiefs. This place is bounded on the east by the Leadmore, on the south
by the Shannon, and on the north by the Magista. It contains between
400 and 500 acres, in the parish of Kilrush, County of Clare. Its present
possessor is Mr. Vandeleur, in whose family it hat remained since the
time of William the 3rd.
112 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
The Annals of the Four Masters relate that, in 962, the Danes took
several captives in plundering Kildare, and amongst them was Ndll
O'Hurly, who ransomed himself with his own money. This is also stated
in Trias Thaumaturga, page 630. From those various and ancient most
mdisputable authorities, always corroborating each other, it is most evident
that the O'Hurly family is one of the oldest in Ireland. Proof, indeed,
beyond doubt that both the name and lineage of O'Hurly are of ancient
Irish origin." Certified by me,
OWEN CONNELLAN, &c., &c.
Dublin, March 22, 1836.
The O'Hurlys are of the Dalcassian race, and are stated in OTlaherty's
Ogygia to be of the tribe of Hy Bloid, who possessed the territory called
Triocha Hy Bloid, which comprised a great part of the barony of Lower
Ormond and Owney in Tipperary. Their tribe was also designated Clan
Tail, a term which was applied to the Dalcassians. The O'Hurlys are
thus mentioned by O'Heerin : —
"The territory of Hy Bloid, of the silken standards;
The chiefs of conflicts, leaders of the battle hosts ;
The tribe of Clan Tail, as far as the limpid streams.
Along the extensive plain of the Yews,
O'Hurly of the tribe of Tail,
Near to Killalue of St. Flannan.
Delightful are its woods and protective its plains.
From thence westward to the Shannon.'*
A branch of the O'Hurlys also settled in Limerick, where they are
placed in the map of Ortelius, and they also had the parish of Knocklong,
in the barony of Coshlea, where the ruins of their chief castle still remain.
Other branches of the O'Hurlys were settled in Galway, and had large
possessions in the baronies of Kilconnell and Killian and Ballymore, of
which family were Sir William and Sir John Hurly, Baronets. Of the
O'Hurlys of Limerick was Dermod O'Hurly, a celebrated Archbishop of
Cashel in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. There are still several respect-
able families of the name in the Counties of Limerick, Tipperary and
Kerry. — Annals of Ireland, translated from the original Irish of The Four
Masters f by Owen Connellan, Esq., page 199.
In the Liber Munerum Puhlicorem Hihemiae 1 find that Thomas
Hurly, Esq., of Knocklong, represented the borough of Kihnallock in
the Parliament holden before the Rt. Honourable Sir John Perrot, Knight,
Lord Deputy of Ireland, on the 26th of April, a.d. 1585, in the 27th year
of the reign of Elizabeth. The same is corroborated by Lynch in his
View of Legal Institutions of Feudal Dignities. I also find that Sir
William Hurly represented the said borough of Kilmallock in the Parlia-
ment of King James convened in Dublin in May, 1689. ^ ^^d> ^<><>9 ^^^
Dermot O'Hurly, Archbishop of Cashd, suffered martyrdom in Dublin,
^
SOME ACCOUNT OF THE FAMILY OF o'hURLY, 1 1 3
and was buried in St. Kevin's Church, where his body bore the repute
of many miracles.
Certified by me,
Owen Connellan, &c.
Dublin, May 8th, 1837.
** According to Bruodin's History of Ireland ^ page 978, the illustrious
families of the County of Limerick were— O'Brien, O'Hurly, De Burgo,
the House of Desmond, &c.** — Ferrar's History of Limerick, page 389.
** Names and situation of the Tribes settled in Ireland according to
Ptolemy, and of the principal septs or families, at the commencement of
the 17th century, according to O'Connor :
County of Limerick. Ptolemy. O'Connor.
Coriundi. O'Brien. O'Hurley, O'Grady."
— 'Make Brun's Geography, vol. 9., p. 608.
**Of great note and name above the rest in this Nact, Limerick, besides
the Bourkes and Fitzgeralds, are the Lacys and Brownes, of English,
also the O'Briens, MacMahons, and O'Hurlys, of Irish breed." — Camden's
Britannia,
'*In the map of Ortelius, published in 1738 by the Dublin booksellers,
the great families who in former days inhabited the south-eastern parts
of the County of Limerick were the O'Briens, O'Hurlys, &c., &c." —
Ferrar's History of Limerick, page 390.
"In Desmond's attainder, besides many of the Fitzgeralds, we find
the names of O'Brien, Browne, Hurly, McGibbon, Roe, Lacy, &c." —
Fitzgerald's History of Limerick, vol. ii.. Appendix, page 35.
''The great chieftains of this district at the time of the English inva-
sion were the O'Hurlys, Oguins, &c., &c." — Fitzgerald's History of
Limerick, vol. ii., Appendix, p. 34.
''Castletown, a parish in the Barony of Coonagh, Co. of Limerick,
derives its name from an ancient castle built by one of the O'Hurlys
towards the close of the 14th century, and of which there are still some
very interesting remains."
''In Killelonehan, a parish partly in the barony of Coshma, but chiefly
in that of Pubble-Brien, in the County of Limerick^ on the road from
Limerick to Croom, are some remains of a castle built in the 15th century
by Dermot O'Hurly."
"Kilkellane, or Kilcullane, a parish in the barony of Small County,
County of Limerick^ on the road from Limerick to Hospital, and near
the remains of the old church, are the ruins of the Kilcullane Castle, which
was erected by the Hurly s in the 15th century."
The three foregoing extracts are taken from Lewis's Topographical
Dictionary of Ireland.
"Knocklong is a parish in the County of Limerick, and it contains
114
CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHAOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
2,ig8 acres of the richest land. On the hill of Long are the ruins of a
castle, once the residence of the Hurlys. — Fitzgerald's History of Umerick,
vol. i., p. 389.
PEDIGREE.
Thomas Hurly, of Knocklong, represented the borough of Kilmallock in
1583, and during the greater part of Elizabeth's reign, and was suc-
ceeded by his son^
Maurice Hurly, who married, first, Guisell Hogan, and, secondly, Grace
Thornton. By his wife he had a son John and
Sir Thomas Hurly, Baronet, who married Joan, second daughter of John
Browne, of Knuckmunihy and Camus, commonly called the Master of
Awney, by Catherine O'Ryan, daughter of Master I>esmond O'Ryan,
called Master for being Master of the Rolls in Ireland, and by her
he had two sons, Maurice and John, and four daughters. He was
succeeded by his eldest son,
Sir Maurice Hurly ^ who by his wife, Catherine, the daughter of O'Dwyer,
had two sons, William and John, and one daughter, Lettice. He for-
feited his great and ancient estates in Limerick in 1641, and being
removed by Cromwell, according to a favourite expression of his, **to
Connaught or to Hell," to the County of Galway^ he died at his
mansion of Ooone, and was succeeded by his eldest son,
Sir William Hurly, Baronet, who represented the borough of Kilmallock
in 1689, and being zealously attached to the interests of King James
the Second, forfeited the estates in Galway granted by Cromwell to
SOME ACCOUNT OF THE FAMILY OF o'hURLY. » 1 15
his father. He married Mary, daughter of Colonel Blownt, and by
her had one son,
Sir John Hurly, who was taken up in Dublin about the year 1714 for
raising men for the Pretender, but made his escape.
Katherine Hurly, first daughter of Sir Thomas, married Pierce
Butler, fifth Lord Dunboyne, by whom she had one son, the sixth Lord,
and four daughters. Anne Butler married — English, of Co. of — .
Katherine Butler, second daughter, married Daniel O'Ryan, of Sollo-
ghode. Grace Butler, third daughter, married Walter Bourke, near
the Devil's Bit, called Mac Walter Duhee O'Leagh. This Walter's
sister was the wife of Col. Blownt, and mother of the Lady Hurly, wife
of Sir William ; and after his death she married Mac O'Brien, of
Duharra. EUinor Butler, fourth daughter, was wife of McRobiston,
of Ballycloghy, County of Cork, whose daughter, Ellen, by Garrett
Fitzgerald, of Kilmurry, had issue Col. Thomas Fit2^erald, the father
of Garrett, who married Julian, sister of the present O'Sullivan More,
and left issue — ^Thomas, who married Mary, daughter of Patrick Pierce,
of Ballincrossig, County of Kerry.
Ellinor Hurly, fourth daughter of Sir Thomas, by David Barry, of
Rathaniskie, had issue Edmond Barry, the late ''Queen Anne's" foster-
fathen
John Hurly, second son of Sir Thomas, had issue John, the father of the
late Colonel John Hurly, and three daughters.
Grace Hurly, eldest daughter, married Captain John Purdon, of
Tallagh, County of Limerick. Anne Hurly, second daughter, married
John Bourke, of Cahirmogill. Ellinor Hurly, third daughter, married
John Lacey, of Ballinlughane, the father of John and Pierce Lacy, and
of Margaret, married to Captain Owen McCarthy.
Dennis Hurly , a descendant of the brother of Sir Thomas, or of Maurice
Hurly, married Anne, fifth daughter of Robert, second son of John
Blennerhassett, of Ballyseedy, and Alice Conway, second daughter
and co-heir of Elizabeth Conway, of Castle Conway, and by her had
issue five sons — ^Thomas, Charles, John, Dennis, and William. The
last two died young.
Thomas Hurly, first son,- married Alice, daughter to his uncle, Thomas
Blennerhassett, by Jane Darby, and by her had issue three daughters.
Anne Hurly, eldest daughter, died unmarried.
Alice Hurly, second daughter, married Arthur Browne, of Ventry
and Ballinvarrig, and had two sons, Frederick and Thomas, who both
died unmarried, and two daughters — Alice Browne, who married Henry
Sandes, of Moyvane, and by him had a numerous issue ; and the second
daughter, Letitia Browne, married her cousin, Thomas Hurly, and had
a son, Charles.
The ancestors of Arthur Browne were settled in this country in or
Il6 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
before the reign of Henry the Seventh, and he, many years before his ^
death, sold his very respectable estate to his cousin, the first Lord
Ventry.
Jane Hurly, third daughter, married John Mason, of Ballybonney,
eldest son of James Mason and Catherine Power, by whom she had ^
one daughter.
Charles Hurly, second son of Dennis and Anne Blennerhassett, married
Alice Fitzgerald, sole daughter and heir of Edmond Fitzgerald, of
Morniregane, and by her had two sons ai|d one daughter, Mary Anne,
who married Thomas Langley, of Co. Tipperary, and had several
chidren.
Thomas Hurly, first son, married Letitia, second daughter of Arthur
Browne and Alice Hurly, and had one son, Charles^ now deceased.
John Hurly, second son of Charles and Alice Fitzgerald, married Mary
Conway, daughter of Edmond Conway and Christian Rice, by whom
he had two sons, Robert Conway and John, and seven daughters.
Letitia, first daughter, married Rowland, fourth son of Sir Rowland
Blennerhassett, Baronet, and by him had issue John Hurly, Richard ^
Francis, and Rowland Conway, who died young, and five daughters —
Melicent, Agnes, Mary, Letitia, Lucy, and Alice.
Alice Hurly, second daughter, by Alexander Elliott^ left issue —
Alexander, Thomas ^ and Lucy.
Christian Hurly, third daughter, by James Magill, left two sons,
John Hurly and Darby, and Sarah, Lucy, Christian, and Letitia.
Lucy Hurly, fourth daughter, died unmarried.
Arabella Hurly, fifth daughter, died young.
Mary Hurly, sixth daughter, by Barry Collins, has issue — ^Thomas,
John, Barry, Robert, and .two daughters, Mary and Sarah.
Robert Conway Hurly, first son of Jc^n and Mary Conway, is unmarried.
The writer of this book, John Hurly, second son, married Anna Maria
Teresa Hill, only daughter of Hugh Hill, of Mount Hill, Co. of Armagh,
by Eliza^ daughter of Richard Kirwan, of Creg Castle, Co. of Galway,
and Anne Blake, daughter of Sir Thomas Blake, Baronet^ and has
issue — Robert Conway, Hugh, Richard Kirwan, and John, and four
daughters — Eliza, Maria Teresa, Alice, and Letitia.
Robert Conway Hurly, first son of John and Anna Hill, married Dorcas,
eldest daughter of Arthur Blennerhassett, of Ballyseedy, and Frances
Grady.
Copie of a Letter from the Lords of Her Majesty's Cound! to the Lord
President of Munster on behalf of Maurice Hurly, of Knocklong.
"After our heartie commendations to your Lordships. Whereas, the
bearer hereof, Maurice Hurly, a man well recommended to us by your Lord-
ship, hath preferred a petition to us, declaring that being seized of certain
^^
SOME ACCOUNT OF THE FAMILY OF o'hURLY. 1 1 7
Landes named in the petition herein inclosed, which were time out of
minde ancient free landes, and soe alwaies reputed and taken untill late
I years by means of some of the freeholders of that countie in ease of
themselves and their tenants. Some parte of said landes were and are,
as he all^eth, unjustly charged by divers exactions and county imposi-
tions, to his great charge and impoverishment, and humbly praieth that
if he shall make good proofe of his information either before your Lord-
ship or such as you shall appoint in that behalf, he may have confirmation
of that freedom by her Majesty's Letters patent, wherdn he is now a
suitor, that for the better reinhabiting of his said Landes now waste he
may have direction from us to the Lord Deputy of Ireland, that a Markett
once a week and a fair twice a year, may be erected and granted to be
holden at Knocklongy, parcel of the Landes aforesaid, and whereas, lastly,
he maketh humble suit in respect your Lordship knoweth, as he saith,
what envious and most hateful desire both the Irish and all the Traitors
and Rebells of Munster do beare him for his dutiful affection and good
disposition towards her Majesty's service in the said province, and con-
sidering that for the good of the countrie and daylie annoyance of the
rebells he hath been at such great charge and cost of warding the said
castle of Knocklong during the last rebellion in Mounster as his small
abilitie cannot longer maintaine or beare^ that he may therefore have our
direction unto your Lordship, finding his suggestion in that behalf true,
to allow him, if you shall find it convenient, a reasonable number in pay
for the better warding and securing thereof. We therefore having con-
sidered of his said requests and being verie willing to relieve him in all
his just and lawful causes, have thought good hereby to praise and require
you who can best judge of these demands, to examine if the aforesaide
landes were of ancient freedom and alwaies reputed soe and known, and
whether also, you think the granting of the said Markett and fair con-
venient and for the good of the countrie or prejudicial to other Marketts,
if any there be thereunto adjoining — ^and of your Lordship's examination
and opinion both of the one and the other to certifie the Lord Deputy
that he may take order accordingly for grant to be made to the Petitioner
in that behalf. As to the latter part of his petition, for allowance of men
for warding of his castle, we only refer the consideration thereof, as
occasion is or may be to your Lordship, from whom, we doubt not, the
Petitioner shall receive therein such satisfaction as is meete and agreeable
^ both to the convenience of his demands and his own good desert, and
soe we bidde you heartilie well to fare."
**From the court of Greenwich, the laste of Julie, 1601.
\ "Yr loving servants,
Thos. Egerton, W. KnoUys, C. Buckhurst, E. Worcester,
T. Fortescue, Nottingham, Ro. Cecyll, T. Herbert.
*To the Lord President of Munster."
!»
►
i
f
Il8 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHiBOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
I4ote. — ^A copy of this letter, from the Carew MSS. in the Lambftth
Library, was given to me by the Rev. A. B. Nowan. Sir Geoi^e Carew
was President of Munster in 1601.
"Grant from the King to Maurice Hurly, of Knocklonge Castle^ in
Limerick Co., to hold free of any cess or any contribution whatever, the
following landes in the Limk. Co. and in the County of the Rope whereof
he is hatefully seized, viz. : The town and landes of Knocklonge, i|
ploughlands ; Garrencaharra, i ploughland ; Downe Common, Brianstown,
Moorestown, Carrowenstown, Garryhenod, i ploughland. Which several
parcels have been of ancient time free land and not chargeable with any
contribution whatever, altho' of late years during the wars and troubles
of these parts, some parts of them have been charged and burthened with
impositi(Mis contrary to the ancient freedoms thereof." — Patent Rolls ^
fourth year of James I., No. 97.
1 1 1/2. "Grant of late possessions to Maurice Hurley." — Patent RoUs^
fifth year of James I.
Copy of the will of Maurice Hurly, Esq., of Knocklonge, Co. of Limk.,
dated July 16, 1634.
"Memorandum that the i6th of July, 1634, Maurice Hurly, of Knock-
longe, in the Co. of Limerick, Esq., being then and there sicke of body,
but of perfect memorie and understandinge^ made this his last will and nun-
cupative Testament at Knocklonge, in manner and forme following : First,
he bequeathed his soul to Almighty God and to the Angels of Heaven, then
he left his goods, viz., cows, garrons and mares, in three parts, viz., a
third pte to his wife, and the other two pts to his eldest sonne and heir,
Thomas Hurly. Item, he left his sheepe, hc^s, and swyne wch he had
in three parts, viz., a third pt to his wife, and th' other two pts to his
said son, Thos. Hurly. Item, he left all his householde stuffe to be
divided in three parts, a third part thereof to his wife, and the rest to his
son, Thomas Hurly. Item, he left his plate to be divided in three equal
pts betwixt his wife and his son, Thomas Hurly. All the Batterie which
he had, both great and small, he left the same, viz.^ two parts thereof
to his said eldest sonne, Thomas Hurly, and a third thereof to his wife.
"Item, his com in grounde and above grounde he left in three equal
pts, viz., a third to his wife, and the other two pts to his said sonne and
heir, Thos. Hurly. Item, he left the farme he held of my Lord of
Ormonde, of the parsonages of Creane and Kiltitie to be divided between
his said wife and his said sonne, Thomas Hurly, a third thereof to his
said wife during her natural life, and the rest to his said sonne and heir,
Thomas Hurly. Item, the third of all landes wch he purchased since
his marriage, (0 he left to his said wife only during her life, as they are
conveyed to Sir Edward FitzHarris in writinge.W The rest of his pur-
(>) Estates of the Earl of Desmond in the county of Limerick.
(a) A distinguished officer in the English Army, more especially daring the rebellion of
Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, from 1599 to 1603.
SOME ACCOUNT OF THE FAMILY OF O'hURLY. 1 1 9
chases he left to his said sonne and heir, Thomas Hurly, together with
the reversion of the landes in third to his wife. Item, he left Thomas
Hurly and John Cantwell his Ex'ors.
"All the aforesaid laste will and nuncupative Testament, the day,
> year, and place aforesaid, was made and declared by the said Maurice
Hurly in p'sence of John Cantwell, Teige Hagh, and Bryan Kennedy.
**Maurice Hurly." (Seal).
^ This copy of the will of Maurice Hurly is taken from the original in
the Registry Office of the Prerogative Court in Dublin.
Grace Thornton, second wife of Maurice Hurly, was prol^bly a daughter
of Sir George Thornton, one of the Undertakers to plant the forfeitures.
The following is a copy of the will of Sir Maurice Hurly, of Doone, in the
^ Co. of Galway, Baronet.
**In the name of God, Amen, the 3rd day of September, 1688. I, Sir
Maurice Hurly, now of Doone, in the Co. of Galway, Baronet, being of
good and perfect memory, thanks be to Almighty God, do make and
constitute, ordain and declare this my last will and Testament in manner
** and forme following, revoking and annulling by those presents all former
wills, Legacies, and Testaments by me heretofore made and declared to
be made either by word or writing, and this to be for my last Will and
L Testament. And, first, being penitent and sorry from the bottom of my
heart for my sins past, and most humbly desiring forgiveness for the
same, I give and committ my soul to Almighty God, praying and desiring
that the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the Holy Saints, Angels in Heaven,
may be intercessors to my Blessed Saviour Jesus Christ, that I may, after
my leaving this world, be seated amongst that blessed Tribunal, desiring
^ that I may be buried according to the Roman Catholic and Christian
Religion, wherein I ever lived and now dye, in such decency and manner
as my Ex'ors hereafter named shall think fit and proper and for settling
of my real and personal estate, I do order, give, and dispose of the same
in manner and form following, that is to say, first, I do settle and confirm
unto my eldest son, William Hurly, Esq., alji my real estate after my own ^
» decease, now in my possession, saving to my wife a third part during her
life, whereof my chief mansion, known and called by the name of Doone,
to be part, and after her decease all to be and revert to my said son,
k William Hurly, and for the lands that I have been dispossessed of and
P to which I have a just title, and now is depending in Law, after the re-
covering thereof, I leave and bequeath unto my sons, William and John
^ Hurly, to be equally divided amongst them for ever, together with the
maine issues and profits thereof, and as to my personal estate, I do be-
queath the two parts thereof to my dear and loving wife, Margaret O'Dyer,
alias Hurly, whom by these I nominate my Ex'ors, and my son, John, to
be joined therein with her in execution of all and singular the premises
I20 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHiEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
according to the true intent and meaning of my last Will and Testament. I
also bequeath and leave to my servant, Owen Hagh, one house and garden
and the freedom of six collops during his life.
''In witness to all which I have hereunto put my hand and seal the
day and year above written.
"Maurice Hurly. (Seal).
"Sealed, delivered, and published in the presence of us, Roger Kelly,
Owen Hagh, Ricd. Butler."
"Post Scriptum. — It is also my further will and I do hereby give and
bequeath unto my son, John Hurly, and my daughter, Lettice, three
hundred pounds sterling, to be equally divided between them, and to be
paid by my son, William Hurly, out of the real estate hereby settled
upon him, upon his being possessed thereof after my decease^ or the due
interest thereof yearly until the said sum be paid, and in case the said
Lettice should dye unprefered, that her share of the said will should revert
to my son, William Hurly, only that she may be allowed to dispose of
twenty pounds thereof, as she think fitt and proper, and if said John
should dye without issue, that his part should reverte to my son, William
Hurly.
"I do also bequeath all the debts and demands due to me^ both of
John Bullinbrook, John Burke, Esqs. , and all others, to be equally 'divided
betwixt my two sons, and also the Lease parole of four years made by
Bullinbrook to me of Ballincarown. I do further declare that if my
daughter, Letise, should survive my son, John, that her part should revert
to my son, William.
'As witness my hand and seal, the day and year above written,
"Maurice Hurly.
Being present as witnesses, Roger Kelly, Mortage Byrne, Richard
Butler."
"Post Scriptum. — I do give and bequeath unto my wife all my house-
holde stuffe of what kind or quality soever, and after her decease the same
to reverte and be to my son, William. And this bdng my last Will and
Testament, I do publish and declare, the day and year above written, the
same to all intents and purposes, to be executed, performed, and done by
my said Ex 'tors according to the true intent and meaning thereof. I do
leave and bequeath unto my Lord Bp. of Clonfert two Pounds sterg. ; to
the convent of Kilconnell, three pounds sterg. ; to the Bishop of Elphin,
20s. ; to the convent of Athenry, 20s. ; to the Parish Priest, 20s. I do
bequeath to my sister, Elizabeth, Tenn pounds. I do likewise leave and
bequeath to my brother, William Hurly, five pounds, together with my
coat, sword, and young ooult Item, unto Richard Butler, 20s. It is
my will and pleasure that my brother, William, and my sister, Elizabeth, are
to take the value of the money in cattle. I do further give and bequeath
to the Convent of Lora 20s. I do leave to my son, John, if my ancient
<f
«r
SOME ACCOUNT OF THE FAMILY OF o'hURLY. 121
estate be recovered, two hundred Pounds per annum, for himself and his
heirs for ever. I do further declare this to be part of the will. As witness
my hand and seal this 3rd day of September, 1683.
••Maurice Hurly." (Seal).
. Although Sir Maurice Hurly here styles himself Baronet, and although
his father. Sir Thomas, and his son and grandsons, Sir William and John,
are styled Baronets in all the old histories and prints and manuscript
records I read, many of them now in my possession, yet the name of Hurly
does not appear in the existing or extinct Baroneties. This appears very
strange to me, for I cannot believe that they would assume any title to which
they did not consider themselves fully and legally entitled.
Note. — ^The ancient estate was unquestionably Knocklong, the seat
and estate of his ancestors for centuries, and of which, being faithful to
his lawful sovereign, he was plundered by the usurper, who gave him
an estate in the County of Galway, which his son, Sir William, also faithful
to his sovereign, James II., forfeited in 1691. I may well say they were
faithful to the House of Stuart, and were ruined by their fidelity.
"A.D. 1690. While the main army lay encamped at Golden Bridge,
• Mr. John Grady, of Corbray, in the County of Clare, arrived, and among
other things, told that the Irish had already began to set fire to the greater
part of the County of Limerick, and that Lord Brittas, Lord Lieutenant
of the County, and Sir William Hurly, his Deputy Lieutenant, had the
, greatest share in those burnings." — Harris, Life of WUliam the Thirds
' folio, page 34S.
"The English army marched from Carrick to Golden Bridge, three
miles from Cashel, where Sir John Grady, of Corbray, in the County of
Clare, arrived with some intelligence respecting the posture of strength
of the Irish army. He stated that Lord Brittas and Sir William Hurly
were devastating the country." — Fitzgerald's History of Limerick, vol. ii.,
page 332.
In the Irish Parliament, 1689, an Act was passed, entitled "An Act
of supply for his Majesty James the Second, for the support of his army,"
and in the list of Commissioners for carrying that Act into effect appear
^ the names of Lords Castleconnell and Brittas, Sir John Fizgerald, and
Sir William Hurly, Baronets, as Commissioners for the Co. of Limerick.
I have copied the following extract from a very scarce work in the
Dublin Library, entitled "List of Claims," as they are entered with the
[^ Trustees at Chichester House, in Dublin, on or before August 10, a.d.
I 1700; printed in 1701. "No. 931. Sir John Hurly, Baronet, a minor,
by Bryen McBrien, his guardian, as son and heir of Sir William Hurly,
Bart., the estate of Mdnalibeg, Shanballytyne, and Corlack in fee tail
special after the death of claimant's mother, Dame Mary O'Brien, alias
Hurly, in virtue of marriage articles dated June 19, 1682, and witnessed
by James Lord Dunboyne, Thomas Butler, and Jno. Hurly." "This
claifli was not allowed."
10
122 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHiEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
"In the engagement at Thomond Gate, six hundred of the Irish
perished in this sanguinary contest, besides cme hundred and fifty who
were forced over the bridge; while Colonels Skelton, Hurly, sixteen other
officers, and above one hundred privates were taken prisoners." —
Fitzgerald's History of Limerick, vol. ii., p. 370.
Dean Story, in his interesting and now very scarce Account of the
Civil Wars in Ireland^ states that in the attack at Thomond Gate Lt.-Col.
Hurly was wounded. Story was Dean of Limerick.
"Dermod O'Hurly, Archbishop of Cashel, was the first martyr this
year, 1583, in Ireland. He studied at Louvain and in Paris with celebrity,
and was Professor of Law in the former of these universities. He went
afterwards to Rome, where he was kindly received by Gregory the
Thirteenth, who appointed him Archbishop of Cashel. Full of zeal for
the salvation of his brethren, he set out, after his consecration, for Ireland,
where he found all things in a state of anarchy. The see of Cashel was
held by Miler Magrath, an apostate monk of St. Francis ; the altars were
overthrown, the Catholic clergy left without an asylum, and were forced
to assume women's apparel. All, however, did not diminish the zeal of
the new Bishop of Cashel. He taught in the Catholic houses, and con-
firmed the faithful in their religion, making no distinction of province
or diocese. Being with Thomas, Lord Baron of Slane, in the County of
Meath, he was recognized by the Chief Justice of the King's Bench,
who sent intelligence of his discovery to Adam Loftus, the Chancellor,
and Henry Loftus, the Treasurer. They immediately gave orders to the
Baron to send them the prelate in chains. He had, however, escaped;
but the Baron, dreading the rigour of the laws enacted against those who
harboured priests, pursued him as far as Carrick-on-Suir, where he
was arrested, in September, at the Earl of Ormond's, and brought a
prisoner to Dublin. He was loaded with chains and confined in a dungeon
till Holy Thursday of the following year^ when he was brought before
the Chancellor and Treasurer. They tried every means to make him
renounce the Pope's authority and to acknowledge that of the Queen,
who would appoint him to the see of Cashel ; but the perseverance of the
holy prelate in the ancient religion and his firm adherence to the authority
of the Vicar of Jesus Christ, caused the most cruel tortures to be in-
flicted upon him. He was hanged on the 7th of June without the city
before daybreak, in order to avoid any tumult which so inhuman a
spectacle might produce among the people." — ^The Ahh6 MacGec^hegan's
History of Ireland^ vol. viii., p. 481.
''Thomas Hurly, Bishop of Emly, founded a college for secular priests,
and died at a very advanced age in 1542." — Beaston's Political Index^
vol. iii., and Postchaise Companion.
"Presentation of Donough Ryan chaplain to the perpetual deanery of
the Cathedral Church of Emly, vacant, inasmuch as Richard McBryan
SOME ACCOUNT OF THE FAMILY OF o'hURLY. 1 23
and William O'Hurly, incumbents, hold the same by the authority of the
Bishop of Rome. "—Pafent Rolls, thirty-fourth Henry VIIL, 42, 9, 24 Aug.
"Presentation of Edmond Hurly, notwithstanding his minority and
defect of clerical orders, to the Chancellorship of the Cathedral of Emly,
and to Kiltite and Clonbine, Vies. Emly Dioc., vacant and in the King's
gift, Jure Devoluto, or otherwise, and united for this town only, on account
of the smallness of their incomes and their mutual proximity.** — Patent
Rolls, sixth of James I.
"Presentation of Randal Hurly, notwithstanding his minority and defect
of clerical orders, to the Chancellorship of the Cathedral of Emly and to
Egilishcormick Chaplaincy and Disertlouras Vic, Emily Dioc., vacant
and in the King's gift. Jure Devoluto, or otherwise, and united for this
town only on account of the smallness of their incomes and their mutual
proximity." — Patent Rolls, sixth James I., 17th Dec.
Annabella Browne, the elder sister of Joan Browne, Wife of Sir Thomas
Hurly, married, first, William Apseley, of Limerick, by whom she had
two daughters, co-heirs — Mary Apseley, who married Sir Thomas Browne,
of the Hospital, in Co. Limerick, brother to Sir Nicholas Browne, of
Ross, ancestor of the Lord Kemare, by whom she had two sons and five
daughters. Joan Apsley, her second daughter, was the first wife of the
first Earl of Cork, but left no issue. This Apsley married afterwards
Captain Thomas Spring, the first of that family who came to Kerry as
an Undertaker in the reign of Elizabeth, and by him had two sons and
five daughters.
Dermot O'Ryan, see page 25, was Master of the Rolls in the County
Palatine of Tipperary.
Inquisitions Preserved in the Rolls Office.
Mauricius Hurly, Charles L, 1629, Co. of Limerick.
Mauritius Hurly, Charles I., 1629, C^* ^^ Tipperary.
Thomas Hurly, Charles L, 1635, Co. of Limerick.
Gulielmus Hurly, Co. of Galway.
Randal Hurley, Charles I., 1631, Co. of Cork.
Downell McTeige Hurly, Charles I., 1644, Co. of Cork.
Mauritius Hurly, Charles L, 1637, Co. of Limerick.
In 1649 Monsignor Rinuncini, Archbishop of Fermo, President of the
Catholic Confederation, Kilkenny, wrote to the General of the Jesuits
praising Father O'Hurley, S.J., rector of the Limerick College; and
Father Nidier, Visitor, describes him : '*The Rector, Limerick, is Father
William O' Hurley, aged fifty, of noble and ancient stock, devout ^ chari-
table, humble, and learned."
In 1697 Thomas Hurley, by payment of 3,200 florins, founded Bourses
in the university of Louvain for the education of his next of kin, and then
for natives of Limerick and Tipperary.
(To be continued,)
124 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCH«OLOGICAL SOCIETV.
Medals and Memorials of the Irish Volunteers
oM 780 and 1797.
By ROBERT DAY, F.S.A.
T is now some time siooe any addition to the list of medals
, representing Volunteer Corps has appeared in the Journal.
The giving of such, as rewards for distinguished service
to "the glorious cause" was common to all the armed
associations in "the Kingdom of Ireland." They were
not only gifts from the offioers to the men, but were
also given by the rank and file to their favourite commanders.
Scarce a month passes but Irish Volunteer medals appear in the
London catalogues, and others find their way to the West End
dealers. The pieces of Volunteer pottery which have been illustrated
from time to time in the Journal show how popular the Volunteer move-
ment had become, and how the patriotic action of the various associa-
ti<Mis had endeared them to the people. In further illustration of this, I
have recentiy acquired a small oval box of Bilston enamel, having on
the cover a Volunteer at attention, and the same motto as upon the
Wedgwood jug of 1780, "Success to the Irish Volunteers." Memorials
oi a more useful and valuable kind are also occasionally met with, of
which are a pair of silver pierced and engraved circular coasters, with the
Irish hall-marks, but without date-letter, made by (C. H.) Charles Hunter,
Dublin. They have the usual oak centres, but hidden and covered by
sheets of silver, botb of which bear the inscription — "The Dubhn Volun-
teers present this token of respect and esteem to their worthy fellow
soldier, Mr. Richard Crampton, as a testimoy of the sense they entertain
of his meritorious conduct upon all occasions. And the great service
they have derived from his application and int^rity in the Office of
Treasurer. April ist, 1783."
The following medals from my collection, like those that have already
appeared in the Journal, are unique and unpublished, viz. :
Cork Artillery, 1779.
Circular engraved medal of silver, two inches in diameter, with raised
border and loop.
Obv. — The arms of Cork with the motto "Statio Bene Fide Carinis."
la this the castles are on elevated rocks above the ocean, on which is a
full-rigged ship passing the harbour from the westward.
MEDALS AND MEMORIALS OF THE IRISH VOLUNTEERS.
Rev. — Cork Artillery, great gaa practice, August, 1779, Gunner T.
O'Byrne, best shot."
The uniform of this battery was blue, faced scarlet, yellow buttons^
gold lace. Captain Commandant, Richard Hare, Junr. We learn in
reference to this Volunteer Association from tbe Hibernian Magaeine
that on May 13, 1784, great numbers joined the Cork Independent Artil-
lery ; two travelling nrne-pounders and two small ones are now completed
for their useL Their motto is, "Life with Freedom, Or Death with
Slavery." There is, of course, no connection whatever between this
Volunteer battery and the Royal Cork City Raiment, which was raised
in 1794.
Great Island Cavalry, 1782,
This association is represented by a circular silver engraved medals
two inches in diameter, with raised reeded rim and loop.
Obv. — A Roman soldier erect with arms extended, heading in the dexter
126
CORK HISTORKAL AND ARCHiEOLOGICAL SOCIETV.
hand a aaked dagger directed towards a pedestal on which is a human
skull. In the sinister band a crown, which is held dangerously near a
smoking furnace. In exergue, "Great Island Cavalry."
Rev. — For skill at arms and ball firing, given by Capt. Colthurst to
M. CuUen, 1782."
This troop was formed on June 24th, 1783. Its uniform was scarlet,
faced green, gold epaulettes, yellow buttons, white jackets edged red.
Captain Commandant, Wallis Colthurst.
It and the "Hawke Union" were the only Volunteer corps on the Great
Island, of which Cove was the chief town.
Imokilly Artillery, 1779.
In one of the early numbers of our Journal a medal of "The Imokilly
Blue Horse" is recorded, which was commanded by Colonel Robert
Uniacke Fitzgerald, who was also Commandant of the Imokilly Blue
ArtUlery,('>The medal is of silver, engraved, and oval in form. It measures
2^ inches long by i| inch wide, and has on the
Obverse — An Artillery Volunteer in uniform standing behind a field-
piece, holding in the dexter hand a scouring sponge, and in the sinister a
lighted match. In excise, "Imokilly Blue Artillery," with the watch-
word "Ready," and over all a sun in glory issuing from behind a bank of
clouds, the device recalling one of the favourite emblems used upon the
brass and china clock dials of the eighteenth century.
Reverse — "Colonel R, U. Fitzgerald, Commanding the Corps, adjudged
this badge of merit to R. MacCarthy, 1779."
(1) Not Kcotded in McMevin's "Roister of the Volunteers, " Dublin, 1845.
MEDALS AND MEMORIALS OF THE IRISH VOLUNTEERS. I 27
This Colonel Fit^erald was the g^reat-|^randfather of Sir Robert
Uniacke Penrose Fitzgerald, Bart., M.P. for Cambridge, of Corkb^
Island, Cork Harbour.
Medal op the Muskerry Blue Light Dragoons, 1779.
This decoration is of silver engraved work, oval, 2} by ij inches.
Obv. — Upborne by an eagle displayed grasping a thunderbolt, a shield
or, chaigred with a harp ppr. Around the margin, "Muskerry Blue Light
Dr^oons. "
Rev. — "Merit rewarded, Colonel Robert Warren to T. More, 1779."
The members of this troop were associated on June ist, 1778. Its
uniform was blue lapelled, edged white, stiver epaulettes, white jackets
edged blue. Ll-Co1., H. Hutchinson; Major, Saml. Swete. It was also
succeeded by the "Muskerry Cavalry," whose officers were— Captain,
Augustus Warren; First Lieut, Samuel Swete; Second Lieut, George
Rye, all of whose commissions were dated 31st of October, 1796.W
At a meeting of the Muskerry True Blue Light Dragoons, the Blarney
Volunteers, the Muskerry Volunteers, the Muskerry True Blue Infantry,
and the Inchigeela Volunteers, held in Macromp (Macroom), on Monday,
the i8th day of March, 1782, Colonel Robert Warren, of the Muskerry
Light Dragoons, in the chair, among the six resolutions unanimously
resolved was the following: — "That we will co-operate with our brother
128 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCH^OLOGICAL SOCIETY.
Volunteers, ia the most speedy, constitutional, and effectual meana of
obtaining a full redress of the grievances mentioned la their resolutiona. "
These resolutions and the. address were those of the Ulster Volunteen
represented at the great meeting at Dungannon, on February 15, 1783.
The Kerrecr Coupany, 1780.
This is an oval silver ei^raved medal, 2^ by i| inches, with hinged
loop.
Obverse — A central figure of an armed Volunteer, with a harp sus-
pended from the bole of a tree at his right, and at the left on a pedestal
entwined by a serpent a Regal Crown. In exergue, "Latet Auguit in
Herba" (the snake lies hid in the grass).
Reverse— "The Kerrech Company Volunteers. Thos. Roberts, Colonel,
rewards the military zeal of James Roche, 1780."
This was "The Kinalea and Kerricurrihy Union," whose ofBcers were—
Colonel Thomas Roberts, Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Herrick, and Major
John Roberts. In 1796 they were succeeded by the "Kinalea and Kerry-
curshy Cavalry," commanded by Captain, William Henry Moore- Hodder;
First Lieutenant, WiUiam Worth Newenham; and Second Ueutenant,
John Meade, whose commissions were dated 31st October, 1796.
Kerricurrihy and Kinalea are now one barony; the former was anciently
called Muskery Millane, and the latter I nsovenagh.— Smith's Cork.
The Youghal Union, 1780.
McNevin, in his list of the Volunteers of Ireland, assigns the fc^oiring
to Youghal, viz. — "Youghal Independent Rangers," Lt.-Col, Meade
Hobson and Major John Swayne; "Youghal Independent Volunteers,"
MBDALS AND MEMORIALS OF THE IRISH VOLUNTEERS. I 29
Captain Boles; "Yougha] Union Fuuleers, 1779." uniform, scarlet,
faced blue, edged white, white buttona, Major Commandant Thomas
Green. The medal ccmnected with this latter -corps is of engraved silver,
and two inches in diameter. In the field of the obverse is a cannon, with
scouring rods, ammunition, entrenching tools, &c., surmounted by a
harp and the title of the corps, "Yougbal Union Volunteers," and below
"Victori Perpetuo. "
Reverse — ^To Fergus Moore, from Major Thomas Green, a token
of regard, 1780."
Kerry Voluntbers,
13© CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETV.
This corps is not included in McNevin's list of th« Volunteers of
Munster. He mentions the Kerry Legion Cavalry of 1779, commanded
by Rowland Bateman, and the Kerry Legion, January, 1779, Colonel
Arthur Blennerhasset, Commandant. The medal of the Kerry Volunteers
is unusually fine as a specimen of engraved silver-work. It has a raised
flat ix>rder, containing an endless chain of Shamrocks, tertninating in a
cluster of the same (hat form a loop for suspension. The field of the
medal is in keeping with the rim, having a scroll inscribed, "Kerry
Volunteers," surmounted by a double spray of shamrocks. The reverse
has, upon a plain ground, "Won by P. Mahoney, Colonel Gunn, 1783."
This was Colonel Gunn who in 1779 was also commandant of the Gunsboro'
Union. (See vol. vi., second series, p. 216, of this Journal).
The Kilfinnan Volunteers, 1776.
The engraved silver medal associated with this corps is two inches in
diameter, with a raised cast and chased border.
Obverse — A trophy of arms, spears, and banners, and in the foreground
cannon, round shot, and musical instruments. On the left a winged figure
of Victory pointing to a shield with the motto, "Nil timere" [should be
Nil Temeri], nothing rashly. In exergue. "Kilfinnan Foot Volunteers."
Reverse — "Merit rewarded by Colonel S. Oliver, adjudged to James
McManus, 1778."
This infatry corps was associated in 1776. Its uniform was scarlet,
faced pomona green, and its Commandant the Right Hon. Silver Oliver.
Kilfinane is a fair town in the County Limerick, situated eastward of
Kilmallock and Charleville, on a slope of the Ballyhoura mountains that
border on the County Cork. Representatives of Colonel Oliver's family
MEDALS AND MEMORIALS OF THE IRISH VOLUNTEERS. I3I
were in Cork at a comparatively recent period, when Silver Charles Oliver,
Esq., resided at Inchera, and is now represented by his granddai^bter,
who married Sir George St. John Colthurst, Bart., of The Castle, Blarney.
Barhymore Cavalry, 1797.
This troop must not be confounded with the unpaid and unfettered
Volunteers of 1782. It was raised in 1797 as a Veomanry Corps, but
like many others of the same family, preferred to be called by the historic
name of "Volunteers." In this they followed the example of the Water-
ford Militia who were the 33rd Rf^tment on the Irish establishment, but
who, on a silver medal of 1798 in the author's collection, are styled the
"Waterford Volunteers, 33rd Regiment" The Barrymore Cavalry medal
is of silver, engraved, with a raised cast and chased oval border and loop,
2j inches long by ij inch wide.
Obv. — A harp upon a background of two pennants in saltire. Above
"Cork," and below, upon a semicircular riband, "Barrymore Cavalry."
Rev. — "Awarded to Mr. Pierce Power, for skill, by the Earl of Barry-
more, Captain, 1797."
In the Army List of 1804 Mr, Pierce Power appears as holding a
lieutenant's commission, dated 31st May, 1803. The troop was composed
of I captain, 2 subalterns, 2 sergeants, i trumpeter, and 40 men. In
1803, six years after the date of the medal, they were commanded by
Captain Robert Courtney, of Ballyedmond, Midleton, and two lieutenants,
viz., Robert ^tartin and Pierce Power, who was the recipient of the medal.
132
CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHJ»>LOGICAL SOCIBTY.
Cork County Volunteers, 1803.
This is another medal of the same character. It is of silver, engraved,
with a flat raised and chased border of excellent desi^ and workmanship,
and measures i^ inch in diameter.
Obv. — A crowned harp between two branches of shamrocks.
Rev.— "Awarded to Mr. Richard Felton by CoL Lord Boyle. For
Merit."
The County Cork Volunteers numbered all told in 1803 41839 men, com-
posed of 73 re^ments, with territorial titles, consisting of 46 infantry
and 19 cavalry corps. Of these Colonel Lord Boyle had under his com-
mand five, viz., one of cavalry and four infantry, to one of which this
medal must be assigned {Parliamentary Blue Book, 1803).
Cork Cavalry.
MEDALS AND MEMORIALS OF THE IRISH VOLUNTEERS.
133
This corps was associated prior to 1781. It does not appear in
McNevin*s registered list of the Volunteers, but is g^ven in the roll of
the County Cork Cavalry, see Journal^ vol. iii.- p. 320, Hist. County and
City Cork.
It was commanded by Colonel William Chetwynd, and its uniform
was of scarlet, faced blue, laced silver, with silver epaulettes and white
buttons. The medal is of engraved silver, 1} inch diameter, with geld
suspender.
Obverse — ^A mounted Volunteer firing from a pistol.
Reverse — "Second Troop Cork Volunteer Cavalry. Colonel William
Chetwynd awarded this prize to P. Walsh for pistol practice, 1781.*'
This is the only instance I have met with of a medal given for practice
with the pistol.
The Kilworth Cavalry, 1796.
This troop consisted of 52 members all told viz., one Captain, Right
Hon. the Earl of Mount Cashell; First .'Lieutenant, Thomas Power;
Second Lieutenant, Edward Morrogh (whose commissions were dated
31st October, 1796); three sergeants, one trumpeter, twenty«five mounted
and twenty dismounted men.
The medal is 2i inches in diameter, of silver, engraved, and has on
the obverse— two lances in saltire, with branches of shamrock, and "Kil-
worth Cavalry, Cork." Reverse— * 'To Mr. John Foot, for merit, Eari
of Mount Cashell, Commanding, 1797.'*
134 c<^i^k historical and aschieological society,
Mbdal op the Dusum Voluntbbrs, 1781.
This historic Volunteer corps was commanded by the great and ^fted
Henry Grattan. Two medals given by him are in the writer's ccdlection,
one of gold/3)and this of silver, which is circular in form, and two inches
in diameter.
The Obverse has engraved upon it a Volunteer fully equipped, in the
background a pile of round-shot and hand grenades, with the motto,
"Quis Separabit," and on the margin the regimental title, "Dublin
Independent Volunteers," the letters interspersed with shamrocks.
Reverse — The gift of Colonel H. Gratton to WiUiam Grady for merit,
1781."
A reference to this re^ment occurs in the Hibernian Magaeine : <*>
"June I, 1779. The company of gentlemen who compose the Independent
Dublin Volunteers were reviewed in the lawn at Ranelagh by His Grace
the Duke of Leinster, where they made a very fine appearance, and went
through their evolutions and firings with the greatest exactness, to the
entire satisfaction of His Grace, many prindpal officers of the army, and
a very numerous assentbly of spectators. After the Review they were
entertained at a very el^ant cold collation."
Ui "JoutmI. R.S.A. of Iretond," p. 317, Dec. 1900.
(4) Anno 1779, p. 374.
The Kot^Nii Towei
M
THE ROUND TOWER OF KINNEIGH. 1 35
The Round Tower of Kinneight Go. :G>rk.
N the Cork Mercantile Chronicle of the 14th August, 1833,
there is a description of this unique tower and a disser-
tation on that ever-verdant controversy — the ** origin
and use** of the round towers. The article is signed
J. W., the initials of our industrious Cork antiquary,
John Windele. Of the many advocates of the pagan
\^Bm V«R origin of these towers Windele was, perhaps, one of
the ablest; and be the theory, which he supported, wrong or right —
in its publication we are not necessarily to be understood as identifying
ourselves with its merits — it must still retain an abiding interest for
the student of these strange, mysterious monuments. The article is one
of those that were contributed by Irish antiquaries to the local press in
days preceding the inception of Irish archaeological journals — ^a class of
literature in which Ireland is now remarkably rich and well represented —
and that are now deserving of a more congenial and befitting resting place.
It bears a somewhat out of date appearance, no doubt, owing not exactly so
much to the efflux of time as to the rapid headway made in the study of Irish
antiquities within the past half a century ; but it is, nevertheless, now well
worth unearthing and republishing in our county Archaological Journal.
J. Buckley.
The most singular specimen of the Turaghan, or fire tower, remaining
at present in Ireland is that of the Round Tower of Kinneigh. It stands
at a distance of 124 feet from the south-west angle of the rude and homely
church of Kinneigh, in a wild and rugged district, situate within two
miles of the village of Ballychon, or Inniskean, in the western part of the
County of Cork, and is based on a solid rock. Its present height is
seventy feet; the covering and upper portion having been long since
destroyed. The basement to the height of fifteen feet is hexagonal, a
form peculiar to this tower.
The stones of which this part is built are remarkably well cut and
joined together. The circumference is about sixty-one feet, and the
breadth of the wall four feet three inches. The door, which faces the east,
is an oblong opening, five feet high by three in width, and is twelve feet
from the ground. The upper part of the structure is circular. It is built
of the common brown-stone of the country, from the interstices of which,
on the exterior face, time has, in a great measure, removed the cement.
The part of the structure which remains at present contains four small
square apertures for the admission of air and light; one facing the west,
another the south-west, and the others, at opposite sides and different
heights, all corresponding to the floors now gone, but whose places are
marked within by four circular rests or belts projecting from the wall, at a
height of about ten feet from each other. A stone or flagged floor re-
mains at the landing from the doorway, in the centre of which is a square
open, large enough to permit a man to go down into a dark chamber,
whose use is unknown. The same form — a hexagonal base, vnth cylin-
drical superstructure — as the inside of the tower. The diameter at the
doorway is t^n feet.
1*36 CORK HISTORICAL ABTD ARCHiGOLOGICAL SOCIETV.
The ndglibouring peasantry are, of ocmrse, (]uite ignorant of the origin
or use of the tower; they simply call it ctOcagh, a name, however, suffi-
deotly indicative of its heathen origin — cUl signifies a temple, and agh, fire
— ^the sun — ^and state that it was erected by a holy man, in former times,
who, like the builders of Babel^ designed that it should reach the heavens,
but being remonstrated with by angeb, who did not sufficiently relish
the project, he stayed its further ascent when it had reached a height of
about loo feet, and much against his will placed a cap upon it, m^ich
effectually prevented its growth for many successive ages, and ^dK>se loss
in later times has tended to curtail it of its fair dimensions. This is a
l^end, like that describing the marvellous origin of our lakes, varying
but little from that which those neighbouring to similar towers all over
the bland tell, and defies the most desperate unraveller of popular tradi-
tions to distinguish a scintilla in it to guide him to the discovery of the
true history of its founder or era.
The architectural style of the building is a better index; it refers its
erection to a period extremely remote, anterior, certainly, to the introduc-
tion of the pointed style in the twelfth century, or the debased Roman
(commonly called Saxon), which prevailed in this island between the latter
age and the sixth century, and in which all the Damhliags, or stcme
churches of that interval, whose ruins still cover the /sland, have been
erected. Yet Smith, in his History of Cork, pretends, upon the authority
of some MS. annals of Munster^ that this tower was built in the year
1015, by St. Mocholmog (Columba the younger). I shrewdly suspect the
Doctor's imagination, rather than his old MS., supplied the informaticm;
certain it is, that no subsequent writer has given credit to the statement ;
he has not even furnished us with the important extract. The Innisfallen
annals are silent about this tower, and the anachronism of placing
Mocholmog in the eleventh century deprives the allegation of all authority.
The architectural style — I repeat the name pregnant with meaning — the
general notices in our annals, and the proofs derivable from Oriental
affinity, are, of themselves, impr^nable helps in clearing up this long
mysterious subject.
The name ciUcagh announces at once a fane devoted to that form of
religion, compounded of Saboeism,or star-worship, and Buddhism, of which
the sun, represented by fire, was the principal deity in all the kindred
mythologies of India, Persia, Phoenicia, Phrygia, Samothrace, and Ireland.
This idolatry was different from the Druidical religion of Gaul and Britain ;
indeed, between both there were but few points of identity: Zerdust or
Zoroastres, the reformer of the Persian religion, was the first who caused
Pyreia, or fire temples, to be erected. Hanway tells us that four of them
which he saw at Sari are of the most durable materials, round, about
thirty feet in diameter, and raised in height to a point of about 120 feet.
It is objected to our Pyreia that there was no necessity of carrying them
up to so great a height. The objection equally lies against those at Sari.
Fire-temples also constituted part of the Brahminical worship; they were
called, like ours, coU from chalana, to bum. Mr. Pennant, speaking of
the Indian Polygars, says, that they retain their old religion, and that
thdr Pagodas are very numerous. "Their form, too," he says, "arc
different, being chiefly buildings of a cylindrical or round tower shape,
with their tops either pointed or tnmcated." Lord Valenda describes
two round towers which he saw in India, near Bhangulphore : he tays.
THE ROUND TOWER OF KINNEIGH. 1 37
'^tbey much resemble those buildings in Ireland.'' The door is elevated;
they possess a stone roof, and four large windows at the summit.
From our still imperfect acquaintance with the literary remains of
ancient Ireland, we are not aware of many notices of our round towers
occurring in the early documents yet preserved. In our annals the names
of such places as Muighe Tuireth na mh Fomotoch, that is, the plain of
the Fomorian Tower ; Maytura, the plain of the Towers in Mayo ; Tor inis,
the island of the Tower. The Tower of Temor, and many others, are
mentioned with reference to the most remote periods of our history. The
Ulster Annals at the year 448, speak of a terrible earthquake, felt in
various parts in that year, by which fifty-seven towers were destroyed or
injured. « The Annals of the Four Masters mention, at the year 898, the
Turaghan Angcoire, or fire-tower of the anchorite, at Inis Cailtre in the
Shannon; and the same annals, as well as those of Ulster, note at the
year 995 the destruction at Armagh, by lightning, of its Hospital,
Cathedral, Palace, and Fidhnemead, or Celestial Index, i.e., Round
Tower.
These two last notices are very conclusive ; the first name, Turaghan^
literally signifies a fire-tower, the addition, Angcoire, refers to an appro-
priation for anchoritical uses, long posterior to the erection of the edifice.
This accords with the general practice of the early Christian clergy, who
placed their churches on the sites of the Druid fanes, and sought to con-
secrate places already endeared by the superstition of a Pagan people, to
the purposes of true religion. Thus in the old life of St. Mocteus, by a
writer who flourished in the seventh century, it is related, that when he
came to Louth he found the place in the possession of the Magi, whereupon
he lighted a fire, which they seeing, endeavoured to extinguish, lest their
own idolatrous fire should fail, but Mocteus proving the victor, founded
his monastery there.
That anchorites, and they were very numerous in Ireland, may have
shut themselves up in some towers which they may have found unoccu-
pied and fit for their purpose, is not now to be questioned. The tower at
Inis Cailtre was so seized on and used, but it is very ridiculous to suppose
that this body of men adopted a style of building here unlike anything in
use among them in any other country ; in fact the Anchorite Inclusorii were
very different from those towers; that in which Marianus Scotus was
confined at Fulda was a cell with an external wall. The anchorite habita-
tions are invariably called cells by old writers, not towers ; nor can I see
the necessity of a structure of six or seven floors or storeys, with four
open windows at the top, to face the quarters of the heavens, for the
residence of a self-mortifying penitent.
Gerald Barry (Cambrensis) was the first foreign writer who notices
these towers ; speaking of the fabulous origin of Lough Neagh, in Ulster,
which, he says, was caused by the overflow from an enchanted well, of a
large tract of country inhabited by a wicked race of men, he tells us
that the fisherman on that lake distinctly
"Sees the round towers of other days
In the waves beneath him shining."
He calls them "ecclesiastical," and on this word a world of commentary
has been made. To be sure they were ecclesiastical in their origin as
well as in their subsequent incidental uses. Indeed, Geraldus's words, if
II
138 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHifiOLOGICAL SOCIBTV.
they are good for anything, iodicate their high antiquity, beymd the date
of the bursting forth of the lake.
Your limits oblige me to discuss this subject hastily, but I canoot
conclude without alluding to a report current here of an intention to repair
the tower of Kinneigh by subscription. In England such a circumstance
is of daily occurrence, there a conservative spirit favorable to their remains
of antiquity is abroad. In Ireland we order these things otherwise; with
the exception of Archdeacon Cotton's labours at Cashel, and a few dubious
reparations of monastic chapels at Kilkenny, Adare, &c., our nation mani-
fests a noble apathy for the few monuments of the past which still partially
escape. Would that the spirit which actuates the Rev. Mr. Horgan,
Whitecburch, who has already erected a round tower, on the andent
model, seventy feet high, adjcuning his chapel at that place, and contem-
plates another in the neighbourhood of Blarney, could be transferred into
the good folk of the parish of Kioneigh.
Dr. Caulfield's Notes on Cork Events in the Years
1769 and 1781.
OLD CORK SIGNS.
IKE the tavern-keepers in ancient Greece and Rome, and
those of London, notably from 1649 to 1672, Cork, in the
above years, had its signposts, the connection between
which and the trade carried on in the bouse they hung
from was at times rather puiding, as when we find, for
instance, pickled salmon, oysters, scollops, and tripe sold
at the sign of "The Sheaf." The connection between the
trade and the sign is more intelligible in the case of Thomas Carr, Paul
Street, a gunmaker, who served his time, he tells, in Limerick, and set
up under "The Cross, Blunderbuss, and Trophy of Arms" ; while Richard
Rowe sold spirituous liquors, inside South Gate, at the sign of "The
Golden Horseshoe."
Of woollen drapers, a trade which seemed to flourish at this time in
Cork, we have Thomas Fuller, near the Exchange, at the sign of "The
Harp and Crown" ; Edward Cook, Castle Street, sign of "The Lamb and
Rising Sun"; while another woollen draper between Lower Shandon and
North Gate Bridge, advertised as at the sign of "The Crown and Shuttle."
George and Joseph Blair's dyestuff warehouse, Meeting House Lane, had
the sign of "The Golden Key" ; Simon Haly, clothier, near the Exchange,
the sign of "The Golden Fleece"; Samuel Bromell, ironmonger, near
Daunt's Bridge, the sign of "The Golden Gate"; whilst Robert Stevelly,
near North Gate, sold carpets at what presents another difficulty, the
sign of "The Seven Stars."
The Widow Galway sold bay and oats on Hammond's Marsh at the
sign of "The Boar's Head." A quack, in William Street, dispensed
drugs at the sign of "The Green Lamp." "The Swan," in Cove Lane,
DR. CAULFIELD's NOTES ON CORK IN 1 769 AND 1 78 I. 1 39
and "The Three Tuns," on the Coal Quay, were taverns. John Moore
was a breeches maker near North Gate at the sign of '*The Coach and
Horses," whilst John Heam was a linen-draper at the sign of "The Roll
of Holland," next door to **The Three Nuns" on Hammond's Marsh.
The incongruity of some of these signs may have arisen from each
succeeding tenant retaining the sign of his predecessor as that by which
the house was best known, and this may have gone on for generations of
occupants.
EXTRACTS FROM CORK EVENING POST,
The leading Cork newspaper in 1762 was the Cork Evening Post,
which was "printed by Phineas and George Bagnell, in Castle Street, where
advertisements (for ready money only), subscriptions, letters and essays
are taken in for the paper; and all manner of printing-work done very
reasonable." It consisted of two folio sheets. The paper commenced
with a summary of English and foreign news, and there were' extracts
from the latest journals received, but no leading article. The news from
Dublin was full ; marriages and deaths were recorded ; but the information re-
garding our own city and county was extremely meagre. Cove (now Queens-
town) supplied most of the notes of Cork intelligence. Almost every outward
or homeward bound man-of-war seems to have put in here ; and many of
them were in port at the same ^time. The following extracts from the
Cork Evening Post will give an idea of what was being done here at this
time : —
1762, October 23rd. "Being the anniversary of the Irish Rebellion
in 1641, the same was observed with the usual demonstrations of joy.
Peter Potter, senior, kept a French school in Paul Street ; another of his
occupations was translating letters from English into French, and vice
versa."
November loth. The death is announced of Mr. John Bowen at his
lodgings near the Exchange, "a man of extraordinary ability both as a
magistrate and divine," a combination seldom met with nowadays. We
have the following advertisement constantly inserted : "Wanted, a Protest-
ant, who can be well recommended for his integrity and ability, as shop-
keeper."
December 13th. The following death is recorded : "A few days ago,
at his seat, Ballydaniel, near Youghal, aged upwards of 80, Henry Rugg,
Esq. , Barrister of Law and Recorder of Youghal for fifty years. He was
the oldest barrister in this kingdom, was Member of Parliament during
the reign of George I., and as a most worthy Whig attached to the
Protestant interest ; and is greatly lamented by the true and independent
members of the loyal Corporation of Youghal."
1763, January 2. "About 12 at night some soldiers of the 92nd Regt.
beat a poor chairman at the end of Lambley's Lane, and robbed him of
his hat and wig."
July i8th. The issue of this date contained a letter signed "An Old
Batchelor," complaining of parents educating their daughters above thdr
circumstances in the fashionable arts of being useless and extravagant, &c.
The Old Bachelor, however, hadn't it all his own way, for in the next
Post a lady signing herself "Maria" replied with true sense of Woman's
Rights. Her letter was unanswerable, and the aggrieved old bachelor dis-
appeared from the scene.
140 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHiEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
January loth. Some time since a silver cup was presented to Captain
O'Hara by the merchants trading to Bristol for his able services in pro-
tecting their trade. On Saturday last the body of merchants presented
him with another cup, cover and stand of £yo value, curiously chased,
with the following inscription engraved thereon : **From the merchants
of Cork to James O'Hara, Esq., in grateful testimony of his vigilance in
protecting their trade, and his activity in assisting their ships in distress
during three years as Regulating Captain on this Station.**
January 7. Friday morning, at his residence in Mallow Lane, died at
an advanced age the Right Rev. Dr. Walsh, Catholic Bishop of Cork.
[He was buried in the old cemetery at St. Ann Shandon; and on the
altar tomb that covers his grave is the following inscription — "Here lies
the body of the Right Rev. Doctor Richard Walsh, who departed this
life the 7th of January, 1763, aged 76. The Lord have mercy on his
soul. Amen.'*]
February 23rd. Sailed from Cove the Boyne^ of and for Bristol,
having on board the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Cork and Ross, and
some other passengers. "Licentiousness, rapine and robbery are oif late
becoming so very common in the city, that it is doubly incumbent on the
inhabitants at this season to secure themselves and their effects. So
many defencless people have been, within a few nights, grossly assaulted
aiid plundered in the streets, that it would be tedious to enumerate them."
March 5th. John Rice, a sailor, was whipped round the quays, pur-
suant to his sentence, for stealing some things out of a ship to which he
belonged.
A writer in this number proposed that as card-playing is become the
chief entertainment in the city, "That all card parties, especially the brag
table, as soon as they have paid for their cards, a tax may be levied
for the use of the poor, by which a considerable sum may be raised and
distributed weekly to starving families or poor housekeepers, who are
pure objects of charity."
April 4th. This day peace was proclaimed in the following manner :
"The Mayor, Sheriffs, Aldermen, &c., attended by the City regalia, and
the regiments of foot commanded by Colonel Scott and Sir Ralph Gore,
assembled at the -Exchange, where the Town Clerk mounted his horse
and read His Majesty's Proclamation. In this manner the procession
went out of North Gate to Shandon Church, where the Proclamation was
read a second time; and from thence on to South Gate, where it was
read a third time between the old and new Barracks, into which the army
retired after firing three volleys with great exactness. The city officers
came in procession to the Tholsel, when the ceremony ended. Night was
concluded with ringing of bells, bonfires, illuminations, &c."
April 1 8th. A scheme was set on foot for repairing the Red House
Walk (the present Mardyke).
May 2nd. Contains an acrostic on a celebrated Cork beauty, Miss
Grace Lysaght.
May 9th. The workmen have begun to clear the channel of the
harbour, so as to admit of ships of burden to come up to the quays without
being obliged to stop and unload at Blackrock as at present.
May 30. This morning several hundred labourers employed to clear
the channel paraded through the city with shovels, spades, &c., on their
DR. CAULFIELD's NOTES ON CORK IN I 769 AND I781. I4I
shoulders — having turned out for an addition of three halfpence to their
daily wages, which is at present sixpence halfpenny.
June 7th. Sailed from Kinsale the Black Prince, Captain Ticer, for
Brest, with 201 French prisoners; and the next day sailed the PitvUle,
Captain Ouchterlony, from said place, with 219 prisoners on board for
Bordeaux. All French prisoners are desired to take notice that a like
opportunity will soon ofifer for their return to France.
June i8th. The Right Rev. John Butler, brother of Lord Dunboyne,
lately appointed Catholic Bishop of Cork, arrived in town ; and performed
the ceremony of marriage between Dr. Council O 'Carroll and Miss Goold,
daughter of Mr. Francis Goold, of this city, merchant — a young lady
with a fortune of ^3,000.
July 7th. Right Hon. J. Ponsonby, Speaker of the House of Commons,
and one of the Lords Justices, with his lady and family, are shortly ex-
pected at Mallow for the benefit of the Spa.
July 6th. Henry Shears, Esq., M.P. for Cloghnikilty (Clonakilty),
was presented by the Mayor, Sheriff, &c., with the freedom of the city
in a silver box.
August isth. A report had been propagated that it was intended to
apply to Parliament for liberty to build a bridge over the north channel
of the river Lee below the Custom House (not the present one, 1905) —
the Common Council resolved that it would be of the utmost ill-conse-
quence to the trade of the city; and that a memorial be laid before
Parliament, praying that no such liberty be granted, which was unani-
mously agreed on by the greatest number of freemen that have ever been
assembled on any occasion for these years past, who showed the greatest
dislike to building such a bridge, as it would be highly destructive to the
trade of the city. [For all that, we have long had St. Patrick's bridge].
September 4th. A gentleman, his wife and child were carried over
the quay at the end of Prince's Street, in a horse chair, by the horse's
setting back ; but they happily escaped unhurt. [At this time the river at
high tide covered the ground now occupied by Patrick Street. The Pres-
byterian church in Prince's Street, which was commenced in 1719-20, was
approached at low water from the opposite side by stepping stones, and
when the tide was full in by a boat.]
In 1769 Cork city was daily growing in commercial importance. The
port news of this time, which enumerates the arrival and departure of
vessels, is very extensive. Schools were being established in several of
the towns in the county, presided over by clergymen and other qualified
persons. The shopkeepers' advertisements were become lengthy, and
contained an enumeration of goods of a very costly and varied character.
Charity, that virtue in which Cork **never faileth," was extending her
bounties to the sick, the afflicted, and the indigent. There were no
murmurings or complainings on the streets. Business was conducted by
all sorts and conditions of men with the greatest cordiality.
The citizens seeme glad to seize many opportunities to get up a fes-
tivity : so the Gunpowder Plot and the anniversary of the Irish Rebellion
were made an occasion for a good dinner as well as a sermon. When
the Lord Lieutenant came the people became frantic. Even the weavers
and manufacturers approached his Excellency this year through one
Robert Gordon^ Esq., declaring that ''they were ready to lay down their
142 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCH^OLOGICAL SOCIETY.
lives whenever called on for the defence of their native country under his
Excellency's command."
Houses in the suburbs did not seem to get a tenant easily, and lands
were sometimes got oG their owners' hands with difficulty, as would appear
from the constant insertion of the same advertisement The trade with
New York and Philadelphia in corn and oats was evidently a prosperous
one. The continual arrival and departure of ships of war in the harbour
must have transferred a gaiety to that neighbourhood which only navy
officers knew how to impart, provided they did not "impress" the waiters,
as on one occasion they are said to have done, on being hospitably enter-
tained by the Corporation at the Mansion House. The waiters, in silk
stockings and uniform, went to see the officers into their barge, which
was awaiting their arrival, about five o'clock on a summer's morning, at
Bachelor's Quay. While the unsuspecting attendants were adjusting the
officers' boat cloaks^ on a signal the boats moved oflF, and the unhappy
waiters were never afterwards heard of. So the tradition ran.
January 2nd. We have an account of the robbery at the Green Coat
Hospital, where the Rev. Michael Tisdal resided. This account states
that ''the hardened villians broke open the door of a burial vault under
the church, took out a ladder, got into through the window, and robbed
the reverend occupant of a body coat of fine raven gray cloth, three men's
coats, two of black cloth and one of lustherine (a kind of shining silk), two
pair of cotton velvet breeches, a purple rugg great coat, with a black
velvet cape; a purple rugg cloak, his hat, a pair of channel pumps with
his silver buckles on them, several pairs of stockings, some of his gowns,
some household linen which had been washed the day before, and a silver
table-spoon, &c. Some of the linen they deposited in one of the burial
vaults. Five Guineas Reward."
At this date the following novel method of raising funds for the benefit
of the Infirmary is mentioned. The managers of the Drums (a Drum
meant an evening party) being disappointed in their expectations of com-
pany on Monday nights have been induced by the desire of many to
change the Drums into Breakfasts. "The ladies and gentlemen are re-
quested to take notice that breakfast and a proper band of music for
country dances, &c., will be provided on Monday, January 9th, for the
benefit of that charity; the utmost endeavours will be used to make the
entertainment agreeable. Tickets, is. 7^. each."
The musical public were entertained by a Miss Ashmore, who was
giving a concert of vocal and instrumental music at the Council Chamber.
Tickets, 2S. 6^. Care will be taken that it be conducted in the genteelest
manner.
January 9th. Under the Cork news is mentioned a circumstance that
reminds one of the modem craze for collecting old postage stamps. ''There
is an agent in London buying up all the tickets that have been drawn blank
in the present LiOttery,- at one penny each, for a gentleman in the county,
who intends to paper the walls of a room with them. This room when
finished will be most costly, for reckoning 3,944 blanks, at the original
price of ;^io, the hanging will amount to ;^39,440."
January 12. We are told that no bakers reside in the towns of
Passage or Cove, and that the inhabitants are often distressed for want
of bread. Encouragement therefore will be given to any baker, well-
recommended, who would choose to settle at Milltown, adjoining Passage,
DR. CAULFIELD's NOTES ON CORK IN 1 769 AND 1 78 1. 143
where there is a grice-mill, and plenty of furze convenient. Apply to
Francis Hodder, merchant, Cork, who can accommodate him with land
for grazing and gardens.
John Sweet * 'gazettes*' his servant, who ran away without giving
up anything that was in his care ; he is about 5 feet 6 in. high, and wears
a bob-wig.
January 19th. The Boyne, of Londonderry, 150 tons, is advertised to
sail from the harbour for Baltimore^ Maryland, where are the cheapest
and best provisions in North America, about two days' journey from
Philadelphia. A few likely young men and women, who are well-recom-
mended and willing to better their fortunes abroad, will meet with good
encouragement from Captain Howard, at the ''Bristol Arms,*' in Half-
moon Street. ,
[This contrasts strangely enough with our present ever-flowing stream
of emigrants from Ireland.]
John McCreight, who has for many years conducted the linen business
in Innishannon, has joined Thomas Forrest and John Donoghue, of the
Blarney manufactory, for all linens; sheetings, diapers, and cottons, which
are to be sold at Blarney, where all sorts of grey linens are taken in to
oleach, or at their houses in Cork, having last season brought from
Richmond Hill a sufficient quantity of the purest spring water to supply
both wash mill and yard.
One-sixth part of a share in the Sugar House at the Red Abbey, and
of the stock-in-trade therein, carried on by G. Randal and Co., is to be
disposed of. [This sugar house was burnt down December 7th, 1799.]
The Mayor and Sheriff, by Proclamation, offer a reward of £$0 for
the discovery of the persons who on the 15th November last, knocked
down and cut with knives in different parts of his body, Anthony Denly,
a soldier in H.M. 13th Regiment of Foot, then sentinel at the South
Gate Gaol in this city.
January 30. To be let from 25th, or the interest sold for a term of
80 years, the old chapel at South Gate, with a piece of ground adjoining.
[Could this, queries Dr. Caulfield, have been the chapel of St. Laurence,
the site of which is now being built on by Messrs. Beamish and Crawford?]
February 7th. The King George, Captain Dunn, arrived here in 26
days from Philadelphia, and brought the papers to December 29tb«
February 16. The Dublin postbag, which was despatched from this
city on the 8th inst., and was lost that night, was received in Dublin on
the 13th, safe and the seal entire.
February 2yd, Lost on Saturday, 28th, a watch, having on the out-
side case a ship engraved, and these words : "His Majestie's Ship Success,
1745." Whoever brings it to Mr. John Hillary, goldsmith, near the Ex-
change, will receive one guinea reward.
The managers of the Red House Walk assure the public that the im-
provements will be carried out ; and that there will arise JQ42S free of all
charges for the benefit of the Walk. Those who take 50 tickets at half a
guinea each are allowed 6^d. on each ticket.
March 2. At the Cockpit Royal, on Monday, the 20th, will b^in
the fighting of a Grand Main of Cocks, which will be continued for a
week, for 5 guineas a battle, and 500 the main. [This barbarous custom
was held in the locality now known as Cockpit Lane.]
At this time large quantities of flax-seed were imported into Cork
144 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHAOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
from Philadelphia and New York and offered for sale. Bakers are ordered
to mark in a plain manner the price and quality , together with their
initials, on each loaf, under a fine. The Misses Lloyd opened a branch
school on the South Mall, to teach young ladies, amongst other accom-
plishments, ''to cultivate their understandings, and instil those prindples
which most promote the happiness of individuals and society in general.''
March 9. A. writer in the Freeman's Journal signing himsdf ' Tublicus, ' '
complains that com is sold in Cork market by measure, contrary to the Act
of Parliament. "Veritas" replies that com is bought and sold nominally
by measure, but always weighed before being carried from the market,
and paid for by weight, allowing twenty stones to the barrel of wheat
and twenty-three to the Cork barrel, or three kilderkins of oats.
Last Sunday the Fair Lane and other rioters renewed their wicked
custom of fighting, when a man was run through the body by a bayonet
fixed on a stick, and still languishes under the wound. One rioter has
been taken.
Nineteen pipes and twenty-three hogsheads of cyder, the growth of
Dunkettle, the property of Richard Tonson, Esq., are for sale.
March, 13. It is proposed to establish a Committee of Merchants in
Cork, which would be of the utmost advantage, not only to the trade
thereof, but also to the county in general. The merchants are requested
to meet at Mr. Rugg's tavern on the 14th inst., at twelve o'clock, to
form said Committee.
March 16. To be sold at the Custom House, Cork, by public cant, ''per
inch of candle," a parcel of roll tobacco seized and condemned. [This
curious custom must mean that the purchaser had time to consider what
bid he would make during the burning of an inch of candle.]
March 20. The Judges, Justice Clay and Baron Scott, were in town.
The citizens were entertained at the Theatre Royal, Dunscombe's
Marsh, by Signora Rosalia, who danced on a tight rope without putting
her feet on it? She also stood on her head on a candlestick and turned
round several times ; while Signor Wimora turned himself round so quickly
on the slack rope that no one could see either his head or his feet. The
price for this highly intellectual performance, held under the patronage
of Noblet Philips, Esq., Mayor, was — Boxes, 4s. 4d. ; pit, 3s. 3d.; and
gallery, 2s. 2d.
March 13. Mary Sargent, at her shop opposite Paul's Church, has just
imported ''Tincture of the Sun, or Heavenly Eyewater," at is. id. per
bottle.
April 6. A reward of 20 guineas is offered this day for a young negro
man, who ran away from his master, Patrick Burke, Esq. His description
is thus given: "Name, Jerry; 5 feet 8 inches high, large-boned, well-set,
but not fat ; has large, strong negro features, scar on right hand ; slightly
marked with small pox ; had on a light-coloured great coat, dirty leather
breeches, white stockings, and wore a curl behind that matched the other
part of his own woolly hair ; reads and writes badly, plays pretty well on the
violin, and can shave and dress a wig." [The master of this poor slave
says that he will forgive him if he returns ; but if he does not 'tis to be
regretted that Messrs. Devonshire and Strettell, two leading Cork mer-
chants, should have lent themselves to track down this miserable slave.]
April 27. Several of the freemen of the city desired that the public
acoounts should be audited. "It was ordered that every treasurer or
DR. CAULFIELD's NOTES ON CORK IN 1 769 AND 1 78 1. 1 45
chamberlain shaQ hereafter (once every year at least, viz., the last
Monday in May, and whensoever oftener the Mayor, &c., shall judge
proper) bring in his accounts to be audited by ^e Court of D'Oyer
Hundred, three of the Common Council and four from among the Com-
mons to audit such accounts."
Blarney. John Prossor, late butler to St. John Jeffereys, Esq., wiH
open an inn and breakfast house in the town of Blarney, ist May next.
He has laid in a stock of the best wines; a dinner will be served every
Sunday, during the summer, between 2 and 3, one British shilling a head.
About this time it was customary for medical (or other?) men to travel
about the country for the purpose of inoculating the inhabitants, having
previously given notice by advertisement that they would be at certain
places on particular days. Dr. Haly announces his intention of visiting
the neighbourhood of Cork ; Mr. Sparrow in and about Youghal, &c. The
latter returns to Dublin in about three weeks.
About this time "The Atlantic Club" met at Horse Island in the
Harbor of Castlehaven, Richard Townsend, Admiral; Richard Beecher,
Vice- Admiral. **The Water Club" met at Cove at the same time, the
Earl of Inchiquin, Admiral.
April 17. Mr. John Nason gives the following instance of ingratitude
on the part of a servant he has dismissed : "I took John Leane, a ragged
little brat, clothed and maintained him until he became a man, by which
time he became such a proficient at stealing my liquor, and drinking,
that he brought fits on himself^ which will probably continue while he
lives. For this cause, as well as his drunkenness and insolence I turned
him away three times, but on promise of amendment, took him back;
but as he is now grown to that pass, and so intolerably impudent and trouble-
some in my family, not even to be pleased in his diet, that I discharge
him."
May 15. A gentleman found a guinea some days ago in a remarkable
part of a street in this city. It will be returned on the person describing
the street, the day, and the time it was lost.
May 20. Two gentlemen were robbed of their watches and some coin
on the Kerry Road, near this city. The same night Mr. Edmond Barrett,
of Curbagh, was attacked near the Mile House by the same robber, and
after giving him a few shillings he demanded his watch, on which Mr.
Barrett £o6k an opportunity of seizing him, and after some struggle,
took a case of pistols from him, when the fellow made off. He was a
tall man, wore a buckskin breeches, a bearskin coat, and a buck-hat. The
pistols he had are remarkably long.
May 22. A Timwhiskey, hung on steel springs, to be sold at the
**Boar's Head," Hammond's Marsh. [Was this, asks Dr. Caulfidd, the
Irish jaunting car of the eighteenth century?]
May 24. The Rev. John Wesley arrived in this city ; and will preach
next Sunday afternoon at the Barrack, if the weather be fair.
June II. Miss Teresa Cummerford read her recantation at Rath-
cooney Church; and was immediately after married to — Hamilton, Esq.,
Lieut H.M's 54th Regt. of Foot.
June 13. The public Coalyard was opened by order of the Mayor,
where coals were sold for 4s. the barrel.
June 15. One of the rules of the newly-estaUished Club at Maeroom
146 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
is, that tBe Members who attend on Club days be dressed in Irish manu-
facture.
June 29. Dr. De Hilman arrived in Cork, who "we hear restored
several blind people to sight yesterday in the presence of many spectators."
In the next Posf this wonderful man was stated to be "Physician and
Counsellor of the Court to the King of Prussia."
July 6. The Cork Musical Society announce that they are to have a
Water Party on the 7th inst.
July 20. Dr. Haly, who has returned from England, informs the
public that "it is now in his power to accommodate them on easier terms
than hitherto."
July 22. The Honourable Richard Arthur and John Smith Barry were
presented with their freedom of the city in el^antly chased silver boxes.
The Town Clerk in his address stated that, "This public mark of esteem
was not only that they were distinguished by being the most noble family
m this county, their ancestors being established here for 600 years, but for
their love and attachment to their native country and the true liberty
thereof."
August 7. It is very remarkable that at the last Atlantic (Club?)
meeting there were 45 members, 45 boats, 45 dishes of meat, 45 bottles
of wine, 45 bottles of punch, and 45 guns fired from the battery on shore,
whicli were ans^^^d by all the boats in the river.
August 8. Mallow. There was never known to be a greater number
of notability and gentry af^the Spa than has been this season^ of which
many have found vast benefit by drinking the waters. There has been
237 at a ball, amongst whom were the Right Hon. John Ponsonby,
Speaker of the House of Commons, and his lady ; the Earl and Countess
of Shannon, &c. At the breakfast, which was given at the Long Room,
there were large collections made for the poor.
August 21. The Cock Pit is at last turned to some useful account,
as "To-morrow will be read at the Cock Pit the Lecture on Hydraulics,
illustrated by working models, all kinds of pumps, bucket-engines, water
engines, mills, fire engines, and the celebrated Canal of the Duke of
Bridgewater. Admittance, half a crown. A lecture on an interesting
branch of philosophy will be read at one o'clock every day this week."
[This, Dr. Caulfield remarks, was very probably the first series of public
lectures delivered in Cork.]
August 24. Thomas Lord, bookseller under the Exchange Coffee
House, proposes to establish a circulating library, consisting of 1,000
volumes on history, memoirs, voyages and travels, &c. Lectures on
Optics and Astronomy and a new course of Philosophy being announced
to take place in the Council Chamber.
August 31. His Excellency the Lord Lieutenant is expected to-morrow
at Ballyrosheen (the town of the little rose, now Riverstown), the seat of
the Lord Bishop of Cork, and is to be entertained by the Mayor, &c., on
Monday next, at the Mayoralty House.
September 7. The Lord Lieutenant dined with the Bishop (Dr.
Jemmett Brown), and signified his intention of remaining in town to-
morrow, and seeing company at the Palace at two o'clock. On Saturday,
9th, he was pleased to accept an entertainment from the principal mer-
chants of the city, at the "King's Arms," at which the Earl of Shannon
and other noblemen were present. The evening concluded with the utmost
•
•
ANCIENT MONUMENTS OF COUNTY CORK. I47
festivity. The next day being Sunday his Excellency went to Christ
Church, where the Bishop preached. In the afternoon he set out for
Anngrove, the seat of the Hon. John Smith Barry, on his way to Youghal.
During his stay in the city he resided at the house of Francis Carleton, Esq.
Mr. Walker,^ who was lecturing on Natural Philosophy, observed tbt
comet at four this morning, 26 degrees above the horizon.
September 29. Being the anniversary of the surrender of the city
in 1690 was observed with the usual demonstrations of joy.
October 5. Twenty-two colliers arrived in the river Lee with coals.
At this time the Cork Evening Post published a supplement frequently.
October 23. The anniversary of the Irish Rebellion in 1641. The
Mayor, &c., assembled at the Council Chamber and proceeded to Christ
Church, where a most excellent sermon was preached suitable to the
occasion ; and the day concluded with the usual demonstrations of joy.
November i. The gentlemen of the Musical Society gave an excellent
performance for improving the Red House Walk ; the managers returned
thanks.
November 9. An agricultural gentleman writes to say that the most
effectual means to preserve cabbage and other vegetables from catterpillars
is to sow a quantity of hemp round the spot where they are planted.
The Rev. Edward Weekes acknowledges to have received from the
hands of Henry Sheares, Esq., two pounds, one shilling and twopence
from a society of ladies and gentlemen called the "Cold Bone Club," for
the relief of distressed housekeepers.
Nov. 26. A young lady and gentleman were attacked at the corner
of the Lough Road by two robbers ; they put a knife to the young man's
throat and robbed him of some silver, his hat and wig. The young lady
threw her pattens on the road and ran for a house, which she reached,
though hard pursued.
Dec. 28. A hogshead of wine was carried on a car to a gentleman's
house in the city, and while the people were making room for it the
horse, car, and wine were driven away. The horse and car^ but not the
wine, were found in Blarney Lane. A hogshead of cider was likewise
taken from another gentleman's gate at Sunday's Well. j^ q^
(To be amHnuid,)
Ancient Monuments of County Cork.
A DEPUTATION coosisting of Mr. James Byrne, J. P., and other members
of the Society appeared before the Cork County Council on September
2 1 St relative to the preservation and renovation of the ancient monuments
of the County. The Cork Examiner had the following reference to the
object of the deputation : —
''It was pointed out that the present generation were in the
position of trustees of these ancient heirlooms and memorials, and
that it was the duty of the representatives of the people to hand down
to posterity the priceless relics which were the silent historians of the
past. The members of the County Council were, as was natural, in
thorough accord with the views expressed by the deputationists, and
shewed the fullest sympathy with the patriotic sense of duty which in-
148 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHiEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
spired the dq)utatk>n to lay their views before the meeting. The County
Council promised the heartiest support, and, as an initial step towards
carrying out the views of the deputationists, it was decided to communicate
with the Board of Works. It was also agreed that the councillor for
each district should schedule the monuments in his locality, and also that
the deputation should send in a list of the monuments that required im-
provements, and they could then ask the County Surveyor to inspect
them and give an estimate of the probable cost of the necessary work."
The following formed the deputation: — ^James Byrne, J.P. ; Dr.
Windle, M.A., F.S.A., President Queen's College, Cork; Major G. B.
O'Connor, J.P. ; Col. Grove- White, J.P. ; Rev. }.\ A. Dwyer, O.P. ;
Rev. Canon Courtenay Moore, M.A., M.R.S.A. ; E. A. Beytagh, Solr. ;
J. P. Dalton, and Thos. Farrington, M.A., J.P.
Councillor J. J. Fitzgerald, B.A., said they were empowered as a
Council to expend money on the renovation oi their ancient monuments.
It was not the intention of the deputation to ask the ratepayers oi the
county to spend money in that direction very lavishly, but to take up
urgent cases in which monuments and buildings were crumbling away
altogether. What was asked was that a few pounds should be expended
on the monuments throughout the county where necessary, and thereby
preserve these landmarks for generations to come.
Mr. James Byrne, who spoke first on behalf of the deputation, said
he would read a few letters from gentlemen who had written him express-
ing their warm sympathy with the objects of the deputation. These he
would read.
The Chairman (Mr. J. J. Howard) said that as regarded the desire to
have something done, there was no necessity to read the letters. He took
it that all the Council were unanimous to do something.
Dr. Windle next spoke. He said that after the expressions he had
heard it would be unnecessary for him to say many words on the subject.
He would not have spoken at all but for the great interest he took in the
matter, having been addicted to the study for many years. He had seen
the destruction of these ancient heirlooms which should be preserved and
handed down to succeeding generations. They were the trustees of the
people for these valuable objects, which were representative of the histories
and traditions of the nations in former generations. To destroy them
was almost as serious as to destroy the title deeds of an estate, because
they were the things to which they were able to point as the existing
living memorials of what took place in byegone days. People had not
been educated up to this view of these things, and they had sometimes
seen raths destroyed and stones with ancient inscriptions broken up to
mend the roads. The object of the deputation was to urge upon the
Council to take up the guardianship of these priceless relics, which when
once destroyed could never be replaced, and would be an irreparable loss
to the children of the present, and still more to the children of the future.
He hoped the County Council would see their way to take charge of these
memorials, and to see that they incurred no further damage. They did
not ask the expenditure of any great amount of money. AH they asked
was sufficient to prop up these monuments and prevent them from decay
or injury.
Major O'Connor said the matter had been presented from a national
ANCIENT MONUMENTS OF COUNTY CORK. I49
point of view^ but he would mention the utilitarian aspect of the question.
There were parts of Scotland which possessed no advantages in the way
of scenery, but they possessed interest for tourists because it was the
country of Sir Walter Scott. In Ireland they possessed objects of interest
of which no other country could boast, and they would prove a great
attraction if they were preserved and made known.
Mr. Beytagh, Solicitor, explained the powers which the County Council
had in the matter. They could expend money on the preservation of the
monuments, and prosecute in cases where they were injured.
Colonel Grove-White spoke of the ruins in the north of the county.
There was Ballybeg Abbey and Bridgetown Abbey, and a good deal
could be done to preserve them, as well as other objects of interest in
the way of ruins and monuments.
Canon Moore mentioned several ruins in his parish, and how much
could be done for their preservation by the expenditure of some few pounds.
For example, in a churchyard, there was an old tower which was struck
by lightning in the middle of the eighteenth century, and in the year
1807 the base was removed and built into the foundations of a house.
He had compiled a history of the ruin, and so made some reparation for
the piece of vandalism committed. The north-east of the county of Cork
contains a great deal of material on which money could be expended with
advantage.
Rev. Father Dwyer, O.P., said he took an interest in some of the
ruins mentioned by Canon Moore, because they were remains of houses
of his Order. He was most anxious to have all historic ruins and monu-
ments looked after. It was a pity to see them in such a neglected state.
These monuments and ruins were the landmarks of history. On them
were iootprints of time, and they should be preserved for the present and
future generations.
Mr. Dalton also spoke, and pointed out that these monuments were
the only authentic documents they had of the history of their country and
the greatness of their ancestors. Apart altogether from the aesthetic
point of view, the Council should take steps for the preservation of these
ancient objects of interest.
The Chairman said the first question was as regards their duty, and
their duty was to do it. Formerly this duty devolved on the Board of
Public Works, and the only thing he knew about it was that they did it
badly. He would ask Mr. Exham how they stood regarding the matter.
Mr. Exham, Solicitor to Council, said the Council has now the power
of the Board of Works, that is, with the consent of the owner of the
monument, they could undertake the maintenance and repair of it. They
could also undertake prosecutions.
The Chairman said the first thing he would suggest was that they
should approach the Board of Works and ask them what they want to do,
and why they would evade their duty?
Mr. Beytagh — They will do nothing.
The Chairman said if the Board of Works were entitled to spend money
on it they should find out why it was they did not spend their money on
it instead of the County Council being asked to spend theirs.
Councillor C. O'Callaghan agreed with the Chairman, and said from
a national point of view this was one of the most pressing things that had
been brought before the Council. He suggested that they should direct
150 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHiBOLOGICAL SOCIETY,
their Secretary to conununicate with the Board of Works with regard to
the monuments that existed in the county, and he was sure every county
councillor, in his respective district, would see that the monuments that
existed there were scheduled.
The Chairman said they were all in favour oi preserving these monu-
ments, but, first of all, they should demand some right over them, because
he would object to spending money in private work if afterwards they
would not be allowed to have control over it. He would suggest that,
in addition to the list that could be supplied by county councillors, that
the deputation should also send in a list of the monuments that required
improvements, and they could then>^k the County Surveyor to inspect
them and give an estimate of the probable cost oi the necessary work.
He would certainly be then for approaching the Board of Works and
asking tTiem why they would not carry out the impovements.
The Chairman's suggestion was agreed to, and the members of the
deputation, having returned thanks, retired.
Letters were received from the fdlowing, regretting they were
unable to attend the deputation : —
Robert Day, President of the Society, F.S.A, Cork: "You are, of
course, aware that the Government have a department in Dublin to whom
are entrusted th^ care of certain tabulated ancient remains, Pagan and
Christian, in the country; and I have no doubt that any such structures
recommended by the County Councils would be added to the list of those
already made, and so saved from injury and destruction. Any help that
our local Society in Cork can give will be most heartily at your service,
and I need scarcely add that you win be most welcome to make any use
of my name in such a patriotic and important matter."
Major-General F. W. Stubbs, V. P. R.S. A., Vice-President Society, Cork :
"As I am away from Cork, I will not be able to attend the deputation to
the County Council the day after to-morrow, but fully join in its object,
and hope that every effort may be made to preserve all historical remains
in this county; raths, mounds, standing-stones are in special danger from
the leveOing and utilitarian tendencies of the present day, especially as
they have no certain known histories. I almost wish the belief in the
"good people" had not so far died out, it had an influence which pres-
erved many Irish remains from destruction."
Sir Robert Uniacke Penrose-Fitzgerald, Bart., M.P., Corkb^ Island:
"I agree with you, it is time something was done to preserve our antient
monuments. It is one of much national importance."
The O'Donovan, D.L., Liss Ard, Skibbereen: "I consider the preser-
vation of ancient monuments a matter of importance, and I hope your
deputation may be successful in helping to preserve them from damage,
whether by time or other causes."
Rev. Michael Canon Higgins, P.P., Castletownroche : "I need not
tell you that I am in the fullest sympathy with the object of your meeting.
I daresay there are many members of the County Council who would not
be very willing to tax the ratepayers, even lightly, for what they regard
as heaps of worthless old stones, but I trust the majority of the Council
will not be of that mind."
Rev. Cornelius Canon Cahill, P.P., Glanworth: "Wishing you every
success in your praiseworthy efforts."
NOTES AND QUERIES, I5I
Rev. P. A. Sheehan, D.D., P.P., Doneraile (the well-known author) :
"I consider the object of your deputation is a very commendable one,
for next after the preservation of our language and our history ranks in
importance the preservation of the ancient monuments scattered so widely
over the country, and which, if not saved now, will very soon have
crumbled entirely away."
Edmond Synan, Charleville: '4 need not say the object has my entire
sympathy, and any little support I can give the movement shall be a
labour of love to me."
Mr. Arthur Hill, M.R.LA., Cork: ''However people may differ as
to the practical value of speaking Irish, there can be none as to the im-
portance of maintaining everything of historical importance we have in
the country."
H. L. Tivy, J. P., Cork: "I thoroughly approve of the steps taken by
the C. H. and A. Society."
Letters were also received from James Coleman, Secretary Society;
Richard Barter, J. P.; W. H. McMahon, J. J. Horgan, Solicitor; and
Robert Walker, J. P.
Notes and Queries.
Motes on Parish of Kilshannig in April to June Number. — Cork and Bristol.— The " Sirius." —
A rare Cork Imprint. — Feargus O'Connor.
Votes on F«riBh of Kilihaimlg in April to June Vnmber.— Mr.
Berry is not entirely correct as to townland of Kilpadder. The name, I
presume, is from a pre-existing cell on the site of the present Roman
Catholic chapel, Kilpadder, the Fathers' Church. The cottage residence
in which the late Rev. James Hingston, and afterwards a Mr. Foot and
a Mr. Christopher Croftar^ived, is now non-existent.
The first connection of my family with the place was the late Mr. James
Butler Stopford, who was married to Elizabeth, daughter of late Rev.
Edmund Lombard, of Lombardstown, who took a lease from late Mr.
Christopher Crofts, for lives renewable for ever, of part of the lands of
Kilpadder North, in or about year 1801, and then built the present dwelling-
house and erased the former cottage. In or about 181 1 he sold his interest
to his brother-in-law, the late Captain Edmund Lombard, who resided
here until his death in year 1848, who bequeathed to my late father, James
Hunt, from whom I derive. The said Rev. Edmund Lombard, of Lom-
bardstown, who died in year 1799, never resided in Kilpadder or had
any connection with it.
The ''wart weir* mentioned exists no longer over ground. I drained
it with adjoining springs. Edmund Lombard Hunt.
Danesfort (Kilpadder), Mallow,
20 July, 1905.
Cork and BruitoL— His Majesty's War Office Steam Packet Severn
(with a Royal Mail), Burden 350 tons, and Engines of 120 Horse Power,
N. S. Parker, Commander, will be despatched from Cork every Tuesday and
152 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHiBOLQGICAL SOCIETY.
Bristol every Saturday with passengers and goods" [here follow the sailings
from May to September, 1829]. "A Female attends the Ladies' Cabin. Re-
freshments to be had on board at moderate prices. Berths secured at
Warren's Place, Hare's Comer. The Severn plies throughout the winter
Bolster, Printer." See voL i., new series, April, 1895, for an article on
the Port of Cork Steamships, from 1815 to 1889, by Mr. W. J. Barry.
The "Sirims.''— Annexed are particulars of the historical voyage of
the "Sirius," which may interest the public. She had a dog for a figure^
head, a curious emblem of her name, and had only two masts. She was
built in Scotland.
The '"Sirius" steamer, under command of Lt. Richard Roberts, R.N.,
left London for New York, advertised to call at Cork to coal-up on the
28th March, 1838, and sailed from Passage Quay at 10 a.m. on the 4th
of April. Distance run — ^April 5th, 135 miles; 6th, 106 miles; 7th, 140
miles; 8th, '85 miles; 9th, 136 miles; loth, 95 miles; nth, 165 miles;
12th, 190 miles; 13th, 220 miles; 14th, 200 miles; 15th, 205 miles; i6th,
195 miles; 17th, 112 miles; i8th, 126 miles; 19th, 145 miles; 20th, 180
miles; 21st, 195 miles; 22nd, 195 miles, afternoon, 72 miles. Total, 2,897
miles, 18 days; average, 161 per day. The **Sirius" arrived at New
York at 9 p.m. on 22nd April.
The ''Great Eastern," Lt. James Hoskin, left Bristol on 8th April,
arriving at New York on 23rd at 3 p.m. She made an average of 208
miles per day (best 247, least 130).
The **Sirius" thus claimed to be the first steamer that had made a
"bona fide" steamer voyage from England to America.
After her return she made a second voyage under Captain Stephen S.
Mowle.
A Tif Oork Zmpriat.— "His Majesty's most gracious Speech to both
bouses of Parliament on Thursday, December 5th, 1782. Cork : Printed by
William Flyn at the Shakespeare. [Price 2 pence.]" It contains 3 pages
measuring 8} by 13} inches, and has the following paragraph relating to
Ireland : **The liberal principles adopted by you concerning the rights and
commerce of Ireland have done you the highest honour, and will, I trust,
increase that harmony which ought always to subsist between the Two
Kingdoms. I am persuaded that a general increase of commerce throughout
the Empire will prove the wisdom of your measures with regard to that
object. I would recommend to you a revision of our whole trading system
upon the same comprehensive principles, with a view to its utmost possible
extension."
These "liberal principles," which were working so beneficially, were
dragged from an unwilling Parliament in Dublin by the Irish Volunteers
of 1782.
R. D.
FeufgasO'Ooiiiuir.— The following particulars copied.from the "Gentleman's
Magazine" for NoTember, 1855, correct some errors as lo the date and place
of death of Feargus O'Connor in the sketch of him given on page 240, vol. ix.
(1903), of this "Journal, and supply some interesting though melancholy details
as to the closing years of this once famous Chartist leader and County Corkman.
According to the "Gentleman's Magazine," Feargus O'Connor's death took
NOTES AND QUERIES. 153
place on the 30th of August, 1855, ^S^^ 59* ^^ ^^ residence of his sister, Miss
O'Connor, in Albert Terrace, Notting Hill, London. It is generally admitted
that Mr. O'Connor was an honest though rash enthusiast. Although his Land
Scheme was a complete failure, and involved many in disappointment and ruin,
it betrayed no personal or mercenary views. He did not fatten on his supporters,
but rather spent and exhausted himself and his own means in their behalf.
They acknowledged this self-sacrifice in the motto displa^d at his funeral —
"He lived and died for us."
He was still Member for Nottingham when during the session of 1852 he
exhibited on various occasions conduct so extravagant and violent, that he was
committed by the Speaker to the custody of the Serjeant-at-Arms ; and at length
it was manifest that he was permanently insane. He was thereupon committed
to the care of Dr. Tuke, of the Manor House, Chiswick, under whose care he
remained until within ten days of his death. Dr. Tuke published a remarkable
report of his patient's condition during those three years, in which he said:
"I first saw Mr. O'Connor on the i6th of June, 1852. I had been sent for by
the House of Commons, and found him in the custody of two policemen, who
had orders to remain constantly with him. He had been thus confined in an
apartment at the top of the House of Commons for fourteen days. He was in
a state of considerable excitement, talking volubly and loudly, exclaiming against
the Speaker, who had imprisoned him, he said, 'for nothing at all' ; and in
the next breath praising him enthusiastically as the best Speaker and the most
capital fellow that ever lived. He addressed those around him as *your majesty,'
or *you ruffian' ; seemed to delight in terrifying his visitors by pretended
violence, but manifested great timidity when checked by his guardians. He
was unable to command his attention, sometimes singing, sometimes bursting
into tears. He appeared to retain to a great extent his memory ; and had perfect
consciousness of his situation, and the reason for it. I expressed to the Com-
mittee of the House my opinion of his insanity, and my willingness to take
charge of him. A Speaker's warrant was made out ; I signed an undertaking
to keep him till the pleasure of the House was known in safe custody ; and Mr.
O'Connor was delightqd to go down to Chiswick with me at once. He was under
the impression that he was a State prisoner, and to be treated entirely as a
visitor, and under this impression he always remained. He made himself quite
at home in my house ; and as is invariably the case in this form of brain
disease, expressed himself perfectly well and happy; everything was with him
'couleur de rose' ; and it would have been impossible to make him feel miserable,
even if the experiment had been tried. His nephew kindly spent a part of
every Sunday with him while under my care. One or other of his friends saw
him constantly. He used to accompany them to the gate, and if they offered
to take him with them, he would reply: "I am to dine here to-day, and go
to-morrow to the House of Commons in the doctor's carriage' ; and to this
formula he adhered long after the House was dissolved, and he had ceased to
be Member for Nottingham. Though his recollection of preceding circumstances
was strong, his memory of the events of the last three months before his committal
by the Speaker seemed entirely gone. During that time he had been drinking
as much as fifteen glasses of brandy daily : and this may account for his violence
in the House. He had a curious passion for counting ; and would carefully
number the books or chairs in a room, the tassels of the curtains, or the figures
in a picture. He played whist remarkably well ; and would recite long speeches
with wonderful exactness^ sometimes inducing visitors to suspect that he only
'feigned' insanity, and was not really insane. Early in 1853 it became neces-
12
154 CORK;^HISTORICAL AND ARCHiEOLOGlCAL SOCIETY.
sary to apply for a Commission of Lunacy, that he might be placed under the
protection of the Lord Lieutenant, as writs had been granted against him, and
his lunacy did not protect him from arrest. This Commission was issued on
his nephew's petition, and conducted by his own solicitor; and the jury found
Mr. O'Connor to have been 'of unsound mind on and since June 6di, 1852.'
"In 1853 his disease made rapid progress. In June last he had become
perfectly helpless, and on the 20th of August last he was removed by his sister's
authority from Chiswick to her lodgings. The post mortem examination proved
that the brain, having suffered from acute inflammation, had gradually softened,
contracted, and changed its character ; and the coroner's inquest returned, that
Mr. O'Connor's death was caused by natural disease.
*'0n Monday, nth of September, 1855, his body was interred in Kensal
Green Cemetery. His admirers had determined to honour him with a public
funeral, and assembled in Russell Square with banners bearing democratic
mottoes. They marched to Notting Hill to conduct the body thence to the
cemetery, where the assemblage was so numerous and unruly that it was with
difficulty the funeral service was performed. At its close an oration was pro-
nounced by Mr. William Jones, a workingman, from Liverpool. Some steps
have been taken to erect a monument to the deceased."
The monument referred to was, no doubt, that now placed over his grave;
besides which his statue (as before stated) has been erected in Nottingham, for
which place Feargus O'Connor was M.P.
In Tinsle/s "Random Recollections of a Publisher,*' London, 1900, its author
thus writes: "Fergus O'Connor, the noted Irish agitator and politician, was
living at Notting Hill when I first went there. I remember him distinctly by
his dress alone, which was very noticeable. He wore, I think^ the old-
fashioned nankeen breeches or trowsers, buckled shoes, and blue coat with
brass or gilt buttons, a light vest, and a white or cream-coloured hat "
Reviews of Books, &c.
Blake Family Records, 1600 to 1700. By Martin J. Blake (second
series). London : Elliot Stock, 1905. Mr. Blake is not unknown to the
pages of our Journal since it was so recently as last year that he con-
tributed to them a valuable article on King Dermot McCarthy's Charter
to Gill-Abbey, a.d. 1174. We had, too, the pleasure, some three years
since, of noticing the first series of these interesting records in our Journal.
The present volume is a more pretentious one than its predecessor. It is
freely and tastefully illustrated, noticeably so with ancient ecclesiastical,
corporate, and family seals, bearing date from as early as 1443 a.d. The
records in this series mostly relate to dealings affecting lands and houses
m Galway, and will, undoubtedly, be found of great interest to those
concerned in the past history of the ancient "city of the tribes." Occa-
sionally they descend to more mundane affairs. Here, for instance, is
the bill presented for paving a cellar, apparently the same important
apartment as that mortgaged by the same John Blake in 1622 for £40,
and described in the deed as "the shop or seller situated under the castle
stone house" in Galway :
REVIEWS OF BOOKS. 1 55
''Account rendered by Henry Skerrett for the paving of Mr. John Blake
fitz Nicholas his seller (cellar) :
To the garron man for to put out all the earte
and to draw stones and sand, 5s. 6d. ... ... 5 6
To William Barrie for paving, 2d. per yard ... 5 10
To 3 workmen to dig the soller, 6d. per pice ... i 6
For 2 sheaf es of wattells to soute (suit?) the par-
tition ... ... ... ... ...00
For mats to laye to the said partition ... ...02
To a workman to searve the paver and for beere
to them ... ... ... ... ... o 10
14 4
Gallway, the 23rd of Febrevaire, 1639,
per me, Henry Skerrett."
The records assume a most serious aspect a few pages further on.
No. 86 relates to Wentworth*s atrocious scheme for the plantation of
Connaught by English Protestant settlers: it is the **humble petition*' of
the owner of the above cellar, dated 30th April, 1640, and is most plaintive
reading. The petitioner, however, was able to prove, and succeeded in
doing so, that his title was of a more ancient date than the pretended
title of King Charles I., who claimed the entire province of Connaught
through an alleged reversion to the crown in the person of King
Edward IV. The notes supplied by the editor are of great interest and
variety, connecting and considerably elucidating the records. Towards
the end of the volume the genealogies of no fewer than twenty-five different
branches of the Blake family are given, which in itself is a work of great
magnitude, and exhibits a combination of much industry and knowledge.
There is, too, a chapter devoted to the fourteen "tribes" of Galway, and
an illustration is given of their armorial bearings; and there is also a
description of the Corporate arms used by the town of Galway at different
periods, which imparts much information on the early history of the town.
The volume is a most meritorious one, and one only regrets that there
are not many more such works relating to Irish family history and
topography so carefully, so learnedly, and so excellently produced.
Sir Walter Scott's Tour in Ireland in 1825. By D. J. O'Donoghue.
Dublin: O'Donoghue & Co., 15 Hume Street, 1905. Owing to the
peculiar interest attracted to the state of Ireland by O'Connell, the land
became in his time, to an extent it never reached before and happily never
since, the resort of that dreadful individual, the book-compiling tourist.
The "tours'* of these observers are, for the most part, written in the
deceptive light of a well-timed rush through one or two cities and a few out-
lying towns, and abound in the most strange conceptions of the country
and the character, condition and customs of the inhabitants. Scott did
not descend to the vulgar level of writing a tour of this kind ; his observaitons
are rather limited, but suggestive of much sympathy with the people;
and it is to his son-in-law and bic^rapher, Lockhart, that we are indebted
for most of the information relating to the great novelist's flying visit to
the country and his feelings on the occasion. There was ample room for
this book ; and it is no little surprising that its production should await the
elapse of a period of eighty years. The author has sifted the files of
156 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
several old newspapers and periodicals of the day, and has accumulated an
immense mass of materials which are narrated in a pleasant manner. The
book is published at the popular price of one shilling.
The number of the County Louth ArchcBological Journal for the current
year is a vastly bulkier one than that for last year. In its production we
are informed that Irish talent and Irish industry have been availed of
as far as possible. This is as it ought to be, and it is to be hoped that
at no distant day an assurance of the kind will in fact be implied. The
Journal exceeds one hundred pages containing over twelve articles, and
from twenty to thirty tinted illustrations, most beautifully produced.
The contents are of a high and diversified order. The Rev. Thomas
Grogarty, C.C., adduces evidence, in his interesting article on early printing
in the County Louth, to show that a press actually existed in DtDgheda
as early as the year 167 1. There is an account, edited by Mr. Henry
Morris, the Secretary of the Society, from an Irish MS. with an English
translation, of Edward Bruce*s invasion of Ireland, which throws new
light on that hero's career and martial achievements in the country. Mr.
Joseph T. Dolan contributes several pages of well annotated excerpts,
relating to the country, from the unpublished MS. diary of Thomas
Bellingham, a colonel in King William IITs army in Ireland, and a lineal
ancestor of Sir Renry Bellingham, who possesses at Castle Bellingham,
the original diary and several Williamite relics. There is also a typical
article by the Rev. James Quinn, C.C., on **Ancieht Irish Bath Houses,*'
and by Mr. John Garstin on ** Belle w's Bridge." An interesting relic of
the Dundalk Volunteers of 1782, in the shape of their punch bowl, is
described and depicted. On the bottom of this historic, and presumably
oft-drained, vessel, inside, are represented two huge war-ships of the
period— one English, the other French — both in full sail, and a battle
proceeding between them : underneath which is inscribed "Success to the
Dundalk Volunteers/' And evertly arranged around the outside of the
bowl are four scenes, two of which appear in the accompanying illustra-
tion which, through the courtesy of the conductors of the Journal^ we are
enabled to reproduce here. The illustrations and portions of the text
of Wright's Louthiana, accompanied with notes and modern illustrations,
are likewise a feature of the Journal, The Society has commenced well ;
its outlook is promising, having a most historic and interesting country
under its surveillance; and it once more accentuates the existing need
there is for such societies if the study of local history is to be developed
and local antiquities are to be properly recorded and described.
Journal of the Galway ArchcBological and Historical Society, voL iv.,
No. I. The excellence and diversity of the contents of this number are well
maintained. Mr. T. Dillon and the Editor contribute a valuable and
suggestive paper on the far-famed Claddagh ring, a photopraph of six
different varieties of which is given. The ancient history of the old-world
isle of Arran is skilfully treated by Mr. T. D. Lawson. The notes by
various writers on a pictorial map of Galway, belonging to the mid-seven-
teenth century, afford much information on the higher politics of the city
in those troublous days. There are many other important papers and
several short articles, while the illustrations, frequently so indifferent in
similar journals of older standing, are, as usual, of a very superior kind.
J. B.
Punch Bowl of the Dundalk Volunteers.
s -I
* 1
i I
SicoND Series— Vol. XI. No. 68.
[OCTOBIR^DlCSMBER, I905.
Journal of the
Cork Historical and Archaeological Society.
HISTORY OF THE " SIRIUS,"
The First Steamer that crossed the Atlantic.
By WILLIAM J. BARRY, Council Member.
OOKING over the placid waters of our noble harbour on
a summer's morning, the writer's gaze was focussed on
the magnificent White Star steamer "Baltic," as she
gracefully and almost silently glided out to sea for New
York with her thousand or two of passengers, and
instantly the thought arose unbidden — **What of the
*Sirius,"' the shattered wreck of which lies in Ballycotton Bay ''full many
a fathom deep," a few miles or so on the port side of the departing liner,
and what of her gallant captain, whose bones lie whitening in the caverns
of the deep, in the broad Atlantic, perhaps aye a thousand miles from
the remains of the steamship which he so successfully navigated for
the first time in maritime history, from our old city by the Lee, to the
land of the Stars and Stripes, where so many of our people have found
a new home. He went down amidst the roar of the tempest, and his
struggle has long since been over.
To narrate the story of the historic **Sirius" from her cradle to her
grave may possibly be of interest in view of the marvellous developments
which have taken place since she first solved the problem of steam com-
munication between Europe and America, and thus attracted the attention
of the maritime world on the practicability of long ocean voyages, all the
more because, in 1836, at a meeting of the British Association, and in a
lecture on Steam Navigation, Dr. Lardner declared as follows : — **As to
>3
158 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY,
the project of establishing a steam intercourse with the United States,
which was announced in the newspapers, of making the voyage directly
from New York to Liverpool, it was, he had no hesitation in saying,
perfectly chimerical, and they might as well talk of making a voyage
from New York or Liverpool to the moon."
It is a curious fact that the result of the latter statement was the
immediate cause of sending the "Sirius" across the Atlantic, and emanated
from the suggestion of a Corkman, Mr. James Beale, who was about
that time a good deal occupied in steam business, and was also President
of the Cork School of Art and Science.
During a visit to London, and going to Blackwall in an omnibus in
company with several gentlemen, one a Banker and two members of the
East India Company's Board, the above speech of Dr. Lardner's was
discussed.
In the course of the discussion he was referred to for his opinion, and
he replied that not only was it practicable, but that if anyone would join
him, he would guarantee to coal and send out a steamer from Cork,
then built, to New York, and find a captain who should be competent to
take her. He named Lt. Roberts, R.N., of Ardmore, Passage West,
father of Major R. Roberts, of River View, Glenbrook, Co. Cork, late
ist Batn. 9th Norfolk Regt., and also late Governor of H.M. Prison,
Cork, to whom I wish to express my thanks, for kindly placing at my
disposal all the valuable and authentic records of the "Sirius."
His project was agreed to, and he chartered the "Sirius" from the
St. George Steam Packet Co., and Captain Roberts was appointed her
captain. Thus we see beyond doubt that a Corkman originated the idea,
a steamer registered in Ireland made the memorable voyage, and a Cork-
man navigated her to New York, which ought, once and for all, set at
rest the suggestions, which we see from time to time, that the honour
belongs to other ships and other ports.
The founder of the Saint George Co. was Mr. Joseph Robinson Pim.
He was joined in the enterprise by Counsellor Charles Wye Williams, of
the City of Dublin Steam Packet Co. Mr. Pim was a good business
man, possessed of a large amount of mercantile talent : in others words,
a thoroughly * 'go-ahead man."
Previous to 1831 the Saint George Company's office was on Warren's
Place, halfway between Fish Street and the corner house on Merchants*
Quay, but in the latter year tfiey removed to the present Packet Office
on Penrose Quay, surmounted by Saint George and the Dragon, of which
I am enabled to give a copy, taken from the original block made for the
Saint George Company.
Lieutenant Roberts, R.N.
HISTORY OF THE " SIRIUS.
The "Sirius" was built for the Saint George Company by Messrs.
Robert Menzies &. Son, of Leith, her machinery being supplied by Messrs.
J. Wingate & Co., of Glasgow. She had two masts and one funnel,
with a dog figurehead, holding between the forepaws a star, representing
the d»^ star Sirius, after which she was named. She arrived in Cork
9th August, 1837, and cost ;£37,ooo, and was placed on the London
line, under the command of Lieutenant Roger Langlands, R.N.
On the 28th March, 1838, she hauled out of the London Dock, and
sailed from the Easttane Stairs under the command of Captain Roberts,
and proceeded to Cork Harbour, steaming up to Passage Quay to embark
her passengers for New York, and at 10 a.m. on the 4th April, 183S,
Capt. Roberts announced, by firing a gun, that all was ready for starting.
The "Ocean," which arrived the day before with passengers for her,
lay alongside, and the latter vessel sheered off and both vessels got under
way. As the "Sirius" passed down the river she wa£ cheered loudly by
the thousands of people who lined the shores, and the battery at Rock
Lodge, Monkstown (then the residence of Mr. John Galwey), fired a salute.
The "Ocean," with Mr. Jos. R. Pim, one of the Directors of the Saint
George Oo. ; Mr. Jas. Beale, .of the B. and A. S. N. Co. ; and Mr. Geo.
Land, the secretary, on board, proceeded to the harbour's mouth. Then
the two steamers saluted by dipping their flags, and the "Sirius" stood
on her course for the New World majestically, and was watched with keen
interest until she finally disappeared on the waste of waters, between two
continents, hitherto untracked from shore to shore by any steam vessel.
The particulars of registry, and also a list of the crew on this historic
voyage, are as under, which have been supplied to me by the Registrar
General of Shipping, London.
"General Register and Record Office of Shipping and Seamen,
Cariisle Place, Westminster, S.W.,
11th January, 1906.
Sir — In reply to your letter of the 8th inst., I enclose herewith a
copy of the original register of the SS. "Sirius," of Dublin, No. 33, in
l6o CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHiBOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
1837, also a copy of the crew list of the vessel for the voyage covering
April, 1838. I may add that it is not clear, from the list of crew, whether
the stewardess made the voyage, or failed to join.
I am, Sir, your obedient Servant,
Henry N. Malan, Registrar General.**
No. 33, 1837. Certificate of British Registry,
Cancelled and registered de novo at Cork, 21 June, 1844, No. 25.
This is to certify, that in pursuance of an Act passed in the fourth
year of the reign of King William the Fourth, intituled, **An Act for the
Registering of British Vessels,'* Joseph Robinson Pirn, of Oakfield^ in
the County of Chester; Paul Twigg, of Hartfield House, in the County
of Dublin; and Jonathan Pirn, of Bloomsbury, in said County of Dublin,
merchants, having made and subscribed the declaration required by law,
and having declared that they, tc^ether with William Heap Hutchinson,
of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, and James Hutchinson, of
Woodbank, in said County of Lancaster, merchants, being the five
trustees duly elected and appointed, and the other persons or members
associated as a Joint Stock Company by Deed of Trust bearing date 20th
September, 1833, in the name of The Saint George Steam Packet Com-
pany are sole owners (in the proportions specified on the back hereof) of the
ship or vessel called' the "Sirius,** of Dublin, which is of the burthen
of four hundred and twelve tons, and whereof Roger Langlands is master,
and that the said ship or vessel was built in the year one thousand eight
hundred and thirty-seven at Leith, as appears by the certificate of Robert
Menzies and Son, the builders thereof, bearing date ist July, 1837. And
William Brown, Tide Surveyor, Port of Leith, having certified to us that
the said ship or vessel has one deck and two masts, and that her length
from the inner part of the main stem to the fore part of the stern post
aloft is one hundred and seventy-eight feet four-tenths, her breadth in
midships is twenty-five feet eight-tenths, her depth in hold at midships
is eighteen feet three-tenths, that she is schooner rigged, with a standing
bowsprit ; is square-stemed carvel built ; has mock quarter galleries, and
d<^ figurehead ; and that she is propelled by steam with an engine room
fifty-seven feet in length and two hundred and ninety-one tons; and the
said subscribing owners having consented and agreed to the above de-
scription, and having caused sufficient security to be given, as required
by law, the said ship or vessel called the "Sirius" has been duly regis-
tered at the port of Dublin.
Certified under our hands, at the Custom House, in the said port of
Dublin, this eighth day of August in the year one thousand eight hundred
and thirty-seven, W. Palgrave, Collector,
J, McCaskv, Comptroller,
Tonnage under 3rd and 4th William IV., cap. 55, 450 1} tons.
HISTORY OF THE " SIRIUS/'
i6i
Names of the several owners within mentioned : — ^Joseph Robinson
Pim, Paul Twigg, Jonathan Pirn, William Heap Hutchinson, and James
Hutchinson, being the five trustees duly elected and appointed, and the
other persons or members associated as a Joint Stock Company by Deed
of Trust dated 20th September, 1833, in the name of The Saint George
Steam Packet Company.
Number of sixty-fourth shares held by each owner — sixty-four — 64.
W. Palgrave, Collector,.
J. McCasky, Comptroller.
I hereby certify that the foregoing is a true copy of the Original
Registry of the ship "Sirius," of the port of Dublin, Number 33, in 1837,
as taken from the records now in my charge.
Henry N. Malan,
Registrar General.
General Register and Record Office of Shipping and Seamen.
Carlisle Place, Westminster, S.W.,
iith January, 1906.
Names of the persons on the list of crew of the "Sirius," of Dublin,
412 tons, for the voyage which commenced at Cork on the 31st March,
1838, and terminated in London about the 23rd May^ 1838 : —
Richard Roberts
John Dudley
George Briggs
Francis Whitiker
Richard Jones
John Lambert
William Denning
Charles Brown
James Douglas
John MacCue
John Mahoney
Simon Atkin
Richard Paton
John Keating
Cornelius Connell
Jer. Harvey
Michael Regan
James Ryan
James Henly
master
first mate
second mate
third mate
boatswain
first engineer
second engineer
fireman
do
do
do
do
do
do
do
do
do
do
do
Dennis Donoghoo
Benjamin McCulloch
Margaret Linch
John DriscoU
John Mahoney
Robert Tuttle
Charles Frazer
Joseph Lancaster
John Wheaton
William Penhay
James Smith
George Ratley
Joseph Sidler
John Callaghan
Michael Shuane
William Williams
William Adams
fireman
boy
stewardess
seaman
do
do
do
do
do
do
do
first steward
seaman
second steward
third steward
attendant
cook
George Julian second cook
Alexander Callaghan boy
1 62 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHidOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
The following is an abstract of her Log, which gives full particulars
of the voyage: —
4th April — From noon to midnight 85 knots; course W.N.W. ; light
and clear weather.
5th April — 135 knots, fresh breeze, and cloudy; head sea at noon;
strong breeze ; pressure on boiler 5} lb. ; at midnight heavy sea.
6th April — Fresh gale, wind W. by N. ; 106 knots; midnight, strong
breeze and squally weather.
7th April — Storm and gale; passed a large ship sfteering to the
eastward, under close-reefed topsails; ran 140 knots in the twenty-four
hours; very high sea, split foresail.
8tb April — 85 knots, fresh breeze, head wind with rain; used rosin
with the ashes for the engines, as it made them burn better, and cleaned
the chimney; wind N.W. by N.
9th April — 136 knots, fresh breeze, head wind; 4 p.m, gale, with
heavy sea.
loth April — 95 knots, fresh gale and squalls, rain and heavy head sea,
wind W.S.W. ; spoke the ship **Star," of New York.
nth April — 165 knots, heavy gale and great swell, wind N.E. ; burned
rosin with ashes and small coal.
i2th April — 190 knots, light wind and cloudy weather; 51b. pressure,
water in boiler quite fresh ; hove to for an hour to fasten floats and pack
stuffing boxes.
13th April — 220 knots, wind variable from midnight to 3 a.m. ; at
6 a.m. spoke the *'R<^er Sherman,*' of Bath, under American colours,
thirty-six days out from New Orleans, bound to Havre; at 7 a.m. hoisted
colours to one of the Falmouth packets, bound to Halifax; three sail
in sight.
14th April — ^200 knots, light breeze and cloudy weather, wind S. ;
weighed one ton of coal^ which burned one hour and fifteen minutes ; lat.
44^^ 3'i long. 42^ g'; observed a change in the colour of the water.
15th April — 205 knots, mild and 'cloudy; one ton of coal burned in one
hour and fifteen minutes ; wind southerly, great quantity of birds in sight ;
at 3 p.m. cloudy, with strong breeze; at 9 p.m. stopped engine quarter of
an hour, owing to square sail flying to leeward; at 11 p.m. taken aback
with a fresh gale, very dark and foggy weather, shortened sail, ther-
mometer fell ten degrees.
i6th April — 195 knots, fresh gale and sea heavy, with rain, sea rising
at midnight; stopped engines for three-quarters of an hour to fasten
screws ,of eccentric.
17th April — 112 knots, heavy gale, with sleet and snow; pressure of
steam 51b. ; at noon, fresh gale, with heavy sea running.
HISTORY OF THE " SIRIUS. 163
i8th April — 126 knots, wind W.N.W. ; strong breeze, with squalls ;
average of engine thermometer, 26f .
19th April — 145 knots, burned a good deal of rosin, wind S.E.
20th April — 180 knots; in the morning wind S., in the afternoon, W. ;
violent rain; at ten minutes past one p.m. spoke H.M.S. *'Comwallis,''
seventy-four guns. Captain Richard Grant, with the nth Regiment for
Bermuda; parted company at 2 p.m.
2 1 St April — 195 knots, light wind and fair weather; exchanged signals
with an American vessel.
22nd April — ^To 10 p.m. 267 knots, light breeze and fine weather;
observed the high lands of Neversink; at 8 p.m. slowed the engines; at
9 p.m. fired signals for pilot; then hove to for pilot, and anchored off the
Battery at 10 p.m. W
Total knots, 2,897, averaging 161 knots per day ; highest 220, lowest 85.
The total amount of coal consumed was 450 tons, and the engines
made 15 revolutions per minute."
Capt. Roberts' Journal of Voyage.
The *'Sirius" started from Cork on 3rd April at 10.30 a.m., in company
with the ''Ocean," another splendid steamer of the Saint George Steam
Packet Co. On leaving Passage, about seven miles below Cork^ we
were loudly cheered by the inhabitants, together with the most
respectable families in Cork, who had assembled with warm hearts and
handsome faces (the ladies I mean) to witness our departure and wish
us success on our passage to our transatlantic brethren. Most of the
gentlemen interested in our vessel proceeded with us as far as the Cove
of Cork, where we stopped to let the ** Ocean" come alongside to take
the above gentlemen out, which having been done, with three hearty
cheers and many heartier wishes, we gallantly bent our way for New York.
We had now on board 450 tons coal, 20 tons water, and 58 casks resin,
besides an incalculable stock of other stores, all of which I beg to be
understood (with the exception of 90 tons of coal) was over and above
what she was ever intended to carry as a dead weight, add to which
her having 22 tons of the water on deck, and you may form some conjec-
ture as to her probable fate had she not been an admirable sea boat and
in every respect qualified for the most dangerous weather, as well as her
being one of the fastest boats out of London, in proof of which assertion
I quote our unprecedented run from London to Cork in 50 hours and 30
minutes, a distance of 650 or 660 miles, but as we started from off the
Nore, say 600, which will give an average of twelve knots an hour.
In further support of her admirable qualities I will endeavour, as far
as my memory serves, with a few notes I made at the time, to give you
an analysis of our voyage.
(0 The eve of St. George's Day.
164 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHiEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
Exactly at thirty minutes after twelve o'clock on the morning of 5th
April we lost sight of that brilliant light very appropriately placed on
Cape Clear, and now we may be said to have commenced our journey,
on an average making seven knots against a fresh breeze and head sea
slap in our teeth. In the afternoon a very heavy sea running. Engine
making 1 1 to 9 strokes this day.
6th — A continuance of the same violent weather ; a slight improvement
in our speed of one knot ; engine as on 5th.
7th — The same as above, passed several vessels, the largest scudding
under double-reefed maintopsail, treble-reefed foretopsail and foresail.
8th — Strong gales and squally, speed evidently increasing with the
ccMisumption of coals. We were now going 5 and 4, when, from the
violence of the gale a bark was lying-to to leeward. Engine working
beautifully.
9th — Strong breezes and heavy sea; averaging about 6J, both speed
and engine improving.
loth — Strong breezes and very heavy head sea running ; general average
7 knots; stroke of the engines 12 and 14. 11 a.m., spoke the *'Star of
New York,'* from New York.
nth — Strong breezes and cloudy with heavy squalls; going from 7 to
6 and 8 knots; engines 15 strokes.
1 2th — More moderate than yesterday; going this day from 8 to 9
knots; engines 14^ to 15.
13th — ^The same as yesterday, rate from 9 and 2 to 9 and 6 ; engines 14).
14th — The same as above; rate from 9 to 4 and 4 to 9 and 6 and 10
knots; engines 14} to 15.
15th — Moderate and cloudy; rate from 9 to 4, 9 to 6, 10, and 11 to 4
knots; engines from 15^ to 17^.
i6th — Strong breezes and squally, with rain; rate from 9 to 6 and 5;
engines from 15 to io(. The latter part of this day a dangerous sea is
running, the ship behaving nobly and riding like a duck on the huge seas,
which appeared as if endeavouring to put a stop to our further prepress
towards our enthusiastic friends in New York.
17th — Heavy gales from N.W., a dangerous sea, and a bounteous fall
of snow to cool our energies; average rate 5 knots; engines from 14 to
15 strokes.
'i8th — More moderate winds, but a continuance of heavy head seas;
average rate, 6 to 7 and 8 and 9; enq^ines from 15 to 16.
19th — Squally weather, with a heavy swell from the westward ; average
rate from 9 to 9I ; engines 14 to 16.
20th — Fresh breeze and squally, with a heavy swell ; average rate from
9 to 4; engines from 15 to 15^.
2 1st — Moderate and fine; rate from 9 and 10 to 11 ; engines 17 to 18^.
HISTORY OF THE ** SIRIUS/' 1 65
22nd — ^The same as yesterday, towards noon the wind freshened ; rate
from 9 and 4 to 10; engines from 17 to 17^. At 3.30 p.m. this day we
had the happiness to make land, all hands anxiously looking for a pilot,
and much disappointment evinced at getting within a mile of the Hook
without seeing one, which caused us a delay of six or eight hours.
After reading the above, I think any comment would be superfluous ;
the only thing I can induce the sceptical to do, is to read for himself.
Our jibboom was out the whole of the passage, and only on one
occasion did we house our topmasts, yet, strange to say, she has not
strained a rope-yam.
I beg to say that the **Sirius'* is to be followed by the ''British Queen,"
as noble a piece of naval architecture as ever floated on the bosom of Neptune's
watery domain. The said vessel is about 1,834 tons, and will be of 500 horse
power. The engines alone will cost ;£30,ooo, and I should say altogether
her cost will not fall short of ;^ 120,000 when ready for sea. This is what
I call enterprise, and on so grand a scale, and that it may succeed, as
it deserves to do, is the prayer of a sincere well-wisher to the British and
American Steam Navigation Co.
It really appeared to me as if Providence smiled propitiously on our
voyage, as we passed through, or, I may say, under, as it appeared to us,
on the three last days of our voyage, three of the most splendid arches
(I may say triumphal) I have ever witnessed, extending from north to
south about six miles, the centre hanging immediately over our trucks,
the sun going down clear and resplendent. The dark^ thick clouds
hanging in our rear like an impenetrable mass, tinged along the mai^in
by other clouds of a snowy whiteness, formed a most beautiful sight, such
as the mind of man cannot truly imagine unless he had previously seen it.
Lieut. Richard Roberts, R.N., Captain.
John Dudley, Chief Officer.
G. T. Briggs, R.N., Second Officer.
F. A. Whittaker, H.C.M., R.N., Third Officer.
She carried 40 passengers, viz., first cabin, 5 ladies, 6 gentlmen;
second cabin, 5 ladies, 3 gentlemen; steerage, i lady, 20 gentlemen.
Total passengers, 11 ladies, 29 gentlemen. The only surviving passenger
is the Rev, T. Ransome, Rector of Compton Bassett, Wilts, who, when
four years old, crossed the Atlantic on this memorable voyage, together
with his father (who was proceeding to quell the Lower Canada Rebellion),
sister, and brother. Mr. Davenport and his daughter, actor and actress,
were also amongst the passengers. The saloon fare was 35 guineas (the
same as the sailing ships); second cabin, 20 guineas; and steerage, 8
guineas.
1 66 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
The agents in New York were Messrs. Wadsworth & Smith, 4 Jones
Lane, near 103 Front Street.
Her arnval caused great excitement, and the newspapers gave
her the greatest prominence; for instance, the Herald announced as fol-
lows : —
•*THE SIRIUS! THE SIRIUS! THE SIRIUS!
t>
"Nothing is talked of in New York but about this "Sirius." She is
the first steam vessel that has arrived here from England, and a glorious
boat she is. Every merchant in New York went on board her yesterday.
Lt. Roberts, R.N., is the first man that ever navigated a steamship from
Europe to America."
And, again, another New York paper gives the following account of
the visit to the **Sirius*' of the Corporation of New York, Tuesday, 24th
April, 1838: —
**The Visit of the Corporation to the *Sirius' — ^A Beautiful
Spectacle.**
"The Mayor of the City, the Boards of Aldermen and assistants,
according to previous announcement, embarked yesterday afternoon about
half-past one o'clock in barges, escorted by a fleet of other barges belong-
ing to the Navy Yard, under the direction of Capt. Stringer of the Navy,
all bearing the American flag, and arranged in beautiful order in the
river, making one of the most delightful pictures ever seen from the city.
About the same time a large number of citizens, some two or three hundred
invited guests, put off from the North River, all for the purpose of doing
honour to the steamship 'Sirius,* her captain and crew, and for celebrating
the great event in our harbour. The 'Sirius' was dressed out in flags
and pennants, the United States' Flag being on one mast and the British
flag on the other. The band of music on board the barges played 'God
Save the King,' and the band on board the *Sirius' played *Hail Columbia'
and 'Yankee Doodle.' After the Corporation and several of the officers
of the army and navy were put on board the *Sirius,' and after an inter-
esting interchange of enthusiastic cheers on all sides and from all parties,
the guests were admitted, and immediately the cabin, as well as the quarter
deck,' were thronged by the crowd who had assembled for the occasion.
''The gallant Commander, Captain Roberts, was seated at the table in
the cabin, with the Mayor on his right and Alderman Hoxie, the Chairman
of the Corporation Committee appointed on the occasion, on his left.
Capt. Hoskin, of the "Great Western," («>the British Consul, and several
other gentlemen being at the table. The cabin of the 'Sirius' was by
(9) Arrived the day after the '* Sirius," via. 2 p.in., 33rd April, 1838.
HISTORY OF THE *' SIRIUS. 1 67
no means fitted for such a welcome as the Corporation of the City wished
to give Capt. Roberts, nor for such a welcome as the Captain wished to
his honoured guests, but the cheer was abundant on the heavily-laden table,
and the wines soon made the compact crowd so happy that they forgot
the pressure to which they were subjected. All tongues were soon in
motion in commemoration of the great event.
"Alderman Hoxie, after calling to order, congratulated Captain
Roberts on his safe arrival here, and in the name of the great city of the
New World, welcomed the gallant adventurer from the Old. What was
a matter of experiment, he remarked, it was reserved for the great good
fortune and for the high fame of the gallant Captain to prove to be a fact.
Though another had the honour of discovering the New World, yet
that New World for centuries had been approached only by the canvas
filled with the varying winds ; or if otherwise, but cautiously and timidly
by some trembling steamer whose arrival and deparftire had not been a
matter of great note. Yet certainly to the 'Sirius,' to her gallant Com-
mander and gallant crew, was reserved the fame of first shooting boldly
from Europe over the broad Atlantic in defiance of winds and waves, and
in first bringing into our city the flag of Great Britain upborne on the
masts of a steamship, to wave side by side with the Stars and Stripes
of our States. The Hudson river surely had never before seen such a
sight. Here was a steamship from England, and there were steamboats
from Albany and Providence and New Haven.
''He looked upon this, therefore, as a great event. He awarded, in the
name of the city, to her gallant Captain and her gallant crew the high
favour of creating a new era. If it did not bear his name over the world
with the imperishable lustre of the great discoverer of America, it gave
him a name among the great benefactors of mankind. It ranked him
with Fulton of America, and that was an honour enough for any man
to bear. I propose," said the Alderman, in conclusion, ''the health of the
gallant Captain and crew of the 'Sirius.'
"This toast was drunk standing, and was received with deafening
cheers. When the applause subsided. Captain Roberts, who, by the way,
is a British sailor every inch of him, and who therefore does not set up
for an orator any more than our own Jack Tars, returned his heartiest
thanks in a few pithy words: 'I am a happy man,' said he, his face all
glowing with joy and cheerfulness. 'This is an honour I could hardly
ever dream of getting. Thanks to your great city, thanks to the dis-
tinguished gentlemen who have given it, thanks to you all, gentlemen.
If I could live a thousand years, I would give them all up for the honour
of this day. It is the happiest hour of my life; I am the proudest man
in the world. '
'*A11 this was said with so much sailor enthusiasm and hearty goodwill,
1 68 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHifiOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
that it was one of the most eloquent speeches ever heard. The applause
from all sides was most hearty.
* 'Captain Roberts concluded his remarks with the following sentiment,
which was responded to with nine cheers — *The City of New York and
its worthy Chief Magistrate.'
*'His Honor the Mayor then rose and electrified the whole assembly with
a brief and very eloquent address, but of little of which we have room
to report. Amongst his observations he remarked to the Captain that
this favoured and enterprising city hailed his successful effort with great
joy. *We feel,* said he, *a deep interest in your success, and this is fully
proved by the many anxious and enthusiastic Americans who greet you
on this occasion. We welcome you to our country with all our hearts.
As you are a stranger amongst us, allow me to tell you that here you will
find a people proud to congratulate you on your noble triumph. The
memory of Fulton is dear to the country, and were he now present he
would rejoice to join with us to do honour to the authors of this splendid
achievement. The far-sighted mind of that illustrious man fondly antici-
pated this very hour — ^this hour when two mighty continents would be
brought near to each other by the magic power of steam, and when the war
of the elements would cease to interpose invincible obstacles to speedy
intercommunication. We do not envy your prosperity — ^we glory in it,
and we will emulate it. The genius of our citizens is adequate to any
purpose, and their industry and perseverance are commensurate with the
unlimited means of accomplishment. Although we received from Old
England early and useful information upon the application of steam, we
soon extended the value of her discoveries, and she in turn has continued
to astonish the world by new developments. We are now banquetting
within the last of the wonders that has crowned her labours. Although we
yield not to any nation the palm of exclusive renown upon this subject,
we do not hesitate to give you that high meed of praise so justly your due.
On behalf of our favourite metropolis, we bid you welcome, thrice welcome,
to New York. You offer to us a new source of prosperity, and be well
assured that whenever you leave the green hills and the white cliffs of
Britain for the fertile and romantic shores of this vast Republic, you come to
a land and a nation that knows how to appreciate your work — ^to one where
your person and your rights, in common with our own, will be acknow-
ledged and protected — ^and to a people whose hospitality, whose sympathy,
whose love of justice and respect for the laws, is surpassed by none other.
Though you have for the first time crossed the broad sea as an explorer
in a new way, yet you have found a great nation already in being, of
the same stock as your own, with the same language you left at home,
and a people of true English hospitality, who will be happy to encourage
you to repeat your visit as often as you please. Indeed, sir, it is enough
HISTORY OF THE " SIRIUS." 1 69
to merit the just compliment we all pay when we say you have elevated
the high character of England and given hope of new and higher destiny
to America.* '*
The following also appeared in the New York Weekly Herald of
Saturday, 28th April, 1838: —
*'Capt. Roberts, of the **Sirius," was spoken of in the most compli-
mentary terms by the ladies, his passengers. They should, they said,
have been dreadfully alarmed by the bad weather, but they felt quite
safe under Capt. Roberts' care. In short, nothing could have been more
satisfactory for all purposes than the expedition, and we trust it will
redound to the permanent profit, as it certainly does to the enterprize,
of all concerned. ' *
The **Sirius" sailed from New York on the homeward voyage on the
I St May, and on her departure thousands of people assembled on the
wharfs to wish her a prosperous passage, the Battery saluting with 17
guns, a mark of respect seldom or never before shown to any merchant
vessel.
She arrived at Falmouth at 8 p.m. on the i8th May, after a boisterous
passage, the prevailing winds being S.E. to N.E., and proceeded to
London same day, where she duly arrived all well.
The following were her daily performances in miles: — 153, 193, 155,
90, 106, 131, 158, 180, 225, 220, 176, 156, 172, 181, 182, 200, 227, and
199 to Scilly.
On the i6th she spoke the **Tyrian," sailing packet, for Halifax,
and brought in her mails to Falmouth.
Capt. Roberts was presented with the following interesting address
from the passengers on arrival : —
**Steam Ship, *Sirius,'
May 19th, 1838.
The undersigned passengers in the steamer 'Sirius,' from New York
to London, beg leave, before parting, to express their sense of the merits
and high capabilities of Lieutenant Roberts, R.N., Commander, during
the first voyage by steam ever made across the Atlantic. Their estima-
tion of his gentlemanly attentions, skilly and seamanship, is enhanced
from the fact of experiencing nearly a succession of contrary winds during
the whole passage^^ with the slight exception of a few days.
In the present infant state of Atlantic steam navigation the under-
signed cannot forbear expressing their decided conviction of its security
and speed, far outstripping any mode of conveyance hitherto known,
and from the facts coming within their knowledge, they have no doubt
I70 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHiEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
of the complete solution of the problem hitherto propounded respecting
the practicability of Atlantic steam navigation.
Henry Wikoflf H. E. E. Vernon Graham^ Col.
James G. Bennett Yn. Schopfer
Joseph R, Walker Tyrell Moore
B. G. Schmidt Jep. Robcot
Thomas W. Wright Paul Glasgood, of Brookville,
Edward M. Davies Upper Canada.
On his return to Cork Captain Roberts wrote to his agents in New
York, advising them of his successful voyage home, and that he expected
to arrive again at New York about September in the "British Queen"
(to which steamer he was just appointed), and stated she was the most
magnificent vessel ever built in Great Britain, also that he was received in
the most handsome manner by the citizens of Cork, who were about to
present him with a service of silver value £200, the Corporation with
an address and freedom of the city, in a silver box, and the town of
Passage (where he was living) a large silver salver.
Accordingly, we find in the Cork Advertiser of 14th June, 1838, the
following notice: —
**The Right Worshipful John Bagnell, Esq., Mayor. The Freemen
at Large are requested to take notice that a Court of D*Oyer Hundred
will be held in and for the County of the City of Cork, at the Court House
thereof, on Wednesday, the 20th June, inst., at 12 o'clock, to read and
consider an Order of Council for granting the freedom at large of this
City to Lieutenant Richard Roberts, R.N., and presenting him with a
certificate thereof in a silver box, with a suitable address, in reference to
his recent voyage in command of the 'Sirius' Steam Ship.*'
In due course the presentation was made, the arms of the city being
elegantly engraved on the box, and on the cover within a suitable inscrip-
tion, the interior being richly gilt. The address is surrounded by an
elaborate and r}ch arabesque border of scrolls intertwined, the corners
ornamented by shells and dolphins. The headpiece contains the City
Arms, with the very appropriate motto, **Statio Bene Fida Carinis." The
effect is heightened by irradiations in all directions, as from a central
point. With the city arms are blended the municipal regalia, consisting
of fasces, collar of SS, maces with imperial crown, the sword of Justice,
silver oar, and other symbols of civil government. The tailpiece is
designed to illustrate the address. In the centre (on a rugged rock) sits
old Ocean, in an appropriate attitude^ with a venerable beard, his hair
entwined with sea weeds, reclining on a water urn, and holding a classic
helm. On the right of the figure are allegorical emblems oi the United
Kingdom, the Imperial Arms on a shield, the Union Jack, harp, &c., with
Wreck of the "Sibils" in Hallvcotton Hay.
F'cm Ike" lllHil'sltil Lumltn Nra,i,~ !"••■ JoM, /J!//.
HISTORY OF THE " SIRIUS." 17I
appropriate representations of Trade, Manufacture, and Commerce, such
as sailing vessels and steamers, bale of merchandize, &c. On the other
side, separated by Ocean from the figures which represent England, an
emblem of the United States, the Eagle with the Arms of America with
a shield on its breast, the Vine, indicative of the timber trade, and various
objects having reference to American commerce, under the national flag
of that enterprising people. In the centre of the lower border are intro-
duced the arms, crest and motto of Lt. Roberts. The address is signed
by the Town Clerk, J. C. Besnard, under whose direction it was executed,
and is sealed with the ancient Corporate seal.
Although the address presents the appearance of a very beautiful line
engraving, the entire was executed with a common pen and ink by an
ingenious artist of this city, Mr. James McDonald.
The "Sinus" made a second voyage to New York under the command
of Capt. Stephen Sayer Mowle, and on her departure from the latter
port she was again accorded an enthusiastic send off, crowds cheering
from the Battery and every available spot on shore, six steamers following
her to sea cheering heartily; and on her return in July, 1838, she resumed
her station in the cross-Channel trade between Cork and various English
ports, until unfortunately she was lost on a voyage from Glasgow to Cork,
via Dublin, having struck, during a fog, a reef of rocks in Ballycotton Bay,
between three and four o'clock on the morning of Saturday, i6th January,
1847.
She sailed from Dublin the previous day with about twenty cabin and
fifty deck passengers. The moment she struck a scene of terrible panic
prevailed amongst the passengers.
Capt. Moffett, in his efforts to save the ship, reversed the engines and
succeeded in backing her off the rocks, but when he did so it was clear
she was doomed, as she was making water rapidly. He then steamed
towards the land, but in trying to reach it struck the Smith's rocks^ about
half a mile to the west of Ballycotton. As it was evident she would go
to pieces in an hour or so at most, Capt. Moffett lowered the lifeboat, but,
unfortunately, on the weather side of the ship. There was a wild rush
for this boat when she reached the water, and twenty of the passengers
crowded into her, but before she was clear of the ship's side she was
swamped and everyone in her was drowned, except Capt. A. Cameron of
the river steamer * * Prince, ' ' who was a passenger from Dublin. The * * Sirius ' '
continued to bump heavily on the rocks, the seas breaking over her decks. The
condition of the remaining passengers and crew had now become desperate,
but in a short time the coastguards from Ballycotton, under the command
of Mr. Coghlan, were seen coming off and were soon alongside ; the ship's
boats having by this time been also launched, the remainder of the crew
and passengers were safely landed.
172 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHiCOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
Previous to the arrival of the coastguards' boat, Captain Cameron got
into one of the ship's boats with a seaman, and after a terrible struggle
in the surf, he succeeded in making a rope fast from the ship to the rocks,
and by means of a lifebuoy twenty of the passengers were slung ashore
safely.
On the following Monday the "Sirius" was a complete wreck, her
hull, rigging and spars having been smashed to pieces. However, her
engines and boilers could still be seen on the rocks. The coast was strewn
with fragments of the wreck, also portion of her cargo, which was washed
ashore on the coast westward of Hallycotton.
From the ** Illustrated London News," Jan. 30th, 1847.
WRECK OF THE ••SIRIUS" STEAMER.
Then row frooi a«a to sky the wild fiM«we]l~BTaoN.
The brave barqne comes on ita foaming path,
It flies on the wings of steam ;
Slight careth the crew for Ocean's wratb.
Or Winter's lurid gleam.
For the bold ** Sinus" was the first
To cross the Atlantic wide ;
When from both hemispheres outburst
A shout of joy and pride.
Now, on its native billow drives
The " Sirius" proud and high,
With cargo rich and many lives
Trusted to sea and sky.
More trusted to the Captain's skill
And bravery of the crew,
Which never failed, beneath God's will,
To dare the Ocean blue.
Cheerly from Dublin's syren bay
The '* Sirius" winged her flight.
Coasting the civic bow'rs of Bray
And Wicklow's harbour-height.
Now Wexford's hills— now Waterford's,
Loom o'er the raging sea,
And hopes are bright that the barque to-night
Shall enter the limpid Lee.
A shock— a shout— a fearful shriek
Rise over the mocking blast :
The ship has struck 1 . . . . The breakers wreak
Their wrath on the deck, keel, mast
She is sinking fast 1 . . . . The boats are out ;
But scarcely they ply the oar,
When down they go— disappear like snow,
Or are dash'd on the savage shore.
Clock Case S.S. " Sirius."
174 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
Limited, of Dale End, Birmingham, the celebrated manufacturers c^
steam fittings, who purchased that portion of the machinery which was
salvaged by Messrs. Ensor.
The Souvenir is a circular piece of brass, three and a half inches in
diameter, and half an inch thick, and bears the following inscription :
Cut from
THE Pump Rod
or THE SS. "SUUUS," THE
FIRST PASSENGER STEAMER TO CROSS
THE Atlantic She left Core on
THE 3RD, AND REACHED NeW YoRE ON THE SIND
April, 183S. In Jan. 1847 she was lost,
and after lying for $1 years was salvaged
and her metal wore purchased by
Masons^ Birmingham,
who present this souvenir.
Capt. Roberts, after his return from New York in the **Sirius," was
appointed to the ** British Queen, "<3)and from her transferred to the un-
fortuante * 'President, " (4 a change which he did not seem to look on with
favour, as his last words to his friend Croker, when he heard of the
appointment, were : ''It is too bad to be forced into a vessel to give her
character''; and the late Mr. James Murphy, of Empress Place, informed
the writer that the day the "President" sailed from Liverpool he lunched
with his friend Capt. Roberts, but before going on board, the condition of
the ship attracted his attention, and he said : ''Surely, Dick, you will not
go to sea in that ship, as she is badly hogged" (strained), to which he
replied, jocularly, "Why, my dear James, I would go to sea in a washing
tub."
As another instance, it may be mentioned that on his appointment to
the "President" he took over a Mr. Murphy, from Passage, to inspect
the ship, in order to elicit his opinion. The latter gave it freely, and did
not approve of the ship. Capt. Roberts replied, and said, "Sink or swim,
ii) Afterwards sold to the Belgian Government.
(4) Built by Messrs. Curling & Young, London ; 2366 tons reg,, $40 h.p. Sailed from
Liverpool, 2 p. m. , i st August, 1 840, for New York, arrived 2 p. m. , 1 7th, passage 1 6 days. Sailed
from there 2 p.m., 1st Sept., arrived Liverpool, 2 p.m., 17th, passage also 16 days (apparently laid
up during the winter of 1840) ; sailing again in the spring of 184 1 for New York, from which
port she sailed on 12th March, 1 84 1, with 136 passengers, and as shown above her &te lemains
to this day a melancholy mystery.
HISTORY OF THE " SIRIUS." 1 75
Murphy, I'll take that ship to New York." He did so, but on the return
voyage in March', 1841, the 'Tresident" was lost with all hands in a
terrific gale, in which no less than 75 vessels went down.
It is sad to think that after being the first steamship commander to
cross the Atlantic, the latter soon after claimed him as a victim in the
very prime of life.
There is a very fine monument erected to his memory at Passage
West, on either side of which are shewn the sterns of the ships he com-
manded, viz., "Black Joke," ''Sirius," British Queen," and ** President."
The following is also recorded : —
" This stone commeinorates, in the churchyard of his native parish, the merits and
premature death of the first ofiELcer under whose command a steam vessel ever crossed
the Atlantic Ocean.
"Undaunted bravery exhibited in the suppression of the slave traffic in the African
seas, a character unequalled for enterprise and consumate skill in all the details of his
profession, recommended for this arduous service
Lieutenant Richard Roberts, R.N.
" In accomplishing it he not only surpassed the wildest visions of former days, but
even the warmest anticipations of the present, gave to science triumphs she had not
dared to hope, and created an epoch for ever memorable in the histoiy of his country
and of navigation. The thousands that shall follow in his track must not forget who
it was that first taught the world to traverse with such marvellous rapidity that
highway of the ocean, and who in thus connecting by a voyage of a few days duration
the eastern and western hemispheres, has for ever linked his name with the greatest
achievement of navigation since Columbus first revealed Europe and America to each
other.
" God, having permitted him this high distinction, was pleased to decree that the
leader of this great enterprise should also be its martyr. Lieutenant Roberts perished
with all hands on board his ship the ' President' when on the voyage from America to
Europe. She was lost in the month of March, 1841.
"As the gallant seamen under whose guidance was accomplished an undertaking
the result of which centuries will not exhaust, it is for his country — the world to
remember him.
" His widow, who erects this melancholy memorial, may be forgiven if to her even
these claims are lost in the recollection of that devotedness of attachment, that
uprightness and kindness of spirit, which for, alas I but three brief years formed the
light and joy of her existence."
Referring to Capt. Roberts, I find the following in Notes and Queries
of 22nd June, 1895 '"^
''Lieut. Richard Roberts, R.N., was the third son of Richard RobertSi
of Ardnx>re, Passage West, and entered the navy at an early age. In a
memorable action in the annals of the British Navy (see London GoMette
I/O CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCH/EOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
of April i8th, 1829), Roberts may be said, as senior mate, to have fought
the 'Black Joke/ a tender on the African Station, with two g-uns and
fifty-five men, when she captured the *Almirantc/ a Spanish slaver,
mounting 14 guns, with a crew of 80 men and 466 slaves on board, for
which Roberts, with the no less gallant Lieutenant who commanded the
'Black Joke,* received respectively their promotions: Lieutenant Henry
Downes to the rank of Commander, and Roberts, who, I think, was
slightly wounded, to that of Lieutenant. I have said no less gallant,
because though Roberts actually fought the 'Black Joke,' Downes being
confined to his cabin with gout, ordered himself to be swung upon deck
in his cot to witness the action. The 'Black Joke,' a captured slaver
herself, was taken into the service and renamed the 'Fair Rosamond/
as a jocular compliment to Mrs. Croker^ wife of the Secretary of the
Admiralty. "—C. A. White.
There is another interesting account of this action, viz., the Spanish
brig "Almirante" was captured by H.M. brig "Black Joke" in the Bight
of Benin, ist February, 1829, after a close action of one hour and twenty
minutes. Owing to the dead calm the "Black Joke" could not get along-
side the slaver, but sent her pinnace, under the command of the midship-
man, R. Roberts, who boarded, and, after a sharp fight, took the slaver.
The crew of the pinnace had one man killed and four wounded, including
Midshipman Roberts, who was afterwards promoted to the rank of lieu-
tenant at a very early age at that time. Force of "Black Joke" — One long
18-pounder, I carronade 12 lbs., 57 officers and crew (5 killed, 16 wounded).
Force of "Almirante" — ^Ten i8-pounders, 4 9-pounders, 105 officers and
crew (26 killed, 17 wounded). Result of action — ^467 slaves released.
Since the foregoing was written, the King has been graciously pleased to accept from
Messrs. Mason, Ltd., of Birmingham, the Souvenir referred to, and, through Lord
Knollys, His Majesty has sent a letter of thanks.
Messrs. Mason also sent Souvenirs to a number of prominent gentlemen.
Mr. Chamberlain, in acknowledging one, says, " It will always have interest both
for Mrs. Chamberlain and myself." The Hon. Whitelaw Ried, the American Am*
bassador, promises to send the Souvenir to the President of the United States for his
acceptance.
Lord Charles Beresford says, in the course of a letter, that V The history of the
British Navy is bound up with the age of steam, and I am delighted to receive so
handsome a present from yourself and your firm."
Letters of thanks were also received from the First Lord of the Admiralty, from
Sir John Fisher, Sir Andrew Noble, Elswick Works, Newcastle-on-Tyne ; Sir C.
Puree! 1-Tay lor, Bart., and from Sir John Shepherd, manager of the Citizens* Insurance
Co. of Missouri, who says he will present the valuable relic to the " Field Museum,*
Chicago— one of the largest and most modern museums in the world.
Denis Hurlv, who settled tn Co. Kerry in 1700, and his
WIFE Anne Blennehhassett {set p. 115).
<,Fnm UtiniitlMrii Iml fy JiJin C. D. Ilurfy, Eiq.. of Ftmil llimt
SOME ACCOUNT OF THE FAMILY OF O HURLV.
177
Some Account of the Family of 0*Hurly.
(CanUmud from page 123.)
N the old church at Emly was, until it was taken down after
the disestablishment of the State Church, a beautiful tomb
of the O'Hurlys. It contained on a stone, four feet by two
feet three inches, upon a border little raided, about one
and a half inches, the following inscription : —
Perillttstris Domnus ; D. Mauritius Hurlaeus Armiger MoTmetu.
Hoc sibi suisq, charissimis. conjugibus. Gramse Hoganae, et
Gradse Thorentonae, totiq. postentati. posuit, elaborarig. feet.
Hie jacet bospitis columen, pietatis asijium, Ano Di. 1632
Ingenio clarus, clarus, et eloquio
Laus patriae litum suppssor, pads amator
Regala institise, religionis ebur
Hostibus Hurlaeus, fiiit hostis amicus amicis,
Mauritius moderans tempora temporibus.
Fax fidee fulenim miserorum gemma virorum.
Stemmatis antiqui, gloria magna sue,
Huic decus, huic probitas, sors corporis integra Mille
Naturae dotes, unicus omne capit.
Vixisti mundo, vives in soecula, vivis.
Fortuna faelix prole pereximia.
Ergo vive Deo vivo, cui vivere vita est ;
Sic tibi, dante Deo, vita perennis^ erit.
Maurice Hurly was Bishop of Emly 1630-49.
**To travellers on the Great Southern and Western Railway, the grassy
hill of Knocklong, crowned by its castle ruins, forms a conspicuous
object, lying immediately south of the Knocklong station. This hill
was, many ages ago, the scene of a warlike gathering, the memory of
which is still preserved in the name.
"In the middle of the third century, Cormac mac Art, monarch of
Ireland, undertook an expedition against Fiacha Muilleathan (Mullahan),
king of Munster, to reduce him to submission, and lay the province
under additional tribute; and his army marched from Tara unopposed,
till they pitched their tents on this hill, which was up to that time called
Druim-damhghaire (davary), the hill of the oxen. The Munster king
marched to oppose him, and encamped on the slope of the opposite hill,
then call^ Slieve Claire, but now Slievereagh (grey mountain), lying
south of Knocklong, and north-east of Kilfinane.
"After a protracted struggle, and many combats in the intervening
plain, Cormac, defeated and baffled, was forced to retreat without
effecting his object. He was pursued, with great loss, as far as Ossory,
1 78 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHiEOLOGICAL SOCIETT.
and obliged by Fiaclia to give security that he would repair the injury
done to Munster by this expedition. And from this event the hiU of
Knocldong received its name, which is in Irish Cnoc^luinge, the hill of
the encampmenL"
These are the bare historical facts. In the Book of Lecan there is a full
narrative of the invasion and repulse ; and it forms the subject of a historical
tale called the Forbais or Siege of Druim damhghaire, a copy of which is
found in the Book of Lismore. Like all historical romances it is embel-
lished by exaggerations and by the introduction of fabulous drcumstances,
and the druids of both armies are made to play a conspicuous part in the
whole transaction by the exercise of their magical powers." — ^Dr. Joyce's
Irish Names of Places.
Pedigske of thr Hurlys op Knocklong.
{!C0mHnmtdyr0m P, tit.)
Robert Conway Hurly^ first son oi John Hurly and Mary Conway, was
unmarried, and was the writer of this book, he was a clergyman of
the Established Church, and was Vicar-General of the Diocese of
Ardfert and Aghadoe.
John Hurly, second son, of Bridge House, Tralee, married Anna Maria
Teresa Hill, only daughter of Colonel Hugh Hill, of Mount Hill,
County Armagh', by Eliza, daughter of Richard Kirwin, of Creg
Castle, Co. Galway, and Anna Blake, daughter of Sir Thomas Blake,
Bart., and has issue — Robert Conway, Hugh Richard Kirwin, and
John, and four daughters — Eliza, Maria Teresa, Alice, and Letitia.
Robert Conway Hurly, of Glen'dufFe, Co. Kerry, first son of John Hurly
and Anna Hill, b. 2 June, 1815; married, first, 27 May, 1845, Dorcas,
eldest dau. of Arthur Blennerhassett, of Ballyseedy, M.P. Co. Kerry,
by whom he had no issue. He married, secondly, i860, Annie,
second dau. of William Comyns, of Witheridge, Co. Devon, by
whom he had issue — ist, John Conway, now of GlendufFe, b. 1862 ;
married, 1881, Maud Isabel, dau. of Rev. George William Grogan,
M.A., and by her (who died 1892) had issue one son, Robert William
Conway, b. i8th March, 1892. 2nd, Maurice Randall. 3rd, Francis
Thomas Barnwell; and Roberta Mary Conway.
Hugh Richard Kirwin, second son of John and Anna Hill, was an officer
in the army. He died unmarried.
John, of Fenit House, Fenit, Co. Kerry (third son of John Hurly and
Anna Hill), m. i8th December, 1858, Elizabeth Augusta, widow of
William Dundas Boyd, Lieut. Light Dragoons, and third daughter of
Colquhoun Grant, Esq., of Kinchurdy, Morayshire. He died
October, 1878, and left issue —
John Charles Denis Hurly, of Fenit, b. 1864; High Sheriff of the County
Kerry 1888; and two daughters — Ellinor Mary, Augusta Hobart.
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164 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCH^OLOGICAL SOCIETY.
An Episode in the History of Mitchelstown.
Co. Cork.
{From RecolUctiom of Aubrey De Vert. London, 1897)-
NHEcry was "Repeal of the Union." The great democratic
I battle had begun. The low rumbting on the horizon be-
I came louder by degrees, and the interval between the flash
& and the sound became shorter. When, at the Clare elec-
p tion, a late surviving Irish chief, one of the largest of the
5 Irish prt^rietors, and passionately loved by his tenants,
^ saw them for the first time voting against him, and the
other tenants follow their example, he declared in amazement that the
country was "not fit for a gentleman to live in."
"The old order changeth, yielding place to new," was a warning
more loudly proclaimed as the Repeal agitation went on. An election
took place in the county of Limerick, and both sides prepared for the
conflict. Nearly all the proprietors were banded together against Repeal
and O'Connell, including the few who had advocated Catholic Emancipa-
tion. The candidate on the opposite side was a. man of ancient family,
excellent character, and not, I think, a Repealer, but it suited the Repeal
game to support him, in order to separate the tenants from their landlords.
Of these the most powerful by far was a certain nobleman, the Earl of
Kingston, whose territories, 60,000 acres, with a rental of ;^46,ooo per
annum, extended through a faige part of three counties, and included
much of those Desmond lands, some 600,000 acres of which had been
confiscated by Queen Elizabeth in a single day. He was also, 1 believe,
descended in the female line from the "White Knight," to whom that
title had been given, after a battle fought many centuries previously, by
the then "White Knight's" father, the Earl of Desmond.
The despotic temper of the Earl of Kingston was no doubt increased
by scenes which he had witnessed as a boy. When he was but fourteen,
during a great social gathering at his father's residence, a profligate
neighbour, one of the county gentry, though a married man, induced a
daughter of the house to elope with him. The moment the crime was
discovered, the Earl, accompanied by the boy, went in pursuit of the
criminal. After several days' pursuit, the outraged father arrived, late
in the night, at an inn which the fugitives had reached a few hours pre-
viously. He got out of his carriage, accompanied by his young stm,
and, with a pistol in each hand, mounted the stairs. A door was pointed
out to him. It was locked; but the Earl kicked it open. A man rushed
forward; the Earl fired two pistols, and the betrayer fell dead at his feet.
The Earl was arraigned for this act before the Irish House of Lords, and
made no defence. The peers walked processionally in their robes, and
as each passed the throne, laid his hand on his breast and pronounced
the verdict, "Not guilty, upon my honour." A few years later the boy
witnessed another important event. He had become a young officer; the
Irish rt^bellion of i/gis burst out, and with several other persons of im-
portance he was suddenly captured, and detained as a hostage. Then
AN FPISODE IN THE HKSTORY OF MITCHELSTOWN. 185
fortune turned against the insurgents, in the first rage of disappointment
a massacre ensued, and he had a narrow escape from death.
When the family estates had become his own, the Earl is said to
have ruled with a sway almost as absolute a& that of one of his forefathers,
who, as was reported, transported several persons to America on his sole
authority. The later Earl also was impatient of **the law's delays,*' and
it was rumoured that if a tenant had, in his opinion, seriously misbehaved,
he simply gave directions that his house should be pulled down about his
ears. Notwithstanding, he was regarded as a ''beneficent despot," and
the handsome houses of his tenants, whose rents were never called exorbi-
tant, excited the envy of all the neighbouring farmers. He built two
churches in the neighbouring town — ^a Catholic one and a Protestant one —
and near them stood a * 'hospital for decayed gentlemen and gentlewomen,*'
supported by a charge on the estate of ;^i,20o per annum. He gave an
immense amount of employment, and was honoured proportionately by
the labouring class. He had been for a long time kept out of the family
residence by the protracted life of his mother. On her death he sent at
once for an architect. "Build me," he said, '*a castle. I am no judge
of architecture; but it must be larger than any other house in Ireland,
and have an entrance tower to be named the 'White Knight's Tower I'
No delay I It is time for me to enjoy. " When the castle was half finished,
a wealthy manufacturer built a huge chimney in the square of the town,
which crouched beneath the hill on which the castle stood. The Earl
sent him orders to pull it down, or depart — two invitations which the
man of business declined. The Earl drove down into the town, and, as
usual, a crowd collected about his carriage. He said: "I am come to
wish you good-bye, boys. This place is but a small place, and there is
not room in it for me and that man (pointing to the factory). He says
the law is on his side, and I daresay it is. Consequently, I go to England
to-morrow morning." During the night the lord of industry received a
visit from uninvited guests; the next morning no smoke went over the
towers and the woods, and on the third day he had taken his departure.
The great castle was finished, and there was one great house-warming.
No gathering of the sort ever succeeded in those stately halls. What
succeeded was the Limerick election. As that election drew near, a
rumour grew up that the fidelity of the tenants was not to be relied on ;
but few believed it. A neighbour of ours, himself a nobleman of large
landed possessions, went to the new castle to consult with the Lord, who
greeted him with the enquiry, "Is in the field?" "No," was the
answer; and the questioner resumed, "Then I set up my old friend
M ," naming a popular country gentleman worth ;^io,ooo per annum,
who had lately built a house suitable to that income, on visiting which
his friend at the castle commented on it thus: "The house is pretty; but
what is the use of it? It is too large to hang at your watch-chain, and too
small to live in. " When the two peers had discussed the political symptoms
of the day, the Earl of Kingston, dashing his hand loudly on the table,
exclaimed : "Sir, I will tell you the simple truth of the ca«e. The Irish
people are gone mad ! My father returned fourteen members of Parliament
(he meant the Irish Parliament), and it is with difficulty that I return
eight!" The loyalty of the tenant-vote was next touched upon. "That
matter is settled," the Earl replied. "I have sent orders that the whole
1^6 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHAOLOGICAL SOaETY.
of my county of Limerick tenants shall ride into Limerick on the first day
id the election, and be the first to vxite. Once they have set the nrample
the other fellows, of comse, will follow it I shall go into Limerick
myself." He did so two days before the dection, and eadi day he gave
a banquet to the neighbouring gentlemen.
The Earl dfccupied the house of his friend, Lord Limerkk, iriuch, with
the psdace of the Protestant bishop, occupied one side of a court opoisn^
into a wide street At the open window the Eari sat with the candidate
he favoured. They were big and burly men both, and in high good
humour, now quaffing a bottle of champagne, now leaning out and
chaffing with the city mob, which cheered them to the echo^ for it united
the <^d Irish taste for chieftainship with the novel aspiration after demo-
cratic power. The rest of the room was filled with a fluctuating throng
of country gentlemen, who brought in the latest news, and then amused
themselves with the humours of the crowd. The appointed hour was
sounded from the bells of St Mary's Cathedral as merrily as on that
morning when Sarsfield crossed the Shannon and burst the Dutch cannon.
In mile-long cavalcade the Kingston tenantry rode down Limerick's chief
street; another and larger crowd cheered them and their fine horses, and
doubtless that acclaim sent an exhilaration into theTr heads as potent as
the fumes of champagne could have created there. After an hour or two
a dulness began to spread over that gay apartment, and many talked in
whispers. The Earl soon perceived that all was not right, and its usual
stemess returned to his strong face. '*You are hiding something from
me," he exclaimed; "something has gone wrong; what has happened?"
After a pause a gentleman moved forward and replied, ''My Lord, what
has gone wrong is this : the Kingston tenantry have voted." "What of
that?" "My Lord, they have voted with the enemy to a man. The other
tenants are following their example. The election is lost."
I record these things as they were described to me by those who
witnessed them. The Earl travelled back to his castle all night ; at early
dawn he reached it ; but it is doubtful whether the White Knight's Tower,
as he drove beneath it, smiled upon a defeated chief. During the whole
of that day he sat alone, speaking to none, and seen by none. Late the
second night the bell of his bedroom rang without intermission, and a
short time afterwards mounted couriers were scouring all parts of his
estates, commanding the attendance at a certain specified hour of all the
tenantry in occupation of its 60,000 acres. When the appointed hour
arrived he sat enthroned on the dais, at one end of a gallery a hundred
feet long; his official persons were ranged near him in a line at each
side. What he intended to say to his tenants has often been guessed at,
but will never be known. The tenants thronged in at the lower end of
the gallery, advancing nearer each moment, as their numbers increased,
to where the Earl sat. His eye was fixed upon them with that look for
which it was famed, but he spoke no word. Suddenly its expression
changed ; he leaped from his seat, raised his arms on high, and exclaimed :
"They are come to tear me in pieces; they are come to tear me in pieces I"
The next night but one he was in a madhouse. There he continued to
live for many years, faithfully attended by a devoted wife ; but he is said
never to have had a lucid interval.
[The accompanying illustration is taken from an engraving of the
castle, after a drawing by }. P. Neale, which was published in 1825. — ^J.B.]
3 AND Socketed Looped Celt
FROM SCHULL.
Castle Hyde Sepulchral Urh.
iS; DISCOVERY OF A SEPULCHRAL URN AT CASTLE HYDE.
Spear Head and Socketed Looped Celt
from SchuiL
HE two bronze objects here illustrated were found some
years ago at Ballydevlin, Schull, Ck>. Cork, on the prop-
erty of the Very Rev. Lionel Fleming, D.D., Dean of
Cloyne, to whose son, the Rev. L. R. Fleming, we are
indebted for their loan. The circumstances under which
they were discovered — save that they were found
together — ^have not been noted, and are now forgotten, but
coming from the western part of the County Cork they are an interesting
addition to the many relics of antiquity that from time to time have
been found there. The dagger, which is slightly imperfect at the socket,
shews the orifice at the side through which the rivet that secured it to
the handle was fixed. Socketed weapons of this kind are comparatively
rare. The length of the socket is 2 inches, and that of the blade, which
is strengthened by a raised mid-rib, 5f inches, thus making the total
length from point of blade to base of socket 7f inches.
With it was found the looped, socketed bronze celt, which is 3f
inches long by 2} inches wide at the cutting edge. Celts of this variety
are not uncommon, they vary much in size and outline, and although
many examples are preserved in public museums and private collections,
no two appear to have been cast from the same mould. That they were
made in the country there can be no doubt, as the stone moulds are
occasionally met with ; but were this not so, we have still ample evidence
in finds that have been recorded from time to time of broken-up bronze,
the stock-in-trade of old-time brass founders and metal workers, who by
re-casting and finishing worked them again into perfect tools and
weapons.
R. D.
Discovery of a Sepulchral Urn at Casde Hyde.
By ROBERT DAY. F.S.A.
HILE some farm labourers in the employment of Wm.
Wrixon- Etcher, Esq., were, during the past month,
engaged in ploughing on the demesne lands of Castle
Hyde,.<* the ploughshare struck a large flagstone hidden
beneath the surface, which they were about to remove
by blasting, but fortunately succeeded in turning over
with crowbars, and by so doing disclosed to view a most
interesting pagan tomb, consisting of a cinerary urn of baked, hand-made
clay, half filled with incinerated human bones and ashes, and with them
a fossil encrinite. The urn was the central object of a dug-out oblong
(0 For A historical record of Cutle Hyde by J. R, OTUnigan, B.L., see vol. i. of this
'' Joanud,*' 2nd Series, p. 100.
1 88 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
chamber, 3 feet by 2^ feet, that lay in its greatest length due north and
south, and lined throughout with flat slate-like stones. The urn had
no independent cover, except the great stone which completely protected
it and its contents through the lapse of so many centuries. This beauti-
ful and artistic example of pre-Christian fictile work is 5 inches high,
circumference of circular base, 7 inches; circumference at the widest
part, I foot 7 inches ; and of the mouth, i foot 3 inches. It is decorated
on the inside of the lip and all over its outer surface, except on the base,
which is without ornament of any kind. The material of which it is com-
posed is probably the tenacious clay of the adjoining ground, which is
free from stones, and apparently well adapted for the purposes of the
potter's art. Its appearance suggests the application of an outward
coating of a fine paste, light brown in colour, soft to the touchy but in
substance of a close durable texture. <•> The Rev. James Graves, in a
record of the Pagan Cemetery at Ballon Hill, County Carlow, illustrates
his subject by drawings of twelve cinerary urns, one of which, No. 9,
bears in its decoration a resemblance to this, where we find the same
zig-zag, the inscribed mouth, and the weU-marked central rib^ but in this
(see illustration) there are four strongly-marked rudimentary handles.
Similar projections, varying in form and number, are occasionally met
with; two such are in the writer's collection, but less wide and more
prominent, while those under notice are of unusual length and more fully
defined than in any Irish example on record. The prevailing feature in
the device on this urn is a basketwork pattern, relieved by a circular
band of chevrons, and the projecting handles. When the urn was re-
moved it was found to have been accidentally broken on one side by
the finders, it was then, with its contents and broken parts, carefully
placed in the entrance hall at Castle Hyde, where Mrs. Becher is intent
on its restoration. The workmen having taken up the lining stones of the
cist, laid them on the surface, and left the place until the day following,
when, on the invitation of Mr. Wrixon- Becher, it was visited by Colonel
J. Grove White and the writer, who with Mr. and Mrs. Becher instituted
a search in the surroundiqg earth and in that below the cist, all of which
was carefully screened and examined, but with the barren results that
only a few small calcined stones and a fossil bivalve from the carbon-
iferous limestone of the district were found.
Upon the under surface of the covering roofing-stone are apparently
a number of artificially-formed cup-shaped marks, which, in grouping
and design, closely resemble those that are so often found on rude stone
monuments, but on closer examination it was evident they were formed
by natural causes, and at some remote time were subject to the action
of water, which gradually eat away the softer parts and left some of
the cup edgings sharp and well defined, while others were worn and
smooth. ^3) The late Dr. Frazer has described a cinerary urn that was
found under much the same conditions at Old Court, Co. Wexford,
iO '• Kilkenny Journal," vol, ii., 1S52-3, p. 395.
(3) ** Jottraal R.S.A.I.," 1895, pp. 64-71.
DISCOVERY OF A SEPULCHRAL URN AT CASTLE HYDE. 1 89
where one side of the covering-stone had the appearance of having been
pitted and cupped in a similar manner, which he attributed to the
action of sea urchins — Echinus Lividus, Rut the following letter from
Mr. Joseph Wright, F.G.S., of Cork, now of Belfast, a well-known
authority, while not disputing Dr. Frazer's theory, gives another reason
for the occurrence of the rock marks on the Castle Hyde interment : —
**Fermoy is situated with the carboniferous limestone north of it, and
the old red sandstone and carboniferous slate at its southern side, thus
reversing the position which they occupy at Cork, the slate has not
unfrequently bands of hard stone in it known as Coomhola grits. It
is probable that the covering-stone with perforations is either of this
grit or the old red sandstone. I think it not improbable that the perfora-
tions were formed naturally by water gathered round clumps of moss or
other plants growing on the stone. I feel satisfied that this is the true
explanation of similar perforations often met with in limestone by the
margin of our fresh-water loughs. Last autumn, when spending my
holidays at Dunfanaghy, North Donegal, my attention was drawn by
one of our party to perforations in the primary limestone on the shore
of Lough Lissiah. This autumn, when again in the place, I was con-
firmed in my opinion that the above explanations would best account for
this formation. I saw mosses growing in some of the perforations, and
lichens in some of the smaller ones, and we know that the roots of plants
emit carbonic acid. I may add that I have seen sandstone with very
similar perforations, and I have little doubt but that they were formed in a
very similar manner.**
Why I have entered so fully into this, is tne prevalence of cup-marked
stones in connection not only with cremation, but with later interments;
and, again, when no evidence of sepulture has been found. There can
be no doubt that the covering-stones used in this interment and in that
noted by Dr. Frazer were selected because of the natural cup marks
upon them, which conveyed some religious significance 'and symbolic
meaning that may have been connected with the pre-Christian worship of
the Heavenly bodies. I have found similar markings carved by hand
upon the live rock in West Carbery, Fermanagh, Derry, and Antrim,
and nearer home on Mr. Ferguson *s land at Belvidere. <*> But everywhere
facing the East, where the Rrst rays of the rising sun would have fallen
upon them.
The site chosen for this interment is upon one of the most lovely and
picturesque bends of the Blackwater, on its northern bank, and adjoining
the mail coach road from Fermoy to Mallow. No traces of other burials
were come upon, and no weapons, ornaments, or implements were dis-
covered, although it is highly probable that some such may yet be found
in the future tillage of the field now that the men on the estate have
had their attention called to it. It is fortunate that the urn has fallen
into the appreciative hands of the owner of Castle Hyde, who has placed
it in the National Museum^ Kildare Street, Dublin.
(4) Vide thU •* Journal,*' vol. iii., 1897, p. 189.
15
rgo . CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCH^OLOGICAL SOCIETV.
Lady Fanshawe's Elscape from Cork in 1649.
By COURTENAY HOORE, CA^OIl, M.A., CounciL Uembul
!HE following passages dealing with Lady Fanshawe's stay
in Cork in 1649 are taken from Memoirs of Lady Fan-
shaice, wife of Sir Richard Fanshaive, Bart., Ambassador
from Charles II. to the Courts of Portugal and Madrid,
inritten by herself. This memoir appears to be a reprint
(with the addition of an introduction and notes) of the
*■ first edition published in 1830, It was written by
Lady Fanshawe at the close of her life for the benefit of her only
son, who reached manhood, out of a family of fourteen children. She
was the daughter of Sir John Harrison, of Balls, in the County of Hert-
ford, and was born in London in 1635. Her husband, Sir Richard
Fanshawe, was bom at Ware Park, in the same shire, in 1608. In 1644
they were married, she being then in her twentieth year, and her
husband being about thirty-six.
To come, however, to the part of the memoir dealing with the visit
of the Fanshawe family to Cork. The reason of this visit was that
Fanshawe was sent by Charles II., whom he had interviewed in Holland,
into Ireland "for the purpose of receiving such monies as Prince Rupert
could raJse by the Beet he commanded of the King's; but a few months
put an end to that design, though it had a very good aspect in the be-
ginning, which made my husband send for me and the little family I had
thither. We went by Bristol, very cheerfully, towards my north star,
that only had the power to fix me ; and because I had the good fortune,
as I then thought it, to sell ^^300 a year to him that is now Judge
Archer in Essex, for which he gave me ;£4,ooo, which at that time I
thought a vast sum; but, be it more or less, it was spent in seven years'
time in the King's service, and to this hour I repent it not, thank God.
;£^50o I carried to my husband, and the rest I left in my father's agent's
hands to be relumed as we needed it."
"I landed at Voughal, in Munster, as my husband directed me, in
hopes to meet me there; but I had the discomfort of a very hazardous
voyage, and the absence of your father, he then being upon business at
Cork. So soon as he heard I was landed he came to me, and with mutual
joy we discussed those things that were proper to entertain us both;
and thus for six months we lived so much to our satisfaction that we
began to think of making our abode there during the war, for the country
was fertile and all provisions cheap ; and ue were placed in Red Abbey,
a house of Dean Boyle's in Cork, and my Lord of Orm<»id had a very
good army, and the country seemingly quiet, and to complete our content
all persons were very civil to us, especially Dean Boyle, Lord Chancellor
of Ireland and Archbishop of Dublin, and his family, and the Lord
Inchiquin, whose daughter, Elkenna, I christened."
It seems curious that Lady Fanshawe here uses the title of Dean, thus
Kemains of the Red Abbey, Cork.
Founded 1490, 1« Auslin Friari
LADY FANSHAWe's ESCAPE FROM CORK IN 1 649. IQI
"Dean Boyle/' when she adds that he was Lord Chancellor of Ireland and
Archbishop of Dublin. There is an obscurity in the construction of the
sentence, and perhaps the author did not mean to imply this. The only
light I can throw on it myself is this — the sees of Cork, Cloyne, and Ross
were vacant during the Commonwealth, but there was a Michael Boyle,
Dean of Cloyne in those days, who is probably the person here referred
to. His father was Richard Bbyle, Archbishop of Tuam. Michael, the
Dean, was consecrated Bishop of Cork, Cloyne^ and Ross in 1663, and
afterwards translated to the Archbishopric of Dublin, and, finally, to
the Irish Primacy. She probably means that Dean Boyle had become
Lord Chancellor of Ireland and Archbishop of Dublin at the time she was
writing her book. To return, however, to the Memoir *. <*>
**But what earthly comfort is exempt from change? for here I heard
of the death of my second son, Henry, and within a few months of the
landing of Cromwell, who so hotly marched over Ireland, that the fleet
with Prince Rupert was forced to set sail, and within a small time after
he lost all his riches, which was thought to be worth hundreds of thousands
of pounds, in one of his best ships, commanded by his brother Maurice,
who, with many a brave man, sank and were all lost in a storm at sea. ' '
*'We remained some time behind in Ireland, until my husband could
receive his Majesty *s commands how to dispose of himself. During this
time I had, by the fall of a stumbling horse, being with child, broke my
left wrist, which, because it was ill-set, put me to great and long pain, and
I was in my bed when Cork revolted. By chance that day my husband
had gone on business to Kinsale : it was in the beginning of November,
1650.*;
It is strange that Lady Fanshawe has made a mistake of a year here,
the correct and exact date was November, 1649. '^^ resume the quotation
from the Memoir :
''At midnight I heard the great guns go off, and thereupon I called
up my family to rise, which I did as well as I could in that condition.
Hearing lamentable shrieks of men, women and children, I asked at a
window the cause; they told me they were all Irish, strij^ed and wounded,
and turned out of the town, and that Colonel Jeffries with some others
had possessed themselves of the town for Cromwell. Upon this I im-
mediately wrote a letter to my husband, blessing God's providence that
he was not there with me^ persuading him to patience and hope that I
should get safely out of the town, by God's assistance, and desired him
to shift for himself for fear of a surprise, with promise that I would secure
his papers."
*'So soon as I had finished my letter I sent it by a faithful servant,
who was let down the garden wall of Red Abbey, and shelterfed by the
darkness of the night he made his escape. I immediately packed up my
husband's cabinet with all his writings and near ;^i,ooo in gold and silver,
and all other things both of clothes, linen, and household stuff that were
portable and of value; and then, about three o'clock in the morning, by
the light of a taper and in that pain I was in, I went into the market-place
(0 See further (>n in the Memoir Dean Boyle described as *' Chapiain-Geneiml to the
Army ia Munster."
192 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHvBOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
with only a man and maid, and passing through an unruly tumult with
their swords in their hands, searched for their Commander, Jeffries, who,
whilst he was loyal, had received many civilities from your father. I
told him it was necessary that upon that change I should remove, and I
desired his pass that would be obeyed, or else I must remain there. I
hoped he would not deny me that kindness. He instantly wrote me a
pass both for myself, family and goods, and said he would never forget
the respect he owed your father. With this I came through thousands
of naked swords to Red Abbey, and hired the next neighbour's cart which
carried all that I could remove ; and myself, sister, and little girl Nan, with
three maids and two men, set forth at five o'clock in November, having
but two horses among us all, which we rid on by turns. In this sad
condition I left Red Abbey with as many goods as were worth ;£ioo
which could not be removed, and so were plundered. We went ten miles
to Kinsale in perpetual fear of being fetched back again ; but by little
and little, I thank God, we got safe to the garrison, where I found your
father the most disconsolate man in the world for fear of his family, which
he had no possibility to assist ; but his joys exceeded to see me and darling
daughter and to hear the wonderful escape we, through the assistance
of God, had made."
"But when the rebels went to give an account to Cromwell of their
meritorious act, he immediately asked them where Mr. Fanshawe was.
They replied he was that day gone to Kinsale. Then he demanded where
his papers and his family were? at which they all stared at one another but
made no reply. Their General said it was as much worth to have seized
his papers as the town, for I did make account to have known by them
what these parts of the country were worth."
The Colonel Jeffries mentioned by Lady Fanshawe in her Memoir was
ancestor of the Jeffry family of Blarney. His son, Sir James Jeffry, in
1 701, purchased this portion of the forfeited estate of the Earl of Clancarty.
The Red Abbey above referred to was originally the Augustinian Friary
founded by Patrick de Courcy, Baron of Kinsale, in 1420. The tower,
64 feet high, and the walls of the church are still standing. At the
suppression of the religious houses this priory with its belongings was
granted to Cormac MacCarthy, son of Teigue Lord Muskerry. In Lady
Fanshawe's time the Red Abbey appears to have practically become the
Cork town house of Dean Boyle, a relative of the first Lord Cork, who
was then Chaplain-General of the Munster army.
A few days after her escape to Kinsale, Lady Fanshawe says her
husband received the King's order to go to Spain. En route to the
Continent they had to travel to Galway to take ship there. At the begin-
ning of their journey they* stayed for two nights at Macroom Castle with
Lord Clancarty, and were presented on their departure with a great Irish
greyhound by Lady Clancarty. Hence they proceeded to Limerick city,
and while in this neighbourhood they were entertained by Lord Inchiquin
and also by Lady Honor O'Brien, the youngest daughter of the Earl of
Thomond, in whose house they saw by night an appalling apparition,
which always manifested itself when a death occurred in the family. In
due time they arrived at Galway, where they were received by the owner
of the house in which they lodged in the following terms : — **You are
DISTINGUISHED CORKMEN. 1 93
welcome to this disconsolate city where you now see the streets grown
over with grass, once the finest little city in the world/'
They sailed from Galway early in February in a great ship of Amster-
dam bound for Malaga In Spain, at which port they arrived in the be-
ginning of March.
The rest of the Memoir being chiefly concerned with the doings and
experiences of the Fanshawe family in Spain and Portugal, does not call
for further notice in this Journal,
Distinguished Corkmen.
GENERAL STEPHEN MOYLAN.
General Stephen Moylan, one of the heroes of the American Revolution,
was the very beau ideal of a cavalry officer, of splendid presence, dashing
courage, rapidity of plan and execution, he was conspicuous in the army
of the Revolution, in which he rose to be Brigadier-General.
He was a native of Cork; and came to America with his two brothers,
Jasper and John, before the Revolution began. Another brother, Francis,
remained in Ireland, studied for the priesthood, became Catholic Bishop
of Kerry about 1775, ^^^ *" ^7^ ^^^ translated to the see of Cork,
where he died in 18 15.
Stephen Moylan was a successful merchant in Philadelphia when
England *s action towards her Colonies made resistance necessary. When
the first guns were fired at Lexington he left his counting-house to enlist
in a regiment that hastened to the American camp before Boston. His
business experience led to his assignment to the Commissariat Depart-
ment ; but Moylan had not come to manage army supplies ; and he chafed
at being kept from active duty in the field.
His fine military figure and bearing caught the eye of General
Washington, who, in March, 1776, placed him on the staff, and made
him Colonel, by brevet, June 5th, 1776. After a time he was made
Quartermaster-General, but this was not to his taste. He went back
to Pennsylvania, and raised the Fourth Pennsylvania Regiment of the
Light I^agoons,,' of which he was commissioned Colonel, January 8th,
1777. This regiment did good service in the field; and in operations,
conducted by Mad Anthony Wayne, made its mark. It underwent the
horrors of Valley Forge. It served to the end of the war; and Moylan 's
men left their record on battlefields from Connecticut to Carolina. Before
its termination he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General.
On the close of the war he resumed business in Philadelphia, attempt-
ing to build up a fortune sadly shattered by his absence at the call of his
adopted country. He was in the decline of life when this patriotic and
able man was made United States Commissioner of Loans.
He was one of those also who organised and was first President of
the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick in Philadelphia, in which city this
illustrious Corkman died, April nth, 181 1.
1
194 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHiCOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
DANIEL CALL AG HAN, M.P.
The Gentleman's Magazine for December, 1849, chronicles the death on
the previous 29th of September, at his residence, Lotabeg, near Cork,
aged 63, of Daniel Callaghan, Esq., M.P. for that city. He was the
second son of Daniel Callaghan, one of the most enterprising and success-
ful merchants of Cork; and was first returned to Parliament in 1829 by
a combination of men of all parties. He supported the Reform Bill, and
silso became a Repealer; and despite opposition from various quarters
continued for twenty years the representative of his native city. Mr.
Callaghan had great knowledge of business; and was intimately conver-
sant with the state of Ireland. He had acquired a large property from
the provision trade. At one time it was the wish of some of the leadii^
members of the W^htg Party to have made him Vice-President of the
Board of Trade; but Lord Melbourne objected on account of his having
been a pledged Repealer. At a subsequent period, when that objection
could not have been pressed against him, Mr. Callaghan had become in-
different to office. He died of cholera, but his health had for some months
previous been declining.
SAMUEL SKILLEN, Artist.
So little is now known of this comparatively recent Cork artist, that the
following extract from the Gentleman's Magazine for June, 1847, deserves
to be recorded here. Died, January 27th, 1846, at Cork, Mr. Samuel
Skillen, painter. He became a student in London about three years before
his death; and has since visited Portugal, Spain, Malta, and Italy, from
whence he wrote some lively letters, which were published in the Literary
Gazette,
JOHN AUGUSTUS SHEA.
Thb Gentleman's Magazine for October, 1845, records the death of John
Augustus Shea, at New York, in his forty-fifth year, on the i6th of
August, 1845. ^r. Shea was a native of Cork, and there commenced
his career in the counting-house of Messrs. Beamish & Crawford. During
the few years of his employment in this establishment he devoted his brief
moments of disengagement from business to an assiduous cultivation of
those literary and poetical talents which he had evinced at an early age;
and many and varied effusions from his productive pen were communi-
cated to the Cork newspapers. He subsequently made a collection of
these fugitives, which with his larger and more ambitious oriental romance,
**Rudekki," he published by subscription in Cork city in 1826. This
work secured him the approbation of many, but the patronage, as he
speedily discovered, of few indeed. In 1830 lie determined to seek in
the New World a wider field for the exercise of his abilities. His love of
fatherland, however, never ceased; visions of his own far-distant land
haunted him in all his peregrinations ; and his poetical productions con-
tinued to testify the fervour of his attachment to the Green Isle he was
fated never more to see. In 1843, he published at New York another
volume of poetry, entitled Clontarf, an Historical Romance, treating of
a subject referred to with particular pride by Irishmen — the defeat of the
Danish invader, the ruthless devastation of Ireland for ages, and the
^
DISTINGUISHED CORKMEN. ^ 1 95
liberation of the land from bondage— only a few copies of which reached
this $ide of the Atlantic. At one of the monster meetings of 1843,
O'Connell received, nearly at the same moment, from the hands, we
believe, of Hogan, the early friend of John Augustus Shea, at once
the Repeal Cup, figured from the ''Asion," or closed crown of the ancient
Kings of Ireland, and Shea's Clontarf, amidst the plaudits of
countless thousands. Poor Shea did not long survive this production;
but ere yet his career had ended, he lost his wife, within a few months
of its publication, after nearly twenty years of companionship, leaving
to him the sole charge of a rather numerous family. He married again,
a short time previous to his decease, his second wife being, like the first,
a native of Cork.
DR. P. SHARKEY.
The death lately at Berehaven of Doctor P. Sharkey, senior physician to
the Cork General Dispensary, is recorded in the Gentleman's Magazine
for March, 1840. In his collegiate career Dr. Sharkey was distinguished
amongst the first, if not the best, of the Greek scholars of his day; and
he won a prize for a Greek poem on a subject proposed to all the British
universities by the Rev. Claudius Buchanan on the occasion of founding
a college in India. He was also the author of a Latin poem on the death
of Dr. Young, for which he was awarded a silver medal by the Historical
Society; and he was the successful competitor for more than one of the
Royal Irish Academy's Prizes.
LUKE H. BOLSTER, Bookseller and Publisher.
Died March 17th, 1840, at Cork, Mr. Luke H. Bolster, bookseller. He
was persevering and industrious, no less than five or six books of con-
siderable interest, by different authors, having during the last twelve
months been the result of his unwearied exertions. His body was interred
in St. Michael's, Blackrock; and the Rev. Mr. St. George, Rector of
St. Paul's, delivered an affecting address on the occaision. — Gentleman's
Magazine for May, 1840.
WILLIAM WEST, Bookseller and Author.
William West, the author of Recollections of a Bookseller, a work pub-
lished at Cork, is the only one of his craft connected with that city of
whom anything like a biography exists in book-form. This book of
"Recollections" was completed by him on his sixtieth birthday, October
23rd, 1830, when he was still a bookseller at Cork, with a large family of
children and grandchildren. A native of Whaddon, in Croydon parish,
Surrey, he was bound apprentice to Mr. Thomas Evans, a wholesale book-
seller in Paternoster Row, of whose business he became manager. When
he first settled as a bookseller at Cork does not appear, but he was there
in 1808, when he published A Picturesque Description of Cork and its
Environs f a i2mo. volume; and he remained in Ireland about thirty years.
In 1830, he published, at Birmingham, his most important work. The
History, Topography, and Directory of Warwickshire, which' occasioned
him a pedestrian tour of 7,000 miles. In the same year he compiled the
r-
196 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHiBOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
letterpress of Picturesque Views and Descriptions of Cities, TownSf
Castles, etc,, in Staffordshire and Shropshire. In 1837, Mr. West had
returned to England, when a new edition of his "Recollections" appeared,
** London, pnnted by and for the Author." In 1839, he became Editor of
the Aldine Magazine of Biography, Bibliography, Criticism of the Fine
Arts; or Annals of Authors, Artists, Books and Booksellers, which began
December i, 1838, and ended in June, 1839.
On his return to London he did not^ we believe, enter into business,
but was employed by the booksellers either as an assistant or in literary
work. His son, Mr. Samuel West, was a portrait painter of considerable
ability; his second grandson was an engraver on wood, and his eldest
grandson an artist in zincography. Mr. West died in the Charter House
on the 17th of November, 1854, in his 85th year. — Gentleman's Magazine
for August, 1855.
J. C.
Notes and Queries.
The Cost of Living in Mitchelstown seventy jrears ago. — Travers Family. — Barrys of Annagh. —
James Freney, the Highwayman. — St. Nicholas Parish Church, Cork. — Loss of the Cork
Steamer " Killarney" in 1838.— Spencer Pedigree.
The Coit of Xiivittfif in Kitohelstown seTanty years ago.— In A Journey
Throughout Ireland in 1834, by Henry D. Inglis (London, 1835), voL i.,
p. 147, the following interesting particulars are given, and are adduced
here, not in support of tariff reform, as some politically minded reader
may suppose, but to shew that a County Cork town possessed very sub-
stantial attractions in those old days.
"Mitchelstown is a very cheap place of residence; and in proof of this,
I annex the following list of prices.
**Beef sells at from 3^. to 4d. per lb. Mutton, at from 4d. to sd.
Lamb, in season, about 3d. Veal is rarely to be had, and is not of a
good quality. Pork, about 2id., but ts sometimes as low as i^d. per lb.
Bacon pigs, average 20s. a cwt.
" Fish is scarce. A good cod may be bought for 2s. 6d. A haddock 6d.
to IS. The very best salmon may be bought at sd. per lb., and trout at
I s. a dozen.
** Rabbits are sold at 8d. a couple. Turkeys, 3s. a couple; getst^
IS. lod. a pair; ducks, is. a pair; fowls, lod. to is. a pair.
** Bread of the first quality is 2d. per lb. Fresh butter, gd. per lb. in
summer; and is. or 19. id. in winter. Milk is sold at 3^. per four pints,
all the year round. Vegetables are not supplied in great variety, or
plenty, except potatoes, which average about 2f d. per stone.
**CoaIs are 26s. a ton; turf, is. 8d. a horse load.
*•* A mason will receive for his labour 2s. a day ; a carpenter, 2s. 6d. ;
a slater, 2s. ; but they cannot get constant employment.
**The rent of a good house, containing two sitting rooms, three bed
roomis, good attics, a commodious basement story, with garden, coach
house, and stables, rents at about 20I. per annum. Smaller, but respect-
able houses, may be had at lol." J. Buckley.
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NOTES AND QUERIES, 197
Tr»Tm Familj.— Has any member of the Society papers relating to
the Travers, who settled in Ireland in Elizabeth's reign. John Travers,
eldest son of Brian Travers, of Nateby, in Lancashire, married Sarah
Spenser, sister of the Poet (see Spenser Pedigree on another page). His
estates were St. Barry's, and Ballynamona, Co. Cork. His son,
Sir Robert Travers, Knt., m. Eliz. Boyle, d. of Archbishop of Tuam.
He represented Clonakilty in the Irish Parliament in 163 1.
Richard Travers, m. Eleanor Stowell, of Garrydoyle. He was high
sheriff of county Cork in 1682.
John Travers, m. Miss Simpson, of Belvedere.
Entry in Chapter Book of St. Fin Barre's Cathedral, 30 September,
1675. Grant by the Dean and Chapter to John Travers, esq., and
Rowland Davys, clerk, of **one seate wherein the wives of them the sd
John Travers and Rowland Davys usually sit, under the pulpitt in the
choyre."
Robert Travers m. Elizabeth Newman of Newboro, widow of Meade
Dunscombe.
John Travers, Alderman, m. Mehetabel Colthurst, of Dripsey Castle.
Sir Robert Travers, K.C.B., K.C.M.G., K.S.F.M., m. Harriet
Letitia Belford, d. of Col. Belford, and in St. Fin Barre's Cathedral are
monuments to Sir Robert and his wife; and also to his two sons, Capt.
Robert William Travers and Capt. Eaton Joseph Travers. These were
called the fighting Travers.
of Anxiagh.— Colonel Grove White, in the last issue of the
Journal, referring to the Fitzjames Barrys of Annagh, Co. Cork, seems
unaware of the fact that there was a branch of the Barry family also
connected with Annagh, Co. Limerick.
He quotes Brighid na Senchas, who, in her MacAdam Pedigree, fre-
quently mentions Annagh, Co. Limerick, as if she meant Annagh, Co.
Cork. As she is generally so accurate and so particular in her identifica-
tion of branches of the family, I would suggest that she was aware of
this branch of the Barrys, who had settled in the County Limerick in
the middle of the sixteenth century. Annagh, in the parish of Abington
(Abbeyowney) Co. Limerick, contains about 1,000 acres with its sub-
denominations, and was the patrimony of the Chiefs of the O'Ryans
(O'Mulrians) of Owney. In the fiants of Elizabeth, quoted by Colonel
Grove White, we find a pardon to Donal O'Mulrian, of Annagh, dated
6th May, 1573; pardon to Hugh O'Mulrian, zsth November, 1590;
pardon to Shane and Donal MacWilliam O'Ryan, of Annagh, 6th May,
1 60 1. Dermot O'Ryan, chief of his name, forfeited Annagh under the
Cromwellian settlement. By an inquisition taken at St. Francis' Abbey,
Limerick, a.d. 1623, it was found that Donal Barry, of Ballyguy, in the
parish of Abington, died in 1612, leaving a widow and several children;
that his eldest son, Donal, aged twenty-four years, at his father's death,
succeeded to his estates in said parish. Donal Barry erected, in 1633,
an elaborate monument for himself, his parents, and his posterity, in
Abington church. This monument, described in vol. xxi. of the Journal
of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, adjoined another monu-
ment erected in 1632 to William O'Ryan, of Annagh, who is described
IqS cork historical and ARCHiVOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
thereon "As the most noble Chief of his native County of Owney, as
also of the ancient family of the Ryans the Head and Chief.*' This
WilHam was a son, or g'randson, of Donal O'Ryan, of Annagh, who
was chief of his name early in the reign of Elizabeth.
John Ryan, son of William, was joint owner with Donal Barry of
the townlands of Ballyguy and Bohergar, parish of Abington, when these
lands were confiscated in 1652 ; and David Barry, brother of Donal, was
j<Mnt owner of Clonkeen, another estate of the O'Ryans, which was
also confiscated.
As Donal is not a Christian name common to the Barry family, I
assume that the name came from intermarriage with the O 'Ryans of
Annagh. I am anxious to trace this branch, and, if possible, to ascer-
tain who the father of Donal Barry, who died in 1612, was, and the
branch he belonged to in the County Cork. Donal number two describes
himself on the Abington tomb as "the very noble, bom of the ancient
race of Barry." His coat of arms is Three bars gemel gules with a
crescent for difference, which would prove that this Limerick branch
claimed descent from the second son of the main stock.
The following is a translation of a certificate given to a Barry of
Annagh, who served in the Irish Brigade after the siege of Limerick : —
"We, a Captain of the Irish Regiment of Berwick, certify that the Sieur
James Barry has served the King well and faithfully during the period
of 21 years, in the Regiment of foot Dragoons of the late King of Eng-
land, as he has served in this, during which time he always conducted
himself like an honest man and a brave soldier, but being unable any
longer to continue in the service on account of his advanced age and <rf
his wounds, we recommend him for admission to the Royal Hotel of the
Invalides. Given at the Camp of Spiers, this 15th of December, 171 3.
Edgar Barry."
"Approved by our Colonel of the Regiment of Berwick.
TiNMOUTH DE BERWICK."
There is then a certificate from the surgeon of the Hotel des Invalides,
describing his wounds, and certifying that James Barry, of Annagh, Ireland,
is a fit subject for admission into the Hospital.
I find a note of mine at foot, made some years ago, as follows : —
"This James Barry was a descendant of Edmond Barry, whose daughter,
Catherine, married William O'Brien, <^ Killanacurra, who died in
September, 1640."
J. Grene Barry.
Jamas Freaay, the Kighwayauui.— One of a series of chap books,
published by Warren, 21 Upper Ormond Quay, Dublin, 1861, contains
an autobiography of the adventurous life of James Freney, which he
dedicated to the Rt. Hon. Somerset Hamilton Butler, Earl of Carrick, ^'^
by whose interest and intercession he obtained the King's pardon when
under sentence of death in Kilkenny jail. Freney was a robber of the
chivalrous order, for he not only respected women, whom he was never
known to insult, but on frequent occasions returned money to those
whom he had robbed, on finding they were in humble circumstances and
(0 Vol. i. 1892, p. 4.
T!
.<
NOTES AND QUERIES. 1 99
badly off. For instance, on an occasion near Bbrnt-Church, County
Kilkenny, where he had robbed ten travellers, on finding they were poor
dealers he returned their money, and gave Hackett, his spy, instructions
that in future he was only to report ''gentlemen who made a good
appearance and figure."
Like so many of his fellow-countrymen, he was possessed of a vein
of humour, in which he was sometimes fond of indulging, and he tells
of meeting a Quaker, whom he had stopped with the usual stand and
deliver summons, and who at once responded by drawing from his
pocket some gold and silver and a tailor's thimble, the emblem of his
trade, all of which he returned, asking the tailor what ill luck had sent
him in his way, as he would only rob a man,
Freney's first breach of the law was with one John Reddy, with
whom was associated a band of robbers known as the '* Kelly mount
Gang." They, having stopped a gentleman and demanded his purse,
were remonstrated with, and told that this was no way to treat a gentle-
man upon a Sabbath day, and on the King's high road ; then, after having
further protested, he handed his purse of ;^5o to Freney, out of which
he made him a ''present" of £i 13s. lod. to bear his further travelling
expenses.
From highway robbery, Freney's next downward step was that of
burglary, making with his accomplices night attacks upon the houses of
the country gentlemen. The mode of operation observed in these visits
was to light candles, blacken faces, surround the place, make all the
noise possible so as to terrorise the inmates, smash the windows with
a sledge, and so make an entrance, posting one of their number at the door,
and picketting others round the house, to prevent any member of the
household escaping, the spoil on these occasions mainly consisting of
family plate, jewels, and moneys, which were distributed among his
accomplices. Among the houses which he subjected to night attacks
were those of Mrs. Joyce of Ennisteague, Mr. Anderson of Dunbell, Mrs.
Mountfort of Derrynehinch, Co. Kilkenny, which he robbed of plate and
money value ;^2oo; Colonel Palliser, Co. Wexford, of plate value ;^300,
a purse of 90 guineas, moidores, and a large glove containing 28 guineas,
etc., etc.; and many others in Carlow, Waterford, and Tipperary.
Freney, like Dick Turpin, was always well mounted, and rode a blood
horse called "Beefsteaks." Seventy years ago the Freney blood was
considered the best possible strain in the stable. In the pre-stud days
they were grand, bold horses, with great go and fire, very sticky, and
proud fencers; in fact, the blood brought all that was courageous and
excellent in form and spirit into the horse.
The number and frequency of Freney's highway robberies were so
numerous and daring, and covered such an extent of country, that the
Government were obliged to take decisive action by offering rewards for
his arrest, and by sending a body of military to break up his band and
bring its members to justice. This action engendered distrust among
them, as each feared his fellow would turn King's evidence to save his
own neck, and all confidence was enlTed on their being hunted down and
one by one arrested, tried, convicted, and executed.
This note on Freney, who, in the middle part of the eighteenth cen-
tury, was the terror of a peaceable country, has been written to illus-
200 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHilOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
trate lus favourite weapon, the blunderbuss, which is ao often meotioiied
in his memoirs. This gun has recently been aoquiied by the writer. It
is so heavy that it could only have been used with effect by a powerful
man. The barrel is 22^ inches long by zi inches wide at the muzzle;
the stock has a flint lock and is brass-mounted, and around the mouth
it h^s deeply engraved on the barrel
*' Happy is he that escapes me.
James Freany.*'
In the Earl of Carrick's intercession for Freney he was able to say
that he never took away human life, but, on the contrary, was instru-
mental in saving it when it was often threatened by his accomplices.
There is only one instance recorded where life was lost, and that was when
the military surrounded a house where he had with his henchman, Bulger,
taken refuge. To use his own words : "About nine o'clock I awoke
Bulger, desiring him to get up and guard me whilst I slept, as I had
guarded him all night; he said he would, and then I went to bed,
charging him to watch dose for fear we should be surprised. I put my
blunderbuss and two cases of pistols under my head, and soon fell fast
asleep. In two hours after the servant girl of the house, seeing an
enemy coming into the yard, ran up to the room where we were, and
said there were 100 men in the yard, on which Bulger immediately awoke
me, and taking up my blunderbuss he flred a shot towards the door,
which wounded Mr. Burgess, one of the sheriffs of Kilkenny, of which
wound he died.'*
Freney says he wrote these memoirs hoping that the proceeds of
their sale would enable him with his family to leave the old country, and
earn their bread by honest employment in some foreign land. His attain-
ment of this resolve would have amply rewarded Lord Car rick for the
interest he had shown in him, and the personal sacrifices he had made
on his behalf, but his memoirs end here, and afford us no information
of his after life.
Robert Day.
8t. Vioholas Parish Chvroh, Cork.— Tfoe Gentleman's Magazine for
January, 1848, contains a short review of an Ecclesiastical Sketch of the
Parish of St, Nicholas, Cork, square 1 2mo. , 24 pp. , compiled by the rector, the
Rev. John Woodroffe. This sketch (which most likely was Cork-printed)
was accompanied by the form of prayer observed on laying the founda-
tion stone of the new church on the nth of November, 1847. In pre-
paring the foundation portions of three previous structures were dis-
covered, the last of which was built no longer back than 1720, but had
fallen into great decay partly through a violent storm which occurred in
the year 1728. The new church of 1847, which was designed by Mr.
Joseph Willan, architect to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners of Ireland,
in the style of the thirteenth century, was to cost ;;C8,ooo, of which the
Ecclesiastical Commissioners contributed ;^5,ooo, the remainder being
raised by public subscription.
NOTES AND QUERIES. 20I
Loss of the Cork Steamer, ''Killamey" in 1838.— The following
account of this calamitous occurrence, which involved the loss of the
"Killarney" steamer and no fewer than twenty-nine lives, is copied from
The Gentleman's Magazine for March, 1838.
The **Killarney** left Cork for Bristol on Friday, January 19th,
1838, but the weather being- very tempestuous she only made Poor Head,
and was obliged to return to the Harbour. At eight o'clock that evening
she put off again, and stood for Ballycotton, the wind increasing every
moment to a gale, and the vessel going very slowly. This continued
till midnight, the vessel rolling dreadfully, and her cargo of pigs bearing
her down to leeward, and every wave that struck her causing her to dip
so deeply that she shipped several seas. A great quantity of water
poured down the forehold, the hatches being left open, as there were
about 300 pigs below. There were about 350 pigs on deck ; and in order
to lighten the vessel the Captain directed all hands to exert themselves
to throw them overboard. Exert themselves they did, but, in the lan-
guage of one on board, **the pigs clung to the vessel as if they were
determined, to be her destruction.'* Up to four o'clock on Saturday
morning they managed by means of the air or engine pumps to work the
hold tolerably clear of the water that was shipped ; but at that hour coal
got into the pumps and choked them. The water then rose rapidly, the
fires were extinguished and the engines no longer worked. After
several hours' incessant labour in trying to empty the holds with buckets
the crew succeeded so far as to get up a little steam again on Saturday
at twelve o'clock; but it was to little purpose. A thick fog enveloped
them ; and on its clearing off about three o'clock they found themselves
rapidly drifting on the rocky coast (at the west side of the Harbour).
The vessel struck, between four and five o'clock, on a rock under The
Rennies, about two miles from Roberts' Cove. About twenty-five
persons effected a landing many failing in the attempt. Of those who
succeeded several afterwards fell off fnom exhaustion; and the survivors
suffered the greatest hardships, having to remain exposed to the storm
two tedious days and nights, during which their sole sustenance was a
little salt water and some scraps of seaweed. So near were they to the
land that the nock on which they clung could not be seen without stooping
over the adjoining cliff; yet all attempts to relieve them on Sunday
failed ; and it was not till Monday morning that, by passing a rope over
the rock from two sides of the bay, that persons on shore at length let
down a cot for their relief. The number rescued from the rock was
fourteen, one of whom, the carpenter, died soon afterwards. Two others
were lost from the breaking of the rope, and one, a sailor, was drowned
in trying to swim ashore.
A Narrative of the Wreck of the Steamer ''Killarney" in Renny Bay^
72 pages 8vo., with portrait, by Baron Spolasco, at Cork, in 1839, of
whom some information is here given. One would like to know why
Cork was favoured with a visit from this adventurous individual.
Under the heading "The Last of the Quack Barons," The Gentle-
man's, Magazine for December, 1858, records the death recently in New
York of Baron Spolasco, a quack doctor, well known in South Wales and
C/loucestershlre. The Baron used to parade in his bills, by way of re-
commendation that he bad escaped from the wreck of the ''Killarney"
202 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
steamer; and by a grand appearance and great impudence he continued
to get a great many dupes and to make a great deal of money. He
frequently made his appearance in a carriage drawn by four horses with
postilions, hired to make a sensation. He was the pink of fashion in
dress y but occasionally wore a mountebank costume. His humbug,
however, lasted only for a season, although it was a pretty long one;
and he then took his departure for the United States, where his first
appearance was majestic, but he seems to have fallen into poverty before
his death.
J. C.
Reviews of Books.
List of Books, Pamphlets, etc., printed wholly, or partially , in Irish
from the earliest period to 1820. Compiled by E. R. McC. Dix and
8e4n)ur U4 C4r4)x>e : Dublin, 1905.
This interesting little work supplies a much desired record of Irish
printing before our archaeological associations and Irish language societies
took the field, and may, perchance, lead to the production of a companion
volume on the history of the Irish (Gaelic) press, preferably on the lines
adopted in Anderson's Historical Sketches of the Ancient Native Irish
and their Descendants, published early in the last century. In the period
of 350 years (1571 — 1820), covered in this list, the number of Books, &c,
wholly or partially printed in Irish, of which the compilers found any
record, was 156. These very attenuated figures and the continental cities —
Antwerp, Lou vain, Paris, Rome — in which very many of the works were
printed, a£ford a luminous insight into the manner in which native Irish
learning was arrested at home and banished from the country in those
benighted days. In a country so deprived of the use of the press and so
continuously kept thrown back upon old, and elsewhere obsolete, condi-
tions, it is scarcely surprising that the native bards or seannahies — those
masterminds and teachers who had their origin in a far-distant past —
should have so long continued to influence the destiny of the race. The
list does not pretend to be exhaustive — in a work of such a character it is
almost needless to add that omissions are inevitable — and Mr. Dix urgently
invites all interested in the subject to notify him of any additions or
corrections which they are capable of making or suggesting, in order that,
in the event of a second edition being called for, the list may be repro-
duced. If possible, in a much more complete condition. The writer,
availing himself of this invitation, suggests the inclusion of the following
works, which occur to him, in a future edition :
A decree of the Irish clergy, dated 12th August, 1646, against the
peace concluded between the Duke of Ormond and the Supreme Council
of the Catholic Confederation, ** which,*' according to Clarendon's History
of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in Ireland (Ed. London, 1721, p. 41),
**they commanded to be publifh'd in all Places in the English and Irish
Tongue." It would be interesting to know where the Irish version of
this decree was printed, and whether Irish type was used.
REVIEWS OF BOOKS. 203
Synopsis Stirpium Hibernicarum Alphabetice Depositarum. Sive Com*
mentatio de Plantis Indigenis proBfertim Dublinenfibus instituta. Being
a Short Treatife of Native Plants, efpecially such as grow spontaneously
in the Vicinity of Dublin; with their Latin, English and Irish Names, &c,
by Cabel Threlkeld, M.D. Dublin, 1727. In this, the earliest printed
Irish Herbal, the Irish names are printed in black letter.
John K'Eogh, A.B., who styled himself chaplain to Lord Kingston,
was the author of the following books^ which contain an appreciable
amount of Irish, and which may fairly claim to be included in a list of
Irish-printed works :
Botanalogia Universalis Hibernica, or, a General Irish Herbal calcu-
lated for this Kingdom, giving an Account of the Herbs, Shrubs and Trees,
naturally produced therein, in English, Irish and Latin, &c. Corke, 1735.
Zoologia Medicinalis Hibernica : or a Treatise of Birds, Beasts, Fishes,
Reptiles, or Insects, which are commonly known and propagated in this
Kingdom : Giving an Account of their Medicinal Virtues, and their Names
in English, Irish, and Latin, &c. Dublin, 1739. An edition of this work
was published in London in 1744, in which the author's name appears as
**B. Mandeville, M.D/'
Society for the Preservation of the Irish Language : Report for 1904.
In the Journal for last year we drew attention to one of the most remark-
able features of this Society as exhibited in its annual report, namely, .its
extensive cash: balance of ;^766 17s. 5d. Since then the Society has
evidently pursued the even tenor of its way as the balance now amounts
to the stupendous pile of ;;^840 — figures that alone are sufficient to confront
the reckless assertions that the nation is one of paupers and spendthrifts.
At the present time when these islands are writhing in the throes of a fiscal
agony the Society would unquestionably confer an opportune benefit on
those desirous of grappling with the perplexities of the situation by expound-
ing the secret of how to accumulate wealth consistently with the due dis-
charge of its original objects. The annual reports, which are as regular in
their appearances for many years past as the revolutions of the Heavenly
bodies, are practically of late years, doubtless for some sufficient reason, the
only output of the Society, but it cannot be denied that their contents,
extending into about sixty pages each, and mostly made up of the corre-
spondence from those proverbially exuberant functionaries — ^the National
Teachers from all parts of the country — ^breathe a starry enthusiasm over
the language. J. B.
English Goldsmiths and their Marks, by Charles James Jackson,
F.S.A. (Macmillan, 42/- net). Hitherto owners and collectors of plate
have depended upon the works of Morgan, Chaffers, and Cripps to guide
them. The first of these, by Mr. Octavius Morgan, was a volume con-
taining tables of the date letters used by the Goldsmiths' Company in
London; these, however, were not taken from impressions of the marks,
and contained no reference to the provincial assay offices. Ten years
later Chaffers published his handbook, which was followed in 1878 by
Cripps, whose book has passed through nine editions. But it was left
to Mr. C. J. Jackson to write a comprehensive history of the subject, on
which, after years of patient research, he has produced a monu-
204 CORK HISTORICAL AND ARCHiEOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
mental volume of nearly 700 folio pages, containing no less than 11,000
facsimiles of plate marks, embracing England, Scotland, and Ireland.
In the works of Chaffers and Cripps Ireland was all but ignored, simply
because neither one or the other of these authors made personal and
independent researches in this country; hence, while Jackson devotes
150 pages to Ireland, Cripps has barely eleven, thus failing to throw any
light whatever upon the goldsmiths of this country. But, fortunately
for us, they left its fruitful soil to be cultivated by abler and more
capable hands, in proof of which Mr. Jackson gives no less than 324
marks that were used by Cork workers, each having been taken from
an authentic piece of plate, and are, in fact, the results of the method
adopted and described by him. These plates are actual reproductions
of the same size, or slightly larger, than the originals, which are enlarged
photographs from plaster casts of the marks themselves.
His tables have, moreover, this further advantage, as a result of the
system adopted in their reproduction, that the marks are represented as
they actually appear on the plate from which they were taken, with the
raised parts white and the depressed parts black. These are followed
by a chronological list of the Cork goldsmiths from 1601 to 1850, and
with the various marks and makers' names of the provincial towns,
notably those of Youghal, Galway, Limerick, Bandon, Kinsale, and other
of the walled towns in Ireland.
What Mr. |ackson has done for Cork he has also accomplished for
Dublin, by giving a record of its goldsmiths from 1226 to 1902, and, in
addition, to the succession of masters and wardens of the Company from
its incorporation in 1637. He adds the list of freemen who were mem-
bers of the guild, and also a list of the enrolments of apprentices to the
Dublin goldsmiths from 1632. Also a list of the goldsmiths for whom
plate was assayed, and the names of Irish provincial goldsmiths who, in
compliance with the Act of the Irish House of Commons, 23 and 24
Geo. ill., c. 23, were ordered to register their names in Dublin.
In addition to the 11,000 marks with which the book is illustrated,
Mr. Jackson has selected as a frontispiece an admirable photogravure
of the Vintners' salt, having the London marks of 1569-70, in the
possession of the Vintners* Company of that city; and two illustrations
of Irish plate, namely, the silver mace of the Cork guilds, by Robert
Goble, and a two-handled covered cup, by Charles Bekegle of Cork, 1697.
This fine example is in Mr. Jackson *s collection of old English plate. It
is ornamented in bold relief with an eagle (in allusion to the maker's
name), melons, pomegranates, and other fruit, foliage and flowers. The
handles are of the harp shape commonly found on Irish cups of the end
of the seventeenth century. Collectors of Irish plate owe much to Mr.
Jackson for the light that he has thrown upon the special branch of the
subject in which they are most deeply interested; he has raised its value
to the same standard as the work that proceeded from the best London
workshops of the same period. Mr. Jackson's volume is the result of
painstaking and laborious study, from which the accurate deductions and
conclusions that have been drawn places it as the first 'authority, and at
the head of the literature of the fascinating subject for which the author
has done so much.
R. D.
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